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ohiodominican.edu/theTower | thetower@ohiodominican.edu

Fall 2014

OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITYSTUDENT NEWS

DEAR TAMIE. 6LOCAL DELI A GREAT OPTION. 8WRAMBLINGS FROM THE WRITE PLACE. 10

An Ohio Dominican Publication Courtesy of Ohio Dominican University

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK. 15

A Party To Murder

WHY SHOULD I LEARN A LANGUAGE?. 16

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TheTower is a student newspaper sponsored by Ohio Dominican University. It is a periodic publication by students during the fall & spring semesters.

Web: ohiodominican.edu/TheTowerEmail: TheTower@ohiodominican.edu

ELLIE ASHER | TheTower, Editor-In-Chief

For business or advertising opportunities, emailtheTower@ohiodominican.edu

OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITYSTUDENT NEWS

EDITOR’S NOTE

Issue EditorAllen Williams

Editor-In-Chief, DesignerEllie Asher

Staff WritersAllen Williams

Alexis SchneiderTamara WilsonAshley Brewer

Mark WillisStephanie Skeen

The Tower Goes Green!

The Tower is back and at it again! This year, the school’s student-run newspaper is going digital! We’ll be posting issues online at Issuu.com via the Ohio Dominican University profile to aid in an effort to be more environmentally friendly! Feel free to look us up and give us a follow for the latest news from The Tower!

Something else that is changing for this newspaper is the amount of issues. This year, we are releasing the issues in seasons. This is our first one of the year: the Fall issue! We will feature two more for the school year as well: the Winter and Spring issues, due out next semester.

Finally, on behalf of The Tower, I would like to thank the following faculty and staff stakeholders that have been crucial to the survival of this newspaper:

- Allen Williams (The Write Place/English) - Brad Bradford - Becca Obergerfell (Center of Student Involvement) - Jennifer Doron (Public Relations and Web Design) -Natalie Kompa

Thank you all for your tremendous help!

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needs you!We need writers,

designers, editors, and advertisers!

Shoot us an email at TheTower@ohiodominican.edu

Thank You, Volunteers!

#MyPantherPurpose

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My fellow classmates, I’m sure we can all agree that college is a time for clarity, growth, and decision making. Yes, you’re discovering your passion and purpose, you’re discovering your special skills and abilities, and you’re making career choices. Something I want you to remember to think about during this time is, how do you define yourself? Throughout your life you will ask yourself, “Who Am I?” I encourage you to take the time to figure out the core foundation of who you are, now. Get clear, and take action. If you took away your fears and perceived hang-ups, who would you like to be? How do you want people to see, think and remember you? Reinvent yourself. Get out some paper. On the first sheet of paper make a list of all the things you like, love, and admire about yourself; in addition, include your accomplishments, awards, and hard times you’ve overcome. Keep this list in a special folder, and add to it as you accomplish more great things. Everything on your list should invoke good, positive feelings. Whenever you’re having a bad day, pull out your list and read it. Next, get out another piece of paper and divide it into two columns. Label the left column “past” and the right column “present / future.” On the left side, make a list of all the things you don’t like about yourself, and be sure to include your fears, weaknesses, etc. Try to scale your dislike down to a word or few words. Once you make this list, go through it and challenge everything

Who Am I?TAMIE WILSON | TheTower, Columnist

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you wrote. Sometimes when going through this process, people will write something that isn’t true, or at least it isn’t true for them anymore. So, go through the list and ask yourself, “Is this true? Do I really feel this way?” You should be able to cross some things off. The purpose of this list is to clarify the things that consciously or subconsciously negatively affect you, your happiness, and your success.

Once you have a working list, now you know what you need to change or accept. For example, you may have listed “I don’t like the shape of my face” and “I’m critical and not very accepting of others.” You can’t change the shape of your face, so this is something you just need to accept. However, you can change being too critical and not accepting of others. You can start living a new reality by simply being more accepting and less critical. So, next to each item on the left, write your new reality on the right. For example, if you wrote “shy” under the left column, you could write “outgoing” or “social” directly next to it under the right column. Now, after you complete this task, start living your life according to everything you wrote on the right side. Actually, you could rip the paper in half and destroy the left side and carry the right side with you to reinforce the new you.

Life is about growth. You will be constantly challenged with different and unexpected circumstances. By having your core foundation, you’ll be able to handle life’s challenges easier. In addition, by knowing this process, you will know how to effectively reinvent yourself. When you get that job you really want, you can decide who you will be in that company. When you get married, you can decide what kind of spouse you will be. When/if a loved one gets sick, you can decide who you will be to that person. The tools and process I’ve described will help you throughout your life. Remember, every moment is a new moment, so it’s never too late to become a new and better you.

