Deprived By Distance (Vol. 8, Issue 4)

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SPRING 2015

Food Deserts: Unattainable Healthy Diets

Unmasked: Becoming Rufus

Sex Ed Superheroes Assemble

Emotional Journey with Geocache App

yOUr ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

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Like new! 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath townhouses featuring spacious open & bright floor plan, onsite parking with garage, deck and much more. Close to everything… bike path, OU, O’Bleness Hospital, easy access to all major highways.

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VOLUNTEER—Share your real-world experiences with today’s and tomorrow’s Bobcat while networking and having fun! Be part of a professional panel. Host a Dinner with 12 Strangers event. Join the Volunteer Alumni Admissions Network. When high school students eager to learn what makes OHIO a special place hear it from a Bobcat, it makes a difference!

NETWORK—Join an OUAA chapter to meet Bobcats in your town, city or region. Become a member of an interest-based society.

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CONNECT—Go online to see what’s happening on campus and with Bobcats in your city or town. Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to update your info—new jobs, promotions, moves to a new location, growing family. We want to hear from you!

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Like new! 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath townhouses featuring spacious open & bright floor plan, onsite parking with garage, deck and much more. Close to everything… bike path, OU, O’Bleness Hospital, easy access to all major highways.

4 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house.

Great uptown location, large front porch, central air, washer/dryer, onsite parking for all residents.

In a region that’s simultaneously an organic paradise as well as a food desert (p. 24), it might be surprising to learn that many residents in southeast Ohio struggle to get food on the table. For those living in poverty, a person must look past what is nutritional and reach for what is affordable.

With so many people, especially families, unable to adequately feed themselves every month, I appreciate the efforts made in our community to ease hunger. Athens County Children Services created the Peanut Butter and Jelly Project to help feed middle school students during the summer. The project is designed to step in for children who do not have access to government-provided hot lunches, which are only available during the school year. The nutrition program collects monetary donations along with peanut butter and jelly to put these weekly meals together. These sandwiches relieve hunger for young students and reduce the financial stress on their parents to provide basic meals when they cannot afford them. Backdrop was excited to support the 2015 Peanut Butter and Jelly Project for our annual “It’s Backdrop, Beach” volleyball tournament this spring. We encourage others to give what they can to such an amazing community. My time in this city has been wonderful, and I want the entire community to grow.

Ohio University has given me more than an education, it’s given me a home. After visiting five colleges around the Midwest, coming to OU is still ranked as one of my best life decisions — placing just above discovering Bagel Street Deli. Although it’s bittersweet to leave the lovely and historic city of Athens, I’m happy to leave it on such a positive note. Our second issue from fall semester, “Taking A Shot,” won the Best Student Magazine Mark of Excellence Award presented by the Society of Professional Journalists in region four for 2014. We were the top magazine from submissions by schools in Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania.

Our head copy editor, Jacob DeSmit also won Best Non-fiction Magazine Article for his cover story “Drawn Together” in our first fall semester issue. I’m proud we could represent OU and the Scripps School so strongly in both magazine categories.

I’m also thankful for the incredibly dedicated and talented members of our staff who made this possible. At the shameless risk of sounding utterly cliché, I can’t stress enough how much I’ve learned in my four years here, and I’ve had an amazing time with so many great people.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have three weeks to tearfully cross off the last few things on my Bobcat bucket list, and then be dragged kicking and screaming across the stage at commencement.

Until Homecoming,

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SEE THE PHOTO STORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURES » 20 Unmasking a Mascot

Sara Portwood

When this student suited up, the sacrifices of being an anonymous college celebrity were worth it.

MANAGING EDITORS

Nick Harley & Julianne Mobilian

by 24 Deprived Distance

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Zachary Berry & Colette Whitney

CONTRIBUTORS Amanda Damelio, Andrew Downing, Alexandra Greenberg, Brianna Griesinger, Michelle Jacobson, Evan Leonard, Emily McIntyre, Kaitlyn Pacheco, Jordan Simmons, Kelly Wallace

Some residents of southeast Ohio are trapped in a food desert creates an unhealthy cycle.

HEAD COPY EDITOR

Jacob DeSmit

ON THE COVER

COPY TEAM Elizabeth Backo, Olivia Cobb, Madison Eblen, Alexandra Greenberg, Adam McConville, Tricia Tighe

SPRING 2015

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Katelyn Boyden ART DIRECTORS

Victoria Prichard & Karlee Proctor ADVERTISING DESIGNER

Jessica Shokler

DESIGN TEAM Andie Danesi, Meredith Kern, Natasha Ringnalda, Amanda Weisbrod, Lizzie Settineri

Sara Portwood Editor-in-Chief backdropmag@gmail.com

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backdrop magazine

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

backdrop maga zine

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Food Deserts: Unattainable Healthy Diets

Unmasked: Becoming Rufus

Sex Ed Superheroes Assemble

Emotional Journey with Geocache App

20

40

42

PHOTO EDITOR

Amanda Puckett

24

ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Jilly Burns

Cover photo by Amanda Puckett Cover design by Karlee Proctor

VIDEO EDITOR

Alyssa Pasicznyk

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SPRING 2015 » VOLUME 8 ISSUE 4

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Spend some time with two of Ohio University’s busiest administrators.

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The New and Bold

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Wingin’ It Discover the west side’s newest carry-out restaurant.

RECIPE » 30

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Festive Food Try these healthy alternatives to traditional Court Street drunk food.

Playing Catch-Up OU’s seasoned baseball team adjusted to a new coaching culture, and it’s finally paying off.

ENVIRONMENT » 36

An OU brass quintet showcases its new sound.

Ramble on with local troubadour Steve Zarate.

They Call Him, “Mr. Football” Follow one player’s journey from the Bulldogs to the Buckeyes.

A local art studio is internationally known for its origami paper.

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Administrative Answers

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Sanctuary Lost Crackdowns on exotic animal laws forced local tigers away from their homes.

SEX & HEALTH » 38

Small Animals, Big Solutions

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The Latex League

Learn about the creatures that make life-saving research possible.

Meet the group that puts the “pro” in prophylactic.

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Only What You Can Carry Take a trip down memory lane playing a new, app-based game.

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OU, Oh No...

Commentary on Ohio women’s basketball’s winning season.

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See what changed while you were hammered.

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? Q&A

Administrative Answers Jenny Hall-Jones and Ryan Lombardi open up about their roles as the faces of friendly authority to OU students.

BY MICHELLE MWAURA PHOTOS PROVIDED BY OU COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING Students often have the notion that the people behind Ohio University’s administrative doors are an unseen and untouchable force, but they’re just as grounded as everyone else. Backdrop sat down with OU’s social network-savvy Vice President for Student Affairs Ryan Lombardi and Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones to find out who they really are.

Why OU? What made you decide to come here?

Jenny Hall-Jones: I was a basketball player in high school, and I came from a blue-collar family with no money. I had free lunch growing up. So my whole thing was that I was going to play basketball for college, and I would just go to college with whoever offered me a scholarship. I blew out my knee in high school, broke my tibia and dislocated my knee. All of a sudden that basketball dream and my way to pay for college was just gone. The only schools that would look at me were Division III colleges, and it just wasn’t going to happen. I wanted to be a forensic chemist, and in the state of Ohio, at the time, there were only two colleges for forensic chemistry. It was a long time ago! Twentysomething years. I had gone to Buckeye Girls State and I roomed with somebody who had gone to Ohio University, and it just came to me that I should just go there! Sight unseen and never visited, I applied and got accepted, and I haven’t left Athens since I was 18 years old.

Ryan Lombardi: OU recruited me with a full-court press.

I came here at that time as dean of students in 2008 with no ties to Ohio University except a couple of random connections. A woman who worked for me at Duke did her undergrad at OU, and she used to rave about OU. When this job came open, I decided to see what it was all about, and people were supportive of my decision to come here.

So the family and I packed up and moved here.

As former part-time coordinator of the LGBT Center and Clinical and Psychological Services, what advice would you give to a student who has difficulty reaching out because of the stigma that’s associated with “being different?”

JHJ: I think a lot of the ways that we can do that is through

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backdrop | Spring 2015

the social media context. Making ourselves approachable and easy to talk to. We put ourselves on the forefront and say ‘Students, we’re here for you and we make ourselves accessible.’ I think there are a lot of other ways, like talking about the Bobcat family and supporting each other, encouraging ‘When you see something, you say something’ and getting a person in need connected with the resources they need. We also do Bobcats Who Care, which is a new program that was implemented a while ago to train students how to intervene if someone in their life could be suicidal and how not to be afraid to ask the questions, ‘Are you suicidal? Are you thinking about killing yourself?’ And not being afraid to say the word ‘suicide’ because it’s real

McDonald’s sells 75 hamburgers every second of every day.

and it’s hard, and we have to talk about it instead of hiding around it. So trying not to re-enforce the stigma.

Both of you had to handle protests on campus last semester, including the sit-in at Baker Center. How were you able to address those concerns without seeming biased, showing favoritism and avoiding criticism?

RL: Honestly, they’re on the fly judgment calls. That night we both decided to go in and find out what they wanted and their intentions. We’re plugged in and knew the impact the situation was having on our students at the time.

So we both sat in the car in the parking lot deciding how to handle the situation, going back and forth on what to do. We would have had to ask the staff, which is a student staff, to stay longer, and we were not sure how that would affect them the next day. We actually offered that they move to the library because that’s open 24 hours, since Baker was closing, and that also gave us a chance to see how they were feeling. It turned out that they just wanted a place to heal. After these traumatic events that were taking place in the nation, it didn’t feel right to shut it down. It was a gut call. We wanted to be fair but also consider the impact of the decision to let the students stay, which at the time was calling people out of their homes to staff the area, which we were fine with doing. Those decisions play a factor in the decisions we make. Sometimes we make decisions that aren’t popular, but we strategize them to minimize harm. There isn’t a secret formula to it.

JHJ: It’s working in the gray and not treating every situation like it’s exactly the same. In that situation, the students wanted to process and talk, and I think that if they were ripping things off the wall and being destructive, we would have made a different decision. Not saying because we did it this time we would do it [the same] next time; it’s always going to be different. I think that’s what we’re good at because we do so much crisis management. We adapt and work with those gray areas.

Are there things that you wish were different or that you could change?

RL: My initial reaction is yes, there are some things that I’d like to change, but it’s the question of ‘Would I?’ Changing those things would change the community and the culture here, and maybe in some ways for the better, one could argue. But this community has become what it is because of the students largely, who have come here for 200 years and made this place what it is with a little help from people like us. There’s something really special about that. I wish we could listen to each other more.

JHJ: Maybe changing outsiders from coming to fests here to avoid harm to our students. And I don’t understand why we need spaces for the worst of us. Things like YikYak and Unseen... I wish I could get rid of that. It’s intriguing to me why we need a venue that hurts people.

What are two personal habits that have served you well?

RL: I would say being very organized, and the other would be self-motivation. It comes from me being a musician; you have to have an internal fire to succeed as a musician.

Even though I’m not using music as a medium, it’s a discipline that’s stuck with me that’s helped me manage better.

JHJ: I read every night before I go to bed, and I sleep really well. I get my eight hours every night. I love to read, and I don’t read stuff about work — I read anything else. Right now I’m currently not reading anything, but I love juvenile fiction. When the Harry Potter books were coming out, I was the person in line at midnight waiting for the next book. I’ve read all the Hunger Games series. I’ve read the Twilight series; I hated the movies though. I love science fiction. My all-time favorite novel is Ender’s Game.

What’s your favorite place on campus?

RL: Baker Center. The energy is amazing. My office used to be over there. I’d step out of my office to get coffee, and it’d take me an hour because everyone wants to talk to you, but here in Cutler it’s just a destination or people passing through.

