Fall 2013 (Vol. 7 Issue 2) by Backdrop Magazine

backdrop magazine

FALL 2013

BUILDING A LEGACY

BUILDING A LEGACY.

ON YOUR OWN BUT NOT ALONE

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Backdrop magazine has evolved since its founding in 2007. We went from printing three issues per year to four. We went from spelling out Backdrop on the top of the magazine to a simple, yet stylish “b.” And in our time as a student-run publication, we have had one themed issue: The Social Issue. Now, I introduce you to our second.

Building A Legacy is about all things Ohio University. There is a reason blog posts about missing Athens appear frequently and in high popularity on our Facebook timelines. To be a Bobcat means to be a part of something beyond us. If you meet someone who says they go to OU, an instant bond is formed. This bond stems from more than just the obvious Court Street, spring fests and Halloween experiences. Athens has history that has aged like the worn away face of the plentiful bricks that line our streets. Backdrop wanted to explore our history to see how we evolved into the institution we are today. As you flip through our pages, we hope it feels like a journey. There’s more to the bond of being a Bobcat than you may realize. Travel with us through big moments in our school’s history and you may connect to our campus in a whole new way. There’s a lot of progress that has been made since 1804. Experience the building of a legacy 200 years in the making. But what this legacy becomes is up to us. I have no doubt that taking a trip down memory lane will help us shape a great future.

Until next time,

SEE THE PHOTO STORY

PAGE 8

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Melissa Thompson CO-MANAGING EDITORS

Chris Longo & Sara Portwood

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR

Nick Harley

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Zak Kolesar & Kaitlyn Richert CONTRIBUTORS Alyssa Pasicznyk, Andrew Downing, Andy Alexander, Cheyenne Buckingham, Chris Longo, Chris Manning, Colette Whitney, Derek Smith, Dillon Stewart, Jacob McCarty, Jake Zuckerman, Jordan Simmons, Kerry Crump, Kyle Ellis, Nick Harley, Patrick Fahey, Sara Portwood, Sarah Kahler, Jacob Betzner, Zach Berry, Zak Kolesar

Julianne Mobilian

Olivia Reaney ADVERTISING DESIGNER Morgan Decker MARKETING DESIGNER Karlee Proctor

Amanda Puckett ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Brice Nihiser

PHOTO CONTRIBUTOR Karissa Conrad

FALL 2013 » VOLUME 7 ISSUE 2

Staples of Athens Get carried away by the rich appeal of our university’s wistful landmarks.

The Place Behind the Face We’ll bet you didn’t know that these famous individuals are Bobcats.

Check out how the women’s movement at OU has been paving the way for gender equality since the 1960s.

ART DIRECTOR

PHOTO EDITOR

Our photo story documents Ohio University’s quiet evolutions.

Waves of 16 Change

COPY TEAM Colette Whitney, Alyssa Pasicznyk

DESIGN TEAM Alexa Hayes, Billy Anneken, Cassandra Fait, Jessie Shokler, Katelyn Boyden, Natasha Ringnalda, Stephanie Zolton, Tory Prichard

Then and Now

FEATURES »

COPY EDITOR

Emilee Kraus

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BACKTRACK »

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Melissa Thompson Editor-in-Chief backdropmag@gmail.com

State of 20 Action CORRECTION: Backdrop magazine sincerely apologizes to both our readers and our contributor, Julia Moss, for our inaccurate portrayal of the lead photograph for the feature, “A Large Tradition” in the previous issue of Backdrop (p. 38). The editor who flipped the photo is new to our staff and made a serious mistake. In addition to correcting the error, we will be taking steps to ensure our staff members get better training and more oversight with regard to proper use of photographs. Backdrop magazine is committed to providing our campus ethically sound content, and we thank our readers for keeping us alert and attentive. A corrected version of the previous issue is available online at backdropmag.com. Baker Center is named in honor of John Calhoun Baker, the 14th president of Ohio University.

Dive into the student activism and pivotal protests that crowded Athens in the early 1970s.

Cover design by Emilee Kraus & Olivia Reaney

Ohio University Airport shuttle services

b ENTERTAINMENT » PUBLISHER

Alexis Johns

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Kerry Crump

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Angela Ignasky

ASSISTANT MARKETING DIRECTOR

Becca Zook

MARKETING TEAM Alyssa Keefe, Jake Zukerman

WEB EDITOR

Jacob Betzner Zak Kolesar

SPORTS WEB EDITOR

Chris Manning

ONLINE PHOTO EDITOR

Daniel Rader

SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Virginia Ewing VIDEO TEAM Carly Maurer

DISTRIBUTION/ALUMNI COORDINATOR

Rose Troyer

Ohio University Transportation & Parking Services 100 Factory Street Athens, Ohio 45701

740-593-1611

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Stop by one of our weekly meetings, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. in Scripps Hall 111.

FALL 2013 » VOLUME 7 ISSUE 2

Sound of Fury Backdrop Opinion: One writer contemplates why musical history should have students expecting more from the acts brought to campus.

SNAPSHOT »

Pending Parole The release of the man who killed a fellow OU student in 1983 may be determined this year.

LEGACY »

ENTERTAINMENT WEB EDITOR

Prices starting at $35 Any day & any time

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Set ‘Em Free, McGee Meet the man that makes every cent of your $12 legal fee worth it.

Rite of Spring Ever wonder how the notorious Palmer Fest got its start? We dug through the history of spring fests.

SPORTS »

34 40 42 44 47

The Unusual Suspects Our sports rewind breezes through the recollections of the 1993-1995 Ohio Basketball teams.

Hot4Backdrop Nestle into Athens nostalgia with two of our former editors-in-chiefs.

Sounds Like: Papadosio Find out how electronic rock ’n’ roll influences the tunes of this long-time local band.

On the Web Andy Alexander shares his memories of Athens and the potential it has.

Exhibit A See Backdrop’s best Exhibit A entries since our first issue. Photo provided by The Athens Messenger

b BACKTRACK // PHOTO ESSAY PHOTOS BY ANDREW DOWNING & PROVIDED BY UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES, MAHN CENTER FOR ARCHIVES, AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OHIO UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES.

Athens has evolved frame-by-frame over the last 200 years. See how beloved Athens landmarks have—or—haven’t changed with a snapshot of then and now.

THEN NOW 8

backdrop | Fall 2013

Every time you lick a stamp, you’re consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

Humans are the only primates that don’t have pigment in the palms of their hands.

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BACKTRACK // PHOTO ESSAY

PREVIOUS PAGE: TOP

LEFT & BELOW:

College Green plays host to three of the oldest buildings on campus: Cutler, McGuffey and Wilson Hall.

With the addition of a press box, Peden Stadium still hosts the Ohio University football team for home games on the Hocking River.

PREVIOUS PAGE: BOTTOM

BOTTOM:

The Athena on Court Street has hosted films for the Athens community since 1915.

Behind Alden Library hides one of the many peaceful brick-laid paths for students to stroll to class.

RIGHT & BELOW:

Layers of old paint cover the graffiti wall as a reminder of the student artists who have painted it in the past.

backdrop | Fall 2013

Baker University Center has five floors, plus a two-story parking garage (the bottom floor is underground.)

More than 345,000 bricks were used in constructing Baker Center.

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b BACKTRACK

Staples of

ATHENS

BY COLETTE WHITNEY alking along the crisscrossing brick paths on College Green, people see the sun bursting through dozens of old trees, casting light on the objects and traditions that define Athens. That is, besides the lingering scent of stale beer and the muddled aftermath of a night out at Ohio University. But any student, alumni or faculty member will ardently insist that there is more to our campus than partying. There are richer and more sacred staples and traditions that characterize the Athens experience.

THE ATHENS BRICKS Athens bricks pave almost every drivable surface on campus and are the most classically Athenian identifier of OU. “The thing that brings your college years back to you is walking on the bricks,” says Jennifer Bowie, Executive Director of Development, Advancement Communication and Marketing at OU. “There’s something about those brick pathways and the way they catch the toe of your shoe, the way that they slope and you have to be careful where you’re going, I think it just brings all that emotion back… the bricks just mean Athens.” The Athens Brick Company is responsible for these numerous living artifacts. Founded in 1891, it churned out the celebrated Athens Block bricks and was located at the end of what is now Court Street. The company eventually

backdrop | Fall 2013

stopped manufacturing bricks due to the development of asphalt and World War I, which required the brick makers to serve overseas. “They help tell our history of this area and a lot of places people don’t know anything about,” says Ron Luce, Executive Director of the Athens County Historical Society and Museum. “It was a whole different era,” Luce says, referencing his own collection of Athens Block bricks on display in his office. Luckily for Athenians and OU students, reminders of this proud venture are never far away and remain distinctive features of the Athens scenery. Both Bowie and Luce insist that the senior tradition of stealing an Athens brick is harmful to the city and university. However, artful renditions of the bricks are made by the Athens Block Company and are available at Lamborn’s on West State Street. If you want an authentic brick, they are often up for bid on eBay, or you can seek some out from local brick collectors. “It’s what makes those memories really come back, all of a sudden. If it’s been five years, ten years, 25 years since you’ve been to campus, you feel like you’ve never left once you start walking across them,” Bowie says. “That’s what it feels like to be in college. There’s something really special about it.”

larity and fell out of practice. “For folks at that time, it was sort of a sacred spot where, if you were in a fraternity, you lavaliered your girlfriend or pinned your girlfriend or proposed to your girlfriend, stuff like that,” Bowie says about past generations of OU students. Now, more than anything, the Kissing Circle is known for its ro-

THE KISSING CIRCLE

Relics of the past linger on every street block and in every building, but what are the tales behind these timeless treasures?

ing until the 1980s. “But unfortunately… the dial has disappeared.” The dial was later replaced and now stands as a reminder of the steps taken to ensure the education of Ohio’s emerging young adult population. “The sundial was on all the scavenger hunts because nobody knew where it was,” Bowie says. “It’s by Galbreath Chapel and it’s really this sort of hidden special spot…it’s a beautiful piece.”

THE SUNDIAL The little-known sundial tucked away in College Green marks the original spot of OU’s first official building, constructed in 1807. The sundial was placed there in 1907, marking the centenary of that building known as the Athens Academy. Standing there now is the sundial, which has had a rocky history in its own right. “The pedestal has weathered well its first half century,” wrote Robert E. Mahn in the October 1955 issue of the Ohio Alumnus. Mahn had a long career at OU, starting in the late 1930s and last-

The outside stairway along the side of the Baker has 92 steps.

One of the oldest and most romantic OU traditions and landmarks is the Kissing Circle. It was established in the mid-1940s by a student government that desired more traditions. Placed conveniently near the Alumni Gate, it was the perfect spot to bring your date at the end of the evening. “X marks the spot,” wrote student Amy Lipsky in an issue of The Post published on October 18, 1963. “And it also marked the first Kissing Circle. It was a white X on a green background.” The Kissing Circle was not a place to mess around. Rumors and legends circulated. If a couple went to the Kissing Circle and a girl refused a kiss, a massive storm would immediately break out and destroy McGuffey Hall. Needless to say, girls were expected to oblige. This belief quickly died out, along with other peculiar Kissing Circle traditions. “At some unrecorded time, a fraternity sulked to the Circle, slapped its colors on, silently slipped away and started a new tradition,” wrote student Natalie Waugh in an October 5, 1962 issue of The Post. “The rules of the game thereafter, were to let the painted insignia of a group remain for a week before a new one was painted on.” The tradition of tagging the Kissing Circle was strictly confined to that area, but students frequently tested their limits. Eventually, the game itself lost popu-

mantic antiquity and, when the time is right, the web cam is angled at a portion of the circle.

THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS MONUMENT Perhaps the most mysterious landmark on campus is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument located on College Green. It was dedicated on July 4, 1893—in a slightly different condition than it is now—to commemorate those who served in the Civil War. For students, the monument represents

It takes 1:09 minutes for an average walk down the steps on the side of the building

something much simpler—community. “It is just such a picturesque place out there on the green, and people just want to hang out there and sit in the sun and eat a burrito,” Bowie says. “I think the monument has just been a place for people to connect, to sit and gather and just enjoy the sun and the weather on a beautiful Athens day.” Originally, a canon and a supply of cannonballs sat next to the monument and each of the men (a Union sailor, a cavalryman and an infantryman) held a weapon of some sort. Today, there is a severe lack of cannons and weaponry anywhere on or near the monument. The cannon and cannonballs were quickly removed during World War II to contribute to the war effort. They were never replaced. The statue’s weapons have a more tumultuous history. In the 1960s and 1970s, anti-war protests were common. “With all the anti-war protests, it became a place for people to hang banners and, to a certain extent, vandalize,” Luce says. “They were angry that this memorial seemed to be promoting the goodness of war and that sort of thing… They ultimately were taken down because there was fear of them being broken off or stolen.” Unfortunately, they were not recovered after removal until recently. “We have the sword that was held,” Luce says. “There was a rifle somewhere and we thought at one point we had a lead on it, but it ended up going nowhere. It may still be in some dark corner some place in the university, but nobody knows where.” Good news comes in the form of a bronze sword, long lost to Athenians and students alike. A 50-year mystery unravels and a piece of history has returned to a city and school that appreciates it more than most. Photos provided by University Archives, Mahn Center for Archives, and Special Collections Ohio University Libraries.

