September 18, 2012 | The Miami Student by The Miami Student

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

VOLUME 140 NO. 09

TUESday, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 1963, The Miami Student reported the Homecoming house decoration theme was “homecomics.” Houses were adorned with characters like Rocky, the flying squirrel, Mr. Magoo, Yogi the Bear and Dennis the Menace. The Redskins took on the OU Bobcats at the Homecoming football game. The headline read: “Redskins sharpen tomahawks to skin OU Bobcats.”

MU women outperform men in the classroom

BY Libby Mueller Senior Staff Writer

A new era may be dawning in schools and workplaces as women gain more footholds academically and economically. The Office for National Statistics reported that the gender pay gap fell under 10 percent for the first time at the end of 2011. The male employment rate has also fallen while the female employment rate has risen over time, narrowing the gap between the two, according to the Office for National Statistics. According to the Miami University Office of Institutional Research, women outperform men academically at Miami. The average GPA for undergraduate males at the end of fall 2011 was 2.95, while the average female GPA was 3.18. Management Professor Rocco Manzo said that last spring, the

average GPA for women was 3.24 and the men’s average GPA was 2.95. “That’s some evidence that suggests women are achieving at a higher rate than men,” Manzo said. However, Manzo said he has not seen differences in performance levels in his classes. “My personal experience in my classes is I haven’t seen any noticeable difference between male and female performance,” Manzo said. Professor of psychology Amanda Diekman said there may be possible underlying reasons for why women perform better than men in classroom settings. “We don’t know, but there may be a conscious or subconscious awareness of a double standard for men and women,” Diekman said. “Women may realize they are entering male-dominated fields and have to be especially proficient [in school].” Marti Kyger, assistant dean and director of divisional advising at

the Farmer School of Business (FSB), said that Miami University reflects the national trend of men stagnating economically and academically while women improve in some aspects. “My experience is that more women have transferred into the business school and more males have transferred out year after year,” Kyger said. But Kyger also said that men are not falling behind women as far as entrance into the business school is concerned. “The incoming freshman business class is 64 percent male, which is the highest I’ve ever known,” Kyger said. There is also a greater proportion of males in engineering at Miami, according to the Office of Institutional Research, although females outnumber males in education, arts and

ACADEMICS, SEE PAGE 8

Students flout smoke-free campus policy BY Kaler Hazen

For The Miami Student

Despite the development of educational anti-smoking programs like D.A.R.E, and a general advancement of medical knowledge regarding the dangers of the carcinogens found in cigarettes, many students still choose to smoke. According to James Eliassen, professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati, novelty and the desire to experiment in the college environment contribute to a rise in student smoking rates after age 18. Additionally, Eliassen said the negative consequences of smoking seem a long way off to students, and are viewed more as a statistical probability than a realistic consequence of smoking. Eliassen also said social smoking can be attributed to the physical ease of inhaling smoky air after having a few drinks. “Alcoholics have a much higher rate of smoking than healthy people,” Eliassen said. “Since smoking involves inhaling smoky

air, that’s much easier after alcohol has been consumed.” Sophomore Terrence Donnelly said he was hooked on smoking well before his college years, and came to school with an established habit already in place. “I started smoking when I was a sophomore in high school,” Donnelly said. “It started out of curiosity. It wasn’t like I was trying to fit in.” According to Lt. Ben Spilman of the Miami University Police Department, there is a community non-smoking policy on campus, and it is up to students to encourage participation. Although the policy is not written into the Ohio Revised Code, Spilman said the policy relies on active community participation. “It’s a community policy that everyone is expected to help enforce,” Spilman said. “It’s up to students to remind others that this is a non-smoking campus.” According to Miami sophomore and Bagel & Deli employee Joop Roberts, there is a noticeable trend in cigarette sales based on factors like the time of day and

student alcohol consumption. “The amount of cigarettes we sell late night and during Beat the Clock is exponentially higher than at any other time,” Roberts said. “When people are drinking we sell a lot more cigarettes.” According to Roberts, Bagel & Deli also caters to smokers who are looking for a quick buzz while trying to avoid the cost of purchasing an entire pack of cigarettes by selling three cigarettes for a dollar. “There’s a lot of kids out there that only smoke when they’re drunk, and it caters to that,” Roberts said. “For smokers, they can scrap up some change and go buy a cigarette. It’s the ultimate convenience for both casual smokers and habitual smokers.” Miami sophomore David Paus said his reason for occasionally smoking as a social one. “It gives me a nice buzz, it’s a social experience and it amplifies the buzz you get from drinking,” Paus said. “I do it because it’s worth it, I don’t think a few cigarettes are going to hurt me.”

ARIANNE KREKELER THE MIAMI STUDENT

A student smokes outside the Shriver Center, despite Miami University’s smoke-free campus policy.

Police arrest male for rape of Miami University student Friday Sept. 14 Fransisco Jairo Naupa Rivera, 23 years old, was detained and arrested for burglary and rape. All victims were Miami University students; the suspect was not. Around 3:45 a.m., the Oxford Police Department responded to a report of a burglary on the 0 block of East Spring Street. The suspect’s vehicle, a white

Chrysler, was located by police on East Collins Street. The investigation led officers to discover another burglary on the 0 block of East Collins Street. Rivera was detained in connection to both burglaries and the rape at the second location in conjunction with the second burglary. He was charged with

burglary, aggravated burglary and rape, according to the Oxford Police Department. Students and Oxford residents are advised to lock their doors when they are not home and before they go to bed. The Oxford Police ask anyone with knowledge of this crime or other crimes to contact the Oxford Police Department.

FLYING TO THE BALL

CODY FINNEY THE ARBITER

Three RedHawk defenders swarm to the ball during Miami’s 39-12 loss to Boise State Saturday.

