February 8, 2013 | The Miami Student

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

FRIDay, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

VOLUME 140 NO. 36

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 1980 The Miami Student reported a string of unusual and malicious behaviors occurring at King and Hughes libraries. The most common offenses

were cases of book theft or students ripping out pages for personal use. The report also mentioned that students had begun urinating and defecating into the trash cans at both libraries, often in locations less than 20 feet away from the bathroom.

ASG tweaks election rules By Victoria Slater and Allison McGillivray

Senior Staff Writer and Campus Editor

Vice President of the Student Body senior Lizzie Litzow presented two conflicting bills to Senate that proposed changes to the way the President and Vice President of the student body are elected, at the Associated Student Government (ASG) meeting Tuesday Feb. 5. Currently, two elections are held for the two positions: a primary, followed by a general election. If any of the president and vice presidential platforms receive more than 50 percent of the vote in their primary election, they are automatically elected to their positions. Litzow determined that in the past, the platform that possessed a 10 percent or greater lead over its opponents during the primary election tended to retain the lead after the general election. The first bill, which was proposed by the Senate Election Committee, was the Election Bylaw Amendment. It states that a second election is unnecessary if

the president and vice president are to obtain at least a 10 percent lead over their opponents during the primary election. The second bill, the 2013 Student Body Election Rules, which was proposed by the Executive Cabinet, holds that “if a candidate receiving the largest number of votes in the primary election receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a general election will not be held.” During the debate over the two bills, various senators argued that a plurality vote is necessary for the president and vice president, which is a method the United States government and student governments at acclaimed colleges have adopted. A plurality vote occurs when a candidate takes more votes than any other candidates without attaining a majority. Senior senator Calvin Davis argued that ASG should not compare Miami to other colleges and instead focus on establishing the most efficient voting process for the student body. “We are forever Miami,” he said. “We should not compare our processes to other colleges. We

ASG,

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Trustees plan to OK $99 M in campus construction contracts By Allison McGillivray Campus Editor

The Board of Trustees will meet Friday Feb. 8 to discuss the Miami University budget, faculty tenure and nearly $99 million in contracts for the construction efforts on Miami’s campus. The Board will be asked to approve the $99 million for construction contracts for sidewalks, landscaping, roof replacements, electrical system upgrades and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, according to Claire Wagner director of University News and Communication. Director of Finance David Creamer said due to the size of the projects, approval from the Board of Trustees is required for

the university to begin work. “Each of these are reasonably large so they need to go through not only the planning process here inside the university but before we actually proceed toward contracts for those projects,” Creamer said. The contracts were unanimously endorsed by Board committees on Thursday and will be presented to the full board on Friday. The Trustees will also be asked to approve the promotion and tenure of eligible faculty as well as approve promotions and continuing the contracts of eligible librarians, according to Wagner. Wagner also said the Trustees will review how the university budget projections match the actual budget to date.

D.C. insiders debate democracy in America at inaugural JANUS Forum

KYLE HAYDEN THE MIAMI STUDENT

Ari Fleischer engages the audience during the JANUS Forum. Fleischer is a former White House Press Secretary for the Bush Administration and is now a political analyst for CNN. Fleischer discussed democracy in America with Washington Post journalist Ezra Klein.

By Allison McGillivray and Katie M.Taylor Campus Editors

Miami University students engaged in a political dialogue about democracy in the United States with two major political figures, Washington Post writer Ezra Klein and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. The conversation took place at the first JANUS Forum Wednesday Feb. 6. The two speakers gave a presentation on the question “Is democracy working” for 20 minutes and then answered questions related to the topic that were posed by students at the forum. One of the organizers behind the event, graduate student, Tyler Sinclair said the success of the JANUS Forum exceeded his expectations. “I’m very very pleased with how everything turned out,” Sinclair said. Sinclair expected close to 300 students and was surprised to see a packed Taylor Auditorium. Senior political science major Peter Dougherty said he was also impressed by the level of student interest. “The best part about it was

seeing how interested students were in it,” Dougherty said. “The fact that people were standing in the back of the room shows that this is the sort of thing that Miami wants.” Sinclair hopes to see the same level of interest moving forward.

