The Transcript – Page 84 – This is the archive of our old website

Senate seeks fresh faces

Food and freshmen made their way onto the Wesleyan Council of Student Affairs’ (WCSA) full senate meeting agenda this Aug. 31.

Senior Emma Drongowski, vice president of WCSA, began discussing the changes to Ohio Wesleyan’s dining services after a brief greeting.

First on one senator’s mind was Trattoria, the late night dining service previously run out of Smith Dining Hall. Drongowski confirmed that it was not renewed for operation.

Dean of Students Kimberly Goldsberry explained the principle guiding that and many other dining-related decisions; “the president is asking us to each take a look at all the different times our food options are open and ask ‘are we using them effectively?’”

Responding to another senator, Drongowski also informed the assembly that the Library cafe has been removed as an evening food option.

One senator commented that the cafe was the only dining option for students working late in Beeghly Library.

“While we have heard that anecdote,” said Drongowski, “people in reality just don’t use it. It has the lowest numbers by far.”

Executive committee members are continuing talks with the administration in regards to the dining situation. Part of their long-term plan includes redirecting resources to improve the most frequently visited food stops and adding a hot meal option after 8 p.m.

With empty seats in the room, WCSA also voted to amend their election bylaws at the Monday meeting.

Typically, WCSA senators are elected by general election. “But the current process will take three or four weeks to fill the [vacant] positions,” said Drongowski.

In an attempt to fill these vacancies, Drongowski moved to waive the rules in favor of appointment by application. “We have an application made up which would be submitted to the executive board,” she said. “We will make approvals and then the full senate will vote on them.”

These applications will be aimed specifically at the class of 2019. Currently, no members of the freshman class are represented in the senate.

The motion was passed with only one senator abstaining. It is a one-time measure, meaning future appointments will follow the usual process.

Applications for the position will be distributed at the Sept. 2 club fair, through the OWU Daily, and over social media. They are due Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Trattoria is no more

When students start craving a late night pizza or sub, there won’t be anyone to call. Trattoria, the delivery food service previously operated out of Smith Dining Hall, is no longer catering to nighttime snackers.

Trattoria was open every night of the week until midnight. The service allowed students to use meal points to order food for delivery to their rooms.

Jeff Eden, class of 2011, said, “Trattoria was not renewed for a few reasons, both monetary and with regard to the actual operation.”

Eden began working as a cashier during his freshman year and continued through the next three years of college. Following graduation, he had the opportunity to take over the full operation of Trattoria.

“Trattoria wasn’t exactly the most profitable of the campus eateries and it was a university-led decision wherein money could be saved without making much of an impact on the campus at large,” Eden said. “As far as the operation itself was concerned, many were upset with the inconsistencies of our delivery service. Student interest in delivery participation has dwindled quite a bit over the years and many times we struggled to find willing teams.”

Gene Castelli, resident district manager for Chartwells said, “We were operating 10 separate [dining] locations, and for a campus of our size, that is not the norm. The decision to close a particular service was a long and thoughtful process. As part of this process, the savings generated will be refocused back into the dining program to improve service to students.”

According to Castelli, “One of the first benefits [of closing Trattoria] will be the late-night service at Stuy Café. We will be sourcing a Turbo Chef oven for Stuy. This will allow for students to have hot subs, similar to a Subway sandwich.”

Sophomore Hope Walls said, “I wasn’t happy when I heard Trattoria wasn’t going to be on campus this semester. It was always nice to be able to have food delivered right to your door and get to use your food points.”

“I am confident there will be continued discussion on this subject in the following weeks and look forward to interaction with students to ensure the program reflects what the students want and need in the best service model possible,” Castelli said.

2015 fall season preview: here come the Bishops

The 32 NFL franchises are not the only teams going through preseason right now. Don’t let the lack of television coverage fool you.

The Battling Bishop’s 2015 fall seasons have begun like any season should: two-a-days, sprints, sweat, optimism and a clean slate.

With the meat of schedules approaching, fall sports are set to battle, but not after going through preseason.

Volleyball and football are picked to contend for North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) titles, while men’s soccer is seeking to defend its NCAC crown.

“Preseason is always tough to get through, but it’s supposed to be,” men’s soccer senior captain Evan Lee said. “It was a good one. One of the best since I’ve been here. We’re all excited to start playing against people other than us and this team is capable of winning the conference again.”

Ohio Wesleyan is quiet over the summer. To have teams and student-athletes back on campus makes Athletic Director Roger Ingles delighted.

