The Miami Student | December 4, 2018

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018

Volume 147 No. 13

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

SPECIAL REPORT

Shanghai is home to the most Chinese international students, with 248 undergraduates in Oxford DATA: INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AND SCHOLAR SERVICES GRAPHIC: ARTHUR NEWBERRY

Our Chinese Students ARTHUR NEWBERRY THE MIAMI STUDENT

Miami’s Chinese students are just as diverse as our domestic population. Some hail from the world’s largest city (and the second-largest and the fourth).

Some come from cities with acres of solar panels, and some come from cities at the base of sacred Buddhist mountains. Some of our Chinese students drive expensive cars and hang out with their friends, while some prefer to study. Most are avid users of WeChat, and most are concerned about finding a job after graduation.

A letter from a Chinese International ASG Senator

But all of them have one thing in common — they’re trying to navigate life on a campus, and in a country, that isn’t made for them. In a Trumpian era marked by anti-multicultural rhetoric and on a campus surrounded predominantly by white students whose native language is English, Chinese students at Miami are beacons of the university’s stated commitment to diversity. But those institutional diversity goals can’t be met if domestic students don’t view their Chinese counterparts as peers — in the classroom and off campus.

According to the Institute of International Education, 33 percent of international students studying in the U.S. in 2018 come from China. India sends the second-highest proportion of students, at 18 percent.

The U.S.’ appeal to international students is rooted in the increased freedoms, said Chen Zhao, director of Miami’s Confucius Institute, in a 2016 presentation titled “Understanding Chinese Students at Miami.”

“What’s the goal [in coming to the U.S.]? The goal is to become — it’s a very popular word in China — a globalized person,” Zhao said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Dorm life: Same personality, different nationalities, one room

TRAVELOGUE: Photos from our writer abroad in China

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ARENA

Miami hockey “can play with anyone” EMILY SIMANSKIS SPORTS EDITOR

There was a little bit of everything this weekend for Miami hockey – a sixgoal first period, backup goaltender heroics, power-play goals, reviewed goals, a shorthanded goal, four periods of overtime and a shootout.

But there were also howls of joy.

Those came on Saturday when the RedHawks capped the weekend against St. Cloud State University with a 3-on-3 overtime win. Playing the No. 1 team in

This Issue

the country, the ’Hawks officially tied the Huskies 4-4 on Friday and 2-2 on Saturday, but collected an extra conference point with the win in the extra frame on Night Two. Miami’s locker room earned three National Collegiate Hockey Conference points after a shootout loss on Friday (one point) and that overtime win on Saturday (two points). The RedHawks are tied for second with Minnesota-Duluth in the NCHC standings, only behind St. Cloud (11-1-2, 4-0-2-1 NCHC).

“Our guys have an emotional invest-

ment that is very obvious,” head coach Enrico Blasi said on Saturday as muffled celebration music and the occasional cheer came from the locker room. “And when they’re fully invested and committed to playing the game the right way and everybody’s on the same page, it’s fun to watch.”

Coaches voted Miami (9-6-3, 3-3-21 NCHC) to No. 17 in the USCHO.com’s top-20 poll. The RedHawks were unranked last week, but climb to their highest ranking this season and their highest spot since Nov. 2015 (also 17th).

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION CÉILÍ DOYLE NEWS EDITOR

Miami University sophomore Emily Pawlecki was walking to a date party while scrolling through her phone on a late Thursday night in early October.

She had just received a notification that the FBI was planning to release a statement in the morning about then Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. The statement would reveal whether or not the the sexual assault allegations made against Kavanaugh were corroborated.

After arriving at the party, Pawlecki isolated herself from her friends and sat down to email her senator, Rob Portman.

She found his contact information in a friend’s Snapchat story urging people to reach out to their elected officials. As a last CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Tasty cakes and silly dates

Breaking free from fear

The Great Miami Bake Off was a night to remember for Enna and Justin.

Our columnist is soarin’ and flyin’ despite the turbulence.

Come see Sketched Out and Just Dandy and read our stories. pls.

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page 14

@kofenya, 9-11 p.m.

TMS Mag launch tonight!

This Week

2 FYI

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018 Named the Best College Newspaper (Non-daily) in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Things to do

JACK EVANS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Audrey Davis Kirby Davis Alison Perelman Managing Editors Ben Smith Design Editor Samantha Brunn Ceili Doyle News Editors Emily Simanskis Sports Editor Madeline Mitchell Kate Rigazio Culture Editors Kelly Burns Ben Finfrock Opinion Editors

Emily Brustoski Video Editor Megan Zahneis Magazine Editor, Copy Chief

Chanukah Celebration

Alyssa Melendez Web Designer Lindsay Cerio Business Manager

Phi Delt Gates Today, 6:30-7:30 p.m

James Tobin Faculty Adviser Fred Reeder Business Adviser

Come to the Shade Family room and take a break from studying for finals with MAP’s Thursday Night Coffee House, featuring Kate Voegele. Free snacks and coffee will be provided!

Holiday Movie Marathon

Get Psyched!

Study Session

Aim Media Midwest Printer

Designers Owen Berg Briah Lumpkins Arthur Newberry Connor Wells

Asst. News Editor Julia Arwine

Wilks Theater Friday, 3-11 p.m.

Asst. Culture Editors Maia Anderson Duard Headley

Humor Editor Michael Serio Entertainment Editor Sam Keeling Opinion Columnist Emily Dattilo Asst. Sports Editor Chris Vinel

Get in the holiday spirit and temporarily forget about finals looming overhead with a movie night sponsored by MAP. Movies include “Frozen” (3-5 p.m.), “Last Holiday” (5-7 p.m.), “Home Alone” (7-9 p.m.) and “Elf” (9-11 p.m.).

Asst. Photo Editor Bo Brueck Asst. Magazine Editor Maya Fenter Copy Editors Sydney Hill Brianna Porter

miamistudent.net/advertise eic@miamistudent.net

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.

2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR Houses with permits for 4 on E. Withrow. 3-4 bedrooms, 2 baths, full basement w/washer and dryer, living room, kitchen with stove, refrigerator, dishwasher. $3900-$4000 per person per semester, $2400 security deposit total plus utilities.

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

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.

2018-19 Recipient Miranda Woods

Made in Africa: Connecting African Resources with American Sneakers

Deadline February 1, 2019

Due by 5:00pm: Old Manse 410 E. High Street Hard copies of applications also available here

2018-19 Recipient Jacob Bruggeman

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

Questions?

Psychology Building Room 131 Saturday, 9-11 p.m.

Head to the psych building Saturday night with your friends and enjoy free food while getting in the zone as you prepare for finals.

The event is open to all and is sponsored by the Center and Society for Psychological Inquiry and Late Night Miami.

CORRECTION: MACE AND PEPPPER SPRAY OK

Asst. Business Manager Bea Newberry

Advertising information: Send us a letter?

Armstrong Shade Stage Thursday, 8 p.m.

Chabad, JHP and the Oxford Pantry invite you to join in a Chanukah Celebration with a greeting from President Gregory Crawford.

Students will be building a can-orah which will be donation to the food pantry after the event.

WDJ Inc. - Bill Dedden Distributor

Jugal Jain Photo Editor

Kate Voegele

Learn More

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

http://miamioh.edu/fellowships

On Tuesday, Nov. 20 The Miami Student reported that the Office of Residence Life (ORL) “is enforcing a policy that requires resident assistants to write up their residents if they are caught with pepper spray in their dorms.”

That was incorrect.

The ORL does not prohibit mace and pepper spray in residence halls, nor is it usually prohibited on campus. This information was confirmed with ORL Director Vicka Bell-Robinson.

According to several pages on the Miami University website, pepper spray is explicitly banned from Goggin Arena and at Commencement.

University departments gave The Student conflicting information about Miami policy on the matter. We should have taken greater care to ascertain the truth, and we apologize for the error.

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

NEWS 3

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018

Miami hockey “can play with anyone” FROM FRONT

Frenzied hockey started the weekend, and neither team looked like the top-20 team they are. After the now No. 2 Huskies scored 1:08 into the first, the RedHawks went the other way and freshman forward Scott Corbett tied the game 11 seconds later.

A power play put SCSU back on top only 4:16 into the period. Another power play could have been trouble for Miami, but freshman forward Monte Graham scored his first collegiate goal on the penalty kill to tie the game 2-2.

Eight minutes passed before the Huskies struck again, making it 3-2 at 13:34. Again, the RedHawks answered.

Junior forward Gordie Green sprung junior forward Karch Bachman for a slapshot and his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

The horn sounded mercifully and ended the back-and-forth, sending the teams to their locker rooms tied 3-3.

“I’m not sure how to take that first period,” Blasi said. “They’re a skilled hockey team, but we had a resilient group tonight — they kept coming back and finding a way.”

The RedHawks found a way all weekend – they would trail St. Cloud State six times, but rallied to tie every time. The ’Hawks were previously 1-4-1 this season when they didn’t score first.

Miami’s resiliency was led by an unlikely star.

Nine minutes into Friday’s first period with the score tied 2-2, a jam in front of the net knocked junior goaltender Ryan Larkin to the ice and sent him to the locker room. Senior goaltender Jordan Uhelski took the crease for the

fourth time this season and stood on his head.

“When I was going in, I felt like I owed it to Shark [Larkin] to perform well and owed it to the team to perform well because our guys were going,” Uhelski said.

Timely glove saves and smothering pucks for whistles elicited roars from the home crowd, spurring Uhelski’s stellar performance. He stopped 31 of the 33 pucks he saw on Friday. And “UHaul” kept the guys going when he started on Saturday, making 28 saves off 30 shots.

“Not an easy situation yesterday to come into,” Blasi said on Saturday, “and then today he stood tall and he did what he had to do: he gave us a chance to win.”

There are no updates on Larkin’s status.

In front of Uhelski, the RedHawks won board battles, blocked shots and made tape-to-tape passes – arguably playing their most complete games all season.

In a rare move, Blasi copied his Friday night roster for Saturday night and, though slower as the game went on, the RedHawks didn’t succumb to the pressure. There were few puck management errors, and the ’Hawks dug deep to finish the weekend.

Unsung heroes include redshirt sophomore forward Christian Mohs and junior forward Carter Johnson who played in their eighth and ninth games of the season. Mohs finished the weekend +2 with three shots, and Johnson was physical and fast on the third line.

“We knew coming into the weekend, it was going to be a war,” senior

FRESHMAN DEFENSEMAN DEREK DASCHKE (LEFT) HOLDS OFF JUNIOR FORWARD NICK POEHLING. THE REDHAWKS HELD OFF THE HUSKIES TO CLAIM TWO TIES THIS WEEKEND. THE MIAMI STUDENT MATT HECKERT

forward Josh Melnick said. “That was one of our big focuses was winning those battles. It just goes to show, you bear down a little extra and good things happen.”

Five ’Hawks had multi-point weekends led by Corbett’s and sophomore forward Casey Gilling’s two goals each.

Melnick, Green and sophomore defenseman Rourke Russell each tallied two assists.

Melnick’s game-winning overtime goal from Saturday won’t count in the

NCAA record book and almost didn’t count on the ice. Reviewed for an offsides call, the Steve “Coach” Cady Arena and the Miami bench held their breath before the officials signaled the goal would stand.

“My heart kind of dropped a little bit,” Melnick said, then laughed, “but glad to see they called it a goal.”

This is the RedHawks’ best firsthalf since the 2014-15 season.

“I think we’ve proven, most importantly to ourselves, when we play the right way, we can play with anyone,”

Melnick said.

The RedHawks won’t return to the Steve “Coach” Cady Arena until Dec. 30 when they take on the University of Guelph in an exhibition.

When asked if his team is ready for a break, Corbett laughed and said: “Yes, I would agree with that. I think we really battled this weekend. [...] It’ll be nice to get a mental break here, focus on some school and come back at it.” simansec@miamioh.edu @emilysimanskis

15 reported sexual assaults inspire student action ness Steve Large took the opportunity to set up five days of listening hours in Warfield Hall where students could come to talk about their concerns about sexual assault.

“We want to hear from you,” Moore wrote in an email to the Miami community on Oct. 2.

Moore put Ann James, Miami’s Director of Community Standards (OCS), formerly known as OESCR, in charge of drafting guidelines for consistency in Title IX cases.

“The guidelines will ensure all Title IX hearings are approached in a similar manner, so students know what to expect,” The Miami Student reported in early November.

FROM FRONT

ditch effort, Pawlecki joined others throughout Ohio in petitioning Portman to demand the Senate Judiciary Committee reconsider confirming Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

“I don’t think it made much of a difference,” Pawlecki said. “If a bunch of people had sent those emails then it might make a difference.

