ESTABLISHED 1826 – OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
The Miami Student TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 VOLUME 144 NO. 4
WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET
$23 million Armstrong Phase II construction to begin January
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
University works to alleviate housing shortage
CONSTRUCTION
NICK MEYERSON THE MIAMI STUDENT
Phase II of the Armstrong Student Center construction will begin in January. The center is expanding to a larger east wing, encompassing Culler Hall, and will include updated facilities student space. The new addition, dubbed Armstrong Student Center East Wing, is expected to be fully operational in fall 2017, ASC director Katie Wilson said. The new building will be home to various amenities, including a coffee bar, meeting rooms, more student organization rooms, a recJING LONG THE MIAMI STUDENT reational facility called the “Red Zone” and a student senate cham- Phase II of the Armstrong Student Center construction will include a ber. In total, the project will cost café, meeting rooms, a gaming room and student senate chambers. $23 million. This tab has some people uneasy. Senior Roberta Fritz-Klaus “This has always been the plan,” students with flashy retail and gamsaid donations should be spent Wilson said. “It is not an expansion; ing stops, shouldn’t Miami attract elsewhere — namely, on academic it’s the completion of the project.” hard-working individuals and teach buildings. Fritz-Klaus said academic halls us to work for our desires?” Fritz“When alums donate to their in desperate need of repair and ren- Klaus said. alma mater, they do so in order to ovation should be a higher priority. When designing the expansion, continue the improvement of un- She said she believes the appropri- Wilson said that, indeed, functiondergraduate education, not for stu- ated funds for this project could be ality and usefulness were the top dents to go shopping or play video better spent on student merit-based priorities. She said she expects the games,” Fritz-Klaus said. scholarships or be used to renovate student body to benefit tremenWilson, however, said the stu- academic buildings like Pearson, dously from this new space. In dent center’s second phase isn’t a Hughes, Bachelor and Irvin. new development. “Instead of attracting affluent ARMSTRONG »PAGE 5 NEWS p. 2
RHO GAMMAS WEAR LETTERS
Panhellenic’s new rule allows recruitment guides to affiliate with their sororities
Faculty, students express mixed feelings about Canvas
NEWS p. 3
MIAMI CONNECTIONS BEGINS SIXTH YEAR Program links local high school students with Miami student mentors
CULTURE p. 4
BACKGROUND NOISE
Editor examines how ambient sounds differ across cultures
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY A.J. NEWBERRY
While Canvas was officially introduced this fall, Niihka will not officially retire until next year. Before then, many students must work from both sites. TECHNOLOGY
KRISTA SAVAGE NEWS EDITOR
OPINION p. 6
CELEBRATING CRIMINALS
Part one of editorial series calls out the media for sensationalizing mass shootings
SPORTS p. 10
SEASON PREVIEW OF MU FOOTBALL
Sports editor breaks down this year’s football team position by position
Miami University officially introduced students to a new online learning management system, Canvas, this fall. Over 800 colleges, universities and school districts in the U.S. are currently using it. Canvas will completely replace the old management system, Niihka, by fall of 2016. Now that most students have used the program for a week, mixed feelings have risen
TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY
to the surface. “It’s not more confusing, it’s just inconvenient and unnecessary,” said sophomore Caroline Hellman. “I have to go to two different sites for assignments instead of having them all right there ... Miami should just pick one and stick to it.” According to Miami’s website, Canvas is specifically designed for online teaching. The goal is for students to have a simpler program with a wider variety of resources and more hands on learning tools. In an effort to slowly familiarize students to the new program, Nii-
JALEN WALKER THE MIAMI STUDENT
Patterson Place will no longer be demolished in favor of a new residence hall, causing the administration to reconsider housing plans for the increasing class sizes. HOUSING
ABBY KELLY
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
To combat the housing shortage on Miami University’s campus, university officials are reconsidering plans to renovate all residence halls by 2025. Students have also been placed in off-campus housing such as Hawks Landing, Miami Preserve and Level 27 apartments to alleviate the shortage. According to Director of Housing Options, Meals and Events Brian Woodruff, this shortage is due to increased retention rates and a larger-than-expected freshman class of 4,000 students. “We have made a number of adjustments to our Long Range Housing and Dining Plan in order to accommodate the growth in our incoming classes and increased retention rates in the near-term,” Woodruff said. hka and Canvas will both be used used this year and faculty may choose which program to implement in their classes. Many students, including Hellman, have multiple professors on each program, causing assignments to be split between the websites. “Most of my professors use Canvas right now,” Hellman said. “I like it better but I’m more familiar with Niihka. Some of my professors are struggling with the switch.” Canvas, like Niihka, offers ways to check grades, assignments and due dates, and is a place for professors to interact with students. Miami offers online training materials for students and faculty to better equip them for the change. According to Miami’s Canvas website, in 2014 the first phase of Canvas was released to 15 select and hybrid courses in Oxford and regional campuses, later to be expanded during Phase II in spring
Additionally, some resident assistants (RAs) are temporarily living with first-year residents. Now in the second week of the school year, some first-year students previously living with RAs have moved to more permanent housing as spaces became available. The Long Range Housing and Dining Plan aims to renovate all Miami residence halls by 2025. Each year, another quad of residence halls is taken offline for renovation, with student housing funneled into those residence halls that remain open. Despite the reopening of the newly renovated East Quad, housing was also limited this fall because North Quad residence halls are closed for renovations. Director of News and Communications Claire Wagner said Miami has been trying to do as much renovation as they can without having to make the entire dorm unavailHOUSING »PAGE 5
2015 to 40 online courses. Faculty members were trained in summer 2015, and the full program was released in the fall. Faculty training took place over the summer for faculty who could attend the sessions. However, many professors had time conflictions and therefore didn’t receive training on running the program in their classes. “I always had something else I had to do… and I had new faculty to meet with,” said Italian professor, Gael Montgomery. “I am happy to have the option of continuing to use Niihka this year, because I was not ready for Canvas when the year began.” For the time being, Miami students will be using both Niihka and Canvas. “I’m just worried because of the professors who aren’t using Canvas…” Hellman said. “I hope eventually we can just all use Canvas and I won’t have to think about which site my homework is on for what class.”
In 1992, The Miami Student reported that Ohio University’s recruitment philosophy was giving Miami a “run for [its] money” by becoming more selective. That year, OU received 11,481 applications, while Miami received 9,300.
2 NEWS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
Rho Gammas at Miami to represent sorority, give up anonymity GREEK LIFE
LAUREN OLIVER
THE MIAMI STUDENT
Breaking tradition, Miami University, along with other schools around the nation, is now allowing Rho Gammas to wear their sorority letters around campus. A Rho Gamma is an active member of a sorority who aids potential new members in the recruitment process. They answer questions and guide the potential new members through all recruitment events, but are disaffiliated from their sorority to remain impartial and unbiased throughout the process. In the past, that meant removing all proof of affiliation. For the academic year, Rho Gammas would hide their Facebook photos, retire any clothing with their sorority letters and refrain from attending their sorority’s recruitment events. But in 2014, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) decided it was time to allow the recruitment guides to sport their sorority letters, and began promoting the change across the country.
Miami’s Panhellenic chapter voted on and passed the new rule last spring, allowing the Rho Gammas to remain affiliated. Corinne Gilardi, vice president of recruitment for Miami’s Panhellenic Association, said the change was bound to happen, as most potential new members usually found out what chapter each Rho Gamma was from anyway. Allison Kumnick, a junior Rho Gamma for the upcoming spring recruitment process, said they are not abandoning all of the old guidelines. Panhellenic has carefully instructed Rho Gammas on how to approach their affiliation with potential new members. For instance, Rho Gammas are discouraged from introducing themselves by their affiliation. Rather, they can reveal it to potential new members when directly asked. And, Rho Gammas can wear their letters around campus, but not to meetings with potential new members or during the recruitment process. In this way, Panhellenic wants the Rho Gammas to be transparent about their affiliation
without inadvertently recruiting girls for their own sororities. There are other nuanced rules, too, like Rho Gammas having stickers on computers, being pictured in a sorority’s recruitment video and expressing affiliation on social media. For all of these situations, Panhellenic maintains the same general practice: don’t hide
Molly Sweeney, a member of Greek life, believes it is an easy time for first-year women to be influenced. “I think it’s better if Rho Gammas don’t wear their letters, because they’re supposed to help guide freshmen through the process and not put any impressions on them,” she said. “I think it’s best
I think it’s better if Rho Gammas don’t wear their letters, because they’re supposed to help guide the freshmen through the process and not put any impressions on them. MOLLY SWEENEY SENIOR
it, but don’t flash it, either. In this way, Panhellenic is trying to strike a balance between the old rule and the new rule. Still, there is some dissent over the switch. Some students think allowing Rho Gammas to wear their letters will have a negative impact on potential new members.
to go into rush with an open mind and not any preconceived notions.” Gilardi said Panhellenic has been doing everything it can to avoid these concerns. “Panhellenic is taking all precautions necessary to ensure that Rho Gammas are unbiased about each chapter,” she said. “The Rho Gam-
mas [are there] to help potential new members find their place in whatever sorority is best for them.” Darinka Sutic, president of Miami’s Panhellenic Association, agreed with Gilardi and believes it will bring positive change. “I believe the significance is the fact that we are pushing a unified community from the beginning of the recruitment process,” Sutic said. “Rho Gammas are wearing their letters, but the reason they have those positions is because they want potential new members to go Greek and join the community — no matter the organization.” Katie Czosek, another Greek life member, finds no fault in the new arrangement. “It doesn’t really matter because most people won’t remember girls they see in their letters when they’re going through rush,” she said. If the change does not fit Miami’s community, it can be voted upon and changed during council meetings, but for now it is the new policy for formal sorority recruitment.