It’s easy as 1, 2, 3... 1. Choose a tag!

2. Buy a gift! 3. Return the gift unwrapped with tag attached to Campus Ministry in

Sansbury by December 8th! Tags can be picked up from the Christmas Tree in Erskine Lobby!

This project is done in collaboration with the Salvation Army.

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Advice column “Dear Tamie” is a confidential place to ask for advice for your challenging life issues. You can submit your questions to: DearTamie@gmail.com.

Dear Tamie, I have been dating this guy for a while now, and for the most part we’re happy, but we seem to be fighting a lot lately. I know every relationship has its ups and downs, but how can you tell its normal relationships downs vs. just being a bad match?

Confused In Love

Dear Tamie, TAMIE WILSON | TheTower, Columnist

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Dear Confused In Love,

I am so happy you’re asking this question as a lot of people are in horrible, unhealthy relationships they need to get out of. Let me explain what I mean. Yes, relationships can have some down moments, but let’s look at those down moments a little closer. A healthy down moment would be if you were to have a disagreement and didn’t resort to emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is when one person humiliates, degrades, discounts, negates, judges, criticizes, dominates, controls, shames, accuses, blames, or makes trivial unreasonable demands or expectations on the other person. Emotional abuse can also be expressed through unrealistic expectations on their partner, denies their own shortcomings. An emotional abuser may also be emotionally distant and gives the “silent treatment.” They will also try to isolate their partner from other friends and family. One could also use emotional abandonment or neglect or be codependent. I’m sure you’ve been around the couple that is constantly putting each other down, humiliating the other person; they are extremely critical, sometimes ignore their partner and use the silent treatment. They could also tell mean jokes about the other person. All of those situations are signs of emotional abuse, which is an extremely unhealthy relationship. The truth is, emotional relationships are so “common” that people often dismiss the signs. Emotional relationships are so prevalent in our society which perpetuates this existence of a total inner spirit killer. A person can/will lose their self-worth, confidence, and power as a result of being emotionally abused. After being manipulated, used, and controlled, eventually one can/will start feeling undesirable, defeated, worthless, and powerless. The effects of emotional abuse can cause horrible feelings of anxiety, fear, hypervigilance, and more.

So, yes, relationships have their ups and downs; however, to protect yourself, get out a piece of paper and write down your deal breakers. Deal breakers are your lines you will not let be crossed. For example: curse word name calling, being hit, raising their hand to me, putting me down, exerting their power over me to scare or control me… You get the point. Make your own personal list that is for your eyes only, and if / when you see a deal breaker show up in your relationship, love yourself and break off the relationship. Relationships are supposed to be enjoyable and educational as well as supportive, and a bunch of other wonderful things. There shouldn’t be a dark cloud of doom looming over and around the relationship; if there is, it’s time to get out.

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Downtown Columbus is rife with attractions during the Autumn season what with its charming shops, food markets, and art galleries. If you find yourself out and about the town for whatever reason or are simply looking to expand your culinary palette beyond Hamilton Hall, then Smith’s Deli has got you covered.

This local favorite has remained in operation since 1960 in its original location on North High Street. It also offers outdoor seating if you’re in the mood to catch a glimpse of those gorgeous fall leaves. Smith’s is not the place to go if you are concerned with a high-class atmosphere. However, if you are strapped for cash like many college students, you will welcome their tasty food at low prices.

Smith’s boasts your typical deli fare which includes simple salads, soups, and sandwiches which can be requested on a bagel or croissant. Or if you are in the mood for something heartier, you can cozy up to a delicious pizza or plate of pasta. You can score a simple lunch in this joint for less than $5.00 or a yummy dinner for less than $10.00.

If you find yourself in downtown during midday, I would recommend the pizza bagel which runs you $3.19 (plus 50 per topping). You’ll receive an average-sized bagel, toasted until crisp, smothered with zesty

Local Deli a Great Lunch

ALEXIS SCHNEIDER | TheTower, Columnist

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Option for ODU Students

marinara and Italian cheeses. If you’re like me, you’ll do yourself a favor and request a big ‘ole helping of pepperoni and sausage on top. Then, you’ll pat yourself on the back for making an excellent choice. Folks, I’m telling you, this baby is good.

You say you’re light on appetite, but are in the mood for Italian fare? No problem. Smith’s is happy to let you order from the kid’s menu. And how could a decent-sized piece of cheese lasagna and a fresh French roll be wrong? All for the price of $3.99, and that folks, is what I call a bargain.

