Throughout my four years here, I’ve heard almost every student I’ve talked to complain about how unfairly we are treated by security and the administration. I have often heard the relationship between students and administration compared to a variety of things ranging from a Nazi state to parents not trusting their children. I completely agree with the sentiments (though not the metaphors); I do think we’re under-trusted. This newspaper recently ran an article in which Dean Kreuzeman was quoted saying that that Wooster students didn’t have enough “courage” or “leadership” in order to have autonomy over our own Wooster Ethic.

I often think the powers that be underestimate our ability to handle ourselves. I was appalled by Dean Kreuzeman’s suggestion that we, as students, are deficient in courage and leadership to the point where we need to have overly strict policies. I thought — and still think — that “Safe, Sober, Smart” was a sign that the administration was totally out of touch with reality. Despite Dean Buxton’s assurances that the program is not designed to promote total abstinence from alcohol, I have seen no evidence to suggest that the school is encouraging responsible drinking as opposed to almost total sobriety. In a Voice article on March 4, Krista Kronstein described responsible drinking “as having a beer, or drinking a six-pack between friends.” Clearly, this position is silly, but we must prove that we can take responsibility for our own alcohol policies.

However, in order to prove to everybody — ourselves, the administration, and security — that we can handle the responsibility of personal autonomy, we cannot have instances like that which occurred on the Free Speech Wall last week. The Women of Images organized a display on the Art Wall eulogizing the death of Trayvon Martin and what it suggests about our society. On the wall, there was an area for students to express themselves anonymously. The result was a disaster. One of the first responses was “f**k the police,” and the conversation regressed from there. Whether it was “weed this” or “c**t that,” those attitudes do not and cannot reflect student ideology if we hope to have more lax administration and security policies in the future. Even an attempt at an intellectual discussion — the debate between libertarianism and socialism — was marred by a lot of name-calling and other forms of idiocy.

The phrases scribbled onto the Free Speech Wall continue to give the administration even more ammunition for the belief that that we are totally unable to handle ourselves. If we truly want to prove that we can be the sole authors of our Friday and Saturday nights, we have to start showing that we can handle the responsibility of something as simple as a wall and freedom of expression.

Jacob Sklar’s defense of the Republican party’s treatment of women in the Viewpoints section two weeks ago is offensive and woefully misguided. His claim that legally mandated trans-vaginal ultrasounds prior to the procurement of abortion do not constitute “state-sponsored rape” (to use his snide quotes) is predicated on the argument that neither force nor threat of force would be used.

This statement alone illustrates Sklar’s ignorance regarding rape and delegitimizes sexual violence perpetrated without force or threat of force. The boundaries of rape are drawn with consent. Ignoring this fact and thereby creating a script of “real rape” is, to use Sklar’s words, shameful. Even the FBI’s newly updated definition of rape emphasizes consent as the defining factor. I’m interested to know how Jacob Sklar thinks that forcing a woman to have an object inserted into her vagina in order to procure an abortion is anything but non-consensual. If women are forced to be penetrated in order to then receive a legal medical procedure, that is coercion and that is rape.

Sklar also expresses dislike for the fact that “women’s issues,” have been limited in the media and public sphere to those of sexual health and reproduction. This has become the monolith for women’s issues because these are the fundamental human rights that the Republican party has so gleefully jeopardized over the last year. I agree with Sklar that Democrats have become successful in proclaiming themselves to be the party of women regarding these issues, but this is because they are not the ones slashing federal programs that benefit low income women and children, scaling back abortion rights, limiting women’s access to birth control and reproductive health care, shaming women’s bodies and sexual agency, and, in some cases, decriminalizing domestic violence to save money. This past week, legislation was signed into law in Arizona that forbids abortion two weeks before a woman even becomes pregnant. This political circus is a cheap and shallow ploy to write the standards of society on women’s bodies, denigrating them as incubators for heterosexual, married, reproductive sexual purposes.

Finally, Sklar’s ill-suited argument that more men commit crimes and Republicans keep them in jail so that they can’t hurt more women does absolutely nothing to address the issues currently raging in our society that disproportionality affect women and is entirely unrelated to his argument regarding women’s issues. If Republicans have a stronger track record for keeping rapists in jail, then wonderful for them. However, if you are really so concerned for sexually violated women and their well being, then the party that attempted to legally change the term “rape victim,” to “rape accuser,” would force a woman pregnant through rape to have a metal wand shoved into her vagina for no viable medical reason, mandate that she carry her pregnancy to term and then afford her and her child little to no state or federal support is probably not where you should start looking.