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POLITICIANS

BACKTRACK

The Place Behind

THE FACE BY SARA PORTWOOD

Edward James Roye

Some familiar icons have walked the same brick pathways as students do today. Discover the root of success for each of these impressive Bobcats.

ATHLETES Lester Carney | 1959

Hailing from Wintersville, Ohio, Lester “Les” Carney was a promising athlete in several fields. While attending Ohio University for a football scholarship, Carney received an AllMid-American Honorable Mention for football, but really found his athletic stride in track and field. He was OU’s first All-American track and field athlete in his graduation year of 1959 and then went on to compete in the 1960 Rome Olympics. He won silver in the men’s 200-meter dash and was the first Bobcat to compete in the Olympic Games.

After graduating summa cum laude from Ohio University in 1998 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts for acting, Piper Perabo became a familiar face in American homes. She was best known for her roles in the films “Coyote Ugly,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “The Prestige” and “Looper,” and has also appeared on TV shows such as “House” and “Law & Order.” Perabo was nominated in 2011 for Best Actress in a Television Series for drama.

OTHER GRADUATES

Steve Swisher Baseball Player

Mike Schmidt’s earliest glory days began at OU. In his final year, he led the baseball team to the College World Series in 1970. In the second round of the 1971 MLB Draft, the Philadelphia Phillies picked Schmidt. He had an incredibly successful career as a third baseman. ESPN and Sports Illustrated both ranked him as the top third baseman of all time. Schmidt unanimously won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award and has earned a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

backdrop | Fall 2013

Cary Bates | 1971

In the height of the Silver Age of comics, Cary Bates contributed as a writer to beloved Marvel Comics and DC Comics heroes. At DC Comics, his work focused on popular protagonists such as The Flash, Superman, Superboy and Captain Atom. Bates occasionally wrote himself into some of his comics The Flash. In one particular issue, he made tribute to his green and white roots. In the 1974 comic, Bates was pulled over for speeding to a class reunion at OU. Just a mile outside of Athens, he was inexplicably thrown into the hometown of The Flash. Bates has since gone on to become an established and admired comic book and film writer.

A fan of Disney could instantly recognize this Bobcat’s voice. After graduating from OU in 1972, Freeman brought his voice-acting talent to Walt Disney Studios in 1992. He voiced the evil sorcerer, Jafar, in “Aladdin” and again for the sequel “The Return of Jafar” in 1994. Later that year, Freeman went on to Broadway where he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance in “She Loves Me.” He appeared in several other musicals such as “The Producers,” “42nd Street,” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and was a part of the original Broadway cast of “The Little Mermaid.”

Lee Rich Film Producer

While attending OU, George Voinovich served as the student body president and then graduated in 1958. He received a law degree from Ohio State University before becoming the Assistant Attorney General of Ohio. Voinovich was later elected mayor of Cleveland in 1980. In 1990, he was nominated by the Republican Party for governorship and won the election. OU commemorated the success of this graduate in 1998 when the Institute of Local Government and Rural Development building was renamed the Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs. In 2007, the Ohio Board of Regents voted to make the facility into a school.

Martin Savidge Journalist

It takes 1:12 minutes to take the escalators from the 4th floor down to the 1st floor if you just ride the escalator and don’t walk as it’s going.

Jenny Holzer | 1972

After attending art classes from Duke University and the University of Chicago, Jenny Holzer settled at Ohio University to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1972. Her abstract art is centered on feminist and inner personal themes. Her most recognizable work comes in the form of massive LED light projections of text. Holzer aspires for her work to be concise and useful to fast paced viewers. Some of her most notable projections were LED displays of phrases like “Protect me from what I want” and “Money creates taste” in New York City. Holzer is a highly distinguished artist being the first female artist to represent the U.S. at the Venice Biennale art exhibition where she won the Golden Lion award.

ATTENDEES

Jonathan Freeman | 1972

Vince Costello Football Player

George Voinovich | 1958

ARTISTS

Mike Schmidt | 1970

ACTORS Piper Perabo | 1998

Edward Roye had the opportunity for a higher education being from a wealthy black family from Newark, Ohio. After attending OU in 1832, Roye left to start a barber business in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1847, Roye took the opportunity to sail to Liberia and live as a merchant in the capital, Monrovia. He climbed the political ladder very quickly and was elected president of Liberia in 1870. Nicknamed “The Lincoln of Liberia” for his reforms, the appreciation for his work would not last. Poor financial planning led to very hard times for the country and Roye was thrown out of office. It is believed that he drowned swimming to a British ship while trying to escape further punishment from his countrymen.

Richard Dean Anderson

This actor found a place at OU for acting, but left before graduating. He went on to become the creative TV icon known as “MacGyver,” his role as the lead of “Stargate SG-1” and as Dr. Jeff Webber on “General Hospital.”

OTHER ATTENDEES

Car Van Anda Journalist

Don King Boxing Promoter

Ed O’Neill

Ed O’Neill received a football scholarship but left OU after his sophomore year and transferred to Youngstown State University. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers but was cut during training. O’Neill then decided to try acting. He is best known for his role as Al Bundy on the sitcom “Married… With Children” and more recently as Jay Pritchett on “Modern Family.” He has also appeared on TV shows such as “Law & Order” and in the movie “Wayne’s World.” O’Neill has won several acting awards and was Emmy-nominated three times.

Nancy Cartwright Voice Actress

If you are able to walk unobstructed down the escalator, it takes 39 seconds to get from the 4th floor to the 1st floor.

Paul Newman Actor

Matt Lauer Journalist

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bbFEATURE NAME OF SECTION

The tide for equality edged in slowly for the women, faculty and students of Ohio University, but left a lasting impact.

WAVES OF

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aking up on a Sunday morning after a late night uptown, one thought crosses the mind of many Bobcats: brunch at one of the dining halls or a quick bite at one of the local diners. Roll out of bed, throw on some sweatpants, a T-shirt that at least smells clean and some flipflops or slippers and head out the door. Now ladies, imagine a rule requiring a Sunday dress, high heels and nylons before filling a tray and finding a seat at the dining hall. Ohio University actually enforced such a rule before a movement in the 1960s striving for gender equality changed the entire makeup of the university. OU issued all freshmen girls a gender-specific handbook outlining rules, regulations and suggestions on how to act and behave in college. This handbook included strict 10 p.m. curfews, suggested sitting while smoking a cigarette and required high heels, nylons and dresses on Sundays at the dining halls. At the same time, the university continually reminded women to behave like a lady to increase the chance of finding a husband. The handbook taught women habits to carry into the workforce and into the home after graduation. Talie Carter, Ohio University Student Senate Women’s Affairs Commissioner says the inequalities faced by women in the 1960s and 1970s no longer exist, but acknowledges the current issues of inequality on campus today, including slut-shaming, victim-blaming, sexual inequality, lack of bystander intervention education and misinterpretation of the feminist movement. “Feminism is seen as kind of a horribly offensive...women who, you know, rage and don’t wear bras, and blah, blah, blah, but it’s really just a movement for equality and it doesn’t necessarily mean for women, but for everyone,” Carter says. Gender inequality at OU took years to overcome but started with one woman. Beverly Jones enrolled at OU in 1964 in the heart of the civil rights movement. She aimed for equality among races, ethnicities and genders and immediately started fighting to reform the archaic rules on campus. “In some ways it made sense at the time, that if girls were to have career opportunities they needed special training to be ladies,” Jones says. “If they didn’t know something about social graces, then it would be tough enough for them to get jobs.” Despite excelling in math and science in high school, Jones decided to major in journalism, a field she says prepared women, specifically, to write for the “Style Section” or “Woman’s Page” of a newspaper or magazine. Jones says teachers encouraged girls to learn math and science for practical reasons, namely cooking and cleaning. Few women majored in the hard sciences, math and engineering, instead favoring fields like nursing and education.

“What really bothered me was when I was doing just as well and getting better grades and feeling like I was every bit as smart as my male colleagues… nobody was encouraging me to go to law school or to continue in the sciences, or to go to business school,” Jones says. Bill Arnold, the Graduate Assistant for Bystander Intervention and Prevention Education at the Women’s Center, explains that modern inequality stems from differences between male and female identities. In order to be taken seriously in the professional world, women need to balance femininity and masculinity while still maintaining a distinctly feminine identity, whereas men only need to follow the rules of masculinity imposed by society. “There’s this kind of double bind that women kind of fall into that men don’t so much,” Arnold says. “If I can live up to that ideal of masculinity well enough, like, I’m good, but if you’re a woman, you still have to be a lady in the streets and a freak in the sheets, and you can’t be both all the time.” Jones saw a need for gender equality and started writing articles and features emphasizing gender and racial equality for The Post. She eventually placed an advertisement in the newspaper calling for a gathering of women to discuss gender equality and rights on campus. Three women showed up for the first meeting, essentially establishing the first womencentric group on campus outside of Greek life. “I pushed my way out of my comfort zone earlier than I would have and I didn’t particularly want to go around and speak to classes and be made fun of and all of those things, but I made this commitment that I would do one thing every day,” Jones says.

“

OU is the ninth-oldest public university in the United States.

If women want true equality, then they need to be willing to give up some of these stigmas that they’re placing on men as well. If I don’t want to be held to Barbie standards, men should not have to be held to G.I. Joe standards.” Talie Carter Ohio University Student Senate Women’s Affairs Commissioner

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FEATURE

During her graduate studies, Jones worked as a reporter at WOUB, the public broadcasting station on campus. She created a weekly radio program that focused on the accomplishments of women in power. “It wasn’t a program that focused on the issues. I just tried to focus on women of achievement,” Jones says. “Who’s a woman that’s making contributions in this community? And how can we shine lights on what women are doing?” Jones says political activism, particularly focused on the war, developed in Athens, along with a fledgling movement for equal rights among genders. The anti-Vietnam War movement dominated the student population, especially among the influx of drafteligible men who enrolled at the university as a deferment. The movement echoed a national striving for the same goals. Arnold says feminism came in waves, making big splashes of progress, change and reform before receding slightly and making room for another crash.

The first wave, which lasted from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, involved women striving for legislative equality including suffrage, the right to vote and the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. The second wave, which matched up with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 1970s, built off newfound legislative equality and strived for a fuller equality. Carter says women standing up for themselves in a time of extreme oppression combined with their ability to build a movement students still talk about 40 years later provoked new thought and helped construct a new set of beliefs among women. Arnold says the second wave helped women overcome less tangible inequalities. “I see the second wave as kind of an extension of the first wave, in terms of, like, trying to write the social inequalities, which were in a large part produced by the legal inequalities,” Arnold says. After spending an entire college

THE WOMEN’S HANDBOOK 1. The most important thing about being a college woman is being a lady. 2. The coed is ladylike in the classroom, at parties and on campus. 3. Be reliable—don’t accept dates you don’t want to. Never break a date–not even for coffee.

4. A woman should be ready for dates. 5. PDA (Public Display of Affection) should be PDA (private display of affection). Ohio University gave incoming freshmen men and women a gender-specific handbook. While the men’s handbook, “You, The College Man,” was only 22 pages long, the women’s handbook, “You, The Coed,” was 76. The women’s handbook both encouraged ladylike behavior and administered strict, womanspecific rules.

6. A woman doesn’t ignore a man’s attempt to light her cigarette or to offer his arm. 7. A woman doesn’t shake hands with other women unless the hand is offered. 8. Women students may not leave their housing units until 7 a.m. 9. Sunday through Thursday night ‘lates,’ midnight permissions, are graded on the basis of the previous semester’s point average.

10. Women must wear a dress, skirt, blouse, or sweater. Casual attire may not be worn unless designated by the professor.

backdrop | Fall 2013

Vernon R. Alden Library serves the Athens campus as the central library facility and seats 3,000 people.

career dedicated to perpetuating the waves of the movement, Jones made the most impact working for former OU President Claude Sowle. Sowle heard about the vigorous activism on campus for gender equality led by Jones and devised a plan to correct the injustices. Sowle asked Jones to spend 18 months scouring the campus for inequalities between men and women and tell administration how to fix, or at least improve, the problems. “It was very forward-thinking and unusual of him,” Jones says. “[President Sowle] called me into his office, and he said, ‘I hear your name everywhere and it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. It’s time to do something.’” From women in administration to female students and female custodial workers, Jones interviewed over 90 women on campus, searching for unequal treatment, and discovering inequalities in yearly salaries, educational and professional opportunities and general freedoms. Jones compiled the information and made recommendations to the university on how to improve life for women on campus. She presented the suggestions in a way President Sowle, a trained lawyer, clearly understood and published the “Report on the Status of Women at Ohio University” in 1972. By 1975, Ohio University administration applied the majority of the recommendations, including Title IX requirements, the complete overhaul of the pay scale from professors to custodial staff and implementing policies to encourage women to strive for administrative positions at the university. Change continues today. Madison Koenig, a member of a new feminist activism group on campus, Fuck Rape Culture, which allies with victims of physical and sexual assault and encourages a safe campus environment, acknowledges progress, but still sees issues with the current status of women on campus. “I think that on paper [men and women] are treated equally, but I think that there are a lot of problems more socially and culturally that we need to work on,” Koenig says. Koenig attributes some of the social inequalities to the party atmosphere

among students. To fight against the still-existing cultural prejudices, Koenig encourages women to support one another in and out of the classroom. Still, OU continues to move toward equal rights. One of the university’s most recent accomplishments includes the election of Jenny Hall-Jones as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. “The way that she has experienced life as a woman on a college campus I think is different than the way that many of the male board of trustees members have experienced it,” Koenig says. “And so, the bigger variety of perspectives we can bring, the better we can accommodate all students.” The push for continued equality and acceptance needs to be taught at early ages with education continuing through adulthood. Carter says children today learn more than even current college students, including a greater acceptance of LGBTQ individuals and increased understanding of gender roles and identities. The continuing education gives hope to closing the gap between genders in the future. “I think it’s something that we want now, but it’s going to be very hard to get now,” Carter says. Carter believes gender equality needs to focus on equal rights for all genders. Men face stigmas too, including not being as good with children or making good teachers. Instead, men learn to be tough, strong and rarely show emotion. “If women want true equality, then they need to be willing to give up some of these stigmas that they’re placing on men as well,” Carter adds. “If I don’t want to be held to Barbie standards, men should not have to be held to G.I. Joe standards.” Arnold says if a new wave crashes, men need to play a role in striving for gender equality and sees a new wave gaining more momentum every day. “I think it is my role as a male-identified dude to support female-identified people,” Arnold says. “Men can support women, but ultimately, it’s women’s task to emancipate themselves. If we do a little better today, maybe we’ll do a little better tomorrow.”

