Blog

  • DCWBB Takes Down Adrian and Anderson

    (Anderson, Indiana)- The Defiance College Women’s Basketball team got an on the road conference win at Anderson University, 73-60.

    Defiance came into the start of the game with an early 6-2 lead, but it wasn’t long until Anderson came back and ties the game 9-9 with 4:26 left in the first period. The remainder of the first period was back and forth, until it ended with a Yellow Jacket lead, 14-12.

    In the second, a jumper, a steal, and layup resulted in Defiance being in the lead, 29-24. The Ravens answered back with 5 points, tying it up. The Purple and Gold came back and ended the half leading Anderson 32-30.

    Back on the court after halftime, Danielle Carruthers and Kalyn Pickens combined for 6 points before the Ravens answered back with a three pointer, making the score 45-42. Finishing up the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets had a pretty good lead, 52-44.

    Coming into the fourth quarter, Defiance came out ready to end the game extending their lead to 12. They built up a lead of 17 points before finally ending with a score of 73-60.

    Sam Ervin finished with 22 points, while Ashley Lee and Lauren Rogers finished with 13 and 11 points. Rogers and Schalk both had 5 rebounds, and Schalk also added 10 assists.

    Sam Ervin had this to say about the HCAC win. “As a team we did a good job of transitioning on offense and hard denying the ball on defense”.

    (Defiance, OH) The Defiance College Women’s Basketball team is bringing in 2018 with a win over the Adrian Bulldogs, 80-65, on Saturday, December 30th in the Weaner Center.

    The Yellow Jackets being 3-8 overall went out ready to go, shooting 49.2% from the field, with 13 of 25 three pointers (52.0%).

    With hot shooting right out of the gates by Rogers and White, the Yellow Jackets started out on top 16-9 in the first period. In the second period they kept the momentum going with freshman Kalyn Pickens scoring back to back in the paint extending the Purple and Gold lead to 22-13. A few more scores and a couple deep buckets from Rogers and White put them up 32-15 with 3:38 left in the half. DCWBB went into halftime outscoring the Bulldogs 20-10 in the second period, and with a score of 36-19.

    Adrian came out of the locker room with a spark as they went on a 6-0 run. The Bulldogs showed interest in coming back as they slowly crept back into the game cutting the deficit to 38-29 with 7:45 left to play in the third. DC answered with a few scores and a three from Schalk to push the lead back up 49-36. Rogers hitting back to back threes led the Yellow Jackets to a hefty 64-43 lead heading into the last period.

    The Yellow Jackets continued to shoot the lights out into the final period as Rogers nailed her fourth three pointer of the day with 6:53 remaining and the score at 70-51. Adrian tried to get an offense going in the fourth but it was too late, as Defiance takes the non conference win, 80-65.

    Lauren Rogers led both teams with a career high and game high of 20 points, while senior Mekai White added 13. Sam Ervin with 6 rebounds, and Whitney Schalk with a game high of 12 assists.

    Senior Mekai White has this to say, “This was a time where the team realized that playing together will get you through anything.”

    Written by Jessica Davis

  • Yellow Jackets Fall to Franklin and Hanover

    (Defiance, Ohio) The Defiance College Women’s Basketball team fell to the Franklin Grizzlies on Saturday, December 9th in the Karl H. Weaner Center, 73-61. Starting off slow put them in a hole for the rest of the game.

    As the Grizzlies took an early lead in the first half, 6-0, the Yellow Jackets were down early. Defiance slowly came back to put the score within 2, 10-8, with 4:14 left in the first quarter. The Franklin Grizzly offense kept pushing and went on another run, this time 8-4. This brought the score to 18-12, Grizzlies ahead at the .

    Franklin came out on fire after the first quarter quickly picking up an even bigger lead 29-16 with 6:16 left on the clock in the second period. A few minutes later, the Yellow Jackets looked to cut the lead down when they brought it to 31-19. A Franklin turnover and a recover by Rogers brought the game to 35-21. The teams went into the locker room for halftime with a score of 35-21, Franklin up.

