Mike DeWitt, men’s basketball head coach, selected as interim athletics director

By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor

Men’s basketball head coach Mike DeWitt will serve as the interim athletics director.

According to a campus-wide email from Chuck Stinemetz, provost, DeWitt will take over Ingles position in mid-May.

”Roger leaves big shoes to fill, but Mike’s stellar career with the Battling Bishops—as a student-athlete, a coach, and a leader in Division III athletics—makes him the ideal person to serve as interim director of athletics,” Stinemetz said.

Stinemetz added DeWitt’s experience at OWU, especially as the winningest men’s basketball coach at OWU will be beneficial to his new post.

“Mike has served as an associate athletics director since 2011 and was an assistant athletics director from 2004-11,” Stinemetz said in the email. “Furthermore, he has been a leader at the conference and national levels, serving on the NCAA Division III Great Lakes advisory committee from 2003-06, and he was on the NCAA Division III national committee from 2009-13, serving as committee chair during the 2012-13 season.”

Stinemetz also announced a committee that will search for the new athletics director, which he will chair.

“I will be joined by the following individuals: alumni Christie Allen, Kevin Hinkle, Bob Morrill; head coaches Kris Boey, Kirsta Cobb, Jay Martin, Cassie Cunningham; faculty Barbara MacLeod, David Eastman, Shala Hankison; admissions Ross Grippi; [and from] advancement, Colleen Garland.”

Stinemetz also said two students will join the committee but they have not been selected yet.

DeWitt said he was asked by Stinemetz to be interim director at a meeting after it was made known Ingle’s was leaving.

“I am honored to be asked by our administration to lead our department in this time of transition, and I am extremely fortunate to work with an outstanding group of coaches that will make this transition go as smoothly as possible,” DeWitt said.

DeWitt said he and Ingles will work closely before he leaves.

“Having been a part of the administrative staff over the years certainly will help me be aware of most of these issues as I serve in this role until a new Director of Athletics is hired,” DeWitt said.

DeWitt was not certain of Ingle’s official date of departure and when he will start as interim director.

Ultimate frisbee wins first place in the High Tide tournament

By Aleksei Pavloff, Sports Editor

The ultimate frisbee club at Ohio Wesleyan University traveled to South Carolina to compete in the High Tide tournament and walked away with first place in their bracket over spring break.

The ultimate frisbee club entered the High Tide tournament that went from March 14-16 and stayed in Little River, SC just north of Myrtle Beach. According to hightideultimate.com, it is one of the biggest ultimate tournaments and was founded in 1996.

“We managed to get a house right on the beach which was nice,” said sophomore Espen Stalder who is a captain for the team. “There were around 120 teams overall, and about 40 within our division. Most of those were D-III schools but there were a few larger ones like Syracuse.”

The team had eight wins and one loss in their mixed bracket which included clubs as well as  Division-I teams. The term “mixed” means that both men and women participate on the same team. The team’s attitude seemed calm even during the matches.

“It was very relaxed, even at the tournament,” said Stalder. “It’s not a sanctioned tournament meaning it doesn’t count for official ranking, so winning isn’t as important so much as just hanging out. If you wanted to make stupid plays for fun you absolutely could.”

Before heading to High Tide, the club struggled to organize practices before the tournament began but seemed to come together nicely once tournament play began.

“The main challenge was people unable to come to practice,” said Stalder. “We only had one mixed practice a week, and oftentimes half the team wouldn’t be able to come. I had class most of the time so I went into the tournament not knowing most of the girls. Not knowing the playing styles of half the team is definitely a challenge, but we figured it out pretty fast.”

Stalder said that the team tries to practice three times a week during the school year but mixed practices are limited to once a week.

The team would eventually make it to the finals of their bracket where they would play Syracuse University. They beat the Division-I school and showed that they are able to compete amongst the other clubs and teams.

“It feels great, most of the people on the team have never won a tournament outright before,” said Stalder. “There’s a sense of pride that comes from beating Division-I teams like Syracuse as a small, relatively unknown Division-III school.”

