featured – Page 6 – The Transcript

WCSA Today: Senate passes a bill to appoint archivist

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

The Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) passed a bill to appoint an archivist at its full senate meeting on Feb. 13.

Though the archivist would be a part of WCSA, the position is a separate entity from the student government, said WCSA President Chris Dobeck, Ohio Wesleyan junior.

“Any self-respecting institution has a way to keep track of its history,” Dobeck said at the full senate meeting on Feb. 6, when he introduced the possibility of assigning an archivist.

“Unfortunately, one of the big problems we’ve discovered in this administration and administrations prior is that we can only remember what happened in WCSA as far back as we have a connection to somebody who is in WCSA,” Dobeck said.

Dobeck drafted the bill to appoint someone who would “drudge through OWU’s history” to research what WCSA has done in the past, he said.

The archivist won’t have voting powers, but can attend Executive Committee meetings. An archivist will be chosen from a pool of applicants in the near future.

Additionally, revisions were made to the Budget Committee’s budgetary guidelines to fund new uniforms for the men’s rugby team.

The rugby team requested $1,342.50 for uniforms.

Treasurer Kristen Nooney, junior, said the guidelines had to be amended because the wording stated that clubs and sports can only receive funding for new uniforms every four years.

But club sports that are defined as contact sports, like rugby, can receive uniforms after six active seasons, Nooney said.

Since the rugby team played six seasons in three years, 95 percent of the team’s requested amount was funded.

The next full senate meeting will be Monday, Feb. 20 in the Crider Lounge in Ham-Will.

Trump’s immigration ban

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration could affect international student enrollment at Ohio Wesleyan, especially among Muslim applicants.

The number of Pakistani applicants is up by 78 percent for fall 2017, according to an enrollment update by Susan Dileno, vice president for enrollment at OWU. The update was sent as an email to faculty on Jan. 19. Trump signed an executive order Jan. 27, barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days.

The ban extends to students and visitors with valid visas as well as green-card holders. The seven countries include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

When Sean Spicer, White House press secretary, was asked why Pakistan and Saudi Arabia weren’t included in Trump’s order, he suggested it could be included at a later date, according to ABC News.

“We are communicating with our admitted international students and telling them that OWU is a welcoming and safe place,” Dileno said. “We intend on organizing a chat for applicants and we will be creating a video that features a recent graduate from Pakistan.”

Dorota Kendrick, assistant director of the International and Off-Campus Programs office, said no current OWU student is a citizen of any of the seven banned countries, according to the IOCP’s service list.

In response to Trump’s order, President Rock Jones sent an email to the campus community on Jan. 30, writing that “a diverse student body adds to the breadth and depth of all learning and is vital to our collective efforts to understand and address the world’s most pressing issues.”

Twice during Jones’ tenure, the president of the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs has been Muslim, he said. The two most recent additions to the Board of Trustees are also from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Sophomore Ali Chaudhary, a U.S. citizen who was born in Pakistan, said he is worried about what this ban will mean for international students who are in the U.S. on student visas.

“Hopefully, the ban is only temporary and it results in making the country safer,” Chaudhary said. “However, America has a history of being accepting to immigrants and that’s what made it so special to a lot of people in the world and I hope this ban doesn’t signal the end of that.”

Ji Young Choi, associate professor of politics and government at OWU, said the possibility of Trump’s immigration ban being ruled illegal by the courts is low because legal disputes will arise and that would be time consuming.

“I think the U.S. government has a right to determine who can get in and get out across the American border,” Choi said. “But what is problematic is President Trump’s executive order is based on a specific religion and particularly national origins … It is legally very controversial and definitely goes against American values like openness, freedom, diversity and tolerance embedded in the U.S. Constitution.”

Trump’s executive order could also incite anti-Americanism feelings in many Middle Eastern countries and terrorists groups might take advantage of that, according to Choi.

Junior Jannat Mazari said the order could make international students rethink their post-graduation plans, especially if they had intended to stay in the U.S.

“It’ll put them on edge not knowing if their country will be next,” Mazari said.

Protests haven’t taken place on OWU’s campus, but senior Emma Nuiry, a member of the Peace and Justice House (P&J), said she knew of members from the P&J house who went to protests held at John Glenn Columbus International Airport.

“It’s hard not to feel hopeless and scared, but I think resistance involves persistence,” Nuiry said. “It will get worse before it gets better … [Change] can be institutional like [Trump] is doing, but I believe that massive change happens on the individual, interactional and collective level, where smaller groups get together and create relationships across differences and build coalitions of solidarity.

