INFORMING THE BALDWIN WALLACE UNIVERSITY AND BEREA COMMUNITIES SINCE 1913
the
NOVEMBER 20, 2023
print edition
since 1913
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BWEXPONENT.com
vol. 109 no. v
MONEY TALKS J A C K E T
R E S E R V E
N O T E
BALDWIN WALLACE UNIVERSITY
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SERIES
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2023
OR DOES IT?
BY SIMON SKOUTAS, KAYLA MURO & ALEXIS WATKINS Executive Print Editor, Managing Editor & Art Director Following the news that Baldwin Wallace University is amidst a larger-than-expected budget deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year, faculty, staff and students told The Exponent that there has been a lack of communication surrounding the budget issue. E m m a S t a m p e r, a junior sustainability and international business double major, said that she had not heard anything about the sustainability program being potentially cut other than through her peers. Katie Ritzema, a junior piano performance and music history double major, said she and her peers just want clarity as to the piano performance program's future. “I think that overall, it would just be nice to get some more communication on it,” Ritzema said. “And I’m looking forward to hearing what the final decisions are. I think it’d be nice just to kind of know for sure what programs were more in danger.”
Student government is the recommended means for communications for students, Provost Stephen Stahl said. However, Student Body President Matthew Perry said that he was not even made aware of the deficit until he asked. The first time the news was brought to the Student Senate's attention was on Sept. 26 after a senator inquired into its impact on the University's plans. “Students at the same time are saying, ‘No, we want to know what's going on.’ In some cases, it actually just causes more stress because they haven't said anything about it,” Perry said. Dan Karp, assistant vice president and director of University Relations, said since the issues are not yet impacting students, they [students] do not need to know. “If any changes that would happen in order to help mitigate the deficit would of course not affect student experience,” Karp said. “We’re not looking for the students for a solution.” Karp said that "if the rumor mill is getting out of control," the University will put out their first official statement to students saying that the
University is working through a budget deficit. As per new guidelines, the minimum requirement for a session to be offered is to have 10 students enrolled in a class, as opposed to the previous minimum number of six. “Faculty were told this [session reduction] was going to happen,” Stahl said. “They weren’t consulted about whether or not it should. That’s sort of in the example of when things go through budgetary decisions, being the responsibility of the administration that fits into that category.” Ellen Posman, chair of the religion department, said that communication has not been coming through “official channels.” “It should be coming through official channels as official messages to everyone or certainly to the parties that it affects rather than coming through The Exponent, or through posted meeting minutes from somewhere or through the rumor mill going around campus,” Posman said. Assistant Sociolog y Professor Elizabeth Ross s a i d w it h t h i s l a c k of communication across campus, she has to question
the information that she received from her peers. “That’s the first thought, like ‘Where did [they] get this information and does it make sense?’ or is it really just knee jerk?” Ross said. “It’s not intentional, but just misinformation, like rumors.” Posman said that she had felt this effect especially through the news that her program — the Department of Religion — may be cut because of the deficit. “I feel like it’s all hearsay, and therefore can’t be checked,” Posman said. “It would be nice to have things in writing from the administration itself with a plan and exactly how that plan saves money.” In response, Stahl said that the conversations moving forward surrounding program cuts will revolve around the potential savings that the University would see if each program were to be cut, with scheduled town halls expected to take place within each school after Thanksgiving break. Karp said that while it would be better to be able to provide information immediately, the University is just not yet there. “You want to say ‘problem, solution, right?’” Karp said.
“We’re not yet at the solution part, are we?” One means for official communication between faculty and administration throughout this process has been the regularly held Faculty Senate and Executive Committee meetings, which have been sent out to 763 people including members of the administration, staff and all faculty. However, there are only 285 voting Faculty Senate members. Ken Schneck, the secretary of Faculty Senate and professor & director of Leadership of Higher Education, has been sending out these meeting minutes. Schneck said that with the current system, information skewed toward the perspectives of faculty members is often sent out to a larger audience before it is officially announced from the administration. “Sometimes the minutes go out announcing things before they’ve been announced by the University,” Schneck said. On Oct. 23, as a result of long-lasting concerns about communications, Schneck asked the administration during an Executive Committee meeting if more communications could come
straight from the University to the staff. Since then, President Bob Helmer has begun sending out bi-weekly emails across faculty and staff, providing updates as to what is occurring with the budget deficit. Christie Schefler, director of the Center for Global Exploration, said that in times like these, she and other staff members feel as though there should be a Staff Senate equivalent to Faculty Senate, an organizational body that previously existed on campus before the COVID-19 pandemic. “It would be great to have staff representation in these conversations, because right now, the communication is focused more on the faculty side,” Schefler said. Kent Cleland, president of the Faculty Senate, said that while communication has not been perfect, they are working on improvements moving forward. "It [communication] is always a concern, but faculty is committed to improving that... Administration is open to improving that also," Cleland said.
A MESSAGE TO OUR READERS
We hope to moderate a town hall between the administrators and students.
INSIDE
Please email us your questions for the administrators at exponent@bw.edu. Our editors and reporters will ask questions on your behalf in hopes of clearing up any communication barriers regarding the deficit and its effects.
Ready core not...
Faculty members prepare to vote on changing the liberal arts core curriculum requirements.
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NEWS
1-3 Program cuts
THE EXPRESSION
4-5 'Priscilla'
Rave's over
The Rave Guardian security app is no longer supported for students through BW Information Technology. PAGE 3
LIFE & STYLES 6-7 Divine Nine chapters
SPORTS
8 Intramural basketball
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THE EXPONENT | MONDAY, November 20, 2023 | BWEXPONENT.COM
THE BEREA COMMUNIT Y’S PA P E R O F R E C O R D
STUDENT EDITORIAL STAFF
Executive Print Editor Simon Skoutas exponent@bw.edu Executive Web Editor Hannah Wetmore Exec. Business Coordinator Sunaina Kabadkar Executive Art Director Alexis Watkins Managing Editors Cole Graham Benjamin Michael Hall Tommy Maroon Meredith McCord Kayla Muro Ursula Saadeh Ella York Staff Writers Ryan Acevedo Cadence Downey Caitlin Bowshier Bailey Croft Bryanna Feagler Israel Gole Maria Vurbic Saraphina Groh Nick Irelan Niko Gemelas Emma Lambert Sage Mullins Kathryn Raubolt Isabel Rivera Sophia Rossero Jason Tafoya Justin Verhosek Mae Werstler Ryan Acevedo Layout Editors Elise Coble Hailey Noszek Cartoonist Halle Vargo
FACULTY ADVISOR
Huixin Deng, Ph.D. hdeng@bw.edu
NEWSPAPER POLICIES T h e E x p on e nt i s t h e student-run newspaper of Baldwin Wallace University, which is intended for the entire college community. The Exponent is funded by the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences as well as advertisements. The Exponent is produced by the student staff on a biweekly basis during the academic year. Questions or concerns about the content of articles or other material published herein should be directed to student staff of The Exponent or the faculty advisor. The office of The Exponent is located in Loomis Room 185. It is the right of The Exponent to print all material deemed newsworthy and gathered in a fair and unconditional manner. No advance copies of stories will be shown, and reporters' notes are considered confidential. No "off the record" information will be accepted. ADVERTISING POLICY Anyone wishing to advertise in The Exponent should email the advertising director at exponentads@bw.edu. Ads must be submitted by the Monday before publication date and not conflict with the university mission. Articles and photographs in The Exponent, letters from readers, columns, cartoons and other elements within these pages do not necessarily reflect the position of B aldw in Wa l l a c e University.
