featured – Page 19 – The Transcript

Bladin’ in the Benes rooms

Students test out their skates. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

On Friday, Feb. 13, the Campus Planning Board (CPB) installed a makeshift roller rink over the entire Benes room floor.

The event lasted from 7-10 p.m. It addition to the rink (supplied by Neon Entertainment), CPB offered alpha art, food and beverages.

The indoor roller rink is one of several events hosted by CPB of late. Other events include movie screenings, the CPB coffee house, and a live show featuring comedy duo Frangela.

“It’s been a lot of work doing all of the events,” said junior Nathan LaFrombois, president-internal for CPB. “We’ve never had this many events in such a short amount of time.”

As students entered the event they were greeted by the sound of music, disco-style lighting and a waiver form that had to be signed before rollerblading was permitted.

Students keep each other from falling. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

“When you walk in, it (the roller rink) kind of looks like Legos,” said sophomore and director of entertainment for CPB, Maddie Oslejsek. “It was easy to set up and will be easy to take down.”

For those in attendance that may not have wanted to rollerblade the entire time, alpha art offered an alternative form of entertainment.

Alpha art gives students the option to spell out their name – or anything they might want to spell – using different colors, shapes, objects and lettering.

“Last time we did the roller rink we had the issue of not enough skates or space for everyone to be active, so we tried to find some small, fun thing for people to do,” LaFrombois said. “We sort of tacked this (alpha art) on as an addition so people could always be entertained.”

Oslejsek furthered that point by suggesting that any alpha-art creations would be a great gift for Valentine’s Day.

Admissions files accessible to all

Students at Stanford University opened the floodgates when they cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to open access to college admission files. But at Ohio Wesleyan, interest has seen barely a trickle.

Director of Admissions Alisha Couch said only two students requested to see their admissions files, requests via emails directly copy and pasted from the original Stanford request forms.

“I think they just wanted to test us to see if they could get [the files],” Couch said. “We had to tell them to send the requests to the registrar’s office.”

Though Couch said students should be able to look at their files – without being able to take them from the office or photocopy them – she said the admissions process at OWU is straightforward and relatively transparent.

“Mainly we’re using a highlighter, like highlighting comments from letters of recommendation,” Couch said. “For our admissions files we just write general notes on the students…we use our notes to kind of connect them to the university, such as if a student is involved in LGBQTA issues, we can connect them to someone on campus who is in that community.”

Couch also said admissions counselors are willing to sit down with denied students and discuss why their applications were refused. In addition, Couch said the admissions office usually only keeps files up to two years; permanent files such as high school transcripts, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation and personal essays get sent to the Registrar.

Among OWU students, there isn’t a consensus on the appeal of looking at the files. Senior Abby Bennett said she would “definitely be interested” in seeing her admissions files while junior Max Hara said he wouldn’t because he has already been accepted into OWU.

“Why look at something that doesn’t matter anymore?” Hara said.

Though sources have been inconsistent on whether FERPA covers schools students were denied admission to, both Hara and Bennett said they wouldn’t be interested in seeing those files.

Couch said, at a bigger or more selective school, she could see why students might want access to their files.

“A lot of people want the magic formula,” Couch said, adding she could see the system potentially changing at bigger schools if more students requested admissions files. Both Bennett and Couch said there was value to having transparency in the admissions process.

“I definitely think that we [should] have a right to see the information that the school keeps on us, but I don’t think that the information has much value in general,” Bennett said.

FERPA may not cover some files, such as letters of recommendation. Students interested in accessing permanent files should send their requests to the Registrar.

In memory of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha

I’ve been afraid this would happen ever since the Charlie Hebdo attack. But I, and the nation, should have been fearing it since Sept. 11, 2001.

Three Muslim students living near the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill were murdered Tuesday night.

Their names were Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha. They were the same ages as many of us: 23, 21 and 19.

Deah Shaddy Barakat and his wife Yusor, who graduated from nearby North Carolina State, were planning to become dentists; he’d been raising money to support Syrian refugees.

According to VICE News, their neighbor Craig Hicks turned himself in and has been charged with their murders.

VICE reports that Hicks is believed to have posted anti-religious messages on Facebook; CNN reports he is an atheist.

Facebook was how I heard about this; I saw news posts with a headline like “Three killed in shooting at UNC.”

