The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826
VOLUME 139 NO. 8
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 1996, The Miami Student reported that a Miami University men’s varsity soccer game against Central Connecticut State University was delayed
for about 20 minutes after an altercation on the field. A Miami player was issued a red card after kicking a player from the opposing team in the head. Central Connecticut’s coach wanted to press charges and Miami University police were dispatched. Police obtained statements from players and coaches after the game. No charges were filed.
Student groups gather at ‘The Hub’ By Allison McGillivray Staff Writer
Student organizations at Miami University wanting to to register, get ASG funding, plan evemts or recruit new members have a new digital tool at their disposal. The Hub is website that provides each student or Greek organization with an individual page where it can put its roster, contact information, event information, constitution and other information about itself. Any student can then search for these organizations on the site. According to Katie Wilson, senior director of student engagement for Student Activities and Leadership, Student Affairs has been thinking of putting event planning and organization registration online for years. Meghan Wadsworth, vice president for Student Organizations, said she has also thought about a site like The Hub for a long time. Wadsworth was
contacted during the winter of the 2010-2011 school year by a committee made up of IT Services and Student Activities/Student Affairs that was interested in creating a site like The Hub. This committee made major decisions for the website like using the company Collegiate Link to host the site. Collegiate Link sent the live link for the website a week before school started, according to Wadsworth. Now, there are over 200 organizations that have been approved by Student Affairs for registration on The Hub, according to Wilson, which makes up 65 percent of all registered student organizations from the 2010-2011 school year. More organizations register on The Hub everyday. “It’s the digital revolution for student organizations this year,” Wilson said. Wilson said overall, organizations have been pretty enthusiastic about The Hub.
Extra-Curricular Organization Every student has an account on The Hub, which they can access with their unique ID and password. So far, over 1,000 people have logged on to The Hub, according to Wilson. According to Wilson, there are several tools that students can use to make organizing their extra-curricular activities easier. Students can click on virtual flyers on a corkboard to learn more and plan on attending upcoming events on campus. Wilson said students could download events as appointments in Google or Microsoft Outlook calendars. The Hub will also play matchmaker; students can fill out information about their interests on their profile page and the site will recommend organizations and events based on those interests. According to Wadsworth,
The hub, SEE PAGE 5
JULIA ENGELBRECHT THE MIAMI STUDENT
LET THE GAMES BEGIN Members of Miami University’s Greek community attend convocation for Greek Week Thursday night on Central Quad.
Alumna lands dream job at NY fashion house Interactive Media establishes program down by the bay By Jenni Wiener Campus Editor
Miami University may not be Princeton, Harvard or Yale, but it produces students who are just as ready and eager for success. Christina Kazanjian, who graduated in May 2011, has already proven herself in the real world. Kazanjian now works in New York City as the assistant to Paula Sutter, president of Diane von Furstenberg’s fashion design house. “I am literally like Anne Hathaway from The Devil Wears Prada,” Kazanjian said. “It is the coolest, craziest job, but the difference is that my boss is awesome.” Life in the fashion world is more complicated than it seems. Kazanjian does everything from running errands for Sutter to taking her kids to soccer practice to assisting personnel for New York’s Fashion Week. “It’s challenging and there is always something to do,” Kazanjian said. “I’m responsible for making sure Paula’s day goes smoothly, which can be pressuring at times.” Although Kazanjian has the job “a million girls would kill for,” getting a job in the
New York fashion world is not an easy task. Kazanjian graduated from Miami with a degree in broadcast journalism and was accepted into NBC’s prestigious Page program right out of college. “The Page program is a glorified, paid internship that is 12 months long,” Kazanjian said. “About 97 percent of the people accepted get a job from it. It’s a very hard program to get into and very competitive, but worth it in the end.” As an NBC page, Kazanjian rotated through different departments of the network. She said she had no idea which department she was interested in, but wanted to try production and marketing. Her internship started July 4, 2011 and she was hired at her current position by mid-August. “The Page program is awesome for networking and finding jobs,” Kazanjian said. “They send job opportunities over a listserv, which is how I found the application for this job.” Kazanjian said she has always loved fashion, but never had any experience in the field, so when this opportunity arose, she immediately went after it.
