The Transcript – Page 81 – This is the archive of our old website

Delaware, OH: home of the fair

Delaware, Ohio. The Dirty D. Delaweird. The 740. It doesn’t matter what you call it, it’s still small town Ohio. And what seems to go hand in hand with smalltown Ohio? The county fair.

Yes, the Delaware County Fair begins this weekend with tractor pulls, hot dog eating contests, harness racing and country music.

After attending the gettogether for the first time last year, I realized there’s another side of our college town that many don’t know.

There’s a lot of history, matched with traditions and a rich community life. Everyone knows everyone. And everyone likes it, too.

Recipes have been passed down over generations just so the winner of the pie contest stays in the family.

Parents reminisce riding the ferris wheel as they watch their children go up the same ride they did (run by the same guy).

Grandparents host cookouts for 30 family members after a long day of betting, racing, gaming, riding, tasting, judging, petting, showing and much more.

The week is a celebration of the fall season and most importantly of Delaware.

The fair started in 1834 when the Delaware County Agricultural Society met for the first time.

Members had to pay 50 cents annually to be a part of the group. That’s .14 cents a day.

In 1834, Andrew Jackson was president and the Whig Party was officially named by Henry Clay.

It’s been around for a while; you get the point.

Don’t take my word for it, see it firsthand. Go hold a goat, milk a cow, taste an award-winning pie, ride the ferris wheel, bet on a longshot and most importantly, engulf yourself in the Delaware community.

Freshmen athletes take on the challenge

By: Katie Kuckelheim, Transcript reporter

A freshman year schedule can be tough to balance; it’s even tougher when you have to factor in a sports team.

But Liz Knowlton and AJ Outcalt, freshmen golf players, both agree that their sport fits well into their schedules.

“Having a fall sport helps me stay in a routine,” Outcalt said. He also added, “I feel like I’m getting my work done, but I have to use my time wisely.”

Serena George, a freshman tennis player, said that being in a varsity sport helped her make the transition to college because, “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself otherwise.”

It was clear across all sports that there is a team comradery. Cross country runner Cheyenne Hanson explains, “It’s definitely a lot of fun because we have such a close team bond.

They just accept us even though we’re freshmen.”

When asked about extra responsibilities as a freshman, Cheyenne said, “As long as you earn your place, [upperclassmen] don’t mind. As long as you run the times to be in the top 7, no one will care what grade you’re in.”

Serena said being a freshman “is harder because you have to prove yourself.” However, she added that, “They don’t have the freshmen do the busy work. Everyone helps out.”

A downside, Liz mentions, is, “it’s harder to connect with people in your hall and meet new people during your free time.”

Despite the ups and downs, Serena said, “I was stressful at first, but you feel more a part of the university.”

As AJ said, “Being a freshman is just a title.”

Fraternity houses neglected over the summer

If your room is infested with bees and covered in a layer of dust upon your return to campus, it can make move-in difficult.

That’s exactly what happened at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house. Bill Milanick, a senior, reported that the house’s common areas, stairwells and bathrooms were grimy and caked with dust.

One of the rooms had a bee problem that “was so bad (the bees) were in my clothes and all over my room,” Milanick said. “Buildings and Grounds (B&G) attempted to take care of the problem once but did not get rid of it, and I was forced to move into a new room.”

The fraternity has tried to get B&G to return, but the problem still remains.

In Phi Delta Theta’s house, there were no initial problems with cleanliness. Jamie Litzler, a junior and the fraternity president, said the common areas were clean upon his arrival.

But it seemed if one area of the house was clean, other rooms would be ignored by the Aramark staff. Because of this, many individual rooms seemed to be untouched.

“Those rooms were not cleaned,” Litzler said. “They were definitely not as clean as a freshman dorm room would have been on the first day.”

The school informed the fraternity that they had invested $118,000 into the house to provide a new ceiling, new tile and new cement stairs.

Yet similar reports from other houses began to emerge. Even if common areas had been cleaned, individual rooms were not.

