September 15, 2015

The Denisonian TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Established in 1857

DENISON UNIVERSITY GRANVILLE, OHIO 43023

Volume 165, No. 2

Women’s rugby blow-out: 50-0 against Kenyon

Nelson Dow / The Denisonian

Denison University’s women’s rugby team is a Division II club sport. They are positioned in a scrum, where the women line up before the ball is dropped. The game took place this past Saturday at Deeds Field.

Housing office holds Changes made to school RAs to higher standards sexual assault policy KATY BARENHOLTZ News Editor In light of certain events and concern about Resident Assistants ignoring their contracts or not taking them as seriously as they should, the housing office has decided to clarify the residential housing contract and highlight key points that seemed to get brushed under the rug, namely regarding drug and alcohol policies.

Kristan Hausman, Director of Residential Education and Housing/Assistant Dean of Students, explained that in previous years it was not clear about what the repercussions were when the contracts were violated.

Hausman explained the job action chart and that it outlines three levels of violations. Low level violations are the mildest.

For example, if residential assistants ignore a violation of the residents’ contract such as

having candles in the rooms, they get a mild punishment.

A mid level violation is concerned with failing to identify oneself to a campus safety officer in a conduct matter. For example, knowingly allowing students to unofficially swap rooms.

Finally, a high level violation is one that violates local, state or federal law. These are typically alcohol or drug related. For instance, if an RA is caught underage drinking or under the influence of a substance, or if they are doing these things while on duty. High level violations are grounds to result in firing the RA. Hausman said that in previous years, this was a grey area. Now, they are making it clear that it is a no tolerance policy and these RAs will be fired immediately.

Some initially thought this meant changes were being made to the RA contracts, but See RA POLICY, page 3

JEWELL PORTER Editor-in-Chief

In past years, students making allegations about sexual misconduct on campus would gather before a body of students, staff and administrators to deliver their own case regarding their part in an alleged sexual assault case.

After new information about how to better handle these types of cases emerged, the policy was changed so that there was a formal investigator who would either be affiliated or not affiliated with the University in a formal capacity. The investigator would interview students involved with the case to piece a story together about what happened.

But after the government mandated that all universities comply to their set of standards about investigating sexual assault cases, the administration formally implemented changes

to its own policy on July 1.

Some of these changes were simple: they just involved changing and adding language that the University uses about cases of sexual assault. For example, the college must specify that it engages in prevention education, which was already present on this campus during events like August Orientation.

Some of the changes simply update or add definitions to some key terms when addressing a case of sexual assault.

For example, definitions of terms like “responsible employee” were added, which means people who are responsible for reporting sexual assault on campus if a student releases this information. This was already part of the reporting procedure on Denison’s campus, but now there is a formal, universal word for who those people are. Other definitions that were added were also key terms See MISCONDUCT, page 3

ARTS & LIFE

SPORTS

Writing professors present work for the Beck Lecture RACHEL EPSTEIN Arts & Life Editor The air seemed a little more homey in the Barney Davis Board room as Ann Townsend, co-director of the Beck Visiting Author Lecture series rose to the podium on Wednesday night to welcome three seasoned Denison faculty members.

Along the side of the East wall stood Margot Singer, Peter Granbois and David Baker, three well-known Denison faculty members clutching wads of paper with an air of selfassured nervousness that only comes from decades of poise mixed with talent. The three creative writing professors came together in a literary trio to read some of their stunning new work. Throw in a dash of See BECK LECTURE, page 8

IN THIS ISSUE

OPINION

FEATURES

1 day until the reopening of The Nest!

Daweed Abdiel See Page 5

Sarob See Page 6

Delta Chi Pig Roast See Page 10

Women’s Soccer See Page 12

2 |NEWS

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Granville’s Taco Dan’s gets a design makeover this summer

Hannah Kubbins / The Denisonian

a lot less cluttered now. It’s much better.”

Similarly, Chelsea Chen ’17 said “It’s just a lot bigger now and less cramped. I really like the addition the owners did.”

In addition to the two rooms being opened up, the bar area now features a 4-place keg with a beer from each local distillery in Licking County as well as over 115 bottled beers for those over 21 to choose from.

As far as involvement with the Denison students, Dan and Barb both remarked how Wednesday nights used to be Denison night, meaning you would get free chips and salsa with your student ID. Dan’s wife, Barb, also said that she feels she has a strong kinship with Denison students. “We’re definitely open to ideas, especially now

because the restaurant part works really well to do something for the students. We’re open to anything. I’d be willing to having a certain night of the week for each class. You know, Monday night is freshman night, etc.”

As for future plans Taco Dan himself, Dan Rogers stated: “We want to continue to expand and move forward. In the future, we would love to have Denison events here. Especially when I can open up the yard or the patio. With that space I can have more people. I’m not against that, I think it would be fun and under control.”

There are no plans to expand out back as of now, but the new bar and pool area will surely bring in more Denison students and members of the Granville community.

Dan and Barb Rogers are excited about the renovations done to Taco Dans over the past few months. The restaurant now features a large bar area for patrons to relax and dine.

HANNAH KUBBINS Staff Writer While Denison students were enjoying their summer break full of internships, jobs and travel, Granville’s local treasure Taco Dan’s was swept up in the middle of some exciting new renovations.

For those who haven’t had the time to pay a visit to this establishment, owner Dan Rogers describes the place as “very laid back and relaxed.

There’s not a lot of rules other than you have to be 21 to drink and you have to be good.”

As you walk into the Californiastyle hangout, a new bar area now replaces the once-crowded room.

And to the left of that room, a pool table and lounging area is now open for students and the Granville public to enjoy.

Renovations to the college hangout

started in late July and early August.

The bar area used to be a roomused to sell clothing. Employee Kirsten Upchurch said, “We started to carve into the clothing and added tables for dining, but there was still clothing and other vintage materials to sell, and now it’s a bar.”

The renovations, though, are a fairly new addition. “The renovations are only about a week old,” She said, “We did our soft opening a week ago and it was incredibly successful. We didn’t even announce it, and we were slammed the whole night.”

Students that have been to the local eatery have commented on how open it is now that the renovations are complete. Gretchen Glitner ’16 said, “It’s a great new addition.

The bar owners built the addition themselves, and it makes it a lot easier to socialize. The pool room is fun too, and the whole place seems

Linh Nguyen / The Denisonian

The building that houses Taco Dans also includes a vintage clothing store run by owner Barb Rogers.

Dan Hect focuses on new security plan for the upcoming year

Nelson Dow / The Denisonian

Hect plans to steer Denison’s community in the right direction with his plan for campus.

BREONNA GRANT Special to The Denisonian How safe is Denison? Director of Campus Safety, Daniel Hect, sees a promising future for improving the Denison community’s safety.

In response to the passing of Wendell Jackson ‘17, there have been new resources made available to students such as the Nowforce app that can pinpoint a student’s location and immediately put that student in contact with security. There are also new RAD (rape, aggression and defense) classes that will be offered, with the first class starting as early as Sept. 29.

At the Tuesday Faculty Lunch Series on Sept. 8, Hect discussed high-risk,

low-frequency security cases on college campuses. Hect shared his work, Preparing for High Risk Low Frequency Incidents on College Campuses, in which he expresses how college tragedy is not a “Denison problem,” but a “national problem.” Colleges and universities all over America are struggling with the problem of high risk incidents.

