The Miami Student | November 13, 2018

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

Volume 147 No. 11

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

TUESDAY, NOVMEBER 13, 2018

MAIL DELAYS NEGATE ABSENTEE VOTES TIM CARLIN THE MIAMI STUDENT

PAINTED CERAMIC BOWLS FROM ACROSS TOWN MADE THEIR WAY TO THE 16TH ANNUAL OXFORD EMPTY BOWLS ON SATURDAY. THE MIAIMI STUDENT ZACH REICHMAN

Empty Bowls and full stomachs DUARD HEADLEY

ASST. CULTURE EDITOR Mid-morning light filtered through the wide windows of the Oxford Community Arts Center, illuminating an unusual centerpiece of the room: row upon row of colorful bowls of all shapes and sizes.

A tiny blue bowl, not much bigger than a teacup, sat beside a massive, deep green bowl that was criss-crossed with etched-in lines.

Bowls adorned with Chinese writing nestled next to bowls with painted-on stick figures in all manner of poses. A bowl with a verdant forest scene bumped up against one with a tapestry of orange and red swirls stretched across its surface.

All levels of skill were on display, rep-

resenting the wide variety of sources these bowls originated from. Some came from Talawanda high schoolers, others from You’re Fired uptown, while more still came from community artists and volunteers. Each of the bowls found its way to the Oxford Community Arts Center for a good cause: fighting hunger.

Last Saturday was the 16th annual Oxford Empty Bowls event, a soup luncheon hosted

by Oxford residents in collaboration with Talawanda schools, Miami University and the city of Oxford. Participants gathered to raise money for the Oxford Community Choice Pantry, with smaller amounts of money being raised for other local hunger relief efforts like Crossroads Outpost, the Open Hands Food Pantry and the BackPack Program.

Oxford Empty Bowls is a branch of a global initiative, Empty Bowls, that began in 1990 in Michigan as an effort to fight hunger at the CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

For first-year political science major Ashwin Shenoy, the end of Election Day was met with frustration — not because his preferred candidates lost, but because he did not get the chance to cast his vote at all.

Shenoy sent in his absentee ballot request to his hometown of Cary, Illinois in mid-October to allow enough time to receive his ballot before Election Day. As the days counted down, he became more anxious but did not give up hope. Even on Election Day, he checked his mailbox multiple times in hopes it would arrive before the polls closed.

“I checked around 8:00 p.m., and it still was not there,” said Shenoy. “Then, maybe around 8:30 p.m., my buddy came to my door and said ‘Hey, look what I just got? My absentee ballot.’ So I went and checked, and it was there.”

Jeremiah Grimm, a first-year supply chain and operation management major, had a similar voting experience this year. Grimm sent in his absentee ballot application to Kent, Ohio the week of Oct. 21, but did not receive his ballot until 4:00 p.m. on Election Day. He could have potentially filled out and returned his ballot before the polls closed, but Grimm had just returned from casting a provisional ballot in Butler County at Oxford’s Shriver Center polling location when he received his absentee ballot.

Both students’ absentee ballots were postmarked Oct. 30, meaning they spent a total of seven days in transit.

“I don’t know how that did not get here on time when my grandma’s mail gets here in four days,” Grimm added.

Both Shenoy and Grimm live in Hepburn Hall, but received their ballots at different times on the same day.

A Hepburn Hall RA and the hall’s resident director declined to comment on mail CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

SCAN TO WATCH THE VIDEO STORY

ARENA

Senior linebacker lives the dream at Miami Brad Koenig’s journey from walk-on to rock of the ‘Hawks BRADY PFISTER STAFF WRITER

BRAD KOENIG MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF AFTER WALKING ONTO THE ‘HAWKS FOUR YEARS AGO. ASST. PHOTO EDITOR BO BRUECK

This Issue

Miami redshirt senior linebacker Brad Koenig has been called the undisputed best linebacker in the Mid-American Conference.

But Koenig is a former walk-on.

Five years after arriving at Miami with no college offers, Koenig has become the rock of the RedHawk defense.

Koenig came to Miami as an unknown prospect following an underwhelming high school senior season during which he collected just 21 total tackles.

The 6-foot-1-inch linebacker played under three different head coaches at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, making it difficult to get his name out to college recruiters.

“It’s tough to get recruited when you have a new head coach who doesn’t even know his players,” Koenig said.

Pets of Oxford meet Lila on page 7

Nevertheless, Koenig found his way to Oxford after a former junior varsity coach sent Koenig’s film to a Miami assistant coach.

Three days before the RedHawks opened fall camp in 2014, the Miami coaching staff gave Koenig a call and his college career began.

After being redshirted his first season on the team, Koenig worked his way up the defensive depth chart while playing both safety and linebacker.

“I think right when I got here, they could tell I was a good football player,” Koenig said.

“I just don’t think they knew exactly where to put me.”

That changed in October 2015 against Ohio University when one of Miami’s starting linebackers was ejected, forcing Koenig into action at linebacker.

This moment, Koenig says, was the day he went from walk-on to contributor.

Since then, Koenig has blossomed into a nationally recognized defender. Koenig has collected 90 total tackles with 10 of them coming for a loss on the play with two games left this season.

A monster performance at Akron this season propelled Koenig to one of the MAC’s best linebackers. Heading into the fourth quarter, the RedHawks held just a seven point lead, but went on to roll to a 41-17 victory.

And Miami rolled because Koenig snagged

‘All gave some, some gave all’

Masha Gessen talks truth & lies

A new veterans’ memorial was ceremonially dedicated Sunday.

The journalist and author lectured on the resistive power of truth.

News » page 3

Culture » page 6

two interceptions and recovered a fumble.

Koenig said he and his teammates desperately needed a strong finish.

“I don’t remember when we had a win that was that safe at the end,” Koenig said.

Two weeks later, the RedHawks traveled to Army to face the triple-option attack of the Black Knights.

Koenig came up big, making 23 tackles while forcing a fumble in the RedHawks’ double-overtime defeat.

“You’re playing a tough military team,” Koenig said. “You’ve got to be mentally tough.”

As Koenig and the RedHawks finish up the final two games of the season, individual stats and recognitions can wait. In Koenig’s mind, he plays the game humbly, thankful for the opportunity to compete at a high level.

“I’m not too flashy,” Koenig said. “It just goes back to being a kid growing up. I grew up watching dudes at [the University of] Michigan … it’s pretty cool being one of them.”

As Koenig looks to take the next step in his career, he will, once again, face tall odds. Draft experts predict the linebacker to be undrafted come April.

Of course, walking on to a football team would be nothing new for Brad Koenig. pfistejb@miamioh.edu

Volleyball tourney starts Thursday

Pint-sized celebs take 2018 by storm

RedHawks seek back-to-back MAC tournament championships.

Our writer lays out the year’s cultural dominance by women of short stature.

Sports » page 8

Opinion » page 10

TMS Magazine invites you to Kofenya for the launch of the Fall 2018 issue on Wednesday, Nov. 28 from 9-11 p.m.

This Week

2 FYI

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018 Named the Best College Newspaper (Non-daily) in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists.

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Audrey Davis Kirby Davis Alison Perelman Managing Editors

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Emily Brustoski Video Editor Megan Zahneis Magazine Editor, Copy Chief

Ben Smith Design Editor

Alyssa Melendez Web Designer

Samantha Brunn Ceili Doyle News Editors

Lindsay Cerio Business Manager

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James Tobin Faculty Adviser

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Fred Reeder Business Adviser

Kelly Burns Ben Finfrock Opinion Editors

WDJ Inc. - Bill Dedden Distributor

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Aim Media Midwest Printer

Designers Owen Berg Briah Lumpkins Arthur Newberry Connor Wells

Asst. Culture Editors Maia Anderson Duard Headley Asst. Photo Editor Bo Brueck

Humor Editor Michael Serio

Good Kids Gates-Abegglen Theatre, Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, 2 p.m.

Miami University Department of Theatre presents the second show of their season, “Good Kids,” which explores the significance of sexual assault and social media. Tickets can be purchased at Miami University’s Box Office

Thanksgiving Dinner Shriver Center Dolibois Room , Thursday, 5:30-7 p.m.

Enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with international students, faculty/staff and community members at the annual Thanksgiving dinner hosted by International Student and Scholar Services. The dinner costs $5, and deadline to register is today.

A Swingin’ Holiday

Tyler Hilton Armstrong Shade Stage, Thursday, 8 p.m.

Join MAP in the Shade Family Room for a live musical performance by Tyler Hilton as a part of their Coffee House series. Free snacks and coffee will be provided.

Hall Auditorium, Thursday-Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Celebrate the holiday season with Big Band Choral Spectacular in this 1940s style performance, featuring new arrangements of classic holiday tunes. Tickets are $10-15. More information at swinginholiday.info.

Asst. Magazine Editor Maya Fenter

Entertainment Editor Sam Keeling Opinion Columnist Emily Dattilo

Copy Editors Sydney Hill Brianna Porter

Asst. Sports Editor Chris Vinel

Asst. Business Manager Bea Newberry

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The Miami Student is published on Tuesdays during the school year by the students of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

The content of The Miami Student is the sole responsibility of The Miami Student staff. Opinions expressed in The Miami Student are not necessarily those of Miami University, its students or staff.

CORRECTIONS POLICY

The Miami Student is committed to providing the Miami University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

Too many roommates?

The Courtyards of Miami might be just what you are looking for. Located on East Central Ave., between Campus and South Main St., very close to the REC. We offer neat and clean housing at affordable prices.... 2 bedroom shared by just 2 students $2700. (person) per semester. (includes Heat and water). 1 bedroom apartment with a study for 1 person $3900.

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Stop by, contact Carolyn at 513-659-5671 or Home - The Courtyards of Miami for more info. http://www.thecourtyardsofmiami.com

Giving Circle Grants Over $103,000 awarded in grants last year!

