The Miami Student | February 19, 2019

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

Volume 147 No. 17

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

ASG BLOCKS RED BRICK REWARDS REQUIREMENTS RACHEL BERRY ASST. NEWS EDITOR

NIKKI MCGLOSSEN DEFYING GRAVITY. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY: NIKKI MCGLOSSEN INSTAGRAM

Full-time student, part-time aerialist ERIN GLYNN THE MIAMI STUDENT Miami senior Nikki McGlosson seems to be at ease anywhere: from the printmaking studio in Hiestand Hall where she spends most of her time, to dozens of feet in the air on a ribbon attached to the ceiling.

McGlosson is a hired performer with the Cincinnati Circus Company, a commission circus that performs mainly at private par-

ties, county fairs and charity fundraising events. For McGlosson, it’s much like any other part-time job. She trains with the other performers on Tuesday evenings, teaches an aerial class on Wednesdays and spends her free weekends traveling with the circus for gigs, typically in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

She had a fascination with the circus from a young age, joking, as many kids do, about running away to join it. Unlike most

kids, though, she carried that dream into adulthood.

“I just decided, you know what? Why not? And I got online and looked for classes in my area and found the circus company,” McGlossen said.

At first, she just wanted a taste of the high life. But, she became enthralled by it.

“I fell in love immediately,” McGlosson said.

For the first time ever, Miami University’s Associated Student Government (ASG) voted not to approve the tier requirements of the Red Brick Rewards system, though student organization funding for the semester will not be affected.

Red Brick Rewards — the system ASG uses to allot student organizations money by placing them in tiers — was implemented last year under the stipulation that senate would have to vote to re-approve it each semester.

At its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 12, ASG declined to approve the tier requirements, with 16 senators for approving the requirements, 24 against and four abstentions.

Senators have until the end of the semester to approve the requirements, which means Red Brick Rewards is still in effect even though ASG did not approve the tiers.

Many senators said they voted against the tiers because the Diversity and Lanigan Funds — money available for programs that focus on promoting diversity of race, sexuality, ethnicity and thought — were only available to organizations in tier 3, the second-highest tier, meaning it was more difficult for organizations to apply for this funding.

The only change to the tier requirements in the proposal last Tuesday was an amendment to move diversity funding from tier 3 to tier 1, which would make it more accessible to student organizations.

At its meeting tonight, ASG will vote again on Red Brick Rewards. The only difference between this week’s proposal and the one denied last week is that diversity funding would be removed entirely from the tier system.

This proposal was reviewed last week, and representatives from Student Activities were consulted, said Cole Hankins, speaker of senate.

Senate will also vote on whether to amend its standing rules so that any changes to the Red Brick Rewards system wouldn’t take effect until the following semester. If that proposal passes, all student organizations who have funding hearings this spring would be eligible for diversity funding. berryrd@miamioh.edu

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

ARENA

Parkland survivors tackle activism, guns, politics DUARD HEADLEY ASST. CULTURE EDITOR Hundreds of people filed through a pair of metal detectors into Hall Auditorium last night, entering a venue peppered with about a dozen armed officers, in what University Lecture Series organizers described as one of the most secure events Hall has ever hosted.

The audience came to hear two prominent individuals talk about an incredibly divisive topic. David Hogg and Alex Wind, two 18-year-old survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last February, came to talk about gun violence and activism.

In calling the audience to action, the speakers also attempted to cover a wide array of issues in their two-hour talk. Because they touched on so many different topics — toxic masculinity, gun violence, political activism and more — the event was cluttered with several highly controversial issues and emotional and tense at times.

The night began with Eric Buller, director of the Wilks Leadership Institute, coming on stage to moderate the event. When he introduced the two student activists, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers.

Buller was quick to ensure the audience he planned to keep the talk from getting mired in political arguments, a point echoed by JS Bragg, assistant director of student activities for Miami Activities and Programming and

member of the University Lecture Series committee.

“We aren’t here to discuss the politics of these young men,” Buller said. “And we aren’t here to debate yours.”

Bragg said the Lecture Series, rather than hold a public debate, intended to highlight the importance of activism, particularly for the younger generation.

“We chose to bring these speakers here because they are examples of students who are really making an impact,” Bragg said. “We believe that people should be out there as an activist for whatever their values are and whatever their beliefs are.”

Hogg addressed the audience directly, assuring them he welcomed disagreement.

“If you’re here and you disagree with our views, thank you,” Hogg said.

Instead of having audience members ask questions to Hogg and Wind directly, the organizers of the event created a Google form through which audience members could submit questions.

Despite assurances from the moderator that the talk would veer away from heavily political issues, the discussion was split between two overarching topics: the problems that gun violence creates in our country, and how young people need to be the ones making substantial changes in America and the world.

The first topic was undoubtedly the most controversial. The speakers, Hogg in particular, found it hard to contain their emotions as

PARKLAND SURVIVORS DAVID HOGG (LEFT) AND ALEX WIND (RIGHT) MADE MIAMI THEIR MOST RECENT STOP ON A NATIONAL SPEAKING TOUR. THE MIAMI STUDENT ZAIM HAQ

they voiced their opinions on a range of volatile issues.

Hogg was quick to bring up the National Rifle Association (NRA) and their ties to the gun manufacturing industry. He was adamant in his insistence that the NRA didn’t truly care about gun owners, saying they were interested only in gun sales.

He went on to say that many lawmakers don’t have an interest in changing gun laws,

and also discussed how the media under-reports on shootings in areas populated primarily by people of color.

He said these things needed to change.

“A congressman that represents the people in this room is not going to change anything unless the people in this room get very pissed off about something,” Hogg said.

He went on to say that Republican lawCONTINUED ON PAGE 3

This Issue

Make ‘em laugh humor on page 8&9

Fewer applicants for Class of 2023

Freezing at the farmers market

The number of Chinese students applying to Miami is down by 37 percent.

Local farmers move plants indoors to avoid harsh winter weather.

News » page 5

The intangibles

Culture » page 6

Sometimes, silence is golden

Purple nail polish, sticks in trashcans and everything that helped Miami hockey snap its streak.

Our columnist shares his experience getting comfortable with being quiet

Sports » page 11

Opinion » page 12

This Week

2 FYI

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 Named the Best College Newspaper (Non-daily) in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists.

JACK EVANS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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

Emily Brustoski Video Editor Maya Fenter Magazine Editor Alyssa Melendez Web Designer Lindsay Cerio Business Manager

James Tobin Faculty Adviser

WDJ Inc. - Bill Dedden Distributor Aim Media Midwest Printer Sydney Hill Brianna Porter Copy Editors

Derek Stamberger Nikki Saraniti Video Producers

Emily Dattilo Asst. Opinion Editor

Sam Keeling Entertainment Editor Anna Minton Style Editor

Novella Reading with Paul Skenazy

Is History a Myth?

The Meaning of ‘The Family of Man’

Fred Reeder Business Adviser

Owen Berg Connor Wells Designers

Michael Serio Humor Editor

Things to do

Shriver Center Campus Store Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

“I grew up in Chicago on overcooked vegetables and the failures of the Chicago Cubs,” is the first line of author and critic, Paul Skenazy’s bio. The University of California, Santa Cruz professor emeritus will be reading from his recent novella, “Temper CA,” a story of a young woman returning home and confronting long-buried secrets.

Donald W. Fritz Pavilion, Armstrong Student Center Thursday, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Havard professor and Pulitzer-winning author Louis Menand will take the stage Thursday evening to discuss the value of Humanities. A rangy public intellectual, Menand is a staff writer at The New Yorker and recieved the National Humanities Medal in 2015. A reception will follow.

Chris Vinel Asst. Sports Editor Julia Arwine Rachel Berry Asst. News Editors Maia Anderson Duard Headley Asst. Culture Editors

Miami Opera

Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality Symposium

Bo Brueck Asst. Photo Editor Advertising information: Send us a letter?

miamistudent.net/advertise eic@miamistudent.net

The Miami Student is published on Tuesdays during the school year by the students of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

The content of The Miami Student is the sole responsibility of The Miami Student staff. Opinions expressed in The Miami Student are not necessarily those of Miami University, its students or staff.

CORRECTIONS POLICY

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

Gates-Abegglen Theater Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.

The Miami Opera takes on the work of Mozart and Menotti in a pair of short performances featuring a cast of vocal-performance majors. Student tickets are free and available at the performance or through Miami Box Office.

Dolibois Rooms B & C, Shriver Center Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

This free, all-day symposium will feature papers, panels, rountable discussions and performances on how race, class, gender and sexuality are expressed in the creative and performing arts.

Miami alumna and womens’ and gender studies scholar Sami Schalk will give a keynote from 5:006:45 p.m.

SECURE YOUR HOME FOR JR/SR YEAR

Our homes are renting now for 2020-21, and there are still a few homes left 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.

Call or text 847-274-6600 or 513-505-4918 Email: info@schmatesrentals.com

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Tripp Lake Camp is looking for males and females who like to travel, meet new people, and teach activites to children.

If you’re interested in spending your summer in MAINE, give us a call or stop by our website for more information.

1-800-997-4347 www.tripplakecamp.com TRIPP LAKE CAMP for Girls

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

3 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Full-time student, part-time aerialist FROM FRONT

She trained for six months until last spring, when she left to study abroad in Osaka, Japan. There, she found the Ikura Circus and continued her training with them.

Though she started her journey in the circus with an aerial act — in which performers pose, flip and drop from silk ribbons suspended from the ceiling — McGlosson now dabbles in an assortment of acts, including lyra (an aerial hoop), rope darts and juggling cubes. She’s also skilled in face-painting and balloon artistry, which she taught herself through YouTube.

Currently she’s training to eat fire.

“Right now, we’re trying to do a thing called ‘Dragon’s Breath’ where you let the fuel burn off inside of your mouth and close it a little, like an ‘o’ so that you can take it out and the wick will still be on fire.”

Her job duties let her try her hand at nearly anything her heart desires.

Her duties range from what McGlosson refers to as “wallpaper gigs,” where she climbs up the aerial silks and performs tricks and poses for up to five hours as the party mills about below her, to more interactive events.

She’s done aerial bartending, where drinks are placed around her onstage and she performs tricks in between serving and talking to people.

She’s dealt blackjack and big six for casino nights. She’s even done archery.

“I never want to see another nerf dart in my life,” McGlosson said with a laugh.

But being a part-time aerialist is not without risks. McGlosson has gotten hurt during training and performances. “[It happens] all the time,” she said. “If you wanna be dumb, you have to be tough. I do try to keep it to the point where I won’t do anything, like, super dumb. So I’m not gonna light myself on fire and do cartwheels through a crowd or anything.” glynnee@miamioh.edu AERIALIST AND STUDENT NIKKI MCGLOSSON SOARS THROUGH THE ROOM ON HER SILKS. CONTRIBUTED BY: NIKKI MCGLOSSON

Parkland survivors FROM FRONT

makers were a large reason safe gun laws weren’t getting passed.

As the event progressed, no matter the question that was asked, Hogg brought the discussion back to the issues he was passionate about.

In response to a question about why they continued to raise awareness on gun safety issues, Hogg segued, turning the discussion toward the topic of making schools safer.

“Let me describe to you what an ideal school looks like to [someone who is against safe gun laws],” Hogg said. “One point of entry, armed security guards, bulletproof walls with minimal windows...and to make sure people can’t get over the fence, put barbed wire on top of it. What did I just describe to you?”

“A prison,” the audience chorused.

