March 25, 2011 | The Miami Student

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

VOLUME 138 NO. 47

Friday, March 25, 2011

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

In 1964, The Miami Student reported Miami University had signed an agreement with General Telephone Company of Ohio to expand student telephone service. The agreement would put a phone in every student room.

FSB graffiti protests Rice visit

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY ADAM GIFFI

Graffiti found around campus on March 18 protested the upcoming visit of former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice. The graffiti was on the Farmer School of Business, Upham Hall and sidewalks.

By Lauren Ceronie Campus Editor

Every world leader will have their fans and, inevitably, their critics. Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State, falls into this category and lately, her critics at Miami University have been out in full force. Early on the morning of March 18, graffiti decrying her visit to Miami on March 31 was found on the Farmer School of Business, Upham Arch and the sidewalks around the buildings, according to Jeff Prater, senior manager of grounds and horticulture at Miami.

The graffiti on FSB read “Shame on FSB Condoleezza Rice equals war criminal,” Prater said. The graffiti on Upham and the sidewalks were of similar nature, according to

Prater. Three different departments, the paint shop, building management and grounds services, were notified of the graffiti early Friday morning and responded immediately to clean it up, Prater said. However, the graffiti, which looked like chalk, was not easy to wash away, according to Prater.

“The graffiti appeared to be chalk but it responded differently,” Prater said. “The paint shop had to use some sort of chemical and it took quite a while to get it off.”

In addition to the chemical wash, a member of the grounds crew had to spend the better part of the day pressure washing the graffiti off the sidewalks and buildings, according to Prater. The cleanup in several different spots was extensive, Prater said.

The Physical Facilities department

Miami to finalize sustainability plan

By Stephen Bell

to something like natural gas or bio mass, but we’re probably at least 10 to 15 years out to Miami University may be make that full transformation,” turning a shade greener this he said. spring, as the university anNot everyone is completely nounces plans to unveil a new satisfied with Hodge’s projecenergy sustainability plan. tions. Todd Zimmer is the PresEarlier this month, Miami ident of Beyond Coal at Miami, President David Hodge said an organization dedicated to he is in talks to finalize a Cam- ending the nation’s reliance pus Sustainability Plan, which on coal. would aim to decrease the While Zimmer appreciates university’s reliance on coal the swift action Miami’s adover the next ministration two decades. has taken to “What this will Hodge said draft a finalprobably mean is he is excited ized commoving the power about putting prehensive the plan into sustainabilplant to something action and like natural gas or bio ity plan, he is hopes to indisappointed mass, but we’re form students the plan does probably 10 to 15 when the deal not include is finalized. provisions to years out.”

“We hope phase out coal to have an entirely by a DAVID HODGE announcecertain date.

MIAMI UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT ment out be“We before the end lieve that, of the semester,” minimally, the university Hodge said. must include a retirement date Hodge has worked with Mi- for the on-campus coal-fired ami’s Campus Sustainability steam plant,” Zimmer said.

Committee since 2008, negoti- “Without such a provision, ating what he called a “realis- the plan is incomplete and not tic” goal for clean energy. as strong or forward-looking “Basically, what’s happened as it needs to be in order to is the Sustainability Committee be effective.” issued a series of recommenFurthermore, Zimmer said dations about what Miami can the effects from coal-fired do to (decrease our reliance on power plants can be disastrous. fossil fuels),” Hodge said. “We Coal-fired power plants, like have been working with them the one on Miami’s Western to fine tune it so we are on the Campus, are largely unregusame page. We are trying to be lated and a source of Mercury as aggressive as we can, but we pollution according to Zimmer. need to be realistic.”

“Mercury is a heavy metal While Hodge hopes to one and neuro-toxin released in day phase out coal entirely, he the burning of coal, and we said the university is at least 10 are burning 25,000 tons of to 15 years away from com- coal a year right here on campletely making the switch to pus,” he said. “(In the United alternative energy, unless future States) one in six women has technology allows the transition mercury levels so high in their to happen more gracefully. bodies that it would damage the “What this will probably mean is moving the power plant See GREEN MU, page 9 Online Staff

w

has requested that the university police increase patrols around FSB and Upham Hall in order to reduce the vandalism, according to Cody Powell, assistant vice president of operations in the physical facilities department.

“We’re hoping to mitigate the vandalism by stepping up police patrols since this is taking a lot of staff time and dollars,” Powell said.

Miami policy states that no advertisements of any kind are allowed to be written on university property, according to Powell. The physical facilities department is required to clear up any graffiti, even if it is a material like chalk, said Powell.

Despite the protests, Miami is looking forward to Rice’s visit, said Alan Oak, assistant dean for external relations in the Farmer School

of Business.

“We’re aware of the (graffiti) activity and we encourage people to communicate constructively their points of view,” Oak said.

Rice is coming to Miami through the Anderson Distinguished Lecture Series, an endowment that has brought world leaders to Miami’s campus, Oak said.

“This is a great opportunity for Miami students to have a first person experience with a world leader,” Oak said.

Junior Matt Fitzgerald said he believes the protests may be students’ way of expressing frustration about events that took place during Rice’s time in office.

“I think it may be more frustration about the wars, the fact that we’ve

SPECIAL REPORTS

spent so much money over there, it’s a growing discontent with the current political system,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said he can see why protesters vandalized FSB since that’s where Rice will be speaking, but he believes protesters could express dissatisfaction in more constructive ways.

Junior Rachel Petri agreed that, while protests are a completely acceptable way to express discontent, students could show disagreement with Rice’s policies in other ways.

Students should use this as an opportunity to learn about Rice’s policies, according to Petri.

“Even though I don’t necessarily agree with all of her policies I think that she’s somebody I can learn a lot from,” Petri said.

Editor Amanda Seitz specialreports@miamistudent.net

Honors program revamps strategy

By Alaine Perconti For The Miami Student

In Fall 2009, the Miami University honors program discontinued any scholarships specifically linked with membership in the program. The lack of financial incentive has the potential to affect both enrollment and retention in the honors program.

So how are they keeping the program afloat after stripping honors students of their scholarships?

Two events that coincided with the financial restructuring were a complete overhaul of the university honors program requirements as well as the adoption of a new marketing initiative. The marketing campaign has certainly been a factor in the increasing enrollment numbers, but the jury is still out on how the new requirements will retain students. With the inaugural honors class under the new curriculum finishing its sophomore year, both the administration and students are figuring out the best way to proceed.

Requirement revision In the new honors program, effective Fall 2009, the curriculum requirements were revised to better reflect the goals of the program.

“I think they want to achieve liberal education, but give you more free reign to learn from different angles,” said sophomore honors student Maggie Striebich.

Students in the new honors program do not have to complete traditional Miami Plan courses.

Instead, students learn and develop through their own personalized coursework and experiences.

“It’s not that it’s a better plan.

It’s just a different one,” said Associate Director of Enrollment Management for the University

Honors Program, Kristy Burton.

Honors students are now required to complete an e-portfolio and nine honors experiences before they graduate. Qualifying experiences run the gambit from honors classes to extra curriculars or study abroad.

“It plays to your strengths and weaknesses,” Striebich said.

The E-portfolio is a compilation of reflection essays that detail a student’s learning experiences that is reviewed annually by a university faculty member. It is divided into different learning outcomes that increase in complexity from tier one to three.

In order to graduate, honors students are required to fulfill all tier 1 and 2 learning outcomes as well as attempt tier 3 objectives. Taylor says each requirement is meant to encourage self-reflection and ultimately enhance student development throughout the undergraduate experience at Miami.

The previous program The honors program used to consist of a basic checklist of requirements, that still applies to current juniors, seniors and fifthyears who are members of the old program.

Taylor said honors administrators felt these requirements were not actively achieving the program goals, which was the main reason behind the program revision.

“We emphasized the importance of these (honors) courses,” Taylor said, “but we didn’t really know what (students) were learning.”

The old program requires students to complete 10 honors experiences, which are categorized to reflect different types of learning. Category A experiences are academically focused, while Category B experiences aim to incorporate out-of-class learning.

“It was all really easy,” senior honors student Matt Ciccone said.

“And my internships counted for category B.” The highest level of achievement in this program is the optional completion of an honors thesis project. Students are only required to submit a proposal and do not have to follow through with actually completing a thesis project.

Effects on Retention Under the old program, retention rates were relatively high. The honors class of 2012 has retained 88 percent of its students and the class of 2011 has retained 90 percent according to retention statistics from Taylor.

Burton, along with others, were concerned students would only participate in the honors program because of the scholarship incentives. When the university proposed a new scholarship system based on merit and did away with the previous honors scholarships, the honors program applauded the move.

“We definitely supported the new scholarships,” Burton said.

“We knew we had students who felt obligated.”