You’re one person contributing to [building] awareness for a much bigger issue.”

Kavanaugh was confirmed the next day. *

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Sexual assault has been a recurring issue of Miami’s campus, as well as college campuses across the nation.

Last week, on Wednesday, Nov. 28, the Oxford Police Department (OPD) responded to a call in the 300 block of North College Avenue where a woman reported being sexually assaulted.

The incident was the fifteenth case of sexual assault reported in Oxford this semester.

During the same time period last year (Aug. 28 to Dec. 3, 2017) there were 16 incidents reported — six to OPD and 10 to the Miami University Police Department (MUPD.) “I think this year, especially, we’ve been a bit more cautious about walking everyone home at the end of the night,” Pawlecki said.

“At the height of so many notifications at the beginning of the year, I definitely noticed everyone looking out for each other a bit more.”

Miami frequently sends out campus crime alerts via email when sexual assaults are reported on campus. But not every incident that is reported to either OPD or MUPD is automatically communicated to the Miami community.

OPD keeps track of every sexual assault that is reported (12 of the 15 cases this semester were reported to OPD).

And, while the 16 incidents reported last year is greater than the 15 reported this semester, Chief John Jones said, anecdotally, it feels like there are more reports this semester than in previous years.

That feeling could be in part, he said, due to more media requests, greater interaction with the Oxford community on OPD’s Facebook page and that his detectives are dealing with sexual assault related incidents frequently.

Jones also said that the number of cases does not necessarily mean more sexual assaults are happening in the city of Oxford.

“Realistically, you don’t know if there’s just people coming forward more and there’s more reporting or [if] the actual number that’s occurred [is] still the same,” Jones said. *

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Alex Saccocio, junior and philanthropy chair of Miami’s chapter of Beta Theta Pi (Beta) wanted to host a philanthropy event this semester that was centered around “starting the conversation” about sexual assault in the Greek community.

Beta fraternity does not have a national philanthropy organization, so each individual chapter of Beta has the opportunity to pick

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ILLUSTRATION: CONNOR WELLS

an organization to support.

Last summer Beta chose Women Helping Women, a Butler County-based organization that provides support services and crisis intervention for all survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, as their philanthropy.

Saccocio came up with the idea for a dance called the Beta Ball to raise money for the organization while also encouraging Miami’s Greek community to support women and listen to their stories.

The event would be ticketed and proceeds from those tickets would go toward Women Helping Women.

Saccocio brought up his idea for the Beta Ball at chapter one Sunday afternoon. Initially, most of the fraternity was on board; however, Saccocio faced pushback from a couple of members of Beta.

“We had one or two brothers who were a little wary of the whole, ‘start the conversation’ theme,” Saccocio said. “But I was like, ‘Really?...Start the conversation is the least political thing we could have said.’ It’s about talking about these issues no wants to talk about.”

Saccocio wants to put political difference aside and talk about this issue. It should be bipartisan, he said.

But Saccocio didn’t want the event and its theme of “starting the conversation” to be dominated by the male members of the fraternity.

“I quickly realized having a group of guys talking to women about sexual assault is so hypocritical,” Saccocio said.

So the fraternity came up with an added twist — a social media contest open to all sororities on campus. Each sorority chapter had the opportunity to share their experience

of what being a woman on Miami’s campus is like and then one video would be chosen to show during Beta Ball.

While Saccocio and his friends were planning the event and watching the various sororities’ submissions for the social media contest, Saccocio knew something special was happening as his brothers began animatedly discussing the powerful messages behind each video.

“You can’t support a philanthropy with just money,” Saccocio said. “You have to support the message behind the philanthropy. [And] when it comes to something that has become so political, to say that you support the message really goes to a whole ‘nother level.”

The video from Miami’s sorority chapter Alpha Omicron Pi (AOPi), was chosen to be shown the night of Beta Ball, and $300 of the proceeds went towards AOPi’s philanthropy, the National Arthritis Foundation.

Beta also partnered with Kick Back Bath Co., a non-profit organization that funds free self-defense classes for women through bath product sales. The organization was started by former Miami student Maria Racadio who spoke about her experience with sexual assault at Miami during the Beta Ball.

At the end of the night, Beta raised $1,350 for Women Helping Women. *

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The day after the seventh sexual assault was reported on Monday, Oct. 1, President Gregory Crawford addressed the Miami community in a letter.

“One sexual assault on our campus is too many,” Crawford wrote.

Dean of Students Kimberly Moore and Assistant Vice President for Health and Well-

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While the 14 incident reports of sexual assault this semester (one of the 15 was from an incident that occurred in October 2016) are a sign of more survivors’ willingness to report assaults, many problems remain ahead as the university continues to address sexual assault.

Thirteen percent of the 6,072 respondents to Miami’s 2017 campus climate survey reported “they had experienced unwanted sexual contact/conduct while at Miami University.”

Miami students, like Saccocio and Pawlecki are interested in prompting Miami to talk about sexual assault more often and want the university to be more transparent about the number of incidents that are reported each semester.

Saccocio reached out to the university to promote the Beta Ball through the university’s official Snapchat but reached several dead ends.

“One of the directors for social media and marketing told me that Miami University does not want parents thinking that sexual assault happens here,” Saccocio said.“That was really frustrating and heartbreaking for me...to say that they didn’t want to talk about this because it wasn’t comfortable made me realize that needed to be the focus for our event.”

Saccocio was able to work with the university’s social media and strategic marketing manager, Kelly Bennett, to promote the Beta Ball on the Miami Instagram page but only by framing the fraternity’s message, “starting the conversation,” in the context of the national scope.

Pawlecki believes Miami is a microcosm of the larger, national problem.

“Even though it’s something huge happening on a national level you can see the connection between...the increase in sexual assaults on campus and with a president in office who had 20-some allegations when he was elected,” she said. “That carries down and that sends a message that there aren’t necessarily consequences for you actions.

“That’s something my friends and I realized when Kavanaugh was confirmed — that’s not a culture that’s changing immediately and that’s really disheartening.” doyleca3@miamioh.edu @cadoyle_18

4 NEWS

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018

Students relocate after Hamilton Hall flooding OMAR ELGHAZAWI THE MIAMI STUDENT

Eighteen students were relocated to new rooms after a chilled water valve in the attic of Hamilton hall burst, damaging the second and third floors of the building.

An investigation into what exactly caused the valve to burst is ongoing. No further information was provided by the university at press time.

Caleb Russell, a sophomore theatre and arts management co-major, was helping his girlfriend, Maddie Wagner, a sophomore Spanish and theatre double major, move back into her room after Thanksgiving break when they discovered the damage.

“My girlfriend’s room is on the very end of the second floor,” Russell said.

“Her room, particularly, was affected by about 50 percent...due to the room being at the edge of the building and not having a water pipe above it. There was water leaking from her lighting fixtures, and pockets of water that had built up behind the walls to the point where it literally dragged down the ceiling and

wall paint. Her rug was damaged, her fridge and microwave were covered by water and all her food was ruined.”

Russell called the police around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 25 to report the damage. The couple believes they were the first to discover the flooding upon returning from break.

Another student, Katherine Block, a sophomore zoology major, came back from break the next day to find that her own room was not flooded or damaged, but there were problems throughout her corridor.

“There are other rooms in my corridor that have water leaking from the ceiling,” Block said. “There are fans in the hallways to dry our hall carpets.

There were also pieces of the ceiling on the ground when I came in, but they were taken away by maintenance.”

Claire Wagner, Miami’s director of university news and communications, said the affected students have been moved to other dorms with open rooms or beds — such as Etheridge Hall, Minnich Hall, or the Marcum Hotel and Conference Center — if they were not able to find housing with friends or

Two ASG senators resign following racial slur incident RACHEL BERRY STAFF WRITER

Two Associated Student Government (ASG) senators resigned recently, leaving a total of five seats open after the resignation of two senators and an executive cabinet member last month.

Off-campus senators Jake Bertog and James Gale both resigned as a result of how the recent racial slur incident in ASG was handled.

In October, former senators Conor Daly and Connor Mallegg and former Secretary for On-Campus Affairs Mike Meleka resigned after a two-year-old video resurfaced of Daly and Mallegg dancing and singing to the song “Ultralight Beam” by Kanye West featuring Chance The Rapper. It was unclear whether the former senators uttered a racial slur in this video. Meleka had sent the video in a Snapchat group chat of current and former ASG senators.

All three students were sent to ASG’s Oversight committee which cleared them of all wrongdoing.

Later, a petition was started to hold an impeachment trial because some senators did not agree with the oversight ruling. As a result of the petition and other outside pressures, Daly, Mallegg and Meleka all resigned.

This leaves four open senate seats to be filled in a special election in Feb. 2019. The Election committee has yet to decide when the executive cabinet position will be filled, but it will likely be early next semester.

According to the ASG bylaws, there are 67 seats between the senate and executive cabinet. With five open positions, seven percent of ASG’s seats are currently empty.

Whether ASG will use these openings as an opportunity to increase diversity within the senate, a body that is primarily composed of white students, remains to be seen.

“Recruiting diverse candidates has been a high priority for ASG, and it will continue to be,” Cole Hankins, the Speaker of Senate, said.

Bertog resigned in an email to Hankins over Thanksgiving break, but this information was not made public to the rest of senate until Bertog notified them separately in a Slack group chat on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 27.

Earlier that evening, Gale messaged the senators’ Slack group chat notifying them of his resignation with a letter stating his reasoning. Gale sent his resignation in before the senators’ diversity training, which was scheduled to replace their regular meeting that night.

“Over the past few weeks, I have been immensely disappointed with the actions of student government leaders, the behavior of senators, and the present trajectory of Associated Student Government as a whole (with exception to the judicial branch—as far as I know, they’re doing just fine),” Gale wrote in his letter. “I feel an overwhelming sensation of frustration and futility; a sensation that is a first for

me as an elected representative.”

Gale went on to cite the senators’ Everfi diversity training as one of his reasons for resigning. The training was recently purchased by the Office of Diversity Affairs to be used in various organizations around campus and was planned a month in advance by Secretary of Diversity Affairs Courtney Rose, who had also instigated a similar diversity training last semester.

Gale believes ASG failed to follow a process titled “calling in” which is taught in the Everfi diversity training.

“Calling in is the practice of recognizing that people make mistakes, of identifying those mistakes, and trying to educate and move forward,” Gale wrote, quoting the diversity training module.

He criticized ASG as a whole for not following this process.

“I saw zero consideration of diverse solutions or inclusion of differing opinions,” Gale wrote. “Coming from a group of individuals which prides themselves on being diverse and inclusive, I found those actions utterly mind boggling, brushing up against being outright hypocritical.”

Monica Venzke, a member of ASG’s Diversity and Inclusion committee and president of the Diversity Affairs Council, responded to Gale’s letter in a statement to The Miami Student.

“I understand James’s frustration and I am saddened to see him go, but with all due respect ‘calling in’ isn’t always enough,” Venzke wrote. “It only works when individuals admit they did something wrong, which neither senator has done in this case. I know they both have grown immensely as people since this incident occurred, but the reality of the situation is that this video was divisive and left them unable to represent their constituents and thus unable to do their jobs.

Secretary Rose has organized inclusion training every semester they’ve been in office, which includes last semester when both senators involved were required to be in attendance.”

Following Gale’s resignation in the group chat, Bertog later messaged the group to notify them of his resignation as well.

“I too [sic] am stepping down,” Bertog wrote. “It was nice meeting you all for this brief semester.

Although, I do not have a letter to share, I am a bit disappointed with the organization’s actions. However, hardships bring for greater strength, and I wish the best to everyone [sic] of you in your journey. And I’ll see you all around...

Namaste.”

While Gale’s resignation is effective immediately, Bertog will remain in ASG until the end of the semester.

Rose could not be reached for comment, and Gale refused to comment. Bertog would not speak to The Student’s reporter unless they revealed their source that first alerted them to his resignation. berryrd@miamioh.edu

somewhere off campus. Some students that have not moved yet may still be relocated to another dorm so repairs can be made.

Wagner said that the faulty valve and a functional one have been sent to labs for testing to determine whether the installation or valve itself was at fault for the incident.

Wagner did not have an official timeline for when students would be able to return to their rooms, adding that it was too early to make that call.

She said that affected students with damaged property have been provided forms to report those losses. Any damage to school books will be covered immediately.

Vicka Bell-Robinson, director of the Office of Residence Life, said the university is assessing which building materials were affected in order to determine what needs to be replaced.