“I find comfort in the groups he is uniting by trying to demonize and oppress them. The key is to show that when some of us don’t have power, none of us do.”

Attack occurs at OSU campus

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

On Monday, Nov. 28, an Ohio State student carried out a knife attack, injuring 11 people before being taken down by the police.

Before the attack, Abdul Razak Ali Artan rammed into a group of people in a car. The injured include at least one faculty member, one staff member and seven students, according to OSU’s student newspaper The Lantern.

Artan was an 18-year-old Somali refugee, a third-year Logistics Management student. OSU police officer Alan Horujko tackled and shot him.

According to The Columbus Dispatch and The Lantern, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed Tuesday, Nov. 29 that the attacker Artan was inspired by the organization.

ISIS said, according to a tweet posted by Jenan Moussa, a reporter at Arabic Al Aan TV, “ISIS takes credit for Ohio University attack. Says attacker was soldier of the Islamic State.”

Investigators are still looking into the motive of the attack to determine if the attack was related to terrorism. According to a CNN article published on the day of the incident, the attacker Artan had posted on his Facebook acccount that he was “sick and tired of seeing fellow Muslims killed and tortured,” according to federal law enforcement officials.

According to OSU’s Department of Public Safety, the initial emergency alert notification was sent out to students, faculty and staff at 9:54 a.m. The next alert, sent out just two minutes later, said “Buckeye Alert: Active shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.”

At 12:21 p.m., another alert was sent out saying that a suspect had been shot and reported dead.

In a campus-wide email sent out by OSU president Michael Drake, he said, “Days such as these test our spirit as Buckeyes — but together we remain unified in the face of adversity.”

At a press conference later that evening, Ohio’s Gov. John Kasich said, “When you think about the students, the parents, many of whom were texting and Snapchatting their kids — it’s remarkable what these first responders did … There would be a lesson for all across America and all the campuses across America about what you do when things like this happen.”

In a story published in The Lantern on Aug. 25, Artan is quoted to have said that after he recently transferred from Columbus State Community College, he was scared of his identity as a Muslim on OSU’s campus.

Artan said, “We had prayer rooms, like actual rooms where we could go to pray because we Muslims have to pray five times a day … [OSU’s campus] is huge and I don’t even know where to pray … I wanted to pray in the open, but I was kind of scared with everything going on in the media … If people look at a Muslim praying, I don’t know what they’re going to think.”

A vigil was held Tuesday evening at St. John’s Arena, according to The Lantern. “Members of the OSU marching band and the OSU music group CELLOHIO performed at the event,” according to The Lantern.

Introducing President-elect Donald J. Trump

By Courtney Dunne, Editor-in-Chief and Areena Arora, Managing Editor

The verdict is in. The 45th President-elect of the United States is business tycoon and tv personality Donald J Trump along with Vice President Mike Pence.

Defeating democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton by 61 electoral votes, Trump has emerged the winner. Swing states such as Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania emerged red effecting the electorate and skewing the results.

But he did not win by a landslide. Clinton walked away with the popular vote.

The final popular vote came in at Clinton 59,595,237 votes (47.7%) and 59,370,253 votes (47.5%) for Donald Trump, but in the voting system in the U.S., presidential candidates must win the majority of the electoral vote in order to win the election.

This historic election took an unexpected turn which brought Trump to the White House.

The country was looking for Trump to speak on the unity of the United States and in his acceptance speech early morning Nov. 9., Trump said, “Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division.”

Despite the efforts of many students campaigning for Clinton at the foot of the JayWalk up until the election day, Delaware county voted for Trump.

Citizens waited around for hours waiting for Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania went neck in neck for awhile with the vote sitting at 48.2 to 48.2, and in the end Trump won the state by 0.6 percent.

In Ohio, Trump won with 52.1 percent votes, while Hillary took 43.5 percent.

Trump kept the lead for the majority of the night, with Clinton pulling ahead taking the win in California, but it didn’t last for long. Swing states kept voters waiting into the early hours of the night.

The Republicans retained their majority in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, which will provide an ease for Trump that President Obama did not have in getting policy passed.

As the polls remained tight and Trump took the lead, investors began to pull their money out of the American markets. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged about 700 points throughout the election results.

Finally at 2:40 a.m. EST, Clinton called Trump saying she will concede the race, giving the country the president-elect.

