OWU’s mock vote falls flat

By Matt Maier, Transcript Reporter

Would it be Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?

This was the question Ohio Wesleyan wanted to know when they held a mock vote Nov. 2.

The Student Involvement Office, located in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, held a mock presidential vote and the result was what the students on this campus would expect.

Clinton won the mock vote in an unsurprising victory. But in total, there were only 192 votes counted out of the roughly 1,600 students on campus.

Of these 192 votes, 122 went to Clinton while Trump received a mere 45 votes. Gary Johnson received nine votes, Jill Stein received one vote and 15 other write-ins were received.

“This mock vote was just a fun event for the students since it is an election year and we were just curious on how they were planning to vote in this election,” said Chloe Holmes, a student who works in the Student Involvement Office.

Would this mock vote correlate to the winner on Nov. 8? Students thought so.

“I think the students on campus here at OWU know exactly who is going to win,” said senior Kelly Schade. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that Hillary won the mock vote.”

Clinton won the mock vote, but Trump won the presidency.

Voting made easy on and off campus

By Michael Barr, Transcript Correspondent

Only once in one class’s college career does the occasion arise in which Ohio Wesleyan students can cast their vote and unsurprisingly, opinions become evident.

OWU holds consistent with the tradition of small liberal arts college cam- puses being predominately politically liberal, according to the recent campus-wide Mock Voting Results in which Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump 122-45. While only a small scale of students were represented in the Mock Vote, the results provide a thought-provoking perspective of campus life.

Losing by nearly three times as many votes, the question then becomes whether or not the campus is predominately liberal, underrepresented conservatively or that the campus has created a space in which conservative ideology is socially unacceptable.

Non partisan early voting shuttles were provided for jointly by the Politics and Government department and the Student Involvement Office at five different times to provide students transportation to and from the Delaware County Board of Elections.

One can frequently expect to see a plethora of various Clinton apparel strolling across campus, though countable on a single hand is an embroidered “Make America Great Again” slogan. But in regard to verbal support for Clinton, the same can be said.

While college campuses are hardly conservative, any showing of a right-leaning motion seems almost
taboo at OWU, with the overwhelming support for Clinton surely causing the opinions of campus Repub- licans to feel exhaustingly isolated.

As the college demographic represents a crucial portion of voters, registering while at OWU was made as simple as possible, due to a large presence of campaign volunteers.

The early voting process was an easier process for time-strapped students, allowing them the weekend to get to the polls.

103-year-old Dorothy Sellers votes for Hillary

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

A 103-year-old lifelong Republican Dorothy Sellers voted for Hillary Clinton.

Sellers was born seven years before women were given the right to vote and has only seen men in the Oval Office.

Sellers studied as an English major at Ohio Wes- leyan University from 1932-33, but had to leave before graduating because of the Great Depression.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Sellers decided to join OWU and said she “really enjoyed it here.” She said, “After leaving OWU, I came to New York and took various courses at New York University, but never graduated.”

Since leaving OWU’s campus 83 years ago, Sellers has never been back, but would like to, she said.

“I’ve been a registered Republican, always … but I’m an Independent now … I voted for Roosevelt and Obama and now for Hillary.”

She said she did not care for George W. Bush. “I did not like the war … I did not like his office.” She said she believes firmly in the democratic power to express opinions through voting. “I was not a big political mover and shaker … I didn’t march or protest … I always just voted.”

Sellers said it is very exciting for a woman to be able to reach the nomination

“I have nothing against women being the president. They are just as smart as men … If she wins, it would turn the page.”

Despite being a Republican, Sellers chose Clinton because she said she thinks Clinton would make a bet- ter president. “For obvious reasons … Trump has no experience … all this sex business is not presidential … [Trump] would not make good decisions.”

Sellers voted on the morning of Nov. 8. “The polling place was not crowded when I went. Freeport, [New York] is a very integrated village … there’s all kinds of people here.”

If Trump does win, Sellers said she is unsure how she would react. “My reaction would be very upset.” But she added she is hopeful. “If we have to go forward, we will. We got out of the Great Depression … so we can get out of anything.”

