ESTABLISHED 1826 – OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
The Miami Student TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2016 Volume 144 №39
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
MIAMISTUDENT.NET
Fall 2016 semester to see increase in Friday classes
Clashes in Thomson Hall RACE
ACADEMICS
LAURA FITZGERALD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The fall 2016 course list, released Feb. 29, contains more classes offered on Friday than past years, part of a longer trend of increasing Friday classes. According to University Registrar Dave Sauter, the percent of classes that meet on Friday has been steadily increasing in the past few years, from 8.4 percent in fall 2012 to 10.7 percent in fall 2014. In fall 2015, that number jumped to 13.7 percent. While the course list is viewable, minor changes may still happen before the first scheduling date on April 4 for fall 2016, so no data is available yet for fall 2016, but there will be a greater percent of classes meeting on Friday. Sauter says part of the reason there has been a greater emphasis on Friday classes is to spread them out so students can fit in all the classes they need. “How are we spreading classes out? How can we maximize your success for choosing classes?” Sauter said. “If all your classes were Tuesday and Thursday from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., that would be a problem.” Sauter said there are also less registrar-scheduled classrooms than a few years ago due to building renovations. Since there is less classroom space available, more classes are using less space, and more time is needed to fit in all the classes. A registrar-scheduled classroom is a room that can be used by any class, not just one department. There are about 200 registrar classrooms out of the approximately 500 class spaces on campus. Enrollment for Friday classes and non-Friday classes are comparable. In fall 2014, the average Friday class had 25.8 students enrolled, whereas classes that did not meet on Friday had an average of 24.9 students per class. In a policy that was approved by the provost and enacted in 2013, an equal number of classes need to be scheduled on Monday and Friday. Also, 50 percent of classes need to meet in the Monday-Wednesday-Friday time block. The prevalence of Friday classes is also linked to student alcohol consumption on
Thursday nights. An alcohol task force that was formed in 2006 recommended offering more classes on Friday, among other recommendations. Rose Marie Ward, professor of kinesiology and health, served on the 2014-2015 Alcohol Task Force and is currently the co-chair for the Academic Support work group for the Alcohol Coordinating Committee. The ACC as formed by the Alcohol Task Force. Ward says there are three groups of students: students who never go out on a Thursday, students who go out occasionally and students who go out almost every Thursday. It is those students who drink to excess that might want to curb their Thursday night drinking, as heavy drinking is associated with lower grade point average. “There is an inverse relationship between drinking and academic performance,” Ward said. The level of difficulty and timing of the class affects student performance and attendance, Ward said. If students have earlier or more difficult classes on Friday, they would be less inclined to
Allegations of gender- and race-based harassment in Thomson Hall culminated last Thursday evening in an open dialogue between girls in the RedHawk Traditions and Social Justice LLCs. Jane, who requested her real name remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from girls in her corridor, is a trans student living in the Social Justice LLC in Thomson Hall. She said the harassment began with vandalization of whiteboards in the LLCs’ shared corridor. Students in the Social Justice LLC would write phrases like #BlackLivesMatter and #GayLivesMatter on the whiteboards outside their rooms only to return and find the phrases erased or sticky notes with passive aggressive comments stuck to their doors. “It’s not like the act of erasing stuff is the issue, because that’s relatively inconsequential,” Jane said. “The issue is that the people who are erasing stuff have been targeting the boards belonging to black students or queer students.”
FRIDAY »PAGE 3
THOMSON »PAGE 3
Beta Theta Pi fraternity buys former Evans Scholars house
JAMES STEINBAUER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
STUDENT LIFE
STAFF WRITERS (SEE ENDNOTE)
Armstrong Student Center — Kelly
“4:15! Anybody need a break?” one of the workers at Mein Street calls out. No one does. Instead, they mimic the other Armstrong employees and stand in a circle, talking with each other. There are no lines for food. Empty chairs surround empty tables and the few students who are here sit alone, eating or working quietly on their laptops. Families occupy a few tables, poring over maps and handouts from Make it Miami. The quiet is interrupted by the occasional Mein Street employee calling out order numbers or a snippet of conversation from a nearby table . A girl with a pink notebook gets up and walks to the table behind me.