Around 2:45 a.m., Trump delivered his acceptance speech opening with, “Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business. Complicated. Thank you very much. I’ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us. It’s about us. On our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign.”

On Nov. 9 at 11:30 a.m. Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered her concession speech to the country, encouraging her voters to keep an open mind to the new president Trump.

She offered to work with him on behalf of the the country. She said she respects this peaceful transfer of power and reminded her voters that it is never wrong to fight for what is right.

“I feel pride and gratitude for this campaign that we built together.. You represent the best of America and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Clinton in her concession speech.

Trump is going into the presidency with over 50 percent approval ratings, which is historically high, according to CNN.

Shortly after Clinton delivered her concession speech President Barack Obama gave a speech from the White House Rose Garden.

Obama said he called Trump in the early morning hours of Nov. 9 to congratulate the new president-elect and to provide his support. Obama said he wants to honor the standing tradition of a peaceful transition, even with the man who challenged Obama’s birth rights of being a U.S. born citizen. Obama even invited Trump to the White House on Nov. 10 to start his peaceful transition.

Obama and Clinton urged their supporters to give trump the chance to lead the country, while Obama said he is doing his best to prepare Trump for the office, he said, “is bigger than anyone.”

There have been mixed reactions from students on OWU’s campus, and Obama tells us in his speech on Nov. 9 to stay positive and look to the bright side.

The inauguration day for Trump to take office is Jan. 20, 2017.

Bashford renovation put on indefinite hold

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Ohio Wesleyan’s plans to renovate Bashford Hall this year have been canceled, despite students not mov- ing into the facility this semester.

Bashford was previously scheduled to be demolished this year and replaced with a new residence facility mainly for first-year students, which is why the hall is empty.

The project is not happening this year because the school doesn’t currently possess the funds for renova- tion of residence halls, said President Rock Jones.

Decisions have not been made in regard to students moving into the hall in the near future and this will likely be the case until administration knows exactly how many students will be coming to campus next year.

Jones said one possible scenario in the long-term future would be to replace both Bashford and Thomson with complex housing for all first-year students. However, no source of funds have been identified for this kind of project.

While the project for Bashford may be dead, Jones said, there are still plans to improve student living situations.

“We will be making small improvements that I am confident students will appreciate as we seek to in- crease the quality of life in our residence halls,” Jones said.

One of these improvements will be the installation of new lounge furniture in some of the residence halls by the spring semester. The furniture will be placed in Smith and Welch.

The addition of new furniture was recently approved by the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA).

Nick Melvin, a class of 2019 representative for WCSA, said the council decided the new furniture was a good use of its resources for improving residential life.

“WCSA passed the bill for new furniture to make more comfortable living situations for students that will hopefully contribute to a better community overall,” Melvin said.

Repairs and renovations around campus

By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor

Recently renovated and constructed buildings on campus have already received repairs this semester.

Before the repairs, steps outside of Merrick Hall were cracked and part of the Sexuality and Gender Equality (SAGE) house had a water leak in the ceiling of the newly constructed Dittrick House.

According to Thomas Wolber, associate professor of modern foreign lan- guages, it was announced in the faculty meeting on Oct. 21 that the university needs $15 million worth of repairs made to the campus.

Wolber said Ohio Wesleyan currently has $300,000 allocated for repairs to be made this year.

Merrick Hall’s renovations were nearly finished before the graduation ceremony in 2015, but was officially rededicated and opened Aug. 20, 2015.

A little over a year after the rededication, the steps cracked.

According to Peter Schantz, director of physical plant planning and operations, the contractor used a non-water-proof sealant during the construction of the stairs.

“Around the handrail posts where the posts are cored into the concrete … the sealant took on water and froze over the last winter, cracking the corners of the steps,” Schantz said.

Schantz said the contractor made the necessary repairs under warranty.

SAGE was completed before students moved back to school in August, and was dedicated Oct. 6.

Since students have lived in SAGE this semester, a shower drain leaked on the upper level, resulting in a ceiling stain.

Schantz said the contractor repaired the leak under warranty, but the ceiling stain has not been repaired.

Senior Natalie French, SAGE resident, said Buildings and Grounds told SAGE they would paint the ceiling when they were positive the leak was fixed.

Schantz said the leak was fixed over two months ago.

“We haven’t heard anything since then,” French said.

Schantz said, “We plan to repaint the kitchen ceiling over Thanksgiving break when it’s more convenient for students.”

In addition to the leak in SAGE, Inter- Faith House’s (IF) residents said outlets were not working in their part of the Dittrick House when they first moved in.