“It’s a fun time when everyone starts coming on campus,” Ingles said. “First, you have football and then all the other teams come in. To watch campus come alive is fun.”

For the Battling Bishops, this season will begin with freshmen stand-outs and senior leaders.

“We have a great coaching staff and they do a great job of getting everyone ready,” Ingles said. “Seeing everyone compete and the improvement that happens is the best part.”

Upperclassmen, young alumni share stories, advice for freshmen

Upperclassmen and young alumni were asked about their freshmen year through online interviews. This is what they had to say:

What do you wish you had known as an incoming freshman at OWU?

Julia Stone ‘16

That I shouldn’t try to take on too many things. Balancing a social life with homework and still having enough alone time to recharge was a huge challenge for me, and for a lot of my fellow introverted friends. I wish I had known that it’s impossible to do everything, and that I am only human.

Ibrahim Saeed ’15

You have to submit add/drop forms yourself to the registrar; no department will do it for you. Sounds basic, I know, but I ended up needing to petition to change courses after two weeks and was also fined $40.00.

Lauren (Lo) Rump ‘15

I wish I knew how homesick I was going to be, but how important it would be to stick it out. I was incredibly homesick my first semester of OWU; I almost transferred. While I think OWU is filled with inclusive and welcoming communities, I don’t necessarily think these communities will always seek you out as a freshman.

Yasmin Radzi ‘16

I wish I knew about work study jobs during the first week of school.

Anthony Lamoureux ‘14

I wasted so much of my first year fighting with myself and trying to hold onto some idea of who I was in high school and what my family wanted me to major in. It took me three years to figure out that I should have followed my heart in the first place.

Alanna Easley ‘18

The most important thing in the first few weeks is just being friendly and meeting people. Friends drift around for the first couple of months, so it’s nice to make connections early and keep your options open. That being said, you don’t have to be friends with everybody. Some people just don’t click, and that’s okay.

Kyle Simon ‘15

I wish I knew how I could branch out and make friends better.

Ellen Sizer ‘18

I wish I knew that it is okay not to know everything right away. That is the joy of being a freshman—everything is new!

What was the weirdest or craziest thing that happened to you your freshman year?

Caitlin Burton-Dooley ‘17

I rushed and SLUshed, and it was the most amazing thing. There are so many things that I’ve learned from both of those groups.

Saeed

I developed a taste for black coffee and am now addicted to it. I also got my pocket picked at Clancey’s (Pub), losing my cell phone on Halloween night. I argued with cops outside the bar in a Luigi costume.

Stone

I got to go to Italy with my choir. Also, I jumped in the fountain on the JAYWalk while I had bronchitis and my phone was in my pocket. Luckily, my roommate had couscous, and I soaked it in that overnight to get the water out. It started working again, but then I dropped it off of a rollercoaster! Finally, my friend and I made cookie dough in my bathroom in a pot we found in a cupboard of Smith Hall’s kitchen.

Elizabeth Riggio ‘14

The day that me and my two other roommates who went through formal recruitment found out at the same time that we were in the same sorority house. We were nervous to say anything for a minute because we weren’t sure what the others would say, and then it was just a huge amount of excitement when we all said the same house. It may not be the craziest memory, but it was definitely good.

Sizer

By accident, I skipped my first college final exam because I thought it was on a different day (don’t worry, I still took it). I got eight dreads in my hair, because, you know, college. I was able to balance school, three jobs, and heavy involvement in a club while somehow being genuinely happy about my busy life. The latter is probably the craziest.

Easley

I put off a paper way too long and ended up pulling an all-nighter to finish it. I decided to fuel myself with Monster to power through it, so I walked to UDF (United Dairy Farmers gas station) and bought three Mega-Monsters. Not paying attention to how fast I was drinking them as I worked, I drank all three in about an hour and a half. After a bit, I started shaking, overheating, and then hallucinating—I thought people were walking through the room, I saw shadows moving around me, and the Eevee postcard on my roommate’s desk started yelling at me for procrastinating. Morals of the story: don’t procrastinate, and monitor your caffeine intake.

Lamoureux

We had a school day that was cancelled! It was crazy! We had a blizzard that caused the entire academic side of campus to be covered in an inch of ice… So we all just went on the JayWalk and played in the freezing rain. There used to be yarn strung around all of these trees near the theatre (OWU’s Chappelear Drama Center), and it was so cool to go under it and feel the yarn frozen into one kind of ice sculpture.

