Jan 25, 2011 | The Miami Student

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

VOLUME 138 NO. 33

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

In 2000, The Miami Student reported a room in Bishop Hall caught fire due to an unattended candle flame. No one was injured, but damage was estimated at $10,000.

Diplomas require reprint

By Adam Giffi Senior Staff Writer

Perhaps one of the biggest fears any college student could have is that their diploma will be stripped away when they finally get their hands on it.

Miami University students who graduated in December 2010 are facing just this reality, if only temporarily.

Jan. 13, graduates of the December 2010 commencement ceremony were informed via email from David Sauter, university registrar, they would need to return their diploma immediately upon its arrival.

The reason for this was a spelling error in the date of the diploma. The word “thousand” was instead written “thousnad.”

Sauter said the error was spotted after it was too late.

“It was a graduate whose parent actually works in the CAB (Campus Avenue) Building,” Sauter said. “When the student received it, the parent actually brought it back in to show us because it’s our job to send them out.”

While all 567 diplomas were originally misprinted, due to the mailing system employed not every December graduate received a misprinted diploma.

According to Sauter, 120 of the faulty documents were sent to graduates, all of which are in the

Burst sprinkler blocks Farmer School of Business front door Students heading to class in the Farmer School of Business are being forced to make a detour for the time being.

The front doors of the building have been blocked off temporarily due to water damage caused by a frozen sprinkler head that burst in the vestibule over the weekend, according to Assistant Vice President of Operations Cody Powell.

SAMANTHA LUDINGTON The Miami Student

2010 sales of liquor surpassed those of 2009.

Ohio liquor sales overflow

By Jenni Wiener

Senior Staff Writer

28 percent increase from the 2006-07 school year.

“The average out-of-pocket cost for books for a community college student is $613 per year,” Evans said. “Everyone in Ohio, whether you’re a state legislator or a student, is aware and concerned about the cost of textbooks. It’s definitely a critical issue.”

The Ohio Digital Bookshelf program works with publishers to offer digital versions of

Ohioans must have been down to party in 2010, leading to the state’s liquor sales reaching a record high.

Spirituous liquor sales in Ohio totaled $753.7 million for the 2010 fiscal year.

Ohio Department of Commerce (ODC) Division of Liquor Control spokesman Matt Mullins said the 2010 spirituous liquor sales exceeded the 2009 sales by $19 million, or 2.57 percent.

He said spirituous liquor is intoxicating liquor that contains more than 21 percent alcohol by volume.

“I have no information on the cause of the increase in liquor sales, but the amount of dollar sales is different than the amount of alcohol sold,” Mullins said.

Although the amount of dollar sales is not the same as gallonage sales, the number of gallons of liquor sold also increased to 11 million in 2010.

According to Mullins, this means that more than 269,000 gallons, or 2.51 percent, more were sold in 2010 compared to 2009.

Ohio liquor control supervises the sales and manufacturing of alcohol and functions as the only purchaser and distributor of spirituous liquor in the state, said Amy Borror, public information officer in the Office of the Public Defender.

Liquor is sold through 452 private businesses in Ohio that have contracts to sell it, Mullins said.

According to data from the Ohio Department of Commerce, Kamchatka Vodka was on the top of the charts, selling 408,277 gallons

wSee E-BOOK, page 5

wSee LIQUOR, page 5

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Many December graduates received misspelled diplomas, which have been reprinted and resent. process of being replaced.

“Typically what will happen is that there will be mass mailings going out, because it’s still an old-fashioned system, in different batches,” Sauter said. “It was as we were sending the first batch out, that’s when we were notified and we went ‘oh my gosh’ and were able to stop the rest from going out.”

Cathy McVey, senior director of strategic communications and planning, said the physical typing of the error was the fault of the print services center in the Information Technology Services (ITS) department.

McVey said the diplomas are made in a database and therefore the only part that is adjusted regularly is the date. She said the

office’s mistake was merely a slip of the finger when updating the template.

“It was just a simple typo, and the registrar’s office caught it when they were packaging and mailing them,” McVey said.

Sauter said there is no professional hostility over the error and

wSee DIPLOMA, page 5

MU offers cheaper e-book option

By Shane Corcoran For The Miami Student

In an effort to reduce the cost of textbooks and course material, Miami University is offering students the option of purchasing new electronic versions of textbooks at lower prices.

The university has partnered with the Ohio Board of Regents to begin the transition to electronic, or e-textbooks. The program, The Ohio Digital Bookshelf, was launched in fall 2010, piloting

introduction to psychology etextbooks at 30 Ohio institutions, including Miami.

According to Rob Evans, press secretary for the Ohio Board of Regents, introduction to psychology is the highest enrolled course in Ohio’s university system, so offering digital books in this course would have the highest impact.

According to a survey done by the U.S. Department of Education, the average Miami student spent $1,460 on textbooks for the 2009-10 school year, a

Powell said the length of time required for repairs can’t be estimated at this point because it may involve reworking the sprinkler system in the area, but the area should at least be usable for students in the next few days.

“We were beginning to make necessary repairs (Monday),” Powell said. “We’re still sorting out the details on it, but it looks like it was an issue with how it was designed. You can’t catch everything with a building like that.”

Powell said members of the Physical Facilities Department are working with the designer of the building to look into solutions.

“We might want to make some changes to the way things were in there before to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Powell said.

Because plans are not set, there is currently no cost estimate for the repair.

Reporting by Erin Fischesser, Editor in Chief

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIAMI UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Miami University finalists from the 1971 ‘Miss Miami’ competition smile for the camera. This year, the competition will be sponsored by Delta Tau Delta.

Fraternity revamps ‘Miss Miami’ competition

By Amanda Seitz Campus Editor

Miami University women hoping to win the hearts of the Delta Tau Delta men will pack Hall Auditorium at 7 p.m. Feb. 15.

The fraternity will bring back an old university tradition in Miss Miami.

The competition, which took place several decades ago at Miami, will once again invite female students around the university to participate in a talent and personality contest.

This will be the first time Delta Tau Delta (the Delts) hosts the competition at Miami, according to philanthropy chair Sam Ellis.

The event will be modeled after

several other Delt chapters that hold “Miss Delt” competitions, Ellis said.

Ellis also said the chapter consulted the founders of the competition’s male counterpart, Alpha Phi’s King of Hearts.

Ellis said the event will have three rounds.

“First, it’s a funny, dance runway walk in a costume of some sort,”

Ellis said. “Then, there will be a talent round, and then the question and answer round. It’s very similar to the King of Hearts.”

The chapter opened up Miss Miami to all female club sports and sororities. Eventually, Ellis said he hopes the competition

wSee CONTEST, page 5

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Campus

Tuesday

January 25, 2011

Editors Stephen Bell Amelia Carpenter Amanda Seitz campus@miamistudent.net

NEWS MU offers retirement incentive BRIEFS

By Angi Manning For The Miami Student

FYI Relay For Life registration opens Students, staff, faculty and family members who wish to participate in Miami University’s Relay For Life may now register.

The event will raise contributions for the American Cancer Society. Relay For Life will take place from 6 p.m. to noon April 1 and 2 in Millett Hall.

Those interested in participating should form a team for the event.

Participants are encouraged to register early.

An informational meeting will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 25 in 304 Harrison Hall.

For more information about Miami University’s Relay For Life, contact murelay@gmail.com.

Awards recognize advocates for women Miami University men and women received the Women’s Leadership and Male Ally Awards at the Women’s Leadership Symposium and Celebration Friday, Jan. 21.

The awards recognized the individuals’ efforts as advocates for women, champions of equality and models of leadership.

The event was sponsored by the Miami University Women’s Center.

Among the award recipients was Miami senior Alexandria Espy, who received the Undergraduate Award for her service on campus within the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Miami Ambassador’s Advocacy for Diversity, Student Advisory Board, Adopt-A-School and Delta Sigma Theta.

Other recipients were faculty, staff and emeritus staff members Mary Woodworth, John Ward, Sharon Long, Gillian Oakenfull, Dionn Tron and Jacqueline Del Carmen Rioja Velarde.

Miami University is currently offering a $10,000 retirement incentive to qualified classified and unclassified administrative staff across campus.

The incentive applies to professors and other instructive employees who are either paid hourly or salaried, according to informational letters sent out to those who qualify.

Those who qualify have 25 years of service and are at least 55 years of age, have five years of service and are at least 60 years of age or have 30 or more years of service at any age.

Katherine Stoss, director of compensation, employment and technology, said participation in the incentive program is completely voluntary.

Letters have been sent from Miami’s human resources department to employees who fit the qualifications, and final decisions are to be made by those individuals based on their financial standings and benefits with the Ohio Public

Employees Retirement Sys- of funding the university spends tem or the State Teachers on employment.

Retirement System.

She said while it is difficult to The retirement incentive plan determine how much Miami was was coordinated by Miami’s lead- able to save through the 2009 ership team to minimize impacts incentive, the university was of potential able to save budget cuts more posion campus, tions.

“I love my job, but I according to possible, think it’s a good thing. It theIf positions Stoss, who gives people something of those who said Miami offered the retire will be to look forward to, an same incenadded bonus if you will, closed, active two to to help ease things over cording years ago.

