Tag: news

Study pills or addiction pills?

By John Bonus

Transcript Correspondent

jrbonus@owu.edu

More than half of college students with an ADHD drug prescription reported being asked to sell their medication to peers and friends, according to research done by the Society for the Study of Addiction. Another study at New York University found that 29 percent of 7,300 surveyed believed ADHD medications helped improve their grades, despite not being diagnosed with ADHD.

Ohio Wesleyan University is no different than any other college in that there are some students who use prescription drugs like Adderall to help them get their work done.

Across college campuses in the United States these drugs are increasingly being used by students who are not prescribed the medication, because of its reputation for helping them focus on work or studying.

One OWU student, who wishes not to be named, said he sometimes uses Adderall when he needs to cram for an exam or paper.

“It’s kind of hard to explain how it feels, but it keeps you awake and like laser-focused so all you can really think about is the work in front of you. It not like it makes you any smarter.”

Attention hyperactivity deficit disorder, more commonly known as ADHD, is a condition that makes it difficult for those affected to stay focused. Drugs that are commonly prescribed for this condition include Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin. They are a a Schedule II controlled substance that fall under the class of amphetamines and stimulants, and are designed to help those with ADHD remain attentive.

Dr. Kira Bailey is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at OWU who teaches classes such as Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology. She said drugs like Adderall work by increasing the release of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly dopamine and norepinephrine.

“Dopamine is typically associated with things like reward, and norepinephrine helps increase arousal and attention,” Bailey said. “That’s why the general effects of an amphetamine like Adderall is an increase of general activation in the brain and body, so the person might feel like they’re better able to concentrate or pay attention.”

A survey by the Michigan Daily in Ann Arbor found that of the 1,300 respondents, 25 percent had used stimulants such as Adderall for schoolwork or to take an exam. However, only 8.95 percent of those respondents said they were prescribed Adderall by a physician or psychiatrist. Many of the others got the Adderall by buying it from another student.

One former OWU student said he used to sell much of his excess Adderall, which he had a lot of. He wished to remain anonymous.

“The one year I was selling I probably sold to around 60 kids, and 20 of those were regulars,” he said. “When it got close to finals I started getting random texts from people I hadn’t even met asking if they could buy.”

According to the same source, the street price for Adderall usually ranges anywhere from $3 to $10 a pill depending on strength.

There are many students with a prescription who feel uncomfortable with the idea of sharing their medication. Jakob Woodside, a junior at OWU who has been taking Adderall since he was 6-years-old, said he refuses to sell his pills to anyone.

“I honestly try to not tell people I have Adderall, because I know that there is a good chance they will ask to buy some,” Woodside said. “When I came to college my mom told me to hide my pills because she knew that kids would want it.”

According to Bailey, the side effects from these drugs are similar between people who use with a prescription and those who use without. However, they are much more prevalent and dramatic for those who do not have a prescription. Some of these effects include anxiety, sleeping problems, shortness of breath and in extreme cases even psychosis.

Addiction is not usually a risk at the levels that doctors prescribe this medication for their patients. But Bailey said that this risk increases for people who take their friend’s pills.

Bailey said she thinks the growing prevalence of drugs like Adderall on college campuses stems from a combination of its availability as well as increased pressure for students.

“Everybody feels like they need to be doing more and at the end of the day you only have so much time,” Bailey said. “So how do you do more with the time you have? Adderall probably looks like a really good option for some people.”

3 fraternities in 4 years: just a blip in the radar?

In 2015, 133 fraternities and sororities were suspended or closed nationally. But at small liberal arts school Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU), it was just the beginning of a four-year span that could change Greek life at the school forever.

In 2015, Sigma Chi was closed. In 2016, Phi Kappa Psi was suspended. Most recently, in 2018, Phi Delta Theta was suspended. That brings the total number of fraternities on campus to five.

Fraternities have left Ohio Wesleyan before, but not at this rate. The last time OWU Greek life saw events like this was 1983, when Beta Theta Pi was expelled, and Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon put on probation for 10 years. The result of that news? A demonstration by nearly 300 students that included four arrests, broken windows and extensive damage to the Beta house.

But is this stretch just a “bump in the road” for fraternities at OWU, or a trend that may continue?