Stalder went on to say that their main goal was just to “have fun” and that this was their first time competing in a mixed bracket. Looking ahead, the club’s members will maintain their positive approach after learning a valuable lesson about themselves.

“It’s a milestone for the club as this is the first time anyone on the team has won high tide,” said Stalder. “It also shows that we can in fact function mixed better than when we’re separate.”

Freshman track and field athlete wins national title at Division III event

By Aleksei Pavloff, Sports Editor

A national champion was crowned for Ohio Wesleyan University track and field while two others placed in the Division III national championship meet March 10 and 11.

Cirrus Robinson, Sarah Fowler, and Nate Newman all placed in their individual competitions at the NCAA championship meet. Robinson, a freshman, won the NCAA title in high-jump and is the second woman from OWU to win an individual championship.

Junior Nate Newman participated in the heptathlon and placed in the top 6. He received All-American honors joining senior Fowler who also received All-American honors. Fowler broke a school record in the 5000-meter with a finishing time of 16:54.38 and the previous record was 17:04.66 also set by Fowler earlier in the season according to battlingbishops.com. Freshman Robinson took the crown as national champion in high-jump and, according to battlingbishops.com is the second women in track and field to win a title.

“It was just a special moment,” said Kris Boey who is the the director of track and field, cross country and the head coach for track and field. He said this season gives the team a sense of pride and the tradition they have is “great.”  

The national meet was hosted by North Central College in Illinois and Boey said that the meet was organized well.

“There was a lot of energy,” Boey said. Sometimes meets can get the best of athletes because of the stressful atmosphere, but Boey was confident that the freshman would handle the pressure.

“[Boey] was really realistic with me,” said Robinson.

While two OWU athletes placed, Robinson won the NCAA title in high-jump just beating Emma Egan, a freshman from Williams College.

“I was completely overjoyed,” said Robinson.

“I think it is  tremendous for her and the track program,” said Athletic Director Roger Ingles. “It is unbelievable.”

Boey felt that she was willing and able to leap ahead of the competition. He said she kept a level head and that she was  able to perform under pressure.

“She knows how to have Fun,” Boey said. “After the conference meet, I knew she was ready. I knew she was going have a great meet.”

Robinson competed the second day and was seeded second heading into the meet. She said staying calm was key in her performing her jump and mentioned that Boey helped her get comfortable in the moment.

“We just kept focusing on making the heights,” Boey said. “We didn’t even talk about winning.”

The decision went down to how many missed attempts the separate individuals had in total and Robinson had the least missed jumps with just three.

“It took a while to sink in,” said Boey referring to how Robinson reacted to her win. “We have seen just the tip of the iceberg.” Robinson represents the program well, according to Boey, and this was a great moment for her and the team.

Robinson said she received several text messages from friends and family after she won and this moment solidified her confidence as an athlete.

This indoor track and field season has been a successful one for OWU. Boey hopes that success will lead to more in the upcoming spring season.

“I believe she will continue to grow and progress. I can’t say for sure but I know she will put herself in a position to be successful,” Boey said adding Robinson has the ability to be one of the best track and field athletes in Division III.

Robinson mentioned her two teammates, Newman and Fowler, played a big role by inspiring her to work and compete harder.

There is an overall sense of pride for the program and there is anticipation for what is yet to come from players and coaches. Robinson said that she does not feel content and she is currently preparing for the spring season. But for now, she can now breath a sigh of relief knowing that she is a champion and that this is only the beginning of her collegiate career.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” said Boey. “They represent Ohio Wesleyan and they did it in the best of fashion.”

The Beat: Drake beats streaming records with “More Life”

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Drake continues his reign as the biggest hip-hop artist in the game with his record-breaking release of “More Life.”

The Toronto rapper released the 22-track album (which he refers to as a playlist) on Saturday and it broke streaming records on both Spotify and Apple Music.

“More Life” was streamed 88.9 times on Apple Music on its first day of release, which is more than any album has ever streamed in one day through the service, according to Billboard.

The playlist also received more than 76 million plays on Spotify, which is the most an artist has ever been streamed in one day. Both records surpassed the ones previously set by Ed Sheeran.