Bell-Robinson clarified that the water does not pose a hazard, and items affected by the flooding do not require special cleaning techniques or methods. elghazoa@miamioh.edu

HAMILTON HALL SUFFERED EXTENSIVE WATER DAMAGE AFTER A WATER VALVE BURST. CONTRIBUTED BY: CALEB RUSSELL

Nearly a quarter of all undergraduates receive early registration TYLER GROTH

THE MIAMI STUDENT

While some students prepared to explore their classing options for the next semester, a significant proportion of Miami University students set their alarms nearly a week in advance to schedule earlier than others.

Students call it “early registration,” and some without the privilege say it has caused them trouble getting into early classes.

Brett Schubert, a senior kinesiology major, has been registering early due to his peanut allergy for nearly his entire time at Miami. He said he never thought that having a peanut allergy would be beneficial in college. However, because it is registered through Student Disability Services on campus, Schubert has had registration priority for nearly his entire college career.

Adam Lopata is a soon-to-be second semester senior software engineering major who does not register early, says the number of students receiving the head start has caused him trouble for years when scheduling.

“I have always had to schedule a 6:00 p.m. class every semester since, like, sophomore year, because all the slots are filled by the time I go to schedule,” Lopata said.

Scheduling dates and times are typically awarded in order based on the number of credit hours already com-

pleted by the student. Students are told that they can begin registration at a particular time, often early in the morning starting at 7 a.m. and on.

Anthony Ferritto, a second semester senior accountancy major, said having an early time slot does not guarantee anything.

“I have always scheduled at the 7:10 a.m. slot and every semester I have had at least one class I cannot get into because it’s already full by the time I go to join and it has never made sense to me,” Ferritto said. “Then it turns into a force-add situation, which can be a nightmare to deal with.”

The Miller Center of Student Disability Services (SDS) on Miami’s campus said that students who receive full accommodations and have a disability that is registered through the university are granted the early registration privileges. Students receive early registration privileges for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), psychological disabilities, learning disabilities and physical disabilities.

SDS at Miami has seen a rise in the number of students receiving these services over the last several years.

“Approximately eight to 10 percent of the student body receives student disability services each academic year,” the associate director of SDS, Stephanie Dawson, said. “Over the last decade we have seen our numbers increase from five to seven percent of

the student body, between 2010 and 2015, to eight to 10 percent of the student body, from 2016 to the present.”

Dawson said the increase in students receiving services is because of improvements in access to services societally and at the university more specifically, and the decreases in stigma surrounding disabilities.

In addition to those students who receive student disability services on campus, a few other groups receive priority registration privileges, including student athletes, ROTC members and honors students.

The Registrar’s office is in charge of scheduling and coordinating the scheduling times of each student. In the fall of 2016, 2,942 students, or about 17 percent of the student body, received early registration privileges; in fall 2017, 4,065 students, or about 24 percent of the student body, received early registration; and in fall 2018, 3,473 students, or about 20 percent of the student body, received early registration.

During the fall registration of 2016, 17.3 percent of undergraduate students were scheduling ahead of others. A year later, during the fall 2017 registration, that number increased by a third of what it already was – to 23.7 percent of undergraduates receiving early registration privileges, nearly a quarter of all undergraduates. grothta@miamioh.edu

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

Home away from home: MU women’s basketball finds second family within the team BRIAH LUMPKINS

THE MIAMI STUDENT

For Kelly McLaughlin, a sophomore forward on the women’s basketball team at Miami University, Thanksgiving Break meant foregoing time at home with family to practice the sport that has come to dominate her schedule with people she says make it worthwhile.

The lives of college athletes differ greatly from the typical college student’s life. College athletes’ dedication to their teams shines through daily practices, weight lifting sessions and rewatching game-day film — all while still striving to perform well academically. This is the reality for many college athletes.

What many Miami students don’t recognize about their student-athlete peers is the dedication to their teams that goes beyond operating on the normal academic schedule.

At Miami, athletic teams like basketball and hockey remain in Oxford or are on the road for both Thanksgiving break and J-term to compete or practice for the remainder of the season.

Seven members of Miami’s women’s basketball team remained in Oxford over Thanksgiving break to practice before their game against the University of Louisville on Nov. 26. Those who lived in Ohio and Indiana were allowed to go home for Thanksgiving, but were expected to be back the next day for practice.

McLaughlin – whose commute back home to St. Louis was too far away – was one of the seven who remained in Oxford. Although she missed being with her family, McLaughlin found joy in having some time to practice her sport.

“Even though we can still call our families, we’re here for basketball, and that’s our focus right now,” McLaughlin said.

This year, mothers of those athletes who had to remain on campus traveled and assisted the team’s coaches to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for everyone to enjoy. The spread included turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans and other dishes that provided a small taste of home that the girls were missing.

Those teammates who remained in Oxford over Thanksgiving break this year participated in various community service projects, as has become tradition over the past few years.

They also spent their time helping organizations and groups such as the Kiwanis Club of Oxford, which is dedicated to serving the local community through various service and fundraising projects. The girls created care packages and organized canned goods for individuals in the Oxford area.

“We always try to help and do some community service when it’s quiet here in Oxford,” Miami’s women’s basketball head coach Megan Duffy said. “We try to bring awareness that we’re not just relaxing and hanging out. We’re still in training mode, to give back and help.”

Some families travel on the road to support the team throughout the season. McLaughlin’s family of-

ten makes a five-hour commute to watch her play and show their support for the team.

“My mom and dad try to make it to really any game they can,” McLaughlin said. “Just having their support means the world to me.”

The women’s basketball team only gets Dec. 22 through Dec. 25 off for winter break, then members are required to return back to Oxford to prepare for their nine games in the MAC conference that occur over winter break. Some games require the team to travel as far as Florida and Alabama.

The team also stays in Oxford over the summer to catch up on classes and condition for their upcoming season. Although much of their time is spent away from home, the team has found a second family amongst themselves which eases the difficulty of being away from home.

“We see each other at our worst and at the best,” McLaughlin said.

“We’ve all bonded so much over the hope of a great season. I mean, they’re my family, so staying here in Oxford over Thanksgiving wasn’t that big of a deal because I knew I would be with my second family.” lumpkibm@miamioh.edu

KELLY MCLAUGHLIN SPENT THANKSGIVING WITH HER SECOND FAMILY AT MIAMI. THE MIAMI STUDENT ZAIM HAQ

Professors utilize new technologies to communicate with students DAN WOZNIAK

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Some Miami University professors are taking a nontraditional step to connect with their students through instant messaging apps in an attempt to improve communication and collaboration.

Although all Miami students and faculty have Gmail accounts linked through the university G-Suite, some professors have taken to communicating with their students through apps such as Facebook Messenger, WeChat and GroupMe. Miami’s statement of good teaching practices does not prohibit professors from communicating with students through cell phones or instant messaging apps.

Saleh Yousef, an assistant lecturer of Arabic in the department of German, Russian, Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Culture, utilizes Facebook Messenger to communicate with students in what he believes is a more effective way.

Students can still email Yousef, but if it is late in the evening and/ or if students have a brief question, Yousef encourages his students to get on Messenger and text him that way.

“You have a phone, I have a phone, and it’s like, this is the generation,” Yousef said. “They’re all on social media, they’re all using it, and it’s a mode of communication, so why not utilize it?”

Ninety-one percent of college graduates own a smartphone and 94 percent of people from ages 1829 own a smartphone, according to statistics from the Pew Research Center.

Yousef started using Facebook

NEWS 5

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018

Messenger this year to improve communication with his students.

Through instant texting apps, Yousef said he feels that he can be in constant communication with his students when they need help with homework assignments and have questions.

Yousef first started using Facebook Messenger to communicate with family and friends in his native country, Jordan, and he realized that he could communicate back and forth with people through Facebook Messenger much faster than email.

“I use Messenger to text people overseas, and what I realized is that people respond within an hour or two,” Yousaf said. “If I email, it could take two weeks.”

Students do not need to have Facebook accounts to utilize the Messenger application, but Yousef encourages his students to get on the social media site, because his department has established a Facebook page for all Arabic students.

Professors and students can post educational videos, cultural songs, collaborate with each other and answer each other’s questions.

“I do use the Arabic Facebook page and it is helpful, as people post different links to helpful grammar videos that can be used as study resources for exams,” Katie Lynch, a sophomore creative writing and political science major, who is a teacher’s assistant for Arabic 101, said. “People also post about events that are happening around Miami that relate to the department.”

Zhuofan Xu, a Chinese instructor in the Confucius Institute, started utilizing WeChat, a Chinese multi-purpose messaging app, in September to communicate with

students and assign speaking assignments to her students.

“It’s easier because I can use the voice message,” Xu said. “It’s super useful [because] they can pick up what I record everyday, and they can use [it] right away.”

While instant texting applications can allow for more efficient communication, some students do not take advantage of these resources and choose not to check them regularly.

“Some of them don’t check [WeChat] very often,” Xu said.

Xu makes announcements in a groupchat with her students to remind them of homework assignments, and is willing to answer questions through the app’s direct message service.

“One student asked me about getting a tutor, and right away I just sent the tutor’s Wechat name card to the student, and they became friends on WeChat, and then they got the tutor appointment done in the same day,” Xu said.

Although Xu and Yousef speak highly of texting applications’ place in education, some students do not think messaging apps give them the access they need. “[Yousef]’s a bit hard to follow sometimes, but eventually it does click; I attribute this more to the fact that it’s a foreign language and him not being a native English speaker than him actually being a bad teacher,” Omar Elghazwai, a first-year political science and journalism major, said. “Even the messaging him on Facebook thing isn’t a huge deal, just kind of odd to me. Besides that, he’s just like any regular professor.” wozniad2@miamioh.edu

ASG

semester in review

ASG PLANS FOR NEXT SEMESTER AFTER PASSING SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATION IN THE FALL..

PHOTO EDITOR JUGAL JAIN

RACHEL BERRY STAFF WRITER

This semester amid internal divisions over a racial slur-related incident and a slew of resignations, Associated Student Government (ASG) has made some steps toward campus health and safety, efforts that senators hope will continue into the spring semester.

The controversy surrounding a video of two white senators singing along to a Kanye West verse containing a racial slur has been at the forefront of ASG’s internal politics since October, culminating in the resignation of four senators and one executive cabinet member.

Despite the disarray caused by the incident, ASG has passed significant legislation this semester.

ASG oversaw zero cutbacks in student organization funding, a drastic change from the 50 percent cutbacks last year which Speaker of the Senate Cole Hankins attributed to the finalization of the Red Brick Rewards program this semester.

The senators passed legislation to sell pregnancy tests and emergency contraceptives at all on-campus market locations. Pregnancy tests are sold at Emporium, due to work done by college of arts and science senator Jannie Kamara over the summer.

Emergency contraceptives are also now sold at the Student Health Center.

Senators are working with administrators to implement these two bills.

Legislation was also passed in favor of removing the Ingress Door Policy (informally known as the one-door policy), which requires residence halls to lock all but one door from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Although no actions have been taken by the administration to alter this policy, Hankins said there has been a lot of dialogue surrounding the issue.

Student Body President Meaghan Murtagh, Student Body Vice President Vincent Smith and Hankins all cited the mental health forum as one of ASG’s biggest accomplishments this semester. The main speaker was Kevin Hines who survived a suicide

attempt off the Golden Gate Bridge.

“We had a really good speaker, really powerful,” Smith said. “[He] kept a lot of people’s interest, which was really good, and we had a good showing out, which was really cool as well.”

One of Murtagh and Smith’s goals when they took office was to create a culture shift regarding drinking and sexual/interpersonal violence.

This semester, Murtagh has worked towards realizing this goal with the Miami Initiative Team (MIT) which seeks to begin conversations with high school and middle school students in the Talawanda school district to denormalize binge drinking.

Murtagh feels as though ASG has made distinct progress over the past semester.

“Overall, I think it has been successful,” Murtagh said. “There have definitely been parts that kind of made us fall back a little bit, but I think that we are in the process of really moving forward.”

Murtagh and Smith are creating an action plan of what they hope to accomplish next semester. One thing they both mentioned was they plan to encourage all student organizations to add a safety chair, who would be responsible for knowing about sexual assault resources and should be able to assist members of their organization with health and safety-related issues.

Throughout the semester, Hankins emphasized following through on initiatives.

“At the beginning of the year, one of the things I really harped on was making sure that the stuff that we start now is stuff that we’re finishing later in the year, so just overall I think a big goal should be finishing what we started,” Hankins said.

While Hankins does not write legislation himself, he wants senate to realize its potential to tackle larger topics at Miami such as finance, mental health and sexual/interpersonal violence.

“I think that senate has the capacity to really be something that takes on bigger issues,” Hankins said. berryrd@miamioh.edu

Finals week is stressful time for all of us, but attached is a list of resources you can access on campus you that may not know about.