-Meredith Loken ’12

We found several of the points made in the article “Democrats not the party of women” to be highly problematic. Firstly, it is concerning that a man would claim which party is for women by essentializing women’s experiences, wants and needs. He portrays women as weak, fearful and in need of “special” protection, when in reality, all citizens require equal protection under the law.

Secondly, his outright dismissal of the invasive and oppressive trans-vaginal ultrasound policy is alarming. We felt that he was just distracting readers from the issues brought up in the article to which he was responding by bringing crime into the argument. A trans-vaginal ultrasound is appalling, as are the other assaults on women’s reproductive freedoms from the Republican party.

In fact, the Republican party is not necessarily advancing women’s  interests, but is in fact acting against them. The Republican party the author portrayed reflects a patriarchal social order that works to the detriment of all, confining women into the role of a nurturing but fearful mother figure who relies on a male protector and provider.

Women are, in fact, more likely to be victims of crime, but that is not necessarily an issue that either party is correcting by being “hard” or “soft” on crime. The victimization of women is an issue that is rooted in prevailing gender norms and stereotypes. While the author is proposing that the tougher-on-crime Republican party is resolving the issue of crime, neither party is doing enough to change the social structures and thus, stop crime from happening in the first place.

We disagree with the notion that Democrats privilege the criminals over the female victims and further assert that the Republican party privileges wealthy, straight, white anglo-saxon protestant males over everyone else through their proposed budget cuts that disproportionally and negatively affect the “minorities.” For example, the proposed Republican budget cuts would limit funding for Medicare and Medicaid, which are programs that have a high percentage of women beneficiaries. The GOP budget plan would also take away “Obamacare,” thereby making it legal for insurance companies to charge women more for healthcare.

-Anna Easterday ’13, Adrienne James ’13, Kelsey Jandrey ’13 and Grace Miller ’13.

RAM JAM ADVANCES TO REGIONALS

Ram Jam, The College of Wooster men’s ultimate frisbee team, advanced to regionals for the first time in school history last weekend. The team won four out of six games at conferences in Versailles, Ohio, defeating Oberlin College, John Carroll University, Xavier University and Ohio Wesleyan University. The 15-13 victory over Ohio Wesleyan earned them the fourth spot in the regional tournament. Regionals will take place in Gambier, Ohio on April 28 and 29. Joining Ram Jam from its section will be teams from Kenyon College, Ohio Northern University and Denison University.

CAMPUS

LACROSSE TEAMS VICTORIOUS

The Scots men’s lacrosse team defeated Oberlin College 7-5 on April 11 to wrap up their home season. Matt Ranck ’13 led Wooster with three goals. PJ Stallman ’15 and Patrick Schlick ’13 had two goals apiece as the Scots held off a Yeomen rally in the second half. Wooster led 6-1 at halftime, but Oberlin scored three goals in a row before Dallman got an insurance goal at the end of the third quarter. The women’s team earned a road victory over Kenyon College on April 14. Cassie Greenbaum ’14 led the way with three goals and Shawna Ferris ’13 got the win with eight saves. The Scots played at Allegheny College on Wednesday after press time.

CAMPUS

TENNIS TEAMS FALL TO KENYON

The Wooster men’s and women’s tennis teams both lost 9-0 to Kenyon College on Monday. The strongest singles performance from the Wooster women came from Lauren Grimanis ’12, who lost 6-4, 6-3. In doubles, Ashley Stockwell ’12 and Lauren Gilliss ’13 lost by a respectable 8-5 score. Kenyon’s men are ranked in the top five nationally, and it showed against the Scots. In doubles, Zack Rotter ’14 and Nick Biniker ’14 fell 8-3. In singles action, Paul Thomas ’14 was defeated 6-2, 6-3 and Jacob Pine ’15 fell 6-3, 6-0. The Scots traveled to Denison University on Wednesday after press time.

Travis Marmon

Although I am wrapping up my second year as a Sports Editor for the Voice, I would be lying if I said that I had a deep appreciation for all athletics. While spring is the best time of year to be active, it is an odd time for me from a sports fan perspective. Football is in the middle of its offseason, yet I’m more interested in the upcoming NFL Draft than anything else. The NBA is quickly approaching the playoffs, which are always a blast, but the lockout shortened the season and eliminated much of the build-up and excitement for it.

As a Detroiter, I should be in sports heaven right now. The Tigers are one of the most exciting teams in baseball after acquiring Prince Fielder to round out a fearsome hitting lineup that complements the pitching of reigning AL MVP Justin Verlander.