REACTIONS: POTENTIAL PROGRAM CUTS By KAYLA MURO, ISRAEL GOLE, SIMON SKOUTAS
Editor's Note: Since the last edition of “The Exponent,” we have received many responses from faculty, students and staff on the potential program cuts. We decided to follow up with different entities on campus to amplify their voices.
Provost Stephen Stahl proposed a list of potential program cuts, including Spanish, German, piano performance, community health promotion, sustainability, religion and philosophy. Stahl said he will be hosting town hall meetings for each school after the Thanksgiving break. Don't fret — all the current students enrolled in the above-mentioned programs will still be able to finish up their programs as Ohio requires higher education institutions to “teach out” their students for a maximum of two years “until those students have been provided an opportunity to complete their degrees.” COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION
Amy Jo Sutterluety, department chair of the Department of Allied Health, Sport and Wellness, said that universities [in the United States] are continuously evaluating which degree programs are in demand and which ones are low enrollment. She said that no decisions have been made regarding which programs may or may not be cut, but declined to offer further thoughts on Baldwin Wallace University's potential program cuts.
RELIGION
Two students are majoring in religion and two students are minoring in religion. However, students may take religion courses to fulfill their core requirements in the General Humanities, Cultural Literacy, Diversity and International credits, meaning that many students outside of the major or minor for the program also take religion courses. Ellen Posman, department chair for the Department of Religion, said that as soon as the news was released that "[the administration] might be shutting down small programs," she knew that religion would possibly be cut. Posman said that as the number of students studying religion has decreased over time, the potential for the department to merge with other departments in the Humanities has been talked about for a while. Although the outcome is still unknown, she expects a departmental merger to be the likely outcome of the deficit. Posman said that because of the potential cut, the University is turning away from liberal arts education.
PHILOSOPHY
Ten students are majoring in Philosophy, and many more are minoring in it. Kelly Coble, department chair of the Department of Philosophy, said that he does not know — and nobody really knows — what programs may or may not be cut. He said that the Provost should not have listed any potential program cuts without first having a clear idea of what will be cut and the actual cost savings for these cuts. Coble also emphasized that the humanities are under attack — not just at BW, but across the nation — and he believes that these programs are vitally important to educate well-rounded students who are able to engage in certain, important types of critical thinking. Coble said that he will do everything in his power to fight to keep the philosophy program alive at BW.
SUSTAINABILITY
David Krueger, head of the Department of Sustainability, said there are currently around 15 sustainability majors on campus. Krueger said that cutting sustainability for financial reasons would be wrong because there is “virtually no cost to cut.” He built the major 14 years ago with the intention of making it low cost, utilizing existing courses rather than adding new ones. Going forward, Krueger said that he is “hesitant” to recruit new students due to his fear that the University will not be supporting the major, and that in this case he has a higher duty to the students than to the University. Krueger has reached out to over 100 alumni from the program to see if they would like to start an initiative of keeping sustainability at BW.
Core Curriculum up for first major update since 1990s By KATHRYN RAUBOLT Staff Writer
On Nov. 27, all full-time teaching faculty will vote in the first round of proposed core curriculum changes for Baldwin Wallace University students. It proves to be the first significant revision since the 1990s. The voting will occur over two to three semesters, narrowing down the options u nt i l a f i n a l m o d e l i s selected, which will then be implemented for incoming students in fall 2025. All students attending BW before fall 2025 can choose whether to complete the current core model or switch to the new one. Indira Gesink, core director and professor of history, was appointed in spring 2021 to test and research different models before producing the final three proposed new models, in addition to a fourth option that aims to revise the current model. In a strategic plan directive, t h e St r at e g i c P l a n n i n g
Committee told the faculty that the current core model needed to be revised and should be an “innovative student-centered core curriculum that is outcomes focused.” The first model, the Modified ACTA Curriculum, would focus on seven areas including English, math, science, social science, political science, foreign language and wellness across 11 to 15 courses. This model follows an approved curriculum developed by the Association of College Trustees and Alumni and has a focus on “traditional liberal arts,” Gesink said. T h e Mo d i f i e d AC TA Curriculum would give BW a rating of A with ACTA, who will then market BW as a new school that follows their curriculum. However, more faculty in economics and either religion or philosophy would need to be added for the curriculum to be implemented, Gesink said. The second model, the My Comp: Choose Your Competency, will focus on
seven foundational skills comprised of English, math, critical analysis, political science, multicultural learning, science and wellness. In addition to these seven skills, students will also pick three additional classes that follow a theme for a “career competency” based on an additional skill that a student wants to acquire for a total of 11 to 13 courses. This model involves all courses already offered by BW and could cut the University’s costs by about $1.2 million annually. “S o o b v i o u s l y y o u’ l l have an advanced level competency in your major, an intermediate level competency in your minor and then you’ll have these additional competencies,” Gesink said. “Those are then marked on your transcript that employers can then see, making you more marketable.” The third model, the Prismatic Pathways Core, will allow students to pick a theme from a predetermined list and then take four courses of different perspectives around
Reporter's Notebook: Student Government By JUSTIN VERHOSEK Staff Writer On Nov. 14, Student Body President Matthew Perry addressed the Student Senate about a meeting with President Bob Helmer. Perry learned that the 10-year plan and the plans for bringing concerts to campus have been put on pause. Perry said the pause on the 10year plan was due to a desire for further consolidation of resources rather than working on bigger projects. The pause in the concert planning is because the
fund for such events had not received a deposit since 2019. Andrew Merwin, assistant professor of biology and geology, addressed the Senate as the new Faculty Senate liaison. He opened his time by addressing deficit concerns. Merwin said faculty members were concerned about program cuts and that there was discussion about how this would affect first-year and sophomore students. Merwin also informed the Senate that there are new proposed models to the core.
that topic. For example, students will still take foundational courses in areas including English, math, science, multicultural learning, wellness, political science, and teamwork for a total of 11-15 courses. Students are also expected to complete an experiential learning course marked EXP in this model. Gesink said in her report to faculty that this model has “the greatest potential for core bloat and delayed graduation” if administration does not offer enough sections for each pathway course. The fourth option will be to revise the current core model to “make it distinctive” and to “make it more effective so that students are accomplishing the benchmarks for assessment,” Gesink said. This option will only occur if faculty do not vote for any of the new core models proposed. Brian Monahan, professor of sociology, said one issue with the existing core models is the lack of marketability due to its vagueness. With respect to the new models, he said he hopes that the purposes of having
a core are better and feel less like “an additional burden” for students to complete. “The marketing of the core is a little bit separate from the internal mechanics, which is what we, as a faculty care about,” Monahan said. “[We care about] what schools and departments and programs will be involved, what do we get to teach, and what competencies do we make sure we want to put forward to students.” Within the final ballot, faculty will vote on additional core add-ons that will be voted on separately and could become additional requirements regardless of which model is chosen. Some add-ons include requiring students to create an e-portfolio before graduation and requiring an experiential learning sequence including campus exploration, service and attending career and networking events.
