January 10, 2012 | The Miami Student

The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826

VOLUME 139 NO. 30

TUESDAY, January 10, 2012

TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

In 1971, The Miami Student reported that the Student Affairs Council was continuing to probe retroactive action that prohibited students from receiving financial aid – including employment – from the university if they were under conduct probation. The Board of Trustees had agreed to the action, but nine students on probation before the Trustees’ decision were punished according to the new rule and had to give up their jobs at the university.

’Hawks sweep No. 15 Spartans on the road

By Tom Downey

For The Miami Student

The Miami University hockey team stumbled toward the end of 2011, but they started off 2012 on the right blade, sweeping No. 15 Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing.

The RedHawks won the first game 2-1 in overtime and then won the second game 4-0, behind senior goalie Connor Knapp both nights. It was the first time the Red and White had swept the Spartans since 2008.

In the first game, the RedHawks scored first as sophomore forward Bryon Paulazzo scored after senior forward Trent Vogelhuber’s shot was blocked. The goal came with just 2:12 left in the first period.

The Red and White’s lead lasted only a few seconds, however, as MSU tied the game up. Neither team managed to score again in regulation, despite opportunities for both squads.

Miami scored just under

1:30 into the overtime period to win the game, as freshman forward Austin Czarnik – back from competing for the United States in the World Junior Championships – found fellow freshman forward Jimmy Mullin, who managed to get the puck past MSU’s senior goalie Drew Palmisano to end the game.

“For the first game in a month, I thought our guys played pretty well,” Head Coach Enrico Blasi said.

The goal was the first career game winner for the freshman.

Knapp finished the game with 33 saves, as MSU outshot the ’Hawks 34-27.

However, the RedHawks’ strong play in penalty kills helped immensely as they killed all five of the Spartans’ power plays.

The second game saw Knapp continue his strong play as the ’Hawks won 4-0.

It was Knapp’s first shutout of the season and ninth of his career.

The RedHawks scored their first goal on junior

AARON SNYDER THE STATE NEWS

Junior captain Reilly Smith heads down the ice against Michigan State University’s Matt Crandell during a weekend series in East Lansing, Mich. Friday and Saturday. Miami’s sweep of the No. 15 Spartans gives them their third sweep of the season. forward Reilly Smith’s 5-3 power play goal, his 13th of the year. Smith was recently named team captain, the team’s third in addition to seniors Alden Hirschfeld and Will Weber.

The Red and White

would then put the game out of reach with three third period goals.

Freshman forward Tyler Biggs, senior forward Alden Hirschfeld and freshman forward Blake Coleman all scored during the period.

Both Hirschfeld and Coleman had assists during the game as well.

Knapp finished with 20 saves for the game, 11 of which came on the Spartans’ eight power play chances.

The RedHawks killed all

eight of them while converting on one of their six advantages.

The RedHawks also dominated in shots on goal, racking up a season high 44 compared to MSU’s 20.

Freshman forward Cody Murphy also returned to the ice during the series for the first time since he suffered a left leg injury in his first collegiate game Oct. 8.

“It was a real exciting moment and I’ve really been looking forward to my first game back,” Murphy said.

The RedHawks may enter this weekend ranked once again after receiving votes for the Top 25 last week and after a sweep of the Spartans who entered the series ranked No. 15 in the nation.

Miami will go back on the road this weekend as they face off against Lake Superior State University, who swept the ’Hawks earlier this year.

Puck drop is set for 7:35 and 7:05 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, repectively, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

ID cards enable Miami to store data about student movement

By Hunter Stenback

Online Editor

Miami University student I.D. cards may be used for more than just swiping into buildings or buying lunch. In fact, student I.D. cards also store students’ personal identification numbers and chronicle the cardholder’s activities.

Student I.D. cards have the student’s plus number encoded in the magnetic strip and also have a PIK number on the chip on the card, which is a unique number to identify the I.D. According to Joseph Bazeley, information security officer for IT Services, when the magnetic strip is swiped, the reader is able to pull out the plus number, which is then recorded in the system.

“While there is little information actually stored on the card, it is important to remember that the vast majority of student information is stored in BannerWeb, and we have the ability to link other systems to Banner to either access or store information,” Bazeley said. “The badge access system does contain some information about students, which is accessible to a Miami employee accessing the badge access system through a workstation.”

According to Miami University Police Department (MUPD) Lt. Benjamin Spilman, the ability to track student activity based on card swipes is not new or exclusive to the “smart cards,” which were first issued to students living in dorms this fall.

“With the old I.D. cards, whether you used it at a point of sale, at Shriver Center or at a dining hall or anywhere else with a

magnetic swipe reader, there’s always been that ability to find that information after the fact,” Spilman said.

mean that it’s used every single investigation.

I think [student I.D. card records] are probably very rarely used.”

Logged and loaded

‘It takes more than a phone call’

Whether a student has the new or old-style I.D. card, a transaction log within the swipe access software tracks card activity. For the new cards, this log also records when a student uses their card to open a door or if they have attempted to access a room they don’t have access to.

Those records, however, are FERPA protected, meaning the university isn’t actively monitoring them.

“We would only go looking through these records when a Miami employee had a legitimate need to see that information, and when we did that we would only be looking for the specific information that was requested,” Bazeley said.

One such request would be to aid in a police investigation, during which Bazeley said law enforcement would need a subpoena to access the records. However, unlike other law enforcement agencies, Spilman said MUPD does not need such an order to access the information because it is stored on Miami’s servers.

“To my knowledge, there’s not a subpoena issued for that information,” Spilman said. “[Issuing a subpoena] is not something that typically has to be done.”

Spilman added that MUPD rarely uses the information collected from Miami I.D. cards in investigations, instead opting for other techniques.

“Like so many other things, it’s a resource,” Spilman said. “Having the resource available doesn’t

Another example of a records request that would be approved includes releasing the data for use in a disciplinary hearing with the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution (OESCR), Miami’s student court, to confirm whether or not a student had swiped into his/her room around the time he/she said.

Susan Vaughn, director of OESCR, said the records are rarely accessed and are mainly used for safety purposes.

“The records are accessed by our office maybe once or twice a year,” Vaughn said.

“I could see other offices might need them to verify whether or not a person has actually been on campus.”

Although data can be accessed if necessary, Vaughn said it is not necessarily being collected, but it is being stored. Therefore, students should expect a lot of privacy because there has to be a really good reason to access the records.

“It’s kind of like how much money is in your account. Well, who has the right to know that? Not a lot of people. So I would say laws would govern that, and students should expect a high level of privacy because that’s what we tell students,” Vaughn said.

During a hearing with OESCR, students have the right to see everything in their file and can verify the information, including when they used their I.D.

i.d. cards, SEE PAGE 9

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

ANDREW BRAY THE MIAMI STUDENT

Girl Talk, real name Gregg Michael Grillis, focuses on his music during a concert at Brick Street Bar and Grill Dec. 8. David Nail will be performing at the venue Jan. 25.

Thieves steal copper over break

By Jenni Wiener Campus Editor

Amidst Oxford home break-ins during winter vacation, Miami University endured a theft on campus.

Copper wires estimated to be worth $,000 were stolen from the university.

Associate Director of University Communications Claire Wagner said some faculty members noticed the lights near the walkways of Tallawanda Road were off the night of Jan. 4. An investigation took place the next morning, which revealed missing copper cables.

“When the street lights are out, we treat those as a high priority,” Assistant Vice President of Operations for Physical Facilities Cody Powell said. “We learned that there

was no electricity being fed to those lights because the wires were gone.”

