FINDING THE NEXT FOLD
pg.14
Darcie Zudell | Editor-in-Chief backdropmag@gmail.com
Letter from the editor
Hello!
Thank you for picking up another issue of Backdrop. I’m excited to showcase, once again, the dedication and creativity of our team. This issue highlights the contributions of our new talented writers, designers and photographers who have gotten involved this semester. I’m excited for them to see their hard work in print and to share it with the sources and communities they connected with along the way.
For me, each issue of Backdrop is a love letter to Athens, the county, Southeast Ohio and this university — with all its opportunities and imperfections. It’s a testament to the people I’ve had the privilege of meeting, whether through interviews or simply by being part of this vibrant place. Coming from a small town where open-mindedness was rare, I often felt isolated. I wish I could tell my 14-year-old self she would find a community where differences are celebrated and creativity is newsworthy.
Innovation and progress define Athens and the stories in this issue. Senior writer Abrenna Blose takes a closer look at Big Run Kava Bar, the town’s newest botanical social venue, offering an alcohol-free alternative to the typical Court Street experience (pg. 10). Junior writer Miya Moore shares an insightful piece on the wave of nostalgia that college students feel when they encounter trinkets or fashion reminiscent of their childhood (pg. 30). Finally, Section Editor Riley Clark shares the complexities and social taboos surrounding dating apps, posing the often-awkward question, “How did you guys meet?” and exploring the potential risks involved (pg. 32).
I hope you find these stories as engaging to read as they were for us to create! I want to give a special shout-out to Athens’ Poet Laureate Stephanie Kendrick and Ohio’s Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour, as we showcased poetry from them in this issue. The poems featured include Kendrick’s “The Morning After a Storm” (pg. 24) and GunterSeymour’s “Oh You Woman of Appalachia” (pg. 25).
backdrop magazine
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DARCIE ZUDELL
MANAGING EDITOR LAYNE REY
COPY CHIEF PEGGY SPETZ
SECTION EDITORS KIRSTEN ABBEY, RILEY CLARK, LUCY RILEY, LUKE WERCKMAN
COPY EDITORS PARKER JENDRYSIK, HADLEY LYNCH, CLAIRE
MOSSBURGER, LILIA SANTERAMO, PEGGY SPETZ
WRITERS ABREANNA BLOSE, RILEY CLARK, MADELEINE COLBERT, MEGHAN MCCRATE, MIYA MOORE, LAYNE REY, LUCY RILEY, LILIA
SANTERAMO, PEARL SPURLOCK, RILEY WAYBRIGHT, LUKE WERCKMAN, ROSEMARY WILDEY, DARCIE ZUDELL
VIDEOGRAPHER JACOB GERTSBURG
CREATIVE DIRECTOR ABBY BURNS
ART DIRECTOR ELLIE SABATINO
DESIGNERS MATTHIAS AGGANIS, ABBY BURNS, ELIZABETH DICKERSON, JJ EVANS, JILLIAN LIDDELL, ALLY PARKER, ANGELO POLIS, LAYNE REY, ELLIE SABATINO, SHERIDAN SAWYER, ANNA SCHNEIDER
PHOTO DIRECTOR PEARL SPURLOCK
ASSISTANT PHOTO DIRECTOR CLAIRA KIMBLE
PHOTOGRAPHERS SHELBY GIBSON, CARLEY HINTON, CLAIRA KIMBLE, MIYA MOORE, PEARL SPURLOCK, MEGAN VANVLACK, MERIDITH VIOX, LUKE WERCKMAN
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR ALLY PARKER
ASSISTANT SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR CARLEY HINTON
CONTENTS
FEATURES
FRIEND, FOE OR FUTURE?
Some insight on AI’s role in creative industries.............................18
CONTRIBUTING A VERSE
How poet laureates bridge the gap between government and literature.......22
Q&A
HOUME
Exploring the Beck family’s campus memories....................................... ..6
RECIPE
A FAMILIAR FLAVOR
A fried tofu recipe that brings tradition to campus............................................8
COMMUNITY
A BUZZ WITHOUT THE BOOZE
On Court Street, Big Run Kava Bar stands out as a place for sober socializing...................... ...10
FINDING THE NEXT FOLD
Following the death of its founder, Paper Circle navigates an uncertain future.................... ..12
PHOTO ESSAY
CALLED AND DELIVERED
The life of a Catholic midwife on the brink of retirement................. ....................14
THE DROP
THE PATH FORWARD
Looking at the necessary improvements for an inaccessible campus...............................26
SPORTS
RISE OF THE RUGGERS
Even with booming enrollment, the Ohio University Womxn’s Rugby team accepts players at all different levels...............................28
TRENDS
THE (COLLEGE) KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
How early childhood nostalgia continues to influence young adulthood........................30
SEX & HEALTH
HOW'D YOU GUYS MEET?
Students weigh the positives and negatives of using dating apps..................................32
VOICES
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING
Section Editor Luke Werckman shares his first concert experience at The Eras Tour..............34
h OUme
Exploring the Beck family’s campus memories
STORY & DESIGN
BY LAYNE REY
Family ties run deep at Ohio University, and Athens has become a second home to generations of Bobcats. Michael Beck studied English on the pre-law track and graduated in the class of 1996. He has two children currently attending OU: Morgan Beck, a junior studying acting, and Braeden Beck, a sophomore studying marketing. Backdrop magazine spoke to the Beck family to explore what being a family of Bobcats is like. These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Backdrop Magazine (BM): What changes at OU have stood out to you the most?
Michael Beck, a 1996 alum: It was much more [of a] small town, independently owned [and] tiny when I was there. I loved it. I loved every second of it. It was kind of neat too – it just was its own oasis where you didn’t have a lot of- like I said, Taco Bell was really the [only] place that was well known, everything else was smaller. It was interesting going back. There’s still a lot of places that are more independent and small. When I was there, The J Bar that’s there now was The Junction. So, the first time I walked back in there, the layout was completely different. That was really where most of my friends used to hang out. So to see that change was, you know, it kind of hurt a little.
BM: What is your favorite family memory on campus?
Michael: I actually have two. I tend to spend my kids’ birthdays with them, and Morgan’s birthday is Jan. 17, which is a rough weekend because it’s always freezing and [there are] snow storms. I went to OU, and she and I, in the freezing cold, walked every step of the campus and off campus. [We] just walked and talked, and we went to dinner. She and I, pretty much the whole day, just walking the
campus. Then, with Braeden, I went last spring to visit. We just spent the whole day together. His fraternity had a party, so we went there. We had lunch at The Pub. We just spent the whole weekend together. He (Braeden) loves The Pub, you know, and that’s the first place I think that I ever took him for lunch in Athens. Kind of like tradition, whenever I’m there, we go and have lunch at The Pub.
BM: How has your experience as a parent shaped your view of the university?
Michael: The price has gone so far up from when I was there. I think what my kids are paying for one
year is what I paid for four. When I see them and they’re talking about housing for next year and how much the rent is, it’s just staggering to me how much more expensive it is. Morgan’s house looks like it needs to be knocked over, and she’s paying through the roof for it.
BM: Who would you say is the most spirited Bobcat in your family?
Michael: Probably Braeden because he [is] involved. We all have
our moments. My wife loves it when she’s there, and she didn’t go to OU, but she likes to be in the thick of it. For me, it’s all nostalgia. Braeden every time I’m there is like, okay, we’re gonna hear all the same stories again… He goes, I never had to take an official tour. I just walked around with dad, and he told me all the stories about every place on campus.
BM: What was your first interaction with OU?
Morgan Beck, a junior studying acting: My dad always talked about it, but for a while when I was younger, I was gung ho, like, I need to get out of Ohio. I’m not going here (OU). My mom went to Kent State. For a while, I was like, I’m gonna go to Kent. My mom wanted me to apply to Kent. I didn’t end up doing that, but I think subconsciously my dad and I are so alike. Once I decided that I wanted to go into acting, and I found out that OU had such a good program, the decision was made before I even got in…My dad went to school here. How bad could it be?
BM: What is your favorite family memory on campus?
Morgan: I like listening to my dad’s stories. As we’re walking around Court Street, he’ll be like, hey, I ate there. Hey, my apartment was right above this. My dad and my brother came to see a show that I was in. I directed a show called Dog Sees, God: [Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead]. They came down to see it, and I took him to his first bar. He had fun [and] he was dancing. He got his first taste. We all knew he was going to OU as well.
BM: How has your relationship as siblings changed?
Morgan: Sometimes I feel like his mom. It’s just older sister duties. You know, he’s also older now, so he can be very protective when he feels like he needs to be. It’s nice having someone to be like, I’ll get dad a t-shirt this time. Or, you get the Christmas presents from the college bookstore. We have that kind of relationship. I think we’re closer than we were, but we’re still able to live our own lives. Funnily enough, my mom and dad were like, we want to see your guys’ houses for next year, and we’re living on the same street. Totally by accident.