He warned that avoiding laws that restricted gun ownership would turn schools into prisons, also bringing up the issue of the “schoolto-prison pipeline.”

As much as the discussion veered into decidedly political territory and away from the neutrality promised at the outset, it also touched heavily upon activism in general. Wind and Hogg urged members of the audience, particularly the younger attendees, to take action on topics they were passionate about.

“If you’re interested in an issue and you’re trying to figure out the

Featured Photos

best way to tackle it, go straight ahead,” Wind said. “Do research, figure out what people are proposing and what they aren’t proposing and then figure out what you want to do about it.”

As activists themselves, Hogg and Wind are aware of the power that young people hold and the potential for change they represent.

They’re also aware that it’s hard to stand up and fight for something you believe in when you feel young and inexperienced, but said that people needed to act nonetheless.

“If you just sit at home, watch the news and think ‘Wow, this is terrible,’ then you’re not doing anything to solve the problem,” Wind said.

The main point of Hogg and Wind’s discussion of activism was that the young people of America hold the most power despite the fact they’re often the least vocal.

While the talk was frequently unfocused, it was apparent the two activists were passionate about the issues they brought up.

“Young people have been the catalysts for change for years and years and years,” Wind said. “We just don’t realize that as young people. If lawmakers won’t make the change, it’s time for us to step up and take the mantle.”

Additional reporting by Maia Anderson. headledd@miamioh.edu

Courtyards of Miami is offering TWO special lease options, only while they last.

A two bedroom to lease, 1st semester ONLY. (Aug to Dec 2019) 2 students needed.

VENDORS AT THE OXFROD FARMERS MARKET SELL SOAP AND BEE-WAX CANDLES. THE MIAMI STUDENT SARAH BROSSART

A one bedroom to lease, 2nd semester ONLY. (Jan to May 2020) Possible special rate.

This past Saturday the market operated under a brilliant sun with the perfect summer soundtrack of birds chirping and dogs barking.

The only difference from a May market, of course, being the high of 24 degrees and layers of hoodies, jackets and scarves.

Contact Carolyn at thecourtyardsofmiami@ yahoo.com

Head to page six for more on the farmers market.

4 NEWS

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

MU Blockchain club hosts conference on blockchain and 21st-century tech RYAN DERN

THE MIAMI STUDENT

You might have heard of Bitcoin, with all the traction it’s gained over the past several years as the popular cryptocurrency used by techies everywhere – even to the point that Ohio now lets you use Bitcoin to pay your taxes. What very few people truly understand is the technology that makes it work.

Last Sunday, Miami University’s Blockchain Club (MUBC) held their first conference with several experts in the field to discuss the technology.

Michael Dowling, the former head of blockchain development at IBM and current CEO of Northwell Health, was the conference’s keynote speaker.

Blockchain is the record keeping system behind bitcoin. According to Investopedia, “blocks” are chunks of digital information about particular, unique transactions. Once a transaction is completed and verified, its information becomes part of a block.

That block is then added to the blockchain, where it becomes public.

The chief of staff in the Ohio Treasurer’s Office, Chris Berry, spoke about government implementation of cryptocurrency and how Ohio citizens are now able to pay their taxes with Bitcoin.

Billy Becker, a Miami junior and finance major, started MUBC last year along with Patrick Young, Jake Salerno and Spencer Applebaum. Young and Salerno are senior marketing and junior architecture majors, respectively, while Applebaum no longer attends Miami. The club has nearly 240 members, and Becker claims it is one of the largest academic blockchain groups in the world.

“I think [bitcoin]’s been really overregulated and didn’t necessarily pop, but it got way too big way too fast,” Becker said. “The amount of gains people were seeing were just astronomical. Everyone has heard stories about how people put in a tiny bit of money, and now they’re millionaires.

It’s an asset class that has a long way to go and will do well in the future.”

As the economic market continues to digitize, developing countries and nations facing economic difficulty now sometimes choose to hedge their bets in cryptocurrency because their own physical currency cannot compete on the global market. For instance, Venezuela has implemented its own form of cryptocurrency in the form of “Petro” that is based on the selling of Venezuelan oil.

“One conversation we had during one of our meetings is that in countries like Iraq, where their currency is nowhere as good as the dollar… Instead of putting your savings in a bank, you literally go home and put it under your mattress,” Becker said. “As terrible as it sounds, a buddy of mine has a friend in Iraq whose family did this. Their

Miami to offer “pathways” to Oxford campus for regional admits CHARLIE ORTMAN THE MIAMI STUDENT

MUBC MEMBER KARAN GUPTA PRESENTS (TOP) 10XTS CEO AND FOUNDER MICHAEL HILES LECTURES (BOTTOM) PHOTO BY SABIK AKAND

house burnt down and all of their savings are just gone.”

Becker said nations experiencing financial turmoil can find a viable monetary option in Bitcoin.

Despite the “tech bro” allure, the conference was diversely attended.

It was a room full of people from all backgrounds talking about real, digital currency – from business majors to literature students.

Vasanthi Chalasani, the director of IT and Nextgen at Procter and Gamble (P&G), was one of the first presenters of the day. She has spent 20 years with the company and has worked on

P&G’s use of blockchain over the past 5 years.

Chalasani said that while technology is always innovating and moving forward, it is important that everyone who uses that technology can both understand and trust it.

“If you don’t have good, valuable data, then you just have a technology for the sake of technology,” Chalasani said. “The biggest selling point we have for the blockchain is the security of data.”

Makayla Sheehan, a first-year business major at Miami, came to the conference as a requirement for her

business analytics class. She was assigned to talk about what she learned from one of the speakers, and she said she came out of the experience with a better understanding of blockchain as a whole.

“I went in not really knowing what to expect, and honestly I was not looking forward to it,” Sheehan said. “But afterwards, I actually understood what exactly all the hype was about in the business world.” dernre@miamioh.edu

Beginning in the fall semester of 2019-2020, Miami University is changing the Miami Pathways program for students who were not originally offered admission to the Oxford campus. In the past, the Miami Pathway Program was only offered to students from nearby towns, who would be required to commute to the regional campuses for their first semester.

The new program allows students who were initially only accepted to Miami’s regional campuses in Middletown or Hamilton to live in a Living Learning Community (LLC) on the Oxford campus while taking classes at those regional campuses.

First-year students in the Pathways program must successfully complete one semester – 16 credit hours – and have at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA to be granted access to taking classes on the Oxford campus their second semester.

Ohio State University (OSU) and Kent State University (KSU) have similar programs that encourage students who did not originally qualify to attend their main campuses.

But OSU and Kent’s programs partner with community colleges, rather than offering living accommodations on the main campus and attending classes on a satellite campus. OSU’s pathway program consists of students either living on a satellite campus or commuting to community college. “[Miami Pathways] was designed to allow or provide opportunity for students who aren’t otherwise admissible,” Susan Schaurer, Miami’s associate vice president for strategic enrollment management and marketing, said.

Schaurer said the Miami Pathways program is not intended to compete with OSU. “Ohio State has housing on their regional campuses, which gives us a unique opportunity ... because these students are living on the Oxford campus from day one,” she said.

“Miami Pathways has existed for years without housing, but the number of students in it has been declining because students want to start on a residential campus.”

Schaurer said even though more students will be living in Oxford, Miami has no current plans to establish new residence halls.

“The number of students in the program per year will only be around 25 to 100, so we currently have no long-term plan to create new residence halls,” Schaurer said. ortmanc2@miamioh.edu

ASG elects new Speaker Pro Tempore, rejects Red Brick Rewards ERIN GLYNN

THE MIAMI STUDENT

In an unexpected move, Miami University’s Associated Student Government (ASG) elected a first-year to its leadership, confirming political science major Benjamin Mitsch as Speaker Pro Tempore at its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 12. Senators also rejected ASG’s Red Brick Rewards funding system at the meeting.

Mitsch ran against juniors Adrian Radilla and Edith Lui for the Speaker Pro Tempore seat.

In his campaign, Radilla stressed the need for oversight reform and referenced the “not-optimal work environment” that former Speaker Tatum Andres had to contend with last semester.

Lui emphasized her background as a capable and organized senator who has served on the administrative committee and had experience talking with administrators.

Mitsch described his experience with discipline as a member of Miami’s ROTC and as a police cadet. He proposed improvements to ASG’s attendance system. The current system uses points to track when senators are in attendance at weekly meetings, but does not penalize senators for sending alternates in their stead. Mitsch’s model would keep senators accountable by giving points for engagement during senate meetings and remove them from office for using alternates too many times during a semester. He also stressed his fresh perspective as a first-year, pointing out that he had little investment in any past scandals.

Secretary of Finance Caroline Weimer presented the requirements for each of the four tiers of the Red

Brick Rewards ASG funding system for senate to approve. She explained that though the funding committee does not believe the system is without its flaws, it has decided not to make changes before the fall semester so as to complete the system’s one-year trial period and avoid confusing student organizations.

Red Brick Rewards was imple-

failure to approve the requirements would “cause chaos.”

Senator Atticus Block disagreed with Hoffman.

“This is my third semester in senate, and if this passes, this will be the third time a funding thing has come to the floor last minute, and [the Funding Committee] has told us there will be chaos if it doesn’t pass,” Block said.

“I want you to leave the debate in this room and try to take a step back and remember to represent the student body.” mented with the caveat that the system would be brought to the senate floor once a semester to be approved.

Senate has voted to approve the system every semester since its implementation, making this vote a break from the norm.

Senator Max Mellott questioned the hierarchy of the tier requirements. Mellott argued that the eligibility to request funding from the Student Activities Diversity Initiative Grant, which sponsors programs that heighten awareness of diversity issues, and from the Lannigan New Initiative Grant, which supports organizations’ needs that can’t be met through traditional funding, should not be restricted to Tier 3.

Secretary of the Treasury Will Hoffman responded that many of the requirements are beyond ASG’s control and that concerned senators should talk to the Student Activities office. Hoffman added that he felt it was “unprofessional” to change the requirements at the last minute before continuing discussion with the Student Activities office and that a

Senate rejected the funding system.

The meeting began with reports from Student Body President Meaghan Murtagh, Secretary for Diversity and Inclusion Courtney Rose and Secretary for On-Campus Affairs Effie Fraley.

Murtagh reminded ASG that in light of swearing in new members, senators should remember to interact often with their constituents and to leave their personal lives out of the senate chamber.

“I want you guys to share your opinions, but I want you to leave the debate in this room and try to take a step back and remember to represent the student body,” Murtagh said.

Rose informed senate about the Diversity and Inclusion committee initiatives to alleviate housing costs for students. They plan to draft legislation after the committee meets with the Residence Hall Association (RHA). They also mentioned the committee’s work with Brick Street owner Mark Weisman to offer bystander training — which demonstrates how

to intervene in situations that involve harassment and alcohol abuse — to Brick Street’s 350 employees.

Fraley updated senate on their committee’s decision to focus on four main projects this semester. On-Campus Affairs intends to attempt to modify the Ingress (one-door) policy and student meal plans to make both more amenable to students. The committee is currently working to place trash receptacles inside women’s bathroom stalls on campus. They are also partnering with the Student Health Service (SHS) to inform students about the availability of prescription bags with identifying features in hopes of preventing students from sharing their medication.

This year, spending in the Student Body Presidential election cannot exceed $250 for the general election — and an additional $50 in case of a runoff — per ticket. Last year, candidates could spend no more than $1,500 on the general election and $500 should there be a runoff election.