Burton said honors administrators felt that it was a bad idea to link financial incentives to the honors program because it would make students feel forced to enroll and maintain membership throughout their four years.

Before the changes took place, admitted honors students automatically received a $2,000 scholarship.

The only scholarship that still exists specifically pertaining to the Honors Program is the Harrison Scholarship, which covers tuition costs for a select number

wSee HONORS, page 5

2

Campus

Friday

March 25, 2011

Editors Lauren Ceronie Jenni Wiener campus@miamistudent.net

NEWS New project benefits schools BRIEFS

By Ashley Laughlin For The Miami Student

FYI Miami’s Best Buddies program wins award The Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities awarded the Miami University chapter of Best Buddies, an organization that promotes friendship with people with intellectual disabilities, the Group Volunteer of the Year Award.

Best Buddies was honored with the award March 20 at a banquet. The group has 232 members and has created 50 matches between the students and people with intellectual disabilities.

Activities are offered by the group, which include ice cream socials, a holiday party, bowling parties and even going to the Cincinnati Reds game. It is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989. For more information go to www.bestbuddies.org.

EVENT Professor to lecture on Navajo history Jennifer Nez Denetdale, associate professor of American studies at the University of New Mexico and a member of the Navajo Nation, will present “The Dine/Navajo Long Walk: War, Remembrance, and Hope,” March 25.

Nez Denetdale specializes in Navajo history and culture, Native American women, gender and feminism and indigenous nations, colonialism and decolonization.

She earned her doctorate in history and is the author of several books on Navajo history.

The lecture is sponsored by the AT Hansen Anthropology Lecture Fund and the department of anthropology. It is co-sponsored by the Humanities Center, the Center for American and World Cultures, the women’s gender and sexuality studies program, the American studies program and the Myaamia project. Her talk is free and open to the public. It will be held 4 p.m. in 212 MacMillan Hall.

Project BackPac, a new program of the Miami University education department, allows student teachers to access Skype, SmartBoard applications and other advanced educational technology services in classrooms that do not have the resources to do so otherwise.

Wendy New, the student teacher supervisor, said the project allows students to create exciting and interesting lessons. She spoke of a specific student who used the backpac during her student teaching, in a classroom whose only technology consisted of an overhead projector.

The students became eager to participate and engage in the colorful screens.

Doug Brooks, professor of teacher education and founder of Project BackPac, has championed the integration of technology into student teaching classrooms for nearly 30 years.

This program started off with four backpacs, funded by the Student Technology Fee Grant program in fall 2009, according to Brooks.

Currently, there are 11 backpacs. Brooks says the department is applying for 16 more backpacs for future use.

The cost, weight and ecological footprint of the backpacs have been cut down now, costing approximately $3,000 a piece. The price is

a useable condition. estimated to continually decrease.

“My goal is to make Project BackPac a pro“The large screen projector is the size gram feature at Miami and not just a protoof the palm of your hand,” Brooks said. type,” Brooks said.

“Very cool.”

She also mentioned that the program conMacBook Pro laptops, Sony digital cameras sists of 16 weeks of team-based and projectors, eInstruction professional development on student response sets, liveemerging technologies.

Scribe pens, flipcams, tripods “My goal is to “It is always fun to see an and all the necessary cords make Project idea mature from a protomake technology portable, acBackPac a program type into a program feature,” cording to Brooks. Each backshe said. pac is customizable to complefeature at Miami This project has gained ment whatever technology the and not just full support from the Dean student teacher would like to a prototype.” and the Director of Technolincorporate in the classroom. ogy Services in the School of Brooks said digital curricuDOUG BROOKS Eduation, Health and Society, lums, Android tablets and onTEACHER EDUCATION line blended courses may be Dr. Carine Feyten said.

PROFESSOR incorporated in the future.

“We are very proud of ProjNew said the children look ect BackPac,” Feyten said. forward to the interactive elements, videos and The student teachers are considered benefito use the SmartBoard screen. ciaries of the project because of the backpacs, “It is a great project,” she said. and often they arrive with tools their mentors However, there have been instances when wish they had. The backpac makes Miami’s students want to use a backpac, but they were student teachers very attractive as new hires, not available until several weeks into the se- according to Brooks. mester. New speculates the pacs returned “Our students deserve to be introduced to from the previous semester were returned the possibilities of emerging technologies,” in very poor condition, necessitating an ex- Brooks said. “We send them into the field with tensive amount of work to restore them to backpacs that include survival resources.”

USenate considers modifying retire/rehire policy

By Shane Corcoran For The Miami Student

In light of the Strategic Priorities Task Force’s recent recommendation for the elimination of the university’s retire/rehire policy to the Miami University Board of Trustees, the University Senate’s Fiscal Priorities and Budget Planning Committee began working to modify the current policy. Their revisions, which were finalized at the March 21 Senate meeting, are part of an attempt to persuade the Board not to eliminate the policy completely.

According to Section 9.1 of the Miami University Policy and Information Manual, the current “Retirement with Rehiring Contracts Policy” allows for tenured faculty members to apply for reemployment during the first three academic years following their retirement. Reemployed retirants’ work cannot exceed one semester per academic year, and

retirants are compensated a “proportional fraction of the salary the person received on the last contract before retirement.”

According to the Fiscal Priorities Committee’s proposal, the revisions to the policy include removing the policy as entitlement to tenured faculty, instead recommending that applicants for rehire be considered on an “as needed” basis. Instead of capping retirees’ work at one semester, a new limit was set at 12 credit hours per academic year. Rehired retirees would also be required to annually reapply for rehire. Additionally, “compensation would be in proportion to the teaching load, unlike now,” reads the proposal.

Retiree’s will be compensated at 3 percent of their ending salary per credit hour. Finally, upon a suggestion from the Council of Academic Deans, the Senate agreed upon also placing a limit on the number of years a rehired professor

can work at five consecutive years after retirement.

These revisions are a part of a “Sense of the Senate Resolution” that will be passed on to President Hodge as an advisory statement, according to Bill Houk, physics professor and university senator.

“Ultimately, the Trustees are in charge,” said interim provost John Skillings. “At the end of the day, we advise the President.”

The issue of continuing the retire/rehire policy has come in conjunction with the recent budget cuts underway.

“For next year, the salary commitment for faculty on early retirement exceeds $850,000,” Skillings said.

“This (retire/rehire program) is a costly program and it is a priority for us to continue.”

The prospect of the elimination of the policy also raises concerns about the potential and pressing need to hire more faculty if retired professors

can no longer be rehired. According to Houk, the calculations that could determine which is more economical are extremely close.

While the average starting salary of a new faculty member is the same as half of the average salary of a retired faculty member, there are myriad fringe benefits for the new faculty member that would have to be factored in.

“These calculations are very tricky to figure out, but I think they almost balance out,” Houk said.

As the adverse effects of the economic crisis continue to affect Ohio’s funding for schools and the State Teachers Retirement System, faculty members are left to reconsider retirement in an environment of uncertainty.

If the Board of Trustees votes in favor of the revised policy, these changes would go into effect July 1, 2012.

ASG encourages Congress to pass act HDRBS educates staff

By Matt Levy

has kept this from getting passed in the past. We Senior Staff Writer have so much support on this bill, it’s just a matter of getting it moving.”

Miami University’s Associated Student GovernAccording to Davenport, passage of the bill ment (ASG) unanimously passed one resolution would cost $148 million over 10 years, a number she emphasized as minuscule in terms of the Tuesday night and introduced another.

ASG passed a resolution encouraging the United national budget.

According to Ingram, Republican representaStates Congress to pass the Collegiate Housing and tives in Congress want to rewrite the national Infrastructure Act, which would allow donations to tax code soon, so the issue of this resolution has non-university not-for-profit housing entities such become pressing. as Greek organizations to become tax-deductible.

“I think this needs to be passed tonight,” Under the current system, donations to Miami and Ingram said. its academic programs are tax-exempt, while doIn an unusual move, the resolution passed unaninations to Greek organizations are not, leading to mously in the very same meeting what many consider an unfair lack in which it was introduced. Usualof funding for Greek life.

“We have so much ly, ASG resolutions are introduced “I think now all alumni donasupport on this bill, in one meeting and voted on in tions can only be used for eduthe next. cational programming,” Student it’s just a matter of “This is a really big feat to unBody Vice President Tim Hogan getting it moving.” dertake and to tell alumni that their said. “I think (the passage of this tax dollars are tax exempt,” Frazier bill) would really make fund-raisAMY DAVENPORT said.

“I support it.” ing a lot easier.”

ZETA TAU ALPHA MEMBER ASG also introduced another Many other senators involved in resolution Tuesday night, encourGreek life shared similar concerns. aging the development of first and “We’ve been having trouble trysecond-year programming that would seek to eduing to get alumni donations,” senator Tom Kirkham cate students about the traditions of Miami and the said. “Those of (us) who are in Greek organizations university’s history. know how important this can be.”

