The Miami Student | April 13, 2021

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

Volume 149 No. 21

Miami university — Oxford, Ohio

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

Amid student protest, Dan Harmon

“I’m tired of being a statistic”: survivors share stories at Take Back the Night protest SEXUAL ASSAULT LEXI WHITEHEAD ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Chants of “Yes means yes, no means no, whatever we wear, wheras just less than 50 people marched in a Take Back the Night protest on Wednesday, April 7.

Take Back the Night is a movement against sexual assault. The protest at Miami University was organized by members of Feminists Working on Revolutionary Democracy (F-WORD) and Sexual Assault Survivor Support (SASS).

Forty-four people met at Armstrong Student Center to march to Uptown Park, where the organizers shared statistics about sexual assault and invited people to share their experiences. tecture major, attended the protest because she felt it was important to listen to survivors’ stories.

“I heard that people were going to be speaking and sharing their stories tonight, and I felt like it mattered so much that I heard their stories, that everyone possible was listening to them and that what they said would

LECTURE SERIES MADELINE PHABY CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR In a Friday, April 9 statement on its Instagram page, Miami University’s Lecture Series announced it canceled its event featuring Dan Harmon scheduled for Monday, April 12, amid controversy due to Harmon’s past sexual misconduct.

The post states the event was canceled due to “an unforeseen con-

People of all genders got up on stage to speak, while attendees sat in the grass to listen and cheer them on in encouragement. Some speakers

SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVOR SUPPORT (SASS) ORGANIZED A PROTEST ADVOCATING FOR THE LECTURE SERIES TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY. PHOTOGRAPHER GRETCHEN BLACKWELL

Miami’s Sexual Assault Survivor Support (SASS) organization condemned the decision to bring Harmon to campus via an Instagram statement because he previously made videos depicting rape and was accused of – and publicly admitted to – sexual harrassment of a former colleague.

“While [Harmon] may hold value as a speaker in his craft, we cannot separate a speaker’s content from the statement reads.

SASS held a protest Monday, April 12, the intended day of Har-

mon’s lecture, which started at the Seal and included a march to Roudebush Hall.

In an interview conducted before the lecture’s cancelation was announced, Josie Carter, president of SASS, said the protest was against

both Harmon’s planned appearance and Miami’s lack of response to sexual assault.

“Even though we’re protesting Dan Harmon being selected by the Lecture Series and them paying

major, also attended the protest and thought hearing everyone’s story was a meaningful experience.

“You realize how many people this

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

parents writing letters to students in isolation idea came from an old event: Free Hugs and Snacks. from all over would send in snacks and gather in front of King Library to greet students with a free snack and a hug. Osha said it was a great way to let students know there were people rooting for their success.

Due to COVID-19, though, the event had to be canceled this spring and last spring. to support students. Both her children got COVID-19, and Osha said she could sense how hard it was on them.

“I was worried about their health, but I was she said. “It’s a scary time, right? And being a college student is tough enough, and then to As a survivor of breast cancer, Osha said she also knows what it’s like to receive an outpouring of love from people who don’t even know you.

“I can’t repay those kinds of favors — the kindness that people just showered on my family over and over again — but I can try to pay

TWO CONCERNED MOTHERS SPEARHEADED AN INITIATIVE TO SEND LETTERS TO STUDENTS IN ISOLATION. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR MAGGIE PEÑA

Though Miami just received 3,500 doses of vantage of the clinics, COVID-19 cases among students have remained relatively steady throughout the semester.

Whether they contracted COVID-19 or were

MAGGIE PEÑA MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

from northeast Ohio, whipped out her blue pen and stationary to write this opening line.

The recipient of the letter?

A student freshly sent to a quarantine location at Miami University.

This Issue

have found themselves trudging across campus to an isolation or quarantine residence hall for a 10- to 14-day stay.

Upon arrival to the quarantine or isolation residence hall, students are met with, among many things, a care package. The bag includes snacks, art materials, a mug, a blanket and a personal touch — a handwritten note from a Miami family member.

The letters come straight from members of the Miami Parents and Family Members page on Facebook, where just less than 12 thousand parents and grandparents congregate to discuss Miami and their students.

Susan Osha, mother to a Miami senior, said the group values one thing above all: their students.

“Our country disagrees on politics and relithe one thing that we all could agree on is that -

page 4

said. “Digital’s great, but you know, if I were stuck alone in a room for a while, I think a handwritten note would bring me some joy. So I just Mark Pontious, director of family and parent programs, said although he’s not surprised

packages and letters for isolated students. The CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY

Mary's Plant Farm remembers founder on 45th anniversary

The two Susans got to work organizing Amazon lists for snacks and asked each family member to commit to writing 10 letters for students. Young, the mother with the blue pen and stationery, ended up writing 120 letters.

Working in communications, Young has had to adapt to the changing world of technology.

But Young said she still appreciates the personalized and physical writing.

“There’s a personal touch to it that I think

OPINION

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‘We all care about our students’: parents writing letters to students in isolation CONTINUED FROM FRONT by the amount of parents that stepped up, it’s a beautiful thing to see how much parents care for their students.

“It was heartwarming to see how fast they stepped up,” Pontious said.

Alexis Bebout, a psychology and sociology double major, was sent to quarantine right before Easter weekend. Bebout lives just less than four hours away, and the holiday would have been the only time to see her family this semester. Though her travel plans were canceled, she said the letter brought up her spirits.

“It was very cute, very sweet,” Bebout said.

“I read it multiple times while I was in quarantine because it was just so nice, and I needed something nice in my life when I was sad.”

The letter from a parent meant a little more to Bebout than it would a typical student.

“Obviously I didn’t know the person — they didn’t give me a name or anything, it

“I read it multiple times while I was in quarantune because it was just so nice, and I needed something nice in my life when I was sad.”

- Alexis Bebout

just said ‘Miami mom’ — but it was still a cute letter, and I liked that it was from a mom, considering I don’t have a mom anymore,” Bebout said.

Bebout’s mom passed away her senior year of high school.

She doesn’t have the motherly support during her college years, but the letter reminded her that parents are out there rooting for her to succeed.

That’s exactly why Young wanted to write the letters. Though her daughter has not been sent to quarantine, Young hopes that everyone can feel a little bit of love from her writing.

“I just hope it gives everybody an opportunity to smile, provides comfort,” Young said, “because I know not everybody’s feeling well and having that personal touch from home — even if it’s not their mom, maybe a mom — is helpful.” penaml@miamioh.edu

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Amid student protest, Dan Harmon CONTINUED FROM FRONT him,” Carter said, “we’re really protesting the rape culture that’s prevalent here, because it’s no secret that Miami has a problem with sexual assault.”

Carter said the student body has largely supported SASS by sharing its posts and reacting favorably to them, but the organization has also faced backlash from some.

“I’ve had one person say to me that if I do this [protest], men won’t want to join SASS,” Carter said. “I’ve also had a few people say, ‘What’s the big deal? He’s a comedian. He’s funny. He’s successful.’ That’s very frustrating because those attitudes contribute to the attitudes we have here about rape.”

Zoe Douglas, president of Miami’s Diversity protest. She said they also intended to highlight the lack of respect shown to student voices by “It’s not necessarily just an issue of student voices in the room, but student voices being respected, valued and being heard, not being taken advantage of, and just the way that’s being navigated at the school right now,” Douglas said. major who attended the protest, said he hoped the protest would encourage members of the Lecture Series Committee to take more responsibility for the incident. “[The committee] is taking the easy way out of owning up to what they said was wrong, because they might be trying to avoid a lawsuit,” Gates said. “I’m not gonna pretend to know why when they knew about a lot of this back in January, but they have the opportunity to say, ‘We’re not going to do this again in the future.’” pre-medical studies double major, also attended the protest and said she hopes Miami will take more concrete steps to prevent sexual assault in the future.

“They really need to prove their dedication to supporting survivors, and they really have not done that at all,” Gruber said. “I would really like to see them actually take steps to doing that.”

Protestors made signs and chanted, “One, six, seven, eight, stop the violence, stop the hate.”

A few protestors also shared their feelings in front of the group.

“Miami – it is not hard to not hire predators,” one protestor said. “We as students are here to tell you to do better. This is not something new that we have to hold you accountable for, this is something that we shouldn’t have to hold you accountable for.”

Lauren Doepke, another member of SASS, said she was happy the lecture was canceled, but that one cancelation would not solve the deeper issues on Miami’s campus.

“While we are happy that Dan Harmon will no longer be speaking, there is a bigger issue to

address here,” Doepke wrote in an email to The Lecture Series Committee has hired a speaker who has torn down identities through past actions or harmful ideologies. SASS supports and believes in diversity of thought, but not when it comes at the cost of any individual’s personal safety or mental health.”

Douglas, a former member of the Lecture Seobjected to Harmon being invited to campus.

She said she was met with hostility from several members of the committee when she raised concerns about Harmon’s past actions while the committee was discussing him as a potential lecturer.

“When I brought [my concerns] to the committee, nobody wanted to talk about it,” Douglas said. “They said, ‘That was a long time ago; adults.”

Douglas said many members of the committee continued to defend Harmon’s actions, and all of the members except her and one other student were in favor of bringing him to campus.

“They could have chosen anyone – there isn’t much guiding the Lecture Series, and they have a big enough budget that they could have gotten someone else,” Douglas said. “But they kept saying, ‘No, we don’t have time; we don’t have to talk

lecture series committee, was supposed to moderate Harmon’s lecture. He said the committee had a series of thoughtful discussions about the decision to bring Harmon to campus.

“We took a vote [on whether to bring Harmon to campus] – it was contentious,” Tchernev said.

“We debated it for about two hours. Some people were not comfortable with it; some people felt like he still had a right to talk.”

Though Tchernev said he had no issues with the students protesting Harmon’s lecture, he said he was disappointed with how ugly some of the dialogue surrounding the event became.

