The Miami Student | February 13, 2018

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Volume 146 No. 17

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

NEW CAMPAIGN RULES MEAN FEWER DOLLARS, VIOLATIONS IN STUDENT BODY ELECTIONS ASG

JACK EVANS

MANAGING EDITOR

THREE LOCAL THIRD-GRADERS ADDRESS THE COMMUNITY AT SUNDAY’S ‘NOT IN OUR TOWN’ MEETING. JUGAL JAIN THE MIAMI STUDENT

Oxford holds ‘Not in Our Town’ interest meeting OXFORD

CÉILÍ DOYLE

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

On Sunday afternoon, three students from Ms. Pearson’s third-grade class at Kramer Elementary — Noel, Oliver and Paul — stood in front of a group of mostly strangers.

The boys shuffled back and forth in front of the crowded community room of the LCNB National Bank, but spoke with passion and wisdom beyond their years.

Noel waved his hands together with enthusiasm, sporting a “Black is Beautiful” t-shirt, and addressing a group of

Oxford and Miami University leaders including Mayor Kate Rousmaniere, Renate Crawford and city council member Chantel Raghu.

“I first heard about white nationalism on the radio and thought that was something I didn’t want to happen to anyone else,” Noel said. “You know, my dad immigrated from Cuba and married my mom, and then they had me, but I don’t want white nationalism to stop anyone else from being able to do that.”

The boys explained that, throughout the past several months, they created a series of videos and surveys and a website dedicated to educating their fellow classmates about the perils of hate speech, rac-

Dating with ‘OK Crupid’

ism and prejudice against people who are different from themselves.

Rousmaniere, alongside Miami’s director of the Office of Community Engagement Services (OCES), Christie Zwahlen, and Oxford residents Sabrina Jewell and Ellen Weisman organized for the boys to speak Uptown on Feb. 11 during a “Not In Our Town” (NIOT) interest meeting.

NIOT is a national movement that originated in 1995 when citizens in Billings, Montana stood in solidarity with their neighbors who were victims of hate crimes.

The movement spread throughout the

This spring, candidates for student body president will face tighter spending caps and more lenient rules for election violations.

Miami Associated Student Government (ASG) Senate passed the new election guidelines in their Feb. 6 session. Two proposed amendments and a lengthy floor debate pushed the meeting toward the three-hour mark.

The most contentious change was the reduction of the general election spending limit from $1,500 in 2017 to $1,000 this year. The decrease was proposed as a way to minimize the impact of a student’s personal wealth on their success in an election, said the authors of the bill, including Speaker of the Senate Cole Hankins and Senator Trent White, who both defended the changes during debate.

Some senators, however, felt the cuts didn’t go far enough.

Senators Nick Froehlich and Zoe Douglas each floated amendments reducing the spending caps even further.

Neither proposal received enough votes to make it to the floor.

“By the speaker’s admission, they said that you are at a disadvantage if you are a low-income student, and you’re trying to win this election,” said Froehlich, who ran for student body president in 2017. “That’s an understatement.”

Froehlich wasn’t the only former

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The guys who make it and the guys who don’t SPORTS

EMILY SIMANSKIS SPORTS EDITOR

ILLUSTRATION: CONNOR WELLS

ROMANCE

KEVIN VESTAL

THE MIAMI STUDENT

A list of names flashed on the TV screen, some familiar to Monica Touby, others less so. One by one, a group of amateur matchmakers paired the names into compatible couples. In an age of dating apps and algorithms, the matchmakers relied on intuition and Facebook stalking to create the best combinations.

A total of 32 couples took part in this year’s Ok Crupid dating event. While some members of Cru, the campus Christian ministry, found a new spark on Saturday, many more gained new friends.

In order to alleviate the potential awkwardness of first encounters, Ok Crupid followed a double date format.

This set a casual tone to the evening while allowing established couples to also take part.

“Dating shouldn’t be this big to-do,” Monica said. “You’re just getting to know someone, you don’t have to be in love them.”

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NEWS P.3

‘ON THE MEDIA’ JOURNALIST TALKS TRUTH Media critic Brooke Gladstone will speak on campus Thursday.

Defenseman Grant Hutton often feeds forward Josh Melnick for transitions out of Miami’s defensive zone.

Melnick may dump the puck, and forward Karch Bachman will use his speed to try to make space in the offensive zone. Forward Carson Meyer may then jump off the bench for a line change and, if defenseman Louie Belpedio is pinching, Meyer might find Belpedio in front of the net.

Sometimes the puck goes in, sometimes it doesn’t.

Sometimes 18- to 20-year-olds are drafted by the National Hockey League, sometimes they’re not.

Regardless, every Monday through Thursday, 28 guys will trickle into Goggin Ice Center before 1 p.m. Twenty-eight hockey players lace up their skates for practice around 2 p.m. and spill onto the ice at the Steve ‘Coach’ Cady Arena. Four are goalies, eight are defensemen and 16 are forwards.

Three are drafted to the NHL. Twenty-five are not. They treat each other the same. The coaches treat them all the same. You can’t tell who’s who.

“I don’t really think about that too much,” Melnick says. “I just come to the rink every day and am excited because it’s my passion. I love to do it, and I think that’s the most important thing.”

At the rink, Hutton, Melnick, Bachman, Meyer and Belpedio are the same – skating the same drills, blocking the same shots, loving the same game. All quietly aspire to play in the NHL. All of their teammates do, too.

“Obviously, that’s the end goal,” Hutton says. “You want to play in the NHL, you want to win the [Stanley] Cup.”

JUNIOR DEFENSEMAN GRANT HUTTON FOCUSES ON HIS SUCCESS AT MIAMI ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT

The NHL dream These five guys laced up their skates for the first time when they were just three or four. Not long after, they started dreaming of playing in the NHL. Melnick can’t remember exactly when it happened, but he remembers that it did.

There’s no fast track to the NHL. Kids can play youth hockey until they’re 16.

They’ll often play junior hockey through-

CULTURE P.6

LONELINESS AND COMMUNITY This second ‘Lilly and Me’ column made our Culture Editor cry.

out high school until they’re 20 years old.

Then, hopefully, they’ll play in the United States Hockey League for a Tier I team.

When hockey players turn 18, they’re eligible for the NHL Entry Draft. At the draft, every franchise in the NHL has the opportunity to claim the rights of any eligible hockey player. When players turn 21, they’re ineligible.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

EDITORIAL P. 12

FOODpage 8

SPORTS P.14

SILENCE ON ASSAULT IS UNACCEPTABLE

‘WALLY NIGHT’ SHINES LIGHT ON PAST

“This was an extreme case, but it is not a standalone issue.”

The Miami basketball legend made a triumphant return.

2 NEWS

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Miami sees record number of Fulbright semifinalists ACADEMICS

KIERRA SONDEREKER THE MIAMI STUDENT

MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY CAME TOGETHER TO DISCUSS WAYS TO COMBAT DISCRIMINATION. JUGAL JAIN PHOTO EDITOR

Oxford holds ‘Not in Our Town’ interest meeting FROM PAGE 1

country, and now the city of Oxford is looking to implement the initiative in a big way after the town and university were “impacted by acts of racism... including targeted graffiti and property damage” during 2016 and 2017, according to the NIOT pamphlet created by the city.

These pamphlets were distributed at the initial Oxford Community Picnic last Aug. 31, 2017 when Roumaniere and Miami president Greg Crawford came together to condemn discrimination and announce Oxford’s intentions to join NIOT. “This is a movement and an initiative that can be housed in several places both in the community and the university,” Jewell said. “But who are the main players going to be?”

The meeting was centered around whether or not Oxford will implement the NIOT initiative. Several Oxford community members attended a presentation at the Ohio Town & Gown Summit

by Bowling Green State University and the City of Bowling Green, who have successfully established the initiative in their community.

Student activist and sophomore Clara

Guerra spoke as a member of The Collective, a Miami-based initiative aimed at advancing black liberation and advancing civil rights.

“We are also working on how to educate incoming freshmen who may come in [to Miami] with ignorant notions,” Guerra said.

Several members of Oxford’s religious groups, including Bernadette Unger, an active member of Hillel, were present at the meeting and raised questions regarding whether or not faith communities should endorse a movement that is normally considered political or leftist.

“It’s not that it’s not political,” OCES director Zwahlen said. “But NIOT can’t be partisan. Hate speech is not partisan.”

Oxford’s NAACP president Fran Jackson asked how all of the progressive groups already established in Oxford — the NAACP, Oxford Citizens for Peace and Justice (OCPJ), League of Women Voters and various faith communities — who are all pursuing their own individual efforts, can come together to support the NIOT initiative collectively.

“College students can also play a huge role,” Jackson said. “We need to see how we can incorporate all of these different groups into our purpose, which needs to

be clear.”

Rousmaniere urged everyone present at the meeting to write their names and emails on a sign-up sheet to attend further NIOT meetings.

“If we all left this room, and said we want to stop racism, that’s not actually going to do anything,” she said. “We need action.”

Zwahlen and Jewell reiterated this point and encouraged university affiliates and community members alike to start seriously considering how much they would be willing to take on responsibilities, coordinate events and establish a response team.

Before the meeting disbanded, Jewell took a moment to read from the Oxford and Miami University NIOT Pledge, which emphasizes providing “a safe and inclusive environment for our friends, colleagues, students, youth and neighbors.”

She paused briefly before finishing: “I pledge to lead a live through example and commit to end hate and intolerance in our town, Oxford, Ohio.” doyleca3@miamioh.edu @cadoyle_18

Jackson files motion to supress evidence CRIME

EMILY WILLIAMS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

An Oxford taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting two Miami students has filed motions to suppress evidence that his attorney says was seized illegally. Jackson is also motioning to have two separate trials.

Sherman Jackson, owner of Sherman Safe Rides taxi service, allegedly assaulted two female students over a two-night period from the early morning of Dec. 8 to the morning of Dec. 9.

The 37-year-old was indicted on three counts of felony rape and three counts of sexual battery in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas on Dec. 19. Sherman has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In the motion, filed Feb. 1, Sherman’s attorney, Christopher Pagan of Repper-Pagan Law, Ltd., argued that the Oxford Police’s search and seizure of Sherman’s vehicle on Dec. 9 was unlawful and, therefore, any evidence produced by the search was illegally obtained.

Officers towed Sherman’s car from his property and demanded his keys, later seizing clothing, keys, a Bluetooth device, an iPod,

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY BUTLER COUNTY SHERRIF’S DEPARTMENT

cash, account ledgers, business cards and advertising materials for Sherman’s taxi and lawn care businesses from the car, the motion states.

The seizure was prompted by an interview with Jackson earlier that day, after which a warrant was granted, but the warrant did not authorize the search and seizure of Jackson’s

vehicle, the motion claims.

In a second motion, also filed on Feb. 1, Jackson requested two separate trials for the two alleged incidents for which he faces charges. The motion argues that Sherman will be deprived of his right to a fair trial if the trials are not held separately due to the similarity of the allegations against him in each case. “...it is likely that the jury will confuse the evidence and relate the allegations of one complaining witness to another,” the motion states.

In the third motion, Jackson contests the three counts of rape and three counts of sexual battery he faces.

Two of the counts of sexual battery and two of the counts of rape refer to the same timeframe, event and complaining witness, the motion states.

In the motion, Jackson requests that those counts be consolidated.

A suppression hearing has been scheduled in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas at 1:30 p.m. on March 1. Jackson’s jury trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. on April 30. willi501@miamioh.edu @emilye_williams

Ali Preissing was sitting in a quiet library in Italy when she got the news. In the midst of studying for her J-Term exams, the email pinging in her inbox told her that all her hard work was beginning to pay off. She was a semifinalist for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

“I told my friend, who’s Italian, that I’m not going to get it, I’m not going to get it, I’m not going to get it, because it’s so competitive,” Preissing said. “I was shocked, to say the least. It’s one of those things you don’t think of as a realistic possibility, so you put it out of your mind.”

Preissing, a graduate student, is one of 14 Miami undergraduate, graduate and alumni Fulbright semifinalists for the 2018-2019 program, the most the university has ever had.

Fulbright is a nationwide program that receives over 10,000 applications every year, yet only about 1,900 grants are awarded. Fulbright provides financial aid for two types of programs outside of the United States: the English teaching assistant program and independently designed study/research projects.

Karla Guinigundo, director of global partnerships at Miami, has worked with each semifinalist over the long application process. This year, Guinigundo said, 28 people applied — two more than the previous year.

“The past few years we’ve been trying to push that number up, but the jump in semifinalists was more than we were expecting,” Guinigundo said. “We were thrilled.”

Guinigundo said this high amount of semifinalists speaks to the quality of a Miami education and its students.

“I think it reflects on the caliber of students that we have here,” Guinigundo said. “Fulbright’s a little bit different. Yes, they want to see a strong academic record, but they’re also looking for those engaged student leaders who really want their work to make a difference.”

The Fulbright scholarship covers everything for the recipients’ programs, including airfare, health insurance, orientation, housing and meals. Each program typically lasts for the academic year, varying slightly from country to country.

Guinigundo believes a relationship exists between Miami’s strong study abroad presence and this record number of semifinalists. While Fulbright is not a study abroad program, it is a way to blend global experience with professional development. And, while strong academic records, leadership capabilities and language skills indicate a promising candidate, Fulbright is often looking for something extra in their applicants.

“Fulbright’s mission is increasing intercultural understanding between the U.S. and other countries, so students have to demonstrate that they also share that vision,” Guinigundo said.

John Jeep, a professor of German at Miami, often provides informal advising for some Fulbright applicants, particularly those applying to teach or study in Germany. Jeep’s experience as a foreign exchange student in high school led him to be passionate about what Fulbright offers students.

“They may never have another chance like this in their lifetime,” Jeep said. “It was life-changing for me, and I think it can be for other people, too.”

Fulbright finalists will be announced between mid-March and May, as it varies from country to country. Preissing, who applied to be an English teaching assistant in the Czech Republic, said if she wins, she fully expects her year abroad to be instrumental in her future success.