The Charles J. Ping Student Recreation Center is one of the largest recreational facilities in the country.

MILESTONES for WOMEN 1804

OHIO UNIVERSITY WAS ESTABLISHED

1808

OHIO UNIVERSITY OPENED

1873

FIRST WOMAN GRADUATED

1967

1972 1975

Margaret Boyd

WOMEN WERE REMOVED FROM THE MARCHING 110

TITLE IX WAS SIGNED The law to promote gender equality in sports

WOMEN WERE RE-ADMITTED INTO THE MARCHING 110

Photos provided by University Archives, Mahn Center for Archives, and Special Collections Ohio University Libraries.

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b FEATURE b NAME OF SECTION

state of ACTION

The 1960s and ‘70s were a time of political upheaval reflected in universities across the nation. Anti-war demonstrations in Athens hit a boiling point that seared the attempt of peaceful protests. BY ZACHARY BERRY

“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, We’re finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming, Four dead in Ohio.” Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young crafted these lyrics to their ballad “Ohio” after the Kent State massacres, an event that left the whole nation in a state of shock. Members of the Ohio National Guard fired upon student activists on May 4, 1970, leaving four demonstrators dead and several more injured. This may well be the most infamous protest in Ohio during the spring of 1970. However, it was definitely not the only one. Rallies spread across every corner of the state, with many college campuses taking part, including Miami University, Ohio State University and Ohio University. Activism was at an all-time high at OU during this time period. Students gathered onto College Green, not to relax and sunbathe as they do today, but rather to speak out against issues they believed were morally wrong. Topics ranged from civil rights to women’s rights to local issues and everywhere in between. These College Green gatherings culminated in the climactic spring riots of the 1970s. As these displays grew larger, they also grew more restless. Eventually, the protests metamorphosed into intense rallies and riots. Demonstrations in Athens, despite the best efforts

backdrop | Fall 2013

of students and faculty, grew too violent and led to the closing of the campus. This turbulent time illustrates an epoch of both determination and turmoil at OU and has profoundly affected the people who experienced it. During the week of May 11, 1970, OU faced its bleakest days. Demonstrations occurred in Athens every night that week and each night was followed by larger and more unruly gatherings. Sparks were ignited, explains the May 11, 1970 edition of The Post, after the two orators set to speak, Skip Taube and Benson Woolman, were banned from the university. Many protesters felt this was a clear use of censorship by the administration. On that same day, nearly 100 students broke into Chubb Hall, which was undergoing renovations at the time, and declared the abandoned building a “free university.” Following this, a firebomb went off near Nelson Cafeteria, which was also undergoing construction. Protests turned ugly on Wednesday night. After students gathered outside Cutler Hall, they proceeded to march toward Court Street. During the night, marchers confronted police officers dressed in riot gear. “The crowds from the campus started throwing bricks from the walkways on College Green over into the windows of what was at that time called Logan’s Bookstore. It’s where Follett’s Bookstore is now,” Jan Hodson, former Assistant Dean of the Honors Tutorial College and a freshman at the time, recalls. “At that point, the police started throwing tear gas canisters onto the green.”

Gordon K. Bush Airport is an off-campus airport owned by the university.

That night, an orange glow lit up the town, while herds of ens Injustice.” According to McCabe, university students “bestudents ran from across the Richland Avenue Bridge to Court lieved students were treated differently than regular Athens Street toward West Green. area citizens.” They complained that harsher punishments “We all were absolutely devastated by tear gas,” WOUB were placed upon them than on the citizens of the town itself. Director Tom Hodson, husband of Jan, who was also asOne of the main causes of the riots can still be found on sociate editor of The Post at the time, explains. “Tear gas campus today. At the time, the Reserve Officers’ Training was everywhere.” Corps, or ROTC, was stirring up a good deal of controversy Police officials began shutting down the bars on Court Street, among the citizens of Athens. University Archivist and Rewhich only angered the protesters more. Some of the rioters, cords Manager William Kimok notes that students, staff and already in a drunken state, became enraged once the bars were Athens residents argued amongst themselves over whether the forced to close. In their anger and lack of self-control brought military-based program had any reason to be at an instructional about by their intoxicated state, they turned to violence. institution. “Those people had been On April 22, 1970, bad drinking and the potential blood between dissenters for violence increased,” says the ROTC program We all were absolutely devastated by and Ohio University archives came to a head. The August curator Douglas McCabe, 1970 edition of the Ohio tear gas. Tear gas was everywhere.” who was also a member of University Alumni Journal Tom Hodson the class of 1970. “You had recounts how on that day, inebriated people that were eight women and one man, WOUB Director pretty upset and were willing later referred to as “The Athto pull bricks out of sidewalks and throw them at the cops.” ens Nine,” were arrested after disrupting an ROTC class in An anonymous letter found in the 1970 Athena Yearbook ex- Carnegie Hall. McCabe stated that the spring 1970 demonplained that many students felt forced to react violently when strations contained a female presence that would not have extheir peaceful protest attempts failed. It reads: “When one is isted even five years prior, showcasing how great of an impact forced into a corner and frustrated at every turn, he uses any the women’s rights movement of the time had on campus. weapon available to him, whether it be a speech on the green or Members of the student body began to call for the freedom of a brick on the street. When the former fails, the latter becomes these nine students, feeling they had been unjustly incarcerated. a necessity.” “These women do get released from jail and then they’re Protests reached their apex on Thursday, May 14, 1970. On immediately banned from campus and from town and that that night, the dissenters marched toward Court Street late caused a lot of deep agitation,” McCabe recalls of the controinto the evening and clashed with police officials. A police re- versy surrounding their freedom. port read, “Students are going to upset cars tonite [sic],” while This event was only the beginning of the program’s woes. security reports from the university hauntingly noted that “Chubb is getting pounded. Group is 250 strong.” It is often stated that these protests were in response to what happened at Kent State days earlier, but the turmoil was not caused by a single catalyst. Rather, it was a combination of troubles that steered OU toward conflict. At the time, students across the country were speaking against the American presence in Vietnam. The Athena Yearbook for the 1969–1970 school year showcases a moratorium march that took place at the university on October 15, 1969. President Richard Nixon’s bombing of Cambodia elicited protests not only from Kent State, but from OU as well. Tensions in Athens were also on the rise due to local issues. In January of that year, tuition and room and board prices were set to increase. According to the January 30, 1970 edition of The Post, student tuition was set to increase $30 a year for in-state tuition, and $180 a year for out-of-state tuition. Room and board cost was set to increase $110 a year. It was not surprising when these tuition hikes led to demonstrations by the student body. When the condition grew vehement, Athens City Police and University Police were forced to call upon the Ohio State Highway Patrol men for help. In all, 46 students were arrested. Students referred to another local issue at the time as “Ath-

The first OU Recreation Conference was in 2007, organized in just a few months time after a sudden inspiration of a group of Recreation Studies graduate students.

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FEATURE

EVENTS THAT FUELED THE RIOTS VIETNAM WAR • •

Family and friends drafted Controversy over America’s presence

U.S. BOMBING OF CAMBODIA •

Lead to multiple protests

LOCAL EVENTS • • •

Tuition/room and board increased “Athens Injustice” Controversy surrounding ROTC at OU

INFLATIONS RATES 1970 | NOW TUITION INCREASE In state – $30/yr | $181.04/yr Out of state – $180/yr | $1,086.26/yr

ROOM & BOARD $110/yr | $663.82/yr

OU RIOT DAMAGES $154,000 | $928,274.69

backdrop | Fall 2013

After news of the Kent State shooting reached Athens, the student body became more distressed. At 4 a.m. on May 7, two firebombs were set off in an ROTC supply room in Peden Stadium, causing significant damage. From here, protests on campus descended into chaos. Claude R. Sowle, president of the university at the time, faced the darkest days at the campus during his first year in office. However, he vowed that OU would remain open. This decision was not always a popular one, especially with Ohio’s governor at the time, James Rhodes. Governor Rhodes refused to supply the university with support from the National Guard or the Highway Patrol as long as it remained open. Sowle was not the only one determined to keep the institution operating. Both the students and staff tried their best to keep the gates of OU open for all. “There was a very strong feeling among the students that we wanted to keep Ohio University open. That was a goal. The professors supported everybody with that,” Jan recalls. As student activism began to increase, day and night could not be more opposite in regards to their protests. Kimok

specified that the rallies, which occurred during the day, were extremely peaceful. Teach-ins out on College Green began to take place in a sign of objection. In response to the Kent State shootings, class attendance decreased by around 30 percent. At the same time, an influx of students from other universities traversed to Athens after their own schools were shut down. “When Kent State closed, many of those students came down to Ohio University,” Jan remembers. “Ohio State closed; those students came to Ohio University. Suddenly our campus was swollen with a lot of students from other college campuses because ours was one of the last colleges open.” While other college campuses were forced to shut down, the determination of President Sowle, the faculty, and the students helped shape OU into a safe haven for university members across the state. This Avalon was not meant to last, however, and came crumbling down during those tumultuous days in May. Realizing the situation was becoming too much for Athens and University police to handle and as only going to increase in the magnitude of ferocity, President Sowle made the decision to close

Peter Goss and Peter Goss Photography Collection

the university. At 4:10 a.m. on Friday, May 15, OU’s closure was officially announced over WOUB radio. “It was abrupt to say the least,” Tom says. “You didn’t get to see a lot of your friends. There was a lack of closure. It was very anticlimactic in the sense that school was closed and it was over.” The morning after President Sowle shut down the university, The Post ran the somber headline “School closed.” The weather report stated, “The sky has fallen.” According to the student newspaper, 26 students were treated at Hudson Health Center for non-serious injuries. That night, a total of 54 people were arrested. In all, the Ohio University Alumni Journal lists that more than $154,000 in damages were caused collectively by the riots. Adjusted for inflation today, that amount is more than $928,274.69, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even though they took place 43 years ago, the riots still have an abundant effect on OU and Athens. Walking around campus today, it is difficult to find any physical scars left by these disturbances. The scars do exist though, and they exist in the hearts and minds of those who had attended here during the riots. For many students, getting home was a trial all on its own. Technology at the time was limited to pay phones, and they did not have the ease of communication provided by the Internet and cell phones today. “You had to find a phone in the dorms. You had to find a phone in a phone booth. Call your parents in the middle of the night, tell them that they had to get you as soon as possible,” Jan says. National Guard troops and Highway Patrolmen descended upon Athens shortly after OU was finally closed. As students were picked up by their parents or made the exodus home by bus, the Guard was ever present. “I think it was a stark thing to wake up and see armed troops at every parking meter,” Tom adds about the condition of Athens. The class of 1970, which includes current university President Roderick McDavis, was forced to leave Athens without a true graduation commencement ceremony. In many ways, the newly graduated

alumni felt cheated out of a true goodbye to their home of four years. “You didn’t have that final culmination whether it was a graduation ceremony, or a graduation party, or the ability to say goodbye to your friends,” Tom says. “That was all taken away.” OU itself also suffered. Shortly after the 1970 university shutdown, enrollment at the university began to decrease. According the University Enrollment History on OU’s website, the student enrollment by Some even felt that the message of the the mid-’70s was down to 12,814 from movement, one of peace and freedom, 18,482 in the year of 1970. Reputations was lost amongst the loud shouts of of the riots at OU may have been a con- wrath coming from the rioters. tributing factor to this decrease. “I believe once the violence starts, you Closing the university was hard on ev- lose your message. You lose listeners,” eryone, especially President Sowle. After- Jan says. wards, Sowle had this heart-wrenching Global and national issues facing statement to make: “It is sad indeed American citizens are never hard to that this inspiring period in the history find in this current day and age, from of OU must end in such an unfortunate way. The result, There was a very strong feeling among however, in no way detracts from the the students that we wanted to keep magnificent efforts Ohio University open. That was a goal. of the great majority of our faculty, stuJan Hodson dents, and staff to keep the university Former Assistant Dean of the Honors Tutorial College open. We tried, but we failed.” Forty years later, the class of 1970 was the government shutdown to the situafinally awarded a commencement cer- tion in Syria. With such concerns facing emony in 2010. This celebration brought them, there is the possibility of students back many members of the class of 1970 once again demonstrating their opposito receive what had been robbed from tion to issues through protest. them so many years ago. “I certainly would like to think that Looking back upon the events that today’s students would not hesitate to unfolded during their time as Bobcats, gather and to speak out,” says Jan about many alumni are proud of their valiant the possibility of future activism on displays of defiance in the face of injus- campus. Until then, the events of spring tice and oppression. Others, however, are 1970 still serve to represent both the not as certain that the violent riots were grim reality of mob violence and the heable to accomplish anything besides the roic determination of students and staff school’s closure. at OU. “Rioting here was not going to solve *Photos provided by University Archives, much of anything either here or on a Mahn Center for Archives and Special national scale,” McCabe says. Collections, Ohio University Libraries.

