The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826
VOLUME 140 NO. 19 TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY
FRIday, OCTOBER 26, 2012
In 1950 The Miami Student reported the beginning of an on-campus campaign, the ‘Ugliest Man on Campus contest.’ The contest was sponsored by Alpha Phi Omega, the national service fraternity, and was open to one male representative from every organization or residence hall on campus.
Miami works to move forward after rape flier BY Lauren Ceronie Editor in Chief
Miami University, long known as a “Culture of Champions,” is striving to be known for a “Culture of Mutual Respect” as well. This comes after a student or students posted an offensive flier titled “Top 10 Ways to Get Away With Rape” in a men’s bathroom of McBride Hall two weeks ago. The university announced in a letter sent out to parents Monday that it is investigating the student(s) believed to be responsible for the flier. According to Claire Wagner, associate director of university communications, the investigation is not complete so no students have received disciplinary action. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents the university from releasing more details, Wagner said. Miami University President David Hodge sent an email to the student body Wednesday, assuring recipients that those responsible for the flier would be held accountable. “Such a reprehensible act is the antithesis of Miami values,” Hodge
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
said in the email. “Whenever we face such an incident, however, it can serve as a catalyst to deepen understanding and create an environment that is safer and more welcoming for everyone.” Initially, Miami received criticism for not responding to the flier in a timely way. Members of Women Against Sexual Assault and Violence (WAVES) were the most vocal in asking the administration to alert students to the flier and to find ways to prevent and incident like that from occurring again. Members also noted that Miami’s Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator Position had been vacant for nearly a year. In the email, Hodge announced Miami would fill a full-time position that includes the vacant Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator position. The position was previously part-time. Barbara Jones, vice president of student affairs, attended a weekly WAVES meeting Tuesday, Oct. 16 to address these concerns. At the
FORWARD, SEE PAGE 5
Brotherhood urges respect on and off ice
TAKEN FROM THE ‘YOU CAN PLAY’ VIDEO
Miami hockey players Jay Williams, Ryan McKay,Taylor Richart and Austin Czarnik participated in a recent video supporting the You Can Play Project.
By Melissa Girgis
For The Miami Student
Over the past year and a half, through hours of practice and travel for games, the Miami University men’s hockey team has stood united behind more than just their love for the game. The team has been spreading the message that athletes should be judged by how well they play their sport, rather than irrelevant factors such as race or sexual orientation. Oct. 15, the You Can Play campaign, a project supporting respect and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes,
released a video featuring Miami hockey players as they talked about openly gay student manager, Brendan Burke, who was killed in a car accident in 2010. According to Senior Curtis McKenzie, Burke’s death spurred the inception of the You Can Play campaign by Brendan’s father Brian Burke and brother Patrick Burke. The video is a tribute to the legacy Burke left on the team and its message is very simple: “If you can play, then you can play.” Head Coach Rico Blasi said Burke’s attitude was one to admire. “One of the things Brendan always talked about was that it doesn’t
matter if you’re gay, or black, or green; if you can do a certain job it shouldn’t matter.” Blasi said. “He was genuine, compassionate and just himself. He didn’t try to hide anything or be somebody that he wasn’t. Just that alone is a great message for everybody.” Blasi said that although the You Can Play campaign got its start in hockey, due to the Burke family’s strong ties to the sport, the message is directed at athletic teams of all types, and further—at society. “We’re all in this together – who
PLAY,
SEE PAGE 5
Construction surrounding King Café to continue through March 2013
LISA GEHRING THE MIAMI STUDENT
A sign above King Library reminds students that the building is open despite the construction surrounding King Café.
By Emily Crane Staff Writer
Tuesday, faculty, staff and students gathered on the sidewalk across from the Shriver Center to see the final beam hoisted into place atop the new Armstrong Student Center. The crowd cheered in celebration at seeing the end of the building stage for this project, but just up the road, the construction raged on. In between McGuffey Hall and King Library, a team has been working since Oct. 3 on the university’s most recent project: the McGuffey Hall to King Library Steam Loop. The purpose of this project, contracted to Progressive
Plumbing for just under $400,000, is to connect existing steam lines between McGuffey and King, according to Project Manager Tammy Archibald. Specifically, these lines will create a closed loop between the
to the buildings as well as hot water. But all junior Colleen Coors sees are more green mesh fences that make it hard for her to get where she needs to go. “It’s kind of annoying,” Coors said. “I have to walk all the
the drive itself has been occasionally closed to traffic. This has been especially frustrating for junior Katie Hagerty. “I never know if the road is going to be open or closed,” Hagerty said. “That’s been the biggest
We have to close off the area for security reasons. We can’t have students falling into our holes and hurting themselves.” Steve martin WORKER AT THE KING CAFE SITE
two buildings so the university can shut down the steam to one building in an emergency without having to shut down all the buildings in the area, according to Archibald. These steam lines provide heat
way around King to get to class instead of just using those stairs, and it makes me late.” Since construction began, the stairs connecting the driveway by King Café to the rest of academic quad have been blocked off and
inconvenience for me.” According to Archibald, the drive was closed for a few days so that they could install some steam pipes under the road, but they have covered the hole with plates so that the drive can remain
open to vehicles from here on out. The only time the drive will be closed in the near future is when they repave it, Archibald said. She expects this will be in a few weeks depending on the weather and should take no more than a day or two. The fences however, will be around until the entire project is completed: sometime in March, said Archibald. For Steve Martin, one of the workers on the site, the fences are absolutely necessary. “We have to close off the area for security reasons,” Martin said. “We can’t have
KING LIBRARY, SEE PAGE 9