“I always get the question, ‘What are you going to do with a degree in liberal arts?’” she said. “This is what you can do with it. It’s an amazing honor to be able to represent the United States in this fashion.” sonderk@miamioh.edu

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

3 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Award-winning journalist to discuss ‘The Trouble with Reality’ LECTURES

BEA NEWBERRY

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Leading media critic Brooke Gladstone will give a lecture, “The Trouble with Reality,” at 7 p.m. Thursday in Wilks Theater as the Humanities Center’s headlining guest for the school year.

Gladstone is expected to speak about fake news and other anti-press rhetoric issues.

Gladstone has been a commentator for publications such as The Boston Globe and The Washington Post and has co-hosted her “On The Media” radio program for 17 years.

Most recently in her career, Gladstone has shifted her focus to the definition of truth.

During an NPR interview with correspondent Lulu Garcia Navarro in May 2017, she summed up her concerns with contemporary journalism, a landscape with social media, op-ed and bipartisan narratives.

“I know that facts are real. I don’t think that they’re relative,” Gladstone said. “But truth, that is to say the world that we make out of those facts, that’s a terribly subjective thing.”

She has burst onto the page in her own books, “The Trouble with Reality: A Rumination of Moral Panic in Our Time,” released in 2017, and 2011 graphic novel “The Influencing Machine,” addressing how media has influenced and continues to influence Americans’ perceptions of reality.

Gladstone’s body of work is

GLADSTONE IS COMING TO CAMPUS THURSDAY TO TALK ABOUT TRUTH IN THE AGE OF ‘ALTERNATIVE FACTS.’ PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

suitable for the dialogue Miami’s Humanities Center would like to see on campus, said center director Tim Melley. “[It] examines some of the free speech and media issues of great importance to western societies now,” Melley said.

Before Gladstone’s Thursday evening lecture, a panel of student journalists will facilitate a question-and-answer session about media literacy and misinformation at 3 p.m. in Shideler

152. Journalism professor Rosemary Pennington will introduce the event, and audience members will also have an opportunity to ask Gladstone questions.

Pennington framed Gladstone’s visit as an opportunity to make sense of the “sea of information” people encounter when seeking out news.

“Learning how to critically engage with that onslaught, how to manage it and how to judge what’s trustworthy and what’s

Dance ‘Into the Ivy’ at CDB EVENTS

not is crucial if we’re to make sense of any of it,” Pennington said. “Gladstone and ‘On The Media’ try to help us do that.”

Gladstone’s Thursday evening lecture will center around her newest publication, “The Trouble with Reality.”

The Humanities Center hosts guests like Gladstone annually, focusing on the humanities’ impact on higher education and democracy.

Hosting the award-winning

MIAMI CONSIDERING FACULTY CHANGES FACULTY

HALIE BARGER

MEGAN ZAHNEIS

With nearly 3,000 tickets sold, around 3,500 people will flock to Millett Hall Saturday evening for Miami University’s tri-annual Charter Day Ball (CDB).

Miami was chartered in February 1809, but it wasn’t until 1959 that the university began to hold a celebratory event.

This year’s ball will begin at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7:30. Its theme, “Into the Ivy,” focuses on the idea of Miami as a “Public Ivy.” This year, the Charter Day Ball (CDB) Organization is especially focused on inclusion.

Marketing chair Emily McAlister said that, because of this, they are promoting all kinds of dress.

“In the past, Charter Day Ball has been promoted as a black tie event,” McAlister said, “But this year, we’ve referred to it as a formal affair.”

To help attendees decide what to wear, the committee also provided a lookbook with different dress styles and suit options.

Mary Grace Hawkinson, member of the alumni relations committee, has been working closely with other members of the committee to reach out to

Change may be coming for non-tenure-track faculty at Miami as administrators explore changes to the composition of the university’s teaching force.

Among the possibilities being discussed are increases in the number of lecturers and clinical faculty members an extension of the amount of time visiting faculty members can stay in their positions here.

Currently, the Miami University Policy and Information Manual (MUPIM) dictates that lecturers and clinical or professionally licensed (LCPL) faculty — whose work focuses on teaching as opposed to research and scholarship — can comprise up to 20 percent of the full-time faculty who are tenured or on track to earn tenure. But based on ongoing discussions, this number could be upped to 25 percent.

Faculty holding the title of “visiting” — including visiting professors, visiting assistant professors and visiting associate professors — are reappointed on a yearly basis, but are limited by MUPIM to a five-year stay in Oxford.

Among the changes being discussed is lifting this cap so that visiting faculty could be eligible for reappointment beyond their fifth year at Miami.

A third point under consideration is adding a second promotion point for LCPL faculty, who currently may apply for “senior” status by submitting a

THE MIAMI STUDENT

NEWS EDITOR

CHARTER DAY BALL BEGINS AT 8 P.M. SATURDAY. ILLUSTRATION: KAT HOLLERAN.

alumni from around the world and include them in the event, too.

“It’s a really unique event because it’s an opportunity for students, professors, alumni and everyone in the Oxford community to come together,” Hawkinson said.

Tickets are $40 for students and $50 for non-students, with $10 off for group orders of eight or more. The event committee recently received a donation from Late Night Miami which allowed them to offer a flash sale from Feb. 2-4 at $2o per ticket.

Tickets are still on sale for the event at the HOME office and will continue to be on sale up until the doors open for the ball.

“People should look forward

to the celebration of Miami traditions, making memories with friends and an evening of great food and entertainment,” said Cassidy Hemm, co-chair of the logistics committee.

The event will feature speeches from both Miami president Greg Crawford and Renate Crawford, performances from Miami’s a cappella groups and an orchestra performance.

“I’m hesitant to say the Charter Day Ball is like a college prom because it’s more than that,” McAlister said. “But like the prom was in high school, the Charter Day Ball is a quintessential part of your Miami experience.” bargerhr@miamioh.edu

journalist was a “perfect” way to kickoff the Humanities Center’s upcoming ten-speaker 201819 “Truth and Lies” series, said Melley.

This year’s Altman Program is built upon the need to use humanities to analyze the relationship between truth and democracy through historical and analytical lenses, Melley said.

It will be facilitated by distinguished lecturers, panels, classes and research programs.

dossier during or after a fifth year as an LCPL faculty member.

Last spring, the office of Provost Phyllis Callahan and the executive committee of University Senate appointed an ad hoc committee to explore opportunities, including a second promotion point, for LCPL faculty. That committee’s suggestions have been reviewed by the Senate’s executive committee and by university deans and currently await input from a faculty welfare committee, though Callahan said she hopes to have the final set of recommendations on University Senate’s agenda by spring break.

Any other changes to the faculty’s composition — including eliminating the five-year cap for visiting faculty — would need to undergo a similar process of shared governance, said Callahan.

“It is far too early to speculate if there will be any changes, how they will be implemented, or a potential timetable,” Callahan told The Student via email.

The Miami advocacy chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is hosting a discussion on the proposed changes tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in Harrison 02. Callahan is also slated to make remarks on the issue at Friday’s meeting of the Board of Trustees, which begins at 9 a.m. in room 180-6 of the Marcum Center. zahneime@miamioh.edu @MeganZahneis

EVENTS THIS WEEK Events to catch this week on Miami’s campus and in Oxford Spooky Archaeology Talk

Chinese New Year Gala

Charter Day Ball

‘Lemony Snicket’ Lecture

Shideler Hall 152 Friday, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Hall Auditorium Friday, 7 to 9 p.m.

Millett Hall Saturday, 8 to 10 p.m.

Hall Auditorium Monday, 7:30 p.m.

Follow a trail of ancient clues — think hieroglyphic inscriptions, exotic artifacts and eerie practices — to be an archaeologist for the afternoon. Professor Jeb J. Card will lead the audience on their anthropological adventure.

Celebrate Chinese New Year with the Confucius Institute’s New Year’s Gala.

Promotional materials for the event advertise pop performances and Chinese National Treasures. Free tickets are available at Miami’s Box Office.

This formal event only happens every three years, so this Saturday, over 3,000 students, faculty and staff are expected to don their finest and head to Millett Hall for an evening of food, dancing and live entertainment. Get tickets online!

Thanks to a series of fortunate events, the Miami community is invited to hear Daniel Handler — better known by his nom de plume, Lemony Snicket — speak at Hall Auditorium next Monday. The event is free, but tickets are required.

4

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

H

ockey players make their way to college campuses when they’re 18, 19 or 20. When they graduate, they hope to make their way to the NHL. They hope to play for minor league teams.

His NHL dreams led now 22-year-old Melnick to play youth hockey, then for a private high school in his home state of New Jersey and for the Tier I junior team Youngstown Phantoms.

“You want to put yourself in the best position you can to develop yourself,” Melnick says.

Hutton’s dad put him in skates as soon as he could walk, and skating became second nature. As he grew up, nearby Indianapolis was becoming a competitive hockey hub. Once he exhausted his resources in Indiana, Hutton played for four junior teams from Texas to Wisconsin.

“When you’re playing juniors, I don’t think you’re necessarily thinking of what NHL team you’re going to play on,” Hutton, also 22, says. “You’re thinking, ‘What college do I want to go to?’”

In a small town in Indiana, the lake in Bachman’s backyard would freeze over every winter. Bachman, 20, started playing hockey on that lake when he was 3-years-old. Since then, he’s played junior hockey in Michigan and at Culver Military Academy for high school.

Belpedio, 22, was born in Chicago, but eventually moved to Plymouth, Michigan to play for the United States National Development Under-17 and Under-18 teams.

In Meyer’s hometown of Columbus, he played for the AAA Ohio Blue Jackets until he was 17. He took a year to play in Kearney, Nebraska for the Tri City Storm before coming to Miami University when he was 19. He’s now a sophomore.

The hockey world is small. Bachman and Belpedio each played several years at the same high school. Hutton and Meyer both played for the Tri City Storm. There are archived pictures of various Miami players playing junior hockey against each other.

All five have won championships, broken records and nabbed league honors.

Like them, most hockey players plan to play AAA youth hockey, then play for a Tier I USHL team for their junior career – the highest level of junior hockey in the country.

And then, Meyer says, “Obviously, you want to play [Division I] if you want to go to the NHL.” And, all of them do want to go to the NHL. But wanting, working hard and even choosing a top-tier college program like Miami’s isn’t always enough.

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

The guys who make it a

BY EMILY

The NHL reality Thirty-one teams make up the NHL. Twenty-three players make up each team. That’s 713 active players, not counting those who signed NHL contracts to play for affiliate teams in the American Hockey League or Ontario Hockey League.

Sixty Division I teams and 88 Division II/III teams make up the NCAA. If each team averages 25 players, that’s 3,700 players eligible for the NHL. That means 2,987 hopeful hockey players will never play an NHL game.

Dave Starman, CBS Sports Network analyst and part-time professional scout for the Montreal Canadiens, knows how to get to the NHL. And he knows how hard it is.

“For these kids,” Starman says, “a lot of them know when you crunch the numbers and there are only X amount of spots at the NHL level, they realize that college hockey is going to be the apex of their careers.”

Watch a Miami hockey game, or even practice, and you wouldn’t be able to tell. Up and down the roster, players are physical and determined, and they’re great play-makers.

There’s Melnick evading defensemen along the boards, somehow staying on his feet. A shift later, Hutton’s shouldering off opponents before dutifully passing the puck to Bachman for a rush up the ice. Belpedio blasts pucks through traffic, and Meyer weaves through clogged neutral zones.

These guys wow ‘Coach’ Cady Arena crowds. They hope they’re wowing the NHL scouts – each hopes to become one of the lucky few.

SENIOR DEFENSEMAN LOUIE BELPEDIO CELEBRATES HIS INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS AND HIS TEAM’S SUCCESS EQUALLY. ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT

inundating the NHL. It can be a first-line guy, making replay-worthy plays almost every time he’s on the ice. But it can also be a fourth-line guy playing 12 to 13 minutes of good, gutsy hockey.

That’s all a college kid needs to make it to the NHL. Still, it can be done. Seven former RedHawks play in the NHL, notably Alec Martinez of the Los Angeles Kings, Andy Greene of the New Jersey Devils, Reilly Smith of the Vegas Golden Knights and, most recently, Sean Kuraly of the Boston Bruins.

SOPHOMORE FORWARD KARCH BACHMAN VALUES HIS TIME AT MIAMI, BOTH ON AND OFF THE ICE. ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT

What it takes But it’s not just luck, however. Scouts can’t tell when players get lucky, but they can tell when a player has “hockey sense.” After scouting for the Canadians for years, Starman knows when a kid has “hockey sense” – the NHL equivalent of the “it factor.”

Starman knows when a kid can make a play – a kid moving at a fast pace, making a decision at top speed. He notices the kid who battles for loose pucks, who can win a one-on-one battle, and the kid who rolls with the punches, not letting a bad play get to him.

Add statistics – numbers impressive enough to catch a scout’s eyes. Starman shifts his attention to the ice, because stats aren’t everything.

“When you look at a guy’s numbers, they tell you part of the story,” Starman says. “The eyeball test and your knowledge of the program and the product will tell you a whole lot more about that player and why his numbers look the way they are.”

Then, skating ability – how, and if, a player can get the puck out of his skates and then onto his stick to take a quick shot.

Add skill – skill that can compete with the abundant skill

It can be done Sean Kuraly started skating when he could hardly balance on skates, pushing around a chair for help, much like Melnick. He skated on a frozen pond whenever his family would visit his parents’ hometown of Toronto, like Bachman. He played for the Columbus Blue Jackets until he was 17, like Meyer, and then he went to Indianapolis to play in the USHL, like Hutton. He would eventually captain the RedHawks, like Belpedio.

Now 25, Kuraly played for Miami from 2012 to 2016. Much like the current RedHawks, he aspired to play in the NHL. “You don’t know how realistic your dream is. It’s hard to tell,” Kuraly says. “But it was definitely a dream.”

Kuraly’s dream came one step closer in the summer of 2011, when he was 18. The San Jose Sharks drafted him 133rd in the NHL Entry Draft. It was a relief – he felt like the Sharks had given him a little bit of credibility that weekend in Minnesota.