Reporter's Notebook: Berea City Council By KAYLA MURO Managing Editor On Nov. 6, Berea City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting. An ordinance that authorizes the mayor to sign an agreement between the cities of Berea and Strongsville to provide safety dispatch to Berea was reviewed. The council also considered an ordinance entering a contract with the General Health District of Cuyahoga County to provide health services for 2024-25.
The council will review an ordinance that would grant the director of public service to purchase items for the city through the State of Ohio Purchasing Program. This program is for acquiring materials that city departments may need. The council will discuss an ordinance with the purpose of attracting and retaining employees to work for the City of Berea. Today, at 7:25 p.m., the council will discuss the transfer of liquor permits for the Sportsman’s Tavern in Berea.
BWEXPONENT.COM | MONDAY, November 20, 2023 | THE EXPONENT
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Cultural organizations stress importance of studying abroad By KATHRYN RAUBOLT Staff Writer
To encourage students to study abroad during their undergraduate experience at Baldwin Wallace University, t h e C e nt e r f o r G l o b a l Exploration has partnered with The French Club and Asian Student Alliance to showcase the different opportunities available to students. Gabriela Rolim Da Silva Figuero, a graduate intern at the Center for Global Exploration, said the collaborations are about bringing information to students and helping them understand that it is doable for most BW students. “Sometimes when you
reach out on Jacket Connect, people don’t have access to information [they want],” Rolim Da Silva Figuero said. “So, if we go to the clubs, we can organize the type of presentation that would help them and help us promote studying abroad.” The French Club hosted an infor mat ion s ession with the Department on Nov. 7, specifically about opportunities in France. Halle Moder, president of the French Club, is double majoring in French and psychology. She studied abroad over the summer in a five-week immersion program about the French language and culture. T h e pro g r am w a s i n Par is wit h t he Mission
Interuniversitaire de Coordination des Eschanges Franco-Américans, a fully immersive program that places students in Parisian Universities based on their interests. Moder said that one unique challenge with MICEFA was that she had to take a skills test as her classes were in French, as opposed to most study abroad options that offer classes in English. This fall, Moder reached out to the Center of Global Exploration to set up an info session to provide students who are thinking of studying abroad in France an opportunity to learn more about this opportunity. “I think that the idea of studying abroad can be a little
bit overwhelming, especially if you don't feel like you have a jumping off point,” Moder said. “So generally, if you're going to one of these clubs, you might have a particular interest in where you want to study, so that at least that narrows it down a little bit.” In addition, the Center for Global Exploration also partnered with Asian Student Alliance club on Nov. 13 to host an informational session about studying abroad in Asia. Elanna Su, sophomore history student and president of ASA, said that when Rolim Da Silva Figuero reached out about doing an information s ession with them, she immediately decided it would be a good idea to help anyone
who may have wanted to learn about studying abroad in Asia. “I'm also interested in studying abroad, so I want to learn more about different opportunities,” Su said. “I also feel like this will be a good way for students to see another way that they can interact with Asian culture.” Su also said that one goal she had for the event was to show students that studying abroad is accessible. She also wanted ASA to be “open to anyone who wants to learn more about Asian culture.” Rolim Da Silva Figuero said she wanted to continue partnering with clubs and reach out to as many students as possible because studying abroad is a different way to
grow and learn both inside and outside of the classroom. “Sometimes, people are so American-centered that they don't think about what is happening outside and going abroad gives you a different perspective of life,” Rolim Da Silva Figuero said. “And I think when people return to their home country, which happened to me a long time ago when I did my first study abroad, you come back as a different person.” If your club is interested in hosting an information session or you are interested in studying abroad, contact The Center for Global Exploration by email at explore@bw.edu.
Mergers among schools, departments coming next academic year
By RYAN ACEVEDO Staff Writer
Four different academic entities will experience “merger and acquisition” in the upcoming school year, ultimately forming two schools on campus, namely the Conservatory of the Arts and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Conservatory of Music will acquire the Theatre Department currently housed in the School of Humanities, while the School of Humanities will merge with the School of Social Sciences to form a new school named The School of Humanities and Social Sciences. “[We have been] working closely with the deans and the executive committee of the Faculty Senate. We have entered into conversations about a wide range of ways to spend more efficiently across Academic Affairs,” Provost
Stephen Stahl said. For the Conservatory of the Arts, such a plan has already taken place, said Susan Van Vorst, dean of the Conservatory of Music. “We had a three-year strategic plan called Amplify 2024. Theatre and dance faculty and staff have already joined our forces and we have different task forces on different initiatives,” Van Vorst said. This merger wi l l not only bring collaboration opportunities among instrumentalists, vocalists, thespians and dancers, but it will also bring a new name for the department: The Conservatory of the Arts. “Ultimately, in common parlance around BW, it [the newly formed school] will [still] probably be known as ‘The Conservatory,’ but I think it makes all the sense in the world for the first few years until people learn about it or are comfortable with it that we
Reporter's Notebook: Faculty Senate By HANNAH WETMORE Executive Web Editor
Last Wednesday, the Faculty Senate met and approved 22 courses for the experiential learning designation. Further, they discussed the changes on the Master of Science in SpeechLanguage Pathology program by decreasing the required credit hours by a net of five. The English major will have a new model featuring four concentrations. The department is also in the process of hiring a new faculty member with the help of funding from the Cleveland Foundation. The Spanish program is also facing changes, mainly combining courses to provide one culture course focusing on one topic instead of trying to fit multiple countries’ culture into one class. Also, there is a change in the sequence and an addition to credits in the Spanish practicum, from half a credit to three. There was also a proposal to change the BFA in visual communications which would replace the bachelor of arts and studio arts into a bachelors of fine arts degree, creating a modification in the core requirements. The Faculty Senate also moved to create statistics as a minor, to eliminate MTH 106 with substitution of DSA 101, the creation of digital marketing as a major, a course revision for SOC 281 and a revision of the chemistr y program.
can spell it out for them and say, ‘The Conservatory of the Arts,’” Van Vorst said. Van Vorst said that with the merger, new opportunities and spaces for collaboration can flourish. “Last year, we had a pop concert that fell on the evening of Ovation. It happened in Gamble Auditorium last year but will be on the mainstage of Kleist this year. We’re already in talks about ways to infuse dance [students] and a theatre student or two into that production,” Van Vorst said. The Conser vator y has already seen collaboration among multiple departments. During the holiday season last year, the Conservatory collaborated with dancers from the Theatre Department to feature ballet dancing with wind ensemble performances. “The results are already showing and are out. We’re already living some of them. So, it’s just going to continue to grow and increase,” Van
Vorst said. As the plan comes to its conclusion next semester, the Conservatory of the Arts will begin its new beginnings with future projects and collaborations that will bring musicians, thespians and all others in the performing arts together. Meanwhile, the School of Humanities and the School of Social Sciences have also begun its merger process. Thomas Sutton, interim dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, said that this process had already b e g u n but t h at it h a d initially included the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. “We had been part of what was called the College of Arts and Sciences. It was [There used to be] three schools: the humanities, the social sciences, and what was then called math, natural sciences and computer sciences,” Sutton said.