BM: Who is the most spirited Bobcat in your family?
Morgan: Probably my mom. My dad loves his alma mater. He’s always got his OU gear on, same for my brother and I, but when my mom comes here, she is also always wearing her gear. She’s so energetic and fun and happy. [She’s] more excited to be there than my dad is sometimes. She came down for mom’s weekend and we got to spend time with her.
BM: What’s your favorite family memory on campus?
Braeden Beck, a sophomore studying marketing: My parents came down last year toward the end of November, and they didn’t tell my sister or I that they were coming down until they were an hour away, and they just came down and surprised us. We all hung out for the weekend and had a great time.
BM: How has your relationship as siblings changed?
Braeden: We rely on each other a lot more now. [We] check up on each other every once in a while, especially when we’re sick. We’ve definitely become closer being each other’s primary contact at the school.
BM: Who is the most spirited Bobcat in your family?
Braeden: My dad– it has to be. He loves coming back down and visiting and everything. I always tell everybody, every time he comes down, I get the unofficial tour and walk down Court Street. [He] tells me what’s changed, what’s different. He loves it down here. He’s just happy. He’s got kids down here, he can come down and visit on a whim whenever he wants. b
Photos provided by the Beck family.
LEFT: Braeden Beck and his mom.
MIDDLE: Morgan Beck and Michael Beck. RIGHT: The Beck family.
A fried tofu recipe that brings tradition to campus A Familiar Flavor
BY ROSEMARY WILDEY
PHOTOS BY MEGAN VANVLACK
DESIGN BY ANNA SCHNEIDER
Whether it is your grandma’s special recipe or a favorite snack shared among family members, food serves as a reminder of special moments. It is not always the food itself, but the memories associated with it. When away at college, students can recollect past happiness, finding comfort in food from home– traditional or not– as it brings a sense of nostalgia.
Cooking teaches the traditions and values of culture, acting as a beacon for personal heritage. Alongside clothing, religion and language, food is a vital aspect of culture because it creates unity and a sense of belonging. Cooking dishes from any cultural heritage helps define what is considered home.
The AAPISU (Asian American/Pacific Islander Student Union) at Ohio University hosted a dinner featuring a variety of homemade dishes. Members met up to share a meal together, providing an opportunity to connect, relate and learn about the cultures within AAPISU and the broader community.
Food served as a resource for sharing the cultures and traditions of each individual, with the dishes showcasing special characteristics in the ingredients, cooking process, history or connections they fostered. Sharing meals and recipes with students not only connects with personal heritage, but also helps to build solidarity within larger communities. By sharing individual cultures, students engage with and familiarize themselves with one another’s histories. When feeling homesick, try recreating a favorite home-cooked dish to share with friends, bringing comfort and connection through food.
Vinh Nguyen, a junior studying choral music education at OU, uses cooking to stay connected to home. He shares a fried tofu recipe from his Vietnamese heritage, a dish that holds “a very big nostalgia factor behind it,” with special flavors that remind him of his family—especially his mother and grandmother. Nguyen prepares the fried tofu on campus, just as he enjoys it with his relatives, keeping his cultural traditions alive while away from home.
“Whenever I make the dish for myself and have it with a meal over rice, I feel like I’m just home again,” Nguyen says.
The tofu is crispy on the outside and softer in the center, coated in a glaze sauce that enhances its flavors. Nguyen creates his dish with a blend of strong flavors, one of which is sriracha. However, for a more authentic Vietnamese taste, he replaces it with a sauce called CHIN-SU. Nguyen explains that sriracha is made by an American company, while CHIN-SU is based in Vietnam. He describes CHINSU as a much sweeter and spicier version of sriracha, but both chili-flavored sauces help elevate the dish’s overall flavor. b
Homemade food served at Trivia/ Asian Street Food Night, hosted by the AAPISU (Asian American/Pacific Islander Student Union) in Baker Center on Oct. 3.
Fried Tofu:
Ingredients
• Tofu - 1 container
• Garlic - 3 to 4 cloves
• Onion - 1 small/medium
• Chili powder - 3½ teaspoons
• Green Onion
• Fish sauce - 2 tablespoons
• Sugar - 1 tablespoon
• Sriracha or CHIN-SU (a popular Vietnamese hot sauce) - 1½ tablespoons
• Vinegar - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - ½ teaspoon
• Cornstarch - 1 tablespoon
Directions
Step 1: Empty the container of tofu and pat dry to remove excess moisture. Then, cut the tofu into even cubes.
Step 2: In a non-stick pan, fry the tofu cubes until golden brown, or coat the tofu cubes in flour and air-fry until crispy. Set aside.
Step 3: In an oiled pan, sauté the garlic and onions.
Step 4: Mix the chili powder, fish sauce, sugar, sriracha/ CHIN-SU, salt and vinegar. Then, add the mixture to the pan with garlic and onions and let it cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
Step 5: Thicken the sauce with cornstarch and add the fried tofu, tossing until coated.
Step 6: Garnish with green onion.
Crispy tofu coated in a savory glaze, prepared by Vinh Nguyen for the members and friends of AAPISU (Asian American/Pacific Islander Student Union).
Members and friends of the Asian American/Pacific Islander Student Union (AAPISU) getting food prepared by fellow students during the Trivia/Asian Street Food Night hosted by the group on Oct. 3 in Baker Center.
A BUZZ THE BOOZE
BY ABREANNA
During a typical weekend, Court Street is rowdy with Ohio University students and locals looking for a way to unwind. Groups of friends walk down the sidewalks, chit-chatting while dressed in their finest going-out clothes. Bars blast today’s top hits and yesterday’s favorites. Alreadydrunk folks scour uptown for greasy cravings, while others cling to trashcans after one too many drinks.
There is no doubt that Athens is known for its booming bar scene, but what is there to offer for individuals who choose sobriety from alcohol? Shaylee Tucker has just the solution: a kava bar.
Tucker is the owner and operator of the newly established Big Run Kava Bar on Court Street. “I think a certain place needed to be established, specifically in Athens and uptown that was sober, but had the bar atmosphere,” Tucker says. “You can hang out with your friends or even study here. I mean, it’s kind of the best of both worlds.”
Kava is classified as a depressant drug derived from a shrub
Without
Court Street’s newest “sober bar”
native to Micronesia and Polynesia, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. The herb has historically been used for religious ceremonies in the South Pacific but has recently made its way to the U.S. for recreational settings such as Big Run Kava.
A 2023 Gallup Poll reveals a significant decline in alcohol consumption among 18-to 34-year-olds over the past two decades, with only 38 percent of young adults labeling themselves as “regular drinkers.” As more young adults explore sober lifestyles, kava bars are emerging as popular spots for socializing without alcohol. Kava is often served as a specialty drink or tea. For many consumers, drinking kava provides a relaxed, sociable experience.
Aarin Brown, a regular at Big Run Kava Bar, has been drinking kava nearly every day for about three months. She describes the effects of kava as a “relaxant” with an “ herbal uplifting effect.” Brown explains she has not consumed alcohol for about a year due to health concerns.
BLOSE | PHOTOS BY CLAIRA KIMBLE | DESIGN BY ANGELO POLIS
Rufus Drool
The kava bar in Athens has served as a casual, social space to enjoy while remaining sober from alcohol.
“Having the kava bar here for a sense of community and just being a healthy place to come to relax in general that is not surrounded by an alcohol bar is really important for me,” Brown says.
Tucker describes the side effects of kava as similar to alcohol, but without the intoxication, calling her beverages “a plant buzz without the booze.” “Driving, thinking, everything’s under your control,” Tucker says. “Looking at it from the medicinal standpoint, it can really help with the social barrier that a lot of us have.”
As Big Run Kava settles into its spot on Court Street, Tucker aims to build a welcoming, sober community in Athens while introducing more people to the unique benefits of kava.
“We’re here to tell everybody what it has to offer with open arms,” Tucker says. “We don’t want anybody to be scared to try it. We typically offer a free sample for your first time too, just to kind of get the taste of what kava is.”
Tucker prides herself on producing tasty concoctions that incorporate a selection of kava strains. Kava tea or “elixirs” include “Muddy Colada,” a blend of pineapple, vanilla and creamy coconut; “Razango,” a mango-raspberry combination; “American Pie,” a rich apple, cinnamon and caramel mix and more. Big Run Kava also serves beverages without kava, such as other herbal teas and coffees.