Teona Council ‘17

The relationships I formed with various people on campus. For the most part everyone is super chill, and willing to get to know you or work with you on something. That’s weird because that type of environment isn’t something that happens everywhere.

What about OWU or college life in general surprised you the most?

Sizer

Things you need don’t just magically appear. Like, I have to go and buy stamps if I want to send a letter. My mother isn’t here to give them to me. Or, if I need really anything, it’s up to me, which is surprisingly really nice. I like being dependent on myself more. This doesn’t mean I don’t need help every once in awhile, but it’s nice to feel more independent about my decisions.

Simon

I think OWU surprised me in that I wasn’t as ready to take on college as I thought I was.

Rump

It is so easy at OWU to find what you are passionate about or where you fit in, and become a leader and important player on campus. I left OWU feeling the same way I left high school: feeling I made a positive impact and that my time there mattered.

Easley

The people at OWU are extremely accepting. I never made friends very easily before college, but I fell in with a great group of friends early on and have continued to make new ones almost every day. The community is open to people from all walks of life, which was quite refreshing.

Burton-Dooley

How happy and lovely everyone is.

Riggio

I think in a way OWU became my family. Living and working with such a small community means you get to know everyone. Some people may not like this, but to me that’s a beautiful thing. I felt very close with my peers, and class in particular. It’s amazing to walk down the street and feel like you are part of more than just a university, but a close community. I loved feeling connected to many different clubs, sports, events, professors, and students. It really is special. Even if there are times now and then when you wish you were more anonymous.

Saeed

It surprised me how friendly everybody was, and how much people respect you for who you are. I was worried there would be peer pressure and it would be hard to fit in, but it was quite the opposite. Just be yourself and everyone will love you for who you are. I met some of the nicest people I know during college.

Radzi

What surprised me the most was how much I was going to be so attached to OWU. I turned in my deposit before I even visited the school. When I visited the school, I knew I was going to feel right at home. I am still surprised to this day how much I love OWU. Going to OWU was literally the best decision I have made in my life! The professors, the opportunities, and the people have made my undergraduate experience such a unique and special experience.

What is one piece of advice you have for the incoming freshmen?

Lamoureux

Take advantage of all of the extra opportunities that OWU has to offer, whether it be travel-learning courses, TiPiT grants, fraternities, sororities, SLUs, sports. Be a part of something that is bigger than you! All of these opportunities allow you to become closer to both people at OWU and others around the country and world. We can sometimes forget that there are so many big and amazing things outside of the OWU bubble. But, if you allow yourself to take risks and try new things that you would have never expected, amazing things can happen.

Burton-Dooley

Find something you love and you’ll find people you love, and it will always make you happy.

Rump

Don’t hold on to high school so tightly, and accept the change that is college and the rest of your life. Don’t get worked up if people you befriend freshmen year don’t turn out to be your soulmates come sophomore year and beyond. Everyone is so eager to pair up and find their “people” those first couple weeks, and that is important, but as the years go on, you will change and evolve and mostly likely many of those freshmen friends will too, and that is part of the process. Finally, [care] about your grades. When it’s senior year/graduation time and you start thinking about grad school, all those B- and C’s from the beginning semesters start to haunt your transcript and GPA. You can recover, but it will take work.

Simon

Be ready to change.

Council

Make a friend and keep in touch with someone back home who you can depend on, whether that’s a parent, guardian or a friend, because the first year is overwhelming in some ways. Maybe it’s not academically, but maybe it’s socially, medically, or something else entirely. Having someone there can make a difference in how your year plays out.

Stone

Our student body embraces the strange oddball in all of us. If you are you, you’ll meet other people that love you for just that.

Saeed

Opportunities don’t come looking for you; you have to go seek them out. Go to school and enjoy yourself, and be there for the sake of learning. Don’t be married to grades—just enjoy learning and the grades will turn out great.

Riggio

Don’t get too consumed by any one thing. Try lots of things. Don’t assume you won’t like something or be interested in it without giving it a shot. You may surprise yourself.

The courage of Caitlyn Jenner

The cover photo from Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair photo shoot. Photo courtesy of vanityfair.com. — The cover photo from Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair photo shoot. Photo courtesy of vanityfair.com.

When I woke up this morning, my Twitter was all a flurry with news of Caitlyn Jenner. When I saw her portrait on the cover of Vanity Fair, I gasped. She was beautiful and looked happy. As someone who avidly watches Keeping Up with the Kardashians and follows the lives of the Kardashian/Jenner family more than my own, this was a big moment.

