ESTABLISHED 1826 – OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
The Miami Student TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2015 WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET
VOLUME 144 NO. 13
Alumni bear burden of fraternity suspensions
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
City officials suspect MU dining behind waste influx CITY
JAMES STEINBAUER OPINION EDITOR
PRIVALI KOTHAKOTA THE MIAMI STUDENT
The Alpha chapter of Sigma Chi was suspended in 2012. Last year, Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) occupied the house. GREEK
MAGGIE CALLAGHAN THE MIAMI STUDENT
Miami University has attracted attention this fall as the university cracked down on three fraternities after incidents from last semester. Due to those sanctions, three more fraternity houses, plus the four other houses already sanctioned, sit vacant in Oxford. Of the 25 fraternities represented on Miami’s campus, seven have been forced to leave their houses by the university, their fraternity’s national headquarters or both. Sophomore members of the fraternities sanctioned last spring or this summer currently live in dorms. Those who live in the fraternity house are responsible for paying the dues that go toward the maintenance and operations of the house. When members are not living in the house and pay for on-campus housing rather than fraternity housing, alumni carry the burden of covering the mortgage and maintenance of the fraternity house. This is a huge financial burden for alumni, as some fraternity houses in Oxford cost upward of $1 million. Jenny Levering is the director of Student Activities and the Cliff Alexander Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Levering said that,
depending on the situation, the Cliff Office will facilitate discussions between the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution (OESCR) and the Greek organization’s national headquarters to ensure that every party is informed about the situation. The H.O.M.E office is then responsible for notifying sophomores about changes to housing, if necessary. Three of those seven fraternities, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Nu and Kappa Sigma, have sophomore members living in Miami University dorms this year because their suspensions began in the spring or summer. According to the Butler County Auditor website, the Sigma Nu house on Tallawanda Road is valued at $1,134,830. The Sigma Nu chapter at Miami University was officially suspended on April 20 of this year, and will not be recognized again until March 2018. No members are living in the house during this time. Austin Worrell, one of the sophomores in Sigma Nu, expressed his disappointment about not getting to live in the fraternity house. “The Sigma Nu house became like a second home for us last semester and now we are missing out on living there with over 50 of our closest friends and brothers,” said
Worrell. “It sits empty, filled with history and tradition, that for this year we cannot be a part of nor contribute to.” Because members of Sigma Nu are not paying dues during their suspension period, alumni members have had to step in. According to public documents obtained by The Miami Student, this was one of the main concerns of Miami’s Sigma Nu alumni board. In a letter to Rose Marie Ward, chair of the University Appeals Board, the alumni board said Sigma Nu’s annual housing costs run between $80,000 and $90,000. These costs come from mortgage payments, real estate taxes, utilities, general maintenance of the house, long-term vendor/provider contracts and building security, according to the letter. “Our non-profit organization is unable to meet these costs without any corresponding revenue,” they wrote. In a separate letter written to Ward, junior and former Sigma Nu president Will Ives said that, before suspension, these housing costs were met by rent payments from student members, which amounted to $400,000 annually. “Without the rent payments of FRAT HOUSES »PAGE 8
PRIVALI KOTHAKOTA, TYLER RIGG THE MIAMI STUDENT
Miami’s Kappa Sigma and Beta Theta Pi chapters are suspended. Beta (right) rents its house to two fraternities.
