Campus Characters: Xavier Jedi fights ‘Dark Side’ with hugs
Megan Jacobs
Staff Writer
He is famous for the ever-present light saber clipped to his jeans and the free hugs that he gives out to anyone who needs one. But what is his story?
Ben Klapper, a freshman history major, is probably one of the most yet least
known people on campus, thus making him one of the most interesting.
“His light saber is how I met Ben Klapper,” says friend Jenn Bailey.
“I went up to him and asked him what color his light saber was and he said ‘blue’ and I said ‘thanks’.”
To his friends, Ben, usually called “Klapper” or “Bruce,” as a reference to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, seems pretty normal, next to his unusual ability to recite almost anything about history or any science fiction movie ever made. What about the light saber, though?
“Klapper’s light saber is a part of who he is,” says another friend, Sammy Pettinichi. “It’s like someone’s glasses; it isn’t really noticed unless it isn’t there, or attention is brought to it.”
Klapper carries the weapon because he is a Jedi, and, yes, he knows Star Wars is just a movie. However, another weapon he carries, the foil for fencing, is for another reason.
“The six fingered man killed my father and I have to hunt him down,” Klapper said.
Besides his weapons, Klapper is famous for the hugs he gives out, and he is willing to give them out anytime and anywhere for someone who needs one.
“His hugs are really good. He always says he is a werebear*,” Elizabeth Schweitzer says.
Not only does he give them to his friends, he gives them to anyone who happens to want one, whether he knows them or not.
“I [give hugs] because I can and because I want to. I do it because
no one is stopping me and I’m incredibly impulsive,” Klapper says.
“Klapper is a cool guy, and interesting to talk to. I’ve never met
anyone with such Prussian pride,” Pettinichi said.
His interest in Prussia is so great, in fact, that when he went to the Ohio Renaissance Festival and found a Prussian flag, his friends noticed that he was unusually happy for the next few days.
Courtesy of Ben Klapper
Ben Klapper creates his own comics of everyday occurrences in his life.
Another interesting hobby that makes Klapper popular among his friends is drawing comics. While they usually only tell things that happen in Klapper’s everyday life and while the main characters are all stick people, the commentary on theses comics can make anyone laugh. There is even a group on Facebook called “Just Another Day…” where he has 156 of his comics up for people to read.
“They are random incidents in life that I thought were funny so I decided to record them,” says Klapper.
Not only is Klapper funny but he is also caring despite what his dark exterior and destructive weapon might imply.
“He escorts my friends and me back to the dorms to protect us from all
the drunks on the weekends with his light saber,” said Gallagher.
“I want to make sure that everyone gets back safely,” Klapper says.
Klapper’s uniqueness is a source of pride for him and his friends. The fact that he refuses to live up to the social norms of today seems to have gained him more admirers.
“Ben Klapper is my hero; he’s a nerd and is in no way ashamed of it,” Brendan Polak said.
Had Klapper not been able to sneak his light saber to college this year, he may not have been the same person. There would have been no Jedi costume for Halloween this year and there would be no need for him to join the fencing club, where he spends time with his friends.
Klapper is living proof that the social norms do not need to be adhered to. In Klapper’s case, he is probably the opposite of a social norm and that works for him.
*werewolf-like bear
New alert system in place
Stephanie Metz
Assistant Campus News Editor
Xavier University’s new emergency alert system will become available to students, faculty and staff who wish to receive emergency alerts effective Thursday, Nov. 8.
Due to last spring’s tragic events at Virginia Tech, Xavier has investigated ways to alert students of emergency situations on campus.
Xavier has created the new XU ALERT ME System in conjunction with Community Safe, a local notification system company, and Cincinnati Bell.
“Providing a safe and secure environment for our students, faculty and staff is a top priority at Xavier,” said Sylvia Bessegato, the Associate Vice President for Emergency Management and Business Continuity and chair of the Emergency Response Team.
In order to receive alerts under the new system students must register by providing a landline or cell phone number on the portal.
The system can contact students by calling their phones to leave a voicemail or sending a text message. XU ALERT ME will make three attempts to call each registered student.
The first call will be made within a half hour of an emergency situation. If the phone is answered or has a voicemail, the student will not be contacted again. If the phone is not answered or has a busy signal the service will try to call that student two more times.
Text messages will only be sent once. The incoming call will be labeled as XU ALERT ME on caller ID.
