The DePauw March 11, 2016

Antique Shops pg. 6 & 7 Friday, March 11, 2016

Indiana’s Oldest College Newspaper

vol. 164, issue 35

Wabash Student Senate votes against resolution to admit transgender students

BY JULIE BLOCK news@thedepauw.com

What defines a Wabash man?

This is the question that students of Wabash College are now trying to answer. On Feb. 23, the Student Senate of the all-male institution voted almost unanimously against a resolution that would encourage the Office of Admissions to actively recruit transgender applicants. The only person who did not vote against it was firstyear senator Corey Leuters—and the only reason for this is because he brought forth the resolution, so he had to abstain from the vote.

After Leuters proposed the resolution in a Senate meeting in the week before, the topic was tabled for a week so that members of the Senate could discuss the issue with their constituents and have some time to mull it over. During this time, multiple polls were sent out to members of the student body asking whether they were in support of this resolution. The decision was sound: the answer was ‘no.’

Leuters is also a member of ‘shOUT, Wabash’s primary LGBTQ activism organization. ‘shOUT, which stands for Wabash Out, was formed in the 1990’s and initially held its meetings in the homes of professors to ensure the safety of those involved.

Members of the student club had been having discussions about transgender admissions for some time before drafting the resolution. Though ‘shOUT did not expect the resolution to pass, it did what ‘shOUT wanted it to do: it started a conversation.

“I have absolutely no regrets bringing forth the resolution,” Leuters told The Bachelor, Wabash’s student newspaper. “This is the beginning of a larger conversation. I am honestly surprised that it has gained the popularity that it has – although it mostly seems controversial to others. But I’m happy that it’s being discussed. “ As is the rest of ‘shOUT. The group has dedicated itself to keeping these conversations going and creating as much of a change as they can on Wabash’s campus as quickly as possible.

“We all just want the world to be better right now, and that impatience is sometimes our downfall,” said senior and former ‘shOUT president Michael Smith, “so what I work towards, and what ‘shOUT is working towards is not ending all of Wabash’s problems, but starting a conversation about them and acknowledging that they exist.”

But not all students want to be having this conversation. Wabash junior Audie Kaufman wrote an opinion piece in The Bachelor shortly after the resolution was shut down, stating that this is not a topic that Wabash should be discussing at all.

“It seems highly disruptive to the culture of a male-only education for the student body to support a current cultural trend that supports confusion of gender,” Kaufman wrote in his piece. “Furthermore, it is unproduc

WABASH cont. on pg. 3 ADVERTISEMENT

Student Senate at Wabash voted nearly unanimously on Feb. 23 to strike down the student resolution on admitting transgender males into Wabash.

PHOTO COURTSEY OF THE BACHELOR

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The DePauw | News

Black Panther co-founder and former chairman speaks on civil rights

TDP www. thedepauw.com FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016 VOL. 164, ISSUE 35 Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Chief Copy Editor

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Bobby Seale, Black Panther co-founder, spoke to a full crowd Thursday night in Peeler Auditorium. Seale frequently echoed that the cultural narrative that it is OK to use derogatory terms is a lie to keep men and women apart, to keep oppressing the minority, because these terms, if repeated, will propagate through generations.

KALEB VANARSDALE / THE DEPAUW

Public Safety officer interactions: a breakdown

BY GEORGIA GREEN news@thedepauw.com

Everyone knows what Public Safety is, but not everyone knows what happens after someone experiences an interaction with a Public Safety officer for a violation. To clarify this issue, The DePauw sat down with Director of Public Safety Angela Nally.

According to Nally, the primary task of a Public Safety officer, or any police officer for that matter, is to gather information and protect individuals who might be subject to harm.

If a student has an interaction with an officer for violating the code of conduct found in the student handbook, one of two things may result: first, the student will be referred to the community standards process, which takes place every Monday afternoon. According to Nally, an example of this would be a minor possessing a few beers in his or her room--a relatively low-scale violation.

If the student’s behavior is a higher-scale

violation, such as not cooperating with an officer, or if the action violates both the student handbook as well as Indiana state law, the student will be referred to both community standards and the Putnam County prosecutor for criminal charges.

“We worked with our prosecutor to make that decision about what things we will send and what things we will not send,” Nally explained. “If you have someone who’s drinking and fighting and tearing up stuff, that’s not just drinking anymore. So those kinds of behaviors are likely to be referred to both those systems.”