TEDx event unites early education, finance research By Megan Thobe Staff Writer

TEDxMiamiUniversity brought a group of early childhood education professionals and financial experts together to encourage collaboration and to spread ideas and research. TED is a nonprofit organization that aims to bring together experts in a variety of fields in order to encourage the sharing of ideas and spread global inspiration. The TEDx portion of the organization was created to allow others to put together events in the TED format and to encourage a wide spread of ideas. The TEDxMiamiUniversity event, held Friday, chose to focus on the importance of collaboration between the early education and financial world. The event was a joint project between the Farmer School of Business; the School of Education, Health and Society; the Department of Economics and the Department of Educational Psychology. According to the main organizer of the event and former economics professor, Dennis Sullivan, the TEDx event was chosen to present these ideas because of the TED organization’s ability to spread ideas. “The scholars are not getting the word out,” Sullivan said. “Answers that are pretty well understood are not making it out into the citizen and political conversation.” After some conversations with others interested in the field of finance as it relates to early education, event organizers decided TED would provide the best platform to spread their message. The speakers of the event were chosen by Sullivan and the event’s co-organizer, Doris Bergen. Speakers Doug Almond, Debora Wisenski and Doris Pronin Fromberg represented the field of early education while speakers Larry Schiwienheart, Tim Bartik and Rucker Johnson represented the world of finance. According to Sullivan, TED has a handful of rules for TEDx events that make it difficult to have a large audience. TEDx rules state that the audience can be no bigger than 100 attendees. However, Sullivan said he was happy with the audience turnout. “We had anticipated that we might have to beat the bushes a little bit to achieve our target audience of about 70 to 75, and in fact we had about 80 without needing to beat the bushes at all,” Sullivan said. “They’re actually a remarkably diverse collection of people.” The audience was made up of mostly representatives from educational institutions and graduate students from across the country. Also attending the event were two students from Xavier University: Nicholas Turon and Michael Farwell. Turon and Farwell helped put together the TEDxXavier event in

April of last year and are passionate about the TED message. “The TEDx spirit is about collaboration, working together and drawing from all different sorts of backgrounds and just experiences,” Turon said. Turon and Farwell said the online TED community greatly helped them plan and execute their event and the community aspect of TED ignited the most passion in them. “The mutual learning to promote ideas worth spreading which is the theme of TED,” Farwell said. “It’s a very community oriented organization so you can reach out to someone you’ve never met before and have a conversation with them at a TEDx event or online.” According to Turon, the goal is to make every subsequent event better than the last one. “I want this one to be better than our event and I want our event to be better than this event, and then compounding to be the best event possible,” Turon said. Both Turon and Farwell agreed the audience was the most important aspect of a TED event. “The biggest role of a TEDx event is not what the speakers are saying, it’s how the audience reacts and what they go from it,” Farwell said. According to audience member Rose Marie Ward, an associate professor in kinesiology and health, the TEDxMiamiUniversity event conveyed the importance of collaboration. “It’s not just that I can come up with a solution to a problem but I can hear your view and your perspective and your side of things and it’s great to combine everyone’s ideas to make the next step,” Ward said. Debora Wisneski, a speaker from the University of Nebraska Omaha, said the TEDx event provided a unique experience. “I came with a general idea that we needed more interdisciplinary collaboration across all fields to work for children,” Wisneski said. “But now I actually had the opportunity to listen and speak with a variety of people who I never would have gotten introduced to. Our conferences would have never crossed our research would be absolutely separated.” The future of TEDx on Miami’s campus is uncertain. Sullivan said this event was a sort of experiment for those involved. “I think it is unlikely that Miami University would do its next TEDx in this format,” Sullivan said. “The experiment ought to be an experiment in a different format. My prediction is that the next TEDx event will be very different from this one.” The license granted by TED is for a onetime event so prospective TEDx planners would essentially be starting from scratch. TED requires that a TEDx event planner has a license to use the TED brand.

CAMPUS

Editors JENN SMOLA ALLISON MCGILLIVRAY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

campus@miamistudent.net

Miami Plan task force aims to revamp requirements By Brett Milam Online Editor

TYLER GRAVES THE MIAMI STUDENT

PAY IT FORWARD

Sophomores Meagan Schipper and Jackie Weber sell baked goods Saturday night at the Phi Delt Gates to raise money for children’s education in Uganda.

Sorority sisters historically preferred on-campus suites instead of houses By TM Keesling

For The Miami Student

The sorority suites that exist today were not always the home of Miami University’s sorority women. In fact, in the 1900s, sorority women did live in places resembling sorority houses; these were university cottages. The cottages were situated in the current location of Wells Hall and they came about in order to alleviate the inadequate housing situation for female students, who, unlike male students, had more limitations on their housing situations. An unmarried woman under the age of 21 was not permitted to live off-campus unless she was living with immediate family. Though this type of housing existed, sorority women still ultimately preferred to live in Hepburn Hall and even held their chapter meetings in classrooms on-campus. The idea of the sorority suite came into existence for two reasons. First, much like the current suites, the housing allowed each sorority to have a permanent place for its members to connect on-campus. And second, Panhellenic Council

This article is part of a series The Miami Student is running about the University Archives. All information in the following article was obtained from the University Archives with the help of University Archivist Bob Schmidt. at the time, created a rule that in effect made sorority houses off-limits. This rule is that sorority housing must be “equal and comparable.” The basic concept is since each sorority has a different number of members, different amounts of dues to pay and different budgets to work with, each of the sorority houses would be of varying size and quality, creating an unfair situation as far as future recruiting is concerned. If one house is fully furnished and has 40 well-decorated rooms to offer while another sorority has a smaller or less presentable house, the two houses are not comparable. This creates an unfair advantage in favor of the sorority with more money to spend on a sorority house. University-sponsored sorority suites made more sense than sorority houses in order to remain within the confines of this rule.

The suites made the housing situations of sororities more fair and also helped avoid tensions within sororities that Panhellenic Council assumed would naturally arise with having so many women live within the same residence. There are rumors circulating around the university regarding why sorority houses do not exist in Oxford. One of the rumors is that in the early 1900s an older woman donated money to the school with the stipulation that sorority houses would not be built in the 50 years following her donation. The other rumor regards the existence of a brothel law in Oxford, which states that a certain number of women can’t reside within a single house. Both of these rumors are false. In the early years of sororities, and for decades following, sorority women said no to off-campus houses and yes to on-campus suites within residence halls. The sorority women had the ability to make this decision because as Miami expanded in the early 1900s, it made room for both women students and sororities, deeming sorority houses unnecessary.

LISTSERVs offer effective communication for some students, clog inboxes for others Casey Wood

For The Miami Student

Although many students at Miami University use the program LISTSERV, some people still have no idea what it is and that they are using it. LISTSERV is a mailing list management software program that is specifically designed to manage email lists. Email lists can meet many communication needs such as the distribution of news and announcements and the facilitation of classroom and group discussion, according to Cathy McVey, senior director for IT communications and relationship management at Miami. In order to use LISTSERV, a group member types a message and the program automatically sends it to multiple recipients, all maintained in the same primary list as the sender. This tool makes it easier and less time-consuming to send out large group emails. According to McVey, LISTSERV can be used for an abundance of communication needs. “You can create a LISTSERV for about anything,” McVey said. Thanks to the software, Miami professors can communicate with

their students, classmates can communicate with one another about assignments and exams and organization leaders can communicate with their many members. Sophomore Zack Dixon said he uses LISTSERV to communicate with the Men’s Glee Club. “I love it,” Dixon said. “It really makes communicating with other people in a group easier. It’s fool proof.” However, not all students are fans of LISTSERV. First-year Pob Vutisalchavakul said he finds LISTSERV bothersome. “I find that LISTSERV is blowing up my inbox and I find that annoying,” Vutisalchavakul said. “The major issue is I have no idea how to unsubscribe from things I no longer want to be a part of.” Vutisalchavakul said Mega Fair can contribute to this problem. Many first-years who attend Mega Fair sign up for numerous clubs and organizations, which can lead to an abundance of unwanted emails, Vutisalchavakul said. Students can solve this problem by unsubscribing from LISTSERVs they no longer wish to be a part of.