Efforts to reach B&G for comment on this issue were unsuccessful.

Attacks plague OWU’s email system

It’s pronounced “fishing.”

Over the past few months, a number of phishing attacks have been carried out through Ohio Wesleyan’s email system. The attack gets its unusual name from the combination of “phreaking” and “fishing.” Phreaking describes the study and exploration of telecommunication systems.

Fishing plays off the fact that attackers use an enticement, or bait, to get victims to turn over sensitive information.

Phishers will use a fraudulent message to lure victims to a website they control. The site will typically ask users to enter sensitive information, like usernames and passwords, which are then collected by the intruder. After the attacker records the victims’ information, they often employ the recently stolen accounts to send more malicious messages.

Luckily, the OWU attacks have not involved solicitations for financial information.

Senior Sarah Richmond knew something was wrong when she realized she “was locked out of [her] account from any computer or phone.”

“It was very frustrating to not have access to my email account,” Richmond said. “But Information Services (Infosys) was very helpful in getting me back into my account and helping protect it. They were very nice and straightforward.”

When InfoSys becomes aware of an attack, the first step is to determine who was impacted and “what information they provided to the attackers,” said Brian Rellinger, chief information officer for OWU. “Then we have students change their passwords to prevent further attacks originating from their account.”

Unfortunately, there is no statistic for how many students and faculty have been affected. “It is difficult to establish an exact number,” said Rellinger.

There are also no real leads into who is behind the attacks. “Rarely do we spend time trying to find the origin of the attack,” said Rellinger. “If we did suspect the attack came from an OWU account holder, we would investigate further. But most attacks originate outside of OWU.”

Richmond pointed out that the messages sent to her account “came from India and the Philippines, likely after bouncing off servers. You can find out where your email account is being accessed by looking at the details section at the bottom of the Gmail account.”

Rellinger explained that attacks “occur in waves generally, and happen at all universities. In fact, a large number of universities are using the exact same system we are Google Apps for Education.”

That system has a number of security features in place. According to Google’s support documentation, their fraud detection and antispam filters comply with industry standards.

“Border firewalls, system firewalls, and the antispam and antiphishing technologies included in Google Mail help mitigate risk as much as possible,” said Rellinger.

In addition to Google’s builtin security, OWU is protected by the Sophos security suite.

Despite these measures, phishing attacks can and do occur. Ultimately, prevention comes down to the user. “Never provide birthday, SSN, or other sensitive data to a third party unless you are absolutely certain the information will be going to the appropriate entity,” said Rellinger.

“Information Services staff will never ask you for your password or SSN.”

Editor’s Note: After the submission of this story, a series of phishing messages were sent by the email accounts of, among others, the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs; the Honors Board; Meredith Dixon, Assistant Director of Residential Life (ResLife); and Director of ResLife Wendy Piper.

Medieval combat not just a thing of the past

Those students with an interest in swords and swordfighting can find an outlet for their passion in the Ohio Wesleyan Medieval and Renaissance Recreational Combat Association (MARRCA) club.

The club was formed in the 1970s and was originally called ARMA (Association for Renaissance Martial Arts). It has changed focus and direction many times, but it has always been about exploring Western martial arts and historical combat.

Between 2012 and 2014, the club practiced less combat and looked to games instead. The members learned various sword positions and some obscure moves, like “the wheel.” They also focused on two-handed long swords and roundel daggers.

Since 2014, Mark Wicker, assistant circulation manager at Beeghly library, has helped teach combat. This has allowed the club to move into a more practical, pared down fighting style that is more useful for self-defense. Last year, they also introduced new, more durable swords, and the short swordshield or buckler techniques.

“Most of our techniques are based on research of the actual techniques that Medieval and Renaissance soldiers used,” said senior Luke Steffen, a member of MARRCA.

“Really, the members create the club experience,” said senior Christine Mendiola, the MARCCA president. “I’m hoping as president to encourage and promote any direction the members want to take us in.”