“I emailed the contact with my resume, and when I didn’t hear back, I followed up with them,” Kazanjian said. “Turns out they had already hired someone who wasn’t very good and I sent my follow-up e-mail right on time. It’s one of those things that must have been meant to be. I have always dreamed
any job is too big or too small.” She advises students to get their names out there and be determined. “Have confidence and people will believe in you,” she said. “Believe in yourself and others will too.” Senior Nicole Campbell said she is inspired by Kazanjian’s story.
I am literally like Anne Hathaway from The Devil Wears Prada. It is the coolest, craziest job, but the difference is that my boss is awesome.” CHRISTINA KAZANJIAN MIAMI UNIVERSITY ALUMNA
of this opportunity, but never thought it was a reality.” An education from Miami helped Kazanjian get to where she is today, she said. “Miami professors were so accepting and always took time out of their busy schedules to meet with me,” Kazanjian said. “They always supported my crazy ideas and allowed me to grow so much. I couldn’t have done it without their support.” To students with high aspirations, Kazanjian says, “be eager and don’t think
“She is living the life that everyone wants to live,” Campbell said. “I wish her the best and I only hope that my life can be just as exciting.” Kazanjian said she could not be happier with where she is today. “I’m not a mold for someone who wants to get into the fashion industry,” Kazanjian said. “It came to me. So I suggest people go to the city they want to be in and experience what it has to offer.”
Members of Miami’s Phi Delta Theta chapter arrested in Indiana for underage drinking By Taylor dolven Asst. campus editor
Miami University students have a history of wild weekend getaways in Gatlinburg, Tenn., but recent events suggest that some groups are heading west instead of south. Twelve Miami Phi Delta Theta fraternity members were arrested in the early morning Sunday, Sept. 11., according to police reports. Four
female Miami students were also arrested with the group near Brookville, Ind. Fifteen of the students were arrested for consumption of alcohol as a minor and one for resisting law enforcement, according to documents provided by the Franklin County, Ind. Sheriff’s office. Three of the students involved are listed as officers on the Miami Phi Delta Theta website.
The Cliff Alexander Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Leadership was unaware of the incident and declined to comment. The Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution acknowledged hearing of the incident, but was unable to provide details. Phi Delta Theta President Patrick Burchell called the newspaper but declined to comment for this article.
By Adam Giffi
Senior Staff Writer
Miami University’s Campus is set to expand. Effective this spring, High Street will be extending to the Golden Gate Bridge. The Armstrong Interactive Media Studies (AIMS) program is beginning a Digital Innovation Center in San Francisco. Glenn Platt, C. Michael Armstrong professor and AIMS co-director, explained the program and said that for the first year or two it will be offered in the spring, beginning with the upcoming Spring 2012 semester. “You can’t really do much in digital technology these days without spending time in San Francisco and so we
program that does not include internship experiences but instead is a client-based capstone project where students go to San Francisco and work hands-on. Platt said the program is being funded entirely on the revenue generated from the tuition of enrolled students. However, room, board and food expenses are separate. Platt estimates that housing will be roughly $1,300 a semester, including utilities. “We’ve got a group of apartments that are all together, right in the heart of downtown San Francisco, within walking distance of public transportation and from the site that we are going to be having the classes in,” Platt said. “By having the students live in the same
You can’t really do much in digital technology these days without spending time in San Francisco.” GLENN PLATT
AIMS CO-DIRECTOR
put together a curriculum that involves students going there and doing internships three days a week and classes two days a week,” Platt said. “They spend an entire semester out in San Francisco completely immersed in digital innovation and the culture of new technology out there. All the big companies are out there and we decided it would be a really immersive experience to bring Oxford to San Francisco.” AIMS will also be offering a four-week summer
complex, we can get a much better rate. In fact, it is a fairly comparable rate to those offered in Oxford.” The program is accepting applications from any students with an interest in Digital Innovation industries. According to Platt, hours that will be offered span a wide variety of departments and are applicable for IMS, graphic design and entrepreneurship majors, but the
AIMS, SEE PAGE 5