While some students don’t know how to remove themselves from a certain LISTSERV group, the process requires just a few steps, according to McVey. Students must log on to www. muohio.edu/listserv and click the “Delete a List” link. Next, a window will pop up in which the student will have to enter his or her log-in information. After entering and submitting the LISTSERV email address to unsubscribe from, students will be successfully removed. McVey also said several LISTSERVs have an inclusive unsubscribe feature. Senior Robert Johnson said he has experienced times when students reply-all and ask to be taken off a LISTSERV group, when they can easily just unsubscribe themselves. “It is really easy to unsubscribe I just don’t think that people took the time really,” Johnson said. Overall, Johnson said while LISTSERV isn’t perfect, it’s still an effective method of group communication. “I definitely think the LISTSERVs serve a good function,” Johnson said. “I think it’s a pretty good system that Miami has now.”

The Miami Plan has been a staple of a liberal education at Miami University since it was put into operation in 1992. However, the Miami Plan Redesign Task Force was created last spring to discuss potential revisions or changes to the Miami Plan. The task force has 15 members, three of whom are students appointed by Miami’s Associated Student Government (ASG). The Miami Plan started with conversations about liberal education in the mid-1980s with a goal to decide what values were important to a liberal education. The consensus on those values became the four core principles found in the Miami Plan. John Tassoni, director of liberal education at Miami, said he believes the Miami Plan’s strength lies in those core principles: thinking critically, understanding contexts, engaging with other learners and reflecting and acting. “The Miami Plan recognizes that a liberal education doesn’t end with the first couple of years,” Tassoni said. There are weaknesses though, according to Tassoni. “The distribution requirements are too vague,” Tassoni said. “It creates a check box mentality, trying to check off requirements.” The idea behind the Miami Plan is to not be a check box to get through the requirements, but rather a comprehensive foundation for liberal education, according to Daniel Gladish,

professor of botany. “The purpose of education is to equip you to deal with the emerging multiplicities of problems you’ll face in life,” Gladish said. Gladish said he wants his students to succeed and to do so, he believes they should not so narrowly focus on a future job. Students throughout the years have lodged complaints against the Miami Plan for various reasons. Junior Eric Buckle said one complaint is the need to take introductory courses for general education. “They just seem like an unnecessary repeat of high school,” he said. Senior Peter Dougherty, however, said the Miami Plan serves a great purpose by broadening people’s perspectives in interactions with others. “It’s great for general education,” Dougherty said. According to Tassoni, The Miami Plan Redesign Task Force hopes to have a proposal for possible changes to the Miami Plan presented to University Senate by the end of spring of 2013. So far, the Task Force is generating ideas about liberal education goals and there is of yet, no talk about specific requirements related to more or less credit hours in any subject area. “There will be many more conversations with the university community before anything is actually proposed,” Tassoni said. To get more information, the Web site for the Miami Plan Redesign Task Force can be found here: http://lec.csi.muohio.edu/

University ranks third for undergraduate teaching By Jenn Smola Campus Editor

Miami University has ranked third among national universities for its commitment to undergraduate teaching in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 edition of America’s Best Colleges, which hits newsstands today. President David Hodge said he is happy with Miami’s ranking in undergraduate teaching, “I’m obviously very very pleased to see us once again recognized nationally for that,” Hodge said. “It’s pretty good company to be with Dartmouth and Princeton, and the others that are in that top ten.” Fifteen national universities earned a ranking for faculty commitment, with Miami ranked behind Dartmouth and Princeton

HERE’S MY CARD

universities. Since the inception of the list four years ago, Miami has ranked repeatedly within the top eight. Hodge said faculty, staff and students are to thank for Miami’s high ranking. “Really what it is is that we have this overwhelming mission to provide what we hope to be the country’s very best undergraduate education and undergraduate experience,“ Hodge said. “It starts with our faculty and staff who are dedicated to that proposition and then we try to recruit energetic hard-working students. Put that together and good things happen.” Miami also ranked 89th overall out of all 202 public and private national universities, and 37th among top public national universities.

MADDY BROWN THE MIAMI STUDENT

Delta Sigma Pi, a professional co-ed business fraternity, begins its fall recruitment process.

Editors OLIVIA HNAT HANNAH STEIN

COMMUNITY

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

COMMUNITY@miamistudent.net

POLICE Ohio adopts new curriculum

BEAT

By Katie Mark

For The Miami Student

A shift in the math and English language arts curriculum under the “Common Core Standards and Assessments” (CCSA) will impact public schools and subsequently generate new standards for teachers. This national and state initiative, that is not nationally funded, will be adopted by 45 states, including Ohio. The change in the education curriculum will entail what each grade level is expected to know in math and English language arts courses. The CCSA was developed by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers mostly because the U.S. is not near the very top in international testing of students, but also to better prepare students for college and to raise achievement, according to Constance Weaver, a Miami University teacher education professor. “It’s intended to improve teaching instruction and in 2014 it will affect Ohio teachers going into public schools,” Weaver said. Weaver said the standards for English language arts include fundamental reading skills, reading literature and informational texts, writing, speaking, listening and language. “Many of the standards are good ones that could improve teaching,”

Weaver said. “But there are too many standards and many seem appropriate for only Advanced Placement students.” Junior Kiersten Wyatt, an early childhood education major, said she has talked about the issue in some classes, but does not know a lot about it. “They’re just standards that teachers are going to have to meet,” Wyatt said. Weaver said the standards are used as expectations to be reached within a year and as grade levels increase a more rigorous set is supposed to be mastered because it is assumed that everyone will achieve a certain goal at a certain grade level. There are numerous drawbacks to the curriculum change, according to Weaver. Because the public schools’ curriculum is not federally funded or mandated, more money will be spent on testing, which will result in less time for learning. Areas of the curriculum will be dropped and class sizes will increase due to lack of funds, Weaver said. “The current mania for standardized testing will only increase with more extensive CCSA standards, with perhaps most of teachers’ instructional time spent on test preparation instead of encouraging critical thinking and creativity,” Weaver said.

