September 16, 2016 | The Miami Student

Page 1

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

Volume 145 №5

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

At MU, close polls and tense politics

First-years susceptible to crime

College Republicans look to down ballot races POLITICS

Initial two to six weeks a ‘red zone’

MARY SCHROTT

THE MIAMI STUDENT

SAFETY

CÉILÍ DOYLE

THE MIAMI STUDENT

The inside of The Woods was jam-packed the Sunday night before Labor Day. One first year student was busy mingling and asking questions about how to rush the fraternity Chi Psi with an alleged member of the fraternity when the conversation quickly turned into a disagreement. Tensions rose and tempers flared, and the firstyear student ended up getting punched in the head, while his assailant disappeared in a sea of students marked only by his brown hair and Bengals jersey. Later, the first-year would tell the Oxford police that he was punched so hard he “could feel his brain going back and forth, left to right.” The physical attack left the first-year with a concussion and a small brain bleed. “Oxford has this reputation of being a safe, small town,” Sergeant Jon Varley of the Oxford Police Department said. “But many individuals, especially freshmen, don’t take enough precautions. They’re a little too trusting, a little too naïve. Nobody’s telling them what to do anymore, and more importantly nobody’s looking out for them.” Acts of violence on campus are not limited to physical assaults either. In fact, the first two to six weeks of every fall semester are denoted as the Red Zone, or the most dangerous time period for firstyear women to face sexual assault (including, but not limited to, rape) on college campuses, according to a 2008 study from the Journal of American College Health. Rose Marie Ward, a professor in Miami’s department of Kinesiology and Health, and Terri Messman-Moore, a professor in the Psychology department, conducted a study at the university a few years ago on 424 college women who were surveyed every week over the course of 10 weeks. The research indicates that, even amongst such a small pool of data, instances of sexual assault were found to be more prevalent in the first semester during the months of August, September and October. “In our data set, almost six percent of the freshmen reported being raped,” Ward said. “We are one study [during] one semester, and there are all these other variables that are completely out of control for that person that play into this as well.” While Ward and Messman-Moore’s study included college women from freshman to senior year, the statistics behind first-year women’s susceptibility to rape are substantial. The data has prompted doubts regarding the safety of Miami’s campus, specifically with respect to first year students. “[Miami] is a very safe environment,” Miami UniRED ZONE »PAGE 2

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Senior Kirby Chandler, the campus organizer with Hillary for America and Ohio Together, registers Miami University students to vote on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

This election season, Miami students and staff aren’t afraid to address the elephant — and donkey — in the room. In a “Welcome Back and Moving Forward” email sent earlier this month, President Crawford addressed the student body, acknowledging this as a “tense election year” that can elicit turmoil on Miami campuses which “mirror the world around us.” Politics on campus this semester has outgrown student organizations like College Republicans and College Democrats. Now, the Hillary Clinton campaign

has an employed campus organizer in Oxford, senior Kirby Chandler. The Ohio Director of the organization Students for Trump, Brittany Brown, is also a senior at Miami. “Polls in Ohio are still within a one or two percent margin,” Chandler said while manning a table draped in an electric blue “Ohio Together” banner in the Armstrong Student Center. “So when I say I work 12-14 hours a day doing voter registration or organizing events on campus, I literally do.” Approximately 150 students at Mega Fair last week registered to vote with Chandler and her team of volunELECTION »PAGE 2

TRUMP MOVES IN UPTOWN OXFORD REACTS TO FIELD OFFICE COMMUNITY

JACK EVANS

NEWS EDITOR

THE MIAMI STUDENT

A Butler County Republican Party field office opened on Sept. 6 at the 100 block of W. High Street in Oxford. The party is throwing its support behind presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The Butler County Republican Party opened a Trump field office on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 123 West High Street in Oxford. Packed with glossy blue and white yard signs, neatlystacked literature and folded t-shirts, the office marks the latest attempt by a national campaign to win the hearts and minds of Miami students and Oxford residents before the Nov. 8 elections. The opening has been met with both praise and condemnation from members of the local community. “The response has been

overwhelming so far,” said Scott Lepsky, Butler County Republican Party’s public relations coordinator. “In fact, the first week, they totally ran out of material.” Lepsky was quick to add that the office has restocked its campaign inventory. Ms. Bertie Wespiser, the proprietor of Birdhouse Antiques for the last 43 years, which sits across from the new office on High Street, welcomes the Trump campaign. To her, this election is a crucial one. “My life, my children’s lives, my grandchildren’s lives all depend the outcome,” said Wespiser. TRUMP »PAGE 5

Humans of Oxford Dave Dabney: Dancing speaker guy PROFILE

KIRBY DAVIS

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Everyone on campus has probably spotted a guy weaving through masses of other students, blasting music from his UE Boom speaker and unabashedly singing along. His name is Dave Dabney, but he’s better known as “the dancing speaker guy.” This is not just for attention — Dave wants to inspire other people with this show of confidence. “I want people to walk around like they deserve to be here,” he said. “Like, this is your playground!” Dave buzzes with energy and doesn’t sit still. When he tells a story, he leaps out of his chair to reenact it, and he wears a t-shirt emblazoned with the New York City skyline. He’s never been, but that’s where he wants to end up—performing his own music at Madison Square

Garden. In Dave’s junior year of high school, a friend’s death jarred him and made him seriously contemplate his future for the first time.

“When you’re a kid you don’t expect people around you to die,” Dave said. “So when that hit me I was like, RYAN TERHUNE THE MIAMI STUDENT

BOOM BOX »PAGE 5

A couple walks back home from the bars Uptown last weekend.

Study says millennials are not the ‘hookup gen’ RELATIONSHIPS

AUDREY DAVIS NEWS EDITOR

Because of TV shows like “The Bachelor” and “Are You the One?” and popular dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid, people born in the 80s and 90s (commonly known as Millennials and iGen) have a reputation as “the hookup generation.” However, according to a recent study done by researchers from San Diego State, Florida Atlantic and Widen-

er Universities, this may not be the case. The study looked at the sexual activity of people after they turned 18. According to the study, among Americans aged 20-24, 15 percent of Millennials born in the 1990s had no sexual partners after age 18 compared to 6 perfect of GenX’ers born in the 1960s. Rose Marie Ward, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health at MILLENNIALS »PAGE 5

RENEE FARRELL THE MIAMI STUDENT

NEWS p. 2

CULTURE p. 3

OPINION p. 7

SPORTS p. 8

THE DEMISE OF THE TOASTED ROLL

SURVIVING THE COMPETETIVE A CAPELLA AUDITION

EDITORIAL BOARD TAKES A STAND AGAINST TRUMP

‘HAWKS TO FACE FIRST MAC GAME AFTER LOSSES

It’s survived for almost 100 years, but could Miami’s traditional treat be lost to history?

One first year beats her nerves to become part of Just Duet, the only co-ed a capella group at Miami.

Trump excels at marginalization, racism and sexism. This election, there is a wrong choice.

After falling to Eastern Illinois, Miami football prepares for Western Kentucky.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.