Daily Tweets for 2010-03-12

• A FLOOD WATCH has been issued for Marietta, OH. Melting Snow & Rain will push the Ohio River and tributaries towards Action & Flood Stages #
• Projected river height on Sunday at 1 PM is 30 Feet…3 feet below Action Stage. The WATCH is through Wednesday of next week. #

WotM Weather Center: River Gauge, Marietta Floods, and You

This post is an educational tool for those unfamiliar with the flood plain of Marietta, OH.  Currently, there is a FLOOD WATCH for the Marietta area, with projections of river levels reaching Action Stage by the 16th.  Watch Writing on the Mall for projection updates as they are posted by the National Weather Service.

So you may be wondering what River Gauge is.  It’s the measurement taken at select sites up and down rivers across the country to help better map river levels.  There are two gauge sites near Marietta: one at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers on the Harmar side of the Muskingum, and one at the Willow Island Lock just upriver.

These gauge readings can tell us how close we are to flood stage at certain points.  At Marietta, as you can see on the image above, we start getting worried around the 33 foot mark, which is labeled an Action Stage.  Between 33 and 35 feet, the river threatens to overflow at its lowest points.  Action Stage also serves as a way to alert the community that the floodwaters could raise at any point.

Floodwaters between 35 and 38 feet are considered Flood Stage at Marietta.  Flooding first hits Don Drumm Stadium, as it is one of the lowest areas in town.  It takes 37 feet to affect Fourth Street housing.

Moderate Stage is when flood waters are between 38 and 40 feet.  At this stage, most of the West Virginia area along the river is flooded.  Flooding could affect the Hermann Bowl and areas along the creek.

When you get above 40 feet, you enter the Major Flood Stage, which is where seven of the ten largest floods in Marietta history have peaked.  At 40 feet, a majority of Marietta is flooded, along with Harmar and low-lying areas of Williamstown.  The largest flood in Marietta history topped out at over 58 feet.  You can still see markers on first street to commemorate the largest floods, with more recent markers showing where the 2004 flood was.  The September 2004 flood was nearly 45 feet, while the January 2005 flood was around 44 feet.

“Pioneer Pledge” To Replace College Creed

The Marietta College Creed may be getting a completely new face next year.  A new “Pledge” has been proposed to replace the Creed currently in use.  If President Jean Scott approves the changes, the new pledge could be ready for Matriculation this fall.

The proposed changes have been in development for five semesters.  A faculty member on the campus life committee showed how a similar pledge at another university helped make them stronger and give them an identity.

Vlad Grecu, a senior and member of the campus life committee, believes that the proposed Pledge could have the same effect on Marietta College students.  “More than anything, it gives identification to what a Marietta College student is.  It shows what character we want to show through the people in our college.”

Continue reading ““Pioneer Pledge” To Replace College Creed” »

Daily Tweets for 2010-03-11

• Where did everybody go for Spring Break? Any service-based trips? Unique destinations? Let us know for an article we are working on! #

Marietta Gourmet Coffee Shop “Stoked” to Serve More College Students

A day doesn’t go by without a desire to fulfill thirst. More often than not, students crave particular beverages at the most random times, and sometimes there is a mind battle regarding what the mouth is truly mad after.

There are occasional limitations in variety and availability if the observation remains within immediate reach. However, there is a positive alternative to cure even the driest palate.  Stoked Coffee, located on 302 Pike St. in Marietta, has been serving up delicious drinks, ranging from the obvious to chai tea, real fruit smoothies, milkshakes referred to as a crème, Italian sodas, sweetened and unsweetened teas, and hot chocolate, as well as bagels, cookies, and scones, since November of 2007.

Continue reading “Marietta Gourmet Coffee Shop “Stoked” to Serve More College Students” »

Daily Tweets for 2010-03-10

• The WotM Weather Center is watching rising gauge levels on the Ohio River. Predictions place it 10 feet below Action Stage by Friday night. #

Forensics Team Adds Life to College

(Ed. Note – This is an opinion piece.  The contents of the article are the thoughts and opinions of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Writing on the Mall or its staff)

For many students on campus, this team is almost like a secret society, except to the participants’ close friends, and this needs to change immediately. The Marietta College community of students and staff need to stand up and support these bold and lively students.

As a junior here at Marietta, I have only heard of this so-called forensics team of ours a couple of times and those were freshman year when my Communications 101 professor would make an announcement or congratulate them aloud. If you want to know more, you’ve got to talk to the right people. Once you find them and start talking though, it’s hard to stop because the passion for communications runs deep here at MC.