CONNOR MORIARTY PHOTO EDITOR
CENTRAL QUAD Miami’s picturesque Central Quad, home to five different dorms, is a favorite photo spot on campus.
Say my name: International students swap out birth names in favor of simplicity INTERNATIONAL
RASIKA RANE
THE MIAMI STUDENT
What’s in a name? For some international students, a name can spare them awkward encounters, confusion or, simply, help them feel accepted. Many international students, primarily from Asian countries, take on names commonly used in the United States when they arrive on campus.
use their English name to provide American professors with convenience, so that they will not encounter any awkward moments about mispronouncing their Chinese names,” Wang said. “Whereas, some students pick English names that have similar pronunciation to their Chinese names, but westernized.” Senior Yidan Zhang, who goes by Aviva, said she chose the name because its meaning
Some students just want to use their English name to provide American professors with convenience, so that they will not encounter any awkward moments about mispronouncing their Chinese names. MINJIE “MICHELLE” WANG JUNIOR
International students may adopt these names to aid English-speaking peers. The common names are also less likely to be mispronounced by professors. International students’ native languages — such as Mandarin Chinese — contain more phonemes and tonal vocalization, which is difficult for English speakers to pronounce. Junior Minjie Wang, who prefers to go by the first name Michelle, explained why she and many other international students make the change. “Some students just want to
matched her outgoing and enthusiastic personality. Her reasons for adopting a new name are different from Wang’s. “I don’t like people to mispronounce my name because I think it’s a disgrace to others to butcher the pronunciation of my precious name given by my parents,” Zhang said. Like Zhang, many international students also choose a name because it matches their personality, or if it is given to them by someone they care about. “Michelle, this English name, is given by one of my favorite teachers from my primary
school,” Wang said. Di Wen chose the name Ivan for various reasons. He said he chose the name because most of his friends had done it and it was easier for him to settle into his new environment. “My English name doesn’t have relation to my Chinese name,” Wen said. “I just picked the name from the dictionary because I like the pronunciation of the name.” Wen said he did not have many problems with mispronunciation, as his Chinese first and last name are easy for Americans to pronounce. “Lots of American students prefer to call me Di,” Wen said. Apart from the more common reasons for renaming themselves, there is a new trend among international students to select distinct, unique names. Zhang (Aviva) said her English name is a combination of Spanish, French and Italian names. “By having a memorable English name, people can be distinctly differentiated,” said Zhang. The uniqueness of the name is also a reason Wen chose his English name. “Sometimes their Chinese names are very hard to pronounce so they pick English names instead of correcting other people on how to pronounce the name,” said Wen. “An English name is easier for people to recognize and accept.”
ALTMAN LECTURE DEBUTS WITH ANTHROPOLOGIST Professor David Howes from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada will speak on campus 4 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 3 in Marcum 184. His lecture, entitled “The Evidence of the Sense,” will explore the human experience of sensation. Howes will discuss how we experience the world through our senses, and how our environment and culture impact our senses. Howes has conducted field research in South America and the United States, and is also the editor of several works on the subject of the senses. He is coming to campus as part of the Altman Program, which encourages students, faculty, alumni and the public to join the discussion and get involved in the exploration of the senses. This lecture is a small component of a campus-wide study throughout the 2015-2016 school year that will include art exhibits, panels, lectures and special events. More information about this and upcoming events can be found on Miami University’s website.
WRITERS WANTED The Miami Student is looking for writers For more info, e-mail eic@miamistudent.net
NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
NEWS 3
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
MU kicks off sixth year of tutoring, mentoring high school students
Miami creates neuroscience comajor, extension of minor CURRICULUM
MICHELLE GREGG THE MIAMI STUDENT
LEAH WASBURN-MOSES CONTRIBUTER
MIAMI CONNECTIONS Todd Edwards, a mathematics and education professor, helps students with a math session during a Miami Connections class meeting. Miami Connections partners with Talawanda and Butler Technology students to provide mentoring and tutoring services. EDUCATION
GRACE MOODY NEWS EDITOR
Tucked back in Western campus, in a Boyd Hall classroom, is an alternative learning opportunity for Talawanda High School and Butler Technology students. The program hosts students wishing to receive additional help with their schoolwork and develop relationships with Miami students. The program, Miami Connections, is named in the Presidential Service Award presented to Miami University and will officially begin its sixth year Sept. 8. Miami Connections is open to all Talawanda High School and Butler Technology freshmen and sophomores. Students enrolled in the program will be paired with a Miami student who will serve as either a tutor or mentor. The mentors will have a one-on-one relationship with a certain student
throughout the semester, while the tutors will pair up with different students as needed. Leah Wasburn-Moses, Miami Connections professor and project manager, described the foundations on which Miami Connections was initially founded. “There were two simultaneous needs: some extra support for high school students who needed it and for Miami teaching education majors who were starting to look for teaching placements,” WasburnMoses said. “And living in a rural area there aren’t many placements.” On average there are around 75 to 100 Miami students each year serving with Miami Connections. For these students, working in the program counts toward a one-credit hour service learning class. Tutors within the program serve to aid students when they need assistance with their online course modules. Mentors, however, are more responsible for providing social and emotional support to
their mentee. Wasburn-Moses is said she is excited for the new school year, when she can further pursue her goals for the program. “We want their educational experience to be engaging,” she said. “We want them to engage with Miami’s campus and the Miami students.” Sydney Stevens, a former mentor, is now the student assistant of Miami Connections and is serving as Wasburn-Moses’s undergraduate assistant. Stevens enjoyed seeing the beneficial personal growth and goalsetting skills among the high school students during her time with Miami Connections last school year. “We work on making individual goals with each student on a monthly basis,” Stevens said. “They reflect on goals from last month and make new goals, whether it be social, attendance or grades.” TUTORING »PAGE 5
Miami University has introduced a new option for students interested in the brain. As of this academic year, students can pursue a neuroscience co-major. Although the neuroscience minor has been available and will remain an option, the co-major allows to students to study the subject in greater depth. Kathleen Killian and Lori Isaacson, two of the faculty members involved in the creation of this program, advise incoming students to plan ahead, since having two majors means added coursework. However, both professors emphasized that a considerable number of the course requirements for neuroscience crosses with other science majors, making it easily obtainable for upperclassman to declare this co-major. Killian said she’s always glad to see when students combine majors. “Involving students from different majors makes classes more interesting and improves the atmosphere in the classroom,” Killian said. She also stressed their goal is for students to have the ability to combine this major with others, whether from a similar field or not. Many students were successful in and excited about their neuroscience minor, leading Killian and Isaacson to create the co-major. As with any other major, the necessary courses allow students to personalize the program with a focus on whichever area of neuroscience most interests them. Isaacson said the transition should go smoothly, as many in the science department are committed
to growing the new co-major. “We have a large and active faculty in the lab who is passionate to grow this program,” Isaacson said. There are also a number of career options available for students interested in this field. Many of Miami’s resources already complement this program and provide students with internship and research opportunities, giving them connections for future careers. Killian and Isaacson listed off many companies, including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Procter & Gamble, who have been in contact with the university about students interested in pursuing this degree. Isaacson told a story about one student who was a marketing major with a minor in neuroscience and landed his position because business and psychology parallel each other. His employers were impressed that he would be able to contribute in an even larger way to their marketing endeavors and connect with consumers. Neuroscience studies the unique combination of psychology and chemistry of the brain, allowing this co-major and minor to be compatible with many other fields. First-year Joshua Setters said he was interested in adding neuroscience as a co-major. He’s enthusiastic about not only the program, but also the research opportunities available. “I’m definitely looking forward to researching alongside professors from this field, even if I do not decide to add it as a co-major,” Setters said. As for the future of the program, Killian and Isaacson said they are taking it one step at a time, but encourage students to seek guidance from their professors and advisers about whether it would be a good fit.