    The Grizzlies came out of the locker room with hot shooting as they went on yet another run in the third quarter before Rogers sank a deep shot to put an end to it. The Yellow Jackets were then within 14 points with the score being 41-27 with 8:27 left in the third. Back to back jumpers from Franklin kept them in the lead a good amount as the Defiance College Women struggled to get an offense going. The third quarter ended with a score of 56-41.

    The Yellow Jackets went off in the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run over a span of 2 minutes to cut the score within 8 points, 59-51 with 7:06 left in the game! The Grizzlies went off on one more run to end the game with a score of 73-61.

    Sam Ervin said, following the game, “We struggled to take care of the ball, we had 21 turnovers. We beat ourselves.”

    Lauren Rogers, Whitney Schalk, and Shelby Stamm all ended with double figures while Sam Ervin led both teams in rebounds with 9. Whitney Schalk also had 4 assists.

    The Defiance College Yellow Jackets dropped a game in HCAC play to Hanover College on Saturday. The final score was 92-62.

    Hanover took the lead right out of the gates starting off 10-4 in the first two minutes of the contest. Defiance tried to get it together late in the first quarter with a 3 point bucket by Ervin, but the Panther defense held the Yellow Jackets to score no more points in the quarter, heading into the second with a score of 19-7.

    Both teams had a tough time finding the basket in the beginning of the second quarter but back to back Yellow Jacket buckets cut the lead to 21-13. The Panthers, going on another run, set the score to 40-22 at the half.

    Hanover defense came out ready to go in the third quarter as they held the Yellow Jackets with no score for the first 4 minutes before Rogers got a jumper in and the score was then 52-24 with 6:34 left in the third. Hanover went off again to extend the lead 70-37 as time expired on the clock.

    The Yellow Jacket offense showed sign of being alive in the beginning of the fourth quarter with a few needed buckets. The Panthers held them off and as the clock ran down to 0, they captured the win 92-62.

    Leading for Defiance is Sam Ervin with 19 points and 7 rebounds, Lauren Rogers with 12 points, and Mekai White with 11 points. Whitney Schalk also ended the game with 5 assists.

    Mekai White said for a piece of advice, “Don’t play against yourselves, play against your opponent.”

    Written by Jessica Davis

  • Defiance College Recycling (DCR)

    Most of us have heard of DC Recycling and what the project entails. Defiance College Recycling is one of many 701 projects that we have on campus. The project was first started by an individual where she would collect recyclable items in her dorm room. Since then, the project has expanded and is now located in the basement of McReynolds Hall. The purpose of the project is to help create a more friendly environment. The organization is ran by students, Madysyn Creighton, Rebekah Groden, and myself, who are in managers of the project.

    Those who are apart of the project work together to collect, sort and take items to Werlor, the local Recycling/Waste Center. Each resident living on campus is given a recycling bag so they can recycle throughout the year. Around campus there are bins located in each academic building in order to recycle. Every Sunday through Wednesday, there is something that DCR is doing. However, what is done each night changes. Sundays, recyclables are collected from all resident halls. Monday nights, is collection from all academic buildings. Tuesdays and Wednesday consist of sorting all materials that have been collected. When sorting, cardboard is broken down, pop cans are crushed, and plastic lids are taken off so that the bottles can be smashed. After everything is sorted, it is then weighed before loading up the trucks and taken to Werlor.

    What can be collected varies upon the product. For plastics, located on the bottom of the item there is a recycling symbol with a number. Plastic items that can be collected must have a number between one and five on it. Cardboard is also collected along with paper, tin, and aluminum. What can not be collected is food, shiny paper, plastics with a number six or above, greasy pizza boxes, candy bar wrappers, silverware, cafeteria cups, and Styrofoam.

