T&C - Winter 2011, Week 3

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tan cardinal

otterbein university thursday, jan. 20, 2011 vol. 92 issue 13 www.otterbein360.com

Choir sings the gospel truth 5 Funeral protesters irk student 2

Library goes mobile with little helpers 4

Track sprints to starting line 7 photo by kristen sapp

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opinion

Tan & Cardinal

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t&c editorial staff

Britany Byers

Editor-in-Chief

Laina Thompson Lindsey Hobbs

News Editor Assistant News Editor

Hannah Ullom

Opinion Editor

Mike Cirelli

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Austin Walsh

Sports Editor

Andrea Evans & Leah Driscoll Jayme Detweiler Kristen Sapp

Copy Editors Photography Editor

Assistant Photography Editor

Jessica Miller Kaity Vorbroker Sarah Douglas

Business Manager Assistant Business Manager Web Editor

assistant editors Josh Adkins Monica Begazo Patricia Begazo Steven Collins Troy Foor Jordan LaBatte Kelsey Sommers contributing staff Breanna Bargdill JT Hillier Lindsay Paulsen Dominic Porretta contact us 614-823-1159 tanandcardinal@yahoo.com Tan & Cardinal Otterbein University Westerville, OH 43081 advertising For advertising information, contact Jessica Miller or Kaity Vorbroker at 614-823-1159 or by e-mail at tanandcardinaladvertising@yahoo.com. policies The views expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty and administration of Otterbein University.

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.

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.

Please keep your letter to 300 words or less. It is at the discretion of the Tan & Cardinal staff as to whether or not the letter will be published. Letters attacking an individual will not be accepted.

Letters must include the author’s first and last name, signature, phone number, address and affiliation to Otterbein University.

thursday, jan. 20, 2011

Junior outraged by protester antics Infuriated by a church’s attention-seeking, student demands for a line to be drawn The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of Topeka, Kan., believes its view of morality is the right one. I will argue the contrary.

America is the best country in the world.

While we have our issues and problems, there STEVEN is one thing that COLLINS you can’t argue: we’re fair. You will find proof of that in the First Amendment. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and beliefs, and even members of the WBC are entitled to this basic right.

Who is the WBC? You might remember them for the 44,930 pickets of funerals they have conducted, including the funeral of Coretta Scott King, the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. Many of the other picketed funerals were for soldiers.

They were going to add one more picketed funeral to that list this past week, with the funeral of 9-year-old Christina Green, the youngest victim of the shooting in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 8, just because she was born on Sept. 11, 2001.

In a press release the day after the shooting, the WBC stated

why they believed Green should be picketed. “That child was not innocent. This is a nation of depraved perverts who pass their children through the fire of their rage against God and allconsuming lust. From the womb, she was taught to hate God and mock His servants. That child is better off dead, so the cup of her iniquity will not overflow!”

Why did they end up not doing the protest? Not for morals or decency — not even for respect. They did it in exchange for an interview on an Arizona radio station and broadcast time on another in Toronto.

As bad as it all seems, we do have a reason to feel better about the situation. In 2006 after the WBC picketed the funeral of Matthew A. Snyder, a soldier who died while serving his country in Iraq, Snyder’s father sued the WBC’s leaders, including founder Fred Phelps in Snyder v. Phelps, a case that has been presented to the Supreme Court.

However, a verdict is not expected until the spring of 2011.

It is not really that hard for me to understand these people.

They target the brave who are no longer alive to defend themselves, they target the grieving who only want support and love

piCket Line:

JeD kirshbaUM/MCtCaMpUs.CoM

WBC was also behind the proposed burning of the Quran.

and they target those that are different because there aren’t many.

Instead of trying to get their message across with love, they do it with vindictive hate and without compassion.

The only thing that stopped them from picketing a 9-year-old girl’s funeral was the free advertising. The fact that they would contemplate picketing anyone’s funeral, especially that of a sol-

dier or a little girl, just sickens me beyond belief.

As revolting as the entire process seems, until we get the final verdict of Snyder v. Phelps, picketing funerals is legal and protected by the First Amendment, no matter how much the rest of us seem to dislike it. t&c STEVEN COLLINS IS A JUNIOR JOURNALISM MAJOR AND IS A STAFF WRITER FOR THE t&C.

Writer reveals her campus faux pas Junior discloses how to make your way around Otterbein with your dignity still intact Life is full of awkward experiences, especially if you overanalyze your every move. And really, who doesn’t?

