The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2014
VOLUME 141 NO. 32
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 1992, The Miami Student reported the Associated Student Government (ASG) would be holding another election for their executive cabinet after a
missing ballot box voided the original vote. Then ASG Executive Vice President Mike Franczak apologized, saying, “We searched the dining hall … but to no avail. All I can say is that it’s stolen.”
$2 million Armstrong gift seals student success BY LIBBY MUELLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Armstrong Student Center (ASC) dedication ceremony heralded not only the opening of the ASC, but also the introduction of a $2 million gift from Mike Armstrong and his wife Anne Gossett Armstrong to create the Armstrong Student Engagement and Leadership (SEAL) Scholarship. Armstrong plans for the scholarship money to become available to the university in fall 2014 so students can be considered by the 2014 spring semester. “It’s targeted for sophomores, juniors and seniors,” Armstrong said. “They’re one and two-year scholarships and the amount of the scholarship should average $7,000 a year.”
The scholarship will be based on three specific criteria, Armstrong said. “What I wanted to do with this SEAL scholarship fund was make scholarships available to students who are in Miami-sponsored student organizations,” he said. “Then the review for granting the scholarship would be [based] on need, merit and service level in the organization.” For a student to qualify, he or she needs to be in a sponsored organization centered upon humanitarian, service or leadership purposes. Mike Armstrong is a Miami University alumnus from the class of 1961. He worked tirelessly to secure a college education. “When I was a freshman, I had a football scholarship,” Armstrong
said. “I had the time to participate in student government, which I did. However, my sophomore year I sustained a football injury and it would n’t permit me to play anymore. I lost the scholarship, so I had to drop out and go to work. I went to work in Detroit on the docks and I accumulated some money and came back to Miami.” With the scholarship gone, his college experience was very different, Armstrong said. “Without the scholarship, I worked in Oxford Uptown at the College Inn, 30 hours or so a week,” Armstrong said. “There were no scholarships available that I could find and it precluded continuing to participate and find the time for
SCHOLARSHIP, SEE PAGE 4
PHIL ARNDT THE MIAMI STUDENT
KISS THE GIRL!
Graduate student Justin Guenther and junior Rebecca Nall embrace under the Upham Arch.
Miami makes Mergers’ Valentine’s Day magical BY KELLY HIGGINSON FOR THE MIAMI STUDENT
’HAWKS HOLD HEADS HIGH
LAUREN OLSON PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Miami sophomore goalie Jay Williams looks at the crowd during Miami’s last home game, a 3-2 loss.
Cold front chills Oxford businesses BY CONNOR MORIARTY FOR THE MIAMI STUDENT
Piles of icy snow lining the streets are all that is left to show for the record cold temperatures Oxford experienced last month that forced people to stay indoors and not go Uptown. This record-cold winter has called for Ohioans to adapt in many ways, but the subzero weather is causing even the most popular Oxford businesses to suffer. Throughout the month of January, most of the country saw recordlow temperatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). Columbus reached -7 degrees Fahrenheit, two degrees lower than the previous record, and Cleveland reached -12 degrees Fahrenheit, five degrees lower than the previous record. “To some, it’s just too cold to go outside to walk to class or to go Uptown,” first-year journalism major Alex Abboud said. “Facing the cold is just not worth going Uptown.” But the cold has affected more than just Miami students’ nightlives. Local businesses say there has been a noticeable drop in sales this winter due to the lower temperatures, causing a lack of
Uptown traffic. Manager of 45 East Bar and Grill Jeremiah Robuck said sales have been a bit down this winter, which could be attributed to the weather. “People just seem to be going out less,” Robuck said. “The cold makes going outside a lot less appealing.” But Robuck said he thinks it is hard to tell if the weather alone is the reason sales are down. He said he suspects the polar vortex hitting Oxford immediately after Winter Term makes for a
The Miami University Alumni Office has sealed almost 14,000 envelopes and sent off this year’s annual valentine to each Miami Merger couple. Starting in 1973, the tradition has become a Valentine’s Day highlight for many Miami Mergers. Ray Mock, the Executive Director of the Miami’s Alumni Association is a key contributor to the Merger valentine cards each year. He said each year’s Miami Merger valentine is crafted with a new design and a poetic message. “Each year our advanced alumni communications team drafts ideas around what poetry and design we will use and we all add and give feedback which makes each year so unique and special for those alumni,” Mock said. Shelley Sedlacek, a Miami ‘79 alumna and merger, said she and her husband have been
receiving the valentines each year and saving them. “I love the valentines the Alumni Association sends out each year, I’ve saved every one they’ve sent me. They are always something clever about being a Miami merger,” Sedlacek said. This year’s valentine is playing off a theme of a magical kingdom, according to Mock. The poem talks about a magic campus nestled on a hill outside of a cornfield where romance takes place. Inside the card is the lantern of Miami, representing that the magical romantic place is the Miami campus. Some Merger couples are taking the holiday as an occasion to reunite with old friends. “We are going out with another Miami Merger couple to a romantic dinner. We have become best friends after college and
MERGERS, SEE PAGE 4
BUSINESS, SEE PAGE 4
ASK THE EDITOR Catch MUTV’s interview with Editor in Chief Katie Taylor on Channel 15 this afternoon or stream it online anywhere on campus at www.miamiohtv.com.
CONTRIBUTED BY THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
LGBTQ,
SEE PAGE 8