Weaver said standardized tests of the CCSA are being developed in order to analyze and track student progress, to help teachers determine what to teach and to rank students, teachers, schools, their districts and states. In addition to this, the new “Teacher Performing Assessment” will be instilled in colleges for education majors as a mechanism to determine if these future teachers can meet the standards. “It’s an assessment component that videotapes the student teaching and independent judges then determine if these aspiring teachers are ready for the classroom,” Kristin Paul, senior middle school education major, said. All of these changes in student learning and teacher preparation are the changes that will impact future education for states that have adopted the curriculum. All states except for five are adopting the curriculum, Paul said. Miami junior and senior education majors are still studying the old standards. They have not transferred over since the standards have not been implemented yet. Current first-year and sophomore education majors probably know more about the new system, according to Wyatt. Paul said that the curriculum should benefit students in the future because they will be able to focus on

material longer. “It’s going to broaden the curriculum for the teachers’ students to focus more on going in depth [with the] material rather than just covering a lot of material,” Paul said. Weaver said she thinks these standards that emphasize a wide range of topics, especially critical thinking at the higher levels, shouldn’t be the curriculum, but instead the background for teaching. She said she would like to see teachers enriching students instead of meeting test statistic criteria. These abilities and understanding is the goal for what Miami is trying to help the teacher education students develop. “Teachers can make a huge difference if they’re allowed and they need to be educated to teach imaginatively, to assess with compassion and to help administrators understand that narrow teaching isn’t the best way to meet external standards,” Weaver said. As for current Miami education majors, not much is known about the CCSA, but Paul said she thinks there is general acceptance of the change. “I think in general the education majors here are in support of the curriculum change because we see it as it’s going to benefit the students even though it’s going to be harder for us teachers to do that,” Paul said.

Voter registration events still available for students By Morgan Schaffer senior STAff writer

P H O T O G R A P H E R S PUT YOUR SKILLS TO USE AT THE MIAMI STUDENT! E-mail LAUREN at photo@miamistudent.net for more information.

With the election less than 50 days away, people have until Oct. 9 to register to vote in Ohio. There are various locations and events on campus and in Oxford to register. According to Prue Dana, voters service chair for the League of Women’s Voters of Oxford, there are several places to register to vote for both students and community members. These places include the Lane Public Library, which is the community library, the municipal building located Uptown on High Street, room 111 in the Shriver Center and the Office of Disability Resources in room 19 of the Campus Avenue Building. There is also going to be a specific registration date 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 29 at Kroger that will be run by the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, Dana said. In addition, people can register to vote online, Dana said. The website, www.butlercountyelections. org, has a direct link for an online registration form. The deadline to return the form and the address for mailing the registration can also be found on the website. The registration deadline is Oct. 9. All Ohio citizens must have their registration complete by that date to vote, according to Dana. Dana stressed the importance of registering here in Oxford. She said that any time there is a change in a person’s name or a person’s address, they should reregister to be able to vote for issues pertaining to this area. In order to vote for local issues in an election, the voter must be registered for the area in which the issues pertain to. If, however, the voter is highly involved in campaigning from their hometown, Dana advised them to stay involved there. Another key component when deciding where to register is for voters to make sure that their registration form is being taken to the Butler County Board of Elections, Dana said. This means voters should make sure they are registering with someone who will deliver their registration to the appropriate location. After registering, that person will be mailed a card confirming their registration and detailing their polling location. If no card has been received, the person who is trying to register should contact the Butler County Board of Elections,

Dana said. Dana said voting will be held at Shriver for all students living on campus and for anyone else who is interested in voting there. For people living in Oxford, there are different designated areas. If a person is unaware of where to vote, they can contact the Butler County Board of Elections. In order to vote in the United States, Dana said that a person must be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and the person must include their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their social security number on the registration. Dana also said that if students living in the residence halls are registering, they need to put the name of the residence hall and the address of the residence hall on the form. Laura Kretz, president of College Democrats, explained where students can register. “If you want to register to vote in [Oxford], we have registration drives, and we register during our meetings,” Kretz said. “Students can go to the meetings even if they are not in the organization.” Baylor Meyers, chairman of College Republicans suggested students go to the Butler County Board of Elections website to register and look for upcoming information for voting. “There are always locations [for voting] on campus and off campus posted within three weeks of the election,” Meyers said. “I would advise people to check out the presidential debates on every major news channel.” Dana said the League of Women Voters will be putting out a voter information guide closer to the election. “They will be distributed around campus,” Dana said. “[Students] can pick those up probably at the Shriver Center, the Campus Avenue building, and maybe King Library. The Office of Diversity Affairs will be hosting a constitution reading and discussion event 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in MacMillan Hall, room 212, Dana said. The League of Women Voters will be at the event with voter registration forms for people who are interested in registering there. For additional information about the election, Dana also discussed a Candidate Forum taking place 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Knolls of Oxford. More information will be released as the date gets closer.

ANDY WAUGH THE MIAMI STUDENT

John Malan, owner of The Green Door, sells beaded braceltes and decorative ceramics from fair trade vendors.

Global jewelry adds flair By Ashley VanBuskirk For The Miami Student

The Green Door has been selling unique, handmade jewelry and other crafts to the community since it opened in late 2008. Located at 33 W. High St., The Green Door sells everything from beaded bracelets to Nicaraguan pottery. According to John Malan, the store’s owner, the eclectic assortment of bracelets account for 90 percent of his sales. “We do a lot of beaded jewelry,” said Malan. “I switched to cords [with beading] which is very low tech stuff that I like and apparently a lot of people here like it too.” This unique style of jewelry grabbed the interest of sophomore Lauren Delk. “I appreciate how John uses interesting materials to create and sell eclectic pieces,” Delk said. The store focuses on goods that encourage social and environmental responsibility worldwide, emphasizing the theme, “Think global, shop local.” “We first started as a basic jewelry line but added fair trade products,” said Malan. One of the fair trade products includes pottery from the San Juan de Oriente village in Nicaragua. The village is known for its decorative ceramics, accounting for the majority of the village’s economy, according to Malan. The store also sells fair trade scarves that are recycled from used saris. Norma Pili, who lives in Majorca, Spain, makes and sells the scarves. Malan located and

contacted Pili through the Internet after seeing her work on the online marketplace, Etsy.com. The Internet, according to Malan, has been a timesaving resource. “I used to go to craft shows,” Malan said. “Now I can just go online.” Utilizing the Internet has helped bring new and different things to the store according to Malan. He also uses the Internet as a marketing strategy, creating Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts to share about the store’s products online. Still, Malan said he has realized that the best marketing strategies are word of mouth and a little curb appeal. This second strategy caught the attention of sophomore Jaclyn Deutsch. “The outside table was what really drew me into the store,” Deutsch said. Deutsch, who has bought several bracelets from the store, also mentioned how much she appreciated the cultural elements of all of the pieces in the store. Looking toward the future, Malan said he hopes to get into a more wholesale market so that he can sell his jewelry all throughout the country. Currently, he said that he has stores selling his products in Dayton, Fort Lauderdale and Chicago. The store is open 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday and 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Editor BILLY RAFAEL