Schantz said they’ve received three work orders since students moved into the house in August and believes each issue was taken care of.

“Two of the work orders were for outlets in the upstairs bathroom, where the ground fault circuit interrupter breaker tripped,” Schantz said. “This is not uncommon in damp environments. The contractor showed a resident how to reset this breaker at the outlet when it tripped.”

Schantz said the breaker is likely to trip again, but the outlets themselves do not have any issues.

Aside from new construction repairs, there was a steam leak on the academic side of campus that affected Sturges Hall, Elliott Hall, Slocum Hall and University Hall.

On Oct. 24, Cole Hatcher, director of media and community relations, sent out a school-wide email about the issue.

The next day, Oct. 25, Hatcher, on behalf of Schantz, followed up with the campus community.

“While working to fix the steam line issue affecting Sturges Hall, we discov- ered a condensate leak involving the main line as well,” Schantz said in the email. “To enable us to make repairs, we will not be able to heat these build- ings overnight: Beeghly, Corns, Elliott, Slocum, Sturges and University.”

Schantz continued to send out updates and assured the OWU community that repairs were being made overnight.

By Oct. 28, Schantz said the repairs were complete and warned the commu- nity about potential temperature fluctua- tions in buildings surrounding the former leak.

“We know it is older and could de- velop issues again,” Schantz said. “We are reviewing options for replacing the line or installing stand-alone boilers in each of these buildings.”

“We are gathering invoices from the repair crews that worked on the steam line,” Schantz said. “The university is reviewing options for funding steam line replacement or boiler installations.”

As of now, Schantz said warranty is covering the repairs.

OWU professor of 28 years passes away

By The Transcript Staff

Ohio Wesleyan professor of 28 years, Kim Lance passed away the evening of Nov. 3.

Lance “became ill as he was leaving campus and passed away at Grady Hospital shortly afterwards,” said an email from President Rock Jones Nov. 4.

President Rock Jones sent a campus-wide email on Nov. 8 telling students of Dr. Kim Allen Lance’s memorial service.

He said the service will be held on Friday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. at the Delaware Asbury United Methodist Church located at 55 W. Lincoln Avenue.

The Delaware Police Department was contacted via 911 at 6:18 p.m. on Nov. 3 and an ambulance arrived at the Schimmel-Conrades Science Center at 6:24 p.m, according to the Delaware City Police incident run sheet.

Lance is survived by his wife Judy and three children, James, Marie and Paul, according to his faculty bio on the OWU website. He was 56 years old.

Professor Kim A. Lance. Photo via Facebook

In a Facebook post shared by his wife Judy Maxwell, the family has asked not to be contacted at this time as they plan to post information about memorial services when plans are made.

A professor of chemistry, Lance was teaching two sessions of CHEM 110 (General Chemistry I) courses along with a lab this semester with a combined enrollment of 58 students. He was also teaching an Independent Studies course.

Chaplains and counselors will be available, Jones said in his email.

Jones said, “I am especially mindful of those of you who were students of Dr. Lance. Provost Stinemetz and the faculty in the chemistry department will work together to support you as you complete the semester.”

Counseling Services is open for walk-in appointments at 11 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday and 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They are open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. everyday and can be reached at 740-368-3145.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

*last updated Nov. 8 at 6:27 a.m.

WCSA Today: New furniture added to dorms

By Transcript Staff

New furniture will be added to Smith, Hayes and Welch Halls through the funding of the Wesleyan Council of Student Affairs (WCSA).

The Furniture Resolution, proposed by Dwayne Todd, the vice president of student engagement and success, will introduce study tables, chairs and soft seating to the residential halls at the cost of $164,000.

“This is not our job, but I think that we are all in agreement that we are making a step beyond that … we have this opportunity to step in where someone else has fallen short … it could have a really immediate impact on the student experience,” said Sam Schurer, the vice president of WCSA.

A Gaming Resolution was also passed, al- locating $4,000 to the Bishop Gamers Project. Two Xboxes, Playstations and Wiis, along with an assortment of popular games will be avail- able for students to rent from the library.

WCSA also funded a visitation from Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, a program that focuses on gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry.

The musical “Fun Home” was approved and the date will be announced in the coming months.

Perkins Observatory: expanding the view since 1931

By Julia Snyder, Transcript Reporter

Since the groundbreaking ceremony in 1923, Perkins Observatory has been a significant landmark on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus.