If you are a student, staff or faculty member of any of the Miami University campuses, you are invited to apply for grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000!

• Applicants are invited whether solo or in groups, teams or organizations • Grants awarded for programs, projects, initiatives and research that are not profit-making endeavors

Think big!

Finalists will be part of Hawk Tank, a fast-pitch event on April 10, 2019, where our Giving Circle Members will vote for their favorite projects to receive funding.

Past winners include: Miami Women’s Hockey, Girls Who Code, Inclusivity Program, Opening Minds through Art (OMA) and more.

APPLY BY FEB. 1, 2019

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MAIL DELAYS NEGATE ABSENTEE VOTES FROM FRONT

distribution practices, saying the university prohibited them from speaking on the record.

Most mail is en route to residence halls by 2 p.m, said Sydney Schank, a student package center employee.

All mail addressed to campus residence halls is first filtered through the package center where the mail is sorted by address, explained Schank. Medications, absentee ballots and other time-sensitive materials are not prioritized in any way. After they sort the mail, student package center employees put it into large bags for same-day distribution, each with their own mail route.

The hall delivery times vary from day to day, Schank said. Sometimes the mail leaves the center at 10 or 11 a.m., but other days it might not be until 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

Maddie O’Toole, a senior strategic communication major and former RA, said RAs are in charge of putting the mail in dorm mailboxes.

“I didn’t know of any deadlines for getting mail into the boxes, just that it should be one of the first things we do when on duty,” O’Toole said. “It was part of our RA checklist that we filled out every time we were on duty and every time we went on rounds, so I normally just never forgot to do it. I think we might have gotten some reminders at our staff meetings or in an email if someone forgot to do it, but I never remember it being a super big deal or problem.”

Brian McDonald, a junior interactive media studies major and former RA for Porter Hall, said different residence halls may have different rules.

The lack of standard mail dispensing practices means it’s difficult to determine why individual letters — and absentee ballots — don’t arrive on time.

“I think it hurts the most because if I would have received my ballot just a few hours earlier, I would have had the opportunity to vote in one of the most important elections in recent history,” Shenoy said. “But, I didn’t get that chance.” carlintm@miamioh.edu

Guidelines for consistency in Title IX cases on the way The Office of Community Standards is formalizing how Miami sanctions sexual assault RACHEL BERRY STAFF WRITER

The Office of Community Standards (OCS), formerly known as OESCR, is drafting guidelines for sanctions in Title IX cases — something the university hasn’t had before — to provide a consistent way to deal with these incidents.

Most other policy violations, such as complicity and property damage, have sanctioned guidelines, meaning a suggested way of dealing with the issue.

The guidelines will codify some practices already in place. However, punishments are determined on a case by case basis, and the guidelines only provide a starting point and recommended path of action for the hearing panels. If the panel chooses to not follow the sanction guidelines, they would have to justify that decision in their final report.

Ann James, director of the OSC, has been charged with drafting guidelines for all areas of conduct, including sexual assault, by Dean of Students Kimberly Moore.

The guidelines will ensure all Title IX hearings are approached in a similar man-

STAFF WRITER

“With great power comes great responsibility”

After civil debate, Miami University Associated Student Government (ASG) passed a bill in support of making emergency contraceptives available in all on-campus market locations.

Prior to ASG’s meeting on Nov. 6, senators met with the Miami University Students for Life group, a pro-life student organization, to hear their concerns. The student group was then invited to come to senate and debate the proposed bill.

Comments were civil on both sides, with senators making an effort to include members of the club and give them time to speak.

The president and other board members of the Students for Life club laid out their concerns about the bill and expressed why they believe emergency contraceptives are detrimental and why offering them in market locations is unnecessary.

Senators continually expressed that this

Empty Bowls and Full Stomachs FROM FRONT

community level.

Rob Abowitz is an associate director for residence life at Miami, but he’s also an avid potter who helped to contribute over 300 bowls to the event this year. He hosts an annual “bowl-a-thon” where local artists come together and throw bowls over the course of two days, with all produced pottery going to Empty Bowls.

“I’ve thrown bowls for all but a couple of the events,” Abowitz said. “[Empty Bowls] is just great, and it’s been built up to something that involves hundreds of people and does so much good.”

Alongside potters like Abowitz, volunteers make soup, donate pastries and other baked goods, staff and organize the event. Even Miami students, over 100 this year, get involved.

Elizabeth Grace Huddleston, a senior majoring in urban and regional planning with minors in French and individualized studies, helps by contributing bowls to the event from her ceramics studio off campus. “[Oxford Empty Bowls] just does so much,” Huddleston said. “I love how it creates a sense of community.

Even the event space at the Community Arts Center is great because it allows both Miami students and Oxford residents to come, and the event itself raises awareness of hunger in Oxford, which is awesome.”

Connie Malone, one of Empty Bowls’ three co-organizers, has been involved for 15 years, missing only the inaugural iteration of the event.

Alongside Alice Laatsch and Ann Wengler, she brings the event together every year, partnering with local organizations, advertising, coordinating the food and bowls and making sure everything runs smoothly.

In 2003, in the midst of research

ner, so students know what to expect. “[It’s] to make sure our panels have guidelines [so] that if a student is held responsible based on the preponderance of the evidence then [the panel will hand down] what is an appropriate outcome given the facts of that particular case,” Moore said.

These guidelines are something many members of the hearing panels want, James said.

“The panel members that I’ve talked to about this are like, ‘yes, please give me this,’ because it takes a lot off of them,” James said. “Right now, they’re kind of starting with a blank page as far as sanctions are concerned.”

At the beginning of the semester, James trained the hearing panelists and gave them an idea of appropriate sanctions for Title XI hearings, saying to start with nothing less than suspension. The guidelines are, therefore, not vastly different from what they have previously done, but merely make it more official.

James said she does not have any specific ideas about what the guidelines will entail as of Friday, Nov. 9, but she will base them

off resources from the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA).

James wrote a draft of the guidelines and is working to finalize it by the end of the week.

The goal was to have the new guidelines in place before the next Title IX hearing, which will occur after Thanksgiving break.

Although there was a sense of urgency to finish the guidelines in time, James and her team put a lot of effort into making sure they are written properly. She has been researching policies at other institutions and working on these guidelines since the beginning of the fall semester.

Once James finished the guidelines, they were sent to Moore for final approval. Since this is not a policy change, it will not have to go through the formal approval process and will not change the student code of conduct.

While the guidelines do not fall under the student code of conduct, James said she is in the process of reviewing it in its entirety to eventually make amendments to it. The guidelines are just the first step toward that goal.

“Anything we can do on our end to create the most fair and supportive process we can is what I want to do, what we all in this office want to do,” James said.

The guidelines, once finalized, will be followed for the remainder of the semester and then reevaluated at the beginning of next semester. berryrd@miamioh.edu

ASG passes bill in support of accessibility to emergency contraceptives on campus RACHEL BERRY

-Stan Lee

NEWS 3

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

for her job at the Farmer School of Business, Malone discovered that one-third of Talawanda school students participated in free or reduced lunch programs, and that many of them weren’t able to consistently eat meals outside of school.

“So, when I heard about what Empty Bowls was doing, you know, it sounds cliche, but I felt moved, I felt engaged to be a force of good in this direction,” Malone said.

Since the first event, Oxford Empty Bowls has raised over $88,000 for hunger relief efforts in the Oxford community, with each annual event raising more money than the last.

Malone says what makes the event so special is its deep ties to the community around it.

“What I think we’ve managed to do so well is building community,” Malone said. “Since we aren’t a part of any specific organization, everybody feels free to help and everybody feels free to come. Everybody can own a little piece of this and make it their own.”

In her eyes, Oxford Empty Bowls is intrinsically tied to the community it helps. She said that, while she’s completely on board with the growth of the event, she hopes that it maintains the bond it has with Oxford.

“There’s actually a lot that we don’t want to change,” Malone said.

“Sure, we could raise more money if we raised the price, but we want to keep the event accessible. We don’t want it to feel like a gala, because while there’s a place for those events, that’s not what Empty Bowls is about.

We don’t want to lose the character of the event or stray away from the crowd that it’s aimed at because this is something that everyone can be a part of.” headledd@miamioh.edu

was not a debate between pro-life and prochoice ideologies, but rather an accessibility issue.

Currently, emergency contraceptives are only available at the student health center.

The senators who wrote the bill proposed the change because many students are not aware emergency contraceptives can purchased at the health center.

Senators argued that because the student health center pharmacy has limited hours, (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday) students are less able to access emergency contraceptives in the narrow 12 hour window in which they work best.

Emergency contraceptives are also significantly cheaper on campus — $22 as opposed to around $50 at Walmart, CVS, Kroger and Walgreens. If the availability is expanded to market locations, the price would remain $22.

The health center purchases the contraceptives in bulk and does not buy the name

brand, which is why it is significantly cheaper. The bill stipulated that the emergency contraceptives could also be purchased with MULAA, which the authors of the bill argued would also expand accessibility.

A concern was raised that surveys were not sent out to students to make sure this is a change people want. Senators explained that the reason they did not send out a survey was to avoid causing too much controversy.

Other concerns included that Miami would profit off the pharmaceuticals, that parents would not like the money they give their children for MULAA to be used in this manner and that on-campus markets would have to start checking IDs — as it is illegal to sell emergency contraceptives to anyone under the age of 17 without a prescription.

The senators passed the bill with 31 people in favor, eight opposed and two abstentions. berryrd@miamioh.edu

Miami and Talawanda students team up to support mental health, fight binge drinking and drug use JULIA ARWINE STAFF WRITER

A group of Miami students, including student body president Meaghan Murtagh, are leading an effort to form the Miami Initiative Team (MIT), which will work in collaboration with high school and middle school students to mentor younger people and be an advocate on campus regarding mental health, drug use and the denormalization of binge drinking.