Stoss, unless as you plan to retire.”

In 2009, they need to approxibe filled.

RHONDA PERUCCA mately 350 “The first TELEPHONE OPERATOR employees day we rewere eligible leased the for the retireplan, we rement incenceived a very tive, and approximately 100 of positive response from interested them accepted the offer. employees,” Stoss said.

Rebecca Hensley, senior perCurrently, 339 employsonnel assistant in the human ees are eligible for the 2011 resources department, said the incentive and the university incentive will be beneficial to eliis hoping for similar results gible faculty members. with the latest incentive plan, “I think it’s a good idea to take according to Stoss. the incentive,” Hensley said.

Stoss said the intent of the incentive is to minimize the amount “If someone is on the border of

Miami partners with Central State

Bookin’ it

By Maria Kreighbaum For The Miami Student

Miami University’s College of Education, Health and Society established a local exchange program to prepare its future teachers for a diverse classroom.

Beginning this semester, students can take classes and communicate with fellow education majors at Central State University, located in Wilberforce, Ohio.

BY THE NUMBERS Central State’s African-American student population:

90%

EVENTS A cappella group returns to university The male a cappella group Naturally 7 will perform at Miami University at 7:30 Wednesday, Feb. 2 in the Shriver Center.

The group, popular for its R&B rhythms, will also perform with other a cappella groups at Miami, including the Cheezies, Mergers, Misfitz and the Remnants.

The performance is sponsored by the Miami University Performing Arts Series and Jim and Kathy Squance.

Tickets are available at the Shriver Box Office and are $9 for students and youth, $17 for seniors and $18 for adults.

For more information, visit http:// arts.muohio.edu/performing-artsseries.

TMS

www.miamistudent.net

ONLINE

retirement, it’s a good thing.”

Rhonda Perucca, telephone operator at Miami, has worked at the university for nearly 25 years and said the incentive is a good idea.

“I love my job, but I think it’s a good thing,” Perucca said. “It gives people something to look forward to, an added bonus if you will, to help ease things over as you plan to retire.”

Miami first-year Nicholette Cameron said the incentive plan could help the university with budgetary issues. Cameron said she hopes the plan will allow tuition rates to stabalize.

“I hope that it will save the university some money,” she said. “I’ve heard that tuition might possibly increase. Hopefully this plan will help to avoid any inflation.”

Those who choose to take the incentive may not be employed by the university in the future and will not qualify for any unemployment benefits.

Applications will be accepted from Jan. 18 through March 4.

Those who are choosing to retire must do so by July 1.

ANDREW BRAY The Miami Student

A studious Miami student does some light reading on his walk near King Library.

Dude, where’s my teacher?

Students show up for nonexistent class

By Amelia Carpenter Campus Editor

Senior Lauren Karch showed up, like the rest of her class, on the first day of English 401, a capstone about Dante. It was her professor who didn’t.

Karch and the others left class that Tuesday after waiting 15 minutes.

“We thought that was strange,” Karch said. “There was also no book, which was weird because it’s English.”

The students returned to the same empty classroom Thursday. Then, a classmate called the English Department to ask what they should do. The students were told to stay and wait for a response.

What they found was that the class they registered for did not exist.

The English capstone was cross-listed with an Italian course with a professor who had been inactive since

August 2010.

Heather Harrison, the instructor listed, moved back to England, according to French and Italian Department Chair Jonathan Strauss.

“This was a course that’s often taught that we weren’t teaching this particular semester,” Strauss said. “We canceled it on our books, but between our office and the registrar it wasn’t caught that it was a cross-registered course, so it continued to show up on the English listing.”

Strauss said the department had never seen this problem before.

“We would love to run this course, (but we) can’t just produce faculty and courses,” he said. “(Especially) right now when there are lots of constraints on hiring.”

Assistant Director of Scheduling and Classroom Management Marcia Walters said this sort of fluke happens on occasion.

Any time a course is canceled, the department chair relays the information to the registrar, Walters said. Then, the registrar compiles the roster and sends it to the department to notify students.

“Typically, it’s our practice to make sure the course schedule is correct,” Walters said, adding that this instance was likely a miscommunication between the two departments.

Karch’s minor is English, and although the nonexistent course was not her only option, she would not have registered for Feminism and the Diaspora. She said the English, black world studies and women’s studies cross-listed course was the next best choice from the Dante capstone. “(It was) a real inconvenience to some people, but it wasn’t a situation where we had suddenly canceled the course,” Strauss said.

Miami University’s Caucasian student population:

85%

The program, developed by professor emeritus Ray Terrell, is designed to introduce students to a diverse learning environment, an experience he said is becoming invaluable for a career in education.

“The student population in public schools is becoming more and more diverse,” Terrell said.

He said this is especially true for big cities.

“That is where most of the jobs will be in the future, in urban school systems,” he said.

However, cultural experience is often hard to come by at universities like Miami and Central State.

“Both campuses tend to be racially isolated,” Terrell said. “The partnership is a way to get more interaction between the two groups of students.”

Central State’s admission website reports 90 percent of its student population is African-American. Miami’s diversity facts website reports approximately 85 percent of its students are Caucasian.

Terrell said the program will help teachers understand those students who have a different cultural background than their own.

According to Terrell, 30 to 40 students from each school will meet in person and attend a few classes at the partnering

wSee CSU, page 7

Campus

THE MIAMI STUDENT

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011 ♦ 3

New credit card legislation hits, misses student credit union

By Gabi Madden For The Miami Student

College graduates entering the “real world” often find themselves bombarded with debt, but recent legislation taking effect in February aims to help prevent them from getting in over their heads.

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act protects students from serious financial troubles by increasing payment deadlines, holding students jointly liable with another individual (most likely their guardian) until they reach age 21 and not giving personal

information to consumer reporting agencies until a card is activated among other stipulations, according to the act.

First Miami Student Credit Union (FMSCU) has a contract with Visa to offer students the opportunity to build credit. FMSCU sets the interest rates and

conditions and pays a premium of $2 a month for every account it has.

There is no annual fee, and as long as students use the card five times a year, they are safe from additional fees. FMSCU has a fixed rate for students that the new legislation would not affect, according to Willard Hopkins.

Hopkins, manager of FMSC, said the act also has disadvantages for students.

“The act is making it more difficult for students to establish credit,” Hopkins said.

One such disadvantage is the age limit associated with it.

“Students cannot get a credit card on their own without being 21,” Hopkins said.

He said the restrictions make it difficult for students to build credit and for FMSCU to educate students about finances.

“It is important for students to establish credit before they leave school,” Hopkins said. “A number of people are going to pull a credit report when graduates are applying for jobs and apartments.”

The act also protects students from credit card gimmicks, making it nearly impossible for banks to offer free T-shirts, hats and other giveaways that will draw students to signing up for credit cards.

Barbara Couch, financial service representative at Fifth Third Bank in Oxford, said the act has changed the way the bank attracts college students.

“We can’t offer things specifically to students to apply for credit cards that we would not offer to anyone else,” Couch said. “If we have giveaways, it’d be for anybody, not just students.”

Instead of using gimmicks, Fifth Third offers college-aged credit cardholders other benefits. One example is the Rewards Program, which offers credit cardholders the option to receive cash or

wSee CREDIT, page 7

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4

Tuesday

January 25, 2011

Community

Editor Bethany Bruner community@miamistudent.net

Hotline relieves dispatch load

By Leslie Scott Senior Staff Writer

Visiting female student passes out in residence At around 12:15 a.m. Sunday, Oxford Police Department officers were dispatched to 100 E. Collins St. in response to an intoxicated female.

When officers arrived, they reportedly found a female lying on the floor breathing but unresponsive to verbal stimuli.

The female was reportedly “slightly responsive” when an officer shook her and reportedly did not have identification on her person.

The female, later identified as The Ohio State University student Victoria Russ, 18, reportedly cursed at officers when they asked her name.

According to police reports, Russ had slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol on her breath.

The life squad was reportedly called, and Russ was transported to McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital.

Residents reportedly told officers they were “hanging out” when Russ ran into their house and passed out on the floor without saying anything.

As officers were exiting the residence, two males and a female reported they had lost a friend fitting the description of Russ and helped to identify her.

Russ was cited for underage intoxication and disorderly conduct.

Butler County residents now have a new way to get information about weather conditions and emergency situations.

The Emergency Management Agency (EMA) recently created a new emergency hotline for Butler County residents. They can now get emergency information from around the county by calling (513) 785-5800.

According to Sheriff Richard Jones, the hotline is a great resource because it allows people to get information about the county without tying up the 911 dispatch lines.

Jones worked with Jeff Galloway, director of EMA, in order to make the hotline happen.

“I contacted Galloway about eight months ago with the idea of the hotline and he had the resources we needed to implement it,” Jones said.

The hotline is an automated system in which people can learn about weather emergencies or natural disasters within the county, Jones said. It can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

According to Jones, Galloway simply needs to call the machine in order to update the emergency level.

John Detherage, Oxford Fire Department chief, agrees the hotline is going to be a valuable asset to Butler County.