Four copper cables, each 250 ft. in length, were stolen from the utility tunnels under Tallawanda Rd., Wagner said.

Powell said the theft had two major impacts on the university.

“Safety is very important, so having lights out on campus is not a good thing,” he said. “The second impact was that the university had to pay for labor and material to put the lights back into service.”

Seeing that safety was a major concern, Powell said the lights were quickly repaired and were back in service by Friday.

Although the replacement cost Miami $3,000, Powell said he estimated the scrap value of the copper stolen is

less than that.

To prevent this from happening in the future, Miami has a safety program to make sure all access to the utility tunnels is closed and secured.

“There are people in our operations that have access to the tunnels, but the best we can do is make sure things are secured,” Powell said. “We don’t want students or any other unauthorized persons down there because there is a potential risk of injury.”

Powell went on to say, “A theft is very unfortunate. The university has to scramble to pay to get everything back to how it needs to be. But we have to keep the campus safe and hopefully prevent it from happening in the future.”

The Miami University Police Department is investigating.

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CAMPUS

Editors Lauren Ceronie Jenni Wiener

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2012

campus@miamistudent.net

MU drug violations rise, highest in 3 years

BY Allison McGillivray

For The Miami Student

The number of drug violations on Miami University’s campus for 2011 are likely to be higher than they have been in the last three years.

“Not [by] an amount that will make you fall off your chair, but they are in fact higher,” Chief of Miami University Police John McCandless said.

In 2008, the Miami University Police Department (MUPD) reported 39 drug violations; in 2009, there were 60 drug violations; in 2010, there were 55 drug violations.

In 2011, there were between 75-80 drug violations.

A violation most often refers to an arrest,

McCandless said. The department has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drug possession or use.

“If our officers come upon someone who is in possession or using drugs, we always cite or make an arrest,” McCandless said.

The Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution (OESCR) reported an increase in drug use violations, called a 106A violation in the student handbook, for fall 2011 from the two previous fall semesters.

In fall 2009, there were 42 students charged with 106A, in fall 2010, 51 students were charged and in fall 2011, 89 students were charged.

MUPD’s 2011 numbers have not been totally compiled yet, McCandless said.

McCandless said it is normal for the number of

drug violations to rise and fall over a series of years and there can be no definitive answer for why these numbers vary.

“If you look at all of our numbers, they tend to spike either up or down which I don’t think is all that unusual,” McCandless said.

“I don’t know how much you can read into that. Is it that the officers were more assertive with getting out?

Is it that the RAs were calling us more? I don’t know if I can give you a definitive answer as to why that happens.”

Despite the year-to-year statistical variations, McCandless said no assumptions can be made about the amount of drug use on campus.

“Would I say that drug use is rampant and out of control? No, I think we see

little blips up and down whether it’s drugs or alcohol,” McCandless said.

Associate Director of OESCR Chris Taylor, said the increase in violations is part of a national trend of increase in marijuana use.

“Nationally, numbers are up for marijuana in particular. This is a trend that has been happening since 2008,” Taylor said. “We are part of that trend, I don’t think there is anything in particular that has changed at Miami.”

According to both McCandless and Taylor, marijuana is the drug the highest number of students are cited for using.

“It is also the easiest drug to find in some ways because of the smell,” Taylor said.

Taylor said the American Psychological

Association believes this increase in marijuana use may be the result of changing state policies on medical marijuana usage.

Taylor said other than marijuana, OESCR sees occasional prescription drug violations and the rare violation for cocaine or ecstasy.

McCandless said MUPD sees similar trends, and that most drug violations are reported by residence hall staff.

One of the reasons the drug violation numbers for 2011 may be higher is because more resident assistants are recognizing and reporting drug activity, according to McCandless.

Director of the Office of Residence Life Gerald Olson, said via email that residence assistants are told to call the Miami

University Police Department when they suspect drug use is occurring and then write an incident report of what occurred, just as they would regarding any other situation.

The drug policy of a university is determined by the state and local laws of the area.

McCandless said MUPD follows Ohio law when it comes to citing or making a drug related arrest, but there are some universities that follow city ordinances when determining their drug policies.

Miami offers several ways to educate and counsel students about substance abuse, according to Leslie Haxby McNeill, assistant director of

DRUGS, SEE PAGE 9

December graduates bid farewell to their alma mater

By Jenn Smola

Senior Staff Writer

LISA GEHRING THE MIAMI STUDENT

SAY HELLO TO A NEW SEMESTER A student leaves MacCracken hall on the way to class on the first day of the spring semester.

Hundreds of students gathered for commencement at Millet Hall Dec. 16 at Millett Hall to bid farewell to their Miami University years.

Miami awarded 894 diplomas at commencement, including 89 associates, 632 bachelors, 149 masters and 17 doctorates, according to Miami’s news and public information office.

Kelsey Gross, a journalism and international studies double major, graduated this past December.

Gross graduated in under the average four years. For now, Gross is focused on her job search, she said.

“Between January and May, I’m going to be applying for jobs full time,” Gross said.

Gross said she was able to graduate in under four years because of how proactive she was about planning her schedule.

“I didn’t mess around with credit hours,” Gross said.

Lauren Kelly, like Gross, is also a journalism and international studies double major who graduated in December.

Kelly decided to stay an extra semester past the traditional four years. She is preparing to move out to Los Angeles for an internship.

“I’d ultimately like to do fashion styling and fashion journalism,” Kelly said.

She hopes that her internship may lead to a full-time position.

While graduating in under four years is typically considered “early” and graduating in over four years is considered “late,” University Registrar David Sauter said students should not think of it that way.

Kelly said, and December graduates have that ability she said.

Marketing major Jillian Fleming also graduated at December commencement, and agrees that it is beneficial to the job search.

An advantage of graduating in December would definitely be the job market.”

Jillian fleming

MIAMI UNIVERSITY GRADUATE

“’Early’ and ‘late’ might not be the best verbiage,” Sauter said. “For example, students seeking double majors, purposefully adding opportunities such as study abroad, etc. — are not ‘late’ as much as simply ‘taking longer to graduate than four years.’ Same for ‘early’ – perhaps ramping up summer classes, coming to us with more acceptable AP scores.”

Both Gross and Kelly agreed that there are advantages to graduating in December.

“I would recommend it,” Gross said of graduating in December, adding that in her case, she still gets to enjoy a college lifestyle with her friends while applying for jobs without worrying about classes.

December graduation can be advantageous for immediate employment seekers as well, Kelly pointed out. “(Employers) want people to start in January,”

“An advantage of graduating in December would definitely be the job market,” Fleming said. She was able to take advantage of employers looking to hire in December, and now has a job with an e-business consulting firm in the Dayton area.

Fleming, who graduated in under four years, said she strongly recommends December commencement, which she said has both good and bad aspects.

“It can be somewhat anticlimactic,” Gross said, pointing out that there’s not as much hype in December as there generally is before spring commencement.

Fleming added that despite having a job, it’s difficult leaving Miami friends behind as they finish their education.

“Enjoy the time you have left,” Fleming said, adding that she wished she could do it all over. “Miami was a great experience.”

University replaces chilled water pipes to meet increased cooling needs

By Lauren Ceronie

Campus Editor

In the middle of winter, Miami University is already preparing for the dog days of summer by improving air conditioning capabilities.

Students trudging around campus on the first day back from break may have noticed fences covered in green tarps obscuring parts of Miami University’s campus.

