That’s What She Said

Lynda K. Hall, professor of psychology, has something to smile about. Her son, Jeremy Boyd, a seventh-grader at Heritage Middle School in Westerville, Ohio, was part of the school’s team that took home first prize in the Future City National Finals Feb. 18-20 in Washington, D.C.

The mission of the National Engineers Week Future City Competition, now in its 16th year, is “to provide a fun and exciting educational engineering program for seventh- and eighth-grade students that combines a stimulating engineering challenge with a ‘hands-on’ application to present their vision of a city of the future.”

Hall said she could not have been more proud of the work her son did on the project.

As a member the Future City team, he worked to put together a simulation of their city with the videogame SimCity 3000, write an essay and an abstract about the city and make a scale model to be presented at the competition. The model had a budget of $100, so most of it was created from recycled materials, Hall said.

Boyd’s team placed their city of the future, RA, in Egypt, an unusual choice among the teams. Most chose well populated areas. Hall said they chose to place it in the desert to “look at how people will adapt.”

The topic for this year’s essay focused on how nanotechnology would be used to monitor the city’s infrastructure.

Their winning essay focused on how this technology would be used to manage their city’s sewer systems.

“The technology would provide RA engineers with precise data, a state-of-the-art monitoring system, automated repairs and precise problem detection that is economically advantageous, protects citizens’ heath and preserves the environment,” the students wrote.

The Future City competition consists of 1,100 middle schools from across the nation. Hall said she believed most schools were private schools which had more of a say in the way students spent their day.

“One school had Future City as a class period. We did ours on evenings and weekends,” Hall said.

Heritage Middle School won their regional competition held Jan. 19 at the Columbus Science Institute, qualifying their team for the national competition.

The presentation team, which Boyd was a part of, was only part of the group that created RA.

A group of twenty students, their teacher and a volunteer engineer who served as the team’s mentor, all worked hard on the competition’s four areas. The group then voted on the three students who would represent their team at the competition.

Hall said the Heritage’s volunteer mentor, Ted Beidler from the Franklin County, Ohio Engineering Department, let the students decide what they wanted to do with their city. He was hands off but would step in when he saw a problem.

“He pointed out their pitfalls,” Hall said.

The students were expected to know about their city and to be prepared to defend it, as they would be judged by a panel of engineers during their presentation.

After the top five schools were chosen, the students had to repeat their presentation in front of a larger audience consisting of the judges, parents and the other teams.

There has been only one other team from Ohio to place in the top five of the competition, Hall said.

One of those students, now in high school, helped this year’s team with their project.

Hall said the team was thrilled when they made the top five, let alone the top spot.

“We were really shocked when we realized they were the first place winners,” Hall said.

The rest of the teams immediately congratulated them after the awards were announced, she said.

“They were all so supportive of one another,” Hall said. “Their character really impressed me.”

Hall said the most surprising part of this adventure is not that the team took home the first place trophy, but that these students were determined to create a better way of life for the future. They were set on creating a safer, more efficient and “greener” world.

“They want to be part of the solution,” Hall said.

FROM: Volume 146, Issue 18: March 6, 2008

Television shows are always better than real life, right?

As a sister of one of our fine sororities on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus, I must say, “Greek” the TV show portrays Greek life quite accurately.

However, the show is way better than being an actual Greek on campus, because I am on the outside.

First, the drama that accompanies sorority life in this fictional world really does occur in real life. This is not a plot ploy, although it is usually somewhat exaggerated for more drama and/or comedy.

By putting any more than eight girls in one room at a time, you are severely increasing the chances of gossip and drama.

It is a fact of life. Girls love gossip. We eat gossip for breakfast. We gossip about other girls, we gossip about boys. It’s just what we do. But there comes a point when the gossip wheel gets old.

Watching this drama unfold on my television removes me from the situation and breathes new life into my tired gossip-worn body.

I do not want to hear about how much Person A hates Person B for being drunk all the time, unless it is on my television.

Secondly, I love that because this is a television show, I do not actually have to participate in any of the ridiculous events these sororities and fraternities cook up. I get to be on the other side again, laughing at the stupid things those crazy Greeks are doing.

I will admit that the events we put on are to raise money for our respective philanthropies.

This is a good thing. But deep down, even the most loyal sorority or fraternity member realizes how dumb half of these are.

To embarrass ourselves may put a smile on the faces of non-Greeks, but I will tell you, I am not smiling. Unless I am watching it on TV.

I realize that many of you reading this are also members of the Greek community here at OWU, and you might think I am wrong about all of this.

You might even be mad. Frankly, that does not bother me. You are probably the people
who are angry about my column trashing Oprah, and you are probably the people I hated on last week about wearing leggings as pants. (Emily Rose, you are allowed to wear leggings, but no one else.)

Hate me if you want to.

But I remember receiving an e-mail this past summer on the night the show was supposed to premiere. It was from my sorority.