Although some senators were concerned a decreased spending cap would equate to less visibility for the upcoming election, others argued that a higher cap deters potential candidates from running by making them think that a candidate ticket would need to produce $2,000 in campaign funding out-of-pocket.

Tonight, Miami’s Vice President for Finance David Creamer will speak and answer questions in front of ASG. There will also be four elections: one to fill an on-campus 1st district seat, one to fill an on-campus 2nd district seat and two senator-at-large positions. glynnee@miamioh.edu

To our intern across the pond:

We love you like Edward R. Murrow loves fair and balanced reporting.

Also, we recycled your joke.

Love, The Miami Student

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

5 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Number of applicants decreased for incoming class of 2023 RACHEL BERRY

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

The composition of Miami University’s international student population will change with the class of 2023, as the number of Chinese students applying to Miami is down 37 percent from last year’s numbers. The number of domestic student applications has stayed relatively constant, and Miami has admitted more students overall than it did last year.

The university received 1,335 fewer applications from Chinese students than it did for fall 2018 admission, which contributed to a 4.6 percent decline in applications overall. Over 200 more applications came in from countries other than China, with significantly more Vietnamese and Indian students considering Miami.

Susan Schaurer, associate vice president for strategic enrollment management and marketing, said that the university’s student profile is reflective of the decline in Chinese students’ applications.

“When you take any kind of loss from an area that’s your largest feeder, just like Ohio would be domestically, you certainly feel that impact.”

Aaron Bixler, associate director for international recruitment, said there are four factors contributing to the decrease in Chinese applications: the political relationship between the United States and China, Miami’s U.S. and World Report rankings, the number of seats available in Chinese universities and the quality of Chinese universities. China has made an effort to improve its colleges in recent years, so more students are choosing to stay closer to home, Bixler said.

These factors affect the number of Chinese students choosing to study in the United States in general, not just

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR WELLS

at Miami.

According to The Institute of International Education, the number of new international students enrolling at U.S. universities decreased by 6.3 percent from the 2016-17 school year to 2017-18, which is the most recent data.

“I think we’ve been proactive [when recruiting] in China for a while, and I think that’s helped with maybe delaying the decrease in applications from China that other schools have begun seeing maybe a couple years ago,” Bixler said. “We’ve managed to stay more or less even, but I think it’s catching up to us.”

Despite the decline in applications from China, Schaurer remains positive about the incoming class’ ability

to succeed at Miami.

“While you see applications decreasing slightly, when you look at the quality of the applicant pool and quality of the students you’re admitting, we’re in a great position,” Schaurer said. “We have really made efforts on recruiting the right type of student.”

Those efforts have paid off, as high school seniors who were accepted to Miami have an average GPA of 3.9 and an average ACT score of 28.9, both of which are increases from the current first-year cohort.

Decreased population numbers account for decline in domestic applications A regional population decline in

Hybrid class yields higher GPAs in statistics, but leaves students unsatisfied TIM CARLIN

STAFF WRITER

For many Miami University students, college is their first experience with learning in non-traditional classroom settings, which can take time to adjust to. College also marks some students’ first time taking higher-level math courses, like statistics.

When signing up to take STA 261 — Miami’s introductory statistics course that fulfills the Global Miami Plan Formal Reasoning requirement — the only option students have is to enroll in a hybrid class.

A hybrid course combines a standard lecture and online course into a singular learning experience. For STA 261, the hybrid model is combined with the inverted class model, meaning all new information is introduced in video lectures outside the classroom. The two class meetings a week are devoted to reviewing topics and small group lab activities.

Senior lecturer and STA 261 course coordinator Lynette Hudiburgh, who began teaching at Miami in 2011, first utilized the hybrid model in her STA 261 classroom in fall 2013.

“Back in 2013, I piloted the first hybrid course in my department, and we saw huge student gains,” Hudiburgh said. “Not only in understanding, but retention, and also our DWF rate decreased.”

The DWF rate refers to the number of students who receive D’s, F’s, or withdraw (W) from the class.

After Hudiburgh had used the hybrid model in her own classes for an entire school year and observed its effect on students, the statistics department decided to implement the hybrid model to all 25 sections of STA 261, she said.

From 2009 to 2013, the average GPA for all students who completed STA 261 was 2.69. After implementing the hybrid model course-wide in 2014, the average GPA increased to 2.81.

While the average GPA for the course has increased, the student response is mixed.

“It’s bimodal,” Hudiburgh said.

“You have some students who really love it… But then you also have those other students who — this is their first time they have had a non-typical lecture, and they’re not quite sure, so they fight it.”

First-year political science and psychology double-major Tim Binnig finds STA 261 to be somewhat of a challenge. He took a hybrid health class in high school, but this semester is Binnig’s first experience learning a new subject through the hybrid format.

“There wasn’t as much learning [in the health class]. We would have to do outside of class … It was a little bit less intensive compared to a math-based course,” Binnig said.

“In a math-based class like stats, you want to be able to ask the professor questions like ‘How does this work?,’ ‘Can you explain this further?,’ but with stats, it’s just the videos.”

Binnig acknowledged that learning a new subject with the inverted hybrid method has both advantages and disadvantages.

“The videos that are there are a little bit more helpful because they are trying to explain each aspect that’s in the book, but then that can only go so far,” Binnig said. “It works to a point, and then you’re still not fully mastering the topic … You can’t ask questions on the material when its fresh in your mind.”

But the increased difficulty of hybrid courses can be an opportunity for learning, Hudiburgh said.

“It’s so much easier to just sit in a lecture hall and have somebody talk at you instead of having to engage with the material and do things and apply things,” Hudiburgh said. “But that’s the reason why the learning is deeper in this kind of a model.”

Adjusting to a hybrid course can be difficult, but she also knows that appeasing everyone is impossible.

“Unfortunately we can’t please everyone. So, you have to go to the research and you have to say, ‘What is best for students?’” carlintm@miamioh.edu

the U.S. means that fewer students are graduating high school and applying to college.

According to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), there were approximately 124,500 high school graduates in Ohio in 2018. That number is expected to drop by 2,500 in 2019. By 2029, WICHE expects Ohio will only have 108,300 high school graduates, which is an 11.6 percent decrease over 10 years.

These trends are expected to continue in Ohio as well as the Midwest and Northeast U.S., the two regions where Miami receives the highest number of out-of-state applications.

Regional populations are predicted to grow in the Southeast,

Southwest and Pacific Northwest, so Schaurer said Miami is aiming to increase recruitment efforts in these areas.

Meanwhile, the overall decrease in applications is affecting schools across the state of Ohio.

Craig Cornell, senior vice provost for strategic enrollment management at Ohio University (OU), said their overall enrollment numbers have decreased 4.1 percent in the past year.

The University of Akron saw a 7 percent decrease in enrollment from 2017 to 2018, according to data on their website.

WICHE predicts enrollment data 13 years in advance, meaning Miami admissions staff anticipated the decline in applications. This prediction led to the implementation of new programs at Miami such as the Presidential Fellows, a full scholarship program which is being introduced with the class of 2023.

Miami also began Red Brick Roadshows this year. This is a program where admissions staff visit cities across the country in January, inviting accepted students to learn more about Miami and meet with young alumni from that city. The roadshows allow students to interact with representatives from Miami in their hometown. Schaurer’s staff hopes that engagement entices students to come to a Make it Miami event later in the spring.

Admissions staff have visited 1,993 high schools this year compared to 635 schools in 2011.

All of the admissions data listed are current as of Feb. 17. These numbers could change slightly as more students apply. berryrd@miamioh.edu

Oxford city tree uprooted, left on porch JULIA ARWINE

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

A tree planted in the street lawn along Walnut Street met an untimely end after two men stole it from its soil in the early hours of Thursday, Feb. 7.

Surveillance footage from a camera on the outside of the Oxford Municipal Building shows two men spending about ten minutes forcibly prying the tree out of the ground on the south side of 116 W. Walnut St. between 2:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. At one point, they ran around the side of the building to hide before re-emerging and renewing their efforts. Footage also shows a maroon four-door car that drove past and stopped by the two men several times.

“It [wasn’t] just a whim,” Oxford Police Department Lt. Lara Fening said. “I mean, they worked at this. At no point in time while they were there did they think better of it … and then what the heck were they going to do with the tree?”

Not much, it turned out.

After the tree was out of the ground, the men dragged it down Walnut Street a short distance before dropping it off on the porch of 9 W. Walnut St., at a house named Cheval Blanc.

The residents of the house found the tree on their porch the next morn-

ing and, at first, thought that a storm might have uprooted the tree and blown it onto their porch. When police questioned the residents later, they said they thought it might have been a prank, although they still do not know who might have done it.

The residents did not think much of it initially, since they live one block off High Street and have come to expect strange things from Uptown revelers. They said the tree was small, only about six feet tall; they figured that the two men probably just picked a random house to drop the tree at, or meant to leave it at another house.

Fening said the investigation is making progress, and that the culprits will have to pay to replace the tree, in addition to any fees and court costs.

The charges on the police report are listed as criminal damaging and theft.

The tree in question was a Zelkova, a Japanese ornamental tree that can grow up to 60 feet tall. Fening said the one the men uprooted was only planted there about a year ago as part of the renovations to the Oxford Municipal Building at the corner of Walnut Street and College Avenue.

“The $550.00 tree was mortally wounded,” the Oxford Police Department wrote on their Facebook page.

“R.I.P.” arwinejk@miamioh.edu

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6 CULTURE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

MITCHE49@MIAMIOH.EDU

Freezing at the farmers market: How veggies continue to grow in Oxford’s sub-zero temps

said, but now that there are, she can support herself off her business year-round.

“Things constantly have to be growing if you’re going to have anything for market,” she said.

On Saturday, Hutchinson wore a green sweatshirt, a Tractor Supply Co. baseball cap and sunglasses. Her ensemble was complete with one red glove and one blue to compliment her mismatched scrunchies.

Hutchinson looked at her plants as she warmed her fingers together. She admitted her current produce was not quite as sturdy as it is in the summer. In the summer, she said, she has better, stronger plants, when they can be grown outdoors.

Single-seed fruits won’t make it through this year’s cold Across from Hutchinson’s booth, Scott Downing of Downing Fruit Farms stood in front of his white truck full of apples, wearing a single black glove and two hoodies pulled over the top of a red ball cap. Downing is the seventh generation of farmers in his family, operating the farm in its 181st year.

Downing Fruit Farms is known for its apples and cider, and the farm produces 12,000 bushels of apples each year. Accompanying its famous apples on Saturday were jars of apple butter and tubs of locally-sourced honey.

“This is my last week for apples,” Downing said as a customer approached his booth.

Downing is hoping to have apples year-round in the future. His farm is about an hour away in Greenville, Ohio, and he has been coming to every Oxford farmers market for the past 15 years.

When the apples run out, he sells asparagus, and will have radishes at the end of March.

He believes that he sometimes does better at the winter market as opposed to summer since there are less vendors to compete with. However, some of his crops may not survive the cold this winter.

“Trees are dormant right now, but when it gets below zero, any fruit with one seed is susceptible to cold weather,” he said.

That means that his peach and plum trees are not likely to make it through this year. Since the peach trees are so sensitive to the cold, he said he usually only has peaches once every five years. Apple trees, on the other hand, can handle 15 to 20 degrees below.

MADELINE MITCHELL CULTURE EDITOR

Her long, gray hair was pulled back into a two-section ponytail with one pink scrunchie and one blue. She greeted her customer with a “Howdy, ma’am.”