Another school shooting, I thought. It was sad, of course, but I was hardly surprised – and what does that say about the nation we live in?

Then the details emerged.

Police have said Hicks had a dispute with his three victims over parking in the area; Dr. Mohammed Abu-Salha, Yusor and Razan’s father, says this is a hate crime and that Hicks had animosity toward his daughters and son-in-law because of their religion and culture.

It’s not certain that this was a hate crime, even in spite of the Facebook posts and Dr. Abu-Salha’s comments. And I don’t know what was in Hicks’ mind, if he is the killer.

I do know that if three devout Christians were murdered, and a Muslim man had been charged after posting anti-Christian messages on Facebook, well, there would be a media field day over that, particularly from conservative-leaning news sites.

I know that every time I checked CNN Wednesday morning, they were devoting their airtime to ISIS and their actions in the Middle East, not these murders of Americans on US soil, in their own home. They do have an online story, but that gets a lot less attention than what’s presented on screen.

After learning about these murders, my first class met with a former media coordinator with the Columbus office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

She spoke about the need for balanced and humanizing depictions of Muslims in the media; her visit had been planned well in advance, but the previous night’s killing made it incredibly powerful.

As a Unitarian Universalist (UU), I am reminded of the 2008 murder of two UU members in their Knoxville Church, by a terrorist claiming to act in the name of Christianity and right-wing conservatism.

But that doesn’t compare to this; I was not a UU at the time, and it was an isolated incident; we don’t have to fear daily aggression in the same way many Muslim or Arab-appearing people do in the United States.

I am reminded of the terrorist attack against Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which left six dead in 2012; this attack was also carried out by a white supremacist.

I am reminded that as the news media focuses on self-proclaimed Islamic groups like ISIS and their murders of Western hostages, the overwhelming majority of their victims are Syrians and Iraqis, many of them Muslims.

I am also reminded, as Al Jazeera America has pointed out, that Mexican drug cartels have also used Christianity as a tool in the same way that ISIS uses Islam, and that they are carrying out televised, gruesome executions and general mass murder with far less media scrutiny in the United States.

On Wednesday, the Chaplain’s Office devoted their mid-week prayer service to remembering these three lives, and informed us that the community service learning office is working with Tauheed to raise funds for their charity. It’s called Project Refugee Smile, and it’ll help Syrian refugees in Turkey receive proper dental care.

And that reminds me of one last thing. Two years ago, I wrote a story about OWU students standing in solidarity with fellow students at UNC-Chapel Hill.

That time it was about sexual assault, but it’s time we stand in solidarity with UNC students again – with UNC’s Muslim community, their friends and the entire nation’s Muslim community.

Near-campus arrests go unreported

The Delaware Police Department arrested three men in close proximity to Ohio Wesleyan’s campus.

According to the Sunday, Jan. 24 police report, Mary Jo Kerns, who lives at 100 Oak Hill Ave., called police to report suspicious behavior and a suspicious vehicle on her property. The call came in at 12:56 p.m.

Three men were arrested, according to the same report, two for disorderly conduct related to intoxication, and one for violation of parole.

The report also indicated the men were homeless.

100 Oak Hill is between two OWU small living units (SLUs) – the Citizens of the World House and the Tree House. It is across the street from the Inter-Faith House.

Students who live in the SLUs on Oak Hill Avenue did not find out about the incident until the next day. The rest of the student body has yet to be informed of the incident by the university or Public Safety.

Senior Abbie Love, a resident of the Inter-Faith House, which is located across the street from 100 Oak Hill, said she was not told about the incident until the next day.

“The next day, PS came to tell us that everything was fine, and I had no idea anything was ever not fine,” Love said.

After an incident involving an OWU student or near OWU property, the university will often send out an email to students informing them of what is going on around them and if a crime has occurred on or near campus.

Robert Wood, director of PS, said his office discussed sending out a campus warning.

“We did not [send out a warning] because by the time we were aware of the incident, Delaware Police had the subjects in police custody,” said Wood. “There was no ongoing threat to the campus or community.”

Second Senate talks holiday breaks

A guest speaker addressed the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) second full senate meeting Monday, Feb. 9. Her topic of discussion: proposed changes to the academic calendar.

