Vol. 12 Issue 1

backdrop magazine

FALL 2018

Athens Pg. 22

SKATING AROUND THE STIGMA Pg. 40

Fall for these

Desserts Pg. 14

Letter from the Editor

Julie Ciotola | Editor-in-Chief backdropmag@gmail.com

Since the beginning of August, I have watched the Backdrop staff come together to make this first issue.

Though I was far away from Athens at an internship in Chautauqua, New York, I felt increasingly connected to this campus and my fellow staffers.

Each passing day meant progress: another interview conducted, another photographer assigned, another piece of the puzzle placed.

Returning to campus was a whirlwind, and between classes, work and recruiting new Backdroppers, I found little free time to soak in my return. But when I sat down to read through Issue 1 stories, I was quickly reminded how lucky I am to be in Athens.

Managing Editor Ally Lanasa talked to Ohio University skateboarders, a group that can usually be found on South Green practicing their tricks and cultivating friendships. They are seeking to become a more diverse community (pg. 40). Associate Editor Eleanor Bishop uncovered the potential of 3D printing in Athens. She spoke with Larry Witmer, an OU anatomy and paleontology professor who used the technology to print models of ultra-rare dinosaurs (pg. 18). Our Copy Chief Liz Harper shares the story of Climb Athens, a local nonprofit club that unites climbers through shared passion (pg. 22).

Each of these stories, and many more, are a testament to Athens as a diverse space conducive to connection and growth.

As editor-in-chief of Backdrop, I have the opportunity to assist talented writers, photographers, designers and others in sharing stories of our community. Though our magazine has been around for 12 years, there is so much we have yet to explore, and I am lucky to help lead a hard-working staff through this process (even when I’m hours away).

I hope you enjoy our first issue. There are so many devoted people who made it possible, and I cannot thank them enough.

Best,

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backdrop | Fall 2018

FALL 2018 Âť VOLUME 12 ISSUE 1

backdrop magazine

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JULIE CIOTOLA MANAGING EDITOR ALLY LANASA WEB EDITOR MICHAELA FATH COPY CHIEF LIZ HARPER ASSISTANT COPY CHIEF AVERY KREEMER ASSOCIATE EDITORS ELEANOR BISHOP, GRACE DEARING, HALEY RISCHAR, ALEXIS MCCURDY, LILLI SHER COPY EDITORS DARYL DAVIDSON, ANNELIE GOINS WRITERS RYAN FLYNN, ANNELIE GOINS, RACHAEL BEARDSLEY, JESSICA DEYO DIRECTOR OF MEMBER RELATIONS CORRINE RIVERS

PUBLISHER ABIGAIL MULLIGAN CREATIVE DIRECTOR JESSICA KOYNOCK ART DIRECTORS JYLIAN HERRING & MADDIE SCHROEDER DESIGNERS HALEIGH CONTINO, SAMANTHA MUSLOVSKI, MORGAN MEYER,

MAGGIE WATROS, KALEIGH BOWEN, ABBY SUMMERS, ASHLEY LAFLIN, JESSICA COORS, KAITLIN HENEGHAN, MADDIE KNOSTMAN PHOTO EDITOR MAX CATALANO ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR KISHA RAVI PHOTOGRAPHERS BAXTER TURAIN, COLIN MAYR MARKETING DIRECTOR KENDALL SCHMUCKER SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR BAILEY FINK SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR KATIE COULTER

Want to advertise Interested in in Backdrop? working with us?

Send an email to backdropadvertising@gmail.com to get started.

Stop by one of our weekly meetings at 8 p.m.

Tuesdays in Schoonover 380.

SEE "BREWS

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& CRUISE" PAGE 8

Kathy Kelly-Long and Bill Long enjoy a flight at Eclipse Company Store. Bill biked to Eclipse while Kathy drove to meet him. Photo by Baxter Turain.

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backdrop | Fall 2018

CONTENTS FEATURES MODELS OF THE PAST

OU professor Larry Witmer uses 3D technology to print original models of dinosaurs.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

HOLD ON, CLIMB ON

Local rock climbing community connects through shared passion. . . . . . . . 22

Q&A

WITH LOVE, ATHENS ALUMNI

Ohio University Denver Alumni Chapter spreads love through letter writing campaign. . . . . . . . . . 6

THE DROP

BREWS & CRUISE Cyclists enjoy locally brewed beer during Brewed on the Bikeway tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

ATHENS BRICKS

ON THE BRICKS

Check out noteworthy events around Athens this fall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

SEX & HEALTH

WHAT’S THE SCOOP?

Protein powder is popular among athletes, but experts encourage consuming the nutrient from a variety of sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Backdrop uncovered the true cost of stealing coveted Athens Blocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ENTERTAINMENT

FOOD

Students gain experience in the music industry through OU’s Brick City Records course. . . . . 36

HEALTH CRAZE

PRODUCING THE FUTURE

COUNTRY MUSIC MOGULS

OU alumna Teresa Humrichouser shares love of sweet snacks and healthy eating through Crazy Monkey Baking business.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Alumni amass success in country music industry through careers in radio and production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

RECIPE

SPORTS

BON APPLE-TREAT

Backdrop’s original recipes combine crisp apples with sweet fall flavors like caramel and cinnamon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

INFOGRAPHIC Cover photo by Max Catalano.

CALENDAR

GET ON BOARD Local skateboarders create close-knit community that emphasizes inclusivity . . . . . 40

VOICES

INSIGHT FOR INTERNS

BACKDROP GOT ME HERE

PHOTO STORY

EXHIBIT A Students showcase original poetry . . . . . . . . . . 46

Interning in big cities is a costly endeavor, but there are ways to save money and ease the burden.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

TAKE A DIVE

Athens local Jon Tobin guides students in underwater ventures during scuba diving class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

FALL 2018 » VOLUME 12 ISSUE 1

Two Backdroppers spent summer months abroad in Germany and England . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

PHOTO HUNT Spot the five differences between these photos

taken at the Athens Farmer's Market . . . . . . . . 47

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Q&A

With love,

Athens Alumni Ohio University alumni chapter partners with a global organization to send love around the world.

BY GRACE DEARING PHOTOS PROVIDED BY MIKAYLA ZERNIC

W

hen the Ohio University alumni chapter in Denver found itself without a president from 2015 to 2017, Mikayla Zernic was eager to take over and rebuild the chapter. Zernic has spent her first year as president planning events for alumni in Denver, aiming to recreate the same sense of community she felt during her time in Athens. Camisha Lashbrook, volunteer chair, says volunteering was first on the chapter’s agenda. Most recently, the chapter volunteered to support The World Needs More Love Letters, an international organization founded by Hannah Brencher that is dedicated to delivering handwritten letters to people who need to be reminded that they matter. On Aug. 1, about 15 OU alumni wrote nearly 100 letters to strangers.

HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR OF MORE LOVE LETTERS? ZERNIC: My friend actually went to

Gilmore up in Cleveland. I’m from Cleveland and we met out here just being from Cleveland. She does all of their social media as a volunteer position… I knew about it through that and it was easy to set up. It’s really awesome what they stand for and what they do to help others.

MIKAYLA ZERNIC 6

backdrop | Fall 2018

PRESIDENT OF DENVER ALUMNI CHAPTER

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO GET THE ALUMNI CHAPTER INVOLVED? ZERNIC: We try to do different

types of events. We do have a lot of Scripps folks out here, including myself, so [we do like] writing and being creative, but also giving back to the community was really neat to see.

DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZING THE MORE LOVE LETTERS EVENT. LASHBROOK: Each month, More

Love Letters selects five or six people whose stories have been submitted by friends or family members to receive their love letters. All you have to do is get people together, bring paper and decorating supplies, read their stories and then write letters to them.

We had about 15 people come, quite a few people who were new to the group, a few who come to every event and then most of the board, and we actually got rained out of the park where we were supposed to be having it. A ton of people showed up and it just started pouring raining so we ran to one of our board member’s houses and people still showed up. People still kept coming even though there were downed trees in the neighborhood. [Zernic] bought a bunch of decorating supplies and everyone just kind of read the stories

and shared their own stories and their own perspective of what that person was going through, and then we wrote a bunch of notes to leave around Denver for people to find with encouraging phrases.

WHAT IMPACT WERE YOU HOPING TO MAKE BY GETTING THE OU ALUMNI INVOLVED? ZERNIC: The Bobcat community is

huge. You feel it when you step on those bricks the first time you visit, and that was something I didn’t really have my freshman year. So it’s always been at the back of my mind, being a community and giving back. It’s not always about just focusing on yourself and getting your grades and getting your degree, you have to make your impact while you’re there… Bringing that kind of ‘bricks’ feel to Denver is really where the board and I wanted to take some of these events. We didn’t just want it to be ‘yeah, let’s get beers at at a bar and watch a football game.’ Don’t get me wrong, we like that too; but I think being able to come full circle and make an impact so far away from our home on the bricks was really our goal with these volunteer events, by being able to give back to the community here.

LASHBROOK: I think that being an alumni chapter, giving back to your community is interesting because

you’re giving back to your Denver community. You’re giving back to people who aren’t Bobcats, who aren’t from Ohio, who don’t have any relation to the university, so I think it’s really cool that the university wants to promote volunteering that affects everyone, not just OU… We sent letters as far as Spain, so having that impact not just in the Denver community feels really powerful coming from Athens, but having that impact across the world was really fantastic, that felt really good. It was such a simple thing to do and to know that it would be so meaningful for these individuals really felt like it made a perfect fit.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHY DO YOU THINK MORE LOVE LETTERS HAS HAD SUCH A PROFOUND IMPACT NATIONALLY? ZERNIC: I think overall just

[Brencher’s] positive impact and helping others be uplifted and showing how many people care about them, whether they know them or not, that they matter and it’s going to get better… Mental health is a real thing so I think spreading that message, she’s been very effective with that by being able to reach several different audiences and being able to help people with that by doing this letter activity. b

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THE DROP

Brews & Cruise

BY RYAN FLYNN | PHOTOS BY BAXTER TURAIN

The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway offers cyclists a scenic route to award-winning craft breweries.

L

ong bike rides can be taxing, and after a 21-mile excursion on a bicycle, most riders want to refuel with a high-calorie, carb-heavy recovery meal. Some boil oats while others blend together a smoothie, but Team Athens Cycling Club member Colton Allen has a different solution: ice-cold beer.

