Fall 2014 (Vol. 8, Issue 1) by Backdrop Magazine

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DRAWN TOGETHER:

A VIBRANT ILLUSTRATION OF UNCERTAINTY IN ART FLUFF BAKERY

GETS SPICY

DROPPING IN: VICTORIA’S SECRET & USA TODAY NUTRITION IMPOSSIBLE:

BURNING OFF THE ATHENS DIET

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MASONRY CONTRACTORS

30 Blick Ave.

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backdrop | Fall 2014

Floor plans, photos and more information at There is no “original” fairy tale. www.diversifiedproperties.net Fun fact goes here Fun fact goes here Fun fact goes here

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4 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house. Great uptown location, large front porch, central air, washer/dryer, www.backdropmag.com onsite parking for all residents.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

This year has brought plenty of changes: a new website (backdropmagazine.com), a new staff and a new perspective. We are embracing challenges, like learning the basics of website coding in less than three months. And we’re trying to step out of our comfort zone, like trying to apply that pitiful knowledge of coding to a website over and over again at 2 a.m. before a nine-to-five internship. We want to revamp our style, so we took an artful approach to our first issue, and I think you’re going to like it. We are honored to have had comic artist and ’91 Ohio University alum, Steve Richter, create a thoughtful custom-cover for Backdrop. He has illustrated a handful of characters from this issue for an animated night at Jackie O’s. The table of artists in the bottom left who eagerly await some delicious, locally sourced food (p.14) is a tribute to our cover story (p.20). Writer and head copy editor Jacob DeSmit delves into the challenges of comic artistry in his feature “Drawn Together.” We acknowledge four talented local artists and their takes on the evolving state of comic art. And to complement the emphasis of visual storytelling in our cover feature, Emily McIntyre highlights the art of spoken word in her story “The Past is Present” (p.12) after meeting a troupe of dedicated Appalachian storytellers. Read about the cozy couple at the bar and their plan to add a kick of spice to the Court Street staple Fluff Bakery (p.28), and see what big-screen performances are unfolding for the saxophone player seated in the stage section of the pub (p.18). After a long break, busy with demanding, yet stylish, internships (p.40), we’re ready to test and refine our skills for three more issues. I hope the new website makes our content more enjoyable to our readers. I want this year of Backdrop to preserve even just a fraction of the vast history Athens has to offer. I can’t wait to see what stories you’ll share with us. Welcome home Bobcats,

SEE THE PHOTO STORY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sara Portwood MANAGING EDITORS

Nick Harley & Julianne Mobilian

PAGE 36

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURES » 20 Drawn

Together These comic artists go to heroic lengths to stay relevant in a digital age.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Zachary Berry & Colette Whitney

CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Cohen, Kathryn Cook Andrew Downing, Michelle Jacobson, Emily McIntyre

HEAD COPY EDITOR

12 The Past

is Present

Meet the storytellers who are bridging the gap between generations.

Jacob DeSmit

COPY TEAM Cortni Dietz, Kelly Limpert, Colette Whitney

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Katelyn Boyden

ON THE COVER

ART DIRECTORS

Victoria Prichard & Karlee Proctor Sara Portwood Editor-in-Chief backdropmag@gmail.com

ADVERTISING DESIGNER

Jessica Shokler

DESIGN TEAM Andie Danesi, Kyle Ellis, Meredith Kern, Natasha Ringnalda, Lizzie Settineri

PHOTO EDITOR

Amanda Puckett ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Jilly Burns

VIDEO EDITOR

Alyssa Pasicznyk

Cover Art by Steve Richter Cover design by Katelyn Boyden & Victoria Prichard

FALL 2014 » VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1

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To Campus

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See where your rent or dorm prices fall on a campus cost breakdown.

Locally Bred Grab a pint or two and celebrate Jackie O’s locally sourced menu.

Curtain Call

Miles Above the Rest

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FALL 2014 » VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1

Lending Ears for 50 Years

Nutrition Impossible

A senior saxophone player has made his way to the big screen.

Fight last night’s burrito with our campus-inspired workout plan.

Artisan Artillery See the Scottish craftsmanship of archaic firearms.

DROPPING IN » 40

Victoria’s Secret

Gannett Custom Media

Exhibit A »

Photo Hunt »

Rant & Rage » Request Denied

Our publisher shares her stories at the fashion HQ this summer.

Our associate editor spent her summer in Virginia at USA Today.

A showcase of creative works by fellow students.

Spot the differences at the Mem Aud.

Be Your Own Bartender Put down that Natty and kick back with these easy cocktails.

FOOD » 28

Celebrating decades of mental health service.

PHOTO ESSAY »

OU’s theater division is bowing out of Nantucket.

RECIPE » 26

FOR MORE

Through the Roof

ENTERTAINMENT »

SPORTS WEB EDITOR Chris Manning FEATURES WEB EDITOR Anna Lippincott

THE DROP »

Cheyenne Buckingham WEB EDITOR

Crazy drunkards and odd tips are all part of a night’s work for these two bartenders.

SEX & HEALTH »

INFOGRAPHIC »

ASSISTANT MARKETING DIRECTOR MARKETING TEAM Kathryn Cook & Hannah Wheeless

The C.I.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

“Grandma, I will Candy Crush your skull if you send me another game request.”

Sweet & Spicy

Fluff is getting a fiery touch.

FITNESS » 30

A Cycle of Service Former bobcat sets out on a 4,000-mile service project.

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HOT

NICKIE BECKMAN MAJOR: HUMAN BIOLOGY

THE C.I.

DANNY MACKERTY

MAJOR: GRADUATE STUDIES, COACHING EDUCATION

BARTENDER BY MICHELLE MWAURA I PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE LUCZKOW

What is your favorite drink to make? Nickie Beckman: I’ll say a Strawberry Shortcake shot. It’s cake vodka, strawberry vodka and cranberry juice. It tastes just like strawberry shortcake. It’s really good. What was your weirdest incident while working? NB: Well, there was this guy that came into the bar, and I could tell that he was tripping. He was causing a scene trying to pee on the floor. He was so gone, and I went to get one of the door guys because he wouldn’t listen to me, and when they were dragging him out of the door, the dude took a beer bottle and hit one of the other dudes in the head. They had to take him outside and restrain him on the ground until the cops came. I guess, apparently, he’s not supposed to drink, so that was interesting. Moms weekend or Dads weekend? NB: Dads will buy me drinks and are way more fun, and they give me awesome tips. But moms are bitchier. They are so needy! Best or worst tip you’ve ever received? NB: Probably a phone number and no tip. That’s the worst. I don’t know why people do that. I also got a winning lottery ticket once. It was only for two bucks, but I thought that was fun — an interesting way to tip. I’ve also gotten foreign money, too…Chinese dollars. What am I supposed to do with that? Do you know any bar tricks? NB: Well, I can open a beer with a lighter.

Know an attractive bartender? Email us at

backdropmag@gmail.com with your hot bartender suggestions.

backdrop | Fall 2014

The Watchmen were based on Charlton Comics characters that DC had acquired.

THE C.I.

What is your favorite drink to make? Danny Mackerty: It’s called a Nympho. It’s Captain, peach Schnapps, pineapple juice and grenadine. What was your weirdest incident while working? DM: The weirdest incident for me was one of my first days working here, about three years ago, and there was this old guy who was like 50 years old, and he was with this young girl who was probably a senior…They were going at it, hard core making out, and it was so bad that people were leaving the bar. I had to ask them to calm down. It was so gross. And the thing is, it was, like, a Tuesday at 3 p.m. Moms weekend or Dads weekend? DM: Dads are rude to me and moms will tip me better. I’ve dealt with some crazy moms. My mom doesn’t like to come when it’s busy because it gets insane. Best or worst tip you’ve ever received? DM: Someone gave me a dollar stack of pennies once as a tip, like the bankrolls. I just told him to keep it, like, ‘Dude I don’t want this.’ Once I also got a dude’s business card for a job in Columbus who was in here for career week. It never ended up working out, but that was pretty cool. Are all the drinks the same for all the bars? DM: Everyone has their own versions that they make depending on who taught them. I make a Cali Swag Bomb different — I do it with Dragonberry, cherry vodka, orange juice and grenadine. It’s like my go-to. What’s the worst fake ID you’ve ever seen? DM: My favorite one was when a girl came in here celebrating the fake ID’s birthday, but I knew the girl on the ID, and it wasn’t hers. It was one of our good friend’s ID. They always deny it. Do you know any bar tricks? DM: I make shots of Crown disappear! Batman used a gun in his first appearance.

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b INFOGRAPHIC

ROOF

TYPE OF ROOM:

TRADITIONAL & MOD STYLE HALLS

THROUGH THE

SINGLE DOUBLE TRIPLE QUAD

TYPE OF ROOM:

The rent rates around Athens seem anything but fair. This breakdown shows what on- and off-campus students pay for their homes.