Those green fences are protecting areas where workers are replacing the

chilled water pipes that run through campus.

Miami is increasing the size of the chilled water pipes that provide air conditioning to buildings on campus, according to Doug Hammerle, Senior Project Engineer and project manager for the central campus chilled water project.

“There will be increased cooling loads from the Armstrong Student Center so the cooling will need more capacity,” Hammerle said. “This improvement will meet its needs along with future needs.”

The chilled water pipes carry 44 degree water and run through the university’s underground tunnel system, connecting most major buildings on campus, according to Hammerle.

The project also includes putting a new 1,730 ton chiller in Miami’s south chiller plant. The overall project will cost $2.3 million and should be completed in July, according to Hammerle. However, students can expect to see the green fences disappear in mid-March along the tunnel route.

JULIA ENGELBRECHT THE MIAMI STUDENT

Green covered fences protect construction areas around campus. Miami is replacing the chilled water pipes that run beneath the campus.

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COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY@miamistudent.net

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POLICE

BEAT Drive targets student hunger Bar fight ensues uptown, male hit by beer bottle Around 2 a.m. Sunday, Oxford police officers were conducting an investigation at Brick Street Bar and Grill, when a “large bar fight” broke out inside the business. Officers escorted a bloody male away in handcuffs, but later determined that he was a victim and had been hit in the head with a beer bottle. The victim declined to file a report and refused medical treatment.

Police said they have no suspects at this time.

Erratic driving leads to OVI for drunk driver Around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, an Oxford Police Department officer parked in the Walgreens parking lot noticed a car going at a high rate of speed through the Kroger parking lot on S. Locust Street. The car stopped in the road at least 30 seconds after bottoming out, police reports said. The car accelerated rapidly, going 12 miles per hour over the posted 25 miles per hour speed limit. The officer caught up to the car at the intersection of Locust and High streets at a red light.

The vehicle did not move through the first green light and waited about 20 seconds through the second green light before crossing through the intersection. The car then crossed the doubleyellow line and turned onto College Corner Pike, where the officer stopped the vehicle.

The driver, identified as 60-year-old David Hollingsworth, had slurred speech and difficulty keeping his head up and admitted to having a few drinks and taking prescription narcotics.

Hollingsworth’s blood alcohol concentration was .14, police said.

Hollingsworth was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence, marked lanes violations and speeding.

Unlicensed driver cited for drug paraphernalia Around 8:30 p.m. Friday, an Oxford Police Department officer observed a gold vehicle driving on College Corner Pike with only one headlight functioning. The vehicle pulled abruptly into the parking lot of Auto Zone and as the officer pulled up behind him, the driver, identified as 29-year-old William Hixson, exited the vehicle with his hands in the air. Hixson told the officer “I don’t have a driver’s license, you caught me.” The officer searched the vehicle and found a plastic baggy with 28 grams of marijuana in it on the passenger seat floorboards, as well as scale and plastic bags in the back seat. Hixson was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

By Jessica Barga Staff Writer

Students and professors donated time and resources during finals week and over winter break to help out those who benefit from the Oxford Choice Pantry.

A food and supplies drive started by Miami University professor Glenn Muschert succeeded in collecting over several dozen grocery bags of goods to donate.

“I was reading The Miami Student and there was an article about the students who go to the food pantry, and it just got me thinking,” Muschert said. “A lot of students [in my sociology class] feel that we’re

studying other people, but we are touched by those issues.”

Muschert said hunger is an issue that students can help fix.

Muschert spoke to his own class and sent an email to fellow faculty members to share with their classes, encouraging them to bring in food, hygiene products and household items that could be donated to the pantry for those in need.

“It was a small idea that didn’t take much time to do,” Muschert said.

After collecting the supplies that students had brought in, Muschert and other participating professors brought them to the Oxford Choice Pantry.

“We were bringing the

food in through the back and there were [customers] coming in to get the food … it

“I think the important thing is that this was a kind of grassroots movement,” Muschert

I was reading The Miami Student and there was an article about the students who go to food pantry, and it just got me thinking.”

Glenn mushert

MIAMI UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

was a really neat experience,” Muschert said.

Overall, Muschert collected about a dozen grocery bags of items from his class, with about a 22 percent participation rate for students in that class.

said. “It was just something that we got together and did for the community.”

Pepper Stetler was another professor who participated in the food drive.

“Glenn sent the email [after

reading] The Miami Student article, and it was so easy to do … the response from my students was really impressive,” Stetler said. “I was really proud of Miami students for how they responded,” adding that her classes provided about 15 grocery bags of items to donate.

First-year Megan Dunagan said she was not aware of the food drive at the time, but is supportive of the idea of helping out people in need, especially other students.

“Students have other things to worry about rather than getting their next meal … they should just be focused on getting their degree,” Dunagan said.

Uptown businesses adapt to Center offers help for remain profitable during breaks rising heating costs

By Catherine Ubry Staff Writer

When Miami University students depart campus and venture home for breaks, the small businesses in the uptown district face the prospect of keeping business up without students around to help sales.

Summer and winter breaks are the periods of the year in which uptown business owners see the most slowdown in sales due to the decrease in students on campus who go uptown for shopping, eating and entertainment.

Business during summer break is surprisingly not as slow as many may imagine, according to Economic Development Director for the City of Oxford Alan Kyger.

“It is usually slower around Christmas than summer,” Kyger said. “In the summer, there is still summer school and Miami has a lot of camps and activities that bring other people into town.”

He also said during the holidays some businesses, mainly bars, employ strategies to keep revenue coming in when the students are gone.

“Over Thanksgiving, a few bars have nights called, “Townie Nights,” which attempts to encourage people who are returning to their hometown of Oxford to get out and mix and mingle with other people they may have used to know from home and to catch up with old friends,” Kyger said.

However, not all businesses

see a huge slowdown during the holidays or other times when most students are at home on breaks. Some businesses report seeing a spike in revenue, according to Kyger.

“There is a perception that there is little parking available during the school year so people think that because it is break, they can park and go uptown to places like Fiesta Charra or Buffalo Wild Wings, or other places they may not always go very often during the school year,” Kyger said.

Employee Cheri Corcoran of the shop The Apple Tree, agreed that business certainly

Deli Shop said although business is slower during the winter than the summer during break, there is still a decent amount of business when students leave thanks to people visiting Oxford.

“There’s obviously a larger difference with us being not as busy and we have reduced hours with not as many people working, but we still get business,” Fries said.

“We had a lot of people from Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton coming back for the holidays who would come by for a bagel, so we’ve been getting pretty good business.”

For Christmas we’ve done really, really well and the townspeople have been great for shopping.”

Cheri Corcoran

EMPLOYEE AT THE APPLE TREE

slows down when students leave for breaks, although it does not slow down too severely and the store still gets a decent amount of business in the summer.

“Business does get slower, but it has actually been really good because of the camps and activities in the summer”, Corcoran said. “It’s been surprisingly good in summer because of orientation but as for Christmas, we’ve done really, really well and the townspeople have been great for shopping.”

Bryan Fries of Bagel and

Fries said Bagel and Deli reduces its normal working hours much more during winter break compared to the school sessions in the summer.

“It is slower during winter break because during the summer there are some students still around for classes,” Fries said.

Sophomore Drew McCormick said, “It’s inevitable that businesses are going to be slower over the holiday breaks because uptown’s main consumers are the students at the university.”

By Morgan Schaffer

For The Miami Student

With the winter months in full swing, the heaters (and bills) will be cranking up everywhere. What do residents of Oxford who cannot afford the monthly bill do?