“Sun’s out,” the shopper replied.

Kristi Hutchinson looked at her bags of arugula for sale and pulled a single leaf out of the plastic.

“Getting a little frosted,” Hutchinson said.

The Oxford Farmers Market goes up rain, snow or shine year-round. In the wintertime, the market is only available on the first and third Saturday of each month, compared to its weekly schedule in the summer and fall. This spring, the market will also be open on Tuesdays.

This past Saturday, the market operated under a brilliant sun with the perfect summer soundtrack of birds chirping and dogs barking. The only difference from a May market, of course, being the high of 24 degrees and layers of hoodies, jackets and scarves.

Yet somehow the recent cold spells have not eliminated the production of fresh, local fruits and vegetables. Over the years, farmers in the region have found ways to continue selling crops all year; some by stocking up on produce in the fall, others by moving their farms indoors.

Beets in buckets Hutchinson, owner of 5 Oaks Organics, has been growing crops inside her home for years. She moved to a new house with a furnace in August, but before then she had been filling the empty bedrooms of her home with plants, keeping them warm from the sunlight shining in through the bedroom windows.

“Outside is the better way to do it,” she said.

“Plants are supposed to have soil, wind and the rain.”

A warm smile goes a long way

VENDORS BROUGHT IN PRODUCE FROM BASEMENTS AND BACKYARDS ALIKE. THE MIAMI STUDENT SARAH BROSSART

Now, on her new 15-acre property, Hutchinson does grow crops outside when the weather is right. But in the winter, she has found the best way to continue her business is by setting up an indoor farm in her long, narrow basement.

On five-foot wooden shelves sit arugula and spinach in wooden trays while beets in buckets are scattered across the floor. Hutchinson hangs shop lights over the plants to warm them to a proper 60-degree soil temperature and places trays of water underneath the crops to avoid spraying water on top of the plants, which can lead to mold.

There is about one week in which the plants just grow within the soil; the seeds split open, and eventually the plants bud to the surface. Besides keeping the plants warm, the shop lights also aid

in the coloration of the plants. If they don’t get any light, Hutchinson said, the plants will turn out pale instead of the deep green that she wants.

It takes five to six weeks for the plants to be ready for market, and the process keeps her very busy.

“I am probably down there four to five hours a day,” she said. “Yesterday, I was there nine hours.”

Hutchinson then chanted the process aloud, imitating the cyclical motions of her day: “Cut it, spin it, bag it. A lot of up and down the stairs.”

“I’m always planting, always cutting, always watering,” she said. “But normal people probably have a greenhouse.”

Hutchinson makes her living off of these plants. There didn’t used to be winter markets, she

Despite the cold, Saturday’s farmers market was full of smiles, laughter and friendly conversations among vendors and customers alike. Market manager Larry Slocum welcomed guests with a wide smile and open arms, same as every other Saturday.

“It’s all about energy,” he said as he milled about the market.

The market has dwindled significantly from its peak season in the fall, down to eight vendors now from the 25-plus listed on their website.

Daniel French of 37 Acres Grass Farm said the market is much more laid-back in the winter, and he won’t come if the weather gets below 20 degrees. However, French doesn’t have to worry about the growth of his product in these freezing temperatures.

“Winter markets work well for us because everything is frozen,” he laughed, gesturing to the chicken and pork packages in his truck. He didn’t take them out for fear of the sun thawing the meats. “The really dedicated customers come all year long.” mitche49@miamioh.edu

A weekend of one-acts features students onstage and off KELLY McKEWIN

THE MIAMI STUDENT

RESEARCH BY RACHEL BRANDENBURG TAKES FORM IN A NEW PLAY. THE MIAMI STUDENT BETH PFOHL

From a coven of witches to a distorted tale of Dostoevsky’s prison sentence, this year’s Independent Artist Series will feature four different performances, three of which are original works written

by Miami students.

The Independent Artist Series is run through the theatre department each spring. Students can petition to put on a production as part of the series and, if selected, they direct and produce the show on their own.

For Mackenzie Kirkman, a graduate student who wrote the show “Man, The Creature,” working with an entirely student-run production has given her and the cast a chance to make the show their own.

“I think it’s really nice to give everyone the experience of having complete control over a show,” Kirkman said. “It’s a big learning experience to have both every failure and every big success be your responsibility.”

“Man, The Creature” is loosely based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, “Notes from the Dead House,” one of the earliest prison memoirs. Kirkman wrote the piece as part of her master’s thesis, which focused on the way violence is portrayed on stage.

Though there are four different shows in the series, the cast of each show will help out as crew members for the others. Sophomore Kyle Carson said this repertoire theatre model, where students take on multiple roles in both the cast and the crew, is helpful when it comes to preparing for the future.

“The general consensus is that we want to be doing many different things,” Carson said. “A lot of theatre is repertoire theatre, with people who have to be good in many different roles.”

Carson is co-directing the 15-minute musical

“21 Chump Street” with senior Holly West. Their show is the only show in the series this year that was not written by a student; however, since it is a Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, Carson said he’s heard many people talking about the show in anticipation.

“It’s been awesome exploring this very weird but very exciting process,” Carson said. “[The show] has stirred up a lot of hype in the department, and it’s great to see other people excited about what we’re doing.”

The other two shows in the series are “Ceremonials,” a devised piece that tells the story of an outcast woman meeting up with a coven of witches, and “Internal Affairs,” the story of a depressed man who becomes obsessed with sleeping after he begins dreaming about a friend from college.

“Ceremonials” was written and directed by Rachel Brandenburg, a graduate student. She says her show, and the Independent Artist Series as a whole, gives the actors a chance to create their own characters.

“I think it gives every actor in the piece their own voice,” Brandenburg said. “Every actor involved helped write their own character’s story, which I don’t see a lot in other productions I’ve been a part of. Everyone brings something new to the table and it makes a more cohesive unit.”

The Independent Artist Series will premiere this weekend, Feb. 22-24, with matinees at 2 p.m. and evening performances at 7:30 p.m. in Hiestand 100. Tickets are free, but required due to limited seating in the theater. Information on obtaining tickets can be found on the Independent Artist Series blog. mckewikm@miamioh.edu

MITCHE49@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

CULTURE 7

Pets of Oxford: Hugh the hamster EMILY DATTILO

ASST. OPINION EDITOR

Blake Schubert met his roommate last March at a Petsmart in Cincinnati. Schubert, a sophomore IMS major, decided to purchase an emotional support animal for his migraines. He asked his parents about buying a flying squirrel, a cat and a bunny. But each time, the answer was no — it was a hamster or nothing.

After this decree, Blake went to the pet store and chose the cutest, chubbiest hamster he could find and decided to call him Hugh.

And after a 45-minute trip to an exotic pet veterinarian to ensure Hugh was healthy, Blake got to take his new furry friend home.

Now, Hugh resides in Hillcrest Hall on the bottom shelf of a wooden pop-up closet, comfortably nestled in a colorful cage. His favorite snacks are tropical-flavored drops that come in a brightly decorated bag bearing a yellow pineapple graphic. Schubert says Hugh loves to run around, but eating a treat keeps him in one spot, at least for a minute or two.

One time, Blake gave Hugh six treats in a single day, which didn’t bother him in the slightest — Hugh just stored them in his cheeks to save for later.

Hugh loves visitors because they typically mean attention and perhaps an extra treat or two. Visitors love Hugh because he’s adorable, full of energy and a novelty.

After all, Oxford has plenty of dogs walking through campus, but the hamster population is fairly low.

When people come to visit, Hugh is an avid explorer, scampering up the arms of his visitors, nestling into the corners or attempting to squeeze under the couch.

He’s a bit of a thrill seeker, which worries Blake sometimes because he’s afraid of Hugh escaping. So, when Hugh takes a leisurely vacation from his cage, he usually resides in the comfort and convenience of a plastic ball.

Though Blake doesn’t have a human roommate, he and Hugh have a fair roommate

agreement and live together peacefully. Blake agrees to change Hugh’s food every two to three days and replace his bedding and clean his wheel on a weekly basis. Hugh, in turn, agrees to be well-mannered and welcoming to any visitors and tries his best to keep his nocturnal wheel-running as quiet as possible.

Hugh breaks the roommate agreement fairly often, waking Blake up at least once a night, which Blake has learned to live with.

Despite this, Blake has decided to buy Hugh a new cage, preferably one in the shape of a castle, a rocket ship or a car. He’s leaning toward the car cage because it lights up.

Recently, Blake has seen pictures online of hamsters doing tricks like standing on their back legs, and he’s hoping to teach Hugh to do the same. Learning that skill is probably worth two treats; showing it off to visitors is probably worth at least five. dattilec@miamioh.edu HUGH HOPES TO MASTER STANDING ON HIS BACK LEGS IF ONLY TO GET MORE TREATS. EMILY DATILLO ASST. OPINION EDITOR

Annual Shinnenkai Festival expands its horizons in 2019 THEO MESNICK

THE MIAMI STUDENT

The scent of curry and the beat of drums greeted students as they filed into the Armstrong Pavilion on Friday. Inside, Miami’s Japanese Culture and Language Club (JCLC) was hosting Shinnenkai, a celebration of the Japanese New Year.

“We’ve been planning this event since last year,” said JCLC president Josie Masset. “We always do a Shinnenkai event, but we wanted to make this one really big.”

And they succeeded — the event attracted over 400 people.

Masset described the turnout as “really good.”

As it has in past years, JCLC teamed up with other groups to plan the event. This year, it worked with the Taiko Group, which practices traditional Japanese percussion, and the Anime Club. Both organizations had booths at the event. Passersby even got the chance to try out Taiko drumming for themselves — although most fell short of the synchronicity displayed by the performers.

Attendees also sampled Japanese cuisine and explored booths introducing them to aspects of Japanese culture: origami, Omamori good luck pouches (small satchels with wishes written on them), calligraphy, traditional dress and more.

At each booth, attendees received a stamp on a “passport” to be applied toward food and raffle tickets. The raffle prizes included a Nintendo Switch and a Fujifilm camera.

The event also featured appearances by Four Paws dogs sporting sushi chef bandanas — a popular attraction, as could be expected.

The event also included performances from the Taiko Group, Fusion Dance Team and the Red

Dragons Martial Arts club. Senior Jonathan Marcaly, a member of the Red Dragons, said the event was a unique opportunity for performers as well as attendees. “[Demonstrations] give you a unique opportunity where you get to push yourself as a martial artist in ways you don’t get to in the studio,” Marcaly said.

The dedication applied by performers from all three groups was apparent in their expressive displays of talent. Energetic chanting and the pounding of drums thrummed through the room as the Taiko Group performed. There was an audible “ooh” when sophomore martial artist Olivia Snyder effortlessly picked up and threw her opponent. Members of the Red Dragons even smashed brick with their bare hands.

While the event aimed to entertain, it wasn’t strictly fun and games. Students who didn’t know much about Japanese culture were granted the opportunity to expand their knowledge by folding colorful paper into cranes, donning floral kimonos and answering trivia questions. Sophomore Tim Doren, who was volunteering at the Omamori booth, was thrilled at the chance to educate.

“It’s really cool to teach people,” he said. “And by teaching people I’ve learned a lot.”

Attendees naturally gravitated toward the food table, but their interest was piqued by other activities, too. Many enjoyed the culture and history presented by the booths, and others were drawn to the dynamic nature of the performances.