“I finish every ride with a post-ride beer,” says Allen, an Ohio University senior. “When you’re out hammering on a bike, trying to keep up close to 30 miles an hour, that takes it out of you. If you want to actually sit down and talk to the guys after a ride, it’s what we do.”

Incidentally, beer and cycling go hand in hand in Athens, or rather, hand on handlebar. Allen often opts for a beer at Eclipse Company Store, located off the 21-mile Hockhocking Adena Bikeway, which circumnavigates OU and leads into Nelsonville.

Eclipse Company Store welcomes travelers with a bandstand and plenty of outside seating. Located in The Plains, the brewery occupies a large, rustic building

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that used to be an old general store. Now, it serves weary bikers as a beer hall and restaurant. With polished hardwood floors gleaming and the smell of locallysourced foods such as eggplant tots and house-smoked barbecue in the air, Eclipse invites hungry guests. Chalkboards hang on the walls, listing over 30 beers on tap, all of which make up a staggering display of tap handles above the bar.

Eclipse is one of five microbreweries positioned along the bike trail. The breweries, which include Jackie O’s, Little Fish Brewing, Devil’s Kettle and Multiple Brewing Company, compile Brewed on the Bikeway, a craft beer and bike tour sponsored by the Athens County Visitors Bureau. The tour attracts visitors nationwide who want to sip authentic Athens brews while working up a sweat.

Bill Long and Kathy Kelly-Long are beer tourists from Fairfield County, Ohio, about an hour north of Athens.

Bill is a seasoned Brewed on the Bikeway participant and regularly bikes the entire

length of the bikeway.

“I’ve biked the pathway before without thinking of brews,” Long says.

“Later, when we realized that there were breweries down here, we visited them.”

Long says his first time doing the brew ride, he loaded his bike with growlers and rode 15 miles south from Nelsonville to Little Fish Brewing and Devil’s Kettle in Athens. After siphoning off some of his favorite craft beers, he made the trek back home to enjoy his spoils.

Now, after trying every brewery, Long is a qualified brew-rider. He says he and his wife regularly visit Athens to combine their shared interests of craft beer and cycling.

“The fun of visiting the breweries is you get such a better variety than you would see if you just buy the beers in the store,” Long says. “They all have something special or something different. For beer, I like Devil’s Kettle the best. For trying new things and atmosphere, I like Little Fish the best.

For the food, we like Jackie O’s.”

Kelly-Long shares her husband’s admiration for the variety of brews, and also says she enjoys the social aspect of the bike tour.

“A lot of the times you get to meet the people who brew [the beers] and talk to them and find out why they like doing what they do, which is fun,” she says.

Brewed on the Bikeway has acquainted her and Long with some Athens locals they otherwise wouldn’t know, such as Cameron Fuller, the owner and brew master of Devil’s Kettle.

Fuller, originally from Oakland, California, moved to Athens to work for Stewart Macdonald, an Athensbased global outfitter of guitar supplies, tools and parts. Utilizing a passion for woodworking, Fuller crafted guitars while pursuing his brewing interests by creating award-winning homebrews. In 2015, when Jackie O’s was the only local brewery, he saw opportunity to grow Athens’ craft beer sector.

Fuller fused his passions for craft beer and woodworking and created Devil’s Kettle, located off Columbus Road less than 10 minutes from uptown Athens. Devil’s Kettle’s screaming red paint and tall highway sign beg to be noticed. Guitars and local art hang on the walls. Dark red and black paint make up its devilish interior aesthetic. Fuller handmade

Cyclists Trina and Dennis Bell enjoy a beer at the Eclipse Company Store.

the hardwood counters, shelving and multicolored bar top, painstakingly sizing and gluing all the pieces together to make the ideal finished product for his brewery.

“There’s probably a dozen different species of woods in this,” says Fuller, referring to the bar top. “It’s all wood that I acquired for the purpose of building custom guitars, but once I started the brewery I realized I don’t need to have this stash of awesome and expensive, exotic hardwoods.”

The Athens County Visitors Bureau approached Fuller to be a part of Brewed on the Bikeway in 2017. Since then, cyclists have made up a large part of

Devil’s Kettle’s clientele.

“I definitely saw a big boost last year as soon as that bike path was open,” Fuller says. “Last summer there were days when I’d say at least fifty percent of my customers come by bike.”

Fuller attributes Brewed on the Bikeway’s success to Athens’ culture of supporting local businesses. He says there’s a certain appeal to Athens that draws tourists for more than just the university.

“There’s enough breweries here that motivate people to come into town for beer tourism,” he says. “You could spend a whole weekend just enjoying the local foods and drinks and culture of Athens.” b.

Bill Long gets ready to mount his bike after visting Eclipse Company Store.

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THE DROP

CHIP OFF THE

ATHENS BLOCK Stealing Athens Bricks is a longstanding tradition among OU students, but it comes at a cost to the city.

BY LILLI SHER | PHOTO BY KISHA RAVI

T

he brick streets and buildings of Athens, Ohio are considered a trademark of the town by many students and residents.

The bricks that line the streets, many inscribed with the iconic “Athens Block,” were produced by the now-defunct Athens Brick Company. The cityowned brick factory closed in the mid1920s, according to former Recycling Coordinator Ed Newman.

“Making bricks turned into this huge industry here,” says Newman, who has extensively researched and collected bricks. “In Athens, that was a dominant business… The city saw enough of a value in it that they invested in this company.

It was a big economic development scheme for this area at the time.”

The “Athens Block” inscription has become almost as notorious as the brick streets themselves, which has led many students to take an Athens block as a memento. For many students, stealing an Athens block has become a rite of passage.

Of the 379 undergraduate students who anonymously answered our survey, approximately 25 percent reported stealing an Athens block. When asked why, the majority of respondents answered along the lines of “because it’s a tradition” or “for sentimental reasons.”

Although some view the practice of brick stealing as a harmless tradition, others see it as a safety hazard and a monetary drain on the city. Stephen Wood, the associate vice president of facilities management and safety, says the practice of brick stealing increases the operational costs of his department.

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“At a time when everyone is concerned about the rising cost of college, that contributes to it,” Wood says. “If we’re spending $10,000 a year on bricks, that’s $10,000 [that] cannot be put into replacement of an air conditioning system or a troubling repair … It may seem very insignificant to an individual, but overall it can add [up] quite a bit over time.”

While the university does not have to pay for the cost of bricks, the cost of labor has weighed on the university's budget. According to data obtained from the university, the it has spent $41,941.50 since 2016 in labor costs for brick replacement, sidewalk repairs, masonry repairs and removing or repairing masonry.

“We do not have the ability to discern what specific portion of that work might have been related to vandalism,” Wood says. “We seek reimbursement for costs associated with vandalism when we can attribute individual responsibility through the legal process.”

Brick keepsakes are not only costly for the city, they can also lead to legal trouble.

Stealing an Athens block is a misdemeanor of the first degree, says OU Police Department Lieutenant Timothy Ryan.

“Typically, the person would get charged with theft and released,” Ryan says. “They could be jailed on the charge.”

The OUPD was unable to provide reports of people caught stealing bricks.

Bricks are most often stolen in the spring as students prepare to graduate, Ryan says. Eighty percent of the students who reported stealing a brick in the survey are upperclassmen.

Wood says he “can’t tell how big a problem” brick stealing is on campus.

“When we respond to an area to make repairs, we aren’t sure the cause of what has occurred,” Wood says. “Bricks could’ve broken and needed to be replaced [or] bricks could’ve been taken as a result of vandalism or something like that.”

There is also a safety issue involved when students take Athens blocks, Wood says.

“If someone’s pulling [a brick] out and we can’t get back over and make the correction, which may not be the same day, you’re risking either creating a vehicle problem … or a pedestrian issue,” he says. “You could be hurting one of your friends, peers or one of the faculty or staff, and I wish they wouldn’t do it.”

Anne DiLorenzo*, a senior majoring in journalism, says she doesn’t like when students take Athens blocks from the main roads on campus because of safety concerns.

“With so many students trying to take them, it kind of affects the roads and leaves holes for cars and bikes,” she says. “If everyone took one, then they’d all be gone.”

DiLorenzo says she took a loose brick that she found near The Ridges her freshman year because she had heard about the tradition from an older friend.

However she says she does not feel like she caused any damage.

“Mine was one that other people pried loose in a back section where no one [was] walking or driving,” DiLorenzo says.

She says it’s a “cool reminder” of Athens that she will treasure after she graduates.

“It’s still in the flower beds at my house back home,” DiLorenzo says.

Ron Lucas, the deputy service safety director for the City of Athens, says paying employees accounts for the majority of costs incurred from brick repairs.

“It takes a significant period of time to repair a small section of brick,” Lucas says. “When it’s all said and done, to take those bricks out and then to level it off and put the bricks down and tamp them down and put the concrete and sand back into the street, a small repair might take a couple hours with three or four people, so it’s staff time that really eats into it.”

According to a spreadsheet obtained from the City of Athens, the city spent $25,197.07 in labor costs for brick repairs since 2016, with the total material cost of the bricks at just $1,700.66.

The material cost is considerably lower because the city has a stockpile of bricks in a service garage compound on West State Street, Lucas says.

“A lot of roads had multiple layers of brick, so we were able to get those and put them into the lot,” he says. “Some roads we tore up and put in as asphalt, so we were able to gather a lot of brick from those projects.”

OU also has a storage area for bricks, Wood says. However, the bricks cannot always be repurposed or used to repair damages.

“It’s important to remember that building bricks are different from road bricks,” Wood says. “Building bricks are usually heavier, a little bit different size, so … if we demolish one of the back South

[Green] dorms, we can’t turn around and very easily turn that into road bricks.”

Lucas says general wear and tear on the bricks creates more need for repair than OU students stealing Athens blocks.

“Most of the time with our streets, it’s just brick sitting on top of a layer of sand and dirt, so the opportunity for that to fail is greater,” he says. “It has nothing to do with stealing the brick or taking the brick as a souvenir. It happens, but it’s not a huge impact. It happens in pockets of town more than others, like The Ridges.”

“

If everyone took one, they'd all be gone."

ANNE DILORENZO* SENIOR

Of the 96 students surveyed who disclosed that they’d taken an Athens brick, 56 of them, like DiLorenzo, reported taking a block in the vicinity of The Ridges.

