April 18, 2017 | The Miami Student

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

Volume 145 №37

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

Redhawk Snaps highlights MU students’ party culture

Q&A: ASG’S NEXT LEADERS ASG

EMILY WILLIAMS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SOCIAL MEDIA

KIRBY DAVIS

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Miami has two popular Snapchat accounts. One is controlled by the university and spotlights on-campus events and study abroad trips. The other tends to depict things the university does not endorse — chiefly, nudity, illegal drug use and illegal alcohol use amongst students.

Redhawk Snaps, run anonymously, was likely inspired by the University of Cincinnati-area Bearcat Snaps. The latter’s account boasts over 30,000 views a day, and its owner (an anonymous UC student) said that Redhawk Snaps reached out to them for advice on starting their own account.

In addition to nudes and cocaine, the Snapchat also chronicles day parties from Friday to Sunday and, during the week, alternates between familiar scenes at King Library and Brick Street.

But it doesn’t just document nonevents; on Feb. 25, when a man visiting from Chicago was critically injured in a fight outside The Woods, Redhawk Snaps’ followers watched it play out in 10-second video clips.

“It went from, there’s a fight, there’s a guy on the ground, there’s cops, there’s ambulances, there’s a helicopter life-flighting somebody away in, like, five Snaps,” said sophomore Jacob Veta.

Veta, who discovered the account through his roommate’s recommendation, said he doesn’t think it’s necessarily a positive

RYAN TERHUNE PHOTO EDITOR

Alcohol’s effect on your mental health DEVON SHUMAN

MANAGING EDITOR

No matter their major, no matter what clubs they devote their time to or what fraternity or sorority they rushed, college students often agree on one thing: They are stressed.

In a world where deadlines loom on the horizon, students juggle rigorous academic course loads with extra-curriculars and a social life, stress is a shared experience. Students joke about the “Sunday scaries” as Monday approaches. They take pride in their coffee addictions. When asked how they’re doing, they respond,

SNAPCHAT » PAGE 9

“Hanging in there.”

With these levels of stress, it’s no wonder that mental health has become such a prevalent issue on college campuses. The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) reports that one in four adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness, and 73 percent of those affected have experienced a mental health crisis while at college.

But there’s another factor that can’t be ignored here: alcohol.

Not only are students stressed and dealing with issues such as anxiety and depression, but they are living in an environment that

normalizes binge-drinking. Kip Alishio, director of Miami’s Student Counseling Services (SCS), says the combination of stress and alcohol can be incredibly dangerous to students’ mental health.

“The binge-drinking culture, the expectation that this is normal, exacerbates mental health concerns,” Alishio said. “It actually creates mental health concerns.”

Alishio and Dr. Ritch Hall, the substance abuse coordinator for SCS, explained that students come to Miami, and, moti vated by a desire to fit in and a fear of ALCOHOL » PAGE 4

Humans of Oxford

Michael Braegor Strickley: Trouble in Thailand NATE SCHWARTZ

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Michael Braegor Strickley and his friends worked two jobs for over a year, saving up to afford the pre-college trip of their dreams.

Their efforts finally paid off when they landed in Phuket, Thailand.

After getting comfortable, the three rented motorcycles and set off on their journey south. The chosen destination was Krabi, but before the boys reached the city, one of the tires blew out.

Stranded, the boys anxiously awaited for anyone to pass by on the desolate road. Their savior came in the form of an elderly man who owned a nearby coffee plantation, Gong’s Coffee.

The man, Gong, allowed them to stay the night and even took Braegor and his friends on a kayaking trip to Malaysia the following morning.

Crossing the border was less than legal, yet it was justified by the fact that

Gong needed cigarettes, which are substantially cheaper in Malaysia.

Parting from the coffee bean plantation, they followed the road north

Mid-way through the spring semester, student organizations always receive visits from aspiring student body presidents and vice presidents. The candidates’ messages are often similar: Let’s improve parking, dining services, rec center facilities or funding for organizations. But how do those promises move from campaign platforms to policy changes?

I sat down with juniors Maggie Callaghan and Luke Elfreich to discuss their platform as well as some of the topics at the forefront of Miami students’ and administrators’ minds such as student drinking and mental health.

Callaghan, a Baltimore, MD native who now who now lives in Columbus, is a double major in journalism and political science.

She is also an active member in her sorority, Delta Gamma. Elfreich, a political science major from Toldeo, was the vice president of his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi. Lately, Elfreich has been busy preparing for the arrival of bee hives for Miami’s Apicultural Society, of which he is a co-founder. The pair met their sophomore year when they both served as academic senators in ASG for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Callaghan and Elfreich are visibly excited — and a little dumbfounded — when they discuss their roles as student body president and vice president. They have pledged to be some of the most visible leaders in ASG and want to increase the organization’s transparency.

hoping to reach Bangkok.

Near Surat Thani, a city along the road they were traveling, Braegor HUMANS » PAGE 8

RYAN TERHUNE PHOTO EDITOR

Michael Braegor Strickley has traded in his motorcycle for a longboard, which he rides around Miami’s campus.

ASG» PAGE 2

Board of Trustees to vote on parking, endowments BOARD OF TRUSTEES

JAKE GOLD

THE MIAMI STUDENT

On Friday, Miami’s Board of Trustees is convening for their bi-monthly meeting to vote on expansions to the university’s parking lots and quasi-endowments for the College of Education, Health and Society.

As more services flock to Armstrong Student Center and Shriver Center — the career services center is moving to Armstrong in June 2017, while the package center will be relocated to Shriver in August — the demand for parking will increase.

Despite this, much of the nearby parking (Maple Street, MacMillan and Shriver West parking lots) has been limited to prospective

students, leaving many students and faculty displaced.

To resolve the new parking problems, the Board of Trustees is voting on a resolution to allocate $6 million to infrastructure improvements in the central campus area, including expansion of six parking lots.

The renovated (in some cases, expanded) areas will include the two lots near Shriver Center, the lot near MacMillan Center and the lots near Cook Field, according to David Creamer, Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Services and Treasurer.

The Board of Trustees Finance and Audit Committee have proposed that bids from construction firms be received in April and that TRUSTEES » PAGE 8

NEWS p. 3

HEALTH p. 4

CULTURE p. 5

EDITORIAL p. 6

OP-ED p. 6

SPORTS p. 10

LUXEMBOURG SPOTLIGHT: EMILE HAAG

STUDENTS ‘RACE THE RIVER’ FOR AWARENESS

OXFORD’S FANTASTIC FEMINISTS

REDHAWK SNAPS COULD DO DAMAGE

SPEAKING UP ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH

CHAMPION DIVER LOOKS TO NEXT SEASON

A unique MUDEC history professor who never stops learning.

“When I lost my best friend, I knew I wanted to do something.”

“I wanted that feeling. I wanted to be proud that I was a feminist.”

“Be kind to your fellow RedHawks when deciding what to send in..”

The best way to combat social stigmas is to talk candidly about the issues.

Junior Pei Lin is a threetime MAC champion in the 3-meter dive.

HIGH-RISK Miami University’s drinking problem

Our first news documentary. Now playing online at miamistudent.net

2 NEWS

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

Looking ahead with Callaghan and Elfreich

MICROPOETRY COMPETITION EMPHASIZES UNITY AMANDA PAREL

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Juniors Maggie Callaghan and Luke Elfreich spoke with students at ASG’s debate for student body presidential candidates.

TMS: A couple weeks ago, you found out that you were Miami’s new student body president and vice president.

How have those first weeks been like?

MC: I think it’s still sinking in. It definitely did not feel real the first couple days. I know we both really want to do a good job next year, and I know there’s a lot of pressure on us to make changes. For me, the fact that people wanted us to lead is such an honor that I’m always going to keep in the back of my mind.

LE: From the first couple days all the way up until now, it’s just been nothing but excitement for what we’ll be able to do in the next year. I think there’s kind of an energy that I’ve seen.

TMS: The theme of your platform centered on creating opportunities for students.

Can you explain why you chose to define your platform that way and what that means for ASG in the next year?

MC: We sat down and talked about the issues we wanted to focus on first rather than thinking about a theme. Creating opportunities for all students felt like it fit what we wanted to do next year. You know, I do think there are a lot of groups of students on campus that feel like their voices aren’t heard. We feel like ASG has been working as their own separate entity for too long so that’s really where reaching out to student organizations more and looking for their collaboration is really big.

TMS: You’ve talked about holding ASG’s cabinet more accountable. To you, what will that look like and do you have a plan in place to accomplish it?

MC: Making sure they come to every senate [meeting] is going to be huge. We’re going to be at every senate [meeting]. In years past, cabinet meetings have gotten canceled because it’s a Sunday, so I think it’s important that those

meetings happen. There’s kind of a lax attitude in cabinet that you don’t really see in senate. Senate’s always writing bills and legislation, they’re really engaged, and sometimes things fall flat when it comes to cabinet. That’s something we really want to change. Our chief of staff next year, Brandon Fogel, is going to be a really big part of that.

LE: Having Fogel facilitate a lot of the collaboration is going to be very key. We find ourselves in the situation a lot of times where people have been earnestly working on something for quite some time and then they realize, ‘oh wow, this other group of students has been working on the exact same thing.’

Having him in that collaborative role is going to move things quicker.

TMS: ASG as a whole is not demographically representative of the student body in both gender and racial diversity. Is that something that you’re trying to change, and, if so, how?

MC: Yes, for sure. Making sure that we have better PR when it comes to telling people how to run and how the whole process works is part of the reason why Luke and I want to create a directorship for international students. I don’t want to give spots to different groups necessarily. I would rather have people run because they want to run, and hopefully we can help more students know how.

LE: If people see that there is good change that they can do, that there is better representation, that would make more people want to run so that it’s not a cycle of friends replacing each other.

MC: People who run are usually people who know other people in ASG because other people just don’t know.

TMS: There has been criticism in the past that the vice president has not had an active enough role in ASG’s cabinet. Luke, how do you see your

role as VP playing out, and do you see it being different from past VPs? LE: I definitely see it being different than past vice presidents.

There’s a lot of talk about changing the by-laws related to the vice president’s role. There are not a ton of listed responsibilities. I would like to take a much more active role, being a much more visible person in this position, setting a precedent and hopefully pairing that with a by-law change that would change things for vice presidents going forward.

MC: I wouldn’t have picked Luke if I didn’t think he would take a more active role, because I think a lot of times in the past, the VP has done nothing, and I wanted a vice president who would be engaged.

We are friends outside of ASG, but we met working together, and we work really well together.

TMS: One of the points of student government is opening up opportunities for students who don’t have as much of a voice on campus, so, each of you individually, is there a group that you think you can personally speak for that doesn’t always get a voice?

MC: I can speak to students who are experiencing mental health issues. I would say it’s more of a silent group, because I think a lot of students are afraid or embarrassed to talk about what they’re going through. I think it definitely is a voice that’s sometimes missing.

LE: I think that environmental awareness is something I can bring to the table. It can be difficult to promote positive, sustainable initiatives on campus, especially with the absence of Yvette Klein [former director of sustainability for Miami]. There’s a bit of a vacuum, I feel, in the administration when it comes to sustainable efforts.

MC: He’s also a voice for the bees.

TMS: Some students, including members of the TMS

RYAN TERHUNE PHOTO EDITOR

staff, have voiced concern about a lack of transparency from ASG leaders. Do you plan on addressing that, and how?

MC: I think the live Facebook stream will be a good start for that.

Having cabinet give more reports to senate will be important as well.