The Red Wings, as always, are in the playoffs (although they may be eliminated by the time this is printed), following a season in which they won a record 23 consecutive home games. This is a fantastic time of year to be into both of these teams, but unfortunately I have difficulty watching either of their respective sports.

If you see me around campus checking my phone, I’m most likely looking at the scores for one or both teams, but they’re never on my television as anything more than background noise. I fully support all of my local sports and am genuinely glad when they do well, but baseball has never been able to hold my attention as a spectator sport, and hockey never clicked with me despite its most elite franchise playing less than an hour from my hometown.

Thus, I am left in a strange position for the time being. As compelling as I find the NFL Draft, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the first two picks will be Andrew Luck to the Indianapolis Colts and Robert Griffin III to the Washington Redskins.

The Lions, finding themselves in the unfamiliar territory of picking outside of the top 15 and having resigned 21 of 22 starters from last season, will most likely draft an offensive lineman or a cornerback. That would be nice, but far from exciting.

Now I must call upon the NBA playoffs to carry me through until the Summer Olympics (during which I will assuredly watch more handball than baseball).

The Western Conference in particular will be my focus, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers are both fast-paced, entertaining young teams with fantastic players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.

They will be tasked with taking down the west’s old guard in the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers. Or maybe a team like the Memphis Grizzlies or the Denver Nuggets could surprise everybody, just like the Dallas Mavericks did last year.

The Eastern Conference is rather boring. Once again, the big storyline will be whether or not LeBron James and the Miami Heat can take home the first of the many titles that they have promised. Whether they do or they don’t, it will be annoying.

My favorite player to watch in the NBA, Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, has been battling injury all season. While the Bulls have done great without him, it’s just not as entertaining to watch Luol Deng or Joakim Noah take over a game.

So that’s my lament on the spring sports season. I don’t mean to be a wet blanket for all you baseball and hockey fans, but no matter how exciting things may be for you, I won’t be devoting my full attention.

Sports Editor

Battling the rain and a nationally-ranked No. 12 DePauw University squad last Saturday, April 14, the Wooster Scots softball team split an afternoon double header against their NCAC opponents at home.  The Scots earned their victory in game one with a strong performance from pitcher Gina Pirolozzi ’13, before committing a string of errors in game two which led to a 6-0 loss.

Game one started off with a first-inning offensive effort by Lauren Swinehart ’12, who hit a double to score the first RBI of the day. DePauw responded in the second inning with an unearned run to tie the game at one. After a single put Swinehart on base at the bottom of the sixth, Carly Schoestein ’15 crushed a two-run homer, the first of her career.  Pirolozzi earned the win, giving up only two hits and striking out three in seven innings on the mound.

As the rainfall intensified during the second game of the series, the Tigers capitalized on a pitching error and other fielding mistakes by the Scots in the third inning, gaining two unearned runs to capture a 3-0 lead. DePauw continued their offensive run after a 30-minute rain delay, scoring three more runs while limiting the Scots to a mere three hits for the game.

Leading the offense on the day were Schoenstein, Swinehardt, Paige Goldberg ’15 and Demi Hart ’15 with two hits apiece.

The Scots hosted Denison University for anther conference double-header on Tuesday, ending the day with one more win and one more loss.

Wooster fell 7-6 in the first outing against the Big Red. Pirolozzi gave up two walks to kick off the first inning, which led to a three-run homer by Denison’s Meghan Edwards. Pirolozzi would have her own success at bat in the fourth inning, driving in Swinehart and Schoestein with a three-run homer to tie the score. The game heated up in the fifth inning, with each team scoring three runs on two hits to preserve the tie. After loading the bases at the top of the sixth, Denison scored an unearned run to take a permeantnt lead.

The Fighting Scots bounced back to win the evening’s second game 3-0. Pitcher Jenn Horton ’13 limited Denison’s batters  to only three hits, and later contributed an RBI on a single to left field at the top of the sixth inning. Swinehart delivered two hits in the victory, including one RBI.

After Tuesday, the Scots’ overall record stood at 18-10 (5-5 NCAC). They faced Otterbein on Thursday (after press time), and will travel to Gambier, OH, tomorrow afternoon to play two games against the Ladies of Kenyon College.

Staff Writer

The College of Wooster baseball team has been looking for consistency throughout this year’s campaign, and for one game, they found perfection. Last Saturday, Fighting Scot hurler Kyle Cunningham-Rhoads ’12 threw the second perfect game in school history, as Wooster defeated Hiram on the road 16-0 in seven innings.

