Freshman Troy Springer wondered all day Oct. 25 how his friends and teammates knew that he had below a 1.00 grade point average.

He didn’t realize that he was one of 18 Wesley College students named in an e-mail that had accidently been sent to all students by Mary-Alice Ozechoski, dean of students. The e-mail listed students who had earned below a 1.00 GPA.

“I am so very sorry to have made these mistakes,” Ozechoski said. “I apologize to all of the Wesley College students and faculty and staff for my mistakes and to have done everything possible to prevent any further incidents.”

This was the second incident in the past two years that Ozechoski forwarded a confi-

dential e-mail to the student body.Springer’s name was on the most recent

one. “I thought

to myself, that has to be against the law,” he said. “I know that it was a mistake and it happens, but I think that shows a lack of responsibility.”

This ac-cident violated the Family Educa-tional Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), said Eric Nelson, vice president of finance.

Originally sent by Paul Olsen to the students’ advisers, Olsen also e-mailed it to

O z e c h o s k i , who wanted to send it to her “staff,” but sent it to “students” in-stead.

It wasn’t done mali-ciously, Olsen said.

“My con-cern is the well-being of the students,” he said.

Friends made freshman Brittany Britt, who also made the list, aware of the situation.

“One of my friends came to me when I was on my way to my room and showed me a letter that had my name on a list,” she said. “He printed it out and was showing people that he knew what was going on.”

Britt became upset when people began confronting her about the situation.

“People look at you a lot differently,” Springer said, “which is the most aggravat-ing part.”

About two dozen students viewed the e-mail before it was retracted, Nelson said.

Nelson told the News Journal that only about “a dozen or so” students opened the e-mail before it was retracted.

Two retractions were sent out within the next half hour.

“After the e-mail is opened, it remains in the mailbox,” Nelson said. “[Retractions]

Students may no longer use Facebook in the Writing Center.

“We are an academic resource center,” said Charlene Stephens, director of the De-partment of Academic Support. “That means our purpose is to help students academically, and that’s the goal we have to focus on.”

Social networking websites, including Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, have been blocked.

“I think anyone who comes to the writ-ing center should do school work,” said Cath-erine Diamond, a freshman.

If a student tries to access those sites, an error message appears stating that the brows-er can’t display the website.

“This is a protective measure for stu-dents, not a punishment,” Stephens said. “I have no desire to take away a student’s form of communication or entertainment.”

Stephens said she wanted to preserve access for students who genuinely need the

computers. “I suggested it,” Stephens said. “My

bosses in the administration approved it.” Freshman Joncara Marshall likes the

new policy. “It’s a good idea,” she said. “I can have

access to a computer whenever I want.” The websites can still be accessed

through wireless connection with a laptop and on the ARC computers.

“We have Facebook in the library, so it’s only fair,” said Jonie Woodward, a freshman.

There are still glitches. “In the past week, the filter has been go-

ing in and out,” Stephens said. “We didn’t feel like having the IT department come up here every day to fix it. I have more impor-tant things to worry about.”

Diamond has advice for those who want to socialize.

“If you want to go on Facebook, go back to your room,” Diamond said.

The independenT newspaper of wesley College

November 2010

By Collette O’NealThe Whetstone

Visit us online at www.whetstone.wesley.edu

Education Department loses national accreditation

By Kim Manahan The Whetstone

Mass e-mail violates students’ privacy

Facebook banned in Writing Center

The message Ozechoski put in Olsen’s e-mail before sending it to all students.

The Whetstone/ Rachael Nissim

See E-MAIL on p4

The education department is losing its national accreditation, said Dr. Patri-cia Dwyer, vice president of academic affairs.

Wesley has been on probation for three years with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), before hearing two weeks ago that it will lose its accreditation at the end of 2010.

But this doesn’t mean that Teacher Education students will not be able to teach, Dwyer said.

“Students are licensed through the state,” she said. “The state will continue to license students to teach in and out of the state.”