We also want The Student to feel like we’re more available to talk to. I do think that people see Luke and I as more approachable than some people in the past maybe, and I think that will help with the level of transparency. ASG does a lot, but so much of it people don’t know about. I think it looks like we’re trying to hide something when we’re not.

LE: In the last year, I think we’ve taken a lot of internal steps to increase transparency, and that will only continue in the next year. Having Brandon Fogel so in tune with those changes, too, I think will only be a positive for our team.

TMS: Do you see that transparency also extending to ASG’s budget and how money is spent within ASG? MC: It’s something we have talked about, but haven’t necessarily come to a decision on. I will say, from our perspective, we definitely want to get rid of cabinet gifts and turn it into some outreach or fund.

The cabinet gifts thing was started in years past and for some reason continued, and it’s something that we definitely want to change. We also want the treasurer to make more reports to senate so they know what’s going on.

LE: [Senator] Nick Froelich and I, along with Alex Cary [secretary of finance], presented a bill regarding the internal budget necessitating a senate vote of approval, essentially making the rules for our own internal budget the exact same as any other student organization, because I don’t see any difference.

READ THE REST ONLINE AT MIAMISTUDENT.NET.

Nine ASG cabinet positions filled, five more elected today ASG

JACK EVANS

THE MIAMI STUDENT

As Miami’s Associated Student government wraps up their activities for the 2016-2017 school year, nine of the 14 positions for next year’s executive cabinet have been filled.

At the April 11 ASG session, the senate elected three first-years to prominent cabinet positions: Cole Hankins as Speaker of the Senate, Will Ziegert as Secretary for

On-Campus Affairs and Cecilia Comerford as Secretary for Governmental Relations.

The body also elected sophomores Caroline Weimer, Meaghan Murtagh and Madeline Zinkl as secretaries of finance, advancement and alumni affairs and treasury, respectively.

Murtagh is, so far, the only returning member of the cabinet – she was the incumbent candidate for the alumni and advancement position. All other currently selected members of the incoming cabinet served as senators this

past year.

The senate also confirmed junior Brandon Fogel as Chief of Staff, who was appointed by incoming President Maggie Callaghan.

Callaghan and her vice president, Lucas Elfreich, count as members of the executive cabinet and round out the nine positions filled so far.

Elfreich says that he and his running mate are excited about the cabinet selections so far.

“The members that have been elected so far have definitely shown their qualities

as leaders over the past year, and Maggie and I hope and expect this to continue into cabinet,” wrote Elfreich in statement for The Student. “We hope that the rest of the cabinet fills out the same way, but we trust the students’ voice through the senate to make the best decision.”

Up for election at this week’s April 18 ASG meeting are the seats for secretaries of communications and media relations, infrastructure and sustainability, off-campus affairs, academic affairs and diversity affairs.

can you identify this tree? it’s an oak

A micropoetry contest focused on the theme of unity in diversity at Miami University is accepting submissions until Friday, April 21.

The Miami University Creative Writing Program is running the competition in collaboration with Miami President Gregory Crawford, who approached Director of the Creative Writing Program Cathy Wagner with the idea just in time for the contest to coincide with the celebration of National Poetry Month.

Anyone in the Miami community is welcome to submit poems through Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #LoveHonorPoem, and students are eligible to win prizes.

The rules are simple: poems must fit within Twitter’s 140-character maximum and still allow room for the hashtag, or contestants can post a photo of their short poem on Instagram. Multiple submissions are welcome, and three students will win a grand prize that includes a Love & Honor medal and a $40 gift certificate to the Miami University Bookstore.

Up to 100 honorary prizes will be awarded in the form of an $18.09 bookstore credit.

The length constraint requires participants to hone their skills in brevity, but the challenge of compression intrigues students like first-year Delaney Heisterkamp, a creative writing and professional writing double-major.

“When you think [about poetry] in a new way in terms of size, it’s going to influence how you write,” said Heisterkamp, who is wary of how the character count will impact her word choice. Playing with spacing and abbreviations are two ways she hopes to convey meaning when lengthy words won’t fit.

For Oxford resident Steve Ormiston, poetry is his retirement hobby. He is currently enrolled in Miami’s advanced poetry workshop course, and sees the contest as a goal to pursue in an area he’s passionate about.

“I like constraints…I kind of like the idea that we’re all in the same container as far as what we have to work with,” Ormiston said. Sometimes one of the challenges of poetry, he added, is to say a lot in a short amount of space, and that’s exactly what this contest demands.

When President Crawford approached Wagner about having the micropoetry competition, she was ecstatic.

“He was so enthusiastic about [the idea],” recalled Wagner.

Crawford described the contest as “such a Miami thing to do,” citing poetry’s deep roots at Miami with Percy MacKaye being the first poet-in-residence at an American university. MacKaye came to Miami in 1920 at the invitation of Miami’s thenPresident, Raymond Hughes.

“The theme of unity in diversity will help us all think more about what it means to be a Miamian,” Crawford wrote in an email.

According to Wagner, Crawford has even written his own micropoems, some of which have been posted.

“The strength of the body / Comes from different parts / The strength of Miami / Comes from different people / Love&Honor make us One / #LoveHonorPoem,” reads one of Crawfords Twitter submissions.

“If he has time to shoot out a poem, I think everybody else can probably do it too,” she said with a smile.

Miami poetry faculty will judge entries and aim to announce prizewinners at the end of April.

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

Study Abroad

3

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

Short-term options increase participation but limit immersion STUDY ABROAD

ALYSSA MELENDEZ THE MIAMI STUDENT

Miami University has long been known for its dedication to study abroad programs, but students’ increasing preference for short-term trips over summer and winter may hinder their ability to immerse themselves in the local culture.

Assistant Provost of Global Initiatives Cheryl Young said that Miami has seen a 61 percent increase in the number of students studying abroad in the past 10 years.

Additionally, in each of the past ten years, Miami has been ranked in the top three public doctoral universities for percentage of students participating in study abroad by the Institute of International

Education’s Open Doors report.

Young’s colleague Kevin Fitzgerald, Global Initiatives’ primary study abroad advisor, attributes that rise to students participating in short-term study abroad programs in the summer and winter.

(Winter-term courses were first offered during the 2012-13 school year.)

“We’ve tapped into an entirely new segment of the population,” Fitzgerald said. “Students who would never consider studying abroad for a semester will study abroad for a few weeks.”

This academic year, according to a report compiled by Young, Miami students participating in a short-term program account for 71 percent of students enrolled in study abroad.

But, Young said, short-term programs have some disadvantages.

“There’s less cultural immersion [in short-term programs],” Young said. “When you’re only at a place for three weeks, it’s harder to get a true grasp on the culture and the way the people in that country live.”

Senior Alex Ross, who traveled to Southeast Asia over winter term through the Farmer School of Business, agrees.

Over the course of his trip, Ross traveled to four different countries — Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Vietnam — in three weeks. Because of this, he said he didn’t gain as much of an understanding of the local cultures as he would’ve liked.

“It felt like just as I was getting to know a place, we would have to

pack up our stuff and move to a different place,” Ross said.

The idea that that short programs result in less cultural immersion isn’t unique to Miami.

Last summer, The Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly published a report concluding that shorter-term programs result in less acquisition of language skills, less time to build relationships with locals and a lack of a holistic sense of the locals’ way of living — all factors that make up one’s cultural immersion.

In the longer programs, such as the MUDEC program in Luxembourg, students are abroad for 16 weeks and stay with a host family. On the weekends, they have the chance to travel to other countries and immerse

themselves in local culture.

That’s exactly what Maddie Wood has done during her semester in Luxembourg. Wood spends a lot of her weekly free time in Belval, a local neighborhood that is home to the University of Luxembourg, a large shopping center and several restaurants. She’s even joined a local gym.

By contrast, in the majority of Miami’s short-term programs, like the one Ross participated in, students stay at hotels and are with faculty and other Miami students for the entire trip.

While the number of students going on these short-term programs has increased dramatically, the number of students who go on the semester-long programs hasn’t changed.

New internshipopportunities in Luxembourg STUDY ABROAD

SAMANTHA BRUNN

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A world of summer internship opportunities are now offered to students participating in the study abroad program at Miami University’s Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) in Luxembourg.

Students who take part in the full spring semester-length study abroad program in Luxembourg now have the option to choose to stay for an extension of nine weeks, from May 15 through July 15, during which they complete their internship.

Carli Williams, student activities coordinator for MUDEC, said those who developed the program searched for community partners who were interested in having interns from Miami. Then, profiles of each student and each business were created so students could pick their top three choices of internships and community partners could pick their top three choices of interns. Students were then matched to their positions based on the rankings.

Since this is the first time the program is being offered, the process for applying to the internships is different this year than it will be in the future, Williams said. This time around, students just submitted their résumés and were accepted on the basis that they met the qualifications for the program. In the future,

students will directly apply to the internship positions through the community partners, rather than through MUDEC. Rachel Instone, a junior Marketing major participating in the internship program, said some of the internship positions available for this summer include a tech startup, a vegan restaurant, the United States embassy, a travel magazine and an art studio.

“It was really cool to read about each [internship opportunity] because they were all unique companies and organizations,” said Kaitlyn Cooper, a junior International Studies major participating in the program.

Williams hopes students will gain not only valuable internship experience through the program but also cultural competencies that will allow them to return to the United States as better citizens of the world.

“I hope that they can dive into Luxembourgish culture and European culture in general, as Luxembourg is very diverse,” Williams said. “I think that’s a huge benefit to the program. Almost 50 percent of Luxembourg is made up of nonLuxembourgers, so students will be able to interact with people from all over the world and see new perspectives.”

Cooper said she looks forward to immersing herself in the culture and practicing her French.

“The company I’m interning for uses French as one of their main

languages, which will help me,” Cooper said. “The offices, work habits and the work itself will be different from most internships back home.”

Williams said the program was born out of a need for an immersive opportunity such as this one.

MUDEC wanted to take advantage of the resources available to them in Luxembourg to give students experiences that will teach them to be competent academically, culturally and professionally.

Students are not required to live with a host family during the internship program, but Williams said many of them will do so anyway, as it is both another opportunity to grow culturally and an affordable option.

“At the very end of the program, all students and community partners will attend a day at MUDEC where students present what they’ve learned, the results of their projects and how they want to apply this in their future careers and in their future studies,” Williams said.

Instone believes the program and the final presentation will help her form the professional skills she needs for her career.

“I am excited to be working for an art studio rather than a more strict corporation, in order to utilize creativity and have fun in the field I have a passion for,” Instone said.

“It will be a very unique experience that will set me apart as an applicant in the future.”

Miami students in Luxembourg celebrate Easter STUDY ABROAD

ALISON PERELMAN CULTURE EDITOR

Well, it’s not the same as painting eggs with my family, but it’s pretty close. It’s a close second.

I am sad that we’re going to miss Easter at home. This will be nice, we get to feel a little bit of the Easter spirit.

Seeing the kids being happy when they get chocolate, that will remind me of my little siblings.

Kendall Wolfe and Brittany Talbott went back and forth as they colored in Easter designs, reminiscing on their childhood Easters and how this year will be different.

They were helping prepare for the Easter egg hunt that MUDEC’s (Miami’s Luxembourg campus) Student Faculty Council (SFC) hosted for kids from Maison Relais, a local school in Differdange.

Shea Vogelsong, service chair member of SFC, planned an Easter egg hunt, ‘pin the tail on the bunny,’ face painting and a coloring station for the 25 kids that were set to visit Miami’s John E. Dolibois campus.