The Mindfulness and Contemplative Inquiry Center in McGuffey 128 No experience required! Meditation is held Wednesdays 1030AM-11AM They also have general hours if you need a space to get away and catch your breath! Tuesdays 9-1, Wednesdays 9-4, and Thursdays 9-4 Follow @mindfullnesscentermiamioh on Instagram for more information Crossroads at 408 E. Withrow Street Open hours Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM, Sun 1PM-8PM A place to grab free coffee, free pop, free wi-fi, free printing, get work done, or just hang out with friends Follow @crdsoxford for more information Student Counseling Services at 195 Center Dr. Open Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM First three individual sessions are free and after that, each session is $25 All group sessions are always free To get more information call (513) 529-4634 to schedule an initial appointment Dog Therapy - free to go to To Write Love on Her Arms Meets every other Tuesday at 8 in Benton 206 Mission Statement: “To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.”

Fit University Raise awareness and build a community for those who struggle with mental illness, stress, anxiety, etc.

Offers many free workout classes during finals week such as yoga, spinning, kickboxing, and more.

Follow @mufit for more info Mental Health and Stress Shabbat Friday December 7th from 6-8 at Hillel (11 e walnut st.)

Celebrate the end of the week with Hillel and learn about ways to reduce stress before finals Therapy dogs as well!

Finals Week Study Tables hosted by My Smash Saturday December 8th 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm Engineering Building Room 270 Study tables before finals week as a place to relax and reduce stress!

Get Psyched Study Sessions Saturday December 8th 8:00 pm to 12:00 am Psychology Building Room 131 Students have enough to worry about when preparing for finals week. Instead of studying at home, study with us at the psychology department during the Get Psyched! study session. Students who attend the GetPsyched! study session will be provided with Chipotle catering (first come, first served) for dinner so they can focus their time on preparing for finals week.

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English-language skills, Zhao explained, are crucial to landing a business job back in China. Not only is the U.S. a popular destination for picking up English, but American universities’ application requirements are less stringent than those in China.

Whereas standardized test scores are accompanied by students’ essays and biographical information in the U.S., Chinese universities rely solely on scores from the Gaokao, the Chinese equivalent of the ACT or SAT. At Miami, it was the Farmer School of Business that brought the first wave of Chinese students, in the early 2000s.

“The initial group of undergraduate students who came from China, they were really interested in the business school...We were doing really well in overall U.S. News rankings, especially the business school, and that really kind of got us on the map,” said Aaron Bixler, the university’s associate director for international recruitment.

A decade later, Chinese international students are still the fastest-growing population at Miami.

In a city of 23,000, they account for over 10 percent of the population, making Oxford one of the most unique cities in the United States. In the past decade, Miami has added 2,000 Chinese international undergraduates to its Oxford campus body. This is double the number Miami had just four years earlier.

And it shows in Oxford, where nearly 20 Chinese restaurants have cropped up within city limits.

Uptown has become a Mecca for those who are not just looking for a drink, but for a cultural expansion. *** During his first visit to Miami, a Chinese student who goes by Bill was trying to find Armstrong Student Center when a man came up to him and said, “It’s over there,” in Mandarin.

For some international students, it may be surprising to hear their native language so far from home. To arrive at a school where thousands of people speak Chinese becomes a double-edged sword for those hoping to improve their English, and has become the primary differentiator between students from China and other international students.

Pruckno said that students don’t necessarily want to go to a school with a lot of other Chinese students. This may be supported by some students’ willingness to attend American high schools to immerse themselves at an early age. Nevertheless, some students state that they came to Miami because they knew someone here.

Others said they like Miami because of the international alumni network, the option to have a roommate who speaks their language, and the Uptown food scene some have called Miami’s “Chinatown.”

“We live in this multicultural world, and you’re bringing people from different perspectives and nationalities and cultures and identities together, and I think in general the trend is we’re getting better [at facilitating interactions],” said Dan Sinetar, international student coordinator for Global Initiatives. “That’s part of the reason why our office exists.” *** Miami’s allure for Chinese students has expanded beyond its rankings.

“Rankings are still pretty important to Chinese families. Safety is another big factor,” Kathy Pruckno, senior associate director of admissions said, explaining the perception in China is that Midwest is a safer environment than larger cities on the coasts.

However, Pruckno acknowledges the changing political climate in the U.S. may dampen that perception.

“We’re in kind of a strange situation now,” Pruckno said. “You can’t be safe everywhere.”

Bixler and Pruckno agreed that Miami’s location in the Midwest is also a concern for diversity. They said there is a fear among Chinese students that

Chinese International Undergraduates

While out-of-state enrollment is rising, Miami’s Chinese international population has ballooned over the past decade. being landlocked in the U.S. leads to isolation, as opposed to studying in a larger coastal city with easier access to other cultures. *** The financial path to Miami is no easier than the cultural one. Contrary to the commonly-held perception that all Chinese students come from upper-class families, many Chinese parents save for decades to finance their students’ education.

The gravity of that investment, coupled with the years students spend focusing on regimented testtaking in the Chinese educational system, leads to a trust that students will not squander their parents’ investment while studying abroad.

Miami does not charge international students more for tuition. The tuition and fees Chinese international undergraduates pay are roughly the same as out-of-state students’, with the addition of a one-time visa processing fee and travel expenses.

The university’s goal is to diversify and add to the campus community, said Pruckno.

“We think students do best in a community where they’re learning from each other and having

exposure to a broad range of experiences,” she said.

“It just so happens that Chinese students right now, the economy supports them.”

Bixler said that the university’s international applicant pool is predominantly Chinese.

“It’s not that [Chinese students] are being admitted at a higher rate than other international students necessarily,” Bixler said. “They’re just a large portion of the pool right now...It kind of ebbs and flows.”

But the culture among domestic students and faculty at Miami isn’t configured to allow for such ebbs and flows. So what are ways our campus can grow to meet its ambitions of international diversity?

In this special section, The Miami Student is endeavoring to offer some answers.

Megan Zahneis and Rachel Berry contributed to this report. newberaj@miamioh.edu

Pressure, party cultu push Chinese studen RACHEL BERRY STAFF WRITER

Sophomore accounting major Charles Wu came to Miami University knowing he would transfer.

Wu is originally from China and only applied to three schools in the United States. Miami was the one that accepted him, so he arrived here hoping to get into a school with a higher ranking after a year or two.

Now, he has been accepted into Ohio State University (OSU) for the spring semester. According to the current U.S. News and World Report, Miami ranks 96th in the country, while OSU is 56th.

Wu said that the Chinese culture values rank a lot more than Americans do because of China’s school system, which publically ranks students after every test.

“I think that’s one thing that influence[s] Chinese culture, that people think about ranking very much,” he said.

Miami’s party culture has also pushed Wu to leave.

“I think because people around me can change me a lot,” Wu said. “I think going to Ohio State is meeting...people that study more. Maybe it’s different from our school, and maybe...changing the environment can improve myself.”

Wu is not alone in thinking this way.

Although there is no data kept on international students’ intentions when arriving at Miami, Carol Olausen, the Director of the American Culture and English (ACE) program, estimated between ten and fifteen percent of ACE students begin their time at Miami with the goal of transferring later on.

ACE is a program meant to improve the English skills of students who do not score high enough on the entrance exams to be placed directly in other university courses. The ACE students are conditionally admitted to Miami, meaning if their English does not improve after completion of the program, they will not be allowed to continue their education at Miami. This program is unique among peer institutions, and therefore attracts many students whose scores are too low to be accepted into other schools.

Olausen has seen many students like Wu in her time at ACE. She says they come here because it was the only place they were accepted, and they go to a school with a better ranking once they pass the ACE courses and get higher grades in their other classes.

Olausen said most ACE students who end up transferring did not plan on completing their college career at Miami.

For students outside of this group, the majority of them will graduate from Miami. There are no reliable statistics for the graduation rate of ACE students because the program first

中国学生

se Students

NEWBERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

MY STORY

by Heteng Xu

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Non-Chinese International Undergraduates DATA: OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH GRAPHIC: ARTHUR NEWBERRY

ure nts out

Heteng Xu is an ASG off-campus senator and president of Miami University Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Club.

started collecting data in 2014, where there were only around 20 students. The 2015 class was significantly larger, but they have not yet graduated.

Olausen believes many of these students have no choice in whether they stay at Miami, and are being pressured by their parents to attend a school with a higher ranking.

“We aren’t seeing a loss of students because they are super dissatisfied with Miami,” Olausen said.

Monica Venzke, president of the diversity affairs council (DAC), has had many conversations with international students who are considering transferring.

“I know of a lot of international students that I have personally met or worked with that have left Miami for different reasons,” Venzke said. “I’ve had people say that [they’re] homesick, but also... I know people that left Miami and went to a different American college because Miami wasn’t working.”

For Wu, he will be leaving behind close friends when he transfers. However, he looks forward to spending the rest of his college career at OSU, which he thinks will ultimately prepare him better for his future career as an accountant. berryrd@miamioh.edu

My name is Heteng Xu (Henry or Huh-tung) and I am from Beijing, China. This is my fifth year at Miami and I am majoring in IMS, Economics, Arts Management with a minor in Graphic Design. Right now, I am an ASG off-campus senator and I was invited by an editor at The Miami Student to share my personal experience of trying get involved with American students in my time in the U.S. and I hope that I can help Chinese students and American students understand each other.

This is my ninth year in the U.S. I came to the U.S. when I was 15 years old. I studied at a high school in Maryland. If I keep studying in the U.S. for graduate school, I can say that half of my life has been the U.S. so far. Just a simple introduction to my highschool life: because this part of my life can be the base of my understanding of the U.S. I lived with three different host families and each family has their own characteristics. The first family is hardworking and as a result well-off. When they do something, they care about etiquette. On breaks, sometimes they would treat me to outings, like sports games. During weekends they would usually stay home and relax.

My host dad has his own band, and I became one of his fans. The main thing they taught me is a code of conduct.

For my second family, it’s kind of special. We have a dad whose job is to take care of the family. In this family we have 3 dogs, 3 cats, and 3 sons. It is very lively. The mom is a very good doctor, the head of her staff. She spends less time at home. We live next to the river in the country. Even the house was built by the dad. This is a very country-style family.

And sometimes I’m afraid of dust or dirt and they’re always teasing me like, “haha, city boy.”

For my third family, I live with a grandma. We call her Mama. She is a very devout Christian. She is 80 years old and she is a part-time worker at a court.

She is very nice to everyone. Every day she feeds the squirrels peanuts that she bought, she is like Snow White. She is also very open-minded and philanthropic. Her kids will always come to check on her.

Before, I didn’t have a very clear view of religion, but after I live with Mama I realized it would be good to have a religion. Even if I know that it’s not real, I know that it’s a good thing to have because I’ve seen the kindness of in her.

After I came to Miami, I wanted myself to be great. More involved, more engaged with the school, for my self-improvement. For that, I tried to make more American friends. So I got involved in many activities and student organizations. When I was a freshman, I ran for ASG senator and after that I tried to be an RA. I tried twice and I didn’t make it. I failed at everything where I wanted to be strong. The one thing I succeeded at was volunteering and that doesn’t even take much. During that period I didn’t have enough public speaking ability. This is a barrier for everyone but when you use another language its harder. I thought maybe I was not determined enough to be great.

When I think back, I can see that maybe it was impossible that I could make it for RA and ASG. But those rejections helped me grow. Although I had a lof rejections, I still wanted to get out of my comfort zone, to have a brave heart. This is very important for not just international students. When you see something you want to achieve, you have to be brave.

From Freshman to senior, it is a fact that your circle of friends will shrink. After I moved to off-campus, other than go to class and work, I never stop on campus anymore. Not only is it harder to make American friends, it’s also hard to make friends with other Chinese international students.

At the beginning I was looking for the exterior problems that I cannot make good American friends.

Because before I came to the U.S. my English was always around D to F level. But you can not learn English in a day. I started to question myself, ‘why did I give myself a hard time? If I can be like those ABCs (American-Born-Chinese) maybe I won’t struggle anymore. But after I communicate with them, I found out that it’s not true. The real problem is cultural habits. ABCs have their own struggles, the conflict between family culture and society culture is a bigger challenge. I realize that the thing that isolates us is not the language, and its not the exterior problem.

They don’t like what you like. They don’t think the same things are funny. You think it should be done by this way, they use another way to deal with it. All kinds of psychological gaps and misunderstandings are the reasons for the divide. What is culture? When chatting with American classmates, many jokes can’t be picked up. Sometimes it may be a line in a movie, or a reference to a book, play, or story. These things are hard to learn in textbooks, just like when we use chinese idioms with Americans, If don’t explain the idiom’s backstory, I worry it’s hard to understand as well. Media references are the light part -- the deep differences in worldview and cultural thought are much harder to deal with. Over time, American classmates are tired of explaining. And you have lost patience. Must we forget our own culture to exist in another? Or can we find a fusion or a balance?

