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Written by: Elizabeth Patrick

Every year Defiance College has the honor of recognizing a homecoming king and queen along with attendants from each grade level.

Defiance College student body chose Maurice Brewer and Kalin Hubble as the 2021 Homecoming King and Queen.

Also, on the homecoming court were seniors Alexis Kiessling, Sophia Moller, Ellas Rogers, and Chase Stiner; juniors Grant Johnson and Julia Yeager; sophomores Marcell Maxwell and Hope Yost; and freshmen Amber Krause and Joseph Large.

Now let’s meet your 2021 Homecoming Queen: Kalin Hubble.

Kalin is currently a senior here at Defiance College. She was born and raised in Anderson, Indiana with her mom, dad, and two younger sisters.

Kalin is a very involved student here at Defiance College. Kalin is actively involved in different organizations including softball, the Affinity Program as a peer interventionist, and being a student worker.

She came here to Defiance College to play softball and further her studies in what she thought was going to be Athletic Training. After being here for a semester, she decided that she wanted to make a greater impact on people’s lives. She found a major interest in the way the mind worked and the ways that she can work with individuals to reconstruct their thought processes.

Being introduced to Social Work has been one of her most life-changing experiences. Getting to know the professors in that field of study has also been life-changing. Kalin’s professors have helped her form a new perspective on the way people live and the ways that society works in continuously shaping stereotypes.

In softball, Kalin was the All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2021. She was as the HCAC Player of the Week two times last year. Hubble was the HCAC Freshman of the Year and was on the first-team all-conference and second Team All-Central Region in NCAA Division III from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. She holds that DC record in doubles and home runs.

After Kalin graduates in 2022, she is not entirely sure what path she will take to continue learning at the master’s level. She is currently deciding between continuing her softball career with her extra year of eligibility, coaching softball at the graduate level, or joining the Army to become a Social Worker or Clinical Psychologist. 

Written by: Emily Vargo

On October 13, 1925, in Grantham, Lincolnshire, a very important historical figure was born. This historical figure is Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret was raised a strict Wesleyan Methodist. Even though Thatcher was raised in the Methodist church, she had a very scientific mind. She did well in school and had hobbies like piano, field hockey, poetry, swimming, and walking.

In 1943, Thatcher was awarded a scholarship to study chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford. Thatcher graduated from college in 1947 with second honors with a chemistry bachelor of science degree, specializing in X-ray crystallography.

After graduating, Thatcher moved to Colchester in Essex, where she worked as a research chemist for BX Plastics.

In 1948 Thatcher went to a conservative convention in Wales. This was the start of her political career. She impressed many high-up chair members that lead to her being asked to run for office.

In 1949 Margaret met Denis Thatcher. They soon would get married at a methodist church. Eventually, they attended the Church of England and converted to Anglicanism.

In 1959 Thatcher was elected into parliament. She worked to help the people and climbed the ladder year after year, being the first woman ever to do so.

On May 4, 1979, Thatcher became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Thatcher was described as the most powerful woman in the world during her time in office. Thatcher was prime minister from 1979-1990.

She underwent many challenges, but she handled them all with grace despite the constant pressure from the public.

Thatcher did so much for Great Britain and today holds a place in many people’s hearts.

Written by: Emily Vargo

Today we learn about someone who is a hero of mine. He is someone who I admire and look up to. When I write these articles, I usually don’t put my emotional input into them, but this is an exception.

On October 5, 2021, our personal Astrophyicsist was born. This scientist’s name is Neil DeGrasse Tyson. 

For some, when they hear scientist, they think of a brilliant person who had straight A’s, did amazing in school, and academics came naturally to them. However, with Dr. Tyson, this wasn’t the case. Neil was born in Manhatten, New York, and went to public school in the Bronx. 

Neil was quite bored in school, and his grades were not great. He often acted out in classes, and many of his teachers saw no future for him. 

When he was nine, the teacher noticed that Tyson loved science. She suggested to him that he should visit the sky theater of the Hyden Planetarium. Neil visited the planetarium, and ever since that visit, he felt that the Universe called him and that this was his purpose. 

Fast forward to Tyson’s teen years when he started teaching classes at the planetarium. He started gaining a small fan base and caught the attention of Astronomer Carl Segan. Segan was a faculty member at Cornell University and tried to recruit Neil to their undergraduate program. 