JHJ: I feel grounded outside. My favorite part of campus is the park outside of the library, and if you never knew, it’s shaped as the state of Ohio. I grew up where the ramp is! It’s beautiful because there are azaleas out there. b

Carbonated drinks speed up alcohol’s rate of absorption, which leads to quicker intoxication.

www.backdropmagazine.com

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BY COLETTE WHITNEY | PHOTOS BY KELLY WALLACE

THE DROP

T

HAND-CRAFTED

Paper Circle aids at-risk youths as it serves a niche market internationally.

he journey to Paper Circle is a short one. Nestled in nearby Nelsonville, the studio is about a 20-minute drive from Athens. It sits in the town’s historic district, a quaint, pretty area decorated with star bricks that make it feel like an oasis in the midst of a poverty-stricken desert.

Paper Circle, founded by Sara Gilfert in 2003, is a center for paper and book arts. It merges the local culture of southeast Ohio with the rich history of paper arts while also making community outreach its first priority.

“The studio is a really happy place,” says Barbara Campagnola, executive director of Paper Circle. She came about her position almost by chance. Originally from New York, she moved to Athens in 1970, started a restaurant called Seven Sauces and taught culinary arts before going back to school to earn a degree in journalism.

“I had no experience at non-profits,” Campagnola says with a laugh. “It just seemed like, when I went to interview for the job, it was where I needed to be. It’s hard to describe why. They seemed like really good people, and the mission seemed great.

Even though I didn’t know what I was doing, it seemed like a challenge I wanted to take on.”

She found that her entrepreneurship and writing experience really helped her transition into the non-profit world. She maintains that her journalism degree was a crucial step because writing grants is a huge part of her work.

“Every foundation has a different mission, they want to support something different,” Campagnola says of the grant writing process. “You just have to figure out how to position yourself and how to explain what it is your organization is doing.

In some grants, you have to make the project come alive with words. That’s a good skill to have.”

The day-to-day work at the studio includes making origami paper, screen printing and bookbinding. Studio Director Kyla Rafert, with the help of interns and volunteers, does those jobs.

“A lot of the time we are making paper. We are one of only two handmade origami paper makers in the world, and we’re the only one you can get online,” Rafert says.

Griffin Kaho, a Paper Circle volunteer, does much of the papermaking and screen printing.

“They have a specialty origami paper that I help with. They’re very large, unusually thin and strong pieces of paper,” Kaho says. “There’s been a sort of explosion of interest in origami over the past few years. For intricate new shapes, it requires a

very thin, very strong, large sheet of paper.”

The income from selling the paper — which costs $16 per sheet — funds Circle Round the Square, a summer camp the studio hosts each year. Since its creation in 2004, the camp has become a central pursuit. It is free and open to at-risk kids in the Nelsonville area.

“The summer camp is more than just making art; there’s visual art, as well. They have acting classes, photography, and they collaborate with a lot of organizations around, like Stuart’s Opera House and Hocking College,” Rafert says. “Campers also get all of their meals and can take cooking classes. It’s a really ‘everything covered’ camp.”

The studio also hosts workshops from time to time for people of all ages to learn how to make origami paper or bind a book, but those don’t generate much profit for the studio.

“Our summer camp is the biggest thing we do for the community,” Rafert says. “We do have a small handful of students who went through the summer camp come back as interns. If they stick with the program, they’re awarded a scholarship to Hocking College, which is really good because a lot of them are first-generation college students.”

One of those interns is Sarah O’Nail, a first-year student at Hocking College. She went through the summer camp before working at the studio. She earned Paper Circle’s scholarship, which pays for her first two years at Hocking College. The school funds that scholarship.

“I make paper and screen-print designs on T-shirts and our cards,” O’Nail says. “It’s really challenging to make the paper; the smallest error could mess up the entire sheet. It usually takes all day to make the paper, depending on how much you want to make.”

People from all over the world order Paper Circle’s origami paper, which is made from abacá, an Asian plant that grows in ponds. Despite the studio’s international demand, Campagnola and the staff insist that Paper Circle is not a money-making venture. They do their work for the good of the community because they want to foster opportunities for kids who might not otherwise have them.

“It’s really wonderful to be part of something creative,” Campagnola says. “Having access to creative materials and to see people making things, to join in the process; it’s just wonderful. That’s probably my favorite part. To see the joy we bring the children in the area, too — that’s pretty wonderful.” b

HISTORY OF ORIGAMI

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backdrop | Spring 2015

A watermelon is approximately 92 percent water.

105 A.D.

600 A.D.

800–1100 A.D.

1797 A.D.

1900 A.D.

1930s A.D.

Cai Lun, a Chinese eunuch, is credited with creating paper.

Origami spreads to Japan, where it becomes an art practiced only by the elite.

Origami is introduced to the West.

Sembazuru Orikata, the oldest origami instruction manual, is published.

Origami is spread to England and the United States.

Akira Yoshizawa developed his own set of symbols for origami instructions.

There are over 350 different pasta shapes worldwide.

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ENTERTAINMENT

THE NEW AND BOLD

and playing in a quintet.

“It’s different when you’re playing by yourself, like if you’re doing a solo rather than being in a group, then you kind of have the safety net of your peers,” says junior Dylan Chase, a music education and music performance major who plays trombone.

Having an ear for what’s right, alone or together, is crucial for a productive session.

Borges believes music education is based on several simple, significant concepts, such as critical listening and paying attention to detail.

“When you study music very seriously, you learn discipline and responsibility; at the same time, you’re working on creativity,” he says.

The members of Brick City Brass collectively agree that the difference in levels of experience between them has never been a challenge. Instead, it has made them realize their own strengths as musicians.

“Zack is better at listening for pitch than I am, but maybe I’m better at something than Zack is,” explains Joan Engel, a junior music performance major who plays tuba.

All five members of Brick City Brass are also heavily involved in other instrumental and vocal ensembles both within and outside of the School of Music. For the quintet, rehearsals don’t leave much time for socializing because their schedules are so

crammed that they usually just sit down and play, Chase says.

Borges grew up in Brazil, a country he describes as “very free.” While playing in a brass quintet as a kid, he and the other members switched between rehearsing and hanging out. In the United States, people respect a person’s time much more.

“When you’re practicing, people won’t knock as much on your door and interrupt you, and in Brazil that [happened] very often. Rehearsals here start on time. They don’t in Brazil, ever,” he says. “So when I came here, I wanted those things.”

When it comes to being in the quintet, Brick City Brass loves the small, close-knit feel.

“It’s a different experience playing with just four other people, rather than, like, 40. It’s so much more fun, and I don’t know why, but I love the quintet way more than group ensemble,” Engel says.

Despite how the quintet members incessantly laugh and joke together, they are able to strike a balance between work and play. Borges has noticed that and couldn’t be more proud of the group’s drive to be successful in a humble, non-egotistical way, something he claims can be an issue in music. In Borges’ eyes, Brick City Brass is going to go very far.

“It didn’t matter if I was there or not — I love that. I think that if they stick with it, they can make something very special,” Borges says. b

“

When you study music very seriously, you learn discipline and responsibility; at the same time, you’re working on creativity.”

Five School of Music undergrads combine their musical styles to create a new, exciting brass group.

LUCAS REGOS BORGES, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF TROMBONE

BY EMILY MCINTYRE | PHOTOS BY EVAN LEONARD

I

nside a classroom on the fifth floor of Glidden Hall, scattered music notes, resembling the sound of a tugboat, erupt from a tuba. A trumpet joins in to warm up, followed by a trombone, French horn and another trumpet. Though the instruments have their own individual sounds, together they produce an unexpectedly smooth blend of music.

The quintet, known as Brick City Brass, is made up of five undergraduate students in the Ohio University School of Music. Although it’s only been about a year since its formation and one semester since they attached the name Brick City Brass, the group has already captivated a wide audience through recitals and concerts.

Prior to the founding of Brick City Brass, its members became friends through music classes and organizations.

Assistant professor of trombone Lucas Regos Borges was approached by Brick City Brass to be its coach shortly after he was hired last fall. Borges, who grew up in Brazil, started playing trombone when he was about 12 years old. Since receiving a bachelor’s degree from Universidade de Brasília, a master’s degree from Indiana University and a doctoral degree from the University of North Texas, he has taught and performed at several interna-

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tional music festivals and conventions.

The quintet plays mostly classical music, along with occasional jazz or pop routines, though its style often varies with its audience. Borges — who has specialized in chamber music throughout his career — says this variety is not only acceptable, but also expected for a brass quintet.

“For a lot of our more lighthearted gigs, we’ll pick out little pop tunes, like we do ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’ At one point, I think we did a Beatles medley,” says Zack Spivey, a sophomore horn player triple majoring in music education, music composition and music performance.

The quintet plays at formal recitals, ensembles in the School of Music, and occasionally at private and public gigs. On average, they perform about three or four times each semester, though the members do not have a set schedule for what they will do every semester.

Elise Armstrong, a junior trumpet player majoring in music performance, says Brick City Brass holds practice about twice a week for three hours total, but each member also practices individually. Members recognize that there are some major differences between playing in a large ensemble

Bananas, tomatoes, pumpkins and watermelons are all berries.

An unripe pineapple can be poisonous.

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“I have this theory that as you age, your favorite music is what you got turned on to when you were between 12 and 22,” Zarate, age 53, says. “Almost all the ’70s pop stuff was catchy and memorable, until ’75 or something when disco starts creeping in; then it gets a little weird.”

Growing up and learning to play guitar, he’d practice for hours, relentlessly honing his craft. Today, he carries a binder with him, which lists over 200 songs he can play from memory.

“I’d spend the rest of the evening in my room just playing along with records, just playing with stuff on the guitar,” Zarate says. “I used to be able to play for six or seven hours at a time. My shoulder gets sore now.”

ENTERTAINMENT

JUKEBOX

ONE MAN

BY DILLON STEWART | PHOTOS BY JILLY BURNS

S

Armed with his guitar, Athens resident Steve Zarate entertains and amazes with his musical talent.

teve Zarate’s guitar has a half-inch crater under the strings. Slashes line the area where a pick guard should be. The damage isn’t from vicious playing but rather from perpetual playing.

The guitar now rests against its amplifier. The amp sits in the corner of Kiser’s on Eclipse as part of a makeshift stage.

The barn-like structure is located just off of Highway 33 on a mostly residential street. Each Sunday, it hosts a $12 brunch — a spread of Kiser’s BBQ breakfast foods and vegan options.

It is a local favorite, and Steve Zarate, another local favorite, provides the soundtrack for the event.

“We go for that laid-back, lazy Sunday feeling. I think Steve’s music plays into that,” says Sean Kiser, owner of the three Kiser’s BBQ locations. “It gets your feet tapping, but you don’t have to get up and dance. Just stuff yourself and hang out.”

Zarate sits nearby at a table, wearing a thermal shirt under his signature Hawaiian-print, short-sleeve button-up. He’s just finished a marathon, four-hour set. The plate of food he’s picking at and the cup of coffee he sips are the fruits of his labor.

A Corvette has four gears, each allowing the car to accelerate faster. An avid driver wants to shift into fourth gear but is often forced to stay at first or second gear. The guitar is Zarate’s Corvette, and it has three modes. On a day like today, it’s mostly stuck in mode one.

“Mode one is background, where I play pretty music while people usually eat,” Zarate says.

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backdrop | Spring 2015

That mode is common to Zarate, who has always had music in the background of his life. One of Zarate’s early memories is of his father playing Peter, Paul and Mary songs on guitar. His father bought him his first guitar and left Zarate with a lesson that would become his philosophy about playing it.

“That’s when I realized that people don’t have to be just like the record. They can put their own stamp on a song,” Zarate says.

Since then, Zarate has made each song he plays his own.

