Phi Beta Delta Debate: Civil Liberties, National Security Policy, and Targeted Killing in the War on Terror: Change vs. Continuity from Bush to Obama

On April 6, , the Phi Beta Delta International Forum, with support from the ONU Student Senate, presented a debate between ONU Associate Professor of Law Michael W. Lewis and Ben Wizner, the Litigation Director of the ACLU's National Security Project. The subject of the debate was: "Civil Liberties, National Security Policy, and Targeted Killing in the War on Terror: Change versus Continuity from Bush to Obama."

Prof. Lewis served in the US Navy from 1987-95. He flew F-14's in Operation Desert Shield, conducted strike planning for Desert Storm and was deployed to the Persian Gulf to enforce the no-fly zone over Iraq. He teaches International Law and a Law of War Seminar and has just published a volume with the Oxford University Press entitled The War on Terror and the Laws of War: A Military Perspective.

As the Litigation Director of the ACLU's National Security Project, Ben Wizner has litigated numerous cases involving post-9/11 civil liberties violations, including lawsuits on behalf of torture victims, lawsuits challenging unlawful airport security policies, and a suit challenging the government's authority to use lethal force against U.S. citizens without due process. He has written widely on issues relating to detention, military commissions, and accountability for torture.

The debate was a model of civility, which demonstrated to the audience of students and faculty that contentious issues can be amicably contended. Both debaters did agree that there had been little change in the national security policies of the Bush and Obama administrations, though they disagreed on the cause for that similarity. Lewis argued that President Obama, once exposed to the realities of his new office, came to see the Bush policies as appropriate. Wizner, on the other hand, saw the Obama Administration as being trapped by the policies of his predecessors, and unable to make rapid change.

Professor Crawford Presents to Allen County Lifelong Learning Institute

Dr. Crawford visited the campus of OSU-Lima to give a presentation on the interaction between China and the West to the Allen Country Lifelong Learning Institute. The LLI is a program that provides educational programming for retirees, and Crawford told them of the fateful choices the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans made to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. This isolation cut those cultures off from technological advances and resulted in their subjugation by the West following the Industrial Revolution.

Carol Wilson Has First Publication of Her Research

Carol Wilson, a senior majoring in History and Creative Writing, recently received fantastic news. The research project on the lead-up to the Civil War that she produced during her Gilder-Lehrman fellowship last summer has been selected for publication in a volume entitled the Secession Crisis of 1860-1861: Documenting the march Toward Disunion published by the GL Institute.

For an undergraduate to have their scholarly work published is a rare honor, and a testament to the fine record of accomplishment that Carol has put together here.

We expect even greater things of her in the future - Well done Carol!

HPJ and Multicultural Affairs Hold Sympoisum on the Division III Student Athlete Experience

Ohio Northern University presented “Paying the Price To Play: a symposium on the Division III Student Athlete Experience,” in the James F. Dicke College of Business Administration Forum on Thursday, on April 14.

The event was sponsored by the ONU History, Politics and Justice Department and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, featured two panels. One panel consisted of Division III administrators and coaches and the second panel featured current and former athletes.

Russ Crawford, assistant professor of History at ONU and organizer of the event, along with Clyde Pickett, said, “The headlines are dominated by the Big-Time athletic programs, but there is more to the story of American university athletics. Division III athletes play mostly for the love of the game, and face many issues that their big-time counterparts do not. We feel this symposium was a great opportunity to explore the current and future concerns of Division III student athletes and how their experience is different from their Division I and II athletic counterparts. With the two panels, I think we got a great insight into all aspects of Division III sports from the administrators to the athletes.”

Clyde Picket, director of the Multicultural Office at ONU, served as moderator.

The administration and coach’s panel tackled the issues of laboring in anonymity, applying the NCAA rules and opportunities, as well as looking at possible changes that might be needed and the future issues that face the Division III athlete. They also discussed the imbalance in resources among Division III schools and the high standards expected from their athletes.

Members of the administration and coach’s panel consisted of Paul Govekar, ONU associate professor of management and faculty athletic representative to the Ohio Athletic Conference, Anthony Gholson, head basketball coach at Heidelberg, Fred Barends, head track coach at Capital University, John Rhodes, head basketball coach for ONU and Tom Simmons, athletic director at ONU.

The athletic panel, consisted of present and past student athletes will give their first-person insight into competing at the Division III level and the issues they face such as the balance between sports and school, the positives and negatives of participating in athletics and the personal sacrifices made by Division III athletes.