Tyson ended up going to Harvard instead for an undergraduate degree. Something that not many people know about Tyson is that he was a wrestler. He wrestled in high school and college.

After graduating from Havard University, Tyson received his Masters from the University of Texas at Austin and then his Doctorate from Columbia University. Tyson has focused on cosmology, stellar evolution, galactic astronomy, bulges, and stellar formations. Besides holding numerous positions at institutions across the United States, Tyson has written several popular books about astronomy. 

Tyson has also hosted several science tv shows and has his radio talk show called Star Talk. Besides being known for his books, and tv shows, Tyson is also known for being one of the scientists that demoted the beloved planet, Pluto, to Dwarf planet. 

There is so much that Dr. Tyson has accomplished that it is too long to list in this article. He has also received several awards for his achievements. To end today’s article, we read one of Dr. Tyson’s beloved quotes.

“I look up at the night sky, and I know that yes, we are part of this universe, we are in the universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the Universe is in us.”

Written by: Amber Baldwin

“The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her wellbeing, and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When government controls that decision for her, she is being treated less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.”
-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

On October 2, 2021, over 120,000 women marched and protested in all 50 states for women’s rights, more specifically, the right to legal and safe abortions.

This happened due to a law passed on September 1, 2021, in Texas and the almost 600 new restrictions in 47 states on abortion that have happened this year.

The one in Texas, however, is very restrictive. It stated that after a cardiac activity is found in a fetus, which is around six weeks of being pregnant, an abortion cannot happen. There are also no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

Also, with this law, people can now sue other people if they participate in any part of an illegal abortion in Texas. For example, if an Uber driver is found driving someone to get an abortion, that Uber driver can then be sued. People who successfully report a person who gets an abortion or helps with an abortion may receive $10,000 in damages. It is not just doctors and their patients that can be sued.

A DC student said about the new trend in restrictive abortion laws, “These new laws make it really hard for women to get the healthcare they need and want.”

“I used to be against abortion until I became older and realized that most people are not for abortion. They just wanted the chance to chose what happens in their life. Abortions are not just a simple decision that is made without a lot of consideration but something that a person thinks a lot about before doing it,” another student said. 

On October 4, 2021, the Supreme Court will reconvene for its next term. The judges will face a case that could challenge the current status of the Roe v. Wade case. Roe v. Wade has been giving people the right to choose since 1973.

For more information on past women’s marches, maybe future women’s marches, and how to support women’s rights, check out the Women’s March website at https://womensmarch.com

Written by: Emily Vargo

These last two years have been particularly hard for everyone, and lately, the last couple of months, the news has been nothing but the “bearer of bad news.” We all need a little something to make us smile in tough times of darkness.

Today we are going to talk about four good stories that happened this week. All accounts were found on https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/category/news/ where you can find many more good news stories that are updated every day.

The first one occurred on September 20, 2021. A Chinese city built a food court for migrating elephants. The food court spans the size of 670,000 square meters or around 165 acres. This was done to help the elephants and help the local farmers protect their crops from hungry and tired elephants looking for a meal.

The following story is a positive one about the number of rhinos that have been declining more and more in recent years. However, the numbers now show that several species and subspecies of rare rhinoceros populations are rising. Their population number went from 100 to 3,700!

Our third story occurred on September 23, 2021. A study found that golden-mantled squirrels show four personality traits that are close to human characteristics. The traits are boldness, aggressiveness, activity level, and sociability. These squirrels are common across the western US and parts of Canada.

The next positive story is about scientists who solved a 900-year-old mystery. There are stories and logs about “guest stars.” These bright stars that were suddenly seen in the sky went dim and were never seen again. One star from 1181 has been a mystery to scientists until now. The UK, Spain, Hungary, and France collaborated together to solve this mystery.

This team of astronomers figured out that the star was a “rare, incredibly energetic supernova explosions from either massive stars or special, interacting binary systems that seed the Galaxy with heavy elements like iron and leaving behind neutron stars, pulsars, black holes, and a gaseous remnant like the Crab nebula.”

Even though life can get tough, there are always positive and interesting things that happen.