RENOVATED HALLS

SINGLE DOUBLE TRIPLE QUAD

MONTHS ANNUAL COST INDIVIDUAL PAY TOTAL REVENUE OPEN (TWO SEMESTERS) PER MONTH PER ROOM

7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5

$7,428 $6,050 $5,644 $5,644

$990.40 $806.67 $752.53 $752.53

$7,428 $12,100 $16,932 $22,576

MONTHS ANNUAL COST INDIVIDUAL PAY TOTAL REVENUE OPEN (TWO SEMESTERS) PER MONTH PER ROOM

7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5

$7,914 $6,446 $6,014 $6,014

$1,055.20 $859.47 $801.87 $801.87

$7,914 $12,892 $18,042 $24,056

BY JAKE ZUCKERMAN ILLUSTRATION BY VICTORIA PRICHARD

f the cost of a degree today isn’t enough, there is always an abundance of side costs to kick you while you’re down about trying to pay your way through school. And one of the worst among them is rent. Every year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases fair market rates (FMR) for every county in the United States. The rates are used as a benchmark to determine what one should be paying for rent in a given area of the country. Below are the FMRs for Athens County, Ohio. Backdrop conducted a survey of 67 students to find out what rent costs look like today. Dorms might seem like an attractive alternative to off-campus housing, but academic housing is actually more expensive. The prices here are taken from the Ohio University Housing website. The available living time is taken from the 2014-2015 academic calendar.

backdrop | Fall 2014

EFFICIENCY

BEDROOM

$566

$591

$701

$882

$937

FINAL FULL YEAR 2014 FMRs BY UNIT BEDROOMS

FAIR MARKET RENT ATHENS’ AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF FMR

BEDROOM UNIT

$701 $988.08 243.93%

$882 $1,503.92 170.52%

$937 $2,151.44 229.61%

The Flash’s hometown is located in the same spot as Athens, Ohio.

TYPE OF ROOM:

SUITE-STYLE HALLS OU is driving a lot of revenue from housing. The $990.40 a student pays to live in a single is well above the $591 FMR. When more students are placed in the marginally larger doubles and triples, their individual costs drop slightly while OU’s revenue skyrockets. Combining and analyzing this data results in a high total for rent costs on campus. To live in the dorms for the required two years, it costs $12,100. That includes a one-room studio without a bathroom for a student and one roommate. Between

MONTHS ANNUAL COST INDIVIDUAL PAY TOTAL REVENUE OPEN (TWO SEMESTERS) PER MONTH PER ROOM

SUITE DOUBLE

7.5

$3,340

$890.67

$13,360

SUITE TRIPLE

7.5

$3,340

$890.67

$20,040

that student and his or her roommate, the university receives $24,200 in revenue. If these two students rented off-campus housing, they would pay $11,856 each ($988.08 for a 12-month lease for two years with two roommates). This totals $23,957. The FMR for the same dorm living situation is $4,432 for two years in the dorms (FMR for a one-bedroom unit $591), paid over the 7.5 months spent in the dorm, split in half with a roommate, paid once per year for two years). This,

Dragon Ball is inspired by the Chinese novel, Journey to the West.

added to the FMR cost of a two-bedroom unit ($701) over two 12-month leases (the market standard), comes to a combined total of $12,844 when split with a roommate. The average rate an OU student living with one roommate will pay over four years is $23,957. The rate they should pay, measured via the U.S. HUD Fair Market Rent is $12,844. Landlords and University Housing are laying market power onto OU students, charging them well beyond a fair rate.

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b THE DROP

THE GREATEST GENERATION

THE PAST IS PRESENT A dedicated troupe of storytellers keeps Appalachian heritage alive. BY EMILY MCINTYRE | PHOTOS BY JILLY BURNS

ff to the left of the circulation desk inside Athens Public Library, there are a couple of storytellers settling into a semicircle of chairs. As they talk, they do an inventory of equipment: a tambourine, harmonica, drums and more. A woman adjusts the strings of two unfamiliar instruments, while a few more storytellers join the group. There is quiet conversation about beef stew, biscuits and French toast. As a small audience eagerly waits, little do they know that the tales they’re about to hear are far from fantasy. A nonprofit organization of performers, better known as the Appalachian Ohio Storytelling Project (AOSP), was established in 2011 to preserve Appalachian Ohio’s cultural heritage. The members accomplish this through the promotion of storytelling and related performance arts throughout the Southeast Ohio region, featuring several narrative-style stories based on their own experiences.

backdrop | Fall 2014

MILLENNIAL DIFFERENCE

Although those in tech-savvy Generation Y — composed of individuals born between the 1980s and early 2000s — had video games and computers to enhance their childhoods, the AOSP storytellers relied on imagination and each other to entertain themselves while growing up during the post-Depression era and World War II. In addition, AOSP actor Jon Miller says that his generation didn’t have the digital programming and entertainment that people use today. Modes of communication have certainly evolved among generations, particularly through the development of computers, cell phones and the Internet. “We played outside, and we played imagination games, we made up whole towns, we played dirt road, and we dug tunnels and we could play and play with all the kids in the neighborhood,” says Adele Browne, an actress in the group. Actor Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-El after Superman’s alien name.

Though both generations had been happily occupied as children, issues of poverty provided challenges back then that are unfamiliar to many in Generation Y. Families did a significant amount of sharing, especially when it came to food, explains AOSP storyteller Sue Witte. “People grew up doing without, because they didn’t have anything. And now, this generation doesn’t have… that poverty that’s behind them. They pretty much have better than what their parents had,” Witte says. Once families had recovered from those tough economic times, Kubisek explains that another challenge presented itself. “1958 — it was time for every 18-year-old boy to register for the draft — including me,” Kubisek recalls. “I said to my mom, ‘I am not going to register for the draft. If I do, I’m going to register as a peace activist.’ And she said, ‘No you won’t.’ I said, ‘Yes, I will.’ I lost that fight, I had to register. I never got called up.” Thomas Burnett, the founder of AOSP, remembers the societal pressure that came with the draft. “My father and grandfather said, ‘if you don’t register for the draft and you refuse service, you’re not in the family and we’d rather you were dead,’” he says. Tough family virtues are included in their storytelling to help explain some of the realities the “Greatest Generation” had to experience first-hand. “Storytelling is a vehicle for transferring histories, lessons and values from one generation to another,” Burnett explains. “It’s also a vehicle for identity,” Browne adds. As limitless as the AOSP imaginations are when it comes to telling their tales, they did experience one limit few young people experience today: the ability to pursue the career of their dreams. Witte wanted to be a game warden, someone who supervised hunting in a specific region, but her mother told her she had to become a secretary just like her. While in art school, Burnett’s father frowned at the job outlook for artists. His grandfather urged him to get a job working for the city so Burnett could take care of his family members as they aged. With every obstacle the AOSP individuals faced, they all agree that, in the end, their parents wanted what was best for them. Likewise, the feeling is mutual among these members about supporting Generation Y’s future. The storytellers can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is to know the past, yet they understand how the focus on the present has become much more prominent over time.

LASTING PERFORMANCE

Storytelling is one of the few pastimes that every generation shares. Browne explains that research has shown the brain cannot encode a memory unless the event is sequenced into story form with a beginning, middle and end. Because of this, storytelling is essential to the learning process, which applies especially to the developing memories of young Michael Jackson tried to buy Marvel so he could play Spider-Man.

children and to the elderly. For plays and musicals, actors are confined to a script. In contrast, AOSP members break down the fourth wall mentioned in theater to modify their tales. “We encourage the audience to be co-creators in the process of telling the story. Stories change all the time and little bits and pieces have changed sometimes,” Burnett says. What happens once the story reaches its end? “Well, now it’s in your head, and you’re able to play with it,” Burnett exclaims. www.backdropmagazine.com

b THE DROP

LOCALLY BRED From farm to plate, Jackie O’s sustainable food system fuels the locavore taste.

BY CHEYENNE BUCKINGHAM PHOTOS PROVIDED BY JACKIE O’S PUB & BREWERY

fter a tiresome week of studying, hungry students head to Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery hoping to end the week on a positive note. When they sink their teeth into a warm, multigrain-crusted pizza smothered in soft mozzarella and tangy, fresh green peppers, they may not realize that every component of this dish comes from just miles away. Jackie O’s is pushing for a sustainable menu that benefits not only the consumer, but also the farmers in the community who grow the produce and raise the livestock. “The top menu items that feature this local, sustainable movement are our pizzas and hamburgers,” says Matt Spolar, creative strategist for Jackie O’s. The multigrain pizza dough is made from spent grains, which are leftover grains from the brewing process. The toppings that customers can choose to pile high on top of their own decadent pizza all come from organic sources within a 50-mile radius of Athens. Jackie O’s is more than just a hotspot for Athenians to un-

backdrop | Fall 2014

wind over beer and pub grub. This restaurant, bar and brewery has helped ignite a health food revolution in the community, offering an extensive menu featuring dishes chock-full of fresh fruits and vegetables. The Community Locavore Club (CLC) has also made an incredible impact on the dispersion of a variety of fresh produce, natural meats, eggs and cheeses to the community. CLC is an organization that the staff at Jackie O’s farm created with the incentive to provide access to weekly supplies of seasonal food items. These purchases support the individuals who worked so diligently to place the produce from their farm onto local dinner plates. Anyone can indulge in these fresh local treats by joining the CLC program. Members would pay $250 to receive pre-made baskets full of what Spolar calls, “farm goodies” for eight weeks. These baskets consist of a wealth of produce: a loaf of bread, a dessert item from Jackie O’s BakeShop and a reusable grocery bag for additional items that are supplied specifically for that week. This could be anything from eggs and meat to fresh herbs. Marvel bought Spider-Man villain Venom from a fan for $220.