    There are a variety of students who participate in DCR. Jennifer Nashasky had stated that she likes collection days because she “enjoys seeing how much people actually recycle.” Another student also enjoys being apart of DCR. Kelsey Brenneman reported that she takes part in the project for service leadership hours and “to help the environment.”

    Currently, us managers are working towards getting small trash bins for each of the Grand Ave apartments so that they can collect, and putting a few bins along the walk ways. Please continue to support DCR when school starts back up in January!

    Written by Ray Ramos

  • DCWB Defeats Manchester

    (Defiance, OH). The Defiance College Yellow Jackets took on Manchester this past Wednesday for their conference opener. The Jackets have not had the start they would have liked, despite playing very tough competition. They were looking to bounce back against the Spartans.

    The Lady Jackets had an incredible start to the game, starting off 23-18. They then followed that up with an even stronger 2nd quarter, expanding their lead to 52-34 at the half.

    The Spartans came out stronger in the 3rd though, finding a way to stop the Jackets hot offense, and finding momentum of their own. They were able to cut the deficit to 58-50, and only allowed 6 points from the Jackets during the entire 3rd quarter. The Jackets were able to hold on though, finishing for a victory of 79-64.

    The Jackets had several players make huge contributions to the game. Senior Whitney Schalk played 39 total minutes, and was able to rack up 5 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists! Sophomores Lauren Rogers and Sam Ervin led the night in scoring with 16 a piece, and Shelby Stamm added 11 of her own. Mekai White was able to have 9 off the bench. Ervin also led the team in rebounds with 9, while Rogers followed with 8 of her own.

    The Jackets shot 42.2% from the field, along with 42 total rebounds, and 16 total assists. They were able to capitalize with 15 points off turnovers, and 27 points coming from the bench!

    After the game, we caught up with Senior Whitney Schalk, and she had this to say “This was a game we wanted to make a statement about due to us being tied with Manchester in the conference. I thought we played well as a team, our shooters shot extremely well, our posts dominated on the boards. Our bench was active and loud. Everyone on the team played their role and that’s all we can ask for. We executed a great game plan by our coaches and that’s how we are going to win ball games this year.”

    The Jackets play their next game this Saturday, at Franklin as they continue their conference play. Go Jackets!

    Written by Zack Bires

  • In the Spirit of Giving: Christmas for Kids

    The holidays bring all sorts of things: singing, food, family, joy, and so much more. However, some families may not be as fortunate as others. Whatever the difficulty may be, financial or otherwise, gift-giving can be hard in some families. Where there is struggle, there is also a community of people willing to help.

    Members of the Defiance College community joined up with 98.1’s Christmas for Kids to help create a memorable Christmas for all kids. Every year, the news station joins representatives from several Defiance College organizations around the Christmas tree in Serrick to partake in the giving of presents to those less fortunate. Many sports teams donate gifts along with other organizations on campus like Alpha Phi Omega, the service fraternity on-campus.

    The softball team was also one of those teams that joined in donating. The team decided to meet around the tree at about 7 a.m. bringing several gifts. From board games to toys, the team brought all sorts of things to help bring joy this holiday season. Senior Sydni Smith stated that she enjoys donating to Christmas for Kids because “giving back to kids that don’t have a lot makes you feel so good and so appreciative of all that you are fortunate to have in your life.”

    This holiday season, make it a goal of yours to give back to the community in some way, shape or form. It’ll make you feel better but will also make a huge difference in someone’s life.

    Written by Jordan Osborne

  • Representatives Visit Propel Conference

    Three representatives from Defiance College, Adam Swisher, Kaity Kuhn, and MacKenzie Combs attended the 2017 Propel Conference at the University of Akron on November 17th.  The focus of this year’s conference was Childhood Poverty and how it affects all aspects of a child’s life from birth to adulthood. Senator Sherrod Brown and Senator Rob Portman both made remarks on the topic and how as Ohio, we can combat these issues. A panel consisting of Barbara Poppe, Dr. Robert Murray, and David James discussed how to have the hard conversations to make our communities and Ohio better for our children and their futures. There were also student breakout sessions talking about the intersection between food insecurity and housing instability as well as the opioid epidemic and how it affects the development of children in and outside the classroom.  Adam Swisher stated “My favorite about Propel Ohio was the session about opioid epidemic. It really encouraged me to think about the crisis in a different way and challenged me to think about how I can help the cause.”