Zarate is always reading the crowd. His set list is not concrete. It’s an ever-changing being. Sometimes the crowd, like an open highway, tells him to shift into mode two.

“Sometimes he’ll say, ‘Hey, anybody have a request?’” Kiser says. “I swear people try to get one over on him and come up with some bizarre plays. He might have to think about it for a few seconds, but he usually comes up with it.”

Zarate learned the skill from his days performing on the street. Many alumni remember Zarate as the guy who played guitar by the Burrito Buggy on the corner of Union and Court Street. In Athens, he has built a reputation as a human jukebox. He says the secret to handling any crowd is to learn one song from 200 different artists.

The Billboard Top 40 music of the ’60s and ’70s hooked Zarate.

Back then, he says, the music felt more authentic. After his father left, he remembers listening to Simon and Garfunkel records with his mother. When he was a camp counselor, similar tunes built the summer soundtrack around the late-night campfire sing-alongs.

Almonds are members of the peach family.

Zarate first fell in love with Athens during his senior year of high school. Athens’ rolling hills and deep woods seemed eons, not exits, away from home. The city was slower and nature was closer. He began calling Athens home in the fall of 1978 when he enrolled in Ohio University.

“I came to the country; that’s where I fell in love with a little college town, where life is sweet,” sings Zarate, in “Jewel of the Hocking.”

He graduated from the RTV program in four years, but like many, he wasn’t quite ready to leave. He returned a few years later to work on two master’s degrees, one in political science and one in journalism.

After a friend passed away in December of 1994, Zarate began to think of how he was sick of working jobs and leading a life he wasn’t fully in love with or inspired by. Throughout his life, music had always been his driving force. Family had always told him a career playing music was unrealistic. Maybe it was, but he had to try.

“I knew I was a good musician, and I just didn’t want to squander that,” Zarate says.

“I don’t want to be an old man saying, ‘I could have done this if I tried.’”

In January, he flew back to Athens for a week in search of solace and a new guitar. He found both. His Alvarez Yairi can be seen on the cover of his 1995 album Homecoming, which he recorded in Juneau, Alaska.

Since then, Zarate has recorded four albums, most recently Live At The Blue Room. He has over 200 copyrighted songs in the Library of Congress and has played the Alaska Folk Festival five times.

He moved back to Athens in 2006 and made a career. In an average week, he’ll play two or three times in the area. In an abnormal week, he’ll play six or seven times. He’s working on an album titled Songs for The Green Self, which will release in early 2015. The album touches on his philosophies and a life led by love, not fear.

In Athens, Zarate’s found a home. It allows him to explore all of his modes, both in music and in life. He gets to play his music.

He can say hello to people uptown, then escape and taste nature.

“I think Steve is that typical kind of Athenian local who came here for school and just ended up really falling in love and sticking around,” Kiser says. “There’s certain characters in this town, man, and I think he’s one of them.”

Zarate finishes his plate, wipes his hands and quickly begins to pack up his equipment. He packs the Ibanez before the two PA systems, then the mic and other pieces of equipment.

There will be another gig, and another day stuck in mode one. b Dark chocolate can reduce stress and temporarily boost blood flow to the brain.

15

Celtic Steps PHOTOS & CAPTIONS BY AMANDA DAMELIO

Irish dancers took the floor at Jackie O’s for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

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ABOVE LEFT

(From left to right) Noah Molina, Molly Petre, Katie Conlon, Lily Bohuslawski, Autumn Lawless and Alexis Haag perform a traditional ceili (group dance) called the High Cauled Cap. A traditional ceili consists of steps that are written down and performed the same regardless of where the dancers go.

RIGHT TOP

The group brought two stacks of detachable wooden floor pieces with them. The floor was assembled toward the end of the show when they performed hard shoe dances.

RIGHT BOTTOM

The Sparkle Treble Reel, a favorite among many of the dancers, was entirely choreographed and performed by the senior dance team. Katie Conlon, an Ohio University junior studying history, and Eryn Dael, age 13, perform the rhythm section of the hard-shoe dance.

The original Coca-Cola was green.

Coconut water can be used as a blood plasma substitute.

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17

RIGHT

PHOTO STORY

Alexis Haag (Left) Annie Burdett, Molly Petre, Sue Farley, Lily Bohuslawski, Jessica Schlabach, Eryn Dael and Rowan Knutsen (Right)‬ stretch their hip flexors after practice.

ABOVE

Although they look similar, hard and soft shoes are not only used for different dances but also represent different skill levels. Hard shoes are made of fiberglass and are worn by the more advanced dancers, while soft shoes are black, lace-up shoes worn by beginning or intermediate dancers. “The transition from soft shoe to hard shoe is easy once you have the foundation,” Jessica Schlabach says.

LEFT

Emily Pauwels and Eryn Dael practice a four-hand chain, a move frequently integrated into their dances.

LEFT

As their performance concluded, the adult dancers, joined by the youth performers, appeared for one last hoorah. Ohio University students Colleen McNeeley and Patricia Lindner dance the Sweets of May Ceili.

BELOW

Ohio University junior Molly Petre does a “merkle,” or a “jump 2-3,” to warm up before dancing. Petre has 14 years of prior dance experience in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. On St. Patrick’s Day, she performed for the first time since attending OU.

LEFT

(From left to right) Irelyn Lawless, Devon Altop, Caitlin Bradley, Zoe Carlson and Evelyn Alfono dance a jig during an annual St. Patrick’s Day performance at Jackie O’s in Athens, Ohio. A jig is a beginner level dance that works on foot placement, timing and turnout.

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Cap’n Crunch’s full name is Horatio Magellan Crunch.

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19

b FEATURE

UNMASKING

A MASCOT

Over the course of four years, Nate Hug lived anonymously as Ohio University’s Rufus, which took physical and mental tolls on his body and mind.

BY ANDREW DOWNING | PHOTOS BY AMANDA PUCKETT

A

s he found his seat among the other students attending the first football game of the year in Peden Stadium, Nate Hug felt depressed. It wasn’t the pesky fall breeze biting at his face that made him feel sick to his stomach, but rather how being a fan at a football game felt like a foreign concept to him.

“There used to be so many people that loved you and wanted to take pictures with you, but now you’re just another number or face in the crowd,” Hug says.

Many of the people Hug refers to didn’t love him; they loved who he pretended to be. During his first four years as an undergraduate student at Ohio University, Hug acted anonymously as the school’s mascot, Rufus. Whether suiting up to face the “boos” of an away crowd hundreds of miles from Athens or traveling three hours to a small town in southern Kentucky to make an appearance at an alumni wedding, Hug has nearly seen it all through Rufus’ eyes.

BECOMING RUFUS

After attending a basketball game during freshman year with a fellow floormate from his dorm, Hug began to have visions of himself as the mascot. He had always been a sports fan but never developed a true passion for playing. While his friend attentively watched the basketball game, Hug instead followed the furry, energetic Bobcat costume that bounced throughout the stadium.

Once the game ended, Hug returned to his room still filled with a new ambition he had never experienced before. He quickly reached into his university-provided desk and retrieved a marker.

“I went home after the game and wrote on my white board of college goals, ‘Become OU’s mascot,’” Hug says. “All of my friends thought it was a stupid goal, but they supported me.”

The next day, Hug contacted the head cheerleading coach and asked for information about becoming a part of the school’s mascot team. He was asked to attend the next practice to try out to act as Rufus.

A regular athletic tryout involves a hopeful prospect completing strenuous drills and conditioning tests to prove himself or herself to the coaching staff. A mascot tryout is much different.

Individuals are asked to perform a variety of improvised tasks with provided props. That exercise is followed by an interview that gets to the heart of why the mascot prospect is trying out for the position. The lengthy and in-depth interview aims to learn more about the person — a routine that may be employed due to an infamous altercation in 2010 in which a student dressed as Rufus tackled Ohio State University’s mascot, Brutus, during a regular-season football game between the two universities.

Once the tryout was over, Hug was offered the position. “[I was] on top of the world. I felt as though I was now a celebrity on campus,” Hug says.

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People drink over 500 billion cups of coffee worldwide every year.

White chocolate is made from cocoa butter rather than cocoa beans.

GAINING EXPERIENCE In a game of chess, each player is given two rooks — a piece that can only move horizontally or vertically around the board. In Hug’s first game as a mascot, there were also two “rooks.” In the mascot world, “rook” is short for rookie, a person who is not only expected to move horizontally and vertically but also diagonally, exuberantly and colorfully throughout the stadium in which he or she cheers. The typical mascot team usually consists of five or six people. Hug and his new partner were by themselves during his first game, unsure of what to do in the unfamiliar situation they had been thrust into.

“We didn’t really know what to do. We talked to the cheerleading coach and were told how to transport the suit,” Hug says. “It takes a long time to get comfortable to be able to go out and actually do what they expect you to do.”

But that game is hard for Hug to remember, like a combination of small fragments that are difficult to connect to form the bigger picture.

“I’m kind of sad about that,” Hug says. “I’m pretty sure that I was pretty bad, but I really can’t remember.”

Like anything new, becoming a mascot involves a learning curve. Transitioning from how one acts as a person to how one acts as a mascot involves more bodily expression. Most mascots are not able to show emotion or speak within their headpieces. Hug estimates that it took him around four to five months before he felt he was able to do the “character” of Rufus any justice.

“You don’t just go in there and be Rufus,” Hug says. “You have to understand the character of Rufus. He’s that best friend that you love to hate, but he’s still rather innocent, and that’s what you appreciate about him.”

When Hug first started performing at sporting events, there wasn’t much equipment in which to pack the suit. But one tradition remained among the members of the mascot team as the years went on. The idea of coming up with a funny excuse for what was in the luggage container was a way for them to keep their identities confidential, even after they had received adequate storage for their equipment.

Among the many benchmarks of Hug’s career as Rufus, one that stands out most to Hug is his very first Blackout game for OU’s football team. As is Blackout tradition, fans were urged to wear black attire in support of the football team. Unbeknownst to the fans, the team would reveal the first-ever black jerseys in school history that night. With that unveiling, the oldest Division I football stadium in the MidAmerican Conference erupted with cheers that could have been mistaken for a small earthquake.

“The amount of energy in the stadium was just immense,” Hug says. “It was a complete buzz.”

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PREPARING FOR BATTLE Within the confines of the mascot suit, there are times when the internal temperature can reach upward of 120 degrees.

That heat drains significant amounts of sweat from the person inside when paired with all of his or her emphatic movements.

Such conditions can be dangerous if not prepared for correctly.

“You’re constantly moving,” Hug stresses. “The next day you almost feel completely sick because you are so depleted of nutrients and water in your body.”

Much like a marathon runner would prepare for a race, Hug would get himself ready for a game 24 hours in advance. The day before a big football game, Hug forced himself to drink copious amounts of water and eat a lot of food high in carbohydrates. Taking those steps assured that Hug wouldn’t fall ill during a contest, which could have caused him to pass out.

Another tip that Hug learned was to cut out all dairy products the day prior to a game, because the intense heat inside the suit could curdle the dairy inside of his stomach and cause him to throw up.

Luckily, for each member, they weren’t required to be in the suit for too long before switching places. Ideally, a change in personnel would happen every 30 minutes if everything went according to plan, but it was inevitable during most games that the timing wouldn’t be perfect. A “spotter,” or a person who was placed incognito in the crowd, would alert an awaiting

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teammate that Rufus was on his way to make the switch. As time went on, those interactions between teammates became quicker and quicker, and the crowd never knew switching occurred at all.

Immediately after the event, Hug would start replenishing his body with the nutrients he had lost. When the contest was done, it often left Hug and his teammates weak with exhaustion. During weeks where there were multiple games or events in which Hug had to don the costume, he was required to take extra care of his body so that he wouldn’t crash by week’s end.