Some drafted players never play an NHL game. Even so, Kuraly was happy to hear his name called.

He played another year for the Indiana Ice before accepting an offer to play collegiate hockey at Miami. It was a no-brain-

er for Sean, whose dad Rick played for the RedHawks from 1979-1983.

Sean Kuraly began to make his mark at Miami. He played almost every game during his freshman year. He only missed two to win a gold medal for Team USA in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

The next year, he ranked third on Miami’s team with 29 points. The year after that, he helped the RedHawks to an NCHC conference championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Kuraly was rolling. In the summer of 2015, he was in Oxford with his teammates, already preparing for the next season. Then, his agent called one night and told him his rights could be traded. The agent called back the next day at lunchtime and told Kuraly he belonged to the Boston Bruins.

“I didn’t see that coming,” Kuraly says. “It caught me totally off guard. It was quite a shock, and you’re not really ready for it.”

After the news sank in, Kuraly had a choice to make: play his senior year at Miami or play for Boston’s AHL affiliate team.

Kuraly was practical. He decided to take a final year to both develop as a hockey player and to finish his degree.

He doesn’t regret it.

“I was really lucky I got traded to a place that wanted me and had plans for me and my career and were always honest with those plans and realistic,” Kuraly says. “So far, I think it’s worked out pretty well for both sides.”

He played his first game as a Boston Bruin in November 2016. He was in and out of the lineup during his first year, but Kuraly is tall, quick-thinking and dependable. His efforts have led him to hold a spot on the Bruins’ roster for this 201718 NHL season.

Kuraly averages 12 minutes a night with five goals and six assists on the season, and centers Boston’s fourth line. It’s working out, he says, thanks in large part to Miami’s program.

Dreaming the dream Kuraly is one of the 27 players Miami’s Enrico Blasi has seen signed to NHL contracts during his 18 years as head coach. Blasi’s name popped up as Kuraly rattled off the benefits of playing hockey at Miami.

“To me, it was the people I was surrounded with on a daily basis that pushed me,” Kuraly says. Then he pauses. “I wouldn’t say pushed me, actually. I was always fairly self-motivated, but to help me along my way.”

And Blasi’s coaching staff is determined to help their players along the way, even though it isn’t easy convincing 28 young players to buy into a common goal. But it is exciting, and it’s why Blasi does his job the way he does.

Blasi pays close attention to the changes 18-year-old boys go through to become 22-year-old men. He knows how valuable it is to have a roster of malleable players. His staff values working with hockey players who don’t think playing hockey is a job.

“You have their attention, so it is a little bit different coaching college as opposed to pro, and it should be,” Blasi says.

Some players are drafted after a couple years playing collegiate hockey – some opt to sign entry-level contracts and

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

5

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

and the guys who don’t SIMANSKIS

The guys who make it It’s nearly impossible to tell why one great college player gets drafted and another doesn’t. NHL franchises only release general statements with general comments about the teams’ drafted players.

Last year, Carson Meyer stayed at home and kept himself busy during the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. In his final year of draft eligibility, he knew he would go in a later round. He hoped he would go in a later round.

Then, the phone rang. The Columbus Blue Jackets were calling. Meyer was drafted 179th on a Saturday in June and went to development camp that Sunday.

“You don’t really, I don’t think anybody really, sits back and enjoys it,” Meyer says. “You just take the next step and try to start getting better.”

Karch Bachman went to the 2015 NHL Entry Draft in Sunrise, Florida. His name was called, and suddenly he was a Florida Panther. The crowd cheered for the newest addition to its home franchise.

“All these guys who would say, ‘It’s only the beginning,’ and it doesn’t really mean anything,” Bachman says. “Every guy there is trying to get to the next level. It was a cool experience, but it doesn’t really set us apart from anyone else.”

When Louie Belpedio was drafted 80th to the Minnesota Wild in 2014 at the NHL Entry Draft in Philadelphia, he smiled at his family, and they grinned back. “’It’s only the beginning’ doesn’t necessarily mean anything besides the fact that we’re only signed with one team now,” Belpedio says. “But it was cool, and it did feel good to know that all of your hard work has finally paid off.”

On those draft days, Meyer, Bachman and Belpedio’s names were on the lips of the NHL, if only for minutes. On those draft days, thousands of other hockey players saw no return on the years of their investment.

The guys who don’t

JUNIOR FORWARD JOSH MELNICK HAS PLAYED PASSIONATELY SINCE HE WAS FOUR YEARS OLD. ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT

The NHL entry draft is not the only way to make it to the NHL. Josh Melnick and Grant Hutton know this. Alongside their drafted peers, they’ve had equally good days and sometimes better games.

They are both assistant captains to Belpedio. Melnick has 25 points on the season and is third in the NCAA with three game-winning goals. Hutton has logged 20 points – his eight power play goals rank third in the NCAA. “[I’m] sort of taking it year-by-year,” Melnick says. “Not really thinking ahead too much, just staying in the moment.

I think I can speak for both of us, and we aspire to play at the next level and we’re just focusing on bettering ourselves now and being the best we can every day.”

They’re playing hard and working harder. They hope their best selves will be noticed by one of the NHL’s 31 teams.

But, with greater uncertainty comes more options. While one team owns a draft pick’s rights, an NCAA “free agent” can be scouted by any team.

Many free agents opt to attend organizations’ invite-only development camps. Melnick has been to the Boston Bruins’ and the Vegas Golden Knights’. Hutton went to the Knights’ too, then to the Toronto Maple Leafs’.

At development camps, the teams learn about the players and the players learn about the teams. If nothing immediate comes from the camps, players return to their college organizations more mentally and physically developed.

“I think it’s just good exposure,” Hutton says. “What we have going [at Miami] doesn’t change the fact that we still have dreams to play in the NHL.” The guys who make it and the guys who don’t

SOPHOMORE FORWARD CARSON MEYER (LEFT). HEAD COACH ENRICO BLASI GIVES MELNICK DIRECTIONS (RIGHT).

ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT

leave their Division I programs. Jack Eichel did it. Jonathon Toews did, too. Two years ago, Miami’s Jack Roslovic inked a contract with the Winnipeg Jets and has been playing for the Jets and their affiliate team ever since.

College hockey players who aren’t drafted still earn the attention of NHL scouts. Scouts know the value of a college education – not necessarily the value of what is learned in the classroom, but the value of growing up.

“To me, I like the college development,” Starman says. “I like that an 18-year-old kid can go in and come out a 22-yearold man in terms of emotional maturity and physical maturity and mental maturity and the ability to train – I kind of like that.”

College hockey is supposed to make better players and better people. But Kuraly, Starman and Blasi all agree that it doesn’t work for everyone.

Once a RedHawk with his own NHL dreams, Blasi knows he’s likely coaching 28 individuals who want to become NHL-worthy hockey players. His players are determined, and he’s determined to help them get there.

Playing under pressure NHL scouts typically watch a player for just one night of a Friday-Saturday series. On Friday, a player’s determination to reach the NHL may lead to undisciplined penalties. Yet on Saturday, that same determination might lead to a multipoint game.

Starman says that’s the hardest part of his job – only being able to watch a player for one night before driving or flying to watch another player in another city the next night. There are things that a full weekend can tell you that one night cannot.

In just one night, scouts may not see the little things that make a player’s game complete. They cannot see if a player maintains impressive play from Friday to Saturday. And they can’t see a player’s resiliency on Saturday after a disappointing Friday.

“You wouldn’t be human if it wasn’t in the back of your mind that a bad shift could leave a lasting impression,” Starman says. “Or, vice versa, a good shift could also leave a lasting impression.”

Junior hockey players are used to playing 60 games a season. Miami hockey only plays 36. That’s 24 fewer games to score goals, make saves and finish hits. Every game counts a little bit more.

Twenty-three hockey players make up a junior team’s roster. One or two may be scratched. Of the 28 guys on Miami’s

roster, six to seven could be benched on game nights. Not only do hockey players face competition from the other end of the ice, but college hockey players compete for limited roster spots.

“I think guys are a lot harder on each other to stay in the lineup,” Belpedio says. “Even practice days [are] kind of like a game, and you have to play hard every day and earn your spot on the weekend.”

If you don’t play, you don’t get seen.

With nothing untouched by technology, the process of scouting NCAA players has changed. Lasting impressions are easier to overcome with the advent of college hockey broadcasts. A college hockey player can now be watched on a screen. Starman and his colleagues are able to watch condensed versions of games and take note of who makes the highlight reel.

Scouts are always watching now – whether at the rink or behind a screen. You would think the pressure blankets the game ice, but Miami hockey players are just playing hockey.

“The great teams and the great players are the ones that can limit those distractions and turn that bad pressure into good pressure,” Hutton says.

Those great players use pressure to better themselves, and to better their team.

Though the players work to tune out the NHL, Coach Blasi is ever-aware of NHL aspirations. When Blasi and his assistant coaches recruit kids, it becomes Miami’s responsibility to make good on their promises – promises of development and promises of having a shot at the NHL. It keeps Blasi up at night.

“There’s lots of nights where I stay up wondering what’s going on,” Blasi says. “‘Did we do the right thing? Did we say the right thing?’ To me, I always tell people I have two daughters that are my own, and I have 28 sons pretty much every day of the week. I don’t really think about anything other than, ‘That’s my family and I have to take care of them.’”

Days turn into weekends and weekends into months. Players work harder. Games are more important as the postseason approaches. Games are even more important as a season passes, taking with it opportunities to be watched by future NHL employers.

“I would have to think yeah, it’s probably on their mind,” Starman says. “I would also have to think that they’re well coached enough, and they’re well advised enough that they have learned, you know what? One bad turnover in a big game is not going to cost them an NHL career.”

Melnick and Hutton may be part of the 2,987 who will not make it to the NHL. Meyer, Bachman and Belpedio may be part of the 2,987, too.

Being drafted by an NHL team doesn’t change an individual’s skill level, “compete level” or “hockey sense.” Being drafted is a foot in the door, sure, but drafted hockey players will play alongside undrafted ones after college.

Kuraly is one of the 713 active NHL players. Being drafted led him to believe he had a greater shot at making it. Seeing his teammates from his 2013 World Juniors team sign contracts gave him even more of a reason to believe. But at Miami, Kuraly knew he had to work just as hard as his drafted or undrafted teammates.

That hard work always comes from a love for the game.

“If you’re coming to the rink and you don’t want to play hockey, it’s going to be a miserable four years if you’re at the collegiate level,” Hutton says. “Aside from whatever’s coming after college, whether it’s in the workforce or if it’s playing a professional sport for a living, it comes back to just having passion for the game.”

For Miami players, being drafted doesn’t change the mentality or energy guys bring to the rink every day.

“I think when you start thinking about next year, two years from now, stuff like that, it kind of gets in the way of your everyday development and mindset,” Belpedio says. “I think it’s unfair to yourself and your teammates to put your future in front of what’s going on right now here.”

It doesn’t change how the players are coached.

“I don’t think, ‘Oh geez, I’m going to treat this guy different because he’s going to play in the NHL or this guy different because he’s not going to play in the NHL,’” Blasi says. “We’re trying to reach a common goal here and I’ve said it in different ways over the years. Lately, it’s been, ‘Be where your feet are. Be in the moment. Be present, this is where you’re at.

Let’s make the best of every day and be your best.’”

Twenty-eight guys take the ice every day, six days a week for Miami.

Three are drafted. Twenty-five are not. You can’t tell who’s who because being drafted to an NHL team doesn’t help Miami hockey win championships.

“It would be selfish of us to focus too much on ourselves because we have our team around us, as a collective unit, looking to win championships, and that’s our main focus,” Melnick says.

For the most part, the 28 guys disregard the NHL logos next to their teammates’ names on game sheets. Focusing on Miami’s team goals for better power plays and penalty kills, process play and consistency leads to individuals passing better, executing smarter and hitting harder.

Sometimes the puck goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. Some Miami players are drafted by the NHL, some aren’t.

“You don’t really look at yourself as any better than anyone else. You’d like to think [you are] sometimes, but you know in your heart it’s not the truth,” Kuraly says. “It’s just one or two people’s opinion for the reason you’re drafted, and it can also be one or two people’s opinion you’re not.” simansec@miamioh.edu

6 CULTURE

PERELMAK@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Lilly & Me: Loneliness and Community COLUMN

DEVON SHUMAN MANAGING EDITOR

My Wednesdays are pretty hectic, so I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Saturday night.

With my roommates all in St. Louis for a Mardi Gras weekend, I had the place to myself. I whipped up my first actual meal in months — cooking some red quinoa with sautéed mushrooms and scallions (the key, I’ve found, is using so much butter that the vegetables start to taste like cake) and carving out thin slices of jicama. I threw a John Denver record on my turntable for ambiance, dimmed the lights and set the table with our nicest paper plates.

Of course, as you’ve probably guessed, I wasn’t expecting guests. The place across from me wasn’t set with another serving of quinoa, but with a six-inch, roasted marrow bone, the biggest and most lip-smacking treat I had bought for Lilly yet.

For those who missed my first column, Lilly is my new dog, an adorable and energetic shepherd-hound mix I adopted over break and made the difficult decision to bring with me to school for my final semester. After three weeks in Oxford, she’s slowly growing more comfortable in her latest home among all of her new friends. In fact, by Saturday, without the normal stimulation from her often-raucous roommates, she was content to sit calmly and enjoy a meal with me, all dressed up in her heart-festooned red bandana after our hike along Oxford’s trails (during which she met none other than the first dog herself, Ivy).

I’m not throwing around all of these lavish descriptions to impress you. After all, it’s not like I had a romantic date joining me. Rather, I think this rare evening of finery provides a nice point of contrast between where I might have been a year earlier.

Back during the darker period of my time at Miami, I would have spent the rare night alone with a Netflix binge of shows I’d already seen, an entire Papa John’s pizza and a fresh bottle of Smirnoff.