“In times of emergency, the dispatch gets extremely overloaded,” Detherage said. “It leads to chaos and we get

hundreds of calls that are not actual emergencies, which can be very dangerous.”

Miami University junior Ashley Stottsberry believes the hotline will benefit residents at times when Oxford receives a lot of snow or when the tornado

ERIN KILLINGER The Miami Student

sirens are going off.

“There have been several instances this school year where the hotline would have been helpful,” Stottsberry said. “I think the hotline will work as long as people know about it.”

She said it is important for the EMA to get the word out about the new resource.

Detherage said older Oxford residents will get more use out of the hotline because the phone number will be flashed on TV along with weather warnings.

“I think older residents are more likely to see the number because they are more likely to watch TV,” Detherage said. “Students are more likely to be out doing other things.”

Jones said the new hotline hasn’t experienced any flaws yet.

“It hasn’t really been active long enough to have any cons,” Jones said. “I’m sure we will have to make some tweaks at some point, but it is already proven to be a great asset.”

According to Jones, people should really know what the different snow emergency levels mean. He said having a hotline that residents can call to get this information without bogging down the dispatch could prove beneficial in the long run for the city.

Monday martinis

Driver receives OVI after getting flat tire At around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, an Oxford Police Department (OPD) officer at Collins and Main streets reportedly witnessed a vehicle moving at a high rate of speed on Beech Street lose control while turning onto Collins Street.

The vehicle reportedly struck the curb and sustained a flat tire, but continued down the street.

The officer also reportedly witnessed an individual jump out of a rear door of the moving vehicle, rolling several times on the ground before running off.

The officer reportedly stopped the vehicle in the parking lot of Patterson’s Café.

The driver, later identified as Caleb Crooks, 20, reportedly told the officer he had been driving erratically because he was fleeing males who had attempted to start a fight at Brick Street Bar. Crooks reportedly had the odor of alcohol on his breath, slurred speech and bloodshot eyes.

The officer reportedly asked Crooks if he had been drinking, and he admitted to drinking six beers at Brick Street.

Crooks was taken into custody after refusing a field sobriety test.

A passenger in the vehicle, later identified as Danniel Huston, 19, reportedly also had the odor of alcohol on his breath, slurred speech and bent glasses with a missing lens.

Huston reportedly told police his glasses were broken during a fight at Brick Street.

When asked if he had been drinking, Huston reportedly admitted to drinking 10 beers.

The officer reportedly asked why the second passenger had jumped out of the moving vehicle, but Huston said he did not know.

At OPD, Crooks reportedly refused a breath test before being cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and underage intoxication.

Huston was cited for underage intoxication.

SCOTT ALLISON The Miami Student

Caleb Hanckney, Josck Brock and Derrick Harvey from Union County, Ind. enjoy $3 martinis at Kona Bistro Monday evening.

Ticket agreement could double fines for students

By JD Prewitt

For The Miami Student

If you’re one to play the odds when it comes to parking, a mutual assistance agreement between the City of Oxford and Miami University may change your habits.

Miami University police aren’t the only ones who can give tickets on campus. Regardless of being on university property, students can receive tickets from both the Oxford Police Department (OPD) and the Miami University Police Department (MUPD) for the same violation.

Even though there is no formal arrangement between the city and the university when it comes to enforcing parking violations, it still wouldn’t stop OPD from issuing a ticket, MUPD Lt. Benjamin Spilman said.

The two departments have a mutual assistance agreement, which states each department will help the other patrol.

OPD Lt. Bob Holzworth said a majority of patrols on campus are looking for cars with unpaid parking tickets with the use of the city’s automatic license plate reader.

In particular, OPD looks for cars with two or more tickets that are older than 15 days or if fines reach their maximum.

Even though it’s unlikely that students will receive tickets from both departments for the same violation, citations can be re-issued every three hours until the violation is fixed, according to Spilman.

“You want to say, ‘Wow, thanks,’ but I can see the logic behind it,” Miami University alumnus Michael Houser said. “I think you learn the lesson much more quickly.”

Miami junior Alex Noyes sees the possibility of double tickets as more of a nuisance. After a ticket for not having a parking pass his first year, Noyes said he found it difficult to understand the fairness of the policy.

“It’s not necessarily fair, but like taxes it’s not a surprise,” he said.

“If it’s an emergency and you don’t know any better, it’s hard.”

While both departments stress paying tickets as soon as possible, Holzworth said students can petition citations if they feel they are unreasonable.

“We want people to feel like they’ve been treated fairly,” he said.

Stated in the provisions of the mutual assistance agreement between MUPD and OPD, both have enforcement authority on the following streets: • • • • • • • • • • •

Chestnut Street between Campus Avenue and Patterson Avenue Campus Avenue between Chestnut and High street.

Sycamore Street from Tallawanda Street to Bouden Lane The entire length of Tallawanda Street State Route 73 from Patterson Avenue to the City of Oxford limits Spring Street from Campus Avenue to Patterson Avenue Patterson Avenue from campus limits north to the city’s corporation limits High Street from Patterson Avenue to Campus Avenue Bonham Road from Sycamore Street and Tallawanda Street to university property limits The entire length of Oak Street The entire length of Maple Street

THE MIAMI STUDENT

DIPLOMA continued from page 1

efforts are being made to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

“Of course print services were very apologetic and they will be looking at their process to figure out how to prevent that from happening,” Sauter said. “What I have asked of them, very simply, is that they let our

E-BOOK

continued from page 1 textbooks at a 30 percent discount from hardcover versions, according to Evans.

During the fall semester, psychology students were given the option to purchase textbooks in print for full price or digitally for $100 less, he said.

Miami first-year Hannah Herrera took Psychology 111 during

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011 ♦ 5 department in on the proofreading process so that there are more eyes available to catch these things.”

According to Sauter, his e-mail to the graduates specifying that they send their original diploma back in before they receive a corrected one was due to standard operating procedure.

Students were instructed to mark their unopened diplomas with “return to sender” to avoid incurring a fee.

“We don’t want a wrong diploma sitting out there with Miami’s name the fall semester and bought a printed textbook before she knew about the digital alternative. She is a proponent of online resources.

“I feel that the printed version we were given was not very useful and pretty hard to keep track of with no binding,” Herrera said. “I found myself using the online recourses a lot. I would have definitely preferred to just have the electronic version.”

According to Judith Sessions’ report to the board of trustees’ academic affairs committee, e-textbooks include features that allow

on it,” Sauter said. “That’s kind of embarrassing.”

According to McVey, the total cost for paper and reprinting was less than $40.

McVey said in the 20 years she has worked at Miami, this is the first time any error has been made on diplomas that she is aware of. She also said ITS has not received very much negative feedback and suspects that most are content with allowing the office to sort things out.

“I think most people understand

professors the ability to customize or edit textbooks, use a keyword to search the textbook contents, permit highlighting and digital notetaking and insert animations or videos.

In her report, Sessions, a dean and professor of the university’s libraries, also emphasized the increased benefits of using e-textbooks as students are becoming more familiar with working in a digital environment. In addition to the lower costs, e-textbooks allow professors the ability to keep material current, come in

that mistakes get made and that we’re working to fix them,” McVey said.

“That’s what they want to know, that they’re going to have a diploma that’s correct, and they will.”

One December graduate, Elizabeth Gleason, did not feel so laid back about the error.

“I was really angry, actually,” Gleason said. “I still am. It came in the mail the day of the e-mail, and I sent it back the next day, and it still hasn’t come yet.”

Gleason explained the reasoning

multiple modes of presentation and are more easily portable, Sessions said.

Ohio is not the only state making the switch from print to digital.

E-textbooks are also being adopted by several other state university systems, including New York, California, Tennessee, Arizona and Missouri, according to Sessions’ report.

Evans said as the success of the program continues to grow, e-textbooks will soon be available for biology, economics and statistics classes.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIAMI UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

‘Miss Miami’ Susan Perkins went on to win Miss America in 1978.

LIQUOR

continued from page 1 in 2010.

Following Kamchatka was Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey (342,840 gallons), Bacardi Super Light Rum (295,820 gallons) and Smirnoff Vodka (283,332 gallons).

Other brands that made the top 10 include Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Absolut Vodka, Crown Royal Canadian Vodka, Jagermeister, Korski Vodka and Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey, according to the department.

Junior Kim Rich, 21, was surprised when she heard about Kamchatka being the top seller in liquor last year.

“Kamchatka is one of the cheaper vodkas in the liquor stores,” she

behind her anger.

“This is something that is so important that you wouldn’t think it would get overlooked,” Gleason said. “It wasn’t an inconvenience to me, but I didn’t get the sense that they even took the situation seriously.

This is something that just shouldn’t have happened.”

According to McVey, the corrected diplomas were sent to the president’s office Jan. 10 and she suspects they are likely on their way to residences now.

CONTEST continued from page 1

will attract women outside of these activities to participate.

“It’s sort of a trial run, so we didn’t want to open it up to too many people,” Ellis said. “It’s the first time, so we’re just hoping to at least get the Greek system involved and slowly branch out there from there.”

The chapter hopes to choose a creative woman to serve as Miss Miami.

“The overall idea of the competition is looking for creativity,” Ellis said. “It’s more about personality characteristics and reasons that she is someone to emulate than a beauty pageant.”

