tan&cardinal otterbein college
thursday, may 6,2010
vol. 91, issue 26
www.otterbein360.com
Campus to cut its cord
Arizona law gets ‘racey’ 2 Professor’s film reveals art in nuclear blasts 5 Lacrosse loses hold in season closer 8
4
opinion
THUMBS UP THUMBS DOWN
Relay for Life is this weekend.
O-Zone logout time has been extended to 30 minutes.
Both Otterbein golf teams are going to Nationals.
There was an attempted Times Square bombing in New York.
Semester conversion is confusing.
Possible student activity fees were discussed at the Student Summit.
Information compiled by Cole Hague. Information from www. otterbein.edu and www.cnn.com.
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Britany Byers Lindsey Hobbs
Immigration law stirs controversy New law that requires proof of citizenship at all times gets under one senior’s skin People are angry at Arizona. And with good reason. Last week Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that would enable state and local authorities in Arizona to require immigrants to carry proof of citizenship at all times. EMMY With the new BEACH law, if a person is found without their papers, they can be immediately sent to jail and then eventually deported. If an immigrant is even suspected of being in the country illegally, it is a mandate that documentation is shown. There are several moral issues in question here. The potential for racial profiling is the most obvious. It makes the color of one’s skin justification for suspicion. Lawmakers who voted for the bill say that it’s not racist or questionable in any way. Their opinion is that they have to stand up and do what the federal government is not doing and protect their borders from illegal immigrants. I agree that the federal government is not holding up its end of the bargain on immigration reform. The current administration has pushed back reform again and again despite the president’s campaign promise to bring change to the issue within his first 100 days.
t&c editorial staff Editor-in-Chief
News Editor
Laina Thompson Assistant News Editor Hannah Ullom Opinion Editor Mike Cirelli Arts & Entertainment Editor Austin Walsh Sports Editor
assistant editors
Andrea Evans & Leah Driscoll Copy Editor Jayme Detweiler Photography Editor Kristen Sapp Assistant Photography Editor Jessica Miller & Rae Reed Business Manager Sarah Douglas Web Editor Justin McDonald
The T&C staff would love to hear from you. Write a Letter to the Editor and tell us what you’re thinking. Letters to the editor are letters responding to a writer or an article published in the Tan & Cardinal.
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However, state governments are not meant to self-police. It is in this way that the bill could be seen as even unconstitutional, as state law cannot supersede federal law. What many in the public are unaware of is the background of the man that wrote the bill, Republican Sen. Russell Pearce. In 2007 Pearce was pictured with a well-known speaker at a neo-Nazi convention. This picture was widely distributed. He was also reproved for an e-mail he propagated that included an attachment from a white supremacist group, although he said it was unintentional. In 2006 he was reprimanded for his outspoken support of a federal deportation plan from the 1950s, offensively called “Operation Wetback.” Examine the man who wrote the bill and then tell me that there aren’t racist undertones in this law. It should be thrown out entirely. Members of Congress know that they need support from the Latino population if they are to keep valuable seats. They should be working harder to develop a better solution to the problem of illegal immigration. The indecision should stop now. America needs immigration reform, but we need something comprehensive that will protect our borders, while at the same time respecting the basic human rights of all people. Jacqlyn Schott, freshman English literary studies major, Cole Hague Daniele Murphy
contributing staff Aaron Angel Emmy Beach Steven Collins Dom Porretta Donnie Reinhart Sharon Zalokar
CREATED EQUAL:
RODGER MALLISON/MCT CAMPUS
Thousands gather to protest the new immigration law.
said, “I’m all for stricter immigration laws, but not like this.” The law doesn’t take effect until this summer, but those who oppose it have proposed boycotting Arizona tourism in order to send a message to lawmakers in the state. They are hoping to reduce the amount of revenue
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the state brings in every year, which in 2008 came out to $18.5 billion. Texas is starting to look pretty good right now. t&c
The views expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty and administration of Otterbein College. Opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the writer and not of the newspaper staff. Positions in unsigned editorials represent a consensus of the editorial staff. The first copy of the Tan & Cardinal is free to the public. Each additional copy is $0.50, and payment can be made at the office at 33 Collegeview, Westerville, OH 43081. Offenders will be prosecuted.
