ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2017
Volume 146 No. 14
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
HAMILTON STUDENTS FOR LIFE FILE FREE SPEECH SUIT AGAINST MIAMI LAWSUIT
JAKE GOLD
ASST. NEWS EDITOR
SANTA CLAUS GREETS CHILDREN ON HIGH STREET AT THE ANNUAL HOLIDAY FESTIVAL. SABIK AKAND THE MIAMI STUDENT
At Holiday Festival, Santa Claus came to town EVENT
MAYA FENTER
THE MIAMI STUDENT
“We’re doing that.” Shelby Frye, Malena McClory, Sarah Siegel and Isabella Bocija watched as two black horses passed by pulling a carriage embellished with evergreen branches, Christmas lights and red bows. “Where do we get in line?” They consult a nearby sign post that looks
as if it’s straight out of a cartoon Christmas special, complete with multicolored arrows listing different activities in bubble letters. Before getting in line, they grab a cup of free hot chocolate before it would inevitably run out. It was only 50 degrees — warm for Ohio in December — but who could refuse free hot chocolate? Well, Shelby could. Her dislike of chocolate is well-known and frequently questioned among her friends. They stand in line for the carriage ride with
Miami Student joins ‘Your Voice Ohio’ reporting initiative
a mix of other college students and families with children. A mother and father stand in front of them with their two children: a little girl dressed in all purple with a pink hat and a little boy in jeans and a Bengals jacket. They watched the little girl as she grabbed onto the rope marking the line of people eagerly waiting for the horses to return. They marveled at how cute she is. It isn’t every day that college students get to see people younger than 18.
Students for Life at Miami University’s Hamilton campus, along with the religious legal advocacy organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), are suing the school over alleged discrimination and infringement of First Amendment rights. Students for Life, whose national website declares their mission as “abolish[ing] abortion in our lifetime,” was organizing its fourth annual “Cemetery of the Innocents” demonstration when the university’s Director of Student Activities and Orientation, Caitlin Borges, informed the group that they must put up informational signs across campus to notify community members of the display, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday. Borges suggested the signs say something like, “The Students for Life are displaying their annual Cross Display from October 29th–November 5th. Please contact Ellie Wittman with questions,” according to the lawsuit. The Cemetery of the Innocents display places crosses on the university’s Central Quad to “represent the lives lost to abortion,” the lawsuit states. Borges feared that the display could cause “emotional trauma” for those not expecting the exhibit, while Wittman, CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Miami primatologist earns national distinction RESEARCH
JULIA ARWINE
THE MIAMI STUDENT
JAKE GOLD CÉILÍ DOYLE
ASST. NEWS EDITORS
The Miami Student, along with several other publications in the Miami Valley, is joining forces with local news organizations to better cover community issues and increase local trust in the media through an initiative titled “Your Voice Ohio.” The Jefferson Center, a nonpartisan civic engagement organization, is coordinating the initiative through the Ohio Media Project (OMP). OMP is made up of several media Ohio outlets, including The Columbus Dispatch, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Dayton Daily News, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Hamilton-Journal News and others. Throughout the next two and a half months, The Student will be working in collaboration with these outlets to specifically address the opioid epidemic in southwestern Ohio. In January, OMP media outlets will produce stories centered around solutions to the opioid crisis. The leaders of this initiative — Andrew Rockway, program director of the Jefferson Center, and Your Voice Ohio, editor and coordinator Doug Oplinger — hope to garner interest for community meetings. that will be hosted by the Jefferson Center throughout February. These meetings will take place in Cincinnati, Dayton, Middletown and rural communities in Clinton County and WilmingCONTINUED ON PAGE 11
Linda Marchant’s office is located near the back of a small warren of rooms in a corner of Upham Hall. A meme is taped to the primatologist and professor of anthropology’s door, expressing frustration with people who call apes “monkeys.” Inside, books and papers fill the shelves along one wall and cover most flat surfaces, reflecting the knowledge and curiosity of the woman who sits in the middle of it all. Marchant, a lifelong lover of science, animals and museums, recently received the award for Outstanding Research into Human Origins from the Center for Research into the Anthropological Foundations of Technology (CRAFT) and the Stone Age Institute (SAI). This prestigious award, once given to famed primatologist Jane Goodall, recognizes Marchant’s research on chimpanzees. “Chimpanzees in their own right are extraordinary animals,” Marchant said. “They are also our closest genetic relative.” Marchant has studied these primates in various sites throughout Africa and in captivity to gain insight into their behavior and how it might reflect human origins. One major aspect of her research is handedness. An overwhelming percentage of humans are right-handed in every activity, from writing to throwing to picking up items. Through extensive observation, Dr. Marchant has noticed that this imbalance in everyday activities does not exist in chimpanzees. The only activities in which they show
NEWS P.3
Semester in Photos page 6
MUPD SERGEANT GRADUATING Sgt. Michelle Hercules has sacrificed a lot of sleep this semester.
LINDA MARCHANT WITH HER AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING RESEARCH INTO HUMAN ORIGINS. SEBASTIAN NEUFUSS THE MIAMI STUDENT
strong hand preference are those relating to tools, such as making or using a tool. Even then, there is an even split between left and right-handedness. “When they use tools, it’s a departure from ‘it doesn’t matter,” Marchant said. “So I think there’s something about the motor demands and complexity of tool use that starts manifesting some kind of hand preference.” Another prominent feature of Marchant’s research is the documentation of variations in culture patterns. In studying chimpanzees from west to east Africa, she has found that cultural traditions vary by
population. “From an anthropological point of view you’re very interested in how patterns emerge, how are they propagated, how do they persist and in what context are they displayed,” said Marchant. In particular, Marchant has observed the methods with which chimpanzees gather food. Some populations go “termite-fishing” in termite mounds, while others are unaware that those termites are worth eating and do not bother with them. Some crack open oil palm nuts with stones, while others CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
CULTURE P.4
EDITORIAL P. 12
MUSINGS ON NETFLIX’S CARREY DOC
TMS TO HOST PUBLIC SAFETY FORUM
Learning to live with your inner worst critic.
What can Oxford and Miami do to make our community safer?
SPORTS P.14
MIAMI SPLITS SERIES WITH CORNELL The ’Hawks were shut out by No. 5 Cornell 4-0 on Saturday.
FSB POP-UP SHOP TRUNK SHOW
POPULAR FSB BRANDED PRODUCTS
DECEMBER 7 FARMER COMMONS 10% OF PROCEEDS WILL GO TO BSAC
BELL TOWER DECEMBER 6 11:00AM–3:00PM