“Hi, I’m with the Miami Student. Would you mind if I ask you a few questions for an article?” she asks. The girl doesn’t mind and they sit together, talking quietly for a minute before they go their separate ways and it grows silent again. The only constant sound is the radio, which is often overpowered by the sound of students conversing. Today, it sounds prominently over the relatively silent people who sit in the normally boisterous room. SLICE OF LIFE »PAGE 4
International Student Spotlight: Darshini Parthasarathy PEOPLE
ANGELA HATCHER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
JALEN WALKER THE MIAMI STUDENT
Beta Theta Pi purchased the former Evans Scholars house on East Church Street last month. GREEK
EMILY TATE
MANAGING EDITOR
Last month, Beta Theta Pi (Beta) fraternity purchased the former Evans Scholars house on East Church Street for $1 million. This new property will allow Beta, whose national headquarters are located in Oxford, to further influence the culture of the block, according to Martin Cobb, director of communications for the Beta Theta Pi Foundation and Administrative Office. Cobb said Beta intends to lease its new property on East Church Street to a
“high-performing fraternity in good standing with Miami University.” Beta is already negotiating with a potential tenant, Cobb said, but he would not reveal the name of that organization for confidentiality reasons. “By owning and, thus, establishing the guidelines by which the former Evans Scholars house operates, we can ensure a safer and more student-centered culture in that area of Oxford that has long been central to our fraternity’s existence at Miami University,” Cobb said. The general fraternity also owns two properties adjacent to the recently vacated Ev-
ans Scholars house, and its alumni own nearby facilities on High Street. While the housing in that location is student-dominated, Miami employees, private landlords and Beta staff members occupy several of the surrounding properties. “Our goal is for that block to be a model of how Miami students and Oxford community members can co-exist and enjoy living in close proximity to one another.” Miami’s chapter of Beta Theta Pi, which is the Alpha (founding) chapter of the national organization, is not BETA »PAGE 9
First-year Darshini Parthasarathy’s footsteps are loud and bold and you can hear her ID card swinging with a jingle from the lanyard around her neck as she walks around Peabody Hall. She usually comes in with a bang —strutting into a room laughing or waving at one of her friends and running to them while squealing excitedly. Her large black-and-yellow prescription glasses always sit on top of her wavy, black hair. She can typically be found wearing her favorite pair of leggings, a hoodie and her cherished Batman scarf. While she should be studying, she is more often watching anime or “Sherlock,” instead. She is always the first person to introduce herself to a stranger. “Hey I’m Darsh! Nice to meet you,” she’ll say, even though the other person clearly has their nose buried in a book. “What’s your name?” Strangers almost always greet her with a smile as she passes by. Although she is far from
ANGELA HATCHER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
home, she rarely lets sadness and the longing to see her family ruin her cheery outlook on life. And she is very far from home. The flight from Ohio to Abu Dhabi is 24 hours, including layovers. It’s a tedious trip, and not one she gets to make often during the school year. But her smile never fades. She surrounds herself with people, making friends everywhere she goes. Encounters with Darsh often lead to the question, “Where are you from?” Her slight accent often marking her as ‘foreign.’ “Abu Dhabi,” she’ll say. The follow up questions is almost always, “What part of India is that in?” In response, Darsh simply
tries not to roll her eyes. “No one knows where Abu Dhabi is,” Darsh chuckles. “Like does that sound like a place in India? Not so much. Basic geography!” Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It’s roughly 70 miles from Dubai and over 1,500 miles away from India. Darsh is always a little nervous when people ask her where she is from. Abu Dhabi is her home. But the question is easily answered with ‘Dubai’ or ‘India’ —places that people will recognize by name and won’t be confused about. But the confusion is understandable and Darsh recognizes that. Although she was born and raised in Abu DARSH »PAGE 9
NEWS p. 2
NEWS p. 3
CULTURE p. 4
OPINION p. 6
SPORTS p. 10
JANUS FORUM BRINGS POLITICAL ANALYSTS TO MU
ON-CAMPUS HOUSING TO MIX CLASSES
EDITORIAL BOARD APPLAUDS ‘SPOTLIGHT’
DULUTH BEATS MU, CLINCHES FINAL PLAY-OFF SPOT
Speakers include James Carville, Ann Compton, Alex Castallanos
Residence halls formerly reserved for first-years will now house all grade levels
‘SLICE OF LIFE’ OFFERS A GLIMPSE OF EVERYDAY MIAMI
Board celebrates Best Picture win as an accomplishment for journalism
Miami hockey team loses last available seat in post-season play-offs
Writers observe spots around campus on a Friday afternoon