Perkins Observatory was founded by Hiram Perkins, a mathematics and astronomy professor at OWU from the late 1800s into the early 1900s. After Perkins retired, he dedicated himself to the planning of the observatory.

It wasn’t completed unitl after Perkins died. In 1931, the telescope was finished and named the third largest telescope in the world, measuring 69 inches in diameter. Since then, it has been moved to Arizona. The observatory now has has a telescope that is 32 inches in diameter. Today, Perkins Observatory offers public programs, day and night for those interested in astronomy.

Tom Burns, director of Perkins, has been an English professor at OWU since 1993. He usually leads the programs.

“On a clear night, we’ll pack the place, our fire code limit is 90 people, 10 of whom are usually going to be volunteers, … so we’ll bring 80 members of the public or students from OWU or whatever together on a clear night,” Burns said. “Even on cloudy nights, we’ll even get near capacity because we have some school group come in or something like that.”

On a clear night, the program will begin with a talk lead by Burns titled, “Everything you’re going to be seeing in the telescope and what it all means.” He said he does this so that when people look through the telescope, they know more about what they’re seeing.

“Then we’ll release people to the telescopes, not just the big one in the dome, but a bunch of telescopes from the Columbus Astronomical Society that we have out on the front lawn,” Burns said.

“We’ll just keep rotating people through those telescopes until everybody falls over or goes home. You stay as late as you want.”

On a cloudy night, he will give an educational tour, show the telescope and open up the dome if the weather permits.

“It really is kind of an introduction to practical stargazing and how fulfilling it can be and in a very practical way,” Burns said. “If people are willing to stick around for the late night portion, then we’ll do the ghost story. I always like doing it when we have OWU students there.”

Students also use Perkins Observatory for research projects, led by Robert Harmon, a physics and astronomy professor at OWU.

“I have a smaller 14-inch diameter telescope that sits inside of the dome that is on the observing deck. I use that telescope with students for research projects, like those in the Summer Science Research Program,” Harmon said. “I have students gather data with that telescope on a star that has star spots on it and we study those star spots. We’ve been gathering data on this since 2006.”

Burns said when he first started teaching at OWU, one of his goals was to get every student, regardless of major, into the observatory at least once before they graduated.

“I think a look at the nighttime sky informs any way that you look at the world around you,” he said.

Letter from alumnae requesting aid for Haiti

Dear Ohio Wesleyan students, staff, and faculty,

Hurricane Matthew recently hit Haiti, causing destruction and devastation that has not yet been fully assessed. This is a category 4 storm, with winds over 125 mph and 25 inches of rain. Pwoje Espwa Sud, an orphanage in southern Haiti with strong ties to Ohio Wesleyan, has been severely impacted by this storm.

Espwa is home to approximately 350 children, provides education to over 1,000 students, employs over 200 Haitians, and provides free medical care to the community. Fortunately, all of the children and staff are safe in the aftermath of the hurricane. Unfortunately, Espwa has faced substantial damage and the local community will be susceptible to illnesses such as cholera in the coming weeks.

Over 200 boys have been moved to the primary school and the kids are eating emergency food supplies in shifts. The homes in the boys’ village and the secondary school have been destroyed, in addition to the majority of trees and crops. Electricity is out for southern Haiti and the roads are impassible, making the delivery of supplies extremely difficult. Luckily, the girls’ homes are sturdier, and they have stayed safe there. However, it is likely that more children will need to seek refuge at Espwa in the near future due destruction within the local community.

Ohio Wesleyan has many ties to Espwa, with dozens of students, faculty, and staff visiting since 2010. So far there have been six OWU alumnae who have worked as guest house managers at Espwa: Kelsey Ullom ’14, Rachel Vinciguerra ’14, Brenda Gable ’15, and Kate Raulin ’12. Currently, Lizzy Wynne ’16 and Emma Sparks ’16 are on-the-ground at Espwa. We believe that Emma and Lizzy are safe. We all love the children at Espwa from the bottom of our hearts and are fearful of what this hurricane could mean for them. However, we know there are Bishops who are willing to help.

If you would like to donate, please make a contribution to Free the Kids, which is a U.S. based nonprofit organization whose sole mission is to support the work at Pwoje Espwa. You may visit their website at www.freethekids.org. A donation can also be made to:

Free the Kids

5704 W. Market Street #8947

Greensboro, NC 27419

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Brenda Gable ‘15, Kate Raulin ‘12, Rachel Vinciguerra ‘14, and Kelsey Ullom ‘14