The School of Recreation and Sport Sciences has the largest undergraduate major enrollment on campus, and 6 graduate programs.

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ENTERTAINMENT

BACK THEN

SOUND OF

FURY Backdrop entertainment editor analyzes the disappearance of A-List performances at Ohio University. BY ZAK KOLESAR | PHOTOS BY AMANDA PUCKETT

backdrop | Fall 2013

Cruising down Union Street, iPod in hand, I was looking to stir up some sort of musical encouragement. All I was looking to do was walk into an old record store and have nostalgia slap me right across the face. Then, after setting foot into the vinyl-filled wonderland, I gawked. What I didn’t know was that sandwiched in between Buffalo Wild Wings and Uptown Grill stands Athens last-surviving record store, Haffa’s Records. That may seem shocking to some and concerning to others, but Haffa’s serves as a playground for music junkies of any age. As I traveled further into this cavernous store, I discovered walls lined with concert t-shirts of every imaginable band from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s—a semblance of Ohio University’s most magical, but forgotten, concert memories. The string of shirts begins with “The Grateful Dead’s summer 1969 Woodstock” print, and brings me to a story that any Athenian Deadhead would slobber over. Nine months before the Dead would play at the legendary ’69 festival, they took on the snow and played a “kinetic” Memorial Auditorium performance that could have fit a couple thousand, but only housed a few hundred on that November night in 1968. The free performance by a group that is known for its moving and emotional live sets was disregarded both then and now, because many knew of, but few witnessed, the Dead’s chilling set. We could do the band justice by packing the MemAud from front to balcony with students and community members alike ready for a night of music appreciation. But until that happens, this performance will remain yet another somber side note in OU concert history. I’m sure there’s someone out there who’s still holding onto their cassette that they brought with them that day to record their own live version of the Dead’s “Cold Rain and Snow”— something that students had to brave that November in order to embrace the Californian band. And it’s memories like those that don’t—and maybe can’t— exist anymore because of the Internet’s constant delivery of music and money’s control over artists nowadays.

The school’s Sports Administration and Facility Management program was created in 1966 as the first graduate program of its kind; it is widely known as the best in the nation.

In 1969, OU students only had to surrender around $5 to see Led Zeppelin and The Who in two separate concerts at the Convocation Center. Four decades later, commercialism has eaten away at the music industry since those aforementioned bands first assumed the Convo. In 2012, students mustered up $25-35 to see Wiz Khalifa swirl a scarf-laced mic-stand around and proclaim to the audience that it’s the “craziest atmosphere” that the Pittsburgh PHOTO PROVIDED BY artist has performed in to date. THE ATHENS MESSENGER We’ve heard it all before that this is all because of “how times Seven million dollars worth of concrete and steel was put are now,” but why gripe when into the construction of the our voices clearly can and have Convocation Center. It could house a full size circus. been heard positively throughout campus? Being one of those in attendance at the Wiz Khalifia and Sean Kingston show, I’m not surprised that students voted to not have another Convo show in 2013 and to instead feature more shows at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium, a venue that has recently been a platform for rising stars because of its ability to foster more intimate and rowdy shows. “We’ve pretty much brought in people who are up-andcoming, because that is who we can afford,” says Winsome Chunnu, Director for the Multicultural Center. “We’ve had John Legend right before he got big and Lil Wayne right before he got big.” Don’t get me wrong, though; we won’t be seeing any artists who will make it as big as The Who or Zeppelin did in this venue. That’s why those bands, along with other notable acts such as Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles and Simon & Garfunkel, flocked to the Convo, which was the largest indoor arena in Ohio in the ‘60s. Instead of swallowing in the “compelling” live acts of today, Athens is spitting them out. Most recently, The Post’s misreporting in 2008 of the Dave Matthews Band performing at the February Obama rally could have been one of those “moments” that documented Ohio University concert history, but instead is now a laughable sidenote. What started with rumors of Obama bringing his musician friend to the Convo ended with a lot of disappointing students. I’ve noticed, however, that OU shows are starting to come to life because of a busy concert schedule at MemAud, but we need to remember that seats must be filled, or we’ll be stuck re-hashing “The Dead” story over and over again to the next generation of students. “It’s not a matter of the experience, I think it was a decision of, ‘Do you want more concerts, even though they’re smaller, or do you want one big concert?’” says Ryan Lombardi, Vice President for Student Affairs. According to Tim Epley, Business Manager of Event Services at OU, there are three major on-campus organizations

that receive significant SAC funding from Student Senate to schedule shows throughout the OU Concert Series year: the Multicultural Center, Black Student Cultural Programming Board and UPC (University Program Council). But any group with funding can make a show pitch to MemAud, and they will accommodate the area for said performer almost all of the time. So, unless students get creative enough to throw something together like the ‘86 Bird Arena Beach Party—an alcoholic event that raised funds for Springfest performers that year—I don’t think we will be seeing any acts with modern sounds like Drake or Arcade Fire making their way to Athens for an indoor concert any time soon. “I think it’s an interesting and eclectic mix of types of performers,” Lombardi says of the current OU Concert Series. “Some of the big bands that we’ve had in the past, they don’t come typically [anymore] because we don’t have a big enough venue.” Students have been making their voices heard as far as having a say in what musical acts make their way into the MemAud, according to Chunnu. But not everyone knows where to go to do so. “We usually poll the students in Baker,” Chunnu says. “We have a list of people and we have people rank who they like and have people write-in downstairs on the first floor of Baker [by the table-ing section].” After making my way back to the front of the store, I noticed some new arena music headlining the register’s CD rack: Jay Z, Arctic Monkeys and Nine Inch Nails. I sighed, knowing that I will probably have to travel to my hometown of Cleveland or an hour north to Columbus if I have any chance of seeing those three artists. Taking a step outside and being sucked back into the streets of Athens, I realized that it’s up to us OU music junkies to set up the possibility of creating musical moments in the city of Athens by being progressive. If we can be realistic about which artists we can house—because the Convo is no longer reigning as the largest arena in Ohio—while valuing the sounds (“spacey, mind blowing, beyond definition,” according to a 1992 article published in Rolling Stone) that the Dead used to resurrect momentous live music, we can make music history in Athens a “timeless experience of constant change” for the OU student body. We’ll know when this is reached when musical side notes in Athens’ past serve as memories instead of nagging history lessons.

The School of Recreation and Sport Sciences offers adventure courses that include WEA (Wilderness Education Association) certification.

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SNAPSHOT

PAROLE A man convicted of violently killing an international student on campus is potentially up for parole after 29 years behind bars. BY DILLON STEWART

On October 25, 1983, two maintenance workers were shocked to find a decomposing body in the steam tunnel near McCracken Hall. The discovery sent a wave of confusion and fear across the Ohio University campus and throughout Athens. Just before Halloween, it seemed the plot of a horror movie had come to life. In the days prior to the event, students began to talk about a stench on East Green. “When everyone found out that’s what [the odor] was from, it really freaked people out,” says Frank Ruma, who was a freshman in October 1983. “We used to play down in those steam tunnels, so it freaked us out too.” Bill Kane, who was the assistant director of OU security at the time, identified the body, a day after it was found in the tunnel, as Ali Bulgasem Ali. Ali was attending OU as a geology major on a scholarship from the People’s Committee for Libyan Students. Ali, who was scheduled to graduate at the end of the quarter, planned to return home to Libya after completing his degree. As the only son of an elderly family, he hoped to use his degree to support them. This discovery blindsided the international community. Presidents from both the OU African and Libyan student unions wrote an editorial for The Post describing the effect this event had on their community:

backdrop | Fall 2013

“Athens has been a haven for many of us, to the extent that some international students even ceased to call themselves foreigners. Indeed we felt so much at home until the murder of our dear beloved brother Ali.” Once the body was identified, the investigation began. Police spoke with friends of Ali, searched his residence, and tried to piece together the events that led to his murder. On November 2, 19-year-old Athens resident Merlin Ryan was arrested and charged with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. Ralph Prather was also charged with the same crimes, but was still at large. Ryan and Prather were friends of Ali’s. The three of them would frequently hang out at an uptown apartment. Prather, a drifter who spent time in Athens and Washington County, often would sleep in a sleeping bag on the roof of friends’ apartments. During the winter months, Prather would sleep in the steam tunnels. Although Ali did have many friends, the anonymous friend of Ali, who spoke to The Post in 1983, questioned the intent of some of the friends Ali made outside the international community. “People used [Ali] and they took advantage of him. They would take his money and make him buy them drinks,” recalls his anonymous friend. From the evidence found, investigators were able to piece together the final moments of Ali’s life. Ali was last seen at a bar uptown. Prather was seen that night at the same bar. At some point, Ali and Prather met up with Ryan. As they walked back from the bar to Lakeview Apartments, Ryan and Prather lured Ali into the steam tunnel by asking him to “smoke some dope” with them. Ali entered the tunnel voluntarily. Once in the tunnel, Ali was struck on the head and stabbed 11 times before his throat was cut. Prather and Ryan hid Ali’s body in the steam tunnel, where it was found 21 days later by OU maintenance workers. Though the motive was robbery, officials believe that little, if any, money was obtained by Prather and Ryan. At this point, investigators believed Prather had wielded the

The Outdoor Pursuits sector of Campus Recreation at Ohio includes outdoor trips, clinics, gear rental and sales, indoor and outdoor climbing venues, and low and high challenge courses.

knife that killed Ali. However, Prather was nowhere to be found and Ryan’s lawyers maintained Prather had been the one to commit the murder. Ryan’s attorneys were successful in moving the date of his trial. They claimed that outside attention surrounding this case would lead to an unfair trial. The judge agreed to push the trial back to May. On February 2, 1984, FBI agents found Prather living in Oklahoma City. An anonymous tip gave them his home and work address. He had taken a job as a dishwasher at a restaurant in downtown Oklahoma City. Prather worked 45-hour weeks at minimum wage to pay the rent on his 10-by-10 apartment, which didn’t even have running water. The owner of the restaurant said Prather was quiet and he had no idea that he was a wanted criminal. Athens County Sheriff Robert Allen and Kane flew to Oklahoma to bring Prather back to Athens. There, a grand jury indicted Prather and stated he would face the death penalty if found guilty. As the trial began, it appeared Ryan might be free of the murder. The push to move the trial to May by Ryan’s attorneys had given police enough time to find Prather, who most people still believed wielded the knife. In a shocking change of heart, Ryan agreed to a plea deal, on the second day of the trial, in order to avoid the possibility of the death penalty. He admitted that, while Prather had struck Ali, Ryan was the one that stabbed and killed him. Ryan admitted to acting alone in the murder, but he added that “Prather knew [Ali] wasn’t going to walk out of there alive.” Prosecutors amended the charges against Prather to aggravated robbery and accessory to murder. He was found guilty on the robbery charges and innocent on the murder charge. He was sentenced to seven to 25 years and has since been released from prison. Ryan pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder, plus 10 to 25 years for the robbery with the possibility of parole in 15 years and nine months with good behavior. After being held at London Correctional Institution for almost 30 years, Ryan has been noted for good behavior. According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, he has adhered to all rules of conduct and participated in work programs by holding two steady jobs. This is the type of behavior that the parole board looks for when making a decision on a prisoner’s readiness for reentry into society. The board stresses participation in the various programs that are offered for rehabilitation. Participation in these programs proves to the board that the inmate has made a conscious effort to improve. Regardless of participation in the work program and an impeccable behavioral record, in his last parole hearing Governor Ted Strickland refused his parole. Ryan was up for parole again on September 19. The parole process often takes months for approval, and it is likely that Ryan will be rejected again. Athens

County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn plans to write a letter opposing Ryan’s release. “It was a violent homicide and it was someone he knew so it was an acquaintance homicide,” Blackburn says. “The initial investigation, including the hiding of the body, makes me believe he is not the type of individual who should be granted parole.” The main goal of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is, of course, rehabilitation. Some people believe that Ryan has taken the proper steps toward the goal of rehabilitation and hope the parole board gives Ryan a second chance at life. The Athens News published a letter written by Mark Gilkey, an Athens resident and friend of Ryan who frequently visits him in prison. Gilkey claims that Ryan has been rehabilitated and is a changed man. “I can say for sure that Merlin has changed for the better, and does not have the same views or attitude as when he committed the crime,” Gilkey says. “Merlin does not have a hardkiller nature.” In his letter, Gilkey reminded the board and the people of Athens that Ryan did admit to his crime and did not allow an innocent man to be charged with the murder. He adds that Ryan has proved through his behavior that he is a changed man and he hopes the board takes these things into account. Blackburn, however, was not convinced. “I believe certain crimes carry with them a lack of ability to be rehabilitated. So given the nature of what he knew and how he knew the victim and the fact that he premeditatedly attacked the victim, in this case, I do not believe society would benefit from him getting out, “states Blackburn. Gilkey said the board told Ryan that he would be notified of its decision within 60 days of his parole date. Ryan will turn 50 next month and has spent more than half his life in jail. Photos provided by University Archives, Mahn Center for Archives, and Special Collections Ohio University Libraries.