“Unfortunately, the level of discourse really deteriorated to the point where it was a lot of name calling and a lot of real negativity,” Tchernev said. “I think a lot of people did have some thoughtful reactions to it or did intellectually think about the issue, but I think other people didn’t and had knee-jerk reactions, and they tended to be, unfortunately, the most vocal in protesting this.”

Tchernev said the committee’s decision to siveness toward his past actions.

“None of us are in favor of rape. I don’t think that should need to be said – we all take it very seriously,” Tchernev said. “What we were hoping for was that the campus community could have a reasonable and thought-provoking discussion

“When I brought my concerns to the comittee, nobody wanted to talk about it. They said, ‘That was a long from adults.”

- Zoe Douglas

about this, no one will know.’”

Douglas eventually resigned from the committee in response to the pushback she received.

Another student member of the lecture committee bringing Harmon to campus, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed frustration about Miami’s silence about the event and said it was indicative of larger issues within the administration.

The member also said they weren’t sure if the reason given for canceling the event was accurate, as they decided not to participate in planning for Harmon’s event due to their objections to bringing him to campus.

“I’m not sure if the reason that was given out was true or not – I’m giving [the committee] the said, “but I think, as everybody can probably fathom, there might have been more to the situation that we don’t know about.”

John Tchernev, assistant professor of strategic communications and faculty member of the

about whether making a tasteless joke in the past should disqualify someone from being a public forgiveness.” about the event’s cancelation but stated it still felt members of the committee needed to be held accountable. this took place about 72 hours before the event was to occur,” the statement read. “Additionally, committee members are still failing to take responsibility. We do not stand by this blatant disregard for survivors [of sexual and interpersonal violence].”

Additional reporting by Asst. Magazine Editors Hannah Horsington and Claire Lordan and Asst. Campus & Community Editors Cosette Gunter, Sean Scott and Lexi Whitehead. @madphabes phabymr@miamioh.edu

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY 3 TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

“I’m tired of being a statistic”:

survivors share stories at Take Back the Night protest es, in general,” Sutton said, “and I think sharing your experiences makes it easier for others to share theirs, and the more collective voices present makes it easier to enact change.”

Liz Browning, sophomore creative writing and professional writing double major, said events like Take Back the Night are important to prevent desensitization to topics like sexual assault.

“We get these safety bulletins in our emails, but it’s kind of [easy] to become jaded by that, it’s just, ‘Oh, it’s another safety bulletin, what am I supposed to do about it?’” Browning said.

“It’s easy to get used to it, but this really puts a face to it, it puts emotion behind it, and it really

STUDENTS PROTEST SEXUAL ASSAULT IN ANNUAL TAKE BACK THE NIGHT EVENT ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR COSETTE GUNTER

a little bit of a story to share,” Kin said, “and I think that’s really sad but also really powerful.”

Harper Sutton, sophomore nutrition and psychology double major, is the co-president of F-WORD. She said planning the event was rel-

atively simple because Take Back the Night has been an annual event at Miami since 1980.

“It was pretty easy to throw it together since we have a lot of precedent to work with,” Sutton said, “and it really helps to be able to work with

people who are so passionate about doing this work.”

Sutton was one of the people to share her experience with sexual assault.

“I’m pretty open about my past experienc-

on people and can hopefully motivate people to educate themselves.”

Sutton thinks it’s important to have a conversation about sexual assault because it leads to change.

“I think if you don’t talk about it, you just let it keep happening, and I don’t think we should let it keep happening, especially when our administration doesn’t necessarily take it as seriously as students might,” Sutton said. “I think having these avenues to share your voice and those sorts of things are super important, especially since it is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.” @nwlexi whitehan@miamioh.edu

Oxford authorizes purchase of new parking meters CITY COUNCIL SEAN SCOTT ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Oxford City Council approved a resolution to purchase just less than 400 new parking meters at its April 6 meeting.

The resolution, presented by Oxford Police Chief John Jones, authorizes the city manager to buy 367 digital single-space meters and 12 multi-space parking meters at a cost of $300,000. The new meters will replace the city’s current coin meters and allow residents to pay with card readers instead.

Jones said the new meters are a necessary purchase, and the city should make its money back within 11 months. The new meters are estimated to generate $1.3 million in revenue over “A public demand for more payment methods and a desire for this technology is something I’ve heard since I became police chief,” Jones said. “And also, much of our equipment is no longer manufactured and can no longer be

repaired.”

Each time a credit card is used to pay for parking, the new parking meters would charge a 13 cent transaction fee. While Jones said the city will pay the transaction fee rather than residents, the resolution’s revenue estimates are based on an increased consumer cost of one dollar an hour rather than a quarter an hour.

Councilor Bill Snavely said while he supports replacing outdated equipment, he objects to the raise in price. ple in town, not all of whom are wealthy and think nothing of throwing money into a meter,” Snavely said. “If we want to encourage people to be going Uptown, I’m not sure why we would

Prytherch said. “I think we want people to think twice about driving … we can use the pricing of parking to achieve our transportation sustainability goals.”

Snavely suggested the new meters could be programmed to charge less than one dollar.

While this would make the resolution’s payback period longer, reducing the parking fee to 50 cents would still cover the city’s expenses within three years according to the meter company’s estimates.

Prytherch added the new meters may enable

so.”

Councilor David Prytherch spoke in favor of the new meters, saying the higher price of parking would encourage residents to walk or bike Uptown rather than drive.

“I want to incentivize people to come Uptown, but I’m not sure according to our council goals [that] we want to make it cheap and easy for them to drive their vehicles and park them,”

city.

“Can [the money] go toward something good?” Raghu asked. “Can that go toward the

time of day, time of year or other factors.

Councilor Chantel Raghu said she hopes the new parking meters’ estimated $1.3 million rev-

is actually coming back into the community in a very positive way?”

City manager Doug Elliott said parking revenue goes into the general fund to pay back the

expense of building the Uptown Parking Garage. it supports the maintenance of the parking garage [and] the debt service,” Elliott said. “It also pays for the parking attendants that work for us.”

The resolution passed unanimously, though the exact pricing won’t be decided until closer to the new meters’ installation over the summer. dinance to revise the times parking meters are active.

Currently, parking meter fees are enforced from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The ordinance would extend those hours to 8 p.m. to account for the dinner rush Uptown each day.

“Anecdotally, people are saying the city is dumb, is stupid not to be charging at those hours when the turnover should be the greatest,” Councilor Edna Southard said.

The ordinance will be revisited at the next City Council meeting, which will be streamed on YouTube at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 20. scottsr2@miamioh.edu

ASG elects four new cabinet members, re-elects one STUDENT GOVERNMENT MADELINE PHABY CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR

about here on campus,” Scott said.

The resolution passed unanimously.

Later in the meeting, elections for the positions of speaker of senate, secretary for on-cam-

Miami University’s Associated Student Govpositions at its April 6 meeting. Elections for the remaining six positions will be held at the April 13 meeting.

Before holding elections, ASG passed a sense of Senate resolution condemning the recent violence in India and Myanmar and expressing ed by these events.

The resolution, authored by On-Campus Senator Nav Chima and Academic Senator Nikhil Patel, states ASG will work with Miami’s administration to ensure the well-being of stu-

Speaker Pro Tempore Victoria Villanueva ran unopposed for the position of speaker of senate. She said she would introduce referendums to get the student body involved in ASG’s larger initiatives, such as the credit/no credit deadline extension, and modify the workloads of senate and cabinet positions so members can get involved in more organizations. ASG elected her to the position.

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adequate support and resources.

Several senators spoke in support of the resolution. At-Large Senator Teryn Scott said she hopes it will inspire future dialogue about inter-

Pallant highlighted her experience as president of the National Residence Hall Honorary and said she would advocate for increased dining equality if elected – an issue she feels strongly about as she has Celiac disease and is Jewish.

Petrella said he would work to increase de-

“I hope that if this resolution is passed, it will set a precedent for the kinds of things we talk

Petrella both ran for secretary for on-campus

more accessible and install more gender neutral

Journalism major adds curriculum changes CURRICULUM ABBY BAMMERLIN CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR The journalism program is undergoing two new changes according to an email sent to the Media, Journalism and Film (MJF) department from Senior Lecturer Patricia Gallagher Newberry, area coordinator for the journalism program.

Beginning next semester, new journalism students will be able to add a second major within the MJF department, and the journalnext spring, Gallagher Newberry said. She also said current students can take advantage of the changes, but will have to work with their advisor to work out the change.

The minor will be 18 credit hours and have two areas of study: the study of journalism and the actual practice of journalism.

Camryn Smith, junior strategic communication and professional writing double major, has taken multiple journalism classes. She said if the minor had been created a year earlier, she would have declared it.

“I would have loved to have that because it just pairs really well with what I have going on for my majors,” Smith said.

Gallagher Newberry said adding a minor had never occurred to the department before.

“Now, we’re just trying to do things that will help us grow and protect our current numbers,” Gallagher Newberry said.

She said the curriculum changes were sparked by changes made in the strategic communications and media and culture majors, both of which are dropping their second major.

The journalism major will keep its second major requirement.

“The whole reason we created [the requirement] is so that students will leave Miami after four years with deep knowledge and appreciation of journalism,” Gallagher Newberry said, into the world and say, ‘I know a lot about psychology.’ ‘I know a lot about sociology.’ ‘I know a lot about marketing, or dance or whatever.’”

Gallagher Newberry said the department decided to add the minor after changes in the Miami Plan are removing the thematic sequence.

“We considered [how thematic sequences] are going to be dismantled,” Gallagher Newberry said. “Let’s get ahead of the curve, and let’s journalism.” @abby_bammerlin bammeraj@miamioh.edu

bathrooms on campus if re-elected.