Hect says that embracing a strong community enhances the ability to respond to high risk incidents. In return, this will positively enhance the way that Denisonians respond to campus crisis, and can be used as a guide to revise the policies that other colleges have.

In order to create this strong

community, the campus must be in complete coherence. This means that the relationship between the administrative leadership and campus resources must include a combination of strong communication, consistency in actions and ideals and the administration must ensure that campus resources are funded and trained properly so that they are better prepared to respond quickly.

“Denison’s Administrators and Campus resource communication is great, however consistency seems to be a national problem that encompasses many factors,” Hect said.

The administration is taking precautions to enhance performance of campus safety, including the reviewal of

the developing strategy for how to move forward with initiatives of engagement.

Teague Magner ‘16 said, “For me, Denison had always felt like a safe place, but I’m continually impressed in how well the campus deals with all issues, especially those related to safety.

I feel Officer Hect has led his team and the campus in the right direction.”

Hect said that the university is the driving factor for campus safety’s decisions, and as far as effectively managing resources and being strategic on the training, they will do a lot to improve their capabilities.

Hect commended the members of the the Denison community for being so strong, and encouraged them to continue in their quest to be discerning social agents.

THE DENISONIAN

NEWS ALL THE NEWS THAT MATTERS

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Email: powers_m2@denison.edu barenh_k1@denison.edu Visit: www.denisonian.com

3|NEWS

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Much anticipated geofilter finally hits Denison’s Snapchat ELAINE CASHY Managing Editor Snapchatters and selfie takers across campus rejoiced on Tuesday, Sept. 8 as Denison University made its mark on the Snapchat map.

Mitchell Tijerina ‘18 took the initiative in creating the university’s new geofilter, working for over a month on Adobe Illustrator and tracing the iconic locations and animals of Denison. The new geofilter features several Denison trademarks, including deer, buzzards, Swasey Chapel and the campus’ iconic nickname “The Hill.”

Mckenna Sokol ‘16 admires the filter as the ultimate representation of Denison: “I think it totally encompasses Denison,” she said. “I feel like Swasey is Denison’s beacon and so many of us lovingly call our home ‘The Hill,’ so I think it’s perfect.”

Even though Tijerina had some experience with graphic arts because of his high school computer graphics class, he said that creating the geofilter “was a learning process, but it was well worth it.”

He added that some other students had submitted geofilters but were, unfortunately, not chosen. “There are a lot of qualifications that potential filters need,” he said. Some of the qualifications include making it small enough that the filter won’t cover the entire picture, no hashtags, no pictures and making sure that it is local.

“I’m just really glad that I was chosen for it,” he said with a smile on his face.

The process of creating the filter took about two months over the summer. “It was a lot of trial and error,” he said. “One

received from his friend Allison from home. Because Tijerina does not own a smartphone of his own and his iPod was dead, he did not immediately see his labor in use.

The university shared in this pride, and images of the geofilter filled snap stories and selfies, students obviously appreciating Tijerina’s Snapchat art.

Despite his new graphic designing skills, Tijerina does not plan to create another Snapchat filter for Denison. “It’d be really cool if someone else did it,” he said.

Other than the satisfaction of knowing he created the first Snapchat filter for Denison’s campus, Tijerina also got something out of a little more tangible: “I’m definitely putting my new Illustrator skills on my resume,” he said.

Off the Hill National CNN Questionable working conditions for Uber drivers

Jewell Porter / The Denisonian

Snapchat geofilter artist, Mitchell Tijerina ‘18, is well versed in graphic design allowing his creation to be accepted by the Snapchat Headquarters.

time, it took me, like, hours to figure something out when it actually only took a few seconds.”

Despite his artistic labors for the geofilter, the Columbus native humbly said, “I don’t want people to think of it as

my geofilter. It’s everyone’s.”

Although he could not ignore the true accomplishment of his hours of design: “I was ecstatic. I was so happy and proud.”

Tijerina found out that his filter was accepted by a text message that he

MISCONDUCT Continued from page 1 like “incapacitated” and “force.”

However, other changes are more substantive. “I think that the purpose of our policy is to explain to the community how we will respond when a report of sexual misconduct has been made,” said Laurel Kennedy, vice president of student development.

Possibly the biggest substantive change to the policy is the decision process of sexual assault cases. Rather than using a board composed of students and faculty to decide whether a student is guilty or innocent of sexual misconduct, the decision is now up to the administration to give; however, there is still an investigator responsible for investigating the case, although this process has been tweaked as well.

Rather than relying on internal investigators to go through the investigative process, Kennedy said that the University will rely more on external investigators, though she added that Denison began using external investigators nine months ago.

Students also have the option to choose their own advisor –– either on campus or off campus –– when involved in a case of sexual misconduct. Advisors can range from a lawyer to a parent to a Denison employee, for example.

Students also have the option to appeal because new information has been presented, they can claim procedural errors were missed and/or there were disproportionate sanctions.

Kennedy pointed out that the policy keeps changing because there continues to be new evidence that suggests better ways to handle sexual assault cases at the University level.

With the increasing popularity of Uber in cities as a convenient and economical way to safely get around the city, the conditions of the employees have been under some speculation as well.

Because they are independent workers, they are not entitled to minimum wage, overtime compensation, worker’s compensation insurance coverage, or protection from workplace discrimination.

They are not entitled to benefits and are not allowed to join a union. There have been an increasing number of lawsuits and the company has been forced to address these issues.

International CNN Mexican tourists mistaken for terrorists and killed Egyptian police officers killed 12 tourists and injured ten whom they mistook to be terrorist militants. The tourist group was apparently in a restricted area, in unauthorized cars, and touring without a permit. The head of the tour guides rebutted stating that they were in fact licensed. Two that were killed and five that were injured were Mexicans, and the rest were Egyptians.

On the Hill Professors and students co-publish

Anna Spanger / The Denisonian

Cameron Young ‘17, a biology major from Cincinnati, is the Head Resident of Crawford Hall on East Quad.

RA POLICY Continued from page 1

Hausman emphasized these policies have always been in place, but they just needed to be emphasized and clarified.

“This gives the student staff opportunity to opt out”, Hausman says. The student staff are allowed to back out of their contracts if they are not willing to abide by these policies, but this has not happened.

These policy enforcements have been very well received by the staff. Hausman believes that “RAs are expected to be role models on campus. We should have been doing this all along.”

Cameron Young ’17, HR of Crawford Hall, supports this and also views RAs and Head Residents as role models.

“The Office of Residential Life and Housing here at Denison is changing what it means to be an RA or HR,” Young said.

“The RA contract that we all signed sets a precedent for the type of behavior that is expected of us as representatives and leaders of the residence halls. Our responsibilities are not finished when we leave the building. We are always representing our communities, which is why signing the contract is so important.”

Joseph Reczek, Associate Professor of Chemistry, published the paper “Efficient bromination of naphthalene dianhydride and microwave assisted synthesis of core-brominated naphthalene diimides” Synth. Commun.

2015, 45, 1127-1136. This paper was coauthored with Denison students Annelise C. Thompson (’13), Haley M. Grimm (’14), Ariana Gray Bé (’15), and Keenan J. McKnight (’12). Reczek also presented “Novel electron-rich anthracene components in modular donor-acceptor columnar liquid crystals” at the 249th national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Denver, CO.

Corrections Megan Storms ‘18 was pictured in the SHARE article on page 7 in the 9/8 issue.

Saul Zamora ‘17 was pictured in the Involvement Fair photo essay on page 8.