The first school newspaper was The Echo.

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LEGACY

Set ’Em Free

McGee

As the Managing Attorney for Ohio University, Patrick McGee’s life has come full circle, returning to Athens to defend students at the university where his journey into law began.

BY NICK HARLEY I PHOTOS BY BRICE NIHISER

atrick McGee only costs $12. That’s it. That’s all those enrolled at Ohio University pay a semester to be represented by a professional with a wealth of knowledge and experience. It’s almost criminal. If students ever finds themselves slapped with a citation from one of Athens’ finest, and they didn’t haphazardly wave that minimal fee, then they can rest easy knowing they are free to seek assistance from the Center For Student Legal Services and its Managing Attorney. Since 2000, McGee has been representing individuals involved in criminal, housing, and consumer issues, lending his expertise and sympathetic ear to the distressed students of OU. It’s easy for McGee to assist students here, not just because of his vast comprehension of the law, but because he’s been in their shoes. “Within my first [quarter] I was hauled into judiciaries for having a girl spend the night with me,” McGee says with a cackle. He sits in his office chair at his prodigious desk, the one that almost completely hides his small frame from view as his eyes drift towards the ceiling, falling deeper into memory. His bushy, snow-white beard obscures the curl of his lips into a smile as he continues, “I can’t think of how naïve I must have been, whether I was frightened or if it was humorous. I surely didn’t take it seriously.” In 1970, instead of laughing at the absurdity of parentis rules in the natural light of his Celtic decorated office on Court Street, McGee was finding the humor in Washington

backdrop | Fall 2013

Hall. During this time, McGee was a newly enrolled student from Ashland, Ohio. His relationship with Athens began like all good stories do: with a girl. “I had the hots for a young coed from my hometown that was going here,” McGee starts, pausing for a recollected sigh, “and she raved about it and I was head over heels for her, so I came down, saw it, and loved it. It was just beautiful.” Like almost every American campus during the Vietnam War, OU was a hotbed for political protest and student activism. The harsh realities of America at wartime, mixed with feelings of racial inequality still stemming from the civil rights movement, created a large disconnect between students and the older generation. “There was a lot of distrust of the older people,” McGee says. “The older people didn’t understand the younger people, why we would rebel against a society that gave them so much in life, and gave us so much in life.” McGee’s voice begins to deepen. “We saw it more as a society that gave us potential for world destruction through the nuclear arms race.” His words quicken, his body tenses. “We saw it as a society that engaged in a very brutal and bloody war against the Vietnamese for basically no reason whatsoever.” His eyes narrow as he channels the frustration of a generation. “We saw it as a society where the military was absolutely mad, insane. Actually, that kind of summed up society Ohio offers a class on baseball history.

in general.” McGee protested but avoided arrest, graduating with a cumulative GPA of 3.98, and free to plan his next move after the ending of the Vietnam War draft in 1973. From there, McGee’s life moved fast; a marriage, a move to San Francisco, and a job filming court appearances for the Federal Civil Service Commission led him to apply to law school, where he was eventually accepted by the University of Kentucky Law School and brought back to Appalachia. Kentucky did not have the same political unrest as Athens. Instead, McGee found himself on the frontlines of an environmental war. Strip mining was ravaging the scenic countryside of Kentucky unregulated. McGee likens the problem to the one that Ohio and other states face today with fracking. After fighting the good environmental fight, McGee was lured back to Athens for a few different reasons. “I got divorced,” McGee says with a laugh. “That was the main part of it. I got offered a job here at legal services, so I moved back here and took the job. One of the reasons I came back to Athens is the same reason why the alumni come back: you have this great, fond memory of a party place.” As it turns out, a party school can be a good workplace for a lawyer. Athens and the university have been supplying McGee with a steady job since 1980. It’s not surprising that after over 30 years of service, McGee has plenty to say about how the tides have changed around OU. He’ll be the first to tell you that arrests are higher than ever, but it’s not as worrisome as it sounds. In 1984 the legal drinking age in Ohio was 19, so underage consumption arrests, something McGee says he spends a lot of time combating, were not as prevalent. The drinking age was then raised to 21 that same year after the National Minimum Drinking Age Act by Congress was passed. The act mandated that states had to raise the ages for purchase and public possession of alcohol to 21 by October 1986, or stand to lose federal highway funds. With the increase in the drinking age came an increase in police presence at OU. Suddenly, undercover cops had only been tasked in Athens with hunting down high-level drug dealers were now setting their sights on un-

“

I’m very proud of what I do here. There’s a lot of trust placed in me. I consider that a really serious thing.” Patrick McGee Managing Attorney for the Center for Student Legal Services

derage students. McGee has an enormous respect for the Athens Police and Ohio University Police Departments. He claims many officers are close, personal friends, but still takes some issue with how certain situations are handled by the authorities. McGee deems there are many cases when students are charged with a violation of criminal law where a warning or admonishment would suffice. Throughout his time spent in Athens, McGee believes a small portion of the law enforcement has always had it out for students. “They don’t see themselves as public servants, they see themselves as a determiner of how things should be, like a fact fighter almost, and I find that very disturbing,” McGee says. Another thing he finds disturbing is the sudden growth of underground police presence via the Ohio Department of Public Safety. From January to November of 2013, the Ohio Investigative Unit, a branch of ODPS, has made 507 arrests related to underage alcohol consumption in Athens. If you look at the same time period for the year 2001, a year into Patrick McGee’s tenure with the Center for Student Legal Services, OIU only made a measly 23 arrests. Ohio is cracking down, but McGee finds the strident behavior counterproductive. “The worst thing about it is that a lot of students come out of here with a belief or a realization of, I wont say of how corrupt society is, but how absolutely unreasonable things are,” McGee says. McGee thinks that college is a time to experiment with life. “There’s a lot of change going on, and for society to place the kind of restrictions that they do, the kind of police presence that is imposed on college students, it’s unreasonable and absurd.” A loss of respect for the law is something that McGee equates to both his generation and the current one, along with blatant disregard. McGee thinks the feeling of partial invulnerability is just a part of being young. The naivety of students isn’t the only connection McGee makes. He still finds a disconnect in the youth, but instead of that divide being between the young and old, McGee sees it between individuals and the rest of the world. “Karl Marx once said religion is the opiate of the masses,” McGee paraphrases, “well maybe Facebook is the opiate of the young people, or the cell phone.”

Ohio University was founded 66 years before The Ohio State University.

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LEGACY

McGee laments the way in which students seem more invested in their technology than they do in social issues. The student activists rallying in Athens largely impacted his time as a pupil, and McGee is sad to see a waning interest in similar displays of protest. “Yeah, you have some activists out there every once in a while,” McGee says. “But you don’t have students protesting about things they should be protesting against.” And what does Patrick McGee think students should be fighting? “I think the big one is going to be global warming and climate change.” McGee still hasn’t lost his interest in environmental issues and believes students should be weary of oil companies and the continuing use of fossil fuels. However, more so than that, McGee really thinks students should be up in arms about the future that awaits them after graduation. “[The] thing that really concerns me is the future of students having a place to find decent jobs and pay off this incredible student debt,” he says. The economy in 1970 was fluctuating just as bad as it is today, but the difference is that our options have eroded. The factory jobs that once provided a fallback plan for those in search of work have become a thing of the past. With jobs scarce and debt compounding, America in 2013 can seem as unsettling as it was in 1970. “I’m surprised students really

aren’t out on the streets protesting,” McGee adds. Despite his qualms, McGee is as dedicated to defending the current generation of students as ever. “I’m very proud of what I do here,” he says. “There’s a lot of trust placed in me. I consider that a really serious thing.” After over 30 years, you’d think monotony would set in, but it hasn’t for McGee. “Honestly, every time someone comes in here I see them as an individual,” McGee says. “ I have a certain rap I give everyone, and I have certain lines for certain things, but while I’m doing that I’m evaluating them and saying to myself, ‘What do I really need to tell you?’” Sitting in his office, Patrick McGee is a man who has come full circle. While enrolled at OU, he came face to face with restrictive powers and stood up to fight with his peers. He crossed the country twice, clashed with corruption in Kentucky, and survived setbacks. Yet McGee returned to Athens unscathed, ready to defend those in their own battles against authority, and here he has remained. “It’s really wonderful on homecoming when I have people come up to me and introduce themselves and thank me for having helped them,” McGee says with bemusement. “It blows me away.” Who knows, one of those people McGee has helped might be the next to return to Athens, inspired by a dignified man to aid the students that they themselves used to be.

The Rite of Spring BY CHRIS MANNING | PHOTO BY LOGAN RIELY Ohio University’s festive reputation all began with a gathering. From humble beginnings to the fiery displays of today, spring has become a necessary passage for spirited students.

horde of people have taken over the pavement and circled around a small, but strong fire in the middle of Palmer Street. As the fire grows, booming chants of “USA” spread across the mob. Suddenly, a tan couch surfs on the hands of the crowd, slowly making its way to the fire. When it reaches the circle, the couch is then tossed into the fire where it bursts into flames. The couch is fully engulfed and soon becomes nothing more than a charred mess that needs be to cleaned up when the Athens Fire Department eventually arrives. The burning of that couch occurred in 2010, but that fire was started over 40 years ago, when Palmer Fest got its start in backyards with couch-free bonfires. The idea of coming together in the spring for one drunken day of debauchery has been alive in Athens for two generations now. Palmer Fest is essentially a holiday. The anticipation only grows from the preceding fests in April, much like the endless marathon of Christmas movies on ABC Family hypes the arrival of St. Nick in December. And while Palmer Fest doesn’t have the centuries-old backstory of Christmas, the past four decades have made the party on Palmer Street a day with a set place on the calendar. Behind Tom Pyle’s desk at Athens Police headquarters is a fest safety sign reading “Be Civil, Be Safe.” It’s the same one that, in past years, has been hung around campus as the university advocates safe behavior at on-campus parties. The sign underscores one of Pyle’s biggest concerns as police chief: the growing fest season that defines the Athens spring.

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The youngest Pope was 11 years old.

Pyle, who started with the Athens Police Department (APD) in 1989, has had plenty of experience with fests, dating back to their origins in the 1970s. Before him, Pyle’s father was a member of the Ohio University Police Department. As a child, he would go with his mother to bring food to police officers who finished duty at 3 a.m. According to Pyle, the origins of Palmer Fest date back to the late 1970s, where a son of a reputable Athens family lived on Palmer Street and threw after-parties to Springfest, a university event that drew over 10,000 students during its heyday. From there, as Palmer Street evolved, so did the parties that occurred there. Back in ’91, as Springfest ended due to a lack of attendance, parties took place in the backyards behind houses on the east side of the street. In the first year, 800-1,000 people joined in, and 1,500 people the next. Around the turn of the century, the houses on Palmer Street were renovated, limiting the space in the backyard. Thus, the parties moved to the front and started to exponentially grow in size. In 2004, police-student confrontations began, and in 2006, things started to get ugly. Bring up the past few years and something changes. Pyle’s speech slows down, as if he’s trying to remember everything that has happened on Palmer Street since 2006, like the injured officer in 2011 or the house fire in 2012. His voice, normally crisp and clear, gets lower and stern and, you can tell he’s spent a lot of time worrying about how to handle fest season.

Ohio University is nicknamed “Harvard on the Hocking.”

