The Exponent Print Edition: November 16, 2022

IT’S PARTY TIME

Music theatre program brings

murder mystery

At town hall, mental health survey results show alarming trends

Editor’s note: This article includes discussions of suicide, eating disorders and self-harm.

In December 2021, BW Counseling Services partnered with the JED Foundation, a nonprofit supporting mental health initiatives for students and young adults, to conduct an 18-month study regarding the mental health climate on the BW campus. Following the presentation of the results on Nov. 7, students shared with The Exponent that they were troubled – though not sur prised – by the statistics.

Students were sent a survey asking about various thoughts,

moods and mindsets that they had experienced over the past year. Once the survey was closed, the JED Foundation compiled the data, giving a projection of how students were feeling on campus. Eight hundred and forty-eight stu dents responded out of 3,236, a response rate of 26.2 percent of the student body.

The survey itself held vari ous mental health screenings including an assessment of anxiety, depression and eat ing disorder risk. Forty-one percent of respondents were classified in the moderate to severe range for anxiety, 45 percent were classified in the same range for depression and 31 percent were said to be at risk of an eating disorder.

“BW is not immune to the

national conversation about the increasing needs for men tal health services for college students, and how universi ties and colleges are working to make sure that we have the resources that we need to sup port students,” said Tim Hall, assistant director of counseling services.

Local movie theater closes

Students and alumni lament the loss of the closest accessible movie theater to BW’s campus, the Regal Cinemas Middleburg Towne Square.

New Muslim prayer room allows students to practice their faith on campus

On Oct. 14, students gathered in the lower level of Strosacker Hall for the opening of Baldwin Wallace’s first Muslim prayer room in the history of the University.

According to members of the Muslim Student Association who spoke with The Exponent, the new addition was needed for the growing Muslim student population at BW.

Prior to the prayer room’s opening, students who did not identify with the Christian faith were given private spaces in the LindsayCrossman Chapel and Ritter Library to practice their faith in accommodated areas. Still, according to junior Ayah

Zureiqat, the president of the M.S.A., more was needed to be done for students of different religious identities.

“The chapel doesn’t cut it as a prayer space for all students,” Zureiqat said. “You wouldn’t want to be a Christian and be forced to pray in a Mosque, or vice versa. We needed our own space to practice our faith.”

Zureiqat said she came up with the idea with the M.S.A. board after seeing an increase in Muslim students on campus over the past year.

“I’m a junior, and over the years, I’ve seen more Muslim students than ever before,” Zureiqat said. “We have a community here, and like every community, we need a space to support each other.”

Zureiqat said that this

Local election skeptic takes matters into his own hands

On Election Day, one local election integrity skeptic, Matt Luceen, conducted an inde pendent exit poll outside of an Olmsted Township polling location to “double-check” the results of the election.

Luceen said he started to lose faith in U.S. election integrity after the 2016 and 2020 Demo cratic primaries for President of the United States, where, de spite his and others’ support for Vermont Senator Bernie

Humans of BW

The Exponent’s recurring photo series spotlighting the unique perspectives of individual Baldwin Wallace students returns.

Andrew Smith, a junior

“It’s kind of a oncein-a-lifetime event... I think people need to come ready to party.”

VICTORIA BUSSERT Director, Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre

“It can undermine voter confidence if it’s perceived that the only mechanism for verifying the integrity of our election is some random guy under a tent.”

31% of respondents had self-injured in the past year 136

student respondents had seriously thought about committing suicide

Andrew Lippa’s Jazz Age

“The Wild Party” to an intimate setting in Kleist’s Black Box theater

Executive Editor

Justin McMullen exponent@bw.edu

Managing Editors

Autumn

University earns sustainability certifications

Sustainability committee returns under new name

Emily

Alexis

Staff Photographers

Jayanti Upadhayay

Ursula Saadeh

Paul Weber

Staff Writers

Caitlin Bowshier

Dina Dakdouk

Chase Gilroy

Mina Jabr

Raejanae Martin

Gloria Mireles-Barrera

Chris Moran

Kathryn Raubolt

Sophia Rossero

Ursula Saadeh

Rihab Shahin

Ella York

FACULTY ADVISOR

Huixin Deng hdeng@bw.edu

NEWSPAPER POLICIES

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Baldwin Wallace University this fall announced recent strides to improve sustainability on campus. There are many opportunities and tips for students to become more involved in the sustainable efforts around campus.

According to an R.A. training presentation on sustainability which was shared with The Exponent by Robin Gagnow, residence life and housing operations manager, the University purchased environmentfriendly facility upgrades ahead of the 2022 academic year.

New sustainability advances include the Bigbelly solar intelligent waste and recycling collection system. With locations near the student union, Welcome Center and in Kamm Hall, this system is solar-powered and communicates when its compacted waste needs to be emptied.

The university also has Max-R recycling bins, which are made from plastic bottles. These are located in Ernsthausen Hall, Davidson Commons and R. Amelia Harding House for Sustainable Living.

For their efforts so far, Baldwin Wallace has earned two Leed certifications, which are given to recognize the sustainable practices and strategies in campus buildings.

Baldwin Wallace received the “gold” Leed for the residence hall R. Amelia Harding House for Sustainable Living and the “silver” Leed for the Durst Welcome Center.

The S.T.A.R.S. silver rating, which stands for Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, was also awarded to BW by the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Gagnow said that Baldwin Wallace’s sustainability goal is to reduce its carbon footprint and to have students leave with the knowledge to better care for the environment.

There are contributions that individual students can make as well.

Students can become more involved with sustainability around campus by recycling and reducing the amount of food waste by being mindful of what they are buying and taking from dining halls, Gagnow said.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, food containers are responsible for nearly 45 percent of the materials that end up in landfills.

Gagnow said students can also help in the efforts to be more sustainable by watching what they put into the recycling bins because food waste can contaminate what is in the bin.

Changes in the dining halls have also contributed to the University’s sustainability efforts. Claire Fischer, a sophomore graphic designer and the president of Students for Environmental Action, said that she worked with Dining Services to hang signs in the union telling students to leave their leftover food on their plate to be composted.

Fischer said that Baldwin Wallace can improve their sustainability by offering reusable plastic cups. For years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, reusable cups were used in both the union and Lang dining halls.

“Students have the option to bring in reusable cups, which I often do, but when students are on the run, they may not have a reusable cup to use,” Fischer said.

Fischer said S.E.A.’s aim is to have the University community become aware of environmental problems and promote sustainability. Their goals go beyond awareness and promotion, focusing on becoming more active in the efforts to be sustainable.

“Our sustainability goals for this year include working with the [University] sustainability committee to learn new practices we can promote to students, as well as restarting the student tended natural garden and making its presence known,” Fischer said.

In October, two Baldwin Wallace students resurrected the Sustainability Committee after it was placed on a temporary hiatus due to Covid-19 shutting down on-campus activities in 2020.

The Sustainability Committee, formerly known as the Campus Sustainability Committee, was re-established by sophomore sustainability major Emma Stamper with the help of David Kruger, professor and co-director of BW’s sustainability program, after almost three years of inactivity.

