The third Wings of Alpha Chi fundraiser is held by Alpha Chi Omega and will take place tonight, March 2, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Campus Grounds. Tickets are $7 and get you a dozen wings, unlimited drinks, and a raffle ticket to win cool prizes.

Wings of Alpha Chi is a fundraiser Alpha Chi Omega started back in 2009. Since then, is has been held in March to help raise money for their philanthropy, the Alliance Area Domestic Violence Shelter. Each year local businesses donate merchandise to be raffled off to winning attendees.

The sisters of Alpha Chi Omega are looking forward to seeing all those who attend help support their philanthropy and promise the night will be filled with good friends, good food, good music, and lots of cool prizes.

For tickets contact Katie Hill or any member of Alpha Chi Omega or you can purchase tickets at the door.

PHOTO/ Mount Union

Mount Union’s tuition is no easy bill to pay. Continuing to increase to what is now around thirty-two thousand dollars a year, it may seem hard to believe that the debt will ever be paid off.

Brad Griffith, class of 2009, is an alumnus who still owes Mount Union about twenty thousand dollars. “Once you space it out, it’s not that bad, it’s just like anything else you’re paying off, like rent,” says Griffith of his debt.

That number may seem very high, but Griffith did find his education to be worth what he owes.  “It gives you a fair shot at being competitive.  It actually ended up helping more than I expected it to.” Griffith has now become a manager at Applebee’s.

Melanie Nakonachny, class of 1999, has just finished paying off her student loans.  “The monthly payments were always easy to manage.  I was also able to defer them when I was in graduate school and when I was laid off.”

A school library media specialist in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Nakonachny feels she got a better experience than colleagues that went to bigger schools.  “I believe the Mount Union experience provided me with life skills and experiences that I don’t believe I would have had at a larger, less expensive institution.  I never resented making my student loan payment because the cost was well worth what I received.”

Deborah Jirous, class of 1973, attended Mount Union when tuition was just thirty-six hundred dollars a year. “That was a lot back then,” says Jirous, “Minimum wage was only $1.10.” With loans and full-time summer jobs, she paid off most of her tuition. When she graduated, she owed about one year’s worth of tuition.

Howard Wenk, class of 1963, is currently retired.  “I owned my own business. I started as an accountant and worked my way up.” Tuition for Mount Union was a mere thousand dollars a year back then. He graduated with no debt at all because he worked and his parents helped him out.

His answer to whether his education was worth it was “No doubt about it. It was a good learning experience and a good basis for the future.”  Four for four randomly selected alumni found their education worth what they owed. Although the price is steep and the debt seems to loom on past graduation, one can find hope in the stories of those who found their time at Mount Union worth every penny. Like Griffith says, “It’s not just the degree, it’s the experience.”

PHOTO/Shannon Brys

This building is now known as Jupiter Studios, but before it became the local arts hangout, the building housed other uses, according to owner Richie Kindler.

“It was originally constructed as a department store by the owner of what would eventually become Kmart,” Kindler said.

He also added that after it was a department store, it turned into Jupiter Discount store, transformed into a furniture store for a few years and then sat empty for five years before it opened as Jupiter Studios in February 2009.

Kindler says that the name of the venue came from the old name of the building – Jupiter Discount Store – during the ‘70s, and also from the celestial theme.  He says that he developed the logo soon after the name and it just stuck. “It had a nice ring to it,” he added.

According to Kindler, the story of Jupiter Studios begins when he and Randy Ley used to sit around and talk about how there was nothing to do in Alliance. They finally  decided to take it upon themselves to make it happen.

The original idea for the place was to have art studios that they could rent out, an art gallery and a recording studio. They thought it would be neat to make it “sort of an art community where there was creativity always happening.”

Kindler said, “ We shortly realized that there was little call for studio space amongst the artists in the area and shifted gears more towards a music venue which encouraged original music artists, an art gallery and a music education facility.

This basically enabled me to use my own talents as a musician, recording engineer, promoter and teacher to create a viable business.”

He said that throughout the entire process, there has been a large number of people who have encouraged and volunteered their labor and ideas. He also talked about the “growing interest in a revitalization effort.” This basically meant that he wanted to create something that Alliance has never seen as well as make a difference.