Drake has released four studio albums so far in his career and while this looks like a fifth, he’s chosen to call it a playlist, not an album. According to The Atlantic, this is because many people were involved with the project and it became more like a project created by many artists rather than just Drake. Some songs barely feature Drake at all; instead, featuring artists do a large bulk of the vocals.

The project has a lengthy and eye-catching list of features. He collaborated with some of the biggest artists in hip-hop including Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, Migos’ Quavo, Young Thug and more.

Drake seems to draw back to his roots on many of the tracks in the playlist. His last two projects were seen as a victory lap and featured a lot of boasting over hype instrumentals. “More Life” features serious and emotional tracks and feels much more like “Take Care,” Drake’s second studio album released in 2011.

With 22 tracks the album is very dense and hits a variety of themes. It acts like a rollercoaster hitting many highs and a lot of lows which makes the tracklist diverse and interesting.

Playlist or album, “More Life” has been another smash hit for the most popular artist in hip-hop right now.

Queer Film Festival showing its last movie

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

The International Queer Film Festival is closing the curtain after a successful first season.

Since it began showing lms in early February, the festival plays movies to better represent queer people from around the world through cinema.

The upcoming lm, “The Handmaiden” will be featured in the Benes rooms at 7 p.m. on April 4. The lm is a mystery-drama that takes place in early 20th century South Korea. Sook-Hee, played by Tae-ri Kim, is hired as a handmaiden to Japanese heiress, Lady Hideko, played by Min-hee Kim. This critically acclaimed lm directed by Park Chan Wook uses historical context to discuss sexual exploration and love.

“Queer people have existed always and everywhere,” said junior Ryan Bishop. “We would like to see cinema move toward a point where queer characters can be main characters in any genre, any role, and their queerness might not be [the] center, but is validated and explored in the depth it deserves.”

The lm was based on Sarah Walters’ novel “Fingersmith,” a lesbian romance set in Victorian England.

“Beautiful Boxer,” a lm from Thailand that was shown Monday night, tells the story of Muay Thai kickboxer Parinya Charoenphol, played by Asanee Suwan. Charoenphol identities as khatoey, “a third gender known in Thailand with similarities to identifying as a transgender woman,” said Bishop.

“Beautiful Boxer” shows the protagonist’s childhood in poverty, her days as a travelling monk and her journey to raise enough money for gender-af rming surgery.

“Beauty and the Beast” invites you to “Be [Their] Guest”

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

It’s a tale as old as time…revived.

Bill Candon’s brought-to-life Beauty and the Beast stars grown-up Hermione Granger, Emma Watson, as Belle, and CGI’d Dan Stevens as the ferocious, gentle giant, the Beast.

Catering to viewers’ nostal- gia for the early-90’s ick, the lm takes all the best parts of the original Disney cartoon and fills all the plot holes that gnawed at the back of every child’s brain 26 years ago. The lm follows the basic storyline, music and all, but finally reveals what happened to Belle’s mother. It also cleaned up the messy timeline of when the damning spell was cast and when Belle stumbled into the castle.

The movie even raised controversy for Disney’s rst openly-gay character, LaFou, played by the hilarious Josh Gad. Some theaters chose to ban or edit the film.

The film takes the general essence of the characters depicted in the cartoon-version, and totally revamps them with intricate CGI animation. LumiĂ©re, played by Ewan McGregor, and Cogsworth, played by Ian McKellen (i.e. Gandalf as a clock), get a makeover in delicate gold designs that combine their character’s strong personalities and the object each is slowly morphing into.

One can’t help but feel welcome when the entire kitchen of lively objects sings “Be My Guest” through the screen. Even Watson looks impressed at the various cutleries doing the can- can as napkins gracefully glide through the air.

Since its opening day last Friday, the lm has grossed over $350 million making its debut weekend one of the most successful opening weekends ever.

Is your bracket busted?

By Evan Walsh, Chief Copy Editor

Chances are you know someone, or know someone who knows someone that needs NCAA Tournament therapy.

Fear not, they are simply suffering from “Busted Bracket-itis.”