DISCONNECTED:
Students on campus will soon be able to connect to the Internet without any wires or cords. COVER PHOTO BY JAYME DETWEILER
thursday, may 6, 2010 | vol. 91, issue 26
news
Zoning codes cause conflict
On Tuesday, the Westerville City Council voted against an appeal that would have shaken up theme housing FACE-OFF:
PHOTO BY JAYME DETWEILER
Westerville residents live in the house on the left corner of Center and Home streets and they feel that the GLBTQ Resource house, which is on the right, violates zoning.
and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual and Queer (GLBTQ) Resource House. Tempers flared Tuesday During Tuesday’s meeting, night at Westerville’s City however, several Westerville Council meeting as Otterbein residents stood before City representatives disputed with Council to appeal this decision Westerville residents over the to change zoning laws to zoning of several Otterbeinaccommodate the college. owned houses. “The reason we were so Prior to 1996, Otterbein’s upset was … they (Westerville campus was not recognized by Planning Commission) changed the Westerville zoning code. the zoning to match the misuse However, in 1996, The of the property,” said Jim Westerville Zoning Department Albright, who has lived with his created the Planned wife at 145 W. Home St. for the Neighborhood District (PND) past 25 years. to recognize and legitimize Jeff Akers, the assistant the boundaries of Otterbein’s director of Residence Life, campus. was one of the Otterbein Fast-forward to February representatives who gave a 2010 — Otterbein now owns presentation at the meeting in seven houses that are used as response to these accusations. theme houses. “We were operating with However, five of the seven this understanding that we houses are in areas that the were fine, but it seemed like the PND had designated for single- interpretation of the policy was family residences. This means a little different on both sides,” that they are not to be used for said Akers. educational purposes of the According to Akers, theme college. houses are necessary to campus According to the minutes because they give students of the Feb. 24 Westerville an opportunity to promote Planning Commission meeting, activism, equality and inclusivity an application was approved, for their ideals. at the request of the college, “If the theme houses are that to modify the zoning code and important to them (Otterbein) allow these five houses to be they can move them to an area used for educational purposes. that is already zoned education The theme houses that … we felt that the zoning law were in violation of this zoning should be upheld,” said Albright. code before the change are the “It has nothing against the Education House, the House theme houses. We don’t have a of Black Culture, the Honors problem with the theme houses; House, the RedZone House we don’t have a problem with thursday, may 6, 2010 | vol. 91, issue 26 BY HANNAH ULLOM & LINDSEY HOBBS Opinion Editor & News Editor
the students, but the theme houses are not allowed in a residential area and to us the area should remain residential,” he said. However, several Otterbein students living in the GLBTQ Resource House feel that their house has been specifically targeted. “I think the Albrights’ problem is not with the zoning issue, but with the theme of our house,” said sophomore psychology major Abigail Santorine. “They don’t want gay neighbors.” Each one of the Westerville residents who spoke at the meeting stressed, however, that their problem has never been with Otterbein students themselves, and that they simply wanted to maintain the neighborhood as it was originally zoned. Albright also raised concern that the houses are not being well maintained by the college. But Robert Gatti, vice president for Student Affairs, said that he believes that this is not entirely true. “You can look at them (the theme houses) compared to most other rentals … some of the properties, you wouldn’t know students live there,” said Gatti. “It’s a very emotional issue and I understand the neighbors’ concern about the college expanding its footprint. We are just as concerned about the appearance of the neighborhoods surrounding
campus as much as the neighbors.” Another student, who lives in the House of Black Culture, feels that they have been respectful to residents. “I feel like we have been a good neighbor,” said Phaedra Lewis, senior broadcasting major. “Otterbein always does things for the community, so why is there an issue?” At the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted on whether or not they would reverse the decision to make the residential area an educational one. Five council members voted to allow the theme houses to keep their current educational zoning,
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while two voted to reverse the zoning changes. Because of this vote, the theme houses will be able to remain where they are. The Westerville residents who were present for this decision were unhappy about the outcome of the meeting. “I think we’ve been good neighbors, good residents, but we don’t feel that the city protected us,” said Albright. “It’s not just about us by any means; we’ve been here for 25 years, we’ll survive one way or another. It’s just for the surrounding neighborhood. It’s such a nice area.” t&c
Editor’s Note
Last week the Tan & Cardinal published that Mary Kerr would be responsible for making the final decision regarding the position of vice president for Business Affairs. President Kathy Krendl will actually be responsible for making that decision. For campus news briefs and the security report visit www.otterbein360.com.