Written by: Elizabeth Patrick

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Patrick and I am currently a freshman at Defiance College. During the past couple of months, I’ve enjoyed getting to know new people and making new friends from all across the world.

While in high school, I learned that by being involved there are many more opportunities that can happen. For example, attending fun events and making life-long memories would not have been possible if it would not be for being involved.

In high school, I was very involved in my school’s organizations and extracurricular activities. The activities that I was involved in include: National Honor Society, Student Government, Leadership, FFA, Ruriteen, 4-H, Junior Fair Board, pep band, marching band, concert band, bowling, swimming, and softball.

By being involved in these different activities, I was able to experience events that would not have been made possible if it would not have been for being in these activities.

Some of these events included: playing the national anthem at Cleveland Indians baseball games, going to NYC with the band and choir, and attending the National FFA Convention.

During my senior year of high school, I looked at a variety of different colleges including Heidelberg, Bluffton, Defiance, and Ohio Northern.

When I came to Defiance as a junior and attended a prospect softball camp, I immediately fell in love with the campus.

I truly liked the size of the campus, having all the stores and restaurants within a few minutes, the family atmosphere, and having the opportunity to pursue my dream of playing softball at the collegiate level.

Defiance also had so many activities, clubs, events, and sports that I could be involved with and make new friends and memories.

After meeting with all the different faculty, softball coaches, and touring the campus, I decided that Defiance College would be the perfect fit for me for the next four years.

At Defiance College, I am double majoring in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. Working with younger students and making a positive difference in their life has always been a dream and goal of mine and at DC, I volunteered as a pen pal for a McMaster project for the Local Independence Education Center Learning Community.

Also, I am involved in the Honors Program, Service Leadership Program, CRU (Campus Crusade for Crist), Catholics on Campus, and I write for The Defender.

By being involved in the Service Leadership Program, and the Honors Program, I am looking forward to meeting new people and attending fun events to help my community.

While being a part of these different clubs and organizations, I am also a member of the softball team.

As a result of being on the softball team, I have had the opportunity of immediately having a group of girls that I know and can rely on. By being on the softball team, I was able to work at Mudhens games and a concert selling concessions.

By being involved in several clubs and groups, I have truly enjoyed my experience so far here at Defiance College and cannot wait to see what the future holds for me.

Written by: Elizabeth Patrick

Andy Jesus Ramirez is also known as AJ, is a current senior here at Defiance College. AJ is a very active student on the Defiance College campus. He is involved in an internship and participates in a variety of different clubs and organizations.

Andy went to a high school in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. While in high school, he also attended a vocational school in Groveport, Ohio, where he studied Programming and Software Development for two years. He also took a wide variety of college credit plus courses, which helped him when he changed his major multiple times.

At first, he was double majoring in Digital Forensic Science and Criminal Justice. Then shifted paths and is currently majoring in Communication Studies while minoring in Art Studio, Music with a Vocal Concentration and Writing.

After completing his undergraduate studies, he would like to attend graduate school for a master’s in Media and Journalism with a concentration in Journalism education and a graduate minor in Race, Gender, and Social Justice. His end goal is to be a journalist educator by day and a photojournalist at night. He also has an interest in becoming a professional meme-ster, whichever one comes first.

Andy is involved in a wide variety of different clubs and organizations here at Defiance College. These clubs include Alpha Phi Omega, which he is an Associate of this fraternity, Service Leaders, DC F1RST Generation Program, CAB, Student Life Residence Assistance, and McMasters School For Advancing Humanity. As a McMasters Scholar, Andy and his peers are working on research to utilize against food insecurity.

He also plans to assist with the restoration of the campus greenhouse while creating podcasts to keep Defiance College, The PATH Center, and the Defiance community updated on the progress and provide some educational content to implement daily.

While being involved in all of these clubs and organizations, AJ is also busy with an internship. With this internship, he will be helping permanent legal residents to study for their citizenship tests.

One interesting fact about AJ is that he would also like to adopt a kitten or two and travel to the other side of the world just for emotional fulfillment.

When AJ is not working on an assignment, reading, or creating Social Media content for the Defiance College Tik Tok page, @defiancecollege, you will find him walking around campus with his camera bag. He enjoys taking pictures of extraordinary moments or experiences. He also enjoys watching YouTube videos, learning a foreign language, or listening to the latest single on Spotify while wearing his headphones.