ARTS@miamistudent.net

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

Cage Gallery showcases projects from Germany For The Miami Student

Arts & Entertainment Editor

This weekend Miami University will be host to the Threshold Student Electroacoustic Festival for the first time. This festival, meant to encourage students to share their creations of a rather unique genre, will feature compositions of students from Ball State University, Oberlin College, Bowling Green State University, and Miami. “The easiest definition of electroacoustic music is classical music made with electronics,” Per Bloland, assistant professor of technology and music theory at Miami and coordinator of Miami’s participation in Threshold, said. “It is music from young composers who are experimenting with a wide variety of sounds. Some beautiful, some harsh and intense, and most very strange.” According to Bloland, the festival will feature three concerts over the course of the weekend, solely featuring student work. Any student, regardless of major, could submit work for the festival. The type of work accepted was broad, with the biggest requirement being that all music was original. Sophomore Robb Enzmann said he jumped at the opportunity to share some of his work. “I was meeting with Per before classes started and we got talking about the festival,” Enzmann,

know who they are and what they stand for. It might not be a dramatic masterpiece, but Lawless keeps you on the edge of your seat. Where the wheels start to come off is around the movie’s halfway mark. Director John Hillcoat tries to force love stories into the film, as Forrest slowly falls for the exdancer Maggie (Jessica Chastain) and Jack courts preacher’s daughter Bertha (Mia Wasikowska). Not only do the lighthearted and

For The Miami Student

The characters aren’t deep, but you know who they are and what they stand for. It might not be a dramatic masterpiece, but Lawless keeps you on the edge of your seat.”

DAMIEN WATSON THE MIAMI STUDENT

Students’ work from the Ungers Archiv für Architekturwissenschaft is displayed in the gallery. Photos of the cultural experience frame the exhibit. through Thursday working on their design projects from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., which is a standard German workday. The students spent the weekends traveling throughout Europe visiting buildings and museums of other countries. Once the program ended, the students spent another week traveling through Europe together. Pictures of their travels line the walls above and below the project layouts in the Cage Gallery, showing both the academic and cultural side to the program. According to junior architecture major Susie Sabaitis, traveling around Europe and being able to design in Germany were the best parts of the program. “It was interesting to see the urban fabric of Cologne and how European design was so different,” Sabaitis said. “You don’t just put it on a plot of land and leave it, you have to think of how the community is affected by it.” For Fischer, this urban design project was very different from

Student pieces headline academic music festival

By Billy Rafael

By Joe Gieringer

There was a lot of buzz surrounding the Prohibition-era action flick – perhaps unfairly so – and Lawless suffered because of it. With an all-star cast consisting of Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Guy Pearce this gritty action flick had a lot going for it, but lack of direction kept Lawless from being a great film.

By Jessica DeWulf Miami University’s Cage Gallery, located in Alumni Hall, is currently displaying the work of five Miami students from its summer design workshop in Cologne, Germany. This past summer Miami architecture professor Gerardo BrownManrique took four undergraduate students and one graduate student to Cologne for a fiveweek workshop to study the work of O.M. Ungers at the Ungers Archiv für Architekturwissenschaft. According to Brown-Manrique, the students spent the five weeks based out of Ungers’ archives, which are located in his old home in Cologne. Brown-Manrique had Ungers, who passed away in 2007, as a professor in graduate school at Cornell University and has been close with his family ever since. For his faculty leave three years ago Brown-Manrique spent the semester in Germany with Ungers’ family and explored the idea of bringing students to Ungers’ archives for a summer design workshop. Ungers had a very rich collection of architecture texts, which Brown-Manrique believes was a great resource for the students to understand Ungers’ work. “Ungers collected everything that had to do with architecture,” Brown-Manrique said. “He was deeply educated in the theory of architecture and wanted to be surrounded by that stuff.” Senior Matt Fischer, an architecture major who participated in the summer workshop, said that the whole idea of the program was to work with the Mega Form Theory, which entails designing a large building that has multiple uses. The students had to design a structure that would theoretically be placed on a full block just north of downtown Cologne. Throughout the program the students would spend Monday

Lawless starts strong; fails to find its footing

who is also the audio engineer for the Miami University Marching Band, said. “For my submission, I decided to tweak a piece that I had created last year.” Enzmann’s piece, titled “Moby Dicks,” draws inspiration from the book of the same name. He describes it as a prerecorded soundscape project. “It was inspired by different passages of Herman Melville’s book where the sailors are discussing how the white whale might be in multiple parts of the earth at once,” Enzmann said. “I thought to myself, ‘What would that sound like?’ and tried to capture that.” “Moby Dicks” will be performed at one of the three concerts that make up the festival. These concerts will feature some live performances as well as fixed media performances, which are prerecorded pieces played over loud speakers. The venue will feature quadraphonics, with four speakers surrounding the audience. Some of the combinations of instruments that will be presented include piano with electronics, saxophone with electronics and laptop improvisation. Threshold Student Electroacoustic Festival’s three concerts will take place 8 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday. All concerts will take place in Souers Recital Hall located in the Center for Performing Arts and are free and open to the public.

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the projects he is used to completing at Miami. “Ungers was a proponent of ‘function follows form’, so we had to create a space that could be used for multiple tasks or occasions,” said Fischer. “It was a very challenging project.” Brown-Manrique agreed that a major part of doing a mega form project is thinking of the long-term affects. “It’s not about what the building does now, but how it fits into the city,” Brown-Manrique said. The students’ completed projects are on display until Sept. 21 in the Cage Gallery, which is free and open to the public weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. “People coming into the gallery will get to see different views and designs that go on in places other than Ohio,” Sabaitis said. Brown-Manrique said he hopes to continue the workshop in Cologne for five years and expand to include students from other universities.