“88 to 90 percent of the products in the baskets come from Jackie O’s very own 22-acre farm right outside of Athens,” Spolar says. “However, we work with about eight to 10 local partners, as well.” Spolar claims Jackie O’s biggest partners are Snowville Creamery, Dexter Run Farms and Athens’ Own. Warren Taylor, owner of Snowville Creamery, raves about the support he receives from local restaurants in Athens, especially Jackie O’s. “All [local businesses] in the Athens area are fortunate to be living in the most vibrant, dynamic and cooperative food communities in all of Ohio, because we have a 30-year history of promoting local food share.” Spolar emphasizes that Snowville Creamery’s partnership with Jackie O’s goes far beyond the profit his company makes on an individual sale of milk or cheese at the CLC. “It is all about the process of benefiting the community,” he says. But the team at Jackie O’s could not fulfill this ambitious task solely from the confines of its uptown location. Just as Roy Scheider so cleverly said in the 1975 film Jaws, “We’re going to need a bigger boat,” Jackie O’s needed to invest in another In the Ultimate Universe, Nick Fury is based upon Samuel L. Jackson.

location in response to its booming popularity. Spolar has had the pleasure of watching Jackie O’s thrive throughout the state. “As we grow, it has enabled us to open new markets; as of August, we sold beer in all 88 counties of Ohio,” says Spolar. The Taproom, Jackie O’s latest expansion located at 25 Campbell St., not only cranks out 40 barrels of beer at one time — as opposed to the seven-barrel system they were limited to in their original space — but also hosts the CLC program, which meets every Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The program is not just for the benefit of Athens businesses. Spolar also believes that college students greatly benefit from this membership. He explains how unusual it is for shoppers to know exactly where their money is going. “The CLC program enables you to get fresh produce locally and keep your money here in Athens,” says Spolar. “We get the chance to show all of Ohio what we are doing, what Athens is doing,” says Spolar of Jackie O’s sustainable efforts. “By buying locally, your money stays in Athens and you are helping create this awesome community we live in.”

www.backdropmagazine.com

ENTERTAINMENT

CURTAIN CALL OU bids adieu to its performing arts haven in Cape Cod. BY ANNA LIPPINCOTT | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY SARAH SIERSZYN

t’s summertime in a sleepy New England town with cobblestone streets squeezed between quaint, locallyowned boutiques and American f lag buntings draped over opened windows. Violet hydrangea plants spill over the pristinely manicured privet as if the setting of a Jodi Picoult novel. Now, invade that scene with dozens of Ohio University students. In Chatham, Mass., that quaint town filled with Bobcats is a reality. Since 1958, Ohio University has been the primary leaseholder of the Monomoy Theatre in Cape Cod. Annually, Bobcat theater students spend their summers in Chatham, joining the Monomoy team to be part of the theater’s summer season. The theater showed eight plays in its 2014 session, including six dramas and two musicals. The performances were shown back to back, as the season spanned from mid-June through the end of August. All of that is about to change. In May, OU announced it would not renew its lease with the theater, meaning it would be dipping out of the Massachusetts arts scene for the first time in 57 years. OU’s financial backing of the theater has had a significant impact on the university, community and students over the past half-century, and the decision not to renew the lease was greeted with both understanding and animosity.

For OU, it is a financial relief. The property was an independent purchase by the Baker family, and the physical building was leased to Ohio University as an academic space for the Theater Division. After the Bakers’ deaths, OU continued to renew the lease. The Monomoy Theatre is approximately 800 miles from Athens, in an area with some of the highest real estate and maintenance costs in the United States. According to the Trulia real estate database, the average list cost for Chatham exceeds $750,000, making it onethird more expensive than Orange County and nearly six times more expensive than Athens. The university takes responsibility for a large number of repairs and updates to the nearly 100-year-old building. Alan Rust, artistic director of Monomoy Theatre and OU alum, says the university pays the Baker family rent, which helps cover maintenance costs, taxes and insurance. In return, OU graduate and undergraduate students audition for the selective summer program, which offers a stipend for on-property housing and fulfills a graduation course requirement. For Chatham, OU’s absence from the neighborhood brings significant change to its seasonal calendar and community dynamic. The close-knit town, which thrives off of a summertime economy, will now be dozens of young people short. In addition to the revenue generated by visiting students, the community will lose out on earnings from visiting actors’ families and friends. Jared Davis, a 2014 Monomoy actor and OU graduate student, recalls that all of the visiting students had family and friends visit at some point over the summer. According to Davis, Chatham is a “vacation destination,” and many families could combine visiting their children

The average list cost for Chatham exceeds $750,000 – one third more expensive than Orange County and nearly six times more expensive than Athens.

backdrop | Fall 2014

Originally, Superman wasn’t able to fly and could leap great distances.

with a summer trip. In addition to revenue lost from visiting families, Bobcat alumni will no longer make the trek to Chatham. Annually, the Alumni Association and the Massachusetts Chapter Serving New England plan a trip to at least one performance. Aside from greeting new tourists annually, Chatham welcomes back residents who count on seeing OU students every summer. Many of the summer season ticket holders have had the same seats for the past 50 years. “It’s a community that is number one, warm and welcoming when you get there for the first time and is like home when you go back,” says Ryan Holihan, a graduate student in the directing program. He worked as a stagehand and as an actor in 2013, and this year he acted and guest directed. Rust organizes a community meet-and-greet at the beginning of the summer and hosts a garden party mid-season. Davis says residents regularly stopped him on the street to both congratulate him and wish him luck in the next show. He added some of the best times the company members had were spent wandering around the New England town. “You could go outside and watch a baseball game while working on lines, then go back to the theater,” Davis says. Bobcats gained relationships with not only Chatham residents but also the other student actors. University of Hartford also offers students attending the Hartt School of performing arts the opportunity to fill the summer playbill. They share the compound dormitory space with OU students, and, according to Holihan, “become family.” Hartford will most likely take over the lease OU leaves behind. For OU students, the discontinuation of the school’s lease strips Bobcats of an exclusive experience. Though The Incredible Hulk was initially gray.

OU aims to begin summer theater program in Dublin, Ohio, nothing is finalized, and the future location will never give students the Northeast-actor lifestyle they could have received in Massachusetts. “[In Chatham] you have people coming every day from New York — people who are producers…I can’t see another school not jumping on that opportunity to give their kids a definite summer theater,” says Davis. Monomoy, unlike the majority of theaters, is a summer stock theater — a theater that operates only in the summer and has a very aggressive and busy season. Students call it “theater boot camp,” but the magnitude of work they do is outstanding. “The amount of shows you can put on your resume — it’s invaluable,” Davis says. He is optimistic about the idea of a theater in Dublin but notes that the transition period is a little awkward. Although Rust has not started plans for next summer or thought of which new schools he will audition, he says he would not be surprised if some OU students managed to find their way back. “The thing that’s most important is Ohio University needs to be applauded for over a half a century of support of this building and Cape Cod,” Rust says. “It’s quite known, it’s very successful, and Ohio University is responsible to a great degree for that happening. It should be a celebration.” As the university argues its decision to discontinue its lease with the Monomoy Theatre is practical, the town of Chatham and OU students are not so quick to agree. OU’s long-lasting partnership with the theater and community makes saying goodbye hard, and the opportunity it has offered students can only be described as showstopping.

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b ENTERTAINMENT

MILES ABOVE THE REST Whether he’s busking on Court Street or performing on the silver screen, Julian Howard will always have a place for music. WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANDREW DOWNING

he year is 1964. The room is dark and pulsing with excitement from the audience that stands in the shadows, waiting for the show to begin. The walls throb with anticipation, as if they too cannot hold their excitement for what will soon transpire. In the center of the room is an occupied boxing ring showcasing four musicians: a drummer, a saxophonist, a pianist and a guitar player. They all wait for the last piece of the puzzle, who then arrives in style. Miles Davis enters the room with a gleaming trumpet in hand. Davis approaches the musicians. After looking them over, he seems to have come to some sort of decision in his head. While the crowd looks on in anticipation of the show, Davis turns to the musicians and declares, “Fuck the music. We’re just going to play.” But that isn’t Miles Davis, and it isn’t actually 1964. That is the filming of Miles Ahead, an upcoming movie about the life of Davis, played by Don Cheadle, an Academy- and Emmynominated actor, director and producer.