ASG elected Pallant to the position. pelli ran for secretary for communications and media relations. cause he has served on ASG’s communications committee and has been communications chair for various organizations. He said he would make ASG’s website more accessible and increase outreach to groups that are traditionally underrepresented in ASG, such as students with marginalized identities and students in the colleges of creative arts and engineering and computing.

Walter is a digital artist and the current director of marketing for the a capella group Just Duet. She said she would create a social media growth strategy and provide accessible information about legislation ASG passes on social media if elected.

Chiapelli is the social media chair for Miami’s spikeball club. He said he would work to make senators more accessible to their constituents and increase collaboration between ASG and Greek Life if elected.

ASG elected Walter to the position.

nor Manley ran for the position of secretary for Lake, who has lived in Oxford for most of his mittee. He said he would advocate for renters’ rights and increase commuter student representation at Miami – including adding a committee. He said he would work on making the standable for students – especially international students – and improve walking conditions Uptown to prevent sexual assault if elected.

ASG elected Manley to the position.

Ruku Pal ran unopposed for re-election to her position.

Pal said she would work on promoting shared governance and increasing equity in Miami’s academics. ASG voted to re-elect her.

ASG’s next meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13. @madphabes phabymr@miamioh.edu

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BAMMERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

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TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

Students travel outside of Oxford to receive COVID-19 vaccine VACCINES META HOGE THE MIAMI STUDENT On March 29, Ohio extended eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to all adults. But many Miami University students have gone to several different places hoping to get a vaccine of their own before the eligibility was extended.

Some students have traveled an hour or more outside of Oxford to get a vaccine where there was more availability or leftover doses.

Nico Jaworski, a sophomore anthropology major, found out about vaccine availability from a Facebook group called Jab Me Oxford. Jaworski, who drove to receive a dose at the Kettering Health District in Dayton, heard about the group from a friend.

“Every day, multiple times a day, people put out like, ‘Hey, go get vaccinated here,’ and [the Kettering Health District] was the first one I saw that had availability, so I just signed up right away,” Jaworski said.

Chloe Wheeler, a sophomore psychology major, went to a CVS in Piqua, Ohio, almost an hour and a half away from Oxford.

Wheeler said she found openings in Piqua through the CVS website.

“I have my car on campus, so I didn’t mind and I was like, ‘You know, I just want to get this over with,’” Wheeler said.

Liz Browning, a sophomore double majoring in creative writing and professional writing, also went to a CVS in Franklin, Ohio. Browning also joined the Jab Me Oxford Facebook group and saw posts suggesting various CVS locations.

“By the time I saw [the posts], and I

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR ABBY BAMMERLIN

would look, they wouldn’t be available there, but I just knew to look at CVS because of that,” Browning said.

Wheeler said if she could give advice to people who have concerns about getting the vaccine, she would say that receiving it didn’t hurt.

“It was one of the least painful shots I’ve gotten,” Wheeler said. “Usually when you get a shot, you kind of feel it go into your muscle and this, you didn’t at all, you only felt the needle.”

Browning would advise people to trust the COVID-19 vaccine like they would trust other vaccines.

“I would just ask people to think about

Students and faculty prepare for adjustment to in-person classes

how they’ve reacted to medicine or vaccines at all in the past,” Browning said. “It’s not like the COVID vaccine is some huge anomaly or something like that to where it’s the only vaccine to ever give you a side effect.”

For those who want a vaccine but have yet to get one, Miami received 3,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and clinics will be held in the Shriver Center.

Registration for the clinics was initially exclusive to students living on campus, but the Vaccine Coordinating Committee recently announced open registration for all Miami students. As of April 9, 900 appointments remain.

In addition, Gov. Mike DeWine an-

nounced the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available for college students across Ohio.

Wheeler said it’s important for people to get the vaccine because there are people who cannot get it.

“There are so many people who are immunocompromised, or something is preventing them from being able to get it,” Wheeler said. “I think if we want to get back to any form of normalcy, that we have to do it.” @meta__hoge hogemh@miamioh.edu

Presidents Hall to be renamed Marcum Hall next fall

DESIGNER SADIE VAN WIE

REGISTRATION CLAIRE LORDAN ASST. MAGAZINE EDITOR Scheduling for the fall semester opened to some students on Wednesday, April 7, and professors and students alike have begun planning for the switch to mostly in-person classes.

Miami University released a statement on es for the fall semester in-person and did not envision providing students with a fully remote option.

Students across academic divisions reported ing last fall for the spring semester, including a delay in the release of the course list and classes switching format after registration had closed.

“I haven’t been in an [inperson] class since high school ... I’m looking forward to having a more normal schedule next year.”

- Amelia Frueh

management and leadership studies major, has never had an in-person class at Miami. all my classes in person,” Frueh said. “Since I got to college, all of my classes have been online, so it’s the only college experience that I have. It’s all that I know.”

The Farmer School of Business has committed to holding most of its classes next fall in person, with only a select few courses held online at the professor’s request. Most of the online classes are large, entry-level courses that typically see higher numbers of students.

“Honestly, having all online classes was kind of nice,” Frueh said. “Most of my classes this

year were larger ones, where we weren’t really talking to our professors much anyways. If anything, I’d say it was more convenient for us and for the professors.”

While Frueh made her remote schedule nally be getting back into the classroom.

“I haven’t been in an [in-person] class since high school,” Frueh said. “And I feel like, especially as your classes get more advanced, there’s more to be gained from being in the room with your professor. I’m looking forward to having a more normal schedule next year.”

While students look forward to returning to a normal class schedule, some professors are still wary of the dangers in-person classes may hold.

Todd Stuart, the director of arts management and entrepreneurship in the college of creative arts, plans to move his courses from in-person to remote if necessary.

“We believe that we’re going to be face-toface, but we also know that we can’t predict the future,” Stuart said. “I’ve been very vocal about the fact that we are still in a pandemic and will likely be in a pandemic next fall. I think there’s just so much that we can’t plan for.”

Though Stuart understands that many of the classes in the college of creative arts can’t compromise student and faculty safety for education.

“I do think it’s better for students to learn face-to-face,” Stuart said. “And I understand that it’s frustrating to take classes online. But I will not risk my health, or students’ health, by promoting a modality of education that I don’t think is safe.”

Though professors do have the right to change their class format to accommodate personal and student needs, changing classes after students have signed up for the class can impact the rest of their schedule. major who had two of his courses for the spring semester switch format after scheduling, hopes the university will learn from its mistakes last semester.

“A lot of students were really pissed about the way things shook out last semester,” Warnecke said. “When you register for a class as a certain format, that’s how you’re expecting the class to be delivered. So to then go and change that is really frustrating.”

Warnecke completed his scheduling for the fall on April 7. As of right now, his classes are to be completely in person.

“I hope my schedule stays the way it is now, but I can’t say I’d be surprised if it changes,” Warnecke said. “They did it before, so who’s to say it won’t happen again?” lordance@miamioh.edu

PRESIDENTS HALL WILL BE RENAMED LATER THIS YEAR. ASST. MAGAZINE EDITOR JAKE RUFFER

RESIDENCE LIFE SHR-HUA MOORE STAFF WRITER Students currently living in Presidents Hall on Miami University’s North Quad will be the last to live there — in name, at least.

Presidents Hall will be renamed to Marcum Hall after the end of the spring semester.

The change was not unexpected. Cody Powell, associate vice president of facilities planning and operations, said the name “Presidents Hall” was meant to serve as a placeholder until there was a reason to name the building after a donor or alumnus when the residence hall was when it was built in 2018.

That reason came last year with plans for a potential renovation of Marcum Hotel and Conference Center, a change that would likely lead to the building being renamed. Powell said the building was under consideration for use as an alumni center and would be given a new name, freeing up the use of the Marcum name.

The Marcum family has donated to the university through acts such as being the primary donors of the Marcum Hotel and have several alumni in the family, including former Miami Board of Trustees Chairman Joe Marcum. Marcum passed away last year at the age of 97.

Tom Herbert, senior vice president for university advancement and president of the Miami University Foundation, stressed the in an email to The Miami Student.

“It honors the Marcum family,” he wrote. very meaningful benefactor and former chair of the Board of Trustees.”

Because of the Marcum family’s importance to the university, the possible renovation of the hotel into an alumni center presented some problems.

“The thought was that we would need to seek support from our alumni and make that a reality if we were to go [in the direction of an alumni center],” Powell said. “The only way to do that would be to have other naming opportunities available, so we were in discussion with the Marcum family about opportunities

Powell said Presidents Hall was one of these opportunities.

“When [Presidents Hall] was named, it was named under the idea that we may have a donor at some point.”

The name change was approved last summer, but the university decided to refrain from the COVID-19 pandemic. This summer, Presidents Hall will undergo a few minor changes “When you consider changing the name of ent things that have to happen,” Powell said.

“There are things that are more apparent such as lettering of the building, as well as things that are more digital in nature, such as the building’s name on websites.”

The name change does not come without a degree of loss, however. jor who is living in Presidents Hall during her “[Presidents Hall] is kind of home for the semester, and it’s technically not going to be here next semester, which is weird,” Mayschak said. “I’m gonna almost be nostalgic for it in future years. People are going to be like, ‘Hey, Presidents Hall squad!’ And other people are going to be like, ‘What the fuck is that?’”

Andy Obregon-Mantilla is the current resident director of Presidents Hall. He had no problems with the name change but did express some regret that the name of the hall could no longer be used for certain names and slogans. the name and say that we were ‘presidential’ — ‘prezzie rezzies’ is one thing that we say too,” Obregon-Mantilla said. “The fact that we had the presidential fellows living in Presidents Hall this year — that wasn’t so much funny as it was easy to remember.”

Despite this, however, Obregon-Mantilla thought that the name change would simply give more opportunities for fun.