Paula White, professor of education and chair of the academic policy committee (APC), introduced proposed amendments to the Ohio Wesleyan semester schedule. These changes range from extending spring break an extra week, reducing Thanksgiving break to three days and leaving the schedule as is. White noted that any changes would not take effect until at least the 2016-2017 calendar year.

White also explained that the APC “won’t generate an absolute schedule until [it] can get everyone’s thoughts.”

The next faculty meeting, on Feb. 19, marks the deadline for any changes to the calendar. With that date approaching, several WCSA senators suggested that a table be set up in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center to inform students of the proposed amendments and to receive their feedback.

Sophomore Graham Littlehale, treasurer of WCSA, presented the budget requests for the women’s rugby club and Tauheed. Both were approved.

A frequent topic of discussion at the meeting was the Board of Trustees dinner, an annual gathering of select OWU students and board members set to take place Feb. 7. Junior Emma Drongowski, vice president of WCSA, explained that the dinner is “an unique opportunity for students to interact with professionals.”

The senate also voted to suspend indefinitely a resolution on gender-inclusive housing. Despite support for the resolution by most members of WCSA, the policy requires prior university approval to be advanced further. Junior Jerry Lherisson, president of WCSA, said he “does not want to bring [the resolution] forward without [university] officer support behind it.”

Finally, the senate voted on the appointment of a new at-large senator. As a result, sophomore Diana Muzina was unanimously selected to join WCSA representatives at the table.

U.S. faces risk with Ukraine involvement

Dr. Sean Kay, professor of Politics and Government. Photo courtesy of the OWU website.

The 2015 Great Decisions lecture series opened on Feb. 6 with “Russia and the Near Abroad,” a hot topic about Russia’s recent aggression in Ukraine and its impact on the western world.

The lecture took place from noon to 1 p.m. in the crowded basement of the William Street United Methodist Church in Delaware. The keynote speaker was Sean Kay, a politics and government professor at Ohio Wesleyan University and the chair of the International Studies Program.

Kay was introduced by retired Major General Dennis Laich.

“We have in our community a world class performer in the arena of ideas and national security,” Laich announced during his introduction of Kay.

Kay began his talk by briefly mentioning the great divide between liberals and conservatives in Washington D.C. and how the United States, ever since the war in Iraq, has continuously struggled to balance doing the right thing and the realistic thing.

“It is about time that our allies stand up for themselves, I would argue that today that is actually happening,” Kay said as he listed off examples of how Germany and France – among other countries – are dealing with Russia’s recent aggression in eastern Ukraine.

“We are powerful when we are united with our allies,” Kay said after mentioning how Vladimir Putin’s ideal plan would be to cause fighting between NATO countries.

Kay warned that the involvement of the United States in Ukraine, including the addition of the Ukraine to NATO, could potentially be dangerous.

“It would mean America would have to defend the border of Russia and Ukraine, 300 miles away from Moscow,” Kay said.

On the other side of the argument, Kay brought up that Ukraine alone does not have the power to out leverage Russia. This is partially due to the unrest in the Ukrainian government – or lack thereof – and the large amount of Russians residing in eastern Ukraine who are in favor of Russian involvement.

According to Kay, the largest threat to Europe is Russia potentially penetrating the Eurozone (euro area). The Eurozone is a union of 19 European states that have taken in the Euro as their main form of currency. A small portion of these 19 states include territories formerly under USSR control during the cold war.

Kay finished off the lecture by suggesting that the United States move back to a geopolitical approach.

“We’re here today because we dealt with the Russians on the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Kay said. “Somehow we have lost the ability to play geopolitics.”

“Russia and the Near Abroad” concluded with a short Q&A.

The next lecture for Great Decisions will take place at William Street United Methodist Church on Feb. 13 from noon to 1 p.m. where privacy in the digital age will be discussed by Kirk Herath, chief privacy officer of Nationwide Insurance.

No more running out of food points

Many Ohio Wesleyan students struggle to budget their meal points throughout the semester. Can a new meal plan fix this problem?

“The new meal plans are designed to be more in line with the meal plans most universities offer,” said Gene Castelli, resident district manager for Chartwells. “They are considered a ‘traditional’ plan in that they offer a set number of meals per week as well as some flex dollars. All plans will have the off campus points as well. The difference is the new plans offer the student the confidence that they will never run out of meal at the end of the semester.”