“There’s a lot of really good drinks on there (the menu),” Tucker says. “I think there’s probably about 10 or 12 on there. Half the side is fruity and sweet, while the other side’s kind of decadent and creamy, so we try to offer a diverse menu that way.”
As Tucker works to build her menu, customer base and reputation as Athens’ “sober bar,” she reflects on her roots and where her journey
Tucker and her husband, Brandon Tucker, are originally from Southwest Florida. There, they became accustomed to hanging out at kava bars, exploring the “sober” benefits.
“We kind of stopped drinking [alcohol] a while back and just fell in love, really, with the atmosphere the kava bars would bring,” Tucker says. “It was just an opportunity to kind of hang out with people our age or even older or younger, and really just socialize in an atmosphere where you’re not impaired or intoxicated.”
That love fostered a business idea– Big Run Kava. They decided uptown Athens was the perfect location for their mission of spreading the benefits of kava.
Kava bars are really based around community and if there is already a community established that really loves and thrives to help each other, then kava bars typically flourish,” Tucker says.
That is exactly what Tucker has in mind for Big Run Kava – a community space, where attendees love and support each other.
“I think that my primary goal is to not only create a place that’s safe and friendly, but also just, you know, a home away from home,” Tucker says. b
Muddy Colada
Finding the NEXT FOLD
Following the death of its founder, Paper Circle navigates an uncertain future
BY RILEY WAYBRIGHT & DARCIE ZUDELL | PHOTOS & DESIGN
BY CARLEY HINTON
Nestled in the heart of downtown Nelsonville, Ohio, Paper Circle has been a cornerstone in the Southeastern Ohio arts community since 2003. The non-profit paper studio, founded by Ohio University alumna Sara Gilfert, serves as a community hub for artistic and creative endeavors, focusing on paper-based arts.
Gilfert’s vision of art accessibility and community engagement crafted Paper Circle into what it is today. Gilfert attended Antioch College for journalism, where she worked as a DJ for the school’s on-campus radio station.
There, she met James Gilfert, the radio station’s engineer. At 19, Gilfert dropped out of college to get married, and the two moved to Columbus so that James could pursue his master’s, eventually receiving a doctoral degree in physics from The Ohio State University.
Gilfert resumed her studies in 1966, attending OSU for home economics and textiles. After moving to Athens so
her husband could teach at OU, Gilfert went back to school once again and earned a master’s of fine arts in fiber studies in 1976.
At OU, Gilfert attended a papermaking workshop taught by a graduate student and fell in love with the medium. Her daughter, Susan Gilfert, says that no matter her age, her mother never lost her desire to learn new things.
“[My] mother never lost her sense of curiosity, and she never lost her sense of giving back to the community,” Susan says. “She always wanted to have the community involved as much as possible.”
In 1980, Gilfert apprenticed for three months under Ando Kazuhisa in Japan to learn his papermaking techniques, many of which focused on large-scale paper. For about two decades, she worked from an at-home studio that her husband and sons built inside a barn on their property. In 2003, she founded Paper Circle, where she took apprentices, welcomed the local community, hired many OU alumni and
A plaque honoring Sara Gilfert hanging at Paper Circle in Nelsonville.
Outside of the Paper Circle Studio in Historic Downtown Nelsonville.
began conducting her own workshops.
Gilfert died in March 2024, and now Paper Circle faces an uncertain future, leaving staff and the community unsure about the next steps to take.
Scout Ery, artistic director of Paper Circle and an OU alumna, recalls Gilfert’s character and uplifting nature. Ery shares that Gilfert was “so encouraging, so positive, and she was such a supporter of me, of this place, of the arts, of Appalachia.” Gilfert’s connection to OU and the community helped the business grow while staying true to its mission. Despite that foundation, Paper Circle has faced challenges in sustaining the business after Gilfert’s death.
Gilfert supported the business financially and made sure there was always enough funding to keep community events affordable. Susan recalls a moment during the height of the pandemic when Gilfert invited neighborhood children to create paper while socially-distanced and masked outdoors. The kids loved the hands-on craft, which was new to many of them. At Gilfert’s celebration of life, children who had made paper with her brought their creations to show Susan and others, demonstrating that they still cherished those memories.
Ery says, “Sara was our ticket… our supporter.” Paper Circle earns the majority of its revenue through the sale of its “O-gami” paper, which can only be purchased on its website or at the studio. The paper is specifically designed for origami creations that require complex folds. Currently, the “O-gami” paper is available in 39 different colors and three different weights. Paper Circle
also accepts custom orders for that unique paper.
Still, Paper Circle struggles with expanding its team and finding new employees.
The non-profit has struggled to expand its employee base, as its location is somewhat distant from OU, making it difficult to attract new graduates. Susan says they are unable to hire employees at a full-time salary at this time. Between financial challenges and a small team, the organization faces significant hurdles in maintaining day-to-day operations.
Susan, the rest of the Gilfert family and the staff at Paper Circle are unwilling to throw in the towel just yet. In the spring semester of 2025, Seigfred Hall will undergo renovations, moving art students to different buildings, with plans to store most of its equipment at the Ridges.
The Gilfert family always believed that through university and community collaboration, Paper Circle has the chance to prosper. Furthermore, with recent advancements to the Chaddock and Morrow College of Fine Arts, thanks to generous donations from
Jeffery Chaddock and Mark Morrow, the school has more opportunities to foster connections to other art collectives and expose students to new mediums.
“What I’m trying to do is work with Ohio University and the Dairy Barn to see if we can make some kind of partnership to help keep Paper Circle going and to continue to get the community involved,” Susan says. “Mother wants to spread the joy of hand paper making. There’s something that she just loved about getting her hands goopy with paper.”
The future of Paper Circle, though uncertain, remains filled with hope and determination. The organization envisions expanding its reach while staying true to Gilfert’s vision of making art accessible to all. Paper Circle aims to become more integrated into the local community, creating new opportunities for collaboration with OU. Beyond just using the space, students can get involved by volunteering, attending events and bringing their creative energy to the studio.
Gilfert strongly believed in the power of art to enrich the community, and now Paper Circle needs the support of those who can benefit most from its offerings. By getting involved, students and community members can help ensure that this unique space remains a hub for creativity and connection. The future of Paper Circle depends on students showing up, engaging with the organization and helping to carry forward the incredible legacy that Gilfert built. b
Dyed strips of paper on display at Paper Circle in Nelsonville.
Paper Circle’s original “O-Gami” paper on display at their studio in Nelsonville.
The life of a Catholic midwife on the brink of retirement
Marlene Waechter has delivered over 900 babies in her 51 years as a midwife. At 75 years old, she is slowing down. If she decides to retire, her current clients will be her last.
Waechter grew up in Maryland and later moved to New Jersey with her mother and two younger brothers. Her father died by suicide when she was only a few months old. On her bedroom wall is a photo of her sitting in his lap as a baby, the only picture she has with him.
Waechter attended Elizabeth Seton College in Yonkers, New York, which
later merged with Iona College in 1989. After earning an associate degree in art from Elizabeth Seton in 1966, she moved to California and lived in a hippie commune for 10 years. She became a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at Queen City Vocational in Cincinnati in 1976.
In 1992, Waechter completed another associate degree in nursing at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. She began her career as a birth attendant under Dr. John Brunsman and later worked for 14 years as a nurse at Buckeye Community
STORY & PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK DESIGN BY ABBY BURNS
Marlene Waechter looks out onto her property in Albany, Ohio.
Marlene Waechter prays at mass at Christ the King church in Athens, Ohio. (Above)
Dr. Deborah Elliott does chiropractic work on Marlene Waechter's foot in Jackson, Ohio.
Services, a group home in Jackson, Ohio, for adults with special needs.
Although she had been working as a midwife and doula prior to being certified, Waechter officially began her career as a Certified Professional Midwife in 1982.
In 1971, after some persuasion from concerned family members worried about potential complications, Waechter gave birth to her first child, Sean, in a hospital.
“I didn’t even understand why people went to the hospital,” Waechter says. “It’s cold, it smells funny. Why would people want to go to the hospital to have a baby? And everybody thought I was crazy and they just kind of bullied me into having a hospital birth.”
During Sean’s birth, Waechter says her first issue was being made to labor on her back, despite her natural sleeping position being curled up. At one point she rolled over, unhooking the cords from the machine she was connected to. The doctor in charge also performed an episiotomy on her after she had requested that one not be done. Although she was having mild
Marlene Waechter smells a flower in her friend's yard.
Marlene Waechter harvests chard for dinner at her home in Albany, Ohio. (Right)
Marlene Waechter looks out the window of the home she raised her children in, which she passed on to her son, Luke, in Jackson, Ohio. (Left)
Marlene Waechter crosses the street in Jackson, Ohio. (Right)
contractions, the medical staff gave her Pitocin, causing the contractions to become very painful.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Waechter says. “They think that was natural. There were so many interferences. So, I said after that, I’ve got to figure out a better way to do it.”