“Marcum Mondays might become a thing for all I know,” he said. “Marcum has its own sets of puns available.” @hua_shr moorese6@miamioh.edu

6 CAMPUS & COMMUNITY

BAMMERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

that couldn’t even grow a crop, and she made a woodland.”

- Sherri Berger

MARY HARRISON, OWNER AND OPERATOR OF MARY’S PLANT FARM, RECENTLY DIED AT 99.

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR ABBY BAMMERLIN

HANNAH HORSINGTON ASST. MAGAZINE EDITOR Mary Harrison insisted her plant farm be open to celebrate its 45th anniversary, even if she couldn’t be there.

Mary died on March 12, just four months shy of her 100th birthday.

Even though she had almost a hundred years’ worth of time to spend in her garden, it wasn’t nearly enough.

Mary’s plant and landscaping business, aptly named Mary’s Plant Farm, sits tucked back on

Lanes Mill Road just 10 minutes away from Miami University’s campus. Mary’s house faces the road, with her garden and a gift shop hidden behind. The balcony on the back of the house looks out over her garden, a special request of Mary’s as her husband was building the house.

Mary’s passion was gardening.

Her daughter Sherri Berger, who ran the plant farm with her and is finishing out its 45th and final year, said that her mother’s reason for gardening was simple.

“She started with a cornfield that couldn’t even grow a crop, and she made a woodland,” Berger said. “Now of course, it took her 70-some years, but she took [it]

and wanted to make beauty and wanted people to enjoy it.”

Whenever a customer said that they were afraid to start gardening, Mary had some easy advice – dig a hole, put the plant in and enjoy it. And it always worked.

Customers didn’t come to Mary’s plant farm just for gardening advice, though –– they also came for her.

When Mary was in her 80s, she needed a knee replacement, but she refused to get the surgery for over three years because she didn’t want to stop working in her garden. To help her get around faster, she decided to buy a Gator (a small four-wheel ATV) that she could drive around any time she wanted, although she only seemed to have two modes when it came to driving.

“It either was stopped, or all the way to the floor, because she couldn’t get fast enough from one end of the three acres to the other end,” Berger said. “So she’s

[there], her hair just blowing in the wind and flowers and things flowing in the back of the cart ... and people learned, when you heard her coming, don’t get in front of her.”

Mary’s Plant Farm has a separate field away from the main garden that features additional plants for customers to buy. When customers wanted something from the field, Mary would often offer to drive them over on the Gator.

There was just one small problem.

“Mother was short,” Berger said. “So if there was an overhanging limb, she’d miss it, but you better watch and duck.”

Over a few summers, Mary taught classes at Miami focused on gardening and landscaping. The classes became so popular that Mary eventually had to move to a lecture hall. When she was told that she might not have a microphone when teaching, Berger said that Mary wasn’t worried.

“Mother said, ‘Oh honey, I have spoken to big, huge auditoriums. I don’t need a microphone.

Believe me. They can hear me..’

And they did.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mary could no longer interact with customers in her beloved garden. Instead, she’d sit out on her balcony and wave to them.

She also worked on the book that she had considered writing for years.

The book is set to come out later this year and features “12 months in Mary’s garden,” teaching readers how to maintain a garden throughout each season.

It also features anecdotes and stories from Mary’s time working at the farm, everything from how she got started to funny phone calls with customers.

This year, a new addition is coming to the plant farm – Mary’s own personal plants. Besides keeping the farm open for a 45th year, it was her one request for Berger.

“She said, ‘I hope that you make some of my plants available, my personal plants available to people because they’re rare, and I don’t know what will happen to them when I’m gone..’ So I’m honoring that fact,” Berger said.

Berger said that over Mary’s years at the farm, she sometimes got to know three generations of a family as they all fell in love with the garden. She kept in contact with many of them, even after they moved away.

“They’ll write her a letter and say, ‘Mary, I’m growing this in my garden, because now I’m living in Texas and I can grow this here.

How wonderful is that?’”

A celebration of Mary’s life is planned for August.

It will be held in her garden.

“There was truly a fondness and a love for her,” Berger said. “It wasn’t just, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry that Mary is gone.’ [It was] ‘Oh, I am hurt. Mary is gone.’”

Mary’s last wish was to see some of her plants bloom this spring. She made it, and saw her garden start to come to life.

Right after Mary died, a late freeze hit, covering the garden in frost.

Mary’s plants remain as beautiful as ever. @hannahorsington horsinhp@miamoh.edu

HILLEL, THE SIKH STUDENT ASSOCIATION AND ARMENIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS HOSTED THE FIRST GENOCIDE AWARENESS WEEK. PHOTOS BY HERSCHEL ALBERT AND ZACH REICHMAN

STUDENT ACTIVISM SEAN SCOTT ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Miami University’s Jewish organization Hillel partnered with the Sikh Student Association and Armenians for Human Rights to host Week April 5-9.

The week started with presentations on Monday, April 5, about the Armenian Genocide and the Sikh Genocide. On Wednesday, April 7, the organizations began a reading of the names for genocide victims beginning at 2 p.m. and lasting until 7 p.m. The night concluded with a memorial walk from the Seal to the formal gardens.

On Friday, April 9, Hillel held a Holocaust presentation in the afternoon, followed by a memorial service and a meal.

For Navkiran Chima, a sophomore political science and international studies double major and founder and president of the Sikh Student Association, the events were a way to connect with people

mon struggles.

“Knowing that there are people who support me and my experience and my community’s experience was very touching,” Chima said.

“Even though we don’t share all the same identities, we do have this thing in common, and we are similar in that way, and that is something that connects us.”

Chima presented the reading of the names for victims of the Sikh Genocide before the Memorial Walk. Few nations recognize the Anti-Sikh Riots of 1984 as a genocide, so being able to speak about validation that’s missing on a global level.

“The Indian government still does not recognize what they carried out to be a genocide,” Chima said. “I think there’s a lot of education that needs to happen, and there’s a lot of ignorance surrounding what actually happened in Punjab, India at the time.”

Emily Garforth is a senior American studies major and a member of the Miami’s Genocide and Holocaust Awareness Council. She

said she was glad so many groups were able to come together to make Genocide Awareness Week a reality.

“There was a really nice amount of support for this week to happen, which I was really happy and grateful for,” Garforth said.

Not everyone who attended the Memorial Walk were members of Garforth said many participants brought friends, and members of Unidos, Miami’s Latinx organizaport as well.

While Garforth said the reading of names was a meaningful opportunity to commemorate and remember victims of genocide, she added that she had more anticipation for the memorial walk because of how it brought people together.

“This walk was really important for me because it was a physical act of actually bringing communities together to walk together,” Garforth said. “The atmosphere that night was for me all about togetherness and making sure that we were upmunity.”

Teresa Aniev, a senior political

science major, founded Armenians for Human Rights with her friend Armenia and Azerbaijan last summer. She said it was touching to ent backgrounds and show support and recognition of other communities’ struggles. “[During the memorial walk], I was just thinking the whole time how meaningful and how good it feels for other people to be standing in the same place that I am,” Aniev said. “Maybe they’re not advocating for the same exact thing that I am, but really we’re all there for human rights, for everybody to be treated equally and for representation of marginalized people.”

Aniev said she was grateful to Hillel for using a day that could Holocaust to instead highlight the well. She added while there is always room for communities to grow in their awareness of human rights issues, Oxford and Miami have provided a space for her to share her experience.

“There’s always room for

growth,” Aniev said. “There’s room for more people to advocate and more people to care because America is founded on a melting pot. nities here that are coexisting … If you have a group of people or you belong to a group of people that are marginalized, why not speak out for them?”

Garforth said she doesn’t know what Genocide Awareness Week may look like next year, but Hillel will continue to provide a platform to educate the Miami community about the Holocaust and genocides.

Aniev hopes the program continues to grow, but said the work to recognize victims of genocide and their families doesn’t stop when planned events wrap up.

“I can’t speak for any other organization, but in terms of Armenians for Human Rights, it’s not just two Armenians who are trying to connect with their background,” Aniev said. “It’s about something more important. It’s about standing up for people who have never had a voice since 1915.” scottsr2@miamioh.edu

PHABYMR@MIAMIOH.EDU

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY 7 TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

Farmer’s market, lawn games and more: 2021 Farmer Week COSETTE GUNTER ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR The Business Student Advisory Council hosted the 2021 annual Farmer Week, celebrating the Farmer School of Business (FSB) from April 5-8. This year, the event focused on community, identity, relationships and mental wellness.

Each day of the event had a different focus and activities for FSB students, including social media interaction, uplifting notes in the FSB building and lawn games.

On Thursday, April 8, the focus was community, and a small farmer’s market was set up in the lobby of the FSB building. Three local businesses had tables set up to interact with students: Kofenya, Enjoy Oxford and the Animal Care Clinic.

Alongside the day-to-day events, student business organizations competed to collect canned goods for the Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services, and an asynchronous walkathon was also hosted with proceeds going towards the Oxford Family Resource Center (FRC).

Sam Graziano, executive vice president of the Business Student Advisory Council, said the event was successful. “[It’s] been really cool,” Graziano said. “Everyone was super excited to be out there and around other people, having fun, embracing the idea of community in this time. I feel like everything has been really static and boring, so that was really cool.”

Graziano said many students participated in putting up positive notes Monday, April 5, which focused on mental wellness. “[They’re] just a reminder that the [FSB] community, although we’re a little spread out in the building, and [we’re] not [there] as often, we’re still there,” Graziano said.

Jennifer Marston, the representative for the Oxford Animal Care Clinic, said she was excited to be a part of

Farmer Week.

“I know the students have been really excited about trying to help the businesses in Oxford try to come back from COVID,” Marston said. “We’ve had a little bit of a downturn, and so we’re trying to encourage more students to get into the businesses and so I was really happy to be part of this particular week.”