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS In the spring of 2012, the men’s basketball team played its way into the famous March Madness tournament at the end of the season. Coming from a mid-major conference, that achievement was a big deal throughout the college basketball world and even a bigger deal in Athens.

The Bobcats’ signature game of the tournament was its upset win over the University of Michigan in Nashville, Tennessee.

Standing along the sidelines with the players was Hug, enthusiastic as ever, fueling the chants that rained down from fans decked out in white and forest green.

“That was a moment of my life that is stuck in my mind,” Hug says. “Being in that stadium watching the fans stand the whole entire time — they never sat down.”

Eating celery burns more calories than it contains.

Even though the team pulled off an incredible victory, it was as if Hug wasn’t there because he was not allowed in any pictures out of uniform. Staying anonymous is a tradition in the mascot world and is taken very seriously at OU. Performing goofy stunts becomes much easier when one knows that he or she will not be recognized for his or her actions. But it’s not always that easy; living behind a mask for the majority of your college career can take its toll on a person and become a burden.

“It’s kind of tough because you want credit for what you do, you know?” Hug says. “I remember hearing conversations between people talking about taking pictures with Rufus, and you just want someone to thank you for it. You have to suck up your pride and know you don’t do it for recognition.”

Hug wasn’t the only Rufus team member that felt that way; it was often discussed in intimate conversations between teammates.

Chris Sasileo, now the assistant equipment manager for Olympic Sports for Ohio Athletics, was a former teammate of Hug’s that often experienced the same inner struggles.

“A lot of times you just feel underappreciated, too. I think that’s the thing that you feel the most,” Sasileo says. “Sure, everybody loves Rufus and everything about him, but I don’t think they realize all of the time and effort that goes into being the mascot.”

Not only was he required to attend games and special events, but Hug was also expected to attend practice and weight training multiple times throughout the week. A long day of school often led to a long night at a stadium.

Once inside the costume, all personal feelings and moods were to be forgotten. Under the mask, a mascot needs a “game face.”

If Hug was having a bad day, he was required to forget about it and pretend to be happy for the next couple of hours while he was pumping up the crowd.

“I went through a lot of times when I wanted to quit, and there were even times that I shed tears thinking about quitting because it was such a daunting task and there is a lot asked of you,” Hug says.

BECOMING NATE HUG It started with a drive through the state of Kentucky, to a small town that escapes Hug’s memory, in the spring of 2014. While riding in the passenger seat of a black Honda Accord, driven by a former Rufus teammate who would rather not reveal his or her identity, the bittersweet thought of freedom snuck into his mind.

Before the weight of being a mascot was lifted from Hug’s shoulders, there was one more task — a wedding reception.

“I loved being Rufus with all of my heart; it was one of most important college memories,” Hug says. “But there comes a time in life when you know you need to move on from something, when it takes so much out of you and you know that you gave it all that you could.”

Rufus was asked to make an appearance at the wedding reception of an alumni couple, so Hug and his partner took on the task just as they would with any event in the past. They took extra precautions to hide their identities. On the long drive to the wedding hall, the two teammates came up with special aliases, Bianca and Paulo, to explain to any wedding-goers that were curious enough to strike up a conversation.

“We were cousins of the groom who owned a winery in Italy,”

In 1942, the production of Hershey’s Kisses was stopped to save foil for the war effort.

Hug says, laughing at the irony of making one last identity for himself as his career as Rufus came to a close. “It was fun playing that up all night.”

Once the reception kicked off, the night was filled with dancing and music. Hug and his partner were essentially expected to dance as Rufus all night, which took a lot out of them both. When one was in the costume, the other was frantically drinking water, trying to get his or her body ready for the next round of dancing.

Those at the reception were gathered to celebrate a special moment in the lives of a newly wedded couple, but what many didn’t know was that Hug was having a celebration all his own, for the time he had sacrificed the last four years to be the face of Ohio University.

“Going down there for the wedding, I wanted to have a last hoorah, or last bow, and have fun with it,” Hug says. “We gave a great performance!”

Looking back on his undergraduate college career, Hug knows it was unlike anyone else’s. He wasn’t a typical college kid who could go out every Friday night. Of course he had friends, but Hug was in his own world a majority of the time. As the night ended, Hug had no regrets. He felt confident that as an introverted freshman, he had made the right choice.

“When it was all over, I never looked back or felt sad. I just drove back to Athens knowing that I left my legacy,” Hug says.

For the first time in four years, Nate Hug was ready to be himself, and only himself. b

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23

b FEATURE

BY CHEYENNE BUCKINGHAM | PHOTO BY AMANDA PUCKETT | ILLUSTRATION BY KATELYN BOYDEN

DEPRIVED by DISTANCE

High sugar content in fruit juices may increase the risk of developing diabetes.

Only 26 percent of American adults eat three servings of vegetables per day.

Despite common belief, most whole wheat bread options contain harmful preservatives.

Some granola bars contain excessive sugars and artificial flavors.

The locations of some small, rural towns isolate residents from access to healthy, fresh food.

C

onsider how easy it can be to get a bite to eat on campus. Students at Ohio University can find food at dozens of places, most within walking distance. They can take a brief trip to the dining halls, where a seemingly endless supply of food is available, or they can indulge in one of the many delectable eateries located right on Court Street. Students and faculty can waltz through the motions of their daily agendas with ease, knowing that when they receive a break, they have the option of purchasing a quality meal without having to travel terribly far.

With a Kroger and Wal-Mart located roughly three miles up the road, in addition to a the farmers market held on East State Street every Wednesday and Saturday, it seems most residents are a manageable distance from great food. Although this may be true for students and faculty living near campus, it’s another story for those who live on the outskirts of the city who must endure poverty.

Those people live in what is called a “food desert.”

A food desert is a community, including both urban neighborhoods and rural towns, whose residents lack access to fresh, healthy and affordable food. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Service, an estimated 23.5 million Americans live in a food desert. In urban neighborhoods classified as food deserts, residents live at least one mile away from the nearest supermarket. In rural towns, such as Athens, the requirements are modified because the population is more sparsely distributed throughout the county. For Athens to be considered a food desert, residents must live 10 miles away from access to fresh meat and produce.

The USDA’s Department of Treasury, Health and Human Services utilizes census tracts in order to identify whether or not a community qualifies as a food desert. The region qualifies as a “low-income community” if it has a poverty rate of 20 percent or greater or if at least 500 individuals — or 33 percent of the population — live more than one mile (10 miles for rural areas) from a supermarket or a large grocery store.

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Some people develop an addiction to processed food because it releases more dopamine in the brain.

There are five fast food restaurants for every supermarket. www.backdropmagazine.com

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N E

W

23 miles

S

32 miles

LOGAN

CHILLICOTHE

28 miles ATHENS

18 miles

McARTHUR

JACKSON

Chase Goodwin, sophomore at OU, lived in a minimum 10-mile radius food desert surrounding the small village of McArthur, Ohio. When he could borrow a car, he would drive to a nearby city for fresh produce and groceries instead of purchasing food at his local Dollar General.

Francis McFadden, assistant professor of nutrition at Ohio University, says there are two prominent factors associated with food deserts: income and access. According to the United States Census Bureau, 31.7 percent of the population in Athens fell below the poverty line between 2009 and 2013. In addition to trekking a significant distance to obtain nutritious selections, people in Athens also must worry about whether they can afford the higher price tag that often accompanies healthy options.

“My concern in Athens is the density of restaurants. The ratio between quick-serve restaurants and regular restaurants is quite skewed,” McFadden says. “The problem it creates is: if you’ve got five dollars, do you go out and buy something healthy or buy five value meals?”

From an economic standpoint, McFadden believes local places in Athens that offer healthy food items, such as the Farmacy, do so at prices that are disproportionally skewed in the wrong direction. “I think the demand far outweighs the supply,” he says.

McFadden expresses uneasiness when suggesting that someone with only a few dollars should purchase produce from the Athens Farmers Market.

“The biggest problem with healthy food is that it seems to be for the rich,” McFadden explains. “Our farmers market is expensive.”

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Fast food chains, convenience stores and restaurants are not accounted for in the 10-mile radius that designates a food desert; only grocery stores and supermarkets are taken into consideration because they serve as true food-retail outlets.

“You could live within 10 feet of a Taco Bell or Burger King and that does not get you out of a food desert; as a matter of fact, that is one of the problems,” McFadden says.

One of the many classes McFadden teaches at Ohio University is Introduction to Food Systems, a course that takes an in-depth look at food deserts and the impact they have on nutritional well-being. Throughout the class, students learn how food deserts affect the nation’s impoverished population.

Chase Goodwin, an integrated media major at Ohio University, knows from personal experience what it’s like to live in a small, exhausted town far from healthy food options.

Goodwin spent a majority of his childhood growing up in McArthur, Ohio, a town in Vinton County so small it’s referred to as a village — as of 2013, the population was 1,691, compared to Athens’ population of 64, 681 in that same year. Despite the extraordinary difference in residency, both regions are classified as rural towns, and both contain a significant number of citizens who struggle to access fresh produce.

“In McArthur, we do not have groceries,” Goodwin says.

“We have a Family Dollar and a Dollar General that sell some

frozen stuff. You cannot get things like apples, oranges and fresh greens. You’ve got frozen pizza, Totino’s [Pizza Rolls] and that’s about it.”

Before Dollar General came around, Goodwin says residents in the community would rely on local pizza places to deliver milk, eggs and flour to their homes, enabling them to have some kind of fresh grocery experience. In order to purchase food from a real supermarket, his family would have to commit to a 40- to 60-minute drive to get to the nearest store in one of the bigger towns in southern Ohio, such as Athens, Chillicothe, Jackson or Logan.

Goodwin’s mother had both him and his older brother by age 21. As an education major living in a town with very little occupational opportunity, the single mother of two struggled to maintain a consistent income.

“The area in general has a lot of poverty,” Goodwin says.

“There are lots of conservative values that are outdated; it’s like this deep, religious fundamentalism that culminates a culture that shames education.”

He says the lack of progressivism and technological advancement in town is to blame for the stigma that McArthur residents place on attending college. More specifically, the residents discourage continuing on to higher education because of the expense and for the belief that one should stay at home and work in the area to support the family. Goodwin believes a sense of discouragement and absence of drive to move on are the reasons why people do not get out of those povertystricken towns.

“This culture makes it a cycle,” Goodwin says. “One of the few ways to escape poverty is through education.”

Like Goodwin, McFadden also believes that lack of education plays a role in the way food-desert regions develop.

He says the pattern is evident; it all starts with poor school districts that are highly subsidized, thus serving poor food choices. Kids’ minds are like sponges. When they are served lunches that consist of processed, high-sodium and fat-filled selections, they are at risk to develop poor eating habits later as adults, simply because they grew up eating those foods. The ignorance of childhood puts them at a severe disadvantage; when experiencing hunger, it is instinctive to fuel the body.

When packaged and processed foods are the sole options, they come to represent what should be eaten.

“You learn to eat things that people are disgusted by, such as bologna,” Goodwin says. As a child, afflicted by the conditions of living under a low socio-economic status, he says, “You get this over-enthusiasm to eat; you want to be fed, no matter what that food selection is.”

There are programs and events offered in Athens that help feed some of the county’s hunger-stricken population. The Southeast Ohio Food Bank’s Summer Feeding Program, which operates in Hocking, Athens, and Perry Counties, provides children 18 years of age and younger a free, nutritious lunch. With the help of the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program, which buys excess produce from nearly 100 farmers in Ohio, children can take home fresh commodities such as apples, cherries and peaches after receiving a meal at one of the various feeding locations.

SE Ohio Food Bank Development Coordinator Asti Payne believes that program offers a dual benefit.