Such a resolution, according to Ingram and its According to Student Body President Heath Inother authors, would instill a strong sense of pride gram, this bill is not new to Congress. It has been in the student body for the institution and have introduced many times over the past 20 years long-lasting effects as students graduate and bewithout ever passing. come alumni and consider donating back to the Amy Davenport, a member of the Zeta Tau Aluniversity.

According to the bill’s authors, many pha sorority, spoke at Tuesday’s meeting about the schools Miami compares itself to, such as Princbill and her efforts to lobby for it. She addressed a eton University, have already pursued similar proquestion from senator Matt Frazier about whether grams to compensate for lost revenue. the bill has not been passed before because it has According to the proposed resolution, instituhad to depend on the success of another bill in ortional pride would remain the highest priority. der to go into effect.

The resolution will be voted on at ASG’s next “The bill can’t go through on its own,” Davenmeeting, April 3. port said. “It’s all the politics of Capitol Hill that

through cultural program

By Stephen Gallas For The Miami Student

Over the years, Miami University has been striving to diversify itself. In fact, Housing, Dining, Recreation and Business Services (HDRBS) took a step in diversifying Miami overspring break.

HDRBS put on the Journey Around the World event, which gave employees the opportunity to broaden their horizons to other cultures, according to Administrative Director for HDRBS, Nadine Glaub.

The two part event took place in the Shriver Multipurpose Room and included booths set up for China, Nepal, India, Germany, Kenya and South Korea, according to Glaub, who headed the diversity committee for the event.

Each booth was adorned with various cultural artifacts and had different games and pamphlets correlating with the cultures, as well as two traditional varieties of food, according to HDRBS Food Service Supervisor Tim Schomberg. Journey Around the World proved to be a success after nearly a year of preparation, said Schomberg.

“The purpose (of the event) was to teach staff about diversity and about the students they may be serving,” GLAub said. “Our intention was to help them understand their customs,” The event was more of a

workshop to understand the customers and was done primarily from a customer service aspect, according to Glaub.

“The evaluations that we got back were just incredible, the positive response,” Schomberg said.

“A lot of it was our employees saying ‘you know this was the best thing you could have ever done.’ It got the employees involved, they got to go around and taste a little something different from each of the countries.”

Some of the foods sampled could possibly be coming to dining halls in the fall, and while Schomberg said it was something HDGS wants to do, he wouldn’t guarantee it.

“I saw where there was some potential for a lot of these recipes to be incorporated into our menus,” Schomberg said. “So that’s something we’re looking into for next year.”

The incorporation of more diverse cuisine is something that would be a welcome change for students such as Shinyoung Park, a senior from South Korea.

“It would be great,” Park said. “I get sick and tired of all the American food in dining halls.”

Journey Around the World seems to have succeeded in educating staff members about the cultures of students, and according to Schomberg, it is something that could possibly be expanded upon next year.

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Challenges Help Build Character 3&$&*7& 0'' BOZ UFBN CVJMEJOH QSPHSBN JO "QSJM

XXX NVPIJP FEV PVUEPPS

FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011 ♦ 3

4

Community

Friday

March 25, 2011

Editor Melissa Tacchi community@miamistudent.net

Students golf for good cause

By Shannon Pesek Senior Staff Writer

Male denies throwing bottle through window At around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oxford Police Department officers responded to the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at 130 E. High St. in response to a call of a bottle being thrown through a window.

According to police reports, several residents of the house witnessed a male throw a bottle through the window. The males reportedly told police they saw the person who threw the bottle go into the Old Nash house. When officers went to that residence, a male reportedly answered the door “out of breath and sweating.”

The male who answered the door, later identified as 21-year-old Miami University junior Nicholas Kelleher, reportedly told officers he had no knowledge of the incident. Witnesses reportedly identified Kelleher as the male who had thrown the bottle. Kelleher did not admit to throwing the bottle through the window.

Kelleher was arrested and cited with criminal mischief.

Senior Cited for stealing stop sign At approximately 8:40 p.m Monday, an Oxford Police Department officer reportedly noticed a stop sign hanging on a wall through the window of a residence.

The sign was reportedly easily seen from the street. When asked where the sign had come from, a resident of the house reportedly said he “found the sign a couple years ago.”

The officer reportedly noticed a sticker on the back of the stop sign saying “report sign damage or theft” to the city of Oxford.

The male, later identified as 22-year-old Miami University senior Mitchell Heusmann, reportedly insisted to the officer the sticker was not on the sign when it was found.

Heusmann reportedly told officers he was unsure if he was present when the sign was found. The stop sign was reportedly defaced with grafitti.

Heusmann was cited with receiving stolen property.

Students at the Farmer School of Business (FSB) are giving back to the community through their annual Golf Classic, which will provide funds to Habitat for Humanity. The event will help to fund Reckford Woods, a subdivision in Oxford in the Tri-State area.

Habitat for Humanity provides affordable housing to those in need.

This is what the Reckford Woods subdivision will provide to Oxford residents, Natalie Nuce, the resource development officer at the Tri-State office explained.

“In the next three to five years this neighborhood will provide 20

homes in the Oxford community,” Nuce said.

Over the past two years, FSB has helped raise money for Reckford Woods during its annual golf tournament, senior marketing major and co-chair of the event Mackenzie Bruce said.

“The business school has put on this event for four years and the past two years we decided to focus on local charities,” Alan Oak, Assistant Dean for External Relations at Farmer said. “It’s more beneficial when the event actually helps our community.”

Bruce explained how this game of short hand golf is a friendly competition for students targeted at the business school in efforts to

network and raise money for Habitat for Humanity.

“After the money is raised we can see the results,” Bruce said. “Our student team is going over to the house we are funding to help build, as well. We can see where the money is going.”

Reckford Woods, which is located near Wal-Mart on Hester Road, was chosen as the location for the new subdivision because of its land availability and opportunity, Nuce said.

To qualify to live in the homes that the students are helping to fund and build, inhabitants must follow three main guidelines, Nuce said.

The residents need to be currently living in substandard housing, such

as poor living conditions, being forced to pay too much or other inadequate conditions. They need to meet the income guideline, which varies based on size of the family.

Inhabitants must also be willing to complete 500 “sweat equity hours.” Nuce explained that these are service hours that are paid to Habitat for Humanity by building their house, volunteering with the program or working administratively.

“We will be breaking ground on the first home this spring. The roads and sewage are already in place,” Nuce said.

The Golf Classic will be held Sunday, April 10 at the Weatherwax Golf Course in Middletown.

City debates use of old high school Oxford ranks first

By JD Prewitt Staff Writer

Oxford City Council met in work session Tuesday night to discuss the potential of acquiring Talawanda High School on Chestnut St. after the new high school opens next school year.

Among the many still unanswered questions, council discussed the possibilities of buying the 140,000 square foot facility along with its 27 acres of land, or potentially leasing the space from the school district while possibly sub-leasing to other organizations.

Although the chance to purchase the building, built in 1939, is a unique opportunity for the city, council questioned whether or not the city is able or willing to abandon its uptown presence.

Another issue is the building’s age. Built in the days of the Great Depression, the building would require serious remodeling in order to fit the needs of police, administration, new recreation areas or possibly an expansion of the senior citizens center.

“I don’t want us to move from an old building to another bigger, old building unless it’s going to be something we can be proud of,” said Oxford City Manager Doug Elliott.

Coming into the work session, council estimated a total of $100 per square foot for renovations.

With the appraisal for purchasing the facility at $2.1 million the price after renovations would be upwards of $4 million, a figure that council agreed the city cannot afford right now.

Even though the city is considered a serious player when it comes to vying for the

facilities, other social service organizations are also looking to access the much needed space.

Prue Dana, former Oxford mayor and member of the Greater Oxford Assistance Links (GOAL), says GOAL’s interests lie in creating a “one stop” area for social services such as the Choice Food Pantry, The United Way, the Oxford College Corner Clinic and even the state-run Department of Job and Family Services.

“These groups need to work together to benefit the citizens of the community,” Dana said. “That’s the first charge. That’s why governments are here but we are all in very strapped positions financially.”

According to the council, the Talawanda School Board has not told the city if they want to sell or lease out the facilities, but they do plan on keeping the district’s bus garage plus one acre and have also shown interest in creating an Early Childhood Development Center or an alternative school.

Oxford Mayor Richard Keebler said the city “will never get another opportunity like this again but we’re at the point where we need some guidance.”

There are also ideas of possibly purchasing the property and letting it sit until the funds come about, or even demolishing the structures and using the land for an endless list of possibilities.

The next step is for the city to conduct a feasibility study as to whether the old high school would suit its needs, a study that would cost the city anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000.

City Council will meet in regular session April 5.