Patrick Pippins*, an OU alum, says he took an Athens block from a path near The Ridges during his sophomore year.

“There were a bunch of loose bricks, but all of them were Hocking blocks, not Athens blocks,” he says. “We finally found one … It felt very special to get

*Names have been changed to protect identity of sources.

one. I figure a lot of people have them, but it definitely was cool. I was all about taking it.”

Local artists and businesspeople have capitalized on the phenomena of stealing Athens blocks. James Robinson says he and his wife, Erin, started making Athens block-inspired art in 2001 when they were earning their graduate degrees in art at OU. Robinson and his wife own Athens Block LLC, a federally trademarked company that makes a variety of Athens block memorabilia. Their products, which range from vases and piggy banks to concrete replica blocks, are sold at about 10 stores in the Athens area “My wife and I graduated and got married and decided to put our two studios together to bring back the old Athens [Brick] Company in order to promote it and create interest in it,” Robinson says. “When we first started, people questioned us and asked why we did it. Now, the word has gotten out about the tradition and history … we do things in a variety of ways and mediums that function in ways that are interesting and useful while being decorative.”

DiLorenzo says she thinks more students should buy the souvenir bricks sold Uptown, rather than stealing actual Athens blocks.

“I think it’s a neat tradition, but it shouldn’t continue if it means messing up our historic roads or areas,” she says. b

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FOOD says. “It is also larger pieces, which make for a great grab and go snack.”

Eventually, Humrichouser took the granola cookies outside of her home to sell locally.

“My family really enjoyed it as well as friends I shared it with, so we started selling at our local farmer’s market,” Humrichouser says. “For two years, no matter how much we made, we sold out.”

An Ohio University alumna channels her enthusiasm for baking and healthy habits into a business.

BY RACHAEL BEARDSLEY PHOTOS BY MADDIE SCHROEDER AND COLIN MAYR

T

eresa Humrichouser, Ohio University graduate and president of Crazy Monkey Baking, knows that healthy snacks often lack the flavorful appeal of junk food. Shortly after having her second child, Humrichouser found herself in need of a healthy but delicious snack to serve her family.

She couldn’t find what she wanted on supermarket shelves — so she set out to create her own.

“I knew if I put chocolate in it, my kids would probably eat it,” Humrichouser says. “So I used a very high quality bittersweet chocolate.”

With an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe as a base, Humrichouser set out to make a snack devoid of “the sins of modern baking.” She started removing all the unhealthy additives in most modern baking products, including food dyes, preservatives, partially hydrogenated fats and high-fructose corn syrup. After a few months of trial and error, Crazy Monkey Baking Granola Cookie Crunch was created. The granola cookies are all natural, wheat-free and completely whole grain.

“Our products… taste like a cookie,” Humrichouser

As demand for the granola cookies continued, Crazy Monkey Baking grew in size.

“After two years of baking out of our home, I moved into my first licensed facility with about 400 square feet just to see if I could make a go of it,” Humrichouser says.

The company has moved twice since then, always increasing its space. Now it’s in a much larger facility, in Ashland, Ohio, complete with the tools it needs to produce around 1,000 bags of granola cookies a day. The cookies are then shipped to stores nationwide.

Crazy Monkey Baking products are sold in many Southeast Ohio stores, including All Pro Nutrition in Marietta. Along with its own specialty protein shakes and smoothies, All Pro Nutrition sells a variety of healthconscious foods, diet supplements and other products.

Crazy Monkey granola is displayed near the register, attracting hungry customers.

“We sell a ton, probably five or ten bags a day,” says Jacobie Ward, a cashier at All Pro Nutrition. “We never get any bad comments.”

Though Crazy Monkey Baking operates out of Northeast Ohio, its products are shipped nationwide.

Humrichouser also uses local products in her baking and involves local and regional businesses in the process.

“We sell across the United States, but the majority of our business is regional,” she says. “We source local organic cornmeal and grind peanuts to make our own peanut butter.”

Crazy Monkey Baking products are sold at Giant Eagle, Target and other stores across Ohio and the U.S., with the average price of $5 a bag. Customers can also order from the company’s website in bundles of five bags for $30. Flavors include dark chocolate chip, cranberry almond, peanut butter chocolate chip, white chocolate

“

[We] take great pride in the ingredients we use and products we produce.”

TERESA HUMRICHOUSER CRAZY MONKEY BAKING PRESIDENT

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Humrichouser 's granola is all natural, wheat-free and completely whole grain.

cranberry and other seasonal offerings.

The company’s growth may be, in part, due to Humrichouser’s commitment to nutrition. When compared to a common snack like Quaker chocolate chip granola bars, a serving of Crazy Monkey’s Dark Chocolate Chip Granola Cookie Crunch has 15 milligrams less of sodium and half a gram less of saturated fat. What the granola lacks in fats, it compensates for in fiber and protein. It is also free of preservatives used in Quaker granola bars such as BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), a common but controversial chemical preservative.

Although the company is now a success, Humrichouser says it was initially challenging to get Crazy Monkey Baking products into Ashland stores. She says the process of establishing a small business was expensive.

Stores expect a product to have a large customer base before they consider selling it, a feat that can seem near impossible for a fledgling company.

However, Humrichouser worked hard to market her product both inside and outside Ashland. The first

store to pick up her product was Bailey Lakes General Store in Ashland, then the local Aldi. Stores around the country soon followed, and now colleges and universities sell the product as well, including OU. Crazy Monkey Baking products can be found on the shelves in Jefferson Marketplace.

Humrichouser, who grew up in Athens, graduated from OU with a degree focused on nutrition and food service management. She believes her education at OU helped her build a successful business.

“OU set a great foundation for me with a quality education,” she says. “My degree in dietetics has helped me create my product with attention to healthy ingredients and the health benefits. [My degree in] food service management and my minor in business administration has helped me in all aspects of running my business.”

Despite her company’s national scope, Humrichouser does not lose sight of where it began. She continues to serve local customers and boost regional business.

“We still bake in small batches and take great pride in the ingredients we use and products we produce,” she says. b www.backdropmagazine.com

13

RECIPE

Bon

Apple-Treat A Backdropper’s guide to easy fall favorites.

T

BY CORINNE RIVERS | PHOTOS BY MAX CATALANO

he trees are shedding their once-green leaves and the air is beginning to cool, announcing fall’s arrival. It’s time to break out the sweaters, scarves and pumpkin scented candles. These caramel apple desserts are the perfect companion to the autumn mood. Invite your friends over to enjoy these Backdrop original recipes while warming up around a bonfire. b

INGREDIENTS 2 large apples 3 1/2 cups chocolate chips 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 cup caramel sauce 1 cup chopped walnuts 8-12 wooden popsicle sticks

DIRECTIONS 1. Cut apples into 1/2 inch slices and make a deep slit at the bottom of each slice; insert a popsicle stick into each slice.

2. In a microwave- safe bowl, melt 3 1/2 cups of chocolate chips; add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and stir until smooth.

3. Dip each apple slice into the chocolate mixture and lay out on parchment paper to cool.

4. Let slices sit for about 5 minutes (before the chocolate hardens completely).

5. Drizzle caramel sauce and chopped walnuts over each apple slice.

6. Refrigerate for 1 hour and serve immediately after refrigeration.

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backdrop | Fall 2018

INGREDIENTS ½ cup caramel sauce ½ cup cinnamon sugar 4 cups warmed apple cider 2 cups vanilla ice cream whipped cream

DIRECTIONS In separate glasses, scoop 1 cup vanilla ice cream in each glass. Pour 2 cups of warm apple cider in each glass. In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of caramel sauce and 1/2 cup of cinnamon sugar; mix until ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into each glass and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Top with whipped cream and any leftover caramel sauce or cinnamon sugar. Serve chilled.

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15

Interns INSIGHT FOR

Weighing the costs of internships in six metropolitan areas.

Students far and wide are beginning the hunt for a top-notch, resume-building internship. But often the hardest part of the process is overlooked: budgeting.

Be prepared for how costly it is to move to a major city before packing your bags. b

BY JESSICA DEYO | ILLUSTRATION BY JESSICA KOYNOCK

LA LOS ANGELES CHI CHICAG0 CBUS COLUMBUS

$1590 RENT FOR 480 SQUARE-FOOT STUDIO APARTMENT PER MONTH

INFOGRAPHIC

CLEVELAND CLE WASHINGTON DC DC NEW YORK NY

LA

AVERAGE PRICES FOR A LUNCHTIME ENDEAVOR CLE

NY-$9 MAKE THE MONEY LA $8

DC $7

CLE $7

CBUS $7

Landing a paid internship is a big deal, but average intern salary differs by city. Be aware of monetary differences and higherpaying areas.

CHI $8

GRAB A BITE

16

TIPS SUBSTITUTE name-brand items with cheaper alternatives.

BUYING milk at drugstores will typically cost less than at a supermarket.

backdrop | Fall 2018

PRICES FOR A MONTHLY PULBIC TRANSIT PASS:

If you’ve found enough time to sneak away from work to grab a bite, it probably has to be something quick. Pick up a burger, fries and drink or a similar combo meal from a nearby fast food joint.

$1939 TIPS

ROOF TOP RENT

$1532

Trying to fit a living room, kitchen and bedroom into a small space can be difficult.

Students will pay a high price for 480 square feet, so it is never too soon to start saving.

CALL local colleges. Many offer dorms for students during the summer.

SUBLET an apartment.

Students who move back home in the summer are looking for someone to temporarily rent their apartment.

MANY employers create opportunities for interns to get to know one another. Use that time to find roommates willing to split rent.

$1003

$825

CHI

CBUS

$706

CLE

DC

Source: “Cost if Living in the United States” Expatistan.

NY

COST OF LIVING INDEX PER CITY

AVERAGE SALARY: 40 HRS X 10 WEEKS

CLE

LA: $5708

101.0

DC: $5420

CHI

116.9

CBUS 92.0

DC

NY: $5176

NY

CBUS: $5124 CHI: $4844

140.1

CLE: $4572

LA

136.4

QUEENS + BROOKLYN AREA

170.4

MANHATTAN AREA

Source: "Cost of Living Index for Selected U.S. Cities1." Infoplease.