When Caitlyn, formerly Bruce, announced her transition a few months ago, I watched with rapt attention. I couldn’t believe someone who was so present in my life (or, as present as someone on a reality show could be) was making this enormous transformation before my eyes. When I watched the amazing Diane Sawyer special, I was on the edge of my seat with tears in my eyes. I couldn’t imagine what Caitlyn, then Bruce, was going through her entire life. It is said Caitlyn is the first major public figure to be making this transition in the public eye. That takes a lot of courage. It takes a lot of courage for anyone to transition.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well Caitlyn’s transition was received. Many Twitter posts were supportive and encouraging. Of course, there were the comments that she was doing this for attention or that this was part of a whole Kardashian scheme were there. Why would someone do this for attention? Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the Kardashian/Jenner family, is a media mastermind, but this is not part of her plan for world domination. This is obviously a very personal choice, and is not dependent on ratings or popularity.

Caitlyn Jenner poses during her recent Vanity Fair photo shoot. Photo courtesy of x17online.com.

The fact that Caitlyn so publicly announced who she is is a huge milestone, if you ask me. Not only are the portraits beautiful, the interview opens up and delves into Caitlyn’s mindset and who she is. It’s incredible to see the overwhelming support that is behind Caitlyn and her “new” life. I’m hesitant to say “new” life, because it has always been her life; she’s just now free to be who she really is. I cannot wait to see what Caitlyn will do with her newfound pedestal, and I hope she can be an advocate for those who need it.

Prevalence, source of rabies different in Ohio than other parts

Dog bites send children and adults to hospitals, dogs to quarantine for rabies testing and insurance claims up. With warm weather and more activities outdoors to keep people busy, the chance of animal bites increases. Ohioans, however, are more likely to get rabies from bats and raccoons than they are from dogs and cats.

“We tend to be complacent about rabies,” said Don R. Mann, a veterinarian in Galena who’s been in business for more than 30 years, “because we don’t see it much in Ohio and as nearby as Pennsylvania it’s endemic. If you’re a veterinarian in Pennsylvania, you have to worry about rabies every day.”

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4.5 million Americans – half of them children – are bitten by dogs, annually. The CDC reports, however, that more than 90 percent of reported animal rabies cases occur in wildlife. Before 1960, the majority of cases came from domestic animals.

The top six states in 2010, the latest CDC data available, for rabies cases in domestic animals were Pennsylvania (72), New York (51), Texas (49), Virginia (44), Georgia (26) and North Carolina (25). Those states account for more than half of all cases nationwide. A CDC map shows a high prevalence of rabies cases along the East Coast, stopping along the eastern borders of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Rabies is a virus that affects both domestic and wild animals and is spread through body fluids such as saliva. Dogs and cats usually expose humans to the virus through bites or scratches where saliva can enter the body. Rabies is highly contagious and, if left untreated, is fatal.

From 2012-2014, Delaware County had four confirmed rabies cases, all from bats, according to annual reports by the Ohio Department of Health. In fact, of 25 total rabies cases statewide in 2014, 20 were linked to bats, four to raccoons and one to a skunk.

The two variants of rabies are the paralytic or “dumb” form, which is most common, and the second is the “furious” form.

Mann said Hollywood representations of rabies, like in the 1957 classic movie “Old Yeller,” do not accurately reflect the disease. Most dogs, he said, develop the dumb form, which causes the animal to go into a depressive and non-responsive state. However, the danger lies in a dog with the dumb form of rabies to “develop the furious form at any time, any minute,” said Mann.

Mann is one of several veterinarians who are contracted by the Delaware Health District to prepare animals, such as dogs, cats, bats, raccoons and skunks, for rabies testing. The process involves an animal being euthanized and its head removed so brain tissue can be tested.

“It’s not a pleasant thing, but it’s something that has to be done,” Mann said. “Not too many people want to get involved in that.”

Ohio law does not require dogs or cats to be vaccinated unless they have bitten someone and no proof of a rabies vaccination is available, but it does allow local health departments require the vaccination. The Delaware General Health District does after a dog or cat reaches the age of three months. A booster shot is required annually.

If a dog bites a person and the dog has been vaccinated, state law requires the animal to be quarantined for a minimum of 10 days. However, if an unvaccinated animal bites a person, then the chain of events that follows is less simple.

“If your dog bites someone and it’s not vaccinated, then the possibility for rabies goes up dramatically,” Mann said. “Then the dog either has to be sacrificed or you have to quarantine it for six months at your cost, which can be substantial.”