LEAH WASBURN-MOSES CONTRIBUTER
Renovations to Hamilton dining location enhance student experience Regional campus gains valuable updates to existing dining location and student center REGIONAL
REBECCA HUFF
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
KRISTA SAVAGE NEWS EDITOR
Harrier’s Nest, the local food attraction for Miami Hamilton students, was renovated over the summer. It is located within Schwarm Hall, the Miami Hamilton student center. It has been updated to include more charging stations for students with laptops, as well as new places to eat and more seating options. Schwarm Hall is located near
the entrance of Miami Hamilton’s campus, and it is a shared space with the bookstore and Harrier’s Nest. Harrier’s Nest offers students breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for in-between classes. The area added a salad bar, new dining furniture and a bar equipped with plenty of outlets. “We were able to take furniture from Martin Dining Hall and Scoreboard market on North campus when it went through renovation this summer,” said Tina Rotundo, executive manager of Miami Housing, Dining and Guest Services. “I was so happy we could recycle these things and keep them with Miami dining.” Harrier’s Nest includes table-
tops, stools, bars, refrigerators and freezers from Martin and Scoreboard dining. The large salad bar from Martin Dining Hall is also now being used. “It looks really nice,” Rotundo said. “Viewer attraction has gone up as well.” One of the main improvements was the addition of more wall outlets near the counters. Prior to the renovation, outlets were positioned in a few sporadic locations, making it difficult for students to find one. According to Rotundo, there are many more outlets in convenient locations now, which contribute to how many people are using the student center now. “Sales have increased $200 to $300 dollars and we hired two
new student managers,” said Mica Henry, assistant manager of Harrier’s Nest. New dining options are now also available to students in Harrier’s Nest. Last year, a popular attraction was a coffee shop called Heaven Sent. It was widely used by students who came in and out of Harrier’s Nest. However, they have decided not to reopen this year, and Miami Hamilton is currently obtaining the rights and health codes to open a new coffee shop expected to open in two weeks. The new coffee shop will include baked goods and serve Starbucks coffee. According to Rotundo, it will be comparable
IN OTHER NEWS … LOCAL
HARRIER’S »PAGE 9
WHEN YOU’RE FINISHED READING STATE
NATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL
Pro-marijuana group and mascot visit Miami
Kroger stores in Cincinnati add beer taps
VMAs stir up national controversy
Widening search for Bangkok bombing suspects
Buddie, Ohio’s mascot for the legalization of marijuana, visited Oxford to garner student interest for voting on the measure.
Kroger stores in Montgomery and Oakley of Cincinnati will allow customers to fill personal growlers with local beer.
MTV’s Video Music Awards featured a presidential candidacy announcement from Kanye West and antics from Miley Cyrus.
Authorities in Thailand released the photos of two suspects in August’s bombing, a Thai woman and an unknown male.
— New York Times
— Associated Press
— Journal News
to Oxford’s Miami Ice, located in Armstrong Student Center. Student manager of the Harrier’s Nest Kayla Byrd said student workers are receiving specialized Starbucks training to learn the proper procedures to make drinks and clean equipment. “If we don’t do things a certain way they could pull our license,” Henry said. In the past, students have expressed grievances about the freshness of the food served at the Harrier’s Nest. Building and grounds assistant Deborah Lawrence said the size of the kitchen and the lack of equipment is to blame for the
— The Enquirer
PLEASE RECYCLE
4 CULTURE
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Theatre auditions: Cold reads and contrasting monologues
PERELMBK@MIAMIOH.EDU
Our sound environments are signals of our culture SOUND
KYLE HAYDEN DESIGN EDITOR
BRITTON PERELMAN CULTURE EDITOR
THEATRE
BRITTON PERELMAN CULTURE EDITOR
A hopeful student walks into the lowly lit room in the Center for Performing Arts. She checks in at the table up front, has a headshot taken out in the hallway, then finds a chair and sits down with a sigh. A handful of students sit in various spots around the room, quietly reading through their monologues. The wall opposite them is covered in mirrored panels, reflecting their nerves if they dare to glance away from their printed scripts. A cartoon Shakespeare is drawn on a whiteboard, holding a skull in his outstretched hand. The 9:00 group is taken downstairs, where they will wait until being called in, one by one, to audition for the fall theatre productions. Last week, 65 students auditioned for roles in the first three productions in the College of Creative Arts’ 20152016 theatre season. There were only 24 roles available. “My heart’s still beating,” said sophomore Jordan Gravely right after she auditioned. Despite being involved in theatre for over half her life, Gravely still gets nervous about her auditions. “It’s just because you’re putting so much of yourself out there when you go and do it,” Gravely said. “And you’re being like, “Hey, like me!” And there’s no guarantee anyone’s going to.” At Miami, the audition process for theatre department productions is condensed into a single week. This semester, the first round of auditions took place over two nights, Wednesday and Thursday. The callback list was posted on Friday morning, and those asked back were given a time
for that very night. After a long weekend of uncertainty, the final cast lists were posted on Monday. Rehearsal for the first production, One Acts, began Monday night. Auditioning students are asked to prepare contrasting monologues for first round auditions, meaning that they perform two vastly different pieces. One dramatic monologue and one comedic, one strong character and one weak character – anything that will show the directors an actor’s versatility. If, by chance, students don’t want to prepare monologues, scripts for cold reads are available at the auditions. “I don’t think anybody walks in in an audition and says, ‘Oh, yep, I’m totally getting a part,’” senior Karly Danos said. Danos prepared pieces from “Spike Heels” and “A Chorus Line” for her Thursday night audition. Choosing monologues is easily the part of the process she stresses about the most, so much so that she actually began preparing for the fall auditions last May. Once their name is called, those auditioning have only a few minutes to prove to directors they should be cast in a show. “Auditions are hard because they’re only really two minutes of what you actually can do,” Danos said. The auditions can be especially difficult since no feedback is given during the first round auditions. Danos explained how nerve-wracking it can be to audition in front of the typically silent panel of directors, saying that it’s hard to simply perform the monologues, say thank you and walk away. She’s used to it, but often finds herself wishing she could correct everything that went wrong or ask the directors what they
thought of her performance. First-year Lauren Racela sees the process a little differently. As assistant director of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ in high school, she understands what it’s like to be on the other side of the audition. “I’ve been sitting in the seats while someone stands up and does their audition,” Racela said. “But the people sitting there are not there to scare you, they’re not there to judge you or make fun of you. They’re just there to see what you have. They’re not out to get you.” But for some, the actual audition can be somewhat of a blur anyway. “I can never really remember how I did,” said Caroline Avolio. “People always ask me and I can honestly not remember what happened in the room.” Avolio, a first-year, auditioned on Thursday night during her first week of college. Despite the added stress, for her, it was just another audition. “It actually kind of calmed me down because it was something so familiar,” said Avolio, who auditioned to be a theatre major in January, before she even committed to attending Miami. “Auditioning is just a part of life for someone like me who’s going to be performing all the time, so it’s really good to have as much experience in that as possible,” Avolio said. “I always like auditioning actually. I think it’s nice to have something to prepare for and something to work towards.” Lauren Racela did not receive a callback. Jordan Gravely and Caroline Avolio received a callback, but did not get cast in any of the productions. Senior Karly Danos was cast in “The Last Cigarette,” part of the One Acts production, as Angela.
In the United States, we are accustomed to many sounds other cultures — namely European and Japanese — would never tolerate, or simply aren’t used to. If you were overseas this summer, you might have noticed something: no air conditioning in most of Europe. This creates a quiet nighttime environment for sleeping, as sleepers don’t have central air, fans, furnaces or air-blowing vents in their homes. They use radiators in the winter, and design their buildings, homes and workplaces so they are naturally ventilated and insulated well enough so they don’t get too hot or too cold through the seasons. Interstate and car use in Europe are discouraged by the planning of cities. Residential and commercial areas are dense, rendering the hissing, rumbling sound of traffic we experience in the States non-existent. My father is in the Air Force, and has been to Japan several times throughout his career. He has remarked on their high-quality quiet roadways, noting that cars make hardly any sound moving across the pavement, which is smooth and integrated with recycled rubber. You can’t see sound on a map, and in the States, we plan our cities with flagrant disregard for the sound environments they create. We have to build walls along our interstates to keep the constant sound of the road away from people’s homes. We build commercial areas away from the residential areas so we have to drive to get to them, make four lane roads between these areas, so that, even at 35 mph, a driver feels like they are moving at snail’s pace. Americans tolerate many sounds and here is just a small list of the overwhelming sonic pollution we experience without halt: compressed and normalized music, traffic, the interstate highway, the constant atonal hum of air conditioner units, fans and vents, electronic devices, public displays of sound (going into the late night), car sound systems, airports, electric humming from streetlights, emergency and florescent lights, overhead power lines and transformers. Our shoddy building practices of making cheap, thin walls effectively make our outside sound environments an essential part of our inside environments. I wonder what silence is. I wonder if there is a state of complete silence. These questions could be answered by the physical sciences — the movement of vibrations through the different elements that
comprise the air we breathe, into the ear and against the various parts of the ear that transfer signals to our brains. If there is no air, there is no sound transmission. I understand this, but I wonder what it means to be silent. As a child I would wait in the car for what felt like hours before my parents emerged from the garage door to begin whatever trip we were going on. During that time I noticed a constant ringing in my ear — a high pitched, constant sound that only ceased when I made a sound with my body. I soon learned that I suffer from tinnitus, as I have my whole life. Sleeping with a fan to distract my ears with noise so I would not be kept awake with the perpetual ringing left me thinking: why did I have to listen to a fan to fall asleep? Did no one else hear this ringing when they sat alone in silence? As a result, I don’t like to listen to music or sounds in headphones, or listen to things very loudly, for fear of making this ringing worse, or having total hearing loss in old age. While my neighbors play criminally loud sounds almost every day of the week, I wonder why they like it, what it’s doing to the mind and body of the listener. Lawrence English, a sound artist and researcher from Brisbane, Australia, wrote a book and CD compilation entitled, “Site Listening,” on the cultural meaning and situations of sound with a focus on the importance of awareness and listening. He mapped and noted the different sound environments of Brisbane. The book lists 17 places one can go and hear auditory oddities and experience interesting sound environments produced by our manufactured and natural landscape (cars, streets, buildings, nature and so on). It is evident our largely unnoticed sound environments can affect our moods, interfere with our focus and draw our attention away from self awareness and into a state of auditory complacency, if not self inflicted hearing damage. Our cultural landscape is immense, and is glued together by the sounds it produces. It will take years of work and awareness on the part of students, citizens and researchers to begin to change cultural attitudes toward sound, right after we figure out just what in the hell causes tinnitus. There are careful considerations we should make as citizens, listeners and patrons of sound. What kinds of sounds do we want to hear? Which sounds do we wish to avoid? Then, as communities, we need to assemble our environments to match these preferences. It seems America has no preference. It has no plan.