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LEGACY

Palmer’s Past Both Palmer Fest and Springfest begin

Tom Pyle joins the Athens Police Department

Late 1970s

1989

“It was around 2006 that things started to get a little ugly,” he says. “And then I think in 2009 we had one of the first riots down there. People lighting couches on fire in the street, damaging property, things like that,” recalls Pyle. “Listen, I’ve been in riots before, I know what a riot is and those things that have happened down there in the last five years are riots,” he continues. “In this case, it would be three or more drunk individuals lighting a couch on fire. That is technically a riot. And the thousands of people standing around them cheering them on—maybe they aren’t engaged in rioting but they are inciting it.” Palmer Fest’s predecessor didn’t exactly foster the rowdy atmosphere students know today. Springfest, which dates back to the 1970s, drew thousands of students to the field between the Mill Street apartments and the River Park apartments. Funded by the Ohio University Program Council (UPC), a large stage was set up on one end with food vendors, local pizza places and beer trucks filling in the outer rim. Students could exchange purchased tickets for beer from the vendors. “It sounds simple, but that’s what it was,” says Christine Reghetti-Feyler, who has been working in Residential Housing at OU since 1981.” Everybody went to Springfest. It could turn into mud fest, much like our number fest.” Preceding Springfest were green weekends, one for each of the three greens. At the time, the drinking age was 18 and almost every student on campus was legally able to drink. When the drinking age changed in 1984—and attendance of both events subsequently dropped—the green weekends died out. Springfest followed just a few years later. “A certain portion of the population wasn’t necessarily going to go because they weren’t of age and weren’t going to find a way to get the beer,” says Reghetti-Feyler, Assistant Director of Residential Housing on South Green. “The drinking age effectively took away the largest source of income for those weekends, which was the alcohol. It didn’t mean you couldn’t have events, but it meant you had to raise money dif-

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Springfest’s final year

Palmer Fest begins to rise in popularity and size

Riot police break up Palmer Fest, OU President Roderick McDavis issues statement condemning the event

1991

Early 2000s

2010

ferently, which was difficult. The alcohol was a more obvious money generator.” She does, however, see how the fests as we know them today came to be. With the home of Springfest just a short walk from Palmer Street, it only makes sense that the fests are where they are today. She also notes that it’s part of OU’s culture to be out and about, enjoying each other’s company. “There is still that desire to come together,” she says. “Let’s assume people our age are responsible and people are reasonable for a moment. Isn’t it fun to kick back and have beers on your porch because that’s just part of the vibe? In our neighborhoods, families do that kind of thing.” “There is still that desire to come together. Part of our fabric is the relationship with alcohol—we can’t step away from that. It’s part of our world,” says Reghetti-Feyler. After the law was changed, Springfest slowly started dying, eventually coming to an end in 1991 after seven years of dropping attendance. However, the ‘90s were a transition period of sorts, as Palmer Fest only grew in size as the decade wore on. Originally, the party only occurred on the east side of the street in a select number of houses. The party spread to the rest of the east side and then across to the west. Eventually, other streets decided that if Palmer Street was going to have a fest, then they would too. Even so, Palmer Fest wasn’t as important as it is today. According to Jenny Hall-Jones, the current Dean of Students and a resident assistant during the mid-’90s, fest season, as it known today, did not exist. “It truly was for people who lived on the street and their Ohio friends,” Hall-Jones says. “I don’t remember it being a big event that students from other schools came down to join. There wasn’t anticipation, and people didn’t really talk about it, at least in my circles.” Instead, Court Street and its vast amounts of watering holes were the places to be. Mary Jo Somodi, who attended OU from 1988 to 1994, doesn’t remember Palmer Street being

Of all those arrested at OU’s infamous Halloween bash every year, 2/3 are visiting Ohio State students.

Pyle becomes Athens Police Chief

A house on Palmer is set on fire during the fest

2011

2012

the party scene’s main attraction. “When I was there, it was definitely more about going to the bars,” she says. “There was a bar called The Greenery and there was a bar called The Nickelodeon and it was all about going to those two bars because they were the easiest ones to get in to and they were more dancing-like clubs and they were packed.” Still, Palmer Fest survived and continued to grow in size year after year. By the time the new millennium came around, it had started to turn the corner in not only size, but also stature. And by 2004, when the first APD-student confrontation happened, Palmer Fest was well on its way to becoming the all-day bash it is today. With the fests heading into their fourth decade of existence, one would think their future would be secure and the spring all theirs. But over the last few years, the rowdiness has slightly declined, while at the same time, the APD has increased their presence. According to Pyle, the APD—with a normal staff of 25 full-time officers—will have a staff of over 200 officers on Palmer Fest weekend after bringing in out of town staff. That number includes members of the OUPD. Pyle, who was named Athens Police Chief in 2011, believes that through a culture shift and lessened alcohol consumption, the fests could exist at a manageable level. “The takeaway message here is that we don’t have to be down there, we don’t want to interfere, we don’t want to infringe on anyone’s right to party,” he says. “We just want them to understand that they don’t have the right to infringe on anyone else’s right to peace and quiet. And so rest assured that they do, we’ll be there to address that issue.” On the flipside, the students and their out of town visitors do not want to have their fest season unimpeded by local law enforcement. Even so, the Palmer Street residents – prealcohol consumption – are friendly with the police officers when APD visits Palmer Street in the hours preceding the fest according to Pyle.

Still, residents of Palmer Street can’t feel as if they are being scrutinized more and more as the years have gone by. The police presence has increased, causing the rowdiness levels to drop and the fests to be shut down earlier in the day. As Megan Hickok, a 2013 OU graduate, looks back at her time as a resident of 21 Palmer Street, she unequivocally feels that it would be a shame if Palmer Fest became more regulated. As she remembers it, there was a large difference in the scale of Palmer Fest between her freshman and senior years. By the time she was a senior, the cops were already on the street at the beginning of the day, just waiting for the right moment to enter the frenzy. “It would be a shame for them to change the culture and ruin the fun because it is such a high point for the kids that go to OU,” she says. “It would be a shame if it became less special.” From the university’s perspective, the fests are studentrun events that, outside of fest safety programs and advertisements, are out of the university’s realm. However, both Reghetti-Feyler and Hall-Jones believe that there could be a day where OU puts on another universitysponsored spring event. “Things do tend to change over time, and you never really know what may catch on with the student culture,” says Hall-Jones. “We talked with some students about bringing back the green weekend/spring event concept – and most people said they would rather go to a concert, or that they would rather go to a student-sponsored event – not a university-sponsored one.” In a sense, that is the party scene in Athens in a nutshell – student-run and with next to no university control. And while things can and will change over the course of time, the idea of OU students setting aside a few days in the spring isn’t going anywhere. It’s part of the culture now, a marked day on the calendar.

There are 17,000+ undergraduate students on the Athens campus.

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SPORTS

THE UNUSUAL

SUSPECTS

An oral history of the 1993-1995 Ohio Basketball Teams BY ZAK KOLESAR & CHRIS LONGO

Photos provided by The Athens Messenger & University Archives, Mahn Center for Archives, and Special Collections Ohio University Libraries.

PHOTOS BY DANIEL RADER

n a school with a rich basketball history—100-plus years of scuffing the hardwood in Athens—some teams and memories get lost in time. In a storage room inside the Convocation Center, remnants of past Ohio teams overflow boxes, with piles of trophies slowly losing their luster, yearbooks of teams who fell short of expectations and worn-out jerseys that cloak fading pictures of the program’s finer moments. Walk into the arena and you’ll see more visible proof of Ohio’s history hanging from the rafters. Every so often there is a period of Ohio basketball when a team steps onto the Convo court and demands to be remembered. From 1993-1995, the Ohio basketball teams cemented a legacy in Athens. During the two-season stretch, Ohio captured the Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament championships, a NCAA tournament bid, a preseason National Invitational Tournament title and a postseason NIT bid—undoubtedly the most dominant run in program history. These Ohio basketball teams had a collection of walkons, budding stars and key roles players. But as any player on those teams will tell you, their success rode on the broad, muscular shoulders of Gary Trent. After fighting off a troubled background and issues with Proposition 48— the NCAA stipulations for minimum high school GPA and standardized test scores—Trent, a Columbus prospect, finally landed in the trusting hands of Ohio head coach, and former player, Larry Hunter. During his time at Ohio, Trent won MAC Player of the Year three times and was a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. Under the steady guidance of Hunter

and aided by the physical specimen that is Gary Trent, the Bobcats were a fearless, major-conference program slaying bunch whose journey started with a preseason trip to Europe and continues to this day with lifelong bonds fostered by a winning atmosphere in Athens.

“

We were the unusual suspects because we were all different characters from different backgrounds and we had an unconventional way of winning. Jason Kent Former Ohio Guard

MAKING THE TEAM, SUMMER 1993 Chad Estis, Senior Guard: When we went into the 1993-94 year, we thought we were going to be really good because we had the right role players and we knew what Gary was bringing to the table. I don’t think the rest of the league thought that yet. In our minds we were thinking there was really no reason why we couldn’t compete for a championship. Jason Kent, Junior Guard: It all started the summer of 1993, that’s when we went to Europe. We had time to practice in the summer and really come together as one. The trip to Europe, I think, was the foundation of a great season for us. We got to know each other on an individual basis and we had fun. I think a lot of problems with teams are they don’t have fun. Gary Trent, Sophomore Forward:

There are 910+ full-time faculty on the Athens campus.

I started feeling comfortable in coach Hunter’s system once I learned how to execute offensive plays because I could just get the ball and score, but I also needed to know how to score out of execution. Larry Hunter, former Ohio head coach: We had some growing pains, but Gary would always listen. A real key to that was Geno Ford and Jeff Boals. We had another young man by the name of Chad Estis who was really good. Those guys really looked after Gary. They helped mold him and helped him to understand the way we did things. It helped him adjust to college socially. Jeff Boals, Junior Small Forward: [Gary] and I couldn’t have hit it off any better when you have two completely different people. And he and I became best friends and hung out a lot, and to this day we talk often. Estis: I think that guys like myself, Jeff and Geno, we wanted to see [Gary] doing the right thing. Gary had a wonderful opportunity in life to take advantage of his skills and make something of it. And there’s some selfish aspect of it. We wanted him to do the right thing so we could enjoy the success we could all have together. Kent: We were the unusual suspects because we were all different characters from different backgrounds and we had an unconventional way of winning. Early on in the 1993-94 campaign, the team built a tough skin after a thrashing in the opener against Nebraska and earlyseason defeats Pittsburgh vs. Duquesne and in Morgantown vs. West Virginia. It would take a long plane ride to Hawaii for Ohio to find its next big test. Before the championship game of the Big

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to figure out how to break this press. Kent: We were out in the parking lot, but you’d think we were out in the Convo. I was a sophomore and I was thinking, ‘What in the world are we doing?’ Coach Hunter was saying we got to do whatever we got to do to get a win. Mike Reese, Junior Guard: I think I tried to dunk on [UConn’s Kevin Ollie] after the tip-off. Obviously I missed it, but I think right then that kind of set the tone for, ‘I don’t care who they are.’

Island Invitational vs. the 14th-ranked Connecticut Huskies, chants of “UConn who,” broke out in the Green and White’s locker room. The anticipation for the game was building ever since Gary Trent first met star UConn power forward Donyell Marshall at a basketball camp in Boston months earlier. When Marshall joked around with friends about the division rank of Trent’s Bobcats, things were going to get personal in Ohio’s contest with UConn. Donyell Marshall, former UConn Power Forward: We met each other at a camp in Boston for the Boston Celtics, and I just think it was a misunderstanding. They came out and they played hard. They knew their stuff. Obviously Gary Trent was a very good player for that team and went on to play a lot of years in the NBA and was a very good player in the NBA. Special players like that come along every so often. Trent: At that point in time, Ohio University really had no respect globally. We had not accomplished anything on a national scale or global scale, so at that point in time we were still trying to break into the mainstream of earning college respect. I think after that game our season was never the same. We just took off. It was like a dream. Estis: There’s a great story about Coach Hunter taking us out to the parking lot because we ran out of practice time in the gym and he had us working against [UConn’s] press in the parking lot. He showed us that whether or not we believed we could win, he believed we could win or he wouldn’t be out there spending that kind of time in the parking lot trying

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“

Ohio University made 17-of-21 free throws in the final 2:13 to preserve an 85-76 victory over No. 14 Connecticut on Wednesday night in the Big Island Invitational at Hilo, Hawaii. Geno Ford scored 22 points and Gary Trent added 19 for Ohio (7-3).” – Associated Press, Dec. 30, 1993 Kent: We used to say that you could never underestimate [Geno Ford] and just because he was so small that didn’t mean he couldn’t play. UConn’s Kevin Ollie, who was guarding him, took him for granted. That fueled Geno. The basket was like the ocean. He was just throwing a rock into the ocean. Estis: That’s when I was like, ‘This kid is fearless.’ As a freshman he belonged on that court. Geno Ford, Freshman Guard: It was the first big-time team that I had ever played against, and I got a hot hand from the outside. It gave me confidence moving forward. Estis: When we came back from break there was a buzz on campus about that win. Not only were Ohio fans realizing there was a special team in Athens, but also pro scouts and the national media took note of the emergence of Gary Trent, who would earn the moniker “The Shaq of the MAC” by former assistant MAC commissioner John McNamara. In the previous season, Trent was the first and only freshman to ever win MAC Player of the Year. Trent’s thundering physicality sent a shockwave throughout the MAC, causing for a shift in the style of play that MAC programs implemented. After proving he could match up with the big boys in Hawaii, Trent’s quest to repeat as