We always talk about and educate everyone about diversity and inclusiveness, but how much have we really done? In ASG, I saw an inclusive organization that made me feel acknowledged and cared for! With them, I have been working hard to find ways to connect our cultures!

If you have any suggestions or ideas, please come to my office hours to talk with me. Every Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m., I am waiting for you at the ASG office! You are also welcome to add my Wechat: xuhetengxx or email me at xuh7@miamioh.edu This column was edited for clarity and grammar with the help of the author. We have done our best to communicate Henry’s thoughts while leaving his voice intact throughout.

致迈阿密全校师生：

我叫许鹤腾(Henry），来自北京， 今年是位大五的学生，就读于交互传媒、经 济、艺术管理三专业，以及辅修平面设计， 目前在迈阿密学生政府（ASG）担任校外学 生参议员，这次收到校报编辑的邀请，在这 里跟大家分享一下这些年来尝试与美国社会 接触的一些个人体验，希望能够帮助中国学 生和美国学生之间的相互了解。

这是我在美国的弟9个年头， 我是 在15岁的时候来的美国，在马里兰州读的高 中，如果再读个研究生，可以说我的前半生 有一半都留在了美国。 简单的说一下我的 高中生活，这段时光可以说是我对美国了解 的基石，我经历了三个不同的住宿家庭，每 个家庭都有各自的特色，第一个家庭小康， 行为做事注重礼节，平时周末打打球看看比 赛，假期会去做一些旅行，爸爸自己还组建 了一个乐队，他们教给了我很多美国人的行 为规范。 第二个家庭，很是特别，因为我们有个 家庭奶爸，算上我，家里有三条狗三只猫三 个儿子好不热闹，妈妈是个非常好的医生， 但是特别忙，在家的时间很少，我们住在河 边，房子都是爸爸自己盖的，是一个比较乡 村风格的家庭，有时我比较怕脏，总被他们 嘲笑为“city boy”。 三个家庭，只有我和奶奶住在一起，奶 奶是一位虔诚的基督徒，80岁了还在当地法 院担任文案，心胸宽广，乐善好施，儿女们 时常都会来看望奶奶，以前我对教会的理解 比较浅薄，在和奶奶相处后我发现，人有一 个信仰，哪怕知道那可能不是真的，也挺好 的。 来到迈阿密后，我希望我自己能够变得更 加的优秀，想通过增加与学校的互动来帮助 自己成长，我努力去认识更多的美国人。我 参加了很多活动与社团，大一时竞选过ASG 参议员，参加过两次RA面试，但是都没有成 功，也就当个志愿者相对比较容易一些。那 个时候的我没有能力，也缺少决心，而且还 没能突破公开演讲的难关，想想也是不太可 能的，呵呵，不过这些尴尬与挫折，还是为 我的未来做了铺垫。即使如此，当时我还是 想跳出舒适圈，到外面去看一看，有一个敢 于去开拓的心真的非常的重要。从大一到大 四，学的知识越来越多，但是生活的圈子却 越来越小，自从搬到校外之后，除了上课和 在校内打工，我几乎不会在学校里停留。不 只是交美国朋友，其实就连交新的中国朋友 也变得越来越难。 一开始我总感觉是外在的理由我交不到美 国朋友，因为在我来美国之前，我的英语一 直都属于游离于及格线的边缘，但是英语非 一朝一夕可以完成，我开始质疑为什么要去 做这些费力不讨好的事情呢？如果能像那些 ABC们，是不是就不用像我这样苦恼了？但 是后来通过交流，我发现不尽然，更多的还 是文化习惯问题，ABC们也有他们的苦恼， 家庭文化与社会文化的冲突更是一个巨大的 挑战。我才意识到，原来将我们隔离的不是 语言，也不是很么其他的外在条件，更重要 的还是文化的冲突。 你喜欢的他们不喜欢，你觉得好笑的他 们不觉得好笑，你认为应该这么做，他们却 用了另外一种方式去处理，各种各样的心理 落差以及误解，才是真证的原因。什么是文 化？在和美国同学聊天时很多笑话的笑点无 法get到，有的时候可能是电影中的一句台 词，或者哪篇文章的经典剧情，这些东西都 是在课本中很难学到的，就像我们和美国人 说成语，不把成语故事全说出来，怕是对方 也很难理解吧。这还是简单的，思想更是要 命，久而久之美国同学也疲于解释了，而你 也失去了耐心，亦或者根本无法接受。难道 真的要否定一个文化思想才能接受另一个文 化嘛？能否寻到一个方法融合或者平衡？ 我们总是谈论和教育大家多样性和包容 性, 但是我们做到了多少？通过ASG我见到 了一个充满包容性的组织，他们让我感受到 了被关注，被在乎！如何更好的兼容各自的 文化，我与他们一直在努力寻找着这个答 案！如果你有什么建议或者想法欢迎来到我 的office hour与我交流， 每周二中午12点到1 点，我在ASG办公室等你！同时也欢迎你添 加我的Wechat：xuhetengxx 或者给我发邮件 xuh7@miamioh.edu

7

8

我们的中国学生 TRAVELOGUE

by Erin Glynn I am a Diplomacy & Global Politics major spending this semester at Peking University in Beijing. I’m extremely grateful to see how beautiful China is firsthand after hearing so much about it from Chinese friends and classmates at Miami. These are a few of my favorite places and experiences.

Weiming Lake (literally No Name Lake), the most famous spot on Peking University’s campus

A tower strung with prayer flags in Inner Mongolia

Weiming Lake (literally No Name Lake), the most famous spot on Peking University’s campus

Beijing’s most famous dish: Peking duck

Street near the Yu Garden in Shanghai

Section of the Great Wall, near Chengde, northeast of Beijing

Our Chinese Students

NEWBERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

ROOMIES

Same personality, different nationalities, one room CHLOE MURDOCK STAFF WRITER

Cassie O’Dell’s lottery time for housing selection was up. She was about to click on a random room in Stonebridge Hall, but she hesitated when she saw it was already inhabited by a student named Shaoqing Cui. O’Dell clicked the room anyway, unsure if Cui would want to room with her for the next year.

While Cui is from Shenzen, China, (a city near Hong Kong) and O’Dell is from Newark, Ohio, O’Dell didn’t know they had more in common than both of them realized: they both are sophomores and like tea, plants and eating at odd hours of the night.

The pair met days later at Maplestreet Commons to get to know each other. They talked about their past experiences in high school and their then-current roommates.

Cui’s roommate during freshman year was another Chinese international student who partied often and came home late with her friends in tow.

Cui did not seem too nervous about a random roommate, although a friend of hers had moved out of a room with a non-Chinese international student roommate out of “embarrassment” earlier that year.

While O’Dell got along with her previous roommate, the introverted O’Dell was exhausted by how busy and social her freshman roommate was, who bounced between her sorority, her secretary position on the Scholars Advisory Board and her shifts as a tour guide. O’Dell’s former roommate was accepted into the Scholar Leaders program for sophomore year and would live in a single in the Living Learning Community, which was why O’Dell opted for a random roommate.

Months later, when the pair moved into their new room, Cui surprised O’Dell with black and red teas and salty, crispy cookies — the name of which Cui couldn’t translate into English — from China.

The Guangdong province where Cui lives is one of the many hubs for Chinese tea. Cui brought O’Dell “bricks” of tea leaves, which the user breaks

off to put in hot water.

O’Dell was thankful, since she drinks multiple cups of tea per night. She in turn surprised Cui by decorating the room with plants and other decorations, which Cui’s previous roommate never did.

The greenery reminds Cui of her mother’s home in China, where her mother enjoys caring for plants. O’Dell even gave Cui some plants for Cui’s own desk.

Since Cui wasn’t able to bring all of “the necessary stuff” from home, O’Dell is able to supplement their room with decorations and plants, in addition to helping Cui with her English.

For over a year, Cui didn’t know how to respond when she sneezed in public and strangers replied with, “Bless you.” That is, until she asked O’Dell.

O’Dell also helps Cui with little things, such as finding the name of her bank on bank statements and explaining tuition nuances in university mail.

O’Dell will sometimes turn to Cui and ask how to say mundane things like “goodnight” in Chinese out of curiosity. She respects Cui’s patience with having to speak a second language all day in class and then returning to their room, only to continue speaking English with O’Dell.

However, “Cassie told me she doesn’t always understand my pronunciation,” Cui said.

Cui is grateful to use English more, and O’Dell has noticed Cui’s English has improved in the time they’ve known each other. Cui used to mix up “she” and “he” pronouns in the middle of telling a story, since official feminine and masculine pronouns don’t exist in the Chinese language, but O’Dell has noticed Cui doesn’t do this as much anymore.

Regardless, the roommates often have longer conversations to figure out what the other person needs because of the language barrier. In the middle of conversations, Cui will ask for a word she might not know or has forgotten, and O’Dell tries to speak using words she has heard Cui say.

For instance, O’Dell noticed that Cui preferred to use “convenient” more than “useful” or “helpful,” so O’Dell uses “convenient” when talking to Cui.

Cui and O’Dell occasionally give each other “little tidbits” about their first languages as well as each other’s cultures, including family life. Cui’s mother and father are not divorced, but they are very focused on their careers and they live in separate parts of China to be closer to work. As a result, Cui lives in two homes in China. O’Dell’s parents, on the other hand, are “more family-oriented” and make Cui feel at home. Hence the extra plants on Cui’s desk.

This kind of cultural sharing took place every day in the first month of the semester, until their first round of exams.

“At that point, you don’t want to talk about culture all the time, because you just need to do homework,” O’Dell said.

Now, O’Dell and Cui are mostly quiet in the room, working on finals. But at night, they both stay up to talk to friends and family back home.

They can do it at the same time, since Cui speaks Chinese with her family while O’Dell talks to her family or her fiance in English.

Cui goes to bed earlier but is more comfortable when O’Dell keeps the light on a little later to do homework. When O’Dell goes home on some weekends, Cui leaves the light on. She sleeps better this way, and misses O’Dell.

Cui once mentioned to O’Dell how hard it is for American students to get to know international students and vice versa. After adding a fashion design minor to her sustainability major, O’Dell was determined to get to know more international students, since she says the minor happens to have more international students in its midst than most majors.

So far, O’Dell has had two international students in one of her fashion design classes. She made more of an effort to get to know them, and now they talk in class about their personal lives and trips they made during Thanksgiving.

“I wouldn’t have done that if it wasn’t for Shaoqing,” O’Dell said. murdocc3@miamioh.edu

7

10 CULTURE

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018

RIGAZIKM@MIAMIOH.EDU

The Misty McGuffey Mystery DAVID KWIATKOWSKI THE MIAMI STUDENT

It was a miserably hot day in mid-September and I was melting on the way to my Spanish class when I glanced up to look at McGuffey Hall. What I saw left me speechless.

In the area where there was usually a bike rack and a seldom-used bench, there was a nonstop cloud of white fog rising from a grate in the ground.

My first assumption was that the building was on fire and that my class was going to be cancelled, but as I got a closer look I could see students walking in it — as if nothing was going awry, as if this was an everyday occurrence.

I took note of the situation and proceeded to my Spanish class.

By the time I left that day, it was dark outside. I began my trek back to my dorm and, to my surprise, the fog was still billowing from the grates. It had a weird odor, similar to when the urinals in my dorm bathroom overflowed all over the floor.

This was not a good sign.

I stopped to ponder what was actually going on, and wondered why no one had been called. No one else was alarmed by the fact that it seemed as if a dragon lived underneath the building.

I started to mentally take notes every time I approached Old Faithful, looking for further developments in the situation that only I seemed to care about. Eventually, orange cones and caution tape were put around the area, but this only confused me more. Why is no one talking about this? Usually when there is caution tape put up, there’s a reason. A reason good enough to keep people safe.

A reason worthy enough to say, “Hey, stay away from there.” But I heard nothing.

When I got the assignment to explore something at Miami University that I didn’t understand, I knew immediately what had to be done. I had to go full “Encyclopedia Brown,” minus the trench coat and sunglasses, and get to work.

This fog had been going on for months now, and it was time to get to the bottom of this situation. I wasn’t sure what I would find. I knew what I wanted to find, though; I wanted to uncover some deep dark secret that involved toxic gas and a coverup by the university.

I took to the streets and began to ask students and professors about the mysterious smog. I stuck to general questions: Have you noticed it? Why are there cones and caution tape? Do you have any idea what’s causing it? How do you feel about it?

