ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
VOLUME 148 No. 7
MIAMI UNIVERSITY — OXFORD, OHIO
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019
DELTS MAKE HISTORY
Will new law allow NCAA Football video game to return?
Hazing allegations result in only 6th instance of criminal charges in Ohio BRIAH LUMPKINS
ASST. NEWS EDITOR Being criminally charged for hazing on a college campus is incredibly rare. Since Ohio legislators enacted a 1983 law denoting hazing as a fourth degree misdemeanor, there have only been six instances in which members of a fraternity were charged with hazing their fellow brothers and/or new members in the law’s 36-year-existence. Those first five instances include two cases in Bowling Green (one in 1988 and 2008), another in Cleveland in 2006, a 2009 charge in Athens and a 2014 incident in Akron, all extensively documented by The Columbus Dispatch last May. The sixth case hasn’t made it to court yet. When a Butler County grand jury handed down 68 counts of hazing and assault against 18 former brothers from Miami University’s Delta Tau Delta (Delts) fraternity on Oct. 3 — for repeatedly assaulting a new member last spring — it marked only the sixth time hazing has resulted in criminal charges in the state of Ohio. Hank Nuwer, a journalism professor at Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana, has a particular interest in hazing. He keeps a database on all hazing deaths that have taken place at universities across the country from 1838 to present. Nuwer said he doesn’t think Ohio’s hazing charges are strict enough and hopes to see a change in the near future. “I expect that, in time, Ohio will get a little bit tougher [with hazing laws],” Nuwer said. “These are still very serious charges, and people’s lives are at stake.” Miami’s recent history of hazing issues have been on Nuwer’s radar for more than a decade. In 1990, when writing his book “Broken Pledges,” he spent two to three weeks in Oxford
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NCAA VIDEO GAMES ARE GONE FROM THE MARKET, BUT STILL RESONATE IN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF REDHAWK FOOTBALL PLAYERS. DESIGN EDITOR CONNOR WELLS
If it does, Miami football players’ dreams will come true MICHAEL VESTEY
THE MIAMI STUDENT Dominique Robinson liked playing as Oregon and Boise State, but Kentucky was his top choice. Even a decade later, he still fondly remembers trampling opponents with Reggie Bush in the old NCAA Football video games. “The guy was Reggie Bush, on the few [games] that he was on, unstoppable,” Robinson, the Miami University wide receiver, said. “He was probably the best guy.” The NCAA Football series is beloved to
college football fans nationwide. Featuring all FBS teams in college football during the period they were made and including details such as accurate stadiums and player faces, the games were played both by casual players and diehard college football fans alike. However, it was the faces of the players that eventually got the series into trouble. As graphical quality improved, it became increasingly clear that, for example, Miami’s “QB #7” was Ben Roethlisberger, and the NCAA got involved. Former student-athletes sued Electronic Arts, the series’ publisher, for
the use of their image without their consent. Schools and conferences withdrew their support from the series. The series and some players’ dreams of appearing in it were canceled after NCAA Football 14. For now, the NCAA video games are still gone from the market but not from the hearts of the kids who played them. “[When they stopped making them] I was hurt, I was upset,” Miami defensive lineman Doug Costin said. “My big thing was that I CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Momma T’s Tacos and Things
A small food truck with a lot to give MAYA FENTER
MAGAZINE EDITOR
MAMA T GREW UP POOR AND HER PHILOSOPHY IS THAT IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE, YOU GIVE IT. THE MIAMI STUDENT SAKSHAM SHRESTHA
I’ll admit that even after years of experience in journalism, I’m still not quite sure how to handle asking someone questions while they’re working or seem busy. A small crowd had gathered at the edge of the TJMaxx parking lot, the designated spot for Momma T’s Tacos and Things food truck, so after I ordered and got my own food, I sat on a parking bumper a few feet away to let Momma T finish making all of the orders while I ate mine. Theresa Martinez, “Momma T,” has been serving Mexican street food in Oxford every Friday and Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. since July, but on the day I visited, she was there for the Tuesday evening farmers market. Theresa drives to Oxford from her home, someplace between Middletown and Monroe, Ohio (but if you ask, she’ll say she lives in Monroe since she doesn’t like Middletown all that much). Her red pickup truck pulls a small, bright blue trailer with a sign that says “Momma T’s Tacos and Things.” When customers walk up to the trailer parked in the lot, a whiteboard leans against the side with menu items and their prices written in black dry erase marker. Theresa’s eldest daughter — one of her 10 kids — stands inside taking orders, but Theresa stands outside behind a grill under a tent next to the trailer. She likes being face-to-face with her customers. She likes talking to people and giving people someone to talk to. I ordered two tacos, one chicken and one steak. Both had meat and cheese piled on two layers of corn tortillas which were grilled until slightly crispy. I had to eat some of the filling with a spoon before I could even fold the CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
This Issue NEWS
CULTURE
SPORTS
OPINION
Researchers expedite possible treatment for depression
He’ll sing you a song;
REDHawks? Not so fast.
If not now, then when?
page 4
he’s the guitar man. page 6
Miami football to wear cancer-awareness helmets for second year.
page 11
We want to tell the full story. We want to talk to you.
page 12