The Miami Student | October 8, 2019

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

Volume 148 No. 6

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

17-year-old Oxford resident survives gunshot CAROLINE HAUBENSTRICKER STAFF WRITER

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A MIAMI FRATERNITY HAS BEEN CRIMINALLY CHARGED FOR ALLEGATIONS OF HAZING AND ASSAULT. DESIGN EDITOR CONNOR WELLS

TIM CARLIN CEILI DOYLE

THE MIAMI STUDENT Eighteen current and former Miami University students and former brothers of the Delta Tau Delta (Delts) fraternity have been charged with a total of 68 counts of misdemeanor assault and hazing. The charges come one month after Miami suspended the fraternity for repeatedly assaulting a new member last spring during a fraternity brother Big/Little Reveal event.

18 current and former Miami students indicted on 68 charges of assault, hazing Over the summer, the university concluded its investigation and released findings in its report, which detailed the new member’s account of the events as well as police reports and text exchanges between the victim and other fraternity brothers.

The new member, who has remained anon-

ymous due to federal privacy law, said he was blindfolded, kicked, punched, spit on, forced to drink alcohol and smoke weed while being hit with a spiked paddle on his buttocks multiple times.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

A 17-year-old boy was targeted in a shooting at a car wash in Oxford on Sunday, Oct. 6, said Lara Fening, an Oxford Police Department (OPD) Lieutenant.

Fening said the shooting occurred at Oxford Wash. Officers responded at 4:10 p.m. to a 911 call at the mobile home on the 5200 block of College Corner Pike, where the victim moved after the shooting.

A friend of the victim made the 911 call, the transcript of which OPD provided to The Miami Student. “[He was] shot in the side [and] is having trouble breathing,” the friend said in the call.

“There is not a lot of blood … [The perpetrators] just took off; I have no clue who they are. They were in a black car that had tinted windows.”

The girl who made the 911 call kept reassuring the victim to relax and breathe.

The victim, whose name OPD has not released, suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was initially transported to McCullough-Hyde Hospital and soon after was airlifted to the trauma unit of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Fening said the victim is stable from the last she had heard.

“Essentially, the shooting was personal,” Fening said. “It was a more targeted shooting, with no risk to the public.”

OPD Records Specialist Matt Stitzel said there have been approximately eight shots fired in all of the previous shooting reports in the last five years.

The last shooting in Oxford was on April 1, 2018 when a man was shot in the arm in the 100 block of East Church Street.

No additional information was available about the Oct. 6 shooting. OPD is continuing to investigate the incident. @haubenstrickerc haubence@miamioh.edu

Hope Solo seeks to even the score on the gender pay gap CHLOE MURDOCK

ASST. MAGAZINE EDITOR Two-time Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo tackled equal pay and perception of female athletes in the media during her “Fight Like a Girl: The Quest for Equality” lecture.

Solo, former goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s soccer team, spent the day in Oxford. She attended a seminar, press conference and dinner before presenting the lecture with Cincinnati Enquirer sports columnist Paul Daughtery at 7:30 p.m in Hall Auditorium.

Solo served as goalkeeper for the U.S. National Women’s soccer team from 2008 to 2012 and received the Golden Glove award after the U.S. team won the FIFA women’s World Cup against Japan (5-2) in 2015 In 2016, Solo, an equal pay activist for the U.S. women’s soccer team, and five of her teammates CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

This Issue NEWS

Energized.

Miami

sustainability efforts catch heat page 3

SOLO WAS HELD TO FAR DIFFERENT STANDARDS THAN HER MALE OLYMPIC COUNTERPARTS AND THROUGHOUT HER ATHLETIC CAREER. THE MIAMI STUDENT OLIVIA HENNESSEY

CULTURE

SPORTS

OPINION

Slices of life

Practice makes perfect

Doggone it

First-year students take on setting the scene in 300 words

page 7

Bergeron implements new culture as season starts

page 9

No one prepared our columnist for pre-grad life

page 10

This Week

2 FYI

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019 Named the Best College Newspaper (Non-daily) in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Things to do

SAMANTHA BRUNN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Ceili Doyle Managing Editor

Ben Deeter Multimedia Editor

Connor Wells Design Editor

Maya Fenter Magazine Editor

Julia Arwine Rachel Berry Erin Glynn News Editors

Alyssa Melendez Web Designer

Chris Vinel Sports Editor Emily Dattilo Duard Headley Culture Editors Kate Rigazio Opinion Editor Jugal Jain Photo Editor

Owen Berg Asst. Design Editor Skyler Black Ophelia Rosales Klaire Vandegrift Designers

Bea Newberry Business Manager

James Tobin Faculty Adviser Fred Reeder Business Adviser WDJ Inc. - Bill Dedden Distributor Aim Media Midwest Printer

Nina Franco Social Media Director Style Editor

Sydney Hill Brianna Porter Copy Editors

Noah Bertrand Humor Editor

Briah Lumpkins Tim Carlin

Advertising information: Send us a letter?

Asst. News Editors Peter Fortunato

Data Editor

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

Armstrong Pavilion C

10/8

Tues 10/8

Bo Brueck Asst. Photo Editor

Derek Stamberger Video Producer

Will Gorman Asst. Culture Editor Entertainment Editor

Tues Model Casting

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.

Fri 10/11

6:00 pm 9:00 pm

Come strut your stuff at MUFD’s model casting!

Kol Nidre Services Sesquicentennial Chapel

7:00 pm 9:00 pm

Come out and observe Yom Kippur with Hillel. Dinner will be provided beforehand at the Hillel house.

Google Tools Workshop McGuffey Hall Rm. 415

This hands-on workshop will teach participants how to better leverage Google.

Sun

Pizza in the Hut

10/13

Celebrate Sukkah with Hillel and enjoy pizza in the hut!

11 E Walnut

Barbara Boxer

10:00 am 2:00 pm

12:00 pm2:00 pm

Scott Walker

The Trump Presidency: Successes and Failures October 16, 2019 6:30 PM

Wilks Theater Armstrong Student Center Reception follows in the Pavilion No Admission Charge — Ticket Required Open to the Public — Limited Seating

MiamiOH.edu/janus #JANUSMiamiOH

BERRYRD@MIAMIOH.EDU

DELTS FACE JAIL

18 current and former Miami students indicted on 68 charges of assault, hazing FROM FRONT

Before the hazing one former Delt texted the new member that the abuse “turn[s] boys into men” and even though it “fucking sucks ... it pays off in the end,” according to a text message exchange from Miami’s investigation.

Eight out of the 18 men charged: Michael Keen, Page MacKeigan, Connor Meek, Grady McMichen, Samay Pahouja, Nicholas Carmichael, Benjamin Grossheim and Bennett Faloni are still students at Miami, according to the university’s student directory.

A former member of Miami Greek life confirmed that seven of the 18 students were expelled last semester: Hugh Webster, Joshua Plaster, Tyler Glowaski, Alex Niezyniecki, Scott Sidner, Nicholas Griswold and Nico Londa.

Two of the students, Liam Newcomer and Jonathan Raush, graduated last May. The final student, former Delts chapter president and junior, Andrew Brinkman, transferred to The Ohio State University, according to OSU’s student directory.

All 18 men are facing at least two charges. Glowaski faces seven various misdemeanors while Brinkman and Webster are facing six charges each.

The Miami Student has made several attempts to reach out to all 18 men charged, but none have returned requests for comment.

Delta Tau Delta fraternity’s national brand communications manager, Jean Lloyd, released a statement saying that Delta Tau Delta is aware of the indictments, but won’t comment on individual cases.

Grant Zedner, the president of Miami’s Inter-fraternity Council (IFC) declined to comment on the Delts’ charges.

NEWS 3

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

The charges come after a grand jury in Butler County determined there was only enough evidence to charge the 18 men with a series of misdemeanors.

The Student cannot confirm whether the grand jury was considering felony charges at this time.

But, according to the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association (OPAA), “Grand juries consider felonies, which are crimes punishable by imprisonment. Lesser offenses, called misdemeanors, are considered solely by the prosecutor’s office.”

Butler County assistant prosecutor, Willa Concannon, declined to comment on whether or not she initially pursued felony charges.

Court proceedings will begin in Area 1 court at the Oxford Courthouse, but the cases have not been scheduled yet.

Miami’s chief marketing and communications officer Michele Gaither Sparks wrote in an email to The Student that, “This is a serious and pivotal moment for Miami’s

Reporting arrests policy vote postponed

Greek community. We hope that it will continue to rally our campus to work together to end hazing and alcohol abuse at Miami and to preserve the rich heritage of Miami’s Greek life.”

“We cannot comment on any separate case as each of these individuals are entitled to their day in court,” she wrote.

Gaither Sparks said the university is not aware if there have been other Miami fraternities or sororities that have faced criminal charges as a result of hazing in the past.

But court proceedings for the 18 current and former students have just begun.

“It’s still under investigation officially,” said Oxford Police Department Lieutenant Lara Fening. “Just because these indictments came down doesn’t mean that we’re done. There’s still lots of work to do yet.”

Additional reporting for this story was contributed by news editor Rachel Berry and assistant news editor Briah Lumpkins.

Follow @miamistudent on Twitter and check back to our website miamistudent. net for further updates.

MADELINE PHABY STAFF WRITER

University Senate has yet to make a decision on the contested proposed reporting arrests policy that faculty assembly voted to return to them for further discussion on Sept. 10.

At its Oct. 7 meeting, senate passed a resolution to form an ad hoc committee, which will gather information on the proposed policy over a period of several weeks and present it to senate. The members of this committee haven’t been chosen yet.

Before this resolution was brought to the floor, Cathy Wagner, president of Miami’s American Association of University Professors (AAUP) advocacy chapter, encouraged senate to approve a motion to strike down the policy immediately.

“Because we know there are many faculty who want the policy gone — not just revised and resubmitted — there will be a motion made today to reject the policy in its entirety,” Wagner said. “Faculty assembly voted to return the policy to senate, not to ask the Executive Committee to devise a process for reconsideration.”

But no such motion was brought to the floor.

Dana Cox, Chair of the Executive Committee of University Senate, said that voting on the policy at Monday’s meeting would not allow enough outside voices to be considered.

“As senators, you have to represent not only your feelings about the policy but also a broad and very diverse constituency,” Cox said. “What we need is time, space and an education about the specific concerns faced by spouses, siblings and everybody in our community.”