The costs and insurance liabilities of owning a dog that has bitten a human is in part why John King, Delaware County’s dog warden, receives some dogs given up voluntarily by their owners.

“Sometimes people, once their dog bit someone, they’ll want to give the dog up and say, ‘Hey, I can’t take a chance,’” King said. “We won’t quarantine the dog for 10 days because we can’t adopt it anyways, so we euthanize the dog and have it tested by a local veterinarian.”

Dog bites accounted for more than one-third of homeowners’ liability insurance payouts in 2014, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Ohio had 1,009 claims with an average of $21,983 per claim, according to institute data, which is collected from the nation’s top 10 homeowners’ insurance companies.

Humans may not react to a rabies-infected bite for weeks or even months, according to the CDC. Rabies can cause pain, fatigue, headaches, fever and irritability. Those can be followed by seizures, hallucinations and paralysis. Human rabies is almost always fatal.

A vaccination exists for humans, but it is expensive. Mann suggested people at high risk for exposure should get vaccinated. Those include animal handlers, veterinarians, spelunkers, hikers, hunters and international travelers, especially when going to a country where rabies is common.

King and his two assistant dog wardens, Dan James and Mark Strohl, are certified to euthanize dogs. They respond to calls throughout Delaware County based on dividing the area into four quadrants using the east-west State Route 36/37 and the north-south U.S. Route 42. Heavily populated southwest Delaware County, Quadrant 3, has the greatest number of dog bites, according to an analysis of public records.

Health district reports say the average number of dog bites per year is 180 in the county.

County public records from 2012 to 2014 showed victims suffered injuries, including bites to the upper and lower body, fingers, toes and face. Treatment ranged from on site, at home, urgent care or a hospital visit. There is no record in the past three years of a human fatality due to a dog bite.

Public records do not show a correlation between bites and a specific dog breed, but they do show people 21 years old and younger are more likely to be bitten by a dog.

To guard against getting rabies and getting bitten, both King and Mann suggested owners have their pets vaccinated; people be familiar with the pets in their area; approach animals cautiously, and keep pets under control.

Major thoroughfare of Delaware City in need of major overhaul

Anyone who travels on East Central Avenue in Delaware knows they are in for a bumpy ride. And it’s not going to get smoother any time soon.

City officials know East Central, three blocks north of Ohio Wesleyan University, is a patched mess. The problem, officials said, is where to put the limited money the city has for road projects. There’s money to get potholes patched and cracks sealed, but not nearly enough to provide a long-term fix.

Of the miles of streets in Delaware, the stretch of Central from North Union Street east to where Central joins East Williams Street at “The Point” is striking for its sustained damage.

Documents from the city’s public works department show basic surface repair and maintenance measures have been made, typically filling potholes.

“Central Avenue, with the volume of traffic that it serves, is an area that is constantly monitored for deterioration and the need for repairs,” said city attorney Darren Shulman. “When areas of distress are identified, staff performs repairs to the surface and base courses as deemed necessary.”

The last work order completed by public works employees for East Central – an inspection of an earlier cold patch of a pothole — was on Jan. 15, 2013. The pothole, in the westbound lane of Central near Hammond Street, was patched after a motorist reported blowing a tire because of it.

The city measures the conditions of its roads using a Pavement Condition Index (PCI). The PCI measures pavement condition on a scale of 0 to 100 with 100 representing “new or resurfaced pavement,” Shulman said. By 2013, the most recent available PCI inspection showed a decline in East Central’s pavement condition from 100 to an 86.

According to city records, East Central in 2010 was given the highest inspection rating because the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), as part of its Urban Resurfacing Program, resurfaced it that year. The city’s participation in the program was limited to partial funding – about $44,000.

“The roads are horrible,” said Hugh Kerins of Delaware and a frequent traveler on Central, “because when the city repairs them, they try to just repair a little spot instead of just redoing an entire section of the road, which after two to five years ends up in the same exact state as previously.”

Kerins said he believes money is available to better maintain the roadways, but said how it is allocated has affected infrastructure in Delaware. He said the city needs help in the form of state and federal aid to stop the crumbling of its road system.

“Take a section every year to work on instead of putting all the money onto the main highways,” Kerins said.

City officials are aware of the problem and grief East Central is causing local residents who live along it and commuters who use it. But officials cite two constraints to solve it: time and money.