Brad Hoblitzell, executive director of the Oxford FRC, said the center is fortunate to partner with the Business Student Advisory Council.

“We’re kind of at an unprecedented time in our community with COVID and the academic shutdown,” Hoblitzell said. “We’ve had lots of needs for assistance.”

Hoblitzell said it’s also good to engage with Miami students so that they see sides of the Oxford community they might not otherwise.

“I think it’s very important for Miami students to engage with the OxHoblitzell said, “and see the opportunity to serve the community and to maybe enlighten some issues that the majority of students don’t really

know in our community or don’t even have the opportunity to see, so we’re thankful for the support but also for the opportunity to educate.”

Hannah Newball, vice president Advisory Council, said the biggest pay dents come together after a year of virtual events.

“I was really excited to see everyone kind of come together and enjoy something in Farmer, and kind of see students get a chance to have a little distraction from studying,” Newball said. “Normally in a non-COVID semester, there’s always something going on … I think it was great being able to see the students enjoy pizza, or playing cornhole outside and things like that.”

Jenny Darroch, dean of FSB, wrote in an email to The Miami Student that when the Business Student Advisory Council came to her about the proposal for the event, she was thrilled.

“Above all, we want all of our students to feel they belong here on campus, and are a valued part of a vibrant

a mix up with the kosher for Passover meals.

“I think I was generally disappointed about what happened just because given COVID and everything [it has] made making ourselves accessible to everyone more challenging,” Garforth said. “So this was kind of like an extra barrier that was just a bit disappointing.”

Garforth said that by the time the right meals were delivered, it was the fifth day of Passover. Passover was observed for nine days from March 27 to April 4.

“I truly think it was out of [Miami’s] control,” Garforth said. “I think, if anything, this is a good learning experience for them, because it’s just teaching people more about the Jewish community.”

Garforth said she doesn’t think something like this will happen again because of the experience.

Mason wrote that after the meals were discovered to be incorrect, dining services were instructed not to give them to KOSHER MEALS DELIVERED TO MIAMI DID NOT MEET SPECIFICATIONS OUTLINED FOR KOstudents.

SHER MEALS FOR PASSOVER. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR ABBY BAMMERLIN “As soon as we were made leavened products derived from aware we stopped offering the wheat. Regular kosher meals fol- incorrect kosher meals and had low a complex set of dietary laws the supplier ship the correct ‘koCOSETTE GUNTER called kashrut. sher for Passover’ meals immeASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY “The meals that were deliv- diately,” Mason wrote.

EDITOR ered to us were kosher meals but Once Hillel was informed that From March 24 to April 4, did not match the specifications the correct meals were delivered, Miami University’s dining ser- of the meals approved by the an email was sent to Hillel notivices provided kosher meals for Hillel group and were not what Passover at select locations for Jewish students observing the holiday. Due to a mistake from the vendor that provided the “I think I was generally disappointed meals, Miami’s Commons loabout what happened just because given cations (dining halls) were not able to serve kosher for Passover COVID and everything [it has] made meals. making ourselves accessible to everyone It is unclear how many, if any, Jewish students attempting to more challenging.” keep kosher during the holiday - Emily Garforth consumed the non-kosher for Passover meals.

Brent Mason, director of food & beverage, said none of the Commons locations were able to serve kosher meals, but frozen we requested,” Mason wrote in fying members of the locations where the meals were available. kosher meals for Passover were an email to The Miami Student.

Emily Garforth, president of Throughout Passover, available in the MacCracken Miami’s chapter of Jewish stu- matzah, an unleavened flatMarket and Emporium.

Mason said kosher for Pass- dent association Hillel, said the bread, was still available at Maover meals were ordered, but organization approved different ple, Garden and Hillel. only kosher meals were deliv- meals than what were delivered @cosettegunter ered. The difference between the to dining services.

Garforth said she felt let guntercr@miamioh.edu two is that kosher for Passover meals do not contain chametz – down when she heard there was

FARMER WEEK CELEBRATED COMMUNITY, IDENTITY AND RELATIONSHIOPS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHER CAROLINE BARTOSZEK

community, which has been challenging when so much activity has been remote,” Darroch wrote. “Finally, seeing students out and about engaging in Farmer Week has provided me

with a sense of normalcy after the unusual year we have all experienced.” @cosettegunter guntercr@miamioh.edu

Miami announces the winners of the President’s Distinguished Service Award IZZY OWEN THE MIAMI STUDENT Miami University held its yearly ceremony for the winners of the President’s Distinguished Service Award on April 11, after announcing the winners on March 30.

The ceremony was held in Wilks Theater and recipients and speakers attended in person with video performances from groups on campus, like the Men’s Glee Club. It was also live streamed on the Student Life Facebook page, so participant’s friends and family could watch.

This year, there were over 50 nominations for the award and 19 awardees.

The award is one of three that comes from the Family and Parent programs, the other two being the Employee Leadership Award and the Senior Service Leadership Award. three campuses received an email them to submit a student nomination for the award. The nomination phase then closed in mid-February.

Mark Pontious, director of family and parent services, said the President’s Distinguished Service Award is the only one of the three awards that requires a selection process.

This selection process asks ed someone to turn in a letter of nomination along with their nomination choice. Pontious said most students are nominated more than “These are students who have impacted multiple places on campus,” Pontious said.

After being nominated, students are informed of their status and asked to submit a resume, which gives a broader picture of what the students have accomplished on campus. across all campuses then review the nominations and select the winners of the awards. The committee makes their selections between mid-February and mid-March after reading all of the resumes and nomination letters.

“They are extremely hard decisions to make, knowing that these are all amazing students,” Pontious said.

Keresa Murray, a senior education studies major, won an award for her dedication to being a Resident Assistant (RA) on campus.

Murray has been an RA at Miami for three years and serves on the marketing and video production dence Life.

Murray said winning the award is a bittersweet feeling, as it means her years at Miami are coming to an end.

“It kind of just makes everything real with senior year, it’s all just wrapping up now,” Murray said.

CJ Lynch, a senior kinesiology major with a co-major in pre-medical studies, won after being nomof Admissions, where he serves in the Bridges Program host and the Diversity Dialogue facilitator.

“I was extremely grateful to be recognized in this way,” Lynch said. “It felt surreal in many ways.”

Marketing and English professional writing double major Molly McNamara won for her dedication as president of the Panhellenic Association and for her focus and commitment to the sororities during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they moved online.

“I always enjoyed the work I did,” McNamara said. “I never did it for recognition, so when I did win it was a shock and a great honor.”

For doing work for PFLAG’s Oxford chapter, which is a national organization that unites families, allies, and members of the LGBTQ+ community and other organizations, Priyana Kalita, a sport leadership and management and women’s, gender & sexuality studies double major, was nominated “I come from a very remote part in India, so getting something like this is a big thing for me and my family, it was very happy news,” Kalita said.

Kalita said they were glad their parents could watch the ceremony from India.

“My parents were happy,” Kalita said. “It gives hope to my siblings and cousins. It gives hope to the next generation of college students where I live.”

See all 19 winners on Miami’s student life page under the “Student Service Leadership Awards” section. owenip@miamioh.edu

Humor

8

ROBIN119@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

KEVIN WOESTE

Dear Ohio Weather

THE MIAMI STUDENT Dear Ohio Weather, I’m writing to tell you that I’m afraid we are through. I cannot bear to have my heart toyed with any longer.

When we were younger, you were so very predictable, and I liked that about you.

You could be cold for awhile, but you would always warm up eventually, and you’d stay that way for most of the year. But somewhere around ten years into our relationship, things started heating up. Gone was your cold winter solitude and in its place, an angry hot summer.

But I adjusted. I told myself people can change, we’d find a new groove. But we didn’t.

Now I can never know what to expect from you. Some days, you’re warming back up to me, and the next day you’re as cold as ice, with no explanation for why. Your constantly changing mood keeps my hair raised … because I dressed for yesterday’s 70 degree weather, when today is in the low 20s.

I thought that maybe this was just a phase, and that we could get through this; that maybe after a year or two we could find some sense of stability, and maybe even settle into a routine again. But now I’ve come to see that will never be, so I am sorry, but I must end things between us. I wish you well, but I must say goodbye now.

Sincerely, An Ohio Resident DESIGN EDITOR OWEN BERG

woestekj@miamioh.edu

Freshman learning curve

PATRICK SULLIVAN THE MIAMI STUDENT

As my freshman year ends, I become a sophomore, or a “wise fool.” Allow me to impart some of my newfound wisdom.

Do: Bring a winter coat to campus.

A couple newly admitted students might still think that we are the University of Miami in Miami, Florida. I found out that we weren’t during the cold months of January and February when I had left my

“Why pay hundreds or thougsands of dollars for friends when your imaginary ones are free and can never leave you – even if they wanted to.”

winter coat at home.

Don’t: Join a Fraternity/Sorority.

Why pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for friends when your imaginary ones are free and can never leave you – even if they wanted to.

Do: Check out King Library.

I never once studied at King, but it is an easily recognizable building where you can meet up with your friends before you hit the town to drink the memory of your first ever midterms away.

Don’t: Get so drunk that RAs find you knocking on the dorm basement elevator.

A couple of you readers may think this is an oddly specific piece of advice. You’re right. But if it can happen to the best of

us – and, yes, I’m the best of us – then it can happen to anyone. Just trust me on this one.

Do: Bring noise cancelling headphones.

The dorms have very thin walls. Say, hypothetically, your next door neighbor has a girlfriend who is over every night.

And, hypothetically, they make sounds when you’re trying to study that leave little to be imagined, and … just bring noise cancelling headphones.

Don’t: Leave popcorn in the microwave longer than suggested while you go poop.

The popcorn will start smoking, and while you’re standing in shock and confusion, you will have to rely on your roommate’s quick thinking to open the window, door, and turn the fan on to keep the smoke alarms from activating. Oops.