The Delts are still working on how to perfect the judging process, but Ellis said some alumni will serve as judges.

Contestants hoping to dazzle both the crowd and the Delts will work the runway for a good cause, Ellis said.

Proceeds from the event will sponsor AdoptA-School, the chapter’s philanthropy. AdoptA-School is an organization that matches school children to a tutor.

Ellis hopes the new philanthropy will leave a mark on Miami’s campus.

“When I became the philanthropy chair, my goal was to change our events around and host what would also have some longevity and last for a long time,” Ellis said.

said. “I’m a little surprised that Ohioans didn’t buy the classier, better tasting liquor.”

Mullins said the State of Ohio received $310.5 million from liquor revenues and sales taxes and the Division of Liquor Control was able to contribute $167 million to the state general revenue fund.

Additionally, according to the

ODC data, $66.7 million of the alcohol sales was earmarked to be used for services such as liquor law enforcement, alcohol treatment, education and prevention programs, the retirement of economic development and Clean Ohio revitalization bonds.

The rest of the $71.7 million was put into the State of Ohio’s treasury.

THE MIAMI STUDENT

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011 ♦ 7

CSU

continued from page 2 university, but the experience doesn’t end there. Terrell said students and faculty will stay connected electronically.

“We’re going to set up a Facebook account where they can discuss what they’ve already experienced and also talk to each other about their cultural similarities and differences,” Terrell said.

“We want this to be an ongoing and in-depth process, not just a brief encounter.”

Students may choose to follow

up their experience with a weeklong summer residency program at the alternative campus, he said.

James Shiveley, professor and chair of the College of Education, Health and Society, said the program has potential.

“We want to make it available to as many people as possible,” Shiveley said.

According to Shiveley, Central State provides the strong partnership that can make it happen.

“Our liaison at Central State is David Childs, who is an (educational leadership) graduate from Miami,” Shiveley said. “Many of us have worked with him, and we have a high degree of trust and confidence in him.”

Both Shiveley and Terrell said there is a tremendous amount of interest among students.

Miami junior Kristina Kaldis said the long-term rewards of the program are what she finds most appealing.

“Most of the kids in urban schools don’t have a very involved family,” she said. “Their teacher is the most consistent person in their life.”

She sees this as an opportunity to make a positive impression on children.

“I want to be the teacher who changes lives and makes kids want to learn,” Kaldis said.

“That’s something this program could help me do.”

CREDIT

continued from page 3 merchandise by using their credit cards, Couch said. Each purchase is worth a certain amount of points, which can be used to receive cash and other items.

“It depends on the purchases you make,” Couch said.

Couch also said that now student credit cardholders must be 21 years old or have a co-signer.

Miami junior and credit card holder Marc Slone hasn’t really had an issue with his credit card or Citi Bank, which issued him the card.

Slone’s bank didn’t even try to rake

him in with gimmicks.

“They didn’t give me any gifts or anything,” Slone said.

Slone uses his credit card only for small purchases like gas and groceries, paying it off every month.

“The only reason I got a credit card was to build credit,” Slone said.

Slone said he doesn’t think the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act is a necessity.

“I think once you turn 18 you should be able to get a credit card, but the limit should be a lot lower,” Slone said. “Everyone should have a chance to build credit with or without a co-signer.”

Additional reporting by Amelia Carpenter

Wine it up

Tribute to Tyler Sinclair Blood Drive

Blood drive competition vs Ohio University Make your donation count!

Support fellow Redhawk Tyler Sinclair with a blood donation

When: Wednesday, January 26 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. where: Shriver Center, Multi Purpose room Free army green T and BW3 wings coupon when you register to donate blood!

SAMANTHA LUDINGTON The Miami Student

The Miami and Oxford communities mingle at the 21st Annual Wine Tasting Gala and Auction at Millett Hall Saturday. The event benefitted the Miami Performing Arts Series.

When you’re finished reading

The Miami Student,

Co-sponsors:Red Alert, Evans Scholars, ASG Make an appointment at: www.DonorTime.com Enter sponsor Code 963 or call 1-800-388-GIVE

please recycle!

8

Opinion

Tuesday January 25, 2011

Editors Sam Kay Jessica Sink editorial@miamistudent.net

➤ EDITORIAL

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

Embarrassing diploma mistake holds lessons

D

iplomas sent out to approximately sets of eyes several times, we are prac120 of Miami University’s De- ticing due diligence, which is more than cember graduates featured a misspelled can be said for the system the registrar word. Still, 80 out of 81 words on the had in place before this imbroglio. diplomas, not including the graduates’ A mistake such as “thousnad” is names or the seal, were correct. That clearly not the fault of the person is equivalent to a whose finger did the GPA of 3.95 and actual slipping. would probably have It is the failure To anyone responsible earned Latin honors, of a system, one for the printing of but when it comes cozy with spell anything from a letter too to a diploma, perfeccheck and modern to a T-shirt, your eyes printing. This board tion is the only thing that counts. are the last, best line feels the registrar As peddlers of has actually handled of defense against printed words, the the aftermath of this embarrasing and editorial board situation quite well. wasteful mistakes. of The Miami StuAll of the diplomas dent has nothing but with the misprint are sympathy for the unibeing recollected at versity departments involved. no cost to the graduates, and new diploWe believe more layers of oversight mas are being issued. should be added, which is exactly what This board hopes other university deDavid Sauter, university registrar, said partments will learn from this episode. will happen. Another set of eyes could Spell check has not ended mistakes. easily have caught one mistake among a To any administrators, faculty or stumere 81 words. We publish tens of thou- dents responsible for the printing of anysands of words weekly, so mistakes are thing from a letter to a T-shirt, your eyes almost inevitable. Sometimes mistakes are the last, best line of defense against are introduced during editing, but by embarrassing and wasteful mistakes. sending every word past at least three Use them wisely.

New emergency hotline will save time, resources

T

he Butler County Emergency needs as many phone lines available Management Agency (EMA) as possible and valuable time could has recently introduced an emergen- be lost when explaining weather cy hotline for Butler County residents warnings to residents. who request information on county The number, (513) 785-5800, weather warnings, road closures or can be found on the City of Oxford natural disasters. website and will The editorial flash on television board of The Miami In order for the new screens when there Student believes a warning. Hownumber to be effective isever, this hotline will be many resiin reducing call a valuable resource dents may not be volume to emergency aware of the new for residents who request informaoption. Therefore, dispatchers, it must tion without requirpromotion by the be well publicized. ing them to call EMA is essential. the 911 police disPerhaps creating a patch, which takes postcard to send to up valuable time that could be used all Butler County residents with infor emergecies. formation about the service would be The automated hotline will be beneficial and get the word out. updated frequently and can be acMiami University students and cessed 24 hours a day, seven days a community members alike will benweek. Butler County residents are efit from the service, and the board is encouraged to take advantage of excited about the prospect of the new this new service instead of calling option, which will save both time and the police dispatch for information. resources for the county emergency In times of emergency, the dispatch dispatch centers.

Rule of thumb Bill Nye

Intertia is a property of matter!

ASHLEY CEROLI The Miami Student

➤ LETTERS

Miami University must move beyond coal As Americans, the essential question of our historical moment is not “Can we solve the energy challenge?” but “Will it be America that solves it?”

Our country is stocked with the most innovative researchers, the best-positioned financiers and a powerful manufacturing infrastructure ready to take up the abundance of economic activity a green energy revolution would spur.

Ultimately, we must rely on government to implement policies ensuring Americans will enjoy the promise of a truly green energy economy. If our administrators drag their feet on renewable energy, we could very well miss the boat and find ourselves importing clean energy technology from China, cursing the jobs and benefits we squandered.

A microcosm of America, Miami University is faced with a similar historical moment. It is a university with a significant energy challenge.

Most of the school is powered by outdated and dangerous coal plants, one of which lurks in a residential region of campus. As in the country more broadly, the problem at Miami is not one of technological know how. Miami is internationally known for its brilliant scientists, academics and researchers, many of whom already tackle America’s energy challenge in their classrooms and labs. Nor is the problem one of ignorance, for Miami teaches its students about the devastating implications of climate change even as the furnaces on Western Campus burn another ton of coal. Finally, the problem is not a lack of available resources, as a newly installed small scale geothermal installation in Upham Hall demonstrates.

As in America, the problem at Miami is one of will. Will the university enact a policy enabling the transition away from dirty and outdated coal power? Will Miami innovate our way to global energy leadership, or will we fall behind our peer institutions who are already committing to 100 percent clean energy portfolios? Will our unfortunate coal plant continue to pollute the air and keep Miami in the past long after leaders like Cornell have reached their renewable energy goals?

President Hodge, we encourage you to lead Miami beyond the coal power of 1809 and into the clean energy future of the 21st century. The institution has a long tradition of innovation, of problem solving, and Miami University has a crucial role to play in our country’s larger energy transition. It is time for Miami to put the brilliant research and technical know how into practice, and to train engineers, scientists and mathematicians for their roles in the future energy workforce. Miami must aspire to be an institution powered completely and exclusively by clean, renewable energy. Please act now so that Miami and America can be global clean energy leaders, not followers.