Cox said that the Executive Committee would be using recommendations from college deans as well as members of senate to determine the membership of this ad hoc committee. Once formed, it will have until Dec. 2 to gather information on the proposed policy and present its findings to Senate.

The resolution to form an ad hoc committee passed, with all but two senators voting in favor of it.

@timcarlin_ carlintm@miamioh.edu @cadoyle_18 doyleca3@miamioh.edu

“Just because these indictments came down doesn’t mean that we’re done. There’s still lots of work to do yet.”

- OPD Lieutenant Lara Fening

phabymr@miamioh.edu

Hope Solo seeks to even the score on the gender pay gap FROM FRONT

filed a complaint against U.S. Soccer’s wage discrimination with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In August 2018, Solo filed another lawsuit, citing the Equal Pay and Civil Rights Acts.

After the U.S. team lost a game against Sweden in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Solo called the women’s Swedish team “a bunch of cowards” during a press conference. This prompted the U.S. Soccer Federation to hand Solo a six-month suspension for her comments.

The federation’s CEO fired her shortly after releasing the suspension and asked her not to speak publicly about it.

Solo believes the U.S. Soccer Federation fired her for speaking out publicly about equal pay for the U.S. women’s team.

“Unencumbering me and firing me was one of

the worst things they could have done for themselves,” Solo said.

Meanwhile, during the same summer Olympics, U.S. men’s swimmer Ryan Lochte, who filed a false incident report after robbing a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, was suspended until this year.

But Lochte is still training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Solo is not.

The former goalkeeper spoke at length about pressure on female athletes in comparison to male athletes.

“When me and my teammates would do interviews, we’re expected to be very [politically correct],” Solo said during the press conference in the afternoon. “We’re not expected to have emotion.”

In 2015, Daugherty, who joined Solo at all of the events, wrote a column titled “Why is Hope Solo being spared?”

In the column, Daugherty compared the U.S.

Soccer Federation’s handling of Hope Solo’s later-dismissed domestic violence charges to the way NFL commissioner Roger Goodell benched Ray Rice for two games after news broke that Rice beat up his then-fiancée and now-wife in an elevator, which both occurred in 2014.

In 2014, a fight between Solo, her half-sister Teresa Obert and her 17-year-old nephew ended in Solo’s fourth-degree domestic violence assault charges. A judge dismissed charges after Obert and the nephew did not answer all questions from Solo’s lawyer, Todd Maybrown, in a private deposition interview and refused to attend a second set of interviews.

Daugherty could not recall the column when asked about it.

“All I can tell you is, I try to do the best I can do every time I do it, and I really do care about the people that I write about,” Daugherty said.

At the time of the press conference, Solo was unaware the column existed.

“It hasn’t always been comfortable, but I think having uncomfortable conversations can be some of the best conversations, so thank you,” Solo said to Daugherty later while onstage.

Solo framed her experiences within the variety of issues facing female athletes through her own lens. She talked about how she and her former teammates are expected to behave differently than their male counterparts.

“We’re not expected to get competitive or be poor sports,” Solo said. “And we’re supposed to be girls next door, the ponytail posse, the innocent ones, but we are professional athletes who get upset, who get angry, who get mad ... Who want to win — no different from our male counterparts.” murdocc3@miamioh.edu

‘I want to believe that Miami is headed in the right direction’

The aftermath of Miami’s climate strike

GABBI BRIGHT

THE MIAMI STUDENT Over two weeks ago, Miami University students led a climate strike and confronted Miami President Greg Crawford and the Board of Trustees (BoT) at Marcum Conference Center to demand they take a stand on several sustainability issues on campus.

In response to student outcry over Miami’s lack of green policies, Miami’s Sustainability Committee held a public forum on Thursday, Oct. 3. The forum’s goal was to be more transparent about how Miami is addressing its climate impact.

The forum was scheduled less than a week before it was held. Despite a large student response to the climate strike, less than 20 students attended the forum.

Associate Director for the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability (IES), Suzanne Zazycki, Chair of Kinesiology and Health, Helaine Alessio, and Director of Sustainability Adam Sizemore spoke.

They discussed how the Sustainability Committee is tasked with addressing how Miami will reach carbon neutrality. The Committee is now analyzing two different options: the President’s Climate Leadership Commitments (PCLC) or an internal university plan.

The PCLC is an agreement signed by university presidents that binds the university to certain goals, like carbon neutrality and sustainability.

The standards for this commitment are strict and require administrations to develop a Climate Action Plan within the first three years of signing the agreement. They also have to submit annual reports on efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

In January 2019, the Sustainability Committee presented an outline of questions and sustainability benchmarks to Crawford. The vision plan included ten objectives, including whether Miami should aspire to become the most sustainable university in the U.S. and Crawford’s pending decision to sign the PCLC. Zazycki emphasized Miami’s ongoing efforts to reduce its energy consumption and encourage sustainable practices among its peers. “[Miami aspires to be] a leader among higher education institutions,” she said. “We feel that it is a mutual responsibility of all humans to work toward sustainability practices and it should be a collaborative effort, not necessarily with one designated champion.”

Zazycki said Miami has accomplished many of its goals since the creation of the Presidential Task Force on Environmental Sustainability in 2007 and the formation of the Sustainability Committee in 2009.

The university earned two Silver STARS ratings in 2013 and 2016 as well as a Gold STARS rating in 2019. By 2018, it reduced 45 percent of its energy consumption since 2008, earned several LEED Gold and Silver ratings and sponsored the creation of a Student Sustainability Council.

But there’s more work to be done.

Alessio said Crawford was waiting on the Sustainability Committee to provide more details on how Miami would fulfill the PCLC before making a decision on whether to sign. The Committee was also tasked with considering an internal plan for

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the university.

“In speaking with President Crawford, one of the things that he was pretty passionate about was a cultural change, not only at the administrative level, but at every level,” Alessio said.

“This isn’t just a plan that we’re working on for the administration to do and take care of the business of carbon neutrality on its own,” she said.

“This is a plan that’s going to include everyone’s buy-in to make choices at the smallest level as well as the highest level that we can achieve carbon neutrality with everybody pitching in.”

Despite not attending the forum, climate strike organizer Cassie Conrad said she was optimistic about the ideas expressed during the Committee’s presentation.

“This [forum] is one of Crawford’s first steps toward being more transparent with the student body,” she wrote in an email to The Miami Student. “Moving forward, I hope he commits to a sustainability communications team.”

After the forum, student leaders of the climate strike commented on their experience and their expectations of Miami’s future climate activism.

Associated Student Government (ASG) Secretary for Infrastructure and Sustainability Antonio Vazquez Lim wrote in an email to the Student that he was unsatisfied with the conduct of some strikers.

“The strike morphed into a political rally rather than a climate strike,” he wrote. “It succeeded in its goal to increase awareness of climate change, but it was misled in that it became vitriolic rather than productive … There was not much centralization

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and the strike was fractured in leadership.”

Vasquez Lim wrote that the purpose of the strike may have been misconstrued.

“Our goal was to increase awareness of climate change, especially within the student body,” Vasquez Lim wrote. “Our goal was never to force President Crawford’s hand into signing the PCLC. There are other options for institutional carbon neutrality, and it is misleading to promote the PCLC rather than promoting just carbon neutrality.”

But Conrad and Vazquez Lim are still concerned. “[In the] long-term nothing can be achieved without a real investment both financially and personnel-wise,” Conrad wrote. “I want to believe that Miami is headed in the right direction. At the very least, the students are being mobilized and there’s much more interconnection between green [organizations] on campus than ever before.”

Vazquez Lim was critical of the breakdown of leadership during the strike, but optimistic about students’ passion to enact change on campus.

“Misled/misinformed activism is ineffectual, and there must always be a leader on these issues to guide those seeking to make change effectively,” Vazquez Lim wrote. “Being the change I want to see in the world is all I can do; it’s essential that we continue to pursue a future for us and our children.” @gabbiabri brightga@miamioh.edu

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4 NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

‘Miami prepared me for life’ Alumni recount their Miami experience BRIAH LUMPKINS

BERRYRD@MIAMIOH.EDU

Each year, Miami University brings back 18 of its highest achieving alumni who graduated in the past nine years. Honorees come from different backgrounds and have expertise in multiple fields. This year, The Miami Student sat down with four honorees to discuss Miami’s impact on their careers.

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Brandon Smith ‘10

When Miami University alumnus and entrepreneur Brandon Smith wants something, it’s hard to shift his focus.

Smith played prep league hockey in high school at Cleveland’s Gilmour Academy and quickly became attached to the ice. When his friends were applying to different colleges, Smith focused on perfecting his game and figuring out how to play after graduation. “[Hockey] was such a huge part of who I was at the time,” Smith said.

Smith knew he wanted to play on a collegiate team and took a year off after graduation to play junior league hockey before being offered a walk-on spot on Miami’s varsity hockey team.

His devotion to the game was evident, but he was just as determined to do well academically.

As a student in the Farmer School of Business (FSB), he and his teammates supported each other as they balanced athletics and academics.

“We had such a strong group that lifted each other up,” Smith said. “We all pushed to have excellence in both.”

With the number eight stitched to the back of his jersey, Smith went on to play a total of 60 games as an upperclassman. In 2010, he graduated cum laude from Miami with a degree in finance.

Smith was in the early stages of studying for the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) when his younger brother, Jarred, gave him a call.

Jarred, a senior at Brown University, proposed an idea for a sports drink. Jarred wanted to create an alternative to the typical sugary drinks that dominated the market.

Smith agreed and quickly found himself invested in what would become the next chapter in his life.

“It was consuming,” Smith said. “Once we started to figure it out, we couldn’t really put it down.”

He and his brother invested hours into getting their product, an energy drink called NOOMA, off the ground. The name is short for “no more acids,” a trait they find common in many drinks dominating the industry.

He and his brother, who are both finance majors, had no experience with making an energy drink but knew they wanted to compete in the market.

With hard work, they quickly got NOOMA ready to compete against other leading products. It’s now sold in approximately 4,500 stores per state. Smith is happy with his business success but is focused on what he can do to make his product even better.

“I think we’ve had some good wins, but we aren’t the type of people to say ‘Wow, look at all we’ve accomplished,’” Smith said. “[We’re aware] we still have a bunch of problems and a bunch of things we need to figure out, and I just think that’s who we are day by day.”

Jean Forney ‘11

Robin Beavers ‘12

Jean Forney didn’t know she wanted to pursue psychology when she applied to Miami.

Initially, her interest was in the music performance program. She loved to play the viola, and was determined not to give it up during her time in college. Many universities she looked into required her to put music on hold, but the music performance program at Miami kept her passion alive.