While the reasoning for these decisions is different for each fraternity, the present statistic remains clear: three fraternities have been closed or suspended in the past four years.

Immediate reactions to this statistic have been mixed around Fraternity Hill and around campus. Some instinctively resort to blame, others understanding, but a sense of sadness is the one emotion that wraps around the hill. This includes senior and President of Sigma Phi Epsilon Austen Kimbro:

“It is extremely sad and concerning that three fraternities have been kicked off of campus over my four years here…and that is a very terrifying thing to try and conceptualize,” Kimbro said.

Three former Phi Kappa Psi members, who were granted anonymity, think this statistic is absurd, considering some of the “justifications” used in closing/suspending these fraternities:

“I think it’s completely outrageous, that something like that’s happened in such a short period of time, especially when some of them were unjustified,” one former member said. “Like Sigma Chi, when they got kicked off had no reason other than speculation. There have been circumstances with the other two fraternities, but I just think they should’ve been looked at from a different perspective.”

The relationship between the administration and fraternities has been sensitive considering these instances. The feeling that President Rock Jones and the rest of the administration don’t believe in Greek life has been circulating students, even though Jones has publicly stated the support of Greek life by the university.

“It is important for everyone to know that Ohio Wesleyan values the Greek community and the individuals who contribute to it,” Jones said in an email sent after the Phi Delta Theta announcement.

Some students, however, don’t believe it or haven’t seen enough to prove otherwise. Junior and Phi Gamma Delta President Eli Rajotte thinks the desire to believe it is there, but still needing evidence.

“I feel like I’m at the point where I’ll believe it when I see it,” Rajotte said.

Rajotte’s fraternity brother AJ Outcalt, a senior, thinks there is that belief and support from the administration.

“Without them or [Director of Clubs and Fraternity & Sorority Life Dana Behum] it would be in a lot worse situation,” Outcalt said.

Fraternities also feel that the university doesn’t focus enough on punishing the individual, rather than the organization. Senior and Delta Tau Delta member John Bonus thinks this is something the school could take a different approach with, although he understands the wholeness aspect of a Greek organization.

“I understand it’s a mutually selective program: we give bids out, those guys choose to accept those bids, and we all have the same values and go through the same processes, so in a way I understand the organization is whole and accepts some responsibility,” Bonus said. “But when only a few members get in trouble for something, it seems pretty unfair to punish the entire organization, especially when they’re building something so positive.”

“The sad part is that, the organizations that have been kicked off had some very good men, who do the right things, but it is unfortunate that some of their brothers made poor choices which ultimately led to the removal of the fraternities,” Kimbro said.

These instances have led fraternities to feel targeted, as if they’re “walking on eggshells.” The bigger picture is the increased presence of University Public Safety on Fraternity Hill that leads to students being upset, says Delta Tau Delta member Andrew Woods.

“It’s more of Public Safety taking the role of ‘almost police officers’ and investigating and actively searching out things, shining flashlights at our house during weekends just to try to see if people are inside, doing random walk throughs of our house and letting themselves in without telling anybody and doing ‘spot inspections’ whenever they feel like,” Woods said. “So those are all things that contribute to fraternity members being very targeted and worried that they’re going to get evicted from their house any day.”

But this article brings you back the question, again with mixed answers is this stretch just a “bump in the road” for fraternities at OWU, or a trend that may continue?

“Although three Greek life organizations have been kicked off, I do believe that this is just a bump in the road.” Kimbro said. “It is very clear that the way Greek life is operating is changing, and to survive we must adapt. After the suspensions are up, I fully believe that Greek life will expand and flourish again.”

“I hope it is just a bump in the road but honestly it’s hard to not look at it and see a trend,” Bonus said. “Obviously, we have some great people in the administration looking out for us but I also think there are many who see Greek life as a liability.”

“I absolutely think it’s a bump in the road.” Rajotte said. “It’s really common, prior to getting kicked off, that it’s a group of people that hold their name, their Greek organization’s name, but aren’t fully inline with the values they instill, and that can draw more downsides toward you. I really truly hope with the most recent suspension that that’s the end of it.”

Tri Delta rides the buck of the bull for St. Judes

By Kienan O’Doherty, Editor-In-Chief

The block was hot for Delta Delta Delta’s (Tri Delta) latest philanthropy event.