As a junior, this is my third year living on campus, and I’ve racked up more embarrassing stories than I care to LEAH count. Luckily, DRISCOLL I’ve emerged with battle scars and words to the wise.

Here’s my guide to avoiding awkwardness around Otterbein.

Maybe you’ve been here and can commiserate, and for that I salute you, my comrade. And if not, consider yourself lucky.

1. Remember that the right door into the north side of Towers is

often locked. If you tuck your books under your left arm, you might consider switching to your right arm so that you don’t have to do some graceless grab-anddance-to-the-side maneuver just to get around the door.

2. Always check to make sure someone isn’t already coming down the stairs in Battelle if you’re heading up with an instrument case in hand. You’d hate to try to pull it in front of yourself and then look like you’re about to take the person out with an expensive battering ram.

3. Speaking of the Battelle staircase, don’t go up them in flip-flops. You might lose one between the stairs and have to run back down to a crowded lobby to retrieve it.

4. And speaking of flip-flops, don’t wear them when it’s raining

and walk over those metal plates on the sidewalk. You will slip.

And people will see.

5. Stroll across the crosswalk like you own the thing. If you hover around fearing death and hoping cars will stop, they’re just going to fly by because you’re acting like a human statue.

6. Never stand up too suddenly in the Campus Center. Your chair will fall and you’ll get slowclapped, guaranteed.

7. If you plan on being out late, triple check that you’ve got your Cardinal Card with you. Calling security at three in the morning to be let into your dorm is no fun.

8. Never, under any circumstances, take out your cell phone and fake a phone conversation to avoid talking to someone. We are all cooler than that.

9. The more you freak out about

people inside the Otterbean Café watching as you walk by the tinted library windows, the dumber you will look. So don’t sweat it.

10. Read the signs listing what’s for dinner in the Nest. It saves you the embarrassment of asking for the chicken and being told, “Um, these are potatoes.”

There’s nothing wrong with being yourself and no sense in trying to be perfect and socially adept all the time (no one is socially adept all the time), but there’s also nothing wrong with rescuing your pride before it gets injured.

And if you do mess up, brush it off. Haters gonna hate. t&c LEAH DRISCOLL IS A JUNIOR JOURNALISM MAJOR AND IS A COPY EDITOR FOR THE t&c.

news

vol. 92, issue 13

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www.otterbein360.com

IN THE NEWS

News briefs from around campus

Haiti immigrant shares his story Berteau Joisil, author of “Dream Builders, Dream Killers, Voice of an Immigrant from Haiti,” will come to Otterbein to speak about his book and his experiences growing up in Haiti.

Joisil’s book talks about the American dream and his own struggles being from a third-world country as well as a minority who strove toward his own personal goals and dreams.

The book discussion will be held Monday, Jan. 25 in the Chapel at 6:30 p.m. t&c

Funding reform up in air & hot seat:

New governor looks to get rid of Strickland’s school funding model

BY FALLON FORBUSH Contributing Writer

The political production that was the 2010 midterm elections have come and gone, and the gubernatorial debate over education has been left hanging in the balance.

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

According to the Department of Education, this legislation was designed to stimulate the economy and invest in education.

This act provides $4.35 billion for the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward states that are “achieving significant improvement in student outcomes,” some of which are making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps and improving high school graduation rates.

Ohio was awarded $400 million dollars to reach its educational goals based off of former Gov. Ted Strickland’s evidence-based school-funding model.

Gov. John Kasich told voters that he would get rid of that model if elected.

“It just seems very difficult to argue with the staggering level of statistics that the governor had to back up his proposals,” Matt Caffrey, vice president of

Music chair receives award Professor and Chair of Music at Otterbein University Craig Johnson has been elected to the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) Commission of Accreditation.

NASM is the national accrediting organization of music disciplines.

Johnson has been with Otterbein for 30 years. In his time at Otterbein, Johnson has conducted the concert choir and Otterbein vocal ensemble. t&c

Mary F. CaLVery/MCtCaMpUs.CoM

Gov. John Kasich answers questions after meeting with House Speaker-designate John Boehner.

College Democrats of Ohio, said.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Ohio spent $1.9 billion on higher education in 2010, and Ohio is projected to have a staggering $3 billion budget gap in 2012.

“People are living dime to dime.”

Kayla Williams freshman early childhood education . Rob Nichols, Kasich’s press secretary, said, “The evidencebased model is a funding system and Race to the Top is a series of things that the governor largely supports … So we think we’re in very solid footing with Race to the Top … the governor has had conversations with the secretary of education … many of the concepts and the priorities and the goals of Race to the Top are things that Gov. Kasich believes in … we think we’re going to be fine on that money.”