    Written by Kaity Kuhn

  • Social Work Program Visits Detroit

    Last week the Social Work Program traveled to Detroit, Michigan for their annually urban trip. This trip consisted of a total of thirty-three social work majors, ranging from freshman to senior, as well as DC faculty. The first agency the program visited was CHASS or Community Health and Social Services Center. This center was unique as it had many doctors’ offices in one building. Some of these include a pharmacy, dentist office, gynecologist, and much more. Also, this organization is community based and is a non-profit health care center that focuses on underserved populations. After speaking with some of the people that went on this trip, most stated that CHASS was their favorite organization as everywhere they need to receive service service is at one place.

    Next, the group attended a tour from Cass Community or most popularly known as Tiny Homes. This group is also a non-profit organization that builds tiny homes for people of lower socioeconomic status. This group has bought property in Detroit that has not been developed yet and plans to build a community of tiny houses. Sarah Kaya, a senior social work major, shared that Tiny Homes was her favorite organization to visit. She stated that “it was interesting to learn about how this organization helps the people living in city as well as the number of other areas this could be applied to”.

    Additionally, the Social Work Program attended a tour at Affirmations. This organization is also non-profit focusing on serving all forms of sexual orientation and gender identity. Our social work majors received a tour of Affirmations that displayed rooms dedicated to support groups as well as worship and “safe places.” Moreover, cultural awareness was brought into the church we stayed at as Professor Yakos-Brown encouraged students to eat grasshoppers from the restaurant some attended for dinner.

    Lastly, the group attended the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn. At this museum, social work students learned what it means to be an Arab American as well as what countries and characteristics make up the Arab culture. Additionally, it was interesting to learn that Dearborn has one of the largest populations of Arab Americans. Moreover, this museum displayed stereotypes within an art display that surround issues like racism, sexism, and sexual orientation.

    Written by Madysyn Creighton

  • DC Honors Travels to Authors, Authors!

    (Defiance, OH). The Defiance College Honors Program recently took a trip to the Toledo Library for an event that they put on periodically called Authors, Authors! This event is where they have authors of books, movies, or anything else come in and talk about current topics, their upcoming books, or even their old books.

    This time, DC got the chance to listen to Wil Haygood, the author of The Butler: A Witness to History, and Showdown. Mr. Haygood talked about several topics, but he was not just an author. He was a storyteller. He had the ability to have every single person in the room wrapped around what he was saying.

    The main topic throughout Mr. Haygood’s speeches throughout the night were his books, but it was interesting because he did not talk about them in a way where he was saying you have to buy them, but he talked about them in a way where he explained the importance of the events of Thurgood Marshall and Eugene Allen.

    Mr Haygood was able to bring a very, very sticky topic in today’s culture, and have a very professional conversation, while shining light on both sides of the issue. The topic was race, and he was captured the audience with every word he said.

    Mr. Haygood left the audience with several thought provoking concepts. The first thing that he talked about was advice that he was giving the audience to “let ideas hatch.” He said that we as a society tend to talk ourselves out of ideas that can become really good, as long as we let them develop into what they need to. He wanted everyone in the audience to follow their dreams.

    The next concept was when asked about how to get more respect for African Americans and fight for more respect. He referenced November 4th, of 2008, when Barack Obama was elected. He mentioned that this is something as a culture that we need to look at as a respect for all types of people. President Obama being elected was not a win just for one race, but a win for the world as a whole. That event changed the world, to where we are starting to take steps in the right direction.