TYLER ELLIOTT

ELLIOTTJ@MUOHIO.EDU

TODD ZIMMER,

SIERRA STUDENT COALITION

Friday’s hockey game

Nothing ruins the fun of scoring four goals like giving up seven.

Tyler Sinclair blood drive

10 a.m. Wednesday in the Shriver Center Heritage Room.

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

EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Fischesser Editor in Chief Thomasina Johnson News Editor Erin Maher Managing Editor Scott Allison Online Editor Sam Kay Editorial Editor Jessica Sink Editorial Editor Stephen Bell Campus Editor

Amelia Carpenter Campus Editor Amanda Seitz Campus Editor Bethany Bruner Community Editor Michael Solomon Sports Editor Hunter Stenback Features Editor Samantha Ludington Photo Editor Hannah Miller Art Director

VAN JONES,

AUTHOR, THE GREEN COLLAR ECONOMY MUBEYONDCOAL@GMAIL.COM

Wikileaks provides necessary information Joshua Carpenter’s opinion pieces last week tried and failed to characterize Wikileaks’ Julian Assange as a new “terrorist” and claimed that the leaks are the real problem (as opposed to what they expose). In borrowing the term

“terrorist” for his column titled “Wikileaks threatens civil liberties,” he increases the rhetoric to CIA (arguably the anti-Wikileaks) levels and paints an exceedingly convoluted picture of the organization. Maybe Wikileaks has some internal issues, maybe its founder is controlling and maybe the organization is growing too large to sustain itself, but to suggest that it is a shady Wikileaks that threatens our civil liberties and our security is to ignore the even more opaque group that actually takes those liberties and securities away.

The government in the United States is hopelessly corrupt, and though many of us have known it for years, it is because of Wikileaks that we can prove it. One doesn’t have to look any farther than the diplomatic cables slowly being released to understand the nature of this corruption. Take, for example, a series of cables released in mid-December that deals with the plight of Monsanto’s genetically modified crops in the European Union. The cables show clear U.S. support for the company and in one case talk of the United States government possibly publishing a “retaliation list” in case member countries don’t submit to the corporate takeover of their crops. The cables have exposed U.S. involvement on affairs that reach around the entire world. My favorite cable relays a joke: “Why has the United States never had a coup? Because it doesn’t have a U.S. embassy!”

Leaks are not a threat, they are only information. The threat enters the picture when we fail to act on the information provided in the leaks. We are afforded a slightly clearer picture of our government thanks to the leaks, and yet America has chosen to ignore the real threats presented and to instead pursue the messenger. We have a unique chance to fix things, to end the corrupt practices expounded on in the leaks by loudly demanding change. Carpenter doesn’t realize that it’s the mishandling of the leaks by the press, the public and the government that really threatens our freedoms. It seems that America would rather run around with its eyes closed and its fingers plugging its ears, endlessly screaming “la la la la” while pretending everything is OK, but we live in a time when we are openly asked to spy on our neighbors (the Transportation Security Administration’s See Something — Say Something campaign) and have to have pictures of ours and our children’s genitalia taken to prove we aren’t carrying bombs on airplanes. This happens while the United States is engaged in unspeakable horrors across the planet. We look at our government through a keyhole, and it wants to fault us for trying to pry the door open. Apparently, it’s true that one man may steal a horse while another man not look over a hedge, and Carpenter along with America is just OK with that.

I’ll take the alternative position. During Wikileaks’ short life, I have and will continue to fully embrace every document, every cable and every video released. We must take in all of the information, not, of course, without a grain of salt or proper perspective and we must do with the information what we can to push for real change.

The responsibility rests on the backs of the people because it’s clear that we can trust neither the promises of some grandstanding politicians during an election cycle nor the integrity of mainstream journalists. The hope here comes from the people embracing transparency and a participatory democracy where information is free and so are we.

BEN STOCKWELL

STOCKWBM@MUOHIO.EDU

Your rule of thumb To delivery drivers for being brave and bringing us food on icy roads when we don’t want to leave our rooms!

To walking across campus in 15 degree weather, brrr!

Opinion

THE MIAMI STUDENT

➤ LIBERTY AND JUSTICE

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25 2011 ♦ 9

➤ ESSAY

➤ ESSAY

To learn from past, don’t censor it Political Internet process matters in thrives online hunt for jobs In 1776, Thomas Paine published and distributed the pamphlet Common Sense, criticizing British colonial policies. Nov. 5, 2008, newly-elected President Barack Obama tweeted “we just made history.

All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion. All of this happened because of you. Thanks.”

In May 1970, Ty 100,000 students ralGilligan lied in Washington, D.C. to protest the Kent State University shootings and U.S. incursion into Cambodia. In June 2010, 130,000 Facebook users attended the event “Boycott BP,” agreeing to boycott the oil company in protest of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Social media sites and the Internet as a whole have provided new forums for political participation, which is now easier than ever, accessible even from the comfort of one’s own desk at home.

This phenomenon has been termed the “e-democracy revolution,” “e-democracy” describing online or “cyber” political participation like joining a political Facebook group, following a politician on Twitter or donating money to a campaign online. However, is this new dimension of political participation beneficial to a healthy political culture, or is it counterproductive and artificial?

There are many benefits to new forms of e-democracy. The biggest is that it provides new points of entry to the democratic process. Political participation is now more accessible to more people via the Internet. Many of these people are people who may not otherwise be involved in the political process, especially young people. Since young people are the largest group of users of social media, e-democracy has definitely provided more ways for young people to voice their concerns regarding politics.

Easier communication is another definite pro of e-democracy. Political groups and parties can reach their supporters quickly and efficiently via Facebook, Twitter, websites and sometimes even mass text message systems. Nov. 4, 2008, a group called Join the Impact formed online to fight the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which banned gay marriage in the state. By using a Facebook page and later an independent website, the group was able to organize a national day of protest, with protests occurring simultaneously in 400 cities and 10 countries Nov. 16, just 12 days after the law passed. This type of political mobilization has become increasingly common with e-democracy.

Access to information is another benefit of e-democracy. Practically every politician, political group and non-governmental organization has a webpage, Twitter or Facebook account and e-mail mailing lists that allow followers easy access to up-to-date news and information. Barack Obama has approximately 161,000 friends on his Facebook page who are receiving his updates. Having constant access to media via the Internet, smartphones and television also provides a wealth of knowledge with which citizens can empower themselves.

However, there also are some downsides to this e-demcoracy revolution.

The biggest downside is a lack of materialization of physical support. A politician can have thousands of Facebook supporters, but they still need those people to make campaign donations, volunteer for events and actually attend the rallies they RSVP for online. By participating online, some people may feel they have made their contribution and fail to manifest their support into physical or financial means. This theory has not been proven or disproven.

Another problem I foresee is a lack of legitimacy. The Internet allows for easy dissemination of information from anyone, sometimes anonymously. Social media sites, blogs and websites allow people to express extreme, unpopular, factually inaccurate or hateful viewpoints easily with little qualification.

It is then harder for citizens to discern between factual, legitimate information and radical, inaccurate information.

E-democracy is definitely a phenomenon that will only continue to grow in size and influence, but the effects it will have on our traditional system of political participation have yet to be fully seen.

We all know the story of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, at least the basic outline of Huck and Jim’s adventure away from home. The novel is an American classic though it is by no means a politically correct text. Well, it wasn’t, that is. In February, a censored version of the text is set to be released in which the “n-word” is replaced by “slave” in an attempt to make the book less offensive and allow it to be taught to students in high school without complaint from students and parents who are less than pleased with the use of the word in the text. While this is a well-intentioned censorship of the text, it is, nonetheless, censorship.

I would like to state, just to make it clear, that I do not advocate the use of slurs of any kind and believe Twain’s use of terms such as the “n-word” and “injun” to be offensive, as most people would. However, Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn in a time that was very different from that in which we currently live. The novel was published in America in 1885, approximately 20 years after slavery had been abolished.

In terms of race relations in the South, things were not by any means pleasant.

The novel is set prior to that, between 1835 and 1845.

While Jim is portrayed in an altogether favorable light in the text, he is consistently referred to using the “nword,” and the word is used a total of 219 times in the novel. The novel is rife with it.

However, given the time and location in which the novel is set and the time in which it was written, this is nothing unusual and serves as a historical context for modern readers. While the vast majority of people in today’s society feel extremely uncomfortable saying, hearing or reading the derogatory term, when Twain was writing Huckleberry Finn the word was common fare.

While this in no way absolves the term of being offensive and demeaning, it does provide historical accuracy and serves to create an understanding of what that period of American history was like. Yes, it is not a pretty part of our country’s history, but it is accurate. Understanding the ugliness of slavery and racism is impossible when that ugliness is edited out of the literature created in that environment.

It is also worthwhile to note that the novel is classified as satirical and meant to shed light on the flaws of racist thinking and the treatment of AfricanAmericans in the mid-19th century South. Yes, the portrayal of Jim does involve the use of stereotypes. In an article by the Associated Press, professor

Stephen Railton of the University of Virginia argues “the language depicts America’s past, and the revised book (is) not being true to the period in which Twain was writing.” Railton is behind another version of the text that is being published later this year that includes context for the novel so readers can confront issues of racism and slavery in it.