“Some of the schools I was looking at [music performance] wasn’t really an option. The schools were so big that it wasn’t really feasible. But here I could study other things, but also study music.” said Forney.

But after interacting with her professor, Rose Marie Ward, her passion

Robin Beavers applied to Miami after receiving a handwritten postcard from a current student. She loved the personal touch but had never toured the campus or heard much about the university.

Beavers came to Miami undecided but understood the importance of a public ivy education. She had an idea of what she wanted to do, but the opinion of others also played a role.

During her sophomore year, Beavers decided she wanted to declare education as her major but was warned that starting a regimented major late in the game would delay her graduation.

In response, Beavers doubled up on classes and only graduated a semester later than she intended.

While at Miami, she participated in a split placement program where she spent eight weeks student teaching in Lakewood City Schools (LCS) just outside Cleveland and eight weeks student teaching in Belize.

She believes the opportunity to teach in Belize prepared her for her current position.

“Me being on the outside and not [initially] understanding some of their cultural norms has been one of the most influential pieces in my current career because I am in a building where 14 languages are spoken,” Beavers said.

After returning from Belize, Beavers was offered a substitute teaching position in LCS and quickly moved into a full-time position, which, according to Beavers, is a rare opportunity.

“No one ever retires,” Beavers said. “When there’s an open position, we get hundreds of applications.”

Beavers also values her ability to shape the lives of students. While teaching in LCS, she began to recognize her necessity in the lives of many girls in her classes.

“I noticed that there was some young ladies that were getting into trouble for asking for advice on simple things that I feel every

for psychology began to develop. She quickly became an active member of undergraduate research, working alongside Ward doing research involving eating disorders in young adults.

“Rose Marie Ward really encouraged us to pursue our own research interests, which gave me more confidence in my abilities,” Forney said.

“She was interested in getting to know us as people. We weren’t just students doing work for her.”

Forney loved her research so much she decided to continue it. She said Miami prepared her for upper-level education as she pursed her masters and doctorate degrees from Florida State University.

“Miami put me in a great spot to be successful in graduate school,” Forney said. “My time involved in undergraduate research, the music department and extracurriculars taught me how to work with others, manage my time and work toward long term goals.”

Now, she serves as an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio University. She specializes in the field of eating disorders, specifically, the outside factors that contribute to eating disorders in young adults. She enjoys being able to share her knowledge with the next set of clinicians and knowing her work it impactful.

“It’s nice knowing that the work I’m doing is going to have a direct impact because I’m training the next set of clinicians. It makes me feel good that people are going to come out prepared.” Forney said.

young lady should know, but there really was no place for them to gain that information or some of those skills,” Beavers said. “Some of them just needed a helping hand or someone to just guide them and some positive influences.”

During her first year at LCS, she started a program called Girl Empowerment in Middle School, a mentorship program for girls in the sixth, seventh and eighth grade.

Former students who graduate out of the program come back and talk to the middle schoolers and provide a helping hand as they transition into their high school years.

Beavers now serves as a principal in LCS at Garfield Middle School.

Beavers said Miami prepared her for her current career and she’s grateful for the opportunities made possible through her time here.

“Miami prepared me for life,” Beavers said.

“I get to work in a community and work with wonderful children because Miami prepared me.”

Kevin Phaup ‘13 Kevin Phaup didn’t make his way to college until later in life.

He spent the first 15 years after graduating high school trying to figure out what he actually wanted to do before spending a large amount of money on a degree.

He built houses for many years. He met his wife, a grade school teacher at the time, through the local ministry where they both mentored troubled youth. Although he enjoyed what he did, the weight of both these jobs soon became too much for him.

“I had a physically demanding job building houses and emotionally demanding job working with these teens, so I think I was kind of exhausted,” Phaup said. “I was ready for change.”

After having a conversation with his wife, they decided they were ready to go through a new phase of life together. Phaup wanted to pursue a degree in art and architecture, something he said building houses prepared him for immensely.

Phaup and his wife toured Miami’s campus and immediately knew Oxford was the place for them.

“The campus is beautiful, and the people and facilities were great. It was kind of a no brainer,” Phaup said.

Phaup walked onto campus as a 30-yearold first year. His age meant his story differs from the typical college student.

“I wasn’t ready to go to school straight out of high school,” Phaup said. “I think [waiting to go to college] was a great choice for me. We had a very different experience. A lot of what those college students were experiencing, we had already [went through] that.”

His first year took some adjusting, but he quickly found himself becoming close and having a professional relationship with his professors.

“Beyond my freshman year, I started to feel like I was a part of the teacher group as well,” Phaup said. “They treated me more like a colleague than a student. And the students really looked up to me and came to me with questions.”

Phaup grew his relationships with other students when he was given the opportunity to teach a one-credit woodshop class. He knew at some point in his life he wanted to teach and said he was grateful for the opportunity to do so.

Upon graduation, Phaup worked as an industrial designer and has worked on exhibitions for the Smithsonian, U.S. military and in developing countries. He said he thinks the biggest part of his creative process is doing research and understanding who his work is for.

“There’s more of a research component with my designing — with work I’ve done in developing countries, wheelchair design, disaster relief,” Phaup said. “That creative process begins with me trying to understand the people I’m designing for. Empathy experiences where you try to put yourself into someone else’s life is where that creative process starts.”

Phaup now works as an assistant professor at James Madison University. He remembers the great one-on-one relationships he’s had with professors at Miami and works hard to emulate that with his current students.

Miami receives award for employing people with disabilities SKYLER BLACK

THE MIAMI STUDENT Miami University received the 2019 Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) Employer Partner of Inclusion Gold Award in September.

OOD is an organization based in Columbus that helps people with disabilities become employed and develop independence. This is Miami’s second year receiving an OOD award.

The university was given the Champion of Opportunity Award in 2017, which honored Miami’s

effort to hire OOD job seekers particularly that year.

OOD gives employer partnership awards at four levels — silver, gold, platinum and champion. To be considered for such award, the employer partner must employ five OOD members within a one-year evaluation period.

Other factors for the award include recruitment of Ohioans with disabilities, providing employee awareness and etiquette training and fostering a healthy work environment.

The Office of Equity and Equal Opportunity didn’t respoond to The Miami Student’s

requests for data on how many people with disabilities the university employs.

Kim Jump, OOD’s chief of communications, said the number of recipients varies each year depending on how many partnerships meet the certain inclusion and diversity criteria for the awards. Miami is one of nine employer partners to receive the gold level for 2019.

“We appreciate the partnership Miami University has with us at OOD,” Jump said.

“We’d like to offer sincere gratitude and appreciation to Miami University for their com-

“We’d like to offer sincere gratitude and appreciation to Miami University for their commitment to establishing and growing a culture of diversity and inclusion in the workplace for inividuals with disabilities.” - Kim Jump

mitment to establishing and growing a culture of diversity and inclusion in the workplace for individuals with disabilities.”

Theresa Murphy, director of employment at Miami, said the employment process is the same for all individuals seeking a job at the university, and accommodations for such jobs are only granted if specifically asked.

“We think that having a diverse workforce, whether if it’s with disabilities or race or religion, strengthens [Miami] overall,” Murphy said. “So having employees that reflect that of our students is part of the golden accomplishment at Miami.”

Murphy formally accepted the award Wednesday, Oct. 2 in Sharonville, Ohio, at the OOD Job Fair, where over 200 job-seekers presented themselves to prospective employers.

“This is an achievement that simply recognizes Miami for what Miami does,” Murphy said. “Which is to promote our employers to be as best as they can possibly be.” blackse2@miamioh.edu

GLYNNEE@MIAMIOH.EDU

NEWS 5

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

Miami is ‘ground zero for anti-racist work’

Road improvements coming to High Street TIM CARLIN

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

STUDENTS PACKED WILKS THEATER TO LISTEN TO EIGHT PANELISTS DISCUSS THEIR EXPERIENCE ON MIAMI’S MAJORITY-WHITE CAMPUS. THE MIAMI STUDENT OPHELIA ROSALEZ

Student panelists speak against racism SARA BEY

STAFF WRITER Eight student panelists took to the Wilks Theater stage for the Racial Consciousness 101 Forum, an event for conversations regarding race and racial myths last week.

The forum was a revamped version of a 1981 anti-racism initiative aimed to “help educate the student body about the experiences of students of color on campus,” said doctoral candidate Kyle Larson, one of the forum’s lead organizers.

The first revamped forum took place last year in Wilks. But in the ’80s, students would go to classrooms for discussions.

“When [senior Clara Guerra] and I first started organizing this, I felt it to be a labor issue,” Larson said. “Instead of going to every classroom, you can come to us … and we can have an increased impact.”

Because of that “increased impact” and increased workload, panelists were compensated financially or with one to three independent study course credits for participation. The stipends were between $100-$300 each. The money came from fundraising done by the forum organizers and the students enrolled in independent study courses.

The organizers and panelists said they felt a need for a conversation about race to be held on a campus like Miami.

“Miami is Miami,” Larson said.

“A lot of students here come from a very privileged background … I think this campus is like a ground zero for anti-racist work.”

Almost 71 percent of undergraduate students at Miami’s Oxford campus are white, according to the October 2018 statistics from the university’s diversity webpage.

The next largest racial group is Hispanic/Latino at 4.7 percent.

Multi-Racial makes up 3.7 percent of the student body, Black/African American students had 3.4 and Asian students are 2.2 percent. All other groups were less than 1 percent.

The eight panelists came from diverse backgrounds, representing many racial demographics on campus.

In order of presentation, the panelists were Kara Strass, Austin Lamewona, Priyana Kalita, Taylor Dancer, Jannie Kamara, Nan Kanjanakullawat, Frida Rodriguez and Diwen Chen.

Each panelist gave a five to seven minute presentation and spoke about the racism and colorism (discrimination based on skin tone) they experience in their daily

lives on Miami’s campus. Afterward, there was an open Q&A. Before the forum, students enrolled in courses that embed the forum into their curriculum, such as ENG 111 and SJS 215, filled out a survey that asked a series of racially-based questions regarding the presentations.

Over 800 students responded to questions such as their perception of the Myaamia people, income and wealth on Miami’s campus, what it means to be black and how diverse Miami’s campus is compared to where they grew up.

Kara Strass, a Miami Tribe Relations Assistant and panelist, spoke from the Myaamia perspective.