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Among the hundreds of actors on set for this particular scene is Julian Howard, a senior at Ohio University majoring in saxophone performance. Howard was cast as Wayne Shorter, the saxophonist in Davis’ band during the ’60s, but he didn’t just land this role by sheer luck. The opportunity had been building up since Howard was in grade school, and his motivation to learn to play at that age — to impress a girl — was practical. “She actually doesn’t know I had a crush on her,” Howard says as he recollects his former classmate, London Dawson. “I’ll probably post this story on Facebook, and she’ll see it and laugh.” Howard and a handful of his friends, known as the Young Jazz Messengers, have been playing professionally for the past six years at small gigs around Cincinnati. Every Monday, Howard and the band would pay a five dollar cover charge to play at the famous Blue Wisp Jazz Club so they could open up shows for bigger acts. Within the next few years, the Wonder Woman’s creator helped to create the first ever lie detector.

Young Jazz Messengers played all around the city. Whether they were on stage, at a bar or in the corner of a company venue — such as Kroger, Toyota or Macy’s — the group could be heard playing the sounds of the greats, from Charlie Parker to Wayne Shorter and Miles Davis. “I’ve played in front of 5,000 people, and I’ve played in front of 10 people at a public library,” Howard says. Once Howard went to college, he started to book gigs with local bars and campus organizations. Like any college musician, Howard is occasionally stressed by trying to balance his classwork, social life and music career. During his sophomore year at OU, Howard failed to pass a qualifying class fall semester. After working twice as hard the following spring semester, Howard passed the class, but that didn’t stop him from second-guessing his career choice. “I was really down on myself all summer after that, thinking I should choose another profession,” Howard says. “But, you know, everyone goes through times like that. You won’t know what feels great unless you know what feels bad.” Howard definitely knows what feels great after being selected last spring to star beside Don Cheadle in Miles Ahead. At first, he was hesitant to think that any real opportunity could come from an audition. The filming for the movie began and wrapped up this fall, and it only took Howard three days to complete all of his scenes. Howard explained that the first scene he worked on was around the climax of the movie, at 3 o’clock in the morning. The scene was shot inside of a boxing ring with over 250 extras on scene, all dressed in ’60s attire. After the band was set inside of the boxing ring, they waited patiently for Cheadle to walk into the room as Davis. A door opened and in came the familiar star, sporting vintage fashion and toting a trumpet in his right hand. Before starting the scene, Cheadle asked the musicians and Howard if they play regularly. When they all nodded, that was when Cheadle decided to cut the playback music and just play. The scene only needed to be shot twice because Howard and the musicians nailed their parts. Even though the time was pushing 4 a.m., Cheadle had a surprise for the extras and crew members on set.

“

“Guys, we’re not filming this. This is just for your pleasure,” Cheadle explained to the audience. “We have some wonderful musicians up here. You guys have to listen to us play.” With their instruments in hand, Howard and the musicians — along with Cheadle — played on into the early hours of the morning, stopping just as the sun was starting to creep into Cincinnati’s skyline. “Just playing with him for an hour on set made up for all of the hours that we had waited during the first two days of shooting,” Howard says. “It was such an experience.” When filming wrapped up, Howard drove back to Athens to attend the summer classes he had the next day. In the next few months, Howard plans to release his first EP of original music and he wants to bring an artist showcase to OU’s campus. “There is so much talent in Athens and there’s no big venue to showcase it,” Howard says. “I know there are musicians, artists, poets, singers, clothing designers and photographers everywhere in Athens. It’s something I really want to do for them.” On a tattoo on his left shoulder, roses and thorns intertwine around a saxophone, reminding Howard of his first love, discovered by his first crush. Just as the jazz legends of the past have etched their spots into the history books, Howard has etched his passion into his skin. “I wanted to get a tattoo of something that would always have a place in my heart.”

I’ve played in front of 5,000 people, and I’ve played in front of 10 people at a public library.” Julian Howard Senior

Cobra was invented by Marvel when they created G.I. Joe comics.

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SECTION HEAD FEATURE

DRAWN TOGETHER BY JACOB DESMIT PHOTOS BY JILLY BURNS

Despite a long history of comic art in Athens, local artists struggle to secure a mass Appalachian audience.

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n a balmy afternoon in late June, the ARTS/West theater is alive with song and cheer as the elementary-aged cast of the OVST Theater Camp prepare for a children’s musical titled “Inside/Out.” With the show’s one-off premiere scheduled for the following evening, the young cast has just one day to perfect its performance before the debut. But snack time beckons, and the collective thought of the young cast seems to shift from Broadway to buttered popcorn in the time it takes them to hop offstage. As they form a single-file line near the auditorium’s exit, bright light floods the gallery that lines each long wall. The gallery showcases an exhibit by local comic artist Steve Richter. Named “Fears & Anxieties For Every Occasion,” it is an ode to a diverse range of stressful situations; where one drawing depicts a bearded man fleeing a bee in pursuit, another, more literary piece explains the finer points of what can go wrong while shopping at the supermarket. Despite the animated nature of the colorful illustrations on display, they go largely unnoticed by the children on the move to the building’s basement. In a comic industry where one of the greatest challenges can be in standing out, Richter is one of many artists in the Athens area just trying to be seen at all. As many in the medium flirt with ditching the printed page for fully-digital distribution, these artists are finding that the power of the panel is no longer enough for the independent artist, or the industry as a whole, to get by on alone.

With the technology boom of the last 10 years drastically changing the creative process behind most other self-expressive media, it has become necessary for comic artists to be adept in personal marketing and distribution if they hope to maximize their earning potential. “The best way I know how to distribute [my art] myself is to get people I know around the country or around the world to get them into bookstores,” Richter says. “Sometimes I’ll send them to publishers, but for the most part publishers will take their cut, and I prefer to retain all copyright and control of it.” For artists, copyright legally bars others from using or distributing the artist’s original work. Although the length of time original content is protected by copyright depends on certain stipulations, such as what type of work it is or when, if ever, it was published, U.S. copyright law protects the artist’s work throughout the duration of his or her life plus 70 years. After the copyright has expired, the art falls into the category of public domain, meaning that it is not under private ownership and may fairly be used by new artists. Richter learned a lesson in ownership the hard way when he started his professional career as an independent artist in Seattle upon graduating from OU in 1991. “I didn’t realize I was selling full copyrights to what I was doing, and it wasn’t until some while later that somebody pointed out to me that the drawings that I had done were selling in magazines, on coffee mugs and T-shirts,” Richter says. “I didn’t know anything about it, but I had sold the copyright so I didn’t own any of it.” Copyright law is great for anyone looking to make a living through his or her art. In the case of Richter’s self-published comic art, which includes individual greeting cards, graphic novels, album covers and a paneled comic series called “Neener Neener,” it ensures that he receives all profits when the art is sold. Meanwhile, the freedom of content from private ownership into the public domain opens doors Iron Man was created to make a popular capitalist superhero.

Golden Oldies Holy throwback Batman! Here are four profiles of some of the Golden Age superheroes found in 5 Star Comics. ILLUSTRATIONS BY TERENCE HANLEY

Silver streak An unknown cab driver is killed after being hypnotized by a swami to battle a giant insect. The swami then resurrects the driver, injecting him with a “secret fluid” that gives him superspeed and the power of flight. Motivated by a strong desire to make the world a better place, the cabbie dons a colorful costume to fight against crime and Nazi spies.

MARVEL MAID Newspaper reporter Priscilla Carbon uses the secret abilities found in a black pearl necklace, which was given to her as a child by a witch doctor, to fight crime. She is aided by her sidekick Little Luke, a messenger boy and the only person to know her true identity. Marvel Maid has the powers of flight, speed and super-strength.

Flip Falcon With the help of his girlfriend, Adele, American scientist Flip Falcon uses a FourthDimension Machine to travel to any point in space-time in order to challenge historic and futuristic enemies. Aside from his intelligence, Falcon has no supernatural abilities.

Cave Girl After losing her parents in an attack by savages, Carol London escapes when an eagle carries her away from the scene to a valley, where wolves raise her. As protector of the Dawn Lands, Cave Girl can speak to animals and is skilled with a bow, spear or knife.

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FEATURE

for artists to breathe new life into once-retired characters from another era. Terence Hanley, an Athens resident, writes and illustrates new storylines for classic superheroes in a comic book series called 5 Star Comics. Hanley, along with co-creators Larry Blake and Gary Gibeaut, have crafted new storylines for a handful of public-domain superheroes from a period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books, which stretched from the late 1930s to early 1950s. Their series’ first issue featured the likes of Silver Streak, Marvel Maid and Cave Girl. Now more than ever, however, few are as interested in reading about these heroes from a bygone era as the artists are enthusiastic about resurrecting them from comic book limbo. At a time when the latest movies and TV shows are just a few clicks away, comic artists face an uphill battle when it comes to attracting the time and money of potential fans. “Back in the day, if you wanted to read something science fiction, there weren’t many options. Comic books were right there, and it’s not like that now,” Hanley says. “I’m not sure a comic book can compete with a video game, or a whole season of a TV show that you can watch all at once.” As perhaps the most prolific comic artist living in Athens, Sandy Plunkett has worked as an illustrator for both Marvel and DC Comics, two of the largest mainstream comic businesses in the industry. Having started his career with Marvel at the age of 18 while living in New York, he has watched from behind the scenes as the industry’s audience has dried up. Since coming to Athens in 2010, he has noticed that any comic scene that may have pre-