A version of MIT already exists at Talawanda High School. The Youth Initiative Team (YIT) has been in place since 2000. The group plans a variety of events throughout the year, such as movie nights following football games and “Sticker Shock,” a campaign of sorts during prom and graduation season in which YIT members collaborate with local alcohol vendors to put stickers on products containing alcohol that warn of the consequences of providing alcohol to underage drinkers.

The Oxford Coalition for a Healthy Community, a group of representatives from all sectors of the Oxford community, funds and supports this initiative.

Coalition members Amy Macechko, the health and wellness coordinator for the Talawanda School District, and Rebecca Young, the director of the Miami Office of Student Wellness, received a grant from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to fund the various levels of the initiative. The grant amounts to about $75,000 for the year, according to Macechko.

“The department is so excited about this work and this project because it’s a way to, really early on, get [self-regulation] embedded in

our young people so that they can, when faced with choices later on in life, have the skills and [empowerment] to make healthy choices,” Macechko said.

Miami first-years Kendra Hall, a psychology major, and Katie Lockhart, a biology major, were members of YIT when they attended Talawanda High School and are founding members of MIT. Having both lived in Oxford for years, they have seen

The example the Miami students who party hard all week set for local kids may not necessarily be something they think much about, and the members of MIT think that collaborating with YIT would bring that issue to the forefront.

“There’s a large percentage of students from Talawanda that end up at Miami, and I believe that they are pretty much the key to start shifting the culture we have here

“It’s almost too easy for the high school students to get roped into it almost immediately because we see it everyday,” Kendra Hall said. firsthand the effects growing up in a college town renowned for its heavy-drinking tendencies has on the youth of Oxford.

“It’s almost too easy for the high school students to get roped into it almost immediately because we see it every day, every weekend,” Hall said. “I think, from the time when we were in middle school to now, it’s definitely gotten worse.”

Lockhart did not move to Oxford until she was in sixth grade, but she feels she has seen enough to know that the normalization of excessive drinking is a real problem.

“We want to change that,” Lockhart said. “You don’t have to go out and drink when you get to college every single night. You don’t have to go out and party. There are people at Miami who don’t do that.”

and solve some issues,” Murtagh said.

MIT will mentor the younger YIT group members and the middle school version of the initiative as well. Those involved hope that students of all ages can learn from each other’s unique perspectives.

MIT is in its early stages and aims to bring more interested Miami students onto the team. Anyone who wishes to be involved in this program can do so by contacting Murtagh, Hall or Lockhart. Their emails are, respectively, murtagme@miamioh.edu, hallk19@miamioh.edu and lockhakm@miamioh.edu. arwinejk@miamioh.edu

4 NEWS

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Veterans honored at memorial dedication REBECCA WOLFF

THE MIAMI STUDENT

“All gave some, some gave all,” David Lawrence, a veteran and Miami University class of ‘64, said during his speech at the dedication ceremony for Miami’s newly constructed Veterans Memorial at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day. The memorial was constructed between the Campus Avenue Building and Wells Hall and was proposed by Lawrence and Dave Miller, Miami class of 1960. The logistics for the project have been underway for about five years. The effort began as a way to provide a space on campus for veterans and their families.

The total cost of the memorial project was $600,000 dollars, all of which was funded by contributions from alumni and their family members, said Evan Lichtenstein, senior director of development for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Many alumni came to the ceremony to be honored and to pay tribute to those who served.

“It’s beautifully done,” said Mike Evans, a serving member of the military from 1970 to ‘90. He specifically stated how he appreciated the engraving of the names of men who lost their lives or were missing in action. He even knew two of the names, William Higgins and Terry Graves, from his time at Miami, and he was happy to see their names being honored.

Along with the memorial, a student veteran center also opened Sunday in Wells Hall to serve as a place for veterans and military-affiliated students to hang out together.

The Glee Club performed oldtime military songs as the ceremony commenced, adding an element of spirit and tradition to the atmosphere.

Veterans stood as their branch was called out during a musical number about each branch of the military.

The memorial itself includes a virtual feature where veterans can access a searchable database of all the alumni from Miami who served

or are currently active members in the military.

Miami architect emeritus Robert Keller designed the memorial by composing the structure with five different elements in mind that work in unison to represent honor, justice and freedom. One of these elements is a five-pointed star that point to the entrances that each hold a planter box and a seal for each of the five branches of the military.

“It’s not big, it’s not gaudy, it’s just a neat memorial,” Jim Bodmer, Navy veteran and Miami class of 1960, said. “[Some of the Miami students] split on seperate trains, and some of them later met in the Civil War,” said Evans.

Miami’s history of students serving the country through military service goes as far back as the Civil War, in which students from the university fought on both sides of the con-

flict. The memorial commemorates fallen soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies.

Because the event took place on Veterans Day, some used this ceremony as an opportunity to pay tribute to those in active service.

“I think my dad would be pleased,” Daniel Smith, a first-year history major, said. “Growing up, every Veterans Day we would always go to the nearest national cemetery, so I decided to continue on with that.”

Smith’s father currently serves in the Air Force, and Smith attended the ceremony on Sunday so he could pay tribute to him and carry on their tradition.

“I really like [the memorial], it’s different,” Bodmer said. “It just stands out.” wolffrg@miamioh.edu MIAMI ALUMNI VETERANS WERE HONORED FOR THIER SERVICE AT THE UNVEILING OF THE NEW MEMORIAL. THE MIAMI STUDENT COLLEEN GRIMM

Miami University and Community Federal Credit Union Proudly Serving Miami University and the Oxford Community Since 1969

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(1) Unsecured loan, Rates, annual percentage rate (APR), terms conditions and product components are subject to daily change without notice. Certain credit restrictions are applicable. MUCFCU is not a legal entity of the University.

Open now to all current juniors/rising seniors graduating in May 2020 Applications now being accepted for:

Miami University and Community Federal Credit Union

You’re Invited to a Presentation on

Social Security - Options to Help Maximize your Benefits

Proposals for budgets up to $11,000 that support a self-designed scholarly, service, or creative project. Intended to give students the luxury of pursuing ideas and activities to enrich their careers.

Thursday November 8, 2018 6-7:30pm at the Miami Marcum Center

Guest Speaker: Andrew Van Erp

a financial advisor with Preferred Planning Associates RSVP by calling (513) 529-6094 or email avanerp@ppaohio.com

2018-19 Recipient Miranda Woods

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2018-19 Recipient Jacob Bruggeman

A Comparative Study of Homelessness in Cincinnati, Saint Paul, Albuquerque and Salt Lake City

Questions?

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Contact: Dr. Zeb Baker Director University Honors Program Zeb.Baker@ MiamiOH.edu

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Giving credit where credit is due: Miami University Workers Appreciation DAN WOZNIAK

THE MIAMI STUDENT

A group of Miami University students hope to highlight and appreciate the university’s maintenance and dining staffs through a social media campaign.

The Miami University Workers Appreciation (MUWA) initiative was born out of a class project. The students believe university staff are often disrespected by students and hope their efforts can give those individuals recognition for what they do on campus.

Sam Pfieffer, Keyon Cohen-Harris, Brooke Schmidt, Megan Bowers, Alexa Ward and Cole Uzat started the campaign as a project for their class on innovation, creativity and design thinking.

The class was tasked with forming a program that could positively impact the university and the Oxford community.

Pfieffer, a sophomore finance major, runs the program’s Instagram account.

“My parents raised me with the mindset that I should show the trashman the same amount of respect that I would show to the president,” Pfeiffer said. “Therefore, I took

the initiative to know and understand [one of the university cooks] at the end of last spring.”

The group found that many staff workers felt underappreciated on campus, as corroborated by The Miami Student’s reporting.

“People would yell at me when things weren’t in stock,” Lauren Ferrell, a student worker said of her time at McCracken Market. “People can be pretty harsh here.”

Although some Miami staff members believe they are often mistreated, Ray James, a dining hall employee, has had a positive experience working in dining on campus.

“Personally, I have not had a problem here,” James said. “The students were actually the ones to convince me to register for classes.”

After meeting with various staff workers across campus and hearing their concerns, the group decided to spread their message via social media and conducted a student survey to gauge student interest in the movement.

After surveying 100 people, MUWA found 75 said they would use a digital messaging app to encourage workers. Additionally, 82 said they would participate in an apprecia-

BUMPY START FOR SCOOTERS IN OXFORD KATHERINE BUKOWSKI THE MIAMI STUDENT

After a month of operation, the presence of e-scooters in Oxford has prompted Miami University to reconsider the role e-scooters play on campus.

Two weeks ago, Miami administrators met with the scooter companies’ representatives to communicate concerns about appropriate use of the scooters on campus. Claire Wagner, the director of Miami’s News and Communications Office, said the meeting has led to an updated process for how impounded scooters are released to the companies A Miami University Police Department (MUPD) member will now have ongoing conversations with Bird and Lime to notify them on the status of the scooters that have been impounded by the university.

So far, six e-scooters have been impounded due to students bringing them inside of dorms on campus.

Miami’s transportation webpage now includes an option to report individual experiences with e-scooters in an attempt gain feedback from the public.

“We are being mindful of experiences and trying to collect as much information that we can,” Wagner said.

The feedback will help Miami administrators understand the impact e-scooters are having in the community, and how to make decisions concerning the future of alternative transportation on campus. The information is being collected for an overall evaluation of the e-scooter pilot programs Oxford has permitted in town.

MUPD Captain Ben Spilman proposed the transportation survey.

Not only has the university encountered hurdles due to the e-scooters, but the city has encountered complaints and found that the permit terms with the city have not been consistently followed.