The name was changed during the transition from previous management before the committee was put on hold to the current leadership. Despite the name change, the committee’s goals are similar.

According to Krueger, the Sustainability Committee’s goal is “to embody practices and principles that demonstrate our commitment to the environment.”

During the first meeting, which took place on Oct. 20 in the Center for Innovation and Growth, the topics of renewable energy, increasing biodiversity on campus and increasing student awareness about what has already been done in the field of sustainability were discussed.

Emily Shelton, a sustainability major, said that this committee is important to students looking for a place for involvement with environmental action at BW because the University did not always have these opportunities for students.

The Sustainability Committee has experienced some challenges. One challenge they are facing is skepticism, said Annette Trierweiler, an assistant professor of environmental science.

“The difficult part is helping people who may be skeptical to see why everyone benefits and how it

saves money if we are intentional in our approach,” Trierweiler said. Awareness is another ongoing issue in BW’s efforts to become a more sustainable campus.

“People simply do not know about all that has been done,” Trierweiler said. “From five geothermal well fields to composting kitchen waste to EV charging stations to numerous rain gardens around campus.”

The committee intends to have monthly meetings and is open to faculty, administrators and all students regardless of major or graduation class.

“That is what I like about the committee,” Trierweiler said. “There are students and professors from all sorts of disciplines there seeing what we can do together.”

Though the Sustainability Committee is one of several environmental science and sustainability organizations available on-campus, not all organizations are represented as official organizations on the University’s website despite recognition at the involvement fair in August.

Currently, only three sustainability organizations recognized at the annual involvement fair are represented on the BW website under the clubs and organization page as official organizations on campus.

Students, especially those in the environmental science and sustainability fields, such as Shelton, find it “really difficult” to be involved around campus because of the lack of recognition for environmental organizations.

While the committee meetings have already started, the committee is still open for involvement. The Sustainability Committee’s next meeting will be on Nov. 17 in Room 105 in the C.I.G.

SURVEY: Students concerned, not surprised by survey results

Continued from page 1 political science major and vice president of Active Minds, an organization on campus that focuses on mental health, was a student representative for the JED foundation.

“I think that mental health is important because it’s some thing that’s been underrepre sented, stigmatized and not considered enough,” Smith said. “I think that mental health advocacy is a key aspect in the student’s ability to learn and develop and to go on past college and be able to deal with the trials of being an adult.”

The data has yet to be shared widely with the rest of the community but will soon be available on the BW website , along with a strategic plan on actions that counseling ser vices and the BW administra tion are making to improve the current climate, according to Sophia Kallergis, director of counseling services.

Participants of the survey were also asked about non-sui cidal self-injury and suicidal thoughts or ideation.

The results concluded that 31 percent of respondents had self-injured in the past year, and 18 percent – or 136 students – had “seriously” considered committing suicide. Of those 136 students, 40 percent – roughly 54 students – reported having made a plan and 7 percent had made a suicide attempt.

Kallergis showed these sta tistics to the leadership coun cil to expand their capacity to help the student population. This expansion included push ing for TimelyCare, a 24/7 vir tual health service, to be re newed so that more students could seek help outside of the on-campus services that BW provides.

“When I show both the selfharm, how much it impacts academics and how many of our students are experienc ing suicidal ideation, when presented to the leadership council, which includes up per administration, the deans and all the higher-ups, they then approved to renew our contract with TimelyCare,”

Kallergis said.

TimelyCare is used as a sup plement to the help that the counseling services provides.

“We have some resources. We’re a small staff, but we want anybody who’s experiencing distress and wants help to be able to access that help,” Kallergis said.

When asked about how mental health affected aca demic performance within the preceding four weeks, 88 percent of respondents indi cated that their performance was negatively impacted at least once a week due to emo tional or mental difficulties, and 58.81 percent indicated that poor mental health af fected their lives a minimum of three times per week.

Statistics were also shared on students’ feelings of loneli ness. Twenty-four percent felt they lacked companionship, 31 percent felt left out and 33 percent felt isolated from oth ers “most of the time.”

In a broader sense, students were also asked if they were “flourishing,” which was deter

mined by an eight-item sum mary of one’s self-perceived success in areas of their lives such as relationships, self-es teem, purpose and optimism. Sixty-six percent of partici pants reported they were not flourishing in their lives.

Julia Sheringer, a third-year psychology major who attend ed the town hall event, said the data – while concerning – was in line with what she had ex pected.

“I mean the numbers are concerning, but unfortunately I’m also not surprised either,” Sheringer said. “I think that, especially after the pandemic, everyone is becoming more aware of their mental health. And [mental distress] is so much more common than we think.”

Kallie Polaski, a first-year integrated language arts major, said that adults seemed more surprised about the data than students.

“I honestly was not shocked because I live in this generation and I know a lot of people who feel the same way,” Polaski

said. “I think it does surprise me how shocked adults seem to be at these numbers because it is sad and it is something people need to be recognizing, but it’s also just something that a lot of people deal with in everyday life.”

After the data was shared, the floor was opened for questions and comments and students at the event were en couraged to express what they wanted to see from the admin istration moving forward.

Attendees expressed their desire for more concrete poli cies regarding absences for mental health reasons, stu dent-led initiatives including peer-to-peer mental health re sources and more communica tion with Southwest General Hospital in providing care to students that the BW campus is unable to provide.

For those struggling with mental health, BW Counsel ing Services offers a 24/7 line for students in distress. The BW Counselor on Call can be reached at (440) 260-4399.

“Do you speak English?” is a question that Ayah Zureiqat, a junior chemistry major at Baldwin Wallace University, is asked frequently. Zureiqat is a Muslim woman who wears a hijab. In one instance, Zureiqat said that she appeared in Berea Municipal Court and the first thing she was asked when she got there was whether she spoke English.

For Zureiqat, these instances don’t stop at the question of what language she speaks. Zureiqat was on the 2022 Baldwin Wallace Homecoming Court, and she said that people made jokes about how she only got on because the University wanted

diversity. She said that it was a “lighthearted joke” but pointed out that “jokes tell truth.”

Members of marginalized groups are often subjected to unfair and biased judgements based on the way they look and dress.

Clothing can be used as a tool to express who people are without having to say a word. However, for some students who shared their experiences with The Exponent, choices of clothing can lead to judgement and biases.

These biases do not avail themselves only in large statements and actions; for many students, they have come in the form of microaggressions. Microaggressions are subtle communications that belittle people who belong to a certain

OPINIONS & PERSPECTIVES

group.

Along with people making jokes, Zureiqat also said that she’s been told by other students that she has an easier college life because of all the diversity scholarships she receives.

“People will also use the diversity card against you,” Zureiqat said. “It’s not your hard work – it’s because you’re diverse.”

Zureiqat said that these types of belittling comments happen a lot.

On another occasion, a female student asked Zureiqat what her major was and was surprised when Zureiqat said that she was a chemistry major. The student looked Zureiqat up and down and said that she didn’t expect her to be a S.T.E.M. major because she was dressed nicely.

