Japan Campers Present their Final Projects

The Japan Camp students were tasked with creating posters illustrating some feature of Japanese culture that has traveled across the Pacific to influence American Culture. The posters were then printed using the new machine that Professor Jimmy Wilson, in cooperation with Professor Ferguson of the Marketing Department, bought using an ONU Technology grant.

Presentations included: Zerlina Bartholomew - Haiku, Kristen Ellis - Japanese Gardens, Karen Fullin - Sushi and California Rolls, Kenzo Barlow - Ninjas, Sarah Middleton - Japanese Popular Music, Emily Hughes - Visual Kei, Zephram Wolf - Samurai Weapons, Emma Altmeyer - Baseball, Kate Schudel - Origami, James Miller - Japanese Cars, Kelsey Morgan - Japanese Fashion, and Jenny Wallisch - Anime.

The posters and the presentations were excellent and the students should be justifiably proud of the hard work that they put in to create these. To watch the presentations, click here. You can enlarge the video window by clicking on the icon beneath the picture. Thumbnail photos of the slides can be found below in the order that they appear on the streaming video.

This concluded the Japanese History part of the camp, and student's presentations for their language class are also available in streaming video here. The camp concluded with a banquet, which can be watched here (not great video and audio). On Saturday, the campers, after a few tears and many hugs, left for home.

It was a great time for all camp personnel and we enjoyed having such a great bunch of students here!

U.S. - Japan Camp Underway

Twelve high school students drawn from coast to coast have been studying the Japanese language and culture at ONU for the past week. Gathered for a photo with the statue of ONU founder Henry Solomon Lehr are (seated on the groud L-R) Satomi Wise - Japanese Language Instructor, Emily Hughes (Warren, OH), James Miller (Cleveland, OH), Karen Fullin (Westerville, OH), Jenny Wallisch (Pittsburgh, PA), and Zephram Wolf (Passadena, CA). Seated on the bottom of the statue base (L-R)are Program Aide Eriko Shirasu, Kate Schudel (Lorraine, OH), Zerlina Bartholomew (Frankfort, KY), and Emma Altmeyer (Pittsburgh, PA). Standing and seated in the third row (L-R) Kelsey Morgan (Avon, OH), Kristen Ellis (Westerville, OH), Kelly Morman - Program Assistant, and Professor Rob Alexander - Camp Director. Standing to the left of the statue (L-R) Professor Russ Crawford - Japanese history instructor, Matt Wiseman - Program Assistant, and Sarah Middelton ( Westerville, OH). Standing on the right side of the statue (L-R) Kenzo Barlow (Fairfax, VA), and Veronica Fetsko - Program Assistant.

In addition to their coursework, students have participated in a number of activities that have worked to bring them closer to Japanese culture. These include: origami night, sushi and rice ball making, mochi night, chopsticks etiquette, calligraphy, and karaoke. Students also spent time at a Japanese art exhibit, an Asian Market, and an Asian restaurant. An added benefit of the camp has been the students’ interaction with Japanese students from the Sakae program. They have participated in several activities with the American students including a great game of badminton at Dr. Alexanders as well as several rounds of “ghost in the graveyard!” The camp has received funding through a grant from Honda of Marysville which has worked to make the camp more affordable to students with an interest in Japanese language and culture.

Rennovation Continues on Hill Memorial

Professor Wilson, temporarily out of an office, has created a small island of order in a sea of chaos on the second floor of Hill Memorial Building.

Work on the building is being done to add office space to the second floor. These offices are necessary to house all of the HPJ Departmental faculty, as well as the English as a Second Language faculty that will be working with programs such as Bridging for International Students, the Sakae Program, and the Saudi Prison Management Program. Renovations on first floor will replace Hill 209, the classroom on second floor, with Hill 102, where the classes scheduled for 209 will be held.

Decker Testifies Before House of Representatives Subcommittee

Russ Decker, who teaches Environmental Law for the HPJ Department testified before the U.S. House of Representative's Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management on Monday July 27.

