April, 25, 2017 | The Miami Student

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ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2017

Volume 145 №38

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

CUSTER BEING CONSIDERED FOR STEM CELL STUDY

ASG FILLS NEW CABINET

WSU student fractured spine at Oxford party

JACK EVANS MANAGING EDITOR

ASG

INJURY

EMILY WILLIAMS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ryan Custer, a Wright State University student who was severely injured at an Oxford party, is being considered for a stem cell study at Rush University Hospital in Chicago. The 19-yearold, a first-year forward for the Raiders’ varsity basketball team, will be evaluated for five days before doctors determine if he qualifies for the study. Custer suffered a severe spinal injury after jumping into a makeshift pool at a party on S. Main Street on Saturday, April 8. Custer collided with another person’s knee when he slid into the pool, causing the injury. Custer was immediately transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he underwent surgery on his spine that night. Feeling in Custer’s legs has not returned, and he has only recently regained some movement in his fingers. Custer was transported from the UC Medical Center to Rush Hospital on Sunday, April 22. According to a post from the Ryan Custer Recovery Care Page, a Facebook page updated almost daily by Custer’s family, he spent the first day in Chicago getting acclimated in his new room in Rush’s ICU and meeting the doctor who will lead the study, Dr. Richard Fessler. Dr. Fessler, a renowned spinal surgeon, has focused his research on developing and refining new ways to perform minimally invasive spinal surgeries. In 2010, Fessler performed surgery on former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, which Custer was happy to learn, the post said. The five-day period of testing began Monday, and, if selected for the study, treatment for Custer will begin on Friday. The study, called the SCiStar study, will evaluate how the injection of AST-OPC1, particular neural cells produced from human embryonic stem cells, at a single time 14 to 30 days after an injury can benefit the patient’s recovery. According to the SCiStar webpage, the study’s researchers are seeking adults between the ages of 18 and 69 who recently experienced a spinal cord injury in the neck which resulted in a loss of feeling below the site of the injury in addition to some paralysis in the arms and legs. HBO has contacted Dr. Fessler about following a patient through this research process. “Ryan thinks it would be cool to do it, so we said yes,” an CUSTER » PAGE 10

RYAN TERHUNE PHOTO EDITOR

Dustin Hornbeck, a Miami doctoral student and chief organizer ofThe Oxford Science March climbs onstage before an estimated crowd of 450 . See the photo story online at miamistudent.net

Hundreds gather for satellite ‘March for Science’ in Uptown Oxford SCIENCE

MEGAN ZAHNEIS SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Oxford joined over 600 cities in 69 countries in hosting a March for Science event on Saturday, April 22, internationally recognized as Earth Day. The satellite march in Oxford was attended by hundreds and featured a slate of speakers from the university community, including the mayor of Oxford, Miami’s provost and an Associated Student Government (ASG) cabinet member. That guest list was the handiwork of Dustin Hornbeck, a first-year doctoral student in Miami’s educational leadership program. Though the flagship March event occurred in Washington, D.C., Hornbeck was inspired to coordinate an Oxford edition after seeing

a friend do the same at the University of Michigan. Hornbeck, a former high school history and government teacher who also led his school district’s teachers’ union, admits to not being a “huge marcher,” but felt compelled by recent political actions to take action. “Trying to join people together as a community of citizens who share common ideals, about the idea that science is a good thing for humanity and that the environment ought to be protected, was what I really had in mind,” Hornbeck said. In mid-February, Hornbeck enlisted sophomore Max Leveridge, president of Miami’s Environmental Appreciation Club, for help planning the march. Leveridge was uniquely qualified for the job, as a triple-major in environmental earth science, environmental science and sustainability, and he needed no convincing from

Humans of Oxford Florida Wu: Sunshine State of mind

Hornbeck. “Science in and of itself is extremely important because it allows us to look into why the world is what it is, why stuff happens why it does,” Leveridge said. “For Oxford to get behind that, it shows unity between the community and the university.” Together, Leveridge and Hornbeck coordinated details of Saturday’s event, which began with participants meeting outside Armstrong Student Center at 11:30 a.m. Participants marched to Slant Walk, with Hornbeck leading chants via megaphone along the way. The crowd clustered in the grass along Slant Walk, braving windy weather for an hourlong rally. Among the speakers were Kate Rousmaniere, Oxford’s mayor and a historian, university provost Phyllis Callahan, ASG Secretary for Academic MARCH » PAGE 3