Country club debuts recent renovations

By Luke Larkin

For The Miami Student

The Oxford Country Club is hosting an open house April 23, “to show people how different things are,” General Manager Chuck Emge said. Emge explained the club’s new direction is in response to previous shortcomings.

As a 16-year member, Emge emphasized his belief in the importance of bringing the club back to its motto, “this is where families come to play.” He felt the best way to accomplish such a goal was through new carpeting, furniture, lighting and a new chef for the restaurant and bar area.

Emge felt the new renovations have “turned the club into a place where members can hang out aside from student-populated uptown.”

Dinner at the Oxford Country Club introduces a different themed cuisine each Friday.

Some of the upcoming events for members to look forward to are New Orleans night and Italian night.

The Golf Course opens April 2 with completely new fairways and tee boxes in response to a heavy drop in member retention over the last couple years. According to Emge, last year was a terrible summer for golf courses across the midwest due to extremely hot nights that resulted in heat exhaustion.

Emge said this year the club promises to be a balance between the professional feel of a high scale golf course complimented by reasonable prices.

The swimming pool has also been repainted and new lights were installed

SAMANTHA LUDINGTON The Miami Student

The Oxford Country Club will be opening on April 2 to show off their new renovations. to facilitate special family events like “dive-in” movies. Emge said this will provide the family with a chance to swim and watch a movie under the stars on Friday nights. The pool also facilitates water aerobics so Oxford’s senior citizens have a place to exercise.

Emge said the Oxford Country Club takes its relationship with Miami University very seriously.

He is looking forward to Coach’s Night where all the Miami athletic coaches are invited to enjoy a dinner offered by the new chef.

First-year student Will Miller is excited to

see how the Oxford Country Club’s changes are embraced by the town.

“It is a great opportunity to witness how small businesses in a tightly knit community ought to be run,” Miller said.

Additionally, first-year student Anthony Hausefeld expressed his enthusiastic outlook for country clubs in general.

Hausefeld reminisces his own country club experiences.

“The Country Club was a scene where the entire family could relax all summer,” Hausefeld said. “This is something Oxford’s Country Club hopes to capture this upcoming summer.”

for recycling efforts

By Rebecca Zemmelman For The Miami Student

The city of Oxford has been announced as the winner for the third consecutive year in Butler County’s “Recycle to Win” Challenge.

This competition began in 2008 and is set to measure which among the 13 townships and six cities of Butler County can recycle the greatest amount in relation to their total waste, according to the District Coordinator for Butler County Recycling, Anne Fiehrer Flaig.

This is an incentive-based competition in which the more that is recycled, the more money a township or city receives. Flaig said there are also separate awards for the highest percentage recycled and the highest increase in recycling from the year before.

The current goal of the program is to raise the countywide recycling rate from 7 percent to at least 10 percent while increasing participation and awareness of recycling. As of the 2010 competition, Butler County recycled 9.12 percent of its total waste, according to Flaig.

The District Coordinator for Butler County Recycling, Anne Fiehrer Flaig believes Butler County will reach the 10 percent mark within the next two years.

“Butler County is right within the range of where other Ohio counties are performing, but we realize there is still room for improvement,” Flaig said.

Oxford alone had a recycling rate of 17.1 percent.

Following Oxford in the competition was Fairfield with 14 percent. According to Flaig, this high percentage enables Oxford to receive $22 per ton that is recycled, giving the city a total of $17,443 back into the budget this year.

However, Miami University’s on-campus living and buildings are not included in this contest. Miami has a separate recycling system, the Miami University Recycling Facility, according to the Envirnmental Specialist of Oxford Dave Treleaven.

Flaig believes if Miami was included in this competition, Oxford would have had a much greater percentage because Miami is such a large entity.

Off-campus living and apartment buildings like College Suites are still considered part of the city of Oxford. Treleaven attributes a great deal of Oxford’s recycling success to the students and faculty of Miami.

“The students have grown up with the knowledge of recycling,” Treleaven said. “Before people were just learning about what recycling was.

This competition works for the people that know about it.”

However, since this competition started, there has been a decrease in total recycling. Treleaven believes this is strongly due to the current state of the economy.

Jared Sheehan is the Green Business Columnist of the Green Hawks and member of Green Oxford, which are both organizations on campus that promote going green and saving the Earth. Sheehan said Miami involves itself in its own competitions.

“Recyclemania” is a contest between 400 other colleges nationally, which Miami helped found.

Another efficiency effort, “Unplugged, Untapped, Game On” is a competition among dorms at Miami for who can conserve the most energy and water, according to Sheehan.

Sheehan is incredibly proud of Oxford’s recycling success.

“It is great to hear that Oxford Township won the competition,” Sheehan said. “Oxford definitely keeps its streets very clean which I believe is strongly influenced by the education of the students.”

As a member of Green Oxford, Sheehan has been involved in projects to talk to the residents of Oxford and landlords about the needs for recycling.

THE MIAMI STUDENT

HONORS continued from page 1

The class of 2013, however, was hit the hardest. They were unable to receive honors program scholarships

FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011 ♦ 5 or the new merit scholarships offered through the university.

As the class of 2013 finishes their sophomore year, it is still not clear if the new program alone will be enough to maintain retention rates in the long run.

In the short run, however, the numbers suggest that it will. From their

first year to the second, the Class of 2013 retained 96 percent of students in the honors program, according to Taylor.

The high retention rate could stem from revision of the program’s grade point average (GPA) requirement.

The old program has a hard and fast rule that students must maintain a

3.5 GPA to remain in the program or they are removed. Now, students are not automatically removed from the program if they don’t meet the 3.5 cumulative GPA requirement.

If the student does not achieve the desired GPA, they will simply not receive honors notation on their transcript, but can still claim honors on a resume.

“I don’t think you can get kicked out,” said Striebich about enforcement of the GPA requirement.

With one less cause for removal in the new framework, retention rates could remain at a high level. Taylor said the second year is a pivotal year for students and that retention statistics in the fall will be more telling.

“The second year is when we want students to decide,” Taylor said. “We are still in the process of calculating retention.”

Personalized marketing plan With a leading incentive for membership in the honors program gone, honors administrators also needed to rethink how it attracts students to enroll.

In 2008, the University Honors program paired with Xerox and b+p+t communications to begin using a direct marketing plan to target prospective students. The 2008-2009

academic year was experimental.

The results were promising and after making a few changes, the university honors program fully implemented direct marketing into the 2009-2010 recruitment campaign.

“We now have a class that has been through the first two years,” Burton said. “When we first launched (the program) we had no examples.”

Honors students are recruited to serve as honors ambassadors. The ambassadors are required to contact 20-25 prospective students at least four times through four different types of media and host an overnight recruiting event.

The personalized recruitment proved successful and the number of applications increased by 12 percent in 2009 and has increased by 4 percent each year since. This year, the honors program received a total of 1,806 applications by the February 1 deadline, according to admissions statistics from Taylor.

While the new marketing plan has proven to be a beneficial change, it may take some time for the curriculum changes to prove themselves.

Honors administrators hope this new program can stand on its own without the support of a scholarship as it continues to market a developing program to new students.

“I think about that literally everyday,” Burton said.

Looking for a Capstone Course this Summer?

!

! Consider: BLS 465 Ethics, Law and Business

!"##"$%&'("$")*$+,$!"##"$-'#."$./0(1$

Paint Brawl (.

2.&)3$4"(56*"7$8"69.$:; $$ <,=&3$>:1??3@1??$+8$$ 2.&6&3$A,&'*0$B&.,)*$B"9.&'/6$ A/6$2."(3$+6/9&&*0$C/$(/$+6&D&)($E.,'*$-F50&$-=&6,9"$")*$G&''$H$<&''1$ 4(/#$E.,'*$-F50&$I/JK$L)9M$ +"6(,9,#"(&1$<&"=0$/N$O$E/0($P@?K$")7$"**,(,/)"'$(&"=0$P:?$ $ Q5&0(,/)0$9/)("9(1$ 8&C.")$B/5),9/)(,3$F5/),9=&R=5/.,/M&*5$ E.6,0(,)&$E/5(56,&63$9/5(569,R=5/.,/M&*5$ ! !

ALL MAJORS WELCOME • • •

Play a CEO, CFO, or other management roles in an online fictitious business!

Make real-life decisions running a business!

Great opportunity for “real world” business experience.

Offered at two different times first summer session. Limited seats, enroll NOW! For more info contact: Dept. of Finance, 513.529.1560 or email Prof. Daniel Herron at herrondj@muohio.edu

2011-2012

6

Opinion

Friday March 25, 2011

Editors Noëlle Bernard Thomasina Johnson editorial@miamistudent.net

➤ EDITORIAL

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

Honors program must communicate changes Since the new Miami University honors program was implemented in fall 2009, the program has seen an increase in the number of applications and a high retention rate for the old honors program class, despite the discontinuation of scholarships linked solely to membership for new students.