Nichols said, “The evidencebased model is not something that the governor supports and will be gone under his administration, but one has no

bearing on the other.”

Nichols also said that all of these priorities will be discussed when Kasich and his administration put out a budget later in March.

Where does that leave college students?

“I feel like it’s (affordability of a higher education) getting harder and harder … money is a big thing,” Kayla Williams, freshman early childhood education major, said. “Going off of some of my friends who couldn’t afford college, people are living dime to dime.”

Strategic plans and the nonneed-based grant were eliminated in 2009, leaving only one needbased state grant for students without specific determining criteria (field of study, ethnicity, etc.).

The Ohio College Opportunity Grant Program provides need-based tuition assistance for students who have an Expected Family Contribution (the expected amount a student’s family is supposed to contribute toward tuition costs according to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) of $2,190 or less with a maximum household income of $75,000.

Full-time Otterbein University students who qualify for this grant would be awarded $1,848, according to the Ohio Board of Regents website. t&c

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Editor’s Note

For the full story on Gov. John Kasich and this week’s security report, please visit www.otterbein360.com.

news 4 More appealing site is the Library’s ‘elves’ send reminders vision for website redesign to New system alerts library users when

thursday, jan. 20, 2011

Tan & Cardinal

Students are split about the current state of Otterbein’s website

BY LAINA THOMPSON News Editor

BY BREANNA BARGDILL AND LAINA THOMPSON Staff Writer and News Editor

Students, faculty and the Westerville community can expect a more interactive and visually appealing Otterbein website hopefully up and running by this summer.

The goal of the website redesign is to reach new students as well as make the site more appealing to current students.

“I think it can be a little more inviting,” said sophomore undecided major Emily Meese. “It’s great for students who go here, but not inviting for incoming freshmen that may want to come here.”

Meese suggested more images of campus and students on its pages. Currently, the main page shows a slideshow of images of alumni and current students who have either done something special with their degree or are studying abroad.

Jennifer Hill, assistant director of Marketing and Communications, said, “In a 2009 survey of 1,000 college-bound seniors, the majority of students said that if a college’s website did not meet their expectations, they would be disappointed or even consider dropping that college from their search.”

Paige Cantrell, sophomore pre-vet major, said the website definitely influenced her decision

they have overdue books or holds come in

sCreenshot:

photo by JayMe DetWeiLer

Interactive firm, Three Six One, will carry out the redesign.

to come to Otterbein. “I think that they have the best website out of the colleges that I was considering.”

The company working on the website is Three Six One, an interactive firm that has done websites and print designs for clients from personal businesses to other college websites.

Some of Three Six One’s previous clients include The Columbus Zoo, Max & Erma’s and Dickies. They have also worked with The Ohio State University and Murray State University on various webpages and print documents.

Nand Dussault, creative director for Three Six One, said that the main goal for their company is “to really help the

university engage its audiences in an authentic, relevant way that presents information quickly and easily.”

According to Dussault, the new website will have better eye appeal, more interactive buttons and icons. Otterbein’s programs and events in the community will also be emphasized.

Courtney Kast, sophomore pre-dentistry major, really likes Otterbein’s current website.

“I think it is really easy to access and clean,” Kast said. “I think they should leave it alone.

I really don’t see how they can improve on it.”

“I think you will see a much fresher take on the Otterbein experience with the new site,” Dussault said. t&c

“I forgot” can no longer serve as an excuse for overdue books.

Otterbein University has adapted a new text service called Library Elf that sends RSS text messages and e-mails alerting library users of overdue books, upcoming due dates and when books on hold become available.

Allen Reichert, electronic access librarian at the Otterbein Courtright Memorial Library, brought this program to Otterbein last month once he realized how prevalent phones were in students’ everyday lives.

He thought that they could be reached easily by phone since phones are with students a lot more than laptops.

“I always have my phone with me, and I pay more attention to it than my laptop,” said Kayla Williams, freshman early childhood education major. “It (Library Elf) would be more convenient for me.”

Reichert knew he wanted to use a text service, so he searched around on the Internet for this type of program. To him, Library Elf seemed like the best fit for Otterbein.

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“What’s great about Library Elf is that you can know when your books are due and when they come in, helping you reduce fines and get your research faster,” Reichert said.