‘American Ultra’ is half-baked, boring FILM
JACK RYAN THE MIAMI STUDENT
Watching “American Ultra” is like watching a friend brutally mess up the delivery of a joke that you both know. You want to help them, but even if you fixed their mistakes, the moment has passed and the potential for humor has faded. “American Ultra” is the story of deadbeat stoner, Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg), who spends his time either manning a convenient store or smoking with his girlfriend, Phoebe (Kristen Stewart). After a strange series of events, we discover Mike
M
is a sleeper agent — inexplicably possessing inhuman reflexes and abilities that the government secretly taught him — and he has to defend himself, his girlfriend and his town from destruction at the hands of a corrupt government official. I won’t go any further with the plot, because there really isn’t anywhere else to go. “American Ultra” plays it safe, repeating scenarios and enemies, and feels more like a repetitive video game than an actual movie. The boring storyline is mostly to be blamed on the opening minutes, as all the tension surrounding Mike’s life is immediately stripped away. The intro features him, bloodied and
bruised, in an interrogation room after most of the events of the film, revealing that despite explosions and gunshots, he will inevitably survive the night. The central, thematic joke of “American Ultra” is supposed to be a hilarious hybrid between two contrasting genres: the dropout stoner comedy and the espionage action thriller. This is a great concept in and of itself with occasional successes (i.e. Mike moronically turning around when a pursuing psychopath yells, “Wait!”), but the film is directed so poorly that it never manages to ULTRA » PAGE 5
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Thursday Night Coffee House with Ella Mae Brown 9 to 11 p.m.
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
FROM ARMSTRONG »PAGE 1
FROM HOUSING »PAGE 1
concern over the new expansion and see it as a waste of Miami funds that could have been used more effectively elsewhere. Senior Roberta Fritz-Klaus suggested expanding academic halls that are in need of desperate repair and renovation. “When alums donate to their alma mater, they do so in order to continue the improvement of undergraduate education, not for students to go shopping or play video games,” Fritz-Klaus said. She believes the appropriated funds for this project could be better spent on student meritbased scholarships or be used to renovate academic buildings like Pearson, Hughes, Bachelor and Irvin. “Instead of attracting affluent students with flashy retail and gaming stops, shouldn’t Miami attract hard-working individuals and teach us to work for our desires?” Fritz-Klaus said. Sydney Hewitt, another Miami student and an intern for The First Miami Student Credit Union thinks more positively of the expansion and said the new expansion will provide new opportunities for studentrun organizations like the credit union. “There are truly so many opportunities for everyone. We hope with the new Armstrong expansion [The First Miami Credit Union] will achieve a bigger customer base,” Hewitt said. While some minor details may change in the ongoing development of the project, such as adding the possibility of Oxford business setting up shop, most aspects of Phase II will largely go as planned. Groundbreaking is expected to begin around January 2016.
able for an entire school year. For example, Morris Hall received renovations over the summer and was ready for firstyear students to move in this fall. But that kind of turnover is not always possible. “It depends on how old the residence hall is and how much work it needs,” Wagner said. But Woodruff knew that more housing was going to be needed at some point, even before Miami gained its highest enrolling class this fall. He said that renovating the older residence halls is only the beginning of meeting the expected demand for housing in the future. In the past, Miami has also built new halls like Maplestreet Station and the Western residence halls to support the increasing student population. A similar plan called for Patterson Place, a historic Miami landmark, to undergo construction and become Patterson Place Hall. However, Miami called the plan off due to strong reactions from alumni
ULTRA »FROM PAGE 4
complete the fusion, and feels forced. This combination of clichés would’ve been easier to execute if director Nima Nourizadeh (“Project X”) had been given anything to work with in terms of a script, but the screenwriting in “American Ultra” is abysmal. Screenwriter Max Landis doesn’t just paint shallow characters, but worse: characters with superficial depth. The dialogue is absolute trash as well. All attempts to imitate and mock the classic spy one-liners come off as unnecessary or boring, and for a movie that’s categorized as a comedy, not a single line nor exchange made me laugh. “American Ultra” contains a star-studded cast that should have stayed home. Eisenberg and Stewart are equally bland, unbelievable,
and community members. “The plan to build a new residence hall at Patterson Place would have accommodated our projected housing demand by opening a new hall for the fall of 2017,” Woodruff said. “We have since worked to find a new location for such a residence hall, but changing site locations means that the new facility will not be available until Fall 2018.” Although a location for a new dorm has not been decided, there are still other plans in the works to achieve meeting Miami’s projected housing demands. For example, 1,000 students will be able to move back onto North Quad next August. It is also possible that to Clawson Hall on Western Campus will expand. According to Kim Kinsel, associate vice president of auxiliaries, Miami is still deciding which residences halls will be closed in the future. “We are in the process of determining the next halls for renovation and do not plan to take entire sections of campus offline for renova-
tion at the same time,” Kinsel said. “Going forward, we will take two to three buildings offline for renovation at a time.” By continuing to work closely with Enrollment Services during the decision process, Kinsel does not expect this year’s housing situation to continue onto next year. “In our current planning and projections, we should have enough housing on campus for our rising second year students and incoming first-year students,” Kinsel said. “With the North Quad renovation, we will be able to accommodate our students next fall.” Even though the housing shortage has been a headache for students this year, Wagner believes the continuing housing projects will ultimately give students a better experience at Miami. “I think we are always looking to have the right balance of experience for the students,” Wagner said. “The faculty are doing the academics and we have student groups, but housing is definitely a part of the experience.”
and have so little chemistry it’s hard to imagine them as neighbors, let alone star-crossed lovers. Topher Grace plays a CIA suit named Yates, who quickly becomes a human temper-tantrum. Connie Britton plays Yates’ foil, Lasseter, a motherly agent trying to protect Mike from the corrupt system. Britton manages to deliver a decent performance, but at times seems a bit bored. In fact, the best performance is given by none other than Tony Hale (best known as Buster in “Arrested Development”) who plays Petey, a torn CIA agent trapped between his loyalties to Lasseter and Yates. Chances are, if you’re not going to “American Ultra” for the drug humor, you’re going for the action and, due to poor editing and overuse of shaky-cam, the gunfights and brawls don’t feel high quality
enough for a film with a $12 million budget. Thanks to a montage of ‘evidence photographs’ shown in the first five minutes, we also have a strong idea of how these fights will end long before they begin, stripping them of all possible spontaneity and fun. In terms of endings, the film doesn’t have a major catharsis or conclusion that teaches the audience anything about the characters. It just sort of ends, leaving us with another unfinished epilogue that only adds to the unanswered questions. Ultimately, “American Ultra” is just a disappointing, half-baked film with a major identity crisis, and it’s sad to watch the all-star cast struggle their way through this painful picture.
WHEN YOU’RE FINISHED READING
FROM TUTORING »PAGE 3
A former mentee told WasburnMoses, “I learned that school isn’t your enemy — it can actually help you find your talents.” From Stevens’ experience as a mentor, she noticed many students realizing throughout the semester how much they had in common with their Miami mentors. “I have heard a lot of reactions that they’re surprised how much they have in common with the Miami students,” Stevens said. “I think a lot of them become pleasantly surprised at how much they have in common.” Due to the success of Miami Connections, Wasburn-Moses received a grant to start the same model of the program on other college campuses throughout Ohio. Wasburn-Moses also said Ohio State University is considering implementation of the program. Miami Connections likes its students to gain more perspectives of the world by having this alternative educational experience for their high school career. “They can see that there’s more to this world,” Wasburn-Moses said. “They live in this community so you would think they would be really involved with the Miami community but that’s not always the case. Here they can take charge of their education.”