The college notified students and their parents last week.

Wesley was cited in 2009 by

NCATE for lacking assessment and unit governance.

“The department has worked hard in demonstrating progress between 2007 and 2009,” Dwyer said. “We are very committed to doing whatever it takes to get re-accredited. We need to have a co-hesive unit to do data analysis and pro-gram development.”

Dwyer said that many changes have been made since 2009, but NCATE only included those that were in place prior to 2010.

“NCATE looked at 2009,” she said. “Changes made this year could not be considered.”

“The Education Department and I are working with NCATE to commence the process for reapplication, and we will use their recommendations as a blueprint for improvement,” Dwyer said.

By Kim Manahan The Whetstone

The quote that made the e-mail a national story.

Featuring MusingsThe WheTsTone

Staff - fall 2010

Editor-in-Chief - Kim Manahankim.manahan@gmail.com

Online Editor - Shane Miller

Photographers Songphon Kannasut

Cochise LucasRachel Nissim

Adviser - Victor GretoOnline Adviser - Dr. Tery Griffin

Staff Writers

Online StaffSontia Biggus

Caitlin Karpinksi

Domenic CitinoErick HuberJamie PruittChris Agar

Jessica Barranco Melissa Boyd

Megan BradleyChloe Dawson

Alexandra Gargon

Ryan HebertKasey Lynn

Teresea McMurrinKelly Morgan

Matthew Nimmerichter

Collette O’NealAshley PeardJon Salacuse

2 WWW.WHETSTONE.WESLEY.EDU November 2010

Democrat Chris Coons won Delaware’s hotly contested Senate seat, despite his opponent Repub-lican Christine O’Donnell gaining majorities in both Kent and Sussex County.

When districts started reporting around 8 p.m., Coons held a 30 percent lead over O’Donnell.

The lead narrowed to a 17 percent difference when it was all over.

“Delawareans have hired me to go to Washing-ton and work as hard as I can to get us back to work, to fix the economy, to make progress in restoring competitiveness and restart manufacturing in Dela-ware,” Coons said.

Some students celebrated the outcome.“I voted for Coons because some of his beliefs

were better than ChristineO’Donnell’s,” said freshman Jason Chen. “She

didn’t really know what she was talking about and when she came to Wesley didn’t really answer any question. I agree with some of O’Donnell’s policies but in the end Coons had a better argument.”

O’Donnell told her supporters to be encour-aged.

“We have won, because the Delaware political system will never be the same,” she said during her concession speech.

Nearly half of all independents and 61 percent of women voted for Coons, according to CNN exit polls.

Delaware saw a 49 percent voter turnout, ac-cording to www.delaware.gov.

The Democrats remain in control of the Senate, but the Republicans took over the House of Repre-sentatives, winning 239 of 435 seats.

Democrat John Carney won Delaware’s lone congressional seat, garnering 56.8 percent of the vote over Republican challenger Glen Urquhart.

“The pendulum swings,” said Dr. Anthony Armstrong, professor of Political Science. “I wasn’t

surprised by the outcome given the economic state. The media culture feeds on outrage and also Ameri-cans seem to prefer a divided government.”

Coons and O’Donnell both campaigned for the seat previously held by Vice President Joe Biden.

Some students were not happy about the results. “I just don’t like [Coons] as a person,” said

freshman Britney Paoli. “I feel like he doesn’t care about people.”

Both delivered speeches at Wesley College two weeks before the election.

Both candidates agreed that a change needed to be made, but in different ways.

“I intend to help pass a bill that would keep cer-tain tax cuts from expiring in January,” Coons said at Wesley on Oct. 26.

O’Donnell gained supporters in southern Dela-ware by saying that she will get rid of the “death tax” – the federal tax on an estate after its owner’s death – while Coons used his experience as New Castle County Executive to shape his arguments.

Coons addressed public transportation at Wes-ley. He said that he supports extending the Amtrak service in Delaware, and plans to use it to commute to Washington.