For the amount I abused alcohol, I always preferred the experience of drinking alone to the scene Uptown. On my own, I wouldn’t have to worry about embarrassing myself,

JUGAL JAIN PHOTO EDITOR

about what my peers might witness when my lights turned off and the real monster came out. I could knock back countless vodka tonics and slide slowly into a state of serenity without bearing the judging glances of others, (And yes, I was blinded by all the red flags flapping in my face; I just wasn’t ready to confront them).

College can be an incredibly lonely experience. Many of you have found your niche.

You’ve joined clubs for activities you’re passionate about, met lifelong friends, maybe even your soulmate — but not everyone is that lucky, and even those who are can’t always escape the clutch of existential loneliness. A lot of people are thrown into this new world, a world where they know nobody, where there’s an endless variety of communities to observe but only to join if you can work up the courage to get out of your comfort zone, something not everyone is always equipped to do.

A lot of people are thrust into that and simply succumb to the darkness enveloping them as they lay alone in their dorm at night. Loneliness can be a cruel and addictive tempter, inviting you in with a promise of comfort that never comes.

Lilly came into my life at a point when I was learning to overcome this loneliness, and she’s accelerated the process immensely. She didn’t initiate my recovery — to that I owe months of tough self-reflection, an impenetrable support system of close friends and family and the ultimate, terrifying decision to seek help — but, in just my first two weeks of the semester, I’ve already noticed the benefits: the long and anxiety-ridden nights when I can let her out of her cage to nuzzle up with me on the bed, the daily walks and trips to the dog park that get me out of the house when I might have previously elected to stay in, the bursts of inexpressible joy when I see her bounding down the trails toward me with that huge grin spread across her face. She’s made college life not just bearable, but enjoyable.

If we define community as a fellowship among multiple individuals, then Lilly and I are a community. Additionally, her being in my life has opened me up to a whole new set of communities I didn’t even know existed. The regulars at the dog park, for instance. Or the past acquaintances who have gotten back in touch to offer their walking or sitting services, free of charge (even if I know that’s more out

Swing Syndicate hosts jazzy dance exchange

of love for Lilly than it is for me). Or even the readers of this new column, who have already reached out with kind notes and reminders of upcoming community events, such as the Lyme Disease Awareness presentation on February 27 at the Lane Library.

Lilly has made me feel welcome where I never did before. But, her companionship extends beyond that.

What’s most important to me, are those little moments of private connection. When she perks up at my pet names for her, like Silly Lilly and Little Miss Crazy. When she stops running down the trail at the trill of my whistling, leaving whatever phantom (or real) squirrel she was chasing to return to my arms for a hug — and maybe a treat, if she’s lucky.

Or when she looks up at me as I’m making a pot of coffee in the morning, her ears flopped down, her mouth just slightly agape and her eyes wide and twinkling — as if to say something that’s always been true but that I never fully understood until I laid eyes on her: that I am loved and I am meaningful, not to everyone, but to those who matter.

Dating with ‘OK Crupid’ FROM PAGE 1

JACKSON HERBERTZ AND LAUREN SMETZER DANCE ALONG TO LIVE MUSIC FROM THE LIVE BAND AT THE CLUB’S “LUCKY 7’S” EVENT. SEBASTIAN NEUFUSS THE MIAMI STUDENT

DANCE

DUARD HEADLEY STAFF WRITER

Set to the silky tunes of the Solomon Douglas Quartet and the upbeat tapping of numerous pairs of feet, Miami Swing Syndicate’s MUDE Swings: Lucky 7s dance took place this past Friday and Saturday in the Heritage room of the Shriver Center.

The dance — called Lucky 7s because it was the seventh dance of its kind put on by the club — was the biggest event of the year for the Syndicate and saw dancers from various locales, like Indianapolis, Dayton and Columbus converge at Miami.

“It’s great because it brings people in from all the different dance scenes,” said Dominique Rohde, social chair for Swing Syndicate. “Seeing all the different people is my favorite part of the event.”

Emphasizing the diversity of the event, the 40-45 dancers that crowded into the Shriver Heritage room on Friday wore a mix of casual clothes and glamorous outfits. People in T-shirts and jeans swung arm-in-arm with dancers in glittering gold dresses and clean gray suits.

Just as varied were the skill lev-

els of the dancers themselves. Some, stumbling across the dance floor, had just been taught the basics of the dance that evening, while others were clearly more practiced, sailing across the floor with ease. While the gap in skill was apparent, that didn’t stop several dancers from approaching people sitting on the sides and asking them to dance, ensuring that beginners and experts mingled throughout the evening.

Megan Archdeacon, PR representative for Swing Syndicate, said that the club tried its best to make sure that anyone who came to the event was able to dance. Lessons for novice dancers were offered prior to the dance itself, taught by professional swing dancers from across the country.

“We’re glad to see such an influx of Miamians this year,” Megan said, referencing the dancers swinging across the floor. “We’ve had more people show up because they heard about it via posters or ads than ever before.”

Ryan Jones, a first-year member of the Syndicate, swung happily around the dance floor, partner in tow. The couple stopped briefly to share their thoughts on the dance.

“It’s been great,” Ryan said. “I’ve only been a member of the club since fall, but I’ve tried to be as involved as possible. It’s just so much fun.”

The dance portion of the event was

split into two parts, with swing dancing taking place from 8-11:30 p.m., and a slower, more laid back blues dance happening from 12-3 a.m. Although the dances both stretched late into the night, the rhythm of the music seemed to keep the dancers moving and shaking well after the sun had set.

The blues portion of Saturday’s dance was far more relaxed than Friday’s swing section. Roped off by strings of fairy lights, the otherwise darkened lobby of the Psychology building was filled with dancers swaying to mellow, soulful tunes.

Although the two sections saw comparable numbers of dancers take the floor, the environments were entirely different. The upbeat swinging and twirling was replaced by swaying and rocking as dancers pressed close to one another and grooved to the mournful sound of trumpets and saxophones that drifted through the speakers.

Whether swing or blues, casual or fancy, novice or expert, the Lucky 7s dance was a great opportunity to kick back, learn some new moves and dance the night away.

Swing Syndicate holds several smaller events throughout the year, and they are always happy to show a beginning dancer a move or two to get them swinging around the dance floor. headledd@miamioh.edu

shumandb@miamioh.edu

After the couples were set, it was up to the guys to make plans and reach out to their dates, whether in person or over the phone. Some opted to spend the evening in Cincinnati at a nice restaurant or the Newport Aquarium, while others stayed local and went bowling at Oxford Lanes.

The dates weren’t entirely blind. Without tipping off their crush, participants could specify if they wanted to be matched with someone in particular.

“We had people taking a leap of faith and being bold by saying, ‘This is who I want to be with,’” Monica said. “But then those people didn’t sign up.”

More often than not, however, Monica said people requested wingmates instead of dates. That way, they’d know going into the night that they’d have a friend at their side to help break the ice.

Initially, the event organizers struggled to get enough guys to sign up. While their turnout improved, girls were still the majority. In order to meet the demand, Cru’s social committee ended up throwing a ladies’ night as well, complete with heartshaped pizzas from Dominos.

Considering she was one of the matchmakers, Monica’s date came as no surprise.

She swears, however, that she did not play favorites.

The two boys in Monica’s group invited her and another girl to go bowling on Saturday. She wasn’t sure what bowling alley food entailed, though, so she ate beforehand.

Once the first game got started, the foursome started asking the basic questions: Where are you from? Do you

have siblings? What’s your major? The game kept conversation lively, allowing for different combinations to interact as others went up to bowl.

Monica got two strikes that night, but it wasn’t enough to beat the guys, especially considering one had a long history of bowling with his competitive family.

Next, the group went to Mac and Joe’s for some real food and to talk more about bible study and their favorite TV shows. Monica’s double date then joined the other singles and couples at the “Crupid Shuffle” after-party.

As soon as Monica arrived, her friend Anna Pence rushed over to ask for the night’s playby-play. The boys, standing close by, were quick to tease Monica for thinking bowling was weird. Anna, who hosted ladies’ night, laughed along.

The downstairs area was for dancing to a Spotify playlist of Valentines songs that Anna had compiled hours before, featuring Walk the Moon, Beyoncé and Jesse McCartney. Monica’s only caveat while Anna put the playlist together: No slow dances.

“No one wants it to be like prom,” Monica said.

Upstairs hosted ping pong, scattergories and other board games for those less interested in dancing. Here, couples could continue to talk without loud music drowning them out.

While Monica appreciated the night’s romantic gestures and was happy to accept a ride home, she said the highlight of the night was seeing all the new interactions between Cru members, making her large organization feel much smaller. vestalkc@miamioh.edu

PERELMAK@MIAMIOH.EDU

CULTURE 7

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

‘Beyond High Street’: Miami alum podcast

CONNOR WELLS THE MIAMI STUDENT

ALUMNI

EMILY DATTILO

THE MIAMI STUDENT

When David Schwab graduated from Miami in 1994, he knew he was going to miss High Street. All of his fond memories of college life seemed to culminate at this familiar meeting place.

Years passed and each time Schwab returned to visit Oxford, he would drive back to the airport afterward, wishing for a better way to stay connected after leaving campus.

About a year ago, Schwab thought of a creative way to do so and began to work on what become a podcast series called “Beyond High Street.” The name captures the nostalgia and connection any member of the Miami community, new or old, can relate to.

The series launched only a few weeks ago and a new episode, which typically runs 1520 minutes, is released every Wednesday.

Schwab sent invitations to around 200 friends and colleagues to be guests on the show, and the response has been extremely positive. Not one person has declined.

One of those friends is Jay Livingston, the Chief Marketing Officer of BarkBox and angel investor in New York City, who met Schwab on their first day of orientation at Miami.

“Dave’s podcast is a great way to hear what successful alumni have done since Miami, the twist and turns of their careers, and also what different types of industries are truly like to work in,” Livingston said.

Schwab decided the podcast format would allow flexibility and convenience both he and his listeners could benefit from.

“I just think in today’s world, for a student to listen to it toand-from class or an alumni to listen to it to-and-from work,

it was the best medium for the on-the-go 2018 world,” Schwab said.

His hope is that the podcasts will connect alumni, inspire current and future students and expose professors to new ideas outside the textbook. It’s also important to Schwab that his podcast includes diverse people from various industries to appeal to listeners of all ages.

“We’re fortunate that Miami has unbelievable alumni out there — CEOs, CMOs, professional entertainers, athletes, community leaders,” Schwab said.

Another episode featured Jennifer Rooney, who double-majored in English literature and creative writing at Miami, and then attended graduate school at Ohio University. She has since worked largely in the field of business journalism and is now the editor of the CMO Network at Forbes.

“I really got to know [Dave] through my development of the Cradle of Marketers event at Miami,” Rooney said.

This conference brought together Miami alumni who have excelled in the field of marketing, including Schwab, and he later asked Rooney if she wanted to be a guest on his podcast.

“It’s yet another great way to build community,” Rooney said. “I think we live in a time when people like to collaborate with people they have a connection to...and Miami is that shared experience.”

A new episode will be released tomorrow featuring John Walton whose father taught here at Miami.

Currently, Walton is the hockey play-by-play voice for the Washington Capitals. NBC recently hired him to travel to Korea as one of the voices for the hockey telecast at the Olympics.

“Beyond High Street” episodes can be found on the main website beyondhighstreet.com, as well as Itunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and, soon, Spotify.

Across the country, podcast listeners can envision red brick buildings, green quads and chiming bell towers and be transported back to what Robert Frost deemed, “the most beautiful campus that ever there was.” dattilec@miamioh.edu

STUDENTS SMILE WHILE RINGING IN THE CHINESE NEW YEAR SABIK AKAND THE MIAMI STUDENT

Welcoming the Year of the Dog, 6,000 miles from home HOLIDAY

NATE SCHWARZ

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Late in the evening, the Chinese New Year celebration in Marcum Conference Center drew to a close and the hustle and bustle of Miami University students quieted to a dull roar.

As the crowd started to trickle into the night, third-year international student Annie Zhang began to recall some of her favorite traditions and memories of celebrating the New Year back in her home city of Beijing.

“Traditionally we have a seven day holiday for the Spring Festival,” said Zhang. “Everyone has time off, and during the day no one is in the streets. Normally, Beijing is a very busy city, but during the holiday there isn’t a lot of social traffic and the subways run once, maybe twice a day.”

For many people who commute to work in China’s larger cities, this is the only time of year when they can see their immediate families. During this time off, families spend the day together indoors, lounging and snacking. The evening before New Year’s Day, families will often have a reunion dinner and decorate the house with red paper cutouts and couplets — traditional two line poems either carved into wood or written on red paper.

One of Zhang’s favorite memories of celebrating in China is watching the annual television show “True One,” a traditional variety show viewed by all during the Chinese New Year.

“All people will see the TV show and they have a lot of fun things like dancing, singing and games all festival long,” said Zhang.

However, this year, she didn’t watch the show.

Instead, Zhang took part in hosting the celebration by helping the game tables at the Chinese Students & Scholars Association’s Chinese New Year festival.

This year’s Chinese New Year Celebration was the largest to date, with nearly 300 people in attendance, thanks to local partnerships and sponsoring from Late Night Miami.

The first floor of the Marcum Conference Center swelled with the chatter of students playing

team games, a mixture of traditional Chinese and American music and the CSSA’s cultural informational videos playing in the background.

An announcer excitedly shouted contest results and festival information.

Dog-themed decorations hung from the door frames and lined the hallways, walls and game tables in honor of 2018 being the year of the dog.

The scents of traditional Chinese foods filled the main room as pan after pan of spring rolls, fried rice, dumplings and seasoned tofu were brought out.

Game tables lined the perimeter of the two rooms attracting droves of students to partake in team competitions. A variety of games including ring toss, charades, number-guessing and — perhaps the most difficult — a puppy-themed scavenger hunt.

Students, parents and faculty enjoyed Chinese candy and treats while eagerly searching for the pictures of dogs, pairing couplets together and even singing karaoke to earn stickers, prizes and good-luck envelopes.