Other changes in the new program include an e-portfolio, three-tier objectives and the elimination of the Miami Plan requirements.

The editorial board of The Miami Student believes although high retention rates and honors program applications are very positive, the small range of data is not enough to really give a complete view of the successes or failures of the new honors program, compared to the old program. Data should be examined once students graduate and should span more than several years.

The board sympathizes with the class of 2013 and feels they were treated as guinea pigs in some situations because they didn’t receive an honors program scholarship. The changes may be

beneficial for the program and students, but the class of 2013 was left out of one of the most lucrative perks - the scholarship. This board recommends the honors program continue to make the transition from old to new programs as smooth and transparent as possible.

Students must be educated about not only the rewards of being in the honors program, but the requirements as well.

The new part of the program, especially the tiers requirement, must be judged fairly and communicated honestly.

If the requirements of the program are not thoroughly explained, some students may find themselves less likely to graduate on time.

Although the transition between programs may have been awkward, the board is proud that other Ohio schools are using the new honors program as a model for their programs.

The board has confidence that with the persistent goal of helping honors students achieve and graduate on time, the new honors program will continue to attract students and increase applications and the program retention rate.

Rule of thumb Miami Hockey playing against the University of New Hampshire in New Hampshire

Did we not just win the Mason Cup and now hold a No. 1 seed?

21st Birthdays

Celebrating (legally) with friends makes up for the first 20 years of life.

Tornado weather

It’s fun to watch quarter-sized hail falling from the sky, but it’s not fun being caught in the storm between classes.

Condoleezza Rice graffiti

Vandalizing school property is not as cool as it used to be in the 1990s.

Chances of snow The first days of spring was March 20, we are ready for spring flowers.

Japan relief

The community is really coming together to support efforts since the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Oxford ranked No. 1 for recycling in Butler County Here’s to a greener uptown!

Vending machine with school supplies at King Library

Now you can’t leave King early anymore because your pens run out of ink.

“Meet and Greets” for ASG candidates It’s a great time for ASG to start making big steps towards becoming more recognizable on campus.

CHAD STEBBINS The Miami Student

➤ LETTERS

College students benefit from Affordable Care Act A year ago this week, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act. The law enacts significant health insurance reforms that will take effect over the next several years. But one very important piece of that law is already in place. And it may directly benefit you.

The Affordable Care Act ensures college students and young adults can stay on their parents’ employer-provided health care plans until age 26. Before, many health plans and issuers dropped young adults from their parents’ policies because of their age. That left countless college students, recent college graduates and other young people with little recourse, and worse: no health insurance. Historically, some 30 percent of young adults have been uninsured, a rate far higher than that of any other age group.

But young people don’t need health insurance, right? The statistics say otherwise: one-in-six young adults today is faced with a chronic illness such as cancer, diabetes or asthma. And nearly half of uninsured young adults report problems paying medical bills.

The new law ensures you have an option when it comes to your health care. This is important as you continue through school, and as you transition into the job market, since you may find that health care coverage is not immediately available through your employer.

Or you may work part time. You may choose to continue your education and go to graduate school or take time off to travel and pursue volunteer opportunities. It allows you to remain on your parents’ plan, or rejoin it until age 26, even if you no longer live with your parents, are not a dependent on their tax return or are no longer a student. The new flexibility even applies if you are married. You are guaranteed the same benefits and at the same price that is available to other dependents.

More health care improvements are on the way — and many may also directly benefit you. Already, coverage cannot be denied for those under age 19 because of a pre-existing condition. By 2014, denying coverage to anyone based on a pre-existing condition will be banned. Annual dollar caps on care, which are already limited, will be prohibited; and statebased health insurance exchanges will create a new marketplace, giving more employers and millions of Americans the ability to purchase

affordable coverage.

The Affordable Care Act is based on the simple belief that every American — and that includes college students — deserves access to high-quality, affordable health care. One year after it has become law, that belief is becoming reality.

Hilda L. Solis

United States Secretary of Labor Surbey.Jason@dol.gov

Miami must focus on keeping class sizes small The idiocy of students using laptops during class for everything except learning has been identified and bemoaned in recent issues of the Student, but this may constitute the “small” part of the problem.

The larger problem is that for this in-class behavior to occur, the professor obviously has not engaged the students in the class, because if he or she had, the students wouldn’t have time or opportunity to engage in such behavior. Back of this problem, I hypothesize, is the even bigger problem of classes so large that the students are inherently disengaged to a degree that no number of techno-clickers, power-point slides or 3D visual experiences can overcome. This, I hypothesize, is the bigger, deeper, far more serious damage done by escalating class sections of 70, 100, 200 or 300 students when, by their very nature, smaller classes of 40 students or fewer are far more conducive to productive faculty-student engagement and learning.

This, of course, is merely a hypothesis: facts must be gathered; data must be analyzed; conclusions must not be drawn hastily; years of poring over statistical records are required; the numerical boundary between small and large class size must be pinpointed down to five decimal places.

In the meantime, there are new student centers to build; task forces to task; mission, vision and value statements to be re-written; a new provost to train and plans made to celebrate the fourth century for Miami, which is only 98 years away and ticking.

Your Rule of thumb Finals week impending doom

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

EDITORIAL BOARD Sam Kay Editor in Chief Bethany Bruner News Editor Colleen Yates Managing Editor Hunter Stenback Online Editor Noëlle Bernard Editorial Editor Thomasina Johnson Editorial Editor

Lauren Ceronie Campus Editor Jenni Weiner Campus Editor Melissa Tacci Community Editor Michael Solomon Sports Editor Amanda Seitz Special Reports Editor Samantha Ludington Photo Editor

James Brock

Department of Economics brockj@muohio.edu

Thumb and Thumber Submit your Thumbs online at www.miamistudent.net/thumbs.

We’ll print our favorites!

Opinion

THE MIAMI STUDENT

➤ LIBERTY AND JUSTICE

FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011 ♦ 7

➤ ORIANA’S OBSERVATION

➤ ESSAY

Recession ‘Virtual Wallets’ may pose threats Music: the gift holds financial that brings lessons us together Few American households were unaffected by the economic recession experienced from 2007 to 2009. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment soared from 4.9 percent in December 2007 at the beginning of the recession, to 10.1 percent in October 2009. As of last month, unemployment Ty still stood at 8.9 perGilligan cent in America. Furthermore, the US Federal Reserve reported in September 2010 that the American household net worth (sum of all assets) fell a total of $12.7 trillion since 2007. But Americans were not just impacted financially. We also were impacted mentally. The recession has forced consumers to question their trust in lending institutions, banks, credit cards and the idea of home ownership.

Many lessons can be learned from this recession. I prefer to look at the glass half-full, focus on the positive lessons we can learn from the economic recession. I feel four major lessons can be attributed from the recession: debt is bad and must be avoided, home ownership is a privilege which involves some risk, always save some money for the unpredictable and be creative in employment opportunities.

First and foremost, Americans learned the implications of out-of-control spending and debt. According to CNN Money, the average American household with at least one credit card has just under $10,700 in credit card debt. Our society seemed to have forgotten one of the most straightforward and simple financial concepts; that you should not spend more than you make.

The recession also revealed the predatory nature of credit card companies and showed there is no such thing as “free money.” Americans need to remember this and try to avoid debt at all costs; either credit card, auto or student debt.

Many Americans have turned to using cash and debit cards to pay for things, which is a safe practice. Credit cards don’t need to necessarily be abandoned, but they needed to be treated with responsibility. Paying off credit card bills must be a priority and I fear many Americans may quickly forget this lesson and fall back into the pit of credit card debt.

The second lesson we can take from the recession is that home ownership isn’t for everyone. As the housing bubble grew over the past decade, many people seemed to feel that owning a home was their “right.” This resulted in many people living beyond their means and purchasing houses they truly could not afford.

This housing crash showed Americans, specifically younger generations, that home ownership was a big commitment with potential risk and should only be pursued if it were fiscally responsible.

This has led many younger people to pursue renting a home or apartment instead, and avoiding potentially volatile housing markets. This shift towards renting is supported statistically; according to the US Census Bureau, 66.5 percent of Americans owned homes as of 2010.

This is down from 67.2 percent only one year earlier. Most financial experts agree no more than 25 percent of monthly income should be spent on housing and I hope potential home buyers take this into consideration in the future.

A third lesson from the recession is the importance of maintaining savings for the unexpected. Along with spending less and paying off debt, we need to protect our financial security and allocate a certain amount of money out of every paycheck for savings for a “rainy day” or an unexpected loss of employment, unplanned medical expenses, and so on.