“Between Union [Street] and the Point, the reason why that road is not as good as others is because it’s an old road bed dating back 100 years,” said Lee Yoakum, the city’s community affairs coordinator. “If you drive on it, you’ll notice there are no storm water drains nor proper guttering that you may see in other parts of the city.

“What’s happening is groundwater, instead of being drained away, is allowed to filter down into the road base, causing all sorts of issues with moisture and erosion. The end result is that it affects the driving surface.”

A major overhaul would cost tens of millions of dollars and force the city to close that section for months, Yoakum said. It’s money the city doesn’t have. The time needed to do a thorough rebuilding restricts options for rerouting traffic. Repair money cannot be allocated to one project when other streets throughout the city need help.

Officials from across the country earlier this month made a week-long pitch for long-term investment in infrastructure projects. Vice President Joe Biden said on May 11, according to Bloomberg News, investing in the nation’s highways and bridges is a national security issue. Biden said the federal government spends less than 1 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product on infrastructure, which is down from about 4 percent.

“There is absolutely no rationale, no reasonable argument against the need for these investments,” Biden said at a Bloomberg-sponsored event in Washington.

The American Civil Society of Engineers (ACSE), which grades public infrastructure systems on a state-by-state and national basis, said on its website (http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org) that about $3.6 trillion is needed by 2020.

ASCE logo. Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org.

It gave Ohio an overall grade of C- (or mediocre) in 2013, the latest rating available. The ranking also looks at rail, education, dams, parks, wastewater facilities, aviation and energy.

The state’s location as a transit point between the rest of the Midwest and the East Coast is a selling point for state officials when they recruit businesses and industries to locate in Ohio. Ohio’s road network stretches more than 125,000 miles. Ohio’s road network is so large, the ACSE said, it’s about 3.1 percent of the total length of public roads in the United States. The organization said 43 percent of Ohio’s roads are in critical, poor or fair condition.

Delaware’s city engineer and public works director, Bill Ferrgino, said an overhaul of East Central would require a massive deconstruction of the current road. It would include: rerouting of any number of cable, telephone, plumbing, and fiber optic lines that lie underneath the street, a comprehensive installation of a drainage system to keep water from staying in the road bed, and widening of the road itself to accommodate the new levels of traffic it maintains on a daily basis.

“We’re limited on where we can detour traffic,” Yoakum said. “Because Central Avenue is a state route, there are requirements ODOT has as far as street closure and how traffic is detoured. We would not be able to send semis down a side-street and would need to move them to larger routes.”

Ferrigno echoed Yoakum’s comments, but added the city needs federal grant money to aid in an overhaul project. Without federal money, the city can only provide the same road maintenance services it is providing now.

“The city understands the problems facing our infrastructure right now,” Ferrigno said, “and is trying to allocate what we have budgeted to the areas determined to need it the most based off amount of traffic and other factors.”

Major arteries, such as U.S. Route 23 and State Route 37, occupy higher spots on the priority list, Ferrigno said.

Much of the Central Avenue traffic comes from semi-tractor trailers bypassing the frequent stops, greater congestion and traffic lights along Route 23 before moving over to U.S. Route 42. Overweight trucks, as well as tough winter weather conditions, contribute to a growing infrastructure problem in the city.

Based on city’s predictions, 54 percent of the city’s roads will be rated from “Poor to Fair” and “Failed to Very Poor” by 2030. By comparison, in 2009 the physical condition of 43 percent of Ohio’s roads was listed as “Fair” or below, according the ACSC.

The city’ predictions assume no more miles of roads will be added and funding remains the same. But those are dangerous assumptions.

Pulling out a city map, Ferrigno pointed out that from 1995 to 2012, the city added 100 miles of roads. And the number is expected to grow as Delaware County continues to rank as one of the fastest-growing counties in both the state and the country.

According to the city’s operating budget over a five-year period, the public works department began 2009 with $240,000 and of that amount about $26,160 was devoted to berm and asphalt-sealant material. By 2011, the budget was reduced to around $216,000 with $24,000 devoted to the same materials. The current city budget allocation for street maintenance is $334,100, of which $216,300 is devoted to concrete, asphalt and berm materials.