Traditionally, the Chinese New Year festival is meant to honor deities and ancestors over a twoweek period starting the evening before the first day. Each day has specific festivities and customs leading up to the lantern festival on the last evening.The end of the New Year festival takes place around the 15th day of the first month on the lunisolar calendar.

More so than honoring ancestors, the celebration is meant to bring family and friends together in celebration.

“We all come together, we watch shows, we play some games and just spend time with each other, so this has a very similar feel to back home,” said Zhang While the CSSA didn’t have 12 days to celebrate the upcoming year of the dog, the Chinese New Year Celebration in Marcum successfully captured the true spirit of the holiday.

The celebration concluded with the remainder of attendees lighting small fireworks to usher in the New Year of the dog. schwarn2@miamioh.edu

Mande misses mark: Night of comedy in review REVIEW

MADDIE TOOLE

THE MIAMI STUDENT

“Is there a reviewer from the student paper here?” comedian, actor and writer Joe Mande asked toward the end of his set.

“Because I will give you 20 dollars to say this was good.”

Sketch Writing and Acting Group (SWAG) — with help from Sketched Out and Not Very Funny, and funded by ASG — hosted Mande on Friday night in Hall Auditorium as an event filled with humor and funny musical numbers.

Mande was a writer for “Parks & Recreation” and made a few cameo appearances in the show as minor character Morris Lerpiss, as well as acting in “Brooklyn Nine Nine” and “Modern Family.” He currently writes for NBC’s “The Good Place.”

While laughs and snickers filled the auditorium, not everyone was pleased with the show.

On multiple occasions, I heard gasps and surprised remarks from my seat. Needless to say, I did not leave with the 20 dollars.

“Thanks for having me, but also, you’re welcome,” Mande said as soon as he took the stage.

This statement set the mood for the night as it was filled with crude humor that either sparked

JOE MANDE JOKES WITH HIS AUDIENCE FRIDAY NIGHT IN HALL AUDITORIUM. BO BRUECK THE MIAMI STUDENT

a roar of laughter or left half of the audience shaking their heads in disbelief and thinking, did he really just say that?

The crowd was engaged and responsive to Mande’s remarks throughout the night as he joked about his own experiences, his jealousy of rappers and his take on how standup comedy works.

He explained that performing standup is like digging your-

self into an awkward situation and relying on yourself alone to climb back out.

And about halfway into the show, Mande dug himself the biggest hole of all. He began to rant about Republican government officials and finished the line with, “All Nazis are Republican.” This comment was thoughtless, inappropriate and only the first of his questionable

material. The tension only grew from this moment on.

The whole set deserved a solid, generous “A-” until he decided to award Al Qaeda the same grade for their attacks on 9/11.

Not cool. Giving credit to terrorist groups is not my definition of a joke, and definitely not a funny one at that. For good reason, several people in the crowd winced at the comment, and a

few groaned aloud. Two rows in front of me, a student’s father looked over at her and I heard him clearly state, “That was not funny at all.”

Fans of “SNL” and “Parks & Recreation” came for a night of good comedy, but they were let down by a comedian whose remarks were were neither funny nor clever, and alienated audience members as a result.

The show’s lone redeeming factor was opening act Luke Null with his interesting arrangement of original songs. Null is a new cast member for “Saturday Night Live” and has appeared in a few sketches and in the opening credits of the show.

Accompanied by his guitar, Null engaged the crowd with lyrics that were clever in a notwhat-you-expected sort of way.

Thanks to an all-too-familiar story about an ex-girlfriend that attended Miami and an encounter with a bouncer on High St., his material was relatable and created an interactive atmosphere. His lines were often self-deprecating. In return, the crowd responded well. A hilarious ode to his love interest, Taco Bell, was the icing on the cake of his performance.

To me, it was clear that Luke Null should have headlined. toolemb@miamioh.edu

Food

8

WILLI501@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

In the words of Remus Lupin: “Eat it. It’ll help.”

So often, chocolate is reserved for dessert, but we argue that it’s okay to break out the candy bars before dinner.

It’s better than okay. It’s delicious and simple and rich. So, give it a try.

Have a suggestion or need some guidance on that promise to make a home-cooked meal for two?

Email eic@miamistudent.net with your comments, questions and culinary triumphs.

Recipes and story by Jack Evans and Emily Williams

STEAK WITH A BALSAMIC, CHOCOLATE & PORT REDUCTION

JUGAL JAIN PHOTO EDITOR

I

n the modern kitchen, there are few activities more gleefully primal than searing a thick steak on a smoking hot piece of metal. When done correctly, this simple act of culinary violence can make for a downright romantic evening.

five or six turns of the pepper grinder.

Next, crack open the bottle of port. Pour yourself a glass. After that, pour your date a glass. Throw on Kamasi Washington and chat for an hour while the steaks rest.

This hour is important; you’re letting the steaks approach room temperature and giving them time to absorb all that salt, further improving the quality of the sear. Make sure to conserve at least a half cup of port for the reduction.

When there is a lull in the conversation, begin mincing your shallot and about two tablespoons worth of rosemary. If you were a line cook in a past life (or you are one now), take this time to quietly show off. If you’re a college student, offer your date a second knife

Steaks — New York Strip is what we used, but ribeye is also an excellent and flavorful choice.

Coarse salt

Butter Rosemary — Fresh.

Shallot Port Balsamic vinegar Semisweet chocolate The Steak: To begin prep, make sure your steaks are thawed and then slap them down onto a cutting board. To ensure a proper sear and a gloriously crispy crust, pat down with a paper towel until they are as dry as possible.

Salt heavily — and don’t be shy about it. A more-than-generous pinch of kosher salt on both sides should do the trick. Sea salt is a little stronger, so if you’re using that, reduce the size of your pinch a little or ask someone with smaller hands to assist. Hit both sides with

The Sauce: Deglaze the pan with about half a cup of port — less if your steaks are small. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, making sure to loosen up all of that precious beef fond. Throw in your minced shallot and stir in two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.

Let the port reduce for a few minutes to half its original volume. Sometime during this time, toss in the rosemary and stir.

Once the port has reduced, stir in the ounce of chocolate, chunk by chunk until it is fully melted. Full disclosure: I used an ounce and a half because I’m a glutton. It tasted excellent.

Add a few tablespoons of butter to finish the job and stir until integrated. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper.

Slice your rested steak and spoon the sauce over top, making sure to build an appealing little mound of shallots.

Drink any remaining port. Serve steak alongside scrumptious glazed carrots.

Ingredients:

Cracked black pepper Oil — Pick a neutral oil with a high smoke point. Canola is the best low-cost option. If you have the cash and the inclination, pick up grapeseed. Avoid olive oil, which burns easily.

golden-brown handiwork.

Wait for three to four more minutes and then take the steaks out of the pan. Rest them on a cutting board and plop a knob of butter and sprig of rosemary on top of each.

Finally, lower the burner to just below medium in anticipation of...

and laugh while you learn to cut aromatics together. Coarsely chop up about an ounce and a half of the chocolate.

At this point, the steaks should have had almost an hour to rest. Barely cover the bottom of the pan with oil, set the burner on high and — I cannot stress this enough — turn your vent fan on. Nothing says seduction quite like wildly swinging last month’s copy of The Atlantic at a screaming fire extinguisher while the kitchen fills with smoke and the sad smell of culinary overreach.

At the precise moment the oil begins smoking, use tongs to lay the steaks down in the pan. There will be some splatter. Remain calm, work slowly, and you’ll minimize the mess as well as any burns.

Drop the heat slightly, just to medium-high. Do not touch the steaks for three to four minutes. Doing so will interrupt the sear that you spent that whole lazy hour prepping for. Carefully flip the steaks and admire your

EVANSJM4@MIAMIOH.EDU

FOOD 9

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

BALSAMIC & CHOCOLATE GLAZED CARROTS Ingredients: Whole carrots Olive oil Coarse salt Thyme Balsamic vinegar Dark chocolate Honey

JUGAL JAIN PHOTO EDITOR

Carrots are rarely craved. But with just the tiniest bit of chocolate ― a couple squares from a bar of extra-dark — these vegetables can go from a pleasant vehicle for Vitamin A to a rich, tangy side dish that won’t go unnoticed alongside your steak.

Rinse and peel a bag of whole carrots, or maybe two bags. You might think one bag of carrots is more than enough, but once you start eating the finished product, you’ll be surprised how quickly they disappear.

Cut the carrots into slices that are about the same length and width as your finger, then pile them into a parchment paper-lined baking dish.

Drizzle the carrots liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. If you’re using

thyme from a jar, shake it generously over the carrots. If you bought your thyme fresh, place about four of five sprigs right on top.

Bake the carrots in the oven at 375 degrees for about half an hour, or until you notice — even through the scent of that steak — that the great smell you’re smelling is coming from the vegetables that have grown soft and slightly brown in the oven.

In a saucepan over medium heat, let a half cup of balsamic vinegar reduce to about ¼ of a cup. In the meantime, finely chop a couple squares of extra dark chocolate. Break off another square for yourself as a snack, and one for your date if you’re feeling generous.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and sprinkle in the chocolate. Let it melt for a moment, then whisk with gusto. Drizzle honey over the surface of the sauce, stir in a couple pinches of coarse salt, and taste.

Drizzle the sauce over the carrots straight from the saucepan.

Serve the carrots alongside your steak with an extra drizzle of sauce on top, or eat like us, and just grab the carrots right from the pan, shoveling them in like french fries.

Tip: Buy a nice, large baguette to tear up and dip into the olive oil, chocolate balsamic sauce, salt and thyme that pools in the bottom of the baking pan.

North Main Cocoa Ingredients: Hot cocoa mix Cinnamon Nutmeg Allspice Milk Brandy Frangelico Whipped cream This chocolatey cocktail gets its name from the cozy Oxford house where it was created. It has no house sign and worn wood floors and is usually lit by Christmas lights because the overhead kitchen light has burned out — the perfect place to duck inside for a drink.

The cocoa will keep you warm, and the brandy will keep you warmer. Take the measurements as suggestions, and find the proportions you like best.

Heat a cup of milk on the stove, preferably whole milk or two percent. Add hot cocoa mix as directed and stir, removing the milk from the heat. Add a sprinkle of nutmeg, a sprinkle of allspice and stir. Divide the hot cocoa into two mugs.

In each mug, add 2 ounces of brandy and an ounce of Frangelico and stir. Top generously with whipped cream and dust with cinnamon.

If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, buy some heavy cream and whip it by hand until stiff peaks form.

JUGAL JAIN PHOTO EDITOR

Truffles Ingredients: Semisweet chocolate chips Heavy cream Cocoa powder

ILLUSTRATION: KAT HOLLERAN

You worked hard on that steak.

It wasn’t your cheapest dinner, either, so keep dessert simple and make it ahead of time.

Bring about one cup of heavy cream to a simmer in a saucepan. In another bowl, measure out about two cups of semisweet chocolate chips. Once the cream is heated, pour it over the choco-

late chips.

Stir immediately, mixing until the ganache is thick and smooth.

Lick the spoon. (That’s not part of the recipe, it’s just fun.)

Put the ganache in the freezer for a couple hours, or until solid.

Using a teaspoon, scoop out chocolate and roll it into small balls and coat with cocoa powder.

Feel free to get creative with this part, too. Swap out the cocoa powder for sprinkles, chopped nuts, sea salt, tiny chocolate chips or coconut shavings.

Store the truffles in the fridge or freezer, or distribute them all immediately among friends.

10 FYI

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

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Named the Best College Newspaper (Non-daily) in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists.

EMILY WILLIAMS Editor-in-Chief Jack Evans Devon Shuman Managing Editors

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Audrey Davis Bonnie Meibers News Editors

Kate Rigazio Asst. Culture Editor

Jugal Jain Photo Editor Emily Simanskis Sports Editor Ceili Doyle Asst. News Editor

Lindsay Cerio Business Manager

Megan Zahneis Special Projects Editor

James Tobin Faculty Adviser

Angela Hatcher Kirby Davis Opinion Editors

Fred Reeder Business Adviser WDJ Inc. - Bill Dedden Distributor

Alison Perelman Culture Editor

Cartoonist Arthur Newberry

Asst. Sports Editor Ben Panzeca

Designers Will Fagan Katie Hinh Emma Kinghorn

Sports Columnists Mitch Hausfeld Nick Schleter

Opinion Columnists Darcy Keenan Paolo Federico­ O’Murchu Luke Schroeder Senior Staff Writers Samantha Brunn

Photography Staff Angelo Gelfuso Brianna Nixon Beth Pfohl Bo Brueck Daniela Munoz Perales Darshini Parthasarathy Erik Craigo G M Akand Sabik

Heather McCowan Justin Maschmeyer Kat Holleran Macy Whitaker Rakhel Brewster Videography Staff Emily Brustoski Jack Barteck Chandler Williams

Too many roommates?

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Located on East Central Ave., between Campus and South Main St., very close to the REC.We offer neat and clean housing at affordable prices.... 2 bedroom shared by just 2 students $2700. (person) per semester. (includes Heat and water). 1 bedroom apartment with a study for 1 person $3900. All residents enjoy free off street parking, on-site laundry, and yard space. On-site office, flexible hours, and excellent upkeep, make the Courtyards a place worth looking at.

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

NEW CAMPAIGN RULES MEAN FEWER DOLLARS, VIOLATIONS IN STUDENT BODY ELECTIONS FROM PAGE 1

Website: For advertising information: Send us a letter?

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

SECURE YOUR HOME FOR JR/SR YEAR Our homes are renting now for 2019-20! All homes are next to campus and uptown. Gather your group today and go to www.schmatesrentals.com. Don’t be stuck in an apt. JR/SR year.

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student body president candidate to speak up. Senator Austin Worrell, who ran against Froehlich in 2017, also voiced his concerns.

“If my VP candidate, Haley, did not have her dad who decided to donate $500 to the campaign, I could not have spent as much money as I did,” said Worrell. “It stressed me out to no end that I had to use personal money to campaign, to do something where I wanted to give back to the school.”