The e-mail wanted us, as members of our fine sorority, to stand up to the negative and untrue stereotypes that the show was rumored to portray.

If you have ever watched the show, and you are a member of the Greek community, can you honestly say that most of the things that happen on the show have never happened, to your knowledge, here at OWU? Because I will say they have.

The show is not false in its portrayal of Greek life. Sometimes it might exaggerate a couple
of things.

But we all have secrets and our own gossip that circulates; first it is just the house, but then, given our small campus, it makes its way to all of the sororities. And there is the possibility of it extending further outside the circle of Greeks.

But, personally, I think the show does an adequate job at portraying the basics of Greek life

If you have not seen the show, check it out for yourself. It returns with new episodes March 24 at 9 p.m. on ABC Family.

FROM: Volume 146, Issue 18: March 6, 2008

My original plan for this column was to honor my favorite ’80s films in light of Molly Ringwald turning 40 last week. However, due to recent events, I have decided to alter my focus in the form of a letter.

We will return to our regularly scheduled entertainment topics next week.

Dear female students of Ohio Wesleyan University,

Leggings do not qualify as pants. Ever.

Honestly, I have no desire to walk up the stairs of University Hall behind a girl who is not wearing pants. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened last Friday, which accounts for the existence of this column.

Merely because leggings are the same shape as pants does not make them a qualified substitute.

You should never wear leggings f you do not plan on wearing a skirt over them. If you choose not to wear a skirt, I would hope your shirt is long enough to cover your butt. If it is not, the rest of OWU’s population (at least the women and probably every member of the faculty and staff) would prefer that you covered up. I have no idea why this trend would be thought of as fashionable, but apparently it is.

I know this might be difficult to understand, but do not worry because I have created a simple test to figure out if pants are needed to complete an outfit.

Step 1: Look in the mirror and ask yourself this question: “Can I see my butt?”

If the answer to this question is yes, please proceed to the second step.

Step 2: Put on pants, a skirt, shorts, etc.

As an addition to my complaints bout leggings, I have one more thing to say: wearing Uggs (or any form of boot that looks as if it could handle the snow) with leggings (with or without a skirt) is not attractive and makes me ashamed to be a woman of our generation.

Aside from the fact that I have no desire to see my fellow students’ butts, it snowed last week. Why in the world would you think it was sane to walk out of your dorm room or apartments without proper winter attire?

As a true Ohioan I will often shed my winter coat for sweatshirts once the thermostat reads a balmy 45 degrees. I understand that this is not entirely appropriate but, hey, at least I am still wearing pants.

Yours truly,
Kaitlin Thomas

P.S. If you absolutely cannot stand wearing pants, I hear there are nudist colonies in Europe. I would be happy to Google them for you.

I could also help you find the names and addresses of businesses in the adult entertainment field around Columbus. Apparently not wearing pants is a requirement for the job. And you get paid for not wearing those pants.

So it’s a win/win/win situation f you ask me. I do not have to look at your butt, so I win. You will still be able to not wear those pesky pants, so you win. And you will be making money. So again, a win.

From: Volume 146, Issue 17: February 28, 2008

Students often spend a semester abroad during their college experience, but rarely do professors have the same opportunity. Mark P. Gingerich, James S. Britton Professor of European History here at Ohio Wesleyan, returned to campus in January after spending a semester in Turkey.

Gingerich was invited to teach at the Center for Russian Studies at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey as a visiting lecturer for the fall of 2007. The university was the first private university in Turkey.

“They offered me the position for a year,” Gingerich said, “but I couldn’t swing that.” Instead, he opted for one semester.

Though he was formally a part of the International Studies department at Bilkent, Gingerich taught strictly history courses.

At OWU, Gingerich has specialized in modern European history since 1991, where his course on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany is extremely popular among students. At Bilkent, his classes covered a broader timeline.

At the undergraduate level, Gingerich lectured on European political and diplomatic affairs spanning the years 1648 to 1914. He also taught a graduate seminar on the affairs of the Soviet Union during World War II.

In comparing OWU to Bilkent, Gingerich said most students were of the same high caliber.

The main difference though, was that while the university was an English-based institution, most of the students were not native English speakers.

“I found that a constant challenge,” he said. “I had to make sure I always spoke clearly. I tried to say everything twice using different ords and terms.”

Opportunities like this are not unheard of, but generally professors ave to apply for programs such as these through scholarly programs like Fulbright. In Gingerich’s case the opportunity arose out of his personal and professional connection with the director of the Center for Russian Studies.

“I got a phone call and was asked if I wanted to do it. It was not something I had to apply for. It was an invitation so I decided to take it,” he said.

Gingerich was accompanied by his wife, Suzan Osman, instructor of Middle Eastern history at OWU, and their twin daughters. The opportunity to share the experience with his family was ultimately what sold Gingerich on the trip.

“Quite honestly, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said.