The Denisonian is a professional publication. Please direct all corrections to denisonian@denison.edu

4|EDITORIAL

TUESDAY, September 15, 2015

OUR VOICE >>

Editor’s Corner >>

Staff Editorials

Building relationships that last Why didn’t we recognize 9/11?

LAURA CARR Editor-in-Chief When I think of ways to market Denison, I almost always jump to the word “community.” This isn’t because I actually think there is a tangible sense of community, but because that is one of the words that is most frequently used in admissions paraphernalia.

In light of the passing of Wendell Jackson ‘17, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Denison community. We come together in times of great tragedy, but once those feelings of grief subside, we don’t necessarily remain as a united front.

Last Tuesday, I attended an orientation for leaders of campus organizations where the topic of synergy was discussed at length. We weren’t talking about synergy across campus; we were talking about synergy within our own organizations.

I left the meeting wondering about The Denisonian’s values and how the editorial board, as a group of students, could achieve better synergy.

One such idea involved The Bullsheet, an organization that The Denisonian staff was once at odds with.

As a group of seven students, the positive relationship that their staff has with each other is evident. It is not uncommon to find Bullsheet’ers lounging inside their office on their comfy couch, blasting music through

their new speakers and watching YouTube videos. I think their relationship is what the admissions pamphlets are trying to capture.

Over the last two years, our relationship with The Bullsheet has gone from openly hostile to a friendly rivalry. One could even go so far as to say that we’ve built a familial bond with their staff. I have had some of my most stimulating conversations within their small office space in Knapp 108. This is the kind of growth I would like to see on campus –– where two groups can not only coexist, but can flourish at the same time with help from one another.

If we can’t get along within our own, small organizations, how are we supposed to create a welcoming campus environment? The first step is to recognize that there is an issue. Denison is a small school, and a lot of high school-like cliques tend to form. We need to break this mold and find common ground--positive common ground. In Knapp 108, where both of our offices are located, we have found common ground because we are both part of the free press, but in different ways. The Bullsheet is satirical, and The Denisonian is more traditional.

We should break out of our comfort zones; this could be something as small as taking a nap in The Bullsheet office rather than on The Denisonian’s couch (please ask first, though).

Like any change, this will take time. In order to change the attitude of a community, you need to start with the youngest members of that community. We need to impress upon them that they will not find the Denison that they wanted to go to unless they contribute to that vision.

Above all, everyone here needs to want change.

Denison University’s Oldest Student Organization - Established 1857 Editor-in-Chief

Laura Carr

Editor-in-Chief

Elaine Cashy

Managing Editor

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the means for helping students become more active citizens in this democratic society.

We believe that acknowledging the event would comfort students personally affected by the tragic event and help students become more empathetic. Fourteen years later, the shock of the event still haunts many Americans who have lost loved ones in the tragedy of 9/11.

The nation has mourned as a whole on this day for the past 14 years, and the Denison bubble should not inhibit our ability to have moments of silence, moments of remembrance and moments of respect for the brave citizens who lost their lives during 9/11.

9/11 tragedy and Islamophobia The tragedy that struck our nation 14 years ago still resonates across the nation as a day of mourning.

Family members and friends suffered through the loss of loved ones, and the nation grieved over the horrible act of terrorism know as 9/11. It is a loss that we as a country have had, and still steadily try, to heal from.

Much respect is deserved to the lives taken and the families that have and still grieve.

But let’s look at things through a different lens. Since 9/11, the war on terrorism has been ongoing. Blame for the disaster has for the most part been placed on those of Muslim and Islamic belief and origin. Let’s try to also empathize with a person of either or both groups who have been stereotyped and victimized because of something that was never their fault.

Several tweets circulated about how life has been since the misfortune with the hashtag #afterseptember11. A girl spoke about how when

her younger brother was only nine years old, their parents “genuinely asked [him] if he wanted to change his name [because] it was Osama.”

Another tweet within that hashtag discussed how a woman grew up without a mother because “someone with a gun decided that she needed to answer for [9/11] with her life.”

Even aside from civilians having to deal with spiteful death and stereotyping as backlash of 9/11, political figures have shamefully dealt with the same. President Barack Hussein Obama has been called a terrorist numerous times because of his middle name.

A group of people has watched their religion and culture become stereotyped, as so often happens in this country and around the world.

Yes, it’s important to #NeverForget 9/11, but it’s also important to remove Islamophobia from the fabric of American society.

Laura Carr ‘17 is an English major from Los Angeles, Calif.

The Denisonian Jewell Porter

Last Friday, Sept. 11, President Obama held a moment of silence for 9/11’s 14th Anniversary. Considering the fact that Denison encourages students to be active citizens, members of The Denisonian staff were concerned about why the school did not commemorate the tragic event that occurred almost a decade and a half ago.

Our staff unanimously agreed that we did not hear any commemoration in any of our classes last Friday. The terrorist attacks that happened 14 years ago have left an unforgettable mark on this country, both bad and good, and we believe that acknowledging 9/11 would provide, at least,

The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Denison University, nor any of its constituents. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board, consisting of the Editor-in-Chief, section editors and assistants.

Columns, letters and opinion pieces represent the views of their authors. Letters to the editor of reasonable length will be accepted prior to 5 p.m. the Sunday before publishing. Letters may be edited for length or content. The Editors-inChief reserves the right to refuse the printing of submissions.

THE DENISONIAN OPINION MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH YOUR VOICE

Upcoming issues: 9/22 • 10/6 • 10/13 • 10/27 • 11/3 • 11/10 • 11/17 • 12/8

108 Knapp • Denison University • Granville, Ohio 43023

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OPINION| 5

TUESDAY, September 15, 2015

YOUR VOICE >> Op-Ed

Op-Ed

Lessons learned from a first-year student Beyond the brochure: freshmen expectations

RHAYNA KRAMER Special to The Denisonian “Believe me, once you get to college, you’re not even going to have time to think about pleasure reading.”

As a voracious reader, hearing those words from my parents occasionally jarred my sensibilities and challenged my sanity, but I never really considered the possibility that that mindset would ever besiege me. I would make time for my books, which, just before college started, I continued to check out at a steady pace.

It’s been almost three full weeks into the school year, and I’ve not even had the slightest inclination to touch those library books.

One thing we first-years have discovered very quickly is the fact that, from the very first day, a plethora of assignments has pummeled us into capitulating to the almighty realm of academia. When professors casually suggest—rather than force--you keep up with the reading and not procrastinate on assignments, we’ve found that procrastination is not an option.

Gone are the days of composing a paper the night before and expecting your finished project, usually a

bubbling cauldron of fluff, drivel and meaningless adjectives, to suffice before a professor’s eyes. While, fortunately enough, I’ve not yet been assigned a paper in any of my classes, I know that, soon enough—for the first time in my life—I will seek assistance and utilize the Writing Center’s resources to make that smooth transition into college writing.

Whatever my friends and I are discussing, all roads lead back to Denison’s academics. Daily discourse consistently consists of gauging who has the most assigned reading in each class, followed by narratives of our frequent bouts of existential crises.

Directly proportional to such crises is our habitual eating patterns. The “Freshman Fifteen” is alive and well.

For all of the variety of options at Curtis and Huffman, a number of us can confidently agree: Slayter is life; there’s free Whit’s at every turn; Denison recently hosted a food truck—all things for which we would slosh and muddle through puddle and precipitation.