Miami’s Associated Student Government elected representatives for the five remaining 2017-2018 executive cabinet positions last Tuesday at its penultimate senate session of the 2016-2017 school year. Juniors Alex Wortman, Sean Perme and Quentin McCorvey were elected by the senate to serve as secretaries for infrastructure and sustainability, off-campus affairs and diversity affairs, respectively. Senate elected two firstyears to the cabinet: Secretary for Communications and Media Relations Gaby Meissner and Secretary for Academic Affairs Annika Fowler. Perme, Meissner and Fowler all served as ASG senators for the 2016-2017 school year. Wortman served on the senate during his first year at Miami, and McCorvey has served as an academic senator for the school of Education Health and Society since a special election in February. All five students elected will be paid $3,550 with a small, annual percentage increase, according to ASG bylaws. Two special positions were also filled during Tuesday’s meeting. Junior Jack Fetick, this year’s Speaker of the Senate, was elected to serve as next year’s parliamentarian, removing his cabinet status, but making him a voting member of the senate. Hana Hall was elected to the position of Speaker Pro Tempore of the Senate. Results of today’s senatorial races, as well as information about previous elections for 2017-2018 cabinet positions, can be found online at miamistudent.net.

Credits required for graduation reduced for next academic year Provost grants exceptions to engineering programs ACADEMICS

SAMANTHA BRUNN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Miami University Bachelor Degree programs are required to reduce their credit hour requirements from 128 to 124 for the 2017-2018 school year and onward. In May 2015, the Ohio Department of Higher Education determined that Bache-

lor Degree programs must not require more than 126 credit hours for completion, unless additional coursework is needed to meet professional accreditation or licensing requirements, according to the Guidelines and Procedures for Academic Program Review Manual (Directive 2015-016) from the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Carolyn Haynes, associate provost for undergradu-

ate education, explained why there was lag time between the state mandate and Miami’s actions to comply with the policy. “Miami received the new copy of the policy on May 1, 2015,” Haynes said. “So, we were not able to begin discussions among the academic leadership until Fall 2015.” Haynes said the Academic Policy Committee identified CREDITS » PAGE 10

JUGAL JAIN THE MIAMI STUDENT

PROFILE

KEVIN VESTAL THE MIAMI STUDENT For Florida Wu, finding somewhere to go for spring break was a no-brainer. The answer was in her name. During the semester, Florida saved up money by stocking shelves at MacCracken’s Market Street. Customers commented on her name tag, but Florida admitted she’d never visited the Sunshine

State. At least she hadn’t yet. Florida picked her American name while attending Beijing Huijia Private School, months before she enrolled at Miami University. “In China, no one is named Beijing,” Florida said. “I picked Florida because it’s like the sun and my brother said it would be special.” While the flight to Orlando wasn’t cheap, it was her best HUMANS » PAGE 10

JANUS Forum rescheduled, new speaker, location announced EVENT

ERICA EDWARDS TESS SOHNGEN THE MIAMI STUDENT

The steering committee of Miami University’s JANUS Forum will host two speakers who will discuss the mounting conflict between the #blacklivesmatter and #bluelives-

matter movements at 6 p.m. this Thursday in the Farmer School of Business’s Taylor Auditorium. The event was originally scheduled earlier this month and was set to feature political commentator Heather Mac Donald and documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter. However, due to illness, the event was postponed. In

NEWS p. 2

CULTURE p. 4

SCIENCE p. 6

EDITORIAL p. 12

SPORTS p. 14

TRUSTEES VOTE FOR $6 MILLION CONTRACT

FARMER’S MARKET FOSTERS OXFORD ARTS SCENE

THE BUZZ ABOUT MIAMI’S NEW CLUB

CRITIQUING NEW DIVERSITY STATEMENT

WOMEN’S BASEBALL CLUB HOSTS CLINIC

Funds to renovate and expand parking lots for central campus.

Local artisans have a vision for the future of public art in Oxford.

Students revive apicultural interest in Oxford, a beekeeping landmark.

“Overall, the statement focuses the ‘why’ and neglects the ‘how.’”

The scrimmage was the first official event for the new club sport.

Porter’s place, former governor of Maryland and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley will be speaking. The Black Lives Matter movement, is “a national organization working for the validity of black life,” and that actively works to “(re)build” JANUS » PAGE 10

CROSSWORD PUZZLE See p. 5


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