Sutton said that the STEM disciplines had later wanted to separate themselves from the College of Arts and Sciences because of the “STEM grants they were receiving.” Another deciding factor was the dissolution of the economics major due to lack of students and professors, he said. “When we heard about the Conservatory and Theater and Dance merging, that kind of started the catalyst. That left social sciences and humanities saying, ‘Okay, what do we do in the meantime?’” Sutton said. With this department merger, Sutton said there is also an opportunity for new majors and new developments to existing majors. “On the one hand, we have to consider the enrollment issues and how we can develop some majors into minors or specifications. On the other hand, there’s also the potential for some new programming that might really interest
students and have some potential career objectives,” Sutton said. Just like with the Conservatory, there are many current majors that did not exist 10 to 15 years ago. With this idea, the merged school for Humanities and Social Sciences plan is to develop the majors that they have and build a curriculum with the new additions that could benefit students in new and unique ways, Sutton said. Sutton explained that an example of this would be adding two philosophy courses to a nursing major, which he said has been proven to be beneficial when working with patients of different beliefs or walks of life. The two mergers will jointly conclude between spring 2024 and fall 2024 semesters. Developments involving these collaborations and combinations will be announced as they evolve.
Rave Guardian security app no longer supported by BW Information Technology
First-year students express confusion toward ditching app
By ALEX DETTMER Contributing Writer
B a l d w i n Wa l l a c e Information Technology is no longer supporting the security app Rave Guardian which would allow students and staff to contact Safety and Security with the click of a button. Dan Karp, assistant vice president and director of University Relations, said: “It would still be useful, but we are no longer making sure that it works with all our systems.” Karp said that this change does not mean that a BW student could not still have the Rave Guardian app on their phone. BW Safety and Security could still be called through this app, but the information accessible on this app would not be updated. For example, if the phone number of BW Safety and Security changes, the app would not reflect this change, he said.
In 2017, BW Safety and Security partnered with BWIT to bring the Rave Guardian app to campus. This app allowed anyone to immediately contact BW Safety and Security with an option to share real-time location status of the caller’s phone. It acted as a mobile emergency blue light. Karp said that just before the COVID-19 pandemic, BW was already planning to stop supporting the app because of the minimal usage by staff and students. In the wake of the unprecedented COVID-19 lockdown, the app was used as a COVID-19 reporting tool. BW would also use it for health check-ins to make sure that students were able to go to class safely during the pandemic. H o w e v e r, a f t e r t h e COVID-19 lockdown ended, Rave Guardian was forgotten by the administration. The app was still listed on BWIT’s website under the “Mobile
Apps that can be used at Baldwin Wallace University” section online until this fall of 2023, despite BWIT no longer supporting it for over a year. Despite BWIT getting rid of support for this app due to minimal usage, some students said they would find this app helpful, especially since BW has also gotten rid of some of the emergency blue light boxes around campus. J.J. Pinckney, a first-year media production student, said that an app like this would be an “amazing resource” for all students. “When people get scared, their hands shake, and they can’t really type in phone numbers that easily,” Pickney said. Jonah Vittoria, a first-year BFA acting student, said that he was “shocked” that the administration had not come up with an alternative idea of a security app. Even though he felt safe on campus generally,
an app like Rave Guardian would reassure him that BW cares about his safety. Both Pinckney and Vittoria said that most students would not have BW Safety and Security’s phone number saved in their phones otherwise. BWIT and Safety and Security both declined to comment. I n a n e m a i l s e nt t o The E xp onent, D e anna Mushat, BW's manager of telecommunications, said: “We are no longer using the Guardian app. We use Rave Alert for our emergency communications.”
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THE EXPONENT | MONDAY, November 20, 2023 | BWEXPONENT.COM
The Expression
Arts and Culture Coverage from The Exponent AT THE MOVIES
Can’t help falling in love with Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’ ELLA YORK Head Film Critic
S of i a C opp ol a’s l ong awaited biopic “Priscilla,” starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, hit theaters this Nov. 3. Astonishing and utterly truthful, Coppola does not hold back when it comes to exposing the King of Rock and his relationship with the young and fresh-faced Priscilla. The movie starts when a 14-year-old Priscilla meets a 24-year-old Elvis at a party and the two begin their romance. The film takes the viewer through Priscilla’s entire relationship with Elvis, which is one filled with
tumult, control and loneliness. S p a e n y ’s a c t i n g i s phenomenal from beginning to end, as she perfectly captures the childlike naïvity of Priscilla when she first met Elvis. As Priscilla comes into her own throughout the course of the film, Spaeny still keeps undertones of this innocence, giving an overall nuanced and intricate performance. Elordi was also a surprising standout in the film. Expectations for his performance were low, with many comparing him to Austin Butler’s Elvis from the movie “Elvis” before the film even came out. Elordi, however, plays a completely different version of Elvis than
Butler, perfectly balancing Elvis’ suave style with his volatile outbursts. Elordi seems to be an expert in getting the audience to hate him. Coppola masterfully slowed the film’s pace to give the audience a sense of the loneliness Priscilla lived in for most of her and Elvis’ marriage. A good amount of the film is shots of Priscilla walking through the Graceland house, waiting for Elvis to come home. This choice really puts the audience in Priscilla’s shoes, showing her isolation and how being married to an international rock star may not be the glory it was made out to be. Besides the unbelievable
acting and story, this film is simply beautiful to watch. The cinematography gives the film a soft, dreamlike aesthetic, perfectly capturing Priscilla’s femininity and youthfulness. This, combined with the extraordinary makeup and costuming, makes the film simply stunning. However, there are some notable differences between how Priscilla was portrayed here versus other films, like Baz Luhrman’s “Elvis.” In Luhrman’s film, Priscilla is portrayed as assertive and bold, especially when it comes to her confronting Elvis about his affairs and leaving their marriage. In Coppola’s film, though, Priscilla is portrayed as
subordinate, someone who desperately wants to speak up but does not feel that they have the power to do so. In “Priscilla”, when Priscilla confronts Elvis about leaving their marriage, she does so sheepishly and meekly. Coppola’s interpretation almost seems more truthful in this portrayal, as it highlights how truly young Priscilla was when all of this happened to her, and shows the effect that being under Elvis’ “control” from a very young age had on her. There is only one critique I have for the film: I wish it would have shown Priscilla’s life outside of Elvis. The film ends when Priscilla leaves the marriage, and the audience is
left in the dark about the rest of her life. It would have been nice to see how she behaved when she was removed from that lifestyle and to see her find her voice. Overall, “Priscilla” was an extremely raw and impactful retelling of Priscilla and Elvis’ relationship. Coppola wowed audiences with her unflinching take on one of Hollywood’s most famous relationships. This film is sure to be worth the watch. “Priscilla” is available to watch in theaters now.