The Japanese Culture and Language Club is open to anyone interested in Japanese culture, regardless of knowledge of the language. It meets at 7:00 p.m. every other Tuesday in Upham Hall. mesnictr@miamioh.edu

miamistudent.net/joinus

Students learn the fundamentals of scene painting, brick by brick

STUDENTS BUILD BRICKS WITH PAINT INSTEAD OF MORTAR. PHOTO EDITOR JUGAL JAIN

MAYA FENTER

MAGAZINE EDITOR

In room 139 in the Center for Performing Arts, there are no desks. The only chairs in the room are stacked in a corner and are only used from time to time.

The ceilings are high. The cement floor is covered in dried patches of paint.

Twelve students file in every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:05 for Scene Painting Fundamentals.

They’re dressed like any other students around campus wearing sweatpants, gym shorts, jeans, t-shirts and sweaters — but their shoes are marked with drops of dried paint.

Their professor, Gion DeFrancesco, is wearing a red jumpsuit emblazoned with the Miami logo, also splattered with paint.

Gion (pronounced “John”) has spent the past few classes teaching his students about bricks. He told them to do some research, to look at different types of bricks and to bring in photos to reference for their project.

In Thursday’s class they were finishing up their brick study. The students grabbed their half-painted flats,

spread out around the room and set them on the ground next to reference photos slid inside plastic sheet protectors. Then they went to the back corner of the room, which was overflowing with paint cans and buckets lining shelves and stacked up on the floor, to mix their paint.

Half of their flats were covered in “hard bricks” — bricks in red and brown hues with straight lines and crisp edges that were uniform in size and shape, like the bricks adorning the exteriors of Miami buildings.

On the other half, students were to paint “soft bricks,” bricks with rounded edges and less harsh lines that looked older and a bit weathered.

“I have to relearn what I did last time,” said junior Gina Moravec, a professional writing major with a media and culture co-major and theatre minor, observing the half she had already finished.

Where her neat rows of brown bricks stopped, she filled the rest of her flat with grey paint, lighter in some parts and darker in others, since brick walls are seldom one uniform color.

She dipped her paintbrush into one of her small white buckets of dark grey paint, then drew a splotch on the floor

get rid of any excess.

She began dragging her paintbrush across her flat in semi-straight lines.

These would be the outline of the bricks — or the mortar, if we’re talking in technical brick terms.

The students used regular paintbrushes attached to long bamboo sticks with rubber bands to make them taller.

This let them stand up straight while painting as though they were sweeping a floor; it also saves painters’ backs from bending down for hours.

After Gina finished making the outlines, she lined her bricks with lighter and darker shades of grey. These created a highlight and cutline, which is what makes the bricks appear 3-dimensional.

In scene painting, you have to consider how a painting will read from far away. Even the closest person looking at the painting will be at least 20 feet away in the theater. You have to make it stand out while also considering how it will work with the lighting and other elements of a production.

As they work, the room is silent except for the constant whir of a fan sitting in the corner and Gion’s intermittent words of encouragement.

“No one’s is going to be perfect,” he called out. “We’re learning about process. If I tell you how to do it one way, it doesn’t mean you did it wrong.”

One by one, the students began leaning their flats upright against the walls as they finished.

They took pictures of their work with their phones, pleasantly surprised that their bricks looked even more realistic in the photos.

The class gathered in the center of the room and went through each of the flats lined along the perimeter.

Junior theatre major Abby Chafe’s soft bricks had some orange hues to them, a color that Gion admitted he was skeptical about when she started, but thought turned out well.

“I feel like I could bounce a ball off that wall,” one of her classmates complimented her.

They went through each person’s work, noting the things that worked and those that didn’t.

Then, each student retrieved their flat and Gion told them to paint over half of it with white paint so they could use the space for their next project.

Everyone began sweeping a thick layer of white paint over their boards, upset that they had to cover half of their hard work. Meanwhile, Gion stood by the rolling chalkboard, ready for their next lesson: stones. fentermc@miamioh.edu

Humor

8

SERIOMP@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Thousands of Jeeps roost outside of sorority girls’ houses for winter months MICHAEL SERIO

tive pheromone, or that ritualistic chants act as a sort of mating call for the boxy cars.

Many believe the strange symbols of triangles and circles with slashes through them, so often found in the sorority homes, are the key to discovering the truth behind the wonder.

Sadly, the only words of the ancient language that have been deciphered are “wine moms only.”

Though most Jeeps that roost are wild, those that have been caught and domesticated by a horde of sorority girls are often used as beasts of burden, carrying copious amounts of wine and White Claw from local merchants.

The domesticated breed of Jeep may seem docile at first, but onlookers are strongly advised to be aware of their stampeding nature, often ignoring stop signs and other natural formations like curbs all together. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cautions pedestrians to take heed of any rogue Jeep on its way to a fraternity pre-game or pottery painting studio.

“We hope this is the year where we finally crack the mystery of the Jeep’s nature,” said Henders. “Only then can we finally move on to another mystery that’s been plaguing biologists: the spontaneous blossoming of beer cans on fraternity lawns every spring.”

HUMOR EDITOR

What can only be described as one of the greatest phenomena of the natural world occurred last Thursday, as thousands of Jeeps gathered to roost outside of sorority girls’ houses for the cold winter months.

A flock of jeeps, more scientifically known as a Jeep Wrangleherd, will often take nest between February and April in hopes of keeping warm by the strung up fairy lights outside every house.

This occurrence, as well as fraternity members’ shirts flying off their body while day drinking, are known as the great natural wonders of the modern world. Only in localized regions, such as small towns with colleges in them and the Natural Light Factory, can such phenomena occur.

“No one knows exactly why this natural wonder happens,” said environmental biologist Carrie Henders. “The leading theory is that a chemical called ‘payrints mon-e’ has something to do with it. The more payrints mon-e going through the house, the higher the probability a jeep will take nest.”

Other theories are that empty cherry vodka bottles put up as decoration give off an attrac-

seriomp@miamioh.edu

ILLUSTRATION BY: CONNOR WELLS

Oxford Singles Bar, February 14th, 4:00 P.M. NOAH BERTRAND

THE MIAMI STUDENT

In the southwest corner of the southwestern Ohio town of Oxford sits a singles bar, bustling on its busiest day of the year. Singles flock from all over the college town to escape the entrapping horror of couples. But what should be an escape feels more like a purgatory, as the same sorts of people seem to walk through every year. Who are these people? Well I’m glad you asked.

Josh “I’m just not interested in a relationship right now, you know” Summerfield Josh is just not that kind of guy. He is currently more focused on spending time with his fraternity brothers and finding himself than being tied down by some chick. It would honestly be a waste of his time because his time is valuable, and who has time for vulnerability and companionship? As far as he’s concerned, he’s in a loving relationship with himself, and it’s hot.

Lindsay “The Missing Link” McLuhan For some reason, Lindsay just can’t seem to keep a guy. She is loving and kind, but for some reason they always leave her. She does all of the right things: She makes sure she knows where her man is, she ensures that no rival females make any sort of power move on her schnookems and she protects her relationship by cutting ties on behalf of her boo. There’s some sort of missing factor that dooms these relationships to fail, but Lindsay can’t quite put her finger on it.

Ron “uses the word ‘Madam’” Gurdle Ron thinks he’s here to rescue some down-onher-luck college sophomore that knows how to look past his appearance into his soul. He’s frankly tired of the way he gets treated. She’ll be different than the other filthy whores who reject him solely based on his chunky stature or his supposedly weird “thing” for hair. Those dirty sluts don’t know what nice is, they don’t know what it’s like to be cared for by a gentleman. As far as aRon’s concerned, they can all die. One day he’ll meet his princess that gives him the relationship he “deserves, m’lady.”

A Mole Moles have a tough time finding dates. Not only are they small, but they’re also hard of hearing! Many moles miss potential mates simply by not hearing their flirtations. When moles get within miles of each other, they start exchanging thoughts in hopes of attracting the other to their location. However, their psychic powers are nearly useless in the wake of their auditory impairments.

This mole is a rather sad example. Here he is, scuttling around a human bar, looking for moles.

That’s like trying to find a mole in a haystack (Editor’s note: Moles are known for their evasiveness).

Gregory “(presidential quote)” Crawford Oh, Greg. Back again this year? I really had high hopes for you this time buddy, maybe next year? Ol’ Greg has been coming here for quite some time now, if he had a nickname, that would mean he has friends, but he has no nicknames, so here he is. Renate is at home having a steak dinner with the President of Rutgers while he sits here, sipping his trademark strawberry lemonade with salt around the rim. bertrant@miamioh.edu

SERIOMP@MIAMIOH.EDU

HUMOR 9

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Miami first-year feeling serious breakfast vibes WILL BABBITT

THE MIAMI STUDENT

First-year Kayla Walton is seriously vibing with her oatmeal this morning.

“I literally woke up and was just, like, really feeling my breakfast, you know?” the Media and Culture major told The Miami Student.

Her detailed Instagram post features a professional-grade shot of her Trader Joe’s breakfast ensemble, a glimpse of the bohemian “Live, Laugh, Love” poster adorning her dorm wall, and a bold Clarendon filter.

“I looked at my fair-trade oatmeal and just thought, like, ‘This is just so me’!” Walton asserted, “I try to keep my circle close, so I put the pic on Snap and Insta, so my besties

could flow with the general vibe I was riding.”

The oatmeal photo has reached over 350 likes on Instagram. In order not to “flex too hard”, the first-year from Kettering, Ohio kept her LuLulemon jeans out of the shot she posted.

Further inquiry and thorough investigation into Walton’s online presence shows that she undeniably “keeps it 100.” Meticulously selected Post Malone quotes rest with intent under “genuine and completely unstaged” candids of herself and her sorority sisters.

A photo of Kayla in a field of sunflowers looking off into the distance, appropriately captioned “so long high school, see ya never” is her most popular submission to date, with 412 likes and countless comments of extreme

adoration penned by people Kayla does not know.

“I feel like it’s so important to stay in touch with those close to you,” Kayla maintains. “My sorority sisters need to know, like, who’s feeling what and when, so like, I feel like my post really contributed to the culture.”

When asked to what culture she was referring, Kayla did not respond. Outside of her interest in organic oatmeal, Kayla also enjoys using emojis, quoting “The Office,” and asserting that her life could “like, totally be a sitcom.”

HUMOR EDITOR

A grim reminder of the economic disparities within Miami’s student body was seen last Tuesday when yet another fraternity member was spotted drinking a beer on his porch without a shirt.

Sadly, this is not a rare sight in Oxford. Many fraternity members cannot afford a shirt, and those that can, don’t have enough money to purchase sleeves for them, causing an epidemic of cold, creatine-filled arms and pointy nipples.

A quick walk through the streets of the Mile Square on a Saturday afternoon reveals droves of penniless fraternity members trying to make the best of their poor, shirtless lives through playing simple ball and cup games.

Most Miami students actually own a shirt, with several even owning as many as three at one time. But you would be hard pressed to find any of these shirt owners walking the small, pizza box-littered floors of the fraternity houses.

Only two percent of all shirt owners at Miami

are fraternity members, and when it comes to owners of multiple shirts, that statistic drops to a shocking .01 percent.

“It’s tough, ya know?” said Fiji member and shirtless man Chad Thorinson. “Often weekends with the boys cost up to a hundo to even get the buzz started. How does society expect me to afford a shirt after all this boolin?”

The poverty of Miami fraternity members has always been an issue, with records of close calls to bankruptcy going all the way back to the 1970s when several fraternities almost went into the red after throwing a “beer and babes fest.”