The new plan will be available to upperclassmen who choose to participate and mandatory for this fall’s incoming freshmen.

According to Castelli, the final rate for the new meal plan has not been set. However, pricing should remain consistent with existing meal plan rates.

Leah Miza is Smith Dining Hall. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

As for individual food item cost, Castelli said they “work with the administration to keep pricing based on consumer price index increases and other market factors. The new plans will not have any effect on pricing going forward as they were designed to work within the pricing schedule we currently use.”

Junior Jerry Leherisson, Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs president, believes the new meal plan is “a great way to ensure that students are able to utilize the money they paid at the beginning of the semester.” Leherisson did mention that he will choose to use the current meal plan system for the fall semester.

According to Castelli, during their first year, “Freshmen are negotiating their new world of classes, self-directed studying as well as the social environment our university has. In the past they also needed to worry about budgeting their points so they last the entire semester. This will help them in that they will not run out of meals.”

Junior Mira Singhal said the new meal is “a great idea. Hopefully it will help students who normally run out meal points allocate their swipes more efficiently.”

OWU radio returns

OWU radio equipment. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross. — Old OWU radio equipment from Slocum Hall. Photo courtesy of Adelle Brodbeck.

After a nearly two-year hiatus, Ohio Wesleyan online radio makes its return.

There has been no school radio since the spring semester of the 2012-2013 school year. At that time the station was ran from the third floor of Slocum Hall with outdated equipment.

The new station is located on the main floor of Phillips Hall. In a move away from traditional antenna broadcasting, OWU radio streams digitally.

The reemergence of OWU radio can largely be credited to Paul Kostyu, associate professor of journalism, Provost Charles Stinemetz and to The Transcript‘s media adviser Jo Ingles. The station also received financial backing from the office of the dean of academic affairs.

Conor Golden, who serves as the station’s general manager, has been very enthusiastic about getting it up and running. “I have been asking about the radio ever since it was shut down the spring of my freshman year,” Golden said.

A lot of progress has been made since then. An outside contractor was hired to do electrical work, heating and painting. Those updates alone took a few months. Further delays came in the form of computer software and streaming issues.

Professor Kostyu helped by salvaging what equipment he could. That equipment was moved from Slocum to Phillips, and included old, sound-proof insulation that now lines the station walls.

“We want to make sure it is professional and fun,” Golden explained. “There will be a lot more of a variety in regards to shows.”

Junior Conor Golden explains how the radio equipment works.

While most shows will be music oriented at first, the goal is to add public affairs reporting in the coming semester.

Golden even hinted at a show possibly being hosted by Public Safety officer Jay McCann. Until then, music ranging from hip-hop to classical to hipster rock can be heard on OWU radio. And anyone can DJ.

“Anybody on campus can have a show on this station…and that’s a new thing,” Kostyu said.

“We’re really excited about the fact that students are excited and are joining in. It’s kind of a different feel than what it was my freshman year,” said junior Billy George, who like Golden was a former DJ for the station. George will be working as the station’s program director. Students will be able to listen to OWU radio at radio.owu.edu.

New housing means fewer options

When Phi Delta Gamma (Fiji) takes back their house next semester, juniors and seniors will be left with fewer housing options than in the past.

There are 32 rooms in 35 Williams Drive, one of the junior/senior living options, according to Levi Harrell, Residential Life Coordinator (RLC) at Ohio Wesleyan. There are approximately 390 students in the incoming senior class, according to Dale Swartzentruber, of institutional research at OWU.

Jill Auxter, another RLC at OWU, said 35 Williams has mostly single rooms, with only two or three double rooms.

“By senior year, most students don’t seem to care where they live, so much as they get a single room,” Auxter said.

Wendy Piper, director of residential life, said aside from fraternity houses and small living units (SLUs), seniors can apply to live in any residential hall on campus.

“Students can choose from Stuyvesant Hall, Smith Hall, Hayes Hall (which is female only), Austin Manor, as well as Welch, Thomson, and Bashford halls,” Piper said.

Rising juniors and seniors will still be able to apply to live in 4 Williams Drive.

“Both rising juniors and seniors can apply to live in both 4 and 23 (Bigelow-Reed House) Williams Drive, however priority will be given to seniors,” Harrell said.