I received a variety of answers.

“What cones?” asked a professor in reply, completely unaware that we were standing five feet away from them.

No student seemed to have a concrete answer,

or any semblance of an answer at all. Every time I asked a student if they knew what was going on, their immediate response was to ask me the same.

A girl told me she wasn’t surprised that no one knew what was going on, as that was what she was used to getting from the school: no answers as an answer.

A lot of students just shrugged and moved on.

I asked my friends in my dorm and all of them could not come up with anything. They also questioned why I had grown so obsessed with the fog.

At one point, I gave up on the story completely.

I was going to succumb to the masses and accept that there was a permanent smoke machine outside of McGuffey Hall, until one night when I was walking home from class and saw a fog cloud was now forming outside of Bishop Hall.

I literally screamed out loud.

I had to know the reason behind the fog. It was killing me.

At this point, it had most certainly become my problem. I was going to walk straight up to the front desk of the Physical Facilities department and demand an answer.

I got in touch with Mark Laurence, the utility systems manager, and we had a meeting.

He told me that the steam pipes underneath McGuffey were built with a drain to let out any water that got in there. However, the line with the drain collapsed, and now if any rain water gets in, there’s no escape. This causes the fog to rise out of the grates.

I asked him why there was no documentation anywhere on their website about the construction.

He said that it’s simply a repair and that it isn’t important enough to make a post about.

The cones and caution tape were merely there to keep students away from the area.

The department received two options on how to fix the line from a contractor. They could repair the line itself which would involve an excavation of the steam pipes, or they could replace the permanent pumping system to keep the water out of it. Both options are difficult to implement, though, because they have to deal with external factors like student traffic around McGuffey.

He theorizes that the construction will be completed within the next few months, but the “biblical” rain that Oxford was receiving hindered the necessary work.

I figured the answer wasn’t going to be anything scandalous. But now every time I walk past the collapsed line, I smile at the other students because I know something they don’t, even though they probably couldn’t care less. kwiatkdm@miamioh.edu

Oxford Celebrates holiday season

UPTOWN TRANSFORMED INTO A WINTER WONDERLAND FOR FESTIVAL-GOERS. THE MIAMI STUDENT RUISI LUO

Life at Café Lux Service with a smile EMILY DATTILO

OPINION COLUMNIST

Dark wood walls, a dozen scattered tables and chairs, a row of hanging lights and the scents of freshly-made coffee and warm bagels hover over Café Lux. The vibe is classy and comfortable, contrasting with the modern vibe found throughout the rest of Armstrong. Gold-rimmed boards host the menu written in a white-chalkboard font. Coffee machines and a stack of red cups sit behind the register and glass cases brim with muffins, bagels and croissants.

For most of the day, a seemingly unending line of chattering students leave the baristas swimming in a wave of mocha and latte orders. Ranging in ages from college kids to adult, they wear the same apron, hat and friendly smile.

One barista, Destiny Numberg, wears a red Miami t-shirt and black-framed glasses, her dark hair tucked into a ponytail under a black hat. She has a pleasant disposition. She’s worked at Miami for a year and a half and she’s been at Lux for a year of that time. She says the demanding nature of the job can sometimes prove challenging.

“Just trying to keep up, it gets overwhelming — we got the food, we got the drinks, we got a mixture of everything,” Numberg says.

Numberg says after working at Miami Ice, Lux can feel a little isolated. It is fairly tucked away, situated in a small corner of the student center.

During class time, the hum of the coffee machine feels too loud in the half-filled room. But on the busiest afternoons, students spill onto the main floor of Armstrong, some hunched over tables with headphones in, dutifully studying, while others sip iced mochas, laughing and talking loudly with friends, and the coffee machine hum fades into the waves of conversation.

Between orders of blueberry muffins and iced teas, the baristas find ways to work together effectively. The relationship with her co-workers is a highlight of Numberg’s job and she talks about the importance of a healthy work environment.

“We all get along together,” Numberg says. “I mean, if you don’t have a good relationship with your co-workers, it’s just not a good atmosphere at all, so you have to just be on the same page with everyone.”

Despite these good relationships, employee turnover is quite common at Lux. Numberg says that of the people she started working with at Lux last year, none of them are still here. One of them moved to Arizona and another to Nevada.

Though it’s been difficult to watch her co-workers leave, Numberg understands that life is ever-changing; she sees it in her own life all the time.

When she takes off her barista apron, Numberg maintains a very full schedule at home. She’s working toward a health-information technology degree at Miami University-Hamilton. She’s also a mother to three young kids aged 8 months, 3 and 5 years old.

She juggles taking care of the kids, picking them up from daycare, doctor appointments and school. Sometimes, she’ll bring them to work with her on Sundays.

“They’ll usually come and sit here and wreak havoc for everyone who has to be around here because they will not sit still,” she says, laughing.

Managing three young kids, taking classes and

Medieval mochas GRACE KILLIAN

THE MIAMI STUDENT

When Jack Haney toured Miami, he instantly knew it was the perfect school for him. During his campus tour, he saw a student dressed head to toe in armor. Jack loves everything medieval, and he knew it was a sign.

Now a senior at Miami, Jack doesn’t dress in armor, but he is in the Miami Medieval Club. Through the club, he started sword fighting — a hobby he has kept up all four years of his Miami career. He even makes his

STUDENTS GATHER FOR AN EVENING OF PRE-FINALS STUDYING AT CAFÉ LUX. PHOTO EDITOR JUGAL JAIN

working a job sounds quite taxing, but Numberg finds a way to manage it all with admirable positivity. Behind the counter, she works hard, taking the time to pay careful attention to each coffee-drinker’s complicated order. She greets customers with a smile, and enjoys being at Miami.

“I love it, I do,” Numberg says. “It’s fast-paced.

There’s never anything boring...it keeps the day going and makes it go by fast.”

Numberg goes back to work, greeting the customer with a smile, typing their name and order into the computer. She begins preparing beverages again, winding her way around the other baristas behind the counter, filling cups with coffee and adding towers of whipped cream to hot chocolates and drizzles of chocolate sauce to mochas. dattilec@miamioh.edu

own swords at home and burns designs into each one, a skill he taught himself.

His commitment to the Medieval Club has landed him a leadership position as the club’s representative in the League of Geeks.

He works to help organize large events, in addition to raising money for the organization.

The funds he raises go to club activities and shared tools and games. Some of those shared tools include the expensive sword that he uses to fight with, as well as a lute, which Jack taught himself to play. He also taught himself how to play piano and guitar, and loves to sing. Of the many instruments he knows how to play, the lute is his favorite, in part because of its uniqueness.

Jack’s list of skills doesn’t stop in the musical department. He is handy in all kinds of arts.

“I kinda do a little of everything, except for sewing,” he said. “That’s the one thing that I’m not good at art-wise.”

Jack is undoubtedly well-rounded and somewhat unconventional. He is also very consistent in his life. He’s lived in the same dorm since freshman year, where he met friends that he still surrounds himself with, and he has worked in Armstrong for the last four years.

Confident in his choices and individuality, Jack takes the stairs two steps at a time and is always sure of what he is talking about. He has an extensive knowledge of almost anything and shares facts without even thinking.

He listed the year and top three actors from his favorite movie, “The Blues Brothers.”

He doesn’t only set himself apart from everyone through his hobbies and talents, but in his work too. He’s lively and active and will enthusiastically suggest a drink from Café Lux, where he currently works. He doesn’t drink coffee, but he knows what all of the drinks would taste like just from how he makes them. Personally, he would prefer to drink tea, especially chai tea. He’s tried every flavor tea that the café offers and can make suggestions based on what you are looking for or what mood you are in. During shifts, he keeps a tea in the back to sip on when he has a free second.

“I usually sing a song in my head,” he said when asked how he stays so happy during work.

It’s also just in Jack’s nature to be friendly and to engage with customers. He is naturally full of energy, and that shows when he is at work. His interactions with customers help to brighten days and offer a change of pace for customers.

His friendliness and energy also translate in his social life and dedication to his schoolwork. Jack is a mechanical engineering major, and even with his busy schedule, he maintains healthy relationships. His main friend group has been together since sophomore year, where they met in the basement of Tappan Hall. They played Cards Against Humanity together, and have grown closer since then.

He hopes to use the skills gained from his major for a number of projects including building himself his very own hobbit house that uses renewable energy. He also would like to design a crossbow that attaches to the wrist and collapses down. Jack hopes to carry his energy and passion well into the future. killiagc@miamioh.edu

MITCHE49@MIAMIOH.EDU

CULTURE 11

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018

THE GREAT MIAMI BAKE OFF

STUDENTS CHANNEL THEIR INNER CULINARIAN AS THEY COMPETE TO CRAFT THE BEST CAKES. THE MIAMI STUDENT SARAH BROSSART

MAYA FENTER

STAFF WRITER

“Ok, here’s what I’m thinking,” Emma said to Justin while they waited at the end of the line to get decorations.

The couple was spending their Tuesday night at The Great Miami Bake Off, an event hosted by Miami Activities and Programming (MAP) on Nov. 27. Inspired by “The Great British Bake Off,” a competitive cooking show, teams and individuals battled to see who could decorate the best cake.

Inspired by the death of SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg that was announced earlier that day, Emma wanted to decorate their cake with the mocking SpongeBob meme.

Their 30-minute time limit made Justin skeptical.

“How are you gonna pull that off?” he asked.

“Why do you doubt my artistic ability?”

Emma asked him.

Last semester, Emma and Justin didn’t know each other, but she always saw him at Garden Commons when she went there for lunch. Near the end of the semester, Emma wrote her phone number down on a napkin, went up to his table, introduced herself and gave him the napkin.

They started dating at the beginning of this semester.

Slowly, the line inched forward and the pair got a better look at the spread of decorations — bowls of assorted candy, sprinkles in every color, fruit and two big buckets of frosting.

Justin grabbed a bowl and the spoon sitting

in a large bowl of M&Ms, and began picking out just the yellow ones and plopping them into his bowl. One woman working at the event started watching him, head tilted.

“She has a vision,” he explained, nodding toward Emma.

Four rows of four tables lined the Armstrong Pavilion, each covered with a red and white checkered tablecloth. Emma and Justin chose a table on the far right of the room, the opposite side from the table with the decorations, but next to the prize table.

They returned to their table with three bowls — one with yellow M&Ms and graham cracker crumbs; one with brown sprinkles, crushed up oreos and twizzlers and one with mini marshmallows, four black jellybeans and a few more twizzlers — and a cup of white frosting scooped from one of two big buckets.

A student from MAP called start over a microphone, and a timer projected on both screens at the front of the room started counting down from 30 minutes.

Emma and Justin each grabbed a knife and began covering a round vanilla cake with white frosting.

After a few minutes, Emma put down her knife.

“I’m gonna put up my hair,” she said sweeping her hair into the scrunchie around her wrist. “I can’t be slowed down by this.”

The two continued to frost the cake as music from “The Great British Bake Off” played in the background.

“This music is too slow for my elevated heart rate,” Emma said to the dainty string and pia-

no instrumentals.

With her knife, Emma traced the outline of mocking SpongeBob in the frosting, referencing a picture that Justin had pulled up on his phone that kept locking every few minutes.

They took turns grabbing graham cracker crumbs between their fingers and carefully sprinkling them inside of the outline.

“Licorice pants or brown pants?” Emma asked Justin, considering both their bowl of brown sprinkles and their handful of Twizzlers.

“Brown,” Justin confirmed.

“I wish I had tweezers,” Justin said as he carefully placed small, white, sphere-shaped candies on SpongeBob’s face to outline his eye.

“Why did we not come prepared?” Emma said.

After deciding that jelly beans made better eyes than blueberries, Justin held a plastic piping bag open for Emma as she scooped spoonfuls of black frosting inside. She bit the tip of the bag off with her teeth and began outlining SpongeBob with a thin line of frosting.

Justin took another trip to the decoration table and returned with a bowl of Swedish fish to put on the side of the cake while Emma finished outlining.

Around them, each of the 16 tables had a team standing around it, decorating a cake.

One team seemed to have brought their own frosting tips to pipe the frosting in fancy designs. One team’s hands had been stained green from food coloring.

With less than 10 minutes left, Justin got

another bowl of frosting and squeezed a few drops of orange food coloring on top to pipe “Great Miami Bake Off” in alternating uppercase and lowercase letters.

“Do we have time for that?” Emma asked looking up at the timer ticking down from six minutes, then down at their cake that only had a small corner of space left. “Do we have space for that?”

Justin continued spooning the orange frosting into a plastic piping bag, twisting it shut and squeezing the frosting down and out the opening at the tip.