Making up the athletic panel were Pat Dochentz, senior football player at ONU, Jayce Born, freshman volleyball player at ONU, Kara Dysert, junior basketball player and ONU alumni, Ezra Bradshaw, a former standout ONU basketball player, Gabriel Washington, a former football player for ONU, and Derrick Flynn, a senior basketball player from Heidelberg University.

The Symposium gained notice from the NCAA Division III National Office. Gary Brown, from that office, attended the event and wrote a story for their website that included some video interviews of the participants. The article can be accessed here.

Celebrated Scholar and Film Consultant Delivers Talk at ONU

Renowned scholar, Dr. Jack Shaheen on addressed stereotypical images of Arabs and Muslims in Hollywood films. His presentation drew from his seminal book Reel Bad Arabs and the documentary of the same name. Dr. Shaheen’s analysis was both timely and relevant given recent events taking place across the world.

Dr. Shaheen is the world's foremost authority on images of Arabs and Muslims in American popular culture. He is the author of several award winning books including Reel Bad Arabs and most recently, GUILTY: Hollywood's Verdict on Arabs after 9/11. Shaheen regularly serves as a consultant with TV and motion picture companies such as DreamWorks, Showtime, Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Bros. In recent years, he has consulted on the films Three Kings and Syriana. During his talk, he told the audience of the genesis of his work, and the attention, both good and bad, that it had brought him.

During the day, Dr. Shaheen also talked to Dr. Alexander's War and Film class.

The event was sponsored by Pi Sigma Alpha, C.A.S.E. and the ONU Prison Management Certificate program. April 11^th also marked ONU’s annual Multi-cultural Fair. Dr. Shaheen’s presentation was an excellent way to conclude those activities.

Dr. Robert Alexander, who introduced the author, had read Shaheen's work and was the motivating force behind bringing the scholar to campus.

Well done Dr. Alexander for providing ONU students, faculty, staff, and administration with a super event sure to provoke thought and discussion!

Professor Nsia-Pepra Speaks With Students at the Lorain Arts Academy

Dr. Nsia-Pepra took a trip to Lorain, OH last week to tell students from the Arts Academy in that town about the programs that Ohio Northern University and the Department of History, Politics, and Justice can offer them. Nsia-Pepra took along a variety of promotional materials, including Tales from the Hill 2010, which discusses all of the great things that we do in our department. He also took posters for the Social Studies Colloquium, which seeks to help practicing Social Studies teachers earn Continuing Education Units.

If students from the Arts Academy, or any other school are reading this, we hope to see you at ONU next year! If you would like a copy of Tales from the Hill 2010, send me an email at r-crawford.2@onu.edu

Professor Loughlin Presents Paper at Ohio Academty of History

Professor of History Michael Loughlin presented a paper on Saturday April 9, 2011 at the Ohio Academy of History’s annual spring conference. The title of Loughlin’s paper was: : “Antimilitarism in France before World War I: Gustave Hervé and the Affiche Rouge of 1905.”

Dr. Robert Waters also served as a moderator for a panel at the OAH Conference.

Andy Zaebst Presents at Clement Stacy Undergraduate Research Conference

Andy Zaebst, a Senior majoring in Social Studies and History presented his paper "Disloyalty to the Confederacy in Southwestern Virginia" to an audience at the 19th annual Clement S. Stacy Undergraduate Research Conference hosted by the Purdue University Calumet. Zaebst paper was a shortened version of his Senior Research paper.

His presentation at Purdue-Calumet was his third as an undergraduate, a truly impressive record for an undergraduate student. Previous to this, Zaebst presented at the Ohio Council for the Social Studies Annual Meeting in 2010 and at the Michigan Regional Phi Alpha Theta conference the week before this presentation.

Zaebst is currently student teaching and will be looking for a teaching position next fall, if anyone is looking for a fine addition to their staff.

Well done Andy and best of luck in your job search!

Megan Piersol Earns Top Paper Honor

After her presentation at the regional Phi Alpha Theta Conference, Megan Piersol (pictured here with Dr. Lomax and Dr. Waters - in Brendon Kinder's Russian hat) won the top paper award in the Medieval History category with her paper, "The King's Great Matter: Conflicting Viewpoints on the Divorce of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon"

Well done Megan!

