Category: 2019

Despite no turnout at all, Meaningful Movie Mondays continue into the Fall 2019 Semester at Defiance College.

M&M Mondays show documentaries and other films that are purposeful and thought-provoking, with plans to follow the screening with a discussion on the topic within the film. The lack of turnout has made both that and the passing out of free M&M candy ineffectual.

Created by Lisa Crumit-Hancock, Assistant Dean of Student Success, M&M Mondays began in the Fall Semester of 2018, making this the second consecutive year of its existence. Despite its establishment, turnout at the first presentation of the fall semester was zero.

“This (the lack of attendance) shows that we haven’t been getting the word out as well as we could be.” Lisa Crumit-Hancock commented. “Emails don’t seem to be cutting it, so we are very open to suggestions from students when it comes to marketing the event and getting the word out.”

“We kept the event going because it wasn’t costing anything really,” Brandon Ripke, the Academic Support Coordinator at Pilgrim Library, explained while he was setting up the first film of the semester. “Kanopy is something that Defiance College uses, so we figured that this could be a way to further implement it.”

Kanopy, as Ripke mentioned above, is a service for documentaries and films. The site’s byline claims it has a focus on “Classic Cinema, Indie Films, and Top Documentaries.” The Kanopy service is free for students with the use of their Defiance College ID. Every film that has been used for Meaningful Movie Mondays and that is planned for the future is hosted on Kanopy. To check out the movies available go to https://www.kanopy.com/ for free access.  

The first showing of the semester was at 7 pm on Monday, September 9th. The movie was a documentary called “Girls Rock,” which followed a group of girls, ages 8-18 during a week-long stay at the aptly named Rock and Roll Camp for Girls.

The next showing of the semester will be on Monday, September 23rd, in the Media Room in the basement of Pilgrim Library, at 7 pm. The documentary this time will be titled “Geek Girls: The Hidden Half of Fan Culture,” and will “open up about the lives (of women) in the world of conventions, video games, and other rife-with-misogyny pop culture touchstones.”

Written by Camrin Santchi

Professor Jo Ann Burkhardt is a part of the Education department at Defiance College. She previously studied at Bowling Green State University, The University of Toledo and the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Science. She has a bachelors in education, a masters in administration and supervision, a specialists degree in leadership,  a Ph.D. and a culinary degree–that was her favorite to obtain.

  Professor Burkhardt is from the Cleveland area and came here for her first teaching job at Tinora Schools.  Being in the area, she became familiar with Defiance College. 

When Professor Burkhardt is not in the classroom helping students, she says she is a ‘fiber-artist-wannabe.’ She dyes fibers, spins, weaves, knits, sews, and makes dye baths out of natural ingredients. 

Professor Burkhardt’s philosophy of teaching is that “all students can learn.” She believes, “you must teach who you get, not who you want or who you think you should. A teacher must accept everyone and help eliminate barriers [with] their students. A teacher has an active role in a student’s learning and needs to keep them engaged.”

When asked why she chose the education field, she states, “…I chose to become a teacher [because] at the time, there were not a lot of options for women. You could be a nun, a nurse, or a teacher. I went to [an all girls] catholic school, and so I knew [becoming] a nun was out of the picture, and I knew nursing was [out also]—so I went with teaching. And I’m so glad I did. It was really for me!” 

In the current generation, Burkhardt wishes that colleges and universities had a voice in how they teach and structure their teacher education programs. “All teacher education programs across the United States are the same because we all have to teach the same stuff,” Burkhardt said. “Academic standards may vary from state to state, but in order to train teachers, you have to be accredited by a national body—and there is only one. In order for us to continue training teachers, we have to be approved by [the national body]. Licensure programs have to do things a certain way ”. 

She actively helps students pave their way to success. Professor Burkhardt has encouraged many students to pursue their dreams by helping them along their journey to becoming teachers. If you haven’t had the chance to cross paths with her Professor Burkhardt, take the time out of your day to get acquainted. 