The fourth lesson that we can take from the recession is flexibility in employment. Many college graduates who have received diplomas in the past three years have had to be creative in jobhunting and pursue alternative forms of employment such as the Peace Corps or Teach for America. Americans have been encouraged to improve their job skills, pursue more education, and branch out for jobs. Overall, this will be a positive trend; encouraging our workforce to become more dynamic and competitive.

Overall, America has taken a beating from the recession, but I hope that the important financial lessons we learned from it can lessen the blow.

As technology continues to advance and be- and Google already have payment systems — come a part of every minute of our lives, it’s Apple’s iTunes has 200 million accounts tied to no surprise that the next step is to further the credit cards, while Google Checkout has been technology of our credit cards. less popular.

Soon, we could see our phones acting in place Both could be turned into mobile wallets, alof the traditional swipe-cards we currently tote lowing users to pay for offline purchases with around like our small, plastic children. There their Apple or Google accounts. But they would would be no more checking your statements need access to the cell phone chips and the and spending online even, you could do it all merchants’ terminals. from your phone.

Apple could make its own cell phone chips Systems like this are already in place in to make this all happen, but Google could not many foreign markets, however, according because it makes only Android cell phone softto a New York Times article by Tara Bernard ware, not the phones themselves.” and Claire Miller, in the U.S., “wide adoption Because the companies issuing credit cards of the so-called mobile walgenerally do not also make lets is being slowed by a major cell phones, there are probbehind-the-scenes battle among lems in merging the interests Technology is corporate giants.” of credit card companies and already a Companies are all vying for cell phone companies without the right to control this market, significant invasive creating an increase in fees for hoping to cash in on the myriad the customer. part of our live, of fees and publicity that would One solution is that this techand the potential come with the introduction of a nology could be produced in of having all of our such a way that a chip would new system.

According to Bernard and information stored be inserted into the phone and Miller, the problem is being allow the customer to then within something caused because “the stakes are make purchases using the “digenormous … small, hidden fees that is as losable as ital wallet” technology. Howa cell phone that are generated every time ever, cell phone manufacturers consumers swipe their cards add would have to be willing to is unnerving. up to tens of billions of dollars make phones compatible with annually in the United States said chip. alone.” There is clearly a lot of money to be This technology is unnecessary, and could made in the introduction of cell-phone credit lead to consumers having such an easy time cards, but where does the consumer land in all spending their money that personal debt could increase. of this?

Without the necessity of signing someFor a system like this to work, important thing or physically performing an acbanking information would need to be stored tion, the level of awareness that we have on the phone itself. The way this technology functions is through linking wirelessly to about our own spending habits could payment consoles. drop significantly.

This type of connection presents a problem Technology is already a significantly invasive in consumer information safety, because these part of our lives, and the potential of having all connections could potentially be opened when of our information stored within something that not desired by the customer, and banking and is as losable as a cell phone is unnerving. credit card information could become at risk.

However, I suppose they can’t force people Of course, the software used to create to use this technology other than by completing these transactions would need to be encoded removing the availability of swipe machines with security measures in order to prevent from stores. such breaches.

Regardless, it’s important to think about how The problem here lies in who is making technology impacts our lives and at what point the software and operating (as well as prof- we should say “enough,” before doling out our iting from) the transactions made by these information left and right.

Alice Ladrick “digital wallets.” ladricae@muohio.edu Bernard and Miller point out that, “Apple

➤ ESSAY

The laws to understand attraction You’re on your way to class and a smoldering, muscular dark-eyed guy walks past.

Your heart skips a beat and you’re suddenly wondering, did I put on deodorant? Does my hair look okay? You’ve never met this incredibly attractive fellow classmate of yours, yet you feel thebutterflies in your stomach.

Or you’re out at a party and you and someone really hit it off. You can’t stop thinking about the encounter for days and wonder when fate will bring the two of you back together.

We cross paths with hundreds of people everyday, but how come some of them can create a butterfly effect and so many others fade into the background of our busy lives?

There are many aspects that filter into our subconscious and affect the way we view people and become attracted to them.

Despite our best efforts to believe that we aren’t shallow and truly chose personality over looks, biology will not let us.

According to Social Psychology, research shows the number one factor in determining a romantic partner is physical attractiveness.

Psychologists believe that facial symmetry is a major factor in determining level of attractiveness.

Biologically, symmetric facial characteristics equal high reproduction ability and good health, something humans subconsciously take into account when looking for the perfect mate.

Ever wonder why celebrities such as Hugh Hefner or Jake Gyllenhaal go for girls 10 or more years younger? According to evolutionary psycholo-

gists, men value the youthful- you are to have positive feelness of their partners because ings towards the idea of it indicates fertility and suc- that person.

We all have that friend who cessful reproduction. Girls like Taylor Swift and Hayden is in that bad relationship with Panettiere go for older men that terrible person. We all with wealth and social status know they are bad for him or because characteristics such her, perhaps they know it too, as those indicate they will be yet they continue to punish able to successfully provide themselves by staying or getting back together with them for offspring.

Our perceptions about our time and time again.

Psychologists have sought self also come into play when to explain this self-destruction selecting a romantic partner. and conclude Psycholothat a lack gists believe of introspecwe tend to pick Psychologists people who we believe we tend to tion or selfknowledge believe are at the same level pick people who we can result in believe are at the this situation. of attractiveIf you are out ness as us. same level of atThis is why tractiveness as us. of touch with your personal celebrities This is why needs and desuch as Angecelebrities such as sires, you may lina Jolie and Brad Pitt end Angelina Jolie and be looking to settle for what up together.

Brad Pitt end you think is When we up together. best without declare certain even realizing people as beit. The more ing “out of our league,” our self-confidence you know about yourself, the easier it will be to find a partis diminishing.

When two co-workers have ner who can give you what a fling or two people living in you need.

All evolution, biology and the same dorm begin dating, it is not merely coincidence. psychology aside, attraction is Proximity is a major factor that a reflection of how you view plays a part in the psychology the world around you.

“Beauty is in the eye of the of attraction.

The more time you spend beholder,” rings true with any with someone, the more like- relationship you develop. Atly you are to like him or her. tractiveness cannot be defined The time you are spending in a word, as it varies across together is usually because person, gender and culture. you share similar interests. People can decide for themTwo actors who meet while selves what they want to get filming a movie are likely to out of a romantic relationship end up romantically involved and seek someone who can because of the time they spent fulfill their desires. together doing something they both enjoyed.

The more you encounter Sarah Title titlese@muohio.edu someone, the more likely

They say the first bit of music you ever hear is your mother’s heartbeat — you feel the lull and vibration of her voice, every step she takes and even the movement of her breath.

This rhythm is inherited, so it’s easy to understand how music has been influencing us even in the first few weeks of Oriana our lives.

Pawlyk Your sense of music evolves: beats and rhythms become a part of a code — scales, chords and harmonics delegate how music flows from an instrument or a collaboration of instruments to our ears.

We’ve each had that favorite song since we were younger, that band we worship or that must-see artist in concert.

It’s the sensation you get from saying, “They’re my favorite,” as if they only belong to your personal taste and style. And regardless if it’s only the melody that moves you or the lyrics, it becomes poetry to our ears.

But have we forgotten the value in this phenomenal sensation, that it barely makes a difference in our lives?

We’ve forgotten the saying, “stop and smell the roses” years ago, but when did we terminate our ability to stop and listen to the music?

Almost four years ago, the Pulitzer-Prize winning article “Pearls Before Breakfast” was published in The Washington Post.

It was a feature story that depicted how Joshua Bell, an American Grammy Award-winning violinist, disguised himself in a D.C. metro station and played for 45 minutes amongst hidden cameras, and a cluster of people in a hurry.

The cameras later revealed that out of 1,097 people, there was never a crowd

Music brings us together whether it is because of disasters, religious purposes or the speciality of celebrations. that stopped to watch him, to listen to his technique and beauty.

Only one person actually recognized him for the famous artist that he was.

In the feature story, the author, Gene Weingarten, asks the philosophical question, “If a great musician plays great music, but no one hears … was he really any good?”

Most of the people interviewed for the story said they didn’t notice, or were in a rush to get to work. The only two people that did notice were in awe, but unfortunately, it was only those two.

Weingarten establishes this disappointment accurately when he quotes Welsh poet W.H. Davies, saying, “if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that — then what else are we missing?”What we are missing is the big picture. I came to think how music and poetry parallel each other in this way.

Whatever the piece may be — jumbled noise, beats or lyrics — music is the modern day Byron, Shelley and Keats bundled into a three or so minute song because each song speaks to the listener in whatever way it can.

Just like a poet, musicians are designed to inspire and make philosophical discoveries out of misunderstood wonders of the world. They bring us feeling and allow our feelings to relate to the lyrics coming through our speakers.

Music brings us together whether it is because of disasters, religious purposes or the specialty of celebrations.

But more importantly, music helps people deal with the world around them.