Of course, it wasn’t always that way. The storefront at 19 W. Washington, now the Wizard’s Guild, has a long and storied history as a home for comic fanatics. Initially opened by Jerry Ski as a comic book, gaming and collectibles shop called the Uptown Mini-Maul in the early 1980s. The location changed in ownership and name throughout the years before being attained by comic-minded owner Tom Green, who opened it as Universe of Superheroes in 2001. By 2003, the addition of Todd Grace to the store’s staff bolstered its area of expertise to include tabletop and card gaming. But on June 24, 2007, a devastating fire destroyed a majority of Universe of Superheroes’ inventory and infrastructure. According to figures from an article by The Athens News, the Athens Fire Department estimated the incident to have cost $300,000 in combined damages to the business and to the building itself. Behind an outpouring of support from its loyal base of regular customers and visitors, the store reopened as The Wizard’s Guild in 2008. Today, roughly 75 people hold a comic book subscription with the store, meaning that each new issue of a given comic is ordered and held for the customer to pick up. Even so, games and gaming

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accessories account for more of The Wizard’s Guild sales than its selection of mainstream comic books and graphic novels. Since so few around Athens care enough about comics to check out the artists behind them, growing any sort of supportive scene has proven difficult. In fact, it seems the decline in comic viewership has made having a shop that deals solely in comic art an unsustainable venture altogether. Ski now owns Ski’s Teases and Collectibles, located at 55 N. Court St. Although he intended to continue his business as it had been after moving from 19 W. Washington, he found that his stock of retro T-shirts attracted much greater attention at his new location than what he had sold in the Uptown Mini-Maul. “I had to come up with something other than comics and collectibles,” Ski says. “All these students that were in town were looking for something unique to wear. I’d come to my store to sell comics, but they’d all sit in front of my store saying ‘we want to look at your T-shirt collection.’ I figured, if you’ve got lemons, you make lemonade.” Ski’s love for selling comics hasn’t died, as he still counts a handful of people who come to him looking for collectible issues. But he doesn’t see a store like the one he owned in the ’80s surviving in Athens anytime soon. “They’re barely hanging on by the fingernails,” Ski says. “Now if you see a comic book shop, it’s basically run by people who love the hobby, are stuck with an old store and are going down with a slowly sinking ship.”

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Like other forms of media that peaked in popularity long ago, the comic industry has had naysayers for years. In the 1990s, when the price of individual comics was raised and the market flooded with an excess of “collectible” issues, many diehard collectors turned away from the hobby as it became too expensive . Although the film Guardians of the Galaxy, a Marvel series originally published in 1975, debuted at the box office to the recordbreaking tune of $94.3 million, superhero movies such as this have done little to generate sales for comic book shops. Newspapers rely on syndicated classics, such as Charles Schultz’s Peanuts or Jim Davis’ Garfield comic strips, to fill out their Sunday Funnies sections, rather than seeking additions from new artists. The argument that “comics are dying” appears to strengthen with each passing day. And yet, inspired artists have plenty of tools at their disposal if they hope to make a name for themselves. As the Internet has played a key role in killing the financial viability of keeping comic art on the printed page, it has also provided a platform for comic artists to reach a mass audience, communicate with one another and raise funds for future work. Athens resident Chris Monday was able to raise over $5,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to publish his first book, Drink More Water, in 2011, and again for another. He says this kind of support is what pushes him to want to eventually be a big name in the realm of alternative comics. “I want to make a living from it,” Monday says. “As an artist, you want to make something that you want to show somebody. You want them to say ‘that’s awesome,’ so why not have 50,000

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Cover evolution by Terence Hanley

STAGE 1

existed is largely dormant today. “I get the sense that there is a comic book community, but at the same time, I have to say that it’s sort of tepid,” Plunkett says. “You don’t meet a lot of adults who are following comics, or are long time comic books fans.”

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Calvin and Hobbes are named after philosophers John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes.

Bill Watterson drew political cartoons for The Cincinnati Post.

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FEATURE people say that?” Monday, Plunkett, Hanley and Richter all keep a web presence through which to post their art and be the most accessible to fans. Offline, the artists have joined forces through their involvement with Ratha Con, an arts convention in Athens that celebrated its third-annual assembly last May, to try to renew interest in their craft. Kelly Lawrence, the project director behind Ratha Con, has watched as what she calls “a dream of hers” has grown from 100 attendees in its first year to 300 in its most recent. Although the convention has expanded its focus to include other areas of pop-culture, she says she hopes to keep the art, and those behind it, at the forefront of the event. Ask any of the comic artists in Athens, and they’ll tell you that Lawrence’s attitude is reflective of the reason why they ever took to their studios in the first place: what matters most isn’t the money or the fame, but the creative process and reward that comes with bringing a simple sketch to full fruition. “You take a blank piece of paper and you put a black line on it, and it becomes something real that people can appreciate,” Hanley says. “It’s a really good feeling when you create something that has quality and beauty, something that will last 20 to 50 years from now. I guess that’s what I’m shooting for.”

Top comic by Sandy Plunkett | Bottom comic by Chris Monday

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED:

HOW THE COVER WAS MADE: STAGE 1

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STAGE 4

OHIO COMIC CON 2014: OCT. 31–NOV. 2, 2014

Greater Columbus Convention Center 500 N. High St., Columbus, Ohio

CLEVELAND COMIC, CARD & NOSTALGIA SHOW: OCT. 19, 2014

American Legion Hall 22001 Brookpark Rd., Fairview Park, Ohio

BUCKEYE COMIC CON: NOV. 23, 2014

Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark Resort 4560 Hilton Corporate Dr., Columbus, Ohio

RATHA CON: MAY 8–9, 2015

Athens Community Center 701 E. State St., Athens, Ohio

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Ironically, Charlie Brown’s father is a barber.

Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was originally named Lil’ Folks.

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RECIPE

BE YOUR OWN

SIMPLE COSMOPOLITAN

BARTENDER

4 oz. of vodka 2 oz. of triple sec 2 oz. of cranberry juice cocktail with lime

Pour all the ingredients into a shaker with ice and mix well. Strain out the ice and pour mixture into glasses. For the full effect, use martini glasses and swap out the limecranberry juice cocktail with plain cranberry juice and fresh-squeezed limes.

BY COLETTE WHITNEY PHOTOS BY AMANDA PUCKETT

BLUE BAY 2 oz. Blue Curacao 1.5 oz. orange liqueur 4 oz. lemon-lime soda

veryone loves a good cocktail, but few people, except for those token bartenders scattered around campus, know how to make one. Not to mention the extensive list of ingredients you need (what are bitters anyway?). Don’t fall prey to the shameful 12-Natties-a-night routine, and give some of these simple, twoto-three-ingredient drinks a try next Friday. Each recipe serves two, so be friendly and invite a pal over to test out your fabulous new concoctions.

TEQUILA SUNRISE 3 oz. of tequila 1 cup of orange juice

MINT JULEP

A big splash of grenadine

4 oz. of bourbon whiskey 8 fresh mint sprigs 2 tsp. of powdered sugar Muddle, or mash, the mint and powdered sugar together in two glasses. Add a splash of water if necessary. Fill glass with ice cubes and add bourbon. Garnish the glasses with a mint leaf — and your head with a straw hat — and you’re ready to enjoy.

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NO-FUSS DAIQUIRI 4 oz. of light rum 1.5 oz. of limeade

Snoopy has five siblings, named Spike, Belle, Marbles, Olaf and Andy.

Heather is the name of the red head girl from The Peanuts.

Add the Blue Curacao, orange liqueur and soda together and mix. Pour the mixture over two icy glasses. If you don’t want or need to buy a full bottle of orange liqueur, just pick up a couple of the small sample bottles. Garnish with a paper umbrella because you are one fancy coed and your drink should be, too.

Chill two glasses in the freezer for about an hour. When ready, add a few ice cubes and pour 1.5 oz. of tequila into each glass. Divide and pour in the orange juice. Top each with grenadine and garnish with a maraschino cherry, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Pour limeade, rum and ice cubes into a cocktail shaker (or travel coffee mug, for the practical scholar) and shake for about 10 seconds. Strain out the ice cubes as you divide the drink between two glasses. www.backdropmagazine.com

FOOD

SWEET SPICY A husband and wife team up to add an exotic taste to their traditional bakery. BY KERRY CRUMP | PHOTOGRAPHED BY SYDNEY GOOD

ince 2010, Fluff Bakery has been a delectably sweet cornerstone in local dining, attracting Ohio University students and Athens residents who crave its rich, fair-trade coffees and carefully fashioned desserts. But this year, new flavors will join the bakery as it adds some Southeast Asian spice to its menu. Rickshaw Thai, a small restaurant located in The Plains, has been the side project of Fluff owners Jessica and Jason Kopelwitz since April 2013. The restaurant, which features a wide variety of Thai specialties prepared by Jason, sits in an unassuming house in the Eclipse Company Town, just a turn off Route 33. Walking in is like an instant escape from Appalachia. “It’s very cozy. It’s like being in a small New York restaurant, because you’re kind of out and away,” Jessica says. “It’s a different environment than any place uptown.” The couple is about to follow through with an interesting fusion of family business flavors. The eclectic vibe of their Plains restaurant will gradually make its way into Fluff. This school year, Fluff will house Rickshaw Thai in the back section of its bakery.