Publish or perish at OWU

By: Dr. Thomas K. Wolber

Like many small liberal-arts colleges, Ohio Wesleyan University is first and foremost a teaching institution. The school’s Code of Regulations states, “It shall be the primary function of the faculty to instruct the students in the arts and sciences, and in all branches of liberal and professional instruction, as taught in the best universities.” And the Statement of Aims reaffirms that core mission when it says, “the University has as its preeminent purpose to be a quality institution for teaching and learning.” Wherever you turn, you will hear echoes of that sentiment. President Rock Jones says frequently, “Excellence in teaching is the hallmark of Ohio Wesleyan University today, as it has been for generations.” And OWU’s website declares, “OWU’s faculty and staff are dedicated to student success, and they demonstrate that dedication in countless ways every day in every way. Students spend time with employees not only in classrooms and offices, but also over lunch, at a Battling Bishop athletic event, or other community-building opportunity. OWU faculty members and staff become important mentors and close friends, ready to help students find their way to personal and professional success. It’s all part of the Ohio Wesleyan experience.”

However, that “Ohio Wesleyan experience” is now under assault. Dedicated teachers are denied tenure or promotion and relegated to second-class citizens and obscurity. Their commitment to students and efforts to bring out the best in them are deemed insufficient and inadequate under a misguided personnel policy that increasingly de-prioritizes and devalues teaching in favor of scholarly research (or creative endeavors).

OWU’s faculty is evaluated on the basis of the quality of their teaching (60 percent), research (30 percent), and service (10 percent). In theory, this sounds reasonable although, parenthetically speaking, the Code of Regulations does not mention an obligation to conduct research at all. It is also interesting to note that the U.S. Professors of the Year Awards Program, for which OWU recently nominated three individuals, requires “a scholarly approach to teaching and learning,” but no significant research record. The problem of OWU’s faculty personnel policy lies in its implementation. It has become so formulaic, draconian, and punitive that it has lost all sense of proportion and decency. In the past, if you were a passionate teacher you were assured success if you showed “evidence of scholarship” and provided dedicated service to the University. Not so now. Under the new standard of “significant scholarship” more and more faculty are denied tenure, and countless others are bypassed for merit and promotion.

I have seen this happen at other institutions. At top universities around the world, it’s “publish or perish.” The pressure to focus on publications is so great and all-consuming that there is little or no time for teaching and service. If you happen to be a dedicated and accessible teacher who cherishes spending time with students and in the classroom, it can mean the end of your academic career. Consider that every tutorial or independent study taught in addition to the regular course load means a diminished scholarly output. Every conversation with a prospective, current, or former student means another unread article. Every concert, exhibition, play, or sports event you go to because you want to support the students can be a distraction and disruption of your schedule as a researcher. Every letter of recommendation requires a level of care and time that may compete and conflict with scholarly endeavors. Helping students become better writers is a challenge when the quality and quantity of your own writing is very much at stake.

This is what I meant earlier when I wrote that OWU’s teaching mission is under threat. The pressure to publish or perish has finally reached this institution, too, and as a result teaching no longer has the unquestioned primacy. There is diminishing incentive to do so. The faculty-personnel committee has created a hostile work environment for people whose primary devotion is to teaching and a climate of fear for those who don’t conform to its norms. Teaching ranks low. Research is where the grants and resources, merit and promotion, fame and fortune are.

We are already seeing the deleterious effects of this misguided policy. Faculty in significant numbers refuse to serve on committees; many do not attend admissions events; some even show no interest in helping with student retention. After all, there is no money in sitting down with an advisee and point her in the right direction. I cannot blame these colleagues for acting rationally and in their own best interest. It is not their fault. They are reacting logically to a system that no longer puts students front and center. In a research-centered environment students are, to put it bluntly, little more than a nuisance and a bother.

As this unfortunate trend continues, disengaged faculty will spend less and less time with students. They will teach their classes and hold the requisite number of office hours, but that may well be it. Admission and retention efforts will suffer, the quality of advising will diminish, and students in need and distress may not get the full attention they deserve. This is not an apocalyptic doomsday scenario. The downhill trend is already in evidence, exacting a heavy toll. Ohio Wesleyan is currently experiencing difficulties meeting admission and retention targets. It may be an inconvenient truth, but I submit that this is, in part, a direct result of a flawed faculty-personnel policy that de facto elevates research over teaching, forcing teachers to make the difficult choice of putting students on the back burner. This wrongheaded approach undercuts OWU’s historic mission and has already done incalculable damage. The focus on faculty research has gone too far and is no longer an asset. Instead, it has become a risk and a liability that imperils the future of the college. OWU has strayed from its ethos and legacy. We need to recalibrate our values and priorities and find a better balance. Students and faculty, administrators and trustees must step up and demand that Ohio Wesleyan return to what it has been for almost 175 years – a premier teaching institution.