As the movie opens, we’re introduced to the Bondurant brothers – Forrest (Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (LaBeouf), successful moonshiners in Franklin County, Va., who operate with the help of their friend Cricket (Dane Dehaan, of Chronicle fame). Shortly after witnessing mobster Floyd Banner (Oldman) eliminates a business competitor, the Bondurants are visited by vicious Special Detective Charlie Rakes (Pearce), who tries to strongarm his way into taking a cut of their profit. The first thing that strikes me about Lawless is its down-and-dirty style of storytelling. In the first half of the movie we witness brutal beat downs involving brass knuckles, Tommy gun shootouts and some intense, unnerving knife work. The characters aren’t deep, but you

often humorous moments between these lovers feel forced, but they also confuse the tone for the entire movie. After leaving the theater I couldn’t decide what the movie wanted to be about. Had Lawless been a little more decided on its approach, it might have achieved some of the lofty goals critics had set for it. By the end of the film, it was evident that the cast had been well selected and they proved it through some solid performances. Pearce is chillingly believable as Rakes, and his ruthless tactics help push the plot forward in a positive way. It’s not enough, however, as unsure direction and the aforementioned love stories confuse the story, as well as the people watching it in the theater. Lawless is worth a watch, but not until it’s out on DVD.

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Brick Street starts fall lineup with Savoy By Claire Krieger Senior Staff Writer

Oxford’s electronica-loving population united Thursday at Brick Street Bar & Grill. Brick Street recently turned Thursdays into EDM (electronic dance m sic) night and last week attendees enjoyed live music of the same genre from international act Savoy. Glow-sticks and neon apparel of all kinds were the evening’s dress code while the group aided Brick Street in kicking off its music-filled semester. The evening began with a set from DJ Adam Stephens. While one could describe him as a guy on a stage with a laptop, his enthusiastic stage presence and movementinducing music helped to garner the attention of the crowd. Stephens mixed old classics like Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion,” new hits like “Summer’s Gone” by Pretty Lights, and in-between favorites like Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy.”. After Stephens’ performance, Savoy took the stage. Its set was filled with heart-pounding bass and captivating light displays with sparing touches of dubstep. The presence of a live drummer added an extra element to the show, which was topped off by the group’s members dancing and singing along to the music. A few of the songs featured in Savoy’s set were Dev’s “Dancing In the Dark,” “C.T.F.O.” by SebastiAn and “L’amour” by Bingo Players. The crowd decided to include The White Stripe’s “Seven Nation Army” in the set by chanting it while waiting for Savoy to take the stage for an encore of a few songs.

Savoy has deep roots in the music industry. The Norwegian trio includes member Paul Waaktaar-Savoy previously a member of the band A-ha (most well known for their 80s hit “Take On Me”). A lot has changed since the 80s, however. Savoy has a modern sound that is well suited to satisfy fans of the rapidly expanding genre. The show exceeded spectators’ high expectations. “Adam Stephens gave one of the sickest acts I’ve ever seen,” Tyler Schaller, a recent Miami University graduate, said. “I didn’t think it could get any better until Savoy came out.” Savoy is just one of many acts that is billed to play Brick Street

this semester. Among the groups set to play at the bar this year are Lee Brice, Thompson Square, Thomas Rhett and Hoodie Allen. Some Brick Street veterans will appear as openers this year as well, including Chancie Neal and Clayton Anderson. “We get some pretty good artists in. It’s pretty diverse from country to rock to electronica,” senior Cody Fehrman, a Brick Street employee, said. “Not only are the opening acts good but the main acts put on a great show as well.” Concert details and ticket information, along with a schedule of Brick Street’s weekly events can be found at www.brickstreetbar.com/.

VALERIE WESTIN THE MIAMI STUDENT

Savoy thrills the hyper crowd Thursday at Brick Street. While the concert wasn’t packed, fans didn’t fail to bring energy.

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OPINION

Editors RACHEL SACKS SARAH SHEW

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

editorial@miamistudent.net

LETTER TO the editor

Romney is not the answer to the problems facing America

PATRICK GEYSER THE MIAMI STUDENT

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

Students who smoke should abide by Miami University policy, respect peers on campus Every September, Miami University turns into a fall wonderland with vibrant leaves and crisp fresh air. That is, until the air is marred by a cloud of cigarette smoke. Even with the obvious health risks and a campus-wide ban, many students in the Miami community still smoke cigarettes. The editorial board of The Miami Student feels that although students may make their own decisions regarding smoking, they should do so in ways that are respectful to others. Smoking is prohibited on campus; students should respect this policy the same way that they should respect university policies regarding alcohol. While we understand that some students wish to take a study break by stepping out for a cigarette, smoking outside of hightraffic buildings like the Shriver Center and King Library is rude and inconsiderate of fellow Miami students. The decision to smoke affects not only the smoker but also

those who must walk through or around second hand smoke. Students know the effects of smoking on their bodies, and we respect that they have the right to decide to smoke cigarettes. We understand that smoking is a social action and that cigarettes can serve as a social currency. We do not wish to paint smokers as ignorant; we all know that smoking is horrible for our health. We simply wish to remind students that the act of smoking on campus is not only banned but also disrespectful to the rest of the student body who chooses not to smoke. Many students view it as a temporary habit, as with many other things we do in these four years. Smoking seems be justified by our “young and invincible” attitude; many students seem to believe that they can smoke for now and quit when they have to graduate and join the real world, even though smoking can be a highly addictive habit. Miami’s policies regarding this behavior are clear, though not

well monitored. Much of the enforcement efforts fall to students, who are supposed to ask a smoker on campus property to put out their cigarette. But we know that many students would not feel comfortable confronting another student about their smoking for many reasons, including the fact that they feel it might not do any good. The university’s enforcement policy is ineffective, and seems like a way for the university to cast responsibility onto the students. We believe that smoking on campus should receive a ticket, much like parking illegally on campus. Dealing with a behavior that affects student health on a daily basis should be important to Miami’s policy enforcement team. Though students have the right to smoke, they do not have this right on campus property, and should face consequences for breaking the rules. When we first came to Miami we all heard about Miami’s beautiful smoke-free campus. Lets actually make it smoke-free.