Another important aspect of the company is that it was supposed to be a community centered arts and music venue which was powered by green energy and plenty of garden space. Kindler said that the Farmers’ Market was something that they supported and encouraged to get started, and they still believe in that to this day.

He said that this year, the people of Alliance will see community gardens springing up throughout the town.        “This has always been a part of our mission,” he said, “and we encourage everyone we meet to start a garden and grow perennial edible foods.”

Kindler also said that they have plans to be a restaurant serving gourmet pizza and flatbread sandwiches in the near future. When this happens, they will be open Wednesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. for dinner.

At Jupiter Studios, located at 346 East Main Street in downtown Alliance, they currently organize events promoting art and music, teach classes in art and music and record music in 16 tracks. For a calendar of upcoming shows and events, log on to the venue’s website at Jupiterstudios.org.  As their website says, “when a community comes together through cultural arts, young people not only stay here, but people actually start to move back to be part of it.”

The Mount Union Wrestling team (No. 8) defeated Baldwin-Wallace 37-6 on Tuesday Feb. 15 earning its first Ohio Athletic Conference championship since 1997.

The Purple Raiders won eight of nine of the ten bouts, one by forfeit to wrap up an undefeated season and a conference title.

Mount Union improved its record to (14-0, 6-0 OAC), and is the only undefeated team remaining in the nation.

At 125, nationally ranked Rikki Reynolds got the team rolling with a 14-3 major decision victory, going undefeated in the conference with his sixth win.

Colin Dennis excited the crowd by coming back from four points down, recording a takedown and securing back points to get an 11-9 decision victory.

At 141, Josh Malave (No. 8) showed his strength on his feet by taking down his opponent numerous times before coming away with a 16-3 major decision victory.

Recording the only pin on the night for the Purple Raiders was Kevin Shadrach at 149, who also went undefeated in conference matches.

At 157, Joe Spooner won by a 12-8 decision and John Piechuta followed by winning by a forfeit at 165 to give the Purple Raiders a commanding 23-0 lead.

Andrew Scavuzzo kept the Yellow Jackets from getting shutout with a pin of Jeremy Hathaway, who is continuing to wrestle with a shoulder injury.

The Purple Raiders proceeded to win the remaining three matches of the night with a 5-3 decision from Andy Jenkins who improved his record to 4-0 in conference action.

No. 4 ranked Bill Schinedl recorded a 10-1 major decision to continue his umblemeished record against DIII wrestlers, and Derick Hessom recorded a 9-1 major decision to close out the match.

The Purple Raiders continue action on Saturday Feb. 26 in Ada, Ohio at the University of Ohio Northern’s campus competing for the OAC Championship.

Schindel and Reynolds won individual championships last season and Schindel garnered All-American honors.

The only loss Schindel has on the year is a wrestler from Lindenwood University, a NAIA school that does not compete in the Division III national tournament.

Malave and Hessom took second a year ago and are both undefeated in conference matches this season.

Malave has the most wins on the team this season and is continuing to climb up the polls in individual national rankings.

Hessom lost a tough decision last season in the OAC finals, but has continually progressed this year. He is an active 285 pounder who excels because he continues to push the action.

Shadrach should also contend for a title at 149. He is continually getting better and he recorded pins his last two OAC matches, not to mention his close 5-2 loss to defending national champion Issac Dukes from Case Western Reserve.

From top to bottom the Purple Raiders have a solid lineup with every starting wrestler securing at least 15 wins on the season.

The Purple Raiders took three wrestlers to nationals last season and this year they could take more than half the team.

Mount Union placed second the last two years at the OAC tournament as a team and this year they are the heavy favorite to win the team title.

Heilderberg is the defending conference champion and the Purple Raiders defeated them earlier in the season 30-12.

Student Senate on Feb. 15 began with official business.  All the organization representatives who are new to the Senate this semester had to be sworn in.

After everyone became official, it was time to hear a report from Adam Hood, president of Student Senate.

Hood said they need a new president and vice president of Student Senate for next semester.  The applications are available at the information desk and outside of the senate office.  The elections will be held on March 1.

He also said that anyone can apply for these positions, regardless if they have previously been a member in the senate or not.

Next on the agenda was an update from the Society of Neuroscience.  Student Senate gave them an amount of money last semester when they requested it, so a few members wanted to give an update on how the money was used.