Many students are uneducated about this process, however, and are confused as to how it operates.

“I knew about community standards, then I assumed that if it was something community standards didn’t want to deal with, they just turned it over to the state,” said first-year Shelby Armstrong.

First-year Don Gettlefinger did not realize that some cases were turned over to the prosecutor’s office at all.

“I thought that all cases were handled directly through the school and that Public Safety was their own entity, so they handled all of the problems,” Gettlefinger said. “I didn’t realize that it was ever brought to the prosecutor’s office.”

However, it is ultimately community standards’ and/or the prosecutor’s decision to charge a student with a violation. In fact, Nally stated that they oftentimes make referrals to the prosecutor’s office, and the prosecutor chooses not to file charges or chooses to file a different charge than the original.

In the same way, just because a student may have an interaction with an officer and get referred to Community Standards does not mean the student will be charged.

Nally said there are three levels of results of officer interactions. The first is when the student walks away and is referred to community standards. In the second level, the student walks away, is referred to community standards and receives a ticket or a referral to the prosecutor.

The final level is a custodial arrest.

The DePauw | News WABASH cont. FROM pg. 1 tive to push for the admittance of women who claim to be men, not only because it would cease to make Wabash an allmale school, but it would utterly distort the nature of authentic manhood on campus.”

Wabash junior Ben Cramer, who is also a member of ‘shOUT, countered Kaufman’s piece with his own in the same issue of the school’s publication.

“We can pontificate all day about what being a Wabash Man entails, but I think all can agree that there’s more to our experience here than our collective Y chromosomes,” Cramer wrote. “Wabash College is the Liberal Arts College for men, not males, which is a significant but tricky distinction,” adding that a ‘man’ refers to one’s gender while a ‘male’ refers to someone’s physiology.

But the definition of a ‘man’ is unclear. Kaufman— like many other Wabash students who did not want the resolution to pass— does not think that a transgender man can truly be a man without having the genetic structure of the male; that is, he believes the two are one and the same.

“I fully disagree with the idea that somehow somebody’s perception in their mind changes their biological and genetic nature,” Kaufman told The DePauw.

“Honestly the only common denominator when it comes to manhood is that genetic [component]. You are genetically male or female.”

Of course, this scenario is entirely hypothetical—as far as Kaufman knows, Wabash has not had any transgender applicants in recent years. However, were the hypothetical to turn into a reality, Wabash may be forced to become coeducational, due to the college’s reliance on a piece of 1972 legislation that allows for the school to discriminate against women in admissions because it has a tradition of being all-male. While supporters of the resolution say that “male” can be expanded to transgender males, opponents argue that, because the clause was passed in the ‘70’s, before the idea of being transgender became widely known, it could never have been intended to include transgender men as well.

Because the law does not define its own terms, and Indiana does not have clear laws on the subject, the issue remains unresolved.

However, under a piece of Title IX

legislation from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, passed in April of 2014, all schools—including single-sex institutions—are prohibited from discriminating in the process of admissions based on gender identity.

The guidance reads: “Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity and Office of Civil Rights accepts such complaints for investigation. Similarly, the actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of the parties does not change a school’s obligations.”

The DePauw reached out to Wabash’s Title IX coordinator and several administrators for comment. All either declined to comment or did not reply to the request.

educating campus about these issues.

James, who is now a writer, producer, director and activist, attended Wabash from 1985-1989, before transitioning to a woman in 1995. It was only in her final year at Wabash that she told her classics professor, John Fischer, that she felt more like a woman than a man.

Upon hearing the Student Senate’s decision, James was infuriated.

“Any citizen of the world and student of humanity must surely know that trans men are notable among men, in that they have made a commitment to the lived experience of masculinity worthy of the commitment to knowledge and community I have often seen among Wabash students,” James told The DePauw via email. “It’s rarely comfortable to be on the wrong side of history, and it only gets more uncomfortable over time.”

Kaufman feels very differently.

“At what point is a line drawn, and how is corruption prevented to stop a young lady from lying about her ‘perceived gender’ in order to attend our renowned college?” he wrote in his opinion piece in The Bachelor. “How can the administration handle any such woman who does so and authenticate the false claim?