Her time at Ohio Wesleyan was a difficult one. With the Great Depression setting in, she also had to deal with her father’s death and her family house burned down. But she said she would love to visit again given the opportunity.

Levy for mental health passes

By Gabe Linderman, Transcript Reporter

There were two Delaware, Ohio local levies, one charter amendment and an income tax increase up on the ballot this election day. Two were countywide levies, one was a local tax increase and the last issue was an amendment to the existing city charter. Both levies and the amendment passed, but the tax increase failed.

The first countywide levies will increase financial support of Delaware-Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services, a bi-county organization that provides mental health and substance abuse treatment and prevention services.

The levy passed with 65.57 percent of residents for the levy and 34.43 percent against the levy.

It is a five-year levy that will generate an estimated $7.3 million every year for mental health and recovery services in Delaware and Morrow counties.

It will increase yearly property taxes in Delaware County to $29.09 for every $100,000 of property value.

The second countywide levy will renew and increase an existing levy supporting 911 emergency services. The levy passed with 58.95 percent of voters supporting the levy while 34.43 percent were against it.

The levy will increase from $13.18 per every $100,000 of property value to $19.48 per every $100,000 of property value. The additional $1.1 million will allow for continued operations of Delaware County 911 emergency services and expansion as the county continues to grow.

There was also an amendment to the city’s charter that passed. Every eight years, a review commission of nine elec- tors is formed to review and examine the charter.

This year, the commission recommended 34 changes to the charter. All of the changes either modernize the document (removed outdated provisions), clarify parts of the document (removed ambiguity from charter sections), or work to clean up the charter (made the document more readable and under table).

Finally on the ballot was a proposed municipal income tax increase. Voters in Delaware city proper have voted against an increase of their income tax rate from 1.85 percent to 2 percent.

The extra $2.2 million that would have been generated annually would’ve gone towards Moving Delaware Forward, a city project focused on “reducing congestion and improving the overall efficiency of our street network.” The project would have increased the rate at which streets are resurfaced, work on traffic signal timing issues, and increasing parking capacity, among other things.

Delaware County goes red again

By Leah Miza, Photo Editor

Delaware County has been a predominantly red county since 1861, and in this year’s election, so was the state of Ohio.

Delaware has been a republican party vote for around for 150 years, said Andrew Brenner, Ohio state representative. He added that the main issues include regulatory reforms and the Second Amendment.

The heavy agrarian history also played a major role in the patterns of the county.

“I only knew about Delaware County since 1988 when I moved here, but it strikes me that we are originally a farm community and German farmers, particularly in this end of the state of Ohio, based on research Germanic farmers tended to vote Republican since Abraham Lincoln,” said Ohio Wesleyan’s Chaplain Jon Powers.

Ed Helvey, chair of the Delaware County Democrats, said the democrats been losing these races for a long time. Delaware has not elected a democratic county official since 1976.

“He was the only democrat re-elected in more than 100 years,” he said. Brenner said, “We have a lot of good elected officials. Nobody has any complaints about them.”

Powers also noted the southern suburbs from Columbus that are moving north such as Powell, Dublin and Westerville tend to be professionals who also then tend to be republican.

Additionally, Delaware is one of the top 10 counties in the country of people under the age of 40 with an advanced degree, which is a factor that also contributes to the ongoing pattern, according to Helvey.

“We went from agrarian to a sophisticated community overnight,” he said.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Policies: National Debt

By Shamayeta Rahman, Transcript Reporter

Currently the U.S. has about $14 trillion in debt, which is about 75 percent of the gross domestic product.

This is projected to grow by almost 130 percent by 2040. Majority of the U.S. public spending goes into federal health care and Social Security costs.

High national debt hinders the economy greatly and often leads to great fiscal crises.

According to Gallup, 72 percent of Americans believe that reducing the federal budget deficit should be the elected candidate’s first priority.

Trump’s primary stand on the national debt issue has been the promise of reducing taxes for high wage earners to promote investment and growth in the economy.

He also intends to increase growth by tightening up trade by increasing tariffs on the international front and deregulating on the domestic front.