216.7

$93 $103 $59 $96 $151 $121

CATCH A RIDE Traveling in a big city doesn’t always mean taking a taxi every single day. Many people choose to purchase a monthly metro pass.

TIPS SKIP costly transportation fees by biking if there is a safe route to take.

IF another intern has a car, make carpool arrangements and split gas costs.

FEATURE

MODELS OF THE

PAST

Ohio University is using 3D printing to study ultra-rare dinosaurs from 95 million years ago

BY ELEANOR BISHOP | PHOTOS BY MAX CATALANO

S

ome 95 million years ago, a long-necked dinosaur grazed peacefully in present-day Argentina, unaware that one day it would be the sole representative of its kind.

Fast forward to 2016 when a team of paleontologists from the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco unearthed the skull and partial neck bone of the never-before-seen species of dinosaur.

Sarmientosaurus, as the species was later named, was a genus of sauropod dinosaurs known for their long necks, enormous size and affinity for plants. Although at one time they may have been some of the most common large herbivores in the southern hemisphere, sauropod skulls are an extremely rare find.

The fossils of an undocumented dinosaur species are no small discovery, but for Dr. Larry Witmer, a professor of anatomy and paleontology at Ohio University, bones are only the beginning.

“We basically want to understand how dinosaurs work, [but] the bones don’t really do anything themselves,” Witmer says. “So we need to, in a sense, reconstruct the soft tissues, all the things time stripped away: muscles, blood vessels, nerves, brains, things like that, to understand their function and their behavior.”

Witmer calls this process “fleshing out fossils.”

Scientists can work backward with bones, using the negative spaces in fossils to reconstruct how tissues would have formed inside and around the bone.

The problem? The fossils have been sitting underground for millions of years, and thus they “show their age,” says Witmer.

The fossils archeologists uncover are often fragmented and encased in rock, making it difficult to draw a complete picture.

Scientists can create virtual models of these fossils by running the fragments through CT scans. Then, they fill in the missing bones and digitally recreate the muscles and other soft tissues as they likely appeared.

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For years, Witmer and his lab used that method to make “fleshed out” virtual models, but in 2013 OU’s Innovation Center obtained a machine that would transform their process: a state-of-the-art 3D printer.

When it comes to growing a technology company from the ground up, Southeast Ohio lacks the resources of Silicon Valley, but OU’s Innovation Center breaks that barrier. In 1983, Dr. Wilfred R. Konneker founded the center with the help of then-OU President Dr. Charles J. Ping. The duo was committed to aiding economic growth in Athens and beyond.

“

[With the 3D printer] we can bring things out of the computer and into the physical world where we all live.”

LARRY WITMER ANATOMY AND PALEONOTOLOGY PROFESSOR

“They recognized way ahead of their counterparts across the country at that point that there was a need, because Appalachian Ohio was—and still is—one of the poorest areas in the country,” says Innovation Center Director Stacy Strauss. “There was a need to harvest the resources of the university, whether it be human capital, research, resources

OU professor Larry Witmer marvels at a 3D printed Tyrannosaurus rex brain endocast in his research lab.

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Witmer holds a 3D printed addition to the T. rex mold.

[or] equipment to create more of an economic impact.”

The center provides office space, technology, mentorship and other services to fledgling tech companies that are often starting out as a one-person endeavor. In return, it attracts potential students and staff to the university with opportunities to intern with the companies and to use the center’s cutting-edge equipment.

The 3D printer, which is one of three housed in the center, was purchased in collaboration with nine university colleges. The printer’s joint ownership means that although it is a resource available to Innovation Center clients, it is also widely used by students, professors and members of the community. The website ohio3dprints.com allows any prospective users to email their design to the center’s lab director and receive a quote for the cost.

Student interns from the Russ College of Engineering and Technology — one of the colleges that contributed to the purchase of the printer — are on staff to help clients who may have limited knowledge of 3D printing technology.

“It’s a pretty unique opportunity that we have,” Strauss says. “Sometimes our clients just have an idea in their head, and so then our students will sit down with them, draw something on a napkin and then go to the computer and write the code that the printer can read.”

The printer is the largest “for 70 miles in either direction,” Strauss says. It creates models out of photopolymer resin, a plastic-like substance that changes from liquid to solid through the printing process. An image is broken down into microscopic layers and constructed in a process that can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 40 hours, depending on the size and complexity of the design.

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“It’s great for something that requires a lot of detail,” she says.

Something like a dinosaur bone, perhaps.

Witmer was an early adopter of 3D printing technology and jumped at the chance to take advantage of the Innovation Center’s new resource.

“I was one of their first users and probably their first big job,” he says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the things they’ve done for me remain the largest and most complex jobs they’ve done.”

By working with the information from the CT scans, Witmer and his lab can now print life-size models of the fossils in their most complete forms.

This technology proved applicable when the sarmientosaurus was discovered 5,000 miles away.

In collaboration with the Argentinian scientists who discovered the fossils and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Witmer and his research associate Ryan Ridgely printed models of the dino’s skull and brain. Examining the structure of the sarmientosaurus’ brain has helped scientists to better understand the behaviors of sauropods.

The printed skulls can be seen on display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and at Witmer’s lab in Athens.

Witmer’s lab and the center have also worked with the fossils of arguably the most well-known species of dinosaur: the Tyrannosaurus rex.

In 2015, Witmer got a call from the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. The museum was developing a new T. rex exhibit and heard that Witmer had CT scans of the dinosaur. The museum’s curators wanted to include a baby T. rex skeleton in the exhibit but faced a significant problem.

“Baby skulls of anything are very rare for fossils records,” Witmer says. “Something like T. rex is extremely rare.”

With only fragments of a young T. rex’s lower jaw, they originally called to ask Witmer if he could print a scaleddown version of a full size T. rex to stand in place for the baby dinosaur. Witmer had a better offer: he and Ridgely would use the Innovation Center’s printer to create their own model of a baby T. rex skull.

Witmer and Ridgely ran the baby jaw fragments through a CT scanner at OU and used that information, the skull of a teenage T. rex and the slightly damaged skull of a young Tyrannus relative from Mongolia to compile a digital model of his “best estimate of what a baby T. rex skull would look like,” Witmer says.

The museum commissioned one model which was printed at the Innovation Center and is currently on display in Colorado. Another copy sits in Witmer’s office.

“What’s kind of cool is that the Museum of the Rockies fully acknowledged not just Ryan Ridgely and me, but also Ohio University and the Innovation Center as partners in the project that brought that to the exhibit,” he says.

3D printing has had a transformative effect on Witmer’s work, particularly in the way he is able to collaborate more interactively with other scientists and use his models to make dinosaurs come alive for the public.

“We don’t live in a virtual world,” Witmer says.

“Sometimes it seems like we do, but we really exist in [the] physical world, and we’re much better able to connect with people in that physical world, so that’s been very effective.”

Although creatures like the sarmientosaurus may never again roam the Earth, Witmer’s lab is doing what they can

Witmer's computer screen displays an image known as a Sketchfab model.

to save their memory from extinction. “[With the 3D printer] we can bring things out of the computer and into the physical world where we all live,” Witmer says. b

A large 3D printed model of a dinosaur skull rests in the Life Sciences Building research lab at the Innovation Center.

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FEATURE

Jackson Kohn (front) hangs from a boulder wall as Kyle Schoeffler (back) drops from the Climb Athens boulder wall.

HOLD ON

22

Climb On backdrop | Fall 2018

Two local rock climbers create a space for adventure and camaraderie.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HARPER | PHOTOS BY MAX CATALANO ILLUSTRATIONS BY MADDIE KNOSTMAN

I

nside a large detached garage on the northwest side of Athens, a group of young people take turns using colorful plastic holds to work their way up and across a wooden climbing wall using a variety of routes. Located on Vore Ridge Road, this place, known as Beta Fish, is one of two bouldering facilities located in Athens.

The other facility, called The Dojo, was built by Ted Welser in his basement when he first moved to the area in 2007. Its purpose then was simple.

“I built it because I wanted a place to train for climbing, and I wanted to teach my kids about climbing,” Welser explains.

Both bouldering facilities belong to Climb Athens, a nonprofit climbing club founded by Welser and Bryant Noble in 2016 for the purpose of providing a space where climbers could train and connect with each other.

Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that doesn’t use ropes or anchors; rather, it involves free climbing on smaller rock formations, usually boulders or an artificial equivalent. Though the size and shapes of bouldering walls vary, at a gym, a climber should be able to fall at any time and land safely on the cushioned crash pads below.

Welser built his first home bouldering wall in 1992 and says The Dojo is his fifth such project.

For several years, Welser trained in his gym, inviting friends to come climb if they wanted.

But he felt like something was missing in terms of a rock climbing community in Athens.

“It wasn’t until, I’d say, 2012 or 2013 that I struck up a friendship with a group of climbers at OU,” Welser says. “…That led to me going on a lot of climbing trips with outdoor rec people.”

Through those trips and those connections, Welser met other outdoor enthusiasts, including Noble. Noble and his wife were looking to buy a house at the time, specifically for a property with the space to build a bouldering wall.

The detached garage that now houses Beta Fish was perfect. It’s spacious and has 12-foot ceilings, which gave Noble plenty of room to build — both a rock wall and a community. Upon his arrival to Athens in 2011, Noble found that the area lacked the kind of rock climbing community he had in Illinois.

“It was a challenge for me, that first year, to find the climbing community and become a part of it,” he says.

“It seemed there was some community at Ping with students, but not being a student, I didn’t feel like I was really getting involved with the group. I kind of stopped pursuing climbing for about a year or so,

didn’t really do a lot of rock climbing at all, and then I met [Welser].”

The two became friends and Welser invited Noble to The Dojo to climb. The more they talked and climbed together, the more Noble noticed a shared longing between the two.

“It seemed to me that [Welser] felt the same way I did, that we were searching for this community that wasn’t very well established,” Noble says.

Meanwhile, Noble and his wife bought the house with the detached garage, and he started building his rock wall with help from Welser and other friends.

Noble decided to build a MoonBoard, a universal training wall with a very specific blueprint. A MoonBoard is set so that everyone who climbs one is using the same wall, with the same holds arranged in a specific way. There’s even a MoonBoard app that allows people from around the world to share the routes they’re climbing so others can try them, too. Once completed, climbers can log the climb, then rate it.