Oxford Police Department Sgt. John Varley said there are not specific laws pertaining to the eviction of families due to their inability to pay energy bills “It is all circumstantial,” Varley said. “It will depend on the situation. Obviously if there are kids involved, they’re probably not going to turn the heat off.”

“Families who need help with bills go to the Oxford Family Resource Center, which also helps families with clothing and food. Also, the churches in Oxford are very generous. Families can go there to present their needs and the churches will help in whatever ways they can,” Miami University first-year and native of Oxford Joop Roberts said.

Director of the Oxford Family Resource Center Diane Ruther-Vierling said there are several programs and agencies designated to helping lower income families cover heating costs. She also said there are an increasing number of people going to homeless shelters in Hamilton.

“Duke Energy has a program called Heat Share, and we have access to some of that money. There is also HEAT,

which is a federal government program helping to provide people with heating utilities,” Ruther-Vierling said.

Ruther-Vierling also said the center receives donations from other individuals and churches.

Glenwood Energy General Manager Keith Smith said bills may not necessarily increase for customers using natural gas, depending on natural gas prices.

“Typically, heating bills normally don’t rise in the winter,” Smith said. “When you’re comparing heating costs, a lot of people think that electricity is less expensive than natural gas. We are finding that electricity is about twice the price of natural gas currently.”

The amount of money spent on heating a home can vary.

“It really depends on the storage capacity, how much is in storage and how cold the winter is,” Smith said. “If it is a really cold winter, it will have a slight increase. Average cost of natural gas is $8 an MCF, which is measured as 1,000 cubic feet of gas.

Cost has remained relatively stable over the past three or four years.”

In concurrence with Roberts and Ruther-Vierling, Smith also said some people are willing to help.

“There are several state and federal agencies that help people with paying bills. We also try to help if we can.

Typically, there are people who fall behind,” Smith said.

Resolution passed to improve perilous intersection

By Justin Reash Community Editor

The Oxford City Council unanimously passed a resolution approving an application for a Transportation, Community and System Preservation (TSP) grant on behalf of Miami University from the state of Ohio during its regular meeting Jan. 3. T he resolution allows funding for Miami to improve public safety on city streets and focused on improving traffic flow and pedestrian safety at the corners of U.S. Route 27 and Spring Street, and Maple and Spring streets.

The intersection at U.S. Route 27 was especially dangerous in 2011. On Dec. 7, three separate accidents occured on Miami’s campus.

One woman obtained such injuries that required her to be

flown to the closest local hospital to receive urgent care.

The application was a result of a university-sponsored campus circulation master plan, according to Senior Project Architect and Manager John Seibert. With the consultation of Baker Engineering, Seibert and a university project committee focused on improving pedestrian safety on campus.

More specifically, the committee focused on improving traffic flow and pedestrian safety at the corners of U.S. Route 27 and Spring Street, and Maple and Spring streets.

Since the grant is through the federal government, Miami’s application had to be supported and submitted by the local government, Seibert said. With the passage of this resolution, Oxford is now the co-sponsor of the grant.

“We believe that

resignalization of traffic lights at Spring St. and Patterson Ave. is plausible,” Seibert said.

“We are absolutely happy that the resolution was passed, and if we get the funds, we will do due diligence on the specific planning of the project.”

The committee will be notified March 31 to be told they were granted the funds by the federal government.

The deadline for the federal grant was Jan. 6, which caused much discussion at the meeting. Also, the specifics of the plan were not fully understood by the council.

The passage of this resolution is only a one-time approval for the city manager to sign and sponsor the grant, according to Oxford Mayor Richard Keebler. This means that even if the grant is approved, it is not guaranteed the city will accept it.

“My concern wasn’t about the overall grant, but the specifics that were listed in the application,” Keebler said.

The main issue the city council had was that they were approving a grant before understanding and approving each detail within it.

“We had the cart before the horse,” Keebler said.

The resolution passed unanimously because, after further discussion, the city council agreed to sponsor it but insisted on reviewing and revising it before they accept it if indeed the federal government awards it to them.

“We need to find what is best for the community, which is the city and Miami as a whole, and we haven’t had the opportunity to see the project as a whole but the resolution passed because it had in there time for further in-

vestigation and development,” Keebler said.

On the issue of dangerous vehicle and pedestrian traffic listed in the committee’s master plan, Keebler said that stoplights would be the best alternative to the current situation.

“Stop signs for the most part might help pedestrian safety but they are a major impediment for flowing traffic,” Keebler said. “Stoplights do a much better job in both, so I want to see discussion on that particular item.”

The council also unanimously passed a resolution creating residential permit parking on Rose Avenue between Poplar Street and Campus Avenue. The permit parking allows for city residents to have clearer streets to improve parking, especially with Rose Avenue close to campus.

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OPINION

Editors Noëlle Bernard ORIANA PAWLYK

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2012

editorial@miamistudent.net

EDITORIAL The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

To ensure student privacy, university must be transparent

PATRICK GEYSER THE MIAMI STUDENT

JUN BEI THE MIAMI STUDENT

THE

Miami

Student is looking for

designers.

E-mail Colleen at yatescl@muohio.edu for more information.

The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826

EDITORIAL BOARD Sam Kay Editor in Chief

JUSTIN REASH COMMUNITY Editor

Bethany Bruner News Editor

Lauren Ceronie Campus Editor

Noëlle Bernard Editorial Editor

Jenni Wiener Campus Editor

ORIANA PAWLYK Editorial Editor

JM RIEGER Sports Editor

All letters must be signed in order to be printed. Please send letters via e-mail to: editorial@miamistudent.net We reserve the right to edit for length, content and clarity.

Miami University collects a wealth of information about students using I.D. cards. When students purchase something at a dining hall or swipe into a building, that information does not just disappear but is stored electronically.

Now that students use I.D. cards instead of keys to enter dorm rooms, the amount and detail of data the university collects has reached new levels, raising concerns about student privacy.

It is time to evaluate what information the university collects, why and for a shorter time period it is stored and under what circumstances it can be accessed.

Transaction log software is found within each swipe card and the new cards have more advanced software because now students need swipe access for their individual rooms instead of just to gain access to the building. This wealth of information creates a sort of record of students’ daily lives.

These records are not actively monitored because the information is protected by federal privacy laws. However, if the police or other university employees need access to the logged information, it is readily available. It is not

In order to ensure student privacy, significant measures articulating access policies need to be implemented.

Moreover, the university needs to be transparent to students about how their movements are being tracked. clear whether there is a precise protocol for accessing these records.

The editorial board of The Miami Student sees problems with the current approach to managing this data. If this information gets into the wrong hands, it could be detrimental for students. According to the university, the information that is tracked monitors how often and when a student accesses his or her room and if a student tries to open a room they do not have access to. The argument is that the information has the potential to assist police and the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution (OESCR) to identify trends for delinquent students.

The board questions the necessity of the university keeping records of students’ comings and goings for one years time. Since the transaction log software is fairly new, the university appears to not have determined

protocols on how to manage the data. At this time, the university is keeping the logged data for a year but that may be too long.

This board suggests the university reassess the security of the data logs. In order to ensure student privacy, significant measures articulating access policies need to be implemented.

Moreover, the university needs to be transparent to students about how their movements are being tracked. Instead of relying on the code of conduct to detail the power of swipe cards, the university should tell students upfront when they first receive I.D. cards all that the system entails.

Ultimately, students deserve to know what data the university collects.