“I think one of the things I’m a little bit worried about is the language barrier,” Shea said before the event. “Trying to get 25 kids running around, telling them where to

go, telling them when to stop, telling them to move to the next station ... But other than that, I’m hoping that the weather is nice. I’m hoping that I don’t hide the eggs too hard. I’m hoping that all the kids get an egg.”

There are 150 candystuffed eggs — the plan is to let each kid find six at first, and there is a small secret stash just in case.

At first, Shea was worried about whether MUDEC students would ALISON PERELMAN THE MIAMI STUDENT want to volunteer, but the sign-up sheet filled quickly. Students enjoy Easter with one another, away from Kendall and Brittany both home in Luzembourg. signed up because the kids — who can be seen walking around semester, and Shea thought the town in little reflective vests — are Easter holiday would be the perfect cute and it’s a way for them to relive time for one — a way to bring a part their childhood. of American culture to the LuxemBut, as Shea explained, there’s bourgish students. more to it than that.

“I’m just hoping that the students “We’ve had a chance to experi- have a good time,” Shea said. “And I ence something that’s once in a life- also hope that the MUDEC students time, and not many people get to do also leave knowing they had a good it,” Shea said. “It’s important to give time and gave back to the commuback to them. Doing a small Easter nity.” egg hunt is not life-changing, but Shea was stressed. He needed all it’s a small thing we can do to show the lettuce remnants from lunch people here that we respect all that wiped off the tables. He needed they’ve done for us.”

SFC plans a service event every EASTER » PAGE 9

CONTRIBUTED BY AUDRY DAVIS THE MIAMI STUDENT

Professor Emile Haag, center, wearing a black beret, stands smiling with students.

Professor Emile Haag: Always ‘aiming for the top’ PROFILE

AUDRY DAVIS NEWS EDITOR

It was one of the first days of spring semester classes at Miami University Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) in Luxembourg. Students filed into the Charles the Bold classroom and waited for the start of HST 270: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler.

Shortly before the class was scheduled to begin, a man wearing a velvety black fedora and a black overcoat entered the room and headed toward the window.

Snow was still on the ground from earlier in the week, but the man opened the window and said in a thick accent that I couldn’t immediately place, “I think we should have fresh air in here. We will shut it when it gets too cold.”

Cold air rushed into the room, but the man removed his coat and hat anyway. He folded his coat and set it on the table in front of him and placed the hat on top.

Students looked around the room at each other, cold and confused.

The man at the front of the room started speaking.

What is that accent? I thought to myself. French? German?

He quickly explained himself and his no technology policy — handwritten notes only.

Everyone closed their laptops and pulled out their notebooks and pencils. He wasted no more time, and started lecturing about the effect of WWI on Europe. He rattled off specific dates and people.

I looked at the desk in front of him. Where are his notes? There was nothing there but his coat and hat. I looked at around at the other students who seemed to be equally as confused. Who is this guy?

Emile Haag grew up on a farm in a small village of around 150 people in the center of Luxembourg.

“For me, as a kid, Luxembourg City was pretty big,” Haag said.

The only time he went to the city as a boy was during a traditional pilgrimage, on foot, to Mary the

Virgin of Luxembourg. It was a 12 km walk, about 7.4 miles, to the city followed by a mass in the cathedral.

Haag grew up speaking Luxembourgish, but like all Luxembourgish kids he was also taught German and French.

In the Lyceé (the seven year Luxembourgish equivalent of high school,) Haag took a classical track, so he also studied Latin and Greek.

He only knew English on a limited conversational level, but when he went to college, he managed to read one book in English, a Hemingway: For Whom the Bell Tolls.

He attended college in Luxembourg and Aix-en Provence in France and spent his last two years at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Shortly after completing his studies with a Ph.D, Haag was hired by the Athénée of Luxembourg, a lycée, in June of 1968. But soon after, the director of the Athénée told him to also apply for a history position at a brand new university called Miami.

“I remember that my last question [of the interview] was, ‘What’s the working language?’ and he said, ‘English of course!’”

Haag told the director of MUDEC to give him 48 hours to think it over.

“I came back and said, ‘Look. I am willing to do it, but I can’t do it in September because my English is not strong enough. If you give me until January, I will work on it.’”

To improve his English, Haag taught history at the international school and read most of Agatha Christie’s books as well as many history books on the topics he would soon be teaching.

“I still remember my first day,” he said. “The class was on the second floor, so I waited to take the lift to be sure that no one else would come up with me. I was worried if someone would try to talk to me, I wouldn’t understand.”

He waited until the lift was free, snuck in and went up without EMILE » PAGE 8

Health

4

SHUMANDB@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

The intersection of mental health and drinking FROM DRINKING »PAGE 1

missing out (FOMO), they are often encouraged within their first few weeks to go out and get blackout drunk.

Apart from the immediate dangers posed from drinking to the point of blackout, in the long-term, this behavior can lead students to use drinking as a coping mechanism.

“The more you use it to cope, the more likely you’re going to be to see it as the automatic way to cope,” Hall said, “and the more it’s going to exacerbate the other stressors in your life — make it harder to keep up with your classwork, make it harder to maintain your friend groups because you’re the person they’re babysitting or the person they’re so worried about they can’t even talk to anymore.”

Not only are students who drink to cope potentially creating more stress in their lives, but they are also worsening their ability to deal with that stress in a healthy manner.

“The reason we call it a maladaptive coping strategy is that even though in the short term you feel good, in the long term, you’re going to start to have these consequences that come from not dealing with the stressors in an appropriate way,” Hall said. “What it does a lot of times is really stunt their growth, their ability to be able to handle life stressors in a way that lets them to grow into who they truly want to be.”

Ashley Lillie, the resident director for Flower Hall, agrees that many students are using drinking as a coping mechanism. She points out, however, that there are plenty of other resources available for students to turn to if they are struggling.

SCS offers a free initial consultation, as well as free group counseling. Additionally, resident directors participate in the mental health ally program and receive training on how to engage students with emotional or mental health concerns and refer them to other support services.

“We’re starting to make the resources really available and also trying to remove that stigma, like, ‘It’s okay not to be okay, and seek help,

Focusing on education makes sense as a potential solution to these issues. As Hall and Alishio explain, many students simply don’t understand the danger drinking poses to their mental health. For instance, by their definition, drinking more than five drinks in an evening is a pathological behavior — it’s alcohol abuse, a mental health condition.

Students don’t believe that.

“They consider that funny, like,

Students don’t recognize that by engaging in this binge drinking culture, they can potentially develop long-term issues.

get resources,’” Lillie said. “We’re hoping that that will start to kind of back off that need to cope with alcohol if that is what they’re finding to be a comfort for any concerns that they’re having.”

Alexa Ross, a junior kinesiology and dietetics double major who works as the program developer for HAWKS Peer Health Educators, is also aiming to educate students on issues regarding mental health and alcohol. HAWKS, which is designed to help students learn how to make informed decisions and lead a healthy lifestyle, currently has programs that address the two issues separately.

However, Ross hopes to develop programming that acknowledges the connection between the two.

“A lot of our programs do combine those two things, but they are backto-back,” she said. “There’s not necessarily a crossover area, although I do think that there is crossover, absolutely… There’s definitely interplay between the two.”

Students ‘Race the River’ to raise awareness

‘No, there’s no way I could have less than that in a night,’” Hall said. “But by our standards of diagnosis, that’s where we start.”

Furthermore, there is a common belief among students that the behavior they exhibit in college can be easily changed once they enter the real world. Hall and Alishio pointed to the common quip, “It’s not alcoholism until you graduate.” Students don’t recognize that by engaging in this binge drinking culture, they can potentially develop long-term issues.

“We did 392 substance abuse evaluations here at the counseling center last year,” Hall said. “I wish I could tell you how many of them walked in not thinking they had a problem and left thinking they didn’t have a problem.”

Ultimately, however, even if students are educated on these issues, social stigma is still another major barrier to overcome. Even if a student knows or suspects that they have a problem, they might hesitate reaching out for help, held back by a fear of being judged or perceived as weak.

Newly elected student body presi-

KIRBY DAVIS

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

@RACETHERIVR17 TWITTER.COM

SUICIDE PREVENTION

AMANDA PAREL

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college-age students. According to the CDC’s Webbased Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) database, this statistic has held true every year since 2011. This summer, three young men hope to do something about the growing incidence of suicide — by paddling all 981 miles of the Ohio River.

Jackson Gray of Canton, Ohio was only months into his freshman year at Clarion University of Pennsylvania when, in October 2014, he received a devastating phone call: his best friend, James Halley, had killed himself. Halley was 18 years old and attended the University of Akron.

He and Gray had been friends since sixth grade.

“When I lost my best friend, I knew I wanted to do something, “ Gray said. “But I never knew what.”

Before he could puzzle out a plan, he had to adjust to a new environment after transferring at the end of

the semester to Miami University, where he is now a junior civic and regional development major.

It would take Gray a year and a half after Halley’s death to formulate his idea. He had found the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) in his research and saw that they sponsored walks to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention. But Gray wanted to do something bigger than a walk to commemorate Halley.

In November 2015, Gray was working a late-night shift at Bagel & Deli in uptown Oxford when a customer came in and started talking with his boss about a 50-mile canoe trip they were going on.

When Gray expressed amazement at the feat, his boss said, “Well, it’s not like you’re doing the whole Mississippi.”

To Gray, the idea sounded like an adventure. Then the thought went one step further when he realized he could use this adventure to raise awareness for suicide and create a positive impact.

READ THE REST AT MIAMISTUDENT.NET

However, Alishio says that while we are making great strides as a school and as a society in breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health, we’re not seeing similar progress when it comes to the stigma surrounding alcohol abuse.

“It’s kind of cool now to help your friend who’s got a mental health condition,” Alishio said. “Students are more aware of that now than they used to be, and that’s wonderful.

They’re not going to stand by when somebody’s talking about, they want to kill themselves. They’re much more engaged in that. They need to be engaged in binge-drinking in the exact same way. They need to confront their friends.”

“Instead of it being normalized that we engage in this high-risk drinking culture, what if we normalized, like, going to counseling services?” Lillie said. “What if we made that the norm, of, like, ‘I’m struggling with something, and instead of going out and engaging in high-risk consumption, I’m gonna go out and I’m gonna seek support from my peers.’

That would be the culture change.”

Callaghan does not see this as an unattainable goal. In fact, she points to the progress we’ve made in breaking down mental health stigma, through events such as ASG’s mental health forum last fall, as evidence that we can chip away at the stigma surrounding binge drinking in the same way — by talking about it.

“The culture of drinking at Miami isn’t gonna change overnight. It’s not gonna change in a year,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had an honest conversation about it. We have had honest conversations about mental health, and I think we need to have a more honest conversation about alcohol.”

FOR A LIST OF FURTHER RESOURCES, VISIT MIAMISTUDENT.NET

‘13 Reasons Why’ handles suicide irresponsibly TELEVISION

Junior Jackson Gray will be paddling the Ohio River to raise money for suicide prevention

dent Maggie Callaghan experienced this firsthand during her sophomore year at Miami. Callaghan started out her semester strong, but after a couple weeks, things started to go downhill.

She began to feel withdrawn — from her classes, her friends, her sorority. All of the things she once loved and engaged with — writing, journalism, her political science class — she now found no enjoyment in at all.

Last spring, Callaghan penned an open letter to incoming President Gregory Crawford about depression, describing her personal struggles, detailing the importance of mental health on college campuses and urging Crawford to form a committee tasked with finding ways to support mental health at Miami. The feedback she received reflected what she’d felt in her group counseling — many readers felt empowered to speak up and reach out for help. They recognized that they’re not, in fact, alone.