Dr. Thomas K. Wolber is an associate professor of German at Ohio Wesleyan. He teaches all levels of German language, literature and civilization. In addition to those subjects, he specializes in comparative literature and environmental studies.

SLUs saved: MFL and SAGE buildings to remain on campus next year

When the moderators and members of the Modern Foreign Language House (MFL) and the Sexuality and Gender Equality House (SAGE) received the email late last Monday that their buildings would be safe next year, the resounding response was one of relief. Residents of both houses now did not need to worry about finding housing for the 2015-2016 school year.

Instead of razing both structures this summer, the decision was made to leave them standing. There will still be construction on a new structure starting this summer. According to University President Rock Jones, deciding to keep MFL and SAGE this year was because of a combination of reasons. It was a response to the concern of current students, it was disruptive to students who would have to find housing and it made more sense to build one building instead of two at the time.

Junior Alanna Spalsbury, the current and future moderator of MFL said that they decided “as a house on where we would be comfortable living if MFL was torn down, but that was never even solidified.”

Senior Meredith Harrison, the current moderator of SAGE said, “Ideally, if the current SAGE house was torn down, the community would love to be placed in an off-campus house…The next ideal option if SAGE would not be able to live in a house would be to live in a residential hall that provides shared community spaces…It would help the members and moderator build community more naturally.”

Wendy Piper, assistant dean of student affairs and the director of residential life, said she, Craig Ullom, vice president of student affairs and Levi Harrel, a ResLife coordinator, had discussed alternatives with the members of the SLUs. Some of the options discussed were “renting a house not owned by the university, occupying a fraternity house or being clustered together on a residence hall floor,” Piper said.

“We are planning to begin construction later this summer for two new SLUs on the site of the existing House of Thought. We eventually want to develop the rest of the Rowland Avenue site with a total of eight new SLUs.”

Both SLUs stayed in contact with each other during this time.

“Alanna and I have had pretty open communication through this while process,” Harrison said. “I think the scare of having our communities put back into residential halls next year really brought our two communities together. The other houses also had our backs and wanted to help us in any way they could. I think in some ways, it brought the entire SLU community together.”

However, communication between SLU members and ResLife was not as strong.

Junior Nancy Ransom, a member of MFL, said, “The communication between residential life and us was very fragmented…We were under the impression that a donor was prepared to donate a large sum to the school, but upon meeting with Residential Life, a bunch of hypothetical situations were introduced, although measurements around our houses have been taken.”

Sophomore Lissette Gonzalez, the future moderator of SAGE, said, “I believe that Residential Life really tries to be as transparent as they can be, however, I believe that communication could definitely be improved.”

Upon reacting to the news that her house would be saved, Ransom said, “My first reaction was to drop my jaw, as this process has caused me a lot of stress and anxiety, but on deeper reflection, I worried there would be no way of holding Residential Life accountable if they went back on their word, as this was all done over email. I do not think this will be the case, or I hope this will not be the case.”

Gonzalez said she cried when she heard the news. “I love this house and I cannot wait to be the moderator next semester.”

Sophomore goes pro

Schurer moments after throwing a flying disc at an Ultimate game. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Whether he is leading the Ohio Wesleyan Ultimate Frisbee club to victory or playing with his professional team, there is not much time to relax.

Sophomore Sam Schurer has signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds to play professional Ultimate Frisbee.

According to Schurer, this is a great honor.

“Last summer I played for the top-level club team in Pittsburgh; we went to nationals, did fairly well and it’s a lot of the same guys back on this team too,” Schurer said.

Schurer is also the captain of the OWU club team, the Firedogs.

“As a captain Sam is one of the most aware people I have ever met, both on the field and off the field,” said freshman Beau Forester. “On the field Sam is aware of everything that is going on, and I know that I can always count on him to give me advice about how to play better. Off the field, Sam is someone that I know is always paying attention to how everybody is both emotionally and physically, and I know that if I ever have something going on, I can count on Sam to check in with me and see how I am doing.”

Schurer (front, far right) with the OWU Firedogs. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

According to Schurer it is different playing for two different teams at one time.

“There is a lot of adjustments, the pace is just different although the fundamentals of the game are all the same,” Schurer said.

Schurer has not been attending practices for the professional team because he is still in school but plans to start his season with the Thunderbirds after the school year.

His teammates at OWU agree that he is a very skilled player for this experience.

“Sam is a great motivator and leader for the team because of his skill and experience, and he can really do everything on the field,” said sophomore Gabe Kaufman.