While Beta Fish has the ceilings to house such a large wall, The Dojo is a smaller space. The walls there are no taller than 7 feet and are significantly steeper than the ones at Beta Fish. Welser estimates he has 450 feet

Members of Climb Athens use the MoonBoard app to complete problems or specific routes on the boulder wall. Problems can be tracked and used to compete with other MoonBoard members.

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23

of climbing surface and about 1,500 holds in The Dojo, all wrapped around one room. Climbers can actually “do laps” in The Dojo, climbing around the room numerous times to work on their endurance.

When Noble finished building Beta Fish in early 2016, he and Welser agreed that they wanted to do something to try and bolster the rock climbing community in Athens. The friends they’d been climbing with were already looking for a way to contribute to the upkeep of both spaces, and thus Climb Athens was born.

“In terms of the organization… we’re trying to foster community around rock climbing and foster healthy and active lifestyles and involve kids and students and families,” Welser says. “There’s a lot of things that university students do but people who live around here don’t, and vice versa, and we wanted to be more inclusive.”

Though Climb Athens is mostly made up of college students, there are a handful of older climbers, like Noble and Welser, as well as young professionals, a high schooler and middle schoolers.

Jackson Kohn is a high school student who is relatively new to climbing — he only began coming to Climb Athens in the past year — but with his dedication and enthusiasm for the sport, it’s hard to tell he’s only been climbing for a few months. Kohn’s skill has “increased exponentially” since he first came to Climb Athens, Noble says.

Climbing challenges Kohn, and he loves that.

“I like the satisfaction of improving on a route and improving on a problem, because you really feel like

24

backdrop | Fall 2018

you’re getting somewhere,” he says.

Kohn shows up twice a week equipped with ample energy and a music playlist that earns him goodnatured teasing from other climbers.

“We all race to get here first so we can plug our music in before [Kohn],” jokes John Timmons, who graduated from Ohio University in the spring with a master’s in environmental engineering.

Timmons met Noble and Welser through climbing while he was still an undergraduate student, about the time Climb Athens was established. He was among the first official members of the organization. The club has approximately 65 members, with 33 of those active during the 2017-18 school year.

While members of Climb Athens vary in age, they all share a love for climbing and the challenge that comes with it. “[Sports like climbing] engage your mind as well as your body,” says Noble. “I think that’s probably the most enjoyable thing about climbing for me [is] that it blends all those things. You have to be mentally fit and physically fit and it builds on both those things, and it’s just super fun.”

Bouldering may appear simple at first, but there’s a lot more to it than climbing to the top of a wall or a rock.

The plastic holds on a rock wall are modeled to imitate rock formations one might encounter while bouldering outside, so climbers can take their indoor training and use it on actual rocks and boulders. The holds on a rock wall vary in shape and size, requiring climbers to utilize

them in different ways as they climb.

For example, a jug is a large hold that a climber can fit their whole hand around. It’s one of the easiest holds to grab and hold onto. On the other hand, a crimp is a small, skinny hold that only has room for a climber to grab it with the pads of their fingers. It’s harder to hold onto, so holds like that can make a climb more difficult.

There are several rating systems used worldwide to determine the difficulty of a climb, but the V-grade system is among the most commonly used. The system starts with V0, which is an easy climb, and increases from there. On a rock wall or at a climbing gym, routes are often marked with different colored and patterned tape to indicate where a certain climb starts and which holds should be used as part of that climb.

At The Dojo, there are about 110 taped routes, all documented in a guidebook kept at the facility.

When someone completes a climb, they can initial in the guidebook that they’ve finished it and look for another climb to do.

“The most popular is called Black Flag— it’s a V0, and it’s marked with black and silver tape. It starts on the east wall,” Welser says, pausing to read as he flips through the book.

About 40 people have completed the V0 ascent and put their initials in the book. From there, the routes get more challenging, culminating in one V10 that Welser calls “pretty hard.” Fortunately, there are many more climbs that fall between the easiest and hardest ratings.

Climbers have other options besides climbing routes, however. They also can use any hold to climb around as long as they want and build endurance.

The Dojo is better suited to that practice than Beta Fish, which doesn’t have as many walls and doesn’t go around an entire room.

Bouldering requires a lot of endurance, which is why climbers like Timmons spend about eight hours a week training and climbing. After six or seven years of climbing, it’s a fixed part of Timmons’ life.

“It’s something that I can’t picture not doing,” Timmons says. “I’ve had one injury my whole climbing career and I took two and a half months off, and I was going insane.”

Fortunately, the local climbing community is supportive and thriving. Even in Athens, where the community is smaller than in other cities, the different rock climbing groups overlap. People from Climb Athens and OU’s climbing club intermix between Ping, The Dojo and Beta Fish, but they also cross paths in other places.

Hayley Carnahan, a junior at OU, is the president of OU’s climbing club as well as a member of Climb Athens. The student climbing club meets weekly at Ping and uses the rock wall there because it’s free for all students, but many of them are also part of Climb Athens.

“Everyone in the climbing club knows about these two [Climb Athens] locations, and we’re always offering rides up in the group chat or inviting people to come if they want to come climb,” Carnahan says.

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Often, when people begin rock climbing in Athens, they aren’t committed enough to want to pay the Climb Athens membership fees right away.

Climbing at Ping is a good way for beginners to first experiment with climbing, but for more experienced climbers, it doesn’t provide all the resources they want in a training facility.

Ping has four routes on its rock wall, and only one climber can ascend at a time. Climbers at Ping wear harnesses, which makes taking turns take longer, as a climber can’t just jump off the wall and give someone else a turn when they’re hanging from a rope two stories in the air. Additionally, for training purposes, climbing on a bouldering wall isn’t always about reaching the top. Sometimes, it’s about increasing endurance or strength. No matter how good a training facility is, many climbers prefer climbing outside on real rocks to climbing indoors.

“I would never come back to an inside gym if I had resources to be outside climbing every day,” Timmons says.

Though Climb Athens doesn’t organize official trips to outdoor climbing areas, many members of the climbing community in Athens take trips to places like the Red River Gorge in Kentucky and the New River Gorge in West Virginia to practice their skills outside, and they invite other climbers along.

The community around rock climbing plays a

significant role in helping the sport thrive.

“I really love the community aspect of climbing because everyone’s involved in figuring out a climb,” Carnahan says. “It also pushes your limits too. I like that aspect of always constantly wanting to be better and get stronger so you can reach your goals.”

For those who are newly interested in climbing, a strong community is also a great way to get into the sport.

“The core of rock climbing participation always used to be meeting people and just going [climbing] with people who are knowledgeable already and kind of mentoring,” Welser says. “And the more you can make friends with those people and go climb with them and see what they do…”

He trails off, the message clear: learning from climbers who already know what they’re doing is one of the quickest ways to improve your own climbing.

The community of people sharing knowledge and learning from one another is a staple of Climb Athens. The passion and dedication the climbers have for their sport is another. Climbing can be a time-consuming hobby, but for many climbers, it’s more than worth it.

“To me, the lifestyle is really appealing,” Timmons says. “I want to be a climbing bum— eat canned beans and rice for the rest of my life, live somewhere I can go climbing, money-doesn’t-matter kind of stuff, as long as you’re outside playing in the dirt.” b

Joe Knapp chalk’s up his hands before bouldering. Chalk helps climbers grip to the wall, and keep hands dry from sweat.

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backdrop | Fall 2018

Adam Hughes (front) practices gripping different holds while Kyle Schoeffler (back) drops from the Climb Athens boulder wall.

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27

PHOTO STORY

TAKE A

DIVE

STORY AND PHOTOS BY BAXTER TURAIN

A

thens local Jon Tobin is a store owner, firefighter, lead safety ropes instructor and a scuba diving instructor. As an instructor, Tobin leads participants through the necessary training to receive scuba diving certification. Certification equips trainees with credentials needed for booking dives, renting equipment and other scuba endeavors. The training that is pictured here was held at the Hocking College Student Center and was open to any interested candidates. To earn scuba certification, Tobin teaches students a variety of techniques and precautions. Part of the course includes proper usage of a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, which provides divers with breathing gas at ambient pressure. Tobin also teaches proper mask technique so participants can comfortably dive with clear visibility. During this course, divers and a photographer were able to dive down 11-feet, 6-inches to experience the physical sensations of deep diving while also practicing new skills. b

28

backdrop | Fall 2018

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29

RIGHT Participants in Tobin's scuba certification course work with a variety of equipment, such as the selfcontained underwater breathing apparatus.

DOWN

Tobin works carefully to equip his students with skills needed for scuba diving.

30

backdrop | Fall 2018

DOWN

Students are taught about the proper way to wear a mask underwater to ensure visibility and comfort.

LEFT

Tobin is part of Athens County Specialized Response and Recovery commonly known as the “dive team.�

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31

CALENDAR

OONN TTH THE HHEE Looking for something to do this fall while sipping on pumpkin chai?

Check out these events around campus.

BY ANNELIE GOINS

Blue Pencil Comedy Open Mic SATURDAYS, 8-10 P.M. Got a joke you want to share? Or are you in need of a good laugh? Join Blue Pencil Comedy for an open mic night at Front Room in Baker Center for giggles and good fun.

Homecoming OCTOBER 15-20 Celebrate school pride and welcome home OU alumni! With a parade and lots of events around Athens, such as Paint the Town Green on October 16 and the Yell Like Hell Pep Rally on October 18, the week of homecoming is sure to make for an entertaining celebration.

Free Tasting Fall Flavors OCTOBER 25, 3-4 P.M. Visit Jefferson Marketplace in Culinary Studio for some sweet and savory fall favorites like apple bake and apple cider. During the visit, browse an array of options sold in the market.

Susan G. Komen Southeast Ohio Race for the Cure OCTOBER 14, 12 P.M. Join the College of Health Sciences and Professions at Peden Stadium for a 5K Run/Walk to benefit Susan G. Komen and the fight against breast cancer. Registration opens at 10 a.m. and the opening ceremony and Survivor Parade begins at 11:30 a.m.

Diwali OCTOBER 21, 12-8 P.M. Hosted by the Indian Student Association, this colorful and exciting Hindu festival comes complete with food and music abound! Come to Baker Ballroom and see what the party is all about and learn about a different culture, too.

