ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 147 No. 18
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
FIVE CANDIDATES RUN FOR STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT RACHEL BERRY ERIN GLYNN
THE MIAMI STUDENT
RACISM IN RECENSIO A history of hate at Miami University
Five pairs of candidates are running for the offices of student body president (SBP) and vice president (VP) for the 2019-2020 school year. Of the 10 candidates on the tickets, only three have previously served in Associated Student Government (ASG). All of the candidates are upperclassmen, except for Jonnie Taylor and Sydney Fowler, who are both sophomores. Shelby Frye (SBP) and Julia Koenig (VP) Shelby Frye and Julia Koenig cite their drive and passion as distinguishing them from other tickets. Their main priorities are safety and wellness, diversity and inclusion and student empowerment — areas they believe are all interconnected. Koenig, who currently serves as both the Safety Chair in ASG’s executive cabinet and as the president of Feminists Working On Real Democracy (FWORD) for a third term, is particularly focused on safety and wellness. The ticket hopes to address sexual assault by setting minimum suspension lengths for students found guilty of sexual assault. To create a more inclusive environment, Frye and Koenig want to design an in-person diversity training programming in addition to the existent module. They also want to centralize resources on diversity and inclusion, to allow for student activism to CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
TIM CARLIN BRIAH LUMPKINS STAFF WRITERS
Blackface – The act of wearing black makeup to appear as a caricature of a black person. The word was catapulted back into national headlines when photos surfaced of Virginia governor Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook, in which a photo depicted a student wearing blackface standing next to a student in a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) hood. This finding inspired USA Today to look into the yearbooks of over 900 universities across the country to see how many instances of racism could be found. USA Today’s research uncovered countless instances of blackface, KKK hoods and even mock lynchings. Their discoveries prompted The Miami Student to look into Miami University’s own history of racism through Recensio, Miami’s former yearbook publication. (Recensio is now published once a year in The Miami Student as an insert composed of senior photos). The Student
examined every available edition from 1960 to 2013, the last year King Library has on record. After looking through 50 yearbooks, our staff found at least 23 instances of racist imagery. All of The Student’s findings, with the exception of one photo — a 1986 picture of Stanton Hall residents — were from Greek organizations, many of which are still active on campus. From 1960 to 1969, 13 instances of racism were depicted in the pages of Recensio. There were four photographs of white students imitating traditional Middle Eastern dress, four photographs of students being mock-lynched, two photographs of blackface, one photograph showcasing students wearing white hoods, one photograph with a student wearing a Confederate flag and one photograph of students saluting a Nazi flag. In the 1962 edition, three Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity brothers are shown in a photo replete with racist imagery. One is saluting a Nazi military flag, another is brandishing a long blade and
pointing it toward the flag, while a third holds a candelabra and rests his hand on a statue of a black man. The caption of the photo reads: “Yet, despite annoyances, we take care never to let ourselves forget the focal point of all Miami life.” Of the 13 instances of racism printed in Recensio from 1960 to 1969, six came from 1968. In that year’s copy, a captionless photo portrays a white man hanging limply outside the Delta Upsilon fraternity house, strung up by a rope running under his shirt. His mouth is curled slightly into a smile. In that same year, a group photo of the Delta Chi fraternity shows one man mock-lynching another. Two men stand behind them wearing white pointed hoods. From 1970 to 1979, The Student identified six racist images in the pages of those Recensio issues. Three photographs depict the CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Miami women’s basketball extends win streak to 11 with a win over BGSU
ARENA
Need for Speed: student races to compete and pursue his degree BRIAH LUMPKINS STAFF WRITER
If you see Britt Casey walking the halls of Farmer School of Business (FSB), you might think he was just like everyone else — just another junior marketing major, rushing to lectures and hoping to do well academically. Even if you share a class with him, you might not notice that he reads ahead in his textbooks and asks for assignments weeks in advance. And you almost certainly wouldn’t know that he works because he leaves Oxford in the middle of the week to drive race cars. While other students are Uptown on the weekends, Casey flies across the country to races, where he listens to his tires squeal on the pavement and his engine revving in his ears, feeling adrenaline pumping through his veins. Britt Casey is a professional racecar driver. He balances his life as a full-time student and a professional racecar driver by remaining committed to his “hustle” and making sacrifices in order to be successful. Racinghas interested Casey his entire life. His father had a passion for racing since his own childhood, and gave Casey the same upbringing. “My dad definitely sparked the passion big time,” Casey said. “He’s always been sort of a gearhead.” Casey was immersed in racing culture from a young age. He was only seven years old when he began participating in Motocross, or
This Issue
CASEY HAS BEEN RACING LONGER THAN MOST PEOPLE HIS AGE HAVE BEEN DRIVING. PHOTOGRAPHER MATT HECKERT
off-road motorcycle racing, and quickly transitioned to racing go-karts across the country at the age of ten. Casey was racing as an amateur at thirteen — before most teens have their learners permit — and he drove his first professional race at sixteen. Casey now represents Audi Customer Racing in many different endurance sports car races. This type of racing differs from NASCAR, the
Are you not entertained? pages 8 & 9
stereotypical image of racing, in a few ways. The races are long. Endurance races can last up to 24 hours, split up between multiple drivers, and the tracks are complicated, with a total of seventeen corners per lap. Casey has raced all over the country, including Florida, California, Connecticut, New York and even parts of Canada. The most noteworthy race Casey has participated in is the IMSA (International Motorsports Association) Michelin Pilot Challenge,
Bursar hit by tuition scam
Do you have what it takes?
International students were victimized by scam claiming to pay their tuition.
Combining a passion for performance and psychology for good.
News » page 5
Culture » page 6
which he won in 2018. Throughout his career he has amassed 16 top-five finishes, 11 podiums (finishing in the top three) three poles (finishing first in a qualifying race) and four wins. “I’ve learned more in racing than I’ve learned in school in general,” Casey said. “Especially with talking to people and knowing how to carry a conversation, knowing how to act professionally. It definitely grooms you into a professional business mentality.” Racing has allowed Casey to score major partnerships with many companies, such as OscarMike, TRUMPF, Cushman & Audi Sport Customer Racing. Casey’s professional experience helped him make the decision to spend his academic career at Miami – it was a strategic choice. Here in Oxford, he is able to work on cars with Brad Kettler, a world-famous engineer and former North American operations director for Audi Sport Customer Racing, at Kettler Motor Werks, which is only a 12-minute drive from Miami on West College Corner. In addition to working for Kettler, Casey also wanted to go to college someplace where he could temporarily get away and live a normal life when not behind the wheel. To Casey, the Farmer School of Business seemed like the perfect place to pursue his academic career because of its high-ranking reputation, but also because Miami has a unique college-town feel that he wasn’t getting back home in Barrington, Ill. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Love, Honor & Care
Finding peace in imperfection
Our sports writer found more than a game in the RedHawks win.
You’re worth far more than the weight of social pressure.
Sports » page 11
Opinion » page 12