“There’s a lot of power in knowing that you’re not alone and that it’s okay to feel the way that you’re feeling and that there resources available to help you kind of process what you’re feeling,” said Lillie.

Today, as the top representative of the student body, Callaghan recognizes that one of the best ways to break down stigma is to have more people talk about it. The more visual the problem becomes, the less hesitant people will be to open up about their own struggles.

“I think having more student leaders on campus be more vocal about it is huge,” she said. “I think having people that you might not expect that have experienced it — having them say, look I have gone through something, I did go talk. I think that makes people feel like, ‘oh okay,’ like it’s not something that I should be embarrassed of or something that I should be ashamed of.”

The trailer for “13 Reasons Why” seemed preposterous, and I’m a staunch proponent of young adult-targeted TV campiness; “Bunheads” and “Make It or Break it” rank among my favorite shows, and full disclosure, I still record “Teen Mom 2” to binge over breaks.

But the premise of the Netflix series, released March 31, was too much even for me — Hannah, a teenager who killed herself, leaves tapes behind for a handful of classmates who happen to be the 13 titular driving forces in her suicide. She’s not the main character, though; that’s Clay, one of the tape-receivers who happened to like (and allegedly even love) Hannah.

Having watched half of the show plus the final episode, it reinforced my idea that most media has no clue how to properly handle teen suicide.

At one point in the last year, suicide was on my mind. I didn’t want to kill myself, per se; that seemed messy and inconvenient and my pain tolerance is low. But the thought — death — was equal parts unnerving and inviting. It fluttered around my mind for a while before it took root there, spreading its ugly, unwanted companionship until it pervaded almost every thought I had.

I’d been miserable in the past, but I’d always been able to conjure up fantasies of my potential future to make me feel better — an apartment overrun by DVDs and used books and corgis, or a job writing in some capacity.

But I couldn’t do that anymore. I couldn’t imagine not feeling like my chest was caving in most of the time or like everyone I knew secretly despised me; I genuinely

wasn’t sure whether I wanted to live anymore.

This depressive episode made me hyperaware of suicide in the films and TV I was consuming. I realized that it was a topic broached casually in countless forms of media (“The Office,” “The Life Aquatic”), slightly more seriously in others (“The Royal Tenenbaums”) and gravely in very few (“The Apartment,” “Dead Poets Society,” arguably even “Citizen Kane”).

None of these particularly bothered me, as they all concerned adults (and who could be upset by a rousing game of “SlumDunder Mifflinaire?”).

Why shouldn’t adults write about other adults dying by suicide?

They have the sense and perspective to treat it like the horrific issue it is; using dark humor as a coping mechanism is different than idealizing the situation.

But fictionalized tales of teens killing themselves do tend to idealize and misinterpret, and “13 Reasons Why” tumbles right into this trap.

The series is not, entirely, poorly crafted. Katherine Langford (Hannah) and Dylan Minnette (Clay) are backed by a cast of equally heart-wrenching side characters. A handful of scenes — the coffee shop slap, Hannah’s first brush with bullying, the hot tub — pack real, visceral punches. Hannah’s actual suicide, too, is unapologetically depicted; her desperation and her mother’s agony (hats off to Kate Walsh) radiate off the screen.

But this doesn’t compensate for the handful of deeply, unintentionally distressing scenes — namely their guidance counselor telling Clay he can’t “love someone back to life” and Clay’s response (“You can try”), then Hannah’s dream-sequence response to Clay’s declaring his love for her (“Why didn’t you say

this to me when I was alive?”)

The series carries a palpable undercurrent of disillusion. In the style of 1999’s “The Virgin Suicides,” we’re gifted enough glimpses into the female protagonist’s life to understand her plight, but it feels more like that of the guy desperately trying to get inside her head, postmortem.

I couldn’t tell if those behind “13 Reasons Why” wanted me to sympathize more with Hannah, the girl who’d killed herself, or Clay, the ambiguously friendzoned guy she’d left behind.

No one wants to talk about suicide, especially when it concerns teenagers. But it’s still an issue — it’s the second leading cause of death for college-age students, along with kids aged 12 through 18. And whether or not media, social or otherwise, influences their thought processes is not up for debate.

When “13 Reasons Why” implies that, had Hannah been aware of and returned Clay’s love, she wouldn’t have died, it reinforces the idea that only borderline pubescent knights in shining armor can save teenage girls from feeling depressed and suicidal.

Witnessing the fall of Hannah Baker on Netflix is tragic, not just for her inevitable fate but for how irresponsibly it’s portrayed.

When shows like “13 Reasons Why” use suicide as a plot device, they downplay the severity of its real-world harm. The series is exploitative camp masquerading as a thoughtful teen drama.

It may have been a fine YA novel, but it doesn’t translate to TV, in which young viewers can see the drama play out and potentially start to see Hannah’s actions as a viable option for themselves.

20-year-old me can recognize this. 15-year-old me would not have.

Culture

5

SHUMANDB@MIAMIOH.EDU

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

Capstone highlights work of local feminist leaders PEOPLE

EMMA KINGHORN THE MIAMI STUDENT

Anyone interested in the feminist movement doesn’t have to go very far to find real pieces of its history. They just need to look in the Miami University Library’s new digital archives.

From Fantastic Feminist dolls, to brochures and radio recordings, small pieces of the movement have been digitally scanned and preserved for the public’s use by senior Women and Gender Studies students.

But each of these artifacts come with a back story, known for the most part only by two crucial figures in the women’s movement of Butler county.

“Everyone get out his pen” Sitting in her second grade classroom, Joanne McQueen first questioned why she wasn’t as important as the boys in her class.

“Every time they ask me to tell that story, I feel emotional,” she said.

She paused, placed her phone on the table and took a deep breath, looking up. “After all these years.”

In that classroom, one afternoon the teacher told “everyone to get out his paper and pencil.”

“She said everyone — that meant me — but I clearly wasn’t a boy, so I was confused by that,” said McQueen. When her teacher asked why she looked so confused, McQueen told her just that. The teacher then made a class announcement, stating that whenever she said ‘his,’ it meant ‘everyone’ and it included the girls.

That didn’t quite sit right with McQueen, who went home and asked her mother why this was so.

“I don’t know, Joanne,” her mother answered. “That’s just the way it

is.”

“And I said, ‘Mom why couldn’t it have been different?’” she remembered.

She still never accepted that answer. It bothered her years later because she was in a small town and her position was seen as radical.

“I don’t like that because I know I’m right,” McQueen said, “Because I can feel it.”

At her first national National Organization for Women (NOW) conference in Washington D.C., her eyes caught onto a woman in a business suit — a rarity at the time. She was carrying a briefcase, something that McQueen had never seen a woman carry before. Slapped proudly on the side was a bumper sticker that said “I am proud to be a feminist.”

“I wanted that feeling,” said McQueen. “I wanted to be proud that I was a feminist.”

So she set out to design Fantastic Feminist, a doll that was proud of being a woman, and a feminist.

Designed purposefully with short curly hair like McQueen’s, the doll had unaccentuated breasts and thicker thighs. “I wanted her to look like an ordinary woman, an ordinary woman is a fantastic woman,” she said.

She produced mail order catalogs, with a variety of occupational options for the doll, based on leading women of the time — an astronaut modeled after Sally Ride, the first female in space, and an IndyCar driver based on Janet Guthrie, the first female to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

One of the most important dolls to McQueen is the doctor. When she started showing young girls at her shop table photos of a woman with a red cross on her jacket, almost all of them called her a nurse.

“Fast forward — with my six-

RYAN TERHUNE PHOTO EDITOR

Kathy McMahon-Klosterman (left) and Joanne McQueen have been at the forefront of the feminist movement in Butler County. year-old great niece I play the same game,” said McQueen. “And she says ‘doctor.’”

The doll was featured in Ms. Magazine on its annual list of nonsexist toys released before Christmas.

“She’s one of the few things that I copyrighted,” said McQueen. “I’m real proud of her.”

Anti-war woman Kathy McMahon-Klosterman was thinking about being a lawyer. After earning her undergraduate degree at an all-women’s college, she traveled to Brown University to take her LSAT along with about 250 other students.

On that Saturday morning, only seven or eight women sat for the test.

It was 1968, and in the midst of the Vietnam War young men could

Opening Minds through Art displays work at OCAC ART

achieve draft deferment by attending college. Meanwhile McMahon-Klosterman was participating in anti-war marches.

While waiting in line, four men approached her and said, “Do you understand if you take these boards, and you get into law school, you might take my seat? And if you take my seat, then I’m going to Vietnam.

I want you to understand that if you take my seat in law school that I could’ve had, and I go to Vietnam and I get killed, that my blood is on your hands.”

She never attended law school, though she was accepted to several.

Instead she attended graduate school for education.

“I didn’t think about that for about 30 years,” she said. “But in reflection, I wonder how much influence that

BOOKS

KELLY MCKEWIN

WILL GORMAN

“One thing we all have in our lives is creativity,” Dr. Elizabeth Lokon told the gathered crowd at the Oxford Community Arts Center last Friday. This is the key principle that drove her to start the Opening Minds through Art (OMA) program at Miami back in 2007. Through OMA, Miami students work with those who suffer from dementia in and around Oxford, allowing these patients to become artists.

Today, the OMA program is offered at 57 locations across the United States and worldwide with plans to expand to over 100 Ohio locations within the next two to three years.

This past Friday, OMA artists and their student partners had their works featured at the OCAC. Over 130 pieces of art by OMA artists were displayed at the event, which was accompanied by a reception with music and refreshments.

“There was a lot to hang, but the OMA people were really helpful,” said Katie Vandergriff, a Miami junior and the program coordinator at the OCAC. “I was really lucky to get to know them.”

For the past ten years, Dr. Lokon and OMA have been able to bring students and people with dementia together to express themselves through painting and other visual art methods. Each April, the OCAC holds the OMA gallery as a part of their Second Friday event series, described as a “monthly celebration of the arts” by the OCAC’s website.

Each year, the pieces of artwork created by the OMA artists are entered into a silent auction, with all proceeds benefiting the OMA program.

The auction is Vandergriff’s favorite part of the yearly OMA exhibit.

WHITNEY REDDAN THE MIAMI STUDENT

President Crawford and his wife, Renate, stopped by the Oxford Community Arts Center for the Opening Minds through Art exhibit on Friday.

“It’s a good gift,” she said. “The best thing is that pieces here come with a story. It’s not just a piece of art. If you give a gift, you also give a story.”

After the artists were able to see their artwork on display, a program was put on in the OCAC’s ballroom.

Along with recognition of all artists and students involved with the program, Dr. Lokon and a few students gave reflections on their experiences with OMA this semester. “[The event] is multigenerational,” Dr. Lokon said on the exhibit and reception. “Students bring their parents, and the artists are here… Old and young, both come together to celebrate creativity.”

Toward the end of the program, students and artists joined in singing and dancing to “This Little Light” by North Point Kids.

Dr. Lokon says one of her motivations to start the program was to allow students to connect with those suffering from dementia.

According to some of the OMA artists themselves, student partici-

pants truly are the backbone of the program.

When asked about her favorite part of her OMA experiences, Myrna, one of the OMA artists whose work was on display, simply pointed at her student partner and said, “Her.” “You’re my favorite part too, Myrna,” said Myrna’s partner, Miami senior Reeti Pal. Pal has worked with Myrna for the past four semesters.

“I love seeing all the amazing art Myrna makes every week,” Pal said.

It’s not just the students and artists who enjoy the annual exhibit and reception, either. The event is a favorite among OCAC staff.