“This program allows us to not only provide access to fresh

produce for these families, but also supports our local Ohio farmers and prevents food waste. It really is a win-win situation for our communities.” Payne says among the three counties, the food bank is expecting to have a remarkable 36 feeding sites during the upcoming summer. “The summer feeding sites are crucial for our area where 1 in 4 children are considered food insecure,” Payne says.

McFadden sees the future for those food desert inhabitants in a positive light. More specifically, he believes that more people are

“

This culture makes it a cycle.

One of the few ways to escape poverty is through education.”

CHASE GOODWIN, OHIO UNIVERSITY SOPHOMORE

becoming aware of the issue and how it affects overall health.

“The saying ‘you are what you eat’ is beginning to transcend,” McFadden says. As a result of that boost in awareness and knowledge of the matter, measures will be taken more readily to improve the conditions.

One of the measures he believes will be most effective is downsizing supermarkets. “It seems to me that we are an all or nothing market — you either got a megastore or you got nothing. A midsized market is truly the answer so that you can hurdle the fixed costs,” McFadden says. With fixed costs being too high in comparison to the food margins being set too low, the incentive to purchase healthful options at an increased cost diminishes. ”We want everyday low prices; it is how we are conditioned. We want our food cheap,” he says.

The resolution lies within the government removing subsidies in processed and packaged foods and transferring that money to promote the purchase of nutrient-dense produce that is harvested from regional farming. That, in short, will enable prices for wholesome, natural food options to drop to a more affordable price.

“I think change takes time,” McFadden says. “Farm bills change very slowly, which is where subsidies come from.”

“I hear a lot of people [at Ohio University] say they are poor,” Goodwin says. But in the worst of his poverty, a seven-dollar burrito from Chipotle was not even fathomable, let alone the cost of attending college. “Most of my meals were frozen, there was not a lot of fresh food preparation,” he says.

Goodwin is still fascinated by the organic selection that is offered at Kroger. “Organic chicken is not even on my radar, nor something I could buy,” he says through chuckles, and that is the case for many other Athens residents. The city’s suffering outskirts are hidden by a veil of thriving food businesses uptown and two large dining halls on campus. With both community and governmental efforts, the United States has the potential to see that astounding number of 23.5 million people currently living in a food desert drop with time. b

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FOOD

Wingin’ It Jason and Jessica Kopelwitz are serving up their signature style of wings and tacos with their newest restaurant.

BY KAITLYN PACHECO | PHOTOS BY JILLY BURNS

A

s he sits in front of the focal point of the restaurant, a graffiti art piece of a white van spray-painted with red signatures, the co-owner of the newest carry-out option on the west side of Athens opens a vintage Coca-Cola bottle and explains his passion for tacos.

“If you go to Chicago or New York or even Columbus, there’s taco places springing up all over,” Jason Kopelwitz says, twisting the bottle cap between his fingers. “It’s nothing new, it’s just new to Athens.”

West Side Wingery, located at 9 N. Shafer St., is keeping the culinary landscape of the west side alive by serving up original, experimental flavors in the form of wings, tacos and sandwiches.

Owners Jason and Jessica Kopelwitz have always liked the

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tucked away space that now houses West Side Wingery; the location was previously home to the intimate, fine-dining restaurant 9 Tables. While 9 Tables prepared to relocate to The Plains, the Kopelwitzes joined their two businesses, Rickshaw Thai and Fluff Bakery, under one roof on Court Street. After 9 Tables took over the former Rickshaw Thai location in the Eclipse Company Town, Jason and Jessica Kopelwitz began to think how they could better serve their own neighborhood.

Within a month, the couple signed to take over the spot on North Shafer Street, and in January of 2015, they began filling it with their slogan’s variety: “wings, tacos and delicious randomness.”

In building the new business, Jason said he wanted to keep the menu concise so he could incorporate new ingredients and ideas

Ripe cranberries bounce like rubber balls.

throughout the year but still remain true to a few core dishes.

Specialty items like the Bombay shrimp taco, which is filled with mint chutney, Thai chilies and mango salsa, are already in high demand from local customers and will be permanent fixtures on the menu.

“I like having the ability to incorporate different ingredients and change my menu, but it still [is] a taco place,” Jason says.

“I can use all different ingredients and still have the west side theme going.”

West Side Wingery employee Ariel Bezoski says the everchanging and dynamic menu has already created regular customers in the few months the store has been open.

“That’s what I think contributes to this place as a whole; you can always come in here and expect to try something new,” Bezoski says. “People really like having the same core flavors, but a lot of people like to experiment with new foods, especially in this town.”

Although there are a few tables that allow customers to enjoy the vibe of West Side Wingery while eating two or three spicy fishcake tacos, the restaurant’s carry-out approach sets it apart from some of the other eateries in Athens.

“There are other places in town doing great things, but they don’t really exist as carry-out,” Jason says. “I want this to be someplace that people know they can order carry-out, get some great food and then chill on their couch and eat it.”

Bezoski says that although there are other places in Athens offering similar types of food, the west side needed the Kopelwitzes’ new restaurant in order to have a place to go for dinner without having to hike uptown.

“This place is local, so I think he (Jason) understands that the people want something more whimsical and fun than all of the other corporate taco places,” Bezoski says.

In keeping with local tradition, West Side Wingery has already utilized products and informal partnerships with other Athens restaurants to help support the new business. Jason explained that by buying fresh bread and hoagies from Jackie O’s Bakeshop, he has lowered his preparation costs, which allows him to focus more on creating sandwiches like the Spicy Italian and Banh Mi. But the business that Jason says he couldn’t have dreamed of having a better symbiotic relationship, West End Cider House, with is just across the street and has brought a new demographic of customers to the neighborhood.

West End Cider House, which founded its business model on cocktails, and West Side Wingery have found a few ways to feed off of one another’s businesses. So far, Jason says, it has been a really good fit.

“Their cocktails tend to be pretty strong, so people go over there and have one or two and realize they need to eat something,” Jason explains. “The Cider House has our menus on the bar, and we’ve even texted people so that they know when to walk over from the Cider House to get their food. We have people who will come in and order, then go and have a drink and come back.”

Deanna Schwartz, owner of West End Cider House, believes that over time people will associate the two businesses more and more. With West Side Wingery and West End Cider House both operating for less than a year, it is hard to tell whether the relationship has yet to cause an increase in business.

An 11-year-old boy invented the popsicle.

“They make food that pairs perfectly with our ciders,” Schwartz says. “We are stoked to have them there, and so are our customers.”

The West Side Wingery is currently open for dinner from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., and its owners hope a growth in awareness over the next several months will allow the Kopelwitzes to open for lunch hours as well.

“The important part is that the people that are coming in are giving us great feedback and are coming back,” Jason says.

“How West Side Wingery is being perceived by the community is really the most important part.” b

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29

RECIPE

FESTIVE FOOD Drunk food doesn’t have to be bad for you.

Give these light and easy recipes a try.

BY COLETTE WHITNEY | PHOTOS BY AMANDA PUCKETT

Fest season is here, and for many of us, that means a little too much drinking and a little too much drunk eating. We all know that food is best when you’re drunk, but it’s also unhealthy. Here are some recipes to keep you full and free of the greasy mess that comes with consuming Court Street food late at night.

BEFORE THE FEST Egg and Asparagus Muffins It’s important to prepare your body for what you are about to put it through during the fest. Eating breakfast is necessary. Eggs and asparagus are good sources of amino acids, such as cysteine, which break down the toxins in alcohol and help protect liver cells. Egg muffins are perfect for that because you can make them the night before and they will keep in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and generously grease the muffin pan. Beat the eggs in a big bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped asparagus, ham and cheese to each muffin cup. It’s better to add the mix-ins first so each muffin has an even amount of ingredients. Top the muffin pans with your egg mixture and gently stir. Top the muffins with cheese, if you’re feeling it. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. When you can poke the centers of the muffins with a fork and the tongs come out clean, they are done.

DURING THE FEST Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Bites Keep your body fueled mid-fest with these proteinpacked energy bites. Pop a few in a Ziploc bag, throw them in your pocket and you’re good to go.

For the chocolate layer, grind dates in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Add the peanut butter, cocoa powder and vanilla. Roll out the dough on parchment paper.

For the peanut butter layer, grind dates in a food processor. Take the ground dates and combine with the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the chocolate layer. Fold the layer over, roll out again and then cut into 16 squares. Roll those squares into balls. Adapted from Texanerin.com.

½ tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. peanut butter

½ tsp. vanilla extract

6 eggs 1 cup diced ham 4 cups asparagus (roughly chopped)

16 dates (pitted)

2 tbsp. cocoa powder

INGREDIENTS FOR PEANUT BUTTER LAYER

INGREDIENTS

1 cup shredded cheese

INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE LAYER

AFTER THE FEST Avocado and Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich

5 tbsp. peanut butter

8 dates (pitted)

INGREDIENTS

At the end of the day, you’re going to want to indulge in something easy to make, such as a grilled cheese sandwich. Add a healthy layer of veggies to make it a little less greasy.

Butter one slice of bread and place it in a frying pan. Add a slice of cheese, tomato slices, avocado and, a second slice of cheese. Butter the second slice of bread and top off the sandwich. Let it grill on one side for a bit, then flip and grill until golden brown.

Adapted from myrecipes.com. b

2 slices of 2 slices of 4 slices Half of an butter whole grain cheddar of tomato avocado bread cheese (sliced)

Adapted from Laurenconrad.com.

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Coconut water is linked to many health benefits, including weight loss.

The average American consumes 3,550 pounds of sugar in his or her lifetime.

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31

SPORTS

THEY CALL HIM

MR. FOOTBALL Athens High School quarterback Joe Burrow’s on-field domination during his legendary senior season has led to high expectations in the Big Ten.

BY AMANDA WEISBROD | PHOTO PROVIDED BY SCOTT REED

I

JOE’S SENIOR YEAR STATS MAXPREPS.COM 4,445 PASSING YARDS 250 PASS COMPLETIONS 296.3 AVG. PASSING YARDS/GAME 63 TOUCHDOWNS

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backdrop | Spring 2015

t runs through his blood. Some say he’s a natural, others say that he’s determined and hard working. Either way, Joe Burrow, senior quarterback at Athens High School, was born to play football.

His family’s legacy speaks for itself — two older brothers and a father played football at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, an uncle played football at Mississippi State and a grandfather played basketball at Ole Miss. By committing to Ohio State University as a quarterback for the 2015-2016 season, Burrow will continue the legacy and hopefully meet his family’s high standards.

“We definitely have some high expectations in our family,” says Burrow, who was named Ohio’s Mr. Football by The Associated Press in 2014. That award is given to the best high school football player in Ohio. “All of my family members have been stars at their colleges, and they’re just waiting to see what I can do,” Burrow Says.

And it seems like everyone else is also waiting to see what he can offer to the Buckeyes next year. Although OSU already has three Heisman-caliber quarterbacks in line to start, Burrow says he’s more excited than intimidated by their excellence.

“If you want to be the best you’ve got to beat out the best, and I’m going to learn from some of the best in the country,” Burrow says. “I’ll get there and feel my way through it and then try to separate myself in any way that I can.”

However, Burrow unknowingly set himself apart from other recruits in a strange way when he wore a pair of Buckeye socks to the Elite 11 football camp last summer. Numerous stories about Burrow’s footwear circulated the Internet, and according to him, “they took more pictures of my socks than of me throwing.”

His scarlet and gray socks weren’t the first instance of fame that Burrow dealt with, and they won’t be the last. Fans ask him for autographs and pictures in the street; people from his high school even treat him a little differently than before he committed to OSU. But Burrow isn’t interested in any of that.

At the Athens High School homecoming pep rally last fall, Burrow delivered a speech to his fellow classmates with one very memorable quote: “We’re just a bunch of kids playing football.”