“We’ve realized that there are other businesses moving in that we need to differentiate ourselves even more from,” Jessica says. Although a bakery and Thai restaurant may not seem like a traditional pairing, it fit in perfectly with Jason and Jessica when they returned to Athens four years ago. “My husband has always had a real interest in Asian food and flavors, especially Thai food. Thai is kind of a mingling of Indian, Korean, and Vietnamese and Japanese,” Jessica explains. “So he started just messing around and we decided to change up what we were doing and opened a restaurant out there with Thai food, because there is no place to get Thai food in Athens.” For Jason, the mixture of flavors that Thai food includes is not about the tradition, but about the creativity. “I love using the fresh strong f lavors found in Thai food. It might include fresh Thai chilies, spices, fish sauce or fresh-cut herbs that give each dish an explosion of layered f lavors,” Jason explains. “I’m not so beholden to ‘authenticity’ or ‘tradition,’ but I want the f lavors of the dish to sing and for people to crave it, which has been happening with Rickshaw Thai in The Plains.” Renovations are already underway to transform Fluff into a space that will seat restaurant-goers while maintaining its reputation as a coffee house and bakery. “The changes we will make in here will be mainly with seating, not really the structure. But you will see stuff happening behind the bar and in the retail area,” Jessica says. Pew-style booths will line the back walls, allowing booth and chair seating for guests. The seating in the front section of the restaurant will be traded out for high-top tables, allowing customers to have Garfield is the world’s most syndicated comic strip.

a waiting area and still embrace the cafe atmosphere and deli experience. “We love the space and the vibe out there but our plans for the new Fluff are very ambitious,” Jason admits. The bakery counter will be transformed into a bar, but it will still house a variety of Fluff’s signature treats. The store acquired a liquor license in May, which it plans on fully utilizing as the restaurant evolves. The couple plans to install a draft system behind the bar, which would allow them to serve the local craft beers that have become a part of the Kopelwitz’s family. “We actually moved down here because Jason was going to be working as a brewer at Jackie O’s. So when we moved down here, he started that, and I opened Fluff,” Jessica says. “He ended up coming and working here because Fluff got way bigger than we expected.” A station to mix cocktails will soon adorn the far end of the counter. The Kopelwitz duo will create several new drinks that will celebrate their bakery’s roots. “We want to do a lot of pairings, and we’re going to start doing boozy milkshakes and espresso drinks with booze, so it gives us a lot more flexibility with what we can do here,” Jessica explains.

“

It’s a fun experience where you could get pad Thai and then a cannoli. It’s ridiculous, but it’s fun and people love it.” Jessica Kopelwitz Owner of Fluff Bakery

The couple plans for certain pairings to complement spicy food, and they want to include wine with desserts. The menu will mimic the menu at Rickshaw’s current location, featuring a full heat scale of curries, pad thai, a spicy cucumber salad and meat specialties. “We serve a lot of dishes out there that have really good balance of flavors, and we do Fluff desserts, so we make it really interesting,” Jessica says. “It’s a fun experience where you could get pad thai and then a cannoli. It’s ridiculous, but it’s fun and people love it.” Fluff will still be open seven days a week throughout the remodeling process. When Rickshaw Thai is fully integrated into the space, the Thai dinner menu will be served Tuesday through Saturday evenings. The restaurant will be open for brunch on Sundays, and will offer their current cafe and bakery items during breakfast and lunch daily. Odie originally belonged to Jon’s roommate, Lyman.

b FITNESS

CYCLE of SERVICE BY BARRETT LAWLIS | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY NICOLE REIKOWSKI

Athletic philanthropist and recent OU graduate, Nicole Reikowski, gears up for a coast-to-coast service trip.

cross-country road trip from Providence, R.I. to Seattle, is exhausting. So many hours behind the wheel can leave travelers numb. Replace that steering wheel with some handlebars and imagine traveling that almost 4,000mile journey on a bike seat. Nicole Reikowski, a 2014 Ohio University graduate, doesn’t have to use her imagination. Reikowski took that challenge over the summer and, as if the trip wasn’t taxing enough, got off of her bike along the way to build houses for the homeless. For 72 days, Reikowski was an active participant in Bike and Build, a national organization partnered with Habitat for Humanity, through which cyclists take 10 days to build homes for the needy as they bike across the country. “Each rider needed to raise $4,500, and once we reached $1,000, we received our bikes,” Reikowski says. She reached out to friends, family and strangers through blogs and letters for fundraising help. Reikowski raised $5,890, easily passing her goal. As she fundraised, she also had to train for the physically demanding trip. Bike and Build sent an informative manual, preparing riders for changing weather, various terrains and endurance techniques.

backdrop | Fall 2014

Michael Clevidence, an exercise physiology lecturer with a passion for cycling, shared some details on what riders would face in this cross-country journey. “The biggest challenges for these riders are with exercise, equipment and environment,” Clevidence says. Riders would cover about 55 miles per day. The athletes aim for endurance and work at a slow pace to reach their goals. He stresses that a rider’s two biggest concerns are proper exercise and his or her readiness for the environment. Partaking in Bike and Build requires a balance of physical and psychological training. Clevidence compares this combination of training to that of a marathon runner. He says that as the marathon approaches, runners will push for longer and longer distances until they know they can reach the 26.2 mile-mark. “Not only are they improving their physiology, but they are also keeping their confidence up. They know they are able to run the race. That’s why Bike and Build needs more than just physical training,” Clevidence says. In order for the cyclists to adjust to long-distance riding, the organization recommends that riders each complete 500 miles before they depart, with at least one 65-mile Garfield the cat was born in an Italian restaurant.

trip under their belts. “The only miles that counted toward that goal were the miles completed outside of the gym,” Reikowski says. Riders are asked to complement their increased biking with focused workout routines targeting the upper body and legs. Clevidence believes it is necessary to encourage all-around fitness to make the entire trip manageable, especially on the days when riders would construct houses. The dramatic shift in long-distance riding to hands-on labor would strain the riders’ bodies. The riders spent two build days in Youngstown, Ohio. On the first day, they worked on raising walls in a new home. Reikowski explains that the team was broken into groups. Each member of the group was assigned a task to complete and she was responsible for assembling one of the walls. “Most of it was nailing wood together. The build days were hot, and everyone was hungry,” Reikowski recalls. “On days when we were riding, we could stop and eat. Otherwise, building was just as hard as riding.” Clevidence says that despite the daunting distance, riders fare well throughout the trip because biking is not load-bearing. Compared to long-distance runners, who constantly endure high levels of ground impact, cyclists’ only encounter resistance from the effort it takes to propel the bike forward. Because Bike and Build requires such The TV show version of Baby Blues was cancelled after eight episodes.

low intensity in that respect, bikers receive large benefits to their cardio and their muscular endurance. The second challenge, the environment, proved to be a difficult task for Reikowski. She recounts one day of riding that nearly drained her teammates. They were riding for 100 miles in a stretch of high heat and humidity. “We were in Wyoming, and had finished our first 33 miles by 10:30. And then the wind hit us,” Reikowski says, adding that the wind was blowing at 45 mph. The cyclists formed a streamline to fight the wind, but even when using this tactic, the ride was excruciatingly long. “In order to acclimate to changes in environment, like increased heat and humidity, athletes should work in environments similar to what they will be experiencing,” Clevidence says. Indoor training facilities work just fine, but if a facility is not available, training athletes can wear a few additional layers of clothing during their workouts. “It still surprises me that I did [Bike and Build]. I mean, just a few months ago I was in Seattle. And I remember thinking that just two and a half months before that I was putting the tire on my bike in Rhode Island,” Reikowski says. As challenging as it was, she was excited to be a part of it. “I’d like to do it again, which sounds crazy, I know, but it was a fantastic ride. We’ll just have to see what the future holds for me.”

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SEX & HEALTH

S R A E G N I D LEN S R A E Y 0 5 R O F

A lot of things can change during half a century, but the quality of care at Counseling and Psychological Services has not.

Erika Gray, Psy.D.

BY NICK HARLEY | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

hio University is usually loud, bustling with energy and a communal spirit. It can be easy to get lost in the shuffle, in the noise. When everyone else seems to be having a blast, set on a path with the future figured out, your own uncertainty can be amplified, feeling underwhelmed and overwhelmed all at once. It can trap you inside of yourself. Without an outlet to voice your neuroses and fears drowning out the sound can seem like the only choice. Except it’s not.