In the second game of the weekend double-header, Cunningham-Rhoads delivered a virtuoso performance on the mound. The Kalamazoo, Mich. native had four strikeouts and continued to trick opponents with his strong change-up. Cunningham-Rhoads has become a stalwart in the Fighting Scot rotation and may prove to be the lynchpin for the team’s success for the remainder of the NCAC season.

Earlier in the day, the Scots took down the Terriers 7-2 and received another strong pitching performance from Josh Stidham ’12. Stidham improved to 3-2 for the season as he threw a complete-game five hitter, also struck out six Hiram batters.

The once-anemic Wooster offense erupted in the double-header, as the Scots raked up 30 hits in the two game set with Hiram. Johnathan Ray ’13, Zack Vesco ’12, Michael Debord ’12 and Cal Thomay ’14 all delivered home runs to pace the Scots offensively, who have seemed to hit their stride as conference play heats up.

On Monday, the bats continued to stay warm for Wooster, as they held off non-conference foe Capital University 15-6. After a quick 6-0 start thanks to a 3-run homer from Vesco and a single from Billy Farrow ’14 that drove in two runs, the Crusaders fired back with five runs of their own.

With the Scots clinging to a one run lead after three innings, Colin Meinzer ’12 and Keenan White ’13 halted the Capital advance, as the Scots limited their foe to only five hits for the remainder of the contest. Meinzer struck out seven Crusader batters, while White and Jon Huisel ’14 combined to throw four scoreless innings for Wooster, who improved their record to 15-11 with the win.

Currently, the Scots are fighting with Kenyon College for the top slot in the North Coast Athletic Conference’s Eastern Division, and could win the conference title in early May, if they can continue to tap into the fountain of excellence.

The Scots traveled to Hiram on Tuesday, winning 4-3 and 12-2 in a doubleheader. They played at Ohio Northern University on Wednesday after press time. The team will travel to Oberlin, Ohio over the weekend for a four-game conference slate against Oberlin College.

  Heroin edition

On Tuesday, April 10, a five-year-old boy in Connecticut brought packets of heroin to show and tell in his kindergarten class.

The child was showing his fellow students the packets full of powder and his teacher noticed what they were and immediately confiscated them.

Authorities were called and a field test determined that the substance was, in fact, heroin. The child’s father, Santos Roman, 35, showed up at the school and was arrested.

“[Roman] went to retrieve [his heroin], and it wasn’t there so he came back for his stepson,” Detective Keith Bryant of the Bridgeport Police Department said.

Roman was arraigned on Tuesday on three drug-possession charges, including intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school and risk of injury to a minor (reuters.com). Roman was held on $100,000 bail.

El Salvador has first murder-free day in three years

No one was murdered in El Salvador on Saturday, April 14, making it the country’s first homicide-free day in nearly three years. The Central American country is plagued by violent drug gangs.

“After years when the number of murders reached alarming levels of up to 18 per day, we saw not one homicide in the country,” President Mauricio Funes said in a statement released on Sunday. The murder-free day was the first recorded since leftist Funes took office in June 2009.

According to Reuters, at the beginning of Funes’ term, the country had an average of 12 murders a day.

According to the United Nations data, El Salvador has recently tallied a homicide rate of 66 per 100,000 people — one of the highest in the world (reuters.com).

^NATIONAL

Strike at Hostess threatens Ho Hos and Twinkies

Hostess Brands, the ever-reliable provider of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, heads to court this coming Tuesday (April 24) in an effort to throw out its union contracts.

The company is asking the bankruptcy court in White Plains, N.Y., to tear up labor agreements, which would, among other things, allow Hostess to change how it funds union pensions.

The company filed for bankruptcy in January, its second time filing for bankruptcy since 2004.

Both management and the unions agree that the company is unlikely to survive a strike (money.cnn.com).

^{INTERNATIONAL}

Norweigian killer Breivik pleads not guilty

The Norwegian anti-Islamic gunman who massacred 77 people, Anders Behring Breivik, said in court on Tuesday, April 17, that his shooting spree and bomb attack was “sophisticated and spectacular” and that he would do the same thing again.

Breivik, 33, pleaded not guilty and said he was defending his country by setting off a car bomb that killed eight people at government headquarters in Oslo last July, then shooting another 69 individuals at a youth summer camp organized by the ruling Labour Party.

“The July 22 attacks were preemptive attacks to defend the Norweigian people,” said Breivik (reuters.com).