After monitoring the e-scooter apps in use around town, Oxford officials noticed Lime scooters were still in operation past the 10:00 p.m. time restriction, as agreed upon in their permit with the city.

The issue was brought to the attention of Lime coordinators, and they corrected the software problem Monday, Oct. 29, nearly a month after the e-scooters arrived in town according to Alan Kyger, the director of economic development in Oxford.

Many of the other concerns from community members have been surrounding e-scooter parking.

In an attempt to effectively control the parking problems posed by the devices, the City of Oxford turned two uptown parking spaces into e-scooter and bike parking. The two locations are positioned off High Street.

Kyger said the creation of these new parking locations has created concerns from an unnamed Uptown business who has complained that the new scooter and bike parking has taken away car parking spaces from their establishment.

Kyger said these and other challenges will be considered when the pilot programs are evaluated in the spring to decide as to whether or not the programs will continue. bukowskg@miamioh.edu

tion week.

“We want to create a shift in mindset,” Pfieffer said. “The maintenance and dining hall staff work incredibly hard. It’s absolutely grueling labor, and they’re not getting recognition. It’s not appropriate at all and needs to change.”

The organization’s first social media post acknowledged Adam Klemin, a chef at Martin dining hall who has been working for the university for 15 years.

The post received 17 comments regarding Adam’s accomplishments, and the account itself currently has 64 followers.

“The first post had a lot of traction and popularity, so that was a huge success for us,” Pfieffer said.

Outside of the social media account, MUWA expressed interest in taking various actions such as sending a weekly email to students announcing a worker of the week, investing in hanging a banner on campus sharing a positive message directed at staff workers and creating a mural on the edge of Uptown and campus that would promote work done by the Miami service staff.

“The ultimate measure of our success is determining whether or not there has been a change in the way students treat maintenance and dining hall staff,” Pfieffer said. wozniad2@miamioh.edu

Lime recalls e-scooters COLLIN M. FINN

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Lime e-scooters disappeared from the Oxford community during the week of Nov. 4 after the company announced a worldwide recall of one of its e-scooter models. Reports that the scooters could fall apart after repeated use spurred the recall.

According to The Washington Post, Lime began pulling all e-scooters made by Chinese manufacturer Okai from all markets across the globe by Nov. 10.

As of 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11, no Lime scooters are available in Oxford, according to the mobile app.

In a statement, Lime representative Alex Youn said, “Safety is Lime’s highest priority and, as a precaution, we are immediately decommissioning all Okai scooters in the global fleet.”

The statement said that Lime does not expect there to be any “real service disruptions.” However, what that means for when Lime scooters will be back on Oxford’s streets is unclear.

Oxford’s economic development director Alan Kyger does not expect Lime to pull out of the market permanently.

“During a meeting in October, Lime representatives indicated they were very pleased with the ridership levels in Oxford,” Kyger said. finncm@miamioh.edu

Miami recruits diverse students through Bridges Program COLLIN M. FINN

THE MIAMI STUDENT

For the past four weeks, groups of diverse high school seniors have visited campus as a part of the Bridges Program.

The Bridges Program is an overnight experience for high school students that display academic merit and hail from historically underrepresented communities.

Bridges participants come from diverse backgrounds, including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status. In order to gain entry into the program, the students had to complete an online application and submit recommendations from their high school counselors.

The students arrive on Sunday and participate in diversity training, academic modules and a student resource fair. As part of the Bridges Program, participants stay overnight with a current student.

For Carissa Ruffin, the positive experience from when she was a Bridges participant played a key role in her decision to host students this year.

“I have enjoyed everyone I have gotten so far,” Ruffin said. “My friends also host, so it’s cool to meet up with their students and all hang out together. It gives the university a chance to show off their best side and show that the students here really care about the fellow students and incoming students.”

Arianna Mack didn’t participate as a high

school student, but she decided to host because she wanted to help give minority students a taste of what college life at Miami is like.

“It gives the university a chance to show off their best side and show that the students here really care about the fellow students and incoming students.”

“The students get to ask questions and receive unfiltered answers,” she said. “I think it’s a really great program., and I wish I had done it prior to coming here.”

Bridges participants receive an application fee waiver, enabling them to apply to Miami free of charge.

In addition to the fee waiver, participants also receive a scholarship upon their acceptance to Miami. Students last year received scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 per year, renewable for four years and stackable with other scholarships. finncm@miamioh.edu

6 CULTURE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

RIGAZIKM@MIAMIOH.EDU

Truth and lies:

Masha Gessen discusses journalism in a post-truth world

MASHA GESSEN HAS DEVOTED MUCH OF THEIR CAREER TO HOLDING POLITICAL FIGURES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR LIES. TMS MAGAZINE EDITOR MEGAN ZAHNEIS

TIM CARLIN

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Journalist and author Masha Gessen believes that when leaders like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin lie, it is not for the conventional reason of getting others to believe what they say, but to maintain power.

“Lying is the message for both of those men,” said Gessen. “They lie to assert power. They lie to assert power over reality itself.

Every time they do it, they assert the right to say whatever they want, whenever they want.

That is a demonstration of power.”

Gessen’s lecture, “Journalism as a Tool of Resistance in a Post-Truth World,” was held on Nov. 6 in Shideler Hall as a part of the Humanities Center’s Altman Lecture Series.

The Humanities Center is promoting a “Truth and Lies” theme this year, a topic Gessen has been covering for years. Currently, they write for The New Yorker, but Gessen has also written many non-fiction books, including “The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin” and “The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed

Russia.”

“I feel like I got a little bit of a head start on thinking about this, because I have been writing about Russia for more than 20 years, most of the time about Vladimir Putin,” said Gessen.

Although they covered serious topics in their lecture, Gessen kept a light-hearted sense of humor and made subtle jokes throughout. When the audio system faltered as Gessen said the word “transgender,” they were quick to usher out a questioning “Transgender?” drawing in a laugh from the audience.

Gessen elaborated on the ways in which Trump and Putin lie. They said the way Trump lies is more obvious and easy to detect.

“It seemed like blabber,” Gessen said, referring to both Trump’s words at a Helsinki press conference and his lying style as a whole.

Gessen went on to describe Putin’s lying style, which they said is much more coherent than Trump’s.

“He showers people with figures and numbers and facts,” said Gessen. “But when you check those numbers and facts it turns out

that most of them are either completely made up, or usually exaggerated or misconstrued.

Basically, they are lies.”

Although both men have different styles of lying, Gessen said they have the same effect on listeners. Both are meant to confuse the public and blur the lines between what is true and what is not.

“Lying is the message for both of those men. They lie to assert power. They lie to assert power over reality itself,” Masha Gessen.

Gessen also acknowledged that journalists face a tough challenge in covering Trump’s presidency. His communication with the American people via Twitter and press briefings force journalists to walk on thin ice.

“Every time we face a Trumpian lie or a

Trumpian incendiary tweet, we face the question of to what extent we are augmenting evil by engaging with it,” said Gessen. “He is the President of the United States. What he says matters.”

Gessen used Trump’s tweet suggesting that the FCC should revoke NBC’s license, despite the fact that NBC is not licensed by the FCC, as an example of journalists being forced to engage with the President’s false information.

“But, the moment we were writing about this tweet, we were engaging and making thinkable that which had been unthinkable,” said Gessen. “And that is a trap. You can’t not do it, and you can’t do it.”

Gessen suggests journalists be more aware of the context in which they produce stories covering the president.

“The recipe that I have is be aware of the trap,” they said. “At least write about the trap while you are in the trap. At least that creates context for what we are doing and it does give us a chance of holding on to some kind of sense of shared reality.” carlintm@miamioh.edu

A medieval club in no man’s land

SCA ALLOWS STUDENTS TO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME. THE MIAMI STUDENT GENEVIEVE DIETZ

CHLOE MURDOCK

THE MIAMI STUDENT

First-year Daniel Melson wanted to join something he “could only do in college.”

When he followed the sound of a lute into a Goggin press box at Geeks on Ice and discovered the owner, fourth-year Jack Haney, he found that something.

To peasants, it’s the medieval club. But to those in the club, like Melson and Haney, it’s the Marche of the Unicorn chapter of the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA), a nationwide organization that recreates the Middle Ages in 2018 — minus the Black Plague.

Since that meeting, Melson regularly practices rapier sword fighting, which is like fencing but with heavier swords that don’t wobble, at 7 p.m. on Mondays.

The club doesn’t do live action role play,

though cosplay comes with it. SCA recreates any and all things medieval: five forms of fighting, as well as “arts and sciences” like cooking, calligraphy, music-making, embroidery, blacksmithing and leatherworking.

Name any activity you think has been aged out of existence from this era, and SCA revives it at events for fun, as long as it is backed up with history.

“Most people come for the fighting, but stay for arts and sciences,” said the club’s president, Emma Fleming.

Arts and sciences includes research that justify SCA processes by pointing to medieval history, which can turn into books like Tobi Beck’s The Armored Rose, which advocated for allowing women to become knights.

Yes, there are SCA kings, queens, barons, dukes, knights and squires across the world.

Kings can declare war on each other over a

wrong look.

SCA is divided into 20 kingdoms worldwide. Kingdoms are divided into baronies, or regions. Baronies are divided into lands. To count as a land, chapter members have to attend baronial meetings in Dayton, Ohio.

The Marche of the Unicorn used to be considered a land. Due to the current small size of the chapter — most attendees are transient, about five members come regularly while three serve as the executive board — club members don’t have time to attend these weekly meetings. So it is not officially considered part of SCA anymore. It exists in no man’s land.

It might not show up on an SCA map, but it still gets perks of the barony, or region: club members are covered by the barony insurance and can ask medieval arts instructors outside of the club’s specialties to teach a class.