The meme wouldn’t be complete without the words, after all.

As Justin carefully piped the letters onto the cake, Emma stood back and watched, munching on an extra Twizzler.

“Is that legible?” Justin asked, examining his work.

“I can read it,” Emma reassured him.

When time was up, everyone put down their plastic utensils and bags of frosting and picked up their phones to snap pictures of their work, both for memories sake and to submit it for judging via MAP’s Instagram account.

One team made a red and white cake complete with the Miami “M.” Another team made the top of their cake look like a pizza, using coconut flakes for cheese and candies for toppings. Another had a blue cake with artfully placed fruit on one side.

Unfortunately, Emma and Justin’s tribute cake didn’t win them any prizes. fentermc@miamioh.edu

Miami Misfitz Celebrate Hanukkah at Annual Winter Concert HANNAH STRAUB

THE MIAMI STUDENT

As finals season looms over students, so do the uplifting and hardto-ignore sounds of various musical groups on campus as they gear up for their annual winter concerts, reflecting the joy of the holiday season. The Miami University a cappella community is no exception; they are preparing for their own annual winter concert this Friday.

The Miami Misfitz, an all-women’s a cappella group, will be branching out from the a cappella groups’ traditionally Christmas-centered concert this year. In addition to their usual holiday selections, they will be including “Hava Nagila,” sung in Hebrew, to celebrate Jewish heritage.

“It is technically a winter concert, so each group has liberty on how to celebrate it in their own way,” said Elizabeth Bode, a sophomore Misfitz member. “Because of this, one of our new members suggested we sing ‘Hava Nagila,’ a traditional Jewish song.”

This will be the first time that a Miami University a cappella group will sing a song entirely in Hebrew.

The piece was suggested by freshman Misfitz member Jordan Myers.

“It was never an option we thought would be available to us, but with Jordan’s experience, it really helps us to expand the group as a whole,” Bode said. “We really have to focus on pronouncing the Hebrew text correctly as well as continuing to support our breath, and it’s a challenge, but it’s a good one.”

Myers identifies as both Christian and Jewish. When the group was initially deciding what pieces to include in their winter performance, Myers’s mind immediately went to her Jewish heritage.

“My mom and I love ‘Hava Nagila’ as a number because it is just so

fun and so upbeat and exciting, and I thought it would be a very good audience piece and everyone seemed excited about it,” said Myers.

“Hava Nagila,” meaning “let us rejoice,” is a traditional Jewish folk song usually sung at weddings and bat/bar mitzvahs. It is a celebrated tune originally composed in 1915 when Hebrew was being revived as a spoken language, after being obsolete for approximately 1,700 years.

With the rise of the British victory in Palestine during World War I, many Jewish citizens joined together and began to sing various chants, which were later compiled by Abraham Idelsohn of Hebrew University to create the song.

Myers has played the piano for ten years and has an extensive music theory background. She was able to arrange an a cappella version of the piece herself, incorporating components of beat-boxing and body percussion in the composition.

Body percussion, or “body music” is using the human body as opposed to a drum to produce sound. It incorporates stomping, clapping and snapping.

“I gave the rest of the group a pronunciation guide on how to say certain Hebrew words,” Myers said.

“But because everyone was really excited about it, it truly made the process more enjoyable and helped our group grow. I’m very grateful for it.”

Many of the Misfitz’s performances include arrangements composed entirely by students, and the group works together to blend their voices accordingly with each song, further enhancing the unanimity of their sound.

“We actually recruited five new girls this year, and they have helped us so much to learn and grow in our sound as a group, and they’ve challenged us as well, but it’s been fun,” Bode said.

THE MIAMI MISFITZ CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY SEASON BY LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE AS A GROUP. CONTIBUTED BY JORDAN MYERS

In wake of the attacks on the synagogue in Pennsylvania earlier this year, Myers believes that her group performing “Hava Nagila” at the concert will reflect Miami’s own Jewish population in a positive light.

“I’m very grateful that this song

will be able to bring to light the positives involved in being a part of Jewish heritage, and to truly celebrate that aspect,” Myers said.

The Misfitz will also be performing a mix-up of “Holly Jolly” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

Alongside the Misfitz, other Miami a

cappella groups such as Open Fifth, the Treblemakers, Soul-2-Soul and Just Duet will perform at the event.

The concert will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8 in Hall Auditorium. straubhk@miamioh.edu

Sports

12

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2018

Miami diver continues family tradition CHRIS VINEL

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

When Ryan Nash goes home for Christmas, the Miami diver will face his toughest critics: his family.

The senior finance major comes from a clan of four other collegiate divers. Three of his uncles – Richard, Frank and Joe Nash – dove at Yale, Tennessee and Iowa, respectively, while his older brother, Michael, competed at Miami.

“I’ll be showing them videos of my dives from this year, and they’ll be saying, ‘Ah, I could do better,’” Ryan said. “It’s tough to hear from a family member trying to coach you. It’s not always what you want to hear.”

Ryan’s father, Tom, didn’t dive in college but threw both his kids into the sport before they started elementary school.

Growing up in Kenilworth, Ill., Ryan and his short, rail-thin frame excelled in the water.

He attended Chicago’s Loyola Academy, where he served as team captain, earned Chicago Catholic League Diver of the Year during his senior year and helped the school win back-to-back state titles. His family often watched Michael and him from the bleachers.

That success wasn’t enough for Ryan. He heaped pressure on himself and wasn’t happy when the collegiate scholarship offers weren’t filling his mailbox.

“I sort of felt like I had to dive in college,” Nash said. “Having my brother diving [at Miami] was also something that I saw him doing and knew it was something I really wanted to do. My parents, too – they really wanted me to dive in college.”

He initially hated the idea of going to Miami, but an Oxford campus tour changed his mind.

“I joke it was my dad’s plan for me and my

brother to dive [at Miami],” Nash said.

Once he started college, Ryan felt he had something to prove. He walked on to the RedHawks’ team and tried to outdo his brother at every opportunity. Sometimes, this competitiveness led to arguments between the two.

Now, as he’s been for the past two years, Ryan’s alone at Miami, forging his own legacy. Last season, he set his team’s season-high score in his signature event, the three-meter springboard, and totaled 11 top-five individual finishes at meets featuring that category.

His success carried over into his senior campaign. He finished sixth overall at the Miami Invitational this weekend.

But when he’s sitting at the Christmas dinner table, his performance will be analyzed.

Usually, the evaluation shifts to a never-ending debate about who’s the family’s best diver.

Ryan, Michael and Frank have legitimate claims to that title, though all the Nash boys’ names litter the record books at Loyola Academy.

“Frank is probably the best,” Ryan said.

“He was an All-American [at Tennessee] and just missed out on the USA Olympic team in 1976. He is also right up in the top-five alltime at my high school, too.”

Reflecting on his career, Ryan doesn’t regret anything.

“The greatest experience I’ve ever been a part of is being able to dive in college,” Ryan said.

His final season ends in March, but that might not kill his family’s diving dynasty.

“I definitely want [my kids] to at least try or have some experience with diving,” Nash says, “but not so much that they’re going to be forced to be divers.” vinelca@miamioh.edu @ChrisAVinel

Men’s basketball dunks their way to win over Wilberforce Full story at miamistudent. net/category/sports

Women’s basketball finds strength in numbers, depth BEN PANZECA

THE MIAMI STUDENT

SCAN TO WATCH A RECAP OF THE GAME

THE MIAMI STUDENT ZACH REICHMAN

Miami hockey ties No. 1 St. Cloud State . . . twice Full story at miamistudent.net/ category/sports The Miami Student Matt Heckert

SCAN TO WATCH A RECAP OF THE GAME

It’s been exactly one month since women’s basketball began their season with an exhibition against Tiffin. All signs pointed to a successful year for the RedHawks behind the leadership of their second-year head coach Megan Duffy.

With six games in the rearview, Miami’s 5-1 start, with its only loss to No. 5 Louisville is a promising sign for a team looking to prove last year’s success (21-11, 12-6 Mid-American Conference) wasn’t a fluke.

But the victories haven’t all been pretty, and there is still room for improvement before conference play begins next month.

Coming off a standout season when she led the ’Hawks with 19.6 points per game, junior guard Lauren Dickerson hasn’t found her rhythm yet. In the first six games, Dickerson is still averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game, but is shooting 31 percent from the field and 28 percent from behind-the-arc – the least efficient of any MU starter.

Given her skill set, Dickerson has the green light to keep firing and, when those shots do begin falling, Miami will be all the more lethal offensively.

In the meantime, the ’Hawks have incorporated a balanced attack and are getting significant contributions from several different players. A different RedHawk has led the team in scoring in five of the six games this season.

Junior forward Savannah Kluesner has established herself as a dominant force on both ends of the court. Her efficiency in the paint has been a welcome sign of her growth, as she is averaging 11.3 points on 55 percent shooting.

Despite missing a game to injury, junior forward Kendall McCoy’s ability to space the floor has proved invaluable for a team that has struggled from deep this season. Currently, Mc-

Coy is shooting a remarkable 45 percent from 3-point range and averaging 10.8 points per game.

The most notable storyline thus far is the emergence of freshman guard Nia Clark as an essential piece of the lineup early in her collegiate career.

“She’s just growing every day,” Duffy said. “She brings an aggressive nature on the court, she’s a great athlete [...] the more times she gets on the floor, the more time she gets to practice with us, she’s going to see her game take off even more.”

Already having logged the third-most minutes on the team, Duffy depends on Clark to add composure to her experienced teammates. Clark averages 8.8 points per game and shoots 40 percent from the field.

After losing to national powerhouse Louisville, which boasts one of the best players in the country in junior guard Asia Durr, the ’Hawks were eager to return to the court.

“That’s the most exciting thing as a coach,” Duffy said.

“Just to see the first day of practice after coming back from a loss and get that fight back and regroup.”

The RedHawks certainly learned from their loss to Louisville, and are coming off a 6556 victory on the road against University of Illinois at Chicago.

Miami returns to Millett Hall to host local rival Cincinnati on Wednesday night.

The Bearcats (5-4) have dropped two straight games to Ball State and Ohio State on the road, and have a 1-3 record away from home. When Cincinnati hosted the RedHawks last year, they sent Miami home with a 7362 loss.

Tipoff is at 7 p.m, and the game can be watched on ESPN+. panzecbj@miamioh.edu @BenPanzeca

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

SPORTS 13

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2018

BOWL UPDATE

From humble beginnings

Miami football done for season CHRIS VINEL

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

DAN HUSS (TOP RIGHT) WITH FAMILY AT A MIAMI FOOTBALL GAME. COURTESY OF ANTHONY FRIES

down Georgia and South Carolina and found themselves ranked in the top 12 in the AP Poll at the end of both seasons.

“Football and basketball were the two dominant things,” Huss said.

However, after a rough stretch in the early ’80s for football and basketball, the culture began to shift. The hockey program took off as it moved from a club team to a varsity team while the football team went from undefeated seasons to a winless season. As a result, Miami students fell in love with hockey.

“The students didn’t want to go to football games.

And hockey, all of a sudden, boomed,” Huss said. “For the way the students embraced hockey, it just took over.”

Despite the RedHawks going 23-40-12 in the past two hockey seasons, Goggin Ice Center is still a buzzing place,

full of passionate students yelling provocative chants at opposing players.

Yet the true origin of Miami hockey is found 0.9 miles from Goggin at the office of Bolin and Troy where Huss practices law in a cozy, white wooden workplace.

This quaint two-story building remains the same as the years go by. Kelly Fries, Huss’ daughter, sits at the front desk after the door creaks open on the chipped wooden steps. An old map of Oxford hangs on Huss’ wall next to a 50-year achievement plaque.

Huss’ humble office is quite the contrast from the flashy amenities of Goggin Ice Center, but is much more reflective of the simple roots of Miami hockey. pfistejb@miamioh.edu @brady_pfister

’Hawks Talk Co-captain Grant Hutton when asked which five players would make up a Miami hockey boy band:

“That’s tough. [Zach] LaValle, [Evan] McCarthy. [Josh] Melnick can dance. Maybe Gordie [Green]? Ben Lown, maybe?

They bring the energy.”

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On the south side of Miami’s campus sits the pride and joy of RedHawk athletics: Goggin Ice Center.

This 12-year-old, $34.8 million arena fits 3,642 fans for Miami home games, giving Oxford’s favorite team a house fit for a king.

Since Goggin’s arrival, the RedHawks have skated their way to a pair of Frozen Four appearances, eight NCAA tournaments while coming up just one minute shy of winning the 2009 National Championship.

While this proud program lists its origin to the first Miami varsity team in 1978, its roots can be traced back even farther.