Dad’s Weekend “Elf the Musical” NOVEMBER 15, 7:30 P.M. Buddy the Elf is coming to Athens in a special Broadway performance at the Memorial Auditorium. Come get into the holiday spirit and wish Buddy good luck as he leaves the North Pole behind and travels to New York to find his dad.

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backdrop | Fall 2018

NOVEMBER 2-4 Fathers are invited to Athens for a weekend dedicated just to them. Hang out on campus with your dad and participate in a variety of university hosted activities throughout the weekend.

A unique gathering place of students and community members Social Justice • Fair Trade • Local Art & Music • Spoken Word Musicians Open Stage Reader’s Choice Friendly Service Awarded Best Coffee House In Ohio By Ohio Magazine

www.donkeycoffee.com www.backdropmagazine.com

33

SEX & HEALTH

Scoop?

WHAT’S THE

BY MICHAELA FATH | ILLUSTRATIONS BY ASHLEY LAFLIN

With a rise of protein powder use, experts share potential risks of this supplement.

M

any athletes and exercise devotees alike have added a popular dietary supplement to their lifestyles: protein powder. Although it varies from brand to brand, the popular health product has raised questions about its medical impact.

According to a 2016 report from the American College of Sports Medicine, the intake of high-quality dietary proteins is helpful for the maintenance, repair and synthesis of skeletal muscle proteins. In addition, the report says chronic training studies have shown that the consumption of milk-based protein after resistance exercise is effective in increasing muscle strength and favorable changes in body composition.

Selena Baker, RDN, is a nutrition counselor at WellWorks, Ohio University’s wellness program, and says protein powder is the most frequently used supplement she sees among students. Although she understands that college students enjoy the convenience and portability of a protein shake, Baker says there are alternatives to consider.

“I think sometimes [protein powder] is a good idea,” Baker says. “But when you are on a student budget you want to think about asking if you can get just as much high-quality protein by eating a meal after a workout, whether that is something like chicken or canned tuna.”

Athletes of all types strive to reach the National Institutes of Health’s Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of protein. On average,

34

backdrop | Fall 2018

individuals are encouraged to consume .8 grams per kilogram of body weight each day. Baker says foods such as salmon, eggs, Greek yogurt or plant proteins (such as beans, legumes or soybeans) can help people reach the recommended daily intake.

That’s a standard recommendation, but the ideal amount of protein can vary with body type, level of physical activity and weight goals. Baker says there can be a slight elevation of protein needed between athletes of all shapes and sizes, noting that a large bodybuilder may need more protein than a small long-distance runner.

Excessive amounts of protein intake can cause other problems. If the extra protein being consumed is not being used for building and repair, Baker says it will either be burned for calories or stored as fat.

“It depends not only on the type of physical activity, but also what your body weight goals are and what type of athlete you are,” Baker says. “I think the one thing that most people do is that they have excessive amounts of protein at one time versus having more moderate amounts spread across the day.”

From caffeine-based supplements to plant-based supplements, there are a number of protein powder types available on the market for consumers. With so many accessible options, Baker says people should carefully inspect the labels before making a final decision.

Some protein powders contain a nutrition facts label, meaning everything in the product is

considered a food ingredient and is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved. Other protein powders labeled with a supplement facts panel contain dietary supplements, meaning “non-food” ingredients.

Baker says those are the ones consumers must watch out for when choosing a powder.

“Unfortunately, they don’t have to disclose all sources of caffeine in the products that are considered supplements,” Baker says. “Herbal blends don’t have to list all of the milligrams of caffeine and that’s where you get some issues with people getting more caffeine than they think they are over the course of the day.”

A 2016 report from the American College of Sports Medicine also stated that routinely taking protein supplements may potentially increase lean muscle mass, improve nutrition deficiency and/or sustain energy during prolonged physical activity. Some athletes have experienced these effects, including those on the OU Powerlifting team.

OU Powerlifting team member Adam Kantor, a senior studying exercise physiology, has been an avid protein powder user for the past eight years.

“I find protein powder useful in order to get my desired amount of protein intake for the day,” he says. “Instead of having an unhealthy quick snack, I can just make a shake that will help my body recover.”

However, Kantor says he prioritizes balance in his daily diet and seeks protein from a variety of sources.

“Although protein powder is helpful, I wouldn’t rely solely on it,” Kantor says. “People should use protein powder as an aid to help them, but should still maintain a proper diet that provides protein from their food as well.”

As the popular shaker bottles make their way into more and more hands of those who exercise regularly, Baker encourages athletes to be cautious with the contents, price and labels with the available protein powders on the market. With a tight college budget, there are other ways to reach the ideal protein intake.

Aside from focusing on daily protein, Baker also emphasizes the importance of carbohydrates before a workout. “[If people] are active before a workout, they primarily need carbohydrates,” she says. “If you haven’t eaten within a couple of hours before a workout, then 30 to 60 minutes before your workout have a high carbohydrate snack. Not loads of fat and fiber, because that is going to make you uncomfortable and slow down gastric emptying… Don’t forget about carbs.

Your body really likes carbs to run on.” b

GRAMS OF PROTEIN PER SERVING

3 ounces: beef, pork, poultry, fish | 21 g

milk 8 ounces of milk | 8 g

1 egg | 8 g

yogurt 6 ounces plain, nonfat, light Greek Yogurt | 12-18 g www.backdropmagazine.com

35

ENTERTAINMENT

PRODUCING PRODUCING the

FUTURE Ohio University’s record label provides students with real world experience in the music industry.

BY GRACE DEARING PHOTO BY MADDIE SCHROEDER ILLUSTRATION BY KAITLIN HENEGHAN

B

ehind every successful musician and every radio hit is a team of professionals focused on producing, recording and marketing the music. Ohio University’s School of Media Arts and Studies provides students interested in the production side of the music industry with hands-on experience through the premier student-run record label Brick City Records.

When Josh Antonuccio joined OU’s faculty full-time, he took over Brick City Records as the adviser and reimagined the entire experience for the students. “[I wanted it to be] some kind of cumulative experience where all of the production students and all of the business students could come together,” Antonuccio says. “[To] have a chance to really see the whole process through signing [artists], recording, publicity materials, marketing plan, mixing and mashing all of the singles and then ultimately doing music videos and hosting a release show at the end of the year.”

Brick City Records was offered as a senior capstone course for the first time in 2016-17. During the first semester, students in the class learned about the development of the record label, organization of each department and how to make a marketing and production plan to use for the rest of the year. As the year progressed, Antonuccio says the learning became more hands-

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backdrop | Fall 2018

on for students, allowing them to work with high-end outboard equipment, speakers and software.

Many of the students who were involved with Brick City Records found their own success in the music industry, including Marcus Meston and Zachary Crandall. Meston was the music production supervisor of Brick City Records and is now a producer, composer and songwriter in Nashville.

Crandall, former Brick City Records president and director of artists and repertoire, now works as the artists and repertoire at Warner Music Group.

Both Meston and Crandall were involved with Brick City Records the first year that it ran as a capstone class. They both attribute their successes to the lessons and techniques they learned at Brick City Records.

“I was doing [artists and repertoire] on a super small scale with Brick City… but it prepared me,” Crandall says. “It just helped me develop my ear and helped me get a better idea of what makes an artist, what makes a great song, how to develop and ultimately establish an artist’s career.”

Brick City Records taught Meston how to collaborate with artists by allowing him to work with artist CLUBHOUSE during the 2016-17 school year. The band taught him to use new software and

techniques when producing their synth-heavy music.

“It’s something that I still use today and actually pretty heavily rely on, so working with them was awesome,” Meston says.

The most obvious necessity for the team was to find artists willing to sign and work with the label. Crandall says they had a lot of freedom to mold the process of signing and recording artists because it was the first time the label counted for academic credit.

“We were creating our own rules, but that made things super interesting and fun,” he says.

That year, Brick City Records signed four artists, which became the standard moving forward. During the 2017-18 school year, the new Brick City Records team signed Sarob, BaileyRP, Allie Austin and Sylmar.

Similar to how the label gives aspiring producers creative freedom and hands-on experience, it also gives the artists the opportunity to change their sound and produce new music.

“I tried to take a different direction [with the music],” Sarob says. “We had live musicians in [the studio] and I was playing keys on most of the parts in each song… It was a completely different direction, and I was excited that people enjoyed it.”

The students at Brick City Records are dedicated to catering to the needs of their artists. Sarob says he remembers the students in the studio worked hard to bring his visions to life and were flexible with his ideas.

That attentiveness isn’t limited to the studio. After a year of production, recording and social media marketing, Brick City Records hosts a live show uptown at The Union, where each artist plays for an audience who may never have heard of them before.

Zachary Crandall edits a mix in the MDIA Sound Recording Studio in the Radio Television Center

“

Athens has a lot of young adults that really enjoy music and enjoy the arts and being able to play in that city, it’s a wonderful place full of love and creative energy floating around” BRIAN MCCULLOUGH VOCALIST FOR SYLMAR “Athens has a lot of young adults that really enjoy music and enjoy the arts and being able to play in that city, it’s a wonderful place full of love and creative energy floating around,” says Brian McCullough, vocalist for Sylmar.

While the musicians focus on creating an entertaining show for the community, Brick City Records producers, marketers and managers spend the night making sure the show runs as smoothly as possible.

“It was cool because I didn’t have to worry too much, other than just doing my thing, which, that’s the goal for every artist,” Austin says. “Out of all of the gigs I’ve done, it was different because I could just only focus on what I needed to do.”

Luke Glaser, guitarist for Slymar, noticed Brick City Records’ attention to detail as well.

“They even ran our merch table for us, which is honestly incredible,” he says. “Normally, you get done with a set and you have to run over to the merch booth sweating… and try to talk to people.”

The end of the year showcase at The Union not only celebrates the new music each artist records that year, but also all of the hard work done by the Brick City Records team.

While Brick City Records offers extensive creative opportunity for students, Crandall says it’s a challenging experience. Meston elaborates that the benefits of the months of hard work are dependent on how much effort is put into the label.

“We took it pretty seriously and tried to make it a body of work where we had deadlines,” Meston says. “[In] this industry, deadlines are huge and you can’t miss one and I felt that was something we were really trying to do; be strict and work late nights, and I felt like it was good preparation for the [future].”

Antonuccio says the whole point of the program is to teach students real-world lessons before they leave school and begin applying for jobs.

