April 15, 2016 | The Miami Student

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

Volume 144 №47

Miami University — Oxford, Ohio

S3XUAL

Student found unconscious died Wednesday

AT MU, NOT JUST A NUMBERS PROBLEM

Drugs, alcohol may be involved says OPD

SEXUAL ASSAULT

DEATH

TESS SOHNGEN

JAMES STEINBAUER

A55AULT

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

studies minors, is a member of Miami’s Muslim Students Association and said she thinks Wott’s project was a great idea.

“If you want to know if I’m offended by it or anything, I’m definitely not,” Zimmerer said. “As a Muslim, I don’t feel like you’re necessarily obligated to wear [a hijab], even though some people feel that you are. I encourage people to do it.”

Wott herself identifies as an

Sexual assault is the second-highest occurring crime on Miami’s campus, behind burglary, but discrepancies in the numbers reported by students and the administration indicate a lack of clarity on the issue.

The numbers surrounding sexual assault are complex and inconsistent. Miami reported a total of 39 cases of sexual assault on campus from 2012 to 2014, but the 2015 Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey indicates 334 undergraduates, 33.9 percent of Miami students who participated in the survey — 42.4 percent of females and 19.1 percent of males — reported being sexually assaulted while at the university.

The results from the survey indicate the number of sexual assaults undergraduates experienced from the time they started school at Miami to when they took the survey.

“The numbers aren’t going to line up,” said Jane

The Oxford Police Department (OPD) is investigating the death of Timothy Fresch, a 22-year-old Miami University student from Santa Barbara, Calif.

Fresch died Wednesday night, four days after he was found unconscious and in respiratory distress in his off-campus house. Fresch is thought to have choked on his vomit, said Oxford Police Department’s Sergeant Jon Varley.

According to a report filed by OPD, at approximately 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, Fresch’s roommates found him alone at 117 South Main Street, the house known as “Tuna.”

Fresch’s roommates called Oxford Life Squad, who arrived and performed CPR. Fresch was taken to McCullough Hyde Memorial Hospital for further treatment and was later transferred to Bethesda North Hospital in Cincinnati.

hijab » PAGE 9

ASSAULT » PAGE 9

death » PAGE 5

COLIN SHIMROCK THE MIAMI STUDENT

First-year Emma Wott wears a hijab to stand in solidarity with Muslim students on Miami’s campus.

Finding confidence through covering up DEMONSTRATION

AUDREY DAVIS NEWS EDITOR

First-year Emma Wott, a theatre major with a religion minor, is not afraid of being different. She dyes her hair every six months — right now it’s a faded teal — and is covered in tattoos. So when she was asked to do a risk project for her principles of acting class, she was unsure of what to do.

The risk project requires students in the class to step

outside of their boxes and do things they would never normally do. Some kids in the class dyed their hair a different color. One girl cut her hair short. Someone in the class last semester, who was extremely shy, asked someone out for a cup of coffee, but Wott knew she couldn’t do anything like that — that would be too easy.

“My boyfriend also studies religion, so we were just kind of bouncing ideas like, ‘What can we do that’s kind of risky and be willing to actually get

something from it?’” Wott said. “We both came up with the idea of wearing a hijab because I have friends who are Muslims and just with everything going on nowadays, I thought, ‘What would it be like to spend a week just seeing it through those eyes?’

“I paid full respect to it,” Wott said. “I even had the under-scarf, the outside of it and the long skirts.”

Megan Zimmerer, a sophomore international studies and French double major with Middle East and Islamic

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

REIS THEBAULT

EDITOR AT LARGE

World-renowned epidemiologist Dr. Don Francis makes visit to MU Francis known for AIDS activism and more EVENT

PROFILE

MEGAN ZAHNEIS

MEGAN ZAHNEIS

World-renowned pediatrician and epidemiologist Dr. Don Francis, subject of the book and movie “And The Band Played On,” was on campus Thursday after being invited to Oxford by junior pre-med and biology major Matt Mannion.