The sisters of the OWU sorority hosted their second annual Deltas on the Block on Saturday, April 12. Among the amenities included Dan’s Deli, a mechanical bull, and an ice cream truck.

Students, faculty, and family members alike flooded Fraternity Hill to help Tri Delta support their longtime partner St. Jude. However, the best part is Tri Delta doesn’t keep a single cent of the proceeds raised, and none goes towards marketing.

“I thought it went really well, there was a great turnout and people seemed to have fun.” Tri Delta President Leah Crawford said.

The most popular activity was the mechanical bull riding. Students gathered around the inflatable structure and laughed as one by one people were thrown off the bull. Delta Tau Delta Fraternity member John Bonus said the bull riding was the best.

“My favorite part was watching our Delta Tau Delta President Francisco Mejia try to ride the bull and fell off.” Bonus said.

Extreme cold weather in Southeast China

By Dianyi Li, Special to the Transcript

With global warming increasing at a rapid pace, no one would believe a country went cold.

In January of 2016, there was an extreme cold wave which attacked Southeast China. From January 20th to 25th of 2016, the strong cold air pushed the Chinese snowline southwards to its southernmost position since 1951. The average temperature was 6 to 8 degrees (Celsius) below the normal temperature.

Dianyi Li’18 conducted her student research project on exploring the relationship between Arctic Oscillation (AO) and this cold air outbreak in Southeast China.

Arctic Oscillation is a counterclockwise wind around the arctic area and could be quantified with AO index. When in AO index in a positive phase, the pressure over polar area is lower than normal, and the jet stream is as stable as a wall to prevent cold air in the arctic are from moving southward. While the it is in a negative phase, Air pressure is higher than average over the Arctic and lower than average over the mid-latitudes and the jet stream around arctic is weak, allowing an easier southward penetration of
cold arctic air masses.

When talking about the reason why she tried to correlate the cold wave with AO, Li said: “At the beginning part of this research, I generated climate maps of the general situation and the studied
weather event period. By comparing these maps, an abnormal location and more extreme value of the high-pressure center and low-pressure center are overserved.” These two pressure centers are the Siberian High and Aleutian Low which are major influential factors of winter climate of east Asia.

“Since the AO index is a projection of the anomalous atmospheric pressure patter, and there were papers studied similar relationship between AO and temperature, I decided to adopt this method to my study on this event,” Li said.

She then chose four weather stations to collect temperature data and ran regression between temperature and the corresponding AO index.

“The four weather stations I chose located from north to south, and from costal to inland,” Li said. “Temperature plotting of these stations show similarities between the trends. And when I plotted the 2016, January temperature data with the AO index, I noticed that before the temperature came to the nadir, the AO also came to a negative phase since the beginning of that month and came to a nadir on the 16th”

However, the regression results did not show a significant relationship. She used the regional average data instead of data from single weather stations and rerun the regression. However, the results also did not show significant correlation.

“This might be because AO only affects the extreme abnormal weather event but in this research I included general situations into analysis.” Li said.

The further work of her research will focus on picking up the days with extremely abnormal low temperature and rerun the regression with corresponding AO.

As a student majoring in economics and geography, she expects to combine her majors into these research projects.

“This January cold-air outbreak not only brought cold weather to Southeast China but also cause a huge amount of economic loss because of freezing and snow hazards came up with the low temperature,” Li said. “Many people lost their home because of the cold hazard. Agriculture and fishery also got hurt
seriously.”

Li said that the investigation of the relationship between AO and extreme cold wave would help explain propagation of the migration of extreme cold air over this region. She expects the result will help to develop a more precise forecasting and prediction of the extreme cold winters in Eastern China.

“With the global trending of climate change, there is potential danger of the increasing intensity or frequency of extreme weather. Beside taking measures to mitigate climate change, we should also think of how to protect ourselves from those disasters.” Li said, “Once we could use AO to improve the prediction, I then want to take use of my economic background to help mitigate the social and economic vulnerability of the freezing and snow hazards.”
Li has conducted this research as an independent study under the direction of Dr.Rowley from the geology and geography department. She will also develop a senior thesis on this research to apply for graduating with geography departmental honor.