“The near nine-month experience provides an incredible opportunity [for students] to actually put their skills into practice,” he says. “It’s not just theory, and really they have to live and die by success.” b www.backdropmagazine.com

37

ENTERTAINMENT

COUNTRY MUSIC

MOGULS

Ohio University graduates have left their mark on the country music industry through radio and music production.

BY MICHAELA FATH | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY GERRY ACKERMAN AND JOHN MARKS

G

GERRY ACKERMAN / KEN TUCKER

JOHN MARKS

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backdrop | Fall 2018

erry Ackerman, a 1985 Ohio University graduate, has made a name for himself in the evergrowing country music industry. In fact, it’s a different name: Ken Tucker.

Ackerman, known professionally by the radio name “Ken Tucker,” is the current vice president of promotion for label imprint Wheelhouse Records.

Although he proves on paper to have a strong background for the business side of country music, Ackerman did not always have this career path in mind.

While starting his academic career at OU, Ackerman planned to study radio and television, involving himself in organizations such as WOUB and ACRN. He soon realized he didn’t mesh well with his classmates’ personalities and decided he needed an immediate change.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to be around people like that for my whole career,” Ackerman says. “So, I was taking an introductory course in hearing and speech pathology to fulfill some requirement, and I just decided that was going to be my degree.”

After graduating from the university with a degree in hearing and speech sciences, Ackerman moved to Parkersburg, West Virginia, accepting a position as a speech pathologist.

Although he says he loved teaching and helping others, the thought of a role in the television and radio industry lingered in his mind.

It wasn’t until a co-worker directed Ackerman to her husband, an employee at

a local country music radio station, that his career in the music business began. While working as a speech pathologist, Ackerman added a weekend job at the radio station to his weekly agenda.

Then, in 1987, the radio personality Ken Tucker was born.

Ackerman soon gave up his career as a speech pathologist to begin a full-time job at the Parkersburg country music radio station.

“I had fallen in love with country music, even though it was not what I grew up on in Cleveland, Ohio,” Ackerman says. “Then, I decided I wanted to move to Nashville.”

After three years with the country music station in Parkersburg, Ackerman moved to the country music capital: Nashville, Tennessee. He worked for Radio & Records, an industry trade publication, for four years before moving to Warner Brothers Records to work in radio promotion.

While at Warner Brothers, Ackerman was in charge of calling radio stations across the country, asking if they would play certain songs on-air. At the time, he says he was working with artists such as Faith Hill, Dwight Yoakam and Randy Travis.

In 2002, Ackerman left Warner Brothers to pursue a writing position with Billboard Magazine, where he showcased his writing background. He later shifted to consumer publication Country Weekly, serving as the managing editor.

“I never had a concern [about working in the music industry],” he says. “I guess over time I realized that I could do

John Marks accepts the Jo Walker Meador International Award for advancing Country Music outside of the United States. Marks received this accolade from the Country Music Association.

different things. I’ll credit my education at Ohio University for making me a wellrounded graduate who had the ability to write well and speak well.”

As technology evolved, the music industry drastically changed, replacing CDs, records and cassette tapes with streaming services. In 2014, Ackerman helped a group launch their own streaming service, Beats Music, a sister company to the Beats Electronics brand.

Beats Music was soon bought out by Apple, later turning into Apple Music.

At Apple Music, Ackerman was responsible for creating and updating theme and mood-based playlists and radio stations for country and christian music.

Over time, Ackerman and his fellow programmers created thousands of playlists. As Apple Music grew, it increased their focus on curating playlists.

The major portion of his job at Apple Music was staying up-to-date with the newest artists in the country music world, some of which he notes were not signed to a record label.

“There’s a place for those people who aren’t signed with today’s technology,” Ackerman says. “You can make great records without a huge budget and

through social media, you can build a presence and fan base.”

With experience in a number of music industry jobs, Ackerman took his knowledge to the classroom, teaching public relations in the music industry as a professor at Belmont University in Nashville.

Ackerman is not the only OU graduate with experience in the music streaming service industry. Radio personality John Marks is the global senior editor and music programmer of country music for Spotify.

Marks began his involvement in the music industry at a young age, beginning at his local radio station at the age of 16. After completing two years at a local college, Marks enrolled at OU to finish his undergraduate degree and start his graduate studies in business and broadcasting.

“I already had a little bit of experience with local radio at the time that I joined the OU campus,” Marks says. “I knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to pursue, and it was fairly easy choosing OU because they were known for their broadcast journalism areas.”

With their overlapping similarities, Marks and Ackerman have known each other for years. The two met while attending the annual Country Music

Seminar in 1988, Marks evaluated one of Ackerman’s on-air sessions, providing critical feedback to his fellow alumnus.

“I’ve known John for many years and years through various jobs I’ve had,” Ackerman says. “Nashville is a big city, but it really is a small town in terms of the music business part of it.”

This year, Ackerman made the decision to leave his position as Apple Music’s Nashville-based music programmer and return to record promotions at Wheelhouse Records. He says he is pleased with his decision and has the opportunity to work with former coworkers as well as former Belmont University students. Wheelhouse, he says, is a family.

Ackerman plans to continue working for Wheelhouse Records and says the environment is respectable to both employees and artists.

The music mogul who was once a speech pathologist proves that successful careers can be full of a number of twists and turns, and can lead to a variety of experiences in different fields.

“I just always felt like classwork is important, but if you want to get in a field, find ways to intern or get involved,” Ackerman advises students. “It gives you a different perspective.” b

www.backdropmagazine.com

39

SPORTS

BOARD

BY ALLY LANASA | PHOTOS BY MADDIE SCHROEDER

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backdrop | Fall 2018

Joe Bartolotta takes a skating break.

I

Skateboarders at Ohio University bond through shared passion for an athletic pastime.

t’s early fall. The leaves are beginning to change to shades of crimson and pumpkin orange and the crispness that is to come can be faintly traced in the air. As the dinner rush from Nelson lets out and the evening air starts to cool, skateboarders gather on South Green, doing tricks on makeshift obstacles.

“The [park on] South Green is cool cause it’s right on campus, but as far as quality of park State Street has concrete,” says Joe Bartolotta, a senior studying marketing and journalism.

Although there is a concrete skatepark off East State Street, some Athens skateboarders don’t have the time to make the trek there, says Cameron Erickson, a junior studying integrated media.

“Well I would love to spend more time at the park, but it’s just like getting people to go is sometimes a pain,” Erickson says. “It’s just a pain getting there if you don’t have a car and whatnot. I spend more time at the courts on South Green, but if I could I would be at the park all the time, like if I had people to skate with there.”

The skatepark provides a different style of skateboarding than the courts offer, says Victor Runyon, a sophomore studying entrepreneurship.

“The Athens skatepark is mostly a transition park, meaning it consists of ramps and bowls, not as much street obstacles, like

stairs and rails,” Runyon says.

Emmett Mascha, a senior studying international business and Spanish, appreciates the university’s acceptance of the skate community and the improvised park on the courts.

“I like that [Ohio University] is okay with the little training field on South Green. I think that’s very characteristic of a place in Athens,” Mascha says. “Some universities would look at that like an eye sore, although it’s used as much or more than the basketball courts that are adjacent, which definitely tells you something about the student base here–there’s a lot of skateboarders.”

The affability present in the ever-growing Athens skate community is uncommon in skate communities of other cities, Erickson says.

“Everyone kind of skates together and everyone will skate with everyone,” he says. “There’s this group chat we have with 40 or 50 people in it and it’s always like ‘Hey who’s skating? Let me come.’”

Some skateboarders have specifically built “wooden obstacles” to be used among the Athens and OU skate community.

Erickson and his friends have also contributed equipment.

“Without the courts on South Green, I feel like the Athens skate community — at least for the students — would not be nearly as close. It’d be pretty divided.”

Cameron Erickson starts a fakie air on the quarter pipe on South Green at Ohio University.

“

Joe Bartolotta jumps off a grind rail on South Green.

Without the courts on South Green, I feel like the Athens skate community — at least for the students — would not be nearly as close. It’d be pretty divided.”

Joe Bartolotta poses for a portrait on South Green.

CAMERON ERICKSON JUNIOR

Moss Miller, the owner of The Flipside Skateboard Shop in Athens, is another source that binds the community together.

“I feel like [Miller] is kind of holding down the Athens skate community and kind of brings everyone together in one way or another,” Erickson says.

Miller is also a great consultant for new skateboarders looking to purchase equipment.

“He can definitely give you advice and help you set it up more so than an online company, even if their prices are cheaper. It’s definitely worth heading over to the shop and seeing what you need,” Mascha says.

The community welcomes beginners and is willing to teach those interested how to skate.

“If you’re at the skatepark and you can’t ride it, then we’re going to teach you how to ride it,” Mascha says.

Similarly to how most students go to Ping to work out, skateboarders find their hobby to be an ideal form of exercise. Skateboarding is also a convenient mode of

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backdrop | Fall 2018

transportation, a break from academia and a way to meet other students. Erickson says the sport has brought him a close and stable group of friends.

“Without skateboarding in college, I probably wouldn’t really have friends; like that’s how I met almost everyone I hang out with, is either through skateboarding or through someone I met skating,” Erickson says.

Despite the acceptance of skateboarding at OU and in Athens, skateboarders continue to confront various stigmas elsewhere.

“I think the reason people skateboard is because you can do whatever you want with it,” Runyon says. “...

There are no rules. You can make it what you want it to be. Therefore, the crowd is usually people that are a little bit different and might be looked at maybe a little bit differently from the public.”

The sport often receives scorn due to the perception that it is disruptive to society.

“As far as street skateboarding there is always going to

be a stigma,” Bartolotta says. “We may be not so lawabiding, but we are respectful when asked to leave.”

Most skateboarders make a conscious effort not to negatively impact businesses.

“A lot of people are very cautious about skateboarding on the sidewalks and don’t skate on private property if it’s going to vandalize or impact their business,” Mascha says.

“They’ll usually wait ‘til they’re closed.”

Another misconception about skateboarding is the assumption that the community is misogynistic, which Mascha says is exaggerated and unfortunate.

“I think that there is a level of misogyny in skateboarding and definitely like sexual pressure in that it’s very male dominated; however, I feel like that’s also something that is hyperbolized,” Mascha says. “...I think most skateboarders are excited to see women skateboard. I know I am, even if they’re not as good as us. You know, it’s nice to see it happen. I want that to become more normalized.”