“OMA people are great,” said Vandergriff. “They’re fun and dedicated just like us. I’m looking forward to next year.”

This year’s exhibit runs at the OCAC until May 5, with silent auction bids closing the afternoon of April 29.

READ THE REST AT MIAMISTUDENT.NET

‘Hillbilly Elegy’ selected as summer reading book

THE MIAMI STUDENT THE MIAMI STUDENT

had.”

Heavily involved in the anti-war efforts, she was bothered by the different responsibilities delegated to the men and women.

“It seemed that women could do a lot of work, and yet we are still taking the back seats,” she said, going on to explain that the men would strategize and plan while the women would be left to make posters. “That doesn’t seem right.”

Since the two met at a NOW meeting of Butler County in Hamilton, they have been in constant contact and have been active in advancing the feminist movement in Oxford

Following a months-long process, Miami University’s summer reading committee selected J.D. Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy” as the summer reading book for incoming freshmen.

President Gregory Crawford also gave his approval, allowing the committee to begin ordering copies the book and preparing for convocation next year.

Out of more than 100 books that were proposed to the committee, “Hillbilly Elegy” was selected because the committee believes the book is relevant to a number of national issues today.

“There was a real consensus.

We looked at a lot of other books, but this was the one that everyone kept coming back to,” Susan Hurst,

summer reading program committee chair, said. “It’s certainly a really popular book right now, and it’s been in the news a lot; the author has been in the news a lot.”

Vance grew up in Middletown, OH, and discusses in his memoir some of the struggles of growing up in a poor family in a rural area.

He joined the Marine Corps after graduating high school and eventually went on to graduate from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. While the book itself is not political, many students and faculty on the committee said the book seems topical as the issues it describes relate back to today’s political climate.

“One idea behind the summer reading program is to generate some cohesiveness among the firstyear students and getting everyone to think about one particular issue, HILLBILLY »PAGE 8

Stage Left to perform ‘Sweeney Todd’ on Thursday THEATRE

HANNAH FIERLE

THE MIAMI STUDENT

From Broadway to high school theatre productions to a feature film starring Johnny Depp, the musical “Sweeney Todd” has taken on many different forms. At Miami, the student theatre group Stage Left will perform the musical on Thursday night.

“It’s a tale that blends Victorian penny dreadfuls with Jacobean tragedy and some of the most difficult and delightful music I’ve ever encountered,” said director Jane Medoro, a senior at Miami. “Really, there is something for everyone.”

The musical centers on the title character, a madman barber who had been persecuted for a crime that he did not commit many years

ago. Once released from prison, he seeks revenge on Judge Turpin, the man who had incarcerated him.

Todd operates a barber shop, slitting the necks of his customers and sending the victims to Mrs. Lovett downstairs, who bakes them into her pies. He patiently awaits the day Turpin will come in for a shave.

Although the plot may seem gruesome to some, the show combines the dark themes with humor and music for a truly dynamic show.

“It’s incredibly dark,” says Olivia Semsel, assistant director of the show. “But it gives the audience plenty of chances to laugh, too.

It is a memorable story that has something for everyone — a little romance, a little drama and a lot of horror.”

SWEENEY »PAGE 8

Opinion

6

EDITORIAL@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

Redhawk Snaps has potential to do damage to students The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

I

n recent months, Miami has seen the return of a phenomenon that many schools across the state and across the country are experiencing. The resurfacing of the Snapchat account Redhawk Snaps marks the resurgence of a user-generated content-based forum that projects a less than flattering image of our university on a daily basis.

Flipping through the Snap Story, one might see videos of students “pregaming” in houses off campus, snorting lines of cocaine and Adderall, shotgunning beers, making bongs out of water bottles and pictures of men about to have sex with women with the caption “Pre-Smash.”

The function of Redhawk Snaps is simple.

Users send in their pictures and videos to an account, “Redhawk-snaps1,” similar to how one posts things on their own Snapchat Story. The mystery person and mastermind behind Redhawk Snaps then has the decision of whether or not he or she posts the sender’s content onto the Redhawk Snaps main story.

“Be kind to your fellow Redhawks when deciding what to send in and be cognizant of the image you create whenever you participate in a platform that carries Miami’s name...”

While multiple Redhawk Snaps accounts have existed in the past, this year’s account is developing itself as a Miami brand, boasting both an Instagram and Twitter account with even racier content.

There are a lot of students watching these stories, and while a small percentage of them are submitting content, they are inherently and unconsciously subscribing to this image of Miami. And we at The Student see several implicit issues with the simple existence of an account such as this.

Primarily, the ambiguity of not knowing who runs the account is something that con-

cerns us and should concern you, too. This person wields all the power in this situation, having access to your username and knowing your online identity while we are oblivious to his or hers. This person also singlehandedly decides the image of Miami that gets crafted on the account (even if based on submissions). You are directly attached to any image of a video you send in, whereas the Redhawk Snaps director is completely free of consequence.

In addition, the vetting process for which submissions do and don’t get posted is practically nonexistent. The only process that ex-

ists is snapping in your ID with everything but your birthday blurred out. Thus, this forum easily has the potential to be used by underage persons.

We aren’t saying the idea of students sharing content via Snapchat is bad in itself – but with the way that it is run and the content that it is showing, it has the potential to put a black mark on Miami and its students as individuals. It’s not just a casual, cavalier thing; it’s significant.

Be kind to your fellow Redhawks when deciding what to send in and be cognizant of the image you create whenever you participate in a platform that carries Miami’s name (or in this case, mascot). Additionally, though it is not illegal to take pictures of others (with exceptions, of course), be aware that it is not courteous to take pictures of your fellow Redhawks and send their image to a platform that has a less than flattering reputation. Social media gives us great power to connect, but that power can easily be misused when we don’t stop to consider the consequences.

Speaking up about mental health is key MENTAL HEALTH

DEVON SHUMAN MANAGING EDITOR

After the fourth shot of vodka, I screwed the cap onto the bottle, put it back in my desk’s bottom drawer, hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders and left for my 11:30 class.

It was a Wednesday morning, and I was drunk — it wasn’t something I planned. It wasn’t a way to keep the previous night’s party going, or to make myself look cool by catching a buzz during class. It wasn’t even something I enjoyed.

When I pulled myself out of bed that morning and reached for that bottle, I was drinking to cope. I needed something that could dull my brain, that could push away the thoughts that had been gradually seeping into my mind and tormenting me over the past year or so.

They made me feel worthless.

They made me feel like a failure, like I had thrown away any potential I’d come to college with, and like my recent failures excluded me from any sort of success down the road. They put me in a constant state of panic, always worried that a catastrophe was lurking just around the corner.

They invaded my mind and destroyed me from the inside out, making me feel empty, like I’d lost any sense of the person I was once proud to be. I lost all enjoyment in the things that once made me feel alive. I retreated from my friends, disengaged from my classes and often found myself lying in bed well into the afternoon and evening, the thought of facing another day unbearable.

Most of all, these thoughts made me feel alone, isolated. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was experiencing, but whatever it was, I was convinced it was not normal.

I was alone in this dark place, and the more I told myself that, the deeper I receded. Despite having a core group of close, understanding friends, as well as a loving and supporting family, I couldn’t bring myself to tell anyone for fear that I’d be viewed as weak, that they might consider I was just being lazy and self-pitying.

But, as I sat in my 11:30 lecture

hall, my head swimming from the liquor inside of me, I knew it was time to speak up — before it was too late. I’d turned to substance use to cope with my mental state, and that realization forced me to confront the severity of my situation, to recognize that even if I might be judged, seeking help for my issues was better than the path I was headed down.

I started by telling my roommate and some of my closest friends.

Eventually, I went to Student Counseling Services for an initial consultation, and later that day, I explained to my parents over the phone what I was going through.

Today, through a combination of regular therapy and mental wellness activities, such as meditation, I’m learning to cope with my anxiety and depression in a healthy manner.

When I opened up to my peers about what I was going through, I found that not only were they helpful and supportive, but many actually responded that they were going through similar struggles.

The World Health Organization recently announced that depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, but ironically, because it can be so isolating, people suffering often think that nobody else feels the same way.

To be sure, every individual’s experience with mental illness is unique. However, there are similarities, and when one person speaks up about their struggles, it can help others to see that they’re not as alone as they may feel. And no matter what you’re dealing with, even if it’s just stress, the first step to recovery is talking about it.

The fact of the matter is: SCS currently does not have the resources to accommodate every student on campus that requires its services.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t speak up. There are always people you can talk to, whether that be a professional, a professor or even a close friend. So even if you’re feeling overwhelmingly alone, even if you feel that there’s no way out of the darkness, please don’t be afraid to reach out.

SHUMANDB@MIAMIOH.EDU

It’s time to see through Miami’s typical body image BODY IMAGE

JORDAN GILLIGAN COLUMNIST

If you ask anyone on campus if Miami University has a certain “image” many students would answer yes. Anyone who would disagree would have to just take a look

around and notice the plethora of Lululemon, Vineyard Vines, Patagonia, and various other brand names that make Miami... well...

Miami. Sometimes I see all three on one person plus that Louis Vuitton tote bag, and I’m thinking to myIMAGE »PAGE 7

A.J. NEWBERRY NEWBERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

Ask Angela: Embrace the kinks, how to enter the world of BDSM SEX

Angela, I’ll admit I was a little nervous to ask this question, but from reading your other articles, it sounds like you’re someone who’s open to trying new things, so I’m assuming you won’t judge.

Anyway, my girlfriend and I have been seeing each other for about six months now. At first, the sex was amazing — I mean, we were going at it three times a day.

But lately, well, things have simmered down. We’re still knockin’ boots on the reg, but it’s like we’ve run out of ideas. It’s just the same old routine over and over again.

Recently, she saw the film, “50 Shades Darker,” and she suggested that to spice things up we try some BDSM. But here’s the catch: She wants to be the dom.

On one hand, I’m kinda open to it. I like the idea of her taking control and dominating me in every sense of the word ... But I have my reservations. What if my friends find out? They’re all tough, conservative guys who would say I’m whipped if I gave her a ride to class — What would they say if they knew she was literally taking a leather whip to my bare ass?

And also, I saw her on her computer the other day browsing strap-ons — that might be a dealbreaker for me. I want to try new things, but how do I let her know where to draw the line?

Anyways, I hope that you can point me in the right direction.

Sincerely, Nervous Submissive Dear Nervous Submissive, Yet again, my advice column

provides me the opportunity — the honor, really — to give someone my two cents on the wonderful world of all things kink. It’s a great day to be a Redhawk, folks.

Nervous Submissive, if you are into the idea of your lady dominating you then you just gotta go for it.

Balls deep.

Literally.

I’ve never been one to worry much about whether or not my friends will judge me for my sexual tendencies and you shouldn’t give a damn about it either. It’s your body, not theirs. It’s your dick, not theirs. And it’s your pleasure, not theirs.

Your friends — and yeah, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that these friends of yours are also your “brothers” — have no place judging you for what you’re doing in your bedroom.

Wondering what would lead me to assume that these friends are the frattiest of frat stars?

Perhaps the part about them being tough, conservative guys who would say you’re whipped if you let your GF give you a ride to class … *sips tea* And who knows, maybe if you tell one of them about it, the one that’s least likely to judge you — your best pal of your crew — they’ll confide in you that they have their fair share of kinks too.

Like waterboarding. And then you can give them shit for that.

Because that shit’s just fucked up.

So if the thought of seeing your girlfriend clad in leather, whip in hand, telling you what to do and being a total dominatrix badass makes you all hot and bothered then do the damn thing.

Sex is great. Kinky sex is better.