MAC Player of the Year seemed like a forgone conclusion. Hunter: When Gary came down to visit, I told him exactly the way it was going to be. He was going to have to go to class, he was going to have to be diligent about the study halls and the tutoring and if he didn’t do that there would be serious consequences. He wouldn’t practice and he wouldn’t play. He would have to buy into what we were doing as a program. Trent: Larry Hunter was the greatest coach for me. I’ve played under some of the greatest NBA coaches like Don Nelson and Flip Saunders. But for the development of my game, when I went to college, I was just an explosive athlete. I had no moves, I had no understanding of basketball. I was just what they call a “hooper.” Hard work was the thing that Coach Hunter stressed the most. Kent: Gary had a will to be the best. When we came in our freshman year, Gary would go in and lift with the football team. Gary’s whole mentality was [to] destroy whoever he was playing against. Gary was hungry and he wasn’t going to let anything come in his way of being the best player in the MAC. Ben Braun, former Eastern Michigan head coach: He was a hard matchup and he was hard to play against. I liken him to when we played against Paris McCurdy and Curtis Kidd when they were at Ball State. Those were some very dominant big guys in our league that played that were strong and agile and could run. Gary was certainly as talented as any of them. Marc J. Spears, NBA beat writer, Yahoo Sports: [Trent] wasn’t the most athletic guy, he wasn’t the tallest guy, but he was certainly a brute. He did the dirty work—kind of guy you didn’t want to find in an alley late at night and get mad. Rob Demovsky, former sports reporter, Athens Messenger: I can remember him catching the ball under the basket against teams, and they would have two, three, four defensive guys collapse on him and he would explode up with two hands and dunk with two defensive guys hanging all over him. And most of the time they fouled him, and he still dunked anyway. Despite Trent’s dominance of the MAC, a 4-4 record to start conference play in ‘93 stymied the momentum from Ohio’s tri-

There is a 19:1 student to faculty ratio.

umph in Hawaii. The team struggled to close out road games and a late January loss at Toledo was the breaking point. When the ‘Cats returned to Athens, they held a team meeting. Hunter: Every team, I don’t care how talented you are, is going to face some adversity. Be it with players having injuries, off-the-court issues or going through a period where you struggle and lose some games you shouldn’t lose. The character of your team always steps forward. Ford: Coach Hunter went around the room and basically called each one of us out for various things. For lack of rebounding, lack of emotion, lack of this, lack of that. He really challenged us. It was probably the most uncomfortable meeting I sat in as a player, and he did a great job because it got us all doing some self-inventory. Estis: Coach Hunter said, “I want you guys to write on the board out of the next 13 games, how many you expect to win.” We sat there talking and said there’s not a reason why we shouldn’t win every single one of these games. We put 13 on the board and went out and won 13 straight. You can’t say a team meeting makes that happen, but that meeting needed to happen. We needed to hit the reset button. In that winning streak, there were games where I was on the court thinking, ‘No way we’re getting beat.’ Trent: It was like building blocks. With every victory the staff got better, the players got better. Braun: In the middle of that [winning streak] you don’t think about how many games you win, but you’re just taking it one game at a time. I think that’s one thing that OU did, and when they got on that kind of run, their confidence went up. You don’t see that happening very much anymore. Riding a 12-game winning streak, Ohio marched into the MAC championship game against the archrival Miami RedHawks at Battelle Hall in Columbus, Ohio. Hunter: It’s just one of those rivalries that many people across the country weren’t aware of how much of a rivalry it was at that time. Herb Sendek, former Miami head coach: In a lot of ways they were the standard out there; the team that we had to

beat if we had to be the best in the league. Reese: At the beginning of the year, we split with [Miami]. That really had an impact. That humbled us a little bit. Estis: It was a huge Ohio crowd. We probably had 70 percent of the fans. It was loud. We played the night before and the [championship] was a morning game because it was on ESPN. I remember being a little tired before the game because it was a tough turnaround. Karl Benson, former MAC commissioner: It was the first time in MAC history that they were scalping tickets outside of Battelle Hall. The ESPN announcer who called that game was Dan Patrick. Kent: In the beginning of the game it was just like, ‘Wow, we’re going to be in for a dogfight.’ Then all of a sudden Chad Estis hits a three and then Gary gets a score and all of a sudden Geno gets going, myself, Mike Reese. Everybody starts getting into the game. Before you knew it, we were back into that run, 13 straight. We were in the Bobcat mode and there was just no stopping us. Demovsky: Miami just couldn’t quite get over the hump at that time to beat OU, and those games were really intense. Ohio defeated Miami, 89-66, to send the Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in program history. Trent: It was great for our team, for Athens, for the school and it brought everybody together on the team. It brought southeastern Ohio and the community of Athens together because everybody looked forward to those games on Tuesday nights and Saturdays. Southeastern Ohio was waiting for it. Estis: We had police escort our bus back to Athens. We went right up to the student union and had a couple thousand people waiting for us and the band, and we all stepped up to the podium and said a couple of words. Of course, we hit Court Street pretty hard that night. I didn’t care who we played or when we played, but it was just the coolest thing ever. I was so fired up, literally on cloud nine. For that whole 10-day period between the MAC tournament and NCAA tournament, you just felt like you were floating. The Green and White pummeled their three MAC tournament opponents by an average of 21 points on their way to

The average student class size is 34.

the 1994 NCAA tournament. But in the Big Dance, Ohio matched up with fifthseeded Indiana and legendary coach Bob Knight. Ohio took the floor at the Capital Centre in Landover, Md, with the same mentality that they packed with them to Hawaii earlier that season against UConn. Although the ‘Cats hung tough and battled with Indiana in the first half, Ohio ultimately fell to the Hoosiers 84-72. Hunter: I’ve often said that was a team that could get to an Elite Eight or Final Four. It was like VCU or Butler in recent times. Demovsky: It was the day before that NCAA Tournament game against Indiana, and [Larry Hunter] looked at me and comes over, “Demovsky, don’t piss down your leg because we’re not going to piss down ours.” And that’s right. They played their assess off. Kent: I’ll never forget, I’m going through warm-ups on the right side of the floor and Bob Knight walks out and I just freeze. For me it was like, ‘Wow, this is a big deal.’ When the game started we were right there and I wish we would have pulled it out, but I thought we played hard. Trent: At that point in time we weren’t good enough and at that point in time my game wasn’t developed enough, so our whole team came up short that day, but it was a great experience for us because we knew what we wanted next year. ON TO THE NEXT ONE, Fall 1994 With the majority of the team returning for the 1994-95 season, expectations were heightened. The defending MAC champions picked up where they left off, knocking off Ohio State and 14th-ranked Virginia en route to the preseason NIT finals at Madison Square Garden.

“

The Bobcats used early-round victories over Ohio State and Virginia to earn a national ranking for the first time in 25 years. Then, armed with certification as the No. 23 team in the nation, they marched into Madison Square Garden and won the tournament championship, beating New Mexico State 84-80 in Friday night’s overtime title game.” – New York Daily News, Nov. 27, 1994

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Boals: The preseason NIT one where we beat Ohio State on the road, Virginia on the road, and then we went to New York City and when we won the championship game. Those, from a basketball standpoint, stick out the most. Trent: To get exposure in different regions of the country, it was beautiful for us. As a college kid you feel like you’re in the NBA. Your imagination is going, ‘I’m in the League. This is how it feels in the NBA.’ Demovsky: If you were on ESPN, it was a pretty special thing. It was not an everyday thing. It was not a national story really until they went to New York and won the preseason NIT. Sendek: I remember looking at them through the preseason NIT to win the championship and thinking, ‘How are we going to actually compete with this team once we get to conference play?’ For the second-straight season, Ohio looked like the gold standard of the MAC. During the final week of November, Ohio placed a program-best 14th in the AP Poll. Then, on Feb. 1, 1995, the fate of Ohio’s quest to return to the NCAA tournament was put in jeopardy. The team had won nine of 10 games before Jeff Boals, the gritty senior forward, went down with an ACL injury on a cold Wednesday night at Eastern Michigan’s Bowen Field House. While the Bobcats stood around their fallen teammate in shock, no one could immediately process the impact that injury would have on the outcome of the season better than Boals. The first five words that came to his head told the tale better than any player or coach present that day could: “I knew it was bad.” Boals: It was probably like the longest five minutes; it seemed like about 50 minutes when I was on the court. Ford: The depth blow for that was Jeff was our best post defender and our best team defender, and we weren’t very deep. Trent: At that point in time, Jeff was really the glue of our team from a leadership standpoint and from an IQ standpoint on the court. The intangible things that don’t show up on the stat sheet: the solid screens, the diving on the floor, the offensive possessions where he’s tipping the ball back to somebody. It shook our confidence overall. Braun: When he went out, that was

backdrop | Fall 2013

a big loss for OU. I don’t think Jeff was their best player, but he was their toughest player. We never know if we would’ve beaten them with Jeff or without, but what we do know is that Jeff was a great player and it hurt them a lot because he was such a big part of their team. He was kind of their heart and soul. END OF A RUN, Winter 1995 The promise of a team that was ranked in the early portion of the season was starting to erode. Miami was dominant and Eastern Michigan heated up at the right time to win the MAC tournament. With the RedHawks and Eagles both earning NCAA tournament bids, Ohio was left in the dark come Selection Sunday. The dejected Ohio squad received a bid to the postseason NIT, defeating George Washington before bowing out to Iowa in the second round, one game shy of returning to Madison Square Garden. Reese: That was not the way we wanted to go out, that’s for sure. I just never pictured it that way. Demovsky: I remember sitting there watching the selection show with the team and a few fans, but not too many because I don’t think anybody thought they were going to make it in. Walking out of the OU Inn that day I just remember those guys were just hanging their heads. Every single team that wins the preseason NIT is obviously a good team and they all go to the NCAA Tournament. It was kind of a sad ending to what had been a pretty remarkable run. With Trent at the center of the Hunterled squads, Ohio won 70 percent of its regular season and postseason matchups against MAC opponents. From ‘93-95, Ohio fans were witnesses to two of the most successful teams in the history of the school’s athletic program. These teams registered the second-most (25-8 in ‘93-94) and third-most (24-10 in ‘94-95) win totals in program history. Coming off Ohio’s tournament success in ’94, fans packed the Convo in record numbers, as the ‘Cats set a season attendance record of 113,427 that has since been surpassed during the 2012-13 season (124,782). It would take 11 seasons, however, before fans would see another Green and White team return from the MAC Tournament victorious. The madness soon dissipated after Trent

left Ohio and the collegiate ranks of the MAC. The former Bobcat went on to have a successful nine-year NBA career after being selected by the Milwaukee Bucks 11th overall then immediately traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in the ‘95 Draft. Trent left the school on good terms, other than the fact that the former three-time MAC Player of the Year stepped away from Ohio one year before graduating. In 2011, Trent completed his degree. It was the final item on the eight-step jersey retirement checklist established by OU’s athletic department. Trent promptly had his jersey raised into the Convocation Center rafters at halftime of the Ohio vs. Miami game in February 2012. Along with the ‘94 MAC Championship and ‘94 preseason NIT Championship banners, Trent’s No. 20, the final piece of a program-changing run, had assumed its rightful place in Ohio history. Hunter: I kept in contact with him over the years during his NBA career and he kept telling me he was working on it, and I kept telling him I wanted to see it completed. I remember seeing a text from him one day and it said, “I got my degree coach.” That made me as proud and happy as anything. Boals: A big reason why he wanted to earn a degree was No. 1, for his family and No. 2, he wanted his number hung up in the rafters. To see where Gary has come from when I met him to now is just a phenomenal success story and he’s arguably the best player to ever play in the conference. Trent: Having my jersey retired is really a celebration of my greatness, but it also reflects the greatness of the support I had from my team. That [jersey] is a representation of winning. Estis: We all were just glad to be a part of something really cool and his jersey going up there is validation of a really nice run that we had. Jerseys in the rafters are great, but I have a bond with that team that will last my entire life. I have special memories from those experiences and that’s what it’s all about. Boals: To this day we have an email chain going, and you would be hard pressed to find a team that was closer than that group of guys. If I could use one word to describe that team right now, it would be successful—guys who’ve had successful families, kids, careers, and not to mention that, we’re overdue for a reunion.

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COURTSIDE

HOT 4 BACKDROP

HOT

BY SARAH KAHLER

Ashley Luther

BACKDROP

SK: When did you work for Backdrop and which positions did you hold? AL: That was probably in 2007. So myself, this girl Tara Melvin, and a couple other people like my friend James Rice, my dude/diva, a lot of my friends from the magazine major got together and kind of started this idea of having our own print magazine on campus. So originally no one really had titles, but I guess you could call me the editor-in-chief. SK: What do you do now? AL: Now I work at Nike and I am a digital brand manager for women’s’ training in North America. SK: Do you have any advice for current students? AL: I love OU, I love Scripps, I had such a great time, but honestly the way to get the job you want is to go out and get the job you want, not sit in the classroom and get A’s. Sorry, Scripps. SK: Which class was most influential? AL: Definitely for me, magazine publishing. Basically, this guy Jeffery taught it and one day it was like come up with a concept of a magazine, write the executive summary, write the business plan, write the publishing plan, the editorial calendar, how you are going to monetize it, etc., and that’s basically how Backdrop came to be, from that class. SK: What do you miss most about Athens overall? AL: I miss the price of alcohol in Athens… so cheap…I would just say I loved waking up in Athens with a rough outline of what I had to do that day, but really could go do anything. I had no other obligations, so that’s something you miss when you leave. I try and not take life too seriously.

backdrop | Fall 2013

There are 420+ registered student organizations.