Professional development program for female-identifying students to launch Spring 2023

Isabella Doyle, a secondyear communications stu dent, in coordination with Sophomore Year Experience is launching a new personal and professional development pro gram for second-year, femaleidentifying students.

The project stemmed from Doyle’s involvement in Brain Fellows, a year-long fellowship that concentrates on social ac tion.

Participants are selected an nually in the mid-spring se mester. Then, starting in the following fall, they participate in workshops, discussions and activities to develop and ex ecute their own projects.

The goal of these projects is to further change in an is sue of the Fellow’s choice, said Adrian Griffin, social innova tion program manager at the BW Brain Center.

“This year, I focused [Brain Fellows] more on social ac tion,” Griffin said. “We all need to know how to advocate for ourselves and what tactics and strategies go into advancing issues that we care about.”

In addition to working as a Brain Fellow, Doyle teamed up with Claudine Grunenwald Kirschner, director of firstyear and sophomore experi ence.

Sophomore Year Experience is a new initiative that extends First-Year Experience and of fers more resources to students as they begin to deepen their

connection to BW.

“The kinds of outcomes that [Doyle] wanted from the men torship and empowerment program made a lot of sense for it to become a function out of my area because those are the exact kinds of experiences that we want sophomores to have as a growth experience,” Grunewald Kirschner said.

Students interested in the program will have to apply via an online application and be interviewed before being selected. There are eight spots available for the Spring 2023 semester. The group will meet biweekly, creating opportuni ties for the students within the group to connect with each other and to alumni who will serve as one-on-one mentors.

“Half of the time will be dedicated to personal develop ment, while the other half will be dedicated to professional development,” Doyle said. “We will be bringing in an alumnus every week to talk about a trait that they have and how they have developed and used it in the workplace.”

Doyle said the project stems from her own experiences as a female-identifying student on campus and her own struggles to find community and men torship.

“The mentorship part came from the women’s summit that I attended last year,” Doyle said. “That was the first time on campus that I felt like I had access to these professionals and faculty that I don’t see ev ery day. I left wanting some thing more prolonged instead

of just an end-of-year event.” Doyle said sophomores are targeted because of the nature of experiences and develop ment that occur in their col lege environment during that year.

“Sophomores are the perfect year for this. Freshman year, students are coming in and getting settled and trying to figure out what they want to do,” Doyle said. “Then, they come into that second year, and they are ready to go. [ … They are] starting to get more leadership opportunities and get more responsibilities, so we want to give sophomores the tools to navigate these areas that they are starting to take on.”

The pilot for the program will launch in Spring 2023 with applications officially available on Friday, Nov. 18. Applicants must be in their second year at BW and selfidentify as female to qualify for the program. Students can find the link to the application on fliers and social media, and the application must be completed by Nov. 28 to be considered.

“We are looking for students who want to be involved,” Doyle said. “We are super grateful for the alumni that are coming in and spending their time to help these stu dents grow. But everyone who qualifies is welcome and en couraged to apply.”

For any further questions, interested students should con tact Doyle at idoyle21@bw.edu or Grunenwald Kirschner at cgrunenw@bw.edu.

Maya Norman, a sophomore acting and directing major and chair of Black Girls Rock, had an experience where she was being judged for what she wore. On a past Halloween, Norman said that she participated in a group costume where they all were dressed as vampires. When it came time for the group photo, she was not included in the “sexy vampire” photo.

Another instance Norman mentioned was when she would go out to parties. Norman said that she did not wear the crop tops that most people would wear at parties. She said that when she wouldn’t dress like the others, people would suggest outfits to her.

Along with female students having to deal with people making assumptions about

their identities based off their clothing choices, they also find themselves needing to address sexual comments that are made based off their physical appearances.

Zureiqat had a recent experience at the gym she frequents, where a man called her a “whore” because she was wearing a hoodie. She said that the man asked her if her guy friends gave the hoodie to her.

While discriminating comments and microaggressions are often played down by perpetrators and others as jokes, Assistant Professor of Sociology Elizabeth Ross said that those jokes can literally take minutes from someone’s life.

Ross said that experiencing discrimination and microaggressions on a

recurring basis can lead to major health issues, such as diabetes and high levels of cortisol that never wear off because “you’re constantly waiting for the next jab.”

Ross said that there is a way for bullies to deprogram the biases in their own head. Contact is important, as is getting to know the person you’re harassing and putting yourself in their shoes. These behaviors build empathy, which is essential to deprogramming.

Learning about bullying and discrimination is vital in the pursuit of giving people hope that better days are ahead.

“The world we want to create is not that hard to do,” Ross said. “Just be nice.”

POLL: Independent exit polling can undermine voter confidence

Continued from page 1 Sanders, different Demo cratic candidates won the par ty’s nomination. Regardless of his apprehensions, he also said that he has no proof of the 2020 primary election not being fair.

“I don’t know if I’m still a fan, but [Sanders] was filling stadiums. He was breaking donation records. He had the most people donating ever, so that should correlate to votes I think,” Luceen said.

Riley Alton, an Olmsted Township Trustee and a legis lative aide to Democratic State House Representative Bride Rose Sweeney, said he saw Luceen at the August primary while prepping for the Nov. 8 election. Alton said Luceen’s presence at polling places could have a negative effect on voter confidence.

“It can undermine voter con fidence if it’s perceived that the only mechanism for verifying the integrity of our election is some random guy under a tent,” Alton said.

One self-identified Demo cratic voter that participated in Luceen’s exit poll told The Ex ponent that they did not know the poll was about election in tegrity. The voter, who wished to stay anonymous, said they did not believe there was any election fraud.

“No, there’s not,” the voter said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Seventy percent of respon dents who voted for Donald Trump believed the reason President Joe Biden won the election was because of fraud and illegal voting, whereas only 2 percent of Biden voters be lieved the election results were because of those reasons. Lu ceen said he hates that election

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

integrity has become a partisan issue and said that the media has done it purposefully by grouping together Covid-19 denial and election skepticism.

At each polling location, election organizers attempt to staff an even number of Repub licans and Democrats as poll workers, said Mike West, man ager of the outreach department for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

Luceen said he wants more transparency, but he does trust the poll workers.

“Just because you’re a Demo crat or Republican that doesn’t mean you can’t be compro mised,” Luceen said. “I feel like it’s part of the theater.”

Luceen not only conducted an exit poll for this election, but also conducted an exit poll for the August primary. In the 2022 election, there were only 61 re spondents to his poll, so Luceen said his exit poll will not prove anything.

“The trouble was, nobody wanted to tell him anything because he was just a self-ap pointed exit poller,” West said. West said exit pollers are re quired to conduct the polling 100 feet away from the entrance to the building where voting occurs, but only one company, Edison Research – which ad ministers all exit polls used nationally by news networks ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC –is provided with badges from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, which West said is done to make the sanctioned pollsters look more official and trustworthy to voters than a random person.

“I find it very suspect that we have companies doing this kind of thing, but there’s no people

doing it,” Luceen said. “I already don’t trust corporations to get news. I don’t know that I trust them to present exit poll results accurately either.”

