The Miami Student | February 4, 2020

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ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

Volume 148 No. 13

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020

HEALTH OFFICIALS CONFIRM:

NO CORONAVIRUS AT MIAMI

Suspended professor reinstated JULIA ARWINE NEWS EDITOR

JENNIFER BAILER TOLD THE COMMUNITY TO "WATCH SOME FOOTBALL, WASH YOUR HANDS AND BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER," ON SUNDAY. ASST. PHOTO EDITOR BO BRUECK

STAFF REPORT

THE MIAMI STUDENT Two Miami University students suspected of having coronavirus tested negative and are no longer under isolation. Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), confirmed the two students, who have been isolated since last week, do not have the 2019 novel coronavirus in a press conference at the Gross Student Athletic Center on Sunday night. “I am very pleased to share that the results are negative for both students, and they are

thrilled,” Acton said. The students, who had recently returned from traveling throughout China, were originally isolated on Tuesday, Jan. 28 in their off-campus residence after reporting to Student Health Services (SHS) with flu-like symptoms. SHS reported the students’ symptoms to Butler County General Health District, who conducted multiple tests on the students and sent samples to ODH and the CDC. “These students were the victim of circumstance, and they have been very cooperative and graceful,” Acton said. Acton also emphasized the Miami community’s need to stay compassionate and not give in

to racially-charged fears. Miami officials were joined at the press conference by representatives from the Ohio Department of Health and Butler County General Health. Butler County Health Commissioner Jennifer Bailer said the students are no longer in isolation, as of several hours before the press conference. The students have also been cleared to “conduct all their normal activities,” Bailer said, including attending their scheduled classes. “They’re doing very well,” Bailer said. “What CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

A biology professor who was suspended and almost fired for having a hallucinogenic-producing plant in a university greenhouse has been fully reinstated. Professors Daniel Gladish and John Cinnamon faced disciplinary action for their roles in the cultivation of an Iboga plant last year. The Iboga plant is an African tree with roots that can be used to produce a hallucinogenic drug. Cinnamon allegedly brought Iboga seeds back to Miami University from a trip to Africa. Gladish, director of Miami’s Hamilton campus conservatory, grew the plant to study it. Miami’s American Association of University Professors (AAUP) advocacy chapter protested the severity of the punishment and shortly after created a petition that garnered thousands of signatures internationally. Cinnamon has been on medical leave since the start of the disciplinary process and has had no hearings, said Claire Wagner, director of university news and communications. Gladish was suspended with pay but never lost his title. Following hearings that took place throughout the fall of 2019, Gladish signed a resolution agreement to cease termination procedures against him and return to his position as a professor of biology and biological sciences on Wednesday, Jan. 29. This includes the reinstatement of his tenure, Miami’s AAUP chapter president, Cathy Wagner, said. “We are thrilled that justice has prevailed, at least in this part of the case,” Cathy Wagner said. Though Gladish was able to return to work as a professor, he did have to give up his position as director of the conservatory. And, as part of the agreement, Gladish also tendered a letter of resignation effective Jan. 1, 2024. Gladish said he was surprised by this latter condition since he was already considering retiring relatively soon, but that he ultimately found the resolution to be fair. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Myaamia Center sees change in leadership JULIA ARWINE NEWS EDITOR

Chief Douglas Lankford of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma took the stage of the tribe’s newly renovated Council House and called for two people to join him: Myrtis Powell and Bobbe Burke. The two women have long had a relationship with the tribe, and on Friday, Jan. 24, they were thanked for their roles in connecting the tribe and Miami University, which had long gone unassociated until 1972, when the tribe’s chief at the time visited Miami unexpectedly. The thank you was especially heartfelt for Burke, who retired from her position as Coordinator of Miami Tribe Relations at the Myaamia Center — the heart of Miami’s relationship with the tribe. Though neither woman was born into the tribe, Burke and Powell were instrumental in growing the presence of Myaamia students at the university and in instituting the Myaamia Project in 2001, which would become the Myaamia Center twelve years later. Burke was working in the Office of Student Affairs in 1991 when Powell, the Vice President of Student Affairs at the time, began leading advances in university-tribe relations by bringing the first Myaamia student to campus. In the years following, Burke coordinated projects about the tribe and for the students, which led to her learning about the history and culture of the Myaamia and other Native American peoples, an interest that deepened the more she worked with the tribe. Powell retired in 2002, and Burke continued to grow more invested in the university and tribe’s relationship. In 1994, she became the Coordinator of Miami Tribe Relations, the title she held until her retirement at the beginning of 2020.

KARA STRASS (LEFT) AND BOBBE BURKE (RIGHT) ATTENDED THE MIAMI TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA'S ANNUAL WINTER GATHERING. NEWS EDITOR JULIA ARWINE

“It’s been a wonderful educational trip for me,” Burke said. “I don’t think I could have told you one significant thing that happened to American Indians when I first started this.” Burke has witnessed firsthand how the Myaamia Center has grown and strengthened,

especially in bringing Myaamia students together. They don’t just show up to their Myaamia classes; they socialize and form friendships, and many come to the Winter Gathering, an event that brings members of the tribe together in Miami, Oklahoma each January.

After working closely with tribe members at the Myaamia Center like Daryl Baldwin and George Ironstrack and attending the Winter

NEWS

CULTURE

SPORTS

OPINION

Black Hair Magic:

Losing your heroes hurts:

Champ!

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This Issue

a deep dive into protective styles page 5

MU students reflect page 6

Heartbreak

Miami football player watches dad win SuperBowl

Oldest daughters know what it's like

page 10

page 12


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