Concerns of Increased Melting in Greenland

By Chris Pessell, Special to the Transcript

When people think of large areas of ice on Earth, it’s a given that Antarctica is thought of first, with it being a continent sized wasteland of ice and penguins. However, most people forget that
snowy neighbor to the north, Greenland.

Greenland is the second largest ice sheet on Earth’s surface and, unlike Antarctica, has a significant amount of people living on the island. Greenland is actually a very important ice sheet, especially with the growing concern of climate change. When it comes to climate change, the polar regions of the Earth are most the most susceptible as even small changes to climate can lead to big changes in ice and snow accumulation. As temperatures continue to rise in the Northern hemisphere, an increase in melting and calving in Greenland occurs. Scientists predict that if all of Greenland were to melt, sea levels would rise by a little over 7 meters.

For the last year, research has been continued with Dr. Nathan Amador Rowley, Assistant Professor of Geology and Geography, from his dissertation on supraglacial lakes on the Ilulissat
Glacier in Western Greenland. The Ilulissat Glacier has the largest concentration of supraglacial lakes on the ice sheet and is responsible for 7 percent of mass loss for the ice sheet. The goal of the study was to better understand how temperature, data that is typically more accessible, relates to the volume of water seen filling up depressions on the surface in satellite images.

Mapping techniques, temperature data, satellite images, and a temperature index model all showed that, in the summers of 2013, 2014, and 2015, snow and ice melted enough to cause large volumes of meltwater to flow into these supraglacial lakes. This water would then flow out into other lakes or to the bed of the ice sheet. For instance, one of the lakes increased from over
13,000 cubic meters to over 3,630,000 cubic meters in a matter of days. A little more than a week later, most of the water was gone. That is the equivalent of 1,452 Olympic-sized swimming
pools coming in and out of one lake during one month of one melt season. The results of the temperature model showed that temperature was responsible for 70 percent of the volume increase.

What does this mean? Basically, as air surface temperatures in Greenland increase, so does higher volumes of water flow through these supraglacial lakes before flowing out to the ocean. This statement may seem obvious, but there are many different factors that also lead to increased meltwater production, like solar radiation for example.

When relating this research to increasing sea levels, things look grim and indeed, this research does present a warning that more and more snow and ice is melting. However, temperature data
in this study is just used as proxy for a real-world prediction. Melt is driven by many processes and reality is much more complex than any temperature model could show on its own.

Hopefully, this research and others like it will be a driving force in environmental concern that will fuel continued policy change and environmental movements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

Students celebrated for academics and athletics

By Jesse Sailer, Sports Editor

The 14th annual Dale J. Bruce athletic dinner highlighted the acheivements of Ohio Wesleyans scholar-athletes.

A total of 51 students, ranging from sophmores to juniors, were recognized for earning a GPA of 3.66 or above.

President Rock Jones said, “We celebrate the real virtue of college athletics and that is the integration of the whole person, of the intellectual life of the mind reflected in the acadmeic work of our students.”

Each of the 51 students recognized were asked to bring a guest proffesor. As each student received their award, they spoke a little about why they chose the professor they did.

Aside from the recognition of the top 51 athletes, there were a total of 10 student-athlete awards given to students across all sports.

NCAC Scholar-Athletes : Nate Axelrod, Ashley Day

James DiBiasio Award (male sportsmanship award) : Nick Horton

Mackenzie Conway Award (female sportsmanship award) : Kayla Richard

Dr.Richard Gordon Award (top male scholar-athlete) : Scott Harmanis

Mary Parker Award (top female scholar-athlete) : Meaghan Teitelman

Dr.John Martin Award (best all-around senior male athlete) : Nate Axelrod

Nan Carney-DeBord Award (best all-around senior female athlete) : Iris Anderson

Top Eleven (represent the OWU athletics department in a positive manner and contribute to the entire campus community) : Nate Axelrod, Michael Blatchford, Mackenzie Brunke, Amanda Clay, Brianna La Croix, Nick Horton, Brian Jordan, Trey Olsen, Kayla Richard, Richard Spernoga, Kari Seymour

Bob Strimer Director’s Cup (team with the highest GPA) : Women’s cross country

Dale J. Bruce Presidential Award (recognized athletic and acadmeic accomplishments) : Nate Axelrod

“This shows how Ohio Wesleyan and our student athletes exemplify the ideals of the division and place primary emphasis on academics,” Athletic Director Doug Zipp said.