Written by Tessa Wall

Post Malone is undoubtedly one of the most popular and successful musicians of our generation. His music has topped the Billboard charts the past three years with hit singles playing consistently on the radio and streaming services. On September 6th, 2019, Post dropped his third studio album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. The collection features 17 songs, comparable to his other records.

Arguably, Hollywood’s Bleeding is his best work thus far. On this album, we get a “softer” version of his music. Post’s vocals range from his traditional raspy tone, a softer pitch, and a smoky howling voice. With the diversity in his vocals, changing from song to song makes the form of the album more attractive to fans. Post also has begun to use a soprano in a few tracks like “Allergic” and “A Thousand Bad Times.” “Allergic” features some alternative rock influences, similar to songs written and produced in the early 2000s, helping it to stand out from traditional-sounding Posty creations.

The album opens with the title track “Hollywood’s Bleeding.” The song discusses how rough the Hollywood lifestyle can be and offers us an insight into how Post feels about his lifestyle and the world around us. Other tracks like “Internet” provide us with insight into how Post thinks about how the internet has impacted our daily lives.

Other tracks like “Circles,” “Goodbyes (Feat. Young Thug), and “A Thousand Bad Times” discuss everyday challenges. The chill vibes of the tracks, from Hollywood’s Bleeding, are expected to be fan favorites.
Hollywood’s Bleeding also features an astronomical number of celebrity features including SZA, Meek Mill, Young Thug, Halsey, DaBaby, Travis Scott and even Ozzy Osbourne. Coming as a shock to most fans, Ozzy Osbourne is by far the most unique of the collaborations. Osbourne was Black Sabbath’s lead singer in the ’70s.

Osbourne and Scott are both features on “Take What You Want.” This track discusses wanting to be released by a toxic relationship. The mixture of artists on this track makes it one of Post’s most unique and different sounding songs.

The range of his vocals, diversity in the album’s features, and range of beats and influences make it stand out from his other work.

Students can listen to Post’s new album online using Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes, or most streaming services.

Post also has a specialty line of Crocs and runs a music festival, PostyFest.

Written by: Hailey Krawczyk

If you’re interested in pop culture, art, and dressing up in costumes, check out the Defiance ComicCon

The 5th annual “DefCom5”, presented by the Defiance Public Library, is being held at the Defiance Northtowne Mall on Saturday, April 13th from 10 am- 2 pm.

This free, family-friendly event welcomes people of all ages. Cara Richards, a librarian at Defiance Public Library, said, “We will have some horror artists, anime artists, and also a ‘geeky’ bakery. There will be face painting and crafts for kids. People can also sign up the day of to participate in a Doctor Who escape room.”

An event like this allows students to experience local artists and join in on a community event. Richards explained “It’s a nice chance to see art in the local area. If you’re a college student that’s into the arts, it’s a great chance to talk to local artists to get a feel on art after college.”

Wanting to participate further than the crafts and the escape room, sign up for the cosplay competition. “Students can register or just show up in your cosplay the day of to sign up.” Be prepared to see plenty of people dressed up. Richards stated, “We are pretty heavy on cosplayers this year, so we will have a lot of people walking around in costumes, as well as some professional cosplayers.”

Participating in the cosplay competition, there will be many prizes offered as a reward. Richards added, “We’ve received tons of donation from many local shops as well as ones in Toledo and Fort Wayne too. We’ll be giving away pop vinyl figures, posters, and other pop culture-themed prizes.”

Anyone needing some assistance with their cosplay costume, there’s a space available to use at the Defiance Library. Richards said, “The maker space is free for anyone who has a library card. You can use the 3D printer, sewing machine and the silhouette that cuts out paper and vinyl. This space is available upon appointment to make sure I am here to help.”

Richards also stressed this event, saying “You can’t always make it to Chicago or even the Toledo to a big ComicCon, and this one doesn’t cost you $60 just to get in the door.”