As a midwife, Waechter’s home birth package provides support that begins with prenatal care, during which she monitors the health of the mother and the baby in the weeks leading up to delivery. During labor and delivery, Waechter offers medical and emotional support.
After a baby is born, Waechter conducts postpartum newborn exams, including a Phenylketonuria (PKU) screening. She provides postpartum visits as needed in the six weeks following birth. She also offers a birth assistant for added support throughout the labor process. Those packages range from $2,000 to $3,000.
Midwifery was once the standard for childbirth, but it shifted from being the most common practice for labor in the early 1900s to nearly obsolete
by the 1980s, according to the Oregon Health and Science University. A couple of factors led to unfavorable views of midwives, including the 1910 Flexner Report, which encouraged hospital births and criticized midwifery.
As Waechter ages, she often finds herself at war with her body. A fall down the stairs years ago caused her to break her back, from which she never fully recovered. She struggles with ailments in her hips and feet, often walking with a cane to help her mobility. However, her pain does not stop her from tending to her garden, attending Mass or perusing the Jackson Apple Festival, where she likes to look for babies she delivered and people her children went to school with at Jackson High School.
Her love for babies and children is palpable, and she always takes time to stop and talk to many moms and their children.
Waechter fears a snowy winter may make her driveway too treacherous to take clients, and she worries her worsening mobility will become too burdensome.
“It’s kind of sad,” she says. “I think a few years ago, if somebody asked me when I’m going to retire, I’d say it would be easier to stop breathing than to stop birthing.” b
Marlene Waechter checks on Aspen as she labors in her bedroom in a small inflatable pool.
Marlene Waechter consults with Aspen Bowman at a prenatal appointment.
Aspen Bowman and Beau Bowman live in Jackson, Ohio, and chose to have a home birth with a few friends, family and midwives Marlene Waechter and Kaiajade Levi. Aspen went into labor on Oct. 3, starting in a plastic pool filled with water. After twelve hours of slow progress and immense pain, they opted to go to the hospital. At Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe, Aspen received an intravenous (IV) and gave birth to her son early that morning.
Aspen Bowman is loaded into the ambulance by EMTs to be transferred to a hospital. (Left)
Marlene Waechter stops at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Wellston, Ohio, to give thanks to God for the birth of her twenty-first grandchild, a baby boy.
Some insight on AI’s role in creative industries
BY MEGHAN MCCRATE
BY PEARL SPURLOCK DESIGN BY MATTHIAS AGGANIS
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is making it an essential topic of discussion in society, as it influences industries and everyday life. Recognizing the importance of the technology, Ohio University introduced new courses that break down the essential, yet complicated concepts of AI. By incorporating courses like Artificial Intelligence 2100 into its curriculum, OU ensures that students are prepared to navigate and engage critically with a world increasingly shaped by intelligent thinking machines.
It seems like an AI generated image or video goes viral once a week on platforms like Facebook. Although the average person is exposed to that content, uncertainty about AI’s future and its implications remain. Will AI take away jobs? Could AI even take over the world? Those concerns are valid, but it is crucial to approach them logically by understanding AI’s nuances across different fields.
The impact of AI at OU is undeniable. It has become a common tool for students to sort through data, break down complex concepts and even generate entire essays. The key to truly understanding AI lies in recognizing its origins, the developments that have brought it to its current state and how it functions.
AI has been around since the mid-1950s. In 1956, a team of Dartmouth scientists discussed the possibility of what they called “thinking machines.” In 1979, the American Association of Artificial Intelligence was founded, which has since expanded to become the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). The AAAI is dedicated to advancing scientific understanding of AI and promoting research on its responsible uses.
The more known forms of the technology are traditional and generative AI. Generative AI was introduced in the 1960s in the form of chat bots but expanded greatly in its ability to create images, videos and audio in 2014. Traditional AI can analyze data to make predictions. On the other hand, generative AI can create new content, with its basis coming from pre-existing material in anything from written to painted work.
Online chess is one of the best examples of traditional AI. It uses pre-programmed algorithms and vast amounts of data to predict the best move, allowing it to outsmart even professional players within the game’s strict set of rules. However, generative AI operates on a much more complex level. Unlike traditional AI, which follows a defined set of guidelines, generative AI uses self-learning models that do not only process data, but also actively create new content and solutions.
AI can be a valuable tool for students, professionals and anyone who works with large volumes of content and data. Federico Olivares, a junior studying management information systems at OU, serves as the president of the Society of Artificial Intelligence Learners and Designers (SAILD). Olivares has many opinions on AI, having integrated it into his own education.
PHOTOS
“For students, it can be used for streamlining research and sorting data a lot faster,” Olivares says. “For schoolwork projects, it can even personalize study materials to help you learn better. It’s good with language translation, project planning, content creation, and it’s easier to manage coursework, get insights and produce creative projects. And these are all huge benefits for students with a tight schedule.”
Olivares highlights one of the arguments supporting AI use. He, along with many other students, noticed that AI allows people to spend less time doing work that does not necessarily require critical thinking and devote time to content that AI cannot recreate.
“For both students and professionals, it allows them to handle a lot more data quickly, and it opens doors for deeper and more creative thinking,” Olivares says.
However, with that expansion comes a need for regulation. With daily advancements, it is worrisome that AI could create anything without clear boundaries.
Platforms like Craiyon have made it possible for anyone to generate art with the click of a button. Although that might be beneficial for creativity, it also raises questions about ownership, originality and the ethical implications of AI.
AI-generated art is not original; platforms rely on datasets, often pulled from existing works, to generate new pieces.
AI is infesting creative sectors, creating a sense of fear among painters, graphic designers, photographers and other artists about the potential of content theft. However, some artists are using the technology as a tool.
Adonis Durado, an assistant professor of visual communications, has experience in visual arts, including extensive work in photojournalism, art direction and design management. Durado takes an optimistic view of the technology, seeing it not as a threat to the art world, but as a tool that can expand creative possibilities. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for artists, he believes it has the potential to enhance creative expression.
“When I design something, I use photographs or I use illustrations,” Durado says. “That’s my job as an art director. But sometimes I use AI and I combine it.... So for me, I embrace the new form. It’s a new form of art. It’s not competing [with] photography.”
When vector art emerged in the 1960s, it faced significant criticism and was often seen as cheating by many artists. Similar to the concerns surrounding AI-generated art today, artists then feared that new technology would diminish the value of traditional methods. Likewise, when cameras were introduced and portraiture became more widely accessible, portrait artists who painted expressed similar backlash. Resistance to new techniques in the art world is far from unique.
“But as you can see right now, vector art is a form that is accepted,” says Durado. “So what I see is that at this time, people might have skepticism about AI art, but eventually it will be part of the art form.”
Fredrico Olivares, the president of the Society of Artificial Intelligence Learners and Designers (SAILD) at Ohio University, smiles for a portrait on Nov. 11.
Copyright issues have also raised concerns. AI-based art programs use existing art to generate images, often without credit to the original creator. Most AI programs are also free domain. Artists have raised concerns that pieces of work they spent time and money to create are being duplicated in seconds without credit.
Julia Greenwood, an OU alumna, works in graphics and art direction. Greenwood is similarly concerned about the future of the technology; however, when analyzing the AI-generated content critically, Greenwood feels that there are still creative expressions that cannot be replaced by machines.
“It’s plagiarism, and that’s the same thing with ChatGPT, but with AI-art particularly, you can mimic the art styles of artists,” Greenwood says. “I think people have this deception that it’s really easy to do AI art that’s really good… You can type in anything random and they’ll come up with a picture for you. But if you want something really stylized, really beautiful and really specific and nice, you have to be able to be a good writer. That’s kind of where I see that bridging that gap for me in my journalism brain… You’re either gonna have to just live with it or you can learn with it, and I think learning with it is so vitally important.”
The internet is nearly impossible to police, and ethical and privacy concerns make many skeptical of the use of artificial intelligence in fields such as medicine, where sensitive information is being put into a computer system that saves memory.
A slide from a presentation prepared by members of the Society of Artificial Intelligence Learners and Designers (SAILD) at Ohio University for their meeting on Nov. 13.
“So for the downsides, I definitely think it’s the ethical concerns,” Olivares says. “There’s a huge risk of bias in AI systems if they’re not designed carefully, and this can lead to unfair or misleading outcomes. Another issue is privacy. AI often needs personal data to function correctly. Me, personally, I know with ChatGPT, it has a lot of data about me already that it keeps. Privacy is definitely a big issue there too. And keeping this data safe is critical because who knows who can get their hands on this.”