‘The Marvels’ racks up another miss for Marvel, teases MCU’s future
ELLA YORK Head Film Critic
Riding the success of “Loki” season two, Marvel’s newest superhero flick, “The Marvels” released in theaters Nov. 10, starting off strong, but quickly turning into confused absurdity. The film centers around superheros Carol Danvers, “Captain Marvel,” as she begins investigating a wormhole that was blasted in space by the film’s antagonist, DarBenn. However, the movie quickly turned confusing when her powers start to get mysteriously entangled with
the likes of Monica Rambeau from “WandaVision” and Kamala Khan from “Ms. Marvel.” This entanglement has them physically switching places with each other when they use their powers at the same time. The movie started off strong with each of the character’s dynamics blending well together. The villain had a great motive, and the fight scenes were interesting and well done. It was nice to see the Marvel TV shows finally factoring in with the films. But about one hour into the film, things took a turn for the worst. The comedy started to feel forced, as Monica and
Carol aren’t normally comedic characters. Then there was a musical number smack dab in the middle of the film. Things started to make less and less sense and get more and more absurd. Plot points were jumping out of nowhere, and it started to feel like a fan fic written by a 12-year-old rather than a professional Hollywood film. The movie seemed to have put “comedy” over plot, and it failed miserably. The plot was lost. However, towards the end, the film returned to the tone it started with. The final fight scene was masterfully choreographed, and the film’s
‘We Believe You’ provides space to discuss traumatic experiences
By BAILEY CROFT Staff Writer
On Nov. 10-12, Baldwin Wallace University's BFA acting student Nash Feiler debuted “We Believe You” at the Lindsay CrossmanChapel with a fully interactive audience and undergraduate student cast of seven. Calvin Cavagnaro, a third-year BFA acting student, portrayed the role of Mike and said the story represents believing in people’s supernatural stories and traumatic experiences. “At its core, it’s about believing people,” Cavagnaro said. “And while a lot of these supernatural experiences are allegories for serious things, a lot of the times when people have serious things happen to them, they come out and tell these stories and they are immediately met with derision.” “We Believe You” was a twoyear writing process and began casting over this past summer. Feiler wrote the play in hopes of it feeling as authentic and in realtime to audiences as possible. “It’s meant to feel right on
ending actually had actual consequences. It was not the typical “saved the day,” ending, as one of the characters had to make a huge sacrifice. Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Benn was the highlight of the film. Unlike the other characters, she donned a serious tone, which was refreshing compared to the unfunny quips of the other characters. Her motive was very grounded and understandable, too. This film was more of a crossover than I originally thought it was going to be. There were cameos by two other Mar vel Cinematic Universe characters in the film itself, and that’s not
your level,” Feiler said. “We have a focus group for six people, they’ve a l l e x p e r i e nc e d t he supernatural, and they take turns sharing their trauma and their story, essentially.” The debuting of “We Believe You” was originally meant to be Courtesy of Nash Feiler in Loomis Hall, but after Students rehearse a scene from "We scheduling issues and Believe You" in the Lindsay Crossmansome redirection, Feiler Chapel ahead of a performance. discovered the LindsayCrossman Chapel as a space for deep concepts throughout their the play. work. “There’s a lot of religious “They figured out a way to imagery that is bolstered by the take such complex ideas like fact that we’re in that space,” Feiler trauma, neglect, nihilism and said. existentialism and put it into The entirely student-driven something that everybody knows production did involve the about: ghosts and aliens and stuff. supernatural, and an open floor of Stuff that you can’t explain, as an audience participation for sharing explanation,” Feiler said. their own personal supernatural Feiler, who also directed the experiences. However, the play piece, encourages other students mainly consisted of an overarching to put forth their original work. theme of trauma and being “We get a precious few truly believed. student-driven projects, and I Sallee Collins, a first-year BFA would so love to see more of acting student and cast member, those,” Feiler said. “It’s a lot of said that Feiler was able to display work, but it’s worth it.”
mentioning the shocking revelation in the film’s postcredit scene. The post credit scene was arguably the most exciting part of the film. Marvel teased a big reveal that every fan has been waiting for, and it seems that audiences are in for a wild ride. The implications in the film's ending might just place it as the most important movie in Phase 5. Overall, this film was not good by any means, but a fun watch if you keep your expectations low. It’s entertaining to watch the different characters interact with each other and continue their plot lines. It’s not the
worst film Marvel has put out, but it may be the most unorganized. The cameos are exciting and the ending was well done, and if you want to know where the MCU is headed in coming years, it’s definitely worth the watch. “The Marvels” will be the last Marvel film released for the next eight months until the third “Deadpool” installment arrives July 2024. “The Marvels” is available to watch in theaters now.
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BWMT juniors and seniors showcase creativity through in-person and virtual recitals to culminate their fall semester By URSULA SAADEH Staff Writer
In the fall semester of every year, Baldwin Wallace Mu s i c T h e at r e j u n i o r s and seniors perform their recitals, showcasing their musical talent and creativity by producing an individual production. The junior recital is the first in-person recital for BWMT students, and students choose either to perform a solo recital or duet with another student. Usually performed in the Conservatory of Music, these recitals give students the opportunity to sing for family and friends said junior music theatre student Kat Murphy. “It’s kind of a culmination of everything you’ve gotten to learn and explore in your time at BW, and then you get to showcase yourself … coming into a new space as my own,” Murphy said. Murphy performed her recital on Nov. 10 in Fynes Hall, being one of the first juniors to do so. She said this experience was very nervewracking because she would serve as an example to her fellow students about how to perform a junior recital. But in the end, she said she enjoyed being able to sing around the people she cares about.
“I just think junior recital is so much fun,” Murphy said. “It’s such an exciting thing to finally showcase yourself on a stage in front of the people that you’ve worked with because we all get to see each other be in a show and singing in a show, but you get to watch someone sing pieces that really mean something to them.” Murphy said her favorite piece to sing was “I Am Cherry Alive” by Ricky Ian Gordon, which she sang for the Hakola Vocal Competition in early October. Though thinking it difficult when she first received the song last year, Murphy said she quickly had to re-learn it for the competition and loved it. “Just like having to learn it that fast, I fell in love with it,” Murphy said. “It just makes me so happy, and it’s so childish and playful. It’s just a really fun song to sing.” The next major recital for BWMT students comes during the fall of their senior year, where the seniors must produce, direct and perform in their own 30-minute filmed recital that will stream on BWMT’s YouTube channel. The seniors choose songs that showcase the talents and skills they have learned in their four years at BW, and they have full creative control of the production design and
T h e seniors also create their own special effects and lighting. Senior music theatre student, N o a h Roderiques, said that having the freedom to create exciting scenes and transitions Courtesy of Jared Guerrasio w a s an A scene from Guerrasio's upcoming recital. enjoyable process. sound editing. “You basically become S e n i or mus i c t he at re your own production team,” student Jared Guerrasio Roderiques said. “You’re said that students can begin not just acting, you’re also filming whenever they want, designing your sets, you’re and the students will take their also designing the lighting. All pre-recorded audio mixes in of that stuff goes into it and GarageBand and overlap it shows off who you really are with their videos. as a creative.” “I think the best part of this Roderiques said his recital is the creative freedom senior recital, “Send in the that we have because it’s not in Clown,” is a ver y joyful a recital hall, where it’s just an production representing hour in an evening,” Guerrasio his love of laughter. Each said. “We have time to prepare song’s production is stylized videos like full cinematic differently, and Roderiques videos wherever we want. had fun editing his recital You can get multiple tapes of and showing off those skills. whatever you’d like and edit He said his two favorite songs them together in a way that in the recital are “Music for a makes you stand out.” Sushi Restaurant” by Harry
Styles and “For Forever” from “Dear Evan Hansen.” “I love making people laugh, and I love kind of being a positive light,” Roderiques said. “A lot of the songs are funny and goofy, and that’s kind of what it’s based around, but most of them are very positive songs.” Guerrasio approached his recital, “Dare to Dream (or Don’t),” by choosing music, which, he said, showed off his talent and flowed together to create a storyline. Like some other seniors, he collaborated with another student for one of his songs, “The Other Side” from “The Greatest Showman.” Anot he r of Gu e r r as i o’s favorite songs in the recital is “Epiphany” from “Sweeny Todd.” “For my recital, I want to have a clear storyline throughout it,” Guerrasio said. “So, I took songs from other musicals, and I connected them together in a way to have fluid plot throughout my songs.” Describing his overall experience, Guerrasio said that he appreciated having the opportunity to learn how to mix his audio and put together an entire production. He said that he knows this experience will be very beneficial in the future. “Recording audio and trying
to balance it in GarageBand is definitely one of the biggest struggles, especially songs with harmonies,” Guerrasio said. “But the best part is we learned how to do this in this project and mix our audio, so in future for maybe selftapes or auditions, we have that skill set to make us more marketable.” With the BWMT seniors nearing graduation, they will move on to the next step toward their future: the annual senior showcase. “BW is a great place and you learn a ton of things from this program,” Roderiques said. “I think a lot of us can kind of look at our recital, step back and go, ‘Yeah, we did that. We have that ability. We have that talent.’ And we can finally get to see it on a screen, which is really cool.” Senior recitals will stream from Nov. 29-Dec. 2 on the BWMT YouTube channel. Guerrassio’s recital will stream on Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m., and Roderiques’ recital will stream on Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m.