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6 OPINION
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
EDITORIAL@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
The media: Incentivizing criminals with celebrity coverage EDITORIAL
This is the first in a series of editorials that will investigate the recurring problem of mass shootings throughout the United States. Social media and television networks erupted last Wednesday with the news of Bryce Williams, the begrudged ex-reporter from Roanoke, Virginia, who shot and killed journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward shortly before committing suicide. This is just the latest in a flood of shootings that have plagued the news stream in recent months. For college students, the thought of a campus shooting, though tucked into the back of the mind, is an ever-present reality. A study by Kieran Healy, a sociologist at Duke University, on comparative death rates from assault showed that violence in the United States has gone down by about half since the mid-1970s — from an average of 10 assault deaths per 100,000 people to around five. However, in a report studying active shooting situations between 2000 and 2013, the FBI found that an average of 6.4 active
The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board. shootings per year during the first seven years of the study jumped to 16.4 incidents per year by the end of the study. So while the United States has become, in large, a less violent country, individual shooting sprees are on the rise. This trend is prevalent nowhere more than in the news media. “Increasingly, the decision what we will and will not see is not ours to make,” columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. wrote in the Miami Herald this past Sunday. “Increasingly, we are at the mercy, not simply of murderous monsters, but also of our own friends, family and colleagues who act as their henchmen, forwarding, re-tweeting and re-posting their grisly misdeeds.” Much of this is due to the competitive nature of the 24-hour news cycle. Reporters are constantly working to break more news than the next guy. Sometimes the end goal is the truth, but more often it is simply to blow away the competition. When the rush, the very sensation that caused a reporter to enter the field in the first place, causes that
reporter to sacrifice respect of the victims for an increase in viewers — that is where the media goes wrong. The best example of this hubris is the Rolling Stone cover image of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Rolling Stone’s editors saw this as a racy way to get their magazines off the shelves. But just take a moment to insert Kurt Cobain or Bruce Springsteen in Tsarnaev’s place. The media has a knack of turning these murderers into rock stars. It’s true; there is an inherent newsworthiness to a shooter — oftentimes the lone outlier of the incident. Most victims were doing nothing but living their lives. Viewers have a necessary desire to learn about these shooters because the things they did are dark and confusing. A journalist’s first obligation is to the truth, and there is a lot of information that must be investigated. Did the shooter have pre-existing mental problems? Was he being treated for them? If so, how on earth did he get a gun? But often, journalists forget about a secondary obligation — an obligation
Guns and unresolved mental health issues make a lethal combination POLITICS
MILAM’S MUSINGS After the tragic deaths of Virginia television reporter, Allison Parker, and cameraman, Adam Ward, last week, renewed discussions of gun control abound, but one issue is often overlooked: suicide. While violent crime of all kinds, including by firearms, have trended downward for the last twenty years, suicides have gone up. In 2010, according to Pew Research, 19,392 Americans killed themselves with a gun, compared to 11,078 homicides by a gun. A drug overdose is the most common method to attempt suicide, but it’s fatal in less than 3 percent of cases, whereas 85 percent of suicide attempts via a gun are successful. There are two factors worth considering here: First, suicide can often be an impulsive decision, but, second, a gun is clearly more effective and therefore much harder to reverse once that impulsive decision is made. Someone that uses razors or tries to OD on pills has a chance at being rescued. The Harvard School of Public Health published a study on the correlation between states with high rates of gun ownership and suicides. In states where the percent of households with a gun was 47, there were 16,577 firearm suicides. Comparatively, in states where the percent of households with guns was 15, there were 4,257 total firearm suicides. Certainly, a correlation can’t tell the whole story, but it’s compelling enough to warrant more scrutiny no matter one’s beliefs about guns. It’s a matter of access combined with impulsiveness. “So it’s not that gun owners are more suicidal. It’s that they’re more likely to die in the event that they become suicidal, because they are using a gun,” said Catherine Barber, director of Harvard Injury Control Research Center (HICRC). One of my own preconceived beliefs — and apparent misconceptions — was that suicide was a long-term escalation that culminated in the most irreversible act, not an impulsive one, anymore than jumping out the window of a burning building is impulsive. However, the science appears to point to such impulsiveness.
Barber said that 24 percent of people that survive a suicide attempt said they contemplated it for less than 5 minutes, 48 percent for less than 30 minutes and 70 percent for less than an hour. The goal, then, in this regard, would be to reduce the access because reducing the access means reducing the deadliness of the attempt. However, there’s also the case of Japan. Japan has one of the lowest gun ownership rates in the world, but also one of the highest suicide rates. Last year alone, 25,000 people killed themselves. Cultural differences might help to explain those statistics, in part. Unfortunately, I don’t have all the answers. Combing through the data, there certainly appears to be a strong relationship between gun access and successful suicides. And while gun control advocates like to point to Australia’s gun ban and confiscation (semiautomatic and automatic rifles and shotguns and estimates of a third or a fifth of all guns in the country) as a model to potentially implement in the United States, it’s just not going to happen. No political will exists in the
potential suicide victim. Seeking therapy and talking about your problems should make as much sense as a routine physical check up. Instead, it’s still maligned and stigmatized. My cognitive awareness of such is not helpful, either. I’ve been at Miami for what feels like a decade now, but I’ve never utilized the counseling services offered to all Miami students, even when I’ve thought about it considerably. An initial consultation is free and the next two sessions are funded by a general student fee. Anything above four is only $25 for each session. Check out http:// miamioh.edu/student-life/studentcounseling-service/index.html for more information. Even with how passionate I am about mental health and suicide, I still find myself ensnared by its stigma. Awareness is a huge step, but action has to be close behind, which is easier said than done. After shootings like the recent one in Virginia, gun control advocates say, “Enough is enough.” Gun rights advocates get even more entrenched. Nothing changes. No new dialogue bridge is built between the two sides. And
Seeking therapy and talking about your problems should make as much sense as a routine physical check up. Instead, it’s still maligned and stigmatized.
United States to institute a mandatory gun buyback. Even if it were possible, there are anywhere between 270 million and 310 million guns in the United States. One promising avenue exists, creating unlikely bedfellows: mental health professionals and firearms dealers working together on suicide prevention, known as the Gun Shop Project. Means Matter, a campaign born out of HICRC, started the project in 2009 in New Hampshire, which formed a group called NH Firearm Safety Coalition. The goal is for gun shop owners to be vigilant about selling guns to a suicidal customer and to post suicide prevention materials in their stores. Undoubtedly, that’s a challenging prospect, but it’s encouraging to see the project bringing together these different people all concerned about curtailing gun suicides. The other solution is to attack tangential issues to the access of guns, i.e. the mental state of a
the suicide component is largely ignored. Moreover, like this column has demonstrated, there are no easy solutions and it’s going to take working together, like the group in New Hampshire, to try to obtain small, but powerful successes. I reference him a lot, but TaNehisi Coates offers some sound wisdom on this point. Sometimes we don’t need to believe in hope and that the arc of history bends toward justice or any of those things. Sometimes, it’s just enough to struggle for justice, or in this case, a better outcome on suicides in the United States. It’s a sort of justice, though, right — a justice against the injustice of that 19,392 number. That’s a number which is devoid of the human struggle and the potential for saved lives. But there is beauty and strength in the struggle itself. BRETT MILAM
MILAMBC@MIAMIOH.EDU
of loyalty to the citizens they work to inform and protect. There is growing evidence that the media’s extensive coverage of mass shootings is creating an incentive for future shooters. James Holmes, the self-proclaimed “Joker” who open-fired into an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater, killing and injuring 70 people, now has a collection of fangirls who call themselves “Holmies.” More often than not, we are finding that these shootings were pre-meditated. These shooters had pre-written manifestos, took GoPro videos and even wrote in their journals about which actor they wanted to play themselves in a film. They wanted notoriety. And they were willing to go to extensive measures to get it. The media should make it their objective to take the scope off the shooter and move it to the effect of shootings on the community. It’s less of a matter of focusing on the shooter rather than on the victims, but moreover the tone the media uses. The notable forensic psychiatrist
Dr. Park Dietz has repeatedly outlined several guidelines for reporters covering mass shootings. He said, “If you don’t want to propagate more mass murders don’t start the story with sirens blaring. Don’t have photographs of the killer. Don’t make this 24/7 coverage. Do everything you can not to make the body count the lead story. Not to make the killer some kind of anti-hero. Do localize this story to the affected community and as boring as possible in every other market.” The intense focus on these shooters is part of our natural curiosity to ask the question “why?” Why does someone feel the need to enter a movie theater, a church or a school and kill dozens of innocent, unassuming people? The road toward answering that question is a hazy one, potholed with sticky race relations, partisan campaigns over gun control legislation and a slow-to-respond mental health system. However, the system that can make significant change on this matter now is the system that holds the largest sway over public perception — the media.