“When you think of racial consciousness, I find it very important to [include] a Native perspective,” she said, “especially here at Miami University, which sits on the traditional homelands of the Myaamia people.”

Strass began her presentation speaking in the Myaamia language and giving a history lesson on the displacement of the Myaamia people.

“Race in the United States has a historical context that lives out in people’s lives today,” she said. “We would not be in the place where we are — having to do language revi-

College Democrats and Republicans start Twitter feud over voter registration

talization — without the history of forced removal.”

Other panelists shared their thoughts on racism and how people in positions of privilege are shaped by our world’s historical treatment of minorities.

“I’m a huge believer that every white person is a little racist, [just as] every man is a little sexist,” said panelist and senior Austin Lamewona. “Our society ingrains misogyny and racism into just about every aspect of society.”

Because of this, he said he defines racial consciousness as “being aware of why things are the way they are.”

Many panelists from last year’s forum spoke again this year. Larson said it was a “different vibe,” and everyone involved felt less nervous and more bold.

“As citizens of the United States, we really have a responsibility to begin understanding what [race] is,” Strass said. “There’s no way that we can fully understand the American experience without understanding as much of that historical context as possible.”

Overall, Lamewona said the panel was beneficial.

“It was good to have a platform,” he said. “We felt comfortable to say, ‘This is how it is, this is how I feel about it, and I’m not gonna apologize for it.’” @sara_bey beysc@miamioh.edu

‘A quiet kindness’ Remembering sophomore Adrienne Boggan RACHEL BERRY

She adored other aspects of the arts as well and enjoyed watching musicals and operas.

Adrienne was fascinated by Asian Miami University sophomore Adrienne Boggan died on campus ear- culture and was teaching herself Japly in the morning on Wednesday, Oct. anese. She hoped to study abroad in Japan during her junior year.

2 due to a sudden illness.

Adrienne’s friends describe her Adrienne was a studio art major, but her love for art extended far be- as being generous, caring, sweet and yond academics. Her mom, Jennifer, genuine.

“She just had a quiet kindness said she became fascinated with art at just five or six years old. Whenever about her,” Anna Marie said.

Although Adrienne was quiet in it was raining outside, Adrienne and her siblings would have sticker parties, class, she came alive when she was covering the dining room table with with her family. She had a vibrant stickers, construction paper and cray- personality and was always cracking jokes, said her ons. twin sister, AshAs she grew ton. older, Adrienne Adrienne and never lost that Ashton were best love for creating. friends. They had She would never been apart draw on anything until college, she could find, when Adrienne and it was rare to headed off to Mifind a school asami and Ashton signment of hers to the University without pictures of Cincinnati. in the margins.

Jennifer said “I don’t think I ever saw her ADRIENNE WAS CREATIVE AND CURIOUS. Adrienne was a CONTRIBUTED BY JENNIFER BOGGAN true RedHawk. not doodling or Her sister, Cadrawing,” said Anna Marie Demos, a high school mille, graduated from Miami in 2019, and her aunt was an alumna as well. friend who also attends Miami.

Adrienne is survived by her parAdrienne worked hard in her studio art classes, both inside and outside ents and siblings: James, Camille, the classroom. The art building was Ashton and Ellison.

There will be a viewing from 9 a.m. like a second home to her.

“She had a spark for figure draw- - 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12 followed ing, and it was a delight to see her by a mass at 10 a.m. at Church of The develop as an artist,” said Michael Resurrection, 1619 California Ave., Stillion, one of Adrienne’s professors. Cincinnati, Ohio 45327. An interment “She will be missed greatly by her Mi- will follow the service at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery. ami University Studio Arts family.”

The Boggan family asks that in lieu Her classmates also noticed her talent and creativity. Anna Marie said of flowers, donations may be made to in high school Adrienne stood out as the Miami University Art Museum, 801 S. Patterson Ave., Oxford, Ohio having a natural talent for drawing.

“Adrienne was always very quiet, 45056.

Students who need support during but she spoke through her art,” said sophomore Anna Skalicki. “I think art this time can contact the Student brought something out of her that a lot Counseling Service at (513) 529-4634. of people didn’t see.” @racheldberry Adrienne’s favorite creative outlets berryrd@miamioh.edu were ink drawing and sketching. She wanted to be an artist when she graduated.

NEWS EDITOR

NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY PROVOKED A HEATED EXCHANGE ON TWITTER. DESIGN EDITOR CONNOR WELLS

RYAN JONES

THE MIAMI STUDENT Miami University’s College Democrats (Dems) and College Republicans (CRs) recently started a Twitter feud over voter registration tables neither group organized for National Voter Registration Day. Both groups gave the impression they organized tabling for the event through the tweets posted that day.

Neither group mentioned in their tweets that the tables were organized by the nonpartisan Andrew Goodman Foundation, which promotes democratic involvement for young adults.

“Voter registration is a non-partisan issue, and we want to treat it that way,” said Makenzie Mercer, an ambassador for the Andrew Goodman Foundation.

On Sept. 24, the foundation set up tables to promote voter registration near the seal, Farmer School of Business and Maplestreet Commons. Two weeks before the event, the foundation emailed several political activist groups, including the Dems and CRs, asking for volunteers to staff tables.

The Dems directly replied asking

to collaborate four days before the event. The CRs didn’t respond directly and instead forwarded the email to their members.

On the day of the event, three Dems members volunteered at one of the tables. At the same time, CR members promoted voter registration by walking around campus with their own voter registration forms.

Taylor Armstrong, one of CRs’ coordinators, approached the registration table by the seal to borrow a clipboard. He then had another student take his photo to post on the organization’s Twitter account.

“It’s national voter registration day! Be sure to register!” the CRs tweeted with photos of Armstrong holding a clipboard and of students registering at the table.

The Dems responded to the CRs’ tweet, pointing out that the CRs weren’t tabling with them.

“The College Republicans didn’t have any registration drives, borrowed the clipboard for this photo op and then left,” the Dems tweeted.

After they tweeted, individual Dems took to Twitter, pointing out that the CRs Twitter account did nothing to contradict the accusation.

“We’re mostly just trying to make a funny tweet and throw some shade at the CRs in the meantime,” Dems communications director, Omar Elghazawi said. “Our Twitter account has always been on the lighter side.”

The situation escalated when the Ohio Democratic Party commented on the Dems’ post with “Bless their hearts.” After this, more people affiliated with both the Dems and the Ohio Democratic Party began replying to the CRs. The CRs twitter account blocked several Dems’ accounts whom they considered to be “disrespectful,” said CR Communications Director, Collin Finn.

“They took this as an opportunity to make us look bad,” Finn said. “It’s disappointing.”

Elghazawi and Armstrong both said they wished the issue hadn’t become partisan because the goal was to promote voting.

“We’re all here to do the same thing,” Armstrong said. “As long as you keep that in mind, it doesn’t matter what party affiliation you’ve got.” joneske6@miamioh.edu

City Councilors approved the repaving of High Street and Patterson Avenue and the addition of median dividers on those roads during the Oct. 1 City Council meeting.

The construction will be a joint project between the city and Miami University, said Cody Powell, Miami’s associate vice president of facilities planning and operations.

“We were also approached by the city of Oxford because … they plan years in advance for their city paving projects,” Powell said. “So it was a good time for us to sit down as a team between the city and the university and say, ‘Okay, what types of things might we want to try to accomplish so that we’re not tearing up brand new paved streets?’”

Powell said Miami asked the city to apply for Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) safety grants to help pay for the High Street median dividers. This means that Miami will pay for any costs associated with the dividers that aren’t covered by the grants, but the city will act as the local administrator of the project.

As the local administrator, the city will be able to choose which construction company will complete the work, as opposed to ODOT charging more money to do the work internally.

The High Street median dividers will replace sections of the center turning lane and act as a safe stopping point if pedestrians require extended crossing time. They will be modeled after the ones installed over the summer in 2018 on Patterson Avenue, which Powell said the university considered to be a “successful project.”

Along with adding median dividers on High Street, Powell said the university will also be widening and repaving the south-side sidewalk (where Hughes, Laws, Roudebush and Ogden Halls are located) to allow for more foot and bike traffic.

The construction plans will add two median dividers on Patterson Avenue: one near Bishop Woods and one between the Farmer School of Business (FSB) and the Psychology Building, Powell added.

Powell said the project will benefit Miamians and Oxford residents alike.

“We believe it’s in the best interest, not only for the university, but also for the city,” Powell said. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be making this choice.”

Construction is set to begin this summer. @timcarlin_ carlintm@miamioh.edu

6 CULTURE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

HEADLEDD@MIAMIOH.EDU

I can’t believe it IS butter

APPLE BUTTER FESITVAL CHURNS UP LOCAL EXCITEMENT. THE MIAMI STUDENT DAVID KWIATKOWSKI

Apple Butter Festival celebrates 55th year DAVID KWIATKOWSKI STAFF WRITER

The satisfying sound of crunching leaves beneath shoes, the sight of warm pumpkin spice lattes clutched in hands everywhere and the scents of apple and cool, crisp air littered the senses on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the 55th Apple Butter Festival.

It almost seemed as if fall had finally come.

The annual festival rung in the

HENRY AYRAULT

THE MIAMI STUDENT As curious minds flocked into Fritz Pavilion, soothing herbal aromas floated through the room. Smiling attendees gathered around circular tables, drinking from white paper cups and pondering which hot beverage to sample next.

The International Student and Scholar Services (ISS), along with Miami Activities and Programming (MAP) and Late Night Miami hosted their Tea Tasting event last Friday, Oct. 4 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event occurs every semester, and it consists of different clubs and groups of students working together to set up different stations in Armstrong Student Center where different teas are displayed.

“The event was started in 2017, and I started at Miami in 2018, and it seemed like a great event that we should keep going and try to make bigger and better,” said Dan Sinetar, program coordinator of ISS. “We [ISS] partner with MAP and Late Night Miami and, hopefully, they would feel the same way: that this has become one of their big ‘anchor’ events of the late night schedule.”

Representatives from the Native American Student Association (NASA) served sassafras tea at the event.

“Sassafras tea is the tea native to the Native Americans here in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, before they were removed,” said Joshua McCoy, a sophomore computer science major and President of NASA. “I’m a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, so this tea is one that’s still made in our community today, so we’re just here to tell people about our tea and serve our tea.”

season this past weekend, and Miami nutrition professor Nancy Parkinson stepped up to run it for the fourth year in a row.

“All the profits go to the upkeep of all these [historical] buildings,” Parkinson said, pointing out several landmarks that surround Hueston Woods, like the original Oxford Townhouse where they originally held town meetings back in the early days.