“I want to expand the light rail to places like Middletown and Dover,” Coons said.

O’Donnell said it was a state issue. “We can only hope and pray [Coons] chooses

to go against his party leadership and choose to do what’s right for the people of Delaware,” O’Donnell said in her concession speech.

“I just got off the phone with my opponent, and I reminded him that he is now in a position to help the people in Delaware who are suffering.”

O’Donnell won 57 percent of Sussex County and 51 percent of Kent County.

Coons won 66 percent of New Castle County, with more than 123,000 votes.

Paoli’s mother, Rebecca Walker (D), won State Representative for Delaware’s ninth district.

She won by 51.3 percent over her opponent, John Marino. “I was excited she gets her own little office and parking spot with

her name on it,” Paoli said. In Pennsylvania, Republican Pat Toomey defeated Democrat Joe

Sestak for the Senate seat. In California, Proposition 19, which would have legalized mari-

juana for adults over the age of 21 to legally possess and grow, was defeated.

Fifty-two percent of voters opposed it. “I guess it wasn’t the right time,” said sophomore Elizabeth Wal-

lace. “At some point, one state will legalize it, and then it will take off from there.”

The Student Government Association approved $55,000 to update the Malmberg gym.

They plan to purchase three new treadmills and three bikes as well as refurbish the free-weight room.

New equipment includes five free weight bench-es, two two-tier dumbbell racks, a seated curl and a dual adjustment pulley.

“We are currently in talks with several dealers in the fitness business,” said Bryan Zarou, vice presi-dent of the SGA. “We are looking for the best deal.”

One dealer, Life Fitness, said the company could do it for $50,659.99.

This includes the $3,349 installation and $5,291 freight fees.

Security, mats and pads were not included in this price.

Wesley received a package discount of more than $17,800 from the company.

Zarou hopes that the changes will begin taking place next semester.

Playing ping-pong comes at a price in the Underground. Students can buy their own ping-pong balls for 25 cents each out

of the new ping-pong ball machine. Students can still get them for free from the Underground staff, but

they have to return them after use. - Melissa Boyd

Ping-pong ball machine added to Underground

By Kasey LynnThe Whetstone

By Kim Manahan & Ashley PeardThe Whetstone

Coons elected to U.S. Senate

$55,000 approved for gym upgrade

The Whetstone/ Songphon KannasutThe Whetstone/ Songphon Kannasut

The Malmberg weight room.

The Whetstone/ Cochise LucasCoons

If you’re going to complain, do something about it

Sexually transmitted diseases are increasing in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention.

Each year, there are about 15 million new cases. In 2008, Delaware had 3,868 reported cases of chla-

mydia and 1,045 reported cases of gonorrhea.Over the past decade, Chlamydia cases have doubled

in the United States. “If a person is having sex, they need to be tested,” said

Jill Maser, Wesley’s school nurse. “Many STDs have little or no symptoms.”

Getting checked is important. “I think it’s wise for anyone to get checked for STDs,”

says sophomore Matt Tappan. “You should know if you have it, because some are treatable.”

Untreated STDs can cause things like cervical cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility and tubal preg-nancy.

“You should get tested because you have to live with it the rest of your life,” said senior Danielle Richey. “If you have AIDs and you don’t know it, you can go to jail for endangering people if you don’t tell them.”

HPV, chlamydia and gonorrhea are some of the most common on college campuses.

If a student is sexually active he or she should get test-ed once a year for chlamydia and other STDs.

Latex condoms can reduce the risk of some STDs when used consistently and correctly.

They are available for free in the health center in Car-

penter Hall. There are also con-

dom machines in the laundry rooms of the dorms.“If a student suspects they have an STD they should

see a healthcare provider immediately,” Maser said. “They can be evaluated at the Health Center on campus.”

3WWW.WHETSTONE.WESLEY.EDUNovember 2010

Five students were kicked out of the residence halls this semester because of unpaid balances.