One of his favorite items to buy from the Hive is a large Jacket Mocha with extra whipped cream.

Lastly, some interesting astrology information about AJ is that he is an Aquarius sun, Leo Moon, and Leo Rising.

Below are some pictures AJ created and shared with the Defender.

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Written by: Emily Vargo

For all of those who love pepperoni on their pizza, this is a day for you. September 20, 2021, is National Pepperoni Pizza Day. The most popular topping on pizza is pepperoni. For DC students who live on or near campus, a few great places within walking distance to get pizzas are Pizza Hut and Marco’s. A little farther away are Fired Stone Tavern and Jersey’s.

In June of 1889, Raffaele Esposito created the first-ever pizza. The Queen of Italy inspired Esposito to make the first-ever pizza, and her name was Margherita of Savoy. Esposito made the first-ever round dough delicacy topped with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella to represent the colors of the Italian flag and to honor the queen.

Now the modern-day pizza has as many toppings on it as your heart desires. Besides having as many toppings as you want on your pizza, you can now have different styles of pizza. The different types of pizza are Neapolitan, Chicago, New York, Sicilian, Greek, California, Detroit, and St. Louis style pizza. Even though that seems like there are too many to choose from, there are many more.

Now not only do you have styles of pizza, but you also have different types of pizza crust. The types of crust are stuffed, cracked, flatbread, cheese crust, and thick crust. Since pizza is so popular, it has two national days.

February 9th and September 20th are the days we celebrate National Pepperoni Pizza Day. If you are a lover of pepperoni pizza or just a lover of pizza, make sure on the 20th you grab yourself a slice to celebrate the day.

Written by: Amber Baldwin

It’s been almost one month since the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has been FDA approved. I received my first COVID-19 vaccine, which was the Pfizer vaccine, in April and then received my second shot in May. Many people in my family have also gotten a COVID-19 vaccine, including my grandparents, my aunt, two of my uncles, and my sister.

The reason why I got the vaccine was, of course, for protection, but it was also for my family. My grandma is very high risk because she is older and has a heart pump. If I would get COVID-19, not know it, and then pass it to her, I would feel so awful. It would just be terrible. I’m very grateful that none of my grandparents have had COVID-19.

Even though I am fully vaccinated, I still make sure to wear my mask around my grandparents and everywhere I go. I just wish other people were more considerate of it like that.

People keep complaining about having to wear masks, having to social distance, not being able to do certain activities, yet they do not do anything to change it. They just keep complaining. They will not wear masks, will not socially distance themselves, and will not get the vaccine. All of which is just making it worst. It’s so frustrating.

My youngest sister is ten, and it took four days of public school for her to get COVID-19. That led to my mom and dad getting it too. It’s scary to have your family all sick with a deadly disease that could have been prevented.

When I found out she tested positive, a part of me couldn’t believe it. The other part of me knew it would happen at some point since the school administration decided not to have a mask mandate nor vaccine requirements, nor testing.

My other sister and I showed no symptoms and have tested negative. We are both fully vaccinated.

Please correctly wear a mask, wash your hands, sanitize, and go get vaccinated. Just think what could happen if people truly cared about others, whether they know them or not. Maybe try caring about other people instead of complaining about yourselves, and COVID-19 will eventually be a thing of the past.

Written by: Amber Baldwin

Join the English Department on September 22 from 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. for their second gathering of English Tea.

Depending on the weather this will either take place at the Schauffler Hall patio or the lobby in Schauffler Hall.

This time Lucas O’Connor, a Hollywood writer, will be attending from California through Google Meet.

O’Connor was a story editor, executive story editor, and writer for the CBS series Person of Interest. He also co-produced and wrote for the AppleTV+ series Home Before Dark.

If you are thinking about attending, please contact Dr. Engel at sengel@defiance.edu to RSVP. There will be snacks and beverages.

Also, if you can’t attend in person, but wanted to be there, let Dr. Engel know too. He can send you the link when it gets closer to September 22.

English tea is supposed to be a time where people who are English majors or minors, and other friends of the English Department can come together, hang out, and talk about anything relating to English or bigfoot or Whiffenpoofs. It’s a good time for all.