Richards and her coworkers started this event five years ago. “It all started with all of our love for comics. We had around 300 people attend, so we decided we would bring this event back. It’s a big event for the library.”

The Defiance Public Library, located on 320 Fort Street, is a free space that anyone in the community can use by signing up for a library card. “The library cards are free for students to sign up for, and there is a college student card too if they are not an Ohio resident.” Stopping in to sign up for a library card will give someone access to help create their costume, but also many more opportunities.

Written by Kenzie Hall

Mary Catherine (MC) Harper, Ph.D. will be retiring at the end of this semester after being with Defiance College for 20 years.

Harper has taught creative writing, linguistics, literature, and composition. She has served as Composition Program Director and Global Civilization Program Director. MC has also been the advisor, layout editor, and developmental editor for Progeny. Progeny is the Literary and Art Magazine of Defiance College. The writer and artist retreat in the summers are organized by Harper too. The retreat is available to senior English students who get invited to work next to professional writers and artists.

Harper has been teaching for longer than just her time at Defiance College. She said, “It wasn’t a desire or that I wanted to become a teacher, I just always was. When I was in 2nd grade I taught my older brother how to read. I have taught many students how to improve their reading skills. There was a young man named Michael who was a first-year student that I taught how to read. It was very cool and still remains my biggest accomplishment”.

Harper mentioned that she had been greatly influenced by a man named Robert Bashore. “Robert is the professor who started the honors program at Bowling Green University. Bob is the one who taught me how to teach, to always try and figure out how students think”.

For students looking to become teachers, Harper said “always assume that students really do want to learn, they just get overwhelmed and frustrated. As teachers we often ask students what they know, it’s important to ask them to try to explain the things they don’t know so that we can help them”.

After retirement hobbies for Harper will include sewing, upholstery, and home décor. She also really enjoys cooking home-style food.

Written by Tyler Bullock

As Defiance College says goodbye to Dr. Plant after 17 years of employment, she speaks about her background in ministry and her time at the college.

Dr. Marian Plant is the Professor of Religious and Ministry Studies and also Schauffler Chair of Christian Education.

Her role at the college is widespread and diverse. “I’m in charge of the whole religion program. I do most of the courses that relate to what we might be doing in the local church for ministry studies.”

In this program, there are two majors, Religious Studies and Ministry Studies. Dr. Plant teaches a variety of classes. “I teach the old testament, new testament, church history, foundation of Christian education, leadership and group work, program design, curriculum resourcing, theology class, and the fieldwork for juniors and seniors.”

Before Dr. Plant accepted the position at Defiance College, she worked in various areas to build her experience. “I was ordained in 1977, as soon as I finished college in Seminary. I worked in the local church parish, in small parishes, in a big multi-staffed church, and in a medium-sized church.”

Her experience started in Ohio where she then left to pursue a position in one of the Chicago suburb churches. During her time there she discovered her love for teaching.

She explained, “I was really feeling drawn to, to prepare the next generation for doing what we were doing.” Dr. Plant took a leap of faith by leaving her full-time position and pursued a Ph.D. program, which later landed her the job at Defiance College.

When Dr. Plant first arrived at the college, there was another full-time religious professor. At that time she stated, “We would split down the middle in terms of what classes we were teaching. I also ran an online program for nontraditional students just in religious education. So, I had a colleague up until seven or eight years ago when that position was moved to a different department, and then I have inherited all of these classes since.”

Post-retirement plans are already set in stone for Dr. Plant, as she continues to pursue her passion in Christian Education. “I have been a consultant at the regional level and somewhat on a national level in our domination. I want to continue to work with those groups, partially because I was trained and matured through those groups at the same time I was getting all the advanced education.” She ended saying, “This is my passion, so I’ve been doing it as I could while I was here, but that needs to stay in my life.”

Her shares her best wishes to everyone in the religious program. “That leads me to my wish for this program and any program that develops within the religious program to be the best because there’s a reputation out there and some of us are living proof of it that it really makes sense to be the best at the undergrad level.”

Written by Kenzie Hall