The group flew to San Diego and presented their research to several thousands of people and also presented it to the undergraduate students that were in attendance at the event.

The experiments that were conducted by the Society of Neuroscience were done on rats.  They were trying to examine the brain and block certain parts of their memory.  They ended their report by thanking the senate for the appropriation.

Also at this meeting were more appropriations requests.  The Alternative Spring Break was asking for $2,664.50 to help with the costs of their trip this year.  The committee decided to give them $75 dollars per member (20 members) which would total $1,500.  It was put to a vote and it passed.

Also asking for help was the Social Responsibility class.  They are taking a trip to do volunteer services and they were asking for $1,200 to help alleviate some of their costs.  The committee decided on $900 and when put to a vote, the senate agreed.

Finally, the Ultimate Frisbee Club, which is new on campus, was asking for $1,905.97.  They wanted this money in order to purchase jerseys and equipment, and also for traveling costs.

The committee decided that they would take care of the costs for the jerseys and equipment for the club which would amount to $406.  It was put to a vote and the senate passed the movement.

These changes leave $394 in the Student Senate budget for the remainder of the school year.

The Order of the Day was a presentation by Will Warren, president of the Black Student Union (BSU) on campus, about the importance of Black History Month.

He touched on the events that were happening last week, such as the speaker, Monyka Price, and the annual BSU fashion show.

He briefly discussed some of the inventions and various impacts made by African Americans in our history.  He also said that it is important that certain people are recognized for their many contributions made to our society in order to make it a better place today.

Class of 2003 alum, Elizabeth Bender came back to Mount Union to present her tips to translation to foreign language majors.

Since graduating from Mount Union with a B.A. in Japanese language, Bender worked in Japan as an English teacher, a tour guide, and then a freelance translator and interpreter up until last year.

Currently, she is working on a master’s degree in Japanese to English translation at the Kent State University Institute for Applied Linguistics.

Bender got her interest in the Japanese language by studying it first at Kent State then majoring in it at Mount Union.

Her interest in translation came from a freelance translator who visited Mount during her undergrad years.

During her presentation, Bender stated skills that are needed for being a good translator.

Bender also said that things that make the translation process easier for her was working with two computer monitors, reading the text to be translated and then breaking down the text into chunks from the size of paragraphs to phrases.

Then, once the text is broken down, look at familiar text and brainstorm the process aloud with the aid of a web-based dictionary.

Bender’s Tips of the Trade

-Language

Improve second language skills by reading about your own self-interests/hobbies written in the second language.

-Be a good writer!

Do not forget that there are many different Englishes.

-Editing is a must!

Different clients want your translated work to be formatted beforehand.

Once your work is pre-edited, you may never know until the last minute if the client changed your work without even doing a spell check or finding grammatical errors.

-Be able to analyze texts

Translation for a do-it-yourself manual and a travel brochure are written in different styles.

-Computer skills

Translation is intertwined with internet and computer programs

-Research skills

Take the time to find out and learn a little bit about what you do not even know.

-Time Management

Even with freelance translation, procrastination is a typical evil that can draw you in.

-Usage of Computer Assisted Translation Tools

CAT tools are not perfect at translating every piece of text but have efficient memories.

For information on graudates and students like the one described in this article, go to http://www.mountunion.edu/opportunities

While visiting Mount before presenting the Heffern Lecture, John A. Neuenschwander discussed what he thought were some of the most important things today’s college student should be doing.

Get involved

This leads to a broadening of self and will help you gain self-confidence in different situations.

Develop critical intelligence skills

Education is more than just keeping your nose in a book. Reading, speaking, and analytical skills will help you learn how to research and present any challenge you are facing. You can start working on these skills by getting involved in class discussions.

Take hold of your education

Talk to your professors and ask questions about the field. Get the full value out of the education you are paying for.

Take care of your environment

Being green is important in the world today, especially withthe growing population.

Read newspapers

Don’t rely on instant sound bites and what you see on the Internet.  Sort through the information and find out what really happened.

Civic education is important

Look at issues and realize there are two sides to them. Be an educated citizen and be aware of the issues in your environment. Get out and vote, and be a responsible citizen.

Appreciate your family

If you prepare yourself with these critical skills, when you get out in the world and what you planned to do doesn’t happen, the better your skill level the better your ability to adapt to those situations.

