ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2018
Volume 146 No. 18
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVES $100 MILLION FOR CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
JACK EVANS EMILY WILLIAMS
THE MIAMI STUDENT
SENIORS JORDAN RICE (RIGHT) AND TAYLOR TINNIN (LEFT) GOT ENGAGED AT SATURDAY’S CHARTER DAY BALL. JUGAL JAIN THE MIAMI STUDENT
Chartering a Miami Merger: Senior proposes at the Ball
RELATIONSHIPS
ALISON PERELMAN CULTURE EDITOR
Jordan Rice left his girlfriend, Taylor Tinnin, on the dance floor. Surrounded by her friends, she barely noticed his absence. He made his way back up to the Charter Day Ball’s coat check area where a friend was waiting, hunched like a boxer ready to enter the ring. He jumped up as Jordan approached, hyped for him, and passed on the ring box he had been holding onto throughout the night. Jordan remembers the first few times he saw Taylor. He first spotted her standing in the
back of a meeting for Navigators, a campus ministry. Then he noticed her walking across High Street near Benton at the same time he made his way from Porter Hall to cross-country practice. And he remembers shaking her hand three separate times at various campus events. Taylor doesn’t remember these interactions, and despite being in Cru together and having similar friends, she didn’t register his existence until spring of their sophomore year. She asked their friend group if anyone wanted to go skydiving with her. Jordan was the only one to respond. Despite being scared of heights, he thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know Taylor more. They did talk, but
RESIDENCE LIFE LIMITS NIGHTTIME DORM ACCESS
it was withdrawn, and the overall situation was less romantic than Jordan had expected. “I pictured, like, ‘Oh we’re both going to skydive out of a plane, holding hands or something,’” Jordan said. “But it ended up, she got strapped to this like 27-year-old stud, while I got strapped to a 38-year-old man who smelled like Doritos.” After hearing that Taylor would be in Oxford for the summer, Jordan got a job at Chipotle to stay in Oxford, too, hoping for another chance. But he didn’t know that Taylor had gotten back together with a recent ex-boyfriend. He had to keep waiting. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Court says MU may have discriminated in investigation
SAFETY LAWSUIT
RACHEL BERRY STAFF WRITER
In an effort to improve safety on campus, Miami University implemented a new policy this semester that restricts residence hall access to one door between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. “We care deeply about Miami students and want to do everything we can to keep students safe,” said Vicka Bell-Robinson, director of Residence Life. “Limiting the number of entrances into a facility, especially overnight, is one way to do that.” Residence halls are locked 24 hours a day, and students who live in the residence hall can unlock the doors using their Miami IDs. This move, Bell-Robinson said, allows those students access to unlock only one door during those restricted hours, but any door can be used as an exit. Other campus buildings that streamline overnight entry include the Armstrong Student Center and King Library, Bell-Robinson said. By limiting nighttime entrances to one door, the office of Residence Life also hopes to combat dangerous alcohol incidents and sexual assault on campus, said
Miami University’s Board of Trustees (BoT) approved $100.5 million worth of construction projects for the Oxford campus at its meeting Friday. This is the second round of major construction projects approved by the Trustees in recent months. At their December meeting, the Board voted to submit a Capital Improvements Plan to the state of Ohio, requesting $106 million for new construction over the next six years. As part of Miami’s Housing Master Plan, $70 million will be spent to renovate MacCracken, Richard and Porter Halls. MacCracken market will also be renovated in the process. More than $21 million will be spent on the South Chiller Plant Conversion Project. The project will transition the south half of campus from steam heating to a simultaneous heating and cooling system that will pipe hot and cold water around campus. The plant conversion, part of the Utility Master Plan, is a “key step” toward lowering the university’s energy consumption and decommissioning its coal-fired steam systems, according to the BoT summary. Two smaller construction projects round out most of the remaining $10 million of approved construction. The student-favorite Starbucks at Maplestreet Station will be relocated to Shriver Center over the summer and fall of 2018 to the tune of $4.5 million. The planned location in Shriver is larger, with room for about 80 guests at a time. The empty space left behind will be integrated into Maplestreet Commons,
EMILY WILLIAMS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a male Miami University student who claims the university discriminated against him when he was suspended for sexual assault. A three-judge panel on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the student had presented “a reasonable inference of gender discrimination” in Miami’s disciplinary process. The decision, filed on Feb. 9, partially reverses a district court’s decision to dismiss several claims against Miami and university officials, while upholding several of the low-
er court’s dismissals. The case surrounds a September 2014 incident when the defendant and a female student, referred to in the case as John Doe and Jane Doe, engaged in sexual activity after both students had been drinking. Initially, the sexual activity was consensual, according to Jane’s statement, but she alleges that John continued to engage in non consensual acts after she had stopped consenting. However, John claims he was too intoxicated to remember what happened that night after Jane had gotten into his bed. Jane did not report John but discussed what had happened with her friends, one of whom reported it to their RA, who informed supervisors about the incident. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
STUDENTS CAN ONLY ENTER ONE RESIDENCE HALL DOOR DURING NIGHTTIME HOURS. JUGAL JAIN PHOTO EDITOR
Maggie Laing, an RA in Emerson Hall. “The theory is that the door that will be unlocked is right by the RA office, so we’ll be able to see if people we don’t know are coming in the building or if someone’s coming in that looks really like they need some help,” said Laing. Effie Fraley, president of RHA, said their intentions were not to make students feel as if they are being pun-
ished or monitored. “We don’t want the students to feel targeted,” Fraley said. “It’s more so letting them know that people are there for them.” This policy was put in place by a temporary committee formed by Miami University President Gregory Crawford. Now that the measures have been implemented, a permanent ResiCONTINUED ON PAGE 3
NEWS P.3
SCIENCE
page 6
Kashia Ellis directs the cast of The Vagina Monologues in the Fritz Pavillion. Their show is the first subject of the video series ‘Your Status,’ published this week online at miamistudent.net Arthur Newberry Design Editor
CULTURE P.5
EDITORIAL P. 12
MIAMI RESPONDS TO LAWSUIT
HISTORY THROUGH PICTURE BOOKS
LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX
The university denies any wrongdoing in paternity leave case.
New Art Museum exhibit highlights African American history.
Our project ‘Your Status’ will explore our relationships and social lives.
SPORTS P.14
BASKETBALL FALLS TO OHIO IN OVERTIME The RedHawks dropped their fourth straight game on Saturday.