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THE EXPONENT | MONDAY, November 20, 2023 | BWEXPONENT.COM
Life & Styles Black Greek letter organizations look to grow involvement By KONNER HINES Staff Writer
The Divine Nine, a group of nine historically Black Greek letter organizations called the National PanHellenic Council hopes to grow on the Baldwin Wallace University campus. Marc West, BW's director of p are nt and f am i ly programs, oversees Greek life on campus. He said there has been an increase in the number of students of color and their engagement on c ampu s , w it h t h e potential for doubling the number of students involved throughout the year. “ T h e r e ’s b e e n a resurgence... There’s hope to double the active D9 membership on campus Konner Hines, The Exponent this coming academic year,” Left to right: Fraternity brothers Desmond Manley, Nick Welch and West said. DeArie Brown in front of the Union. These organizations hold
a significant foundation in Black American culture and history. The Divine Nine organizations began in the 1900s, when most fraternities and sororities were exclusively for white students. The organizations began out of fellowship and shared principles rather than as a direct response to racist beliefs and practices. These organizations quickly spread to other universities, including primarily white institutions. Desmond Manley, a senior finance student and member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity along with being the acting president of the Black Student Alliance, said that since he came to campus, he has seen D9 membership grow. "When I came here, there were some D9 representatives... And just seeing what those people
represent, it’s nice to pass it down so that people have some things to inspire to, especially with it being a predominantly white institution,” Manley said. Manley recently had his one-year anniversary of being a part of his fraternity, and as he holds a leadership position on campus, he said that he would like to grow the number of events held on campus on behalf of his fraternity. " We l i k e t o b r i n g representation whenever asked upon… We don’t have a limit or cap on type of events we want to do and be at as much as possible,” Manley said. Despite the fact that Divine Nine fraternities and sororities are becoming more prominent on campus, getting involved with Greek Life can be difficult for newcomers, Manley said.
“My biggest question when I was a first-year student was ‘How do I go about it [joining Greek life]?’ I would just say walk up to people who are a part of it and just have a conversation,” Manley said. Manley said being a member of Black Greek life has progressed him further as a college student. "It gets you in the face of a lot of people,” Manley said. “Regardless of whether you want it or not, your network is going to expand dramatically when you join a Divine Nine organization. Really, I just saw it as like the ultimate enhancement of what you already possess. At least in my fraternity, the letters do not really change you it just brings out who you are, and it gives you the opportunity to put that on display on a larger scale.”
Out-of-state, international Fashion guide: Which color students call for admin support season are you?
VP for Student Affairs discusses potential campus-to-airport shuttle program
By LILY KNOX Contributing Writer
Editor's Note: International students, we understand your struggles. Please share your thoughts and stories with us, if any, at exponent@bw.edu. We are here to listen and help. Among the 2,695 enrolled undergraduate students on campus, 539 of them are from out-of-state and 18 are from abroad, according t o d at a o bt ai n e d f rom Baldwin Wallace University’s Admission Office. While the university strives to provide all students with a home-awayfrom-home experience, some out-of-state and international students said there is much room to improve. Despite the high number of out-of-state and international students who need to travel to and from the Cleveland Ho p k i n s I n t e r n a t i o n a l Airport, there is no campus shuttle program in place. The trip to CLE is typically a 10-to15-minute drive from campus, but it will take much longer if one were to use public transit. “We have different majors that require students to go off campus, but no infrastructure to support that. A student not having a car should not be a barrier to becoming a teacher,” Christy Walkuski, associate professor in leadership and higher education, said. In response, Timika Rashid, vice president of student affairs, said a potential campus
shuttle program has been discussed in different forums. “If you are aware of a group of students who may be interested in making this recommendation for both aspects, please send that proposal to myself,” Rashid said. Another challenge for outof-state and international students is their struggle to find time to communicate with their families back home. Jakson Attanasio, a secondyear sports management major from Raleigh, N.C., said he felt “backed up in a corner” when he needed life advice and yet his parents were not available nearby. Instead, Attanasio had to turn to upperclassmen on the BW football team for help. Grace Bowman, a senior double majoring in engineering and physics, is originally from New Windsor, M.D. Through different points in the semester, Bowman said she hit “depression spells” when she wanted to go home. Bowman said: “I always call my mom. It also helps to Facetime her so I can see her face. I like to go on walks and take time for self-care.” International students are typically not able to go home during short breaks, and they feel especially lonely when the campus empties out. Berta Gashi, a sophomore business administration student from Kosovo, said her hometown is typically three flights away, or about 24 to 32 hours of lengthy traveling. Gashi said unlike American
students who could go home more frequently, she could barely go home during short vacations. The expensive plane tickets also added an extra financial burden on her. Some international students told The Exponent that they were frustrated due to the limited availabilities of campus dining services over the holiday when BW closes the Dining Hall, Colony Café, Smoothie Bar and Stinger’s Market. In an interview with The Exponent, Matthew Regula, assistant director of dining services, said that although meal plans shut down over the holiday, dining dollars are still available to use at Starbucks, Boss ChickNBeer and Domino's. “We keep in mind that our staff works really hard. We like to give them a break to let them spend time with their families,” Regula said. Cross-cultural adaptation is another challenge facing i nt e r n at i on a l s tu d e nt s . Frida Albertsson, a thirdyear sociology student from Sweden, said that she had experienced a lot of cultural differences between the U.S. and Sweden. Albertsson said it would be nice if BW could host an event where international students sit down and talk to American students. “I feel like sometimes as an international student, people have certain opinions about us, not necessarily bad ones, but just opinions,” Albertsson said.