He believes that all of this will help drive the economy forward.

While cutting down on Obamacare and instead proposing a state-based block grant for Medicaid will save him about $500 billion, it will be spent in whatever health care reform that will be in place instead of Obamacare.

He proposed a “Penny Plan” which would allow massive budget cuts in the federal government even if it is by 1 percent a year (excluding defense, Social Security and federal health spending), but a majority of this saving will also be taken up by increased spending on defense and veteran care.

Trump has a lot of reforms in mind, but without a lot of information on how he plans to fund or sustain these programs.

He will be cutting down on income taxes which will cost the government about $4.5 trillion in revenue, leaving the country with about $5.3 trillion in federal deficit.

Under his policies, the U.S. could be looking at about 105 percent of the GDP in national debt.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Policies: Healthcare Act

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

President Donald Trump plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Healthcare Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

According to Trump’s campaign website, his office “will work with Congress to create a patient-centered health care system that promotes choice, quality and affordability.”

In contrast, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign had promised to “defend and expand the Affordable Care Act which covers 20 million people.”

At different rallies throughout his campaign, Trump has said Obamacare has led to higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality. Earlier this year, in March, Trump proposed “for Congress to remove barriers to entry into free markets for drug providers that offer safe, reliable and cheaper products.”

According to the full proposal, “On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare.”

According to his campaign website, no person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to.

Pro free market, Trump’s health care reform paper said, “We will work with Congress to make sure we have a series of reforms ready for implementation … By following free market principles and working together to create sound public policy that will broaden health care access, make health care more affordable and im-
prove the quality of the care available to all Americans.”

Abortion, too, was hotly debated.

At a debate in February 2016 at University of Houston, Trump declared that he is pro-life, whereas Clinton said, “Politicians have no business interfering with women’s personal health decisions.”

“If we were to simply enforce the current immigration laws and restrict the unbridled granting of visas to this country, we could relieve healthcare cost pressures on state and local governments.” Providing health care to illegal immigrants costs the country some $11 billion annually, according to Trump’s website.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Policies: International Relations

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

As president of the U.S., one of the largest responsibilities is to represent the country on issues of international relations and foreign policy.

On the topic of international relations, Donald Trump takes a stance that conflicts Barack Obama’s tactics. His agenda will likely undo many of the deals and policies that Obama has put in place.

Immigration has been one of the most foreign policy issues Trump’s campaign has addressed.

Trump said he believes that the U.S. needs to take stronger measures in preventing immigration. When he announced his candidacy, he revealed part of his plan includes building a wall across the border between the U.S. and

Mexico and having the Mexican government pay for it.

On the subject of nuclear proliferation and Iran, Trump plans to throw away the Iran Deal. The deal would relieve Iran of $100 billion in international sanctions if it halts its nuclear program.

Trump referred to the deal as, “one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen negotiated in my entire life.”

The Islamic State (IS) is a key issue and Trump has not revealed much about his plan to fight the terrorist organization. He has claimed to have a secret plan that he will not reveal until after his election and that he knows more about IS than U.S. generals do.

He does plan to increase U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria while also working with the military of European and Arab countries.

National security is an issue that Trump will take a big stand on. His policies will include keeping the Guantanamo Bay detention center open and using interrogation tactics like waterboarding on people suspected of terrorism.

Where North Korea is concerned, Trump plans to put pressure on China to urge North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons development program.

In January, Trump told Fox, “China has total control over North Korea. And China should solve that problem. And if they don’t solve the problem, we should make trade very difficult for China.”

Trump plans to continue U.S. support of Israel. He hopes to be a medium in negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

Russia is an issue on which Trump differs greatly from many Americans, especially Republicans.

According to Business Insider, Trump has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has suggested that Putin is a better leader than Obama and when Putin praised Trump, he happily received the support.

Trump has heavily criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and wants to encourage European countries to put its own pressure on Russia for its attempted intervention in Ukraine.

Cuba is one issue that Trump and Clinton have not differed on this election. Trump will continue what Obama has started in lifting the Cuban embargo and establishing normal diplomatic relations with the country.