Other landmarks that benefit from the festival profits are the Doty Home-

stead and the Dewitt Log Cabin that the Oxford Museum Association cares for.

“My husband is with the Oxford Museum Association, and we are able to teach the nutrition message and also preserve history,” Parkinson said.

Parkinson’s students helped her organize the festival. From advertising to pricing and even making the apple butter, she involved her students every step of the way.

“It probably takes us less than a month to get prepared,” Parkinson said. “But Oxford starts planning in the summer.”

Parkinson and her husband bought the apples on Labor Day and froze them until about ten days before the festival to let them thaw. Parkinson bought 270

pounds of apples and 12 gallons of apple cider, and that was only for the free samples that were offered.

At the festival, there were live demonstrations of the apple butter making process led by students, and Parkinson acted as narrator and explained the rundown to the curious spectators that passed by.

The festival isn’t held just to celebrate the fall delicacy it’s named for.

It is also for local merchants to come out and showcase their products and trade. People sold soap, their published books, art and even handmade welded bumper stickers.

Joy Stapleton, former park ranger for Hamilton County, set up shop for the third year in a row selling her homemade jewelry — her shop coined Joy’s Jewels. She is a self-taught jeweler and has been practicing the craft for 11 years. She makes an effort to come to every festival Oxford puts on.

“I love the atmosphere,” Stapleton said. “I love the people. I tell everyone it’s one of my favorite shows.”

Another section of the festival was the alpaca petting zoo put on by the Howard Family Ranch. Cindy Howard set up shop selling plush alpaca dolls and the yarn that she makes once a year out of their fleece.

Their farm, based in Hamilton, has 60 alpacas, six llamas and various other farm animals like horses and cows. The Oxford Museum Association came to them and invited them for the first time to showcase their lively livestock. Some alpacas walked around the festival for people to take pictures of or to cuddle up with.

All ages came out for the event.

Groups of college students and Oxford locals came together to celebrate the autumnal treat and to break bread (with apple butter slathered on it, of course).

Oxford locals Seth and Bethany Cantwell make an effort to come to every Hueston Woods festival.

“It’s something to do and it’s close [to home],” Cantwell said. “And we like

to support local artists.”

Students travelled the festival in small groups, stopping at every pop-up shop and perusing the historical buildings on display.

Sophomore Andrew Martinez had not heard of the festival until earlier that week and went with his group of friends.

“I liked seeing all of the people who spend their entire lives on their trade,” Martinez said. “And they go to places like this to share it with everybody.

When you asked them questions, they were so passionate with their answers.”

Martinez said he is open to attending similar festivals and events in Oxford.

“I feel like a lot of people complain about there being nothing to do in Oxford,” Martinez said. “But if you look hard enough, you’ll find random events like this.” kwiatkdm@miamioh.edu

Sipping from cross-cultural cups

EVENT ORGANIZERS ENCOURAGED STUDENTS NOT TO BE “CHAI” WHEN TRYING NEW TEAS. THE MIAMI STUDENT OLIVIA HENNESSEY.

The Luxembourg at Miami club (LUAM) offered three different teas at their table.

“One is chamomile, another is Stinging Nettle, and there’s one more that’s specifically from Luxembourg,” said Felix Jenn, vice president of LUAM. “The third one is pretty popular in our country and I think it’s really good, too. It’s from the north of the country and a lot of people drink it.”

The difference between this semester’s event compared to past events was that the Tea Tasting was shared with

Global Spa Night. The Japanese Culture and Language Club (JCLC) scheduled the spa night last semester and were glad to find out about the merged events.

“I was happy to hear about it,” said Josie Masset, a senior studio arts and interactive media studies major and President of JCLC. “We’ve been a part of tea tasting for the last three years. It always has a really good showing and it’s a very relaxing thing, so before I even thought about us merging, just the fact that we were going to be combined

seemed like a good thing.”

Some Miami undergraduates said that they would go to Tea Tasting when it happens next because it was “fun to try new things while meeting new people,”said first-year Summer Foss.

“I have a friend that’s in the tea club, and she said that I needed to come because I love tea,” Foss said. “I love the honey citrus tea so far.”

Along with trying the hot beverages, there were a few activities and games set up for students to partake in. One was a guessing game that involved di-

verse languages.

“At each of the tables, we have the word for ‘tea’ written in different native languages on cards, and we’ll have students choose some of those language cards and choose what language that their ‘tea’ word is in,” Sinetar said.

“That’s the fun of it; to bring everyone together and all of the different groups of friends who are into [tea] and to get them to check out some other stuff that they might not be as familiar with.” ayraulhp@miamioh.edu

CULTURE 7

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

DATTILEC@MIAMIOH.EDU

PETS OF OXFORD

Mr. Rogers and the Miami neighborhood IZZY OWEN

THE MIAMI STUDENT The Stonebridge neighborhood has a friendly face and his name is Mr. Rogers.

If you’re ever walking outside Stonebridge Hall, you might notice Miami sophomore and creative writing major Icarus O’Brien walking his one-eyed dog, Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers is O’Brien’s emotional support animal (ESA) and helps him manage his depression and anxiety, conditions O’Brien struggled with last school year.

Mr. Rogers has helped a lot with O’Brien’s mental health since he got him in late July of this year.

“He turned out to be a really good ESA,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien has a schedule when it comes to walking Mr. Rogers around Stonebridge and that schedule has been very helpful for O’Brien.

“Throughout the day, going outside and taking care of him has been really beneficial for stabilizing my mental health and keeping me from staying inside too long,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien adopted Mr. Rogers at the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter. O’Brien believes that Mr. Rogers is around five-and-a half-years-old and is a Yorkie Chihuahua mix, although it is hard to say since he was adopted as a stray. Mr. Rogers’ shelter name was Roger originally, but O’Brien changed his name to Mr. Rogers when he got him.

“Mr. Rogers just seemed like an appropriate change to make,” O’Brien said. Like the television personality he’s named for, Mr. Rogers spreads happiness and warmth.

Shortly after getting him, Mr. Rogers fell ill

with an issue in his eye. O’Brien said smaller dogs like Mr. Rogers oftentimes have a genetic issue in which the lens of their eye can come off and destroy the separation of the fluid between the cornea and the lens.

For Mr. Rogers, this caused uncontrollable glaucoma in his left eye. After trying some medicine to help control the glaucoma, Mr. Rogers’ veterinarian determined that his eye would need to be removed.

“He’s been doing better ever since, but he

“Like the television personality he’s named for, Mr. Rogers spreads happiness and warmth.” has a blindside, so if somebody approaches, it can be an issue,” O’Brien said.

Despite the blindspot and having to wear a cone around his neck the first week at Miami, Mr. Rogers still enjoys people and company, making a lot of new friends wherever he goes.

“He’s very friendly and loves to sit on people’s laps,” O’Brien said. “If he sees you sitting down, he’ll sit on your lap.”

Mr. Rogers does not attend classes with O’Brien, which at first was difficult for both of them. O’Brien was stressed about leaving Mr. Rogers, and Mr. Rogers was stressed about being left alone. However, as the days went on it got easier for the duo. Mr. Rogers got comfortable with his crate and O’Brien leaves the

Reflecting a rainbow

Prism non-profit widens access to music KELLY MCKEWIN STAFF WRITER

Colby Taylor has had a busy few months.

The first-year music education major has been working since July to start a nonprofit organization with the help of just a few friends.

The organization, called Prism Marching Arts, aims to give special needs students an opportunity to learn to play an instrument and perform in a marching band.

“You never see anybody with special needs in band,” Taylor said. “There’s no rule against it, you just don’t see it because most high school bands are competitive and fast-paced. I decided to put two of my favorite things together, working with special needs students and music.”

Taylor has always been an advocate for special needs communities, as his best friend growing up had Down syndrome. But after taking a class during his senior year of high school that allowed him to help out in the special needs classes, he knew he wanted to do more than advocate. Over the summer, he came up with an idea to bring marching band, one of his other big passions, to students who likely wouldn’t have a chance to play otherwise.

Through Facebook groups and Miami’s marching band, Taylor connected with a few other incoming Miami students over the summer and recruited them to help turn Prism from an idea into a reality. With a staff of five others behind him, Taylor has worked since July to grow the program and get it off the ground.

This has included planning out lessons and rehearsals, networking with other local groups and nonprofits that work with special needs children, as well as creating a website.

So far, six students have signed up to be a part of the program. However, Taylor has only just begun widely advertising Prism in the last few weeks, which makes him hopeful there will be many more to come before rehearsals start next month.

“It’s all blown up in one month,” Taylor said.

“It got real big, real fast, and we’re not even that big yet.”

Taylor has big aspirations for Prism in the future. He has planned out ten years’ worth of themes and music for marching band shows and has even started to pursue performance opportunities for the future, like trying to book a performance of the national anthem at a Cincinnati sports game in 2021 or 2022.

Kinshuk Tella, a first-year who is working as the low brass director for Prism, says that Taylor’s dedication to Prism is one of the reasons the project has moved so fast, and one of the

reasons he jumped into the project before he even got to Miami.

“I got on board before the semester started,” Tella said. “At first, I thought it would be high demanding. I was impressed with the idea, but I didn’t know the logistics, but [Taylor] is very passionate about this, which made me very motivated, too. From there, we’ve just been getting more passionate. Colby has impressed me quite a bit with the amount of work he’s put in.”

There are other special needs marching bands around the country, but most require participants to be 21 years old or older. Prism will work with students over the age of 13, which Taylor believes is the youngest of any special needs band in the country.

Taylor and the rest of the Prism staff know they will face many challenges in advancing the project to where they want it, from getting Prism officially registered as a non-profit to eventually spending eight hours on Saturdays teaching students how to play music.

Jacob Lorkovic, a first-year student and the assistant director of Prism, says that part of the reason they have held off on holding rehearsals so far is so the group can create more lesson plans and learn more about working with special needs students from Taylor in order to be better prepared.

Despite the challenges to come, however, Lorkovic hopes it will be a rewarding experience for both the staff members of Prism and the students who play in the band.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us since we’re music education students and I feel like we’re really giving back to the special ed community,” Lorkovic said. “Marching band is a pretty extensive and fairly difficult activity, but giving special needs kids the chance to participate in a big familial group, it’ll bring them happiness, and that’s what we strive to do.”