Speaker Hankins stood by the original $500 reduction, citing concerns that dropping the cap too low too fast could impact election turnout. Hankins said he met with Froehlich in the process of crafting the new rules.

“I took that perspective, and that is a lot of the reason that the spending allowance was reduced the way that it is, and that is all I know how to do in a compromise,” said Hankins. “If Senator Froehlich, and others, want to take [the cap] down even more, they should table it and they should come and write it themselves.”

The major change to the violations portion of the election rules is the addition of the word “incidental” to more minor Level I violations, which carry only a fine, and “purposeful” to Level II violations, which incur a 24-hour ban on campaigning in addition to a fine.

In other words, the student-run ASG elections committee must now determine intent when investigating campaign violations over the short presidential elections cycle.

The changes come after a series of issues in the 2017 election, when two campaigns were penalized for Level I violations and some signage violations went unpunished by the committee.

“Being on the [elections] committee last year, I kind of saw where we were hamstrung making decisions,” said Hankins. “We were provided with a couple of violation options and neither of them were great options.”

Other ASG Updates: - Eight vacant senate seats are up for special election at tonight’s ASG session.

- Senator Courtney Rose won the special election for Secretary of Diversity and Inclusion, an executive cabinet position vacated earlier in the semester by senior Quentin McCorvey. Her former senate seat is one of the eight to be filled at tonight’s session.

- The senate established the ad-hoc Student Labor Relations Committee to explore the issues facing Miami University student employees and staff. Senator Nick Froehlich proposed the committee and was nominated as chair.

- The Conflict of Interest Act was proposed in response to a political stunt carried out by Froehlich. In the days leading up to the Feb. 6 senate session, he circulated election petitions in an attempt to simultaneously run for multiple open senate seats. The act, which was passed unanimously, bars students from holding multiple senate seats at the same time.

Hockey FROM PAGE 14

the get go,” Blasi said. “They put up a three spot on you in the first six minutes and you’re chasing the game.”

The second period started with Miami killing off the remaining 30 seconds of the first period penalty. The RedHawks had more jump to start the middle frame and looked more desperate to even the score.

Six minutes into the second and the ’Hawks’ efforts were rewarded with a goal from sophomore forward Gordie Green.

Green’s shot from the slot bounced past St. Cloud’s junior goaltender Jeff Smith. Freshman forward Casey Gilling and sophomore forward Carter Johnson drew assists on the goal that made it 3-1.

Though the Huskies’ neutral zone play inhibited the RedHawks’ usually successful transition speed, two minutes later, Miami got its second goal. Freshman forwards Phil Knies and Ben Lown transitioned into the zone and Knies passed to Lown to draw Smith to the right side. Lown shot on net but the rebound came back to Knies on the left who scored into the open net. Knies’ 10th of the season made it a one-goal game with 12 minutes left to play in the second.

The goal energized the crowd at Steve ‘Coach’ Cady arena as the RedHawks started making smarter passes and better offensive plays. A save and smother from Larkin halfway through the period drew roars for the goaltender who was working to keep his team in the game.

As the period progressed, Miami was crashing the net looking for rebound opportunities and held the zone better than the first period. A power play with six and a half minutes left in the period couldn’t even the score, and the RedHawks went to their locker room down 3-2 after two.

“I thought our effort was good — I don’t think our team quit — but again, if you’re not ready to go and you’re not ready to play a high level game against St. Cloud, which is a great team, they’re going to make you pay,” Blasi said. “And, they certainly did that.”

St. Cloud came out of the break and forced Miami to play defense to start the third. The forward line of sophomore Carson Meyer, freshman Karch Bachman and junior Josh Melnick went the other way and Meyer almost found the equalizer off a pass from Melnick, but he fanned on his shot.

Larkin stood tall until another turnover at Miami’s blue line allowed St. Cloud to go up 4-2. Freshman forward Kevin Fitzgerald poked the loose puck through the five-hole at 7:00 of the third, after Larkin made the original save.

An unfortunate penalty after the goal prevented Miami from generating any offense in response, but the penalty kill unit worked hard and the RedHawks escaped harm.

A power play with 9:45 left to play and then a five-minute major on the Huskies allowed Miami to play five-on-three for a minute, though nothing came of the two man-advantage. The power play time ticked by and with just under three minutes left on the five-on-four, Blasi pulled Larkin to play six-on-four.

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Groundhog days - stay chill

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Freshman forwards Phil Knies (right) and Ben Lown (left) crash St. Cloud’s net. Angelo Gelfuso The Miami Student

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Offensive woes break ‘Hawks win streak FROM BASKETBALL - PG 14

lone bright spots on Saturday, putting in eight points in eight minutes on the floor.

The Bulls’ standout senior center Cassie Oursler was dominant on both ends of the floor throughout the game. She would finish

with 14 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

In Wednesday’s game against Toledo, Lauren Dickerson became the fastest player to reach 1,000 career points in Miami Women’s Basketball history. On Saturday, her shot was off for the entire game, and she finished with nine

points on 3-of-22 shooting (2-of-14 from 3-point range). It was Dickerson’s first time without points in double-digits since Jan. 28, 2017.

However, the loss could not damper spirits, as it was the Miami’s fifth annual “Love.Honor.

Care Weekend.” Money was raised for local cancer patients through

the foundation Luna Cares, who partnered with the university to host silent auctions, sell special apparel and raise money for their cause. All of the money raised will go to local cancer patients.

“Despite the loss today, an incredible weekend for Miami Athletics -- supporting the Love.Hon-

or.Care project and raising money for cancer.” Duffy said. “That was definitely the highlight versus the outcome of today.”

The RedHawks have the week off until Saturday when they travel to Kent to face the Kent State Golden Flashes at 4:30 p.m.

‘Wally Night’ shines light on past, gives hope for future FROM WALLY - PG 14

RedHawks are trying to restore.

“You know who Wally is as soon as you step on campus,” said Isaiah Coleman-Lands, a freshman guard on the current Miami men’s basketball team. “It’s still his spot.”

Coleman-Lands, like many of the other freshman, was only a few months old when Szczerbiak graduated from Miami. Leading-scorer freshman guard Nike Sibande wasn’t even born yet. But, Szczerbiak serves as a template for a return to success.

He arrived to a talented team, but one that had been to the NCAA Tournament only once since Ron Harper graduated in 1986.

Similarly, Miami has only made it to one NCAA tournament since Szczerbiak’s college days.

The development into a superstar wasn’t without its hiccups for Wally.

He was late to the first team meeting of his freshman season. Several minutes after the meeting began, his teammates saw him riding his skateboard through the concourse of Millett Hall. As he got to the meeting room door, he came to a stop and kicked the front end of the board up to his hand with the whole team looking on. Damon Frierson re-

HOCKEY, CONT.

A shorthanded, empty net goal

by Jackson with just over four minutes left to play sealed the deal for St. Cloud.

Discouraged fans streamed out of Goggin. Tape-to-tape passes and blades cutting the ice punctuated the final two minutes of play and the final horn disrupted the dead silence.

“When you turn the puck over as much as we did tonight, at some point it’s going to burn you,” Blasi said. “Unfortunately, the big ones were big and they’ve got a lot of skill in their lineup and they’re going to make you pay.”

The Huskies and the RedHawks were unable to capitalize on the man-advantage on night one and St. Cloud outshot Miami 30-28.

On Saturday night, with Larkin falling ill halfway through warmups, Miami started off strong in front of sophomore Chase Munroe. St. Cloud also started a different goaltender in freshman David Hrenak.

A power play three minutes into the game gave the RedHawks the chance to get on the board first.

Quick passes from the four-forward power play unit couldn’t beat Hrenak, however, and St. Cloud kept the game scoreless.

Saturday success has eluded the RedHawks for most of the season, as they were 2-8-3 on night twos heading into the Saturday contest against St. Cloud. It would have been hard to tell on Saturday, however, as the ’Hawks were playing with a desperation and energy that hadn’t been seen on night twos since the beginning of the season.

The RedHawks and the Huskies traded power plays, though noth-

members the incident.

Frierson was Wally’s teammate from 1995 to 1999 and the two were freshman roommates in 327 Dennison Hall. Frierson is an assistant coach with the current RedHawk team.

“It’s funny now, but it wasn’t funny at the time,” Frierson said. “It set coach over the edge. The next two days, the whole team had to get up at like 6 a.m. and run 20 suicide drills in 20 minutes.”

Coleman-Lands said that time management is still the biggest adjustment for freshman.

“You always have to be on time to practice, and always be ready,” Coleman-Lands said. “You don’t want to be that last guy who’s always rushing. Time management of homework is also challenging. You just always have to be on, and know your priorities.”

But those struggles didn’t deter Szczerbiak’s development.

“He was always competing, and practicing,” Frierson said. “Unless he was injured, I can’t remember him taking a day off. Some guys [on the current Miami team] have that toughness and compete everyday, but some guys aren’t consistently great like Wally was.”

As he developed his game, Szczerbiak’s body also filled out. By his junior year, he had grown two inches and put on 50 pounds

ing came of either as the subdued crowd waited for the ’Hawks to give them something to cheer about.

With three minutes left to play, Miami began crashing the net and generating offense. A penalty kill with 1:17 left in the period cut into the RedHawks’ momentum, but the ’Hawks would return to their locker room outshooting the Huskies 8-6 and with the score locked at 0-0.

Almost immediately after the carryover penalty from the first period was killed off, the RedHawks went down a man to start the second. The ’Hawks escaped harm and a breaking Green picked up senior forward Conor Lemirande out of the penalty box for a 2-on1. Lemirande’s shot didn’t beat Hrenak and his rebound bounced the wrong way to keep the game scoreless.

Almost four minutes into the second and St. Cloud broke the stalemate when sophomore forward Nick Poehling beat Munroe five-hole.

Four minutes later, and it appeared as if Miami would beat Hrenak at the other end of the ice.

Junior forward Kiefer Sherwood, Knies, Lown and senior defenseman Louie Belpedio camped out in the Huskies’ end for over a minute -- winning board battles and allowing the RedHawks to get partial changes for its best offensive effort all night.

A penalty kill with 7:36 left in the middle frame didn’t stop the RedHawks’ momentum and Green and Melnick even had a short-handed chance to punctuate the man-disadvantage.

Though down 1-0, the period ended with the RedHawks outshooting the Huskies 17-11 and a

of muscles in the weight room. He also increased his vertical jump by four and a half inches.

“He just became more explosive,” Whitford said. “His junior year was the time where I thought he had a real chance at playing in the NBA.” Instead of his physical maturation, Szczerbiak credits his coaching staff for his development. At Miami, he played under six future NCAA head coaches: Sean Miller, Thad Matta, Charlie Coles, Jim Christian and Whitford. That doesn’t even include Herb Sendek, the head coach when Wally arrived in Oxford.

“I was recruited by great coaches,” Szczerbiak said. “When you think about my staff: Sean Miller, Thad Matta, Jimmy Christian and Herb Sendek was the head coach. Look at the careers those guys have gone on to have. I was really coached at a high-level and wanted to work hard.”

Time will tell if the current RedHawks’ staff will be as good as that one, but Szczerbiak lauded the job they were doing.

“I’m really excited about what Jack Owens is resurrecting with Miami basketball,” Szczerbiak said. “They have a lot of talent and I think the program is in a really good place thanks to what Jack has brought to the table.”

general feeling of hope because of how the ’Hawks were playing.

“For the most part, we played a good game,” Blasi said on Saturday. “We competed hard, we had our chances, we did a good job of limiting their chances.”

The third period started uncharacteristically slow for Miami and St. Cloud’s ability to hold the offensive zone frustrated the RedHawks early on.

Meyer had a chance to tie the game on a penalty shot 4:14 into the third, though Hrenak made an easy save on Meyer’s uninspired shot. Hrenak’s save didn’t stop the RedHawks’ efforts and, with 14 minutes left to play, the ’Hawks were outshooting the Huskies 2112.

Another unsuccessful power play was costly for the RedHawks, as St. Cloud’s junior forward Patrick Newell would score two minutes later to put his team up 2-0 with 9:57 left to play.

Miami continued to throw the pucks on net, but it was Hrenak’s night between the pipes as he stopped shot after shot and the Huskies put bodies in between the RedHawk offense and the hot goaltender.

Munroe was tested at the other end of the ice with seven minutes left to play, as the RedHawks went down a man on a hooking call. The penalty kill unit worked to keep the Huskies to the outside and the deficit at two.

A power play with four minutes left in the game afforded the RedHawks a final chance to tie the game and split the series. After a media timeout, the ’Hawks took to the offensive zone with Munroe on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice.

An unfortunate miscommunication only six seconds into the man-advantage allowed Newell to score his second of the night on the empty net at 16:08 and senior for-

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Frierson said that he and the rest of the staff use Wally’s name in meetings with recruits as an example that it’s possible to achieve their dreams and play professionally after Miami.

Szczerbiak also praised the abilities of Nike Sibande and Darrian Ringo.

“Nike seems like a great kid,” Szczerbiak said. “He loves to play ball. He’s obviously the leading scorer of the team and has played some great basketball for Miami. Ringo has been tremendous with the way he defends and the way he passes the ball. He would’ve been a guy I would’ve loved to play with due to the way he dishes the rock.”

Szczerbiak isn’t the only one who’s excited. Isaiah Coleman-Lands and the current group of players want to achieve success similar to Wally’s. His visit reminded the RedHawks of that.

“We definitely want to get Miami back to the heights Wally took it,” Coleman-Lands said. “We’ve got a lot of talent and more young talent coming in. We’re just going to keep on improving and our camaraderie is only going to get better. We’re going to be playing together for a long time. I feel like we can really do some damage and put Miami back on the map.”

ward Judd Peterson netted another empty-netter at 17:52.

The RedHawks played until the final horn sounded, but shoulders sagged in defeat in the waning seconds of play.

Hrenak finished with 30 saves to record a shutout and Munroe stopped 17 pucks in his second career start. The Huskies were blanked on the power play, as the RedHawks’ penalty kill went 5-for5 on Saturday, though the ’Hawks went 0-for-4 on the man-advantage.