Will the fraternities, religious organizations, sports, etc. that disagree full-heartedly with this move and its implications be forced into silence about their disagreement?”

Some members of the DePauw community are feeling the effects of the rival college’s conservative decision. One DePauw student, who wishes to remain anonymous, identifies as non-binary— meaning they sometimes identify with one gender over another, and sometimes they identify with both. They believe the geographic proximity of the two campuses can cause the mentality to travel to Greencastle.

“Knowing that a school that you are in such close proximity with is unwelcoming towards people outside of the gender norms is disheartening because you hope that it won’t be the same here, but you definitely feel like it is because the school is mostly white, it’s relatively conservative, there isn’t much diversity in that sense and there’s definitely a lot of unwelcoming vibes towards people who are not considered ‘normal,’” they said.

Although DePauw has a long history of admitting transgender students—in fact,

“Any citizen of the world and student of humanity must surely know that trans men are notable among men, in that they have made a commitment to the lived experience of masculinity worthy of the commitment to knowledge and community I have often seen among Wabash students,” -Andrea James Smith is wary of Title IX’s ability to implement the clause because the University has not yet—at least to his knowledge—faced the issue of whether to admit a transgender student. Nonetheless, he, along with other members of ‘shOUT, are in the process of putting together a dossier with communications they’ve had with students regarding the issue, screenshots of social media posts and emails that urge people to vote against the resolution.

Smith said that the dossier will include “screenshots from the Dean of Admissions, saying we accept males by birth only.”

“Title IX issues are famously hard to enforce because it takes a very concerted effort on the administration to launch into those investigations and make sure that these things are happening,” Smith said. “[We’re] getting that all together and giving it to out to the Title IX coordinator so that she can have an investigation, and where that goes is to be seen.”

One of Wabash’s most notable alumni, Andrea James, has been working with ‘shOUT on poster campaigns to showcase to the Wabash community what it means to be transgender in the hopes of

WABASH cont. ON pg. 5

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The DePauw | News

DePauw to host women’s Special Olympics this weekend

BY EMMA MAZUREK news@thedepauw.com

DePauw will host its annual Special Olympics this upcoming weekend. The University has hosted this all-women’s basketball tournament with Special Olympics Indiana since 1971.

“Our partnership with DePauw is an excellent one and we value and recognize the contribution of students, faculty and staff,” said Duchess Adjei, manager of marketing for public relations for Special Olympics Indiana.

In other states, these tournaments are often co-ed, whereas Special Olympics Indiana is unique to women.

“We are fortunate enough to

have an interest enough by these athletes to have an all women’s tournament,” said junior Sydney Jordan, the director of service and philanthropy for the Panhellenic Council.

“The event is also so cool because it brings together athletes from across the state and gives DePauw the special opportunity to host it,” wrote Panhellenic President, junior Grace Anshutz, in an email.

This year, 32 teams will compete.

This is an increase in numbers from last year.

“For the teams that are five-onfive teams, they can have up to 12 players, and the teams that are three-on-three have up to six players on their team,” said Scott Mingle, director of sports and competition for Special Olympics.

Volunteers run the entire event.

Panhellenic encourages diversity committees within DePauw chapters TDP STAFF REPORTS news@thedepauw.com After recent concerns about diversity on DePauw’s campus, specifically surrounding Greek life, Panhellenic has created a new position on their Executive Board entitled ‘Member Education and Development.’

This new position, held by sophomore Makena Barickman, is multi-faceted, with a main focus of diversity and inclusion. With her new position, Makena has started to work with other organizations on campus to promote conversations about diversity and inclusion within the Panhellenic

They often act as morale-boosters for each team.

“My role is to set up volunteers as cheerleaders,” Jordan said. “A lot of organizations get together a little cheer team and then they go on and cheer on individual teams as they play.”

A member of Exault’s gospel choir will be singing the national anthem at the event. A city council member, who is also a faculty member at DePauw, will help with the opening ceremony speech. Most of the Interfraternity Council chapters will be in attendance and all of the Panhellenic chapters will be participating as well. The multicultural and National Pan-Hellenic Councils will also be attending and volunteering.

The football team does the tabling and helps referee.

community. Panhellenic has also been supporting the Day of Dialogue, both financially and through programming.

Although Panhellenic is not forcing chapters to form multicultural committees, it is certainly encouraging them.