Leisinger competes for 1 million dollars: Drafted in first ever NBA 2K league

By Jesse Sailer, Sports Editor

Imagine being so good at a video game that competing professionally for 1 million dollars is a reality.

Ohio Wesleyan University junior Malik Leisinger is doing just that.

Leisinger has put aside his Battling Bishops jersey to dawn a National Basketball Association (NBA) 2K League uniform to participate in the first ever NBA 2K inaugural video game competition.

The league, which is a joint promotion between the NBA and 2K Sports, was first announced in May of 2017.

He was one of 102 gamers that were drafted by one of the league’s 17 teams. Teams selected one player at each position over the first five rounds of drafting, (point-guard, small forward, power forward, center). In the sixth round, each team could select a second player at the position of their choice.

The draftees will become the competitive gaming league’s first professionals when the inaugural season tips off in May. The NBA 2K season will take place over the course of three months from May through August with a total prize payout of $1 million, including $35,000 for first-round draft picks. The season concludes with the first NBA 2K league finals.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver attended the draft in New York to announce the first pick. “What’s so exciting today is we’ll be welcoming a new generation of athletes, of NBA players, into this league,” he said, via USA Today’s Charles Curtis.

Leisinger was drafted with the 32nd overall pick in the second round by the Utah Jazz Gaming e-sports team. Qualifying took place in January, with players needing to win fifty games in NBA 2K18’s Pro-Am mode featuring five-on-five matches involving custom-made characters.

“As far as the experience goes, so far, it’s been great,” Leisinger said, “I have never been to Utah, so shifting from living in Cleveland my whole life to Salt Lake City was different at first, but I am getting used to it. One of the main things I enjoy is being surrounded by the beautiful mountains at all times.”

As business administration major and accounting minor, Leisinger has found that playing for Utah Jazz Gaming has given him experience in both the business and marketing areas of e-sports teams.

“Meeting and socializing with these people of power is really intriguing for me because it mixes my passion for the game of basketball and (my career interest in) business and marketing,” Leisinger said, “I hope to land a job with one of the many NBA teams that have an e-sports team.

As it is, e-sports is a growing industry for which analysts have predicted a strong future. Leisinger and his fellow NBA 2K draftees look to earn between $32,000 to $35,000 for their contributions to the sport, as well as housing and health insurance.

Leisinger plays center for Utah Jazz Gaming as MrSlaughter01.

The Pitch Black acapella group sang one last time

By Maddie Matos, A&E Editor

The popularity of acapella has grown in recent years on college campuses, and Ohio Wesleyan University’s acapella group Pitch Black have taken advantage of it.

The group performed their last show of the year on April 20 in Milligan Hub. The show was attended by over twenty people.

Pitch Black has ten members from all years. The group is all female and led by senior Christina Hunter, who enjoyed her time in the group.

“If you’re looking for something to do on campus, join an acapella group, honestly,” Hunter said. “It’s really cool, you make a lot of friends and get to jam out constantly.”

The group performed ten different pieces. Many of them were melodies of different pop songs and others were normal pieces. Some members were able to give solo performances throughout the set.

The final concert was a celebration of the year, with the pieces performed being some of the most popular and best pieces the group has to offer. The concert was well received by members and the audience.

“Our final concert went so well! I was very proud of all of my beautiful ladies for not only sounding great, but looking fabulous while doing it,” member Maggie Veach said. “We had great energy and the audience really seemed to enjoy our performance, making it so much better.”

OWU has three different acapella groups and host the annual A’Cappellooza event. The popularity of this artform has allowed non-music majors or minors to express their passion for singing.

“By arranging our own pieces, we are also able to express individuality through our songs and arrange the sound in our own manner,” Veach said.

The crowd responded positively to the group, with claps and cheers at the end of each song, followed by a standing ovation at the end of the set. Refreshments were served after the performance as well.

Pitch Black members are close with one another. Members have become close with one another and offer support when anyone needs it.

“They are very supportive and are willing to help me out in situations where I need help,” Veach said. “They are also very understanding and accommodating, when students such as myself have such busy lives. These girls are always a bright spot in my day, and it means the world to me.”