Other than sporadic SCA classes and workshops on the weekends, the club is gearing up for its grand tournament on April 13, which is a festival where the club hosts fighting tournaments, music circles and other arts and science classes.

The medieval club operates like a fraternity that doesn’t ask for dues, though many of the members at Monday practices graduated years ago.

Tom Bolenbaugh is a computer engineer in Oxford, Ohio, who graduated from Miami in 1993. He is also known as Sir Nicholas of Wicklow, an Irish viking from the year 1000 who partakes in heavy fighting, calligraphy and illumination, creating the illustrations on edges of the calligraphy scrolls.

Bolenbaugh was a baron for five years. He has friends from SCA who are undergraduate students now, who graduated 10 years ago and friends whom he graduated with.

“I walk in, and I expect to know people [at SCA events],” Bolenbaugh said.

Attending national and regional SCA events allows members to meet a huge amount of like-minded people, whether it be

on a recreated battlefield of 10,000 people or in a small music circle.

Fleming, who is pursuing occupational therapy, has previously drawn on her SCA network for future and short-term job references, like her upcoming Renaissance Fair gig as a professional fairy.

“We look out for each other, since we’re all in this nerdy subgroup,” Fleming said.

At last night’s practice, Fleming practiced in room 117 of McGuffey Hall with the intent of becoming authorized in heavy fighting at an upcoming tournament.

The heavy fighters did a simulation where each fighter had to defend against 120 total blows — the six other fighters each made 20 hits at the same time.

“I think every person got hit in this room

by Emma, so you do not have a power problem,” Patrick Savelli said to Fleming after the drill.

Savelli used to be a king, but is now a duke and goes by Sir William.

Meanwhile, in room 120, Melson and Haney sparred at last night’s practice. The butt of Melson’s sword caught Haney’s, and Melson had to be careful not to crack Haney’s blade.

Haney is authorized in all five forms of medieval fighting, and he is training Melson with the help of higher-ranking SCA members.

Nonetheless, Melson got the better of Haney and caught his armpit — a kill shot.

Like the elder members, Melson hopes to continue rapier sword fighting through the SCA Ansteorra kingdom, which encompasses his hometown of Dallas, Texas — not only over the summer, but also after he graduates. murdocc3@miamioh.edu

MITCHE49@MIAMIOH.EDU

CULTURE 7

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Pets of Oxford: The dog of my dreams

JEFFREY MAYO

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Several months ago, I had a dream that I was stranded on a pure white beach at the edge of a brilliant blue sea. Brick mansions extended into the waves, but all of them were dark and appeared empty. The sun was setting, casting the sky in intense hues of purple and reflecting off the water. I felt lost. I knew I needed to get somewhere, but I didn’t know where or how.

Suddenly, a small brown dog resembling a chihuahua appeared. It came up to me, looked at me, and then ran off. So, I followed it. It led me far down the beach to another brick mansion. This one had all its lights on, and I could hear the sound of voices laughing, chatting and singing. I followed the dog as it guided me around back, only to find all my friends and family celebrating for no particular reason.

In my dream, I named the dog Lila, the German word for purple, after the sky under which we met.

Back in reality, I felt lost. I didn’t feel any sense of where I was, much like in my dream.

Where am I going? Who am I becoming? How do I get to where I need to be? These questions plagued my mind daily and clogged my head to the point where I couldn’t seem to think of anything else.

I take my dreams seriously. I think they often let us see into a part of our brains that we normally cannot reach; they describe to us our deepest, rawest desires. I knew after I had this dream, I needed to get a dog. I let myself drift too far into isolation – I had trapped myself in my own mind. I needed a guide, and I found that guide on Craigslist.

Lila was born in Trenton, OH, about 30 minutes from Oxford. When I got to the house where she resided, she was the first one to greet me, the rest of her litter staying close to their mother. Lila was fearless and jumped on me.

When I picked her up, she dropped the tough puppy act and nuzzled her little head under my chin. For the first time in ages, I felt warm. It felt like my blood was finally pumping again. After trying and failing to connect with the other pups, I had no doubt in my mind that Lila had to be mine. I looked at my buddy who came with me and said, “I know we’ve only been here for two minutes, but I think this is the one.”

Because of Lila, I feel like I have found a reason to be excited again. She is a reason to get out of bed, even if it’s 7:30 a.m. and a Saturday. I don’t feel so alone anymore because I have this eight-pound, furry shadow that sticks with me wherever I go. She’s helped me

Jeffrey’s dreams became a reality when he met Lila.

Photo Editor Jugal Jain reconnect with friends that I have been too distant from, and I’ve watched her bring joy to so many of them. All of them are her aunts and uncles, and they all play a different role: some of them are her playmates, while others are “strict,” holding her accountable and working just as hard as me to train her.

It is so refreshing to see love felt and given on a daily basis. I feel like I can face the world because I know no matter what happens, I will have this little dog to guide me out of solitude and back into the life that I love so much. mayojp@miamioh.edu

The Journey: African students tell their stories at Taste of Africa

Cold Snap brings art and music to Kofenya MADDIE TOOLE

THE MIAMI STUDENT

ASU AND AKA WORKED TOGETHER TO BRING AUTHENTIC AFRICAN CULTURE TO MIAMI. ASST. CULTURE EDITOR MAIA ANDERSON

MAIA ANDERSON

ASST. CULTURE EDITOR

The walls in McGuffey’s auditorium were lined with flags representing Africa’s 54 countries as the African Students’ Union hosted their annual Taste of Africa event Saturday evening.

This year, ASU partnered with Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Lambda Mu Chapter, the first nationally recognized historically black sorority. The event featured music, dance, food and stories of African students’ experiences at Miami.

Each year ASU organizes a feast representing a variety of countries.

This year there was food from Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya and Eritrea, with a menu including jollof rice, doro wat, curry goat and samosas.

The theme of the night was “The Journey,” and to emphasize this, ASU created a video documenting several students’ experiences travelling from Africa to the U.S. Many stories echoed one another; they came for a better education or to have a chance for more opportunities in the workforce.

One such student was Irene Kabinga, a second-year architecture graduate student from Tanzania. Kabinga is an international student who decided to come to the United States for her masters after completing her undergraduate degree at a university in her home country. She was offered a

scholarship to study at Miami, so she took the opportunity in hopes of receiving the best education possible.

Kabinga says while she has enjoyed her time in the States, she misses Tanzanian cuisine.

“My favorite part of Taste of Africa is the food. I don’t get this kind of food here a lot,” said Kabinga. “I used to like pizza, but I’m already sick of it.”

In another video, ASU member Akosua Boadi-Agyemang, an international student from Botswana, described some of the struggles she encountered when she arrived at Miami.

She discussed her peers asking her what it was like to grow up in a hut, illustrating the misconceptions many Americans have about Africa. Another international student from Kenya said she experienced similar situations, and was shocked that some students did not know that Kenya was a developed country with cities and cars.

Juniors Eric Laub and Johnny Barrow also came to Taste of Africa, despite having no affiliation with the group or its nearly 40 members.

“I saw the poster and saw free food,” said Barrow. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I came and I was very delighted.”

Neither Barrow nor Laub have attended an ASU event in the past, but were immediately attracted to the atmosphere.

“I liked the energy of the dance,”

said Laub. “People seemed to be really into what was going on, and I think that made the event a lot more enjoyable.”

The stories of their peers’ efforts just to be able to attend the same university also touched them.

“I liked hearing about people’s journeys and their struggles,” said Barrow. “It was nice to hear their voices.”

The ASU Dance Team performed a medley of dances, led by dance coordinator Arnold Kamazima. Kamazima, in his third year as dance coordinator, said the group serves to highlight the importance of dance in African culture.

“A lot of people know a big portion of African culture is food and language, but music and dance are also really big parts,” said Kamazima. “We make it a point to have different dances from different countries and the diaspora, and we focus on modern dances.”

While Kamazima has no formal dance training, he says it is an important way for him to express himself.

“What I love about African dances is, even though we’re all doing the same moves, everybody has a different style and facial expressions,” said Kamazima. “It’s all about being yourself.” ander198@miamioh.edu

When you think of coffee in Oxford, you think of Kofenya — the black walls and great coffee are a local staple. Students and Oxford locals go religiously to grab their cup of joe, curl up with a good book or study for hours for their next exam.

This makes Kofenya the perfect place for student organizations to host off-campus events meant for relaxing and forgetting about the homework piling up in classes. One example was this year’s Cold Snap, an event hosted by Redhawk Radio, Miami’s online radio station. The event brings musicians and artists together for an evening of creative celebration.

“Hosting something in Kofenya has a different vibe than hosting something in Armstrong,” said senior Hannah Williams, event coordinator for Redhawk Radio. “I feel like there is a lot of pressure to appeal to Miami when you’re hosting something on campus.”

The students at Cold Snap are sipping coffee, listening intently or laughing with their friends. They are relaxing and chilling out. The event fits the venue perfectly.

“Kofenya has sort of a quirky, local vibe, and I think the radio station is sort of a quirky organization,” Williams said.

At Redhawk Radio, any student can have a time slot on the air to say, do or play whatever they please.

Many students use it as a creative outlet, where they play unique music that they love.

Cold Snap brought that air of unique creativity into the real world. The music was good for socializing or sitting peacefully in the background.

This Cold Snap was a little different because it was the first time RedHawk Radio teamed up with Inklings, Miami’s main literary arts magazine. There is a lot of overlap in the membership of the two organizations.

“We feel like we both are places at Miami where people passionate about the arts gather and find community,” said Emma Shibley, Editor of Inkings. “And we both are kind of alternative scenes in Oxford.”

ya.

Shibley is also a barista at Kofen-

“It’s been one of Kofenya’s goals since the very beginning to be a place that promotes and welcomes local artists,” Shibley said. “And that has bloomed beyond visual artists to include musicians and bands, poetry readings and open mic nights.”