This service is free, and library users can sign up on Library Elf ’s website. Right now, the program only has a few members for Otterbein’s library, but Reichert said he hopes fliers, word of mouth and information on the library’s blog and Facebook page will bring more users to Library Elf. Multiple libraries use this service so students can sign up with the Otterbein library as well as the Westerville Public Library, the Columbus Metropolitan Library and participating libraries near their hometowns.

With the alert system of e-mails that the Courtright Memorial Library currently down, students can use Library Elf to monitor the status of their held items.

However, Reichert sees this program as an additive, not a replacement to the already established library e-mail alerts. t&c

Editor’s Note

For a Q&A with the MLK Convocation speaker, visit www.otterbein360.com.

arts & entertainment

vol. 92, issue 13

www.otterbein360.com

NOW HIRING

otterbein 360

Gain résumé-building experience and earn extra cash!

Freelance Multimedia Producer Expand your ability in multimedia journalism and social media. Work with Managing Editor to develop story ideas and produce content for news, sports, opinion or entertainment.

Apply today E-mail your résumé and cover letter to Eric Jones at EJones@otterbein.edu.

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Deadline Monday, Jan. 31, 5p.m.

Interviews Wednesday, Feb. 2, 5p.m.

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Individuals with an attention to detail and AP style knowledge are encouraged to apply. Web experience recommended, not required.

photo by JayMe DetWeiLer

The gospel choir rehearses for its annual performance at Tuesday’s MLK convocation.

Otterbein gospel choir sings in perfect harmony

Is your day kind of boring?

Spice it up with some alternative rock!

Led by LaJoyce Cain since 1989, the choir is like a ‘little family’

BY JT HILLIER Staff Writer

It was another Wednesday evening at the Chapel: time to throw down those bookbags, gather around a baby grand piano and set the world aside for 45 more minutes.

But this rehearsal, like all of their rehearsals, was about much more than praise and worship for the Otterbein Gospel Choir; and even though their annual performance at the Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation Tuesday morning was steadily approaching, preparation never looked like it could be more fun.

A blend of work and play was established right from the get-go.

“Did I hear a phone?” asked LaJoyce Cain, who has been the director of the choir since it started in 1989. “What did I say about phones? Every rehearsal I have to tell you guys.”

Then a communal laughter erupted as their beloved director switched the busy phone in her

pocket to silent with a beaming smile.

It’s this combination of a tightly knit group of mostly seniors and their motivating director that forms a kind of chemistry that’s hard not to notice.

“It’s a more casual kind of rehearsal,” said senior music major and four-year member Tanya Wilhite. “But we’re such a committed group, and that’s what makes it so special to all of us.”

The choir’s performance at the 2011 MLK Convocation went off without a hitch. Each song was followed by applause.

“It’s always nice to get up there every year, but I really thought it was such a nice program,” Wilhite said. “All the speeches were nicely put together, especially from the students.”

Originally formed for the purpose of performing at the 1989 Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, the choir is now over 20 years in the making.

Thanks to an authentically posi-

tive atmosphere that has come to define the choir and its members, students keep coming back year after year.

“It’s a way for students to come together and give honor and praise to God in an uplifting and warm atmosphere,” Cain said. “Singing is a way of release, of freeing yourself. Gospel music teaches professionalism, and historically, students involved in choir are more involved. This is their exposure to that connection as well as to a spiritual connection.”

Just ask the students and this vocal group — pun intended — is quick to fill you in on the advantages of getting involved.

“It’s like that push in the middle of the week that gets you over the hump,” said senior nursing major and executive administrator of the choir Kathryn Livisay. “We have so many types of people, but we all still have so much in common. It’s like our little family.”

t&c

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Want to be on the radio? E-mail us at wobn@otterbein.edu or check us out at WOBN.net.

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opinion

Tan & Cardinal

thursday, jan. 20, 2011

Say What?

What’s the worst thing about driving in the snow?

“Wrecking, poor driving conditions and people driving slow.”

–Ephraim Medaugh senior business administration and marketing “You slip and you also can’t see well.”

–Asami Sakakima senior early childhood education photos anD inForMation CoMpiLeD by troy Foor

tan&cardinal

Hiring spring 2011-fall 2011

News Editor Assistant News Editor Opinion Editor Arts & Entertainment Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Copy Editor Business Manager Distribution Manager Deadline Monday, Jan. 24 at noon Interviews Wednesday, Jan. 26 from 4-7 p.m.

Training starts Monday, Jan. 31 Apply now! Gain experience, build your résumé and earn some extra cash.