Gingerich’s connection to the director of the Russian Studies Center is not the only connection he has to Turkey. His wife previously ived in Istanbul in the 1980s and is fluent in Turkish.

“If she had no connection, I would have still thought about it because I have friends in the faculty at Bilkent,” Gingerich said.

The opportunity to return to Turkey was exciting to Osman and it had always been a dream of hers to return. As for the couple’s eleven year old daughters, it was hard to transition to living in another country.

“They really missed their friends [and] they missed their school,” Gingerich said.

“They made friends at school and we have family friends with girls right about their age, but we were kind of isolated,” he said. “We lived on campus and there weren’t a lot of kids right in the apartment block where we were.”

Gingerich said that while the experience was positive, it was also unusual.

“To be in a different country, to teach European history in English; there are very few opportunities in Europe to do that. If you’re teaching American history and you are an American, you have a much better chance of being brought somewhere else.”

Gingerich said it was more common to bring in someone from a European background to teach European history rather than an American.

When asked if he would pursue the opportunity again if it should present itself, Gingerich said he would seriously consider it.

“It’s quite disruptive for one’s family. If I do it again in the future I would probably wait until my daughters are in college so it would just be my wife and I.”

Gingerich also said that his decision would depend on the location.

He knows the area of Ankara now and thanks to sightseeing trips he has seen at least some of Turkey outside the capital city.

“We took every opportunity we could [to explore]. It was difficult of course because I was teaching five days a week and my daughters were in school for a very long school day,” he said. “But we made it to Istanbul a couple of times [and] we went up to the Black Sea region.”

After pushing up his final exams due to the overlapping schedules with OWU, Gingerich and his family spent a few days in Munich, Germany before returning home.

The experience may have been a once in a lifetime opportunity and a lot of fun, but Gingerich seemed happy to be back.

From: Volume 146, Issue 17: February 28, 2008

The critically acclaimed television show “Pushing Daisies” (ABC) was renewed for a second season. Now, there are a lot of shows that were renewed for next season, so why am I writing about this show? Because I love it and that is the only reason I need.

Now, why do I love it? It has vibrant and saturated colors that are not found in any other show. This makes me sound like a four year old, but it has other attractions as well. It has pretty people. This makes me sound shallow, but just wait. It has a premise that I adore and a creator that I have followed for years.

The show stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie maker with a strange gift. One touch from his finger can bring the dead back to life. The catch, and there always is one, is that the deceased can only come back for one minute. If they pass the one minute mark, the person who is nearest them in proximity suddenly dies. Sounds morbid, no? Maybe the pretty colors make up for it.

In all truth, the show is a happy fairytale and not just because of the colors. There is a love story as well as a mystery of the week. These things coupled with wonderful supporting actors who light up the screen each time they have a scene make this a truly enjoyable show.

Now, the love story involves Ned and his childhood crush, Charlotte “Chuck” Charles (Anna Friel). Ned’s mother died when he was young. Following her death Ned’s father sent him to boarding school and he never saw Chuck again. Until she died.

Again with the morbid. But it is alright, because Ned brings Chuck back to life. The two are clearly in love, but are unable to touch. For if they do, Chuck will perish forever (another catch).

Now you may be wondering how the mysteries tie in. Ned helps his partner Emerson Cod, a private investigator portrayed by Chi McBride, by bringing murder victims back to life to find out how they died. They then collect the reward money. Emerson is the one who truly covets the cash, but Ned never refuses the money.

My favorite part of the entire show however, is Kristen Chenoweth. She plays Olive Snook, a waitress at Ned’s restaurant, The Pie Hole (yes, as in “shut your pie hole”).

Part of the reason I adore this character is because I adore Chenoweth. For those less-Broadway inclined than yours truly, she originated the role of Glinda in the award-winning Broadway musical “Wicked.” She steals every scene she is in and most of the comedy comes from her perfect delivery.

Now, as I stated above, I also love this show because Bryan Fuller, the creator. Fuller has been the mastermind behind some of my favorite television shows. “Dead Like Me” was a cult hit. It was about a young woman who died and became a reaper of souls.

In 2004, Fuller had another cult hit in “Wonderfalls.” Again this show had a supernatural essence about it. Inanimate objects, such as a wax lion or a brass monkey, would tell the main character to do certain things. Kind of like a “Joan of Arcadia” vibe, only we never know if it is actually God speaking or not.

Unfortunately for Fuller, these shows never made it. DLM was cancelled after two seasons and “Wonderfalls” only made it nine episodes on the air. I think I am just as happy to see Fuller succeeding with “Pushing Daisies” as he is. Due to the writer’s strike, the first season was cut tragically short. The news of its renewal has made me (and presumably Fuller) jump for joy. So hopefully I have written enough to persuade you to join in on the magical fairytale of bright vibrant colors.

And did I mention the people are pretty?

FROM: Volume 146, Issue 16: February 21, 2008