Many chapters have formed them by choice, along with establishing leadership positions designed to foster conversations around these themes and brainstorm ideas about diversity and inclusion.

“Individual chapters having committees can bring about good change and have a ripple effect,” said Panhellenic President Grace Anshutz.

“The committees can really show the power of education and conversation.”

“You never want to not have someone supporting, so when this community that doesn’t really know you comes out to support you, I think it makes it extra special for the athletes and their families really appreciate it,” Jordan said.

“It really is a whole DePauw community event, bringing athletic and Greek organizations together,” Anshutz added.

A small carnival will be held for the athletes after the games on Saturday. Students are welcome to volunteer. Some Greek organizations will have individual booths there as well. The Panhellenic Executive Board will be face painting and serving popcorn.

“Students often get wrapped up in other activities and forget about the cool opportunities we have on

campus like Special Olympics,” Anshutz said. “This event presents the opportunity for students to spend time with other DePauw students and people from across the state in a fun setting.”

Games are set to begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The official opening ceremony will begin around noon, and games will take place until 4:45 p.m. After the awards of the 4:45 game, the carnival will take place. On Sunday, games start at 10 a.m. and last until 1:45 p.m.

Anyone interested in volunteering can email Sydney Jordan or simply show up to cheer on Saturday or Sunday.

“I just think if people came and saw it once, they would want to come every year and they wouldn’t want to miss it,” Jordan said.

Lets get newsy

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DeBookworms:

“Cold Comfort Farm”

by Stella Gibbons

BY NETTIE FINN features@thedepauw.com I get it: reading for pleasure is about the last thing you want to do during those precious moments you have to yourself while at school. For those of you in an English class, you’ve got a whole reading list to get through, while the rest of you are probably not taking English classes for a reason.

But really, I think that needs to change.

Since I’m sure you all rushed out to buy and read my last recommendation, “Nelly Dean” by Allison Case, here I am, just in time, to suggest a new one. Though a new novel by no stretch of the imagination—it was written in 1932—“Cold Comfort Farm” by Stella Gibbons has a fresh feel that, I firmly believe, will keep it relevant now and forever.

When Flora Poste’s parents pass away “within weeks of each other during an annual epidemic,” she is more determined than grieved, and decides that she has been presented with the perfect opportunity for collecting material for the great novel she plans to write one day. Leaving behind her brassiereobsessed friend, Mrs. Smiling, and her horde of suicide-prone suitors, she joins her relatives in Howling. As she points out to Mrs. Smiling, at least Cold Comfort Farm sounds “interesting and appalling,” while the offers from her other

relatives are simply appalling.

On the farm, Flora’s nononsense attitude is met with the Gothic moanings of an extended family that is eclectic to say the least. There’s Cousin Seth: the apple of his mother’s eye and sexual predator to farm maids for miles around, but with a secret love for “the talkies.” Cousin Reuben is consumed by a fear that Flora is after the farm for herself, and Cousin Elfine is in love with a member of the gentry, but her untamed hair and penchant for wearing colors that don’t suit her as she runs wild on the moors doesn’t bode well for the couple. Not least, there’s Aunt Ada Doom, who comes downstairs only twice a year, and spends the rest of the time muttering that she “saw something nasty in the woodshed.”

And Aunt Ada does not appreciate Flora’s meddling.

Throughout the novel, Gibbons satirizes and parodies the Gothic English novels that were so popular at the time. She presents her readers with a group of people writing about in despair, and then, in stark contrast, in walks Flora: ready to very sensibly straighten everything up. From showing Elfine how to more appropriately dress, to teaching Seth’s conquests all about birth control, Flora refuses to be bogged down by the shadows of Cold Comfort Farm.

Though the humor is sharp (the cows are named Aimless, Feckless and Graceless), the language in general by no means suffers. Gibbons considered herself a poet, but the times led her to pursue novels and journalism as more sure ways of making money. The poetry that Gibbons so loved, however, is clear in many of her turns of phrase, and adds a lovely touch to her biting wit.

A masterpiece in so many ways, “Cold Comfort Farm” for some reason doesn’t often make it onto syllabi, but I recommend you take that as a positive. This way, you get to enjoy all of the humor without being forced to analyze it.

Not that analyzing is all bad, but when a book makes you laugh out loud, as “Cold Comfort Farm” will, sometimes it’s nice to just let yourself enjoy it.