What do we stand to gain? CONSTRUCTION
TO THE EDITOR: Over the past few years it has become very evident that Miami has little desire to preserve its beautiful campus that has made it so famous. For an institution that prides its self on history and tradition, we seem to be throwing it to the wayside in the name of new and flashy things in hopes that they would draw in more students (ask any second year who has to live in overflow housing this year if they think we have a numbers problem). It’s no secret that these flashy new buildings and landscape projects are popping up everywhere, but I wonder how many times we stop and consider, “is this what we actually want?” Though the constant construction and closures are a hassle to live with, I think that most people keep their mouths shut about it because in the end we stand to gain from it. Sometimes it’s a bigger dorm room, sometimes it’s air conditioning, sometimes it’s just a new place to hang out. Through it all, there is one project on the boards that really sticks out to me: the demolition of Withrow Court. No matter how hard I dig, I can’t find any real benefit to this project. All of the other destruction on campus has been in the name of something bigger and better. Pristine fields and a Frisbee golf course gave way to huge new dorms in an ideal location on campus. The crowded basement of Shriver gave way to a colossus designed to seduce students into enrolling. Even looking back a few years, a historic dorm, deeply embedded into Miami’s past gave way to a much needed home for the business school. But after the oldest and largest of all of these, Withrow Court, is demolished, where is our happy ending? Where is our hundred million dollar edifice constructed to lure students to an already overcrowded university? It seems as if we won’t be getting one. Withrow Court, built in 1931 will be demolished in the summer of 2016 and its site will be left vacant. Sure the baseball team is getting a new couple million dollar locker room and there are talks of a new tennis center soon to be popping up but what about the rest of us? What about all the other programs that don’t get multimillion dollar budgets from the university? Where are we supposed to go? Now, I have to admit that I am a little biased on this issue. I am a member of the rowing
team and we call Withrow Court home when the waters of Acton Lake are unrowable. We keep our equipment in a shared closet with the club football team and get to use the upstairs hallway as our practice space. It’s not ideal, but at least it’s there. The building is so tightly scheduled that the only available space for us to use is a hallway. Yet we’re tearing it down without replacing it. After this year every program housed in Withrow court will have to find a new home. Do you like playing basketball at the rec? Well too bad because pretty soon it will be all reserved for intramural and club games. And good luck trying to gain access to any of the Varsity athletic facilities, they’re off limits to 99 percent of the students. Phillips Hall is already booked all day with kineisiology classes. It seems like the best option the rowing team will have is the possibility of using a tiny room on the site of the old Tallawanda High School for a few hours a week. Say goodbye to daily practices. Forget being able to offer two practices a day. I am writing this sitting in the balcony of the main gym at Withrow. There’s no air conditioning, most of the lights don’t work, and there’s a puddle on the ground from where the roof leaked in the rain last night. Yet, in a few minutes, I’ll have to find a new quiet place because the gym will be filled with club sports practices, intramurals, and pick-up games. It is probably in the worst shape out of any building on campus, yet it is still constantly in use. It all brings me back to my original question: what do we stand to gain from demolishing Withrow Court? Over the past 84 years it has quite possibly been the most used building on campus. From varsity basketball games, to early morning practices, dance marathons and even a visit from First Lady Michelle Obama, Withrow Court has been at the center of it all. It’s hard enough to watch the history and natural beauty of our university demolished on a daily basis, but at least when we’re getting something new out of it I can bite my tongue. It’s when we start throwing out the old just so we don’t have to deal with it that Miami will truly lose its history that we are so proud of.
ANDREW TEMPLEMAN TEMPLEAP@MIAMIOH.EDU
EDITORIAL@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
OPINION 7
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
A. J. NEWBERRY NEWBERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU
‘Crumbs’ make a life full of substance LIFE
ABBY BATES THE MIAMI STUDENT
This summer, like every other summer, it seems, was a crazy whirlwind. I packed up all of my essentials (many of which are not essential at all) and, with the help of my mother, stuffed it all into our two vehicles. I said goodbye to my family, friends and my new pup for the summer, and together my mom and I set off to begin my Charleston adventure. It was a moment I had been picturing since I accepted the position as an editorial intern at Charleston Magazine for the summer. It was sort of a dream come true to land an internship in such a great location. Whenever I pictured my summer in the South Carolina Lowcountry, I imagined a glamorous office, making instant friends with my fellow interns, and having endless fun by the beach, pool, or exploring downtown Charleston. But, this is real life. So, of course, nothing is perfect. I often let my imagination run wild when it comes to traveling to new places or trying something new. I build up all these wonderful little expectations that usually go left unfulfilled. In my mind, I am always brave, confident and ready to travel anywhere. In reality, I was stressed and nervous about packing, unpacking, starting a new job and controlling my finances. Instead of going to work every day in a fancy high-rise building, I was in a small, cramped, crumbling office. I made a few connections but I spent most of my time alone. I enjoyed the beach, pool and exploring downtown when I could, but found myself working a part time job most days when I was not at the magazine. I am hardly complaining, though, because this summer was one that I will never forget. Instead of all my self-important, inflated wishes and expectations being fulfilled, I learned many more valuable things beyond my work for the magazine. I learned how the salty ocean air or a great sunset could turn any bad day into a great one. I learned that it was OK if there was more sand than furniture in my apartment. That I could manage with less and be happy about it. I learned that there are some really awesome people in Charleston, at the magazine, at Copper Penny Shooz where I was blessed to work with the kindest staff and everywhere else in between. That even after a tragedy strikes, as with the horrific shooting that took the lives of nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown, people can still ban
together to show how hatred and evil can be overcome by grace and goodness. I learned to not let the fear of doing something alone stop me from doing what I want to do, because that only ends in regret. I also learned that while it’s important to get up and be productive, you don’t need to feel guilty for taking some time off for yourself. Most importantly, I learned what life has been telling me time and time again: that letting go of your expectations is the best way to live in the moment and appreciate your surroundings. I remember one night while my mom was still in Charleston helping me get settled she asked me what I did at work that day. I was about to tell her when she said, “Wait! Tell me later at dinner.” I tried to argue that it wasn’t worth waiting to tell, as I hadn’t done anything particularly interesting. “This is all we have,” she replied. “These are the crumbs of our lives!” She was somewhat joking, and I laughed at the time. But that sentence stuck with me. I realized it’s true: our whole lives are just made up of these tiny, little crumbs that we call ordinary life. Occasionally, something really exciting happens to us and we hit a walnut or big hunk of sourdough and we think, ‘yeah, our lives are really great!” But the rest of the time it’s just these little inconspicuous crumbs. Combined they’re wonderful, but it’s too easy to let them fall through the cracks. I think amid all the stress, packing, expectations and most of all, worry, I was overlooking all these great little crumbs around me. I wasn’t taking the time to properly savor them and taste all that they had to offer. This summer reminded me of what I already learned three years ago as a first-year when I pulled up to Thomson Hall on move-in day, and what many of you freshmen are probably realizing: change is hard. It causes our expectations to come crashing down. It rarely looks as glamourous as it does online, on paper, or even in our minds. Which is why you should drop all your expectations now, because nothing will ever go as you planned but before you know it you’ll be a nostalgic senior not ready to leave this beautiful place that now feels like home. You’ll learn things you never expected to learn and cherish those uneasy memories all the more because of it. No matter where we are in life, we’ve got to be brave with our lives. Get out of our comfort zones and explore. Just don’t forget to stop and savor the little moments along the way — these little crumbs.
Do not let our education be a tool for continuing a culture of violence and cruelty EDUCATION
KYLE HAYDEN DESIGN EDITOR
Education is hard. I have attended two different schools in Ohio and I found concurrent problems at both. In my classes in journalism, philosophy, art, architecture, media and culture, English and more recently urban planning, I find that professors and their syllabi teach one thing: disengagement. Preparation for employment is held as the chief objective of contemporary education. As an aside, look at the enrollment size and grandiosity of the business schools of various state and private colleges. It is easy to read the landscape of the university: we value banking, finance, business, capital and exploitation — above all else. The same is true of our cities: look at the tallest buildings of the skylines, they are bank towers, financial centers and headquarters for corporations. Our classes teach the history of problems, but don’t advocate their solutions. They don’t teach values. Sterile analysis and historical exclusivity are the status quo — subversive critique and inquiry are discouraged if not blatantly prohibited or ignored. They teach the history of the Holocaust, but don’t talk about moral corruption of the citizens of Weimar Germany via the massive propaganda machine that enabled it. Or the same propaganda machine assembled by George Creel to convince Americans to support the highly unpopular First World War. Professors (sometimes) talk about inequality and injustice on a systemic level in contemporary America, but don’t condemn the moral vacancy and immobilized sensibilities of American citizens. The same citizens who wrongly blame the poor for their “laziness, ineptitude and criminality.” Our education should instead address the issues of our economic arrangement (capitalism) as highly unfair, exploitative and resulting in inequality. This education takes an increasingly neutral stance as the victims are lined up before us in the news and in our cities. Moreover, I find my education teaches me about the results of these problems, but does not ask hard questions about their source, and how to correct them: to ensure they stop happening. If they don’t teach us how to fix them — that’s apparently what our free time must be for. But we certainly don’t use it to develop those ideas. Instead, we spend our weekends blasting inane, formulaic mu-
sic, making thought and conversation impossible; and inundating our bloodstreams with toxins and poison, guaranteeing we stay in a state of infinite numbness, both physically and intellectually. I know these academics, our professors, know the answers. So what makes them afraid of posing them? Is it that “not offending” a student who has an opinion rooted in false information would write a scathing email to the administration about how their worldview was expanded to consider some horrifically violent and unjust things that are still ongoing, oftentimes in our own country?