Williams said RedHawk Radio and Inklings have been planning the event since the first day of the semester. First, they began looking for smaller, lesser-known bands with acoustic, laid-back sets.

The night began with Boon, a soft folk band from Philadelphia, who played music perfect for staying in and listening on rainy days.

Their set created the eclectic, alternative ambience desired by RedHawk Radio and Inklings.

Next was Sylmar, a local Cincinnati band with a goofy, free-spirited lead singer. Their indie rock dripped with heavy bass. Dancing around and cranking up the volume, they enhanced the excitement in the room and created a buzz of breezy, carefree energy.

Finally, Captain Redbeard and the S.S. Friendship took to the stage. The only member present, a single beardless guy named Gage Volbert sang about ex-girlfriends and awkward situations.

Harold Rogers, a RedHawk Radio and Inklings member, described the lyrical brilliance of Captain Redbeard as, “the music equivalent of telling someone ‘I’m fine’ when you’re really not.” Volbert said that he was claiming that as his new tagline.

In between sets, members of Inklings read poetry. Shibley read a poem that was a combination of Tinder profiles and weather phrases written by Kinsey Cantrell, a Miami alum who was on staff at Inklings during her time on campus.

In the corner sat a long table filled with drawing paper, charcoal, paint, construction paper, old magazines, glue and scissors. The goal was to create a communal space for people to make art together. Students who crafted will have their artwork featured in the fall 2018 issue of Inklings. toolemb@miamioh.edu

Sports

8

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Regular Season Champions, red hot and ready: Volleyball hosts Mid-American Conference Tournament

BENNETT WISE

THE MIAMI STUDENT

If you asked head coach Carolyn Condit in July where her team would rank this season, she would have said she hoped to be in the top eight in the Mid-American Conference.

Even in the preseason MAC coaches’ poll, the RedHawks were voted to finish fourth in the MAC East.

Well, the RedHawks shattered Condit’s and the MAC coaches’ expectations as back-to-back road wins brought the regular season conference championship to Oxford for the third straight year.

“It’s great to know that our team worked so hard to get us in that position,” Condit said. “But after this spring, I knew that even though we were going to have a young team, we were going to be able to put it all together.”

Sitting with a final conference record of 13-3, Miami (21-7 overall) matches their conference record from last year when the team swept both Ohio and Western Michigan en route to Condit’s eighth MAC Tournament crown.

The VolleyHawks head into this

FROM MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE TWITTER

weekend’s MAC tournament ranked second. They clinched a bye through the first two rounds after wins versus Kent State and Ohio University this past weekend.

Bowling Green received the No. 1 seed after tying Miami as regular-season champions and winning

the head-to-head matchup against the RedHawks.

In the semifinals, Miami will face the winner of No. 3 Ball State versus No. 6/7 Northern Illinois/Ohio University.

With the double bye, the team gains an extra opportunity to scout,

The tale of two hockey games: Miami splits with North Dakota

rest and get postseason jitters out of the way.

“We’ve earned [the double bye],” junior middle hitter Margaret Payne said. “It shows that our work throughout the season makes us deserve that first-round bye.”

Being off the first two rounds isn’t

BEN PANZECA

EMILY SIMANSKIS SPORTS EDITOR

After a dismal 3-1 loss to No. 11 North Dakota on Friday night, it was hard to believe that the same Miami hockey team showed up to the rink 24 hours later.

The RedHawks scored the first goal, were energized and won nearly all the board battles on Saturday to beat the Fighting Hawks 3-2. The RedHawks’ (8-4, 2-2 NCHC) win ended their two-game losing streak and snapped the Fighting Hawks’ (5-3-1, 1-1 NCHC) five-game win streak.

“It feels really good,” junior goaltender Ryan Larkin said. “That’s a really good team and they’ve had a lot of big wins so far this season.

It feels good for sure, especially after last night – we didn’t think we played our best.”

The RedHawks certainly played less than their best on Friday. They were outshot 14-5 in the first period, and the onslaught put the ’Hawks down two goals to the Fighting Hawks after the opening 20 minutes. It still felt like Miami escaped relatively unscathed headed to the first break only down two.

North Dakota’s first goal came on the power play, and it would finish 1-for-4 on the man-advantage. Miami couldn’t convert on the power play and went 0-for-4 on the evening while only taking two shots with the extra skater.

With two seconds left in the second period, senior forward Ryan Siroky tipped a shot from the point from freshman defenseman Derek Daschke to beat UND. The momentum from the goal carried through the third period and there were flashes of the quick and purposeful Miami team that has drawn national attention in the polls.

Still, five third-period shots and two failed power plays spelled a 3-1 loss for the RedHawks.

“I thought [North Dakota] deserved to win,” head coach Enrico Blasi said. “When they win every battle and you don’t manage the puck well, when you don’t take advantage of your power plays, you’re not going to win many games.”

Especially against National Collegiate Hockey Conference opponents like North Dakota, the Friday-night RedHawks will not win many games. Five NCHC teams are ranked in the USCHO.com’s top-20 poll, including Miami whose split with UND kept them in at No. 20.

But the Saturday-night RedHawks have the makings of a team bound for success and their first over .500 record in four seasons. Resilience has become a reoccuring theme for Miami hockey.

The team started the game the right way, with a power play goal in the first period and the momentum didn’t slow.

“Last night we talked about starting the game off, getting in the fight early,” Blasi said. “I thought we did that tonight.”

The RedHawks showed no sign of fatigue during Game Two. Last year, the ’Hawks only won two Saturday games during the regular season.

The energy that propelled Miami to victory this Saturday came from the blue line.

After sophomore forward Phil Knies left the game with an injury halfway through the first period, senior defenseman River Rymsha moved up to play forward. Rymsha had played as a forward before, and freshmen defensemen Bray Crowder and Andrew Sinard showed their maturity and the RedHawks’ depth by playing big minutes.

When the Fighting Hawks made it past the blue line, Larkin kept his team in the game and Miami sacrificed its sticks and bodies to block North Dakota’s shooting lanes.

Larkin finished the weekend with 63 saves on 68 shots. Notably, the

goaltender and his team survived four minutes of 6-on-5 play when North Dakota attempted to tie the game in the waning minutes of the third period.

The Fighting Hawks got one back with 23 seconds left to play, but the goal horn sounded a 3-2 Miami victory and elicited cheers from an almost sold-out home crowd as the RedHawks swarmed their goaltender.

“We have a lot of different guys in a lot of different positions,” Larkin said. “Everyone contributes and knows their role and does a great job within their role. This year’s team is awesome.”

Veterans like senior forward Josh Melnick, sophomore forward Casey Gilling and junior forward Karch Bachman filled their roles as goal scorers on Saturday. Melnick opened scoring, Gilling (1g, 2a) gave the RedHawks back their onegoal lead in the third and Bachman scored the eventual game-winner.

Now 10 games into the season, the RedHawks are comfortable in their roles and continue to learn what it takes to beat conference opponents.

“You can’t only play well for one period and expect to win, especially against a team like North Dakota and any team in our conference,” Siroky said.

And the winning feeling from Saturday only excites the RedHawks moving forward.

“You can’t forget it,” Rymsha said.

“You’ve got to know what it felt like and try to mimic it.”

This weekend, Miami will try to mimic Saturday’s game. The RedHawks still have yet to sweep an NCHC opponent, but have the chance to do so against Colorado College (4-5-1, 0-4-0 NCHC). Puck drop is 10 p.m. EST on Friday.

wisebm@miamioh.edu @bennettmwise

Women’s basketball shows resilience, rallies from behind to win THE MIAMI STUDENT

THE REDHAWKS CELEBRATE THEIR LONE GOAL ON FRIDAY, BUT WOULD CELEBRATE THREE ON SATURDAY EN ROUTE TO VICTORY. MATT HECKERT THE MIAMI STUDENT

the only aspect of the tournament the RedHawks are looking forward to – Miami gets to play the postseason inside Millett Hall where they dominated with an 11-2 record this season.

“We will be able to go out and play as if it’s another game,” sophomore libero Abigail Huser said. “Having the homecourt, you have that confidence. You know how to play, you know the lights.”

But the road to the championship won’t be easy. Miami has to potentially face Bowling Green for the third time this season. BGSU took both earlier meetings. On Nov. 1, the Falcons swept the RedHawks for their only loss at home during conference play.

“I hope we can play Bowling Green,” Condit said. “Can they really beat us three times? That is going to be war.”

The RedHawks hit the floor on Friday at 7 p.m. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.

After two quarters of play in Miami’s season-opener against Canisius, Megan Duffy’s squad found themselves trailing by double-digits.

Last December, MU handed the Golden Griffins a 25-point loss, but poor shooting in the first half saw the RedHawks fall behind quickly on Friday night.

The ’Hawks shot 5-of-17 from the field, 1-of-5 from behind the arc and missed four free throws in the first half. They trailed 39-26 heading into the break.

“I thought we came out the first couple of minutes OK, and then we just kind of got punched,” Duffy said. “We couldn’t get to halftime quick enough.”

Junior guard Lauren Dickerson struggled to get it going offensively, scoring 11 points on 4-of18 from the field (2-of-11 from three).

The ’Hawks came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, and raced out to an 8-0 run to begin the half.

“I definitely relied on our upperclassmen to get us out of that hole,” Duffy said. “They’ve been in those positions, especially last year, to be able to bounce back [...] Kudos to them for having the maturity to step up and keep their composure.”

Dickerson hit her only three-pointer of the game to cut the lead to 45-41, the smallest deficit Miami had faced since the first half. At the end of three quarters, the Red & White were only

down 50-45.

The ’Hawks kept closing in on the Griffins’ lead throughout the fourth quarter, cutting it down to two points four different times.

