Mock Trial Places Fifth in Twenty Four Team Field

The Mock Trial A Team competed at the Lewis University Tournament in Joliet IL, finishing fifth of twenty four teams. Going into their final trial, the team was ranked number one on the prosecution side and narrowly lost, eight to five, to the top defense team from Loyola University. For the tournament, ONU won five and lost three, including a victory over DePaul University.

Team members performed well, with Steve Keslar earning an Outstanding Attorney award. Joining Keslar in contending for top awards were several of the other A Team members, including Dan Jones, Matt Wiseman, Robert Kidd, and Andrea Fiutern.

Kudos to the A Team for a great job against tough competition!

Call for Undergraduate Papers!

ONU sent Brian Hoefel and Ben Wollet to this conference last year and we hope to have a delegation again this year. It is a good conference for undergraduates, and good experience for them. Experiences such as this help students prepare for join the world of work (not warcraft), and they are useful to have on resume's when applying for graduate schools and for jobs. In the current work environment, anything that would separate you from other applicants is valuable!

Both Hoefel and Wollet were successful at finding a graduate school. Hoefel at the University of Akron, and Wollet at Ohio University.

To learn more about the conference, visit their website.

Wilson Presents in California

Professor Jimmy Wilson presented a paper at the Social Science History Association in Long Beach aboard the Queen Mary. The presentation summarized research on the morphogenesis of Spanish colonial Pensacola and West Florida, 1781-1821. Land deeds, census records, and archaeological remains suggest that Pensacola morphed from a small, sparsely populated, military outpost in 1781 to a demographically diverse and modern Spanish plaza by 1821. Rural West Florida settlement began close to town and Pensacola Bay with a few small industries and farms. By 1817, increased numbers of timber milling ventures and Anglo settlements began to appear in the uplands in what was until recently the frontier between Pensacola Bay and Alabama. Wilson (pictured here on the porch at Dr. Ellen Wilson's - no relation - house during the spaghetti dinner), also had accommodations on the storied Queen Mary.

Wilson and Cieplowski Present in Philadelphia

Dr. Jimmy Wilson and Kevin Cieplowski, BA 2009, along with Dr. Seugmeng Lee, took part in a roundtable discussion of their paper: "Spatial Analysis of Property Crimes on Foreclosure and Other Socio-Economic Variables: An Examination of Garfield Heights," to the American Society of Criminology in Philadelphia last week. The paper began as Cieplowski's research project for his GIS class last year, then Wilson and Lee added their input. Lee taught at ONU last year as a visiting professor and is now at Western Illinois University. Their session ran into technical snafu's and was lightly attended, but it was a good experience for Cieplowski, who is weighing career options and grad school options while working with the Saudi Prison Program.

Saudi Day at ONU

Faculty, staff and students had the opportunity to attend “Saudi Day at ONU” on November 4 to recognize the partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ohio Northern and celebrate the successful beginning of the ONU Prison Management Certificate (PMC) Program. The event, which featured multimedia presentations and information on Saudi Arabia, as well as delicious Saudi food, was sponsored by students of the PMC program, in conjunction with ONU students from Saudi Arabia.

In the evening, a formal ceremony and dinner was held to celebrate the partnership. Members of the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission and representatives of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of the Interior were on hand to share dinner and mutual congratulations with ONU officials for a successful beginning to the program.

Through the PMC Program, 30 Saudi prison-management professionals, each with bachelor’s degrees and additional professional training, are studying the English language and criminal justice in Ohio Northern’s department of history, politics and justice. Specifically, these professionals are studying corrections and prison management to learn about and experience “best practices” in the United States and prepare them to provide leadership when they return to Saudi Arabia. While at ONU, the students will complete formal coursework as well as practical experience, weekend seminars and many on-site visits. The two-year program will conclude with an internship with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections. “The Ohio Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections cooperation with the PMC program is integral to the program’s success,” said Dr. Ellen Wilson, “as well as the many opportunities our cooperation provides for our undergraduates and faculty.”

The informational displays and snacks were well attended by students faculty and staff. Congratulations to all those who made this day a valuable learning experience and a good time!

Iraq: Past Present and Future Presented to Phi Beta Delta

Umar A. Sulayman, the ESL (English as a second language) instructor for ONU’s prison management certificate program, spoke in the Dicke Forum on November 3. His talk sponsored by the Phi Beta Delta International Forum, Sulayman’s presentation was entitled “Baghdad and Iraq: Past, Present, and Future.” Sulayman discussed his personal experiences in Iraq before and during the American invasion and occupation. He also described the history of the Ba’ath Party, recent Iraqi history in terms of conflicts with Iran and American coalitions, and the Iraqi people’s reactions to these events.

Sulayman told the crowd that before the U.S. invasion, life under Sadaam Hussein had become intolerable, but that the successor government was rife with ethnic corruption as the formerly discriminated against Shiaa majority seeks payback. The problem seemingly is not among the people of Iraq, who interact and intermarry with frequency. He told the audience that he was unable to predict the future, but that stability will return only when the Iraqi government treats all its people equitably.

Sulayman holds a Bachelor of Arts in English language and literature and a Master of Arts in English and linguistics from the University of Baghdad. He also holds a Master of Arts in teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2006, Sulayman received a Fulbright Scholarship sponsored by the United States Department of State. In 2007, he was admitted to Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Ph.D. program in composition and TESOL.

Mock Trial in Action

On October 23rd and 24th, the Mock Trial teams competed a tournament at Eastern Kentucky University. The A Team finished 3-4-1, while the B Team went 0-8, but improved considerably over their first tournament. A bright spot was Steve Kesslar, who received an Outstanding Attorney Award.

On October 31st and November 1st, the teams were in Cleveland for the Case Western Reserve Tournament. The A Team slipped to 2-5-1, but the B Team scored its first trial win, finishing 1-7, and continued to improve their scores in all trials.

This weekend, the teams travel to Oakbrook, IL, for the Lewis University Tournament. Go Bears! (picture taken at previous conference)

Crawford Attends Conference on Sport and Society

Professor Crawford (pictured here with University of Nebraska- Lincoln Professor Ben Rader, his dissertation adviser) attended the Carroll Pauley Symposium at the UNL (go Huskers!) on October 22 and 23. The title of the symposium was "The Great Common Denominator:" Sports in History, History in Sports, and featured presentations by several prominent Historians of Sport.

The Conference opened with an address "Its Not a Real Job: The Rewards and Challenges of being a Sports Reporter" by ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap, who spoke of the positive benefits of sport. He was followed the next morning by Michael Oriard, a former Notre Dame and NFL player and the author of several books on football history, including King Football, who discussed the roll of sports reporters on the rise of college football. His talk was followed by Amy Bass, who spoke about the legacy of Jesse Owens, Susan Brownell who talked about the meaning of the recent Olympic Games to China, and Susan Cahn who spoke about sports and feminism. The conference wrapped up Friday night with Ben Rader's closing keynote address on what he termed "A Recent Revolution in American Sports."

In addition to the conference, there was a dinner and open house honoring Professor Benjamin Rader for his decades of service at UNL, which included exemplary teaching and several books on Sport and Cultural History. Crawford, who was one of Rader's advisees, was asked to give a brief talk about his experiences studying with Rader.

Crawford is pictured at left with Professor Park's Coble of UNL, who taught Crawford his East Asian history. Crawford, Coble, and Crawford's wife Sophie also attended a presentation of Mandala sand painting at the Lentz Center for Asian Culture in Lincoln.