Interested? E-mail your cover letter, résumé and references to Britany Byers at tanandcardinal@yahoo.com.

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sLip anD sLiDe:

shaWn roCCo/MCtCaMpUs.CoM

Driving in slick, wintery weather can be brutal, especially if you’re an Ohio-weather virgin.

Confessions of a ...

Snow-a-phobe

Georgia native discusses her fear of driving under icy conditions They all said that I would be fine. The trouble is that “they” must have forgotten that I am from a town in the deep south that practically goes into hibernation when the “s” word leaves one’s lips.

SNOW. LINDSAY The idea of it is PAULSEN such a foreign concept in Savannah, Ga., that a car with four-wheel drive doesn’t exist within a two hundred mile radius of the city. Knowing that I would be heading to a state with weather conditions comparable to those of Antarctica, my family and I set out to find the perfect snow mobile before my college departure: a four-wheel drive SUV. I was out at the Equine Center when I experienced my first Ohio snow. Upon seeing the little white flurries floating down from the sky, my equally amused friend from California and I darted outside to prance about in the abounding winter wonderland.

Although there was some white-knuckled driving on the way back from the barn that day,

us out-of-staters made it back to campus in one piece. Later that day, I drove down to the communication building for the Tan and Cardinal writers’ meeting and I was forced to face the roads on my own at the blazing speed of about five miles per hour.

After the meeting had finished, I walked outside and noticed that the snow had grown significantly deeper. Part of me grew worried, but another part of me was anxious to consummate my cold weather experience by finally making use of the fourwheel drive setting on my car.

I hopped into my car and tried to reverse. I heard a funny crunching noise underneath my wheels. When it came time for me to turn out onto the road, I attempted to slow down. To my dismay, nothing happened. The car continued to move forward.

I tried to turn the wheel to the left, but the vehicle kept drifting right. “Fantastic,” I thought. My car is definitely broken.

I’m sure that right about now, you are beginning to question my intelligence, if you have not already. I cannot tell you why, but at that moment, I lacked the good sense to know that I was sliding on ice.

While I did eventually make it back to campus, I pulled out of the Davis parking lot and again attempted to stop — and again, continued to keep moving forward, blowing right past a stop sign. This time, a car that was headed down the intersecting road was also experiencing the same problem.

I just received a call from the collision repair shop, which notified me that I had done $745.48 worth of damage to my car. But I prefer to think that I will be paying that $745.48 not only for a new bumper, but also for a new experience to write about.

For those of you who know better than to think that your car is broken when you’re really just sliding on ice, let this come in the form of a plea for you to find an ounce of pity for the poor soul you see driving at a snail’s pace in front of you with hazard lights on while there’s an inch of snow on the ground. And before you go to flip her the bird, take a look at her license plate to see where she’s from. t&c LINDSAY PAULSEN IS A FRESHMAN JOURNALISM AND EQUINE BUSINESS AND FACILITY MANAGEMENT MAJOR AND IS A STAFF WRITER FOR THE

t&c.

sports

vol. 92, issue 13

Cards race into season

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Optimistic men’s and women’s track teams set to host season-opening Otterbein Invitational, one of three home meets this season

On the field, off the field

Name: Samie Corbin High school:

Position: hurdler

Men’s Captains

Year: junior Major: Nursing Favorite class:

pathophysiology

Favorite singer: Jason

Coach Lehman said:

Aldean

“I really like the atmosphere. We’ve had outstanding leadership from upperclassmen. We also have new faces I think can help us. I want them to get out there and work hard ... to come as close to their potential as they can. We’ll be strong in distance areas, hurdles and we have strong vaulters.”

Favorite TV show: “Friends” Favorite pre-race meal: scrambled eggs, toast and strawberries

Favorite track memory at Otterbein: We went

one, two and three last year at the OACs in hurdles. Sarah Petraitis came in first, Stacy Schall in second and then me.

Women’s Captains

inForMation CoMpiLeD by aUstin WaLsh anD photo by eD syGUDa

Lisa Coleman, senior, hurdles (Westerville South High School) Samie Corbin, junior, hurdles (Pickerington North High School) Jocelyn Hennon, senior, sprinter/hurdles (Waynesfield-Goshen High School) Lindsay Main, senior, distance on yoUr Mark: Junior Tim (Springfield High School) Williard leads an impressive Andie Pautsch, senior, distance (Reynoldsburg High School) distance squad for the Cards.