Backdrop takes a look at our own history to see where we all began. These former editors-in-chiefs share their memories and envy for those still attending this academic paradise.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY ASHLEY LUTHER AND SHANE BARNES

Shane Barnes SK: Do you have a favorite Backdrop memory? SB: The first release party. It was really small but that was the first time I felt like it was kind of a closeknit family with all the editors and writers that were involved. SK: How do you think Backdrop helped get you to where you are today? SB: It’s difficult to find a job you feel invested in like you do in Backdrop because you have a say as to what happens in the beginning until the very end of each issue…The leadership skills of [being] the editor-in-chief, learning to do everything you have to do to get the job done well, I guess, is what Backdrop taught me. SK: If you could be a student again for one day, what would you do? SB: I would probably go play racquetball in Ping and also go eat an extremely large meal at Shively Dining Hall and also, as nerdy as it is, probably go sit in on classes. SK: What is your favorite place to eat on Court Street? SB: Bagel Street Deli I like a lot. Big Mamma’s Burritos, I’m not sure, is that still there? Good Fellas. I ordered D.P. Dough a lot. SK: What do you miss most about Athens? SB: I can’t encapsulate what it is, kind of the general feeling of ownership of a place, even though it was a shared ownership…I don’t want to be to hyperbolic or anything, but it’s like a temporary paradise for everything you want as a college student and then you’re not a college student anymore; it’s still fun, it’s still pretty, but it’s not the same. There is just that feeling of knowing everybody. You’re able to call some people and walk to their houses, which doesn’t happen in huge cities.

There are 28 fraternities and sororities on campus.

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SOUNDS LIKE

Maybe people just liked our songwriting. Maybe we just knew a lot of people and they just wanted to come to our shows, but I don’t know. At that point, we were just kind of, not messing around, but we weren’t touring too much. We just wanted to sound a little bit different with synthesizers and make people dance.

Can you tell me about the open-jam sessions that Papadosio first started playing? Billy Brouse: They were just, like, hanging out with all your friends at this big party, but you got to play music with a whole bunch of people. It could have been garbage, I’m sure a lot of it was, but a lot of it was actually pretty good. That’ll happen any time when you get a bunch of people on stage and just say, ‘Hey, go for it.’ It could be great, or it could be bad, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

PHOTO BY AARON LINGENFELTER

Papadosio BY PATRICK FAHEY

They might now be playing to crowds of 30,000, but Papadosio first set out on their path to fame on the cobblestone streets of Athens.

Seven years ago, four local men came together to form a progressive, electronic rock ‘n’ roll band. Their style fused together a broad array of music, ranging from folk, dance, jam, and psychedelia, and they mixed these diverse sounds in surprising ways. Cultivated in open-jam sessions held at bars around Athens, the group has created their own distinct style and sound and amassed a considerable following. Nowadays, Papadosio plays sold-out shows across the country, and performs alongside the likes of the Flaming Lips and Primus. Though the band grows bigger and bigger every year, Papadosio still traces its roots to Athens.

How would you describe Papadosio’s music style?

Mike Healy: I feel like jamtronica is a label that a lot of people like to put on bands, but we don’t even really like that term for us… We have songs that are really acoustic oriented, and really folky and even indie kind of sounding, as well as laying down some metal here and there, and we get really heavy. So, it’s a lot different from those other bands that fall in that same category. We just like psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll freak out party central.

How was the music scene in Athens when Papadosio first started out?

Mike Healy: The music scene was crazy. There were so many indie rock bands and metal bands and jam bands all at the same time. It still is that same way, I feel like, every time I go back to Athens. I feel like more recently there is more of a funk thing going on. Everyone wants to be the next Lettuce or something in Athens.

backdrop | Fall 2013

Billy Brouse: For me, really, it was just O’Hooley’s, now Jackie O’s and whoever was there. Just O’Hooley’s and Casa and a bunch of the locals doing their own thing. I thought it was wonderful. It wasn’t too big and it wasn’t too small, it was just right.

What set you apart from the other bands in Athens?

Mike Healy: I feel like we were unique because our influences were so different from all the other bands. I feel like all the other bands back then, in terms of the jam bands, all listened to the Grateful Dead and Phish. We didn’t listen to that really at all. We came from the background of listening to a lot of Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Tool and Pink Floyd, and kind of more that sounding style of music. So, we were just very different sounding from the start.

Mike Healy: We, religiously for about two to three years, went to O’Hooley‘s every Tuesday, every week, for open jam. I used to bring my drum set all the time. We ran that shit. It was just so fun. And then playing with all of the other really good musicians in Athens taught us a lot about music and a lot about how to play with each other and with other people.

When did Papadosio start picking up steam? Mike Healy: The first year, we played 50 shows regionally. And then the second year, we jumped it up to 75. Third year, we kind of branched out a little more regionally and we did our first tour out to Colorado. And then, literally, from our fourth year as a band and all the way until now, we started doing about 105 shows a year and just touring nationwide. The past two years we’ve been a fully national band, hitting the West Coast.

How does playing a small show in a bar compare to playing a large, sold-out show? Billy Brouse: For me—let’s say we’re at a small venue where we know people there, and I haven’t seen them for a long time so, I obviously have a great time. It’s kind of like the audience is right there, and it’s really fun. I miss that sometimes, but it’s really awesome to play for a giant, sold-out crowd. You step your game up, even if it’s just subconsciously.

GUITAR KEYS VOCALS

ROB MCCONNELL

BILLY BROUSE

BASS

KEYS VOCALS

VOCALS

MIKE HEALY

SAM BROUSE

DRUMS VOCALS

KEYS

Did you ever imagine seven years ago that Papadosio would be where it is today?

Billy Brouse: Yes, actually. Like I said, it was kind of like, ‘Let’s go, let’s do it,’ from the start. We’re not done with that attitude. Mike has always been the super optimistic guy. Like, ‘Yeah, of course we’re going to be huge and it’s going to be great.’ We were like, ‘Yeah, whatever, cool. We’ll see.’ But I think at the back of my mind it was always there. I think we worked hard enough, and we’re still working hard. We’re people trying to make other people happy and spread a message of positivity. I don’t really know how that could go wrong, honestly. As long as you have your heart in the right place, and I think all of us still do.

Where do you see Papadosio in seven more years?

Mike Healy: I feel like we are going to be a big band in the world someday, we just have to keep playing. We just have to stick true to what we want to do and keep all gears going forward. I know in the next few years you’re going to see us playing internationally, and that’s going to be the start of a lot of things. Once we play every continent, I think things are going to be pretty awesome for us. I see us playing some really big venues, that’s for sure.

What are you plans for touring internationally?

Mike Healy: All we want to do is go international. We love touring the states. It’s easy to grow, we just got to keep touring and getting better. But international is totally what we want to do more than anything else. I feel like our first stops are going to be Japan and Australia. That’s what our agents are kind of telling us. So hopefully 2014, 2015, 2016, it will happen. It’s definitely on the radar. I promise that it’s happening, hopefully sooner than later.

Billy Brouse: We were a little more electronic than everyone else, but I don’t know why we stood out, honestly.

There are more than 1,700 students from other countries attending OU.

ANTHONY THOGMARTIN

WHO PLAYS WHAT?

PHOTO BY BRIAN HOCKENSMITH There are 209 buildings on nearly 1,800 acres of land.

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ON THE WEB

CATALYST for CHANGE STORY & PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANDY ALEXANDER When Associated Press Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll arrived on campus this fall to give a speech, she was taken aback by the excitement over the next day’s opening of the Nelsonville bypass. Appealing to her dry sense of humor, someone jokingly suggested she tweet about the ribbon-cutting ceremony. With anticipation at fever pitch, they said, locals might actually think the head of the world’s largest independent news agency had come to cover the momentous event. For folks around here, opening the bypass has been very big news. It shaves 20 minutes off the drive from Columbus to Athens. It also eliminates that creepy nighttime crawl through Nelsonville that caused so many outsiders, fearing they were lost, to think of the Bates Motel. And specifically for Athens, it holds the promise of social and economic transformation. To many, the 8.5-mile roadway is like a modern day passage to the New World. It removes a geographic and psychological barrier between urbanized “sophistication” and an obdurate, isolationist patch of Appalachia. At long last, they say, it means Athens can change. Athens does need to change. It already has. That’s what this issue of Backdrop is all about. When I arrived at Ohio University in the mid-1960s as a gawky freshman, Athens resembled a fictional Mayberry with

the university playing parent to largely obsequious students. Coeds had curfews and were locked in their dorms each weeknight at 10 o’clock. A student handbook noted, “A woman does not put on make-up or comb her hair in public.” And couples were admonished not to engage in “Public Displays of Affection.” I guess that would have ruled out oral sex on Court Street. OU’s party school image was built around “J-Prom” (the Junior Prom) and Greek Week, social occasions of numbing innocence and purity. Think of the starched-shirt wholesomeness of the Omega fraternity in the movie classic “Animal House,” and you start to get the picture. The predominantly white student body was aware of rampant racial and economic injustice, but was slow to agitate for equality. We paid attention to growing U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, but few initially questioned its validity. By the time I left a mere four years later, in loco parentis had given way to angry chants of “Student Power.” Coeds openly defied curfews. A strike by OU’s underpaid non-academic employees shut down the university. Black student protests led to creation of a Black Studies Institute. Students occupied Cutler Hall to protest fee hikes. Firebombs badly damaged ROTC facility and buildings on South Green. Thousands of students gathered to protest the Vietnam War. On successive nights in the spring of 1970, police using tear gas fought hundreds of brick-throwing students. In the final battle, 23 young people were treated for injuries and more than 50 were arrested before the university was abruptly closed and students were ordered to leave campus immediately. As dawn broke, armed National Guardsmen were positioned in every uptown parking space.

Now that was change! In a freshman-to-senior span, OU had The list is long and the challenge is obvious: Preserve the unique gone from tame to tumultuous. Social order was turned upside character and Appalachian culture while building an infrastructure down. Town-gown relations, often strained, were frayed. that is smart, progressive, innovative and competitive. Peaceful co-existence gradually returned. Today, the As the economic engine for the region, OU has a university and Athens once again revel in the community’s major institutional role to play. But the greater burden of idiosyncratic charm. The place seems to have reached a responsibility is on community residents and their leaders. comfortable cruising speed, where its eccentricities and Many are products of the bygone anti-establishment era. Now, isolation are seen as virtues. if Athens is to prosper and grow, they must force themselves to And that’s the problem. change. It won’t be easy. There’s a stifling complacency and what seems to be an A friend who is a lifelong Athens resident told me she worries unwillingness to force the kind of change that will make that community leaders privately feel “Athens can’t be better. Athens more competitive while preserving its magical allure. Negative thinking abounds. The city is reactive, not proactive.” Striking that balance is tricky. No one should want to lose Another Athens friend thinks locals fear “colonization” by the community’s uniqueness. The quirky charm of Donkey outsiders who will disrupt their comfortable lifestyles and Coffee. The loving young couple with dreadlocks living off the force them to cede economic and political power. grid outside of town. The unspoiled beauty of the Hocking Change is scary. It’s also necessary if our slice of heaven is to Hills. The Kroger checkout survive and thrive. clerk who says, “Have Which brings us back to a nice day,” and means the Nelsonville bypass. It’s it. The Homecoming more than a metaphorical parade on a crisp fall game changer. It can be day, when students and real, offering a genuine townspeople turn out to opportunity to exploit watch The Marching 110 everything that’s good Andy Alexander strutting on the historic about Athens. Its idyllic brick streets. setting. Its huge resource Visiting professional and Ohio University alumnus All that needs to be of highly-educated talent. preserved. But around Its relatively low cost. And the it, so much needs to change if Athens is to flourish in the fact that it’s now a straight shot on a four-lane from the state’s midst of an evolving economy. capital and largest city. Isn’t it possible to expand health care options? Can there Imagine an Athens that entices the nation’s best and be more quality housing, a key to recruiting professors and brightest. An acclaimed hub for research and innovation. A businesses? Why can’t Athens, like so many other university place that attracts tourists for its charm and business for its towns, build attractive and affordable “senior communities” savvy. A community where the quality of life is high and the that lure nostalgic alums and keep empty-nester faculty from opportunities are boundless. retiring elsewhere? How can uptown, increasingly seen as a Now that would be something to tweet about. student ghetto, draw citizens and tourists with a greater variety of shops and cafes? Could economic incentives attract Andrew Alexander, editor of The Post in 1969-70, is a Visiting a first class, environmentally conscious resort/spa/restaurant Professional at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and an Executive that would pull in golfers, diners and pleasure-seekers from in Residence with the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. throughout the region? What stands in the way of regular commercial air service?

Change is scary. It’s also necessary if our slice of heaven is to strive and thrive.”

PHOTO BY BRICE NIHISER

backdrop | Fall 2013

16 NCAA Division I teams in the Mid-American Conference

Average freshman total need-based gift aid: $6,141

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Students Now, Alumni Later, Bobcats Forever

EXHIBIT A

Since the birth of Backdrop, Exhibit A has been showcasing the creative works of OU students of all majors and backgrounds. Here are a few highlights from our past issues.

UNTITLED

WHERE FASHION

MEETS COMPASSION

BY ALEXANDER MENRISKY

Your Ohio University Alumni Association isn’t just for grads. Get involved today!

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backdrop | Fall 2013

The slowest fish is the seahorse, which moves along at about 0.01 mph.

BY MICHAEL SAM

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