Ramsey Kincannon

News Editor

In recent years, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been facing budget shortages. In the last three months of 2011 alone, the USPS posted a $3.3 billion loss. Sensing an opportunity to aid what was once one of the most important positions in government, the U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday, April 17, to begin debating legislation changing the way the USPS works.

Susan Collins (R-ME) told reporters on Tuesday that “there are many different views on how to save the Postal Service, but there can be no doubt that the Postal Service is in crisis.” She also called the USPS “the lynchpin of a trillion-dollar mailing industry.” Other senators who have proposed to change the system include Scott Brown (R-MA), Thomas Carper (D-DE), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT).

The difference between the USPS and other government industries is instead of relying on tax dollars, the USPS has to generate the majority of its funds on stamp sales and other small products, which have been waning due to people paying bills online and sending email. The agency has laid out its own plans to save money and cut costs, but leaders inside of the USPS have asked for congressional assistance in order to augment their changes further.

Some changes that the USPS has already contemplated include ending overnight mail and closing several offices across the country. The latter idea has been viewed as especially problematic, considering that many of the proposed closed offices are in poor areas with little to no internet access, further limiting the towns’ and counties’ ability to communicate with other areas. Because of these concerns, the bill’s authors have included language that blocks those two cost-cutting measures and introduces other ones.

One of the ways that the USPS could change in the Senate plan is by eliminating Saturday delivery of mail. That proposal, if approved, could take place in two years. Other cost-cutting strategies include cutting mail processing centers in half so overnight mail can continue, as opposed to the USPS plan, which would eliminate the mail processing centers.

While the procedures to aid the USPS are being figured out, the Postal Service is about to receive a cash infusion of roughly $11 billion in order to extend its services, while the institution teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. Other suggestions that were not included in the bill were increasing the cost of a first-class stamp to a half-dollar, which has been estimated to bring in over a billion dollars.

The Senate plans to debate the legislature in the coming days, while the USPS continues to stay over $12 billion in the red. Whatever the result of the Senate session, analysts figure the bill to have a tough road in the House of Representatives, which would most likely demand further cost-cutting ideas to be included in the bill.

Emily Bartelheim

News Editor

Last week, rising upperclassmen students at The College of Wooster participated in the room selection process. Every student receives a room draw number (which is generated at random) and has an assigned time to select their future room. Roommates select their room together according to the time associated with the lowest of their numbers.

For the coming academic year (2012-2013), Wagner, Compton, Bissman, Douglass and Bornhuetter Halls will continue to house first-year students. This year (2011-2012), upperclassmen women lived on the first floor of Douglass. “Next year, we’ll most likely need to utilize another wing or floor for upperclassmen but we have yet to determine where that will be,” said Krista Kronstein, director of Residence Life.

The College also holds its admissions host program in Douglass Hall, which consists of students that have an open spot in their room where a prospective student can stay when they want to come for a visit.

Greek groups will continue to live primarily in houses during the next academic year. “When [Greeks] were in Bissman, they were running into challenges of having their sections filled because people didn’t want to live in Bissman,” Kronstein said. “We had a larger first-year class [for the 2010-2011 academic year] so we wanted to utilize Bissman’s space as a first-year center, so we moved the Greeks to houses, and things are going pretty well.”

This coming summer (2012), dormitories will continue receiving cosmetic upgrades, which include new furniture and re-painting. Kenarden Lodge is one of the dorms to receive these improvements. Armington Hall and Stevenson Hall both received new furniture and paint this past summer (2011).

Currently, there is no option during room draw for “block housing.” Block housing is “a group of students centered around a topic that live in a block of rooms together,” said Kronstein. “The Akaa project has a group of rooms in the lower level of Kenarden right now, but we don’t have any block housing outside of the language suites in Luce right now.”

Housing selection for future upperclassmen is based on room draw numbers and who they pick as their roommates. In the past, block housing was offered as an option but students didn’t take advantage of it, so it was removed as a housing option.

Currently, the College has rising upperclassmen students “who are in a waitlist scenario,” Kronsein said. Every year, Residence Life reserves a certain number of rooms for incoming first-year students. Right now, there are 650 beds offline. “Once we have a better idea from Admissions of what the first-year class is going to look like, we’ll be able to release some of those rooms and start housing some of our current waitlisted students,” Kronstein said. “After Thursday [April 14], we found ourselves in the waitlist situation.”

This year there are more men on the waitlist, while in the past there usually were more women than men. All students that are on the waitlist will be guaranteed housing.

“We’re a residential campus and we’re committed to the residential experience,” Kronstein said.

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