The biggest fear surrounding AI is that it will advance to the point where people pursuing jobs in the creative industry will suffer. AI is part of a broader technological revolution known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a transformation in industry that will incorporate quantum computing, nanotechnology, biotechnology and yes, AI. That is in order to create long-term advancement in efficiency and productivity in all industries, according to Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.
As with any major shift, this revolution will reshape the job market. However, AI’s transformation of the job market will not necessarily lead to widespread unemployment. Although it will reshape career paths, it will also pave the way for new opportunities that prioritize adaptability and skill development. New technology can be scary and hard to understand, but innovation presents potential for growth.
OU hosted an AI Symposium on Feb. 28 for students, professors and community members to better understand the future of AI and its role in virtually every career path. During the event, 15 different speakers focused on topics ranging from generative AI in the healthcare workforce, AI’s role in creative and storytelling industries and the futures of communication and entrepreneurship.
“I think it was a really wonderful event,” Greenwood says. “I think it helped people understand what exactly AI is because it’s kind of just this ominous boogeyman. But it’s really not… Everyone’s always concerned that you’re going to lose your job or your jobs are going to be taken by AI and honestly… that’s really not the case and sure, for certain industries that might be. But more than anything, it’s about being able to use AI. That’s what’s important. We’re not in a place where we can just reject it completely and say we’re not going to use it.”
Maris Cordial, the vice president of the Society of Artificial Intelligence Learners and Designers (SAILD) at Ohio University, poses for a picture on Nov. 11.
CONTRIBUTING A
VERSE
How poet laureates bridge the gap between government and literature
BY LUCY RILEY | PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK | ILLUSTRATIONS
Poet laureates serve as government-appointed creative directors, tasked with creating poetry for the governing bodies they represent. The position dates back to 1315, making it far from a new concept in the world of literature and governance. Almost all 50 states have their own poet laureate, with 45 appointing state-level laureates, and many smaller administrations now also recognizing the position.
Stephanie Kendrick has been Athens’ poet laureate since 2022, contributing to the local literary scene and serving as a bridge between the arts and the community. Kendrick was chosen for the position by the Athens Municipal Arts Commission.
The responsibilities of a poet laureate can vary depending on the level of the position. National poet laureates, for example, have much broader and different responsibilities compared to local or state laureates, with guidelines that may include writing poems for national events and promoting poetry on a large scale. Local laureates like Kendrick typically focus on engaging their communities through poetry and cultural events.
Ohio’s Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour, who happens to be an Ohio University alumna, is the executive director of the Women of Appalachia Project, an arts collective that celebrates Appalachian culture and heritage, uplifts marginalized voices and works to dismantle stereotypes about women in the region.
Through the Women of Appalachia Project, Gunter-Seymour hosts “Women Speak,” a presentation of stories, poetry and songs from women living in Appalachia or those with strong ties to the region. On March 7, 2025, “Women Speak” will be held at the Dairy Barn in Athens at 7 p.m.
Many of Gunter-Seymour’s published poems focus on Appalachia and themes of feminism. Her poem “Oh You Woman of Appalachia” was published in the American Journal of Poetry in 2017.
Athens is a community rich with creative talent, from local artists to student art creations. Kendrick graduated from OU with a degree in journalism, always knowing she would pursue writing in some capacity. Outside of her writing career, Kendrick works as the Major Unusual Incident Compliance Coordinator for the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
“Poets have a really hard time sustaining if they don’t have some sort of network [and] some people to bounce ideas off of some creative groups there,” Kendrick says.
Kendrick worked alongside current Gunter-Seymour to start a new open mic night in Athens. Every second Wednesday of the month, Athens Uncorked hosts the event at 6:30 p.m. People are encouraged to share up to three minutes of a poem
BY JJ EVANS | DESIGN BY ALLY PARKER
Athens Poet Laureate Stephanie Kendrick poses for a portrait on College Green on Nov. 8.
or song that tells an original story.
“We have people with developmental disabilities who may not be able to make it to Donkey’s open mic because it’s at 9 p.m.” Kendrick says.
Kendrick’s main focus is promoting accessibility through her position. She believes creativity should be accessible for everyone and strives to create more events where people who have felt left out of creative spaces can participate.
The open mic nights are enlightening, with a warm and supportive crowd that shows up. Every member is encouraged to speak, sing and feel. McVicker served as Athens’ poet laureate from 2020 to 2022, before Kendrick took over the position. According to McVicker, poetry can help people reconnect with their own humanity and foster crucial connections.
“I always say poetry is the language of the heart. In school and all kinds of places, we’re taught to lead with the language of the head,” McVicker says. “We need to allow the things that stir our hearts and stir our heads to be articulated. We need that to remind us that we are human, and also to connect with other humans.”
Much like Kendrick, McVicker found herself immersed in the world of writing and literature early and knew that was her path.
“I really wanted to decode for myself the magic that was on the pages,” McVicker says.
In 2020, McVicker found community within her neighborhood, meeting with people on the sidewalk to talk outside during the pandemic. This inspired her to write poetry on her sidewalk for neighbors and passersby to read.
The work of a poet laureate is far from a niche project; poetry and the arts are cornerstones of every community. Poet laureates like McVicker and Kendrick play a vital role in promoting local literature and artistic expression, ensuring that people have accessible opportunities to create, share and engage with writing. Through their efforts, they help create a sense of community and inspire participation in the arts.
Athens has embraced these laureates, giving them the platform to host readings, organize workshops and engage with schools
and libraries. The position itself, created to promote the literary arts in the region, has given local poets an opportunity to uplift voices that may not have been heard otherwise.
“I would say, I’m not only very much inspired by Athens, [I’m] almost exclusively inspired by this area, [the] towns I’ve lived in. [There’s] something really special,” Kendrick says. “I think about communities in general, how the infrastructure of a place impacts the people, how the people impact it, how there’s this symbiotic relationship that’s not always great. We’re just exploring sort of what our individual place is in those communities.”
Kendrick brought poetry to the 26th annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival this summer, a unique opportunity for her as Athens’ poet laureate. Kendrick facilitated a poetry anthology submission for the festival, encouraging community members and pawpaw enthusiasts to submit poems inspired by the fruit.
On the final day of the festival, Kendrick and other local poets gathered to share their submitted poems. Many of the works celebrated the unique taste and deep connection to the land that make pawpaws special.
In an increasingly digital world, poetry and community may be overlooked by many. However, poet laureates and other advocates understand that despite changes, advancements and trends, poetry will never go out of style. People will always need a space to share their stories in an authentic and honest way.
McVicker says, “(People) say writing is going to go away, but I think that people are never going to stop sharing their story.” b
Read original poetry, reprinted with permission, by the Athens and Ohio poet laureates. The featured poems are Kendrick's "The Morning After a Storm" (pg. 24) and Gunter-Seymour's "Oh You Woman of Appalachia" (pg. 25).
Mary Oliver’s poem “The World I Live In” written in chalk by former Athens Poet Laureate Wendy McVicker for her neighbors to read during the pandemic on Aug. 30, 2020. Photo provided by Wendy McVicker.
The Morning After a Storm
Stephanie Kendrick
Originally published in Still: The Journal.
how they work to keep you down, Silent wind whisps carry clouds and cardinals’ arias.
Half-drowned worms under fallen nests breathe relief, exhale.
Steam floats away from our chests. Overhead, a pale blue hovers, as though nothing happened—
no home destroyed, no worm swollen under a sorried auroral sun, no tree stripped bare.
Certainty found trapped in dew or beads of sweat that drip down our backs, sizzle on the spine.
Early clouds cannot say it, but birds harmonize forgiveness.
My hand rises with their song, catches your tears in its palm.
Oh You Woman of Appalachia
Kari Gunter-Seymour, author of Dirt Songs
Originally published in the American Poetry Journal.
how they work to keep you down, call you fat, shoeless, say you have no teeth.
But you got teeth, plenty. Ask any city man thinking to park his fracking machines in your valley. And the earth responds, rewards you in petals, herbs, sweet potato vines.
And yes we know, one good fiddle lick makes you forget tired or hungry, and yes that is your voice strong and true, front row of the choir come Sunday morning, slipping more than you ought in the donation box, because you cannot bear to think of any of your neighbors going without.
Generation to generation, childhood to womanhood, failing crops and dying children, the mine siren’s doom. Your sorrows like echoes rippling through the holler and entered with careful cursive in the family Bible.
So when they call you soft, I say, You are not soft. You are limestone. You are flint. You are mountain shine, feed-sack proud. You are diamond.