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Mitt Romney said that if President Barack Obama is re-elected to the presidency then we will have four more years of the last four years. We believe that if Romney is elected, we will have four more years of the eight years before President Obama was elected in 2008. Does anyone who isn’t wealthy want George Bush’s Republican regime again? Remember those years? Two wars, thousands of American deaths, economic collapse because of deregulation of banks, tax cuts for people who do not need them, increasing difficulty for students seeking higher education. Under President Obama’s administration, the United States has added jobs for the last 29 months. It’s not enough jobs, for sure, but it’s far better than losing jobs, which is what happened during the last Republican administration. And there is this: a year ago President Obama sent a jobs bill

(The American Jobs Act) to Congress. This bill would employ a million jobless Americans. The Republican controlled Congress has not passed that bill nor has it sent an alternative job bill to the White House. Of course, to create such a bill, Congress would have had to compromise—Republicans, Democrats and Independents working together to create something for the good of our country. The Republican controlled congress, however, is not interested in the good of country. It is interested in booting President Obama out of office. Some might say, “That’s politics.” We say, “No, that’s irresponsible. That’s insensitive to Americans’ suffering. That’s unpatriotic.” We also say, “Re-elect President Obama.”

Tom and Kathy Romano

romanots@muohio.edu

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Rule of Thumb Study Abroad Week Get informed and get going!

Bomb threats Four colleges across the U.S. experienced bomb threats over the weekend.

Bus schedules We are happy the schedules are online but they should have been there at the beginning of the year.

TEDx event Friday’s event focused on collaboration between education and finance.

Rude behavior Uptown Get your act together and remember some manners.

EDITORIAL BOARD lauren ceronie Editor in Chief

olivia hnat COMMUNITY Editor

sarah sidlow News Editor

hannah stein COMMUNITY Editor

sarah shew Editorial Editor

allison mcgillivray Campus Editor

rachel sacks Editorial Editor

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Listservs All letters must be signed in order to be printed. Please send letters via e-mail to: editorial@miamistudent.net We reserve the right to edit for length, content and clarity.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 OP ED

ESSAY gregory dick

dickgr@muohio.edu

It’s time for America to get off the sidelines: something must happen in Syria “Where does America stand?” This was the question former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice posed to the nation as she stood before the delegates of the Republican National Convention. At a time when European nations struggle to stave off economic depressions and much of the Middle East is engulfed in turmoil, this is a question the American people deserve to have answered. Unfortunately, Americans should not be proud of the answer. For the answer to this question is that America stands on the sidelines. Yes, as State Department envoys come under attack and embassies burn, a bloody civil war in Syria drags on and Iran moves ever closer to possessing nuclear capabilities, America stands on the sidelines. After 10 plus years of fighting two wars, it should come as no surprise that we as a nation are hesitant to get involved in other nation’s internal affairs. Nonetheless, when a pre-meditated attack results in the death of US Ambassadors, like the one that ended the life of J. Christopher Stevens, our nation must do more. Doing more doesn’t mean bringing in the full force of the US military to stabilize the region. More means vocally supporting

the newly installed democratic governments that came out of Arab Spring. In the wake of last week’s tragedies, which highlight the religioussecular tension in the Middle East, it’s clear now is the time for America to get off the sidelines and vocalize our support of the fledgling

Its civil war in its eighteenth month now has left 25,000 Syrians dead and another 250,000 Syrians displaced as refugees, as Syrian President Bashar al’ Assad clings to power. Begging the question, if not now, when? Well, according to the Obama Administration’s self- professed red line, intervention in this conflict will

The United States can and should ensure that this is a fair fight between the two sides, giving democracy a chance to thrive there before it is squashed by oppression. As it stands now, this conflict is certainly far from being a fair fight.” democracies in the region. Support of these newly installed democratic governments shows that the United States stands for freedom and fairness and is willing to stand with those who chose to do the same. And Syria is the place where that support must start. Syria—a nation that has been in a state of chaos since its civil war broke out in the spring of 2011 following the violent suppression of protestors demanding the end of the Ba’ath Party—is a nation in need of international and American support.

not happen unless the Syrian government uses chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction on its own people. While it is important to note that the president has taken a stand and vocalized his own assessment of the issue, it is also important to note that his stance signals to the Syrian government that everything short of using weapons of mass destruction on its own people is acceptable. This is why several weeks ago in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, the Syrian army rounded up and

executed over 600 civilians. These civilians were not executed because they were engaging directly in the fight against the Syrian government, but rather because they were believed to be aiding the rebels. These 600 innocent men, women, and children are the reason why the United States and the international community have a moral obligation to get involved. Still, the United States sits idly by because Russia and China have blocked resolutions proposed by the United Nations Security Council. And while it would be nice to have the support of these two power players in the international community, the United States, the most important power player, can always act unilaterally. If the United Nations chooses not to protect the interests of the Syrian people and help foster the spread of democracy, then that duty falls squarely on the shoulders of the United States. The United States can and should ensure that this is a fair fight between the two sides, giving democracy a chance to thrive there before it is squashed by oppression. As it stands now, this conflict is certainly far from being a fair fight. The Free Syrian Army (the rebels),

ESSAY

hailey gilman

jessica ball

gilmanhe@muohio.edu

using homemade weapons, is up against a modern army with a wide variety of weapons and technology at its disposal. If this is however to be a fair fight—where innocent civilians aren’t subject to massacres and where the rebels have a chance to win—the Syrian Air Force must be neutralized and safe zones for the hundreds of thousands of refugees must be established. This means enforcing a no fly zone, as French President Francois Hollande proposed, and establishing safe zones in rebel-held towns so that the some 4,000 new refugees a day do not become victims of government massacres should they be denied refuge in neighboring nations. This also means stopping the Iranians from trafficking weapons into Syria over Iraqi airspace. Because when one side has a fullfledged army with modern military technology and additional military support of another fully industrialized nation, the result is anything but a fair fight for the rebels demanding democracy. So as the Middle East struggles to decide which path it will take—freedom and democracy or oppression and violence—the United States cannot falter. No more standing on the sidelines. It’s time to lead.

balljl3@muohio.edu

Soda should not be an issue for New York New York City’s politicians have a shameful history of interfering with their residents’ beverage choices. When Theodore Roosevelt first accepted his position as police commissioner in 1895, he made it his mission to keep alcohol out of the hands of thirsty New Yorkers on Sundays, a day he believed called for a very sober rest. Of course, the sheer size of New York and the lack of an honest police force kept Roosevelt from accomplishing his wishful Sunday prohibition. Yet today, with New York City’s teeming population pushing over 8 million, Mayor Michael Bloomberg aims to pass a ban on sugary drinks over 16 ounces, legislation that seems nearly impossible as well as highly unethical. Initially Bloomberg’s plan was to place a tax on unhealthy, overtly sugary drinks, but both state and federal authorities shot down this plan, a tad too reminiscent of King George III. Bloomberg next attempted to outlaw these beverages from food stamp redemptions, a tactic met with similar negative reception. Now, he’s hoping his third time will be the charm, as he pushes forward with what is now deemed the “soda ban”. In its entirety, the soda ban will outlaw the sale of sodas and sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces in any location regulated by the city’s health department. Therefore, all restaurants, movie theatres, concession stands, street carts, delis and fast food chains will now be subject to this rule, while grocery stores, newsstands, vending machines and convenience stores face no changes. Diet drinks, fruit juices and alcohol are excluded from the mix, as well as 50 percent, milk-based beverages, allowing

Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts to continue distributing Frappucinos and Coolattas, no matter the amount of sugary syrup sloshing around inside. Mayor Bloomberg stands behind the ban. “All we’re doing here is educating,” Bloomberg said to the New York Times, “It forces you to see the difference.” Indeed, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reports that 22 percent of adult New Yorkers are obese, and although sugary drinks are not the sole cause of the overweight population, drinking multiple sodas every day can add up to several extra pounds. Now, the weight-loss industry is racing to Bloomberg’s side and last week, David Burwick, President of the North American Weight Watchers program, stood beside the mayor, singing his praises. “There’s been a lot of handwringing about obesity but very little action,” Burwick said to reporters. Hey, I understand. The United States is gaining weight, quickly. We need to find a way to get through to Americans. The wideeyed middle school health teacher screening Super Size Me in her classes simply isn’t imprinting the “diet and exercise” message on adolescents’ minds. However, moving the theoretical soda “cookie jar” to a higher shelf only serves to reinforce our desire for more. After all, isn’t something even more desirable when we’re told it’s unattainable? I give Bloomberg credit, though. If his plan is passed, we may be shocked into submission when we’re forced to reexamine our portion sizes. Or maybe we’ll simply be so frustrated with this infantile treatment that we’ll buy multiple sugary drinks, a practice

that the soda ban can’t prevent. Truth be told, even a ban won’t keep soda lovers from their drink of choice. Two 16-ounce cups of Coca-Cola are only slightly more inconvenient to carry away from a McDonald’s counter than one 32-ounce cup. Plus, consumers have retailers and soda companies on their side. Food vendors can easily advertise two-for-one deals on sugary drinks and achieve the same ultimate effect as selling one giant soda. What frightens me most, however, are the implications of this potential ban. If the government can regulate my soda serving size, what other food groups and dining aspects will their legislation infiltrate? If we can implicate soda as an obesity cause, we must likewise shut down fast food chains, remove burgers from restaurant menus, empty grocery store ice cream coolers and douse all potato chips in gasoline. Though Mayor Bloomberg has good intentions, in this country we are given the freedom to eat as we choose, and quite frankly if we wish to drink soda upon soda until we die, we have that privilege. Well, we had that privilege. There is certainly merit to Bloomberg’s cause and I wholeheartedly concur that soda is a major cause of weight gain, but I simply can’t justify taking legal measures to control the population’s portion size. If the measure passes the Board of Health, a likely endeavor considering Bloomberg personally appointed all members, the implications could be large concerning our choices in commercial eateries. And if said measure does pass, it will be interesting to see whether New Yorkers show any signs of becoming healthier. Hey, maybe they’ll burn a few calories walking to the counter to get a refill.

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Miami needs to offer more options to curb drinking culture Miami University’s rise in status as the ninth largest party school in the nation answered by a recent consolidation of Miami University and Oxford Police Departments are signs of a struggle to break down Miami’s long-entrenched culture of drinking. But are these efforts really helping the matter? Underage drinking can be taking place anywhere on any given day – in residence halls, in off-campus houses, in apartments, in bars and restaurants, at football games. The list goes on and on, but so do the endless efforts to stop the inevitability of underage drinking. Can an increase in police enforcement really end this deeply ingrained culture of drinking? I believe it can only change the way people drink; students will simply turn to drinking in their dorm rooms or in their friends’ homes instead of in the bars. The only way underage drinking can be slowed, before our no. 9 position as party school in the nation gets any higher, is by presenting true alternatives to students who are just looking to have a good time. If students don’t go out to parties, what else would they do? Besides the ‘After Dark’ program, on-campus options for late-night weekend activities are few and far between. The ‘After Dark’ program was created to provide wholesome student entertainment on-campus, featuring games and movies. According to The Miami Report, the program uses $150,000 a year to try and accommodate students with wholesome activities. However, these events come and go and do not take place in a location that is separate from administrative areas, an escape from academic life; it takes place within the Shriver Center. Another potential place to provide alternative entertainment is the Goggin Ice Center. But according to Miami University’s web page for the Goggin Ice Center, the latest free skate session provided ends at 11 p.m., more than enough time to allow late skaters to still make their way up to the bars. On top of that, the Shriver Center’s Haines Food Court now closes at 10 p.m., taking away another hangout spot for students on-campus. In my opinion, there is no coincidence that a university surrounded by farmland for at least 10 miles has such a drinking problem. Miami’s culture is often referred to as being

a ‘bubble’ with low diversity, and a prominent ‘preppy,’ Greek culture. The culture is naturally reinforced, reproduced through the years without any external influence. There is no way to escape to metropolitan destinations, no major parks or nearby places to sightsee. All there is to offer is High Street. So this makes it crucial that High Street (if not the university programs themselves) offers a wide variety of options unless you count the variety of restaurants. Where are the uptown bowling alleys, the late-night ice cream shops, the parks? What is provided on weekend nights are bars and restaurants open late for drunken stragglers. In my eyes, no wonder there is such a drinking problem at our university. The effort and resources used to enforce the drinking policy offand on-campus can be better used towards creating true alternatives to drinking. ‘Going out’ is a way for students to relieve the stresses of their academic week, to meet new people and expand their social circle. And it’s no coincidence that going out would involve drinking. Just look at our campus and uptown. What you can find on High Street are shops, restaurants, coffee shops, and frozen yogurt places, which mostly close at 10 p.m. None of these options can be argued as providing a true distraction to drinking. The only places that are open late are bars and restaurants. The city and university can work harder towards attracting businesses that cater to student entertainment. The small movie theatre on campus only shows three movies at once and is in poor condition. Most students avoid it. Using law enforcement to crack down on the issue of underage and excessive drinking only attacks the symptoms of a larger problem. In no way can this be a long-term, effective solution in ending underage drinking. A new culture, away from the mainstream partying one, must take a stronger hold. The small minority of students taking advantage of other activities such as ‘After Dark’ programs needs to grow, and more importantly, the ‘partiers’ need to see these options as a true alternative that does not involve too much sacrifice in the name of fun.

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

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