December 9, 2011 | The Miami Student

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

VOLUME 139 NO. 29

friday, December 9, 2011

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 1990, The Miami Student reported that a visiting professor in the Educational Leadership department was under investigation by the FBI.

The professor had previously been president at Southern State Community College. The FBI was looking into allegations of improper financial practices at Southern State.

Alum to puzzle the nation By Adam Giffi

Senior Staff Writer

Across: The name of the Miami University alum who has written a crossword puzzle that will appear in The New York Times. The answer: 23-year-old Andrew Reynolds, whose long time hobby has landed him as a first-time author of one of the nation’s most prestigious puzzle pages. Reynolds, who graduated from Miami with a chemical engineering degree in 2010, wrote crosswords for The Miami Student during his time here. The New York Times famously accepts submissions for its crossword puzzles and Reynolds said that this was his seventh attempt. He explained his excitement when he was notified his puzzle had been chosen. “I was pretty excited,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t have my hopes up, as I thought my first six tries were pretty good, and so I was caught off guard. I called everyone.” He started writing puzzles in high school for fun after being inspired by his father’s and grandmother’s interest in crossword puzzles. Today,

Reynolds is a graduate student in urban planning at the University of Cincinnati. He once again writes crosswords merely as a hobby; though he has made pitches to UC’s student paper to run his puzzles, they have so far shown less interest in his talents than The New York Times and The Miami Student. Nevertheless, his hobby has paid dividends: a $200 prize. Inspired by his love for crosswords, and a little by the reward, he will continue to submit puzzles. “There is a website that keeps track of the puzzles and the authors. About half the list are one time authors who probably reached their goal and don’t feel like doing it anymore,” Reynolds said. “I’m not done. I’ve already submitted two since.” Reynolds said it usually takes three to four months to hear back. When he sent this puzzle in, in March 2010, he soon got antsy, as he felt the puzzle had great potential. Reynolds emailed the editor of the crossword section, who replied saying that, while he liked the puzzle, there were a few issues and it had been rejected. Reynolds

ASG wants mid-term grades for all students By Matt Levy

Senior Staff Writer

CONTRIBUTED BY ANDREW REYNOLDS

Andrew Reynolds, a 2010 alumnus and former crossword maker for The Miami Student will have one of his crosswords featured in The New York Times. fixed these problems, resubmitted it and was notified his puzzle had been chosen. This experience taught Reynolds a valuable lesson. “The sky’s the limit. The biggest lesson I can pass on is that you shouldn’t be afraid or hesitant of contacting anyone,” Reynolds said. “I learned to not be intimidated to contact someone I think is unreachable, because you never know what will happen. I will remember this in future job searches.” Reynolds revealed that the theme of the puzzle is

Led Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” He admits that he is not the world’s biggest Zepplin fan. Rather, he chose this subject because he learned to be on the look-out for topics that could make for relevant and intriguing crosswords and this year marks the 40th anniversary of the song. When asked if he could give any additional insights, such as an early answer, or at least a clue, Reynolds coyly gave a two-letter word for rejection: “No.”

With only one week separating students from their coveted winter break, members of Miami University’s Associated Student Government (ASG) met one last time in 2011 to finish remaining business from this semester and begin preparations for the coming term. As a result of the meeting, students may soon be able to view their midterm grades regardless of class standing, and student organizations may find ASG’s funding rules clearer. Off-campus senators Ari Frum, Lizzie Litzow and Peter Dougherty presented a bill supporting midterm grade reports for all Miami students. According to Frum, the current midterm grade report policy only applies to firstyear students, meaning there is no requirement for students to be able to view midterm grades if they are not first-year students. “With this bill you can see where you stand in the middle of the semester and make a decision how to act from

there,” Frum said. “There is some incentive for professors to do this. If students see their midterm grades and see they have an F, they’ll most likely withdraw or improve their performance, so the class average grade will go up.” According to Dougherty, many upperclassmen enrolled in Miami Plan classes are able to view their midterm grades in those courses because of the mixed nature of their class compositions. However, while many Miami Plan course professors calculate midterm grades for entire sections, doing so is solely at their discretion. “There’s no way we can force professors to put every single grade up and know what your grade is at any given moment, but we can recommend professors do this because it’s much better for both students and professors,” Dougherty said. According to Dougherty, implementation would be left to individual academic departments.