His words were so memorable that they are immortalized on the back of sweatshirts that can be seen around Athens.

“I still feel like a 13-year-old kid playing basketball and hanging out with my friends,” says Burrow, who is also team captain for varsity basketball at Athens High School. “I don’t think I like all of the attention. I just want to be a normal kid.”

However, his father, Ohio University Football assistant head There is more lemon juice in Lemon Pledge than in Country Time Lemonade.

Coach Jimmy Burrow, and offensive coordinator for quarterbacks consoled each other in the locker room after the Fighting Irish Nathan White both agree that Joe isn’t an average kid. For White, fans stormed the field, Burrow stayed humble and supportive of the state semi-finals against Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High his friends and teammates.

School from Akron will forever stick out in his mind as a time of “You combine losing the State Championship and the last Joe’s great leadership and playing ability. high school game that every senior goes through, the locker “We get the ball at the 20 or 25 yard line, and it’s a time I will room was very emotional to say the least,” White says. “Joe never forget looking at Joe. Every single kid on our sideline and was kind of one of the guys at a time when everyone was very every coach is looking at him; he’s the guy,” White remembers. emotional. I know that the rest of our kids don’t think of Joe as “You just almost had that weird feeling that you know we’re going any different than them.” to go score. He just had that look on his face.”

For coach Burrow, his son’s success is due to Joe’s determination Burrow got the call when he was walking out of Athens High to be better than the best.

School on May 27, the last day of his junior year. As he hopped “A lot of people think we watch tons of film together since I’m into his car and drove the three or four minutes that it took to get a coach, but we really didn’t do it all that much,” Jimmy Burrow home, he realized to whom he was talking. says. “I never had to twist his arm to practice or lift weights beOhio State head coach Urban Meyer called out of the blue a cause after his 10th grade year, he really knew that he wanted to week before the Elite 11 camp, catching Burrow completely off play college football.” guard. After all, coaches at OSU told him for about a month beJoe, who now weighs 200 pounds, only weighed 165 as a sopho- forehand that they wanted to make him an offer, but he needed to more. He thought he would be playing basketball in college, but go to football summer camp in Columbus first. once Division I schools took more interest in his football playing, Burrow hung up the phone, but it didn’t feel right. Something Joe realized that he needed to pack on weight. was off about the whole thing. Then he realized that he completely Through working on his footwork, hitting the weight room forgot to commit. four times a week and eating four or five meals a day, he gained “I got off the phone and I was like, ‘Did that really just hapthe “strength necessary to take the beating that you have to take pen? Did he just offer me?’ Because it was my first big time in football,” Burrow says. However, he offer from a top-10 school, so I was in stresses that strength isn’t the only aspect awe of it,” Burrow says. “I called back of being a great player. like a minute later and committed. But “You’re kind of born with knowing how then I was trying to call my family to to play the game, and you can supplement tell them about it, and none of them that with weight training,” Burrow says. would answer!”

JOE BURROW “Once those two come together, you beAs soon as he was off the phone, Burrow come a special player.” ran downstairs to his friends, who were ATHENS HIGH SCHOOL QUARTERBACK Every Thursday, when Joe would hit the waiting in his basement, and shouted the gym with his teammates before the Friday night game, he would good news. They went out to the nearest store to buy OSU gear to wear the same black, ratty athletic shorts for good luck. wear for the rest of the day.

“My mom packed them two Thursdays in a row my sophomore Before Burrow’s commitment to Ohio State, members of the year, and I’ve always just worn them from then on,” Burrow says. Burrow family were never huge OSU fans. Joe had to replace all of “I’ll probably bring them with me [to Ohio State].” his Nebraska gear with Buckeye stuff; coach Burrow even picked After the weekly weight room session, Burrow and his life- up some merchandise for himself. long friends would eat Subway and play tag football. The close “Here in Athens, sometimes I think you get a little tired of bond the senior class shared is one of the major reasons why hearing all about Ohio State, so we kind of fell in line with that,” they were so successful, according to White. Four players for the Jimmy Burrow says. “We weren’t die-hard Ohio State fans, and as Bulldogs will head to Division I schools upon graduation. They a matter of fact, when we started to accumulate some Ohio State are the first players to make it to Division I from Athens High gear, it was strange. Still, I’ve only worn an Ohio State shirt twice.”

School in a decade.

Although Ohio University was the first college to give Burrow “The more of a taste they got of success, the harder they worked,” an offer, Ohio State was the bigger goal. He wanted to stay close White says. “It was like it was never good enough for them. We to home — as did his parents — so even though Nebraska gave had the best season we’ve ever had when they were sophomores, him a late offer after he’d already committed to OSU, he declined. but none of them were happy. They wanted more.”

“There was a point in time where I was disappointed, but the In 2014, Burrow led the Bulldogs to the Division III cham- day Ohio State offered, that kind of went out the door,” Jimmy pionship game — further than the team has ever gone before. Burrow says. “His mom and I are very proud of him; we’re probAlthough the Toledo Central Catholic Fighting Irish took a ably happiest that he’s not going to be too far away because a lot of 56-52 victory over Athens, Burrow completed 26 of 45 passes the people that were recruiting him were a long way from home.” for 446 yards and six touchdowns — all championship-game Three Nebraska jerseys with “BURROW” across the back, one records — and managed to throw one interception, only his from a father and two from his sons, hang proudly in the basement second of the season. of their Athens home. Hopefully, after the next four years of hard But losing the championship game feels different than losing any work, successes and failures, Joe’s Ohio State jersey will also hang other game, according to White. As Athens High School players on the wall of his family’s legacy for years to come. b

“

We’re just a bunch of kids playing football.”

Studies show that apples wake you up more efficiently than caffeine.

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33

SPORTS

PLAYING

CATCH-UP

BY REBECCA ZOOK | PHOTOS BY JILLY BURNS

After a handful of struggling seasons, Ohio’s veteran baseball team is finally settling in and stepping up to the plate.

T

he crack of a bat echoes throughout Walter Fieldhouse.

“Yeah, nice job!” shouts head coach Rob Smith, who is holding batting practice in the cages. Players are scattered across the field, working on the fundamentals of their swings. For the first time since Smith took the role of head coach in 2012, the Ohio University baseball team started out its season with a six-game winning streak, and as of April 12, 2015, the team’s record stands at 19-14.

Smith is in his third year of a four-year contract at Ohio University and may be looking at a winning season, which hasn’t been accomplished since 2009 under previous head coach Joe Carbone.

“We expected to get a lot of groundwork laid as far as how we practice, how we play and the culture of our club,” Smith said in a 2012 interview. After two years of rebuilding the team and bringing in new players, the hard work seems to pay off.

“Throughout the time coach Smith has arrived at OU, he has been trying to develop a culture for the team,” says catcher Kyle Dean. “It has taken us a while for the culture to sink in, but the adjustments he has made and improved on is to benefit the success of our team.”

This season, players, including standout hitter and sophomore Mitch Longo, seem optimistic.

“I think we are headed toward and above a .500 season, and

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backdrop | Spring 2015

order to keep a good culture for the baseball team.”

With the past two seasons plagued by the injuries of returning players, the incoming freshmen had to step up to the plate. However, the current clean bill of health has had a dramatic effect.

Prior to the 2014 season, three returning starters suffered injuries that kept them off the field all year. Throughout the season, injuries became a regular occurrence.

Last season’s injuries kept experienced players out of the lineup. Dean was one of the starters taken out of the season due to an injury after breaking his hand on a foul tip while catching.

“It helps when there are more than a few seniors on the playing field,” Dean says. “The class last year did a great job of stepping up as freshmen and has continued to grow since then.”

The coaching staff has made adjustments to practice and the weights used by the players this year to try to avoid further injuries to the team. Those methods include reorganizing the practice schedule to give the team more days off and cutting down reps in the weight room, which allows the players more time for recovery between tough practices.

When thinking of outstanding athletics at OU, the baseball team is usually not first on the list. After battling injuries and lack of experience in the roster for the past two years, the 2015 Bobcats and Smith have confidence playing through the new season.

“We were picked to finish last in conference, and that didn’t sit too well with us, so we were going to do something about that,” Sitz says. “Sometimes, with seasons going the way they have in the past, teams fall apart, but we rallied together. I think the future is bright for the baseball program here at Ohio.” b

that hasn’t been done in years here,” Longo says. “We have great talent on our team, and I think we’re going to prove that very soon.”

Longo was one of 16 freshmen who made up nearly 50 percent of last season’s roster. Finishing 11-40 in 2014, the inexperienced team struggled to get in a groove on the field.

Longo found it difficult to balance schoolwork with being a freshman starter. Although the team didn’t produce a winning season, last season’s freshmen gained valuable experience they are bringing to the field in 2015.

Pitcher Connor Sitz had a similar experience when he joined the team as a freshman in 2012.

“The younger guys got to learn a lot through playing early, and that came with a price,” Sitz says. “We battled a lot of adversity as a team, … which has led to our chemistry being stronger than ever.”

Sitz is one of five juniors on this season’s experienced roster.

With 37 players and only seven freshmen, the 2015 team looks very different from those of the past two years.

Although the team is still made up of many young players, the upperclassmen are more than willing to be mentors.

“We are able to show the younger players how to act day-today in regards to being prepared,” says Dean, one of the few seniors on the roster. “Hopefully, those traits are passed down in

Honey is the only edible food that will never go bad.

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35

ENVIRONMENT

J

SANCTUARY

One man’s dream to provide a safe home for big cats was ended by new exotic animal laws.

BY ALYSSA PASICZNYK | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY JAMES GALVIN

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backdrop | Spring 2015

Ronald Reagan had jelly beans served in the Oval Office and on Air Force One.

ames Galvin sits in his living room flipping through a pile of photos. Surrounding him are several curious cats, jumping up on his lap, twirling their tales and arching their backs as he pets them.

“Here’s a shot of him, he and I,” Galvin says, smiling at the colorful photographs of the massive, striped animals. He points to a picture of his favorite tiger, Dudley.

“I think we had a special bond,” he says. “He’s the one that would not go in the travel cage to leave the place.”

Six years ago, former veterinarian James Galvin discovered his dream: to run a tiger sanctuary.

“Tigers have always been a passion,” Galvin recalls. “When I was a kid I always had a fascination with them.”

He turned his fascination into action, trading in his Toledo small animal practice for 120 acres of New Marshville land. Over the course of a year, Galvin adopted four tiger cubs in need of a home, and Midwest Big Cat Care was born.

Although he claims he was reluctant to care for big cats because of his lack of exotic animal experience, Galvin was quickly relieved to discover his tigers acted like more conventional pets.

“Tigers behave a lot like a house cat,” Galvin says, stroking the green-eyed feline on his lap while a three-legged black-and-white cat hobbles by. “You expect them to be these vicious attack animals but they’re not.”

Galvin’s big cats quickly became like family, absorbing his time and affection as he fell more in love with his oversized pets. The tigers were local celebrities, regularly entertained by student volunteers from Ohio University and Hocking College.

Galvin’s vision for the sanctuary was a place of learning, where students could interact with the “misrepresented” beasts.

As the pieces of the Midwest Cat Care puzzle came together, Galvin’s vision of running a tiger sanctuary was inching within reach.

While he was searching for additional funding to get his shelter up and running, Galvin’s dream came to a sudden halt.

On Oct. 19, 2011, Zanesville, Ohio made national headlines when local resident Terry Thompson released dozens of his large exotic animals. Because tranquilization was not a viable option, police shot and killed 49 exotic animals, including 17 lions, eight bears and 19 Bengal tigers.

“I always thought one day, that he would get attacked or get mauled because he was so confident,” Thompson Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz says. “I should say cocky, but I’ll say confident.”