www.otterbein360.com |
t&c |page 3
news
Semester swap rearranges academic programs Students will graduate with their original majors and the semester switch should not cause graduation delays BY SHARON ZALOKAR Staff Writer
When Otterbein switches to semesters in the fall of 2011, some areas of the academic curriculum will be nipped and tucked. “This will create some important advantages for students, but we also realize that it may create some stress as students plan their class schedule,” said John Ludlum, co-chair for the Academic Calendar Conversion Subcommittee. Around campus, students’ main concern seems to be how these changes will affect their estimated time before graduation. “I think it’s dumb because it is messing up all my classes and I won’t graduate on time most
likely,” said sophomore education major Mallory Mellott. According to Ludlum, it is not possible to guarantee that every student will graduate on time. However, the college does have the Otterbein Promise which states, “If you stay on course to graduate (by successfully completing the expected hours each quarter and semester), we guarantee that the conversion will not affect your estimated graduation date.” “I can also tell all students that the college will do everything it can to work with them and help them make this transition as seamlessly as possible,” said Ludlum. Ludlum said that among the changes coming to the curriculum, certain former concentra-
tions within majors will become actual majors when the switch to semesters occurs. This includes the two concentrations in English (creative writing and literary studies). The interdisciplinary program in music and business will also become a major and there is a bill coming to Senate that would make the concentrations in business separate majors. Ludlum also said that some current majors are going to be combined with others. The journalism and broadcasting majors are being combined under a new journalism and media communication major. Also, the speech communication and organizational communication majors are being combined into a new communication studies major.
Also, some majors will be renamed, like the proposed new major in global studies, which will be a renaming of the international studies major. According to Ludlum, there is only one completely new major being proposed: public affairs, which is being sponsored by the Department of History and Political Science. To date, the only major that has been deleted is physical science. There is however a proposal to delete the French major. All current students will graduate with their current majors and current requirements. The departments will offer classes that are equivalent to the current courses or find substitutes for all students. This news seems to be welcomed around campus.
“I think it’ll be a good change because it will allow more time to cover material in class,” said freshman music major Laura Payne. Besides changes to the curriculum, semesters will also bring a January Term. During this term, students will enroll for one class that will meet for several hours per day over a three-week term. According to President Kathy Krendl, even though she was not here during the strategic planning of the conversion, she believes that it will allow for more flexibility for study abroad and for the curriculum. “The nature of the opportunity and the change in the calendar is a re-envisioning of our curriculum,” said Krendl.
t&c
PHOTO BY JAYME DETWEILER
Otterbein unplugs ETHER-NOT:
Students may see an increase in wireless Internet available on campus by the end of spring term.