Having said all of that, I have enjoyed my experience at Denison thus far between the interesting classes I’m taking this semester--particularly Early British Literature and American History to 1865—the friendships I’ve made, and the collective outpouring of care following Wendell’s death— and coming back from three morning classes and finding that my mother’s home-cooked leftovers are still as scrumptious as the day she made them.

Rhayna Kramer is a English and history double major from Columbus, Ohio.

Op-Ed

So you can’t take the heat?

JOSHUA MCCARTNEY Special to The Denisonian Since 1902 when Willis Haviland Carrier developed a small machine to regulate the humidity at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company, the air conditioner has become a ubiquitous appliance. It operates on a simple premise: air can be cooled using a single chemical reaction by way of a compressed gas interacting with outside air.

This air is then filtered back into the desired space and the hotter air is recirculated out of the space. According to carbonrally.com, a popular sustainability blog, “The average home air-conditioning system costs $280 per year to run.” This seems like a fairly significant amount, and for many families it is. But we miss a key factor in an argument against A/C at our school, the average person has their air conditioning unit running in the hottest months of the year.

At Denison, a majority of the dorms are

unoccupied in the summer, and thus the air conditioners would be shut off, costing the school no money. Why is it that we, the students at this otherwise lavishly furnished university, must melt in the everlasting heat that Granville, Ohio presents us with?

No student goes to sleep excited to awaken to their sweat-dampened sheets.

As the sales of personal fans sail at appliance stores, students resorted to the age old tactic of sleeping with little-to-no clothing on. Perhaps after trying and failing to maintain your equilibrium, you may have tried taking a chilling shower. Whatever the tactic, these outrageous circumstances should not exist.

I recall a particularly poignant point from a conversation with my roommate Ethan Leichter ’19 who said, “I really think I could get by with a call to my doctor for a note declaring my medical need for A/C.” I had similar thoughts on the matter.

As we approach the impending months of colder weather, my pleas for the cooling units in our dorms may fall by the wayside.

But I implore you, student body, remember that for 75 percent of you, there will be another August and September here at Denison. I leave you with this: can you honestly look back on our first three weeks and recall a night where you lay down to retire for the evening and thought to yourself, “Wow, I am so comfortable”? I certainly can’t.

Joshua McCartney is a pre-med major from New York City, N.Y. .

DAWEED ABDIEL Special to The Denisonian After our third week at Denison, I believe freshmen now have enough experience to fairly assess which of our initial expectations Denison has surpassed. I did not set too many expectations because I thought that doing so would leave me vulnerable to disappointment.

I think this disposition has left me open to uncertainty, and would allow me to comfortably assess my satisfaction with Denison. For the few expectations that I did hold, I had ardent feelings about it.

I expected to behave at Denison the way I behaved in the real world: bringing my belongings with me every time I need to go somewhere or do something.

But the integrity at Denison is amazing. I have left my things around at the library several times. When I return, I find myself relieved and impressed to see all of my items in the same spot and condition; however, I am not necessarily encouraging anyone to leave their items unattended. Nonetheless, this environment has a great level of integrity that surpassed my initial expectations.

One of the main reasons I chose Denison was because of its small campus size. The campus is 900 acres, but, depending on your priorities, it can seem bigger than expected.

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I expected all of the buildings to be centered in a small radius of campus (similar to A-Quad); however, the buildings seem to be, with the exception of the biological reserve, stratified throughout the campus’ area.

The walk from Curtis West to the Mitchell Center is a little more than a half a mile. Additionally, consider the sharp incline, which makes the journey much more intimidating, going up from Mitchell to West quad.

I go down to Mitchell two times a day, and I leave from and return to west quad.

This means that I walk two miles every day. I have learned that everyday, here at Denison, is truly leg day.

Denison’s academic prowess is stupendous, and I believe the professors constitute a large portion of a student’s experience with academics. The professors are eloquent and enthusiastic.

The teachers are the fuel that inspires me, motivating me to spend every class, to consecrate a large fraction of my time in the library, in hopes of acquiring knowledge similar to theirs. They not only teach, but they are living up to their purpose “to inspire and educate [our] students to become autonomous thinkers, discerning moral agents and active citizens of a democratic society,” as the school’s mission statement says..

Additionally, my assignments have been enlightening and thought provoking. After eighteen years in my life, Denison’s academic environment is incumbent or, should I say, a catalyst for my ability to think. I look forward to learning and pursuing my passions here at Denison.

By no means am I trying to advertise the school, but I do give credit to Denison for exceeding, and confounding, a few of my expectations.

Daweed Abdiel ‘19 is a sociology major from Chicago, Ill.

6|FEATURES

Tuesday, Septe

Sarob’s new album focuses on making people feel better

Courtesy of Rob Tate

“ I kinda wrote it like it’s a book, so each song changes like you’re turning the page,” Rob Tate ‘16 said. The purpose of his new album is to help break people

out of the bad feelings that they may be having.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:

ROB TATE JEWELL PORTER Editor-in-Chief

Rob “Sarob” Tate ‘16 wants what most musical artists want when people listen to their music: to make his audience “feel” something.

“I want them to feel okay, and I know that sounds weird, but I want them to feel alright about themselves,” the political science major from Dayton, Ohio said. Quoting one of Maya Angelou’s famous sayings, the rapper said that he hopes that people will remember the way that his music made his audience feel.

Tate emphasized that many people are going through a lot both emotionally and mentally, so he wants people dealing with those issues to feel like they are not alone.

“It’s like, I get it, and here’s something to help you get through it,” he said.

Sarob is known on campus for his two mixtapes: “decent.” and “noon.,” which were released in the past two years. Tate said that he continues to work to improve his artistry in every new mixtape or song he puts out. “Decent.,” his first mixtape, “was bad. It didn’t sound great,” he said.

On the other hand, “noon.,” his second mixtape, was “pretty good,” but when Tate listens to it now, he hears “a lot of stuff [he] could have done better.” But when he looks back on this mixtape in a couple of years, he still expects that he’ll “look back and see other things [he] could have improved on,” he said.

Much of the mixtape was written when the rapper was still in high school, so the songs often did not flow or work well to-

gether, he said. “Noon.,” his second mixtape, was an improvement from his first mixtape, but Tate plans to test his new skills and knowledge of music when he puts out his first album in December: “the down.”

To Tate, the actual experience of “the down” is different for everyone. The main purpose of the album, like many of the songs on his last two mixtapes, is to help break people out of the bad feelings that they may be having.

“I kinda wrote it like it’s a book, so each song changes like you’re turning the page,” he said. When the song fades out in the right ear, the next song will begin again in the left ear.

Like his mixtapes, “the down” will talk about the experience of the down generally, to ensure that different people are able to relate to it.

Similarly, his album will showcase the artist’s low-key persona as “decent.” and “noon.” both did by mimicking the aesthetic style of the album (all lowercased letters and periods at the end of the title).

But he also plans to change some things up in “the down.,” thanks to some lessons he learned from his first two released projects.

Tate used to believe that the lyrics made the music all it needed to be, but now he holds that although good lines are necessary, it is often the music behind the raps that makes the song stand out.

“I want to make music more musical rather than just lyrical,” Tate said. “I wanted to just be a good writer, but sometimes that’s not enough.” For example, he added more samples from artists like Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo as well as some vocal clips.

Over the summer, Tate took his music to the stage as he performed at concerts in the northern Ohio region. “Oftentimes, I didn’t even have a DJ,” he said. “I would just ask people like, yo, can you spin for me?”