Although the sheriff ’s office was aware of Thompson’s potentially dangerous animal ownership, they had no power in the situation. Before 2011, there were virtually no laws restricting exotic animal laws in Ohio.

“You had to have a license for your dog but you didn’t have to have a license to keep your tiger or lion,” Lutz says.

Galvin rushed to Zanesville the night of the animal massacre, hoping to take home any surviving escapees. By the time he arrived on the scene, all of the big cats had been killed.

“I knew at that point there was probably going to be legislation. It was really going to get restrictive and I thought, ‘Oh boy, how am I going to do this,’” Galvin says.

The Zanesville incident was the turning point in Ohio’s exotic

Pearls dissolve in vinegar.

animal restrictions. The state quickly enacted the Dangerous Wild Animal Act (DWA), imposing new standards on current exotic animal owners and making it nearly impossible to acquire new exotic animals. The DWA set strict housing and care criteria, as well as imposing steep insurance requirements.

After the act passed, Galvin’s chances of running a successful big cat facility dwindled. Four tigers did not qualify as a sanctuary, and there was no way to bring in the funding needed to pay their expenses. Galvin decided to let his tigers go, sending the four cats to a sanctuary in South Dakota “It was like giving up part of my family, giving those cats up, because it was giving up a dream too,” he says.

Galvin was one of the dozens of Ohio exotic animal owners who lost their pets after Zanesville. Retired English professor Alan Natali spent the last three years gathering stories from exotic animal owners across his state for his book Exotica. During the course of his work, Natali has encountered a plethora of owners.

“There’s a stereotype of people who own exotic animals being insane rednecks and that’s just not true. I’ve met some of the most kind, compassionate, caring people you can ever imagine,” Natali says.

After Natali interviewed Galvin for his book, the two men became good friends. Out of the flamboyant span of exotic animal owners Natali visited during his research, Galvin always stood out to him as a true loss of an animal sanctuary. To describe Galvin, Natali references one of his favorite literary characters.

“He’s like Gatsby. Gatsby had this dream. Unfortunately the dream was Daisy... I don’t think Jim was motivated as selfishly as Gatsby was, but his dream was right there,” Natali says. “Once Zanesville happened, Jim’s dream was doomed through no fault of his own.”

While the other three tigers thrived in their new environment, Galvin’s favorite cat never adjusted to his new home. The cat’s new owner told Galvin that Dudley was distant, surrounding himself with toys from home.

“Five weeks later on a Saturday morning I get a call. Dudley choked to death on a two-inch chicken bone ... it was a beautiful, 400-pound cat, three-years-old, died and I thought, ‘Man, wish he had at least died at home,’” Galvin says.

After losing his tigers, Galvin’s marriage and money followed suit.

The financial loss took a serious hit to Galvin’s retirement, wiping out nearly all of his savings.

“People ask me why I’m not bitter, and the answer is Dudley,” he says.

With the loss of his tigers behind him, Galvin says he is focusing his attention on the future. He plans to serve as a veterinarian at an exotic animal sanctuary in Vinton County.

“I’m scared I’m going to be bored,” Galvin laughs. “I need to get my tiger fix somewhere!”

As the state continues to crack down on ownership, Natali says the only way to avoid heartache is to stay out of the exotic animal game.

“If you actually have any care and affection for these animals, it’s not going to end up happy. They’re too expensive, they’re too dangerous, and the laws are becoming more stringent all the time.

It’s just not going to end up happy,” Natali says. b

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37

SEX & HEALTH

B IG SMALL ANIMALS,

SOLUTIONS

The answers to some of the world’s greatest challenges could lie within the creatures who call Ohio University’s Office of Lab Animal Resources home.

W

BY ZACHARY BERRY | PHOTO BY AMANDA DAMELIO | ILLUSTRATION BY JESSICA SHOKLER

ith extraordinary animals like the titanic blue whale and ferocious lion inhabiting the planet, mice and fish seem somewhat unremarkable by comparison. However, the smallest of animals may hold the solutions to some of life’s largest problems, and it is up to scientific researchers to uncover those secrets. Even though they possess fur and scales instead of lab coats and goggles, laboratory animals are a necessary component for much of Ohio University’s research. The Office of Laboratory Animal Resources serves as an often-unrecognized source for the distribution and care of the lab animals on campus and in southeast Ohio.

OU established the Office of Laboratory Animal Resources in 1993 to consolidate animal research into one department. The staff is made up of a team of highly-trained lab technicians who manage the daily care of the animals. The university also employs the services of Dr. Stephen Abfall, a local veterinarian, to maintain the health of the lab animals. Scott Carpenter, who has served as the director since 2007, supervises the facility’s operations. Laboratory Animal Resources manages not only the use of animals at the Athens campus, but also at OU’s regional campuses and off-site facilities, such as the Ohio Horse Park.

“My office oversees animal use across the university institution as a whole,” Carpenter says.

Regulation of the office’s operations is extremely organized.

University programs that want to use the animals must acquire permission from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, a board that reviews proposed research projects to ensure they meet a series of standards. The office has received an Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) accreditation every year since 2000. AAALAC is a nonprofit organization that advocates for the humane treatment of research animals through a voluntary assessment program.

The College of Osteopathic Medicine uses the most research animals, followed closely by the Department of Biological Sciences.

Although Lab Animal Resources houses a variety of specimens, the vast majority are rodents.

“Nationwide, rat and mouse research probably makes up 99 percent of the biomedical research that occurs,” Carpenter says.

However, university researchers have used some unusual animals in the past, such as for a study conducted in the 1990s that investigated motor control using alligators.

One of the most intriguing research projects at OU involves swordtail fish, which reside in Central American freshwater streams. The investigation could potentially reveal important information about diabetes in humans. Dr. Molly Morris, a professor of Biological Sciences, leads the project.

“Molly Morris is a long-time researcher on our campus who has been looking at using the swordtail fish for some time to investigate various questions in science,” says Andrea Gibson, the director of Research Communications and editor-in-chief of Perspectives magazine, which publishes articles about research conducted at OU. For her doctorate work, Morris studied alternative reproduction strategies in frogs. She observed that as male frogs grew older and larger, they adopted the use of mating calls. But Morris later shifted her attention toward swordtails because the fish possessed genetically fixed reproduction strategies. Unlike frogs, the mating tactics and size of the fish remained the same as they grew older.

The size of the male swordtail is determined by how many copies of the MC4R gene it possesses on its Y-chromosome. The MC4R gene increases the amount of time it takes for the fish to sexually mature, causing them to grow larger. The gene also affects the appetite of the fish. The correlation could reveal important information about diabetes, because MC4R determines appetite levels in humans as well. Morris discovered the fish that grew faster also died sooner.

“If you grow fast, you’re not developing as carefully, and that could have costs,” Morris says. “We also know if you don’t develop well you become asymmetrical.”

Much of Morris’ early work focused on the female swordtail’s preference for symmetrical or asymmetrical patterns on a potential

mate. Morris found that the male fish that grew faster possessed asymmetrical body patterns. Asymmetry may be connected with diabetes in humans as well. Morris is currently working on a project that examines whether asymmetry in fingerprints is an indicator of susceptibility to develop diabetes.

Currently, two-thirds of the fish in Morris’ lab are born there.

In order to obtain wild fish, Morris travels to Mexico every year.

Morris says their natural habitat is not difficult to recreate in the lab. However, she still relies on a team of students to monitor and sustain the health of the fish.

“As a behavioral biologist, I’m very interested in having them be as happy in as natural an environment here as possible,” Morris says. “We keep a really close eye on them because if a fish isn’t healthy and happy, it doesn’t behave normally.”

Morris’ research is just one of many projects that uses lab animals to make groundbreaking discoveries. Perhaps the most notable research project conducted at OU was the development of transgenic animal technology by Dr. Thomas Wagner in the 1980s. Transgenesis involves altering an animal’s DNA in order to produce a physiological change.

“Back when it was developed here, it was really in its infancy, looking at how to alter the genome of the animal to answer questions about the physiology of the animal,” Carpenter says.

Wagner and his team discovered a way to successfully transfer a rabbit gene into a mouse, creating the first transgenic animal of its kind. Thanks to Wagner’s research, OU obtained a patent for transgenic mouse technology and national recognition.

While many researchers at OU still use transgenic animals in their experiments, Morris chooses not to. She believes natural variations contain a wealth of information.

“When you look at variations that natural selection has done, you’re looking at a whole organism and how it’s evolved in response to some genetic change,” Morris says.

The Office of Laboratory Animal Resources serves as a valuable resource not only for lab animals, but for researchers too.

It guarantees they have access to all of the creatures they need, while also guaranteeing the safety of the animals that make the research possible.

“We have a really nice facility,” Morris says. “I’m pretty excited about the future of that facility being used as a really great resource for science.” b

FISH FACTS

PHOTO PROVIDED BY KEVIN DE QUEIROZ

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Xiphophorus multilineatus COMMON NAME: Swordtail fish FAMILY: Poeciliidae REGION: Central America MAX LENGTH: 4.5 cm (males) 5.0 cm (females) REPRODUCTION: 10-15 offspring LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 2-3 years DIET: Insects, small crustaceans, plant matter Facts from fishbase.org

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backdrop | Spring 2015

There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide.

A licking machine at Purdue needed 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

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“

We’re not telling you to engage in sexual activity...We’re simply educating you so that you can make your own decision.”

SEX & HEALTH

LATEX LEAGUE

AMBER GEMPERLINE, CAMPUS STUDENT PERSONNEL PROGRAM ADVISOR

Buying birth control products has never been easier thanks to the heroes headquartered on campus.

BY ALEXANDRA GREENBERG ILLUSTRATION BY VICTORIA PRICHARD

S

itting in an office in Baker Center are some of Ohio University’s heroes. Hidden in plain sight, these protectors are always there to save the day when a student needs protection. It may not be the Justice League, but the Latex League can help people in a much different way.

The Latex League, a student-run organization located in Baker room 355, educates students on safe-sex practices and has been selling birth control products for over 20 years. Senior member Anna Heaton says its main purpose is to inform students.

“College is when alcohol becomes involved, and people are having sex a lot more frequently,” Heaton says.

The group runs out of POWER/GAMMA in the Campus Involvement Center. POWER/GAMMA is a student organization that educates students on various topics, ranging from alcohol and tobacco to stress and healthy eating. Graduate assistants, as well as the directors for Health Promotion, advise the student members. Jack Jordan and Amber Gemperline, graduate students in the College Student Personnel program, are two of the advisers who oversee the programs in the CIC. Like many involved in those programs, they joined because they wanted to help students make educated decisions.

“I knew that I wanted to work in health, and I knew that I wanted to educate others,” Gemperline says. “I wanted people to experience what I got to experience.”

Every semester, POWER/GAMMA offers POWER Hours, which are weekly programs dedicated to educating students about relationships, drugs and safe sex.

Latex League is heavily involved in POWER/GAMMA’s

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Latexology program. During the program, students learn the 13 steps of proper male and female condom use. Students can also become members of the Latex League during the session.

In the spring, POWER/GAMMA offers a program called Safe Spring Break, where members give advice about how to enjoy break without arrests, infections or regrets.

The group also conducts demonstrations in residence halls and mass programming around campus at the beginning of the school year. After doing her fair share of POWER/GAMMA demonstrations, Heaton has become very comfortable in front of crowds.

“When you’ve touched this plastic penis in front of a bunch of people, you know, your shame just goes out the window; you don’t have it anymore,” she says with a laugh.

During presentations, Latex League members often encounter students who aren’t comfortable discussing sex.

“It’s so taboo. [People’s] palms start to sweat, and they just get uncomfortable,” Heaton says. “I’m like, ‘How do you think you got here?’”

The group addresses that issue by starting off with a disclaimer.