Do yourself a favor this fall and give this place a try, I promise you won’t regret it!

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Although the stigma of English professors as “Grammar Nazis” will likely endure indefinitely, our main area of focus in the Write Place is what we term higher order concerns: purpose, audience, thesis, organization, and so on. However, improving your lower order concerns like spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word choice (diction) in your writing can go a long way towards academic success. In this column, I’d like to draw attention to five words that almost everyone (professors included) uses incorrectly:

Five Words You’re Using Incorrectly

Wramblings from the Write Place

FortePeople seem to love to throw around the word “forte” (pronounced FOR-tay) to indicate someone’s particular strength or specialty. For example, one might say that my forte is identifying obscure 1950s jazz musicians or remembering who won the World Series in 1914. Hey, it’s a foreign word, so it even has the benefit of instantly making you sound smart, right? Not if you’re using it incorrectly; sorry. Forte (FOR-tay) is an Italian word meaning “strong” or “loud” and is a musical term meaning to play at a loud volume. Forte (pronounced FORT, like the building) is from Old French and means something at which a person is unusually skilled.

AwesomeAdmittedly, this is a misuse of which I am particularly guilty. “Awesome” literally means “inspiring awe.” Awe is a strong word and means “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.” One can have awe in the presence of God, or from the massive destructive terror of an atomic bomb, or from a particularly moving sight like the Earth from space or the birth of your first child. Awesome is that strong of a word; is the new Taylor Swift album really awesome? It might be pretty good, but I’m betting it doesn’t truly inspire awe in us.

PROF. ALLEN WILLIAMS | TheTower, Columnist

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UltimateUnfortunately, “ultimate” as an adjective does not mean fantastic, stupendous, or any other synonym of “great.” It simply means the last item in a list or series, i.e. the thing on a list after the penultimate (next to last, another word that probably belongs on this list) one. It’s essentially a synonym of “final,” and it’s definitely not a synonym of “awesome” (see above).

ObsoleteTake heart! Your iPhone 5 is not obsolete yet, and that’s not a reason to rush out to get the iPhone 6. “Obsolete” means no longer produced, used, or supported. Computers that use punch cards are obsolete; steam engines are obsolete. Sadly, your old iPhone (or even your old Motorola StarTAC from 1996) is only obsolescent. They won’t become truly obsolete until a completely new technology replaces the smartphone, and maybe not even then.

DecimateLike “FOR-tay,” I don’t think I’ve ever heard this word used correctly. “Decimate” does not mean completely dominated or utterly destroyed, as in “The Buckeyes decimated the Zips yesterday, 77-0.” Decimate is derived from the Latin decimus, meaning a tenth of something, and looks an awful lot like our word “decade” (ten years). Therefore, to decimate something means to reduce it by 10%, not almost entirely. In fact, decimation was a form of punishment in the Roman Army where a cohort of soldiers would be forced to draw lots, and the losing 10% would be summarily executed. So, even though decimate doesn’t have the extreme meaning that is usually assumed, it still isn’t something you ever want to happen.

Remember the true definitions of these words, and while they likely won’t make you a hit at cocktail parties, you’ll at least be satisfied in the knowledge that you’re using them correctly in your writing!

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The Greek playwright Sophocles wrote “One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.” How special is it to find one special person to spend your life with forever and ever? Pretty special, actually. Mathematicians all over can’t agree on a mathematically certain way of determining how love is found or how easily (and difficult) it can be to find someone. This is because, well, it’s all very subjective. Of course, there are dozens of factors that go into finding someone: proximity, attractiveness, and whether or not they think that cat videos are adorable. The list goes on and on, and most calculations of all the different factors yield a number closer to zero than to one. Why is this? Beside compromising, the only other answer can be fate.

But how about the odds of graduating from the same college as your love? Double Dominicans are couples who graduated from Ohio Dominican University and married each other. Though they haven’t tied the knot yet, the idea is not so strange for sophomore Madison Arnold and Junior Carrie Ghiloni, who have been together since high school. They both agree that dating in college is challenging, but totally rewarding. These two actually interact like best friends, and they can usually be seen together exchanging witty banter. When the topic of Double Dominicans comes up, Carrie flips her

hand up and flashes a non-existent ring to which Madison typically has a quick retort. “Relationships are a lot of work, but it’s totally worth it since I’m with the right person.” As a couple, the duo is involved in The Panther Players and share a love for jokes.