Despite being at the beginning of his musical career, Tate already considers himself to be an artist. “I hate the term up and com-

ing artist,” he said. “No, it’s like I’m already an artist.” But he pointed out that being an artist does not mean that he is necessarily part of the music industry.

“The music industry can wait. You want to have great music videos and great ideas and excellent hooks and stuff like that,” he said. Tate added that it is also necessary to understand musical history, do your research and you have to hustle.

“You have to do it for intrinsic reasons and not extrinsic reasons,” he concluded.

Tate will be performing this Saturday at the FSLabration. He will also be performing with fellow rapper Joey Aich at the Independence Day Festival on Sept. 19 and 20 in Columbus.

When you go...

Sarob Performance This Saturday at FSLebration AND at the Independence Day Festival on Sept.

19 and 20

Courtesy of Rob Tate

Tate will be performing at the Independence Day Festival on Sept. 19 and 20th in Columbus.

FEATURES| 7

ember 15, 2015

First year student works with deaf children in Nicaragua STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: RAQUEL CUELLAR TRISTAN DOMVILLE Special to The Denisonian While most of her peers were getting ready for college, Raquel Cuellar ‘18 had different plans, namely, volunteering at Escuela Cristiana de Sordos, or Christian School for the Deaf in Nicaragua.

Cuellar, a native of Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, first developed a passion for helping the deaf at the age of fifteen.

While attending church, she became acquainted with a deaf girl named Jennifer. “I wanted to be able to speak to her because no one else could,” Cuellar said, “I thought it would be kind of cool.” Little did she know that what started out as a unique friendship in church would quickly develop into a strong desire to pursue special education, specifically for the deaf.

She dedicated years to learning the Nicaraguan Sign Language while cultivating her relationship with Jennifer.

When she graduated high school, Cuellar contacted the director of the school and was quickly put to work. Cuellar spent the first six months working as a substitute teacher. “A lot of the teachers were missing a lot and I would just take over their classes,” she said, “I would take over high school classes and elementary classes and so I got to know all the kids really well.”

After the six months, the director approached her and offered her a position as an English teacher for grades seven through twelve, which she gra-

Photo courtesy of Raquel Cuellar

Raquel Cuellar ‘19, in black, enjoying a pizza party with the seventh and eighth graders whom she works with in Nicaraqua.

ciously accepted. As a full time teacher, Cuellar was expected to create her own lesson plans and assign homework.

Something that normally takes years of training to accomplish, she mastered in only three weeks.

Fortunately, Cuellar’s mother is an English teacher at another school so she had access to her mother’s tools and teaching strategies. “She gave me all of her books,” Cuellar said.

Every week she would create a list of vocabulary surrounding a different topic, such as family members and com-

mon phrases. “You’re watching TV and you’re not hearing the English, you’re listening to music but you can’t hear it, and so they’re not really exposed to any [English]. And so what you need to teach them is [really] basic,” Cuellar said. When asked about the state of special education in Nicaragua, Cuellar grew solemn. She said, “There are trained people but there aren’t enough trained people and you need people that are really interested because it is a lot of work.”

To be able to work effectively with

children with disabilities “takes a lot of education and in Nicaragua that kind of education isn’t really available. And so you have lots of people that maybe really want to help but don’t know how.”

Cuellar hopes to receive that education so that she can go back to Nicaragua once she has acquired the necessary credentials and make a positive change in the lives of the deaf children she has grown so fond of. She plans on pursuing a double major in Education and Psychology with a minor in Studio Art.

THE DENISONIAN | FEATURES IN-DEPTH COVERAGE OF THE STORIES THAT MATTER morse_b3 hitche_a1

D Upcoming FSL Week Events: Tuesd y 9 /15 FSL Cona vocation in Swasey

Thursday 9/18 Day of Service 4:30-6:30PM d Academic Qua

Saturday 9/19 6-10PM Buzzard Beats Concert

Friday 9 / -5PM18, Walk a3M ile Shoes in Her

8|ARTS & LIFE

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Review

Beck lecture series opener features faculty talent BECK LECTURE Continued from page 1

The Color Purple, Tom Stoppard, screenwriter of “Shakespeare in Love” and former U.S. Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin. But the Sept. 9 lecture brought something incredibly different and special as three of Denison’s own took the stage.

As Townsend noted in her introduction, “these three authors have a talent for linking local occasion with larger national and international concerns.”

Mihika Argarwal ‘17, a creative writing and communication double major from Kolkata, India, knows the Beck Lectures are always inspiring, but she knew this one was special: “It sends a message to us to have them read their own work.

“All this while we would find inspiration outside, when really it was in our own backyard. The lecture brought a new level of respect for our professors and Denison. It showed us that even while being amazing professor, you can keep up your dream of writing,” she said.

Grandbois was first in the lineup, sharing with the audience that friend and colleague Margot Singer inspired his new work, who suggested he write about his return to the world of fencing.

He began with an essay from his new work, prefaced by his fear of Donald Trump and the idea of always winning. The theme was “failure.”

The essay was passionate, imaginative and strong. It was an honest look at the flip side of failing and a well-constructed recount of what it means to grow older, but retain passion and desire to always do better.

Grandbois ended his reading with a poem entitled, “Sometimes I Think I Hear.”

Singer followed Grandbois with two sections from the first draft of her recently finished novel, “The Art of the

Nelson Dow/The Denisonian

Dr. David Baker, Dr. Margot Singer and Dr. Grandbois pose for a picture together after the reading at the Beck Lecture on Thursday.

Fugue.” Her first selection conjured up sharp, life-like images of a modern day London night and her main character Esther gave the audience an endearing glance into a connection with a total stranger on the street.

Her second selection detailed Esther recounting the memory of losing her teenage son, who drowned while the family was on vacation.

Singer’s writing was beautifully intense and poignant, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats.

Closing the program, Dr. David Baker approached the podium and instead of a classic introduction, immediately began reading a poem entitled “Magnolia.”

Weaving scientific terms about nature with powerful images complemented seamlessly by Baker’s dramatic and highly tonal vocals.

He continued on to read a poem dedicated to Wendell Jackson ‘17, his students and his colleagues. He called

it, “a Granville poem,” titled “Swift.”

The emotion continued through his last two poems, one about his daughter as a young child called, “What is a Weed,” and the last about his elderly father’s dangerous fall called, “Peril Sonnet.”

The reading captured every style of creative writing bundled into an hour of literary inspiration.

Certainly, it helped that each author also happened to be an excellent reader, but the work itself carried the lecture with engaging storylines and powerful images.

For Iryna Klishch ‘18, a Creative Writing major from Glenville, Ill., the talent she saw in the reading was inspiring: “I really liked how the professors were reading. I think it was such an incredible experience to hear all of them read their work. All three are extremely talented,” she said.

The “Home Series” of the Beck Lecture set a high bar for the Fall

season. On Oct. 12, Denison will welcome Kevin Prufer at 8 p.m. for the second installment of the this semester’s Beck Lecture Series.

When you go...

Visiting Artist Bruce McClure Installation Reception Wednesday,

Sept.

23

5p.m.-7p.m.

Burke Hall Denison Museum

Delta Chi pig roast raises money for family of Wendell Jackson ‘17 KAITLYN SPECHT Special to The Denisonian

Justine Silverman/The Denisonian

Teague Magner ‘16, president of Delta Chi Fraternity, Ekow Thompson ‘16 and Tyler Ells ‘16 pose proudly in front of the soon to be devoured slow-roasted pig.