“Not only does your power play have to capitalize against great teams in our league, but you have to make sure you’re managing the puck and playing good solid team defense,” Blasi said.

The RedHawks look to rebound this weekend, as they take on Minnesota-Duluth on the road. Puck drop is at 8:07 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night. simansec@miamioh.edu

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12 OPINION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

HATCHEAM@MIAMIOH.EDU

Miami must acknowledge campus sexual assault, silence unacceptable The following reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

Nicolas Cristescu, a former Miami student, was convicted of gross sexual imposition and sentenced last Monday to five years in prison. Cristescu, a sophomore who remained enrolled in school until the start of this semester, drugged, raped and filmed an unconscious woman, who was also a Miami student, in a Heritage Commons dorm last October.

The charges of rape, sexual battery and voyeurism he initially faced were dropped due to a plea bargain, and he was only indicted for the third-degree felony.

His five-year sentence is the maximum allowed for sexual imposition.

Miami has not acknowledged the case except for one obligatory campus crime alert email, sent out Oct. 19 last year, which provided only a bare description of Cristescu and a note that “a female student reported to the Miami University police that she was sexually assaulted by a male known to her.”

This is unacceptable.

This case is one of many glaring incidents of sexual assault that happen on Miami’s campus. This is an extreme case, but it is not a standalone issue. Miami neglecting to acknowledge the case not only downplays what happened but perpetuates an air of ignorance surrounding campus sexual assault.

This is not normal. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to incidents of sexual abuse, and we must hold our university accountable for recognizing what takes place here.

Miami offers a lot of preventative measures meant to curb sexual assault: the It’s On Us campaign, informative orientation assemblies and, most recently, a policy that will limit residence hall access during certain times of the night. But the school itself can’t directly stop assaults from occurring and should stop pretending that preventative efforts alone are enough.

We need action. We need to know that student perpetrators will be held accountable for their reprehensible behavior. While we are under under no delusion

that Miami can directly put a stop to all campus sexual assault, the university can assuredly be more direct in its handling of this issue.

The Miami Student has been covering the Cristescu case since last fall, but we cannot reach everyone on campus. The university can. Making other students aware of incidents like this is necessary not just for safety reasons, but because perpetrators need to be aware that these actions have consequences — not just for themselves, but for the victims.

Students need to understand that this could be anyone – victim and perpetrator alike. It could be the girl who sits across from you in class, your frat brother, that kid you pass on the way to campus, the girl sitting alone in Kofenya, the guy you bumped into at Brick or your best friend. It could be anyone.

Campus sexual assault is not a uniquely Miami problem; it’s a nationwide issue. But Miami choosing not to acknowledge this particularly egregious incident is damaging — not only to the university’s reputation, but to its students.

U.S.-North Korea conflict shouldn’t disrupt Olympics PAOLO FEDERICO-O’MURCHU THE MIAMI STUDENT

As the eyes of the world turn to Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics, many will also be side-eyeing its Northern neighbor. North Korea and the U.S. have continued to brashly threaten each other in order to curtail the other’s aggressive military actions. Despite strong words from President Trump, America has failed at its primary objective with North Korea: preventing their attainment of a nuclear weapon. Recently, North Korea has demonstrated being on the verge of developing an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), capable of hitting the continental United States.

This past week, Trump’s pick for the South Korean Ambassador, Victor Cha, was withdrawn, the reason being that Cha opposed a “bloody nose” strike of North Korea. Trump’s idea is that America should launch a limited conventional missile strike against North Korea, as a way of deterring their continued construction of an ICBM. This strategy is lunacy. First of all, America is relying on North Korea interpreting missiles striking their cities as a deterrent and not the onset of war. Considering that North Korea has previously understood Trump’s volatile remarks as a declaration of war, this is an uncertain interpretation. A logical response for North Korea would be to return fire against our close ally, South Korea, causing a war of escalation. It is indisputable that even if it results in the end of the Kim regime in North Korea, a war of escalation would be a far

WAR IS TBD! IF YOU WANT IT

ILLUSTRATION: ARTHUR NEWBERRY

worse militaristic and humanitarian mistake than the Vietnam War. If North Korea feels truly threatened, they may launch the first nuclear bomb seen since Japan in 1945. For instance, they could nuke Guam, which is the location of the American Andersen Air Force base. Kim could then communicate to Trump that the next nuclear bomb lands in Los Angeles. These costs of war are unpalatable for America, which has a disturbing recent history of starting wars it does not have the strategy nor stomach to finish.

As intimidating as North Korea is, we should believe Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he says that Americans should sleep soundly at night. This is because Kim

Jong Un is a rational actor. Every scenario of war with North Korea results in millions of deaths of Americans, Japanese, and South Koreans. But it also always ends with the total annihilation of North Korea. North Korea cannot destroy America, but we can obliterate them.

Kim Jong Un has never demonstrated a martyr’s tendency. Rather, he has shown a murderous desire to continue ruling North Korea in perpetuity. He has assassinated military officials by placing them in the middle of an active artillery range, and killed his own brother at a public airport using the deadliest chemical weapon in the world, VX gas. These are the moves of a man seeking to consolidate power. There is no indication that Kim Jong Un would commit personal and countrywide suicide for the sake of destroying one of our cities.

In conclusion, through ruthless technological improvements, North Korea has succeeded in joining Russia and China in employing nuclear deterrence against the United States.

The impossibly high cost of war in the Korean theater makes any attack, conventional or nuclear, far too risky to entertain. America, though, has survived nuclear standoffs before, and unlike the U.S.S.R., we face an enemy that we enjoy an asymmetrical military advantage against. As such, we can trust that North Korea will not instigate an attack that would prove calamitous for them. Therefore, we can enjoy the South Korean Olympics games without too much worry of the northern presence. federips@miamioh.edu

Miami Dining: not by the student, not for the students MICHAEL STEMMLER THE MIAMI STUDENT

Amid the buzz and excitement of the beginning of the school year, there is one thing that always brings my spirits down: the first walk back to the dining halls.

Coming off the luxury of home-cooked meals, fast food franchises and literally anything not made in giant sheet pans, that first swipe into the dining hall makes my stomach drop – surprisingly, it’s the same feeling I get after leaving.

However, when I walked into Miami’s favorite dining location – Western Dining Hall – this semester, there were a few changes that caught me off guard as I rounded past the made-to-order stir fry/ pasta line and skipped over the goo of a main entrée. I beelined for the usual pizza and grill – the two trusted favorites, where all the food is some sort of shade of yellow.

But to my surprise, there was only pizza, and my burgers, fries, and chicken were replaced by another yellow food: pasta. I thought that this was a gift sent from heaven, for pasta has never been a non-gluten free option, so I filled up a big plate and sat down with my friends. Now I thought that pasta was going to be a onetime thing, but as I continued to eat dinner at Western this quickly changed. Instead of the grill items, there is pasta – every single night.

All I want is my chicken tenders back.

No matter how bad my day was, no matter how stressed I got, and no matter how much work I had weighing me down, nothing cheered me up better than a few golden, crispy chicken tenders. The grill line had always been a source of comfort, but more importantly, a source of variety in the dining hall. Each day, you could pick between a red meat, a white meat, and some sort of starch. On top of that, since the feature entrée is always hit-or-miss – but mostly miss – the options came down to the grill or vegan line. Now, you either carbo-load on pasta or eat chicken and rice.

Sadly, the disappearance of the Western grill items is just the most recent case of Miami Dining disasters. With a flawed meal plan that was supposed to be new and improved, the changes that have been made are leaving students with the same old, instead of giving dining options students truly want. Just increasing the number of “swipe-in” dining halls doesn’t mean students will want to use more buffet swipes. The conversion of crowd favorites such as Bell Tower and Maple Street to dining halls, along with the lack of variety across campus food, creates a monotonous

ILLUSTRATION: ARTHUR NEWBERRY

dining experience for students.

Not only do dining halls have the same 5 things every time, but the use of declining balance is a missed opportunity.

Besides “The Toasted Bagel” and knockoff-Panera, any declining balance food item can easily be found at dining halls. The only difference between the two is that one is just more convenient.However, the graband-go nature of these places is slowed down due to the fact they are understaffed and overworked. The same people deliver fantastic food each day but are still swamped at high influx times.

As seen by the long lines, student want diversity in their food, and Miami doesn’t

keep up.

It’s about time that Miami brings a franchise besides Starbucks to campus. Yes, that will end their monopoly on all things food, but it truly would meet the students’ needs. I’m tired of getting excited about a new place to eat in Armstrong and having it be food that easily could’ve been added to Pulley’s menu. Nothing would delight me more than a Chick-fil-A, Qdoba, or Panera on campus.

I understand and acknowledge the changes that have been made to the meal plans, such as the incorporation of a new plan with more declining balance and less swipes; however, the meal plan only benefits one entity on campus: the university itself.

Last year, one of the biggest complaints was that students had so many swipes left over that their money was being wasted. To change this, the swipes were set on a weekly basis, which reset each weekend. While this sounds like the perfect fix – giving students just what they need each week – in reality, the leftover 2-7 swipes not used up during the week stack to be the same number of wasted swipes at the end of each semester last year. In addition to swipes still being wasted, the ridiculous prices of the markets on campus further serve to help Miami profit. The margins on simple college necessities such as soup, snacks, and easymac make declining balance easily live up to its name: declining.

In a time where consistent schedules seem nonexistent and our lives change by the day, Miami Dining should work to accommodate the students instead of seeking profit. Why can’t Miami have a single, one-currency system? That way, students can cater to their personal needs and have the freedom to eat wherever they want. When it comes to food, we shouldn’t be paying more for the same old, and as the dining scene changes and grows, I hope we will get to a place where everyone is full. stemmlmf@miamioh.edu

Ask Angela on Valentine’s Day ANGELA HATCHER OPINION EDITOR

Guess who’s back? Back again. Tell your friends.

It’s me, kids.

I simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to get back behind the proverbial mic and start ranting about my thoughts on a particular upcoming “holiday,” namely, Valentine’s Day. Let me be the first to say that the fact this day is a thing is stupid. It’s so stupid. Do we really need to take one day out of the year to throw chocolates, flowers and pink, heartshaped paraphernalia at our lovers? Or, for all the single ladies, sitting and sobbing into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food while watching “P.S. I Love You” and looking at pictures of your ex on Instagram?

I speak from experience on that last one.

No shame.

I’m convinced that Valentine’s Day solely exists so couples can have competitions amongst themselves to see who has the best significant other. For example, last year, a girl I know — let’s call her Bridgette (note: not a fan of Bridgette) — went on Instagram and Snapchat tirades, forcing her love for her boyfriend down everyone’s throats.

Bridgette’s boyfriend (let’s call him Chad; Chad and Bridgette sounds good, right?) took her to Hawaii (FREAKING HAWAII) for Valentine’s Day 2017. Chad rented a sailboat (A FREAKING SAILBOAT) and decorated the whole damn thing with rose petals.

They had copious amounts of champagne and strawberries waiting for them when they boarded the ship.

Let’s rewind for a second.

First of all, if y’all knew Bridgette like I know her, you’d know that if he had done anything less she would’ve had a cow, because Bridgette’s world starts and ends with Bridgette.

Second of all, they are both 20. Who has money for that as a 20 year-old? I actively have to check my bank account to see if I have enough money to get a McFlurry when I’m treating myself on a Thursday night, and I sure as shit know my boyfriend doesn’t have the dough for that. Hawaii is expensive. So are boats. And so are top shelf champagnes.

Like, honestly, how?

Third of all, they probably had a miserable time. Bridgette was probably bitching that the wind was getting her hair stuck in her lip gloss, and that the sound of the waves was running the quality of her 52 Snapchat videos. Chad was probably sitting there thinking, “God, why do I put up with this?”

Now, I used to be opposed to celebrating this archaic holiday in any form – you taking your lady to a nice dinner downtown?

Unfollowed. On everything. Celebrate your lover everyday. Not just February 14th.

I used to joke with Max (the beau) that if he ever tried to do anything with me for Valentine’s Day I’d break up with him, because I was that upset by it. But he asked me the other day, and I was like, “I don’t know, we could go out for dinner that weekend and then see a movie and then split a bottle of wine and cuddle and watch another movie and cuddle, let’s just cuddle.”

What?

Yep. This is who I am now.

But please. Please. For the general public’s sake and for my sake – keep the posts and the extra-ness to a minimum, okay? Enjoy the moment. The world doesn’t need to know, because guess what? You post 899 pictures of your boyfriend every other day anyway, Bridgette. We get it — Chad’s great.

He puts up with you, so he has to be.

Cheers friends, Your friendly neighborhood hater hatcheam@miamioh.edu

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

DAVISKN3@MIAMIOH.EDU

OPINION 13

A.J. NEWBERRY NEWBERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

How to Be a Man: A Step-by-Step Guide TERESA ANIEV

THE MIAMI STUDENT

ILLUSTRATION: KAT HOLLERAN

Local woman realizes she just slept with a Donald Trump voter KIRBY DAVIS

OPINION EDITOR

Junior Andrea Greene woke up on Sunday, Feb. 11, to discover that the 22-year-old guy she’d slept with the night before had voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

“I thought he was just your usual, run-of-the-mill fratty asshole, but apparently, he’s a Republican,” said the 21-year-old woman, suppressing a shudder.

Greene, treasurer for the College Democrats, frequent Hillary Clinton donor and feminist laptop sticker-sporter, happened upon the damning evidence by chance.

After waking up around 9:00 a.m., Greene decided to get dressed and walk home. While rummaging through the mess of t-shirts, Natty Light cans and discarded papers on the guy’s floor in search of her bra, she discovered a bright red “Make America Great Again” hat.

“At first I thought it was just, like, a Cubs or Reds hat,” she said. “Then I read it, and I was like, ‘Oh shit.’”

Not wanting to believe she’d just slept with someone who voted for a president that has denounced feminism and deemed a number of foreign countries “shitholes,” Greene wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was a friend’s, she reasoned, or perhaps it was another girl’s. She had just met him the night before, after all, and assumed she was not the first one he’d

taken home from Brick Street.