Do: Make friends with your RA. If you successfully befriend your RA, it could save you in particular situations like this one: You run into him in the hallway while you’re both bringing back “overnight guests,” while COVID protocols simultaneously ban overnight guests.

Instead of him writing you up and you getting him fired, you can make awkward eye contact and go about your merry evening.

Don’t: Let stress cause you to sleepwalk and accidentally pee in your friend’s fridge.

Sure, the video of you unconsciously opening the fridge, dropping your pants to your ankles, and whizzing in a fridge is funny. But, having to clean your friend’s fridge and buy him new food the next day instead of studying for your final is not.

I hope you read this and learn from my mistakes. It took a couple of tries for me to learn some of these things. Hopefully, you won’t have to go through the same trial and error process I did. Good luck! sulli293@miamioh.edu

Dear Paddy

PATRICK SULLIVAN THE MIAMI STUDENT

DEAR PADDY: My girlfriend dumped me. She said I was always spending time with “the boys” and that I didn’t devote enough time to her. Apparently buying her juuls and White Claws wasn’t enough for her. She never understood that an online game can’t just be paused!

The worst part is, during our breakup, she told me that she “doesn’t give a damn” about the stock market and which stocks are on the up right now. I thought she enjoyed my daily updates about Dogecoin and Gamestop! She accused me of “not caring about her interests,” and “not even knowing her best friend’s name.” I could’ve sworn it started with a “D.” I guessed Deborah and Danielle. Supposedly, it was Sarah. Am I in the wrong for spending time with my bros and trying to show her my interests?

- GIRLFRIENDLESS GAMER DEAR GIRLFRIENDLESS GAMER: No, you are not in the wrong for having bro time. Everyone needs time to hang with the homies. If she turned down someone who was buying her juuls and White Claws, then there is something wrong with her. She has some stuff she needs to work on, on her own. No amount of financial investing advice can save her.

You go play COD with your boys and if you have immediate investing advice, my number is (441) 800-8135. I have no money and my Dear Paddy column does not pay. At all.

DEAR PADDY: A cop found my fake ID. I was walking out of The Den with a case of Natty’s and he searched me. I was charged with “possession of a criminal tool” and “underage possession.” I am now on probation and in debt $4,500 dollars because I had to pay for a lawyer and court fees.

The worst part is that my buddies are

supposed to come in from out of town next weekend. What am I supposed to do if I can’t go to any of the bars with them? Am I wrong for wanting to get another fake ID and celebrating that I’m not in jail?

- BROKE BABY

“Am I wrong for wanting to get another fake ID and celebrating that I’m not in jail?”

DEAR BROKE BABY: No, you are not in the wrong for wanting to get another fake ID and hit the town. Your boys are coming to visit; you have to show them a good time. Probation only means that you get in more trouble if you get caught again. So, it’s simple: don’t get caught again. As for the thousands of dollars in debt, just beg your parents. You go to Miami University, your daddy has money. Get that 2nd fake, have a good time, and stay clear of cops. sulli293@miamioh.edu

My goodbyes to Miami GRANT TASSEFF THE MIAMI STUDENT As I face my final month at Miami, I must make my parting goodbyes to the university that now has my entire life savings.

Goodbye to construction. For four years, Miami told me that our most iconic fea-

every year.

Goodbye High Street, where a pedal on my bike broke and I left some of myself on the asphalt.

Goodbye to dorm bathroom lines at 7:30 a.m., where we all awkwardly stared at the poor resident trying to take a dump in peace (sorry, *name redacted*).

“Goodbye girl who invited me to a date party, where at the pregame you threw up on me ... and I apologized.” tures are our red brick buildings. However, I know in my heart nothing will be more memorable than the orange and yellow scaffolding that adorned at least one building

Goodbye being sexiled. Let’s be real freshman year roommate; it didn’t take all night.

Goodbye virginity. You left me freshman

year on a twin bed in room 333, Tappan Hall.

Goodbye off-campus housing. You’ve won at life when you make rent Uptown cost as much as a semester’s worth of tuition yet no one bats an eye.

Goodbye Farmer School of Business, where I learned that the only thing you need to succeed is a $9.99 salad bowl.

Goodbye Pulley Diner. Your best feature was never the food. It was the drunk student trying to make conversation with a cop at 2 a.m.

Goodbye Withrow Starbucks.

You started my addiction to overpriced coffee. Damn your well-done aesthetic-based capitalism.

Goodbye Bagel n’ Deli. Rumor has it you sell something other than the crunch n’ munch, but I don’t believe it.

Goodbye RA job. You taught me how popular “resting” in the bathroom was at 3 a.m.

Goodbye Oxford Tinder, where I never again will blur the line between student and townie.

Goodbye girl who invited me to a date party, where at the pregame you threw up on me ... and I apologized.

Goodbye freshman year weed-out professor who responded to his miswriting a

question with, “Sounds like a you problem.”

Goodbye formals. The thrill of awkwardly holding a drink in a nearly empty bar will never leave me.

Goodbye Uptown bars, where I learned that my drunken dance moves never looked as good on my snap story the next day.

Goodbye intramural soccer, where I learned yelling at the kid I just asked to take up space on the team may not be a good motivational tactic.

Goodbye Miami therapist. I liked you, but I couldn’t afford you after our third session.

Goodbye to my happiness. You left after my first college exam and have taken an extended vacation ever since.

Goodbye Miami Merger dream … and just love in general. You eluded me, just like my mother predicted.

In all seriousness, goodbye Miami. In four years, I learned a lot about myself, others and about what it means to be a Miamian. I know the things I gained here will last a lifetime; just like my pesky, crippling student debt.

Sincerely, Grant tassefgm@miamioh.edu

ROBIN119@MIAMIOH.EDU

HUMOR 9

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

A Day in the Life of My Heros THE MIAMI STUDENT Before everyone gets mad, these are jokes. I know these are stereotypes and I am just trying to write these to project my depression onto others instead of dealing with it myself. It is a work of satire so chill, Daddy. been at Miami for about two years now. Looking at some other types of people on campus, here is my best es-

Pulley’s from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. on people watching on Fridays.

Frat Boy Before he does anything serious, he must do the essentials: snapchat

for the afternoon of gaslighting his girlfriend. er and goes up stairs to work on his small business, a coke ring that sources organic from Cincinnati. After 10 minutes of hard work, he and his boys decided to go out.

Tonight he wears his fancy basketball jersey. They get to Brick for mainly consists of him buying drinks for freshmen while they go and dance with other guys.

To end the night, he has a cool 30-minute cry session because he knows, no matter how hard he tries, pectations. As a result he has become nothing but a shell of a man drifting from party to party.

Art Major song he once heard in a Wes Ander-

mask below his nose. class, he kisses each of his brothers goodbye, a tradition in all fraternities. class in Farmer, ECO202, which he is taking for the fourth time; he seems to struggle when they get to the coloring section. So, like any good business student, he takes his coloring book out and begins his work.

The class ends at 11:00 and he decides to then treat himself with a

are learning how to wait tables. because he already knows what he ing a corporate sellout, he is blessing his parents by letting them host him

smoking weed in the basement to he will end up working in a grocery store stocking fruit.

The rest of the day consists of chakra. Though he still goes to mass a Buddhist.

To end his night, he will get wine drunk with his friends, as beer is too drink the Barefoot brand.

Resident Assistant

artist who made the song killed himone is freshly roasted beans, but it is just low-acid Folgers since he has a

non-mandatory round. It is essential that no student under the watchful eye of this paid snitch has any fun while in the dorm.

-

For the next hour he works on trying to perfectly roll his jeans, his eight cops called and one administrascription glasses, Chuck Taylors, and a Carhartt jacket.

For his one class of the day, they

a row, no one responds. For the rest of the morning, he sits in the lobby,

Maintaining my dignity while talking to ex-boyfriends

inspecting each bag for contraband.

The RA truly understands that this job will be more important than class, so he has not gone once this waking hour crafting the perfect bulletin board.

After eating both lunch and dinner alone, he returns to his dorm for

in the classic look, black Lulu Lemon leggings, Air Force 1s and a white It is ultimately a sad excuse for fashion. For the 5th day in a row, she spends $10 at Starbucks, where she swears at the employee for getting her be back tomorrow.

he is not on duty, he feels it is his obligation to the residents to be there for them. night as well, in hopes to create comcated Adderalls, and using his master bed, no matter how many times he is warned not to.

To end the night the RA goes to Brick and gets absolutely hammered. Once the RA is blacked out, cated to cut the edge, for he needs to prepare himself for another day as a student leader.

Nursing Student She wakes up in the morning still in the makeup from karaoke night, wearing the t-shirt of her high school ex, who she claims plays for Ohio State’s football team, but really is a team manager.

She immediately begins com-

to class, she complains about losing she currently has aren’t enough for taking notes, so in class she will just text her sugar daddy.

Before lunch, she stops to change into her scrubs, though it is only 11:00 a.m. and her clinicals are at 4:00 pm.

For the next few hours, she tries to satisfy her daily quota of the following seen how a catheter is put in? Yeah,

Following her clinical, which consisted of texting and hanging out in the bathroom, she does as all good students do: looks to scam frat boys for drinks at the bar. To end her day, she drunkenly cries to her RA that she ter who is in medical school.

before she bitches to the Starbucks workers, she needs to decide which

hockinrc@miamioh.edu

Headlines from around the world JESSICA ROBINSON KEVIN WOESTE THE MIAMI STUDENT

Freshman pre-med major announces they’re “a junior credit-wise” and gets body-slammed: here’s why they deserved it US Naval spokesman declares “some” UFO videos real; in unrelated news, 195 more “Storm Area 51” events have appeared on Facebook

can’t do donuts in a cargo ship.”

Delta Delta Delta member can’t remember sorority name, petitions to make it simpler

JESSICA ROBINSON

JESSICA ROBINSON HUMOR EDITOR Sadly, this is not satirical. These literally all happened.