In late October, 22 students faced eviction, said Eric Nelson, vice president of finance.

“There were very few people that had to be removed from the residence halls,” he said.

Wesley began removing students with outstanding bal-ances from the residence halls last spring, Nelson said.

“It’s a sense of fairness,” he said. Students are given a window of time to pay their bill

because financial aid and loans can be delayed, Nelson said. “After 60 days, we can no longer pay for students to stay here, and eat for free.”

They are allowed to stay in their classes though. When bills are left unpaid, it is calculated into tuition

increases, because it causes the college outstanding debt,

Nelson said. “It’s a good incentive,” he said. “Or people will think

they can continue not to pay their bills.” Last month, more than 100 students had their meal

cards shut off for the first two meals of the day. “It was something to get them to financial aid to work

it out,” Nelson said. “Students who ignored messages had their meal cards turned off.”

Unpaid balances range from $2,000 to $18,000, aver-aging about $8,000 per student.

“The students remain in classes,” Nelson said. “We let them get their grades for the semester.”

To get a transcript to transfer, students have to pay off their balance.

They also can’t register for classes, Nelson said. “A couple of parents have said the kids are on their

own and it’s not their responsibility,” he said.

opinion

I wish more people had passion. It could be laziness, or it could be a generational

thing; but sometimes it seems like people my age don’t really care about a lot – aside from who their neighbor is sleeping with, or where they can find a fake ID.

We complain, but we don’t do anything about it. We critique, but we don’t make any effort to

make improvements. We say we want to do something with our lives,

but we put it off more and more each day. It’s not everyone, but it’s quite a few people.

And it’s the kind of thing that stands out when it happens.

Last year, for example, some of the guys from SIFE expressed interest in advertising for The Whet-stone, and were even offered commission for any advertisements they got.

It all seemed like it was going to work out – I mean, future businessmen practicing business…

But they ended up dropping off the face of the earth, and didn’t do anything for us.

Or even when people join our staff saying they want to do something related to the media with their lives.

They talk about how they want to be a reporter. And then they blow every deadline, skip assign-

ments and focus more on their social life. These are the people who will be competing

with those who have a passion when it comes to get-ting a job.

These people just want the money or the “easy way,” it seems. Or, sadly, they do it just for a citation on their resume.

I love alcohol, but I love journalism and politics more.

This isn’t just in the real world, it happens on a college campus.

We complain about something, but don’t do anything about it.

Whether it’s the cafeteria food, a certain teach-er’s policy or the rules for drinking on campus.

We say that we don’t like how something is, but just sit back and hope that it’ll fix itself.

That’s not how the world works. The cafeteria food isn’t going to get better over-

night; a professor isn’t going to wake up one morn-ing and decide they don’t care about absences; and security isn’t going to take the sticks out of their butts for no reason.

Do something. You know? Get off of the couch and say something. Get involved; either on campus or in the com-

munity. Maybe even nationally. Vote. At least try to make a difference. Or keep your mouth shut.

During grade school I was teased constantly.

I would sit down in a group of kids and they would get up and move to a different table.

Some would call me retarded. Once I was even pushed down

the stairs. All of this because I have a

mild physical disability, cerebral palsy, that you may barely notice.

I learned to sit alone. I learned to stick up for my-

self and avoid bullies as much as possible.

In high school, things got a little bit better.

I met my boyfriend, whom I am still with, whom I love, and his friends became my friends.

Despite this, I remained intro-verted.

When I got accepted to Wes-ley, I thought it would be like el-ementary and middle school all over again. I was scared that I couldn’t do it on my own or make any friends.

So I went back to my old

routine of sitting by myself and minding my own business.

Yet when I started classes, I was proven wrong.

My classmates came to me wanting help with their work, and my roommate brought people she met up to our room.

The girls on my floor in Gooding didn’t even question me about my cerebral palsy.

I became comfortable talking to people.

Being a staff writer for The Whetstone has also helped me immensely.

It not only helps me pursue my passion, but also has helped me get to know people around campus.