From the beginning of your mother’s heartbeat, to listening to Adele’s new album ‘21,’ to passing a famous violinist in a D.C. metro station — music is a gift to be appreciated. Let’s not forget a gift that keeps on giving.

FYI Page

Friday

8

March 25, 2011

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

Sam Kay

Editor in Chief Joe Gioffre Business Manager

Colleen Yates Managing Editor

Baylor Myers Asst. Business Manager

Hunter Stenback Online Editor

Carly Huang Finance Director

Lauren Ceronie, Jenni Wiener Campus Editors

Kendall Flynn National Advertising Director Classified Advertising Director

Thomasina Johnson, Noëlle Bernard Editorial Editors Michael Solomon Sports Editor

Nina Polson Advertising Representative Anna Romano Advertising Representative Cox Ohio Publishing Printer

Samantha Ludington Photo Editor

Live uptown this summer! A variety of Units available. Contact Red Brick at 524.9340 for more info.

AFFORDABLE CONDO!!! 4 BR Fully Furnished Flat for 4 people or less - Special discount for 11-12 school year. ONLY $1,125/pp/sem (based on 4 people). Summer rentals also available. Call 614-746-2582 or watros@aol.com TODAY!

Now hiring Spring and Summer painters wanted. Contact Matt @ 513.257.7237

Katie Neltner Advertising Representative

Melissa Tacchi Community Editor

For Rent

Help Wanted

Bethany Bruner News Editor

Amanda Seitz Special Reports Editor

Notice

WDJ Inc. - Bill Dedden Distributor Sacha DeVroomen Bellman Adviser

Senior Staff Writers

Staff Writers

Editorial Columnists

Sports Staff Writers

Adam Giffi Chelsea Naughton Matt Levy Shannon Pesek

Mandi Cardosi Natalie McKerjee Shayn Corcoran James Prewitt Sarah Sidlow

Chris DeNicola Ty Gilligan Karli Kloss Oriana Pawlyk

Alex Butler Melissa Maykut Drew McDonell Hannah R. Miller

Designers

Photography Staff

Bloggers

Cartoonists

Nicole Crandall Julia Engelbrecht Erin Killinger Michelle Ludwin Abigail Offenbaker

Scott Allison Allison Backovski Caroline Buck Thomas Caldwell Emily Esposito Michael Griggs

Brittany Dove McKenzie Graham Hannah Poturalski Emily Sheriff David Small Garrett Smith Jessica Stringfield

Noah Carl Ashley Ceroli Jinghang Huang Megan Kuntz Chad Stebbins Michael C. Carter

Website: www.miamistudent.net For advertising information: miamistudent@gmail.com

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.

CORRECTIONS POLICY

The Miami Student is committed to providing the Miami University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

DESIGNERS WANTED.

The MiamiStudent is looking for designers.

Email design@miamistudent.net for more information.

Employment Opportunities Local Real Estate Company is now hiring for paid Fall Internship.

Contact Sarah @ 513.257.7034 for more info.

Summer Internships Available with the Oxford Museum Association. Undergraduate and graduate interns and high school seniors with exceptional skills and references will be considered. Three areas of direct experience in museum work are available. Requirements include weekday and weekend flexibility, ability to complete approx 150 hours of work, and engage effectively with the public. Stipends range from $1000-$1500 depending upon experience. Submit resume, cover and three references to or request full description from oxfordmuseumassociation@gmail.com. Deadline April 30.

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 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.

You want to like this.

friend us become a fan of

The Miami Student on Facebook.com

Nice Condo for 2011-12Lrg. 2BR, 2BA condo convien. to metro and north side of campus. 2200.per tenant per sem. or $750.mo.

T. 513-255-0433 TIRED OF TOO MANY ROOMMMATES?THE COURTYARDS OF MIAMI has your solution!

We are located on E. Central Ave. We offer neat, clean, and colorful housing at affordable prices. The Courtyards has 2 bedroom apartments shared by just 2 people for $2300/ person - includes heat and water & 1 bedroom+ a study for 1 person for $3300. All residents enjoy off street parking, on site laundry, yard space with a shelter that has tables and grills! The MU bus stops at our front door, and all apartments have been recently renovated with several upgrades! We are just down the street from the REC and within walking distance to campus. On site office with flexible hours and payment schedules. Stop by, contact Carolyn at (513) 659-5671 or www. thecourtyardsofmiami.com for more information Thank You HOUSE FOR RENT or SALE Don’t waste money living on campus! 621 S. College Ave. 2-4BR, 2BA, rear off-street parking, hardwood floors, finished basement, local landlord. $2500pp/sem. A For Sale Bargain at $160K. Must see. Call 513-503-8212 Summer rental Rooms for rent $650, $750 and $900 for the summer. occ.

Groups of 1 to 5. May to Aug 2010, 1027 Arrowhead. Like New, remodeled, 5 bedrooms. 2 baths, Washer/ dryer, dish washer, central air, on-site parking. COMPLETELY FURNISHED WITH 40" LCD TV, Free hi speedinternet and hi def.cable TV; very low utility cost, wooded yard with access to hiking trails, and lots more. Contact me and I will send pictures. Email barone.alan@gmail.com Alan Barone 740-862-2043, 740-407-4114 cell, 614-692-0510 work.

Prime location.. Price reduced!

Quaint house on E. Withrow, 4 bdrm, 2 bath, basement with washer /dryer.

Permit for 4 $2900/person/semster.

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

For Rent ‘11-’12 School year Bishop and Withrow, upstairs apt. Permit for 4, 2 large bdrms, 1 bath, great front porch! $2895/person/semester 812-350-4357

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 For Rent: Studio, 1 Bedroom, 2 Bedroom, & 4 Bedroom Apartments.

Flexible lease terms.Check Us Out www.foxandhounds-apartments. com www.oxfordrents.comCall 523-2440Text 335-7044

Houses NEWER CONDO TRENDY 4 BEDRM~2 FULL BATH~EQUIPPED KITCHEN~LAUNDRY~OFF STREET PARKING~GARAGE~CAN HELP WITH FURNISHINGMike 513 266-1685 m2deuce21@hotmail.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 House for rent Spacious 4 Bedroom, 3 Full Bathroom House now available for 11-12 school year.

One Block from Metro Stop. $2650 pp/ per sem. For more info call 513.524.9340 or visit www.redbrickoxford.com House for rent 418 Lincoln Ave. Available 2011-12AFFORDABLE4 bedroom/2 bathhardwood floorsback porch & off st. parking 513-532-7565 513-523-0655

9,000 ... The number of Miami Student readers who will see

YO UR AD HERE !

To advertise in The Miami Student , please contact Katie Neltner at neltekj@muohio.edu.

Sports

THE MIAMI STUDENT

HOCKEY

continued from page 10 any other game and hopefully we can silence the crowd.”

With 16 teams in the National Championship picture, the Red and White hope to bring the unbeaten streak to 17 games and play in St. Paul, Minn. April 9.

“One of the goals was to win the Mason Cup and we’ve waited all year for the NCAA Tournament,” Camper said. “A lot of us have been here before and for us seniors, it’s our last go and you never know if you are going to get back. You never know if it’s going to be the last time as underclassmen.

You just have to take the opportunity and make the most of it.”

Blasi and the Brotherhood have worked hard in practice all week after an exhausting trip to Detroit. After the joy at ‘the Joe’ and the selection show, they are only thinking of wrecking the Wildcats and staying alive.

“This is what you work for,” Blasi said. “You want to give yourself an opportunity to play for a National Championship and we are one of the 16 teams moving on. We have a lot of work to do and we know that.

We have a great opponent in UNH. We’ll get ready for them during the week and hopefully play our best on Saturday.”

Saturday’s puck will hit the ice on ESPNU.

BASEBALL continued from page 10

innings before handing the ball to a shaky bullpen.

Junior Bryce Redeker followed by making contact for his fourth hit in as many at-bats. The right fielder knocked in the fifth ’Hawk run with a single squeezed between the third baseman and shortstop as Brenner cruised home following his three bagger.

“Their starter pitched a pretty good game,” Brenner said. “We just knew once we got to him and they started getting in the bullpen then we would start getting some hits and scoring some runs. We weren’t worried about getting runs. We were just getting good at-bats and making good swings.”

Freshman starter Alex Brown surrendered the game’s first

FRIDAY, MARCH 25 2011 ♦ 9 two runs in the fifth inning and was pulled after a career-high five strikeouts.

The RedHawk bullpen would surrender just one more run in the final four frames facing Colonel (6-15) bats.

Freshman southpaw Seth Varner pitched a one-two-three seventh inning.

Junior Joe Neff then pitched solid in the ninth before allowing two base runners. Then Simonds motioned for sophomore Brandon Adkins, who came in and earned his third save of the season on Varner’s first victory.