President Donald-elect J. Trump’s Policies: Energy and the environment

By Olivia Lease, Transcript Correspondent

Newly elected President Donald Trump has big plans in terms of energy policy for when he is sworn into office

in 2017. Those plans include expanding employment opportunities and moving toward energy independence as a nation.

In terms of the environment, though, expect continued use of conventional energy sources, in particular, fossil fuels such as coal and oil and newer sources such as natural gas.

Despite previously stating that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese and then denying this statement,

Trump will be making an effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2, NH4 and nitrous oxides. The main effort being to look into and utilize what his experts expect to be “hundreds of years in clean coal reserves.”

In a National Geographic article from 2014, it was found that burning coal with little to no emissions (most being captured and stored), most commonly phrased as “clean coal” is possible in theory but as a long-term practice on a wider scale, not so much.

At a rally in Michigan on Oct. 31, Trump said, “We’re going to put America first. That includes canceling billions in climate change spending for the United

Nations, a number Hillary wants to increase, and instead use that money to provide for American infrastructure including clean water, clean air and safety.”

A relatively untouched topic during the presidential campaign trail, environmental policy may be coming to the forefront in the wake of the Paris Agreement signed by President Obama in April 2016.

The Paris Climate Agreement was established within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with green- house gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.

Trump plans to cut ties with the agreement he said at a rally in Bismark, North Dakota on May 26, 2016. He claimed Obama entered the Paris Agreement without the permission of Congress and that because of this and a few other factors, he will back out of the deal.

By cutting all federal spending on the issue of climate change, Trump will save $100 billion over two terms in office in an effort to “cancel all wasteful climate change spending,” he said.

While in office, Trump plans to reduce and eliminate all barriers to what he called “responsible energy production,” creating at least a half million jobs a year, $30 billion in higher wages and cheaper energy.

According to his site, Trump will “unleash America’s $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil and natural gas reserves, plus hundreds of years in clean coal reserves.”

Trump plans to look into different means of safely extracting coal, shale, natural gas and oil with plans of opening onshore and offshore leasing on federal lands, eliminate moratorium on coal leasing, and open shale energy deposits.

With Tump in the Oval Office, expect a lot more carbon dioxide polluting the atmosphere.

Rob Portman wins reelection

By Gopika Nair, Chief Copy Editor and Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Republican senator Rob Portman won reelection for Ohio on election day.

Portman ran for his second term against democratic nominee and former Ohio governor Ted Strickland.

Portman won with 58.4 percent of the votes, with 36.9 percent going to Strickland.

In Delaware County, Strickland won with the majority, 67,500 votes out of the almost 100,000 voters, according to the New York Times Ohio U.S Senate results.

Nearly $50 million was spent by outside groups on this senate race, according to the Washington Post. Ads for Portman included his efforts to fight the growing opioid epidemic as well as combatting sex-trafficking in the state.

Republicans won the senate majority with 51 representatives elected. There are 47 democratic representatives in the senate.

The House majority is secured as well, with 235 republicans and 183 democrats, according to the New York Times.

Portman joins Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown to represent Ohio once again.

Brown has been a senator since 2006 and runs for reelection November 2018.

Where Portman’s stance on issues are concerned, Portman has said he doesn’t completely agree with President-elect Donald Trump’s views about immigration.

“I’ve supported immigration reform, but I have not supported the deportations of millions of non-citizens who are here because I don’t think it’s practical and I don’t think it would be humane for a lot of those families,” Portman was quoted as saying in an article by Karen Kasler for WOSU Public Media.

Portman said the right to keep and bear arms is a part of the Constitution and “our tradition in this country.”

Additionally, he said he believes that gun violence can be curbed by enforcing more stringent laws and conducting background checks.

On Sept. 27, Portman said on his Google page that he has been advocating to make college education more affordable for students.

“I’ve fought to make college more affordable by supporting the consolidation of student loan repayment programs and giving borrowers a choice between a fixed repayment schedule or an income-driven payment plan,” he said.

He also added that he believes if “two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married.”