“We’re not telling you to engage in sexual activity. We’re not saying one thing’s right and one thing’s wrong,” Gemperline says. “We’re simply educating you so that you can make your own decision.”

Other members, such as second-year graduate student Matt Hall, who also co-advises the Latex League with Jordan and Gemperline, approach awkward situations with humor. When talking about keeping a reservoir tip on a condom to ensure that the condom doesn’t break during ejaculation, Hall likes

Nutella was created during World War II when an Italian baker added hazelnut to extend the rationing supply.

to say, “The ejaculate is expelled from the body between 25 to 35 mph. That’s like being hit by the sperm bus in a school zone.” He finds that a comedic technique usually makes students more comfortable.

“That humorous element lets them know that I’m not here to judge you, like I find this funny and awkward, too,” Hall says.

Latex League members are more than comfortable discussing sex, and the same applies to selling condoms. For many students, buying condoms from a local store can be awkward, especially if they know someone who works there. The students in the CIC know how to make the embarrassing process of condom purchase as simple and relaxed as possible. The sales don’t generate profits for the group, which exists primarily as a service for students. Its funds come from latex sales and the Health Promotion budget.

Not only does the office offer a wider variety of protection than most stores and markets, but the wares are cheaper too. The Latex League offers Trojan condoms for 50 cents apiece, Lifestyles condoms for 25 cents apiece and ONE condoms for free. During its Hump Day sales, students can purchase multiple condoms at discounted prices. The group also offers free female condoms, dental dams, non-latex condoms, latex gloves and free lube.

When students visit the office, happy faces, containers full of condoms and an array of fake penises greet them. The League uses those penises — diversely colored, plastic and of the same size — during demonstrations.

“Some of them are a little bit broken, so they hang down,” Heaton says. “We’re not trying to imply anything like a stereotype.”

Tonic water glows blue when exposed to a backlight.

The group strives to be unbiased in all aspects and include any students who may not be able to use a typical condom. Hall says the League attempts to make each student feel like his or her identity is included in the services provided. That’s why the group offers female condoms, as well as non-latex products, for students who would rather use other forms of protection.

In order to include all students, the Latex League turned to other colleges around the country for inspiration for its latest addition: a condom delivery service. Boston University, Georgetown University and Harvard University are only a few colleges that have had on-campus condom delivery services.

Latex League hopes to do the same.

The Latex Limo, as the League hopes to call it, would likely include a costumed student driving a golf cart decorated with condoms. The service would make it much easier for upperclassmen who don’t normally go through Baker to take advantage of the Latex League’s services. Students could potentially order condoms online and have them delivered directly to their dorms and houses. Condoms would also be available for purchase directly from the cart when it visits campus greens.

If students ever find themselves with relations-related needs, the Latex League superheroes are ready and able to help. Always be on the lookout for a person in a penis costume driving a condom-covered golf cart when there’s trouble afoot. b Programs take place on Wednesdays 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Baker Center room 230.

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ON THE WEB

10:14 A.M.

*Ding* Oh sweet, a text from Jo’s mom. She tells me to hit Alden Library, Class Gateway, Jeff Hall and Emeriti Park on my goodbye tour.

CRY LEVEL: Lump In My Throat. I’m forced to think about life after OU. I graduate from the best place ever in May. This just got real.

ONLY WHAT Y U CAN CARRY

10:14 A.M.

Next stop: Alden. Here, Jo talks about her favorite professor, Mrs. Garfield, who fostered her love for writing and even gave her a first-edition copy of Leaves of Grass, with a personalized note written on the inside jacket.

CRY LEVEL: Neutral. I’ve had amazing professors over the years, but that’s eclipsed by the memory of a professor who said the silent ‘P’ in “raspberry,” which drove me bonkers.

SIDE NOTE: Is Mrs. Garfield insane? Does she know how much a first-edition copy of Leaves of Grass is worth?! I just Googled it. Oh my God. It’s worth anywhere between $95,000 to $150,000, depending on the book’s condition. I could buy, like, two vacation homes with that!

UPDATE: Wait. No, I can’t. Mrs. Garfield wrote in it, which will knock down the price considerably. It’ll be worth, like, one vacation home now.

CRY LEVEL: Slightly Salty Because I’m Down A Vacation Home.

One senior goes on an emotional, cross-campus journey after playing a Bobcatmade smartphone game.

BY JULIANNE MOBILIAN PHOTOS PROVIDED BY JEFF KUHN

10:23 A.M.

hen people play app-based smartphone games, they don’t usually carry tissue boxes around with them and duck away from people while trying to hide their tear-blotched faces. Unless they’re playing “The Things We Carry.” The app, developed by two Ohio University graduate students, has an unlikely objective: in short, to make the player cry.

Running on geocaching technology that guides the players on a reminiscent tour through OU’s campus, the game is designed to take the player on one last emotional journey before graduation.

The creators, Jeff Kuhn and Donelle Batty, were inspired to create a game that pushes the boundaries of emotions of the players.

Tired of games that worked solely on player stimuli and “reptilian senses,” as Kuhn calls them, they wanted to create something that made the player question the weight of physical and emotional baggage.

“We wanted to make an emotional story and see what we could do with mobile gaming,” Kuhn says.

App Store. From there, they will find “The Things We Carry” as a downloadable app in the ARIS database. Once in the game, players are taken to a main interface that shows three important options vertically staggered along the left side: “Quests,” “Map” and “Suitcase.” Those three components assist the player while playing the game.

Users follow the narrator, a girl named Jo, who is headed to Australia. She is about to graduate, and the player follows her footsteps using narratives in the form of audio clips, campus landmarks and special items in the player’s inventory.

After creating an ARIS account and downloading the game, I was ready to roll. On a deceptively sunny, exceptionally cold Friday morning in late February, I plugged in my headphones, scrolled to “Quest,” pulled up the map and headed out.

Next stop, Class Gateway. Jo reminisces about the OU football games she attended with her dad. Her parents didn’t have extra money to spend on gas and tickets, but her dad went anyway. Games were something they bonded over. Then Jo drops this bomb: “When he passed away winter of junior year, I carried his football around for weeks.”

Son of a— OK, I can handle this. I got this.

“So much has changed since you’ve been gone, Dad.” Oh f***, sad music is playing in the background. If Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up,” comes on I’m ripping these headphones out and weeping in a dark closet.

“Bobby and I have drifted apart, Mom and I continue to argue over Australia.”

There’s no Josh Groban! I can get through this level!

“I think she’s accepted me leaving, but she’s scared. You being gone doesn’t make it any easier.”

LOL. No I can’t.

CRY LEVEL: Mascara Was A Bad Choice.

HOW IT WORKS

10:08 A.M.

10:37 A.M.

W

Geocaching uses GPS receivers to guide players. “The Things We Carry” uses that geocaching technology to take players from one location-based task to another on campus.

Players must first download a free app called ARIS from the

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backdrop | Spring 2015

PUTTING IT TO THE TEST

I follow the directions on the map, and the first location is the post office in Baker. The directions tell me to pick up my passport and plane tickets for Australia. Upon arriving at the location, those items both appear in my inventory.

CRY LEVEL: Nonexistent.

Extremely high doses of caffeine can cause hallucinations.

After pulling myself together, I browse through my “Suitcase” inventory. I have to decide what to leave behind eventually, because all of the items won’t fit. I’m not even done playing, but I’ve already grown fond of everything I’ve collected. As of right now, some of the things I must choose between are the copy of Leaves of Grass, a letter from Mrs. There are over 350 different pasta shapes worldwide.

Garfield, Dad’s photo albums, Dad’s football and, oh God, no…I can’t…I can’t.

CRY LEVEL: I Quit This Game.

VERDICT I didn’t have the emotional balls to finish the game, but the creators told me how it continued. After a stop at Jeff Hall, you say goodbye to your soccer friends who give you an orange soccer ball and a jersey everyone signed. Your best friend, Carly, also gives you a Jackie O’s glass you guys stole freshman year for your Australian walkabout adventures. After that, you’re at Emeriti Park, where you reminisce about your first love, Bobby, and gain a rose and a teddy bear. Eventually, your final stop is the bus stop, but your suitcase is way too heavy to board. This is where you make the biggest sacrifice: what you’ll leave behind.

“I think it has a powerful teaching moment in there about, ‘What do you hold on to?’ and, ‘What is your emotion attached to?’” Batty says. “‘What are you prepared to give up?’”

The game doesn’t end with an upfront outcome, the creators say. The player doesn’t win points, but they’re taught secondary empathy characteristics from walking in someone else’s shoes for a day, which is what makes the game so distinctive.

For having such an unusual premise, “The Things We Carry” was artfully balanced with the right amount of nostalgia and relatability. Don’t underestimate the strength of the sadness this game can bring; it can feel like a punch to the stomach, especially if you’re a senior. In fact, if it’s your last semester here or if you’re an ugly crier like I am, you may not want to play this game until you’ve fully prepared yourself. b

NOTE: The ARIS app is constantly updated, so there

are still some “buggy” bits, as Batty refers to them in the game. The game is still in its beta mode, which means it’s still in development.

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EXHIBIT A

OU, OH NO...

44

If a basketball team has a 27-win season, but no one is around to see it, is the year one to remember?

BY NATHAN TAKITCH | PHOTOS BY DAN KUBUS

ONCE IN A GREEN MOON

UNSEEN FIREWORKS DISPLAY

The little-known astronomical phenomenon occurs when the stars of the Ohio Women’s Basketball team align and come together to win a MAC Championship. It’s something that hasn’t happened since 1995, the last time this OU team went to the Big Dance.

What a shame that such a small portion of the Ohio Bobcat family saw one of the best teams in Ohio’s history in person.

The Lady Bobcats had trouble carrying this season’s offensive explosion into the NCAA Tournament against No. 3 seed Arizona State, failing to become the first No. 14 seed to pull the upset. But before their loss at the Big Dance, the Lady Bobcats averaged 70.26 points per game, totalling 2,178, en route to 27 total wins — 12 more than the past two seasons combined.

O-ZONE...

DOMINATE

More like the O-No-Zone.

The Ohio faithful are significantly less faithful on the Lady Bobcats’ gamedays, compared to the guys.

On Women’s Basketball’s Senior Night, 1,374 fans “packed” the Convo to send off the seniors, who capped off their careers with a 25win regular season. Men’s Basketball Senior Night saw an attendance of 5,727, over four times as many people, to celebrate a 10win team.

The Women’s Basketball team started strong from the season’s tip off, putting up a whopping 111 points in the season opener against Murray State. Throughout their 25-4 regular season and 2-0 MAC Tournament, the Lady Bobcats’ average point differential was +14.26 points. The 2014-15 campaign also saw Ohio win 11 games by 20 points or more, something the guys did just three times.

backdrop | Spring 2015

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2015 Home Schedule Date

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Date

Opponent

Thurs, June 4

Lexington Hustlers

Sat, July 4

Galion Graders

Fri, June 5

Lexington Hustlers

Tues, July 7

Lake Erie Monarchs

Sun, June 7

Galion Graders

Wed, July 8

Lake Erie Monarchs

Fri, June 12

Xenia Scouts

Thurs, July 9

Xenia Scouts

Fri, June 19

Cincinnati Steam

Sat, July 11

Licking County Settlers

Sat, June 20

Lorain County Ironmen

Sun, July 12

Licking County Settlers

Sun, June 21

Lorain County Ironmen

Tues, July 14

Lima Locos

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Sat, June 27

Hamilton Joes

Wed, July 15

Lima Locos

Sun, June 28

Hamilton Joes

Thurs, July 16

Cincinnati Steam

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Tues, June 30

Grand Lake Mariners

Thurs, July 23

Northern Ohio

Wed, July 1

Grand Lake Mariners

Fri, July 24

Northern Ohio

Group transportation/ chartered trips

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