One of the ways students branched out from the traditional dining options on campus over the weekend was by attending the Delta Chi Pig Roast.

On Sept. 13, dozens of students gathered at Lamson Lodge to enjoy a slowroasted hog and meet with friends in the cool, fall weather, all while helping to raise money for the late Wendell Jackson ‘17’s family. For $10, students were able to eat unlimited pork products. The Delta Chi fraternity came up with the idea for the Pig Roast by borrowing from an old tradition, but the key plans came from fraternity member Nolan Frey ‘17.

“We came up with the idea for the pig roast because the Delta Chis used to do it back in the day so we thought it would be fun to reinstate the event,” said Teague Magner ’16, the president of the fraternity.

Though another fraternity member, Jared Kriwinsky ’16, had never been to a pig roast and personally does not eat pork, he agreed that the tradition might be a good one to host again.

“We thought it would be an awesome idea to bring it back,” Kriwinsky said, “and we decided to do it early in the year while the weather was nice.”

Other students at the event seemed to be supportive of the idea. Gabe Mitch-

ell ’16 said that the food and flavors “remind me of home” and Luke Romick ’16 quipped, “I’ve never before tasted such luscious hog.”

Charlie from Boss Hoggs is the one to thank for that. Boss Hogs provided all of the meat for the event. “We actually hired him by chance,” Kriwinsky said, “we were driving through Newark one day and saw the sign to his store, we ended up speaking to him and hiring him.”

The fraternity was happy to host the event, and while it was a fun experience for the brotherhood and the students who came, they were also pleased with how much money they had raised for the event and that it was going toward a good cause.

“When we saw the GoFundme page for Wendell, we knew we had to do something,” Kriwinsky said. The pig roast raised $100 for Wendell’s family.

Usually, Delta Chi supports the Jimmy V philanthropy for cancer research, but in light of the community tragedy, the fraternity wanted to benefit the Jackson family any way they could.

“Anything we could do to help the Jackson family was important to us.” Delta Chi plans to continue helping the community in fun and different ways.

Kriwinsky hopes the pig roast will become an annual tradition for the fraternity as it was back in the day and also appreciates all the support for the event.

ARTS & LIFE| 9

Tuesday, September 15, 2015 Review

Food truck festival brings good eats to campus MAT SCOTT & ASHER BERKSON-GOLD Specials to The Denisonian Many Denison students attended the food truck festival held on the evening of Sept. 11, which consisted of Steamroller Bagel Sandwiches, a local business run by Granville natives, and Taco Sherpa, a popular Columbus vender, which put a Korean spin on traditional Mexican dishes including burritos, tacos and quesadillas.

The festival was originally supposed to take place in the North Quad Teardrop but was moved to the Slayter patio due to the weather. The concert was moved to the Pit.

“I wish there was more,” Tommy McMaster ‘19 said, “I think it was a good idea, though.”

One part of the festival that was not emphasized in the advertisements was the live music.

Students ordered their food outside and were able to take it inside Slayter to listen to a performance by The Speedbumps, a northeastern Ohio band who just recorded their fourth album, entitled Soil to the Seed.

“I love this school,” said Speedbumps lead singer/songwriter Erik Urycki. “I was totally getting good vibes, and the people are so kind. They actually pay attention to the music.”

Nelson Dow/The Denisonian

Students lined up to purchase Mexican/Korean fusion cuisine from a popular food truck, the Taco Sherpa, on Friday night.

Nelson Dow/The Denisonian

Students were able to use tablets in order to complete orders and payments at the food trucks.

ADVERTISEMENT

Hoards of students showed off their dance moves for the band and their fellow students, including Jorge De La Torres ‘19 and Grace Rooney ‘19.

Other students were showing friends ballroom dancing techniques.

The food truck festival is an annual event put on by the University Programming Council.

It serves as a welcome back festivity for students and while there are a few popular, loyal vendors, UPC does its best to bring new and interesting cuisines to campus.

Food trucks are somewhat of a tradition on Denison’s campus, with may events often featuring local vendors throughout the year including Doobiepalooza, the involvement fair, senior week and simply when campus needs a yummy pick-me-up.

THE DENISONIAN

Arts & Life On-campus culture, off-campus lifestyles and everything in between. dunkins_k1@denison.edu epstei_r1@denison.edu

SPORTS|10

Tuesday, September 14, 2015

DU Volleyball finish road trip Big Red XC LAURA CARR Editor-in-Chief

Nelson Dow/The Denisonian

Olivia Buroker ‘19 leads the team in kills with 77. She has helped lead Denison to a 5-3 start on the season.

The volleyball team won two matches and dropped one in part of their seven game road trip, with only a week remaining before their first home match on the newly renovated floor of Livingston Gymnasium.

The team started the week of road games by defeating neighboring Capital University in straight sets (25-15, 25-13, 25-21) on Sept. 9.

Kenzie Kuhn ‘16 and Elena Lein ‘16 were a force to be reckoned with; Kuhn recorded 10 kills in 21 tries, and Lein finished with a .875 hitting percentage.

“This season I am playing right side for the first time in my life,” Kuhn said. “It has been so much fun to try a new position and see the game from a completely different perspective.”

Other notable performances came from Rachele Lock ‘17, who added eight kills and three aces, Kaleigh Poe ‘18 (30 assists) and Kristin Thewes ‘18 (14 digs). Olivia Buroker ‘19, the team’s outside hitter, had six kills.

“For being a freshman, Olivia’s been such a force to be reckoned with,” Leah Reinfranck ‘18 said. “Her consistency and energy on the court have helped our team so far this year.”

The women traveled to Hanover, Ind. on Sept. 12 for a tri-match against host Hanover College and Saint Mary-of-theWoods.

The Big Red began the day with a 3-0 win over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (3028, 25-16, 25-12). Lein and Buroker had

nine kills apiece against Saint Mary-of-theWoods, and Reinfranck and Lock contributed eight each. Poe, DU’s setter, had 38 assists. Defensively, libero Thewes led the team with 13 digs, and Buroker had 12.

“The first game was a little rough against Saint Mary’s, but the next two sets were consistent in that our team was working together as one unit and our hitters were connecting with our setters,” Reinfranck said. “Saint Mary’s wasn’t a particularly good team, but we didn’t play down to their level.”

However, the Big Red were unable to carry the momentum from their first match into their duel against Hanover. The ladies fell in straight sets (25-14, 26-24, 26-24), although they put up a fight in the final two sets. Lock paced the team offensively, with 12 digs and eight kills, while Lein had the most blocks on defense, with six.

“The first game, we lost by a significant amount. We played scared, Hanover had control over the entire first game, and we just let them have it,” Reinfranck said. “The second two games were a lot more competitive, and they were a lot more fun to play, even though we didn’t end up winning the match. It was really good competition for us to have before going into conference.”

The team has played one home game this season in the Recreation Gym due to renovations in Livingston Gymnasium.

“We can’t wait for our first game in there,” Kuhn said. “I think the excitement from being back and support from our fans will make it a really fun game.”

The Big Red will break in their new court when they host Marietta at 7 p.m. tomorrow evening.

Men’s soccer stays undefeated, wins five straight RACHEL DYL Special to The Denisonian After capturing first place in the Sonny Carter Invitational in Atlanta last weekend,the Big Red the field for their home opener last Wednesday, defeating Wilmington 3-0. After the win, Denison moved to 4-0 on the year while Wilmington fell to a record of 1-3.

