The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826
VOLUME 139 NO. 11
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
In 1977, The Miami Student reported that construction on Western Campus would likely alter traffic patterns on Patterson Avenue. One of the worries expressed was that traffic from Route 27 coming into Oxford would create traffic problems at the intersection of Spring Street and Patterson Avenue and the intersection of Patterson Avenue and Chestnut Street. The light at Spring Street could not be changed, but a traffic signal was to be added at the Chestnut Street intersection.
Hodge, Blasi gain following on Twitter By Hannah Stein Senior Staff Writer
How to keep a post under 140 characters or mastering the art of the hashtag are skills President David Hodge and Head Hockey Coach Rico Blasi learnedwhen creating their recent Twitter accounts. Students who follow prominent figures such as Hodge or Blasi may assume that a spokesperson tweeted for them, however, both tweet themselves and try to do so as much as possible. “I was encouraged by some of our folks in communications to do this as a way to share what’s happening with the community,” Hodge said. “I tweet particularly towards students but I also aim to alumni.” Given the amount and variety of activity in the Miami University community, knowing what to tweet can be a challenge, according to Hodge. “I try to choose a mixture of things I think will be interesting,” Hodge said. “I often try to do things where I can do a picture or a URL that people can go to and follow up so there’s more to it than just the tweet.” On top of Facebook, Google+ and other social networking sites, Twitter provides another mode of communication that higher-level officials can use to build relationships with students and the general public. “I hope it adds [to my relationship with students],” Hodge said. “The one concern I have is I can’t possibly answer all the questions that get directed to me and I don’t want to feel bad if I don’t answer a question. But I enjoy the opportunity to share things with the students and community.” Like Hodge, Blasi said he feels having a Twitter is a way to boost his relationship with students and his team. “I just like to be
connected with everybody and the team and see what’s going on,” Blasi said. “I go on there everyday. I think it provides an opportunity to see a different side of everybody.” In his first 24 hours on Twitter, Blasi gained more than 900 followers. Currently, Blasi has 1,372 followers to Hodge’s 913. Students said they appreciate that Hodge and Blasi tweet themselves instead of having a spokesperson handle the accounts. “I think having them directly tweeting, as opposed to someone doing the tweeting for them, makes a big difference on their relationship with students,” sophomore Sam Burgoon said. “It makes what they are saying seem so much more real and personal, rather than their assistant saying something that will make the coach sound good. It creates a closer connection with the students.” Burgoon said having recognizable faces tweet in an already close-knit community sets Miami apart. “It’s probably more common for large schools to have Twitter accounts for the coaches or presidents, but it probably isn’t them directly tweeting,” Burgoon said. “As for somewhat smaller schools like Miami, I don’t think it’s common, especially directly from those people, to have a Twitter. So the fact that Miami does have those accounts makes a difference in campus connectedness.” After his first tweet stating, “Time to see what this twitter thing is all about,” Blasi said he understands the means of communicating with students are changing rapidly, and that he just has to keep up. “This is a new age of technology which everybody’s got to conform [to] and be a part of,” Blasi said. Follow Hodge @ PresHodge and Blasi @CoachBlasi.
Sigma Chi under investigation again Miami University is currently looking into allegations of hazing by the Sigma Chi fraternity. The university received an anonymous tip regarding the alleged incidents. Sigma Chi had been on suspension until Dec. 31, 2010 for damage done to a hotel room in Columbus earlier that year. The fraternity also came
under fire in September 2010 when police were dispatched to their house on Sycamore Street after a member fired a weapon off the house’s balcony. Sigma Chi fraternity was founded at Miami in 1855. The Miami Student will update this story as more information becomes available.
CHRISTINA CASANO THE MIAMI STUDENT
WORLDLY WARBLINGS The Global Rhythms concert sold out Hall Auditorium Friday and Saturday night. The concert, directed by Miami alumnus and visiting faculty member Srinivas Krishnan, featured guest artists from around the world performing alongside students.
Westboro Baptist Church announces plans to picket Ohio State, Miami, local high school By Lauren Ceronie and Amanda Seitz
For The Miami Student
Invited or not, Westboro Baptist Church is proceeding with plans to make an appearance on Miami University’s campus Tuesday, Oct. 25. The plans, however, have changed. WBC will not speak to a Religious “Extremism” class anymore, but instead they hope to picket on the sidewalks of Miami’s campus. WBC listed on its website that its members will picket Miami University, Ohio State University and a local high school Oct. 25. Picketing will take place from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. on Miami’s campus, according to the WBC website. In an interview with The Miami Student last week, WBC spokeswoman Shirley Phelps-Roper said the organization would not go out of their way to picket the university if she were uninvited to speak to a class. Monday, Phelps-Roper told The Miami Student the group would picket at Miami because they had already purchased plane tickets to Ohio before they were uninvited. “We got [plane] tickets, so we’re coming,” PhelpsRoper said from Oklahoma where she was picketing a soldier’s funeral. When the religion
department originally proposed a WBC visit, documents obtained by The Miami Student stated the church had “stipulated that they would not conduct pickets in the vicinity of Miami University or Oxford.” Phelps-Roper said the university had not contacted her or Westboro Baptist Church since The Miami Student reported that they were uninvited. After the comparative religion department announced that it would not proceed with plans to bring Phelps-Roper to the classroom, they scheduled tentative arrangements to have religion professor Hillel Gray speak about his work. It is unclear if the presentation will still occur. Interim Comparative Religion Department Chair Steve Nimis declined to comment. As a public university, Miami cannot stop the picketing from occurring but they can confine the visit to certain areas. “The Westboro Baptist Church has a First Amendment right to demonstrate on the perimeter sidewalks of Miami University,” Miami Director of Communications Claire Wagner said. Wagner and university officials did not have further comment. Finance professor and attorney Wayne Stanton said if WBC’s picketing gets out
of hand, Miami can pull the plug. “People can protest on the public sidewalks but they can’t on private property,” Stanton said, adding that Butler County records list Miami’s board of trustees and president as the property owners. “Miami is a public university and belongs to the state but the property is
what collective community response would be appropriate,” Adams said. Through postings on the group’s website page, students, faculty and alumni have suggested a variety of responses ranging from making donations to groups Westboro targets to having a positive celebration of diversity and life, Adams said.
The Westboro Baptist Church has a First Amendment right to demonstrate on the perimeter sidewalks of Miami University.” CLAIRE WAGNER
MIAMI DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
privately owned. If someone were speaking and the crowd became violent the university would also be able to stop them.” Phelps-Roper said WBC plans to notify local law enforcement of its plans. In response to the WBC’s planned picket a group of students created a Facebook event titled “Stand up to hatred: Counterpicketing the WBC.” Senior Christian Adams, an administrator for the event page, hopes to counter the WBC with a non-violent event. “It’s still in the formative stages, trying to figure out
Adams and the event creator, fellow Miami student Raphael Guenther have also scheduled a brainstorming session to explore options for counter protesting. The session will be held 2 to 4 p.m. Tues., Oct. 4 in the MacMillan Great Room. Adams said he thinks a response from the Miami community to Westboro Baptist Church is necessary. “I firmly believe that approaching hatred with apathy will never resolve those issues,” Adams said. “This is not so much about changing the WBC’s minds, but reaffirming our positive values in the community.”