Decker, who is Director of the Allen County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, and the National President for the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), the nation's largest emergency management professional association. Decker will be testifying on the topic "Post Katrina: What it Takes to Cut the Bureaucracy and Assure a More Rapid Response After a Catastrophic Disaster."


Decker's testimony can be viewed at http://transportation.house.gov/ a plug in may be necessary to view this, or you can search for the video at CSPAN3.

Professor Geistman to Teach Criminal Justice in the Fall

Jim Geistman, who was hired last spring to teach Criminal Justice for the HPJ Department starting this fall, recently received his PhD from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Geistman received his BA in Criminal Justice and English from Saginaw Valley State University, and has an MA in Teaching English in the Community College from Central Michigan University, and an MS in Criminal Justice from Wayne State University in Detroit.

His research focuses on the crime of stalking. His Master's Thesis explored Police Responses to Stalking and his Dissertation is entitled Attitudes of Criminal Justice and Other Majors toward the Crime of Stalking.

Professor Geistman will be teaching Introduction to Criminal Justice in the fall, and will be available to direct Senior Research Papers.

Professor Crawford Publishes Online Article

On July 27, Crawford's article "Bowling, Basketball, BCS, Baseball, and Birdies: Obama’s Use of Sport to Connect" was published on the History News Network. Crawford argued that President Obama has expanded the presidential use of sport, interjecting games into nomination speeches, appearing on commercials for sporting events, and inserting the office of the presidency into debates over controversial issues in the sporting world. For instance:

• When the president nominated Sonya Sotomayor, he prominently mentioned her role in ending the 1994 Baseball Strike, establishing her bona fides as a true blue American.
  
• As a candidate, Obama recorded an opening commercial for Monday Night Football, and joined announcers in the booth for the MLB All Star Game, using a game analysis of the Bears' chances to further his chances for the presidency.
• He inserted the office of the president into the debate over the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), calling for its end and encouraging a playoff system for Division I Football.

Crawford argues that this represents an expansion of the presidents role in the use of sports. While presidents since Theodore Roosevelt have participated in sport as players or participants and have used their "bully pulpit" to encourage sporting behavior, the current president, so far in his administration has increased his visibility in the sporting world and in his use of sport to connect to the American people.

Professor Crawford Publishes Online

Professor Smith leads group to Korea

Eight undergraduate students from ONU have been selected for Hanyang University Summer Program Fellowships for 2009.These students are spending four weeks in summer studies at Hanyang University in South Korea, followed by a one-week trip to China. Two students from each of the University’s four undergraduate colleges have receiving fellowships for 2009. Selected from the College of Business Administration were Travis Edington, a sophomore in accounting from Thompson’s Station, Tenn., and Chelsea Mack, a sophomore in international business and economics from South Euclid, Ohio. Selected from the College of Arts & Sciences were Rachel Spence, a senior in international studies from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, and Sheila Willamowski, a senior in political science from Lima, Ohio. Selected from the College of Engineering were Derek Schneider, a senior in computer science from Brunswick, Ohio, and Julia Tabaj, a senior in computer science from Twinsburg, Ohio. Selected from the College of Pharmacy were Terry Lee, a fourth-year pharmacy student from Aurora, Ohio, and Brian Phillips, a fourth-year pharmacy student from Pickerington, Ohio. This is the third year of the exchange agreement between Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, and Ohio Northern. The fellowships include four weeks of summer study at Hanyang University, tuition, housing, excursion costs and an additional one-week trip to China, which includes stays in Xi’an and Beijing. Students also receive a stipend to apply toward the cost of airfareand participate in a number of orientation sessions at ONU to prepare for their travels. As part of the exchange, four students from Hanyang University are expected to attend ONU for the 2009-10 academic year. In addition, ONU’s Dr. David Smith, associate professor of geography, will teach a Model United Nations course at Hanyang University. Deanna Shine is the program coordinator for the Hanyang University Summer Program and exchange.

Follow blogs by Smith and the ONU students at http://davidsmith844.blogspot.com and http://www-new.onu.edu/blogs/travel