Auxter said there are 31 rooms, mostly all single, in 4 Williams.

One misconception about Bashford and Thomson is that only first year students can live there.

“Any student can apply to have a single room in Bashford or Thomson,” said Auxter. “It’s the same application process as it is to live in Stuyvesant Hall, Smith or Welch.”

Auxter said there are 12 single rooms available in Thomson and Bashford halls.

“The housing process will be exactly the same this year,” said Auxter. “Rising seniors will come to the senior housing night, where they will line up and select a room from the floor plan.”

Senior housing night will be on March 19 at 7 p.m. in Stuyvesant Hall.

“We are expecting (35 Williams) to be completely filled once Fiji moves back into their house next semester,” Auxter said.

After Fiji lost their house in 2008, Auxter said it was renovated and reopened in the fall of 2010.

“32 students will be missing out on one of their potential first choices for housing, however, we’re hoping they’ll be understanding,” Auxter said.

Pitch Black finishes fourth in ICCA quarterfinal

BOWLING GREEN — Though they didn’t make the ICCA quarterfinal top three this year, OWU’s all-female a cappella group Pitch Black came very close on Jan. 31.

They finished fourth, behind Bowling Green’s Ten40, Michigan State’s State of Fifths and Kent State’s the Kent Clarks. In total, 10 groups competed; Pitch Black was the only all-female group.

Bowling Green's 10-40 performs an original group song after they win. — Bowling Green’s Ten40 performs an original group song after they win.

Despite not placing in the top three, Pitch Black leaders were in high spirits. Had they placed in first or second, they would have had to compete during OWU’s spring break. Several of their members are on mission trip teams and would be unable to participate.

“It doesn’t feel lower, not in terms of the numbers,” said president Grace Thompson, a senior. “…We keep getting better every year, just like we thought we would.”

For new Pitch Black member Emily Phillips, a sophomore who watched last year’s ICCA from the audience, participating in ICCA this year showed her how much work goes into a performance.

“I feel so incredibly blessed for this opportunity, and to have the opportunity to meet new people, and see what they’re about, and this talent that I’m developing, it’s amazing,” she said.

“We worked really hard on all of this…places don’t really matter,” added music director Brianna Robinson, a senior.

“The group that won, Ten40, was incredible.”

Junior Emma Sparks moves to the center to start “Diamond Chandelier.”

Juniors Emma Sparks (left) and Emily Slee lead the vocals on “Diamond Chandelier.”

Junior Emily Slee solos during “Diamond Chandelier.”

Pitch Black performs “Run To You” as one harmonious group.

Pitch Black shifts into the opening motions of their “Boy Band Mashup.”

Junior Alanna Spalsbury solos during “Boy Band Mashup.”

Senior Audrey Bell solos during “Boy Band Mashup.”

Pitch Black’s left column grooves to “Boy Band Mashup.”

Senior Brianna Robinson solos during “Boy Band Mashup.”

Senior Audrey Bell (left) and junior Alanna Spalsbury (right) lead the vocals during “Boy Band Mashup.”

Pitch Black waves goodbye at the end of “Boy Band Mashup.”

One of Ten40’s leaders, Will Baughman, praised Pitch Black for its performance this year and at last year’s ICCA, where they placed third.

“Their second song (Run To You), best singing of the night – hands down,” Baughman said.

“I couldn’t find one person who disagrees with that…I was convinced that they won at that point.”

Former Ten40 member and current Delaware resident Clay Thomson also praised Pitch Black’s cover of “Run To You.”

“The vocals, especially, I thought were very strong,” he said. “The middle number, the ballad, was very moving. Very good balance, great blend, very well done.”

Following the competition, the a cappella groups and their fans mingled together in the lobby. A large number of OWU students were in attendance, many of them wearing Pitch Black’s “I heart PB” t-shirts.

Sophomore Reggie Hemphill and junior Hannah Simpson.

Pitch Black members and fans Anna Jones, Jackie Amanna, Emma Sparks and Emma Nuiry.

Senior T.J. Clark waves as his sister Alyssa exits the group area backstage.

Pitch Black singers Audrey Bell, Anna Jones and Brooke Waite with their sisters in Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Sophomore Emma Nuiry (right) surprises junior Pitch Black singer Emma Sparks with flowers.

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More photos from the performance can be viewed here.