By EMMA LAMBERT Staff Writer
Walking around campus in weather that ranges from chilly to absolutely freezing can be a challenge, but donning coats and jackets doesn’t have to mean sacrificing style. One of the keys to shining in an outfit is understanding color seasons. Each person has a season, from spring to summer, fall to winter. This is based on several factors, primarily hair and eye color. Knowing one’s color season can be a game changer, especially for those who feel that they can just not fit into a certain color. Let us start at the beginning of the year, spring, the season defined by light, warm colors. Springs may have light colored hair with warm undertones, and blue, green or light hazel eyes. They shine in colors like aqua, peach and buff. Springs don’t typically look at home in very dark, heavy colors. S ome famous spr ings include Blake Lively, Cameron Diaz and Rihanna. Peach is a very flattering makeup shade for springs, as opposed to reds or pinks. A good guideline for this season is to remember that flowers bloom during spring, and plenty of the colors displayed by flowers look wonderful on them. Moving on to summer, this season is defined by light, cool colors. With the brightness of spring, summers may have a hard time differentiating themselves from their neighboring season at first glance. However, they have
a definite preference for cool colors like periwinkle, sage green and light pink. Summers usually have light eyes with a cool undertone, typically blue, grey or cool brown. Summer celebrities include Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne and Jennifer Aniston. Members of this s e a s on c an we ar g re y s without looking tired, and they especially shine in pinks, much like Barbie herself. As summer comes to a close, we welcome autumn, a season that is warm like spring, but dark instead of light. Autumns typically have dark hair and eyes, but like with all seasons, this can vary and is based on undertones rather than hue. They look wonderful in burnt orange, deep teal and maroon. They tend to prefer cream or ivory over bright white. Autu m n c ol or s are reminiscent of fallen leaves, a good guide to follow when looking for flattering shades to wear. Some iconic autumns include Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez and Kendall Jenner. Some autumns are mistaken with deep winters, but their warm undertone makes them distinctively unique. Last but not least, winter is the season of cool, dark tones. Cool like spring and dark like autumn, winters look best in forest green, white and cool blue. Because their dark hair and eye color typically provides a lot of contrast, they look great in both pure white and ink black. Megan Fox, Luc y Liu and Lupita Nyong’o are all famous winters. Vivid colors compliment t hem wel l, meaning that they can pull
off intense colors that may not flatter other seasons. However, because it almost always tends to be warm, winters may choose to avoid wearing yellow. There are many simple guides online to finding the right season, and it typically takes only a few minutes. However, some individuals may find their color palette to be more challenging, requiring a deep look as to whether their palette is a clear, dark or warm version of a season. Please note that there are 12 to 16 color seasons, the regular four and their added variants of deep, clear, bright, warm, cool and pure — it all depends on the color analyst and their opinions. Finding out your own color palette in more detail may require a color analysis appointment. As winter descends, a great way to feel stylish in heavy jackets and boots is owning them in flattering colors that enliven and compliment the wearer. However, color analysis is to be taken with a grain of salt, as anyone can wear any color they want and look wonderful. The season system is just a simple way of using undertones to find the best possible colors for a person. As that concludes the list of color seasons, remember that brown and gold looks good on every student at Baldwin Wallace University.
BWEXPONENT.COM | MONDAY, November 20, 2023 | THE EXPONENT
By MEREDITH MCCORD and HAILEY DEVNEY
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EX UNIONIZATION
Editor's Note: The information included in this article was provided by Indira Gesink, chair of the History department, along with the Baldwin Wallace University Archives located in Ritter Library. Photo by Hailey Devney. In the Fall of 1972, the faculty at Baldwin-Wallace College proposed a plan that would form a faculty union at the University in the name of unionization and collective bargaining. This proposed unionization was brought about due to several campus concerns from both students and faculty. Concerns including the growing deficit at the time along with faculty salaries being lower than what was normal for the institution in the past. Baldwin-Wallace College faculty salaries had fallen far behind what was used to determine whether our faculty salaries are fair along with several social issues brought about by students. In the late 1960s and early 1970s there had been a lot of student unrest, involving student riots that were about issues of race, protests against the Vietnam War and problems with conditions on campus. So, the faculty decided that the best solution to address these issues was to unionize. Due to the unionization plans proposed by the faculty members, the president at the time, President Alfred B. Bonds proposed a series of austerity measures which included eliminating several faculty positions mostly in the humanities area. To remedy the issues, the faculty responded to the plan that Bonds proposed, with a plan of their own. This plan included faculty taking on additional tasks to their everyday responsibilities. Responsibilities that included, paying more for their healthcare, taking faculty from their teaching duties and reassigning them to administrative positions, doing more recruiting, increasing cap sizes for classes and developing new programs to bring in new revenue. After this plan had been proposed, the faculty held a vote and ultimately voted against unionizing. The following year, the deficit grew, resulting in the administration ending the positions of 16 tenured faculty members, all of which were part of the unionization movement. These measures were only allowed if the administration could prove that the College was in a position of “financial exigency” which means that financially [Baldwin-Wallace College] would be in danger of shutting down. Not only were the 16 faculty members who were apart of the initial position termination affected but some of the remaining faculty were as well. “There had been faculty here who had been traumatized by their experience here in the 70s who would run at the sound of the word
union because they were afraid it meant that there would be a retaliation and that we would lose our jobs,” Gesink said.