If the “Glee” soundtrack is what you choose to sing to in the shower, then rejoice because “Glee”, the multi-award winning Fox television show, is coming to an arena near you.

The website gleetour.com is reporting that 13 members of the cast will be jumping on the tour bus to perform their show-stopping tunes in North America.

Fans can expect to see Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Heather Morris and many more of the cast members.

Glee fans can enjoy some of the shows most memorable hits such as “Empire State of Mind,” “Toxic” and the infamous Journey song that started the pop phenomenon.

Co-creator Ryan Murphy gave his thoughts on the tour, stating, “there is something magical about thousands of ‘Gleeks’ coming together to share a special night with our cast…”

If you are an out of the closet ‘Gleek,’ look for the all star Glee Tour to perform in Cleveland on June 14 at the Quicken Loans Arena.

Last week has confirmed what many have believed along; there is no clear cut favorite amongst the collegiate ranks of men’s basketball.

Throughout the beginning of the season, Duke was on top and geared for a repeat, until a pair of losses to unlikely foes.

Then Ohio State propelled to the front of everyone’s mind with the help of freshman sensation Jared Sullinger. Ohio State immediately began to look like they would go undefeated, until this possibility became a reality and the pressure caved in on Ohio State last week at Wisconsin.

The loss to the Badgers did not seem to slow down the Buckeyes when they beat a solid and desperate Michigan State team. After the win over the Spartans, the Buckeyes seemed to be looking pretty with both Kansas and Texas suffering losses, seemingly putting Columbus back in the number one slot just a week after losing.

But once again the pressure got to the Buckeyes. Another loss for Thad Matta would not have been as devastating if it were to any team but Purdue. The loss to the Boliermakers brings them within one game of Ohio State for the Big Ten regular season title and Ohio State still has a re-match with Wisconsin left on the schedule.

Prior to last week the Buckeyes seemed confident and unbeatable, but now many are questioning the Buckeyes and more specifically Sullinger. Sullinger has received nothing but praise from his performance this year, but Sullinger’s lack of composure in the two losses has raised a few questions.

After their first loss Sullinger tweeted about a fan spitting incident and seemed very upset, rightfully so. However, after their most recent loss Sullinger seemed to be very upset with the referees in the final part of the game and after retweeted critical comments about himself.

This may be a way of motivation for him, but this appears to be more of a problem then a solution for the Buckeyes. The last thing Sullinger needs to do is confront his critics. It should be motivation enough for him to read the comments and then forget about them instead of giving his critics the satisfaction of knowing he is angry.

Sullinger has been the Freshmen of the year for the Buckeyes the entire season until the team started losing. Maybe the experts that say a loss is good for a team is correct. One thing for sure is, these two losses hurt for the Buckeyes, but their great year is not over. Sullinger, in the words of Dick Vitale could be the “Diaper Dandy” of March Madness.

All he has to do is stay focused and learn from the recent adversity. Many more tight and frustrating games lie ahead for the Buckeyes if they want to be number one when the season ends and Sullinger needs to be the leader.

Flashy may not be a strong enough word to describe the always dressed-to-impress Lady Gaga, but it might suit her new album.

Little monsters have already had the pleasure to listen to Gaga’s newest track, “Born This Way,” but everyone is reminded that there is more where that came from.

Just when audiences thought she could not top the bizarre egg entrance at the 2011 Grammy Awards, they were forced to think twice.

Lady Gaga’s newest album, “Born this Way”, is set to be released May 23, 2011 and fans are already clawing at the opportunity to listen to more of Gaga’s music.

“I’ve been working on this album for over a year and a half,” Gaga told my.hsj.org. “I love the album so much and hope the monsters do too.”

Surely monsters of all shapes and sizes will dig her newest beats as “Born this Way” spiked to the top of the charts after being released on the first day. It seems anything that Gaga creates turns into pop culture gold, but do her other new songs await the same fate?

“It’s quite eclectic,” Gaga told Billboard.com regarding her new album. “It ranges from ‘Born this Way’ being very light to the rest of the album becoming darker.”

Audiences know that whatever she brings to the table, we can expect it to be, well, Gaga.

Her twisted fashions, flashy tracks and show-stopping performances can almost guarantee her instant success.