NEWS p. 2
NEWS p. 3
ACADEMIC ADVISING MAKES IMPROVEMENTS
HOSPITAL DONATION LEADS TO RENOVATION
Following survey results, Miami’s academic advising seeks to improve process
Donation from McCulloughHyde namesake allows for better ER, operating rooms
TODAY in MIAMI HISTORY
CULTURE p. 4
Oxford officials believe Miami University could be improperly disposing its food waste, putting unnecessary stress on the city’s wastewater treatment plant. This year, the city’s treatment plant has experienced an increase in suspended solids — miniscule waste particles floating in water. Although small, these particles can have harmful consequences on Oxford’s wastewater treatment plant. The treatment plant was designed to process water with suspended solids levels around 250 mg/L and city sewage comes at or under this threshold. Samples from under Sycamore Street and Brookview Court show suspended solids levels of 255 mg/L and 190 mg/L, respectively. Sewage from Miami dining facilities, however, contains levels nearly 10 times higher — 2,235 mg/L from Miami’s Western Dining Hall and 1,700 mg/L from Garden Commons. Oxford Director of Public Services Michael Dreisbach said the amount of suspended solids was not as high last semester. “Something has occurred between spring and fall semester to put the system out of whack and give us these increased numbers,” he said. “Clearly, Miami’s dining facilities are contributing to this
problem.” Dreisbach said Miami’s systems should be catching this waste long before it gets to the city’s treatment plant. “This waste should not be entering the sanitary system,” he said. “It’s prohibited and should be removed by their filters, but that does not appear to be working properly.” City officials are concerned because this influx of suspended solids is causing an imbalance in the heart of Oxford’s wastewater treatment plant. Increased waste means an increase in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), the amount of oxygen aerobic bacteria needs to break down organic matter in water. In other words, without oxygen, iron will not rust — the same goes for the decomposition of food waste. Oxford’s wastewater treatment plant relies on this process. The plant uses a series of redwood slabs covered in aerobic bacteria that feed on and destroy microscopic waste particles in the water. If the balance between these bacteria and the waste’s BOD is upset, the wastewater treatment plant could lose its federal permit. The Clean Water Act requires that every municipal wastewater treatment plant obtain a permit that regulates the pollutants discharged into U.S. waters — in Oxford’s WATER »PAGE 8
Staff cuts responsible for slow maintenance results FACILITIES
JACK CHRISTIANSON THE MIAMI STUDENT
Tasked to repair everything from bed rails to circuit breakers, the maintenance works of Miami have become increasingly understaffed, and as a result, their request system has become unorganized. Mike Seebock, a customer services coordinator in the Facilities Operations Center, sees the morale among his employees fall every year. “[Physical facilities] is the most dysfunctional group I’ve worked with, [and] I’m 43,” Seebock said. When Seebock started at Miami 12 years ago, there were 16 people in his department. Now, there are only four. Receiving over 150 work orders a day and 1,600 a week, the workload is even more overwhelming when a coworker calls in sick. David Creamer, director of finance and business services, said the staff was reduced to better implement efficiency and keep tuition more affordable. Seebock also said physical facilities has become less organized over the years. “I wish it went back to [division
by] residence hall,” Seebock said. Assignments used to be divided north or south of High Street. Now, requests cover all of campus. Seebock offered insight into the prioritization of maintenance requests. “If the student submits a normal request, I glance at the request and schedule them for a repair,” Seebock said. “If [the student] sends an urgent request, my manager is notified and [the problem] is fixed as soon as possible. If it’s important, they’ll call.” “I’m surprised we haven’t had more complaints this academic year,” he added. First-year Jake Carlson had a disagreeable experience with physical facilities. When he arrived on campus the first weekend, his top bunk bed had no protective rail, so he placed a maintenance request. “Two weeks passed and I still had no railing. I fell out of my bed one night and placed another request, this time as urgent. I went another two weeks without a railing until I came back to [my] room and saw it installed.” Carlson was unimpressed by the MAINTENANCE »PAGE 5
OPINION p. 6
SPORTS p. 10
LAPTOP STICKERS FORM OF STUDENT EXPRESSION
BOARD DESCRIBES UPTOWN BUSINESS WISHLIST
MIAMI HOCKEY SPLITS FIRST HOME SERIES
Writer explores the many labels, locales and leisure activities seen on laptops
In light of the empty storefronts Uptown, Editorial Board names ideal options
RedHawks win one, lose one against defending national champions Providence
On this day in 1979, several Uptown businesses were threatened with heavy fines, revocation of liquor licenses and jail time for illegally delivering alcoholic beverages. Today, several businesses in Oxford deliver alcohol, including Johnny’s Deli and the U Shop.