Yes, Twain uses words that are offensive to the vast majority of people, but it is culturally irresponsible, as Railton suggests, to erase these usages from literature and thereby erase a large part of the history and context of the novel. It is impossible to learn from the past if we remove everything offensive from it.

The entire history of America would have to be wiped clean and re-penned if we were to remove everything that could be considered offensive.

The fact is that Twain used terms in Huckleberry Finn that make people very justifiably uncomfortable. However, if we cannot read these terms in context and instead choose to ignore the ugly parts of the past and eradicate historical context from literature, then we may as well pretend slavery never happened and racism does not exist. In censoring literary texts in order to make them more appealing and less offensive to readers, the censors violate an author’s right to freedom of speech. The solution for making a frequently banned text more popular and readable is not making it less offensive, but not banning it in the first place.

ALICE LADRICK

LADRICAE@MUOHIO.EDU

CARTOON COURTESY OF SCOTT HOVEST

Thumb and Thumber

Submit your thumbs online at www.miamistudent.net/thumbs.

We’ll print our favorites!

First impressions really can make or break you, especially when it comes to the job market. Don’t think for a minute that wearing a provocative outfit or forgetting to clean up your Facebook won’t hurt you. Even cleaning it up might not be enough.

Students assume that pictures while taken out or at bars where they appear intoxicated but have no alcohol showing is OK. But is it?

There was a survey done by Harris Interactive and CareerBuilder of 2,667 human resource workers that found more than half identified provocative photos as the largest contributor in a decision not to hire a potential employee or intern.

Many career centers on college campuses are urging students to make their pictures private and delete any default pictures that could be negative. Keep them rated PG, playing on a sports team, school pictures or pictures with friends or family.

Even hiding pictures might not make them completely disappear, so be cautious.

With the new wave of technology and social marketing in our society today, students may feel like it’s okay to share every part of their life because everyone is. People may feel like they’re going to miss something if they don’t log on every day, multiple times a day. Some

The job market is rough enough right now. One easy way to avoid hurting yourself is to clean up your Facebook and keep a professional image on the Internet. students even delete their Facebook account during their job search.

It’s not a bad idea. By deleting it, you don’t run the risk of losing a job opportunity.

There was an article posted on hercampus.com listing all kinds of tips for cleaning up your Facebook account. According to Hercampus. com, it may be obvious to students that posting a status with bad language or drug references is not a good idea, but even your political views and other information can be judged. The main image portrayed on your Facebook should be professionalism.

“In addition, use your quotes and interests sections on your FB (Facebook) page to enhance your chances of getting a job by presenting information relevant to the job you are applying for,” the site said.

Basically, create a job-friendly Facebook account that can enhance your employment chances instead of hurting them.

LinkedIn is another social networking site that was created for job networking. LinkedIn doesn’t allow picture uploading and the other social aspects of Facebook.

It offers the ability to join groups to help find jobs, list previous work experience and get connected with people in a desired field and past employers. It’s basically the professional version of Facebook.

One great thing you can do on it is join your university’s alumni group and post asking about the kind of career you are looking for to see what other alumni are doing.

You can also see what jobs certain cities have to offer. Using your school’s alumni network is a tried and true method of job hunting.

The job market is rough enough right now. One easy way to avoid hurting yourself is to clean up your Facebook and keep a professional image on the Internet.

This includes Twitter, blogs and LinkedIn. Just ask yourself what your grandma would say about those pictures of you bonging beers.

SAMANTHA FRIEDMAN

FRIEDMS3@MUOHIO.EDU

FYI Page

Tuesday

10

January 25, 2011

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

Erin Fischesser Editor in Chief

Thomasina Johnson News Editor

Katie Neltner Business Manager

Erin Maher Managing Editor Colleen Yates Asst. Managing Editor

Joe Gioffre Asst. Business Manager Advertising Layout Director

Scott Allison Online Editor

Carly Huang Finance Director

Stephen Bell, Amelia Carpenter, Amanda Seitz Campus Editors

Kendall Flynn National Advertising Director Classified Advertising Director

Bethany Bruner Community Editor

Marisa Grindle Advertising Representative

Sam Kay, Jessica Sink Editorial Editors

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Michael Solomon Sports Editor

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Hunter Stenback Features Editor Samantha Ludington Photo Editor

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Hannah Miller Art Director

Cox Ohio Publishing Printer WDJ Inc. - Bill Dedden Distributor

Notice

FOR RENT

HOUSES

House FOR RENT New, Spacious 4 bedroom/ 2 full bath house available for 11-12 school year. $2050 pp/per sem. Contact Red Brick at 524.9340.

GREAT 4 BDRM HOUSE2011/12.

49 Indian Cove Circle, across from Hawks Landing. 4 bdrm/2 bath, garage, all appliances including washer and dryer. $2200/semester.

Call Barry at 864-680-7913 or email barrykeith1@gmail.com.

HOUSE FOR RENT 4 Bedroom House, 2 full Baths, 2 car garage, washer/dryer, full kitchen, cable and hi speed internet in every room, large closets, all electric utilities, landlord pays water, sewer, and trash. Less than 4 years old. Call Lou @ (513) 658-2590

General Study Abroad in Australia! Earn 3 credit hours in the “Land Down Under”, July 6-27. $5350 plus tuition.

Information: massiejb@muohio.edu

Spring Break Spring Break Ireland Join us for a week in Dublin. $1800 includes flight, transfers, hotel, meals and activities.

Information: craig@sportstravelacademy.com

Sacha DeVroomen Bellman Adviser

Senior Staff Writers

Staff Writers

Editorial Columnists

Sports Staff Writers

Noëlle Bernard Adam Giffi Chelsea Naughton Leslie Scott

Mandi Cardosi Matt Levy Natalie McKerjee

Chris DeNicola Chloe Esposito Ty Gilligan Karli Kloss Oriana Pawlyk

Alex Butler Melissa Maykut Drew McDonell Hannah R. Miller

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Bloggers

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Nicole Crandall Julia Engelbrecht Erin Killinger Michelle Ludwin Abigail Offenbaker

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The Miami Student (Tuesday/Friday) is published during the school year by the students of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

The content of The Miami Student is the sole responsibility of The Miami Student staff. Opinions expressed in The Miami Student are not necessarily those of Miami University, its students or staff.

For Rent House for Rent 2011/12 4 Bedrooms, 1 bath. Permit for 4. Laundry room includes W/D. Next to Ace Hardware. $10,000 per semester. 513-255-4100, www.odcproperties.com Condo for Rent 2011/12! 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath, furnished Condo. Includes W&D. Permit for 4. Water, waste & trash included. $4,500 per semester.

513-255-4100, www.odcproperties.com 1 Bedroom condo 2011/12 1 Bed, 1 Bath. Furnished Condo, includes W&D, Water, Waste & Trash Permit for 2, $3,000 per sem. 513-255-4100, www.odcproperties.com

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News 513-529-2257 Editorial 513-529-2259 Advertising 513-529-2210 Fax 513-529-1893

HOUSE FOR RENT 3 Bedroom House, 2 full Baths, 2 car garage, washer/dryer, full kitchen, cable and hi speed internet in every room, large closets, all electric utilities, landlord pays water, sewer, and trash. Less than 5 years old. Call Lou @ (513) 658-2590 2 BR TOWNHOUSE NOW RENTING for fall 11-12. Great Location one block from campus: 22 E Central. Well maintained. Large spacious rooms. Off-street parking. Call First Financial Bank (513) 867-5576.

For Rent 2011-2012. Great Properties available for the 2011-2012 school year. Contact OXRE at 513-523-4532 www.OXRE.com Available 2011/2012- 6 bdrm house with wash/dryer and offstreet parking. Also, a large 1 bdrm apt above the Morning Sun Cafe with a permit for 2. Call Corso Realty 523-3520 or 513-520-1111

Apartments SOUTH CAMPUS QUARTER OPENED August 2010 Modern Living ~ Contemporary Design -Located across from the REC Center. For more information call (513) 523-1647 or visit southcampusquarter.com Roberts Apartments2011/12.

One-Bedroom Apartments. Great Location! Close to Campus. 2 Blocks from Uptown. Laundry Facilities.

Off-Street Parking. Spacious and Well-Maintained. www.roberts-apts. com 513-839-1426 THE COURTYARDS OF MIAMI Located on CENTRAL and MAIN, at the bus stop, only students live at the COURTYARDS, and enjoy a 2 minute walk to the REC. There is plenty parking, laundry and yard space.

HEAT PAID in most locations, some pet friendly still open, one bedrooms, $3300. two bedrooms $2300. flexible financing and owner operated. www. thecourtyardsofmiami.com Carolyn 513-659-5671

Houses NEWER CONDO TRENDY 4 BEDRM~2 FULL BATH~EQUIPPED KITCHEN~LAUNDRY~OFF STREET PARKING GARAGE~CAN HELP WITH FURNISHING! Call Mike 513 266-1685 m2deuce21@hotmail.com

www.miamistudent.net

Affordable house for 5120 E Chestnut avail asap! Near rec center, hockey rink/uptown. House includes-parking, upgraded windows, central air, FREE washer/dryer, newly remodeled rooms and 2 full baths. $1900/per person/semester.