HPJ Students Present Research

On Saturday March 26th Andrew Zaebst, Brendan Kinder, Megan Piersol, and Caitlin Kegley traveled to Oakland College to present at the regional Phi Alpha Theta Conference. Phi Alpha Theta is a national honorary that recognizes students who are history majors or history enthusiasts. The students presented with topics ranging from the Kent State Massacre to Henry the 8th. Papers were scored by a panel of judges and winners received a book voucher from Phi Alpha Theta nationals. Megan Piersol won the award in the Medieval History category with her paper, "The King's Great Matter: Conflicting Viewpoints on the Divorce of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon." The students were accompanied by Dr. John Philip Lomax and Dr. Robert Waters, both of whom served as judges. The students ended the day with a trip to Sonic where a good time was had by all!

Alumni Triumphant: Justin Dickerson Directs Graduate Student Conference

Justin Dickerson, who graduated with a BA in History in 2008, successfully ran his first Graduate Student Research Conference for Loyola University's History Graduate Student Association. Dickerson had to deal with the myriad disasters that typically threaten any conference and did so successfully. This was his first year at the helm of the organization, and it proved to be a tour de force. Membership in the grad student organization is up, and the conference ran as smoothly as possible.

Dickerson plans to take a break from history next year and will teach English in Korea.

Best of luck Justin!

ONU Phi Beta Delta Wins National Award

In addition to being chosen as the top regional chapter in the Midwest, the ONU Phi Beta Delta chapter was also chosen as the top PBD chapter in the United States, and since the organization is international, with chapters in four nations, presumably it is number one in the world! Dr. Loughlin was presently surprised to learn of this honor when he attended the Annual Meeting of the organization last week in Long Beach, CA.

The ONU chapter richly deserves the honor. In the past few years the organization has hosted many interesting sessions that have included students speaking of their study-abroad opportunities, talks on environmental issues, hosted significant international scholars, and held lively debates on international issues.

The next Phi Beta Delta session will be a debate on the legality of the Predator Drone Program that will be held at 7:00PM Wednesday April 6 in the Moot Trial Courtroom of the Petit Law College.

Congratulations ONU PBD!

Honoraries to Host Panel Discussion on Heroin in Hardin County

Ohio Northern University will host a panel discussion on the effects and use of heroin on local and international scales on Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m. in the Forum of Dicke Hall.

Free and open to the public, the discussion is titled “Heroin – Is It Really a Problem in Hardin County?” ONU honorary chapters Gamma Theta Upsilon (Geography), Alpha Pi Sigma (Latina Students), Alpha Kappa Delta (Sociology), and Phi Beta Delta (International Scholars) are sponsoring the event.

The panel will consist of Hardin County Sheriff Keith Everhart and Ada police Chief Mike Harnishfeger, who will discuss the problem of heroin on a global scale, its use in Hardin County, and local efforts to combat this problem.

Everhart and Harnishfeger are members of the Hardin County Crime Task Force, a multi-agency entity that has had success in identifying and arresting local heroin distributors.

David Smith, ONU associate professor of geography, will introduce the panelists and provide an overview on the topic. A question-and-answer session with the panel will follow the discussion.

Professor Crawford Presents at OCTEO Conference in Columbus

Along with several colleagues from the Education Department, Dr. Crawford presented information about the Social Studies Colloquium to the Ohio Confederation for Teacher Education Organizations. Crawford told the audience about the colloquium, which seeks to provide local teachers with help earning Continuing Education Units. The colloquium has had ten sessions so far, on Wednesday nights, and has provided talks on such varied topics as the Electoral College and Myth in History.

Crawford was joined on the panel by Jim Geistman, who put together the panel, Ron Kieffer, Diana Garlough, and Deb Ghallagher, all from the Education Department.

Criminal Justice Class Tours Juvenile Detention Facility

On Tuesday, March 29, 2011, the Juvenile Justice class visited the Allen County Juvenile Court Treatment & Detention Center. Students were taken on a tour of the entire facility, courtesy of Officer Pedersen and the treatment center directors, Mr. Berlin Carroll. Staff explained the steps involved in the intake procedure, guided students through the detention area and explained the process of maintaining security, and discussed the schooling and rehabilitation of juveniles.

Students were shown a display of weapons that officers had taken from juveniles entering the institution, and one student, Eli Lange, was put in “The Chair,” a security device used to restrain inmates who pose a danger to themselves or others.

Members of the class are Nicole Bratton, Victoria clack, LeAnn Clark, Eli Lange, Patrick O’Connor, Kyle Rex, Dave Roudybush, Jason Scott, and Arthur Wade. The course is taught by James Geistman.