Just ask Dan Huss.

After graduating from Miami in the ’60s, Huss has remained in Oxford. In those

years, he has practiced law, served as a professor while sending his children and grandchildren to his alma mater.

He also played a crucial part in the start of Miami hockey.

As a professor, Huss was approached by a Canadian student interested in starting a club hockey team. Huss signed off as faculty sponsor of the team, thus beginning Miami hockey.

At the time, the club team functioned without the resources the current program enjoys. According to Huss, the team had to drive to Northern Kentucky just to get to practice since no suitable ice rinks existed on campus.

“It [hockey] certainly wasn’t like it is now,” Huss said.

During this time, students only cared about football and basketball. In 1974 and 1975, the football RedHawks took

RA

improving lives everyday

IO

STAFF WRITER

M I AM I U A ND C O M N

BRADY PFISTER

The Miami RedHawks will spend the holidays and bowl season on the couches of their respective homes.

Even though it achieved the requisite 6-6 record, the team learned Sunday afternoon it was one of four eligible teams left out of the postseason, joining Louisiana-Monroe (6-6), Wyoming (6-6) and Southern Mississippi (65).

There were 82 teams vying for 78 bowl slots.

“What really bothers me is these kids deserve to play another game,” Miami athletic director David Sayler said last week on the “Two Guys, One Emily” podcast. “They’ve done what the NCAA says you need to do to meet the threshold to play a 13th game. Just because there’s some arbitrary number out there that says we can’t, we’re not allowed to, like, I just have a hard time with that.”

Sayler declined comment for this story.

Last week, as a postseason invitation looked less and less likely, Sayler began discussing plans with Louisiana-Monroe for a non-bowl, 13th game on the Warhawks’ home turf.

Those talks fell through, and the RedHawks were informed at Sunday evening’s team banquet an additional contest won’t occur.

It was an improbable situation to begin with. According to an NCAA rule, no team can play 13 games unless it’s a bowl or conference championship game (the University of Hawaii is the only current exception due to its location). The Miami-ULM matchup wouldn’t have been either, meaning the teams would’ve had to petition the NCAA to allow it.

Louisiana-Monroe Athletics did not respond to The Miami Student’s request for comment on the situation.

After a slow 1-4 start, the RedHawks battled injuries and a tough Mid-American Conference schedule to earn bowl eligibility at 6-6 and finish second in the MAC East. Miami posted an identical record in 2016 and went to its last bowl to date — a 17-16 loss to Mississippi State in the St. Petersburg Bowl (now Gasparilla).

Miami fans jumped at the opportunity to support their favorite team. By Saturday afternoon, over 1,500 tickets had been pre-ordered without the buyers knowing the when or where of a possible bowl game. Those deposits can now go into the Football Excellence Fund, but Miami Athletics said it will contact ticket purchasers to confirm their options.

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Opinion

14

BURNSKL2@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018 STAFF EDITORIAL

ASG’s conduct this semester shows a need for change This is a crucial opportunity for change in our student government.

The following reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

Miami’s Associated Student Government (ASG) serves as the governing body which makes decisions on behalf of students. They control $1.2 million in student fees, make decisions about funding for student organizations and influence (directly and indirectly) many aspects of student life.

As the elected body representing Miami students, they should hold themselves to a high standard of conduct, prioritizing voter outreach, transparent governance and clear communication with the public. Unfortunately, many of our elected representatives have not demonstrated such conduct this semester.

This semester ASG dealt with an internal scandal regarding allegations of the use of a racial slur in a snapchat video. This scandal resulted in a 10 day long investigation, a petition causing internal strife, a closed-door meeting and the resignation of four ASG senators and one cabinet member. All of which occurred without any serious effort by ASG to inform the public.

In fact, they tried to cover it up. ASG barred The Miami Student’s reporter from a meeting to discuss this incident — a violation of Ohio Public Meeting Laws. They made no effort to address what happened on their Facebook or Twitter pages, the communications secretary issued no official statement regarding the issue, the executive session was excluded from the Nov. 13 minutes and cut from the footage of the

Nov. 13 meeting livestream on Facebook.

This is not the manner of conduct we expect from our ASG representatives. They must use this incident as a moment of reckoning.

The five empty seats account for seven percent of all elected positions in ASG. This is a crucial opportunity for change in our student government. ASG’s membership is predominantly white. The Speaker of the Senate Cole Hankins, said “Recruiting diverse candidates has been a high priority for ASG and it will continue to be.” But if ASG wants to prove they truly value diversity and have learned from this incident, then they should take concrete steps to encourage more diverse candidates to fill the empty seats The openings serve as a potential

ILLUSTRATION: CONNOR WELLS

Afraid to fly, scared to land

KATE RIGAZIO

CULTURE EDITOR

I was 10 years old the first time I traveled by plane. I was going to Disney on a family vacation, and I was terrified to fly. During the flight, my mom had me switch from yoga pants to a skort to accommodate the weather difference between Boston and Orlando.

While I struggled to change in the tiny confines of the plane bathroom, I couldn’t help but to be hyper aware of every minor instance of turbulence. Even the slightest bump and shake made the pit in my stomach grow, and my heart beat faster. My nerves didn’t subside until we were in the van on the way to the resort.

At 13 I traveled to Florida again, this time with three friends as one mother had kindly offered to take us down to the family beach house for the week. It was my first time traveling without my family. I sobbed in the car before my mom dropped me off, fearing that something would go wrong on the flight while she wasn’t there to help me.

And at 17, when I went to North Carolina, I flew by myself for the first time. The week before my trip I told a teacher I couldn’t sleep at night because I kept picturing what would happen if the plane went down while I was alone onboard.

She talked me through my nerves with patience, despite that there was hardly anything she could do to calm me down.

You see, I am a control freak.

I like to have a plan. I like to know what’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen and how it’s going to happen. For me, flying means relinquishing total control. There is next to nothing you can to do to improve your chances of surviving something going wrong. You just have to trust the people in charge and hope all other factors are working in your favor.

The thought of being in a situation where I have so little control is enough to make me a nervous wreck for at least the duration of my flight, if not a few days leading up to my

opportunity for students to challenge and change their representation. When classes resume next semester, students who are passionate about issues on campus need to run for seats, especially if a seat is being campaigned for by an unopposed candidate.

One of the best ways to change ASG is to make sure that each election is a competition of ideas to ensure the best candidate wins.

Along with adding new, diverse members to their body, ASG must also work toward fixing its communication issues. Most students do not know who their senators are. This largely has to do with the reality that most students do not see or hear from their representatives, except of course when it’s time for us to vote.

Our ASG representatives should be widely

departure.

Basically, I’m a blast to travel with.

This fear of flying did not go away as I got older. It simply shifted from being about the actual flight, to where the flight was taking me.

My senior year of high school, my dad and I flew to Ohio to tour Miami. I was overcome with nausea as the plane descended, knowing there was a strong chance I would be going to school in a place that could not feel farther from my home. Last January, I fought back tears while listening to Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California,” getting ready for a three week trip in a city, state and coast I had never been to as my flight to Los Angeles took off.

Turbulence was the least of my worries.

My fear was knowing there would be no regaining control when I got off of the plane. I felt overwhelmed with unfamiliarity, and could not imagine what this new place would bring me. Of course, when you feel this way, everyone assures you you’ll find an adventure better than you can imagine. I used to hate that. Again, I like to be able to anticipate what’s coming down the pipeline.

Instead of hoping for something I “couldn’t imagine,” I feared the worst that I could.

When these fears start to get overwhelming, my mom tells me the same thing she told me when I 13 and sobbing to her in the car. She tells me that if I’m not careful, my fears and anxieties will keep me from living the life I have always wanted.

That repeated reminder is the reason I keep flying.

Of course every worst-case scenario imagined, sleepless night and terrified tear shed has been worth the experiences and personal growth that came afterward. Every single time, it was better than anything I could have imagined.

I hate to think what my life would look like if I let fear and a need for control dominate the decisions I make.

I’ve been repeating this reminder to myself a lot lately as I finish my semester in Oxford and prepare to spend my spring abroad. While five months in a country I’ve never been to is a terrifying prospect, some of the best things in my life were once on the other side of the time and date on my boarding pass.

And when I think what it will be like to leave the incredible people that have helped me build a life in Oxford, I try not to focus on the unknown, but rather hope it will be an adventure better than I can imagine. rigazikm@miamioh.edu

MARTIN COMMONS

recognized and active members of the Miami community. They should communicate with constituents more in order to keep them updated on the operations of ASG. That is not happening within the current government. What we are seeing is a student government that is out of touch with students and makes impactful decisions behind closed doors.

What ASG fails to realize is that most students can be interested in what is happening within their student government. They have opinions on issues within their community, and they want their representatives to hear their concerns. They especially want to know how their student government is reacting to incidents and scandals on campus.

Last spring, ASG put out a lengthy statement regarding issues of race relations on campus, yet when related issues occur within their own governing body, they are silent.

ASG is a public body charged with serving students. They are not a student organization.

They do not get to flip between the two at their convenience. If something is happening within this public body, students have the right to know — and ASG has an obligation to inform them.

The actions made this semester by Associated Student Government show that our representatives do not adequately represent the student body, and they fail to hold themselves accountable for their flaws and mistakes.

When new seats are filled in the spring, a new era must begin in student government.

Diversity must be valued, students must be kept informed by their representatives and the student government must hold themselves accountable instead of covering up their mistakes.

That is the type of student government Miami deserves, and that is what ASG must strive toward.

Women should love each other, not male trash bags

ANNA MINTON

THE MIAMI STUDENT

I am very good at getting mad at people. I hold grudges and I am not very forgiving when I have been wronged. So a while back, when I told one of my friends that the guy I had been seeing was also seeing another girl, it was a surprise to everyone involved that I didn’t incite a small apocalypse.

I’m not sure what prompted me to actually be mature about this situation. It’s not usually my go-to reaction.

However, I decided to take the personally less-traveled high road and, instead of hurling myself into a fit of rage, I went ahead and tried to talk to this girl. There might have been a miscommunication. Like maybe he had a twin brother with the exact same name that I didn’t know existed and was actually dating this other girl. Or, there could have always been the more plausible scenario, like it was just a rumor and I was nervous and upset for no reason.

So, after class one day, I messaged this girl on Instagram, saying I had a weird question and asking if she wanted to meet for coffee. We met, talked and, after the obligatory complement of her outfit, I jumped right into it and asked if she was seeing the same guy that I was.

And nope! It wasn’t a rumor! The moment our conversation started, it was clear this girl and I were seeing the same guy. I know that if you watch any teenage girl drama movie from the early 2000s you would expect me to push her in front of a bus, but, to be honest, I couldn’t bring myself to hate her. I ended up sitting and talking with this girl for a hour, and not just about our shared boy. By the end of the afternoon, I had decided to go out with her later in the week.

By the time that night came around, I was a nervous wreck. I was worried there was going to be some underlying tension, or some unspoken

DECEMBER

5

5:00–8:00PM

competition. Right before we left, I was chastising myself for even entering this situation. I mean, come on — it turns out this girl’s boyfriend was also seeing someone else, and she’s supposed to be nice to her now? This isn’t “John Tucker Must Die” — and even if it was, I had a feeling I was the one about to be played.

But, as it turned out, I had nothing to be worried about.

Our shared dumb ex didn’t come up once during the evening. We laughed, danced and both of us even ended up finding new and different guys during the course of the night.

Thank u, next indeed.

The more we got to know each other, the more we both realized how much we had in common. Something that started out as a potentially hostile situation turned into a fun night with a new friend. This guy may have been a jerk, but even I could admit that it turned out he has great taste in girls.

It shouldn’t be such a shock to people that women can be friends. For what seems like forever, there’s been a message pushed by society that all women secretly hate each other, and the pressures to be perfect are causing a toxic competition. Instead of learning to support each other, women are fighting to be seen as number one in someone else’s eyes.

The lack of opportunities available to women doesn’t help this situation. Not only do we need to meet the unreasonable beauty standards of perfection, but now we need to fight for the one seat left, that’s really only there in order to check the “gender diversity” box. It’s no wonder people find it so hard to believe that women can be civil to each other.

Now I know that going to a bar with one girl one time doesn’t solve this problem, but I still see it as growth (no matter how small). Instead of trying to fight each other for the one random guy, we managed to find something better, and create a friendship much better than any relationship with him. We are both funny, smart and kind women, and the fact that we are able to recognize this shows we are capable of being supportive of each other.

There needs to be a culture of supportive women to counteract this aggressiveness and competition. We need to break out of the fight club that we’ve been forced into. Instead of fighting for the only seat at the table, let’s just learn to pull up another chair. mintona2@miamioh.edu