How to protect and lengthen your pets’ life

By Kit Weber, Photo Editor

One of the major financial concerns in owning a pet is the question of whether to get it spayed.

When an animal is spayed or neutered, the reproductive organs are removed, usually to help limit the chance of future unwarranted offspring.

Although many owners opt for this option, it is still slightly controversial. Some believe you shouldn’t spay your pet in fear of interfering with its personality or way of life. Others believe you should spay your pet to keep them from searching for mates, potentially causing them harm by escaping. What’s the right answer?

According to The Humane Society of the United States, there are an estimated 6 to 8 million homeless animals entering animal shelters every year. Barely half of these animals are adopted, and the rest are euthanized.

When an owner allows their pet to have even one litter, it adds to this overpopulation. This overpopulation first needs to be fixed by increasing adoption of animals at risk of euthanization from kill shelters.

Even if homes are found for all the offspring of an unspayed female, there are then less homes available to pets who already need them.

Neutered male dogs live 18 percent longer than those not neutered and spayed female dogs live 23 percent longer than unspayed females, according to The Humane Society of the United States.

Another benefit of neutering is a reduced urge to roam and mark their territory. By not going into heat and searching or fighting for mates, pet owner headaches are lessened.

Often, an unneutered pet’s instinct is so strong to look for mates they will cross busy streets and be struck by moving vehicles. Even with purely indoor pets, spaying or neutering prevents potential behavioral concerns.

According to Ten, a movement to end feline homelessness, foregoing spaying or neutering an indoor cat increases the risk of reproductive cancers and undesirable mating behaviors.

When it comes to food and finances, there have been studies showing neutered pets simply require less. According to The No-Kill Cat Nation Home, pets who are neutered need fewer calories than those unneutered due to a lowered metabolic rate. This caloric difference can sometimes can reach up to 25% less for those neutered.

More truths are hidden when owners claim they want to breed their dog or cat as a “purebred,” so they remain unneutered.

The truth is about one in every four pets in a shelter is purebred or designer breed according to Ten.

One of the largest issues people have with neutering their pets is the price. The lesser known reality is that charitable organizations, even veterinarians, offer lower prices.

Consider the costs of raising your pet’s cute, new litter: the food, the vaccinations, the time and more. Ultimately, the option of spaying or neutering your pet is much cheaper, healthier and happier in the long run.

The future of the prince of England

By Maddie Matos, A&E Editor

An heir and spare were already in the British royal family. Now there is an extra spare.

On April 23, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to a son. He is the third child between Middleton and her husband William, the Duke of Cambridge.

The baby was born at the historic St. Mary’s hospital in  London, England. This location has been the hospital of choice for royal births, with both baby’s siblings and its father born there.

In September last year, Kensington palace announced that the couple were expecting their third child. Later, in October of 2017, the expecting date was released to the public.

The sons name has not been released to the public yet, but traditional British names are being considered in the public’s eyes. The duke and duchesses’ oldest child is named Prince George and their second oldest is named Charlotte.

The new baby is fifth in line for the throne, behind his grandfather, Charles, Prince of Wales, his father the duke, and his two older siblings.

The likelihood of this new prince becoming king is slim, but he will have many other royal duties and be in the public eye. He will most likely have roles like his uncle, Prince Harry.

The British royal family has been a source of constant public press and criticism in the last century. The marriage and divorce between Charles and Princess Diana has been one of the most public relationships in history, with Diana’s untimely death pushing the royal family to harsh criticism that is still common to this day.

Marriages and new children provide positive press for the family, making their popularity reach record highs every time. Yet this new baby has not received all the hype that his siblings did.

Being fifth in line to the throne can be hard. The public can easily dismiss you or forget about you. The chances of you gaining any true power is slim. Yet this prince should not be discounted. Throughout history, there have been rulers of England that have succeeded to the throne when they were previously thought to be nobody. Both Queen Elizabeth’s were far from first in line for the throne. So was King Henry VIII. So was Queen Victoria
I for a brief time.

These kings and queens all are remembered as rulers, rising in the ranks as a forerunner for the throne. The new prince has just as much of a chance as any other person in line for the throne.