This board would like to see an open dialogue between students and the administration about what data should be collected and what privacy rights students have.

Rule of Thumb Syllabus week The reset button has been pushed. Make this semester better than the last and hit the ground running.

Last semester for seniors It’s a bittersweet time for seniors as they take their final courses and prepare to say goodbye to the red bricks and toasted rolls in May.

Improving pedestrian safety This is long overdue, but hopefully pedestrians can feel safer in trusting crosswalks again in the future.

Copper bandits Police are trying to identify those responsible for stealing more than 250 feet of copper wire from Miami’s campus, worth about $3,000.

Women’s basketball team winning eight consecutive games Women’s basketball is making Miami proud!

Now it’s time for RedHawk fans to show their unadulterated support. The ladies have a home game at 7 p.m. Wednesday … Be there!

Hockey sweeping Michigan State Congratulations to Miami hockey for defeating (and shaming) a ranked team!

Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcome daughter, Blue Ivy Carter Hollywood added another famous child to the mix Saturday. We will all see in about 15 years if Blue’s famous parents passed on the gift of music.

www.miamistudent.net

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2012 OP ED

strategically speaking JESSICA SINK

2012: Let the countdown begin

7

Student on the street What is your New Year’s Resolution?

Kellie Huebner

Senior, Accounting

“To be able to cook more healthy food at home.”

ERIN KILLINGER THE MIAMI STUDENT

Happy New Year! Here it is: 2012, the 12th year of the third millennium of the 21st century. The United Nations General Assembly designated 2012 as the “International Year of Cooperatives,” and the “International Year of Sustainability for All,” in order to emphasize the contribution of cooperatives to socioeconomic development, whatever that means.

The year 2012 looks to be a remarkable one. It marks the second and last solar transit of Venus of the century and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

It also marks the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne, the 60th anniversary of NBC’s Today Show and the 100th anniversary of a very big boat that sank next to an iceberg. A variety of popular beliefs also suggest that 2012 will see the apocalyptic end of the world, as we know it.

According to an ancient Mayan prophecy, there will be a shift in the global calendar on Dec. 21. At that

point, the calendar reaches the end of its 5,126th epoch.

This has been interpreted to suggest the end of the world will come that day through natural disasters and worldwide catastrophes including earthquakes, floods and dramatic temperature changes.

The movie 2012 began with images of the state of California plunging into the sea, and balls of fire falling from the sky. Not intended to be taken seriously, of course. After all, it is just a movie.

Yet, with any doomsday prediction, people get excited. Believers are fascinated with the idea that 2012 could be the last year of earth. As with the infamous Y2K event, many are preparing, stocking food, buying vacation packages to the Caribbean and registering for skydiving lessons.

The official website for the apocalyptic date, www.December212012.com, posted an article about the Mexican city of Tapachula installing a countdown clock in the middle of the city to keep everyone focused on

the amount of time left.

Although there is no certainty about these predictions, merely speculation, there could be a bright side to a coming doomsday. In an attempt to think positively, for Miami University students, it would mean no more group projects, internships, student loans, utility bills or frustratingly short one day “fall breaks.”

For everyone else, no more IRS, credit card bills or workplace issues.

Perhaps Congress already knows something the rest of us don’t know. Why worry about the impossibility of repaying a $15.2 trillion national debt or the danger of nuclear war? If the world is ending in December, there is no reason to fret. Ron Paul may be smarter than we think.

All jokes aside, no one knows whether 2012 will be the last year we all live and breathe. No day is guaranteed. It’s extremely likely that, before our time, a dinosaur went to bed thinking there would be a tomorrow. Ultimately, the

goal should be to live each day like it is your last. Not to throw it away on meaningless pursuits, but really do something worthwhile.

Ask yourself, if today were your last day, would you be able to stand up and be proud of it?

In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character relives the same day over and over again, caught in an endless cycle of waking up to Feb. 2. It is only after he learns the true value of life that he is able to escape and become a better person. There is a countdown clock on each of our lives; the goal is to be sure those minutes really matter.

It seems we are constantly looking for an end, preparing for a doomsday, living in uncertainty. Yet, if we always fear the end, we won’t really enjoy the journey. Whatever happens, make 2012 a great year. Make good choices and always find the joy in each day. The world could end on Dec. 21 or it could end on Dec. 20. It is a leap year, after all.

Jess Dell’Aquioa Sophomore, Accounting

“To take all my vitamins.”

Rachel Dawson First-year, marketing

“To get in better physical shape and tone up.”

Ross smith

First-year, Marketing

“To learn to play the guitar.”

the contrarian J. DANIEL WATKINS

While GOP questions war on religion, they are creating their own As the GOP debates continue in full force, an NPR article on Sunday asked the title question, “Has Obama Waged a War on Religion?” alongside the accusations coming from candidates.

Seemingly, if there was one thing the candidates agree on, it’s the conceived notion of conflict between the religious and otherwise.

Rick Perry made the boldest claim, saying the war on religion not only exists, but also belongs to President Barack Obama. Rick Santorum comes in second by saying we’re coming to a conflict between “man’s laws and God’s laws.”

And how does that conflict come to be? According to Perry, such a conflict spawns from allowing gays to serve openly in the military. Any reasonable observer might then ask, “How does that affect those candidates?”

While the article examines the different positions on which both sides feel they are playing a zero sum game, it ends on the most important question. What ever happened to live and let live? The opposite side of live and let live is nothing new to political tirades, yet remains something everyone should question. Instead of focusing so much

on whether or not someone should be allowed to do something, instead ask what it matters that they can. The decision should come down on the side of what concretely stems from a person’s actions.

Consider this: a couple wishes to get married to express their love for one another, and they do so by participating in the commonly occurring religious ceremony that is marriage.

They state their love for one another, and remain faithful. Now, should they be allowed to do this?

Well, according to the First Amendment, this is guaranteed. This marriage has zero bearing on the lives of other people, unless the offended party is intruding upon the privacy of others. By the way, that couple is same sex. The situation has come full circle. It seems Perry and Santorum are personally waging a war on religion by “prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

I am uninterested in debating the religion of those preaching it to the world, but I wonder about the environment that creates them. The word ‘bigot’ gets thrown around, I’d wager, as much as any other when describing conservatives.

Dustin Gutzwiller

First-year, Early Childhood Education

“To grow in my relationship with Jesus.”

Taking the optimistic stance might look like this: while so many of these people rear ugly heads in public, they are merely examples of misguided attempts at achieving good actions; actions that might create a higher caliber citizen.

A bigot is to be understood as someone intolerant of other creeds or beliefs. It isn’t limited to those who are religious, just those who are so sure someone else is wrong, that they must not be tolerated. I’d double down on my wager at this point, and say it includes most of the people using it. I have seen so few arguments about conservatives being wrong on the matter, because people skip so quickly into playground name calling, which begs the question if there is even time for them to make such an argument.

Of course, there are those who do legitimately defend the points, yet the political climate continues to ignore this by building itself off the condescending stances that someone is wrong or stupid by virtue of their distance to the right or left. Whether the person is the bigot, or being called it, the two are cut

from the same cloth. People are entirely too focused on other people and how they live their lives. The desire to eliminate plurality is apparent as soon as the presentation boils down to furor in place of argument.

Taking the optimistic stance might look like this: while so many of these people rear ugly heads in public, they are merely examples of misguided attempts at achieving good actions; actions that might create a higher caliber citizen. But how can good be forged in a storm of so much negativity? Why is it that politics and religion are to be avoided at family dinners? People feel cornered, and being wrong scares them. Maybe that’s because instead of the idea that being wrong today means being right tomorrow, being wrong today makes tomorrow full of shame and humiliation.