Mathematically, by multiplying the number of people who are the opposite gender, fit with your personality, are single, proximity, population density, common interests, and attractiveness, the amount of people who fit how unique you are is small. However, that doesn’t mean your special someone isn’t out there. Whether you’re single like a Pringle, or taken and no longer mingling, one thing is certain: love is a force to be reckoned with, and when you find it, you’ll know.

MARK WILLIS | TheTower, Staff Writer

Double Dominicans

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October 31, 2014 – Columbus, OH - Imagine yourself on an island with five other people on Halloween night in 1998. What would you do? For the six characters in Ohio Dominican’s play “A Party to Murder,” they are gathered to solve a 25-year mystery. “There are many twists and turns as to why they are actually there,” sophomore Panthers Players Director T.J. Hill said. “The main reason is to solve a mystery 25 years prior in the same location.”

The entire production spans over one day and night, which Hill hopes will help keep the audience on the edge of their seat. “With the surprises that keep happening throughout the show, it will keep the audience on their toes,” Hill said. “It’s like a big game of Clue!”

Usually Hill is on stage acting out a part, but he decided to see the stage from a different viewpoint. “It’s been bumpy because I’m new to the director role,” Hill said. “This is a whole new view of the theatre to me and having to keep in check with the cast.”

Despite the trouble with keeping the cast in check, Hill said that they “have great chemistry on set.” The six cast members are: Alexis Haynes as McKenzie, Shyloe Mayle as Valerie, Mark Willis as Charles, Zack Lawson as Willy, Andrea Haller as Henrette, and Paul Shaffner as Ellwood.

“I believe T.J., as well as the rest of the cast, did an excellent job with this play,” said sophomore Zach Lawson.

Opening night is November 7 at 7 p.m. in Matesich Theatre. The other showings are, November 8 at 5 p.m., November 13, 14, and 15 at 7 p.m. The tickets are free for Ohio Dominican students with their student I.D. and $8 for non – students.

About Panther Players: The Panther Players is the theatre organization at Ohio Dominican University that allows students to enhance their communication and acting skills. They have the opportunity to act, direct, and build sets for the theatre productions. The Panther Players have been putting on productions since 2007.

Panther Players Fall Play “A Party to Murder” Opening November 7STEPHANIE SKEEN | TheTower, Guest Writer

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What do skydiving, getting an “A” on a test, and successfully putting on a play all have in common? The adrenaline and feeling of accomplishment afterwards are incredible and truly indescribable. Although most people can’t relate to jumping out of a plane, getting an “A” after working hard is a feeling like no other. Putting on a musical that goes off without a hitch is kind of like getting that perfect grade, only much more intense. Cast, directors, and technical crew are all essential players in the drama of putting on a show. When working in tandem with perfect teamwork, plays take on lives of their own. Seeing and being a part of good theater is as awesome as the feeling of winning a championship or getting a new record. How does good theater happen, though? The answer is very, very, very carefully.

There are lots of parts in each division of leadership to make a show go off without a hitch: directors, technical crew, and actors. Directors, assistant directors, and set designers have a hand in how the stage is laid out, how the actors deliver their lines, and contribute to the “vision” of how a particular production will look. Stage managers, costume and prop managers, light and sound technicians, and stage hands are the “techies” that make the magic happen. Their role is to make off stage sounds, frantically help with quick changes by desperately throwing clothes at actors, and make the actors shine. The final ingredients to the formula are the “faces” of the show: the actors. They come in all shapes and sizes and just as many

personalities. Some are divas, others need to be gently coaxed into the limelight, but ultimately they all work toward the same goal of delivering a show that will make an audience applaud.

Of course, not everything is full of bubble gum and goodie bags for those in show business; there is often drama and conflict surrounding almost everything. Lines not being remembered, tech crew falling asleep, and diva directors are just a few of the nightmares that one can find on the road to a great show. Quite often, it’s noted that the fates are either for or against a show, and it will change depending on the rehearsal day where the winds seem to be blowing. However, despite this, somehow it all turns out in the end. No matter how dismal a production seems at its lowest point, typically everyone rallies together (even if it’s at the last minute) to pull it together. This is the magic of theater, and the feeling of accomplishment is phenomenal. Maybe it’s not quite like a free fall jump with a parachute, but the team work and bonding that comes out of a good show is irreplaceable.

Teamwork Makes the Dream WorkMARK WILLIS | TheTower, Staff Writer

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As an Ohio Dominican University student, you may be asking why learning a foreign language is worth it. I assure you it is; ODU offers a few language courses that can help you significantly after graduation in many different ways. Spanish, French, Italian, and Latin are the languages that ODU offers to students at this time. Professor Storck is currently in the middle of teaching ancient Greek to a few students on the side as well. Foreign language is already a requirement for graduation; as ODU is a liberal arts university, why not take the opportunity to learn something that will help you in the long run?

