Phi Beta Delta: Dr. Smith Speaks of Security and Terrorism in the Caucasus Region

Dr. David Smith spoke for the PBD International Forum last night, telling the overflow audience about his experiences traveling in the Caucasus Mountains in December of last year. Smith was in the Russia for the conference on security issues in the region and took a trip to North Ossetia. The conflict over the South Ossetia region of Georgia broke into hostilities in 2008 when Russia invaded the region.

Dr. Smith began by discussing the Geography of the region and gave a historical lesson on how Joseph Stalin, the then Minister of Nationalities under VI Lenin, was responsible for drawing the boundaries of temporary "democratic" republics under the Soviet Union. With the fall of the USSR, these regions became republics on their own and violence has often resulted.

While in South Ossetia, Smith visited Beslan, where nearly 400 school children and their parents were killed by terrorists in 2004. Despite the Russian government's contention that the terrorists were Chechens, Smith told the audience that many residents of the area believe that the terrorists were Ingushetians who were displaced by Stalin for collaborating with the Nazis in WWII. When Mikhail Gorbachev allowed the Ingushetians to return, they found their property owned by South Ossetians, and this, many locals feel, was the reason for the attack.

ONU Hosted Mock Trial Invitational Tournament

The ONU Mock Trial Program finished another year. While not as successful as in other years, there were still numerous bright spots in the 2011-1012 Season. The best finish for the team was 4^th place at the Illinois State University.

Directed by Dr. Jo Ann Scott and supported by HPJ and the Pettit College of Law, the 6th Annual "Polar Bear" Invitational Mock Trial tournament on January 14-15, 2012 brought 38 teams from across the U.S. to our campus. The tournament format consisted of two rounds on Saturday and two rounds on Sunday.

Case Summary: The year the students are litigating a criminal case. On September 24, 2010, Vanessa Sullivan, daughter of midlands' most prominent prosecutor, celebrated her 21st birthday with two friends, Taylor Hopson and Danny Dawson, at Chuggie's Sports Bar. After several hours of celebration at the bar, the three left in a car driven by Dawson. On the way home, Dawson lost control of the car, resulting in a crash in which Sullivan was killed. A special prosecutor was appointed because of the conflict of interest in having the victm's parent's office prosecute the case. A grand jury has returned a multi-count indictment charging the defendant, Danny Dawson, with murder and driving under the influence.

Among the awards earned by individual team members this year were:

SCARLET AND GRAY TOURNAMENT, October 14-16
HOST: THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
FRANKLIN HOWARD----OUTSTANDING ATTORNEY AWARD
LISA BRADLEY----OUTSTANDING WITNESS AWARD
CAITLIN HIGGINS----OUTSTANDING WITNESS AWARD
LUAREN LIGHTCAP----OUTSTANDING WITNESS AWARD

EKU “ROBERT SANDERS” INVITATIONAL , October 28-30
LISA BRADLEY----OUTSTANDING ATTORNEY

ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY, November 11-12
LISA BRADLEY----OUTSTANDING ATTORNEY
LAUREN LIGHTCAP----OUTSTANDING WITNESS (BOTH PROSECUTION & DFENSE)
TEAM 1120: 4^TH PLACE (4^TH OUT OF 30 TEAMS)

UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS MIDWEST CHALLENGER, December 2-4
TABITHA MOODY----OUTSTANDING ATTORNEY
MELDOY SMITH----OUTSTANDING WITNESS

POLAR BEAR INVITATIONAL MOCK TRIAL TOURNAMENT, January 15-16
HOST: OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY
LISA BRADLEY----OUTSTANDING ATTORNEY
MELDOY SMITH----OUTSTANDING WITNESS

CINCINNATI REGIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, February 24-26HOST: UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
LISA BRADLEY----OUTSTANDING ATTORNEY

Well done representing HPJ and ONU this year, and better luck for team success next year!

Alumna Returns in Triumph

Melissa Mead, who graduated with a BA in Political Science in 2008, returned recently to see friends in Ada. Drs. Alexander, Crawford, and J Wilson, along with Shaleigh Alexander met with Melissa at the Inn to hear about her meteoric career since her time at ONU.

Melissa eared her JD from Syracuse Law in 2011, passed her Bar Exam in one try, and is currently working for the law firm Paludis, P.C. in Michigan.

It was great to catch up with Melissa and see that she is doing so well. She also got together with Dr. E Wilson later on during the weekend. It is always a treat to talk to our former students and see how their careers have been influenced by their time here, and to see how they have blossomed afterwards.