You can only make whoopie for so long before the routine starts

to get boring and, as you’ve said yourself, you’re starting to reach the point where getting down and dirty is about as familiar and mundane as watching your clothes dry on the spin cycle.

Thus, it is time to sexperiment.

The stigma against BDSM is baseless and if judgment is what you’re afraid of, then you’re going to just have to snap out of it, wake up and smell the damn coffee.

What people think about your sex life doesn’t matter. It’s none of their damn business.

You and your lady seem to have a good thing going. If the sex is good, that means the chemistry is there and that’s important in a healthy, functional relationship.

But the communication has to be there too.

If that hot and bothered sensation completely evaporates at the thought of your GF sticking a dildo up your butt, then you just have to say that point blank.

Don’t beat around the bush, don’t try and say it in a way that’s nice like, “Hey … maybe not … I’m just not that into strap-ons, I guess … ya know?”

Just say, “Hell no girl, my butthole is a one way street and crossing hella boundaries!”

Kinks are great if communicated properly. So go for it Nervous Submissive, but be clear about your wants and expectations. Not much can go wrong when you are open and communicative with your partner.

And if you’re feeling the kink, and she’s feeling the kink, I guarantee you’ll have a delightful time.

TMSASKANGELA@GMAIL.COM

7 OPINION FROM IMAGE »PAGE 6

self, “I bet half of your closet is the amount of my semester’s tuition.”

I’m not here to write about the brand names people wear, but to make a point about the “Miami Mold.” There is a specific look on campus that completes this mold, especially when it comes to women.

Being a part of a sorority is what a majority of Miami women on campus choose to do. While being a typical “Miami girl” and being in a sorority can come with a sense of pride and belonging, it can also come with serious consequences.

If you ask any sorority girl what her rush experience was like, many of the girls make exasperated sighs

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

or roll their eyes. Rushing a sorority puts enormous pressure on women because they know each sorority looks for a certain image or quality in every person they interview. Certain sororities have a type of woman they look for, and the idea of this can be very intimidating.

Outside of Miami negative body image and eating disorders are developed mostly through the media.

Media portrays a specific body type through ads that objectify and stereotype women. According to dosomething.org 90 percent of women are unhappy with their bodies, and 58 percent of college women feel pressured to be a certain weight.

Only 5% of women naturally possess the body portrayed by Ameri-

can media. Sororities at Miami can work like the media to create an image for themselves with women who have similar body types. Negative body image is derived from the pressure of sorority members to feel accepted or to feel like they belong.

What I have noticed during my time here at Miami is women will eat very little portions of food, or just salads and minimal carbs. Then they will go do these rigorous, cardio filled workouts, the goal being to develop a very slim, lean body. In the past, I have been a part of crossfit gyms and hot yoga clubs, and what I have learned from trainers is you need balanced portions of different types of food during your day to fuel up for the next workout. News flash:

Trump has shown strength in foreign policy POLITICS

ISAAC ITALIAANDER COLUMNIST

It seems like, for the first time in his presidency, President Trump has managed to momentarily suppress the left’s inordinate criticism of his every move. Not because he is carefully navigating around their political soft-spots—in fact just the opposite—he is confronting them head-on in his trademark Donald Trump fashion. The president has spent his first 88 days making substantial moves according to many of his campaign promises, most recently his commitment to restoring America’s supremacy with regard to international politics.

In the last two weeks under the Trump administration, America has made several strides in the “Great Again” direction. For one, the Assad regime occupying Syria was finally held accountable for its track record of violence against its own civilians.

Following the April 7th U.S. missile strikes on the Shayrat airbase housing the fleet of aircraft responsible for several chemical attacks, Kassem Eid, a Syrian survivor of a similar attack in 2013, was able to express his gratitude for the long-awaited recourse from the United States. In a CNN video, he commends Trump for addressing the long-ignored pleas of Syrian citizens by taking aim at the oppressive regime responsible for

the horrendous chemical strikes. Eid also silences liberal critics who vouch for Syrian immigration into America by stating that most refugees wish to remain in their own country, not move somewhere else. Is it possible that Trump has found the answer to the real Syrian problem?

In the following days, further steps were taken to impede the nuclear threat of North Korea, while ISIS finally received a surprise attack which was not publicized weeks in advance; a strategy of past administrations which Trump admonished many times during his campaign. In a brilliant strategic gesture, the United States was able to stage a “sneak attack” on a system of ISIS-controlled caves in Afghanistan when it seemed the national attention was focused on other enemies in other regions.

The body count of ISIS members killed in the strike is now 94, up from the initial estimate of 36.

In ordering an airstrike in Syria, reaching a deal with China to take a stance against North Korea’s nuclear program and dropping the “mother of all bombs” on an ISIS command post, Trump has prompted a realization among Republicans and Democrats alike that he is a president of action. Frankly, he is a welcome alternative to the painful idleness of the Obama administration, which pompously tooted its tolerance-horn all the while dodging any kind of intervention in the Middle East (unless of course Israel was in the discussion).

Unfortunately, under Obama, such had become the modus operandi for American foreign relations.

Our strategy was founded on the fear of causing a stir with foreign enemies like ISIS, North Korea and Russia, which spent eight years taking advantage of our country’s submissiveness in humiliating fashion. How refreshing it is to see a president who not only understands, but makes use of the influence that is instilled in the United States of America. While Trump’s fast-and-loose approach to sensitive foreign issues may receive criticism, so far the results seem to be speaking for themselves, as made clear in North Korea’s two failed missile launch attempts in the past week, suggesting they may be making some empty promises regarding their military capabilities.

The past 14 days may have been Trump’s most impressive yet, delivering on his promise to re-establish international respect for America’s diplomatic and military capabilities, and finally taking action in regions where diplomatic lethargy had once prevailed. The gross shortcomings of Obama’s foreign policy have finally been exposed by just a few strong, symbolic moves by the Trump administration. Though the long-term response to these moves is still rather uncertain, the rest of the world has been notified that there is, indeed, a new sheriff in town.

ITALIAIJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

North Korean aggression a grave threat, U.S. must coordinate to oppose it POLITICS

LUKE SCHROEDER COLUMNIST

North Korea is an impoverished nation, having a per capita GDP one 18th that of their neighbors to the south. As Kim Jong-Un’s people starve and suffer unacceptable violations of human rights, North Korea invests in its military and its nuclear weapons programs. Kim Jong-Un is desperate to be taken seriously, and is using military buildup to chase this goal.

In a recent interview, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called Kim a “crazy fat kid that’s running North Korea.”

McCain is right, and here’s the big problem: this “crazy fat kid” has access to a nuclear arsenal, and international tensions are rising. According to recent comments, Kim is not afraid to use his military against the U.S. and its allies.

North Korea has been a thorn in the side of the West for decades.

The rogue nation conducted its first nuclear test, a relatively low yield underground detonation, in 2006.

Since that date, North Korea has consistently prodded the civilized world with unnecessary threats and posturing. Today, North Korea has evolved into a more serious military threat.

Estimates vary, but The Federation of American Scientists believes North Korea has between 10 and 20 nuclear weapons.

While most believe North Korea’s missile technology is presently incapable of reaching the U.S. mainland, the regime does pose a serious threat to South Korea, Japan and other nations in the region. Additionally, the U.S. has nearly 80,000 troops sta-

tioned in South Korea alone; these brave men and women are at great risk as well. If North Korean technology is allowed to advance much farther, the U.S. mainland could come into range of their nuclear weapons.

This is a nightmare scenario.

During the eight years of the Obama administration, the idea of a preemptive U.S. strike against North Korea seemed outlandish; very few people could envision Obama giving such an order.

Now, with tempers flaring in North Korea and Donald Trump sitting in the Oval Office, that type of order seems to be a real possibility. Trump already pulled the trigger in Syria; that strike proves our new president is not afraid to act boldly.

Time will tell if he acts similarly in North Korea.

On Easter Sunday the North Koreans, ignoring unified warnings from the international community, conducted another missile test. While the test failed, it serves as another example that the North Koreans will never play nicely with the rest of the world.

Lt. General H. R. McMaster, Trump’s National Security Advisor, responded strongly to the missile test in an interview with ABC: “This latest missile test just fits into a pattern of provocative and destabilizing and threatening behavior on the part of the North Korean regime, and I think there’s an international consensus now — including the Chinese and the Chinese leadership — that this is a situation that just can’t continue.”

McMaster went on: “The president has made clear that he will not accept the United States and its allies and partners in the region being under threat from this hostile regime

with nuclear weapons, and so we’re working together with our allies and partners, and with the Chinese leadership, to develop a range of options.”

McMaster is finally calling for action that will lead to lasting stability on the Korean peninsula, action carried out by all the region’s major players in coordination with the United States. However, McMaster, is not calling for war. He believes “It’s time for us to undertake all actions we can, short of a military option, to try to resolve this peacefully.”

If Trump shares the opinion of his National Security Advisor, he will not authorize military force in North Korea. The U.S. Navy strike group floating off the coast of Japan, and the tremendous firepower they hold, may just be insurance.

Slaps on the wrist from the UN won’t work now, just as they haven’t worked in the past; the UN isn’t heard by those in Pyongyang. Weak sanctions won’t work either, they have been tried before.

It’s time for the U.S., South Korea, China and others to stand against the North Korean regime and put an end to its menacing existence once and for all. The combined power of an international coalition may be enough to end the madness without any shots being fired. A period of peace in the Korean peninsula is long overdue.

Some in the media have called the situation in North Korea a “Cuban Missile Crisis in slow motion.”

Hopefully this conflict ends just as the Cuban Missile Crisis did: without explosions.

SCHROELM@MIAMIOH.EDU

EDITORIAL@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

that means you can have carbs and still be fit. Workouts should be about developing your whole body and being healthy no matter your weight or body type.

This issue first grabbed my attention when I had a conversation with a girl who was a part of a sorority.

She talked about how her experience in a sorority has not been what she had expected it to be. She told me how she joined a sorority because of what it stands for, and to have a group of sisters she can rely on to build her into the woman she wants to be.

Sadly enough, this is not what her experience has been like. Now this was a beautiful, blonde girl and I questioned why she was having

serious doubts about joining. She explained that Greek life is a huge party scene and that girls judge each other and it feels like a competition.

She said she feels that there is an enormous pressure on her to fit this mold that her sorority puts on her, and personally, I just don’t think that is fair.

Later that day I found her in the bathroom making herself throw up, and it was not from the effects of alcohol. I feel like her confession of her experience in Greek life was almost a cry for help. Sororities should empower women and support all body shapes and sizes.

READ THE REST ONLINE AT MIAMISTUDENT.NET

Media marginalizes what it means to be disabled DISABILITIES STUDIES

MICHAEL STEMMLER COLUMNIST

For a guy, I’ve watched a lot of “Grey’s Anatomy.” Honestly, I’ve watched way too much Grey’s. Yet, for some reason, after that first episode, I was hooked. Every day last summer, I would wake up and watch about four to five episodes throughout the day – each episode is 45 minutes long. Don’t hate, we’ve all been there.

For those who don’t know, “Grey’s Anatomy” is a TV drama that follows surgeons in a fictitious hospital.

Throughout their path from interns to residents, each character encounters millions of different surgical cases, life changing events and tons of weird, overly dramatic love interests.

Yet, what I never realized was that many of the episodes were based around “curing” common disabilities. Whether deaf children were receiving cochlear implants or veterans with amputated legs were given prosthetics to walk again, the show put a strong focus on making people “normal.” In addition, without giving any spoilers, many of the characters that become disabled strive to fit back in with the “normal” world.