The college plans to make dorms and the Science Center wireless BY DONNIE REINHART Staff Writer
The Information Technology Department (IT) is in the works of expanding the wireless network on campus. It is expected that all residence halls will be wireless by the end of the quarter. According to Michael Boehm, IT’s chief information officer, the wireless project is broken down into two phases. Phase one is getting the residence halls and Science Center wireless by the end of the quarter. Phase two is bringing wireless to the administration buildings and some green spaces, places outside near buildings, on campus. page 4| t&c | www.otterbein360.com
Phase two, campuswide wireless, has no set completion date. Boehm said completion will depend on the budget, but getting the campus wireless is his No. 1 priority. Joey Whitehead, a freshman sociology major, said, “I am really excited about the whole campus going wireless because this means I will be able to browse the Internet on my iPod Touch anywhere on campus.” But what is this going to cost students? “I think the school is still evaluating whether they are going to have a technology fee or not. Nothing has been decided yet. Most schools I am familiar with do have a technology fee,” said Boehm.
Ohio Dominican University has a technology fee of $270 per year, and Heidelberg University charges students $538. “I would be willing to pay a technology fee if it is not ridiculously high, and I am guaranteed a safe and quick connection,” said freshman history major Ashley Wallace. Students will not be required to get any additional virus protection software. Otterbein will ensure the protection is there. “It is our responsibility, which we take very seriously. Wireless is just as secure,” Boehm said. He also said if a student does not have wireless or cannot access it for any reason, every dorm will still have an ethernet connection. t&c
thursday, may 6, 2010 | vol. 91, issue 26
A M O B O ! K arts & entertainment
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BY MIKE CIRELLI Arts & Entertainment Editor
Sometimes we repress that fear and instead focus our attention on all of the data hurling toward us every second of our lives, giving us an irrationally calm and collected stance on the constant threat of nuclear annihilation — represented by the starkly dissonant juxtaposition of bombs and breezy Hawaiian sounds. Johnson made the film, which clocks in at a stubby one minute and 51 seconds, short for a reason. “I’m really interested in things that can make a point in a short time, even if it’s not a super profound story,” he said. “I want it to be easy to digest.” Such concision does make the somewhat experimental short film a pleasure to watch, as it amplifies the humorously absurd nature of the content and music without getting too fussy about it. The committee at the Wexner Center for Arts felt similarly. His movie was selected for showcasing in their 15th annual Ohio Shorts competition, a juried event that features 35 short films from 15 cities and towns across the state. “It’s such a great opportunity to show my film at a great facility,” Johnson said. “This will encourage me to enter other festivals.” His film, as well as the other 34, will
be shown in a theatrical setting in front of an audience Saturday, May 8, at the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater at 1871 N. High St. in Columbus. Anyone may attend. The youth division screenings will start at 4:30 p.m. and cost $2 for admission, and the adult division, which includes Johnson’s flick, begins at 7 p.m. and costs $3. More information, including the lengths of each film, can be found at www.wexarts.org/fv.
Johnson, who took some film classes in college and often brings some of this knowledge into his photography courses at Otterbein, always has a couple projects in motion, often incorporating moving or still images he finds on the Internet. “That’s what I like about the process: all of this footage you can recontextualize. There’s this whole idea that everything in our lives has been photographed before,” he said, speaking of the enormous video archive websites. “You don’t have to shoot any of it yourself. I’m kind of interested in the potential of working that way.” t&c
DA BOMB:
Jonathan Johnson shows his short film “Explosions Bring Us Closer Together.”
PHOTO BY JAYME DETWEILER
E SIV LO
EXPLOS
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A couple months ago Otterbein photography professor Jonathan Johnson became oddly hooked on watching nuclear explosions. As he browsed the irresistibly grainy and antiquated clips of mushroom clouds in Internet video archives, a bomb went off in his own head: an idea for a short film. For a few weeks Johnson compiled a folder of the biggest and baddest — and the most beautiful — atomic detonations he could find. He carefully strung the clips together on his MacBook, a process he compared to his stint as a professional DJ. “If I play ‘Chariots of Fire,’ can I mix it into a raunchy hip-hop song? I brought that mentality to the video,” he said. The last step was to score the piece. He chose some delightfully vintage-sounding Hawaiian luau music that complemented both the age and tropical setting of the explosions. But the languid and mellow steel guitar of the composition adds a darkly comical contrast, too. As clip after clip of bursting bombs flash across your panorama, one could argue that “Explosions Bring Us Closer Together” provides a link between the deluge of information in the modern world and the human race’s fear that at any time, a nuclear holocaust can occur.