While many Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capital on Jan. 6 with the belief that the election was stolen, Luceen said some Sander’s supporters were planning a march at the capital around the same time to protest Sanders’ loss in the 2020 pri mary. He said the events of Jan. 6 stopped some of the Sanders supporters from attending, but a few days after the riots, Luceen went to a protest and held a sign that read: “Count our votes by hand. End the Charade.”

Out of this interest in elec tion integrity, Luceen signed up to be a poll worker in the 2020 primary election. He said at that time, some voters asked him to hand-count their bal lots, expressing skepticism over the computerized voting ma chines. Luceen works at a large software company and said his knowledge about software led to his skepticism over the ballot counting machines.

“I’m pretty experienced with computers and software and se curity and all that junk,” Luceen said. “So, I had a fair bit of skep ticism coming into this already.”

Although Luceen had no teammates performing exit polling at other precincts, he said he wants to expand his operation by first focusing on his website.

“All that difficult kind of lo gistical work, I want to get that automated on the website,” Lu ceen said. “And then it’s time to spread the word I think and get people doing this.”

Letters to the editor are encouraged as a method to bring issues of concern into the public eye. Letters should be typed, limited to no more than 300 words, include a full name and include a phone number for confirmation. Letters may be submitted via email to: exponent@bw.edu. All letters must be received by 5 p.m. the Friday the week before any publication week.

Oppressing expression: Microaggressions are harmful yet sadly common

The Expression

Arts and Culture Coverage from The Exponent

BWMT invites audiences to a ‘Wild Party’

Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre opened the doors to “The Wild Party” on Nov. 9, beginning a high-spirited, two-week run in the Black Box Theatre in Kleist Center for Art & Drama.

Directed by Victoria Bussert, BW’s director of music theater, “The Wild Party” follows Queenie and Burrs, a couple who decides to throw a huge party to reintroduce excitement into their sedentary lives.

“One of the reasons I thought it was great to do it is because there’s such extreme theatrical types,” Bussert said. “It’s set in the 1920s, but it’s definitely edgy and wild.”

Bussert said that in order for more musical theater students to get a chance to perform in BWMT’s large-scale productions, the productions usually feature two casts. For “The Wild Party,” audiences have a chance to see either the Queenie Cast or the Kate Cast.

Sophomore music theatre student Eileen Brady, who

plays Mae in both casts, said she was very excited to work with the two casts and make essential connections with the ensemble that performs for all the shows.

“I didn’t get that experience with the last show I was in,” Brady said. “So it’s cool to see how each person playing the same role takes a different spin on it.”

“The Wild Party” is a spectacle-driven show that emphasizes ensemble dancing, singing and acting. However, Gracie Albus, a junior assistant stage manager, said that it is also a very heartbreaking story.

“The show manages to have these fun crazy upbeat numbers,” Albus said. “And then also have these crazy and intense stories that weave themselves through the whole show.”

When choosing musicals to produce in a season, Bussert said that she always aims for musicals that are lesser known and will push the actors creatively because she wants to challenge them and help them to grow in their craft.

“I’d say ‘Wild Party’ is one of the most advanced shows

we’ve ever done,” Bussert said. “It requires a level of singing, dancing and acting that is way beyond what most shows demand.”

Brady said that she worked hard to build up her stamina for the level of singing and dancing required for “The Wild Party,” and she was excited to be given a chance to portray a character unlike any role she had played prior to this show.

“I think I’ve kind of been typecasted as a kid a lot, so I think for me, I’ve learned that there’s more things that I can do,” Brady said. “It’s been interesting for me to start to dive into a more mature side of what I can do as an actor.”

Because of its mature themes, Bussert said that “The Wild Party” is the first BW production to require an intimacy and fight director that helps the cast navigate through intimate and violent scenes. The mature themes explored in this performance include sex and domestic violence, among other topics.

BWMT productions also give students on the crew a chance to use the skills they

have learned in their classes, and they are challenged to grow in their discipline while working on a full-scale musical.

“I did ‘The Wild Party’ in high school as a performer, and now I’m doing it probably five years later as a stage manager,” Albus said. “I’ve been able to see how much I’ve developed as an artist and how much my skills have developed.”

One of the biggest challenges that all members of the company of “The Wild Party” had to face was the use of alley staging in the Black Box Theatre. In this style of staging, the audience will split the stage into two sides, forcing the actors to perform in the center of the theatre.

Brady said that alley staging thrusts the audience into the main action of the musical because they are mere feet away from the stage and the cast. Sometimes, the cast members will also be performing from the audience.

“It’s been cool to work in a way of making sure that you’re playing to all sides of the audience,” said Brady. “Every angle gets hit so that

everybody can be included in the story.”

Audience members will all be seated at different angles in relation to the stage; therefore, everyone will have an individual experience because what is seen by one person may not be seen by another.

“Each performance is going to be a little different depending on where you’re sitting,” Albus said. “It invites people to come back and to see it multiple times.”

The intimate Black Box Theatre creates a lively atmosphere in which audiences feel contained within the party, not only seeing the musical but also experiencing it.

“I think it’s kind of a oncein-a-lifetime event that is very different than if we were in the bigger theater on the Mainstage,” said Bussert. “I think people need to come ready to party.”

“The Wild Party” runs Nov. 9–13 and 16–20. Information about tickets can be found at www.bw.edu/events.

Clay club to hold holiday sale fundraiser

The Baldwin Wallace Clay Club will be hosting a holiday sale from Nov. 28–29 in Strosacker Hall.

The sale will include ceramic items such as figurines, rings holders and plates created by the BW students who are members of the club.

“It’s going to encompass fall things as well as Christmas things, just because it’s being held in November,” said the Clay Club’s secretary, senior studio art major, Adrienne Jurick.

After testing out the format with their Valentine’s Day sale last spring, the club will practice its business skills once again by not only creating items for a specific market but also selling to it. They said they are hoping to garner student patrons who are interested in purchasing early presents before winter break begins.

Besides the holiday sale, the Clay Club has also put together other events like their recent mug competition.

“Basically, we taught our participants how to make mugs out of slabs and how to glaze the mugs,” Jurick said.

The goal of the organization is to get students to have fun and learn more about working with clay as a medium.

“I think what makes it unique is that it really is open to anyone,” said Clay Club’s faculty advisor and assistant professor, Benjamin Lambert. He said non-art majors are just as welcome to join the club as art majors.

The board of the club tries to aid all members in the creative process as much as needed without being overly involved in an artist’s unique vision. The organization meets every other Wednesday night in the ceramic studio in Kleist Center for Art & Drama. Students looking for more information can contact the club’s president, Carissa Ferguson, at cferguso17@ bw.edu.

Black Arts Network shares

resources, fosters social support Conservatory convocation recitals celebrate successful students, continue tradition

After becoming inactive before the Covid-19 pandemic and slowly making its return last year, the Black Arts Network is back in full swing and ready to share the importance of Black art and artists with fellow students on campus.