Asia Ameigh

First-year, psychology

“To learn how to eat with chopsticks.”

jessie wagoner

First-year, Music education

“To get to know more people on campus.”

Nick Crawford Senior, Education

“To improve my study habits and skills.”

8

Editor MEGAN MCGILL

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ARTS@miamistudent.net

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2012

Professor plays on ‘Tonight Show’

By Megan McGill

Arts and Entertainment Editor

Over break, many students tuned in from their respective holiday locations to watch Miami University Associate Professor of music Pansy Chang perform on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

“I stayed up to watch her,” senior music education major Jeni Berecek said.

“I watched the entire show because I didn’t know when she’d be on.

Pink Martini came on at the end as the musical guest. It was really cool to see my teacher on national television.”

Berecek studies cello with Chang. Chang performed with the 12-

member group Pink Martini, an acclaimed ensemble that performs music all over the world that crosses the genres of classical, jazz and pop.

“The band leader [Thomas Lauderdale] is enamored with music of the early 1900s.

The band records songs in all different kinds of languages,” Chang said.

According to Chang, the group enjoys international acclaim and is especially popular in Europe.

Appearing on the Tonight Show was part of the group’s Holiday Tour, which also included a New Year’s Eve performance at Disney Hall in Los Angeles.

“It’s definitely work, but it’s fun work,” Chang said.

According to Chang, the

group spent the entire day at the studio on the day of their appearance on the Tonight Show.

Pink Martini rehearsed

“There’s a commercial break beftore the musical guest, so we had a short time to run out onstage and get settled.”

They did a close up on Professor Chang. She looked like a diva playing her cello. I was so proud and thought, ‘Thats my teacher!’”

Gibran mahmud SOPHOMORE

during the day so camera crews would know where and when to direct their cameras. According to Chang, they filmed the show around 4 p.m.

“The show is filmed in the afternoon and aired and night, but it’s filmed in real time,” Chang said.

“It was cool to see her [Chang] work together with the violinist. Her husband [Dan Faehnle] is a guitarist and he was featured a lot,” Berecek said.

Sophomore vocal performance major Gibran Mahmud also tuned in to watch Chang.

“They did a close up on Professor Chang. She looked like a diva playing her cello,” Mahmud said. “I was so proud and thought, ‘That’s my teacher!’”

According to Mahmud, Chang is widely respected by the music students at Miami.

“She has really high expectations because she really believes we can achieve a lot. Everyone appreciates her feedback and seeks her opinion,” Berecek said.

Chang has been performing with Pink Martini since 1998. According to Chang, the group is very understanding of her teaching schedule and always welcomes her to perform whenever she is able.

ANDREW BRAY THE MIAMI STUDENT

LOCAL BAND FILMS IN WILLIAMS HALL STUDIO The Ground’s filming took place over winter break in preparation for their MUTV debut. This fimling will air on MUTV within the next two weeks.

Students refine theatrical skills at Illinois competition

By Christina Casano

For The Miami Student

Most students returned to campus after three relaxing weeks, but a group of six students from the Department of Theatre got back to the grind early.

On Jan. 3, these students left Oxford for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to attend the 2012 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Regional Competition.

Every year, Miami University sends a group of students to KCACTF to compete in different areas of theater arts. Student actors and designers are nominated for exceptional

work on shows, and stage managers and designers can enter themselves into competitions as well.

One of the nominated design competitors, senior Lawton Lovely, received an honorable

recorded the music for the interludes between scenes and for intermission.

Mari Taylor, a sophomore, entered an unrealized set design for competition. This is the first year she attended KCACTF.

I was surprised about how many students around our region strive to share theater like I want to do.”

Mari taylor

MIAMI UNIVERSITY SOPHOMORE

mention second place award for his sound design for Miami University Theater’s production of Independence (February 2011). Lovely wrote and

Taylor was the only student from Miami competing in this category.

“I was terrified by the judges and got grilled, but did not pass through

to finals. My professor mentioned that I was one of the big ‘maybe’s’ and I should be very proud of myself. It was a fun experience,” Taylor said.

Junior Christi Mueller also competed for the first time under the category of stage management.

“It’s a lot different than showing a design or acting because a stage manager doesn’t really have a physical thing to present other than a binder filled with notes and cues, so I had to explain the challenges I had and how I overcame them,” Mueller said.

Students who attend KCACTF have a multitude of workshops and shows that they can attend when they are not

competing. Workshops involved all areas of theater, from acting and movement to hands-on design.

According to Taylor, the annual festival is always a great reminder of why theater people do what they do.

“I was surprised about how many students around our region strive to share theater like I want to do. All the creative people surrounding me made me feel proud- like I was apart of the elite crowd. It was a great experience,” Taylor said.

“KCACTF was a great reminder to me that I would like to pursue a higher form of theatrical art than just commercial entertainment,” Mueller said.

Department of Theater invites students to audition

By Christina Casano For The Miami Student

The Department of Theater will be holding auditions for Thornton Wilder’s Our Town from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Call-backs

will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday.

A sign-up sheet with audition time blocks will be posted on the Call Board in the Center of Performing Arts by the Green Room (Room 144), where those auditioning will check-in before their scheduled audition

time. Report to the Green Room 15 minutes before your audition and an assistant will direct you to the audition location.

Those auditioning need to prepare two one-minute contrasting monologues as well as a 30-second scene of pantomimed action without words or

props. Cold readings will be available for those who don’t have monologues.

It is recommended for those auditioning to read the play before auditions.

Copies are on reserve at Amos Music Library.

There are a number of roles available in this quintessential American

play. Showing the lives of the town of Grover’s Corners, Our Town explores life, love and death in a small town at the turn of the 20th century.

Roles include the Gibbs and Webb families and a number of townspeople who navigate the New Hampshire town.

New art exhibit showcases women

BY EMILY KETTERER For The Miami Student

For thousands of years, women were the subjects of male artists and not fully recognized as artists themselves, but a new exhibit at the Miami University Art Museum tells a different story. Tuesday, Curator Jason Shaiman of the museum unveiled the second part of his exhibit Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Women in Art. According to Shaiman, the seed for this two-part exhibit was planted in him as an undergraduate student when he realized a lack of female artists being discussed in his classes and textbooks.

“I came to realize that there were very few women represented until you get into the 20th century… I always thought there had to be more,” Shaiman said.

“When I came here and saw the collections that we had, I knew that I finally had the opportunity to pursue the topic.”

Part one of Out of the Shadows focused on the depiction of women in art and began to tell the tale of women as artists. Its galleries focused on landscapes, portraiture and non-representational art. According to Art History Professor Pepper Stetler, the exhibit was a balanced way of looking at both women as artists and subjects by not privileging one over the other and creating different ways to talk about the relationship between women and art.

“The part of the show that was my favorite was the section of self-portraits by Audrey Flack,” Stetler said.

“By playing with the idea of identity, I think the Flack paintings emphasized that women have filled a variety of roles and chosen various identities in the history of art. It makes viewers think about how women are in control of their public identity, playing and manipulating it like Flack does.”

Three galleries and around 200 items make up Part two.

The galleries indicate a pointed focus toward women as the artist. Medium rather than subject matter take precedence.

The first gallery entitled The Focal Point of Women utilizes photography to explore women’s influence in art. It includes early portraiture of women from Oxford’s surrounding areas, famous photojournalists like Margaret BourkeWhite, and also more recent local photographers.