513-289-5990 House FOR RENT Available for 11-12: Large 2 bedroom house located 1 Block from Uptown and Slant Walk. Includes parking for 2 and 2011 summer at no extra cost. $2450 pp/ per sem. Call 524.9340

Housing Needed 4 bedroom duplex available in Northridge in a quiet residential area beginning in May. Perfect for graduate students and professors. Call 513.257.7237 for more info

NOW HIRING PUT YOUR SKILLS TO USE AT THE MIAMI STUDENT! We’re looking for a variety of positions to be filled on our editorial, production, and business staffs.

Visit www.miamistudent.net to apply or come see us at MegaFair for more information.

Sports

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Enough with the NFL Bethany Bruner

Buzzer Beater

T

his column is not about football.

While there is plenty to discuss about football and the NFL playoffs are still ongoing, football has not become the sole occupant of the sports universe.

Too often, sports columnists focus solely on the NFL playoffs because the supposedly elite teams are battling for the ultimate prize.

Honestly, all of the talk about who hits dirty and who doesn’t during the week leading up to the game almost makes me miss the constant Brett Favre retirement watch.

Sure, the NFL warrants some coverage, but there are other things going on in the world of sports too.

Here are some topics to consider: The world’s top tennis player, Rafael Nadal, is pursuing a personal slam. Nadal has won the last three majors, and if he wins the Australian Open in a few weeks, he will have won four majors in a row.

The “Rafa Slam” is an unheard of feat in the tennis world and would solidify Nadal’s place as world number one.

What about college basketball?

We love the madness come March, but January seems to bring a chill to the sport.

If sports writers can’t find something in the world besides football to discuss for the next few weeks, they aren’t looking in the right places.

Conference play has started and the competition is hot enough to melt the snow on the ground.

With nine teams in the top 25 from the Big East Conference and another six in the Big Ten Conference, conference games become auditions for higher seeds in the big dance.

Having a tough schedule can either hurt or harm a team in the postseason, but that is what makes the games fun to watch.

In women’s college basketball, the reign of Connecticut has ended.

The dominant Huskies lost in December to Stanford University, snapping their record win streak at 90.

Since then, the University of Connecticut has been dealt another blow with the departure of freshman standout Samarie Walker.

Walker, a Dayton, Ohio native, left the team in mid-January, making the short Husky bench a little bit shorter.

With Baylor University currently ranked number one, how could this affect the Huskies’ run for a third consecutive national title?

The NHL is in full swing.

There is nothing quite like watching these talented skaters throw each other into the boards on the way to racking up another point.

On this campus, we love our hockey, so why not give the NHL a little love?

Despite what I said at the beginning of this column, there is one interesting aspect of the NFL to consider the impending lockout.

If players and owners cannot reach an agreement before next season, what will happen to the 2011 season?

Will players from the Arena Football League or the Canadian Football League take the spots of our favorite players, or will we be without football altogether? Can America survive without football?

If sports writers can’t find something in the world of sports besides football to discuss for the next few weeks, they aren’t looking in the right places.

Maybe they should call Brett Favre, I hear he retired…

SWIMMING

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011 ♦ 11

NEXT HOME MEET: 1 p.m. Saturday vs. Toledo

RedHawks edge Cardinals

By Drew McDonell Staff Writer

The Miami University women’s swimming and diving team traveled to Muncie, Ind., where the team defeated the Ball State University (BSU) Cardinals 152.5-147.5.

The meet was the closest dual meet the RedHawks had this season, with the team depending on the final events to clinch the win.

Senior Miranda Kaltenborn, who swept the 500 and 1,000 freestyles, enjoyed the intensity of the meet.

“Our team hasn’t experienced a close meet like this all year, so it definitely changed the atmosphere,” Kaltenborn said.

“The added adrenaline was extremely visible during the second half of the meet. By the

final two events, the team came together as if the Mid-American Conference (MAC) title was on the line.”

When it came down to the final event, the RedHawks were trailing by four points and depended on the 400-style relay team to clench the win.

The team consisted of Bekka Westrick, Maddie Kete, Katie Arlinghaus and Chelsey Bruington.

Full of adrenaline, the relay team was able to maintain a consistent two-second lead on the Cardinals. The relay ended with a RedHawks victory at the time of 3:31.78, outswimming BSU’s time of 3:34.

The team’s support and morale was an important factor leading to the success.

“I believe that our team came together and supported each

BY THE NUMBERS The RedHawks victory time:

3:31.78 other in both swimming and diving, and that was probably the most important factor in our victory today,” sophomore diver Lisa Werwinski said. “We never backed down and we kept a positive attitude throughout the meet. I believe this meet really helped bring our team together and closer to our goal of winning a MAC championship.”

Werwinski contributed four points to the team’s score.

With such a close meet, the team also realizes it still has

some work to do.

“Our turns and finishes were a bit sloppy this meet, but like Kelsey Vehr said at the end of the meet, drills can fix that,” Arlinghaus said. “There’s no drill for coming together as a team to fight for a win when a meet is so close, and that is what we excelled at this meet.”

Other first place winners include junior Kelsey Mallon in the 200 butterfly, and a victory in the 100 breastroke and the 200 individual medley for senior Megan Brunn.

The team now holds an 8-1 dual meet record and remains in first place in the Mid-Major Division 1 poll.

The RedHawks will resume their schedule at 1 p.m.

Jan. 29 when they will host the University of Toledo at the Nixon Aquatic Center.

Schedule women’s basketball

men’s basketball THURSDAY

WEDNESDAY

Central Michigan 7 p.m.

Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

Ball State 7 p.m.

Muncie, Ind.

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

Notre Dame 7:35 p.m.

South Bend, Ind.

Western Michigan 4:30 p.m.

Oxford, Ohio

Eastern Michigan 2 p.m.

Oxford, Ohio

hockey

men’s swimming

tennis

track and field

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

FRIDAY

Eastern Michigan 1 p.m.

Ypsilanti, Mich.

Butler 1 p.m.

Indianapolis, Ind.

Indiana Relays All Day Bloomington, Ind.

BASKETBALL

NEXT GAME: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ball State

Tough loss drops ’Hawks to 2-4 in MAC

By Melissa Maykut

points in the game.

Junior guard Maggie Boyer, who took over Osborn’s point guard duties against the BobThe Miami University women’s basketball cats, woke up the offense halfway through the team had a slow start Sunday afternoon when half with an easy jump shot. it continued Mid-American She then gave Miami its Conference (MAC) play first lead of the afternoon “The thing we’re against the Northern Illinois when she drained her secfocusing on right University (NIU) Huskies. ond three of the game.

The RedHawks pulled The Huskies had a late now is rebounding. within two by the half and 9-2 run, but the RedHawks We get rebounded had a late comeback in the were able to close the gap by at least seven second half, but in the end to two and finished the half every game, so fell to the Huskies 71-64. down 28-26.

The loss dropped the Red Coming out of the locker that’s really the and White to 2-4 in the MAC rooms for the second half, key for us.” and 10-9 overall.

NIU scored first, but the The Huskies took a quick, RedHawks quickly tied it MAGGIE BOYER early lead, and while the up 30-30.

JUNIOR GUARD RedHawks had no trouble Miami had to fight its way through the second half, finding shots, they had diffibut just couldn’t keep up with the Huskies’ culty making them fall.

“We had a slow offensive beginning,” Head physical game.

“We knew going in that it was going to be a Coach Maria Fantanarosa said. “Courtney Osphysical game,” Boyer said. “It was a bit chalborn still isn’t full go, and that’s changing the lenging because it’s not our style of play.” timing of our offense.”

With less than 15 minutes to go in the secSophomore guard Courtney Osborn was inond half, NIU made a 9-0 run, then scored jured in the game against the Ohio University another two three-point baskets to take a Bobcats Jan. 18.

45-32 lead.

Osborn played Sunday, but scored only 11 Staff Writer

HOCKEY

continued from page 12 ’Hawks, tallying one goal and three assists. He is second in the nation with 43 points.

After Saturday’s game, Miele said the split against MSU puts pressure on the team to perform in its upcoming series at the University of Notre Dame.

“We know we have to go to Notre

Dame and take both games,” Miele said. “Even if we won both games this weekend, or lost both, we have to go in and get those wins.”

Knapp agrees with Miele about the increased pressure.

“I think every game is very important,” Knapp said. “I’m happy with the effort tonight, but I’m not satisfied with splitting weekends. We have two big series coming up and there’s no looking back. We have to treat each series like a championship weekend. We need these games heading into playoff time.”

The Red and White tried for a comeback with just less than four minutes left to play. Junior forward Rachael Hencke hit a three-point shot, and Osborn made a jumper.

With just more than four minutes left to play, junior forward Lillian Pitts hit her jump shot to close the gap to 61-57.

With two minutes left to play, Miami was down 65-60. Boyer rebounded an unsuccessful shot by NIU and was fouled by Husky center Ebony Ellis, which fouled her out of the game.

Boyer’s two free throws brought Miami within three points, but the comeback ended there.