According to Justin Lee-Price, B.A.N. vice president, the purpose of B.A.N. is “to make it as accessible as possible for students to get the resources they need to pursue their love for the arts.”

The arts can be a tricky industry for a person of color to navigate all on their own. B.A.N. allows students to create a community within a community.

“For me it’s about safety to vent, to cry, to be upset and foster meaningful connections,” B.A.N. Marketing Director Janya Robinson said.

B.A.N. is meant to share an in-depth look at what the Black experience is like in the world of the arts.

“Amplifying Black artists to a new level is really important because when you ask a Black artist about their journey, it is a story of the most trying times in their life just to do what they love,” Lee-Price said.

While there is heavy support

for the organization from students, Ericka Walker-Smith, B.A.N. staff advisor, said that more monetary support is needed from the University to put the organization in “a better financial standpoint.”

A strong financial foundation is what can make or break a college organization. B.A.N. has been open and honest about its financial struggles.

“I think it has been interesting to see how we’ve been treated. And you must ask: Is it because we are a minority group on a majority white campus?” Robinson said.

With greater financial support, this organization can continue to “help students feel like they belong somewhere,” Kechante Baker, B.A.N. president, said.

In artistic programs at Baldwin Wallace, such as the music theatre program and the Department of Theatre & Dance, Black students and students of color can be few and far between. Because of this, students like Robinson, Baker and Lee-Price must depend on each other much more.

“I do love the musical theatre program and my time in the B.F.A. [acting] program, but it is still nice for me to be

able to connect with other artists and other people of color through a space like Black Arts Network,” Baker said.

The hope for B.A.N. in the future is for “students in the program to branch out to other universities and the city of Cleveland, creating a larger network,” Robinson said.

While the B.A.N. mission is to build relationships and connections specifically with performing artists of color and educate artists on the Black perspective, there are no prerequisites for joining.

“B.A.N. is open and welcomes all artists who are interested in being involved,” Baker said.

Select Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music students have received the opportunity to perform solo pieces at this year’s Conservatory Convocation recitals.

Convocation gives students of all instruments and musical disciplines the chance to share their talent with a large audience of their peers on select Thursdays at 3:05 p.m. inside Gamble Auditorium in Kulas Musical Arts Building. Students were chosen by their professors based on their performance at graded solo performances, called juries, from the previous semester.

“Convocation recitals provide an outstanding opportunity for students, faculty and staff to celebrate the academic and artistic progress that fellow students demonstrate from year to year,” Conservatory Dean Susan Van Vorst said.

According to Van Vorst, the Conservatory has held convocation since its founding in 1898. “Convocation has indeed been a long-standing and beautiful tradition in the Conservatory of Music,” Van Vorst said. “It has followed largely the same format for many years.”

For some participating students, Convocation can mark their first significant

recital performance.

Sophomore music education major Declan Messner, who performed at an October convocation, has been playing the bassoon for only three years, but he told The Exponent before his performance that he was looking forward to the event despite his nervousness.

“I’m definitely more nervous than I am excited at the moment,” Messner said. The nerves motivated him to practice at least an hour every day over the weeks leading up to the event, he said.

own piece to perform. Senior music education major Evan Collins, who also performed in October, chose a piece that best represents his skills on the pipe organ. After graduation, Collins plans to teach general music at a K-12 public school in addition to working as a church music coordinator or for a community chorus.

Collins said participating in Convocation will help him be a better music educator.

“Since I hope to be in a leadership position for different musical ensembles, I want to be able to provide my future students or the people I work with insight into what it’s like to prepare music under pressure, efficiently, with respect to self-care as well,” Collins said.

Convocation, which is open to the public and livestreamed online, is one event that highlights the Con’s efforts to foster a supportive culture among students and faculty, Van Vorst said.

Participating in such an event gives students valuable experience for their lives and careers after graduation.

“I think my biggest takeaway will be a sense of holding myself accountable,” Messner said. “As a music education major, playing my instrument often becomes second most important.”

Students can choose their

“The Conservatory’s tradition of assembling regularly to lift up on another’s successes is but one ingredient of the very special learning environment that makes BW so distinctive,” Van Vorst said.

The final convocation performance of the semester will be held on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 3:05 p.m. in Gamble Auditorium.

Gallery exhibition features collaboration between students, local artists

The new showcase in Fawick Gallery titled “A Big Relief!,” which opened Nov. 11 and will run through Dec. 2, features the work of numerous artists from the Greater Cleveland area, including that of eight Baldwin Wallace students.

The exhibition, sponsored by the BW School of Humanities and the Cleveland Print Club, is composed of multiple largescale woodblock print pieces made during a workshop with the nonprofit printmaking collective BIG INK, which was held on Nov. 5-6 in the Kleist Center for Art and Drama.

The printing was made possible by BIG INK’s largescale press, named “The Big Tuna,” which tours the country to give demonstrations and learning opportunities in large-scale woodblock printmaking.

The students involved in this workshop were part of a printmaking course under Professor Paul Jacklitch. When the class dismissed over the summer, each of the eight students were sent home with one piece of a whole image to prepare for the November workshop.

Chloe Burton, a 2022 BW graduate, said a large part of the creative process depended on the individual choices of the students involved.

“Every portion of the image had very similar types of elements in it,” Burton said.

“But we all, on our own, had to decide how we were going to represent that.”

Claire Bond, a junior arts management major, said the months leading up to the date of printing were filled with anticipation for the reveal of each artist’s work.

“With printing, it’s hard to know exactly what your image is going to come out like until you do the final print,” Bond said. “It was really, really exciting to see the final image together.”

Sophomore theatre design and tech major Rachel McElwain said it was interesting to work both individually and collaboratively on an art piece, as each student had artistic freedom over their part of the project.

“We all got to see each other’s own printmaking style,” McElwain said. “And again, you really had creative control over your piece, which isn’t something that always happens in a lot of

collaborative projects.”

Each artist was also allowed to incorporate images of their choosing into their respective woodblocks in order to further individualize them. For example, McElwain added a fairy door, acorn and string of pearls to theirs. Bond chose to feature eyes peering out of “dark alcove spaces,” and

Burton added a fox.

The BW students decided to title their piece “Block Party” as a nod to the various creatures incorporated into the design, but also as a play on the word ‘woodblock.’

Burton described the printmaking process itself to be hands-on and extremely collaborative due to the large

nature of the project. She also said the results were rewarding.

“It was such a supportive experience,” Burton said. “Whenever we would print [a piece], and then people would take it off and show it, everybody in the room would clap.”

Overall, the workshop

was found to be a notable demonstration of a passionate, artistic community coming together for collaboration.

“It was a really fun day of printing not only with the classmates that I have,” Bond said, “but also with different artists from around the area.”

“Convocation has indeed been a long-standing and beautiful tradition in the Conservatory of Music”

SUSAN VAN VORST Dean, Conservatory of Music

Faculty advisor says organization is in need of greater financial support to carry out its mission

Life & Styles

Regal Cinemas’ closure in Middleburg Towne Square plaza leaves vacuum of accessible movie theaters near campus

On Sept. 14, the Regal Cinemas location on Bagley Road in Middleburg Heights permanently closed its doors as its parent company, Cineworld, remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The closure has come as disappointing news for some students and alumni of Baldwin Wallace University, who are left with fond memories of the location and a newfound lack of access to nearby movie theaters.