*Free t-shirt not included

Simpson Querrey Fitness Center. Cartoon by Blake Fajack.

Unleash the beast

Last week I was stopped on the Jay by two young men sitting in the bed of a pickup truck. They weren’t townies or lost parents looking for directions. They were representatives from Monster Energy. They handed me a free can of Monster Rehab and sent me on my way.

Monster has become a part of our campus life. It was added to the dining locations and Thomson Store last year (made possible by Coca-Cola’s acquisition of the distribution rights).

Since then, you see at least one student per day with a Monster energy drink in hand, or cans piled in the resident hall trashcans after a Saturday night.

Now, Monster is clearly not good for you, at least not in large quantities. This might explain why Chartwells managers decided to place their encouragement to buy Monster underneath a shelf in front of the Hamilton-Williams Food Court cash registers; hidden from immediate notice, but still in sight. Though there is a “Balanced Living” sign outside the Food Court and numerous claims about healthy living on the Chartwells website, the company is marketing a blatantly unhealthy option; they tell us to gulp Monster while simultaneously contending that their main interest is in positive health choices.

According to the World Health Organization, there are numerous risks associated with the consumption of energy drinks like Monster. These include type 2 diabetes, caffeine overdoses and high blood pressure. These risks are compounded by the fact that the college students who drink Monster are typically under high stress and running on less sleep. Here, Chartwells’s ad becomes especially sinister: “keep yourself going.”

Even worse, when Monster is mixed with alcohol, something young adults do often, the chance for things like heart palpitations increases. Here’s where Monster Energy’s ad people come in. In New York state, Monster was accused of planting student “ambassadors” on campuses. They were told to throw parties encouraging their fellow classmates (including underage freshmen and sophomores) to use Monster as their exclusive alcohol mixer. According to ABC News, Monster paid these students some $100 per party.

But the issue at hand, for me, is not exclusively a health one. Consumers have been adequately informed about energy drinks, and I believe in a certain level of personal accountability in the marketplace. I don’t think that I am being unduly influenced or even taken advantage of by Monster. I know the risks associated, and I still, on occasion, chose to drink their product. What bothers me is the stand Monster and Chartwells seem to take on our generation.

The majority owners of Monster, both pushing 60, and the Chartwells public relations staff see our generation as shallow and easy to manipulate. Bring a shiny truck, whose jacked up wheels mirror their jacked up customers, and hand out free samples. The students will see how fun and young the Monster Energy company is (not necessarily healthy, but something close: youthful), and look for their flashy cans in refrigerators. Chartwells can promote green, ethical living, healthy options and globally conscious products, even when the company perpetuates the same issues they claim to be combating.

Advertisers see us as loud and vocal about our stances but not especially interested in practicing what we preach. It’s all about the tagline, the poster, the empty words that highlight and at the same time mask their hypocrisy. I am not condemning those who drink Monster, or even the company that prepares our food. But I wish they would stop pretending to be something they’re not.

The new face of OWU field hockey

Head Coach Brenda Semit. Photo courtesy of the Battling Bishop website.

A good offense is the best defense. There’s a reason we hear it so much.

Field hockey head coach Brenda Semit has preached defense since her first day at Ohio Wesleyan in August.

“I always tell them ‘the first line of defense is the offense,’” Semit said. “Some of the players didn’t know much about defense or defensive positioning. Now everyone on the team knows how to play defense.”

Coach Semit, a former assistant coach at Kenyon College and former two-time All-American at the State University of New York College at Cortland, has led the Battling Bishops to a 21 record to start their season.

Her career as a player and the relationships she made along the way led her to pursue a position as head coach.

“As a player, I had some really great coaches,” she said. “They made it fun, but challenging. The culture within a team that is having fun and wanting to win is one of the best feelings.”

She served three years as an assistant coach at Kenyon. During that time the team went 4020 overall and captured one North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) crown.

Her players, including defender Lee LeBoeuf, a junior, are excited about her successful career.