By being here, I have gained self-confidence, self-esteem and good friends.

I may not be the social but-terfly on campus, but I’m not that timid girl anymore, either.

So I have only one thing left to say: Thanks Wesley, I owe you one

Sexually active students encouraged to wrap it upBy Ashley PeardThe Whetstone

By Kim ManahanThe Whetstone

Five students evicted from dorms for unpaid balances

By Kim Manahan By Collette O’Neal

The Whetstone/ Cochise Lucas

Wesley helps student break out of shell

The Whetstone/ Cochise Lucas

STAFFEditorsDoryann L. Barnhardt Victoria N. Hodgson-Faught

Faculty Advisor Susan R. Bobby

PhotographyMyles Miller

Staff Collette O’Neal Alicia Seewald Evita Wade

4 WWW.WHETSTONE.WESLEY.EDU November 2010

Mission Statement: The Whetstone is Wesley College’s student-run newspaper. It prom-ises to deliver news and events in the Wesley community accurately, fairly and ethically. The Whetstone, as an independent organization, does not answer to the administration, and promises to keep the best interests of the students in mind.

The Schwartz Center was nearly filled for Dr. James Wilson’s and Britania Redington’s Nov. 2 opera recital.

“We had to practice every day with all the things I wanted to learn,” Redington said. “Then it’s time to put together a program.”

The couple, along with their pianist, only had one chance to practice for the show.

The performances were sung in German, Italian, French and English. The audience was provided with a program with the songs’ translations.

Dr. Angela D’Antonio, professor of psychology, followed along with the pieces sung in Italian.

“It almost moved me to tears,” she said. “I focused on her words and the tone of her voice.”

Many of the songs Redington sang were about love. “It’s passionate,” she said. “It’s about love.” Wilson and Redington performed solos, switching the stage pe-

riodically. Many wished that they would have performed a duet, but there

wasn’t enough time for the couple to practice. “I’d like to see them sing together,” said Leroy Jones, who at-

tended the performance. “They are two great people.” A reception followed the performance. Wine, soda and snacks

were served. This was the college’s first opera recital. “It’s what education is about,” said Dr. William Johnston, presi-

dent of the college. “Different things, and learning new cultures.”

only get unread emails back.” The mistake made its way to several news outlets,

including the Wilmington News Journal, USA Today, and Inside Higher Education, all of whom emphasized a line Olsen wrote about a failing student: “…the hole she has dug is deeper than the mine shaft in Chile.”

No one knows who e-mailed the message to the News Journal.

“It’s a negative reflection, but I think we need to use it as a learning experience,” Nelson said.

The Department of Education has not cited Wes-ley, he said. Wesley self-reported the incident to the department.

Actions to prevent this from happening again have already taken affect.

“Before a campus wide e-mail is sent, it has to be approved by two different people,” Nelson said.

Ozechoski apologized to the campus community for her mistakes.

“I have done everything possible to prevent any further incidents,” she said.

Mass e-mails from student life have been sent out

from the address noresponse@wesley.edu. President Johnston sent an apology to the named

students. “Wesley tried sending me a letter saying they

were sorry,” Springer said. “Someone from upstairs in the college center set up a meeting too.”

He did not attend, though. “I have other things that are more important than

someone sitting behind a desk telling me something I have heard before,” Springer said.

An e-mail apology was also sent out. “The college had sent a letter to me stating that

they were sorry about what happened,” Britt said. “They didn’t state how it happened or why.”

For Britt, it is a very important issue. “We are considering taking [legal] action,” she

said. According to FERPA rules, no legal action can

be taken, although a school may be cited by the DOE. If enough citations are accumulated, the school could lose its federal funding.

Students will have a chance to change dorms and roommates at the end of the semester.

“There are many reasons students decide they’re interested in a room change,”

said Kevin Hansbury, director of residence life. Each year, there are between 85 and 100 room

changes, he said. Some of these reasons include wanting to live

in a different residence hall, or finding someone on campus who they click with after a semester.