THE PATH FORWARD
Looking at the necessary improvements for an inaccessible campus
BY MADELEINE COLBERT | PHOTOS BY SHELBY GIBSON DESIGN BY ELLIE SABATINO
Sloping hills, brick roads and classic architecture bring beauty and charm to Ohio University, but they also make the campus inaccessible for many students. Walking up and down the towering hills by Morton and Jefferson Hall may be a mild annoyance for most, but for students with disabilities, the hills present significant challenges. Navigating a large hill in a wheelchair or on crutches can be nearly impossible, especially in severe weather. The old brick roads, while undeniably iconic and gorgeous, create an uneven surface that makes getting around campus difficult for students with physical disabilities.
OU offers several services on campus to help increase accessibility, one of which is the Accessible Transit Service (CATCAB). CATCABs are accessible shuttles that students or staff with mobility limitations can apply to use by providing a physician’s note or registering through Accessibility Services.
Those shuttles provide students with rides to class buildings, dorms or nearby locations to avoid hills. Although it is a very important and necessary service, it operates only Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and does not offer transportation until 6 p.m. on the weekend.
Arthur Perkins, a student at OU, looks up at the large hill, a path most students must take to get uptown, located by Jefferson Marketplace and Glidden Hall.
Kurt Lindemann is a senior studying integrated social studies education. Lindemann has chronic fatigue and bowed legs, which hinder his mobility. Those conditions make it difficult for him to walk the long treks uphill required on OU’s campus. He uses knee braces and a cane to help him get around. Lindemann has a different perspective on the university’s campus compared to able-bodied students.
“I’m always thinking about whether the path I’m taking is accessible,” Lindemann says. “Most ways to get to classes involve stairs. A lot of the dorms on campus aren’t accessible … Some buildings you can’t wheel into.”
Invisible disabilities are disabilities that are not immediately apparent, and they often get overlooked in conversations about accessibility on college campuses.
“I wish people thought about more than people in wheelchairs,” Lindemann says.“There’s this idea that the only disabled people are people who are in a wheelchair and paralyzed, very obviously disabled. And for a lot of people, especially now because of covid … it’s breathing problems, it’s all of these things.”
Along with the challenges faced daily by students with disabilities, the campus also presents difficulties for students who become injured, affecting their mobility. Kasey Shannon is a junior studying special education. During her sophomore year she dislocated and tore a ligament in her knee, which significantly restricted her mobility. After the injury, she felt she would have to leave campus to undergo surgery that would require her leg to be straight for an extended period of time. The injury changed how Shannon sees Athens, how she views mobility on campus and how she talks about accessibility with friends and classmates.
“My friends and I talked about [accessibility] all the time, because we also do discuss this in my special education classes,” Shannon says. “Man, if you break your leg or something, you’re done … Because of the bricks, but also part of it is because the curbs are really high. There’s a lot of hills and a lot of the buildings [that] also aren’t very accessible in terms of elevators.”
Given the many challenges OU faces regarding accessibility, Lindemann and Shannon have ideas to make the campus more inclusive for all students. Their suggestions include expanding sidewalks, smoothing out brick walkways, creating curb cuts and adding more ramps around campus. Lindemann also emphasized the importance of incorporating additional accessibility measures when renovating older buildings, as those structures often present the biggest challenges for students.
“Keeping in mind accessibility, specifically for wheelchair issues, when building new buildings, because all of these buildings are old, so they are going to be renovated at some point,” Lindemann says. “When that happens, add something in.”
The Athens City Commission on Disabilities is an organization dedicated to creating equal access for all students and community members. Several businesses on and around campus have made improvements to enhance their accessibility for customers. Those improvements include an automatic door at Brenen’s Coffee Cafe; an accessible entrance, service point and seating at Bagel Street Deli; new seating at Passion Works Studio; an accessible walkway and table extenders at Little Fish Brewery and an accessible ramp and bathroom at the Athens Photo Project.
The commission employs the expertise and experiences of its members to address issues affecting individuals living with disabilities in Athens. It advocates for policy changes and works to bring positive change to the community.
For 20 years, the commission has brought improvements to the Athens community and recently awarded its annual Athena Award to Lisa Wigal. The Athena Award celebrates individuals who have acted as agents of change within the disability community.
Wigal was a key initiator and co-chair of the Alexander Inclusive Playground Project, an initiative that strives to create a playground that includes and supports children living with disabilities.
Disabilities Commissioner Annah Korpi, the other co-chair of the project, explained that Wigal has two children with disabilities and was persistent and inspiring in her advocacy for an inclusive playground at Alexander Elementary School, according to The Athens Messenger
There will always be ongoing efforts needed to create a community where individuals living with disabilities have equal opportunity, especially in a city like Athens, known for its hills and brick pathways. Advocacy groups like the Athens City Commission on Disabilities and dedicated individuals like Wigal are working to make the campus and the broader community more accessible and inclusive.
OU’s campus presents many challenges for people with disabilities. Areas of campus and the surrounding Athens community that may be minor inconveniences for able-bodied students and residents can be significant hurdles for those with disabilities. Although some of these challenges are created by seemingly unfixable problems, like the landscape of the surrounding mountains and the age of the campus, there are still plenty of important steps that can be taken to make a more accessible campus for every student. b
Although there are two ramps at the back of Nelson Commons, both lead to a flight of stairs, which prevents students with mobility restrictions from accessing the residential living area in South Green from this location.
Rugby team accepts players at all different levels
BY LILIA SANTERAMO | PHOTOS BY MEREDITH VIOX | DESIGN BY ABBY BURNS
This summer, students watched the United States women’s rugby team win the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Now, all eyes are on the Ohio University Womxn’s Rugby team, as their enrollment and fan base grow. The club sport provides athletic opportunities to people of all experience levels while creating a sense of community.
Emma Perry, a junior studying media arts production, has been playing rugby since her freshman year of high school and is now the head coach of Womxn’s Rugby at OU.
In just three years as a student, Perry has seen an impressive rise in team members. “It’s been an insane increase, and particularly, I think it comes from the Olympics,” Perry says. During
her freshman year, the team had 13 consistent players. By her sophomore year, that number grew to 35, and this year, it has surged to 55.
Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher’s presence on social media, where she advocates for body positivity, also drew new fans. Perry talks about rugby's inherent inclusivity, emphasizing that the sport offers a welcoming environment for a wide range of people.
“Rugby in general is one of the most inclusive sports, naturally, in the way that it's played,” Perry says. “It's played [with] exactly the same rules that the men's side of it would be played. There's a place for every body and personality on the field.”
The physical nature of the sport also played a significant role in Perry’s
decision to play rugby, and she says many people she knows were drawn to it for the same reason.
Caroline Merritt, a junior studying marketing, serves as the fundraising chair for the Womxn’s Rugby team. She notes the importance of the hard work the team officers have to put into promoting the sport and building connections.
“I think the Olympics helped a lot,” Merritt says, regarding the spike in interest. “But, then I also think we've been trying to really expand our social media and the way we advertise.”
Aside from social media efforts, the team is making themselves known by selling buttons and hot dogs at games, hosting a children’s rugby clinic and maintaining a weekly newsletter written by treasurer, Wylie Lytle.
Ohio University Womxn's Rugby team and Kent State University Women's Rugby team huddle in a scrum during their last match of the season on Nov. 2.
Merritt also believes the addition of new players has brought in fans eager to support the sport.
“The players' friends are now bringing their friends and parents are posting it everywhere, and it's just like, more people are curious about it and want to see it and come to a game and support us,” Merritt says.
Merrit’s view is shared by Amari Thompson, a junior studying political science. Thompson serves as the president of Womxn’s Rugby.
“I think having all of those people and us to scream it out there, that rugby is here – it just gave it more of a light for other people to come in. Plus, we kept the same values of: everybody can join. We all want you there,” Thompson says.
For Thompson, OU Womxn’s Rugby is a place where newcomers are welcome to learn the game and mistakes are forgiven, all while maintaining the competitive spirit.
“It's always welcoming to everybody because we want to see what you can do, but we also want to show you that rugby is more than just a sport that you're playing; you can really create a different
bond with rugby than any other sport,” Thompson says.
The effort put forth by the members of Womxn’s Rugby to create a community with strong ties has direct benefits for the team, with the most obvious being the attraction of new players.
Maya Weber, a freshman studying sociology and criminology, is new to the team. Even though she has experience playing rugby, unlike many other new members, Weber describes how the veterans on the team help new players adjust and feel welcome.
“They are so helpful [and] so welcoming,” Weber says. “We actually have a bigs and littles system, so any new players are assigned a big that helps guide them through their position, or through any part of rugby, which is super nice. The way we structure practices, there's a lot of instruction and all that, but that’s so people that are new can get the help that they need.”
The draw of rugby at OU for Weber was also in the community that the team had built. Weber describes meeting with Perry as a pivotal moment in deciding that Womxn’s
Rugby, along with OU, were real contenders for her future.