I put the words “curing” and “normal” in quotes because before I came to Miami, they were words I often used; however, once I took an intro to disability studies class, I quickly realized that the idea of “curing” a disability was a topic heavily debated in the medical and disabled communities. Not only that, but what I once thought of as being “normal” is correctly labeled as being “able-bodied.”

When referring to disability, I’m talking about America’s largest minority group. Disability does not just include those who use wheelchairs, but includes all visible and invisible disabilities.

The term “disability” is a broad term for a condition defined as as an impairment, limitation for activities and/or restriction on participation for an individual. Disability studies looks at disability within a social structure, but like any researched topic, there are multiple sides.

“Grey’s Anatomy” illustrates the medical model of disability, which believes that disabilities should be cured to make those individuals fit into an able-bodied society. On the other hand, the social model of disability embraces the diversity disability brings and looks to develop

society to be open for those with disabilities.

The question still stands: Why should we study disability, especially those who are able-bodied? Well, the thing about disability is that one can become disabled at any time in life. Identity is what makes someone special and usually is determined by one’s race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, gender and/or ethnicity. Disability is another form of identity, and if we aren’t educated in the history and current struggles of those who hold that identity, then we, as a society, are failing to understand those who we perceive to be different than the “norm”.

With 20 percent of Americans identifying as having a disability, why does the idea of disability have a negative stigma surrounding it? In the children’s movie “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over”, the hero, Juni Cortez, is told that his grandpa’s greatest disadvantage is being physically disabled from the waist down. Even when Grandpa is given a shot at being the hero, his disability is viewed as being one of the worst things that happened to him. With the portrayal of disability in this negative form, the stigma around disability is just perpetuated.

Many other forms of identity deal with struggles in the social world.

This takes the form of discrimination or bias toward a group, but when it comes to disability, those who have one (or many) run into social and often physical barriers society presents. Since we are the creators of tomorrow’s society, the future of the nation and the world are formed by us. But, if we neglect the study of disability, then the constructed world of tomorrow (both physically and socially) will not be inclusive for those who identify as disabled. By being educated, we can reverse the negative stigma often associated with disability.

While I still love my Grey’s, from a disability studies standpoint, the show misses the mark. Shonda Rhimes, the creator, incorporates lots of race, socio-economic and gender issues, but rarely includes cases where disability is something celebrated as the norm. Hopefully it’s not too late for Rhimes, and many others, to consider the world of disability studies to make progress toward a society that’s more inclusive for all.

STEMMLMF@MIAMIOH.EDU

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TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017

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FROM SWEENEY »PAGE 5

The musical was initially composed by prolific composer, Stephen Sondheim. His other notable contributions include works such as “Into the Woods,” “West Side Story” and “Merrily We Roll Along.”

“It is quite a terrifying tale that is sure to leave your jaw on the floor until the very end,” said Elizabeth Kehling, who plays the part of the beggar woman. “I think audiences really enjoy ‘Sweeney’ because of the classic Sondheim composition as well as the shocking story.”

For Stage Left, the ability to put on such a famous, acclaimed show has presented challenges. Much of the music in “Sweeney Todd” is complex and different from more traditional musicals.

“I’m just so pleased that my cast was able to rise to the occasion and tackle this layered and technically difficult show,” said Modero. “The entire production team has come together so well that, while I am nervous for opening, I can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve put together.”

Stage Left will perform “Sweeney Todd” at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 20, in Wilks Theater.

THANKS FOR READIN’

FROM HUMANS » PAGE 1

steered his bike to the center of the lane to make room for a honking tourist van. But he was forced to swerve back toward the van as a semi-truck that had crossed over into oncoming traffic came barreling toward him. Braegor narrowly escaped death as the wind blast al-

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FROM EMILE » PAGE 3

speaking to anyone.

Haag also told the school secretary to tell him of the slightest negative things the students may say.

He also told her that if the students complain, he would stop teaching at once.

“I was so nervous. I was waiting in the classroom, and I would not say a word until everybody was there, and then I started the lesson.”

He taught for two days, and after the second day, he went back to the secretary and asked what the students were saying, but she had heard no complaints.

“And I said, ‘Tell me the truth! I do not want you to get some kind of solace. I want to know.”

But three weeks passed with no complaints, so Haag continued to teach.

During his second year at MUDEC, the director came to him and asked him if he would be interested in teaching on the other side.

“What do you mean?” Haag said.

FROM TRUSTEES » PAGE 1

construction begins after graduation. The first phase of the project will be completed by August 2017.

The remainder will be completed by November 2017.

The Board of Trustees is also

most flung him off his bike.

Braegor recovered from the neardeath experience on the flight they took to Bangkok the following day.

The rest of their month long journey was spent praying with monks, having ice cream stolen by monkeys at the Tiger Cave Temple and scuba fishing in crystal clear waters.

Braegor has since traded in his

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FROM HILLBILLY »PAGE 5

sue, especially a relevant one like this,” Hurst said. “I think a lot of people are interested in income inequality. Donald Trump got elected and some of the issues he touched on with his supporter base are some of the same issues this book touched upon.”

Junior Kelsey Forren was one of the first students to recommend the book to the committee. Forren is from Liberty Township in Ohio.

She had seen the culture that Vance described in his memoir at home and thought it would be important to show other Miami students.

“I read the book in about a day, and I thought ‘wow, this would be an interesting book for my friends not from the area to read.’ It gives a new perspective on the area. It’s particularly relevant for Miami students, because it’s an opportunity to get out of their usual perspective and diversify their view,” Forren said.

“Hillbilly Elegy” was published in early 2016 and rose to the top of the New York Time’s Bestsellers List in August 2016 as well as January 2017. It was also announced last week that Imagine Entertainment bought the film rights to the memoir and the book is going to be turned into a movie, directed by Ron Howard.

As a local author, Vance captures the experience of many people who

The director explained that he meant the United States. A history professor from Miami’s Oxford campus wanted to spend a few years teaching in Luxembourg and was in need of a temporary replacement.

“I thought it over, and decided ‘why not.’”

However, he told the director that he would be staying in Luxembourg until after the birth of his second child. As soon as his son was born, he hopped on a plane and headed off to Oxford, Ohio where his family would join him two months later.

After two years in the states, Haag and his family returned to Luxembourg, and he resumed teaching at both the Lycée and at MUDEC. “From that moment on, I felt much more at peace in my classes.”

Haag hasn’t always taught from memory. He did use notes in the beginning.

“But I also had an activity as a public speaker, and I when I made a speech, I had notes laying before me which I only used as a guarantee that if I had a blank, then I could use my notes. But I never used them.

“When I am teaching, I know my

voting on a resolution to approve several new “quasi-endowments” — essentially, an earmarked section of Miami’s $560 million total endowment — for the College of Education, Health and Society. The total of all new quasi-endowments is

motorcycle for a longboard, which he rides around Miami’s campus where there’s significantly less chance of being hit by a semi.

Now, a sophomore pre-med major, Braegor studies biology with the hopes of becoming of a surgeon. In his free time, he sings in collegiate chorale and plans his next big trip.

This time, Germany.

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grow up living in rural parts of Ohio.

While not every, or even most, Miami students who grow up in Ohio had the same experiences, the way of life that the memoir portrays is still prevalent in the area.

John M. Jeep, summer reading program committee chair, believes that it is important for incoming students — particularly those from out-of-state — to understand the issues affecting the area they plan on living in for the next four years.

“It’s important to know where you are and what the people around you are like. Now, not everyone that lives around here is a hillbilly. But plenty are, so it’s important to know that context,” Jeep said.

As part of convocation every year, the committee tries to get the author of the book to come speak to first-year students. Vance has spoken at Miami before, both at the Oxford and Middletown campuses, but has not been confirmed as a speaker at this year’s ceremony yet.

As “Hillbilly Elegy” rises in popularity, it has become more difficult to book Vance as a speaker.

However, Jeep says that the summer reading committee has run into problems before where the author of a book was not available for convocation, and will often ask Miami students or an expert in a field related to the book’s topic to speak instead. Should Vance not be available this year, they plan to do the same thing.

The summer reading program is designed to foster communication among first-year students about topics that may be discussed in their classes throughout the semester. Convocation, where a speaker will discuss the book and students will attend break-out reading group discussions, is supposed to be the beginning of that discussion.

Jeep believes “Hillbilly Elegy” is a good choice for sparking lively conversations about the topics like income inequality and for encouraging students to think critically about how those issues affect the state of politics today.

“Vance never said this is a book about Trump supporters. It’s other people who have read it that said he’s talking about that culture. I haven’t gone back to the book and put on my Trump glasses to see it, but it seems to me that that would be a great discussion,” Jeep said. “I could envision a student saying ‘I’m a Trump supporter, and that’s not the way I am’ and that would be a discussion that would make it even richer.”

Overall, however, he said he hopes most students at least appreciate the book for its “uplifting” storyline and relate to Vance’s journey of growing up.

“Anyone who is well-intentioned can relate to the content and that’s one of the reasons we like it,” Jeep said.

topics. I see before my mental eye a page or a blackboard. I see all the different elements which are vital for the development of a topic.”

For a while, Haag said he had notes in front of him which were not relevant to the class whatsoever, but he figured he should have them so students would take him seriously.

But after a while, he figured even that was pointless.

In 1993, he became the director of the Athenée while still teaching at MUDEC. He was the director for 14 years, and even after retiring from the Athenée, he still continues to teach at MUDEC a few days a week.

Haag and his wife, Karin, spend much of their free time traveling the world.

“We go to Italy; we go to Paris; we go to Amsterdam; we go to London and all over… I think we keep cultivating our cultural alertness and our pleasure because traveling really is a pleasure.”

He has always been intrigued and enthusiastic about the Italian Renaissance and cities like Florence, Venice and Rome — where he has

traveled to many times.

“I feel extremely fortunate to live in this time-period and to be able to take advantage of all of these things,” Hagg said.

Haag is always furthering his knowledge by reading as much as he can on the topics he teaches, by visiting museums, listening to classical music and learning about the fine arts.

“I think you should avoid having unilateral things,” he said. “You should always look to have several arrows on your arc. You should be flexible and always have alternatives,” said Haag.

He enjoys American sayings because of the brief slogans which he even used in his Luxembourgish classes. One of his favorites is “always aim at the top.”

“Even if you might not get to the top, you should put your targets higher and never, never accept an average result,” he said. “I think that’s an important lifestyle, even in my personal life.”

$8,050,000.

Of that amount, $2.5 million is allocated to EHS scholarships, $2.5 million is allocated to EHS discretionary spending, $1.5 million is allocated to discretionary spending for the Department of Kinesiology

H

and Health, $1.5 million is allocated to equipment and facilities for the Department of Kinesiology and Health and $50,000 is allocated to the “long-term priorities” of the the Department of Family Science and Social Work.

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FROM SNAPCHAT » PAGE 1

nor negative thing for the university.

“I think it’s mostly just a thing,” said Veta. “People are liking subscribing to it, it’s mildly entertaining sometimes, but there’s a lot of weird stuff that goes down on there, too.”

It’s the “weird stuff” that concerns Steve Smith, a Cincinnati media expert who spoke on WLWT News in Cincinnati when they ran a story last month about Bearcat Snaps posting naked photos without their subjects’ consent.

WLWT later removed the story from their social media accounts and website following intense backlash from fans of the account, who argued that Bearcat Snaps wasn’t guilty of showcasing “revenge porn” (nude photos shared in confidence but redistributed

without consent of their subjects) and ensured that any naked photos they posted featured people over 18.