Or they just don’t get along with their room-mates.

“I feel like it’s really hard because people get so used to living by themselves,” sophomore Tori Hall said.

It is not uncommon to have to mediate room-mate problems, Hansbury said. When students live so close together, problems are bound to arise.

Residence life stresses the importance of the agreements roommates sign.

“It is important for roommates to communi-cate,” Hansbury said. Communication is the best

way to solve problems. Roommate agreements force students to talk out

their issues, and allow the residence life staff to me-diate the process.

“I believe it does help resolve conflict,” Hans-bury said.

Hall has already changed her room several times.

“[I have had to change rooms] a couple times.” Hall said. “I miss having a

roommate now because I am all by myself but it’s okay.”

Either living alone or with someone else has its drawbacks, Hall said.

“I like being by myself whenever I want,” she said. “But sometimes I don’t want to be by myself, and when everyone else is busy, I don’t have my roommate to turn to.”

Residence Life wants students to feel comfort-able in their living situations.

“The bottom line is we want students comfort-able in a living situation which is why my staff is here,” Hansbury said. “We want them [students] to feel at home.”

The grade point average requirement for resident as-sistants will be increasing from 2.3 to 2.5 next year.

“Students so often reach out to their RA’s for academ-ic help,” said Tanner Polce, a resident assistant in Malm-berg Hall. “Having higher requirements means for a well-rounded student.”

This year, to be an RA, applicants must be a full-time student and have at least a 2.3 GPA.

“RA’s have gotten increasingly better academically,” said Kevin Hansbury, director of residence life. “It’s a way to raise the bar.”

Currently, the cumulative GPA for RA’s is more than a 3.00, he said.

“An increased GPA will not fire any of the current RA’s,” Hansbury said. “Nor does it put them in any sort of academic probation because all of the RA’s have secured their GPA requirement.”

Information sessions for next year’s resident assis-tants start at the end of this semester, to inform them “more about the position, and give all the information needed to know,” Hansbury said.

Current RAs may also attend the information sessions to help interested students answer questions.

“Being an RA is a challenge,” Polce said. “Espe-

cially for individuals who have a full schedule. Also, the problems and students you must work with are challenges sometimes.”

RA’s are seen as leaders on campus. “We are leaders of the college and that is one of the

ways of how we can lead by example,” said Keeyana Tal-ley, a resident assistant in Roe Hall.

There are 31 RAs, and residence life is not sure if any new ones will be hired for the spring semester.

“It will remain about the same number for next fall, current and new members alike, depending on what our needs are,” Hansbury said.

By Melissa BoydThe Whetstone

By Ashley PeardThe Whetstone

By Chloe DawsonThe Whetstone

Continued from E-MAIL on p1Arts & Entertainment

The Whetstone/ Cochise LucasDr. James Wilson at the Nov. 2 performance

Wesley’s first taste of opera

RA’s to be held to higher academic standards

Wolverine ice hockey won its sixth game 5-4 against American University.

Joe Flemming scored the first goal, assisted by Greg Taylor, with about three and a half minutes re-maining in the first period.

The second goal came from Jacob Mitchell, as-sisted by Taylor and Earl Johnson.

Matt Sutherland scored points three and four, with assists by team captain Keven Lion and assis-tant captain Danny Triesler.

Ryan Hebert scored the Wolverines’ last point

during the final five minutes of the game, pulling them ahead of the Eagles for the win.

Lion proved his leadership by helping score the last three goals of the game.

Forward Greg Taylor, who, along with a pair of assists, took a few penalties, contributed to the team with his overwhelming speed. Sutherland powered the defense.

The Eagles showed their toughness by pouncing on Wesley every chance they got; but this did not faze the Wolverines.

Several penalties were called against American University for roughness.

By Megan BradleyThe Whetstone

sporTs

The Whetstone/ Megan Bradley

Club Hockey beats American

Room changes not uncommon