The Marietta College Forensics team is an organization that is dedicated to helping individuals on campus try to perfect the skill of public speaking. From their website connecting to the college’s, you can find out most of the technicalities of the organization and what they are mainly about. According to the department page for forensics, the Greeks organized contests for speakers that developed and recognized the abilities believed to have been central to democracy. I wonder how the Greeks would have felt about the Bush family’s speaking abilities.

In order to better understand what the organization is all about, it’s good to delve into what they go through in practices and competitions. First off, there are three separate categories of events; interpretation, prepared, and limit preparation. Starting in the fall, before semester even begins the seasoned team members start by researching possible topics and possible selections to start writing. New member meetings are held once the semester starts and then the team can choose which tournaments will fit their schedules.

Pieces are prepared as much as possible in the first month of school so the rest of the year can be dedicated to practice making perfect and taking the criticism from judges and making the performances stronger for the next tournament. The meetings are weekly and open to new members at any point as far as I could tell from talking to a few members and Tomeka Robinson, Communications professor and co-leader of the organization. The team usually stays the same year round because students are encouraged to try out early to get in the most tournaments possible but, no matter what your major is, you can be a forensics pro if you’d like.

Scott Burnham, current president of the team states, “I feel that more advertisement would definitely help students learn about the organization. I also feel that students need to realize that the opportunities this organization presents are limitless. This club allows students to practice a practical skill that is a necessity in a professional career. This club also promotes friendships across Universities and on our own campus.”

When asking students what their best team experience is, you might expect to hear things like hitting a homerun in the ninth and scoring that final goal that broke the tie but, on this team, the high moments are much deeper than you can expect from any other team on campus.

“[Winning the National Novice Championship freshman year] showed me that even though I attended a small college, I could still compete against universities that have enormous programs and that dedication is truly the key to your success.” Dedication huh, I think Marietta College knows a little something about that.

To a college with 175 years of history this year, stand up and be proud of the amazing public speakers that are right here in your own body of students. This organization is student-led, the most successful academic organization on campus, and it focuses on helping students reach their highest capacity that they possibly didn’t even know existed! Marietta College plays host to the annual Wilcox tournament so next year, take the chance to see you peers in action. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll make you think a little harder the next time you open your trap.

This article was written by Allison Holton, a student taking Media Writing Two at Marietta College.  Look for more articles from the class to appear on Writing on the Mall in the coming weeks.  If you are interested in writing for Writing on the Mall, please e-mail patrick_h at writingonthemall dot net.

Daily Tweets for 2010-03-09

• Check out http://www.postgazette.com/ to see a photo of the Becky Thatcher (longtime Marietta icon) being demolished in Pittsburgh. #

98.5 Provides Diverse Listening Opportunities

It’s Tuesday night. Maybe you’re working on homework and need a little background music. Maybe you’re avoiding homework and need a distraction. Your iTunes playlist is overplayed and Pandora can’t seem to get your musical style just right. So what do you do? Perhaps turning to the good old radio is the way to go.

Senior Danette Curiale, of Cleveland, Ohio, and junior Alissa Bambarger, of Conneaut, Ohio, recently started broadcasting their own hip-hop radio show on Marietta College’s own WCMO 98.5 FM. The duo’s show, Hip Hop Hour to the Second Power, runs from 7-9 p.m. every Tuesday.

“We both like hip-hop a lot,” Curiale said, “We pick songs that are popular and that we like.” They are happy to take requests, both girls said, and they will play any suggestions they get, as long as they fit into the show’s genre.

Bambarger, who goes by “A-Bam” on the show, said her favorite aspect of doing the show is getting to play the kind of music she likes because there aren’t really stations around here that play it. “I never thought I’d have a radio show,” Curiale, better known as “D-Money,” said, “It’s different. That’s what I like.” Neither thinks having a show is very hard, the most difficult thing for both is finding edited versions of the songs they want to play. During the course of the show, they also have to break for campus and community announcements, as well as play public service announcements.

Curiale and Bambarger heard about an opening for a show through their sorority sister, Amy Hayes, who has had a show for the past two years. “We just had to e-mail the station manager and fill out some paperwork with a basic idea and timeslot. It was really simple,” Curiale commented. Now they grace the airwaves for your enjoyment on those boring Tuesday nights, so take a break and tune in.

This article was written by Joe Dillon, a student taking Media Writing Two at Marietta College.  Look for more articles from the class to appear on Writing on the Mall in the coming weeks.  If you are interested in writing for Writing on the Mall, please e-mail patrick_h at writingonthemall dot net.

Daily Tweets for 2010-03-05

• March 4th protests at California universities are starting to get interesting. Watch @HuffPostCollege @NSNS @CampusTweet for the latest. #