Bearcat Snaps’ operator said that since Snapchats can only be taken and sent in the moment (they don’t accept photos from camera rolls), this prevents old photos from being shared with them. They also require people submitting photos with any nudity to send their I.D. beforehand to prove they’re over 18, and cede that while they have unknowingly posted photos without consent before, they removed them immediately after being notified and blocked their senders.

Smith was notified of Bearcat Snaps and others of its kind, like Redhawk Snaps, by a guidance counselor at a Cincinnati high school. He’s concerned about the accounts’ potential to affect people in the future, and how much content featuring illegal activity

or nudity is posted with the subjects’ knowledge and consent.

“While I don’t doubt that some of the content there was placed by what I would call the copyright holder, I know some of it definitely is not,” said Smith. “What I refer to it as is a tremendous opportunity for revenge porn, and while a lot of the porn that is on there doesn’t necessarily include men or women’s faces, some of it does.”

Shortly after witnessing one of Redhawk Snaps’ stories for the first time, junior Gabi Pezoa said that, while there is an “element of consent” to these images, they’re probably not boding well for Miami’s public image.

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“Snapchat is probably better than a lot of apps in terms of privacy and being able to monitor those kinds of security breaches, but it’s definitely a concern,” said Pezoa.

Smith said that, after analyzing several Ohio colleges’ similar accounts, Bearcat Snaps was “by far the worst,” in terms of how much inappropriate (and illegal) content was displayed. But Redhawk Snaps is similar, and Smith urges its users to reconsider posting revealing photos of themselves or photos of them engaging in illegal activity.

According to Smith, 88 percent of “inappropriate” photos wind up in the possession of someone who

FROM EASTER » PAGE 3

tle pots of candy placed on each table. He needed tape to hang the ‘pin the tail on the bunny’ poster up. He needed to make sure everyone else knew their jobs. And he needed his face painted.

Once he had the white and pink ears above his eyebrows, a pink dot on his nose and black whiskers on his cheeks, his mood changed.

“Oh, that looks good!” Shea said, looking in a mirror. “I am killing it. This nose is good!”

He walked the volunteers outside, showing us where the eggs were hidden and the areas where we needed to guard for thorns -- it was very important to make sure no kids ran into the thorns.

We poked fun at Shea’s egg-hiding abilities and laughed at his slight hysterics.

“They’re gonna have fun!” Shea shouted.

He wanted his Easter extravaganza to be a success.

When the kids arrived and caught the first glimpses of the bright eggs laying in the grass or propped between the slats of a bench, their faces lit up. A few were too eager and tried to snatch the closest ones before their teacher scolded them. Then she translated instructions for Shea, and the kids were off.

We watched as they sprinted for the eggs and helped point out the trickier ones. Their arms dove, blocking one another from getting the egg they had their eye on.

wasn’t intended to see them, and while it may seem like Snapchats only last a maximum of 10 seconds, it’s easy to screenshot, save and potentially distribute them — especially on accounts like Redhawk Snaps, which is public and open for anyone to view.

“I can’t underscore this enough,” said Smith. “This generation is the first generation that has to be concerned not just about what they’re posting, but what other people are posting about them.”

[Redhawk Snaps ignored requests for comment.] (Idk if this is necessary anywhere in this story but let it be known that I tried)

Once they had found all the eggs, we prepared for the second group and received a surprise when kids continued to parade around the corner.

There were over 20 more kids than expected, and this time the eggs went fast.

Shea strode around, discreetly tossing lollipops onto the grass as substitutes.

We tried to make sure every kid had at least one egg in their bag but were forced to think of another solution. Someone made a candy run to Cactus, the local grocery store, and the eggs were filled once more to be given as prizes.

We set up an impromptu game of musical chairs in the chateau to entertain the extra kids. It seemed to be the first time any of them had played, and it took some a little time to get used to the idea of ‘losing’ quickly.

But we cheered them up with candy. Every kid got candy, and every kid got their face painted, if they so desired. The ones who spoke some English thanked all the student volunteers and assured us they had a good time.

The last of them filed out, showing us their blue-stained tongues and making a show of brushing their teeth with the lollipops. We laughed and smiled and waved goodbye.

A few students started to clean up the suddenly empty and quiet grand hall.

“Thank you guys so much for helping,” Shea said. He sounded relieved.

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Sports

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Tennis third in MAC going into tournament TENNIS

KYLE STEINER

THE MIAMI STUDENT

The Miami University tennis team finds itself at a critical spot as regular season play winds down heading into the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

“We are definitely moving in the right direction and building confidence. We just have to handle one match at a time,” head coach Yana Carollo said.

The ‘Hawks stand at 9-11 overall with a 4-3 record against MAC competition, placing them third out of nine teams in the conference standings.

Both of the Red and White’s conference losses came in the form of narrow defeats to the two teams ahead of them in the league rankings. The University of Akron slipped by the RedHawks 4-3 on April 2, while Ball State University won in a similar fashion on April 14. The University of Buffalo most recently bested the RedHawks 4-3 on April 16.

“We definitely had a tough match against Akron, but it just helped prepare us as a team. We are now just focused on bouncing back and competing for the rest of the season,” junior Hannah Shteyn said.

Despite the pair of tough losses to conference foes, Miami has had its share of noteworthy victories dur-

ing the season.

“We beat Indiana in January for the first time in school history.

It was really an amazing match,” sophomore Emily Struble said.

Heading into the matchup, MU previously held a 0-34 record against the Hoosiers.

Another highlight on the season was a four-game winning streak in mid-March that began with a victory over intra-state rival University of Dayton and culminated with the loss to Akron.

Throughout the year, senior Andreea Badileanu and Struble have been forces for the RedHawks in singles competition. Both players are riding eleven match winning streaks that have propelled them

each to 19-8 overall records.

In singles competition, the squad holds a .555 winning percentage, compared to a .402 mark in doubles competition. Doubles, while holding less scoring weight, can often end up being a critical factor in who wins the match, making it an area of focus for the Red and White.

“We are just trying to work a lot on doubles and stay more consistent,” Struble said.

Miami is now looking to continue to improve as it squares off against Eastern Michigan University in its final regular season game. If it closes out the year with the victory, the team will position itself well with positive momentum headed into the MAC Tournament.

RYAN TERHUNE THE MIAMI STUDENT

Junior diver Pei Lin is a three-time MAC Champion in the 3-meters diving competition.

Pei Lin looks to next season from 3-meters up DIVING

MAX DAVIS

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Though the collegiate swimming and diving season may have concluded mid-March, for Pei Lin this is just the start of training for next season. Lin, a junior pursuing a major in Public Health, has shown us for the third year in a row why she is the best at what she does.

Hailing from Guangzhou, China, Lin has represented Miami University on the Swimming & Diving team for the past three seasons. For an unprecedented three straight years, Lin has captured first place at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships in the 3-meter diving competition. This past March, the event was held at Miami’s Aquatic Center.

“I was much more nervous this

year. I get more nervous each year,” Lin said, reflecting upon the difficulty and pressure of maintaining her title as MAC 3-meter diving champion.

In addition to retaining her title as MAC champion, Pei Lin was the sole representative for the Miami University Swimming & Diving team at the NCAA Championships that happened from March 15-18.

After a second place finish for the second year in a row at the national championship event, Lin reflected on her efforts for the year. In addition to finishing second in the 3-meter event, Pei Lin finished seventh in the 1-meter event.

“I am very happy with the outcome, and especially with all the support from the team and my family.”

With an already impressive diving resume, Lin trains hard even in the off season, incorporating both

weight room exercises and practice dives into her training routine. Depending on the week, Lin spends upwards of 15 hours in the pool.

“We have worked very hard in the past. Each year, always improving.

We are always looking to do better as a team, especially at the MAC championships,” Lin describes the hard work and grit exhibited by her many teammates.

In the upcoming season, the diving team is looking to bring in four new team members after the graduation of several current seniors. Lin describes the team as “more of a family” when considering her relationship with her fellow RedHawks.

“Our coach always tells us that the team should be more like a family, and we try to support each other like that every day.”

NCAA diving competitions are scored on a scale of 1-10 by a panel of judges that determine a winner

based on a scoring criteria composed of technical components like toe/hand position and angle of entry into the water. Unlike other swimming events, the pool deck is serious and quiet during the diving events. The atmosphere is tense, but that doesn’t stop Pei Lin from enjoying her time 3-meters above the cool, blue pool.

Lin struggles to put words together to describe the moment when she makes contact with the surface of the water.

“It’s hard to describe,” she said.

“It’s an amazing feeling.”

After graduation, Lin wants to pursue a graduate degree in Public Health that focuses on the areas of nutrition and athletic performance.

For now, Lin looks to senior year and looks down from her position three meters above the pool.

NATIONAL UPDATES Miami University Club Tennis placed 47th out of 64 teams in their first appearance at USTA’s Tennis on Campus Nationals.

Miami University Club Broomball is USA Broomball C Class National Champions. Read more online at miamistudent.net.

Miami University Dance Team placed 4th at National Dance Alliance Nationals in Division 1A Team Performance.

BRIANNA NIXON THE MIAMI STUDENT

Baseball swept La Salle University at home over the weekend by scores of 3-2, 15-2 and 7-1. Read a recap online at miamistudent.net.

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MASSILLON MYERS THE MIAMI STUDENT

As the Miami Softball team heads towards the home stretch of their season, they are focused on taking the rest of their season one game at a time. Currently second place in the Mid-American Conference with a record of 9-6 in conference play and 23-17 overall, the RedHawks are preparing for a run deep into the MAC Tournament.

“We are process based and are focused on the next game at hand,” said head coach Clarisa Crowell.

Last season, the RedHawks finished the regular season with a record of 15-7 in conference play and 35-23 overall. They won the MAC Tournament, earning a NCAA Tournament berth where they eventually lost to Michigan and Notre Dame in regional finals.

According to Coach Crowell, this season has been successful but hasn’t been without speed bumps along the way.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for us,” Crowell said.

“We’ve faced a lot of adversity but that adversity is what will prepare us for big games coming up in the tournament.”

It’s games like the one against Bowling Green on April 12 which will prepare the team for big games coming up in the tournament. Coming back from behind to beat the No. 1 Falcons 5-4, the RedHawks showed resilience.

This has been a theme throughout the season according to junior third baseman Kat Lee. “We have faced some adversity,” Lee said. “During the preseason and also a few weekends early on in the season, we went without a win in a series. We learned some valuable lessons. We know how to lose and how to bounce back.”

The team has been dominant at home with an 11-1 record. Away from home, the team is 5-8 and 7-8 at neutral sites.

With 11 games remaining on the schedule before the MAC Tournament, sophomore shortstop Michaela Schlattman says the team is feeling good about the season to this point.

“We’re on the rise,” Schlattman said. “We’re working together, playing together and the energy is really high.”

Coming off a 2016 campaign in which Schlattman earned firstteam all-MAC honors and tied the single season homerun record for a Miami player, she leads the team in batting with a .368 average.

A leader on and off the field, Schlattman has kept her goals high for herself and for the team -- there is still work to be done and games to be played.

“Every year our goal is to win the MAC Tournament,” Schlattman said. “We take one game at a time, but our overall goal is to make it to [NCAA] Regionals.”

The RedHawks last made it to Regionals of the NCAA Tournament in 2012 before losing to the fifth ranked Tennessee Volunteers.

The team’s remaining 11 games include a home series against Buffalo, an away series against Wright State and an away series against Ohio University before it closes out the season in Oxford with a home series against Akron on May 5 and 6. The team then travels to Akron for the MAC Tournament May 10-13.

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