The second and third galleries, Weaving Women into History and Material Culture of Women, focus on items from all over the globe, diverse time periods and mediums. Vintage dresses made by women in sweatshops from Cincinnati stand next to rugs from Persia.

The diverse material culture also includes everything from Native American woven baskets and African woodcarvings to pottery from a former Miami professor. All of these items come together under the Miami Art Museum’s roof to contribute to the narrative of women and art.

Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Women in Art Part II will be open from Jan. 10 to May 12.

The Miami University Art Museum is located at 801 S. Patterson Ave. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information, visit the museum’s website at www. muohio.edu/artmuseum

www.miamistudent.net

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2012 CAMPUS

9

Groups on campus offer support for gay students, alumni

By Taylor Hosey

For The Miami Student

With sleek and electrifying black hair going all the way down to the floor, a long dark pencil skirt almost touching the ground and a tight-fitting blouse with a pearl necklace and bracelet to perfectly compliment it, the costume chosen to portray classic pop singer Cher this past Halloween was just about complete.

Only a little make-up was still needed but the style of makeup left first-year Cameron Stevenson in a bind.

“This was the first time I’d gotten to dress up this year,” he said. “I didn’t know what exactly was ‘too much’ or what was just right.”

As a gay first-year at Miami University, Stevenson spent his first semester getting comfortable in his own skin.

DRUGS,

FROM PAGE 2 health education.

There are drug education classes and counseling options for students who believe they have a problem with drugs or other forms of substance abuse.

Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution also issues these classes and an assessment counseling session to those charged with 106A.

“I had come out before coming here, but didn’t know what anyone else [on campus] would have to say about it,” Stevenson said.

However, any form of doubt has subsided. Stevenson boasts about the positive reaction his costume received uptown and about how he’s made so many new friends here so far.

“I’ve found the right friends here who don’t judge me on my sexuality and I know they’ll support me through whatever,” Stevenson said. “I know we’ll be friends all four years.”

Besides friends helping him on his journey as a gay student here, he also has plans to take advantage of various lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) events hosted around campus.

“I’ve heard about the drag

shows that are done for charity here and I definitely plan on participating,” he said.

The drag shows – four a year – are run by the Spectrum LGBTQ organization, raising thousands of dollars for local, national and international charities, Spectrum president Mark Noviski said.

Although Stevenson himself is not a part of the organization, he still had very positive things to say about it.

“It helps people become so much more comfortable with their sexuality, knowing there are other people here to help support them,” Stephenson said. “I participate in just about all of the events that Spectrum holds.”

Spectrum is self-described as the largest LGBTQ alliance of undergraduate students on campus and has seen an increase in both

McNeill said these sanctions are meant to protect the opportunities that students have available to them for the future.

“I think it would behoove students to think about what some of the potential consequences are, the legal, the health consequences, as well as thinking long term, because there are some types of violations that can limit the kinds of choices you have in the future,” McNeill said.

I.D. cards,

membership and participation over the past several years, Noviski said.

“The campus climate has gone from being extremely hostile to moderately accepting over the past few years, and many people have been coming out as a result,” Noviski said.

Within Spectrum and the ever-increasing positivity for gay activism, several events are planned for students all year round such as the drag shows, awareness week and most recently, the counterevent to the Westboro Baptist Church picket, Unite Miami.

Such events have many in attendance besides just those in Spectrum, Noviski said. “Members of other diversity organizations attend our events and vice versa,” Noviski said. “In essence, people who face discrimination and prejudice tend to

stick together, especially at a university known for a lack of diversity.”

Such organizations include Gleam, Haven and 1809 LGBT Alumni.

As a faculty-run organization, Gleam includes employees from professors to coaches. The organization supports employees who have come out while interacting with student organizations.

“The main focus of [this is letting students] know that there are [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] faculty and staff on campus and that they are not alone,” Gleam member Dan Meyers said.

Additionally, there are alumni and graduate groups to attract a wider range of Miami students. These organizations use their time to collaborate with others on campus and have bimonthly meetings to discuss various

record requests.

“It’s probably going to take more than a phone call saying ‘hey, give me some records,’” Vaughn said. “They’re going to want to know why you want them.”

FROM PAGE 1

According to Bazeley, removing identifying information from an I.D. card would prevent students from being able to use a meal plan, the Recreational Sports Center, checking out at the library, paying for printouts, vending machines and numerous other things, so it’s necessary to keep that information on the cards.

Still, in an effort to protect student privacy, Vaughn said it takes more than a phone call to access the records and the school also documents any

Not-so-private practice?

Despite the safety benefits and technical necessities of storing data generated from the use of student I.D. cards, the collection of personal information does not sit well with every Miami student.

Sophomore J.D. Armor, who uses 513.424.1462 2850 TOWNE BLVD MIDDLETOWN, OH 45044 BIOLIFEPLASMA.COM

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events that are coming up and how to spread positivity within the campus.

Haven, the queer graduate alliance, is an organization that is geared towards those at Miami for graduate schooling. With goals to connect with other LGBTQ groups on campus, many outings are planned to collaborate with such groups such as Halloween parties, election bashes and meetings help uptown.

Not much different from them would be the LGBT 1809 Alumni organization, which is a group of Miami alumni working together to spread support and positivity to current students, staff, and faculty. The group has regional networking events in cities such as Chicago and New York, annual scholarship awards and financial support of various LGBT groups on campus.

the new I.D. card to access his dorm room in Scott Hall, was unaware that the university has the ability to view his whereabouts based on his swipe activity.

“It almost feels like Big Brother, being tracked like that,” Armor said.

“It’s not that I didn’t realize they could probably collect it, but to use [my swipe data] in ethics hearings or something like that seems invasive.”

According to Bazeley, the university is committed to maintaining student records safely and securely. The records are housed within the secure data center, which is regularly patched with anti-virus and firewall measures.

Bazeley also said any information collected from I.D. card activity is stored on Miami’s servers for one year before being deleted, per the school’s record retention policy.

“The records will be stored for one year and then they are destroyed,” Bazeley said. “Pretty much every record that Miami creates in the course of doing business falls into some form of a records retention schedule, and the time frame for the door logs was confirmed by the university secretary who maintains that records schedule.”

Still, Armor said many of his friends were surprised to learn about just how much the school could know about her schedule.

“I don’t really think it’s something people think about,” Armor said.

“Most of my friends probably never considered the possibility of someone knowing when they went in and out of their room. It’s not a normal thing to worry about.”

While Vaughn acknowledged that the system is not perfect, she still believes the security benefits of the new system outweigh the privacy concerns.

“I think it’s a really, really good idea to have the swipe access,” Vaughn said. “I guess a side note is that it does allow you to see if a student has entered in or out of (their rooms), but I think it has more safety value, like if your swipe is stolen you can actually shut it off.”

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11

12

SPORTS

Editor JM RIEGER

sports@miamistudent.net

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2012

Conventional wisdom on the Cincinnati Bengals this season will be that they were a year or two away from being a great team.

And as it often is, conventional wisdom is correct.

What puts the Bengals in such a prime position? For starters, the Bengals were a good team this year, which is saying something.

They had a lot riding on a couple of important rookies, and most rookies don’t pan out. More specifically, most rookie quarterbacks are a complete disaster, but Cincinnati’s irrefutably was not.

Actually, as far as rookie quarterbacks go, Andy Dalton was about as good as it gets. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that he had fellow rookie AJ Green to throw it up to.