With 2:35 left, Dickerson intercepted a pass at half court and patiently waited for a cutting teammate. She found senior forward Kendall McCoy in the corner who knocked down the deep two and tied the game at 59 apiece.

Despite being one of the smaller players on the team, Dickerson has shown her ability to defend tenaciously and read the game.

“She really made an emphasis in the offseason to be a better defender,” Duffy said. “She’s got great anticipation skills. Obviously she’s down low and getting into people. At 5-foot-5, she’s got an ability to get tips and deflections.”

Duffy said, laughing, “She was jamming her fingers so much in the preseason because she was getting all those deflections.”

The team effort on defense continued for the rest of the game against Canisius, as Miami didn’t give up another basket and sunk three free throws to win 62-59.

Duffy’s side held the hosts to only nine points in the final quarter.

“Any time you can steal one on the road when you don’t play well is definitely a positive, but we’ve spent a lot of time the past two days going over that film,” Duffy said.

Miami will host Eastern Kentucky tonight for its home-opener, before travelling to play Detroit Mercy on Friday. Tip-off vs.

EKU is 7 p.m. at Millett Hall. panzecbj@miamioh.edu @BenPanzeca

simansec@miamioh.edu @emilysimanskis JUNIOR GUARD LAUREN DICKERSON WILL LEAD THE REDHAWKS AGAIN THIS SEASON. JUGAL JAIN PHOTO EDITOR

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

SPORTS 9

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Miami heads to NIU to play for Mallory Cup CHRIS VINEL

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

THE REDHAWKS KEPT THEIR POSTSEASON DREAMS ALIVE LAST WEDNESDAY (ABOVE) AND HOPE TO DO THE SAME AGAINST NORTHERN ILLINOIS THIS WEEK. JUGAL JAIN PHOTO EDITOR

Chuck Martin is in luck.

The Miami RedHawks’ head coach spent last Wednesday night looking for a trophy and was disappointed when one didn’t appear after his team defeated Ohio in the Battle of the Bricks. That won’t be a problem this week.

Tomorrow, Martin’s RedHawks (4-6, 4-2 Mid-American) travel to Dekalb, Ill. to take on the MAC West-leading Northern Illinois Huskies (7-3, 6-0 MAC) and, for the first time ever, the two squads will play for the Mallory Cup. The contest, complete with a trophy prize for the victors, honors the late Bill Mallory, who died in May. Mallory served as the head coach at both Miami and Northern Illinois during his illustrious career, winning a combined 64 games and two MAC Championships between the two schools.

“I got to know [Mallory] a little bit,” Martin said. “I’ve known his family. Preseason, we had even talked to the kids about, ‘We’re going to play football this year that, when Bill Mallory’s looking down on us, he’s going to have a lot of pride in how this team plays.’

“For us, it’s a huge deal for a lot of reasons, this game, but that adds to it. Knowing he’s going to be watching down on our football team. I’m sure Northern feels the same way.”

Martin exchanged text messages with one of Mallory’s sons after Miami’s victory over Ohio.

“He was talking about how competitive and how hard we fought and how hard we hung in there,” Martin said. “I said, ‘Hey, I think your dad would’ve been proud yesterday.’ He said, ‘Yeah, I think he would’ve been proud, too.’”

Miami gave Martin and Mallory a lot to be proud of, scoring 30 points for the seventh consecutive game to claim its first Battle of the Bricks win since 2012. Martin had previously never beaten Ohio in his five seasons in Oxford.

But the biggest point of pride for the Red-

Hawks: they kept their season alive. Had they lost, they would’ve been eliminated from the conference championship race and bowl eligibility. They need to win their last two games to make those postseason aspirations a reality.

Martin didn’t allow his team to celebrate the win over the Bobcats for very long. He said he fell asleep with a smile on his face Wednesday night but went back to devising the game plan for Northern Illinois when he woke up on Thursday morning.

The Huskies present a unique challenge for Miami, as they remain unbeaten in MAC games.

“Defensively, they’re the best team in this league, in my opinion, by a wide margin,” Martin said.

And he isn’t just spitting fluffy coach rhetoric. The Huskies rank as the no. 1 defense in the MAC, allowing just 21 points per game.

They’ve surrendered 21 touchdowns on the season. Miami’s given up 38.

Luckily for the ’Hawks, Northern Illinois’ offense isn’t as threatening. It scores an average of 21.1 points per game. Miami counters with a unit that’s put up 28.2 points per game this season. In MAC games, that number leaps to 36.8 — good for third-best in the conference.

The offensive Huskies to watch are their three leading rushers: redshirt sophomore running back Tre Harbinson, redshirt junior running back Marcus Jones and redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcus Childers. The trio has run for a combined 1,610 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2018.

Dekalb has proven to be a tough place to play for the RedHawks, who haven’t won a game there since 1998. Northern Illinois beat Miami 45-12 at Yager Stadium the last time the two schools met in 2015.

Miami hopes to honor Bill Mallory with its performance in Wednesday’s 8 p.m. game.

ESPNU will air the crucial, late-season contest. vinelca@miamioh.edu @ChrisAVinel

MEN’S BASKETBALL ROUTS MIDWAY FOR FIRST WIN CHRIS VINEL

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

The Miami RedHawks (1-1) found that twice wasn’t quite as nice on Monday night. Luckily for them, it was still top-notch.

Miami beat Midway 91-42 at Millett Hall to claim its first win of the new season.

Last season, the RedHawks set a litany of offensive records, including the program’s single-game points mark, in a 123-40 victory over the Eagles (3-3).

While his team failed to eclipse any records

SCOREBOARD WEDNESDAY

Field Hockey

Miami ......................................0 No. 24 Boston University ......... 1

Football

Ohio University....................... 28 Miami .................................... 30

FRIDAY

Field Hockey

Miami.......................................0 No. 3 Duke ............................... 1

Volleyball

Miami ...................................... 3 Kent State ................................ 1

SATURDAY

Volleyball

Miami ...................................... 3 Ohio University.........................0

last night, head coach Jack Owens spent the second half quietly sitting on the bench — a rarity for him. He had nothing to stress about. His team never trailed in the contest.

“I just thought the guys came out and played the way we should play,” Owens said. “We had a nasty taste in our mouths from Saturday night.”

Midway actually hung with Miami at the beginning of the first half, trailing just 14-12 after six-and-a-half minutes.

“It definitely was us getting comfortable and settling into the game,” sophomore guard Nike Sibande said.

The RedHawks did settle in and responded with a 20-2 run. It only got worse for the Eagles.

Miami took a 47-24 lead into halftime off the strong play of sophomore forward Dalonte Brown. Brown finished the first period with 12 points and four rebounds.

The second half allowed Brown and co. to showcase their athleticism, with him and sophomore guards Jalen Adaway and Sibande throwing down a number of thunderous dunks on the fast break.

“It was a lot of fun, man,” Sibande said. “I really enjoy playing with them. We’re all athletic players, so we just let it all come to us. [Senior guard Darrian] Ringo set us up for some good ones. It was just a fun night.”

Ringo scored just two points but dished out six assists with only two turnovers.

Those fast breaks were spurred by 21 Midway turnovers which the RedHawks turned into 30 points. Miami gave it away 12 times.

Shooting a hot 57.6 percent in the second, the RedHawks took a game-high 56-point advantage (87-31) on a Sibande layup with 5:45 left in the game.

Owens put in the backups shortly after, with sophomore walk-ons Michael Ritchie and Benjamin Litteken getting their first court action of the season. Each scored two points.

By the time the final buzzer mercifully sounded for Midway, Miami had racked up 91 points.

Although Midway, an NAIA Division II school, isn’t nearly as talented as Butler, the RedHawks showed improvement from Saturday when they failed to effectively rebound the ball and surrendered 90 points due to a lack of defensive disci-

SOPHOMORE FORWARD DALONTE BROWN (RIGHT) OVERPOWERS SOPHOMORE GUARD TY SPARLING. MACY WHITAKER THE MIAMI STUDENT

pline. They outrebounded the Eagles 44-34 last night.

Miami continued its trend of winning its home-openers. Monday’s victory pushed its alltime record to 92-22 (.805 winning percentage) in those games.

Sibande dropped over 20 points for the second consecutive game, leading all players with 21 and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.

Brown added 18 points and six rebounds.

Only one Eagle — junior guard Kaleb Britt —

reached double-digit scoring figures (10). Senior forward Jose Bustamante fell one point and one rebound short of a double-double.

Miami gets a business vacation later this week as they fly to the Bahamas to play in the Islands of Bahamas Showcase. It opens the tournament with North Dakota State (1-1) at 2 p.m. Friday. vinelca@miamioh.edu @ChrisAVinel

’Hawks Talk “I just tried to adapt and do the best that I can and go out there and bang bodies because that’s what I’m good at... And wreak as much havoc as I could.”

– senior defenseman River Rymsha about getting called up to play forward on Saturday night against North Dakota.

SOPHOMORE GUARD JALEN ADAWAY (3) DOMINATES AND DUNKS ON MIDWAY. MACY WHITAKER THE MIAMI STUDENT

Opinion

10

BURNSKL2@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018 STAFF EDITORIAL

Neglect of absentee ballots deserves attention Students’ voting rights should not be subject to mailroom pile-up The following reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

Everyday tasks are harder on a college campus. Students have to traverse the cold, unforgiving hallways of dorms to shower in communal bathrooms, trek across campus to eat at dining halls and hope their mail is in their dorm mailbox when they remember to check.

Campus life is full of micro-obstacles, and voting is no exception. Except this year, voting — specifically absentee voting — transcended the “micro” prefix and become a macro campus issue.

The Miami Student reported that multiple students living in residence halls did not receive their absentee ballots until Election Day. Depending on where those ballots are from, many need to be received by Election Day to be counted.