The Milk Move I know it’s a bad idea, but I can’t stop myself from sending it. I look at my phone screen, I see the message typed out, and I press my

through my body. What if he thinks I’m weird? I how? Think, Jessica,

wipe the sweat from my dripping palms and my dignity.

Sweaty Bumble Bee month later, when I called him in tears to explain my frustrations.

The issue: I cried too hard for coherent to my sobbing for 20 minutes straight.

Once again, I realize that my honor is dwin-

can’t pass ENG 111

performance.

The night before my performance, I started to worry. What if I don’t look pretty enough?

What if he thinks I’m weird? (That’s a common fear for me.)

I take out a pair of scissors and cut bangs straight across my forehead.

no one shows up

fact, the last time we spoke, I cried and asked

-

beads sticking the bangs to my forehead under an antenna bonnet. And after the show, he approaches me and the only thing I can think Then, like the badass I am, I turn, walk away, and cry in the Pearson bathroom.

Big L This time, it’s all my fault. I dump him, but February night outside on a random soccer

Looking up at the sky, he expresses his confusion about our breakup, and I feel some-

you in a while, wondered if you wanted to,

public

that? I start sweating (this is also a common theme with me) and immediately regret my

juice -

and leans in. Per usual, I think faster than Us-

Panic seeps through my body. What if he how? Think, Jessica, think. robin119@miamioh.edu

grand slam spread; Herpes, Gonorrhea, Syphilis and

Sports

10

NELSO156@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

Vierstra throws no-hitter and perfect game in series sweep of Akron runs (two unearned) before closing the door SPORTS EDITOR

end.

After getting two strikeouts in the second

weekend.

with all three batters going down swinging. lead. out the next two hitters after McChesney was caught stealing second base.

Vierstra struck out the side in two straight

so. the side again. Miami added two runs in the

bunt her way on base.

-

There was only one batter left between ViVierstra decided to get the last batter out to end the game.

all seven innings to do it. After the weekend

harmless groundouts.

starts this season in which no hits were given game. chance to do so.

allowing an unearned run. She was relieved by

New season, new stadium and new hope for the orange and blue

@LukasTheDream nelso156@miamioh.edu

SENIOR PITCHER COURTNEY VIERSTRA NOW HAS THREE STARTS WITHOUT GIVING UP A HIT THIS SEASON. PHOTOGRAPHER MACY WHITAKER

Star pitcher Sam Bachman has sights set on College World Series

MICHAEL VESTEY STAFF WRITER I am unbelievably excited for this new Major League Soccer (MLS) season.

Then will come the day fans across the for. nate size. State health orders have still not

allowed. with the aluminum roof noted by Club Pressigned to be loud no matter how many fans are inside.

JUNIOR PITCHER SAM BACHMAN MAY BE SELECTED IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE MLB DRAFT THIS JULY. PHOTO EDITOR ZACH REICHMAN

could eventually be his best.

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

-

return of Luciano Acosta to MLS from Mex-

-

about last season.

-

“What have we gotten ourselves into?”

-

ment last season from their worst-in-history

Worth mentioning alone is the overall youth of the new entrants – all 5 attacking -

According to Miami Pitching Coach Matt cidence.

-

ucation.”

The junior righty was lightly recruited out fers.

mental toughness. day guy as a freshman has forced a lot of matu-

glove.

Strike three.

-

mind.

it — nine batters. He just struck out the side bing at the hands of USL rivals Louisville City. With the secrecy surrounding the de-

microbiology major was interested in Miami about the draft.”

Miami baseball has only received a bid to the national tournament once — that was in

he gets to two strikes.

-

the team.

me.” get more movement on his fastball. With the

The team is currently third in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). With one of its most talented rosters in recent memory Miami baseball has a real chance to make history this year.

-

of both the fastball and his slider. with two strikes.

Video game numbers. @VesteyTMS vesteymj@miamioh.edu

does it with only two. He is just now starting

@jackschmel schmelj2@miamioh.edu

SPORTS 11

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021

NELSO156@MIAMIOH.EDU

Baseball drops three-of-four to Western Michigan The ’Hawks took the lead in the bottom Morissette started Miami out with a single, and graduate student second baseman Will Voand second basemen, knocking in Morrissette, -

Once again, the RedHawk lead wouldn’t baseman Sean O’Keefe singled up the middle to drive in a run.

The game stayed tied until the top of the take the lead. Miami went down in their half of the extra frame, and they lost 3-2.

SUNDAY Miami’s bats woke up Sunday, and in a big way. The ’Hawks avoided the series sweep, and beat Western Michigan 16-9.

Miami put up nine runs in their half of the

SENIOR INFIELDER TYLER WARDELL (PICTURED, NO. 1) JUMPS FOR JOY WITH A TEAMMATE DURING LAST WEEKEND’S SERIES VS WESTERN MICHIGAN. PHOTO EDITOR ZACH REICHMAN

JACK SCHMELZINGER ASST. SPORTS EDITOR The Western Michigan Broncos visited Oxford this weekend for a series at Mckie Field.

The visiting Broncos took the series, winning three-of-four games against the RedHawks.

FRIDAY The RedHawks were sloppy in game one of Friday’s doubleheader. They lost 9-0 and made four errors in the contest.

Grant Hartwig started the game for Miami only three earned, and struck out eight while walking zero. Brady Mclean came in after an hour-long rain delay during the sixth inning and gave up zero earned runs in 1.1 innings.

Game two was delayed until 9 p.m. due to uled start time.

The RedHawks entered the bottom of the fourth inning down two, after Western Mich-

igan scored twice in the third on two separate wild pitches. right-center. Up next, junior designated hitter

door on Miami in the bottom of the frame, and took game two 4-3.

SATURDAY Saturday’s game was also delayed by rain.

First pitch was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., but was moved three times in advance of the game. After trying to start at 4 p.m., and 6 p.m.,

An inning later, Miami took the lead. Sophning by poking a single through the right side of

8 p.m.

Benji Brokemond knocked a 3-2 pitch down the

righty Sam Bachman went six innings, giving up only one hit and striking out eleven batters.

Bachman shut out the Broncos until the sixth inning.

In the top of the sixth, WMU’s third base-

Kopicki single.

Senior shortstop Tyler Wardwell hit a home run in the seventh and sophomore second

Bachman threw four straight balls through the rain.

eighth, with an RBI single.

WHAT’S NEXT With the series loss, Miami falls to third in the MAC, three losses behind Ball state and two behind Central Michigan. The RedHawks travel to Bowling Green next weekend for another four game series. The teams play at 3 p.m. on Friday, noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

advanced Allen to second. Then Bachman lost control of two consecutive slick baseballs. His

@jacksmerz schmelj2@miamioh.edu

Brokemond was standing on third with a triple.

The lead wouldn’t last. In the top of the sevConnor Charping singled up the middle, knocking in two runs. WMU took the lead on the play, and wouldn’t give it up — The Broncos shut the

hit-by-pitches, and two walks. Brokemond was 2-2 in the inning, and Morrissette came through with a triple that scored three.

The RedHawks scored three more an inning later on a Brokemond double that scored two, and Vogelgesang’s bunt single to score Brokemond. In the third, Andrews tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Later, junior catcher Nick Nei-

Men’s swimming wins MAC championship in Oxford LUKAS NELSON SPORTS EDITOR The Miami University men’s swimming team captured the Mid-American Confersetting a few records in the process.

The conference championship meet was held in Oxford at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center, which is located inside the Rec Center.

The action started on Thursday with the 200-yard freestyle medley relay. The foursome of sophomore Pedro Gueiros, junior Cole Grosshans, junior Nick Wamsley and junior Ben Chatwin set a MAC record with a time of 1:18.73, picking up a firstplace finish.

Wamsley helped the RedHawks pick up another MAC record later in the day, as Wamsley, senior Noah Barr and firstwon the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:10.30. tory as well, winning the 200 individual medley in 1:45.45.

Miami’s dominance continued into Friday. The four-man team of Blazer, 200-medley relay in 1:25.91.

While the ’Hawks were impressive in medley relays, Friday saw the team also earn some individual wins. three finishers in the 100-butterfly were all RedHawks, as junior Ryan Sego took er and Wamsley somehow finished with identical times of 48.20 seconds, tying for second place.

After two days, Miami held the top spot, earning 629 total points.

There weren’t a lot of individual first place finishes for the RedHawks Saturday, but there were enough close calls.

Chatwin, Barr and Blazer each finished in the top-three in their respective events. time of 1:44.46.

Miami picked up another relay win, Chatwin won the 400 freestyle relay in 2:55.35.

The team’s performance on Saturday was enough to stay in first place, clinching the MAC championship. The RedHawks finished with 932 overall points, far outpacing second-place Missouri State, who compiled 687 points.

The team picked up a lot of individuvenhage, Sego, Blazer and Wamsley were each named to the All-MAC first team, and a slew of RedHawks were named to the second team. both Outstanding Swimmer and Freshman Swimmer of the Year. Barr, who was an All-MAC second team honoree, won Co-Outstanding Senior of the Year.

Head Coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron was named the MAC Swimming Coach of the Year.

