March 7, 2014 | The Miami Student

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

FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2014

VOLUME 141 NO. 38

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 2000, The Miami Student reported an Oxford man was charged with two felonies for a hit-and-run accident, vehicular assault, a fourth-degree felony, and leaving the scene, a fifth-degree felony. OPD found the victim, a junior at Miami, lying in the street. Though badly injured, the young man recovered.

MU welcomes renowned writer, reporter to faculty

WIL HAYGOOD

BY EMILY CRANE NEWS EDITOR

Since graduating from Miami in 1973, Wil Haygood has kept himself busy. He has interviewed a Liberian dictator by candlelight in his powerless apartment and he has feigned medical expertise to buy himself time after Somali rebels took him hostage. From Africa to the front page of the Washington Post and a Hollywood movie set, Haygood’s career as a writer and journalist has taken him all around the world—but soon, it will bring him back to Oxford. He has agreed to join Miami’s teaching faculty for three years beginning January 2015 in the department of Media, Journalism and Film (MJF), teaching upper-level non-fiction writing classes and film

classes one semester each year. Chair of the MJF department Richard Campbell said he first got the idea to woo the alumnus to join his faculty when he met him on his visit to campus last fall. “I loved his energy, his interactions with students,” Campbell said. “He was going through a really interesting change in his life—to have him here at this heightened creative period to share with students would be great, I thought.” Rick Momeyer, a retired faculty member and a mentor to Haygood, further convinced Campbell he should reach out to him about the possibility of recruiting him to teach. Campbell got his chance at a private dinner at President David Hodge’s house last fall. Haygood showed immediate interest. Since his front-page Washington Post feature article was adapted to an award-winning Hollywood film in August, he has found himself at somewhat of a turning point in his career, and Campbell’s proposition intrigued him. “My career has crisscrossed various genres—journalism, biography and now film, and it just seems a good time to share some of the experiences,” Haygood said, “to share these years of traveling the world, after writing about some cataclysmic events—war, famine, world

leaders, dictators and the arts.” Campbell said he thinks Haygood’s current career position makes him an ideal fit for the new media, journalism and film department. “He represents in some ways our whole department, both print and film,” Campbell said. “I’ve seen him with students and I think he’s got a lot to share with them. This is a transition phase for him and what better place to do it than at his alma mater?” Haygood will begin his teaching arrangement at Miami as a Karl and Helen Wiepking Visiting Distinguished Professor for the 2014-15 academic year, and will hold the position of Distinguished Scholar in the two subsequent years. Because his arrangement with the university will allow him to take every other semester off, Haygood will retain a great amount of flexibility amidst his new teaching duties. But Haygood said what drew him to Miami was not the distinguished professorship or the flexible work schedule but rather the possibility of investing in future journalists. “I want to inspire students with the beauty of the craft of journalism and the muscle it takes to hone that craft,” Haygood said. “It’s about wanting to spread the gospel about storytelling, which I love.”

LAUREN OLSON PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

‘CHILLIN’ IT’ AT BRICK Cole Swindell sports a Miami t-shirt while performing at Brick Street Wednesday night at his sold-out show.

Project Green Room calls for plans to reduce U.S. deficit, offers $500 BY ALEXIS DEBRUNNER FOR THE MIAMI STUDENT

Challenging students to create a plan to reduce the United States’ $17 trillion deficit and potentially win $500, Project Green Room will be hosting a Political Science Case Competition to showcase each team’s plan March 18. The Political Science Case Competition is an opportunity for teams of two to four students to create a plan to reduce the country’s deficit and present it to a panel of judges to win the first prize of $500, Project Green Room President and Founder Jeff Feiwell said. The panel of judges will be chosen by their experience in relevant fields, ranging from political scientists, lobbyists and journalists to businessmen

and academic teachers as well. “We created this competition to give students an in-depth learning experience, not just on the debt specifically but also from a basic standpoint on how the United States runs,” Feiwell said. “Putting them in a team setting for a cash prize makes it fun.” With more than 85 students participating, both from Miami and Ohio State, and 30 teams registered to compete, Feiwell said the pool of competitors was a good split between the two campuses, and students were very diverse. “We have political science and econ majors clearly,” Feiwell said. “But we also have neuroscience, biomedical and chemical engineering, diplomacy, French, nursing majors and more as well. I

remember seeing the biomedical engineering major and that one really stood out to me as something different coming into this.” Feiwell, who founded Project Green Room with Stephen Hostelley last semester, described his organization as a non-profit that educates and engages college students on the fiscal issues, and specifically advocates for fiscal responsibility. Their aim for their Political Science Case competition is to give students the opportunity to brainstorm and solve the debt problem using real numbers and real world scenarios. The case is created like a puzzle, with fictional political figures and groups, and includes challenges that each team will have to overcome to get their plan passed, Feiwell said. “There is no right answer, and

that is how we wanted it to be,” Feiwell said. “We are going to have people from the left and right who have different solutions and different problems and that is what we wanted. We’re trying to see how well can you make your argument, and how plausible is it.” Project Green Room Managing Director Lot Kwarteng said this competition, and Project GreenRoom as a whole, is something with potential for support from Washington, D.C., but they did not want it to be a D.C.-based organization. “Everybody we talk to in D.C. says that this is a great idea and they are glad we are doing it, but we didn’t want to be a D.C. organization,” Kwarteng said. “This was started by college students for college students, and has a lot of potential to grow at

a place like Miami with talented students and alumni.” Kwarteng said this competition is a perfect fit for Miami’s campus because it has the right demographics that will be receptive to it. “We were validated in the fact that everywhere we spoke students would email us and call us saying ‘I like what you guys are doing, what can I do to get involved,’” Kwarteng said. “Students care about it. When you break down the issue into dollars and cents, and show how the macro issue effects us personally, people care and want to learn more, and get more politically engaged.” Student Body Vice President Courtney Bernard is one of four on

GREEN ROOM, SEE PAGE 5

Going for gold: Student trains for 2016 Olympics BY NICK RAMSEY

FOR THE MIAMI STUDENT

SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD

LAUREN OLSON PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Miami Activities Planning (MAP) hosted an event in the ASC pavillion asking students to commit to ending the use of the “r word” in reference to individuals with mental disabilities.

While most Miami Students are running laps at the REC in preparation for spring break, one student has a much bigger goal: the Olympics. Junior mechanical engineering major Karan Sachdeva has not taken a day off from training in over a year and does not plan on taking one anytime soon. While many Miami students had their eyes glued to their TVs for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Sachdeva was focused on the 5,000 meter race at the upcoming 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. Sachdeva, who joined his father in the United States from India in 2000 for a better education, did not start running cross country and track until his junior year of high school at Bellbrook, near Dayton, Ohio. In 2012, Miami alumnus and Olympic gold medalist in the 5,000

meter race Bob Schul visited Miami’s campus to talk about his autobiography, “In The Long Run.” Sachdeva took advantage of the opportunity to meet Schul and seek his help. “I talked to him afterwards, he gave me his number and offered to train me on the spot,” Sachdeva said. “God has given me this opportunity. Not everyone gets to train with an Olympic gold medalist.” Schul’s experience has been vital to Sachdeva’s growth as a runner. “My training is not easy and as the body progresses, the training becomes harder,” Schul said. “He has progressed through several plateaus and will continue doing so for months to come. These plateaus can last for three and up to 10 months before I will place more pressure on the athletes body.”

OLYMPICS, SEE PAGE 5


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