Green is quite a talent at wide out, and the Bengals are lucky to have him. In fact, it’s what the Cleveland Browns have been constantly lacking ever since they rose up from the dead in 1999. Their lack of a dynamic receiver-quarterback combo has put them in a football coma, and it won’t end until they rectify this basic personnel flaw.

Easier said than done, but that’s why the Bengals are in such a great spot.

Pair the advantage of having Dalton and Green with the fact that their defense can actually play, in addition to the league taking a sharp turn toward the aerial attack in recent years, you’ll see clearly that the future is bright in Cincinnati.

The key to the whole equation for future Bengal success is the aforementioned early connection between Dalton and Green. Green is a special player, he’s the dynamic guy that every team needs, and Andy Dalton has the number one characteristic you look for in a quarterback: confidence.

Don’t get me wrong; Dalton was unbelievably bad in every measurable way in the Bengals season ending loss to the Houston

ANDREW GEISLEr GOING LONG WITH GEISLEr

RedHawks soar past Bulls

BENGALS built FOR FUTURE SUCCESS

Miami’s women riding 8-game winning streak

Texans. He threw three interceptions (one of which was not his fault), but he displayed confidence throughout the game, and throughout the season for that matter.

The moment never seemed too big for the redhead from Texas who had never run any offense but the spread in a meaningful football game in his life.

Sure, the Bengals didn’t beat a winning team all season and only ended up 9-8.

I’ll also readily admit that taking a look at Dalton’s stat sheet wouldn’t exactly make the football version of Bill James bat an eye, but there is a reason that such a man has not arisen in the football world.

Much of the analysis we do of football players comes less from the specific stats and more from the bottom line. And what’s Andy Dalton’s bottom line? The man wins games wherever he goes. No matter how good or bad those around him are.

We’re talking about the guy that lead Texas Christian University to a Rose Bowl win. Yes, their defense could play, but there’s a reason quarterbacks receive the scrutiny they do; they are the leader. And what does a leader need above all else? Confidence, something Andy Dalton exudes.

He looked nothing like a rookie quarterback who had just seen his team’s golden opportunity to advance in the playoffs go to the wayside on the team’s final drive.

Instead, he tried to lead them back.

Instead, he was pushing the tempo and working hard to score. Granted, he made some mistakes along the way, but he played with guts.

A quarterback with guts and confidence and a receiver that seems to have the ability to take over a game offensively, that’s a formula for success in the NFL. And now that the Bengals have the pieces, it’s time to sit back and watch the game unfold.

By Brian Gallagher

For The Miami Student

The Miami University Women’s Basketball team has played very good basketball over the past month, notching big victories which have boosted them to the top of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

With a 72-51 win Saturday over the University at Buffalo, the RedHawks have now won eight straight games, including 10 straight home wins.

That victory improved Miami’s record to 12-3 and 2-0 in the MAC. Head Coach Maria Fantanarosa has emphasized fundamentals all season and the ’Hawks have clearly been taking her teachings to heart.

They have dominated the boards, holding a rebounding advantage in all but one of their past eight wins, and they have held seven of their past eight opponents to fewer than 70 points.

“We’ve been playing really well on defense and we’re just making it hard for the opponents to get good shots,” junior guard Courtney Osborn said.

The ’Hawks opened the contest against the Bulls with a pair of threes by junior forward Kirsten Olowinski and sophomore guard Hannah Robertson and jumped out to a 6-0 lead.

Buffalo was able to close the gap to 9-8 with just over 16 minutes to play but that was as close as they would get. The RedHawks began to pull away soon after and headed into halftime with a 38-20 advantage with no plans of slowing down.

Miami pushed the lead to 20 at 13:47 when the Bulls made one last push, going on a 7-0 run to bring the score to 34-47, but the night belonged to the RedHawks. On the heels of a 23 point performance by Osborn the ’Hawks shut the door and picked up their second conference win.

Olowinski added 15 points and 14 rebounds en route to her 25th career doubledouble, moving her into second place in school history in that category.

In the midst of the win ning streak, Fantanarosa stressed that the RedHawks must resist the temptation to get ahead of themselves.

“We’re still focusing on one game at a time, on the things we can control, which are our defense, our rebounding, and taking care of the ball,” Fantanarosa said.

The highlight performance of the break was the overtime thriller against the

SCOTT ALLISON THE MIAMI STUDENT

Sophomore forward Erica Almady fights off Iona College defenders and puts up a shot during Miami’s 92-77 win Dec. 2. Almady is averaging 6.5 points and 5 rebounds per game this year.

University of Akron, which saw the ’Hawks come out on top 95-85.

Osborn dropped 48 points, which not only set a school record and a MAC record for single-game scoring performance, but was also the most points scored by a player in NCAA Division I this season.

“That was definitely a team accomplishment,” Osborn said. “My teammates put me in a position to hit shots and really did the dirty work and all I had to do was hit the shots.”

Miami will look to continue their wining streak as they take on the Kent State University Golden Flashes 7 p.m. Wednesday at Millet Hall. Although Kent comes in with just a 2-10 record, this is not one that the RedHawks can sleep on.

“When you get into conference play, you have to focus on playing a full 40 minutes,” Fantanarosa said.

“You can’t take any time off or a team will surprise you.”

Standings

WOMEN’S basketball EAST

Bowling Green Miami Ohio Kent State Akron Buffalo

OVERALL (MAC)

12-3 12-3 8-8 2-10 6-10 5-11

(2-0) (2-0) (1-1) (1-1) (0-2) (0-2)

5-10 9-6 8-6 9-7 6-9 6-8

(2-0) (1-1) (1-1) (1-1) (1-1) (0-2)

WEST

Western Michigan Eastern Michigan Toledo Central Michigan Ball State Northern Illinois

Red and White fall short against Akron

By Josh North

For The Miami Student

SCOTT ALLISON THE MIAMI STUDENT

Sophomore guard Quinten Rollins drives to the hoop during a 56-47 loss against Cincinnati Nov. 29. Miami has lost four of their last five games.

The Miami University men’s basketball team finished off their winter break games with a loss to the University of Akron in their Mid-American Conference (MAC) season opener 65-60.

Senior forward Julian Mavunga once again led the RedHawks with his fifth 20-point game of the season, racking up 23 points and 14 rebounds.

This was also Mavunga’s ninth double-double of the season.

The RedHawks shot 50 percent from the floor and held a seven point lead late in the game, but Akron was able to make a late run to beat the Red and White.

“All season, finishing games has been our Achilles heel,” Mavunga said.

“We had a seven point lead and then they went on a run.

It takes a whole team to get the job done and we need to finish games together.”

Miami also got big contributions from freshman guard Brian Sullivan. He scored 14 points against Akron after a career-high 24 points in a loss against Vanderbilt

University. Head Coach Charlie Coles was impressed with how he played in his first MAC game.

“He made shots for us,” Coles said. “I wasn’t sure if he would because of how physical Akron is, but he did a great job.”

The RedHawks have gone 2-6 since the start of December, with tough road losses at No. 7 Ohio State University and previously ranked Vanderbilt University. Miami did manage to notch victories over William and Mary College and Belmont University, which made the NCAA tourna-

ment last year and was described by Coach Coles as “one of, if not the best midmajor in the country.”

Miami is last in the MAC East Standings, but Coles points to a tough out of conference schedule as well as turnovers as the reason the ’Hawks have gotten off to a disappointing start.

The Red and White will look to rebound Wednesday against MAC rival Kent State University. Miami split the series with Kent State last season, winning at home and losing on the road. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. in Kent, Ohio.