Season 2: What the Witt?!: Stories You May Not Hear on the Tour
When you took your first campus tour at Witt, you likely heard the legend of the Wittenberg seal and its power to prevent your graduation. You were probably told about the kissing bridge with its magic to solidify true love among those who cross it—and kiss, of course! And, you might have caught whispers of the long-standing tradition of streaking the hollow—and of the infamous trifecta! Such stories, while not codified as official Wittenberg information, nonetheless get handed down from year to year, forming an important part of campus culture. They are what makes Witt unique...special.
What are the stories that shape the place we know as Wittenberg? In an effort to answer that question, students in the Fall 2023 CMDM 220 Podcasting: Digital Storytelling took up their recorders and set out across campus to see what they could find. They talked with fellow students, staff members, alumni, Witt police, Springfield residents, and even the university’s First Lady.
The result is What the Witt?!, a 9-part series that shares Wittenberg stories you likely wouldn’t hear on a campus tour. Tune in and enjoy! Who knows, this may just help you recall your own Witt stories; we’d love to hear them! Give it a listen, and let us know what you think at cwaggoner@uupt.net.
Podcasts
- What the Witt?! Opening: Dr. Catherine Waggoner, Professor of Communication & Digital Media, introduces the series produced by Wittenberg students in CMDM 220 Podcasting: Digital Storytelling, Fall 2023. (3:38 min)
- Believe it or Not: The Ghost of Myers Hall: Clip clop, clip clop...a dead Civil War general on his horse, haunting the floors of Myers Hall—real or just our wild imaginations? Quaid O’Brien talks with Parker Roach, president of Wittenberg’s Paranormal Research Club, and Dr. Travis Procter, professor of the popular Demons, Angels, and Ghosts course, about the legendary haunting of Myers Hall. (5:15 min)
- Strange Signs in Weaver Chapel: Perplexed by the strange, even mystical symbols in Wittenberg’s chapel, Zora Shakhan and Anna Roller strike out to find the meaning of these signs, talking with Wittenberg’s Pastor Tracy Paschke-Johannes and Dr. Tom Taylor, Dept of History, and finding it was not what they thought! (5:47 min)
- Super Dogs: Do you ever get the sense that the dogs we train are really, in fact, training us? Max Keef and Michael Yurk take a look at Wittenberg’s 4 PAWS dogs, talking with Witt student handlers and coming away with surprising insights about the super powers of our four-legged friends. (7:18 min)
- Kittenberg: Is Wittenberg a sanctuary for stray cats? Or are cats serving a healing function for students, especially since the pandemic? Molly Specht and Taylor Root take a closer look at the cat phenomenon on Wittenberg’s campus, talking with student Becca Schafer about a special community cat, Dove. (7:57 min)
- The Kayla Couch: Emma Francis and Abbie Hogsett explore favorite study spots on campus, settling upon one particularly odd one: a brown couch in the basement of Chakeres Theatre, made famous by a student named Kayla who always seemed to be there. What is it about that couch, and what does it reveal about life at Witt? (7:37 min)
- The Cookie that [Almost] Sparked a Revolution: How much power does a cookie have in shaping a sense of place, and what happens when someone changes the recipe? Julissa Williams and Ava Agoranos investigate the infamous W cookie scandal with Witt First Lady Sharon Frandsen and staff members Brandee Bates Kern and Kathleen Holzapfel. (4:27 min)
- Law and Order, Witt P.D.-style: What do students think about Witt P.D.? What does Witt P.D. think of students? Zoe Hale and Makenna Thomas sit down with Wittenberg Police Officer Tristan Young to shed light on what is often a contentious relationship on campus. (8:11 min)
- Popping the Witt Bubble: Anthony Fritts and Jayvin Landers take a close look at the relationship between Wittenberg students and local Springfield residents, sometimes referred to as “townies.” What are the perceptions of each towards the other? What happens when those labels conflate, and a townie becomes a Witt student? Listen in as Tony and Jayvin explore the potential in the town and gown relationship between Springfield and Witt. (9:25 min)
- He’s Still Here! The Student Who Never Graduated: Ever wonder what Wally Witt would say if he could speak? Kody Gould and Noah Gfell talk with Wittenberg’s most famous and—perhaps oldest—continuing student: Wally Witt, gaining a new appreciation for the statue that holds generations of Witt students’ dreams and aspirations. (6:08 min)