But compared to the male Greek community’s historic money troubles, the scale of their current financial destitution is unparalleled.

Many fraternity members barely maintain an income to survive, let alone purchase a shirt.

Sixty-nine percent of the gross income of fraternity boys goes toward Natural Light and the majority of the rest is spent on mint Juul pods, with not enough left to even purchase a vest.

Most members of fraternities don’t even know what a shirt is because of criminally underfunded shirt education in Ohio’s public schools. This

KIRBY DAVIS

MANAGING EDITOR-AT-LARGE

often results in the boys getting confused and cat calling shirt owners to try and figure out what is covering their torso.

“When fraternity boys cat call, they are not trying to be obnoxious, they’re confused,” said shirt activist Linda Sampson. “When they shout ‘Hey baby, I would like to take that off of you in bed,’ they don’t want to have sex, but rather examine and learn what exactly a shirt is in a closed, safe environment like a bedroom.”

Sampson believes the best way to change this is by establishing shirt education programs that emphasize safe shirt practices. A major barrier, however, are fundamental nipplists, who believe the only natural way to express a torso is through bare skin.

Whatever the solution, one thing remains certain: Fraternity boys keep getting colder, and their nipples keep getting pointier. Society needs to figure out how to get shirts to these boys before they receive nature’s deadly purple nurple — frostbite.

Kelsey Harris and her boyfriend Evan Dodds, both 21, were “just hanging out” at a friend’s house on Saturday, Feb. 16. As the group of juniors prepared to head Uptown around 11:30 p.m., Harris said her friend Brynn Wheeler requested they stay to listen to one more Ariana Grande song off her new album, “thank u, next.”

Harris said Dodds then made the “bold fucking statement,” that Grande’s ex-fiancé, Pete Davidson, “isn’t that bad.”

Dodds declared he was “Team Pete,” according to several witnesses, to the abject horror of his girlfriend.

“It’s just anti-feminist,” Harris said. “We’ve been dating for two years and I’ve never seen this side of him before.”

Wheeler stood by Harris, and said her own boyfriend, 22-year-old Chad Anderson, “would never betray” her like that.

Anderson declined to comment.

While she “isn’t, like, a die-hard” Grande fan, Harris said, based on a handful of E! News Snapchat stories she’s watched and BuzzFeed articles she’s read, she is firmly “Team Ariana.”

Harris said she was “disappointed” in her boyfriend’s stance on the singer and “Saturday Night Live” star’s former relationship.

“This is just like when we were all talking about Taylor Swift, and he made some comment about her having too many boyfriends,” Harris said. “Like, if you’re gonna be sexist, at least try to be creative about it.”

Dodds denied that he was sexist or anti-feminist in any way, pointing out that he attended the Washington, D.C. Women’s March with Harris last winter and regularly does face masks with her on Sunday nights.

Dodds also admitted that at the time he claimed to be “Team Pete,” he didn’t know anything about Davidson’s and Grande’s relationship and “just wanted to be involved” in the group’s conversation, of which he had felt left out of all night.

seriomp@miamioh.edu

daviskn3@miamioh.edu

babbitwc@miamioh.edu

Sad: Fraternity member drinking on porch can’t afford shirt MICHAEL SERIO

Local boyfriend is on Pete Davidson’s side

News we were too lazy to write Local woman assembles ‘Avengers’-esque team to analyze Snapchat

Hundreds die after Top Deck crashes into iceberg Sorority Girls accidentally summon demon during recruitment chants

Ah shit, your friend just started a health blog Accounting student wins annual Farmer fight to the death Travel Special:

President Crawford sheds skin Sidebar offering new $1 drink specials for guys who throw up in their urinals

Freshman makes pitstop to buy condoms at emporium market Four soundcloud rappers die after mixtapes refuses to start fire in freezing wilderness

Students relaxing on quad really enjoying snuggling bugs

WRITE FOR THE MIAMI STUDENT. WE REPORT THE FACTS... EVERYWHERE BUT THIS SECTION. miamistudent.net/join-us

Sports

10

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Women’s basketball wants more

LAUREN DICKERSON LEADS THE REDHAWKS IN PPG. THE MIAMI STUDENT MACY WHITAKER

EMILY SIMANSKIS SPORTS EDITOR

The women’s basketball team is streaking.

They beat Akron 67-61 on Saturday. They have won nine games in a row. The last time they lost was 33 days ago. They sit at the top of the Mid-American Conference.

And they want more.

“I think I drive them crazy because I keep pointing out: ‘We’ve got to get better at this, we have to get locked into this,’” head coach Megan Duffy said last Wednesday. “You have to keep that mental focus, especially in the month of February.”

The month of February has been good to the RedHawks. Five of its last nine wins have come in the past three weeks, and the ’Hawks have proven they can win when they’re up and they can win when they’re down.

Miami looks to win its 10th straight when it travels to take on the Toledo Rockets on Wednesday.

The last time the RedHawks won nine games in a row was during the 2011-12 season, and the last time the ’Hawks won nine games in a row in MAC play was the 2003-04 season.

“When we came in two years ago, it was not something we ever talked about — what streaks are going to be made,” Megan Duffy said. “I think we’re so locked into the day-today process and the grind.”

Game-to-game, junior guard Lauren Dickerson leads her team with 15.9 points per contest, ranking eighth in the MAC. UT senior center Kaayla McIntyre sits a close ninth, averaging 15.8 points.

The last time the RedHawks and the Rockets met in early January, Miami squeaked out a 65-64 win. McIntyre had 23 points and nine rebounds, while Dickerson had a quiet 11-point game.

Senior forwards Savannah Kluesner and Kendall McCoy stepped up for 13 rebounds and 17 points, respectively.

Five weeks later, with McCoy’s latest performance on Saturday, she became only the seventh player in Miami women’s basketball history to record 1,000 points and 600 rebounds.

McCoy, like the rest of the team, has been playing really well.

“Some of the other teams at the top of the league can go and blow somebody out by 30,” Duffy said. “We’re not built like that. We have to be really, really good no matter who we play.”

Duffy’s team defense has been good. Good enough to rank second in the MAC behind only Toledo. The game will be a defensive battle, as the RedHawks’ offense ranks sixth in the MAC and Toledo’s ranks ninth.

Miami’s middle-of-the-pack offense and stellar defense has won nine straight games.

And the RedHawks want more. simansec@miamioh.edu

vinelca@miamioh.edu

JALEN ADAWAY IS THE REDHAWKS’ BEST BENCH PLAYER. WMU ATHLETICS ASHLEY HUSS

Tipoff........................................................................7 p.m. tonight at Millett Hall TV/Radio...................................................ESPN+/Miami IMG Sports Network

MIAMI REDHAWKS

MIAMI REDHAWKS

Record.................................................................... 19-4 (10-2 Mid-American) Offense ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������68.4 ppg Defense ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 59.5 ppg

Record..........................................................................13-12 (5-7 Mid-American) Offense ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 72.6 ppg Defense ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 69.2 ppg

PROJECTED LINEUP

PROJECTED LINEUP

Player.............................................................(position, height, key stat) Lauren Dickerson �����������������������������������������������������������(guard, 5’3”, 15.9 ppg) Leah Purvis ����������������������������������������������������������������������(guard, 5’6”, 8.0 ppg) Baleigh Reid ��������������������������������������������������������������������(guard, 5’10”, 3.1 ppg) Kendall McCoy ����������������������������������������������������������� (forward, 6’0”, 12.0 ppg) Savannah Kluesner �����������������������������������������������������(forward, 6’2”, 14.6 ppg)

Player..................................................................(position, height, key stat) Mekhi Lairy ���������������������������������������������������������������������������(guard, 5’8”, 6.0 ppg) Nike Sibande ������������������������������������������������������������������������(guard, 6’4”, 15.7 ppg) Abdoulaye Harouna �������������������������������������������������������������(guard, 6’5”, 5.0 ppg) Dalonte Brown ����������������������������������������������������������������� (forward, 6’7”, 12.7 ppg) Bam Bowman ������������������������������������������������������������������(forward, 6’8”, 10.0 ppg)

BALL STATE CARDINALS

TOLEDO ROCKETS

Record ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������15-8 (7-5 MAC) Offense ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������66.4 ppg Defense ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������59.0 ppg

Record ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14-11 (5-7 MAC) Offense �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������78.3 ppg Defense ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 72.7 ppg

PROJECTED LINEUP

PROJECTED LINEUP

Player.............................................................(position, height, key stat) Mikaela Boyd ������������������������������������������������������������������� (guard, 5’7”, 9.7 ppg) Mariella Santucci �������������������������������������������������������������(guard, 5’6”, 9.6 ppg) Nakiah Black ���������������������������������������������������������������� (guard, 5’10”, 10.9 ppg) Sarah St-Fort ��������������������������������������������������������������� (forward, 5’10”, 4.3 rpg) Kaayla McIntyre ������������������������������������������������������������(center, 6’2”, 15.8 ppg)

Player..................................................................(position, height, key stat) Tayler Persons �������������������������������������������������������������������� (guard, 6’3”, 16.9 ppg) K.J. Walton ������������������������������������������������������������������������� (guard, 6’3”, 14.3 ppg) Kyle Mallers �����������������������������������������������������������������������(forward, 6’7”, 7.8 ppg) Tahjai Teague ������������������������������������������������������������������ (forward, 6’8”, 14.0 ppg) Trey Moses ���������������������������������������������������������������������������(center, 6’9”, 8.9 ppg)

NCAA NET Ranking

NCAA NET Ranking

Miami (50) ���������������������������������������������������������������������� Northern Illinois (76)

Top takeaways from Miami baseball’s season-opening series For the second consecutive season, Miami baseball started its season with a four-game series split.

Up against the Saint Louis Billikens in Hoover, Alabama, the RedHawks (2-2) opened the year with a 9-1 loss on Friday before picking up a 3-2 win — their first of 2019 — in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Part two didn’t go quite as well on Saturday, as Miami fell 10-3. It bounced back to knot the series with a 9-7 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Expect inconsistency early on After being stripped of many key contributors from last year’s squad by graduation and the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, Miami needs to fill some holes on the field and in the locker room.

Head coach Danny Hayden said competition for some positions and roles will be fluid throughout the season. As Hayden searches for a go-to lineup and new players attempt to establish themselves, it’s fair to expect some growing pains.

Some days, the RedHawks will give up nine runs while scoring just one. Other days, they’ll win 3-2 pitchers’ duels. It comes with the territory of February baseball and getting everyone on the same page.

Aside from the newcomers, even some of the returners are prone to early-season struggles while trying to find their rhythms.

Landon Stephens starts slow, but… ...he’ll be fine.

The junior third baseman hit .176 (3-for-17) against Saint Louis but showcased some of the power that made him one of the RedHawks’ most feared hitters last season. Two of his three hits went for extra bases (a double and a triple).

Coming into the weekend, Stephens had impressed Hayden.

“I think Landon Stephens is the guy that jumps

Tonight’s game between the Miami RedHawks and the Ball State Cardinals presents a familiar situation against a familiar opponent.

Last time the two met, on Jan. 22, the RedHawks headed to Muncie, Indiana, nursing a four-game losing streak and in desperate need of a win. It was a Tuesday night.

This time, Miami is coming off an overtime loss to Western Michigan — the lastplace team in the Mid-American Conference — and hosts the Cardinals at Millett Hall, needing a win. It’s a Tuesday night.