Interestingly enough, learning a foreign language can do a lot more than help you speak to people from different cultures. Professor Gartner – a Spanish instructor – says that it’s so much more than that. He believes it is important to help connect with others past speaking the language itself. “There’s value in the culture, history, and religion,” he explains. Dr. Storck – a philosophy professor – similarly states that learning languages helps you see the world in a different perspective. Dr. Ponesse – who teaches the Latin courses – compares learning Latin to brain puzzles like Sudoku. As a student who has studied Latin in High School and at ODU, I have to agree.

Learning a foreign language is a valuable asset to someone who wants to enhance their thought process, understand English to a more advanced degree, and to form a connection with people in both professional and personal lives.

French, Italian, and Spanish are languages that are a little more useful as they are spoken languages. Gartner instructs his Spanish classes with a conventional approach to prepare students for its use after graduation. ODU has courses that focus on more narrow approaches to using Spanish in different professions as well. There are specialized classes that focus on Spanish used in the medical field, social work, and business. Dr. Martinez and Dr. Gartner provide more in depth focus on how you, as a future graduate and professional in your field, will use Spanish to the fullest potential. If you’re planning on taking Spanish or are already in the middle of learning it, Dr. Gartner has some words of support. He suggests keeping up with homework as much as possible (which is always recommended for any class) and to not be afraid to ask for help from the instructors. They want to help and will help focus on weak points to aid their students. “I think anyone can learn a foreign language

ASHLEY BREWER | TheTower, Staff Writer

Why should I learn a foreign language?!

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because we all learned English,” Dr. Gartner proclaims.

Dr. Ponesse is a professor who can relate to the struggles students go through during their efforts to learn Latin. “Learning Latin isn’t about immediate mastery, but with persistence it can ‘click’ half way through learning it,” he says and compares it to the movie Karate Kid. He says it feels like you’re going through the motions and don’t know why, it’s tedious, boring, and seems worthless. Have Faith! Dr. Ponesse will readily confirm that he rewards consistency in effort as much as accuracy, which is a ray of hope for newcomers to Latin. A story he likes to tell his classes (that I have heard multiple times, which shows just how excited he was that this happened) is when he was on his honeymoon in Ireland. The Ponesse couple were visiting a Cathedral; without his realizing it, he instinctively read the Latin inscribed on the walls. He describes it as the words were “swimming around” like in fantasy movies. He often tells his students that he used to hate Latin with a passion when he was younger. Many students feel the same way when just starting out, but imagine the day when it suddenly connects out of nowhere. He admits that “Latin is probably not the most useful subject that you can take in preparation for jobs,” but it emphasizes analysis of data as well as being “beautiful enrichment of the soul” and that “students will never regret it.” Greek is not a language course that is available to students through ODU, yet it has a large impact on many majors. Dr. Storck is primarily a philosophy instructor and feels Greek has a great importance in understanding philosophy teachings. He claims that there is a great advantage in understanding the raw text rather than translations, not only in philosophy, but also the studies of theology. Medical, botanical, zoological, math, and chemical names and terms are derived from Greek, the names of stars and constellations as well. Dr. Storck and Dr. Ponesse both believe that

learning Greek and Latin helps to understand how to use words derived from each language. It is also interesting to see how ‘morph’ – derived from ‘morphos’ – is used to indicate ‘change’ in English, but actually ‘morphos’ means ‘form’ in Greek. Dr. Storck also notes that there are two reasons for reading a secondary language: what you can learn from it and learning the language itself.

While ancient Greek and Latin are considered ‘dead languages’ (as no one speaks them anymore), they have ties to modern languages as well. Modern Greek, as you should note, is not the same as the ancient Greek that Dr. Storck teaches, but is heavily based in the ancient version. Italian and French are also based on Latin; also, grammatically, Greek and Hebrew are similar to Latin too. Another important point is that Latin has a large influence on developing a “command of English,” as Dr. Ponesse claims. He recalls that in 1066, William the Conqueror (who spoke French, which was a type of Latin) merged the use of French and a more Germanic language the Anglo Saxons used. As a result, Dr. Ponesse estimates half of English (if not more) is based on Latin. Whether you study Business, English, Criminal Justice, Pre-Med., or any other sciences, foreign languages will enhance your studies and your profession after graduation. Not only in communication to those who do not primarily speak English, but also in how you use English as well. It will help you to communicate thoughts better as a professional no matter the subject. As previously stated by Dr. Ponesse, “students will never regret it.”