IVE
EXPLOSIV
S PLO
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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTEN SAPP
thursday, may 6, 2010 | vol. 91, issue 26
www.otterbein360.com |
t&c |page 5
arts & entertainment
Keep it locked to The Wildcard for the best in alternative rock. Catch us on 97.5 FM or wobn.net.
ROCK ON THE RANGE:
MCTCAMPUS.COM
Melissa Etheridge plays at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Etheridge revisits her rock roots The singer-songwriter’s 10th disc was made with her fans in mind BY STEVEN COLLINS Contributing Writer
Upcoming events not to be missed: •
Parents and Siblings Weekend: Saturday, May 8 from 1-5 p.m. in the front of the Campus Center. Want us to be part of your event? E-mail questions to the WOBN general manager at bradley.carroll@otterbein.edu
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Melissa Etheridge got back to her rock roots on her new album. “Fearless Love,” her 10th album, features 12 tracks, with the namesake song “Fearless Love” leading off the new release from Island Records. If you’re not a fan of Etheridge or her music, go ahead and skip tracks two, three, five and six because these songs are probably not for you. While the lyrics are very thoughtful and inspiring, the music that backs each track leaves something to be desired. Many of the elements that made her 2007 album “The Awakening” great are missing from “Fearless Love.” The harmonies present in songs like “California” from “The Awakening” and the upbeat songs that are riddled throughout 1993’s “Yes I Am” seem to be missing.
When listening to “Fearless Love” for the first time, you feel as though you are listening to dirges in the dark on the way to a funeral. “Miss California” gives the album a hard rock edge. When I took my second listen through the album, I heard some interesting sounds that are very reminiscent of early Led Zeppelin, especially the song “Whole Lotta Love.” “Nervous” offers a muchneeded break with an edgy rock song that can really speak to the listener. Immediately following “Nervous” is the hopeful “Heaven on Earth,” a soft rock song about a relationship that the speaker of the story seems to generally like. However, immediately following this break from the dancing-in-the-dark songs of tracks two through five, tracks nine through 12 are relatively unimpressive. While “We Are the Ones” is very reminiscent of “Come to
My Window” from “Yes I Am,” the rest of the album fades into the sunset like John Wayne, with only a quarter the grace. The iTunes version of the album includes two bonus tracks, “The Heart of a Woman” and “Away.” “The Heart of a Woman” is refreshingly different from the rest of the album. Featuring what sounds like a slide guitar, this song has a bit of a blues theme going for it. “Away” sounds very folk rock with an almost Mary Chapin Carpenter-like influence. Although parts of the album do come off a little forced, overall the album is one of the better ones I’ve heard in recent years. “Fearless Love” should leave Etheridge fans very pleased. t&c Melissa Etheridge “Fearless Love”
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thursday, may 6, 2010 | vol. 91, issue 26
sports
Lacrosse falls in final fight Otterbein lacrosse team drops long-awaited match to Oberlin College BY AARON ANGEL Staff Writer
STRONG START:
PHOTO BY JAYME DETWEILER
Freshman Alex Dowell scores the opening goal in Wednesday’s lacrosse game against Oberlin College.
Otterbein’s final game of the season Wednesday paralleled the entire season for the Cardinals. Despite flashes of brilliance, the team could not keep up as Oberlin took control in the second and third quarters to win 10-7 at Memorial Stadium. The Cardinals started off very strong in the first quarter with a pair of goals by freshman attack Alex Dowell as Otterbein led 2-1 after the first quarter.