OPINION EDITORIAL
Why should we pursue journalism at BW now more than ever? By HUIXIN DENG Faculty Advisor
After receiving the First-Place Award from the American Scholastic Press Association in May, T he E x p one nt re c e nt ly re ceive d anot her FirstP l a c e Aw a rd f ro m t h e College Media Association. B ot h org an i z at i ons are headquartered in New York City serving collegiate media nationwide. We feel very proud that we have competed against college newspapers nationwide to earn both firstplace awards. Over the past few months, several Exponent reporters have won individual awards from CMA for their work in print journalism. For example, Simon Skoutas won the “Best Breaking News Coverage” and the “Best General News Story” awards for his reporting on the
THE EXPONENT
temporary freeze of Ohio’s Heartbeat Law and the impact of Ohio’s Senate Bill 83 on higher education, respectively; Alexis Watkins and her team won the “Best Special Section” award for their layout design of the newspaper. In terms of our online journalism portfolio as of press time, Simon Skoutas (for six times), Kelly Coyne, Molly Cancian, Tommy Maroon and Niko Gemelas won the “Best of SNO” awards (Note: SNO is bwexponent.com’s hosting platform) for their reporting on campus news and local events, ranging from BW alumnus getting drafted by National Football League to local movie theaters being shut down. Like many media organizations, The Exponent is hunting for creative ways to reach our readers locally and nationally. Since I took over as The Exponent’s faculty
advisor last summer, we have been aggressively expanding our digital media footprint. So far, we have launched a newsletter entitled “The Exponent Newsletter,” a podcast called “Parenthesis,” and by the end of this semester, we will have launched our first literary magazine, The Pony (an endearing nickname of The Exponent), featuring our reporters’ artistic work and creative projects. In response to the trend of the current U.S. media landscape, we also set up our TikTok and Instagram Threads accounts to cater to our Gen Z readers’ interests. It’s worth noting that Exponent reporters come f rom a variety of nonjournalism backgrounds —Exponent reporters are majoring in political science, chemistry, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, neuroscience, mathematics, to name a few. However,
we discover our passion in journalism as we work for The Exponent. As of now, we have nearly 80 members in the newsroom, plus 30 students from journalism classes who serve as contributing writers. In a world teeming with unforeseen dramas, conflicting narratives and untold stories, I find solace in the notion that journalism can be a force for change, a catalyst for mutual respect and a conduit for human connection. I had dreamed of becoming a journalist for as long as I could remember. In high school, I was drawn into journalism because I knew this profession would provide me with unique opportunities to meet new people, go to exciting places and learn about diverse cultures. Later in my life, I came to realize that journalism is more than a profession — it is a vocation and life-long commitment,
indeed: through my work, I am dedicated to giving voice to the voiceless and letting the unheard heard. Jour na lism has made me become a better and braver person. There were times when I stepped out of my comfort zone to cover unfamiliar beats (Note: “beat” is a journalism jargon referring to “topic”) and hopped around neighborhoods searching for story ideas; there were also times when I was in a time crunch, being pushed by my editor to reach out to a dozen sources simply to look for one quote to fill in the reporting. There were certainly hard times in practicing journalism, but never bad times. In my days as a professional journalist, I have had the privilege of interviewing hundreds of sources from different parts of the world and from various walks of life, many of whom I would never
have met otherwise. More importantly, through these encounters, I became not just a chronicler of events but also a facilitator for open dialogues, which I have never taken for granted. Now more than ever, I would like to share this adventurous journey with you. Dear BW students, you should come to work for The Exponent. No matter what journalistic interest you take, you will find a position at The Exponent. To start, you can sign up for "CAS 251 Participation in The Exponent" in any given semester or write me an email at hdeng@bw.edu. Dear prospective students, I would also like to invite you to join this top-tier college newspaper in the nation: You should matriculate at BW, come visit us in Loomis 185 and be a part of The Exponent in no time. I guarantee that you will not regret this decision.
QUOTEACROSTIC BY PHY-104 GENERAL PROBLEM SOLVING CL ASS
INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in the answers on the blank spaces with the help of the clues. Then, write those letters in the grid to reveal a quote. Black squares indicate the end of a word, and punctuation has been removed. When you're done, the first letters of the answers to the clues will be the author and subject of the quote. Answers will be posted on bwexponent.com.
BWEXPONENT.COM | MONDAY, November 20, 2023 | THE EXPONENT
SPORTS
Yellow Jackets football team wins 24-21 on Seniors' Day
Yellow Jackets use fourth quarter to power through and defeat Heidelberg By TOMMY MAROON Sports Editor
On this year’s Senior’s Day, held on Nov. 4, a day where 21 seniors were honored for their hard work and dedication on and off the field, the Yellow Jacket football team succeeded in a 24-21 win over the Heidelberg Student Princes. The game started off with early fireworks. A total of four touchdowns were scored by the two teams combined in the first six minutes of the contest. The Brown and Gold Brigade started off scoring when first-year Charlie Bubonics threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to senior Austin Schuck on a wheel route. The Princes, however, refused to go down quietly, as graduate student Montavious Yearby, ran for 74 yards on the next play for a touchdown. Then, courtesy of an excessive celebration call, the Jackets got deep into Berg territory where first-year George Linberger scored another touchdown in a two-yard run. Unfazed, Heidelberg scored again on the first play, also from Yearby, on a 62-yard run.
But after that, the defenses stepped it up, with the only touchdown in between the next 40 minutes coming early in the second when the Princes’ first-year Lance Rickle punched a touchdown in with 13:58 left in the second. Four Yellow Jackets wound up with interceptions, including twoway player senior Darius Stokes and junior Alden Steele. The passing game was nowhere to be found on Seniors' Day, as Rickle and Bubonics combined for under 200 yards. Yearby was held silent as he only had 35 yards outside of the two monster touchdown runs. But the ground game was where BW starred and thrived in, especially towards the end of the game. Bubonics and firstyear Derk Hutchison hardly threw a pass in the fourth quarter, and they scored 10 points in said period to win the game. The only touchdown of the fourth quarter came on another Linberger run, this time from one yard, and the game was tied at 21. After Heidelberg punted the ball with 9:48 remaining in regulation, BW would melt over the next six-and-a-half minutes with all but one of the plays being a run. First-year Joe Evans drilled a 28-
yard field goal to give BW a 24-21 lead with a little over three minutes remaining. Heidelberg was not going to roll over and die just yet, as a nice fourth and six escape from Rickle led to a first down pass to their 38-yard line. Three plays later, Rickle fired the pass to the right side, where firstyear TJ Gibbons came up with the game sealing interception to give the Yellow Jackets a decisive 24-21 win. The win propelled BW to a 6-3 record, securing their sixth consecutive winning season excluding the 0-2 COVID-19 shortened campaign, and a 6-2 record in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Only the University of Mount Union, John Carroll University and Marietta College are ahead of BW in the OAC standings for football. BW's coach Jim Hilvert has never lost to Heidelberg, going 6-0 against the Princes, and his last two wins had a little bit of drama towards the end. Meanwhile Berg’s coach, Scott Donaldson, falls to 1-6 in his career against the Jackets, with his only win coming in 2016.
THE EXPONENT
CROSSWORD
Illustration by Halle Vargo
BY MEREDITH MCCORD
ACROSS
DOWN
[6] The department that [1] A day celebrating sends students abroad soon-to-be graduates (Center for...) [2] Popular Berea bar [7] Cartoons printed on a [3] Elvis's first wife newspaper [8] Type of sport [4] Popular clothing organized by students trends for recreational purposes [5] 1972 faculty movement
Athletes turn to intramural basketball during off-season By TOMMY MAROON Sports Editor
Many of the athletes at Baldwin Wallace University have been playing some intramural basketball at night to kill some time and engage in some relaxed fun. “It’s a great event. It’s a great situation for the school for the kids for our board to go out and do something, but man is it tiring,” Matt Beck, a member of the Sharks team and goalkeeper of the men’s soccer team said after his winning game Nov. 7. The Sharks were able to pull out a 44-34 win back at the Lou Higgins Recreation Center. Even Scott, the Shark’s coach and another member of the BW men’s soccer team said that playing against the others is a fun way to spend the night. “[It was] much deserved, much needed, and it’s a great time,” Scott said. The team was off to a fast start that included a double-digit lead in the first half. One player for the opposing Megalodons drilled a half-court shot at the end of the game that attracted some style points. It was not the only game that was going on at that time in the Lou Higgins Center Recreation Center. Team Mad Dog went up against the
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Sej Hammers, and they dominated. After getting off to a fast start in the first half by leading 20-4 late in it, Mad Dog would go on to win by a comfortable amount, finishing shortly after the Sharks-Megaladons contest. The rules are very similar to NCAA men’s basketball rules, as you play two 20-minute halves in hopes of scoring more points than your opponent, but the clock is always running unless there’s a technical, an injury or a foul with under two minutes remaining. Halftime is barely a breather, as the teams only have three minutes to talk with each other and take a step back from the action. The league is set up in a similar manner to the National Basketball Association, as each team will play each other, leading up to a tournament held at the end of the season.
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