So please, enjoy.

The DePauw | Features WABASH cont. FROM pg. 3 the school was named among America’s best 100 campuses for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in “The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students” in 2006— Director of Admissions Cindy Babington says there is more work to be done.

“There are and have been ongoing conversations at DePauw about how we can be more inclusive of transgender students, faculty, staff and guests,” Babington told The DePauw via email. “Those conversations are happening in regards to campus climate, housing, programming and direct services—to name a few. Each student is an individual, so generally, we’ve gone the route of getting to know what a student’s specific needs are, rather than making policies based on assumptions.”

Some outlets for students on the gender spectrum or for those who wish to learn more about LGBTQ issues on DePauw’s campus include LGBT Services, located in the Reese Hall offices, and United DePauw, campus’ LGBT and Ally student organization. Students may also reach out to Vivie Nguyen, the LGBT services coordinator, or any of DePauw’s coun-

selors at the Wellness Center.

Additionally, Nguyen says that next year will be the first year that incoming students can opt into a trans-inclusive housing opportunity. The University is also in the process of working on bathroom facilities to be accessible to all identities.

“I hope that Wabash’s decision helps us decide what kind of campus we wish to be,” Nguyen said. “That we can talk about this and ultimately commit to creating a campus community where people can be themselves, and feel good and accepted for it.”

While the decision at Wabash is set for the time being, Smith believes that if members of the college receive proper education and are willing to open their minds to the idea of what a “man” could be, then in a years’ time, the resolution may pass.

“If Wabash is committed to the founding principles held by those men who knelt in the snow in 1832 and admitted students only on those factors, our freshmen would be white men who are heterosexual, devoted to becoming ministers or teachers, fluent in at least Latin and Greek and ready to get a liberal arts education,” he said. “We shouldn’t be worried about someone’s station at birth. Rather we should be worried about what type of man this college can make them into.”

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The DePauw

Come One,

Local Antique Shops on

BY KIENNE CORAM features@thedepauw.com

Vintage On Franklin: Antiques & Collectibles, located on the square at 5 W. Franklin St. here in Greencastle, is hungry for more DePauw customers. Owners Bill and Lynn Sullivan opened this quaint shop about four years ago.

When outside looking through the shop windows, one may not expect to find all the unique period pieces that rest on the shelves and hang on the walls.

“Every item in this shop holds value,” said first-year Ellie Locke, who recently visited the shop. “There is a story attached to everything and something truly special about just visiting such a

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cool shop.”

Almost everything in Vintage on Franklin will catch your eye. Ranging from military items, vintage clothing and linens, pottery, architectural bits and anything old and interesting, you will be amazed at what you can buy.

“Well I’m from the twin cities--my wife actually grew up in Greencastle and her dad was once the head librarian of DePauw,” Bill said when asked about the startup of his shop. He looked around the room, smiling, and pointed to various pieces of art and jewelry. “I have been doing this for 35 years. ...I solicit to people and honestly go doorto-door asking for things.”

He thinks the shop is unique in that it contains something for everyone to discover.

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1. Rows of colorful glasses made by the Fenton glass company sit on a shelf at Darlen’s Collection. The antique store specializes in art glass and, in particular, work made by the Fenton Glass Company. 2.

Glass in the form of vases, plates, candy bowls and figurines covers almost every inch of free space at Darlen’s Collection. 3. Max Blackmore leans against the front counter waiting for a customer to enter his antique shop, Darlen’s Collection, which is located at 6 W. Washington St. downtown.4. Although it has a small storefront, Antiques on Franklin sells many different items such as vintage clothes, pocket knives, jewelry and old signs. 5. A model car kit, ink, furniture polish and a miniature flower cart cover one of the many ledges in Antiques on Franklin. 6. Bill Sullivan, owner of Antiques on Franklin, proudly displays pottery works by former DePauw student and professor Richard Peeler.

SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW

D s t f t

s

w m I f w r w

| Features

, Come All:

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n the Square Want You!

““The store was set up with the intention of DePauw students... [but] we have things for students and for their parents,” he said, adding that he doesn’t want people’s ages to limit them from coming in and exploring the history behind the antiques he has collected over the years.

Locke does not feel limited by her age in the slightest.