Our classes teach the history of problems, but don’t advocate their solutions. They don’t teach values. I was taught in the architecture school that projects were all about my personal gain. All the creativity, decisions and results were my responsibility: there was no Public — there were no systemic gentrification issues in architecture studio. There was no homelessness. There was no housing crisis. There was no talk of Modernism’s failure to provide social utopia. Instead, vague attention was given to the “beauty” of brutalist buildings and clean surfaces. My studio instructors taught a model of architecture antithetical to its original mission: beauty and shelter for everyone. We were encouraged to think of our budgets as “unlimited,” as if our client were some corporate villain with an unlimited stream of disposable income. In journalism, I felt the courses were little more than public relations with a notebook and pen. We learned of the history and work of muckrakers like Ida Tarbell. Students were not encouraged to perform the courageous, rigorous and daunting task of investigative, hard questioning of those in power, ensuring their promises of democracy and fairness. In art school, our training prepared us to illustrate and design for advertising agencies and firms. Art was reduced to a department of the office: of convincing people they weren’t good enough, that they needed this super-bubbly toothpaste or this larger, shinier television. Art was no longer upheld as a tool for making people see the world in a way they formerly didn’t. It was no longer political. It was no longer subversive. The lack of considerations of these realities reveal in the fabric of my courses that it’s OK to gradu-
ate and flounder into a job or career investing in the primacy of the self over others — that is, whatever happens to me is of utmost importance. To scrawl the thinly veiled defense, “I was just doing my job,” while billions are suffering around the globe, a surpising amount of whom live in the United States. This absence of teaching moral values inculcates individuality, selfishness and cruelty. It supports the same power structure that enables atrocities in our world. Theodor Adorno wrote in “Education after Auschwitz,” an essay in his book entitled “Prisms” of the moral corruption of German citizens before the Holocaust that remained “largely unchanged,” after the war — he said if these moral sensibilities remained unexamined, unchanged, they would always lead to another Auschwitz. Adorno wrote that schools must teach more than skills, they must teach values. In 2010, The University of Washington was required to reduce their budget by 10 percent. Instead of imposing cuts across the board, the administration just abolished the theatre and philosophy departments. Last year, The North Wind, a student publication at Northern Michigan University, lost its adviser — and its only applicant for editor in chief was rejected. The administration of NMU, which hold dominion over the former decisions, didn’t like the paper’s recent FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests. If student journalism isn’t allowed to use legal avenues of investigation, what does that say about college administrations? That they support fascism and totalitarianism, all while simultaneously saying they are the instructors of “critical thinking,” “inquiry” and “ academic integrity”? Sheldon Wolin refers to this as “inverted totalitarianism,” where a system and its constituents appropriate the values of an established paradigm (in this case, democracy, freedom, education) while simultaneously violating them. What do these values mean to us anymore, if anything? Adorno feared a society that rejected the moral considerations associated with increasingly complex and difficult-to-face realities in exchange for a childish, hyper-masculine stance on world issues. The United States must keep involving itself in armed conflicts around the world because of a failure to resolve issues with diplomacy and reason. If we just accept the workings of the world as natural law, by association, we agree to particiapte in a continuation of its ongoing violence — we will have failed as human beings to learn how to better our society.
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Due to an editor’s error, a student organization was incorrectly identified in a photo caption on the front page of the Friday, Aug. 28 issue. The two people clothed in the attire of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, an organization that focuses on historical reenactment. The group does not engage in LARPing.
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FROM FOOTBALL »PAGE 10
best in-line TE, but can also run and catch. David has a presence both on and off the ball, and Ryan can do the same. Martin said to expect to often see two tight ends on the field. Offensive Line It’s tough to say much at this point because they’ve gotten beat up so much. Redshirt senior Trevan Brown and junior Collin Buchanan will start at tackle, and senior Brandyn Cook is the center. The guards are to be determined. Martin joked that the offensive line has been a “revolving door” because of injuries. Whoever is healthy has been starting at right guard during practice. However, Martin expects to have players back in good health before the opener Saturday. Defensive Line Six starters from 2014 return: Seniors Mitch Winters, Kert Kern and
9
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Bryson Albright, redshirt juniors JT Jones and Jimmy Rousher and redshirt senior Joe Donlan. Jones and Albright are the bookends to this defense. According to Martin, if you’re not noticing Jones and Albright, Miami is probably not having a good game. Winters, redshirt sophomore AJ Burdine and sophomore Ikeem Allen provide good depth inside. Redshirt junior Austin Gearing offers an interesting storyline: in 2013, he started three games at quarterback. Two years later, his weight has increased from 212 to 250 pounds and he’ll play as a backup defensive end. Secondary Junior Heath Harding and redshirt junior Marshall Taylor are to the secondary what Jones and Albright are to the line. They have experience, and they’re play-makers. In 2014, Harding started every game at safety, notched two interceptions and led the team with 98 tackles. “With the two edge guys
and the two guys behind them, if they’re out there and they’re making plays, we got a chance to have a pretty good day,” Martin said. Redshirt senior Brison Burris returns at safety after missing the entire 2014 with a knee injury. He’s expected to play a major role in the secondary this year. The ’Hawks are counting on Buchi Okafor at field safety. The junior has never played in that position before, but he has a lot of ability and talent. Sophomore Tony Reid will play with starters too. The entire defense consists of young players, so there’s a chance players will fall out of position at times. However, they’ll also force opportunities to make plays and get off the field, whether it’s a sack, causing a fumble, batting a ball down or an interception. Captains Kent Kern, Brandyn Cook, Brison Burris, Bryson Albright, JT Jones, Trevan Brown, Rokeem Williams
FROM HARRIER’S »PAGE 3
quality of the food. “Fresher food isn’t the problem, it’s how the food is prepared,” Lawrence said. The Harrier’s Nest didn’t have an oven, so they had to rely on a boiler, a flat top grill and fryers. When they wanted to keep something heated, there was no oven to go to so they kept it in the warmers. Even if the kitchen had the proper equipment, there would be nowhere to put it. Henry referred to the kitchen as a “concession stand.” The renovations in Schwarm aren’t the only changes occurring at Miami Hamilton. The Cashiers Office at Mosler Hall, where the Office of Admission and Financial Aid is housed, expanded and construction at the front of Rentschler Hall, where academic advising is located, is underway.
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10 SPORTS
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Gearing up for RedHawk football: Season preview FOOTBALL
GRACE REMINGTON SPORTS EDITOR
The Miami University football team opens its 127th season on Saturday against Presbyterian College. Head coach Chuck Martin enters his second year at Miami’s helm with a young squad — 62 members of the 110-man roster are either redshirt or true freshmen. The RedHawks finished the 2014 season 2-10 (2-6 Mid-American Conference), after finishing 0-12 (0-8 MAC) in 2013. Below is a position-by-position preview for the season. Quarterback All three QBs will play — that’s the short-term plan. Fifth-year senior Drew Kummer is the current starter, while red-shirt freshman Gus Ragland and true freshman Billy Bahl need time to mature. Martin said it’s probably unlikely to have all three play all year, so for longterm, if one guy clearly wins the job or two of them are dead-even, that’s the direction the team will go.
Each quarterback has different skill sets: Kummer is a traditional QB, Ragland is a runner, Bahl is a 6-foot-4, 248-pound threat in every way. Each can be used to attack a defense in different ways, so until conference play, Martin may play each on a case-by-case basis. As for who’s looked the best in practice, it’s drill-by-drill. Ragland and Bahl have never seen a varsity snap, while Kummer has completed 22-of-58 passes for 320 yards and one touchdown during his Miami tenure. Martin said the QB situation is unique because two of the possible starters are freshmen. If two older players were competing for the job, there might be a clear-cut winner. But for now, Martin wants to keep developing them and avoid stunting their growth. Wide Receivers The receiving core consists of five playmakers: redshirt juniors Rokeem Williams and Fred McRae IV, redshirt sophomore Jared Murphy, sophomore Sam Martin and redshirt freshman Chris Hudson.