The best part about it was seeing how interested students were in it.” PETER DOUGHERTY

MIAMI UNIVERSITY SENIOR

“I’m looking forward to continuing to sustain this type of dialogue on campus,” Sinclair said. “I’m glad to see that students appreciate this type of political discourse and I hope that they continue to turn out to events like this.” Klein won a coin toss before the event and he deferred to Fleischer to give the first presentation. Fleischer began his presentation by revealing that he was raised a liberal democrat. Fleischer’s father was interviewed about his son’s change in political parties.

“He said it was better that I became a Republican than a drug dealer but not by much,” Fleischer said. Fleischer argued that democracy works because there is a peaceful exchange of power between political parties. He said the United States experienced a peaceful exchange of power when the Supreme Court had to issue a ruling in 2000, which confirmed that former president George W. Bush had won the election over former vice president Al Gore. Fleischer said just as this transfer of power between political parties was peaceful, so was the first exchange of power between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Klein mentioned in his presentation that a peaceful exchange of power is a low standard in which to judge that democracy is working, and that though the system has improved over the years, it does not mean it is perfect. “We do not have a perfectly democratic system,” Klein said. “The fact that it is much more democratic than it once was does not make it democratic.” Fleischer argued that democracy is working in the way that

JANUS,

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Brotherhood’s new ‘Warrior Award’ commends sacrifice on ice By Joe Gieringer Senior Staff Writer

As long as hockey has been played, it has been a tradition for the coach of the winning team to award the game puck to the player who contributed the most to the squad’s on-ice success. Whether it be stellar net-minding, precision passing or netting a few clutch goals, the puck is usually presented to a player who got into the stat book one way or another. Unfortunately, Head Coach Enrico Blasi’s RedHawks hadn’t been doing much scoring as they ushered in 2013, and he knew that had to change – enter the Warrior Award. The idea came to Blasi and associate head coach Brent Brekke one afternoon while jogging early in January. “I don’t know if you’ve ever seen video of the story I tell about the warrior,” Blasi said. “We just

started talking about that and came up with an idea of building a shield and giving it out as an award after every game to the guy that sacrifices the most.”

It’s something other than the guy that scored the goal. Maybe a guy blocks a shot, or takes a big hit. Whoever plays his heart out for his team that night gets rewarded.” Enrico blasi

HEAD COACH

The shield is more accurately described as a chest plate, reminiscent of one worn in ancient Rome. After a few calls around Oxford, Blasi had his armor constructed, and he introduced

it at the RedHawks’ first home game of 2013. The move is an inventive one, as it highlights the play of individuals that is not glorified on the scoreboard – rather, it brings attention to the behind-the-scenes efforts that often aren’t noticed by the fans: blocked shots, hustle on the back-check, poise and puck control in the offensive zone, etc. “It’s something other than the guy that scored the goal,” Blasi said of the player who is awarded. “Maybe a guy blocks a shot, or takes a big hit. Whoever plays his heart out for his team that night gets rewarded.” The players have bought into this mentality as well. Sophomore forward Austin Czarnik won the award at its inception, and it has been well-received in the locker room, most likely in part because the award is given from its former recipient to a new player. Some of the guys have even

taken to wearing the plating into the post-game press conference as a badge of honor. “Whoever was the hardest worker and who he thinks deserves it, [Blasi] will give it to that guy and it just goes down the chain, that guy gives it to another guy,” Czarnik said. “I just think it’s been really good for us. I think there’s been no repeat [winners] so far, so guys are working for it for sure.” Though the actual date that the Warrior Award was first presented is not definitive, the on-ice results since its creation have been positive, as the RedHawks are winners of their last five contests. Senior captain Steven Spinell said that while the award isn’t the reason for the winning streak, it does add to the focus and goals that the players and coaches have set for the season. “It’s important to recognize players that are working hard,”

Spinell said. “They’re doing the gritty stuff … that people don’t always pay attention to. It just adds to the atmosphere of having fun with it, it’s another element. And it’s an honor, because it’s your teammates giving it to you.” In the past few weeks, Spinell and Czarnik have both been recipients. Other winners include senior forward Marc Hagel, freshman forward Kevin Morris, freshman goaltender Ryan McKay and sophomore forward Cody Murphy. Blasi noted that he plans to keep this tradition around the rest of the season and beyond, so the armor will grace the shoulders of players for years to come. But for now, as the Brotherhood heads to Kalamazoo this weekend to face off against conference rival Western Michigan, the Warrior Award will make the trip with them, waiting to be worn by the next RedHawk deemed worthy.


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