“It’s really cool that she’s been so successful as a player and a coach,” LeBoeuf said. “We’re all excited about the winning culture that she’s bringing with her.”

OWU field hockey players beat Bethany on Friday. Photo courtesy of the Battling Bishops website.

Her successful background is no fluke, according to her players. They say she looks at the game a different way than most other coaches.

“She knows her stuff,” sophomore defender Paige Haenig said. “She’s a really good coach, both with strategy and technical aspects of the game.”

Two of Semit’s goals for her first season as head coach are to have a winning season and to make the NCAC tournament. She believes her team can do it.

“(The team) needs to understand that we are a good team and can do great things this year if we have confidence in ourselves and our teammates and play together,” Semit said.

WCSA vote on changes to budget guidelines passes

At the Sept. 14 Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) meeting, senators put new budget submission policies to vote.

The rules in effect for budget submission last semester directly affected clubs and other student organizations; most organizations depend on WCSA as their main source of funding. But some of the rules were outdated.

“Changes have not been made for two years,” said junior John Littlehale, WCSA’s treasurer. He went on to present the revised guidelines.

According to the budget committees’ documentation, one of the new rules is that the treasurer “shall request monthly statements of appropriate accounts from the advisor or Student Involvement Office liaison to the budget committee.”

Also added to the budget committee documentation is the provision that, “Any remaining WCSA funds in club accounts at the end of an academic year shall be taken out.”

Littlehale emphasized the point that WCSA does not double fund; but previous guidelines did not allow for unforeseen consequences that could hurt an organization’s financial planning.

For example, in the past, if a group submitted a budget proposal to WCSA that covered the cost of an equipment rental, and the renter had to increase their rates after the budget was approved, WCSA would not fund the difference.

Now, the budget guidelines include—under their policy not to double fund—the language: “With exception of circumstances in which the organization is not in control.”

The proposed guidelines, which were voted on and approved by the budget committee last week, were unanimously accepted by the full senate.

To see WCSA’s budgetary guidelines, click here.

It was also announced that Matthew Schultz, a sophomore, was selected to serve on the Academic Policy Committee, and that Carson Shaw, a sophomore, was selected for the Women and Gender Committee.

Rwandan genocide survivor speaks at OWU

For Immaculée Ilibagiza, a survivor of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, telling her story is of vital importance.

On Sept. 10, she discussed her book “Left To Tell” in Ohio Wesleyan’s Gray Chapel in front of hundreds of guests.

Ilibagiza’s book “recounts her struggle to find meaning and purpose after the horrific violence that killed nearly one million Tutsis,” according to the book’s description. Ilibagiza “hid with seven other women for 91 days inside a 3footby4foot bathroom during the violence.”

Ilibagiza also spoke on Sept. 11 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in downtown Delaware.

Ilibagiza has worked with the United Nations and has received five honorary doctoral degrees.

Among her many other accomplishments, she earned the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace in 2007 and has written seven books about her faith and life journey.

People from all over the Columbus area crowded alongside students in Gray Chapel to hear her speak. Columbus resident Birdie Weisenberger said, “Ilibagiza showed how humbling a simple relationship with God can be.”

Dorothy Tanner, another Columbus resident, said, “It was so inspiring to hear how someone with such a tough past and who has experienced such loss found something so great to get her through. I thought it was also really beneficial because you didn’t have to be a Catholic to understand her message.”

Throughout the talk, Ilibagiza explained the hardships she experienced and how she developed her relationship with God. Ilibagiza said, “One of the lessons I learned was that forgiveness is possible at all times. Another was the power of love; we take love so lightly, and what we lacked in our country was love. After the genocide I held love very close to my heart.”

“The last lesson was the power of prayer. Pray the rosary and to God everyday,” Ilibagize said.

“When we were going through the suffering, the worst feeling was to ask, ‘Why me, God? Why is this happening?’”

Ilibagiza demonstrated that one should always be thankful for the life they have and that her experience “shows you how short your time here is on earth.”

The events were free and concluded with book signings by Ilibagiza.