BW alumna Victoria Foster told The Exponent that while still a student, she went on her second date with her nowpartner at that exact theater.

“I was super bummed when

I saw they were closing,” Foster said. “It was right before Covid hit in 2020, me and my partner went on our second ever date to go see the ‘The Invisible Man’ reboot. We had just started dating and I was super nervous. There was nobody there when we got there, so much so that you could tell it was a small-time theater, but I still really appreciated it all the same.”

Foster recalled when students were able to buy movie tickets for a cheaper price, as well as candy, at a location called the “candy counter” in the union – which has since been replaced with offices and the help desk. She said she deeply valued getting to have these experiences at the theater with her partner.

Due to the location’s

proximity to the BW campus, as well as the candy counter discount, the Middleburg Heights Regal was an easily accessible way for students to watch the newest films. Its closure particularly affects students from out of state who have limited means of transportation, said psychology major Emily Hathcock.

“For some people, it’s the best option they have access too, so I think in terms of accessibility, a lot of people might definitely be disappointed that it’s no longer available,” Hathcock said.

The closest remaining theaters to campus are the Cinemark at the SouthPark Mall in Strongsville and the

University libraries’ rare book collection provides valuable academic resources

The Ritter Library and the Riemenschneider Bach In stitute in Baldwin Wallace’s Conservatory of Music house several historical and unique texts that are available for stu dent research.

The Dr. Paul O. and Jose phine S. Mayer Rare Book Room is housed on the sec ond floor of the Ritter Library. It contains a main room lined with bookshelves, a back room for extra large books and a vault for books that date back prior to the 1800s. Items from the rare book room are some times brought to classes or put on display in what Ritter Library director Charles Vesei called “rare book petting zoos.”

Some of the most notable items in this collection include a Vulgate Bible from around the years 1220–1235 with handwritten early Gothic font, a leaf from “The Tragedie of Hamlet” in Shakespeare’s First Folio, a ships letter signed by both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, an original etching and line engraving by William Blake, a full col lection of first edition install ments of Charles Dickens’s “Bleak House,” a letter signed by Albert Einstein and a book signed by Martin Luther King Jr.

The room was founded when BW alumnus Paul O. Mayer donated his collection of Limited Editions Club in 1969, according to John Cur tis, head of special collections

at Ritter Library. The first Uni versity librarian for rare books and special collections was W. Alwyn Ashburn, who oversaw the dedication of the rare book room in 1976. When Ashburn left BW in the 1980s, however, the rare book vault remained locked for three decades until 2012.

“I was the one who prompt ed the new director to bring [the rare book room] back to life,” Curtis said.

Once the vault was un locked, Curtis found sculp tures by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Frederick Gottwald, who was influential in creating the Cleveland School of Art. Cur tis kept the art that directly pertained to the collection, such as William Blake’s etch ing of “Chaucer’s Canterbury Pilgrims” but donated the rest.

For music students, the R.B.I. is located on the first floor of the Boesel Musical Arts building. The R.B.I. also contains a vault where special materials are kept, said Paul Cary, the conservatory librar ian responsible for running both Jones Music Library and the R.B.I.

The R.B.I. has a similar ori gin story as the collection was based on Albert and Selma Riemenschneider’s vast col lection of Bach scores and materials that was donated after Albert’s death. Riemen schneider was the founder of the Conservatory, and he and his Selma founded BW’s Bach Festival, the oldest collegiate Bach festival in the country, together in 1933. The collec tion has since grown through

donations and occasional pur chases of historic material.

“I think that the R.B.I. re ally helps foster student en gagement with scholarship and with the way that art is produced and disseminated,” Cary said.

Some of the most notable items in the R.B.I. collection are some handwritten parts of a cantata used in a perfor mance in Leipzig circa 1729 with some parts written in Johann Sebastian Bach’s own hand, a copy of Johannes Brahms’ German Requiem with some of the composer’s own markings, a signed copy of Claude Debussy’s “After noon of a Fawn” and a col lection of Bach organ works with markings by musical icons Brahms and Robert Schumann. The collection also has many first editions of pieces by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and other Romantic compositions.

Cary said that one of his favorite pieces in the collec tion is a set of vocal part books for motets that were ornately printed in Venice in 1568.

These rare items and oth ers can be made available to students for research projects. The Mayer Rare Book Room Scholar Award offers students a scholarship in which stu dents conduct approximately 75 to 100 hours of research in one semester and present their findings at the end of their re search period. Students of any major or minor can apply and can pick from whatever items from the collection they wish to study.

The Conservatory has the R.B.I. Scholars program, which awards up to five stu dents $1,000 annually to complete mentored research involving items from R.B.I. collections. Some student research can potentially be published in “BACH: Journal of the Riemenschneider Insti tute,” a journal edited by Con servatory professor Christina Fuhrmann.

Cary said he and his staff work to ensure that all Con servatory students “have some sort of experience with the R.B.I.” during their studies. He also does class visits where students can interact with the R.B.I.’s materials.

Scholars from outside of BW often conduct research with these collections as well. The R.B.I. has recently hosted independent scholars from in stitutions such as Emory Uni versity and Queen’s University of Belfast, Ireland.

Curtis said that Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford, a musical instrument curator for the Library of Congress who is writing a book on renowned physicist and BW alumnus Dayton C. Miller, visited the library to do archival research in January. Miller was also a flautist and a prolific collector of rare flutes.

Nine months after her BW visit, Ward-Bamford helped rapper and pop star Lizzo make national headlines when she handed the Grammy-win ner a special item from Miller’s collection: the priceless crystal flute owned by President James Madison.

around four miles away from the BW campus.

“It sucks because students who come in from out of state who can’t drive or pay for Ubers all the way to Strongsville, won’t be able to go to that theater,” Foster said.

The theater on Bagley Road, which originally opened in November of 1996, like many theaters nationwide, already appeared to be nearing the end of its run in fall of 2022, Hathcock said.

“On the surface everything looked fine, but each time I went to go see a movie with my friends, like when we went to go see ‘Spider-man: No Way Home,’ we almost always

had the theater to ourselves,” Hathcock said. “But even then, it was super fun to be able to yell and shout at the screen whenever we wanted.”

It is unclear what, if anything, will occupy the building going forward.

Representatives for Carnegie Management & Development Corporation, the owner of the Middleburg Towne Square plaza, could not be reached for comment.

Foster lamented the loss of what she viewed as a classic theater.

“It feels like all these old theaters and places are being shut down and replaced with these new, modern experiences, that aren’t necessarily better,” Foster said.

Educational tech director calls switch to Canvas ‘smooth’

As Baldwin Wallace stu dents and faculty adjust fol lowing the University’s change in learning management sys tems from Blackboard to Can vas for the Fall 2022 semester, director of educational tech nology Donna Gutschmidt said the transition has been relatively smooth.