And because the teams have seen each other this season once before, this time, there will be no surprises.

When asked what to expect from the Cardinals tonight, Miami head coach Jack Owens responded, “The usual suspects.”

Tonight’s predicted Ball State starting five is identical to its lineup from the teams’ first meeting.

“They’re just a solid team,” Owens said.

“Like every team in this league, you have to be ready to go … They’re going to want to, obviously, beat us because we beat them earlier in the year.”

Redshirt senior guard Tayler Persons is the main focus of Owens’s “usual suspects” statement. Persons makes the Cardinal offense go with averages of 16.9 points and 4.6 assists per game. He scored 11 against the RedHawks last month. Miami senior guard Darrian Ringo figures to be his primary defender again tonight.

“Persons is a really good player,” Owens said. “He’s a point guard that leads them, scoring the basketball, facilitating. He’s a competitor.”

Owens also talked about his familiarity with Ball State’s senior big man Trey Moses.

“He’s been around college basketball for a long time,” Owens said. “He’s a senior who does a great job facilitating from the post and playing ball-screen D and post D.” The last time these teams met, Miami got its much-needed first MAC win of the season.

Tomorrow, they’ll look to bounce back and get another victory against a familiar foe.

They know what to expect.

THE GAME

THE GAME

Tipoff........................................................7 p.m. Wednesday at Savage Arena TV/Radio..............................................ESPN+/Miami IMG Sports Network

CHRIS VINEL

CHRIS VINEL

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

SCOUTING REPORT

SCOUTING REPORT

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

No surprises for the RedHawks against Ball State

to the top of my head,” Hayden said. “He’s worked his trail off to turn himself into an elite college baseball player right now, and I think we have a lot of guys that are following his lead.”

Last season, Stephens led Miami in RBIs, finished second on the team in home runs and batted .298. If he displays the improvement Hayden’s observed, he’ll be back to form soon enough. Seventeen at-bats is a small sample size.

Charlie Harrigan flexes his muscles Ross Haffey finished the 2018 season with 15 home runs and a .315 batting average. The slugger ranks second on Miami’s all-time home runs list.

But Haffey was one of the men lost to graduation, leaving first base available for the taking.

Hayden tabbed junior transfer Charlie Harrigan to replace Haffey, and after one weekend, it looks like a wise choice. In Alabama, Harrigan had four hits — all for extra bases — in 14 at-bats and smacked the only dinger by either team in the series.

Pitchers perform well, despite allowing seven runs a game Not many teams will win baseball games when giving up seven runs per game, like the RedHawks did this weekend. But that number is deceiving.

Seventeen of the 28 runs Miami allowed this weekend were given up by three pitchers who hurled a combined 4.1 innings. The other nine pitchers surrendered 11 runs over 29.2 innings.

Even though they had tough first outings, seniors Bailey Martin and Shane Smith both hold prior track records of being able to get outs and throw quality innings at the collegiate level. The third pitcher who struggled, junior Bailey Vuylsteke, was appearing in his first series at Miami.

Miami stays on the road for its next series, a three-game set at Murray State. The first matchup between the two is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday. vinelca@miamioh.edu

Miami(138) ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Ball State (112)

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED SINCE LAST TUESDAY… TUESDAY

Golf

Miami...........................................5 Bowling Green ........................... 1

WEDNESDAY

Women’s basketball

Northern Illinois ...................... 45 Miami ....................................... 70

FRIDAY

Baseball

Miami ......................................... 1 Saint Louis ................................. 9

Softball (Game 1)

Softball (Game 1)

Miami ......................................... 7 California Davis ......................... 6

Softball (Game 2)

Miami ......................................... 2 Seattle ........................................ 7

Men’s basketball

Miami ....................................... 79 WMU ....................................... 84

Women’s basketball

Miami ....................................... 67 Akron ....................................... 61

Tennis

Miami ......................................... 5 Utah Valley ................................ 3

Cincinnati ................................... 5 Miami ......................................... 2

Softball (Game 2)

SUNDAY

Miami ......................................... 1 UNLV ......................................... 0

SATURDAY

Baseball (Game 1, DH)

Miami ......................................... 3 Saint Louis ................................. 2

Baseball (Game 2, DH)

Miami ......................................... 3 Saint Louis ............................... 10

Baseball

Miami ......................................... 9 Saint Louis ................................. 7

Softball

Miami ......................................... 5 Utah Valley ................................ 2

Tennis

Miami ......................................... 1 Xavier ......................................... 6

SIMANSEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

SPORTS 11

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

GORDIE GREEN (LEFT), JOSH MELNICK AND KARCH BACHMAN (RIGHT) CELEBRATE MELNICK’S GOAL ON FEB. 9 THAT HELPED SNAP A 15-GAME WINLESS STREAK. VIDEO EDITOR EMILY BRUSTOSKI

WHAT SNAPPED THE STREAK:

The Intangibles EMILY SIMANSKIS SPORTS EDITOR

A new pregame playlist. Purple nail polish. Sticks in trash cans.

Shorter hair. Longer hair. Josh Melnick on top of the net. A tennis ball scrimmage. The song “Donald Trump” by Mac Miller.

“Guys are willing to do whatever it takes to get things figured out,” senior defenseman Grant Hutton says.

The game of hockey is more nuanced than scoring the first goal, killing penalties and a goaltender standing on his head. Last Saturday night, statlines and all the intangibles converged for a much-needed victory for Miami hockey.

“Whatever happened on Saturday, guys need to keep doing what they’re doing because we needed the win and we got it,” Hutton says.

The RedHawks needed a win to snap a nine-game losing streak and a 15-game winless streak. They got it by way of a 4-2 victory over the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Saturday marked the latest episode in an unusual saga – the last time Miami hockey had been winless for more than 15 games in a row was during the 1990-91 season. The preparation was equally unconventional.

It started with a new pregame playlist.

Senior defenseman River Rymsha, a graduate transfer who played the last four seasons at Dartmouth, has been the RedHawks’ DJ since last summer.

“I remember the beginning of the year, before the season started, no one really wanted to play music, so I said, ‘I’ll play some music,’” Rymsha says. “I guess the guys liked it, and the rest is history.”

Hutton remembers he liked Rymsha’s confidence. The guys like that Rymsha takes requests.

Pre-practice playlists are often lighter, and usually have country songs on them. Pregame playlists are more intense, featuring EDM and rap songs. Saturday’s playlist was brand-new.

“I didn’t know a single song on the playlist, but we all liked it, so we’re going with it,” Hutton says.

Then came the pregame speeches.

Head coach Enrico Blasi doesn’t sleep between Thursday and Saturday nights. He sneaks hour-long naps in every couple of hours, and thinks about what it takes to win, how to avoid another loss and how to talk to his team.

“You’re always looking to say it a

different way, but the message is always the same,” Blasi says.

So, he said much of the same on Saturday: “Play the right way. Play as a team. Focus on the process. Pay attention to details. Win your battles.”

Each week, Blasi addresses the team an hour and a half before puck drop. Then Human Performance and Wellness coach Ben Eaves says a few words, and the team scatters to finish their pregame rituals.

On Saturday, Hutton put on his gear left to right, as he always has.

Rymsha laced his feet into his skates, covering up the purple nail polish on his right, big toenail. He borrows the superstition from his dad, who used to play professional hockey.

Andy Rymsha had been struggling when he went to the nail salon with River’s mom and spontaneously asked for his right, big toenail to be painted purple. The nail polish pulled Andy out of his slump, and River’s been using the same trick since he was 13.

“It usually only comes out once a year,” Rymsha says. “It’s always purple.”

Other RedHawks have their own variation of purple nail polish.

Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin’s superstition is to never change his routine: Sit behind the net and visualize the game before warmups. Listen to music. Don’t talk to anyone.

Other players tape their sticks

VolleyHawks, Condit agree to four-year extension BENNETT WISE

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Carolyn Condit, the winningest coach in Miami University Athletics history and reigning Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, has signed a contract extension to guide the RedHawks through the end of the 2022 season.

Condit was extended for four years at $101,094 per year – around a $5,000 increase from her previous salary.

“This means I keep getting to do what I love,” Condit said. “Our program has been experiencing some very good momentum and I think winning always makes it more satisfying. I love teaching [the student-athletes], love coaching them and love my assistant coaches, so it’s been great to have the vote of confidence from the administration.”

Approaching her 36th season at the helm of Miami volleyball (40th season overall), Condit has led the team to three straight MAC titles, one National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) tournament visit and two NCAA Tournament appearances over the last five seasons. The team holds a record of 112-45 (65-15, MAC) over that span.

Prior to the 2018 season, Condit ranked 25th all-time in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball history with 709 wins.

During Condit’s tenure, 39 of her student-athletes have received a total of 81 All-MAC honors on the court, while racking up 62 All-MAC academic recognitions.

“We obviously want to win more championships,” Condit said. “The icing on the cake would be to win both the regular season championship, [MAC] tournament, and go as deep

as we can in the NCAA Tournament.”

Condit is excited to start the 2019 season as the RedHawks return all but two players from last season’s roster.

“With an outstanding incoming class, I think we can get that done,” Condit said. “Another goal we care about is the graduation rate. We typically have a 100 percent rate and [as a former educator], it’s a given in our program.”

Condit hopes to coach after her contract expires in January 2022.

“I don’t know,” Condit said with a laugh. “I’m having a great time.

There’s so much turnaround in volleyball now, but when I get out of the game, it will be because I will decide to retire.” wisebm@miamioh.edu

differently. Some put their sticks in trash cans in hopes of scoring “dirty” goals. Senior forward Josh Melnick refuses to cut his hair during the season, even though it curls well below his helmet. Hutton finally cut his last week.

“I wasn’t going to [cut it], but then we didn’t win for like five weeks,” Hutton says. “So I said, ‘I’m cutting it.’ And we won.”

Though they have opposing beliefs about haircuts, co-captains Melnick and Hutton share a similar warmup pattern, one they shared Saturday.

An injury sidelined “Melly” for much of the losing streak, though he returned to his team when it had lost six in a row. Hutton was happy to have his warm-up partner back, and the RedHawks welcomed the return of the player who completes the ’Hawks’ pre-puck drop ritual.

The Brotherhood always swarms the net before puck drop and Melnick always jumps up to lay across the back of the net, giving the last pregame speech, trying to inspire his team.

His fourth pregame speech after injury came on Saturday.

“Especially when we’re going through tough times, like we have for the past month or so, it’s good to think about each other and why we’re actually playing the game,” Larkin says. “Melly is always good about, ‘Play for the guy next to you.’”

Melnick was asking his team for

the same energy Blasi had tried to inspire on Jan. 21.

On that Monday, Blasi asked the team to put their sticks at center ice, and had junior forward Gordie Green blindly move sticks to either side, picking teams for a scrimmage.

Once players had found their sticks and donned the appropriate red or white jersey, “puck drop” came from former player Bryce Hatten, who released a tennis ball to begin play.

Every team doesn’t need the “tennis ball scrimmage,” but Blasi knew it was time when his team had lost four games in a row and gone winless for 10.

“The ‘have fun’ Monday is sometimes when you’re in a little bit of a hole,” Blasi says. “You don’t want the guys to not be happy and having fun when they come to the rink.”

On that Monday, smiles and laughter filled the Steve “Coach” Cady Arena after ridiculous goal celebrations during the hour-long game.

“Obviously,” Blasi said, smiling wryly, “It didn’t work because we lost two games that weekend.”