Taylor has a similar view. He hopes to one day take Prism from a marching band and turn it into a school of music for special needs students. For now, though, he’s ready to do what he can to lay the groundwork for a successful program in the future.

“As an 18-year-old, it’s really hard to start a program like this,” Taylor said. “But starting this now and thinking about where it could be in four years is better than starting in four years and being where we are. I was just so excited about it I wanted to start right away. Plus, what’s a challenge? If life didn’t have challenges here and there it would be boring.” mckewikm@miamioh.edu

WITH MR. ROGERS AROUND, EVERY DAY IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY. THE MIAMI STUDENT OPHELIA ROSALES.

TV on for him while he’s gone. O’Brien only has classes two times a day in the mornings as well, so Mr. Rogers doesn’t have to be alone for very long.

“He’s in the crate for maybe three hours, and then I let him out,” O’Brien said.

Mr. Rogers keeps O’Brien company at home in Stonebridge. When O’Brien plays the piano that’s located on the first floor of Stone-

owenip@miamioh.edu

Telling stories in seconds Some stories delve deeply into the lives of their subjects. Others seek to capture the human condition in just a few words. Modeled after journalist Brady Dennis’ 300 word stories that explore the unfiltered intimacy of the everyday, these pieces, written by first-year students, offer a glimpse into the untold experiences of college life.

...

Confessions of an ex-introvert SKYLER PERRY

THE MIAMI STUDENT It was one in the morning and a freshman girl with straight black hair and a simple greysweatshirt sat in the first-floor lobby of Hepburn Hall. Her head had been buried in a programming textbook for hours. She told me to call her Jessica.

Jessica likes it here in the United States, but she’s worried about the oncoming cold.

She’s never owned a winter coat before; there was no reason to in 100-degree Vietnam. Ohio weather is really strange, she said.

After applying to Drexel University and the University of Wisconsin, she chose to come to Miami because it was affordable. Jessica knew she wanted to study abroad since entering secondary school in Vietnam.

Eighteen-year-old Jessica will likely see snow for the first time over winter break.

She’d prefer to go home and visit her family, but they don’t have the money.

Jessica didn’t seem upset.

“Hopefully next year,” she told me.

Jessica’s favorite place to eat is Garden Commons. Her favorite meal is the stir fry.

Sometimes she eats milk and cookies for dessert. She likes to go Uptown with her friends on the weekend to get pizza. Jessica badly misses the Vietnamese food “pho.” I

pronounce it wrong and she corrects me; we laugh and chatter about it.

Jessica told me that our conversation could have never happened back home; she used to be extraordinarily shy. It took Jessica traveling 8,000 miles from her home to reinvent herself.

Scared before boarding the plane for America, but now confident and comfortable,

“Our conversation never could have happened back home; she used to be extraordinarily shy.” she hopes to become a permanent resident.

She is close with her family and misses them dearly but not consistently. Like most college kids, Jessica has been enjoying her freedom.

We make shopping plans and exchange numbers before heading to bed. perrysl2@miamioh.edu

...

A chance romance LEXI WHITEHEAD

THE MIAMI STUDENT They both happened to enter a giveaway at Goggin Ice Center during Welcome Weekend.

They both happened to be leaving Martin Dining Hall when it was announced that they were the two winners. Their prizes: Miami blankets.

They both happened to be at the same party on a Saturday night. She was pulling her friends through the crowd and, literally, ran

“He fit almost every requirement on her perfect guy checklist, one which her mom believes to be too unrealistic.”

TAYLOR IS WELL-PREPARED TO PUT PRISM INTO ACTION. HE HAS 10 YEARS WORTH OF PLANS HE HOPES TO REALIZE. THE MIAMI STUDENT KELSEY WARNING

bridge, Mr. Rogers is always right there, lying on the bench next to O’Brien.

During our interview, people walked past and smiled at Mr. Rogers as he sat on O’Brien’s lap. O’Brien said people are always stopping to ask to pet Mr. Rogers.

“Stonebridge is his neighborhood,” O’Brien said. “He likes it here.”

into him.

They laughed at their multiple, coincidental run-ins and decided to plan their next one.

He did not kiss her goodnight after their first night out. She went for a kiss and he went for a hug. She says it kept her humble.

She did not want a boyfriend. He was looking for something serious.

But he liked her so much that he agreed to keep things casual and didn’t pressure her into anything more.

So they just kept hanging out.

When she was bored and wanted to talk to someone, she automatically texted him. When she was lonely in her dorm one night, she asked him to come over and cuddle.

They hung out almost every day for a week.

He fit almost every requirement on her perfect guy checklist, one which her mom believes to be too unrealistic. He accompanied her to a club meeting she was nervous about.

She was slightly jealous of his beautiful female friends.

They slow danced on the roof of Thomson Hall at night to a Frank Sinatra song.

“I really wanna call you my girlfriend,” he told her.

She finally gave in to the feelings she had been repressing.

“Well then, you can call me your girlfriend,” she replied. “I don’t know why I’m resisting.”

They tell anyone who will listen about each other, including the ladies at the Goggin office who gave them their prizes.

“Thanks for the blanket and the boyfriend,” she told them. whitehan@miamioh.edu

Sports

8

VINELCA@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

REDHAWKS FALL TO BOWLING GREEN IN SEASON OPENER

IN HIS FIRST COLLEGIATE GAME, FRESHMAN FORWARD RYAN SAVAGE HANDLES THE PUCK AS TWO FALCONS BEAR DOWN ON HIM SUNDAY. SAVAGE WAS HELD WITHOUT A POINT, AS HIS TEAM LOST 7-4. THE MIAMI STUDENT ZACH REICHMAN

MICHAEL NAMORATO THE MIAMI STUDENT

When Miami hockey began its season at the Goggin Ice Center Sunday, the day brought an extra sense of sentiment for coach Chris Bergeron.

Facing his former Bowling Green Falcons in his first game as head coach of the RedHawks, any sort of special treatment was nonexistent once the puck hit the ice.

The RedHawks battled until the end but could not keep up with the high-powered Falcons, falling 7-4.

The first period came and went with Miami showing the offensive woes of years past. Bowling Green came out hot with four shots on goal in the first 90 seconds of play. The intensity of the occasion was easily felt on the ice, with physical play the main theme in the first 20 minutes.

The RedHawks found it difficult to find their groove early, and it showed throughout the first period, as neither team found the back of the net.

The second period brought with

it a sense of urgency, as both teams looked to score their first goal of the season. Miami did not have to wait long, as senior forward Gordie Green scored within the first minute of play.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan native danced through two defenders on his way to scoring.

“Obviously, you would rather have a win,” Green said. “You always want the win.”

After a series of penalties following the opening goal, Bowling Green responded with a goal of its own and tied the game at one.

The shots on goal differential continued to grow throughout the second period of play, with the Falcons continuing to create quality goal-scoring chances. The deadlock was broken by a deflected Falcon pass finding its way past senior goaltender Ryan Larkin to give Bowling Green a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.

The RedHawks entered the third period being outshot 25 to eight, further displaying the offensive disconnect that has haunted the team in

recent years. Miami came out of the locker room firing to start the third, but it was unable to capitalize on several offensive chances early.

Larkin believes that the team can, and will, improve on staying focused for 60 minutes.

“I think if there is one thing, it is talking more,” Larkin said. “It makes the game so much easier when you’re talking to everyone and everyone knows where to go with the puck.”

Bowling Green extended its lead to 3-1 after a squandered Miami chance.

The Falcons stepped up the intensity after their third goal of the night, making life for Miami very challeng-

ing on both ends of the ice. The lead grew again, as Bowling Green scored off a deflected shot from the point.

Down three goals, the RedHawks continued to fight for offensive chances. Senior forward Karch Bachman scored seven minutes into the third period to cut the deficit to two goals with 13 minutes remaining. A breath of new life swept through the Steve “Coach” Cady Arena, as fans felt the game was not yet over.

Miami’s deficit grew, as Bowling Green added a goal on the powerplay, bringing its lead back to three goals (5-2). As time wound down, the RedHawks seemed as though they were

“Obviously, you would rather have a win.”

-Gordie Green

running out of gas.

Just as the student section began to empty, the RedHawks climbed back into the game. Two goals, one each from Green and Bachman, cut the lead to one goal with just under four minutes remaining.

Heading into the final two minutes, Bowling Green added two more goals, one of which was on an empty Miami net after the RedHawks pulled Larkin.

The final score was 7-4.

“It’s a starting point,” Bergeron said. “I would like to think that we saw some of what we are going to be in the opponent tonight.”

Miami hopes to turn things around, as the University of New Hampshire comes to Oxford for a weekend series Friday and Saturday.

Puck drop for both games will be at 7:05 p.m., and both games are available on NCHC.tv. @mnamorato26 namoramc@miamioh.edu

Darrian Ringo’s case dismissed CHRIS VINEL

SPORTS EDITOR

Here’s what you missed since last Tuesday…

THURSDAY

SATURDAY

FIELD HOCKEY

VOLLEYBALL

Miami............................ 5 Towson.......................... 2

FRIDAY

SOCCER Miami............................ 1

Akron............................ 3 Miami............................ 0

WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Akron........................ 186 Miami........................ 114

SUNDAY

FIELD HOCKEY

Buffalo........................... 0

Wake Forest.................. 2

VOLLEYBALL

Miami............................ 0

Buffalo ......................... 0

Miami............................ 0

Miami............................ 3

Akron............................ 2

SOCCER

Darrian Ringo’s domestic violence case was dismissed by Judge Fred Miller at the Oxford Courthouse on Thursday morning.

Ringo, a former Miami basketball player, was arrested on March 15 after showing up at the mother of his child’s house at 3:30 a.m. According to the Oxford police incident report, he pushed her to the ground to reach his son, put his hands around her neck and shoved her onto a bed after she tried to block him.

He then spent three days in a Butler County jail on a first-degree misdemeanor charge for domestic violence.

He appeared in court shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday, and Miller dismissed the charges after he saw that Ringo had completed a court-issued anger-management program and paid his court costs. Miller told Ringo “good job.”

“I think he’s glad that it’s over,” Ringo’s attorney, Neal Schuett, said.

After Ringo made his first court date via video conference on March 18, his case was rescheduled six times before Miller finally came to a decision on Thursday.

Schuett said this is common.

“It was continued, so we could talk with the prosecutor and handle the case,” Schuett said. “Darrian was no longer around. He had gone back home [to Brownsburg, Indiana]. So, it was just working out schedules and talking to the prosecutor.”