Thompson shared a similar story, recalling how she met with the team before committing to OU and immediately felt as though she was back with her team at home.
The culture and practice of rugby itself are other reasons more players may have been drawn to the team. Perry also spoke to the importance of rugby as a way to build confidence, not only in one’s personality but also in one’s body.
“Rugby kind of helped me embrace my body, be confident in everything that I am and be confident [in] having an aggressive personality,” Perry says.
“Rather than somebody just telling me ‘You can't do that,’ I absolutely can do that in rugby, which is the cool thing about it. And then I think just meeting like-minded individuals like me, and also meeting people that were not like me, as well, because rugby is so diverse, naturally [it] created a space where I could feel confident about myself and safe in who I was.” b
Nia Perez, sophomore.
Hollis Sturgill, junior Josie Zeiher, freshman
Left: Natalie Flanagan, senior Right: Dahlia Hill, senior
The (College) Kids are Alright
Nostalgia is a mental state of being that many students experience at some point in their college lives. Nostalgia is defined as “sentimental longing for or regretful memory of a period of the past,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Although nostalgia is often viewed as a mournful and melancholic reaction to a better time, it perhaps deserves to be considered in a more complex and multifaceted light.
“Nostalgia is an emotional experience that unifies. One example of this is that it helps to unite our sense of who we are, our self, our identity over time,” according to the American Psychological Association. There is potential to create a sense of “social connectedness” because of the universality of nostalgia as a human process.
For many students, the transition from childhood to college life can be a turbulent time that raises questions about self-identity and individuality. As college students navigate their transformation into young adulthood, it sets the stage for internal growth and development. In many cases, that involves nostalgia.
Alexis Butt, a junior studying marketing and business
“I am wrapped in nostalgia in every aspect of my life. My whole house is decorated with weird little sentimental objects and things that used to belong to people that I love.”
CORA FITCH EMPLOYEE AT BLEEDING HEART VINTAGE
How early childhood nostalgia continues to influence young adulthood
LIDDELL
analytics, has an apartment full of nostalgic collectibles from the early 2000s and early 2010s.
Picture this: a cozy, eclectic college apartment with a large shelf of 2000s DVDs as well as Xbox and Wii game discs stacked against a wall. Think Monster High, New Super Mario Bros., and Just Dance 4.
“It was just easier back then, not necessarily that society was any different, but it was easier for me because I was a kid, so I didn’t really know anything,” Butt says. “It’s just like, ‘take me back to when I knew nothing.’”
Butt often consumes early 2000s media, watching DVDs of older movies from her childhood with friends and roommates. She enjoys British TV shows and often watches The L Word, a 2004 TV romance and drama series.
“It just takes me back. I just really like the feeling of nostalgia. I do this thing where I just love to smell certain smells from when I was a kid and just think back,” Butt says.
Butt, who typically listens to alternative early 2000s music,
A variety of sunglasses in different shapes and colors are available for purchase at Bleeding Heart Vintage Boutique.
A collection of Wii games and DVDs from childhood in Alexis Butt’s apartment.
Eclectic decor and a DVD of the first season of Sex and the City found in Alex Butt’s apartment.
STORY & PHOTOS BY MIYA MOORE DESIGN BY JILLIAN
such as Fiona Apple or Weezer, also acknowledges the role early 2000s pop music plays in the college party scene.
“When you’re growing up, you listen to what everyone else is listening to. Now, everyone has such different music tastes. But everyone knows those songs that were on the radio back in the day,” Butt says. “So, it’s a good thing to have on at parties, because everybody knows it. It’s a crowd-pleaser, nobody’s going to feel left out.”
Butt also believes most of her clothes are from the early 2010s because she thrifts almost everything she wears. She often rocks early 2000s-inspired styles, such as low-rise jeans,
babydoll tops, Converse All-Stars, heavily layered dresses and skirts over jeans.
Early 2000s-inspired trends have become a hot topic in the world of fashion. Athens, Ohio, is home to multiple clothing boutiques and quirky small businesses, making it a hub for all things thrifty and vintage and inspiring self-expression and creativity among community members.
Bleeding Heart Vintage, a local vintage-wear and thrift shop in the heart of Athens, specializes in fashion finds and memorabilia from all eras, ranging from 1950s styles to contemporary classics and just about everything in between. The shop is rich in its sourcing, with items coming from thrift shops across the Midwest, estate sales and donations from local community members.
Athens local Kylee Minick and recent OU graduate Cora Fitch work as on-call employees, often enjoying the eclectic, nostalgia-filled atmosphere of the boutique, even when not
on the clock. Fitch and Minick acknowledge the role nostalgia and childhood memories have played in their fashion choices.
“A lot of the people that I grew up around who were teenagers when I was a kid and were my role models wore a lot of 80s and 90s vintage,” Fitch says. I always thought that was the coolest thing ever. I think a lot of elements of my personal style come from that.”
The shop’s diverse stock consists of Harley-Davidson 2010s graphic tees, velour tracksuits, high-top cheetah- print Converse, chunky statement necklaces and accessories covered in fur, leather or latex.
“Every different era of fashion is here somewhere. The only criteria is that it’s secondhand and it’s cool,” Minick says.
For Minick, witchy, hippie and medieval styles intertwined with influences of the 60s and 70s contribute to her personal style. Fitch often encapsulates both masculine and feminine fashion with a funky vintage twist in her wardrobe, focusing more on 80s and 90s trends.
Minick suggests that many of the items in stock evoke deep feelings for her. Minick, born in 1999, recalls seeing her older sisters wear items similar to those in the 2000s and early 2010s stock in the store.
For her, clothes are a sentimental aspect of being. “I definitely hold onto my clothes a lot because they just mean so much to me,” Minick says. “I have stuff that I don’t wear anymore, but I can’t get rid of it because it’s just too special. It has too many memories.”
Fitch agrees. “I am wrapped in nostalgia in every aspect of my life. My whole house is decorated with weird little sentimental objects and things that used to belong to people that I love,” she says.
Fitch believes keeping nostalgic items, such as clothing and beyond, helps further her understanding of herself. “I like being able to look back and see all of the past versions of myself,” she says.
Nostalgia can be a mental support for all people. It can help to ground oneself in the present, give a sense of stability and aid in reflecting on past experiences. Consuming nostalgic content has the power to be a healthy coping mechanism that can provide comfort for anyone struggling with self-identity.
According to On Nostalgia by cultural critic David Berry, “the desire to go back has been and will be there with us for as long as we go forward – surely there’s a reason we made it possible to play the same song over again.” b
A vibrant display at Bleeding Heart Vintage Boutique of pink shoes and a bright blue rotary dial telephone.
The clearance section at Bleeding Heart Vintage Boutique features keychains, trinkets and a suitcase of clothing on sale.
Kylee Minick and Cora Fitch, on-call employees at Bleeding Heart Vintage Boutique, pose at the store.
How’d You Guys Meet?
Students weigh the positives and negatives of using dating apps
BY RILEY CLARK
DESIGN BY ELIZABETH DICKERSON
In true Carrie Bradshaw fashion, students cannot help but wonder: has the modern age made dating apps their only true chance at love and lust? As the years go on, people are finding it harder and harder to meet others in person.
Farmers Only and eHarmony deserve recognition as pioneers in the online dating space. What was once considered an unconventional way to meet people has become a reality for many. Surveys indicate that the most commonly used dating apps among college students today are Tinder, Bumble and Hinge.
Ohio University juniors Liv Urlage studying retail and fashion merchandising and Coleman Anderson studying finance met each other on Hinge, and they joke that the company will sponsor their wedding.
According to Pew Research Center, 53 percent of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 say they have used a dating app. Because of busy lives consumed by school, work, extracurriculars and social lives, college students can hardly find the time to flesh out a romcom-level love life.
Anderson believes he would not have met Urlage if it was not for Hinge.
“The only time you could really have the opportunity is at the bars, because we’re not the same major, [we] don’t have the same classes in the same buildings,” Anderson says.
Every dating app user enters with their own intentions, whether it is for serious relationships or casual hookups. Hinge’s slogan is “the dating app designed to be deleted.” With prompts that help users get to know each other, Hinge appears to be the app of choice for those looking to go on dates and explore potential future connections.
Call her “old-fashioned,” but Urlage says, “I want to get to know a person before I actually have to speak to them.” Urlage and Anderson also enjoyed the lightheartedness of some of Hinge’s prompts.
Meanwhile, Tinder seems to be a breeding ground for relentless, often hormonally-charged direct messages. Livvy Rhoton, a junior studying early childhood education has had her share of wild experiences with dating apps, both positive and negative. One time, after receiving five messages – ranging from weird to pushy –over the span of six months, she finally responded with, “Please give up.”