Although this service is free to students they are responsible for minutes used up on their phone or charges incurred for receiving text messages.
In addition to alerting students to emergency situations the system will also alert students to unplanned university closings due to weather emergencies.
Xavier will continue to alert students to emergencies and closings via former
communication methods such as the portal, security alert bulletins, campus and
local media broadcasts as well as the university’s weather closings hotline,
(513) 395-8822.
The Emergency Response Team considered multiple notification systems over the past months, but ultimately chose Community Safe.
They believe this company will provide the necessary services, and is an affordable local company which received positive reviews from other schools and businesses in the area who utilize their services.
The new XU ALERT ME system will provide the university with another way to communicate vital information to students efficiently on an individual basis.
The system will be tested once a semester with the first test most likely occurring before Christmas. The university will make all attempts to alert the Xavier community before testing the system.
Information provided for the XU ALERT ME system will not be shared with any organization outside of the system.
To sign up for the system, go to www.xavier.edu/xualertme.
Professor Profile: Dr. Jeffrey Cooley
Megan Jacobs
Staff Writer
Dr. Jeffrey Cooley is probably the only professor who is knowledgeable about the Ancient Near East, Hebrew and the Bible and also supports slip n’ slides as modes of transportation.
Q: What degrees do you have?
A: I have an Masters in Philosophy in Hebraic and Cognate Studies and a Ph.D.
in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, both from the Hebrew Union College.
Q: What is your favorite thing about Xavier?
A: I like most of the students.
Q: What is your least favorite thing about Xavier?
A: It is about 1000 miles away from New Hampshire.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: Ancient Egypt and Nubia, Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek Archaeology and Classical
Myth: Art.
Q: What is the biggest pet peeve when it comes to your students?
A: When they don’t do the reading.
Q: What did you want to be when you were little?
A: A paleontologist.
Q: If you could change your profession now, what would you choose to be?
A: A paleontologist.
Q: What is the coolest job you can get with a degree from the classics department?
A: Anything from law degrees to M.D.s. You can do an awful lot with it.
Q: If you were a contestant on “Survivor” what is the one thing
you would bring that you can’t live without?
A: A motorboat to get off the island.
Q: What is on your iPod or playlist right now?
A: I don’t have an iPod and I don’t have any music files on my computer,
but I did just buy two LDs, those things you put on a record player. One was
The Oscar Peterson Trio, which is jazz, and a Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Q: What is one country that you would want to visit?
A: Iraq, because my degree is in the Ancient Near East, that is Ancient Assyria
and Babylon. It would be heartbreaking to see it now, though, I’m sure.
Q: What is your favorite thing to teach?
A: Biblical Hebrew.
Q: If you could hang out with a famous person for a day, who would you choose
to hang out with?
A: Can they be dead? Theodore Roosevelt.
Q: What is a club you would join at Xavier?
A: The Society of Xavier Gentlemen or the Gentlemen Society of Xavier or something
like that. Not the Gentlemen’s Club, they are trying to avoid that. I
heard they play old-time baseball with 1872 rules.
Q: What is your favorite thing about the classics department?
A: My colleagues and students. I like most of them. And I share an office with
Fr. Fred Benda, he has magical Jesuit powers.
Q: What do you do outside of class time and office hours?
A: Play with my son and spend a lot of time on Ebay.
Q: What got you interested in what you teach?
A: I like languages. I like my languages icy, cold and dead. If they haven’t
been spoken for more than 3,000 years, it makes me happy.
Q: What is one other subject that you would want to teach?
A: I would love to teach Akkadian, it is an ancient language from now Iraq that
is written in Cuneiform.
Q: What is a restaurant or activity that you think Xavier should have on campus
after it is expanded?
A: There are a lot fewer Slip ‘n Slides than I had hoped. I think the
campus should just be at various angles so the students can slip n’ slide
to class. It is hot and humid in the summer and the beginning of the year, so
this would help.
Police Notes
Oct. 29, 10:16 p.m.- A non-student selling perfume on the residential mall was cited and sent off campus.
Oct. 31, 2:10 a.m. - A student reported receiving harassing phone calls. An investigation is pending.
Oct. 31, 9:59 a.m.- An employee reported the theft of a wallet from an office in Kuhlman Hall.
Oct. 31, 7:02 p.m.– Campus Police discovered a car covered with obscene post-it notes in the C-1 lot.