“I bought this really neat original pocket watch with stenciled-in historical markings. It reminded me of something my grandma used to own and I used to beg her to wear it,” Locke said. “I also found the awesome vintage Elvis posters I can’t wait to put on the wall in front of my desk in my room. I think it will really help me with my homework!” she added, laughing.

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Sullivan would like to see more consistency with DePauw faces in the shop.

“DePauw students will come in once and then I won’t see them for a year,” he said.

When asked if there was one thing he could say to the DePauw campus Bill said, “Hey, 10 percent discount to all DePauw students! We’ve got some great stuff here.”

He encourages students to stop by Vintage on Franklin to buy items for the next themed party, birthday, anniversary or any other occasion. The shop is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. every Wednesday through Friday. Any questions about merchandise may be directed to Bill at (612) 7512989 during store hours.

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The DePauw | Opinions the depauw| editorial board

COMIC

Emily McCarter | Editor-in-Chief Meg Morrow | Managing Editor Julie Block | Chief Copy Editor email us at editor@thedepauw.com

The Value of DePauw Stress

Is Mercury in Retrograde or is it just us? In the midst of midterms week, everyone seems to be running around like their hair’s on fire.

Ask any DePauw student and they will ring off a long list of things they have to do before Spring Break: a test and paper due in the same class on Friday, an informal dance to attend, two tests and three papers due next week, an in-class presentation, meetings with two professors, a guest speaker session to attend, and they still have enough time to gossip about our new president.

Are DePauw students being stretched too thin? Or do DePauw students just enjoy being busy, entertaining all of their various interests?

There’s a fine line between enjoying being busy and simply wanting to quit everything because the stress is too much to handle. This line is never perfectly walked, even for the dynamic and intelligent DePauw student.

Moreover, is this amount of stress healthy?

We could cite several sources explaining why stress is or isn’t healthy, but the fact of the matter is that whether or not it is, we will continue to be stressed after we graduate DePauw.

In every single career we could go into, we will have everyday stresses that may seem unmanageable. However, what we don’t realize now is that the stresses and commitments we are handling now with our lives at DePauw are preparing us to handle even more serious and pressing situations in our later careers.

When we’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the activities we’re involved in, we need to learn to embrace the challenges we face and balance our time well because doing so will pay off tenfold down the road.

EDITORIAL POLICY The DePauw is an independently managed and financed student newspaper. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of DePauw University or the Student Publications Board. Editorials are the responsibility of The DePauw editorial board (names above).

The opinions expressed by cartoonists, columnists and in letters to the editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial staff of The DePauw.

The DePauw welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must

be signed and accompanied by the author’s name and phone number and sent in by 4 p.m. either the Monday or Thursday before print dates. Letters cannot be retracted after 5 p.m. the same day of submission. Letters have a 350-word limit and are subject to editing for style and length. The DePauw reserves the right to reject letters that are libelous or sent for promotional or advertising purposes. Deliver letters to the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, email the editor-in-chief at editor@thedepauw.com or write The DePauw at 609 S. Locust St., Greencastle, Ind. 46135.

ZACH TAYLOR / THE DEPAUW

LETTER TO THE EDITOR While we wish incoming President McCoy every success in leading DePauw in the days ahead, it is with some regret that we note the Presidential search committee’s failure to find and select, from among the many strong and capable candidates who applied for and/or were nominated, a candidate who brings to the Presidency more experience and expertise dealing with racial issues surrounding campus climate.

We, as a campus, have missed yet another opportunity for our first woman President. Our first Latino/ Latina President. Our first Black President. While such markers of identity are not guarantees of competence even on issues related to diversity, they can be fruitfully correlated with greater understanding and empathy with issues facing traditionally under-represented groups on campus. Further, there can be little doubt about the symbolic value of seeing experienced and highly qualified members of traditionally underrepresented groups taking on and succeeding at the highest levels of University leadership. There

is, then, reason to think that our campus has missed an opportunity to take meaningful steps forward on diversity issues in the just completed Presidential search.

Moreover, leadership on nationally and locally divisive issues of justice will, presumably, be a crucial determinant of the next President’s success. Yet while we note that Dr. McCoy has, by all accounts, been a transformative and in many ways highly successful leader of the school of music during the last few years, leadership on issues of racial diversity and inclusion were not among the hallmarks of his tenure as Dean.