Coach Lehman said: “We have a couple of all-state performers on the women’s side coming in as freshmen ... the women are a little deeper than the men’s team. If we support each other, root for each other as a team, we’ll see how it turns out.”

“As far as this week, this is not a meet we want to peak for by any means. We want to get off to a good start ... be competitive and unified as a team.”

Senior Andie Pautsch is one of four senior captains for the women’s team. inForMation CoMpiLeD by aUstin WaLsh anD JorDan Labatte anD photos by kristen sapp

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Pickerington North

Last year both track teams took first place at the Otterbein Invitational.

Saturday the same meet will open up the indoor season with both teams looking for similar success not only for this meet, but the entire season.

Austin Curbow, junior, hurdles (Lincoln High School) Tim Williard, junior, distance (Canal Winchester High School) Ben Ellsesser, junior, pole vault (Lincoln High School)

one Last rUn:

www.otterbein360.com

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Editor’s Note

Check out www.otterbein360.com for a full track and field preview.

neW year, neW GoaLs:

Samie Corbin is one of a handful of Otterbein hurdlers looking for a strong season.

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sports

Tan & Cardinal

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What’s next in sports

Men’s basketbaLL Saturday, Jan. 22 @ Mount Union 4 p.m.

WoMen’s basketbaLL Saturday, Jan. 22 @ Mount Union 2 p.m.

traCk

thursday, jan. 20, 2011

Saturday, Jan. 22 Otterbein Invitational 11 a.m

Wednesday, Jan. 26 @ Ohio Northern 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 26 Ohio Northern 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 29 OAC Relays @ Capital Noon

photo by kristen sapp

FiGht For it:

Junior Brice Rausch tries to gain possession against Baldwin-Wallace during Wednesday’s home OAC matchup. Otterbein rallied to win 74-71 with Rausch, turning in 17 points and six rebounds.

Otterbein outlasts B-W Cards’ second-half surge takes the sting out of Baldwin-Wallace

BY DOMINIC PORRETTA Staff Writer

A great way to build your resume, sharpen your communication skills & earn some money at the same time.

Applications are available in the Admission Office (Clippinger Hall) or for more information, feel free to e-mail DeLane at DCrutcher@otterbein.edu.

The Otterbein men’s basketball team made a second-half comeback to top visiting Baldwin-Wallace 74-71 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup Wednesday night.

Trailing 39-29 at halftime, the Cardinals (7-9, 3-6 OAC) were able to tie the score at 46-46 with 13:46 left in the game thanks to a Chris Davis free throw.

Davis, a junior center, had another double-double, dropping 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

“We finally came together as a team,” Davis said. “I thought the starting five came out, played really well and I thought we actually had guys come off the bench and do some things positive.”

The game continued to go back and forth until junior guard Brice Rausch made a layup to take a 69-68 lead, which they wouldn’t give up.

Rausch contributed 17 points and six rebounds of his own to the win.

The Yellow Jackets (7-9, 3-6 OAC) had a chance to tie the game as time expired but couldn’t convert a last-second three-point attempt.

“We’ve lost a lot of close games we feel we should’ve won and it was just really good to finally come out and do it because we can keep saying that we should’ve won but haven’t done it. So the fact that we actually got a close win really builds confidence going into the second round of the league. And it’s just a stress reliever,” Davis said.

“We did a really good job of slowing down and executing.”

Dan Scheaf graduate assistant coach Senior guard Nathan Edick and freshman forward Max Van Meter each had nine points, as well.

“We did a really good job of slowing down and executing,” graduate assistant coach Dan Scheaf said. “There were times where we didn’t necessarily get shots that we wanted, but down the stretch when we really needed baskets, really needed to get to the basket and get to the

foul line, we did a good job of executing and good job of getting Chris Davis the ball on the block and letting him get to the foul line and shoot free throws.”

Scheaf also noted the team’s ability to knock down big free throws late in the game.

The Cards made 18 of 22 free throw attempts in the second half.

The Cards will next travel to Mount Union (8-8, 6-3 OAC), which got the best of Otterbein in early December at home, 84-81.

“It’ll be a tough test, especially going to their place,” Scheaf said. “It’s always a tough road game up there. They have some junior guys that can really play.

They have a good junior class of guys that do a good job of going inside-outside, attacking the basket. We did a poor job here when we played them of guarding the basketball.”

Sheaf also said, “But a lot of what we’re going to do in the next couple days getting ready for that game is just focusing on keeping guys in front of us and contesting shots. And if we can do that, we’ll be able to compete.”

Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Alliance. t&c