Do a quick search on web.md and you probably won’t find anything about it. But if you spend ve minutes during these two crazy weeks at a Buffalo Wild Wings or any sports bar you will see just how real this syndrome is. (Disclaimer: Busted Bracket-itis is not actually a real thing … please don’t sue me, web.md.)

The Men’s NCAA basketball tournament begins with 64 teams and over the course of several weeks the field will get whittled down one by one until a champion is crowned.

As fans of men’s college basketball know, making a perfect bracket where the winner of each game in each round is chosen is impossible. The chances of that happening are something like 1 in 6360309209. Not good.

So, as fans (or casual spectators feeling this annual bet-making itch) know, you should make educated guesses. But educated guesses, grounded in logic and informed by statistics, mean nothing. After all, it is “madness.”

Letter to the Editor: SIAC addresses lack of diversity among faculty

By Ryan Bishop, Contributing Writer

The Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs’ (WCSA) Student Inclusion Advocacy Committee (SIAC) was created in the spring of 2016 to ensure that students from under-represented groups on campus have a pres- ence and voice on our student government.

Its mission is focused on addressing is- sues that students from minoritized groups face. SIAC has eight voting senator positions, known as Inclusion Representatives, and is currently chaired by Ryan Bishop.

SIAC’s first big project for the 2017 term was composing a letter to address the lack diversity among faculty on our campus.

This three-page letter was reviewed by Juan Armando Rojas, associate dean for inclusion and diversity, and WCSA’s full senate.

In our letter, we expressed appreciation for the number of efforts which the university has already undertaken to address this issue, including creating Rojas’ position and holding various faculty training sessions related to diversity, inclusion and equity in the classroom.

Ohio Wesleyan prides itself on fostering a welcoming environment for students of all backgrounds and has been working toward strengthening the efforts in this area.

SIAC expressed concerns we have heard from our student body regarding the small number of faculty of color (for instance, out of 129 faculty members, only four are Black, and only three are Hispanic or Latinx; OWU has only ever had one Black female faculty member, Judylyn Ryan).

Not only do these numbers not re ect the diversity in our student body, but they are also unjust and undermine our commitment to liberal arts education.

Diversity among professors is crucial for a number of reasons, including providing students of diverse backgrounds with the opportunity to see themselves in their teachers who are often their role models.

According to a 2014 report by the National Education Association, professors of color are often more capable of connecting with students of color, and also tend to teach with a more socially conscious mindset which is inclusive of students from under-represented groups and incorporates diverse approaches.

Inclusive approaches are bene cial to all students, as they shape graduates to be true global citizens.

Increasing diversity among faculty, as well as strengthening diversity and sensitivity training of faculty and staff, is a goal of equity and justice, and one that can only improve our already exceptional liberal arts institution. In the letter, SIAC also offered suggestions which could help expand existing efforts.

Our letter was immediately addressed on multiple levels of the administration, including by Provost Chuck Stinemetz and President Rock Jones, both of whom ex- pressed desire to meet with SIAC and further the conversation.

Furthermore, departments that are currently hiring have expressed willingness to honor a resolution passed by WCSA in 2016 to invite SIAC members to hiring committees.

WCSA is grateful for the administration’s commitment to fostering a diverse, inclusive and just campus environment and for its willingness to work with students.

Warning: Virtual reality induces nausea

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

So, this spring break I experienced a whole new world.

No, I’m not talking about some lifechanging, spiritual journey to the beaches of Miami. Rather, Google sent me its new “Virtual Reality” headset for free as compensation for sending my phone three months later than than they had promised.

Before this, I’d heard bits and pieces of virtual reality before I had actually experienced it.

I saw hilarious videos of people tiptoeing across their living room floor or screaming because they were watching themselves 500 feet in the air on a tight-rope.

Yet, I was never intrigued enough to put forth the effort to actually become part of this alternative reality. Honestly, had the Google gods not sent me this headset, it’s likely I would never have experienced such a new level of video gaming.

But why not give it a shot, right?

The headset came neatly packaged with a tiny remote control. Just to get it working I needed to connect everything via Bluetooth. Once I strapped in my phone to the headset, I put it on my head and got ready to see a whole new world.