ASG, SEE PAGE 15

Miami names Phyllis Wednesday proves problematic for pedestrians Callahan CAS Dean By sam kay

editor in chief

Usually a promotion means a longer title. For Phyllis Callahan, Interim

CALLAHAN

Dean of the College of Arts and Science (CAS), it is quite the opposite. Tuesday afternoon, Provost Bobby Gempesaw announced Miami University named Callahan Dean of CAS, effective Jan. 1, 2012. Gempesaw said Callahan’s experience in the position and at Miami made her a very attractive candidate. “Dean Callahan has a very thorough knowledge of the College, understands the diversity of its programs and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration,” Gempesaw said via email. “Her proven success as a leader along with a deep commitment to Miami University made her a clear choice to lead the College to continued success.” Callahan served as Associated Dean from 2006-2008, Senior Associate Dean since 2008, and is a member of the zoology faculty. Callahan said her goals for CAS include strengthening liberal education and

amending the Miami Plan. “My goals for the college are really the college’s goals for itself,” Callahan said. “Being very strong in liberal education, continuing to offer great breadth and depth of course offerings … offer students engaging curriculum, opportunities for research and interaction with faculty.” Callahan said she would like to see CAS requirements and the Miami Plan better aligned. “We’re sort of the core of liberal education at Miami, I think the other divisions appreciate the contributions we make to the curriculum,” Callahan said. “I would like to see our divisional and university requirements aligned … I think CAS is absolutely central to the revision of the Miami Plan.” Gempesaw said maintaining high quality education even as class sizes rise is also important. “In the face of financial challenges, it is important for us to find a balance … I believe the Top 25 approach is an effective strategy to engage our students in the learning process,” Gempesaw said via email. Callahan said adjustments to class size are being made “very carefully, and on a departmental basis.” Growth also has a role to play in getting through tough times, according to Callahan. “We’re looking at growth, too. There are faculty that are developing and proposing programs that will have the ability to attract new students,” Callahan said. “That helps us address financial issues as well.”

JEFF SALOMON THE MIAMI STUDENT

A medical evacuation helicopter prepares to transport Miami University first-year Xueyan Mi after she was hit by a vehicle near Western Drive Wednesday afternoon. Mi was one of three pedestrians involved in accidents Wednesday.

By Bethany Bruner News Editor

Wednesday made for a busy day for local law enforcement officials, as both the Oxford Police Department and the Miami University Police Department responded to three separate accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians. The first accident occurred on campus near Hepburn and McFarland Halls around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday morning. MUPD Lt. Ben Spilman said the incident involved a bicyclist, classified as a pedestrian by the department, and a vehicle. Spilman said both parties involved were students. Spilman said reports indicate that the bicyclist may have been on the sidewalk and then entered the roadway, but said the accident is

still under investigation and could not speculate if anyone was at fault. The bicyclist was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. Around 3:45 p.m., Oxford Police responded to a second accident near the intersection of U.S. Route 27 and Western Drive. The victim in that accident, 18-year-old Miami University first-year Xueyan Mi, was struck by a pickup truck while crossing the street in the crosswalk. Mi sustained serious injuries and was transported by medical helicopter to University Hospital in Cincinnati. OPD Sgt. John Jones said on the scene that Mi was conscious at the time of her transport. OPD Sgt. Jon Varley said as of Thursday afternoon, Mi was listed in stable condition at University Hospital.

The driver of the pick-up truck, 26-year-old Bernell Rumpke of Camden, was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian. Since March, at least three accidents have occurred at the intersection of Western Drive and U.S. Route 27. This intersection in particular is of concern to Varley and the OPD. “We’re trying to think of what we can do about it,” Varley said. “It’s hard because you have three lanes of traffic going essentially different directions. It can make it dangerous to cross because it can be hard to see [pedestrians], even if they are in the crosswalk. It can be especially hard when it’s dark or there’s bad weather.” Varley said the issue may be brought up at a future City Council meeting. Around 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, a third accident involving a vehicle and pedestrian occurred at the intersection of West Chestnut and South Locust Streets. The driver, 29-year-old Alexandra Dee Vaneeghen-Weikel of Oxford, turned from South Locust onto West Chestnut and did not see the pedestrian. Weikel was cited for a traffic control violation. The victim in that crash declined medical treatment on the scene, according to Varley. Varley said local officials are concerned about the amount of accidents involving pedestrians and vehicles in recent weeks. Wednesday is the fourth time in two weeks that a pedestrian has been struck in Oxford. On Nov. 26, 75-yearold Betty Ann Fryman was struck and killed while crossing College Corner Pike.


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