But when she turned around to face him again, she was horrified to see him slipping on a “Reagan/Bush 1984” t-shirt.

“It’s vintage,” he proudly declared, before reciting a long list of family members involved in local Republican politics, Greene said.

“I was still trying to decide if I could morally justify sleeping with someone who voted for a guy who has denied more than 20 sexual misconduct allegations against him,” Greene said. “I mean, that probably means he doesn’t respect women, either, but he was fine with me last night.”

As she embarked on a brisk walk of shame back to her home on Poplar Street, Greene decided that maybe she shouldn’t talk to the guy ever again. But she likely wouldn’t have to worry about that, anyway, because he would almost definitely ghost her.

He was super cute, though, Greene reported, and ended up texting her a curt but respectful “good time last night” later that day. At press time, Greene was debating whether his taking a Women’s Studies class to fill a humanities requirement freshman year cancelled out his voting record. daviskn3@miamioh.edu Editor’s note: This work is a piece of satire.

If you’re not feeling very secure in your masculinity today and would like to find out how to become a better man, keep on reading.

I’ll let you in on all the secrets. Yes, I know that I’m just a woman who could never understand such important endeavors, but you’re going to have to trust that I have this down to a science.

Because I do.

Step One: Locating any fears you may have that are associated with entering manhood. Perhaps a major fear you have is Masculine Failure, the fear that you won’t be as good of a man as you hope to be or as good as everyone is expecting you to be. Perhaps your fear even stretches toward failure as a human being. Think about it. Okay. Have you got it yet? Good.

Now squash that fear with the sole of your boot. You should know this by now: Fear is for sissies. Don’t be such a coward. Step up to the plate. Do you wanna be a man or a little girl when you grow up? Men don’t have fears.

Step Two: Attaining the characteristics of a real man. Real masculinity is mainly reliant on how much athletic ability you’ve got; actually, the more of this you have, the more valued as a man — and a person in general — you will be in your community. Other characteristics that determine how much of a man you are include how economically successful you are and how many sexual conquests you’ve made in the last week or so.

Also, do you have feelings? Emotions, perchance? Any empathy for others or forms of self-expression? Yeah, you’re gonna wanna repress all of that. Alexithymia, or the inability to put feelings into words, is what you’re going for here. Most men develop some form of this early on in life, as well as an inability to gauge how others feel, so you’re gonna want to conform to this standard. How else are you going to participate in conversations about how dang confusing women are?

Step Three: Using other resources. Some of the characteristics in step two can be difficult to obtain or taxing to follow through with, so don’t be afraid to use other resources. For instance, because you are now emotionally void, you can’t be springing up meaningful relationships with others. It just looks bad.

With that in mind, you should think about using a woman to validate yourself as a man (You know, the whole sexual conquest thing?

Try “no strings attached”; I’ve heard it works out really well!). Substance abuse is another

great outlet for the pressure you’re under: if you’re feeling frustrated with your masculinity (or lack thereof), try drinking a lot and smoking whatever you can get your hands on.

The Final Step: Recall your childhood.

Recall lazy Sunday mornings and the heat of the afternoon on a sunny, summer day. Recall sticky ice cream goodness and popsicles dripping down your chin, chasing your brothers and sisters and friends around the backyard.

Recall barbeques and biking and baseball.

Four square and finger painting and cupcakes on your birthday.

Recall when it was more important to “Be A Man” than any of that stuff.

Toxic masculinity is such a messed-up mindset; it leads to so many issues later in life. For example, not being able to gauge how other people feel very reasonably leads to bullying. Do you think that someone who understands what it feels like to be pushed around is going to do that to someone else?

Similarly, lacking meaningful relationships with others can lead to disorders like depression and substance addiction because of the isolation. And the lack of control that you feel when you’re not able to live up to the impossible societal standards of men leads to violence against women and children, as a way to assert control over someone or something.

I interviewed some people, and it’s disheartening to find out how much guys miss out on because it doesn’t fit their definition of a man. An overwhelming majority said they couldn’t listen to popular music, participate in musicals or plays, or submit written works of their own because women had a monopoly on those activities. Some even said that cleaning and cutting nails was seen as too feminine, as was taking care of other personal hygiene issues.

That’s why this is an “us” problem. All of us.

Whatever affects one gender affects the other just as much.

So, what does it mean to be a man? Well, I’ve never had to become one, so I can’t speak from a personal point of view. But, in my experience, the solution to any dilemma almost always happens to be the one we give the least amount of thought to. Maybe the thing that makes us most human should be the thing we focus on; maybe in asking yourself what kind of man you want to be, you should also ask what kind of partner, what kind of brother, what kind of son, what kind of father you are. Then, I think, you’ll have an answer for yourself. anievtm@miamioh.edu

Sports

14

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

MIAMI HOCKEY SWEPT BY ST. CLOUD, SHUTOUT ON SATURDAY HOCKEY

EMILY SIMANSKIS SPORTS EDITOR

Though Miami hockey played more complete games this weekend against No. 3/4 St. Cloud State University, the RedHawks’ turnovers from poor puck management led to a 5-2 loss on Friday night and a 4-0 loss on Saturday night.

It is the third time this season the ’Hawks have been swept by their opponents, and the second time they’ve been swept by National Collegiate Hockey Conference opponents.

“That’s tough, it’s not easy,” head coach Enrico Blasi said at his post-game press conference on Saturday. “I thought our guys continued to work hard, it’s just not going our way right now.”

On Friday, a three-goal first period proved too large of a deficit for Miami to overcome and, on Saturday, St. Cloud’s hot goaltender and the Huskies’ numerous blocked shots prevented the RedHawks from finding the back of the net. The ’Hawks’ power play was ranked third nationally going into the weekend, but went 0-for-8

JUNIOR FORWARD JOSH MELNICK BATTLES ALONG THE BOARDS AGAINST ST. CLOUD STATE. ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT

during the two-game series.

Miami (10-15-3, 5-11-2 NCHC) still occupies the ninth spot in the nine-team NCHC, while St. Cloud (19-6-3, 13-4-1 NCHC) now ranks

first in the conference.

“We’ve got to be better at managing the puck,” Blasi said. “I know I sound like a broken record because I say the same thing, but it

really is a matter of managing the puck better.”

On Friday, only two minutes into the game, St. Cloud’s junior forward Robby Jackson took ad-

vantage of a Miami turnover in the defensive zone. Sophomore goaltender Ryan Larkin couldn’t control Jackson’s shot and the puck bounced off a Miami defenseman to put the Huskies up 1-0 early.

Just over a minute later, freshman forward Blake Lizotte skated past static Miami defensemen and beat Larkin five-hole from the right wing. The goal at 3:18 of the first period made it 2-0 St. Cloud.

The RedHawks had a couple bursts of offensive pressure before the momentum was squandered. A neutral zone turnover led to a 3-on2 rush and a junior forward Mikey Eyssimont goal. The RedHawks suddenly found themselves down 3-0 not even halfway through the opening frame.

A power play with 5:28 left to play in the first gave the ’Hawks the opportunity to mount a comeback, but their offensive efforts were fruitless. A penalty kill with 1:30 left to play in the period proved successful, however, and kept the Huskies’ lead to 3-0 heading into the first intermission.

“You have to manage the puck and we didn’t do that right from CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Toledo beats MU 73-67

Offensive woes break ‘Hawks win streak WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BEN PANZECA

THE MIAMI STUDENT

On Saturday, Miami hosted the University of Buffalo in the teams’ second matchup of the season. After losing a tight 72-67 game in Buffalo earlier this season, the RedHawks were looking to knock off UB, who sat one ahead of Miami at the top of the Mid-American Conference East division.

Following Wednesday’s 6758 victory against Toledo, the Red and White were riding a fivegame win streak into the matchup against Buffalo (19-4, 10-2 MAC).

Things didn’t go as planned for the ‘Hawks, who fell 64-49 at the hands of the visitors. Offensively, it was perhaps the poorest game Miami (15-9, 7-6 MAC) has played all year.

“Disappointed with our offensive performance. I thought we weren’t great from the field tonight,” head coach Megan Duffy said. “Give Buffalo credit for their pressure at times, for their physicality in the paint and blocking shots.”

Junior forward Kendall McCoy made an early impact in the game by scoring eight points in the first five minutes, and 10 in the first quarter. Miami didn’t do much to stop the Bulls’ offense, who went 8-for-14 from the field in the opening quarter and led 20-17 going into the second.

In the second quarter, the Red and White really began to struggle from the field, and went 2-of18 in the quarter -- scoring only six points, a season low. McCoy would score four of those and, at the break, only three RedHawks had scored -- sophomore guard

JUNIOR FORWARD ROD MILLS JR. SCORES ON TOLEDO ON FRIDAY NIGHT AT MILLETT HALL. MATT HECKERT THE MIAMI STUDENT

MEN’S BASKETBALL

CARTAN SUMNER

THE MIAMI STUDENT

SOPHOMORE GUARD LAUREN DICKERSON SETS UP A PLAY AGAINST BUFFALO ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT MILLETT HALL. MACY WHITAKER THE MIAMI STUDENT

Lauren Dickerson had seven points, and Redshirt junior guard Baleigh Reid had two.

Buffalo carried a 33-23 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the RedHawks got even colder, including a stretch where they went 0-for11. Nonetheless, the ‘Hawks continued to hustle on the defensive end, which kept the game relatively close. The Bulls only had a 46-35 lead after the third quarter.

Miami eventually broke and gave way to the visitors’ onslaught, and the floodgates opened in front of a somber Millet Hall crowd. The game was a 15-point victory for Buffalo, who led the game for 36 of the 40

minutes played.

The RedHawks shot a middling 28 percent for the game, and an even worse 9 percent from three. It was uncharacteristic of the ‘Hawks, who earlier this season were one of most efficient shooting teams in the country.

McCoy continued to show she’s more than just a second option for the ‘Hawks, finishing with 21 points and seven rebounds on the day.

In both the victory against Toledo and the loss to Buffalo, Junior forward Kristin Levering has begun to see more minutes on the court. She was one of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

On Friday night, Miami men’s basketball took on Toledo in front of a roaring crowd at Millett Hall, but fell 73-67 to the Rockets. A game nationally televised on CBS Sports Network, the matchup was marked by the momentous occasion of Wally Szczerbiak’s return to Oxford.

Szczerbiak, a former NBA sixth overall draft pick, brought in a crowd of 3,500 plus to Millett Hall.

The ‘Hawks opened the contest with a deep Dalonte Brown three at 19:10 which elicited a massive roar from the rowdy crowd. However, the ‘Hawks were quite shaky from there after in the first half, going 1-of-10 from behind the arc. In addition, the ‘Hawks couldn’t find any luck in the paint as Toledo’s 6’11’’ sophomore center Luke Knapke proved difficult to score on -- he would finish the contest with five blocks.

Toledo, led by MAC Player of the Year contender senior Tre’Shaun Fletcher and three point specialist junior forward Nate Navigato, were instrumental in leading the Rockets to a 33-22 halftime lead as the ‘Hawks

struggled to gain momentum on the offensive side of the ball.

However, the Hawks’ gained footing on offense and at 15:45 of the second half, junior guard Darrian Ringo made an acrobatic layup, again eliciting roars, cutting Toledo’s lead to three. This was the highlight of a 12-2 run for the ‘Hawks during the first six minutes of play of the second half.

In addition, freshman guard Nike Sibande had made a deep three to tie the game at 39 apiece.

During the ensuing possession, the ‘Hawks were able to erase the 11-point halftime deficit and take a 41-40 lead. Unfortunately for the RedHawks, the Toledo offense would roar back to life, as the Rockets began to incrementally pull away.

Miami stayed close, but a series of key threes by junior guard Jaelan Sanford propelled the Rockets to keep control of the matchup.

The ‘Hawks had chances late in the game, but critical fouls by Sibande at the 2:35 mark and by McLane, when their team was down two-possessions, all but assured Toledo (18-7, 10-2 Mid-American Conference) a victory.

The ‘Hawks (13-12, 6-6 MAC) next take on Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti tonight at 7 p.m.

‘Wally Night’ shines light on past, gives hope for future ALUMNI

CHRIS VINEL STAFF WRITER

GREG AND RENATE CRAWFORD HONOR MIAMI ALUMNUS WALLY SZCZERBIAK (SECOND FROM RIGHT) WITH ATHLETIC DIRECTOR DAVID SAYLER. MATT HECKERT THE MIAMI STUDENT

A smile constantly spanned the face of Wally Szczerbiak last Friday as the Miami men’s basketball legend made a triumphant return to Oxford. Over 3,500 fans -- the second largest crowd of the season -- filed into Millett Hall to celebrate “Wally Night,” a tribute to Szczerbiak and the most successful era in the history of MU basketball.

Past his playing days, Szczerbiak returned as a CBS analyst to the place once deemed “Wally’s World.”

“I got real emotional getting off

the plane in Cincinnati and taking that drive on 27 into campus,” Szczerbiak said. “This place has truly done a lot for me, my family and my life. I get chills being back here.”

Once upon a time, Szczerbiak played his way into the hearts of Miami and college basketball fans alike. It’s been almost 19 years since his March heroics spurred the 10th-seeded RedHawks to the Sweet Sixteen of the 1999 NCAA Tournament -- the only Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history.

Szczerbiak graced the covers of “Sports Illustrated” and “USA Today” after scoring 43 and 24 points in the first two rounds of the tournament.

“During that tournament run,

his popularity was Steph Curry at Davidson-like,” said James Whitford, an assistant on the Szczerbiak-led Miami teams and now the head coach at Ball State.

But, his professional career has been over for almost a decade. His boyish good looks and muscular build have given way to the slender handsomeness of a soon-to-be 41-year-old.

Due to past knee and hip injuries, he can’t even play pickup basketball in his driveway. Yet, his legacy is still strong at Miami. For fans old and new, he represents a more successful time for Miami basketball. Successful times the current CONTINUED ON PAGE 11