All I could see was my screen. There were some artificial forest graphics resembling a menu with options about where to go.

As I turned my head, the forest grew as a river appeared and birds chirped in the background. I used the remote to choose the “King Kong experience” — a five minute YouTube video promoting the new movie. I thought I would just watch a trailer in super high-definition.

Instead, the headset put me in a helicopter. The windows revealed the lush, green rainforest; the pilot was calm and collected.

In the back of my ear, a blood-curdling roar loomed closer. The pilot started to shake the helicopter, trees falling to large footsteps. The frame tilted drastically downward, and as I looked to my left I stared into the green, bright eyes of a gargantuan, angry gorilla.

The pilot fainted; I didn’t know how to fly! My heartbeat quickened, stomach churning, my face turning green as King Kong started shaking the helicopter up and down. His eyebrows furrowed, then he lunged his arm back, getting ready to pitch the helicopter directly into the volcano.

As my head bobbed up and down, contemplating my chances of survival, I realized I could escape.

Right before I plunged to my death, I threw the headset onto my lap, trying to control my breathing as I realized I was just in my living room, and no gorilla was out to get me. I did feel like throwing up, though.

Overall, the experience was very intense, and if you get the chance, you should definitely try it out.

Just remember to read the warning label, take off the headset if you get dizzy and that, contrary to the real world, you can escape virtual reality with just a push of the button.

Saudi Arabia remains in a state of transition

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

If global warming becomes a major issue or alternate fuels are developed, Saudi Arabia’s economy will suffer, according to a former energy consultant.

To diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud drafted the Saudi Vision 2030, said Rand Guebert, a former Oilinvest B.V. consultant. The objective of the vision is for Saudi Arabia to be “a pioneering and successful global model of excellence,” according to the Vision 2030 website.

Guebert said Salman is trying to get Asian countries to invest in his country to diversify the Saudi economy, while helping Asian countries diversify as well. Guebert and Melinda McClimans discussed Saudi Arabia in transition as part of the Great Decisions lecture series March 3 at the William Street United Methodist Church.

Saudi Arabia faces many challenges, such as oil production, water scarcity and national defense issues, and has been in a state of transition for the past 60 years, according to Guebert.

Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938, years after Iran (1908), Iraq (1924) and Bahrain (1932).

Before the 1960s, Saudi Arabia produced about 1 million barrels of oil a day because of low demand. But by the 1960s, the demand spiked. As a result, Saudi Arabia began producing 10 million barrels of oil a day, Guebert said.

In the early 1980s, Saudi Arabia competed with Russia and the U.S. and oil prices dropped dramatically.

“One of the things to remember about this production is it’s very cheap,” Guebert said. “Saudi Arabia is the lowest cost oil producer in the world and costs about $5 a barrel.”

In the 1980s, however, the price went up to nearly $40 per barrel.

“All of a sudden, [the Saudis] had huge amounts of money coming in,” Guebert said. “So this transformed what was still a desert society.”

Today, the price of oil per barrel is $53, but in the current economy, that price isn’t pro table but it is stable, according to Guebert.

Saudi Arabia spends almost 10 percent of its annual revenue budget on national defense, which is nearly twice what the U.S. spends, Guebert said.

McClimans, assistant director of the Middle East Studies Center at The Ohio State University, focused on Saudi Arabia’s religious perspective.

Saudi Arabia is the heart of Islam, McClimans said. Though Islam started as an Arab phenomenon, it has expanded to Persian and Turkish territories and is now a multicultural religion.

McClimans, who lived in Saudi Arabia for a few years, said the country’s government is grounded in “pure Sharia law.”

But there are caveats, McClimans said. For instance, during the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims are required to fast, if someone needs to take medication with food, that’s permissible.

“[What I found most interesting] is that Saudi Arabia’s under pressure to get into the modern world,” said Oluf Kongshaug, a local retired Presbyterian minister. “Now that the U.S. is producing more oil, what’s Saudi Arabia going to do if they don’t have us as a customer?”