So, some of these students are simply out of luck and out of a voice — and that’s simply unacceptable.

This never should have happened. The Miami mail system should be prioritized. Instead of a heap of mail sitting around, waiting to be put in mailboxes by RAs that may or may not remember to do so each evening they’re on duty, things of importance should be distributed as soon as possible, and that includes ballots.

In the age of technology, most people are no longer getting unimportant mail. Prescriptions, ballots, bills and checks shouldn’t be left in a back room, waiting to

be sorted.

There’s a reason why New York Democratic Sen. Kristen Gillibrand proposed a postal banking system that would provide low-interest loans distributed from local post offices. The most isolated of towns may not have a bank, but they do have a post office — mail delivery is basically a federally guaranteed right.

Absentee voting in general is not emphasized by the university. Between Party at the Polls, the Get Out the Vote campaigns and election day emails, Miami pushed for voter turnout here in Oxford. But with 60 percent of Miami first-years from out of state, just advocating for voting in-person isn’t enough.

State-specific rules, mailing deadlines, voter registration and updating information are all aspects of the process that remain hazy to most students wishing to exercise their right to vote.

In the state of Kentucky, a voter needs to prove they will be out of the area on Election Day in order to be eligible to receive an absentee ballot. In Ohio, the ballots need to be turned in and received by the Board of Elections by Election Day in order to count.

The process for requesting an absentee ballot varies from state to state. In Virginia, the entire process, including explaining why a person has chosen to vote absentee, is online. In Ohio, voters can either fill out a paper form that includes their name and address and send it to their local bureau or file the request for an absentee ballot online.

If students want to change their address to vote in Butler County, they can. But many students are unaware this is even an option, and that information is not emphasized as much by the university as it should be.

For many students on campus, this year’s midterms were one of the first elections they could vote in. While some high school civics classes help students through

Little Women, Big Year Pint-sized, powerful women take control in 2018

HALEY MILLER

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Ariana Grande and her army of similarly-short women are coming to save us all.

2018 belongs to pint-size ladies who are exciting and inspiring in their artistic endeavors and graceful in the face of adversity.

I am dubbing this year the Year of the Little Woman.

Let’s begin with the petite queen bee herself, Ariana. Miss Grande and her ponytail had themselves a banner year. This summer alone, she fell in (and eventually out of) love quite publicly, released her third No. 1 Billboard 200 album and gave a perfect “Carpool Karaoke” performance.

Later this year, in September, Ariana’s ex-boyfriend and frequent collaborator, Mac Miller, died from an accidental overdose. Fans took to social media to blame her and her new relationship for Miller’s death, causing Grande to disable comments on her Instagram. In mid-October, Ariana and her then-fiance Pete Davidson called off their engagement and the comedian has been quick to discuss the break-up on Saturday Night Live.

And despite all that, just last week, Ariana released the first single off her new album, “thank u, next.”

If you didn’t pay attention to the lyrics, the single seems like a sweet lil’ bop. But the intimate lyrics about failed relationships and personal growth demonstrate Ariana’s commitment to self-love and optimism.

“Thank u, next” could have easily exploited the drama in the singer’s personal life to drive streams and profit. Instead, this 25-year-old, five-foot woman chose to share her difficult path to self-acceptance, warts and all.

A pop song that concerns itself with growth, self-love and forgiveness is perhaps the perfect 3-minute-and-27-second antidote to this year. A package as compact as the artist who assembled it.

Lady Gaga, towering at 5 feet 2 inches, is Ariana’s sister in shortness. Perhaps you’ve heard a bit about her new movie, “A Star is Born.” Both the movie and the soundtrack are wonderful, but Gaga’s Oscar campaign is what earned her the “tiny queen” title.

Gaga does not shy away from discussing the trauma she has endured after being sexually assaulted and consistently speaks up for

other sexual assault survivors.

Before “A Star is Born,” Gaga’s original song, “Till It Happens to You,” featured in the documentary “The Hunting Ground,” was nominated for a Grammy, Emmy and Academy Award. Both the song and the documentary concern themselves with the sexual assault on college campuses. During Gaga’s performance at the 88th Academy Awards, she was joined onstage by over 50 sexual assault survivors.

Gaga’s outspoken support for sexual assault survivors in 2018 has earned her the title of “tiny queen.”

During her appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” she praised Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, after Ford came forward with allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Later, at Elle’s Women in Hollywood event, Gaga opened up about the discomfort she feels in her own body as a result of being sexually assaulted by a man in the entertainment industry. I implore you, nay, order you to watch the full speech.

Like Ariana, Gaga is radically transparent about the difficulties she faces each and every day. I can’t help but feel incredibly lucky that these are the women making headlines this year, for their compassion, honesty, and talent.

There are countless examples of short ladies in pop culture who are making waves like Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. Cardi B, always hilariously candid, has been extremely open about her own struggles with motherhood since the birth of her baby, Kulture, this year. Whether she’s guest-hosting “The Tonight Show” or dragging Nicki Minaj on her Instagram, she’s delightfully and unapologetically herself. And of course, she’s only five-foot-three!

Kate McKinnon (5 feet 3 inches), an out gay woman and resident impressionist on Saturday Night Live, embodies and satirizes the most powerful people in the country each week. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (also 5 feet 3 inches) bravely shared her breast cancer diagnosis and advocated for universal healthcare in the same tweet! And Reese Witherspoon (5 feet and 1 inch) has made it her mission to produce film and television made by women.

It appears hundreds of small female celebrities put their heads together and decided 2018 was the year that they would become our overlords. Unencumbered by unnecessary inches and led by the smallest (and thus, the most powerful), short women are teaching us to live authentically, honestly and healthily. They prioritize their own mental health, creativity and joy, as well as the health and happiness of the public.

Proudly kneel before your newly-annointed queens of culture, and you’ll probably be the same height as them. millerhh@miamioh.edu

the process, many other potential young voters fall through the cracks. Miami has no equivalent class to catch the students who were missed.

Miami should take it upon itself to encourage every student that sets foot on this campus to vote.

UNV 101 is required for all first-years. It teaches them essential information about alcohol and sexual assault and class registration. It only makes sense to spend a class period explaining the basics of voting and then helping students to register right then and there.

Voting should be a top priority, not buried under a pile of junk mail.

ILLUSTRATION: CONNOR WELLS

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Miami must expand healthcare access for women ALEXANDRIA DOTY Miami University, like many universities, faces a constant struggle to meet the needs of students and faculty alike. Mental health has recently been an area that Miami has faced pressure to address, and today I would like to introduce another — women’s access to health care.

The student health center on campus does offer specific women’s health-related services — there is one OB/GYN nurse practitioner available during regular business hours. To clarify, this means that there is one nurse practitioner available to serve the approximately 8,000 women that attend Miami with any women-centric health needs, including birth control, sexually transmitted infections and abortion or prenatal referrals. The nurse practitioner is unable to meet with students who do not have an appointment, and is limited in her ability to provide services to the women at Miami.

The nurse practitioner at Miami is not able to prescribe any sort of IUD birth control to students, nor can she provide abortive services or prenatal services. She also cannot prescribe HRT to students.

Statistically, women between the ages of 20 and 24 are the most likely to seek abortive services and seek prenatal care.

Similarly, 88 percent of women use birth control at some point in their lives. College-aged women clearly need access to these healthcare services in order to make healthy reproductive choices.

Compounding this issue on Miami’s campus is the fact that Oxford does not have other women’s healthcare options available. There is one practicing OB/GYN in Oxford, and his office will not see students without a referral from the Student Health Center. For example, if a woman at Miami decides that she wants to get an IUD, she must first make an appointment with the nurse practitioner through Student Health Services, get a referral to the Oxford clinic, make an appointment through the clinic and hopefully receive an IUD there.

If the student uses Miami health insurance, she hopefully is able to afford the Oxford clinic rates, seeing as they do not accept Miami insurance. This difficult process can discourage women from seeking the care that would best benefit them.

Students seeking gynecologic care for STIs through the Student Health Center are also put into a difficult position. They must make an appointment, hoping that a timely slot that fits into their class and work schedule will be available. It has been proven that easily accessible health care greatly increases the chances of college-aged students seeking medical care.

The current system of OB/GYN care through the Health Center puts the onus

on students to squeeze health services into their busy schedules. Along with scheduling issues, the problem worsens with the fact that there is only one nurse practitioner available to see women.

As a woman at Miami, it is important for me to reach out and advocate for increased health care access. Miami has taken steps in the last year to improve health care, but continues to neglect the issue of availability of OB/GYN services.

Associated Student Government (ASG)

There is one practicing OB/ GYN in Oxford, and his office will not see students without a referral from the Student Health Center. has shown that it is willing to work with the university to increase access to healthcare, but the university needs to see continued pressure from the students to realize that we are serious about continuing to increase access to health care. It is on each and every one of us to continue to reach out to our ASG senators and Student Health Center administration with our concerns about women’s access to health care.

Being aware of this issue is the first step in pushing for change. If you are lucky enough to have never had cause to see a women’s health professional at Miami, it is easy to forget that such care is difficult to access. Students need to continue this awareness by talking about it with friends and classmates — the more people that are aware of the issues, the more weight they will hold.

Another step that can be taken is to reach out to your ASG representative.

Send them an email letting them know your concern, and tell them you want to see change within the health center. Senators want to work with you, and to know what you would like to see happen at Miami. They are a wonderful resource, and letting them hear your voice is important.

If you’re feeling fired up, reach out to Miami administration as well. Reach out to the health center with your concerns.

The more that the health center hears from students, the more that they know we are looking for change. Let President Crawford know that this is something on your mind, and that health care for women needs to be taken seriously at Miami.

Don’t be afraid to stand up for something that you care about and let Miami know that our healthcare system for women needs to change. dotyam@miamioh.edu