    The final concept that he left us with is when we talked to him personally after his speech. He told us to “go in the direction of our heart beat.” This is something that can be left up for interpretation, but is a very powerful message.

    If someone on the campus has a chance to listen to, meet, or read anything by Wil Haygood, I highly suggest it!

    Written by Zack Bires

  • DCWS Drops Final Game

    (Defiance, OH). The Defiance College Women’s Soccer team played in their final regular season game Saturday, October 28th as they took on the first place Mount St. Joe Lions, who had a record of 16-3, and 7-2 in conference.

    This was also the Women’s Senior Night, where they had the opportunity to celebrate three seniors who put in countless hours into leaving the program better than they found it. These seniors were Kassie Memmer, Megan Weasley, and Lea McCoy. Thank you ladies for all the hard work!

    The first half did not go as the Jackets had planned. The Lions were able to run in and out of the defense, putting 4 out of 22 shots on frame into the back of the net. These happened in the 12th, 25th, 41st, and 44th minutes. The Jackets went into the half trailing 4-0.

    The second half was more in favor of the Jackets, as they were able to squelch Mount St. Joseph’s offense, and put together something of their own. This came in the 70th minute, when senior Kassie Memmer, playing in her last collegiate soccer game, lined up for a free kick. She was able to put it over a jumping keeper, adding to her already incredible career here at Defiance. This was not enough, as the Jackets fell to the Lions 4-1.

    After the game, we caught up with Kassie Memmer, and she had this to say about the game, “ We didn’t get the result we wanted from this game, but never stopped playing and battled with MSJ until the last whistle. We were able to put one in the back of the net and that was a good note to end the season.”

    Memmer also wanted to leave her teammates with this, “I’m very thankful for this season, but more so for the girls I got to spend my last season playing with. Throughout the course of the season we grew a lot and I know the future of the program will be better because of the group of girls. They have a lot to look forward to and I am very excited for them!”

    Written by Zack Bires

  • DC’s Dance Marathon

    Defiance College has multiple different organizations on campus through the Project 701 office. All these organizations are non-profit, service oriented organizations that are student-run. Project 701 reaches out to the community to try and get others involved and help out with community needs.

    One of the organizations through the Project 701 office is Dance Marathon. Dance Marathon is all about putting on fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for the Mercy Children’s Miracle Network. This movement is all about raising money “For The Kids”. Dance marathon is in college, university, and high school programs all throughout the country. It helps to raise awareness for children who are born with deficiencies, live with illnesses, or suffer from injuries that keep them from being a typical child. The proceeds go toward making sure these children and those to come do not fight alone in ways of research, equipment, or helping with medical bills. Throughout the country, there are over 300 Dance Marathon programs, with nine campuses raising over $1 million annually. Though Defiance College’s program is very small and may not be able to raise $1 million, it was able to raise $1,400 last year. Any amount is accepted when it comes to raising money for these children and their families that are in need.

    Defiance College’s Dance Marathon has multiple events planned for the 2017-2018 year to help raise money for the Miracle Network. Currently, the organization is running a competition between teams through an online donation service called Donor Drive. This will be up and running the entire school year. Other fundraising events for Defiance’s Dance Marathon is multiple Minute-to-Win-it fundraisers at different sporting events, a Christmas Carnival, a candy-gram fundraiser, a promo night at a local restaurant, and the end of the year Buzzathon. The organization’s goal is to raise $2,000 for the Miracle Network this year. Assistant manager, Michaela Bauer, commented “Dance Marathon has changed my life and gave me a new perspective on life. It has made me want to work with children and feel so passionate about helping children who may not have the opportunities that I have. It is life-changing seeing the smiles on the children’s faces at the events we put on and how happy they are.” If there is any interest in joining or any questions about the movement, contact Taylor Gillig or Michaela Bauer for more information. Dance Marathon is this generation fighting for the next.

    Written by Michaela Bauer