The misfortune began during the second quarter when Otterbein sophomore defenseman Michael Spatafore was called for an illegal equipment penalty, which put the Cardinals down a man for three minutes. The Yeomen capitalized by scoring three goals in the first two minutes to go up 4-2. “It really just gave them the momentum going into the quarter,” head coach Colin Hartnett said after the game. Otterbein finished their inaugural season at 4-11 as the loss gave
the Cardinals their third straight loss to end the season. However, Wednesday’s game proved to be much more of a battle than the team’s losses to Denison and Wittenberg. “The last two games were pretty rough, but today we were able to play much better and against a team around the same record as us,” junior defenseman Anthony Pizzi said. Hartnett and Pizzi both stressed that adding depth to every position of the team this offseason will be vital to next season’s success. t&c
Cardinals swing for OAC bid
Baseball team needs to sweep doubleheader and get help in order to advance
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t&c | www.otterbein360.com
Our backs are against the wall, we’re up against it — whatever you want to call it, the Otterbein baseball team is in a precarious position. We face two mustwin games Sunday when we travel east to close out Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with DOM Muskingum PORRETTA College. After starting the conference slate with a 6-1 record, we have dropped seven of our last nine league games including sweeps by Heidelberg University and, most recently, Marietta College, pushing our mark to 17-18 overall and 8-8 in the league. Now there is a log jam between three teams to claim the fourth and final spot in the OAC Tournament, which is set to take place at the regular season champion’s home field May 13-15. At this point, Heidelberg is in line to host it. Right now it is a battle between us, Muskingum and Ohio Northern University for the final spot with each having two games left. Muskingum is 9-7 in the league, so a sweep by Otterbein would take them out, but we would need Ohio Northern to be swept when they visit John Carroll Saturday. If all things fall in our favor, we would still need to win the tiebreaker against the Polar Bears as determined by OAC officials.
The good thing is that since The Pioneers didn’t slow down, our doubleheader was moved plating three runs in both of the from Saturday to Sunday due to first two innings of game two, Muskingum’s graduation, we will jumping out to leads of 10-1 and know Saturday night what the 14-3. deal is standings-wise, as Ohio Marietta eventually won 17-9 Northern will have already played. after pounding out 21 hits. This could mean that we will The worst part of the entire head to Muskingum knowing two day? It was Senior Day at wins can put us in the conference Fishbaugh Field, celebrating a tournament, or we could go there group of players that had compiled knowing we are essentially playing a record of 98-61 up to that point. two meaningless games as far as the I would be remiss though if I tournament is concerned. didn’t mention a great Senior Day We traveled to New Concord moment that did happen. in March to play a non-conference Senior catcher Matt Wilson hit game and squeaked out a 7-6 his first career home run in the victory thanks to ninth-inning bottom of the ninth inning in game heroics from John Quimby and two. Wes Meadows, who hit back-toRegardless of what happened back home runs to go ahead. Monday, two big games Sunday in Coach Powell said then that New Concord loom large. when we came back in May it If we don’t come back to would be a huge doubleheader with Westerville with two wins, conference implications. I don’t the conference tournament is think anyone knew how right he completely out of the question. really would end up being. So become a John Carroll fan In recent action, rival Marietta for a day and root for the Blue came to town Monday boasting a Streaks Saturday, then be sure 25-9 record and sitting at 11th in to switch back to your tan and the nation in the Collegiate Baseball cardinal Sunday. t&c News poll. The Pioneers jumped out to DOM PORRETTA IS A FRESHMAN a 3-0 lead in the second inning JOURNALISM MAJOR AND IS A SPORTS COLUMNIST FOR THE t&c. of game one, but we answered with four runs of our own in the bottom half of the inning. Editor’s For the latest on However, that would be the Note the women’s tennis and softball teams, only inning a Cardinal would cross please visit www. the plate as our offense went cold otterbein360.com. and Marietta rallied to take game one 7-4. thursday, may 6, 2010 | vol. 91, issue 26
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