She said the community has responded positively to the changes.

“I think people were ready for a change, and I think a lot of them were starting to see some of the weaknesses in Blackboard,” Gutschmidt said.

However, some students, like Elizabeth Huffman, a se nior media production major, have found issues with the switch this semester.

“I think just the fact that none of the professors really know how to use it is a prob lem,” Huffman said. “I just think there’s more [cons] than pros.”

Gutschmidt said the transi tion to Canvas came as a di rect result of Blackboard’s ag ing interface and lack of user experience.

Blackboard was also in the process of switching its clients from its old system to a new one called “Ultra”.

“It was really clunky and painful,” Gutschmidt said of Ultra. “We had spoken to oth er schools that had made the transition, and they were like, ‘Don’t do it, you’ll be sorry.’”

Gutschmidt and her team

considered these factors and concluded that a move to Can vas would be in the best inter est of the BW community.

She said the discussion about a potential transition began a few years ago when Canvas pitched its service to the university. Afterward, it took her around six months to process and package the of ficial proposal.

As part of the process, Guts chmidt curated a focus group of faculty members and invited representatives from Black board and Canvas to give a demo of their products.

“It wasn’t even a contest,” she said. “People either said, ‘Okay, I would be fine with ei ther,’ or they strongly said, ‘We need to go to Canvas.’”

To get a sense of the stu dents’ perspective, Gutschmidt and her team have judged the community’s response based on questions and complaints.

According to her, the BW help desk has received fewer calls regarding issues with Canvas.

“Students are not calling up and having trouble,” Guts chmidt said. “If anything, when they do call up with trouble, it’s usually a device issue, not a Canvas issue,” she said.

Gutschmidt said that in dividuals having difficulties with the new system should check out the “BW Campus Resources” tab located on the “Courses” page on Canvas. Students can also send ques tions to BW’s IT help desk at help.bw.edu.

Popular TikTok personality stops by Baldwin Wallace

On Nov. 3 popular TikToker Elie Haoui came by Baldwin Wallace University to film a video for his account.

Haoui, who is recognizable by a navy blue sweatshirt with the word “COLLEGE” featured on the front in white font, is famous for traveling to college campuses and asking students a variety of random questions.

Haoui said he initially started these videos as a way to kill boredom and interact with other college students like himself. To his surprise, his amusing side project ended up catching fire when it reached college students across the internet.

“We started this about a month ago. I was visiting my sister, Maya, at OU, and I just kind of wanted to [ask the students questions] because I was bored,” Haoui said. “I was like, ‘Listen, [Maya], I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you follow me around and videotape me.’ ... Then I posted it, and it went viral, and I [knew that] we were onto something.”

As a recent college dropout, Haoui said that continuing to connect with a variety of college students and forming lasting friendships are prominent motivators in making these videos. Haoui said seeing peoples’ genuine reactions to the different questions he throws at them is definitely something that brings a smile to his face.

Haoui said BW’s remarkable warmth and kindness set it apart from other universities.

“BW by far was the most different college that we’ve

been to, and I say that in the nicest of ways,” Haoui said.

“You guys were amazing in every way possible, and the one thing that I noticed about BW that I haven’t noticed at any other college we’ve been to is just the feeling of being at home.”

Haoui grew up in Columbia Station and attended the Columbia local schools. He said his visit to BW reminded him of the close-knit community he had during his time as a student in Columbia Station.

ability to have students admit things they would not nor mally admit, is a reason she enjoys his videos.

In addition to this, Marinelli said that she also admires how he features Ohio colleges on his page.

Claudine Grunewald Kirschner, BW’s director of first-year and sophomore ex perience, who spoke to Haoui and his cousin during lunch in the student union, said that Haoui was able to understand BW through his interactions.

“They were both very friendly and warm and spent time talking with so many stu dents in the dining hall during their day filming,” Grunewald Kirschner said. “I believe they really were able to get the sense that BW is where extraordi nary experiences happen with incredible students.”

S.A.L.S.A.’s second annual Noche de Fiesta event features traditional food, entertainment

On Nov. 13 in the Student Activities Center, Spanish and Latinx Student Association held its second annual Noche de Fiesta event.

Noche de Fiesta celebrated Hispanic and Latino heritage with traditional dances such as the salsa, bachata, samba, merengue and cumbia. In addition, the event provided traditional food and an environment for people of different backgrounds to learn about each other’s experiences.

S.A.L.S.A. is a student-run cultural organization that

is connected to the Center for Inclusion. They focus on engaging, empowering and connecting students on campus with Hispanic and Latino culture and with nonprofit organizations in the Northeast Ohio and Cleveland areas. They create different educational and entertainment events that celebrate Hispanic culture on BW’s campus.

Geneviéve Carreño, president of S.A.L.S.A., collaborated this year with C.F.I. and Black Girls Rock, a division of the Black Student Alliance. The three groups worked on Noche de Fiesta together, spending time over Zoom planning the three hour

event.

“It’s an invitation to people who are outside of the community to learn and participate in the community in a safe place where they have an invitation that’s free,” Carreño said.

Last year, the first Noche de Fiesta took place at the Center for Innovation and Growth and brought a diverse group of students and faculty together, but Carreño said it was too formal and small to dance and enjoy the celebration.

“This year [the event was] in the S.A.C. which is an open space,” Carreño said, “and it’s kind of meant for dancing and partying and having fun.”

Haoui said BW had the wel coming vibe of a small family that made him really appreci ate the university.

One student who interacted with Haoui, Bianca Marinelli, a senior acting and directing major, said that Haoui was kind to students.

“He seemed genuinely in terested in meeting everyone who came to see him, and also personalized [conversations] with everyone,” Marinelli said. “It was really cool that he gave me an opportunity to inter view him for my own TikTok. He was really kind and very engaged with us.”

Marinelli said that the re latable college content Ha oui produces, along with his

PRAYER: Students can practice faith, request information at Muslim prayer room

Continued from page 1 prayer room, located in the lower level of the student union, is meant to be a space for Muslim students, as well as a space where students can request information about the Muslim faith.

“This room allows us to fulfill our religious duties in a space made for us,” Zureiqat said.

CJ Harkness, director of spiritual life, said that this space is for anyone who wants to engage in Muslim prayer, whether it be faculty or students. Harkness also

believes students must be able to practice their faiths on campus to fully express their diversity.

“Being able to stop and practice faith, engage in faith, to question faith and to explore faith, is a critical part of what it means to fully be ourselves,” Harkness said. “I believe when we are able to be our full selves in a space, not only will the space be better, but we will also be better and more understanding in it.”

Although the videos on TikTok are a highly edited version of Haoui’s interactions with the students, Grunewald Kirschner said she believes Haoui left with a good sense of what the community is like at BW.

Haoui even left Grunewald Kirschner a message after vis iting BW to say that he felt like a part of the BW family.

“I seriously love being at BW,” Haoui said, “and I think that we will be back very soon. You guys were so awesome to us, and we’re super grateful for the opportunity.”