Bartolotta says there has been a huge feminist movement in skateboarding in the past five or six years.

“Women are finally getting the recognition they deserve,” he says.

Although the negative reputation of skateboarding exists in society, Erickson says the sport is developing a better presence within popular culture and fashion.

“I think the [stigma has] changed a lot in the last

few years,” Erickson says. “Skating is now kind of the forefront of fashion...and you see people who don’t skate wearing Thrasher clothing, but I feel like there’s still kind of a counterculture to skating.”

Skateboarders at OU, Mascha says, don’t see barriers between their sport and others. He says skateboarding is an important component of his character, though like other athletes, he has many hobbies.

“I view myself as like a regular person,” Mascha says.

“I like to play music and go to shows and skateboard around, that kind of thing. You know, I’ll call my friends and we’ll go to South Green and skate around just like the kids next to us on the basketball court.

They’ll call their friends and go play basketball. It’s more similar than people think.”b

Above: Joe Bartolotta completes a backside smith grind on South Green at Ohio University.

Left: Cameron Erickson skates through a studentmade skatepark on South Green at Ohio University.

www.backdropmagazine.com

43

Backdrop

VOICES

HERE

got me

JULIE CIOTOLA

B

GERMANY

ack in March, I took a spring break trip with my family to Phoenix, Arizona. We spent the week hiking in 70-degree weather and dining on local cuisine. Beyond enjoying the weather, the trip changed my mentality. Resting on top of a mountain after a two-hour climb, with sweat pouring down my back, I felt renewed.

Little did I know that just two months later, I would hop back on a plane, chasing that exact feeling.

A few weeks after my return from Arizona, I found out that I would be spending about a month studying abroad in Leipzig, Germany. The focus of the trip was to study the complexity of the opioid crisis in Leipzig and to study German culture and history. I was one of five Scripps students on the trip, which included Ohio University chemistry students, Global Leadership Center students and a handful of faculty. Our group collaborated with German students and faculty from Universität Leipzig.

In the days leading up to my departure, I felt a mix of anxiety and excitement. As someone who obsesses over acute organization, I couldn’t comprehend how the following weeks would transpire. I had never been so far away from home, surrounded by people with completely different cultural customs.

When I finally arrived in Leipzig, I realized having zero expectations was the best way to prepare. Each aspect of the

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backdrop | Fall 2018

city felt like an exciting discovery– the food, the street music, the architecture and even the bustle of public transportation.

I felt that familiar feeling of renewed curiosity I had perched atop an Arizona mountain.

Studying the opioid crisis from a journalistic perspective was intense and fascinating. I had listened to insight from the editor of a local citizen newspaper funded by donations. He discussed covering the opioid crisis in his small community and how instrumental journalism is during a crisis.

Our group also toured a MDR Studio, a media organization in Leipzig that produces broadcast news and television shows.

This was a shift from learning about conflict reporting, but it gave me the opportunity to marvel at the modern technology and the content produced in Leipzig daily.

Aside from studying the opioid crisis, much of the trip was a historical venture. Germany has a deep and dense past that cannot be crammed into a single trip, or even few semesters of history classes. Before the trip, my limited knowledge of German history centered on World War II. So it was no secret– I was ignorant.

At the end of our first week, we took a walking tour of Leipzig and learned about different historical spots around the city. Some places were celebratory, such as St. Thomas Church, where composer Johann Sebastian Bach worked as the music director until his death. Other places were more commemorative, such as the Capa House. The Capa House was named after American photojournalist Robert Capa, who captured Life magazine’s famous photo series “The Last Man to Die” at the end of World War II. Even after World War II, Germany faced the incredible task of rebuilding. The country divided into East and West territories, and because Leipzig fell on the eastern side, it was subject to rule under the Ministry for State Security (Stasi).

The group toured a Stasi Museum in Leipzig, which revealed the strict style of government imposed upon the German people. After the collapse of the dictator regime in Germany, I discovered that the Germans implemented the Stasi as the official state security service of East Germany.

The government controls were meant to establish peace in the country. Instead, the Stasi became a feared institution, disconnected from its people. This divide created another obstacle for the country to overcome to establish a sustainable and fair government.

The more I learned about German history, the more I

came to appreciate Leipzig. The arduous journey of the German people throughout history demonstrates their resolve for peace and security. The city of Leipzig today is developed and full of culture and personality, and it felt almost impossible to picture it any other way.

Amid learning about German history and studying the current social climate during the opioid crisis, I always returned to feeling that I am but a small part of this incredible world. For me, the feeling was profound. At 20 years old, I finally realized that there is a huge world to explore outside the comforts of my hometown in Ohio. b

BAILEY FINK

I

ENGLAND

f someone would have told me when I was a freshman that I would spend the summer after my sophomore year living and interning in London, I would have laughed — I have always been a homebody. Just moving to Athens, only three hours from my hometown of Pittsburgh, took some adjustment.

Now, I can say I’ve spent eight weeks on a different continent.

Leading up to my summer in London, I was nervous about my choice to intern abroad. I had no idea what the experience or the internship would be like. If there is one thing I’ve learned as a journalism major, it’s that internships are the most important experience one can have, besides joining student media organizations. Being a part of Backdrop magazine since freshman year gave me the confidence to travel to London. I knew that the Backdrop team would always be there for me, eager to hear my ideas and voice, and this gave me the sense of security that I needed as I embarked abroad.

The weeks leading up to my departure were filled with a mix of excitement and anxiety. For my internship, I was placed with a wedding dress company, Charlie Brear, to work in public relations and marketing. My major is not PR related, so I was worried about lacking certain abilities, but I was reassured by the fact that the internship would equip me with a new skill set.

After a grueling 22 hours of traveling, I arrived in England on a warm and sunny day. After nine months of planning and dreaming of being in London, it was finally a reality.

I ended up in London with five other girls, all from different parts of the country, through a company called CISabroad. The company placed me with my internship and housing while I was in London, which helped to ease my mind about the experience abroad.

The girls and I instantly clicked and became a support group for one another. We spent our arrival day exploring Camden Town, our new home for eight weeks, which we learned was the young, hipster section of London. The area was also a tourist destination because of the famous Camden Market, which is a crowded strip of stores and street food vendors that surround the Camden Lock.

We explored the city during our first weekend and visited Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye. Naturally, we also took pictures in front of the iconic telephone booths.

After the first weekend, I arrived at Charlie Bear excited to apply the knowledge I possessed through my marketing minor and my time as Backdrop’s social media director. I soon realized that interning abroad and studying abroad are two different things. I worked eight hour days, Monday through Thursday, and I often felt I was missing out on exploring a city that I had wanted to visit for so long.

Charlie Brear is a small company —only eight people work in the office — so every employee has a variety of responsibilities. I spent most of my days creating Instagram content, crafting stories and posts for 46,000 avid bridalwear fans. In addition to managing the Instagram account, I controlled the general inquiries email account, answering brides’ questions about appointments and dresses.

Of course, as with every internship, I was asked to do menial work. My professors had tried to warn me, but you don’t believe it until you’re the one making the lunch run.

During my eight-week long stay, England was experiencing an unprecedented heat wave. Temperatures hit around 90 degrees almost every day and it only rained one day of my whole trip. Meanwhile, I had prepared for days of endless rain and cooler temperatures, and the summer heat made me crave fresh air.

On the weekends,we took advantage of the warm weather by exploring different places around the city. One weekend we went to Brighton Beach, which is about two hours south of London, and relaxed on the pebble beach along the English Channel. I also went to Stonehenge, Bath and Edinburgh, Scotland, cities that provide a contrast to the fast-paced London lifestyle.

The experience I had this summer was unforgettable.

Each borough felt like its own city and it was really neat to be able to explore what each one had to offer. Leaving was bittersweet, as I said goodbye to friendships and places I may never revisit.

My internship was not what I expected it to be, but I still learned a lot about the inner workings of a small business in the fashion industry. Although London was spectacular, there really is no place like Athens, and I’m glad to be home. b www.backdropmagazine.com

45

Exhibit A. Kira Hill, a senior studying English in the Honors Tutorial College, and Tess Kazdin, a junior studying creative writing, pen metaphorical poems.

"FUNERAL FLOWERS"

BY KIRA HALL Tell me your lies, Sweet Darling of mine.

Fragrant they are Like flowers in spring.

Fresh for the picking, Ripe from the bloom, I’ll take just a few, Don’t mind if I do.

Cloying their scent is But with time now I’m wise, For their pretty pink petals Were just but a guise, To hide the sickly-sweet stench Of nature decaying.

I guess what I’m saying Is that no more is your power.

All along I knew these were funeral flowers.

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backdrop | Fall 2018

"BOOKMARK"

BY TESS KAZDIN I am a piece of scrap paper placed between the climax and conflict resolution. a pause. print pressed hard on either side of my torso, i take in gulps and force down ink fumes. but it’s warm between these pages and if i suffocate in these words, asphyxiate amid paragraphs and periods. at least you’ll keep your place.

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47

1.Changed food stamp poster color. 2. Changed color of tie. 3. Removed sunglasses.

4. Removed the paper hanging from the tent. 5. Removed the lock on the cars trunk.

5 4 3 2 1

ORIGINAL PHOTO BY MAX CATALANO

Spot the five differences between these photos at the Athens Farmers Market.

PHOTO HUNT

Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery first opened its doors in 2005. Since then, we’ve expanded to include 3 unique Athens locations. Stop by our original Brewpub, located at 24 W Union Street, and sample 18 exclusive drafts made with locally grown ingredients. Right next door, our Public House restaurant features 30 different draft lines and a delicious, locally sourced menu that offers something for everyone.

Public House 22 West Union Street Daily 11am-11pm

Court St. Carpenter St.

ve.

Stimson A

Taproom & Brewery 25 Campbell Street Mon-Thurs 2pm-9pm Fri-Sat 11am-10pm Sun 12pm-7pm

House N. Congress St.

W. Union St.

BrewPub 24 West Union Street Tues-Thurs 7pm-2am Fri 4pm-2am Sat 2pm-2am

BrewPub & Public

Taproom & Brewery

Just a mile from our uptown locations is our Taproom and Production Brewery, located at 25 Campbell Street. With 16 additional taps, food cart, and a large outdoor patio, it’s a perfect retreat at the edge of town.

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