Tag: community

Holi brings colorful celebration

By Gabe Linderman, Transcript Correspondent

Colored powder stained the grass in front of Welch Lawn Saturday afternoon, following a celebration of Holi, the Indian festival of colors.

SANGAM, Ohio Wesleyan University’s student run south Asian club, hosted the celebration that included catered Indian food, color powder and water balloons.

Throughout the hours long celebration, as Bollywood music blasted in the background, students from all across campus came to enjoy in the festivities. Bags of color powder lay in the warm spring sun, ready for students to toss, students filled water balloons outside of Thomson Hall and organizers kept a small table well stocked with Indian cuisine. Some students came and went, only enjoying the festivities in passing, while others stayed for hours on end laughing with one another.

“My friends dragged me out here but it was totally worth it,” junior Corrine Race, said, color covering every part of her hair and face.

Holi, an ancient Hindu holiday, is a celebration of the arrival of spring. It traditionally signifies the triumph of good over evil and the end of winter. Holi acts as a time to celebrate culture and community. Celebrated widely in India and Nepal, Holi celebrations have recently spread far and wide, even becoming common place in the United States, according to the Independent.

SANGAM has been on campus consistently for seven years and it’s been hosting a Holi celebration since its founding, said Annapuna Pakrasi, the president of SANGAM. The club also hosts an annual celebration of Diwali, the Hindu celebration of light, Pakrasi said.

After WCSA only approved 50% of the requested supplemental budget for the event, Pakrasi and the rest of SANGAM decided to find recipes themselves and ask Chartwells to cater the event. To raise the necessary funds, SANGAM went door to door asking for donations of food points.

Their efforts paid off and the event entertained more than 50 students. Dancing to music, students tossed colors at each other, smearing streaks of red, purple, green and yellow across each other’s faces. The smell of fresh samosas filled the air as water balloons flew every which way.

The event even drew a handful of interested Delaware residents, curious about the excitement.

Passersby had to duck and dodge away from eager, giggling participants loaded with color powder in one hand and water balloons in the other.

“It’s fun to come out here and celebrate and just act kind of like a little kid during such a stressful time of the year,” said senior Brenda Gonzalez.

Petroleum production, policy hot topic

By Alanna Henderson, Managing Editor

Higher oil prices are at the top of Vladimir Putin’s Christmas wish list. A political cartoon of the Russian president sitting on Santa Claus’ lap is not far-fetched considering today’s policies on petroleum.

Community members gathered Friday for the final Great Decisions 2017 lecture presented by Michael Houlahan to discuss U.S foreign policy and petroleum, with many audience members hesitant toward the current administration’s plans.

Houlahan served 28 years in the U.S. diplomatic service with the state department. His overseas postings included Japan, Romania, New Zealand, Cyprus, Italy, India, the Philippines and Jamaica. Since 1997, he has been a resource speaker for the American Foreign Service Association’s community outreach program. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

“Foreign policy is complex and subject to a wide range of influences,” Houlahan said. “The most basic concerns in foreign policy are economic and military security although other domestic interests can extend and insert influence.”

The U. S. government develops foreign policy in ways that protect and advance its interests. Oil has been a topic of interest since the 1990s and remains an important instrument in U.S. foreign policy.

The United States is No. 1 in world production of oil, with ally Saudi Arabia second and Russia third.

Houlahan presented phases of petroleum’s’ impact that provided a review of United States’ petroleum production and policy. The phases were derived from the work of Jonathan Chanis, who was involved with the oil industry and foreign relations for more than 20 years.

The United States’ production has dominated for decades. In World War I, the U.S. supplied more than 80 percent of fuel to allies. However, World War II was launched in part because Germany and Japan needed to secure raw materials, especially oil.

The supply and demand of petroleum caused several shifts in the prices during the Cold War; U.S. manipulation of oil supplies remained a major part of foreign policy.

In 1974, a barrel of oil averaged $12. In 2003, unpredictable oil prices began to rise and peaked in 2012 at more than $100 per barrel with a short pause in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

“I am unoptimistic about the future as a result of this history,” said attendee Michael Casto. “I hope that next year, we will have a [Great Decision’s] session that will focus on renewable energy.”

The final phase of oil’s impact — supply surpluses, new opportunities or new dangers — raised a lot of questions from the audience about the balance of the economy and the environment.

Football team spreads joy to second graders throughout the Delaware community

By Juwaun Tye, Transcript Correspondent

Second graders are influenced, inspired, and jump up and down in joy as a result of the OWU football team every Friday.

The Ohio Wesleyan football team puts smiles on kid’s faces every week, not on the field, but in the classroom. The team donates time to the Delaware community weekly, by going to James Conger Elementary School to read, play board games and play at recess with the second graders.

The program, called “2nd & 7,” started when Head Coach Tom Watts began coaching at Ohio Wesleyan, six years ago. Ulysses Hall, an OWU football coach, and director of “2nd & 7,” knows the value of community service and encourages all the football players to volunteer at least once.

“Everytime we volunteer, it’s like a celebration for the kids, and I want every single one of our players to see it for themselves,” Hall said.

On average 10-16 football players volunteer every week to go to the elementary school.

“We go every friday for eight weeks straight, and [have] had about 40 different players go. The kids look up to us, so it’s great for them to see us coming to their school every week. The goal is to positively affect their lives,” Hall said.

“The players affect the students lives by simply being there, Hall said.

When the kids see the players giving up their time to volunteer, the kids have something to strive for.

Darius Randolph, an OWU freshman football player said “The biggest impact of all is when the kids see that we’re there for them. When the kids see us with our helmets off, they get a better feel that we are real caring human beings.”

The players who volunteer are greatly impacted by the students that they read to and enjoy recess with.

“Not only is the experience great for the kids, the experience is great for us as well. We’re role models to these kids. We really see how much these kids look up to us,” Randolph said.

Hall said, “It’s important to us because we quickly realize that we were once them. We were once the same kid going through the transition of life, so it’s relatable. It makes us appreciate them more.”

The second graders scream with excitement when the football players read to them.

Teachers sit back and observe as the kids interact with the players. The teachers get a chance to learn a lot from the experience as well, and they see how much the football players impact their students.

“The kids are always excited. They were disappointed over spring break when they didn’t see [the football players] for a few weeks. One of my students was extremely disappointed [that] he might miss their last visit,” said Heather Kuhn, a second grade teacher.