“I just felt like the one thing that has been good about this team is that they continue to play,” Simonds said.

“No one is panicking. I felt like if we could get a couple of guys on, someone would get that big hit. Our bullpen did a good job of keeping them down and shutting them down in some innings there to give us a chance in the ball game.”

Having a big bat back in a lethal lineup can only improve the ’Hawks chances heading into Mid-American Conference play Friday. Brenner finished 2-3 with three RBI, 2 runs and a walk in his return to the lineup.

“He’s a good player,” Simonds said. “We haven’t had him in nine games. I certainly miss him and I’m glad he’s healthy. He can really be a difference maker in a lot of ways.

He is a catalyst with people on base and a solid hitter. He’s definitely a jolt for us. We were looking forward to him coming back. I promise you that.”

COlUMN

continued from page 10 well as some incredibly interesting evidence for ancient civilizations.

Not to be politically incorrect, but it is mind-blowing stuff.

I attended Anne Applebaum’s lecture here about the Gulag in Russia.

Applebaum stated the current regime in Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, declared that discussion of the past is a sign of national weakness.

That statement seems ridiculous to me, especially in the context of the oppressive Gulag labor camps.

It can never hurt to discuss the past for any country, which is evident by many Russian citizens knowing little of these camps.

Rogan asserts that we are all connected in some strange way that we cannot fully understand. One way we are strangely connected is that if we see someone prominent, especially an athlete or someone in the sports industry, come out and say something controversial about world affairs, it is considered outrageous or taboo. There is a strange silence among people in that area of the American workforce, which perhaps is contractually demanded, part of controlling their public image, holding the trust of their sponsors or perhaps it’s because they dislike dealing with the media.

Whatever the reason, I think that mindset needs to change. Joe Rogan is trying to do just that. Others in similar positions in the public eye should use their right to civic debate to foster democracy, increase widespread political awareness and maybe all of us, as one human race, can more adequately communicate with each other and progress towards a better future.

GREEN MU continued from page 1

development of a fetus.”

Thursday, Beyond Coal held free Mercury testing for students at the Shriver Center, and will release their findings later next week.

However, despite his concerns, Zimmer is happy a resolution is imminent.

“The Campus Sustainability Plan is a fantastic move in the right direction and we commend President Hodge and the Sustainability Committee for their efforts,” Zimmer said.

Junior Ashley Smith sees both sides of the issue. While Smith is happy a plan is being drafted, she understands Zimmer’s concerns about coal.

“I’m happy that action is being taken, but I also understand how damaging coal can be to both people and environment,” she said.

However, the report doesn’t just contain long-term environmental solution. Hodge said the university has already begun to work toward environmental sustainability.

This summer, Stoddard and Elliot Halls will be converted to geothermal energy, according to Hodge.

In addition to adding a sustainability co-major, Hodge said Miami will amp up its recycling efforts and to work to only construct buildings with silver LEED certifications (the third highest behind gold and platinum certifications).

Overall, Hodge said his primary concern is to decrease reliance on foreign sources of carbon-based fuels, but as he explained, timing is everything.

“Whether global warming is happening or not, we want to make sure we are creating a healthier environment,” Hodge said. “It’s about making the right decision right now.”

10

Friday March 25, 2011

Others should follow Rogan’s lead

HOCKEY

Sports

Editor Michael Solomon sports@miamistudent.net

NEXT GAME: 4 p.m. Saturday, vs. University of New Hampshire

No. 4 ’Hawks road ready

Matt Fitzgerald

My Short Athletic Shorts You may remember Joe Rogan from when he hosted popular television shows like Fear Factor and The Man Show. These days, he conducts interviews and does commentary for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a rapidly growing mixed martial arts promotional company that is the largest of its kind in the world.

While Rogan has enjoyed mainstream success and has attained celebrity status, he has not been afraid to speak his mind about, well, anything.

This column may barely address sports, but as Peter Sellers says in Stanley Kubrick’s classic dark comedy, Dr. Strangelove, “That is precisely the idea, General. That is precisely the idea.”

It is refreshing to hear a sportscaster, or even a public figure in general, wholeheartedly give his or her perspective on a major issue, even if that perspective is an unpopular one.

Rogan has a website where he hosts a podcast entitled, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” and he addresses topics that many people in his position of influence and status in society simply would not have the courage to address.

Some views Rogan strongly advocates include the legalization of marijuana as well as the encouragement of psychedelic drugs to expand the mind and experience alternate states of consciousness.

Some people may think all of these are outrageous, and may dismiss him for being ridiculous and too profane, but the fact that he is bold enough to come out and say these things with such conviction and lots of facts to back up what he is saying is simply admirable.

To be clear, I am not saying I agree or disagree with any specific thing Rogan has to say, but at the very least, he is a far more important figure in the sports world than he gets credit for. Ironically, it’s all due to other engagements he has away from the UFC. Rogan calls himself a quintessential delegator of information and does not claim any credit for it. He is more of a facilitator, attempting to encourage people to think outside of the figurative box. Rogan has turned me personally on to the ideas of Graham Hancock, as

wSee COLUMN, page 9

MICHAEL GRIGGS The Miami Student

Sophomore Curtis McKenzie scores on a backhand attempt in Miami’s 5-2 win over Western Michigan University Saturday in the CCHA Championship game.

By Alex Butler Senior Staff Writer

The team that once stood outside of the NCAA hockey tournament picture with a stack of must win games in its sight now sits seeded atop the Northeast Region and can peer at a Mason Cup in its trophy case. Although the road to the tournament at first appeared dire, the now No. 4 Miami University ice hockey team can forget the past and concentrate on the present that is the University of New Hampshire Wildcats.

An unbeaten streak of 13 games rewarded the ’Hawks their first CCHA tournament championship in school history. But it is the fourth seeded Wildcats that will reap the benefits of playing on friendly ice in Manchester, N.H. at 4 p.m. Saturday at Verizon

BASEBALL

Wireless Arena.

“It’s not almost a home game for them, it is,” coach Enrico Blasi said. “We played there in 2007 against them in the regional. I can tell you it will be loud and a UNH crowd. But at this time of the year you have to play great teams in order to move on. It is what it is and we are looking forward to it.”

Blasi’s defense should look forward to bashing forwards Paul Thompson and Mike Sislo. Thompson, a Hobey Baker award finalist, led the Hockey East conference with 42 points while Silso ranked fifth with 32.

“UNH has one of the top offenses in the country with Sislo and Thompson,” senior Carter Camper said. “They can score a lot of goals, they are fast and skilled and a great team.”

Thompson ranks sixth nationally with

52 points overall for an offense that ranked ninth nationally.

The Wildcats (21-10-6) were also the second best scoring defense and allowed the second fewest goals in the Hockey East conference, behind Boston College. The Red and White (23-9-6) suit up the nation’s points leader in senior Andy Miele, who joins Camper and Thompson as a Hobey Baker finalist.

Still the stats won’t mean much to screaming Wildcat fans willing and wooing for a victory Saturday.

“We’re used to it,” Camper said. “We go to Detroit with the finals at the Joe (Louis Arena) and face a Michigan team most likely and we are used to it in the NCAA Tournament as well. We will prepare for it like

wSee HOCKEY, page 9

NEXT HOME GAME: 3 p.m. Friday, vs. Central Michigan University

Brenner’s triple lifts Red and White

By Alex Butler Senior Staff Writer

Nine nights ago it was a shoulder injury that sidelined junior Ryan Brenner. Wednesday, the outfielder used that same shoulder to carry the Miami University RedHawks to a 6-3 comeback victory over Eastern Kentucky University in their home opener.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Brenner stepped up to the plate with a traffic jam on the base paths and the ’Hawks down 3-1. With

nowhere to put one of the Red and White’s best hitters, Brenner pulled the pitch through right field, sending the ball to the wall, scoring all three runners.

“It feels good coming back and they put me in a good situation,” Brenner said. “I just made good contact with the ball and got the big hit.”

The big hit came with two outs after a battle of an at-bat by senior Jon Edgington. The second baseman bested Colonel ace Anthony Bazzani for a free pass to load the bases.

“Jon Edgington’s at-bat was tremendous,”

head coach Dan Simonds said. “That’s a senior really stepping up and drawing a walk, giving Brenner a chance to get the big hit. That’s what its all about. We want to give ourselves an opportunity to extend innings and make sure we stay in the game.”

Brenner’s fourth ball was the last pitch Bazzani would throw before being yanked by the Colonel skipper. Bazzani had held the RedHawk offense (9-11) to just one run over 6.2

wSee BASEBALL, page 9

12th Annual

Breast Cancer Banquet Dinner & Silent Auction

Shriver-Heritage Room

Wednesday, March 30th 5 p.m.

Tickets: $14

Available at the Shriver Box Office

Proceeds Benefit: Susan G. Komen Foundation