Boyer was called for a charge, and the Huskies finished the game shooting free throws, winning 71-64.

Boyer led the RedHawks with 18 points, Olowinski had 14 and Hencke had 11. Although Miami was able to hold the Huskies to 40 percent shooting, NIU outrebounded the RedHawks 46-29.

“The thing we’re focusing on right now is rebounding,” Boyer said. “We get rebounded by at least seven every game, so that’s really the key for us.”

The Red and White travel Jan. 26 to Muncie, Ind. to take on the Ball State University Cardinals.

MEN’S BASKETBALL continued from page 12

back to Oxford, and Coles said he would pull out the clipboard on the bus.

“One thing about the MAC is you always got time after a game because you got that long bus ride,” Coles said.

“Coach Coles is going to do some coaching tonight.”

www.miamistudent.net

12

Sports

Tuesday January25,2011

Give me back my jersey

Editor Michael Solomon sports@miamistudent.net

Adam Hainsfurther

Hainsfurther’s Holler

T

his summer, one of my duties at ABC was checking websites and blogs for any leads on stories to cover.

For me, that meant checking, among other sites, Deadspin.com.

Deadspin, for those of you who don’t know it, is the leading sports blog online right now, and its posts often have very little to do with actual sports.

For instance, Deadspin was the first to report on a trend I had been noticing for quite some time this summer when they began posting photographs of “hipsters” wearing throwback jerseys of seemingly meaningless NBA players.

They dubbed this new breed of trendy jerk “hoopsters,” and I have quite the bone to pick with them.

Hoopsters stole that trend from me, making me a hipster by default. For years I’ve been wearing ironic jerseys from across sports.

Whether I’m rocking World B. Free (yes, that is his real name) from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Moses Malone from the Philadelphia 76ers or even my coveted NHL All-Star jersey that has the name “ALLSTAR” on it, you can see me in an ironic jersey more times than you see jerseys for players who actually matter.

For this reason, I must demand all hipsters across the world cease and desist what is clearly a trend stolen from me.

Now, for those of you who don’t know me, I am no hipster. I have never worn skinny jeans, my tattoo is not an ironic one and I’m a member of a fraternity, arguably the least hipster-like thing a person can do.

If anything, I’m the anti-hipster. I mean, I am a sports columnist.

Me not being a hipster isn’t the only reason I’m making this demand. In fact, it goes much deeper than that.

Sports has always been the one place in this world that was truly hipster-free.

Sure, hipsters played things like ultimate Frisbee and badminton, but that was more out of irony than anything.

For the most part, hipsters and their hoopster contemporaries disliked sports because it caused them to exert physical force.

But now, if this “hoopster” trend continues, will it stop with throwbacks?

Who’s to say that down the road we won’t have a hipster coach in one of the big four leagues?

What about a hipster MVP? Will baseball players switch to wearing skinny baseball pants like skinny jeans for sliding?

What type of world can we expect for our children if this continues?

If it’s OK for hipsters to encroach upon sub-cultural boundaries, what’s keeping other groups from doing the same?

Will we soon have computer geek fashion designers? What if we have trophy wife politicians or stoners running Wall Street?

I say we put a stop to this nonsense now! I’m calling on all of my sporty brethren to take pride and put on their jerseys.

As the trend of ironic jerseys reaches mass popularity, hipster will no longer take to it.

Once a hipster trend begins to go mainstream, they abandon it like a mother tiger abandons its cubs if they get too close to people.

When it comes to many things, I’m very open-minded. I don’t let things like race, religion, sexual preference or income level affect my opinions about a person, but there are certain things I just cannot let stand.

Some people may accuse me of being bigoted against hipsters and call me a hipsterist if you will, but I don’t care.

This sickening trend must be stopped before it’s too late. So, again, I implore you, think of the children. Won’t you please think of the children?

MICHAEL GRIGGS The Miami Student

Senior Vincent LoVerde takes a shot during the game against Bowling Green State Univeristy at Goggin Ice Center.

HOCKEY

NEXT GAME: 7:35 p.m. Friday at Notre Dame

’Hawks split with Spartans

By Hannah R. Miller Staff Writer

For the Miami University ice hockey team, weekend splits have become all too common, leaving The Brotherhood desperate for wins in the remainder of the regular season.

The RedHawks faced off against the Michigan State University (MSU) Spartans in East Lansing, Mich., dropping the first contest 7-4 but rebounding Saturday for a much-needed 4-0 victory.

“I thought we played good (Friday) night,” Head Coach Enrico Blasi said. “We didn’t get the bounces and we had some critical mistakes, but we did clean up our play with and without the puck, and that was the difference (Saturday).”

Friday night, despite outshooting the Spartans 46-22, the Red and White could not hold off the MSU offense. MSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead early on, leaving the

’Hawks battling back the rest of the way. Miami tied it at two in the second period, but Michigan State tacked on two additional goals in the frame.

With the Spartans up 4-2, Miami pulled netminder Cody Reichard, putting in Connor Knapp for the remainder of the game.

Early in the third period, Miami pulled within one goal of the Spartans, but four minutes later, MSU tallied two more goals, leaving the ’Hawks down 6-3.

Senior Andy Miele added the fourth goal of the night for Miami, and MSU scored an emptynetter late in the game to make the final 7-4.

Saturday, the ’Hawks’ lineup looked different from Friday’s game, as Blasi wanted to send a message to his team.

“I think it sent a good message with everybody,” Blasi said. “The guys now know that they have to be ready or they won’t be in the lineup. Hopefully it helps us prepare at

BASKETBALL

a high level.”

Using only three lines and 15 skaters, Miami came together to take the victory that eluded them Friday. In Saturday’s game, defensemen Will Weber and Cameron Schilling and forwards Alden Hirschfeld and Curtis McKenzie were healthy scratches.

“It’s not about one game, it’s about our program, what we stand for,” Blasi said. “Holding guys accountable for the standards we’re accustomed to. It was a tough decision to make, but one we thought it was time for.”

In addition to the higher level of play from his skaters, Blasi also saw improved performance from goaltender Connor Knapp.

“He was one of guys that we challenged today,” Blasi said. “He did a great job. He was focused, ready and he had big saves for us especially in the third.”

Knapp recorded his second

shutout of the season, but said the effort from his teammates was crucial.

BY THE NUMBERS Senior Andy Miele’s number of points this season:

44

“I was very focused on my game,” Knapp said. “It’s a matter of bearing down mentally, keeping my focus on the puck.

The guys played great in front of me, and that helped out a lot.”

Senior Andy Miele notched five points on the weekend, three goals and two assists, as he continues to lead the nation in points (44) and assists (30).

Captain Carter Camper also had a big weekend for the

wSee HOCKEY, page 11

NEXT GAME: 7 p.m. Thursday at Central Michigan

Golden Flashes victimize RedHawks

By Alex Butler Senior Staff Writer

Sunday, the Miami University men’s basketball team had two things going against its game at Kent State University.

The team was down two starters and faced the Golden Flashes, a team seeking revenge.

The Red and White missed junior Julian Mavunga and freshman Quinten Rollins, but the real downfall ended up being 22 turnovers, resulting in 27 points and a 78-57 loss.

“I think we played bad and Kent definitely wanted the game more,” senior Nick Winbush said. “We knew that coming in and we just didn’t show up.”

Winbush showed up with his second straight double-double. The forward was a dim light in the loss, with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

The Golden Flashes (12-7, 3-2 MidAmerican Conference (MAC)) flew out of the gate trying to correct the wrongs of Wednesday when they lost by 25 points to the University at Buffalo.

Head Coach Charlie Coles’ team (8-11, 3-2 MAC) came to Kent State after one of its best performances of the season.

With 13 minutes remaining in the with 22 points. opening act, the Red and White held a Mavunga and Rollins were held out 13-7 lead with an array of shots from with numerous foot issues.

Winbush and Co. Winbush wetted the “It definitely held us back a little bit,” nylon again to put the Red and White Winbush said. “We just said we had to on top 22-18 before the fight. We had some bright Golden Flashes rallied. spots. Drew McGhee and The home squad capiVince Legarza played “Going into the talized on eight Redreally well. Anytime game, I thought Hawk giveaways for a you turn the ball over that our weakness as many times as we 15-0 run and wouldn’t get the lead back again. did, you aren’t going would be inside, The Red and White to win.” that wasn’t our attempted to close the Mavunga is averaging weakness.” margin, but the Golden a team-high 13.9 points Flashes kept coming per game, but Coles said CHARLIE COLES and brought a 39-29 his presence wouldn’t HEAD COACH lead into the halftime have aided the ailing locker room. failure of ball security in “We tried to force the the backcourt. ball, and when we did “I don’t think we force the ball we weren’t strong with would have won today if we had him,” it,” Coles said. “Going into the game, I Coles said. “He could have played his thought that our weakness would be in- rear end off, but how is he going to stop side, that wasn’t our weakness.” the turnovers? I don’t know how he The closest the ’Hawks could fly was could have stopped that unless he played a dozen points, and the turnovers kept point guard.” coming at vital times.

The Red and White had a long ride Guard Randal Holt hit six three pointers and led the Golden Flashes See MEN’S BASKETBALL, page 11

w