SUDDEN ANNIVERSARY

For 50 years, Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), located on the third floor of Hudson Health Center, has been providing students a safe place to make themselves heard. The center offers one–on–one, couple and group counseling for students facing a multitude of issues, ranging from homesickness and dealing with a break-up to eating disorders and anger management problems. The many years of dedicated service is quite the accomplishment, but the anniversary almost came and went by unnoticed. “The way we found out [about the anniversary] was really crazy,” Dr. Fred Weiner, director of CPS, says. Weiner is sitting in his spacious office, clad in a casual green polo with his name and occupation stitched in white. He has just spent the day volunteering, helping freshmen move into their dorms on an overcast afternoon in late August. His voice is soft and welcoming, but turns booming when making a joke. It was when Weiner helped with a different move-in that he discovered the center’s anniversary. After renovations were completed in Hudson Health Center, the

“

“I think a lot of people may think that going to counseling is a scary thing. It’s not. If you’ve got something that’s bothering you, come in and chat it out.”

backdrop | Fall 2014

staff began moving boxes and resources back from Cady Hall, and in a box of old notes, one memo stood out. “It was dated in like, ’67, but the memo had to do with the fact that the center had opened three years prior, and from that we deduced it was our 50th anniversary,” Weiner recalls. “Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have even paid attention to it.” Weiner has been with Counseling and Psychological Services for 47 years, starting his work in 1967. At the time, the center operated like a private practice; students were able to come for as many sessions as they’d like, essentially having their own private therapist, and the university was loosely affiliated. In the time since, collegiate mental health has emerged as a specialty in the medical world. With mental health issues slowly becoming destigmatized in society, universities everywhere have quickly developed counseling centers to give students with all needs the ability to prosper.

WELL-EQUIPPED

The services offered at OU are vast but specific. When queried about all the programs available, outreach and consultation coordinator Erika Gray, Psy.D., asks, “How much time do you have?” Warm and friendly, Gray’s enthusiasm for CPS is infectious, and she rattles off information in an easy to digest, inspired fashion. Group counseling is offered for a number of different problems, the most serious among them being for victims of sexual assault. The center provides outreach for the entire campus, teaching residential assistants faculty and staff how to best support students in crisis. The center also serves as an extensive training program, hosting doc-

The anime Fullmetal Alchemist surpassed the point the original manga had reached.

toral interns from all over the country, as well as graduate students and practicum trainees. Students have access to support 24/7, including services on weekdays during normal business hours from 9:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. During that time, drop-in appointments can be scheduled to establish care or to tackle crisis situations. Regular therapy occurs between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but students can also attend “Let’s Talk” hours at Jeff Hall, with a counselor in residence, for individual consultation Sunday through Friday between 5 and 10 p.m. “We’ve all been at [residential halls] in the wee hours of the morning,” Gray says. Lately, she has been hard at work supporting the launch of the new Gatekeeper Program, created by her colleague, Dr. Krystal Hernandez. The program is a suicide prevention initiative that will train students on how to adequately care for someone having suicidal thoughts. Gray hopes to see everyone at OU become a Gatekeeper. “I think a lot of people may think that going to counseling is a scary thing. It’s not. If you’ve got something that’s bothering you, come in and chat it out,” Gray says.

EVOLVING ISSUES

The things that bother students these days are far different from what Dr. Weiner saw in the ’60s. By his assessment, most students during that time visited the center in a search for self-awareness, but that’s not often the case today. “Now, [when] students come, they’re far less interested in self-exploration and enhancing self-awareness,” he reports. “They are more likely to be seeking help for specific concerns, and they want that help, and then they’re done.” Dr. Weiner looks at the changes in the culture and soci-

The art style for Astro Boy is based upon Walt Disney’s cartoons.

ety as to why that shift has occurred. The freedoms available to students can be overwhelming, and parents can be overbearing, which can lead to prolonged adolescence. “I think this trend has accelerated, since [parents] sense how stressful life has become for them, how stressful life has become for their kids,” Weiner says. “They become way more involved in their kids’ lives, and what’s happened as a consequence is that, in their involvement, they become overprotective. They do things for their student that my parents never would have done.” The emergence of psychotropic medication has been another major development at CPS. The facility employs two psychiatrists who can prescribe medication to assist with mental health issues. The availability of medication has given students, who otherwise never would have been able to go away for college, the chance to succeed. “I would say that almost a huge percentage of people that come to the counseling center have already been on medication, been in therapy or counseling way before they come here,” Weiner says. “So what’s happened is you see a lot more severe pathology now than you did 30 years ago.” Over the course of the 50 years that the center has been operating, CPS has become an integral part of the Bobcat Family. “It’s another reason why you should send your son or daughter here,” Dr. Weiner assures. “They’re going to get taken care of.” If students need to connect with a counselor after normal business hours, they can reach one by calling the main number at 740-593-1616.

www.backdropmagazine.com

SEX & HEALTH

NUTRITION IMPOSSIBLE As schedules get busier, the chances of eating a healthy, cooked meal often get slimmer. If your cravings are getting the best of your diet, here’s how to work it off around campus. BY ALYSSA PASICZNYK | ILLUSTRATIONS BY JESSICA SHOKLER

Pigskin: Deep Fried Pickle Spears with Ranch

510 Calories

961 Calories*

Biking around campus for an hour:

581 7 19 32 16 152 11 6 6 109

Walking up Morton Hill: Walking up Jeff Hill: Jogging a lap around Goldsberry Track – 400 meters (1/4 mile): Jogging a lap around Ping’s Track – 200 meters (1/8 mile):

Walking up the stairs behind Seigfred: Dave-Raving (20 minutes):

265 544 181

Using an elliptical (30 minutes at 15 resistance): Kickboxing Class at Ping (45 minutes): Yoga Class at Ping (one hour):

These workout results were calculated using the average American 18 to 20-year-old female’s weight, about 130 pounds, and the average American 18 to 20-year-old male’s weight, about 160 pounds.

380 472 6 16 26 13 124 9 5 5 88 228 442 147

FRUITS

VEGETABLES

DAIRY GRAINS

PROTEIN

Bagel Street Deli: Tom’s Turkey

Domino’s: Medium Pizza

1,720 Calories

538 Calories*

Jimmy Johns: 8” Pepe

Habibi’s: Gyro

598 Calories

590 Calories* Brenen’s: Chicken Court-On-Blue on a Croissant

Whit’s: One Cup of Vanilla Frozen Custard

440 Calories

726 Calories*

Donkey: 16 oz. Spiced Chai Tea Latte with 2% milk

240 Calories*

468

Walking up Richland Ave. Bridge:

740 Calories

Wendy’s: Single Cheeseburger and Value Fry

Running the entire Hocking Adena Bikeway (3.7 miles):

Taking the outdoor stairs next to Baker Center:

Chipotle: Chips and Guacamole

1,038 Calories*

CALORIES BURNED:

Walking at a brisk pace for 20 minutes:

RESTAURANTS: Big Mama’s: Chipotle Ranch Mama

CAMPUS WORKOUTS:

Latte

Insomnia Cookies: Chocolate Chunk Cookie

230 Calories

To burn off a Big Mama’s Chipotle Ranch Mama, it would take: (pick one) 148 trips up Morton Hill

79 laps around Ping’s track

3 hours of walking around campus

To burn off one can of Natty Light, it would take: (pick one) 11 trips up the steps behind Seigfred Hall

2 laps running around Goldsberry Track

Running about 1 mile on the Hocking Adena Bikeway

To burn off one Brenen’s Chicken Court-on-Blue on a Croissant, it would take: (pick one) 40 trips up Jeff Hill

Over an hour and a half walking around campus

48 laps around Ping’s track

To burn off one Bagel Street Deli Tom’s Turkey, it would take: (pick one) Jackie O’s: Mystic Mama

210 Calories

The Pub: Grapefruit Punch 217 Calories

12 oz. Blue Moon 164 Calories 12 oz. Natty Light 157 Calories 12 oz. Miller Light 96 Calories

Rum and Coke 154 Calories Vodka Cranberry 130 Calories Whiskey Sour 162 Calories

*These restaurants did not provide nutrition information. Results displayed were calculated after researching ingredients and their estimated servings.

backdrop | Fall Spring 2014 2014

Mort Walker based the characters from Beetle Baily on his fraternity brothers.

107 trips up the Richland Ave. Bridge

Over an hour and a half walking around campus

1 kickboxing class at Ping

To burn off one Insomnia Chocolate Chunk Cookie, it would take: (pick one) 40 minutes “Dave-Raving”

30 minutes of biking

30 minutes on the elliptical

To burn off one order of Pigskin’s Fried Pickle Spears, it would take: (pick one) 6 yoga classes

120 trips up the stairs outside of Baker Center

Blondie was originally sillier while Dagwood was the more serious character.

2 hours of biking www.backdropmagazine.com

LEFT

PHOTO ESSAY

Shotguns waiting for repair or refurbishment stand in a rack in the workshop on Aug. 1, 2014.

RIGHT

Apprentice Joseph Frearson operates a machine in order to shape a piece of wood into the stock of the shotgun at the workshop. Each segment of the gun was created separately by each of the smiths and then assembled at a later date.

BELOW

Production manager and lead gunsmith, Mark Frearson, monitors the progress of his apprentice Joseph Frearson on the stock of a gun. John Dickson & Son hired Mark as the lone gunsmith when the company started production again in its home country, Scotland, 12 years ago.

ARTISAN ARTILLERY A Scottish gunsmith’s labor of love is the trigger for these beautifully crafted guns.