“Men have so much audacity and so much gall over these apps,” Rhoten says. “But when it comes to actually being out and about at a bar, we can’t say hello.”
To each their own, as many people find themselves mindlessly swiping the apps in their spare time, they might be leading others on with differing intentions. Rather than focused on meeting the love of their life, maybe these apps are just something to do with their thumbs in between classes.
“They’re just, either trying to boost their confidence and not look for something, or they treat it as a joke,” Anderson says.
A common experience among bisexual women is the lack of space for their demographic on dating apps. Many find their interactions with other women falling short, with conversations often limited to nothing more than friendly chit-chat and a few “you’re so pretty” texts sent back and forth.
“It never gets off the app, really it just never materializes into anything real,” Rhoton says.
It is no secret that life is increasingly revolving around technology. However, it seems that people have become more comfortable with their online presence than with their reallife interactions. It is a lot easier when people can pick the perfect four to six photos to curate a vibe, rather than meeting in whatever their current state is. Whether it is photos of men with large fish or perfectly shot “candid” pictures in parks, people can present themselves however they want online.
“We create our own little echo chambers on our phones of what we want to think and what we want to hear,” Rhoton says. But the people who experienced love through handwritten letters and grand romantic gestures are often the same ones who cast judgment on the norm: dating app culture.
“I definitely think older generations do have a more negative view of them, especially Tinder, because its reputation is what it is,” Rhoton says.
Being present on any dating app comes with a sense of shame for many. For Urlage and Anderson, the dreaded question arose at a family lunch: “How’d you guys meet?” They both looked at each other, knowing the answer but unsure how to say it.
“I’m not gonna tell my dad that,” Urlage says. She tries to avoid mentioning that they met online, wishing it could have been a more authentic encounter. It is no wonder people long for that meet-cute moment– the kind seen in the media, where two people cross paths under charming circumstances, sparking a romance.
“I feel like a lot of the dating process is gone,” Rhoton says. “When our parents were meeting, you would call for a few weeks and then you would go out on a date. It was dating, and you weren’t ever in a situationship.”
With the nature of dating apps comes risks. That perfectly curated version of a person could mask harmful intentions. Rhoton says she had an experience that started on a dating app that made her very uncomfortable. Fortunately, she was able to get out of that situation safely, but many might not know when to be concerned during a first encounter.
Ann Brandon, the associate director in the Office of Health Promotion, works to elevate student wellbeing, which involves education around sexual health resources and harm prevention. Many people have experienced acts of sexual violence that may not have occurred without the gateway of dating apps.
“If protecting yourself from harm was a real thing, we wouldn’t have 25 percent of students having to endure or experience sexual violence on college campuses,” Brandon says.
The goal of their work is to approach violent acts with primary prevention— a proactive approach aimed at changing systems, rather than solely focusing on the victims.
“Let’s flip the script and talk about the people who are harming instead of just talking about the people who are being harmed as if they could have done something to stop the harm,” Brandon says. If something unfortunate were to happen there are resources available, including the Office of Equity and Civil Rights, the Survivor Advocacy Program, both the Athens and OU Police Departments and OU Counseling and Psychological Services. Additionally, OU has implemented the Green Dot program, which empowers bystanders to recognize and intervene in violent situations. Green Dot training can be provided through the Office of Health Promotion in Baker Center room 339.
Dating apps are unavoidable; they are the future of dating, like it or not. Rather than fearing them, methods like primary prevention can be implemented to address potential risks. In the meantime, Brandon advises those participating in casual hookup culture to use tracking services with people they trust, to have a clear plan and set boundaries.
Brandon says, “The most impactful thing as a friend is to hold space and say, you know, ‘I believe you.’” b
it’s been a
long time coming
Section Editor Luke Werckman shares his first concert experience at Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
STORY
LUKE WERCKMAN DESIGN BY SHERIDAN SAWYER
There are plenty of experiences I haven’t had in my life, like skydiving, scuba diving or visiting a haunted house. But the one that surprises people most is that I’ve never been to a concert. It’s not because of financial issues or a lack of interest in music; I just never spent the time or money to go. That is, until Nov. 3, 2024. I could have never guessed what my first concert would be—Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
I’ve only recently become a Taylor Swift fan (I’m not dedicated enough to be called a “Swiftie”), but I really enjoy her discography. Last fall, I listened to all her albums a few times after seeing her tour blow up on social media. As someone who gravitates toward pop music, 1989 is my favorite album and folklore is my least favorite (I know that’s an unpopular opinion).
With all of that in mind, it was an exciting surprise to find out that I would be going to the Eras Tour with family. That excitement only grew as the date approached, especially when I realized that the Sunday night show in Indianapolis I would be attending would be Swift’s last U.S. stop on the tour. Then theories filled my mind with what could happen during the concert. Would Swift announce Reputation (Taylor’s Version)? Would she make a special announcement to mark the end of her U.S. shows? Those questions added a layer of mystery to the event– on top of the fact that I had no idea what experiencing a concert would actually be like. On the morning of the concert, I met the family members I’d be going with in Columbus. Soon after, we all traveled together to Indianapolis.
We arrived about two hours before the opening act to find our seats, get snacks and look for merchandise. The first two goals were successes, but I sadly couldn’t find the gray quarter-zip jacket that I’d been hoping for. Even if I had, I probably wouldn’t have waited in the lines, which seemed to stretch across half of Lucas Oil Stadium.
Once I accepted that I wouldn’t be purchasing any merchandise to commemorate the night, I settled into my seat in time for the opening act, Gracie Abrams. I listened to Abrams’ discography for the first time just a week prior to the performance. I really enjoyed Abrams’ set; it wasn’t heavy on production, as she mostly performed with just a guitar in hand. She played several songs from her latest album, The Secret of Us, and my favorite was “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” which sounded incredible live.
Shortly after Abrams’ performance, a countdown appeared on the giant screens. When the timer hit zero, Taylor Swift arrived on stage. The first section of her morethan-three-hour concert was Lover, which was arguably one of the best parts, thanks to the grand staging for “The Man.” She then moved into Fearless. Although it had a less flashy production, it included the all-time classic “Love Story”—so I couldn’t complain. Red followed, packed with amazing songs. Partway through, Swift paused to announce that the performance had broken the all-time concert attendance record for Lucas Oil Stadium.
& PHOTOS BY
Luke Werckman’s perspective from his seat during Taylor Swift’s performance of “Midnight Rain” at the Eras Tour on Nov. 3 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
As someone who really likes Speak Now, I was slightly disappointed that only “Enchanted” was featured. Still, it was a good performance. Reputation is one of my favorite Swift albums, so I was very excited for that section. The set was incredible, with “Look What You Made Me Do” standing out–it sounded better than I imagined live.
The real test of my enjoyment of the concert came during the folklore and evermore sections. Since folklore is my least favorite Swift album, I considered taking a bathroom break during that time. However, the live performance was strong enough to keep me captivated, and I ended up staying for the entire set. Next up was 1989, which was unsurprisingly incredible– I adored every song in that section, which is why I’d dressed for the concert inspired by that era.
The Tortured Poets Department section had the most memorable stage design and props. Some standout moments included the moving stand that Swift stood on during “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and the rotating bed during “Fortnight.”
The acoustic set had some delightful surprises, like “Cornelia Street” and “Death By A Thousand Cuts,” two of my favorite songs from Lover. However, the other two songs in the set were “The Bolter” and “The Great War.” I didn’t recognize “The Bolter” during the performance, so those two were misses for me.
The concert ended with a great set from Midnights, and sadly, my night at the Eras Tour came to an end. The experience left me stunned, not really knowing what to do next. It took a while for me to process it beyond simply calling it “incredible.” Eventually, my next feeling was a reinvigorated excitement to listen to more of Swift’s music. I didn’t listen to any immediately
“I can’t imagine a higher note to start on for my first concert.”
LUKE WERCKMAN
after the concert, but by the time I returned to Athens the following morning, I had her catalogue queued up. Even though we did not get a surprise announcement, I would eagerly go again to reexperience the excitement and energy of the performance. However, when it comes to concerts in general, I don’t think I’d go to another just for the sake of going. I’d only be interested in spending money on a concert if it was an artist I was passionate about seeing live. I can’t imagine a higher note to start on for my first concert, though I do worry it might affect my expectations for future experiences. Regardless, I had an amazing night at the Eras Tour, and I’ll remember it all too well. b
Werckman, at his very first concert, wearing an outfit inspired by the album 1989.
The lights and monitor during Taylor Swift’s performance of “Bejeweled” at the Eras Tour on Nov. 3 at Lucas Oil Stadium.