Murphy (42 catches, 600 yards, four TDs) and Williams (35 catches, 682 yards, three TDs) had the most production last year. McRae
big-time threat down the field and in the redzone, but needs to keep developing. After all, Hudson has not played a varsity game yet. All
ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT
took off at the end of last year, and Sam Martin had a breakout rookie year. Hudson is young and extremely talented. He has great ball skills and always finds a way to get open — but that may be because of his 6-foot-6, 226-pound stature. NFL scouts are already after him. He’s a
five have a chance on any given read to be the go-to guy. Other noticeables include redshirt senior Alvanta Jenkins and redshirt junior Sam Shisso. Both Jenkins and Shisso have fewer playing opportunities, but are more than capable of making plays. They’ll also be on the
field every week. Running Backs Redshirt freshmen Alonzo Smith and Kenny Young and redshirt junior Spencer McInnis are the starters. Martin compared McInnis to Kummer and the QB situation: “Spencer is our Kummer. He does a lot of things right, but we have two redshirt freshmen that are talented and every time they get out there, they gotta get reps.” McInnis rushed for 249 yards on 64 attempts in 2014. Young fights his way through holes and can haul in short passes. Freshmen Leonard Ross and Maurice Thomas will get touches too. Four RBs have four years of eligibility left, which means Martin will focus on throwing them into games to develop. Tight Ends Redshirt freshman Nate Becker, sophomore Ryan Smith and senior Orlando David will start. The team isn’t looking to play freshman Alexx Zielinski in anytime soon, FOOTBALL »PAGE 9
Don’t forget baseball as you anticipate football COLUMN
JACK REYERING It’s that time of year again. Having been in Oxford for over a week now, most of us have settled into our weekly routines. Most of us look forward to nothing more throughout the course of the summer than returning to our beloved Oxford. For sports fans, the beginning of the school year marks more than the return of our friends and a routine of weekend night debauchery. Football is just around the bend. When we were kids, baseball signified the good times: summer vacations, swimming pools and lack of homework. Now as college students, baseball subconsciously reminds us of internships, summer jobs and mindlessly binge watching every episode of “The Office” for the third time. It’s not surprising that college students anticipate football now more than ever. It marks the return of the good times, afterall. This is the most anticipated time of year for many sports fans across America. Professional and college football have become the cornerstone of American sports. Cover-
age and speculation dominates our favorite sports programs during the weeks leading up to kickoff. Fans engage in ritualistic activities like tailgates and fantasy drafts for the first time in nearly seven months. The American sports world is gearing up the boys of fall. As we prepare for the return of gridiron battles and two-minute drills, let’s not forget about America’s richest and most historic sporting tradition: baseball. I had numerous conversations with friends and colleagues about baseball over the summer. Later in the season, during mid-July, I heard a co-worker say something along the lines of “I hate this time of year. Nothing is going on in sports.” I cringed, opened my mouth and lifted my pointer finger, ready to defend the sport I love. But I decided to take the high road and bit my tongue instead. He was so wrong. Here are just a few reasons why baseball deserves a portion of your wide-capacity sporting attention: The 2015 MLB season has been one of the most exciting and strange seasons in recent memory. For many of the cities with pipelines to Oxford, there is much to watch as the
regular season winds down. Look no further than the National League Central, and you’ll find three or four teams who share homes with many Miami students (Cincinnati, Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis). The Reds left the mix after we celebrated the birthdate of our nation, so that still leaves three teams. St. Louis is … St. Louis. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have held the best record in baseball for much of the year and have all but locked up home field advantage for the NLDS. The more intriguing battle in the NL Central is being waged between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. Thanks to a no-hitter from Jake Arrieta on Sunday, the Cubs are sitting in the second wild card spot in the NL, 5.5 games ahead of the hot-and-cold Giants. Speaking of no-hitters, there have been six of them this year. There have been 11 in the past two seasons combined. Arrieta was magical Sunday as he struck out 12, including the final three batters. Justin Verlander was three outs short of throwing the third no-hitter of his career last week, and numerous other pitchers have flirted with no-no’s this year. The record for no-hitters in a single season is seven. With over a month
Miami fails to deliver twice over weekend SOCCER
HARRISON SCHWARZ STAFF WRITER
The Miami University women’s soccer team fell to 2-2 after dropping two games over the weekend. Missed opportunities led to a 2-0 loss against Valparaiso University on Friday, and a two-goal deficit in the first 18 minutes became a 2-1 loss against Evansville University on Sunday. Head coach Bobby Kramig is still optimistic and sees a bright future ahead for his squad. “We are a good team struggling with some issues right now,” Kramig said. “We’ll work through it, and I have no doubt we’ll emerge in good shape. There’s nothing here that can’t
be fixed and I am fully confident in our team’s ability to rise to the challenge and turn things around.” Miami had plenty of opportunities to win against the Crusaders (1-2), but were unable to take advantage. The Redhawks outshot Valpo 15-5 and held possession for most of the first-half. In the 27th minute, a penalty against senior midfielder Jess Bronke in the box allowed Valparaiso freshman midfielder Rita Craven to score a penalty kick for the first goal of the game. Valpo freshman forward April Cronin made the lead 2-0 with an unassisted goal in the 53rd minute after a broken play from Miami. Despite outshooting Valpo 9-2 in the second half, MU was unable to overcome to deficit.
After a day off, the Redhawks traveled to Evansville (1-3) on Sunday. A slow start found the ’Hawks down 2-0 after 18 minutes. Evansville freshman forward Sarah Osinski scored in the 13th minute, and freshman defender Olivia Shafer pegged in a header off a corner kick in the 18th minute. MU rebounded in the 69th minute when freshman midfielder Korrie Sauder scored on a cross from junior midfielder Stephanie Dillon. The goal rejuvenated the offense, but the Purple Aces’ defense was too strong and stopped all five of MU’s second-half shots. The RedHawks play Wright State in Dayton, Ohio on Friday and Florida International University on Sunday in Oxford for Senior Day.
to go in the regular season, that record could be broken. If you like spectacular pitching, this is your kind of year. Take a look at any 2015 pitching statistics page, and I guarantee you will have double-take. Nineteen pitchers have ERAs under 3.00 this year. Zach Greinke has been inhumane to batters, boasting a 1.61 ERA this season. You could write a whole article on his change-up alone – people have, in fact – but the overarching theme is he is really good and getting better. Watch for Greinke to make pitching history this season, as he looks to become the first pitcher since 1968 to end the season with an ERA under 1.50. Back to the NL Central. Sitting 5 games ahead of the Cubbies are the Buccos. Assuming these two clubs play solid baseball for the remainder of the regular season (a tall assumption, I know), we are in for a great playoff battle down the stretch. The two teams meet seven more times this regular season, including a crucial three-game series during the last week of September in Chicago. The results of that series and the final six games following will likely have huge implications as to who gets home field advan-
JACK REYERING
REYERIJW@MIAMIOH.EDU
TWOMINUTE DRILL:
BEA DECHANT to come here.
Favorite Miami memory
Position: Midfielder
Year: Senior
Hometown: Mannheim, Germany
How long have you been playing field hockey? I have been playing Field Hockey since I was 3 years old. My siblings used to play, and since my mother did not have anybody to babysit me, she just took me to their practices and I started playing on the sideline with a ball and stick. When I was finally old enough to join the club, I did. Ever since, I’ve loved this sport and came all the way to the U.S. to pursue my passion because in Germany, athletes are not well-supported, which means you have to make a decision at some point whether you want to continue with your sport or focus on your academics. But in the U.S. it works out to play a sport and study and that is why I chose IAN MARKER THE MIAMI STUDENT
tage for the dreaded one-game wild card playoff round. Over in the American League, another team with hometown ties to many Miami students is shaking things up in the wild card standings. The Cleveland Indians are on a miniature tear in the AL Central, winning eight of their last ten. Although they are out of contention for the Central title, they find themselves only 5 games out of the second wild card spot in the AL. Their remaining schedule is tough; 10 of their final 33 games are against teams in first place in their respective divisions. However, the Indians are playing some of their best baseball during crunch time. So while we are all excited for the football gladiators to take the field, remember that your favorite NFL or college team plays once a week. There’s a good chance the boys of summer from your hometown will have life beyond the regular season, and they’ll be playing almost every day. And if you’re like me, with no dogs in the fight, you can still appreciate the little things in baseball and the re-writing of sports almanacs.
Winning the MAC Tournament sophomore year. I will never forget the moment when I could finally hug my mom after we won because she came all the way from Germany to see me playing.
If you could spend the day with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? I would always pick my mother because she supports me so much, and I am so far away from home.
Funniest teammate We have a lot of different characters on the team, but Geagy Pritchard definitely makes me laugh the most.
Weird pregame rituals Eating Bob Evans
Something people don’t know about you/secret talent or hobby I like any kind of ball sports. For example, I love to play soccer, volleyball or ice hockey in my free time.
If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose? Being able to live in two places at the same time (Germany and USA)