And they lost five more after that.

But last Saturday, the pregame playlists, speeches, purple nail polish, haircuts and lack thereof paired with hard work to culminate in a victory.

“You’re not just going to get lucky, just to get lucky,” Hutton says.

“You’re going to have to earn it.”

And after 15 games without a win, Rymsha blasted the RedHawks’ victory song, “Donald Trump” by Mac Miller. simansec@miamioh.edu

’Hawks Talk “Last year, by [the time we played] St. Cloud, my hair was so freaking long, it was ridiculous. This year, I cut it and we broke the cycle. So now I’m like, ‘OK, that was a good choice.’

So now I’ll grow it back out and hopefully we don’t have to deal with anything like that again.”

– Senior Grant Hutton on his decision to cut his hair the weekend before Miami hockey broke a 15-game winless streak and nine-game losing

Opinion

10

BURNSKL2@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 STAFF EDITORIAL

Hybrid classes should complement, not replace, traditional classrooms The potential for cheating and academic dishonesty is higher on online assignments than on in-class quizzes. Yes, Proctorio catches some red flags, but it fails to take into account that a generation raised on computers can easily work around what the program throws at them.

Online learning often results in students being less invested and involved in the material. If they can do it in bed, 10 minutes before the deadline, while Googling the answers, that’s exactly what they’ll do. And if everything is online, what’s the point of showing up to class, anyway?

While hybrid classes help avoid wasting time on material the students already know from polls and online practice, they’re detrimental to people who need that person-to-person interaction to truly absorb the knowledge they’re there to get in the first place.

Studies have shown that people learn in different ways.

For some, the hybrid class may be the pinnacle of learning. They can watch a video and know exactly how to do an equation. For others, an explanation and step-by-step breakdown is more helpful. Interactive questions and oneon-one help are what get them to the final revelation.

Miami prides itself on its undergraduate teaching. The smaller class sizes and increased interaction with professors is something that draws students from around the country.

Robbing those same students of the opportunity to learn how they learn best is counterproductive and contradictory to that commitment.

But, to be cliche, don’t throw the baby out with the bath-

The following reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

The world has been on the digitization bandwagon for years — longer than a lot of Miami students have been alive.

When the wave of ones and zeroes finally washed over higher education, it was only a matter of time until Miami classrooms were riding the tide.

But between traditional classrooms and the new age of online classes sit hybrid courses. They combine an online aspect and in-person learning. That’s where the definition stops.

Typically, a hybrid class consists of online lecture videos, homework and quizzes accompanied by in-class lectures and practices.

Like a lot of things in the new, digital age, hybrid classes have their perks.

They make it easier for professors to teach more sections by automating some of the work. They allow more flexibility for students’ schedules. They have resulted in an increase in GPA and a decrease in the drop rate for enrolled students.

This semester, Miami University is offering 104 sections of hybrid classes, 37 of which are some kind of statistics course. In fact, STA 261 — a basic, Miami Plan class required for a range of majors — is only offered as a hybrid.

But it shouldn’t be. No class should.

Because while hybrid classes have their benefits, they come with their own set of dangers.

Gendered awards are training wheels that aren’t ready to come off

CHLOE MURDOCK

THE MIAMI STUDENT

“There is no reason for there to be a man and a woman category in acting. There’s not — come on! There’s no reason. It’s not track and field. You don’t have to separate ‘em. Robert DeNiro’s never said, ‘I better slow this acting down so Meryl Streep could catch up.’”

Chris Rock said this during his opening monologue three years ago at the Oscars, and in a perfectly equal world, I would agree. In fact, before I started researching for this article, I did agree with him.

But when I started looking at the numbers and saw how rare it was for women to win — or even be nominated — in other Oscars categories, I had second thoughts.

There are eight movies nominated for the Best Picture award. Only three of these movies — “Roma,” “The Favourite” and “A Star is Born” — center on a female character. This is odd, considering that a study from leading talent firm Creative Arts Agency shows that out of the highest-grossing movies between 2014 and 2017, those with an all-female cast raked in more money than movies with an all-male cast.

In general, there are more movies made about men than there are about women. Out of the 150 most popular movies of 2018 listed on IMDB, only 44 are centered on a female character or a primarily female cast.

As a result, if the categories for Best Lead Actress and Actor were merged into one, the Academy would likely choose less actresses because there are less movies about women, and therefore less opportunities to

act in a winning role. So, the existence of female acting categories gives us a false sense of equality when we think about the number of opportunities that men and women have in film.

Of course, we forget all this when there are an equal number of actors and actresses up for respective acting categories.

This is why the actress-specific awards are like training wheels for actually awarding women fairly.

Awards not separated by gender often completely cut women out of nominations.

This year, the nominees for Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing and Music (Original Score) are all men.

Other than Best Lead Actress and Best Supporting Actress, women only dominate one category: Costume Design.

While those costumes require immense skill, there is obviously no glass ceiling there.

The issue is not that women don’t have the potential to be as good as men in these positions.

Women aren’t being given the same opportunities as men, and there aren’t enough women in these fields to begin with.

Despite the general lackluster push for more women in traditional male roles, there is still no expectation for a woman to fill the role of director or cinematographer.

What would the awards show be like if there were male and female categories for these behind-the-scenes categories?

Would it be possible that, like with the Oscars categories for Actress in a Leading Role and Actress in a Supporting Role, these female directors could get more opportunities as a result of being highlighted in a high-profile awards show?

Actresses who receive these awards have the title of “Academy Award winner” for the rest of their life. The title is placed into trailers of future movies they star in, and likely helps them get future roles.

If there were specific female categories for directors and cinematographers, could it change the expectations of who

— with —

we think could be a director?

Would we see these female directors be picked up for more projects as a result, just like receiving an Academy Award in acting does for its winners?

And perhaps little girls might see something in all these female directors during awards shows and think, “Hey, I could do it too.”

These are all what-ifs, but hey, what if?

The MTV Movie and TV Awards merged its categories for women and men, and the results were pretty equitable.

Women even swept a few categories. Un-gendering the categories also removes the confusion that non-binary people face in the award-winning process, since they are not confined to the two binary genders and can’t be put into one category.

And while only 44 of 2018’s most popular movies were about women, I couldn’t identify any movies with non-binary characters or actors. That doesn’t mean non-binary people don’t work in film — it just means that Hollywood is completely blind to their abilities and stories.

However, because the change at the MTV Movie and TV Awards happened so recently, we haven’t seen the long-term effects it will have on the gender differences of nominated and winning performances. The MTV event also only awards individuals in movies and TV shows based on their acting performances, so the people behind the scenes remain behind the scenes and the gender differences there are not as easily highlighted.

If I accepted an award for best-female-anything, it would come with a harsh pang in my chest because I would only be compared to a handful of female peers and not to the entire field.

But for now, the Academy needs to keep the training wheels that are the actress-specific awards on, at least until the playing field is truly equal. murdocc3@miamioh.edu

FEATURING

MILLION DOLLAR ARM

water. Hybrid classes clearly offer value. For people who are motivated to do the work on- and offline, who can pick up material virtually without someone there to physically walk them through it, these classes are a phenomenal option.

Simple information is easier to pick up individually, so an introductory class with hundreds of students should fit the hybrid format just fine.

But hybrid classes can’t be the only option, like they are for STA 261. Different students have different needs. Some students rely on the guilt of not being in the room to actively attend and participate in class. People who need interaction with their teacher to succeed, or those who have a true passion for statistics that is diluted by the online components, will not thrive in a hybrid class.

Hybrid classes should complement, not replace traditional classes. The university needs to offer the same course with variations in structure to optimize the undergraduate learning experience that it prides itself on.

A liberal arts education promises students differentiation in the the subjects they study. It is only logical to carry that differentiation and diversity into course structure.

When students are allowed to choose their structure, they will perform to the best of their abilities. When students perform to the best of their abilities, they will be more successful. When students are more successful, the university, and their commitment to undergraduate teaching, looks good.

Everyone wins.

Finding peace in quiet

WILL GORMAN COLUMNIST

I’m the first person to admit I can be socially awkward.

But one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given is that a conversation isn’t awkward unless you make it so.

Some people might consider a quieter conversation as something undesirable, or indicative of a struggling relationship. Depending on the situation, that could be true, but I believe an integral part of any relationship is comfort in silence.

And that’s something I’ve only recently realized the value of, whether I’m meeting someone new, catching up with friends from high school or talking to my best friends every day.

In high school, I had a constant fear of being overlooked. In the years since, I’ve been cognizant of that fear and I’ve started overcompensating by speaking up whenever I can.

But because simply being social is not a one-way ticket to being everyone’s friend, that came with mixed results. That didn’t stop me from continuing with my talkative tactic.

Sometimes, if I’m talking to someone new, whether or not the conversation is going well, I’ll feel like I should prolong a conversation just for the sake of trying to leave a lasting impression, just because I don’t want to be forgotten, or overlooked.

But I’ve realized that’s not an excuse for forcing conversation.

Here we are, seven years later, and I still sometimes feel the urge to fill any silence with conversation. While it doesn’t necessarily get me into any sticky situations, I know when I’m speaking just to fill dead air in a room and, on the whole, it’s a disservice to me and the person I’m talking to.

If I’m not sure what to say when catching up with a friend I haven’t seen in a while, my go-to is usually to start rambling about something pertinent to my life at the time.

Sometimes that goes well. Sometimes it doesn’t.

Naturally, any kind of ramble runs the risk of making a conversation even more awkward. It only gets more uncomfortable once I realize I’m not making any sense and the story is going nowhere.

And with my close friends, even though we talk frequently, I tend to run into a similar kind of pressure — don’t have an awkward conversation, my inner saboteur will say, or else the friendship might falter.

Being comfortable with another person’s silence is a pretty significant step in being comfortable with them as a person. It’s healthy to be able to leave someone alone with their thoughts for a moment.

Let them breathe. Let yourself breathe.

Also, someone talking all the time can be annoying! Case in point: pejorative phrases like “Chatty Cathy” exist for a reason, and while I don’t think that the phrase “oversharing” should have a negative connotation, it does, and it’s something I just have to deal with.

Humans might be social creatures, but we’re not meant to always be chatting with each other.

The song “Learning to Be Silent” from the 1998 “Footloose” musical talks about adopting quiet behavior as a way to appease the egos of those around you. While that shouldn’t be an ideal for anyone to pursue, it might be beneficial to learn to be silent in order to give yourself and those around you a break from conversation. From constant stimulation.

We live in a world full of stimuli — there’s always something flashy to see, something interesting to watch, new music to listen to, different places to spend your time, new people to meet — and it’s hard to run out of concepts to pay attention to.

And with the (albeit convenient) advent of the smartphone as an essential item for young people, there’s always someone to talk to, social media to look at, information to consume, something to watch that can fit in your pocket.

So it’s OK to take a break from constant interaction, from constant conversation. Let yourself have a moment. Let your friends have their moments.

Enjoy someone else’s peace.

It’s only awkward if you make it awkward — so let’s learn to be silent instead. gormanwm@miamioh.edu

Join your President and First Lady at Spin-in Movie at the Rec!

Thursday, March 7 7:30–11:00 pm | Sports Forum 3 & 4 Free for Students!

T-shirts and food will be provided!

Spin-in Movie is a great way to blow off some steam, get exercise, and interact with your school leader!

Register online or at the Pro Shop Questions? Contact Shannon Speed at speeds@MiamiOH.edu or (513) 529–2193 MiamiOH.edu/fitness