Goalkeeper Blake Schach ’16, senior goalkeeper, led the Big Red to another shutout and also initiated the first goal of the match.

After snatching a cross out of the air, Schach sent the ball up field and found the feet of Drew LaGaipa ‘18.

LaGaipa battled with the last defender and got in behind, placing his shot in the lower right corner of the net for the first goal of the match and his collegiate career.

“When I scored the goal it felt great,” LaGaipa said. “I ran over to my teammates on the bench [(also known as the dog pound]) to celebrate. As I got the ball with the defender in front of me, I knew needed to create space to get a shot off. I cut the ball back onto my left foot and was able to get it past the keeper.”

The next opportunity came from an indirect free kick taken by Jasdeep Khaira ‘18. Khaira passed the ball to Kennedy Kommor ’17 whose shot attempt was blocked by the wall, sending the ball to the feet of midfielder Jake Girardot ‘18.

Girardot’s shot hit the lower left 90 of the goal for his fifth career goal in the 25th minute, just 10 minutes after the first goal. This led to a surge of momentum for the Big Red as they led 2-0 halfway through the first half.

Charlie Hoffman/The Denisonian

Connor O’Neill-Dee ‘17 sprints past a defender. Denison won their first home game on Sept. 9.

Girardot was proud of the team’s performance thus far.

“The team is off to a fantastic start,” Girardot said. “We are playing well and excited to see where the rest of the season takes us.”

No more scoring was seen until the 75th minute when Christian Keiper ‘19 combined with Brandon Kozak ‘19 for Keiper’s first collegiate goal.

The Big Red dominated the match, outshooting the Quakers 21-9 with the majority of the possession.

Coach Russo commented on the strength of this team, saying “For the first year, in quite a few years we are deep in all positions. This creates a competitive environment in practice, which is essential to the team suc-

cess. The freshman class is making a noticeable impact already, and while this can challenge team chemistry,” Russo said, “The new players have been accepted and have positively impacted our team.”

While the coach was pleased with the win, the team’s focus moved to the next game, where they would defeat previously unbeaten Thomas Moore Sunday afternoon.

Kennedy Kommor ‘17 hit the winning goal in the 49th minute to push the Big Red to a 5-0 start on the season. They will try to continue their undefeated start this Wednesday at Muskingum.

Men finish second, Women place third EILEEN BAER Special to The Denisonian

While the rainy weather was not ideal, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams placed highly at the North Coast Athletic Conference Preview on Sept. 12.

Kenyon College’s 5k course proved to be a fast one for the Big Red, as the men’s team placed second overall and the women’s team placed third overall, both of which were improvements from their races on Sept. 5.

The men’s team totaled 93 points.

Drake Lohnes ’17 from Alliance, Ohio and Sam Beech ‘16 from Bexley, Ohio finished in 13th and 14th place, respectively.

Lohnes clocked in at 16:39.8, with Beech right behind him.

Concerning both team and individual goals, Lohnes has high aspirations for this season. “We are looking to finish top three in the conference and to finish in the top ten at our regional meet,” the junior said.

“Individually, I am trying to consistently be a top five runner on the team, and to stay healthy for the season.”

The men’s team will be racing at Kenyon College again on Oct. 31 for the NCAC Championship. “It was important that we got to race at Kenyon, because it is the site of our conference championship,” Beech said. Even though the conference meet will be an 8k instead of a 5k, knowing what to expect of the course’s terrain will be advantageous for the Big Red. The NCAC Preview proved to be just as successful for the women’s cross country team. Emily Lamm ’16 from Pittsburgh was first to cross the finish line for the Big Red, clocking in at 19:08.3 and finishing second overall. Following closely behind her, Kate Benson ’16 from Bemus Point, N.Y. placed sixth overall.

Even just two meets in, the women’s team is showing their strength with the third place finish. Lamm is confident that the rest of the season will continue to be successful.

“Overall, our team has a strong dynamic that’s cohesive and enthusiastic,” she said. “We’ve been training well together, and I have every expectation that we’ll be successful by the time the NCAC Championship arrives.”

The women’s NCAC Championship will also be held at Kenyon College. Running that course this weekend gave the team a good preview to the 6k race they will be running on Oct. 31.

Mollie Evans ’16 from Lakewood, Ohio thinks racing on this course again for the conference championship will work in the team’s favor. “It is really flat, which is nice because it’s easier and faster to run on,” she said.

The Big Red’s next race is the RoseHulman Pre-Regional Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. on Sept. 26.

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THE DENISONIAN SPORTS CHASING LEADS SINCE 1857

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11|SPORTS

Tuesday, September 14, 2015

Team chemistry at the forefront of success for DU Women OWEN SMITH Sports Editor

Jostling for the ball down the right side of the field, Maggie Armstrong ’19 managed to wrestle control into the box, send a perfectly placed cross into teammate Jacquie Graham ’17 who buried it in the upper right 90 to score the second and final goal of the game, sending the Big Red to 5-0 on the season. The 2-0 win also handed the speedy Baldwin Wallace their first loss of the season.

“I knew I didn’t have a good enough angle to try and shoot it,” said Armstrong, recalling the assist. “I looked up and saw Jacquie running into the box and I knew that if I tried to play her she’d be able to get on the end of I and put it away.”

Armstrong is having a great start to her freshman season; she has started every game and is currently tied for second on the team with two goals on the season. Individual success is not the only thing propelling Denison to this historic start. The Big Red women are displaying great team chemistry, proving it with both wins and quality team-orchestrated plays like the one between Armstrong and Graham.

“The team chemistry makes everything we’re doing worth it because through all the work everyone is putting in, we know that it’s for each other,” Armstrong said. “There isn’t a single person on the team not willing to do it.”

The fluidity of soccer forces players to go from defense to offense in a flash.

Despite scoring the second goal, Graham admits that the defense sets up their high-powered offense.

“In order to win games, we have to all be on the same page defensively as well as offensively,” Graham said. “A big part of our training so far has been

Nelson Dow/The Denisonian

Madison Smith ‘19 strikes the ball against Baldwin Wallace. The Big Red Women’s soccer team has started the season undefeated with a record of 5-0.

on team defending, which has ultimately lead to some of our best attacks.”

In order to be able to compete at the offensive and defensive end of the pitch, it is crucial for a team to be in great shape. Running for 90 minutes is no easy task, especially if the members had a leisurely summer break before the autumn season.

“The team came in really good shape

which obviously helps,” Jessica Skelly ’17 said. “Preseason is a short period of time and so we knew we had to come into it ready to go.”

Skelly scored the first goal against Baldwin Wallace, just 17 minutes into the game. Now that the Big Red have started so strongly, they know it is imperative to keep their intensity at their highest level.

“We have to take the season one game at a time,” Graham said. “No team is going to roll over for us. Every game we’ve played so far has been against very skilled teams, and all of our games in the future will be just as tough.”

The next game will come against a gritty Ohio Northern team in Ada, Ohio this Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Field Hockey rebounds with two wins after slow start to season NEIL RILEY Sports Editor

Giancarlo Vita/ The Denisonian

Kirstin Audette ‘18 hits converts a pass upfield. The Big Red have won two contests in a row, evening their record at 2-2.

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After a pair of close losses to open the season, Denison field hockey returned to form with victories over Oberlin and Johns Hopkins last week.

The Big Red offense, which was shut out in the first two games, came alive against Oberlin to the tune of six goals.

The match began slowly and neither team was able to break the scoreless tie, though DU outshot Oberlin 17-0.