Well done and best of luck in your career Melissa!

ONU Hosted Debate Over SB5

HPJ, in conjunction with the Petit College of Law, held a debate over issue 2 that was on the November ballot. An overflow crowd listened to speakers debate the issue. Below is the press release for the event that Jose Nogueras of Communications and Marketing sent out to local press outlets.

Ohio Northern University to hold debate on Issue2

ADA — Ohio Northern University will conduct a debate concerning Issue 2 (Senate Bill 5) on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. in the ONU Pettit College of Law Large Moot Court room (129). The event, free and open to the public, is sponsored by ONU’s College Democrats, College Republicans, and Pi Sigma Alpha, ONU’s political science honor society.

Robert Sprague, Republican state representative from the 76th district, and Matt Huffman, Republican state representative from the 4th district and majority floor leader, will speak in favor of the passage of Issue 2. David Pepper, a former Hamilton County commissioner, and Fred Strahorn, a Board of Trustee member for Wright State University and former state legislator in the Ohio General Assembly, will speak in opposition to the passage of Issue 2.

Jeff Fitzgerald, news anchor for Your Hometown Lima Stations, will serve as moderator. The format will feature three rounds of questioning. The first two rounds will consist of questions from two area media members: Dan Robinson, reporter for the Kenton Times, and Ron Lerderman, editorial page editor for the Lima News. The third round will consist of questions from the audience followed by closing statements.

The Ohio Collective Bargaining Limit Repeal (Issue 2) will appear on the Nov. 8 general election ballot as a veto referendum. The measure would repeal legislation that limits collective bargaining for public employees in the state. Issue 2 will impact the state’s 400,000 public workers, restricting their ability to strike and collectively bargain. As it stands, the bill would only permit public employees to collectively bargain for wages, preventing them from collectively bargaining for health insurance and pensions. It would also prohibit all public employees from striking and could increase employee contributions for pensions and health care.

Ohio Northern University’s quality, student-centered education distinctively combines nationally ranked sciences, arts and professional programs for more than 3,600 students in its five colleges: Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Pharmacy and Law.

Dawn DeColbious GIS Minor Presents Poster

Dawn DeColibus, a junior from Strongsville, Ohio, majoring in biology and minoring in geography-GIS, presented a poster at the 2011 annual meeting of the East Lakes Division of the American Association of Geographers, held at Youngstown State University on Oct. 15. Her poster, titled “Buffalo Berry and Glacial Slumps in Ohio and Pennsylvania,” highlighted the experience she gained as an intern last summer working with the Botany and Natural Resources Department of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Adopt-A-Student internship program. During her internship, DeColibus helped identify the presence of buffalo berry bushes in northern Ohio and used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to manage this threatened plant species.

CJ and PMCP Host Another Heoin Forum

On February 13, The History, Politics and Justice Department hosted a panel focusing on issues related to drug courts, prison drug counseling, and heroin!

Panelists for this event included:

Judge James S. Rapp, Judge of the Hardin County Court of Common Please, Probate and Juvenile Divisions

Wade Melton, LSW, M.A.C.E; Director of Programs, monitors the juvenile drug court program and Family Dependency Treatment Court program with the Hardin County Juvenile Court; Director of Hardin Community School

John Hall, Correctional Program Coordinator, Allen Correctional Institution Recovery Services Department; Ada-Liberty Rescue Squad Paramedic

This and the following panels contain aspects of heroin use, abuse, addiction, and treatment related to many different majors and fields of interest and we encourage your attendance!!!

The final panel will consider Legalization & Other Matters, on April 21, 2012

Professor Alexander Publishes New Book on Electoral College

Dr. Alexander has just published his third book Presidential Electors and the Electoral College: An Examination of Lobbying, Wavering Electors, and Campaigns for Faithless Votes

From the Cambria Publishing website: Robert Alexander is an associate professor of political science at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. He received his PhD and MA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He is the author of Rolling the Dice with State Initiatives: Interest Group Involvement in Ballot Campaigns and The Classics of Interest Group Behavior. Dr. Alexander’s work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Politics,PS: Political Science and Politics, and the American Review of Politics. Dr. Alexander serves on the National Executive Committee for Pi Sigma Alpha and on the National Liaison Advisory Board for The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.

Cambria's description was a bit out of date, as ONU promoted Alexander to full Professor rank the same week as his new book came out.

Well done Professor Alexander!