Ringo is no longer enrolled at the university, Miami’s director of university news and communications, Claire Wagner, said.

No further information about whether Ringo had graduated was immediately available.

He finished his collegiate eligibility at the end of last season by playing his final game three days before his arrest. In two seasons with the Red-

For Austin Waterwall, powerlifting is his sport DAVIS HEYMAN

THE MIAMI STUDENT Some people lift weights to train for other sports, some lift for fun and many view working out as a chore. But for Austin Waterwall and the Miami University powerlifting team, weightlifting is a sport in its own right.

Waterwall, a junior studying business management, is the president of the team. Like many of his teammates, Waterwall was introduced to lifting as training for another sport.

“I started by doing athletic training for football and fell in love with the process of training,” Waterwall said.

After a knee injury ended his football career in high school, powerlifting took over as Waterwall’s

main sport. His favorite lift is the deadlift, a lift where a loaded barbell is picked up off the ground to hip level. Waterwall loves it because it is, mechanically, the most demanding lift. Waterwall can deadlift about 525 pounds — more than five 45-pound plates on each side.

Miami competes against other colleges in the region, and even sent some people to nationals last year.

And, just making it to nationals is quite an accomplishment for a three-year-old program. Even more impressively, junior Madeline Fitch, placed fifth at nationals with a total of 327.5 points.

At powerlifting competitions, athletes are split into weight classes just like wrestling. Each lifter gets three attempts at three different lifts: bench press, squat and

Hawks, Ringo posted averages of 8.4 points, 5.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. @ChrisAVinel vinelca@miamioh.edu

DARRIAN RINGO CAME TO OXFORD IN 2017 AFTER SPENDING TWO YEARS AT EASTERN ARIZONA AND MIDLAND COLLEGE. CONTRIBUTED BY MIAMI ATHLETICS

deadlift. Scoring is calculated by adding a lifter’s highest point total in each lift.

Even for Waterwall, it is not always easy to go to the gym. He stays passionate about weightlifting by making it more than about himself. He said that’s the key to keep going.

“That’s probably the greatest benefit the team has brought me over the last couple years; a home here at Miami, and a close group of athletes committed to daily improvement,” Waterwall said.

He said he and his team are one big family.

Waterwall always advocates for others to make a habit of going to the gym. He has only one tip for those interested.

“Just start,” he said. “Get to the gym today. You just need to take a leap of faith.”

He hopes to help people do exactly that by opening his own gym in the Houston or Chicago one day. @DavisHeyman heymand@miamioh.edu

VINELCA@MIAMIOH.EDU

SPORTS 9

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

A team determined to honor its legacy ‘for everyone who came before.’

FIVE REDHAWKS CELEBRATE AGAINST BOWLING GREEN AT THE GOGGIN ICE CENTER SUNDAY. IN HIS FIRST YEAR AS HEAD COACH, CHRIS BERGERON IS TRYING TO CREATE A NEW CULTURE. THE MIAMI STUDENT ZACH REICHMAN

EMILY DATTILO

CULTURE EDITOR The Miami RedHawks hockey practice doesn’t officially begin for 15 minutes, but the ice rink already hosts a flurry of activity on Thursday afternoon.

Players in red and white jerseys glide across the Goggin ice, angling wrists for slap shots that echo off the

boards. When they disappear into the locker room, chatter dims to nothing, and for several moments, the ice is silent, marked only by the criss-crosses of skates and the hum of the Zamboni.

Several minutes later, at 2:30 p.m., players scoop pucks onto sticks, filing back onto the ice one-by-one. Head coach Chris Bergeron, dressed in black pants and a pullover with red hockey gloves and a whistle, moves to the cen-

ter of the rink. After a series of stretches, scrimmages begin. The players slap the puck back and forth, shooting goals, circling each other.

“The initial thing that strikes me of what’s special about this group is that they’re extremely close to one another,” Bergeron said.

The scoreboard displays no score but stays lit up, eliciting a sense of excitement and preview for Sunday’s

game, the first one with Bergeron as head coach.

Bergeron played at Miami from 1989-1993 and served as team captain for two years. He coached Bowling Green for the last nine seasons and signed on as the 6th hockey coach in Miami’s history on April 5, 2019.

“Everyone’s adjusted fine,” junior defenseman Rourke Russell said.

“We’re just really excited to get things going. Everyone loves Bergeron and what he’s done so far.”

Before practice on Thursday, Bergeron addressed the team and named senior forward Gordie Green team captain.

“It was fun to see the team respond once they heard,” Green said. “A lot of claps and a lot of hugs and stuff, which meant a lot to me.”

Green says that since freshman year, he’s learned how to grow more professional as a student and an athlete from older teammates, especially from Zach LaValle who graduated in 2019 and served as a role model for him.

Bergeron says Green has a strong relationship with the rest of the team and leads by example.

“His demeanor as a human being: he’s got time for everybody,” Bergeron said. “Wherever you are in the lineup, freshman, senior, it doesn’t really matter, he’s got time for you.”

On the ice, the only way to tell players apart from behind are the numbers plastered onto their jerseys and the hint of light hair or red curls peeking under their helmets. Sophomores Andrew

Sinard (No. 4) and Monte Graham (No. 18) fist bump each other at the bench.

The faces of swirling players mirror dedication and focus.

“There’s been a lot of positivity around the rink,” Green said. “And everyone is excited to come to the rink, which has made it a lot more fun.”

Players of various heights scatter the ice, some towering over others.

Skaters breeze across the rink while ice sprays with sudden stops near the goal.

“Hold yourself to a higher standard,” Bergeron yells. He calls for a change, and players switch from bench to ice in a matter of seconds.

Sophomore forward Noah Jordan (No. 14) removes his helmet, pushes his hair back, grabs some water and claps the helmet back on. After switching jerseys, skaters huddle together, embodying this legacy of athletic talent and skill.

“I think the culture and tradition for Miami hockey is just so deep, and it’s gone on for so long that it means a lot to everyone who is a part of it,” Graham said. “And so you’re kind of not only doing it for the people you’re here with now, but for everyone who came before you.”

3:30 p.m. arrives and signals the end of practice. Bergeron doesn’t blink, letting the play continue. He directs everyone to the goal line and begins a suicide drill where the guys hustle, coming to a crisp stop at each line.

A few minutes later, the coach and players gather at center ice, a quiet collage of red, black, green and white jerseys. A sense of power and promise beams about the nearly empty rink.

Three days later, everything began. dattilec@miamioh.edu

Volleyball’s first home weekend in a month ends with split

MIKE GUISTOLISE

able to be put on scholarship for her final season at Miami.

While the RedHawks went .500 in a weekend for what seemed like the 100th time this season, fans left the stadium with something new to consider.

A lot of confusion has surrounded the hypothesized success of the volleyball team with a mix of stumbling in non-conference play as well as an injury list long enough to write a book.

The MAC-favorite RedHawks (7-8, 2-2 MAC) came back home to play for the first time in a month to start conference play against the Bulls of Buffalo (5-10, 1-2 MAC) and the Akron Zips (11-4, 4-0 MAC), on Friday and Saturday respectively.

With Buffalo being almost rushed out of the doors of Millett Hall with how quickly the RedHawks made work of them, Akron came zipping into sweep the ’Hawks and remain atop the conference standings.

Although Friday and Saturday saw two different editions of Miami, this weekend looked like the catalyst for the RedHawks to get back on their feet and charge all the way to the MAC Tournament.

What could be worse than injuries? Well …

Inconsistency looks to be the toughest opponent so far for the RedHawks. They haven’t put together a winning streak longer than two matches, and this weekend seemed to be another cause for concern.

Sophomore outside hitter Gaby Harper has been tallying kills throughout recent matches but with a lower hitting percentage. Unfortunate results on attacks also seem to be getting the better of senior outside hitter Taylor Daignault (10.2 percent on attacks this season).

Bowling Green and Northern Illinois are on deck for next weekend.

While the Falcons have a winning record, they have been less impressive on the road, which might give the RedHawks the break they need on Thursday.

The NIU Huskies have been a wreck from top to bottom but match Miami in conference record.

Could this next weekend be the start of a long winning streak that the RedHawks have been hoping for?

They will look to get back to their old winning ways starting at 7 p.m.

Thursday in Millett.

STAFF WRITER

Oh captain, my captain: Stewart returns in style Injuries are tough to deal with, especially when you’ve never had to deal with them before.

Team captain and senior right side hitter Haley Stewart had been out since early September with back issues. This past weekend, she was finally back in the starting lineup.

“I was very pleased that Haley finally got back,” head coach Carolyn Condit said. “She’s feeling good. I can’t tell how happy I am to have [her] back in the lineup.”

Stewart also showed happiness in her return, collecting two kills on Friday.

Her good news doesn’t stop there: the senior from Wyoming, Ohio was

The new dynamic duo Friday was a welcome sight.

Although a sweep of Buffalo brought back aspirations of a MAC title for Miami, emotions were running high.

Miami’s newest frontline look was the epitome of passion. Junior right side Sarah Wojick and junior middle Avarie Powell just might be what RedHawk fans have been looking for.

Both players have been at the top of their game recently, with Powell emerging as a true offensive threat with 25 kills on 38 attempts and two blocks.

JUNIOR RIGHT SIDE SARAH WOJICK HITS A BALL LAST WEEKEND. IN TWO GAMES, SHE PUT DOWN 11 KILLS AND ADDED SIX DIGS. THE MIAMI STUDENT MACY WHITAKER

’Hawks Talk “I’ve got to get a lot of tickets this week.

My mom said like 15.”

-redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Andrew Sharp on playing in his home state of Michigan this weekend

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Not enough can be said about Powell’s return to form after several knee procedures put her athletic future in jeopardy.

“I’ve had a rough journey,” said an emotional Powell after being asked about her recent emergence. “It’s really cool that I’m back now, because there were a lot of times where it was really hard and I thought it was going to be over. I just knew there was more in me, so I just kept going. That’s what it’s all about … I didn’t think I was going to be playing middle ever again.”

The other part of the new-look frontcourt, Sarah Wojick, has been the fuel for the teamwork fire to keep burning.

“I just want the best for all my teammates. I just want my team to succeed.”

Every kill, every dig and every block by the RedHawks, Wojick’s war cries could always be heard above everyone.

Wojick continued her hot streak by tallying 11 kills, three blocks and three service aces. guistom@miamioh.edu

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Opinion

10

RIGAZIKM@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019

STAFF EDITORIAL

There’s no excuse for Miami’s abysmal attendance policy.