Finally, after 37 minutes of play, Jen Durbin ‘18 managed to knock one past the Yeowoman goalie to snap the Big Red’s scoring drought.

Durbin was proud of her team’s perseverance after a difficult start to the season.

“In the past week we used our losses as a learning experience to turn our game around,” Durbin said. “We focus on the little things and what needs to be fixed in our practices and transfer that to our game play.”

Allie Bacon ‘16, who was credited with an assist on the play, later scored her first of the campaign in the 46th minute.

Britta Marden ‘16 would add to the tally along with Lucy Pearsall ‘19 and Virginia Hamilton ‘19. Durbin’s second goal of the game in the 50th minute helped cap off the 6-1 win at Oberlin.

The momentum the Big Red gained after the performance against the Yeowomen translated nicely into the match against Johns Hopkins.

Within six minutes of the opening whistle, DU scored twice. The first came off of a counterattack following a save by Big Red goalie Ellen Westfall ‘19. Jen Durbin ‘18 managed to sneak a shot past the defense on the other end of the field for her third score of the season.

Durbin credited the team’s effort to refocus their strategy with last week’s success.

“By having our focus on what we needed to fix in our game and using the losses as teaching moments we were able to not dwell on losing but instead make the necessary adjustments so that we would be successful in the future,” the midfielder said.

Only two minutes later, Marden executed an excellent opportunity created by Elsie Humes ‘16 to push Denison to a 2-0 lead early in the first half.

The Big Red defense slipped up only once. The only Blue Jay goal came in the 40th minute. Rock solid defense helped DU hold on for a 2-1 victory.

The Big Red will look for their third win of the season on Sept. 17 against Wittenberg in Springfield, Ohio

THE DENISONIAN | SPORTS CHASING LEADS SINCE 1857

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Tuesday, September 14, 2015

DU Mens golf Men finish third, Taylor shoots 5 over ALEX CAPRARA Special to the Denisonian The Big Red men’s golf team ventured to Sandusky, Ohio this weekend to take part in the seven-team Battle at the Brook held at Plum Brook Country Club.

The men registered a total score of 623 strokes, which was good enough to give them third place honors in the seven-team tournament. Conference foe Kenyon College finished in first with a combined score of 595, besting the field by 22 strokes and making them the only team to break 600 strokes. Mount Saint Joseph University of Cincinnati finished with a score of 617 to capture second.

Wet and windy conditions plagued the course this weekend, but that did not stop Denisonian Jonathan Taylor ’17 from shooting a stellar five-overpar 147 over the two-day match. His score landed him tied for second with Mount St. Joseph’s Kyle Miller, a mere two strokes behind champion Warren Whithaus of Rose-Hulman.

“There were tough conditions, really windy, so I was happy with the scores,” said Taylor, regarding his second place finish. “The team played okay.

We could have been better in certain areas, but the scores were pretty high due to the conditions.”

Taylor was not the only member of the Big Red’s squad to contribute to the team’s third place finish. Knox Montgomery ’19 finished with a 16-over-par score of 158, which landed him in a five-man tie for 16th place. Rich Van Voorhis ’16 registered a 19-over-par 161 to place him tied for 22nd place, while Guille Henegar ’17 and Daniel Hirsh ’19 rounded out scoring for Denison, both shooting a 20-over-par score of 162, putting them in a three-man tie for 28th place in the 42 man field.

The quintet fought hard on day one of the tournament. They finished fifth on the hotly contested first day of competition. A mere three strokes separated the second through sixth teams, which put them in striking distance.

The men stayed resilient on day two, when three of the five Denison men improved upon their day one scores.

Their collective efforts were enough to lift them into third place past opponents Rose-Hulman of Indiana and Thomas More College out of Kentucky.

Taylor was thrilled with the way the team was able to cap off their match and battle back to claim third place overall. “This week and last week we took away ‘going forward’ as our motto,” Taylor said. “The first rounds of this weekend and last weekend we were in fifth or sixth place and we ended up in second or third, so that’s kind of what we are going for.”

The team is hungry for more success, and they will look to find it at their next match on Sept. 26-27 at the Dan Quayle Collegiate Golf Classic in Danville, Indiana.

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THE DENISONIAN SPORTS CHASING LEADS SINCE 1857

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Nelson Dow/The Denisonian

Abby Radnitzer ‘18 sprints with the ball down the left side of the field. Radnitzer finished with one try and a successful penalty kick in the win over Kenyon.

Women’s Rugby trounces Kenyon in opener OWEN SMITH Sports Editor

In Rugby, a ‘try’ is comparable to a touchdown in football, and the Big Red women tried hard and often, piling up points to a 50-0 win over the Kenyon Lords. Scoring two tries in the first three minutes, Denison ran away with the contest early. Hannah Roodhouse ‘16 led the team with three tries, followed by Jen Vo ’16 and Zoe Deprez ‘18 with two tries each.

In a rivalry that transcends all sports, and in a sport where bad blood turns into real blood quickly, there is a surprisingly good relationship between the Lords and the Big Red on the rugby pitch. Honore Lachenauer ’17 is not used to the friendly atmosphere, especially when her team is so far ahead.

“The Kenyon girls are really friendly, on and off the field,” Lachenauer said.

“I got pushed over and this girl just helped me up. I was like ‘OK, we’re destroying your team, but thanks!’ They still had great spirit, great sportsmanship.”

In the United Kingdom, when two foes get in a bar fight, it is common to see the victor help the loser up and enjoy a drink together later in the evening. That kind of respect shows between Denison and Kenyon’s Women’s Rugby. Some may find it odd, but it is just another great part about the rivalry for Alana Perez ‘16.

“The fun thing is, there’s a buddy buddy thing with Kenyon,” Perez said.

“On the field you get aggressive, but as soon as the whistle is called, you go ‘hey, good game, how’s it going?’”

While it was a big success for the Big Red women to win their opening game in such convincing fashion, they are unsure as to what to expect for the rest of the season because of a restructuring of the league. In the past, women’s rugby was Denison’s only Division II sport,

which allowed the women to compete against the likes of the Ohio State University and the University of Kentucky.

A new scheme set by the Ohio Rugby League now places Denison in the NCAC Rugby conference, a league intended for them to play teams from similar sized schools. After qualifying for nationals three consecutive years, Denison is now what some consider a powerhouse in small-college rugby.

“Before we were playing schools that were bigger and expected to be better than us, and we’ve always risen to the challenge,” Lachenauer said. “Now we’re in a position where we’re supposed to have been from the beginning.”

Similar to a child that played up in age division in a sport, the Big Red women now face competition in their own league, something which puts the pressure, and the target, back on them.

The team can usually predict how far

they will make it in regional and national play, but this year is different.

“In the past, we hope for the best, but we’re realistic,” Lachenauer said.

“Now that we’re in a new league, we’re not sure. We’re going for the best, and hopefully we get it.”

Perez claims that great coaching and natural aggression play a big role in their success. “Most of the girls haven’t even played before coming to Denison, which speaks a lot to our coaches,” Perez said. “Rugby is a sport you can pick up, it just takes aggressiveness.”

That aggression has translated into some on the field rage, the most violent being a direct punch in the face delivered by a graduated teammate from last season. Needless to say, the Hiram team should be wary of their face and their record when Denison shows up this Saturday on their pitch in northern Ohio.

Nelson Dow/ The Denisonian

Jen Vo ‘16 picks up the ball with a parade of help from behind. Vo had two tries in the 50-0 win.