It is our profound hope that Dr. McCoy will show the moral courage and intellectual depth, comprehension, and sensitivity necessary to actively lead DePauw through the challenges we face as we seek to come to terms with and rectify the, up until now, shamefully slow pace of change toward justice both on campus and in our broader communities.

Signed: Rich Cameron, Associate Professor of Philosophy Rebecca Bordt, Otto L. Sonder, Jr. Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Tamara Beauboeuf, Professor and Director of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Glen David Kuecker, Professor of Latin American History Clarissa Peterson, Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science and Director of the Africana Studies Program Susan Hahn, Professor of English Pascal Lafontant, Associate Professor of Biology Matthew Oware, Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology and Anthropology Rebecca Alexander, Assistant Professor of Education Studies Jeannie Vanasco, Assistant Professor of English

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The DePauw | Opinions

DePauwlitics: Our New Climate Reality mickey terlep Matt piggins

Leonardo DiCaprio could’ve said damn near anything during his 2016 Oscar’s acceptance speech and we would’ve listened.

With the countless snubs he’s had to face over the years, he deserved his minute upon that stage. But after a brief moment of thanks to those who supported him, DiCaprio used his long-awaited speech, statuette in hand, for a greater purpose: “Climate change is real,” he said. “It is happening now.”

Of course, the first sentence is now common knowledge, or at least it should be (we’re looking at you, Trump). But our understanding of the latter statement, the notion that the effects of global warming have become a ‘now’ problem as opposed to a ‘later’ one, remains to be seen. Perhaps we give lip service to this sense of urgency, but do we always believe it, let alone address it?

The ‘now’ is here, and the current drought in Ethiopia is just one case in point. According to The Economist, the drought in Ethiopia has

reduced crop yields by more than 50 percent.

This is, at least in part, the result of a particularly strong El Niño, a phenomenon made more severe due to climate change. The reduced yields and dying livestock induced by the drought are particularly troubling in Ethiopia, as over 80 percent of the population are subsistence farmers, meaning over 80 percent of the population depends entirely on strong crop yields to survive.

While the international community has been praised for its assistance, less than half of the estimated $1.4 billion needed to combat the drought’s impact has been funded. According to Paul Schemm of the Washington Post, unless more aid is secured, Ethiopia’s food supply could run out as soon as May. Yet not even $1.4 billion is enough. Not only has the world failed to provide adequate assistance to Ethiopia--let alone the many other countries that need it--but the aid being provided carries with it potential harms. By bringing emergency food aid to Ethiopia from foreign rather than local sources, aid agencies are undermining local efforts to produce and distribute food. This could have long term effects on Ethiopian agricultural markets, making it harder to recover from this drought and more difficult to survive the inevitable ‘next one.’

As the world continues to warm, the potential for drought and famine will only increase, especially in low-income countries. Climatolo-

gists widely agree that the increasing temperature of our global climate has already resulted in more extreme and more frequent disasters of this nature. Yet, the response mechanisms in place to address these calamities are not always effective or properly funded. In order to adapt effectively to our new climate reality, the World Food Programme and other food aid organizations need to seek new, more effective strategies for feeding those affected by climate disaster and the international community needs to be willing to pay for it.

In his speech, DiCaprio made clear what we all must recognize: climate change is no longer a problem of the future. Across the world, people of all stripes are having to adapt to new climates. While for us in the Midwest that means getting used to warm days in February and March, for those in other parts of the world the effects of climate change are much more disastrous. This Ethiopian case is just one row in a growing dataset of environmental disasters triggered by climate change.

The need for effective response mechanisms to these global problems has thus never been more urgent.

-Terlep is a senior political science major from Naperville, Illinois; Piggins is a senior economics major from Saugatuck, Michigan.

Got an opinion?

Write about it. contact Alex Weilhammer: aweilhammer_2016@depauw.edu

PHOTOPINION What will you miss most about President Casey?

“I’m really going to miss his dog.”

Aly Bright, senior

“I’m going to miss seeing him longboard across campus.”

Anna Abrahamson, sophomore

“I’ll miss him taking the time to say hi to literally everyone and to get to know all of us.”

Makayla Anderson, junior

“I’ll miss how he would be willing to come to you and have a conversation and how friendly he was.”

Tendai Hinds, sophomore Alex Weilhammer / the depauw