Bonewit-Cron will look to replicate last weekend’s success as she takes the women’s swimming and diving team to their MAC championship meet. The meet will be held in Ypsilanti, Mich., the home of Eastern Michigan University, April 15-17. @LukasTheDream nelso156@miamioh.edu

’Hawks Talk

THE MEN’S SWIMMING TEAM RAISES THE TROPHY AFTER WINNING THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIP. CONTRIBUTED BY ANNA KRAMIG

SCOREBOARD TUESDAY SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL

Butler………………….. 3

Miami……….………..12

Miami…..……………… 6

Akron…………....……4

FRIDAY

SOFTBALL

BASEBALL Western Michigan….... 9 Miami……….……….... 0

Miami……...…..….... 9 Akron……………….. 3

SUNDAY

BASEBALL

BASEBALL

Western Michigan…... 4

Western Michigan.... 9

Miami.…..................... 3

Miami………………..16

SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL

Miami …………..…….11

Miami……………….. 8

Akron ……….....…..... 0

Akron…………….… 0

TENNIS Akron…………….... 3

- Miami senior pitcher Jake Webb congratulates best catcher in collegiate baseball

Miami.….................... 3

Miami……………… 2

SATURDAY

TENNIS

BASEBALL Western Michigan..… 3 Miami………….......... 2

Northern Illinois….. 4 Miami …………….. 3

Opinion STAFF EDITORIAL

The Lecture Series has failed Miami Students, and it’s time for accountability Dan Harmon, creator of the shows “Community” and “Rick and Morty,” was supposed to speak to Miami students virtually as a part of Miami University’s Lecture Series on Monday, April 12. But his lecture was canceled amid student protests to Harmon’s past of sexual harassment and depictions of rape in his work.

According to the Lecture Series’ Instagram page, this But Harmon should have never been invited to participate in the Lecture Series to begin with.

The Lecture Series Committee was made aware of Harmon’s past by student representatives on the committee well in advance of his contract being signed. But the committee continued with conversations about bringing him to speak anyway. decides what events to schedule for the Lecture Series – a series funded by student dollars.

Not only does the Lecture Series Committee have less student representatives than its supposed to, but it also functions with a complete lack of oversight from University Senate or anyone else that can hold the committee accountable.

The Lecture Series currently answers to no one.

The Dan Harmon lecture is a perfect example of how These lectures and people brought to Miami by the

Lecture Series are paid for with our tuition dollars. Yet, the committee ignored the concerns of student representatives and turned a blind eye to Harmon’s past sexual harassment despite Miami’s extremely high rates of sexual assault on campus.

Not only was this choice a complete disregard of people’s lived experiences, but it shows that for Lecture Series Committee members, a documented past of sexual harassment is not a nonstarter.

That is unacceptable.

There are conversations being had about Harmon’s merit as a speaker despite his past. This is not a matter of free speech. The issue is not students not wanting a speaker on our campus. The backlash for this lecture was centered around Harmon’s unacceptable actions toward women.

Our editorial board, which actively works to uphold the grossly ignorant.

Even if the event was canceled due to a scheduling conries apologizing to the student body and survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence.

The Lecture Series’ inability to acknowledge its wrongdoing feels like a slap in the face to so many students on campus.

Miami’s Sexual Assault Survivor Support (SASS), was outspoken about its disdain for this event, and the club

The College Commandments

Religion in relationships

REBECCA WOLFF OPINION EDITOR It’s been a while since I’ve written a College Commandments piece. It was easy for me to take a step back from writing about religion because, well, I’m not religious.

But my boyfriend is.

That’s right, my man is a six-foot-four Irish Catholic from Connecticut. I, on the other hand, am a free-spirited Californian with a mom who just went back to school to study Chinese Medicine and acupuncture.

What can I say, opposites attract.

Now, I don’t know if I believe in God. I me wrong, but I’m not even sure if I want to put a name to it. My boyfriend is dead set on the big man upstairs, and his son (pretty famous guy), being not only real, but active people in his life.

“But it meant everything to him, which is why it meant something to me.”

We’ve been dating for six months, and at the beginning, I thought this divide was going to lead to our eventual split — and so did he.

But here’s my thing: I completely believe that when two people have strong relationships outside of their own, it makes for a way healthier bond.

So, why should it matter to me if those relationships are spiritual?

Just because when I need help or guidance I call my mom or my sister, doesn’t mean I get to set the default on where that guidance comes from.

And, those spiritual relationships actually do matter to me — a lot.

Not only do I strive to understand and be OK with his relationship with God, but if I want to be a solid partner, I want to fully support it.

Dealing with this is an easier feat than you might think. All I do (well, all I really can do) is ask questions.

If he says something I don’t understand or don’t like, I have to remind myself that this is

not my world and because of that, I have no real right to judge it.

I mean, I went to a Catholic high school that shaped a lot of my negative views of the church. But I know there’s always good things buried beneath my own experiences and the power dynamics that I feel get in the way of actual spirituality.

This isn’t ground-breaking by any means.

Good relationships require asking questions and respectfully listening to your partner — duh.

But this was hard for me. I saw the Catholic Church for everything it had done wrong.

So, to have to sit and listen to all the things it does right wasn’t a comfortable conversation for me to have.

But it’s not a one way street either.

My man will sit there and listen to me talk about my perception of organized religion, and all the reasons I feel it puts spirituality in a box. I’ve told him the story about how I got detention for wearing a backless dress to a dance when I was 15 a million times. I mean, I literally got detention for showing my 15-yearold back — what the hell is that about?

Not only that, but he agrees with a lot of the things I say. Neither of us are on extreme sides of a religious spectrum. We’re both just kids who love each other and genuinely want to learn from both of our experiences.

Pretty cute, huh?

Part of the reason we’ve been able to work communicate the moment anything comes up, and we approach divisive topics with open minds.

The other part is that we always show up.

I don’t mean we always stick to our date plans. I’m talking about actually showing up and being there for the other person.

On Easter Sunday, I got my ass up to go to Mass.

I hadn’t been inside a Catholic Church since my high school graduation.

Here’s the thing though: it wasn’t a big pretty building for an hour and listen to an old guy talk about the Bible.

But it meant everything to him, which is why it meant something to me.

There’s always going to be reasons to argue or even split up in relationships, especially when you’re in college.

But, if you just ask, listen and show up every once in a while, love can be a beautiful thing.

If you love somebody, like really love them, you want to see the world the way they do.

Being able to love and learn from somebody in that way doesn’t just make your relationship stronger, it makes you stronger too.

even organized a protest to take place during the lecture.

But it shouldn’t have taken students to speak out against this event.

The committee was aware of Harmon’s past. Its memIt’s clear the system in which these speakers are chosen is broken.

We need more student representatives on this committee — no questions asked. We pay for these events. We should have more control over where our money goes.

The Lecture Series Committee also needs someone to answer to. It has proven it cannot function with the amount of independence it currently has.

On top of that, we need accountability. We need an apology from the Lecture Series Committee for the deciwho supported the decision for him to speak to be removed from the committee.

They have failed our community. Giving a platform to a known sexual harasser is immoral, inconsiderate and a disgusting disregard for survivors.

At the end of the day, this committee is playing with our money. It needs to uplift the student perspective, not rely on four student representatives to act as a voice for the entire student community.

We deserve better. We need acknowledgement, and we demand accountability.

Take a walk, take a break, take a breath DEVIN ANKENEY THE MIAMI STUDENT About two or three times a week I’ll take a walk around Oxford. Well, I should say that I walk around the entire border of Oxford that is Mile Square.

After a long day of way too many classes and homework, I take an hour and a half to myself to just get outside to move around. I take a moment to breathe in some fresh air instead of the Occasionally, I’ll listen to music, or I just listen to the ambient sounds that make up the heart of Americana that resides deeply throughout southwest Ohio.

After I return to my cramped dorm room, I feel a sense of joyous relief. I feel this sense that I had been missing every minute prior to this experience of forgetting about my academic responsibilities.

We’ve been going through a long and hard 11 weeks thus far, without more than a silly wellness day every couple weeks in place of our lost, but ever needed spring break.

Look, I could sit here and bash wellness days the opposite of their intention to “nourish their minds, bodies, and spirits,” but I would rather give us all the chance to realize, for ourselves, It’s become increasingly and vitally important to give ourselves a moment. To take upon ourselves the responsibility to recuperate our personal mental health. Without the usual break from the grind of college, and especially online college, we have seen a massive hit to students’ mental health.

For those of us who have chosen to stay COVID safe and abstain from frequenting parties and bars, the rise in depression and anxiety rates has become far too real. At least some sense of loneliness and increased boredom has become the norm for those who have not expeWe’ve gotten to a point in this pandemic ing everyone’s physical health while also curbing the negative impacts against our collective mental well-being.

We can’t start going back to parties and concerts because of the pain we have felt, but we back to that space we were once in before we were relegated to perpetual isolation and limited mobility.

Sure, Miami has counseling services for students who wish to go to therapy (and everybody absolutely should use this resource), but sometimes talking through one’s thoughts just isn’t what I want to combat every stressor. en situation But other times, I just want to take a walk or do something fun without worrying

about anything at all.

For the mental disparagements I have felt I simply wish for a moment to relax, to take a breath and do something fun without the constraints of whatever paper I might have due the next day.

I suspect many other students have just wished for these simple outlets of self-interest as well.

Take a minute, right now, to think about what simple things make you happy.

Maybe it’s listening to a podcast every morning, or singing along to your favorite album.

Maybe it’s taking a 4-mile walk around the town as I do.

We need a chance to rest during this long semester. No spring break has hurt students beyond what could have been feasibly expected.

I hope next semester will be better with the recent announcement that we will see in-person classes return to near full force.

“It’s become increasingly and vitally important to give ourselves a moment. To take upon ourselves the responsibility to recuperate our personal mental health.”

Maybe making friends in our classes after mental state in which we so richly deserve.

But, that’s still a long way away.

We all remember the NFL Play 60 ads we used to see between episodes of iCarly and Spongebob as kids. The simple message of getting “active for at least 60 minutes a day.”

Okay, maybe an hour a day is a bit too tough for college students, but the core idea is important.

Everybody needs to press pause on the grind of life, to remove yourself, occasionally, from the bounds of our capitalist society that says work without a break.

So, take an hour now and then. Take a drive, do some yoga. Take a walk or watch your favorite movie.

All it takes is a small moment of unrestrained joy to completely change your week.