Nov. 1, 1:19 a.m.– Campus Police cited three students carrying alcohol along the academic mall with possession of an open container.
Nov. 1, 3:43 a.m.– A student lying on the steps outside the Fieldhouse was cited for underage consumption and failure to cooperate.
Nov. 1, 7:05 p.m.– Campus Police and Physical Plant assisted 10 students stuck in the small elevator in Schott Hall.
Nov. 2, 9:45 p.m.– An RA reported that someone had written obscene images and words with a marker in one of the Kuhlman Hall elevators.
Nov. 2, 10:45 p.m.– A student whose vehicle was booted on the residential mall was cited for attempting to tamper with the car. immobilizer.
Police Note of the Week
Nov. 3, 2:44 a.m.– Two students attempting to remove a “No Parking” sign from Ledgewood Avenue were cited for underage consumption and failure to cooperate.
Katie Rosenbaum
Campus News Editor
Student senator
Since Tanabe Shigeki, student senator, resigned, there is an opening for a new student senator. Both undergraduate and graduate students can apply. Pick up an application and sign up for an interview in the Student Government Office in Gallagher 210. Applications include a petition with 100 student signatures and sitting in on a Senate meeting. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16. Email Senate Coordinator Jennifer Downing at downingjm@xavier.edu or call x3995 for more information.
Miss Dorothy
Dorothy Humdy, known as “Miss Dorothy,” died Thursday, Nov. 1 at the age of 66. Miss Dorothy retired in September after working at Xavier for 47 years, most recently at Toni’s Little Italy.
Visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7 with the funeral
service at 3 p.m. at Walker Funeral Home, Mt. Healthy, Ohio.
Interment will be at Beech Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.
G.O.A.L. Speaker
Join Gentleman Organized for Achievement and Leadership at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8 in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Mr. Anthony Hudson, an executive at Fifth Third Bank, will talk about how to effectively manage money, career development and success after graduation. Email Aaron Marble at marblea@xavier.edu for more information.
Business Survivor
Twenty teams of two undergraduate students each can compete in a one hour survival of the fittest business competition 4-5:30 p.m. on Nov. 15 at the XMBA room in Hailstones Hall. Contact Laura Randall at x3564 for more information.
Movie viewing
SGA and Hillel are sponsoring a viewing of Hanuszkah at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8 in Kelley. Hanuszkah is a documentary about a Jewish girl who was saved from the Holocaust by the man who would become Pope John Paul II. Food and a discussion will follow. Tickets are free for students and general admission costs $8.
Voices for Change
Interested in writing or acting in a show about social justice issues? Come to the Voices for Change Meeting at 7 p.m. November 7 in the Green Room.
Max & Erma’s
On Wednesday, Nov. 7 you can support the Xavier Club Fencing Team by eating at Max & Erma’s in Rookwood. Twenty percent of each order goes to the club. Email Susan Liauba at liaubas@xavier.edu for more information.
Habitat for Humanity
Enjoy jumping in leaf piles like a little kid? Then help XU’s Habitat for Humanity rake leaves Saturday, Nov. 10, 17 or Dec. 1. You do not have to be a part of Habitat for Humanity to participate. Anyone interested in being outside, raking leaves and, most importantly, supporting a great cause is welcome. Email Jenna at habitat4humanity@xavier.edu for more information.
Loyola Medal
Campus Ministry awards the Loyola Medal annually to a senior who best exhibits the Jesuit ideal of commitment to ministry. Seniors may be nominated by faculty, staff or undergraduate students. Nomination forms may be picked up at the Campus Ministry Loyola House. Nominations are open until Friday, Nov. 16. Contact Joe Shadle, Director of Campus Ministry, for more information.
Dance marathon
XU’s Dance Marathon, a fundraiser for Children’s Hospital, is Nov. 30-Dec. 1. If you haven’t registered yet, you have until Nov. 16, the extended deadline. You can pick up a registration form in the SGA office and return it there once it’s been filled out. Email xudm@xavier.edu for more information.
Hip-hop speaker
Michael Eric Dyson, professor and The New York Times bestselling author will be speaking about “If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?: The State of Our Generation” at 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Cintas Center. Following the discussion Dyson will answer questions and sign his books. Dyson is a professor at Georgetown University, has authored 14 books and was named one of the hundred most influential black Americans by Ebony magazine. For more information contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at x3181.