PHOTOS BY JILLY BURNS

Originally established in 1820, John Dickson & Son is Scotland’s leading producer of sporting guns. The company creates two world–famous shotguns, the Dickson Round Action and the McNaughton bar-in-wood shotgun. The company produces four expensive shotguns a year and takes about 1,000 man-hours to complete one firearm with four gunsmiths working.

backdrop | Fall 2014

LEFT

Apprentice Joseph Frearson drills holes into the stock of the shotgun in order to attach the butt piece onto the wood.

RIGHT

Mark Frearson works on repairing the barrel of a shotgun in the workshop. Toward the end of July, the workshop has an influx of guns to repair in preparation for the Glorious Twelfth — the opening day of red grouse hunting season, Aug. 12

BELOW

A trigger plate lies among tools in the workshop.

RIGHT

ABOVE The company’s renowned round–action segment of the shotgun sets on the workbench waiting to be assembled into a gun.

Ron Stewart, store manager, shows a shotgun to customer Peter Sneddon.

LEFT

In the showroom, Ron Stewart reaches for one of the many used guns to show to a customer. As well as guns, the showroom also offered shooting accessories, archery products and Barbour outdoor clothing.

backdrop | Fall 2014

Hägar is of Norwegian descent.

The name of every member of Hägar’s family starts with “H.”

www.backdropmagazine.com

GANNETT

b DROPPING IN IN b DROPPING

CUSTOM MEDIA

VICTORIA’S

BY COLETTE WHITNEY

SECRET BY ALEXIS JOHNS

Victoria’s Secret — A look into the company that puts on the most dazzling fashion show of the year. A summer writing and connecting at one of the world’s largest media companies.

ngels, wings, lingerie, swimwear and fragrance: all things that hardly fit my tomboy personality and all the things I immersed myself in for 10 weeks. Thanks to the power of Bobcat networking, I was asked to come in for an interview with Victoria’s Secret’s social media marketing team. I drove to my interview in Columbus nervous and unsure if I would fit in but drove away crossing my fingers that I would get the position. Before I knew it, I was committed to living in Columbus for the summer and waking up early for intern orientation. On that first day, all interns gathered for an exciting introduction of the company. Even without the incredibly fun carnival — oversized PINK dog, angel wings, a PINK vending machine and amazing food included — it was made clear from the start that interns were unequivocally treated as full-time associates. We were eligible to participate in sample sales, office events and team Pelotonia (cancer fundraisers). My personal favorite perk? Food Truck Fridays. At the end of the week, three or four food trucks were brought to the office for lunch. From Gigi’s Cupcakes to the Cheesy Truck, I was outside every Friday afternoon for a treat. All of this underscores the idea that happy employees make for a successful company. I had endless opportunities to network with several people from different departments, and one obvious takeaway from each meeting was these members’ sincere passion for the company. While the company culture stimulates ambitious,

backdrop | Fall 2014

hard-working employees, everyone is also genuine and willing to teach. Victoria’s Secret offered a leadership series for interns to create Q&A opportunities with various department leaders. The statement that resonated with me during this series was “Do good while you’re doing well.” It all fits into the benevolent nature of the company as a whole. Aside from the impressive culture and networking opportunities, I learned more than I could have imagined. Within a day, I was sitting in on a fashion show brainstorming session and learning how to utilize Victoria Secret’s Pinterest account. My team allowed me to take initiative in different areas, answered all my questions and encouraged me to touch base with other professionals. There was never a time where I was afraid to speak up or ask a question. They took my perspective and ideas to heart, some of which were even successfully implemented. I had the opportunity to research and present two different projects. For one of these projects, I was able to take a day-trip to New York City via the LBrands jet. My experience ended with an extremely detailed review where they explained what I did well and what opportunities I could pursue. All in all, working for Victoria’s Secret was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had. The last day was the definition of bittersweet. Although I was incredibly sad to leave after an insightful summer, I can only hope it’s more of a “see you later.” For now, I am happy to be back in Athens for one last round. In Dilbert, it is never revealed what the company produces.

he search for a summer internship is a daunting, harrowing task. Last April, I, along with many of my peers, was in the thick of it, sending out a resume a day and watching my self-esteem plummet with every unreturned email. But then I found an opening to be an editorial intern at Gannett Custom Media in Northern Virginia. One month later, I was walking through the gleaming front doors of Gannett headquarters. Gannett Custom Media is a facet of Gannett, an international multimedia company, which is arguably best known for its ownership of USA Today and rocking CEO Gracia Martore. My office where I worked for the past summer produced USA Today premium publications, or lifestyle magazines that came out every two to four weeks, compiles a weekly shopping newspaper that goes out with Gannett papers, and has just started doing native advertising, or producing web content for clients. During my short, 12-week internship, I became a true part of the custom media team. I wrote articles for the magazines, assembled product pieces for the shopping newspaper, fact-checked and copy edited pieces and networked with reporters, editors and other professionals within the publication. It was exhilarating to be part of a company that prides itself on its top-notch media content, happy and driven employees and general goodwill. It is a place where inAfter The Monkees refused to play “Sugar, Sugar,” Archie’s fake band did.

novation is not only encouraged, but also cultivated; where interns are not only appreciated but respected and sought after. My time at Gannett was incredible, (hopefully) instilling in me the tools for success in the journalism industry. I learned about being a good team player, when to speak up and when to lay low, about being responsible for assignments and having grace in moments of failure — all valued and crucial skills for young people to learn. They are attributes for which I will always be thankful to the team at Gannett Custom Media. But I couldn’t have accomplished any of that without my background at Backdrop magazine. I’ve only been on the magazine’s staff for a year, joining as a junior to write stories and have since become an associate editor. I wouldn’t have known how to write, edit or plan a magazine without Backdrop. It fosters new talent and values hard work and camaraderie and snappy news stories. My quick assimilation into the Backdrop world taught me so much about what it means to be a writer and how to be a constructive part of something bigger than myself. It’s a process we all undergo together. We cumulatively become better professionals because we help each other along the way. I never would have had my excellent Gannett summer without Backdrop magazine.

www.backdropmagazine.com

EXHIBIT A

exhibit A

RANT & RAGE

Mimic. By: Andrew Downing | Junior It flashes, Two seconds, Maybe you see it for more. It’s still there, You know it, It disappeared to be cruel. You’ll stick around, For one quick glance, To see it soar again. From space, Possibly even heaven, Beauty indeed it is. You’ll seem small, Less important, When it decides to show.

By: Mark Clavin

By: Mary Lauletta | Sophomore By: Mary Lauletta

It shines, As most do, This is much different. Time will stop, Or so it seems, Your mind will continue to race. Just as it came, It fades, Without a warning at all. One more time, Please, Inside you will beg.

By: Mark Clavin | Graduate Student

A shooting star, Her smile, The same exact thing.

WANT TO BE FEATURED IN EXHIBIT A? Please email a short author bio, written piece and ideas for artwork to backdropmag@gmail.com.

backdrop | Fall 2014

Earlier this year, Archie was killed off in his own comic.

Dick Tracy introduced a two-way radio Smart Watch in 1946.

www.backdropmagazine.com

PHOTO HUNT

All the world’s a stage, but some of the props are out of place. Find the differences between these two images of the Mem Aud!

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 44

backdrop | Fall 2014

6. The first ever webcomic, Witches and Stitches, was published in 1985.

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b MEET US!

BY ANDREW DOWNING

’ll admit it: I’ve blatantly disregarded some of my family members. I’ve cut them off from my life and haven’t looked back. I’ll be completely honest — it feels great. I know what you’re probably thinking, “How can he be so cruel? I’m sure his family loves him.” Now, I’ll tell you what I’m thinking: “Are you f*****g kidding me? Another FarmVille request? This is bull sh*t.” Before you get any crazy ideas, let me set the record straight. When I say that I’ve cut them off, I’m specifically talking about deleting them from my list of friends on Facebook. It sounds like such a minuscule and petty ripple in the water, but let me be clear — it’s a ripple that can cause a tidal wave of happiness. You’ll feel free from the restraints bound to you by the never-ending notifications you receive. You’ll no longer feel the need to poison the mashed potatoes at the next family Thanksgiving because Aunt (insert cliche older lady name) decided to ask you to play Candy Crush last Tuesday. And by deleting them from being associated with your online self, you’ll no longer feel bad about ignoring them when they ask to play Bubble Gum Bingo or whatever the hell it’s called. I will give people the benefit of the doubt. I admit I used to play some Facebook games myself. They were pretty fun. I will also admit that was around the time when Crocs were cool and I wore Silly Bandz around my wrists…you see where I’m going with this. If you send me one game request, I guess I’ll understand. Emphasis on the word “one.” But I find it hard to believe that after 20 times of being asked to loan you an apple for your farm, I’m going to think, “You know what? I’m going to give you a f*****g apple! Because if you’re happy, I’m happy!” No. It doesn’t work like that. Or maybe I’m just Scrooge when it comes to giving you coins to get to your next level. Oops. So, this is my letter, urging you to stand up for yourself. Don’t feel obligated to keep your mom’s uncle, or the kid you sat next to on the bus in high school, on your newsfeed. A notification-less Facebook is just a few clicks away.

Two comic strips named Dennis the Menace debuted the same month.

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