The following reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

As Fall Break looms at the end of the week, students are forced to decide whether the single extra day tacked onto the weekend is enough time to warrant the travel home.

Currently, Miami only considers excused absences for religious obligations. In order to be excused for those holidays, a student must inform their professor within the first two weeks of class of all of the obligations they anticipate participating in for the entire semester.

But what if a student decides last minute they want to spend a holiday (religious or not) with their family? Or experiences the death of a loved one? Or is sick? Or is subject to major personal trauma?

Despite being regular occurrences that are likely to impact our students, the university does not explicitly define any of them as excused absences.

To compensate for the holes that exist in Miami’s policy, professors are required to set and enforce their own policies in their classes. Many allow for two or three unexcused absences, regardless of what their reason may be. Any additional absences result in a deduction of points from an individual’s final grade.

But, there are professors with less lenient policies who won’t accept doctor’s notes as excuses, or require students to show *proof* of attending a funeral to avoid losing points.

Not only is that insensitive, but it’s disrespectful and infantilizes students.

We at The Miami Student believe the lack of thoughtful attendance policy at Miami is problematic, and creates a culture where students have to sacrifice their own mental health and personal needs for a grade.

Every syllabus should include the email for the Office

Miami should leave it up to students to dictate how they’re going to use their education. of the Dean of Students, Assistant Dean of Students Tim Parsons and where to find information on taking a medical leave from school.

These are the resources students are encouraged to contact when they have to miss class for a death, major illness or personal trauma, yet few students ever know that. A few

No one prepared me for life pre-grad

CAROLINE CALLOWAY ISN’T NEWS

KIRBY DAVIS COLUMNIST

After reading Natalie Beach’s story in The Cut about her long, fraught friendship with social media influencer Caroline Calloway, I’m still not sure what the news factor is or why Calloway continues to grace headlines.

Her story, which comes down to being a popular-but-scatterbrained Instagrammer, isn’t nearly as dramatic or gripping as that of Russian scammer Anna Sorokin, whose former friend Rachel DeLoache-Williams also published an article about her in Vanity Fair (and later penned a full-length memoir about their relationship).

Sorokin has been imprisoned since 2017 for swindling New York hotels, a private jet company and banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. DeLoache-Williams also ended up owing $60,000 for a trip to Morocco Sorokin promised to pay for, though Sorokin was found not guilty of fraud on that count.

According to Beach’s article, Calloway did nothing illegal — though her recent fan-oriented “creativity workshops” were compared by attendees to 2017’s Fyre Festival (whose primary organizer is serving prison time for fraud).

Calloway also didn’t follow through on a $500,000 memoir deal a few years ago.

She reportedly never paid back her advance, but it doesn’t appear that Calloway was ever charged with fraud or any other criminal activity.

BuzzFeed recently interviewed the influencer about “why you love to hate her.”

In the interview, Calloway made it clear she thought of herself as one of the nation’s most hated public figures. But 1.) she’s only considered a public figure by a specific, millennial demographic and 2.) far fewer people seem to hate her than are simply ambivalent toward her.

“I think that is people wanting to condemn young white girls with lots of Instagram followers,” Calloway told BuzzFeed.

“Our culture loves to fucking hate them.”

If our culture “loves to fucking hate” young, white female influencers, why does Calloway have nearly 800,000 Instagram followers? Why does teen Emma Chamberlain, whose fame is entirely dependent on her social media presence, have over eight million?

Madison Mealy, the only influencer I follow, has nearly 300,000 Instagram fans. Other young, white female influencers who she promotes (her colleagues, if you will) also boast hundreds of thousands of followers.

I think it’s pretty clear that our culture doesn’t “fucking hate” young white women with droves of Instagram followers — it worships them. If we truly, as a society, hated influencers, they wouldn’t have millions of fans.

If anything is newsworthy about Calloway, it’s the bizarre way she’s handled her social media since she found out Beach was publishing a story about their friendship.

Sharing pieces and, occasionally, intimate details of their lives is typical for influencers. That’s how they gain fans, by being simultaneously relatable and idealistic versions of who their followers want to be.

But Calloway, who gained popularity by posting novelistic captions on photos of her studying abroad, painting and philosophizing about past relationships, has been posting excessively and erratically for weeks (possibly before then, but I’ve only been keeping tabs on her since Beach’s story was published).

She’s rambled for paragraphs (with related and unrelated photos) about how talented Beach is and how much she doesn’t want her story to be public and also how much she does.

She’s divulged devastating personal details about her father’s recent death, along with genuinely touching and thoughtful captions musing on advice from her therapist.

She’s promoted stories about herself online but also criticized them, and she seems to have taken every opportunity she’s been given to speak publicly about Beach’s article and influencer culture.

Along with her BuzzFeed interview, she promoted a “Red Scare” podcast episode in which she discussed it all on Sept. 27.

Calloway has also posted photos of paintings and snippets of Beach’s article, and the same photo of her speaking on a panel 12 times, all with different captions.

In her Instagram bio, Calloway claims to be a “Writer, Art Historian” and “Artist.”

When I wrote this, she also had a link to a Sept. 27 Atlantic article defending her in her bio.

She very well may be a writer, art historian and artist. Calloway has an art history degree, and she seems to spend most of her time penning Instagram captions about her life, which she feels is noteworthy.

But Caroline Calloway hasn’t done or written anything worthy of all the media attention she’s receiving. She’s not a criminal, or a scammer, or even a particularly good writer. She’s just a privileged twentysomething-year-old woman with an artsy, aesthetically pleasing Instagram.

If she stopped trying to hypocritically capitalize on all this attention, I’d probably follow her.\ daviskn3@miamioh.edu @kirbdavis

WILL GORMAN

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR On a rainy August morning, the arrival of my senior year brought me a perpetually-ticking internal clock counting down the minutes until I graduate from Miami.

It’s like a New Year’s Eve countdown in slow motion, except I’m the only one in Times Square, and I’m chained to a lamppost and waiting for the ball to drop.

And when it drops, there’s a strong likelihood that it’s going to drop on me.

There’s a never-ending pressure to not only do everything I want to do, but to do everything I actually have to do, which includes making sure my DAR looks perfect so I can apply for graduation and figure out my post-college plans.

And, to be fully honest, I’m shoving those responsibilities into the backseat as I try to navigate my emotional vehicle through what feels like more traffic than ever before.

And every traffic sign is alerting me that I am, in fact, graduating in less than a year.

Watching “Legally Blonde” a couple weeks ago was unnerving. I love Elle Woods’ journey as much as anyone, but it shook me in the beginning when Elle killed the LSAT and suddenly knew what she wanted to do with her life, and then again in the film’s final moments as she graduates from law school.

If I want to watch “Legally Blonde,” I have to watch a character metaphorically have two tassel turns. That’s wild. I can’t even process the inevitability of one. My fragile mind can’t take it right now.

Don’t even get me started on “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” — all I want to do is relive what was regarded as the peak of fifth-grade pop culture, but I know I’ll have to process some deep-seated fear of change afterwards.

And it’s not just movies. For better or for worse, music most effortlessly invades my psyche more than possibly anything.

So, when I’m listening to Charli XCX tell her partner to “focus … like you tryna’ [sic] earn that diploma, do it over and over,” I feel this impending sense of urgency.

I, too, am tryna earn that diploma. Will I fail if I’m not doing something over and over?

Obviously, it’s probably a throwaway line (albeit a creative one) in a fairly straightforward pop song. But it’s moments like Swae Lee announcing he “didn’t go to college” in Ellie Goulding & Diplo’s “Close to Me” that snap me out of any

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members of our own editorial board had never heard of Parsons or his role on campus before.

Students should have this information and should be aware of what kind of support they can expect to receive so that when a crisis does arise they have one less thing to worry about.

Students pay to be here, and our staff believes students should have the capacity to decide whether they attend those classes they shell out thousands of dollars for. Miami should treat students like adults, and recognize that there are plenty of circumstances that warrant an absence that otherwise go punished under the current policy.

Attending college full-time is a privilege not guaranteed to everyone. Work schedules, inclement weather and long commutes, less-than-great healthcare coverage which means you can’t get the requisite doctor’s note because you can’t afford to go to the doctor — these are all real reasons that students miss class, and those students shouldn’t have to jump through extra hoops when conflicts arise.

It’s important that students attend class. Anyone can tell you there’s a direct correlation between student success and their attendance in that class. But Miami should leave it up to students to dictate how they’re going to use their education.

Miami needs to stop picking and choosing when to treat us like adults.

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trance just by invoking the concept of higher education.

These worries, while not debilitating, really occupied my headspace with much more power than I’d like to admit through September. But I’m a firm believer that everything happens when it’s supposed to — so it makes sense that one of my favorite artists from the past year was the force that would shock me out of my excessive anxiety.

On a hot September Saturday, two of my roommates and I drove up to Columbus to see Maggie Rogers.

Because of that trip, I was occupied for most of the weekend — I didn’t really have time or energy to get things done and fell behind on some assignments the following week.

But it was worth the hassle.

I love music. I love the outdoors. I love seeing live music while I’m outdoors. And when it’s recent college grad Maggie Rogers telling 6,000 fans about all the moments of doubt she had in the first couple of years following her college graduation, it’s incredible.

It gets even better, in context, when literal one-with-the-Earth angel Maggie Rogers plays “Dog Years,” an incredibly well-written and sentimental track she wrote in response to her own graduation woes.

She told the sold-out crowd that the song was written while wrapping up her senior year at New York University and (despite its poignant similarities to a love song) that “Dog Years” itself is about friendship.

You bet I was having existential thoughts. You better believe every neuron was firing in my brain and resonating within the confines of my consciousness.

I already knew the song was about her college graduation, but some of the messages just didn’t hit the same until I found myself face to face with “the afterlife,” as the song puts it.

“Dog Years” details the minutiae of life in our most intimate relationships — friendships, romantic partnerships, self-focused moments of introspection — and how key it is to remember these moments and savor them before it’s too late.

It resonated hard that night. You’d think after likely over 100 listens to a song, a listener might have absorbed all of its content and messaging.

But, I guess I should have known that true art like “Dog Years” is rife with meaning.

The song ends with the repetition of the phrase “we will be alright.” Platitude or not, something in my gut tells me it’s not a bad idea to carry around optimistic messages to focus on when I’m losing my mind over something I can’t control.

I’ll be counting my time in dog years from here on out — and I can only hope this is the last anyone has to hear of me being overly neurotic about this. gormanwm@miamioh.edu

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