In addition to being a prom inent influencer on TikTok and Instagram, the Clevelandnative is also a magician and co-owner of a recently opened coffee shop, The Hive Cle. His video featuring the students of BW is currently posted on his TikTok, @eliemagic.

Nursing program introduces life-like birth simulators

The Baldwin Wallace University nursing department has introduced a new technology: the Lucina Childbirth Simulator, a sophisticated life-like birthing mannequin instructors can use to run various childbirth scenarios.

This simulator will allow the students of the nursing department to learn with a more realistic patient. It has more life-like functions, such as pulses in the hands and feet, pupils that dilate and constrict, heart and lung sounds and physiological responses to medication.

Chris Seminatore, lab coordinator and assistant professor of nursing, said he is looking forward to how this will positively impact the education of nursing students.

“Here at BW, we’re always trying to give the best experiences we can, so this is just another tool we have to make experiences for students that we might not always be able to capture in a clinical setting.”

Seminatore said that this includes uncommon occurrences when something goes wrong, like complications that happen during childbirth.

“Although we’ll talk about some of those things in

lectures, they might not get to see them,” Seminatore said. “But with the simulator, we can make those things happen.”

BW currently has 10 low-fidelity simulation mannequins, which are less realistic, and numerous task trainers, which are used to simulate a specific body part to train on a certain task such as inserting an IV into an arm.

This new mannequin will be introduced with a newborn mannequin to add to the realism of a simulation. The mannequin was installed on Oct. 10. It is expected to be implemented into the training courses by the spring semester of 2023.

“It went viral, and I [knew that] we were onto some thing.”

BW sport management program to explore athletics at Duke University

The Baldwin Wallace University sport management program is off to Duke University from Nov. 1719 for an exploratory career experience.

This year, about 25 students and staff will drive down to Durham, N.C., to meet with Duke’s athletic directors, tour facilities and attend sports games. However, this trip looks a little different from typical experiential trips: no work is involved.

Associate Professor Charles Campisi, chair of marketing and sport management, told The Exponent that this is an exploratory trip aimed at learning about Duke and its athletic departments in addition to networking with industry professionals.

Campisi said he believes face-to-face meetings and communication with professionals in the field, like BW alumni Will Pantages and Ryan Sosic, who work for the neighboring Wake Forest University athletic department, will make this experience even more relevant and relatable to BW students and prove that a career in the sport industry is attainable.

Junior sport management major Alissa Scattino said she

believes that first impressions and connections mean everything in landing a job. She said that she is excited to be part of this trip, market herself and network outside of Ohio.

Bryce Yockel, a junior sport management major, said that networking is vital for a career in sports.

“Your connections build you up in this work industry, so you have to make connections whenever the opportunity opens,” Yockel said.

To finance this outing and other professional development opportunities, sport management students and staff organize fundraisers and host raffles. Both Scattino and David Lamb, a junior sport management major, said that they host fundraisers through major food chains like Chipotle and Raising Cane’s and raffle off Cleveland Browns V.I.P. experience tickets.

Because of the extensive fundraising, little money typically comes out of students’ pockets. Lamb shared that for this trip in particular, students will each pay $250. This price includes complete coverage of room, food, event admissions and transportation.

Campisi said the students and staff of the sport management program work

hard to prepare for the handson vocational opportunities like Browns games, the College Football Playoff and the Super Bowl, among others.

“These prestigious venues and organizations know what our students can do. These people keep the doors open for us, and if our students continuously work hard, students in the years to come can also experience oncein-a-lifetime events and opportunities,” Campisi said.

Hannah Dick, a senior sport management student at BW, said that she receives constant support and guidance from the professors.

“This kind of support is hard to find. No matter what day it is, they are there to assist you. Our professors don’t limit us,” Dick said.

“Everyone is so friendly. We are really just a close family,” Scattino said. “And having these opportunities allows for increased student and staff familiarity with one another.”

Lamb said the students’ hard work will continue so they can continue to receive the prestigious opportunities.

“Just because you have the opportunities doesn’t mean you get to keep them or keep receiving them,” Lamb said. “You gotta make a name for yourself and the school.”

On 50th anniversary of Title IX, women’s soccer players stress importance of inclusion

On the 50th anniversary of Title IX, players on the Baldwin Wallace women’s soccer team reflected on how the law supports them as college athletes.

Established in 1972, Title IX prohibited sex-based discrimination in educational programs including college athletics. Steve Thompson, BW’s athletic director, delivered a presentation on the law to athletes before the beginning of the 2022 fall sports season.

Sydney Rice, a junior AllOhio Athletic Conference forward, said that the federal law protects everyone’s ability, regardless of gender, to participate in sports.

“It’s hard being both a woman and athlete,” Rice said. “Title IX makes everyone equal, so there is no superior sex or team.”

Title IX requires equal treatment of male and female athletes when it comes to many resources such as equipment, supplies, coaching and medical services. Paige Ackerman, a junior defender, said these benefits are felt in BW sports.

“We are given the same resources [as the men’s soccer team] especially with academic training and physical and mental health,” Ackerman said. “Women have a lot offered [to them] in regard to health.”

“Title IX gives comfort as a woman athlete especially at a smaller school where a lot of people around here are athletes.”

hard.”

The players said that BW’s compliance with Title IX helps foster a welcoming environment among all sports teams at BW.

“There is camaraderie between all of the sports teams which creates a community,” Ackerman said.

Rice said the women’s soccer team has a particular collegiality with the men’s soccer team.

BARTH Sophomore forward, Baldwin Wallace Women’s Soccer

While BW is a smaller university where academics come before athletics, it is important that athletes have an inclusive environment where they can play the sports they love. Sophomore forward Ella Barth said that Title IX gives women “representation in sports” and allows everyone equal opportunity.

“Title IX gives comfort as a woman athlete especially at a smaller school where a lot of people around here are athletes,” Barth said. “It gives us the freedom to feel comforted and confident when we come here and work

“I feel like with the men’s team I’m treated as equal,” Rice said. “I’m close with the men’s team and they will compliment us if we win and they don’t treat us any different.”

Not only is there friendship among the male and female players, but Ackerman said they are also equally shown off for their successes.

“BW gives both men and women athletes the light to be shown off and appreciated,” said Ackerman.

The BW women’s soccer team finished the regular season with a 9-8-1 win-losstie record and advanced to Ohio Athletic Conference tournament semifinals, where they ended their season with a 2-0 loss to Otterbein University on Nov. 4.

Humans of BW: What does Baldwin Wallace mean to minority students?

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Class of 2026

“I want to show people that there are op portunities for Black women in the arts an also in the sports and that we could live up to our future career goals regardless of age, gender and race. Overall, I want to be an inspiration for the future generations to come here at Baldwin Wallace University.”

“I want to be a part of the legacy that pushed me to pursue my dreams with the musical theatre program here at Baldwin Wallace University.”

“Knowing that I am one of the only ones in my family to get a college degree ... It shows an example to my younger family members that, even though systematically we aren’t the ones who get degrees, that you can do it and that you can succeed.”