Francis, who is trained in epidemic control and vaccines, has studied such diseases as measles, cholera, smallpox and hepatitis B. He also directed the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Smallpox Eradication Program in Sudan and India and was part of the WHO team investigating the world’s first Ebola outbreak.

But he’s best known for his work as an HIV/AIDS researcher, having run the AIDS lab at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as part of his 21-year tenure there. Francis is also regarded for his activism in warning the general public of the danger and prevalence of AIDS. That’s how Mannion learned of Francis’ story —

Matt Mannion was up late one night last July, idly channel-surfing. He stumbled upon the 1993 documentary “And The Band Played On,” chronicling the life of epidemiologist Dr. Don Francis, who had a heavy hand in the initial discovery and treatment of the HIV/AIDS virus.

Mannion, a senior premed and biology doublemajor, had stayed in Oxford to conduct research in his biochemistry lab. The documentary piqued his interest, given his field of study, and the credits mentioned that Francis still lived and worked in San Francisco.

So, naturally, Mannion decided to give Francis a call. He’d be heading out to the San Francisco area for vacation in a few weeks, so, he reasoned, why not see if Francis would be up for coffee?

Dr. Rick Page, Mannion’s biochemistry professor in Hughes Hall, was all for it.

NEWS EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR

DOUG CHAN THE MIAMI STUDENT

Charles Blow, op-ed columnist for the New York Times, discusses #BlackLivesMatter on Monday.

NYT columnist talks #BlackLivesMatter EVENT

BONNIE MEIBERS

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Discussion of the #BlackLivesMatter movement returned to Miami’s campus when Charles Blow, op-ed columnist for The New York Times and CNN contributor, spoke on Monday, Apill 11 to a full auditorium in Benton Hall.

“Charles M. Blow is one of the leading journalists of our day,” said Jana Braziel, chair of the global and intercultural studies department. “He writes with a fierce passion and moral courage.”

Blow joined The New York Times in 1994 as a graphics

editor and quickly worked his way up to graphics director, in which capacity he led the Times’ award-winning graphic coverage of 9/11.

Blow’s op-ed column, which has been published twice a week since 2008, addresses race, gay rights, politics and other controversial issues.

The #BlackLivesMatter movement was founded in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi after police officer George Zimmerman, was acquitted for shooting and killing an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin.

However, Blow said that the movement started much earlier than that—60 years

ago, with the murder of Emmett Till. The 14-year-old boy was murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman. Till’s murderers were acquitted after only 67 minutes of deliberation.

Blow drew comparisons between the civil rights and Black Lives Matter movements, but said that they differ in that the civil rights movement was rooted in religion.

“This movement doesn’t have religion as its primary force, but it is nonetheless rooted in the morality of man,” Blow said.

The #BlackLivesMatter blow » PAGE 3

Student develops mentorship

Dr. Don Francis by happening upon the documentary “And The Band Played On” late one night last summer, after a day in the Hughes Hall laboratories.

Mannion and Francis had lunch together in San Francisco late in the summer, and Mannion came up with the idea of inviting Francis to Oxford shortly thereafter.

Rick Page, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry whose lab Mannion has worked in for two years, said Francis’ visit will afford students a unique learning opportunity. “[Francis] is a fantastic scientist and someone who, I think, would be really good for students here to meet. He did so much work in tackling epidemics outside of this country, and those are francis » PAGE 3

mannion » PAGE 3

NEWS p. 2

NEWS p. 2

CULTURE p. 4

OPINION p. 6

SPORTS p. 10

CONSULTANTS ADVISE MIAMI ON DIVERSITY

THE DANGERS OF TEXTING AND DRIVING

HUMANS OF OXFORD: ABBY HERMESCH

EDITORIAL BOARD ON COLLEGE PORN CULTURE

TRACK AND FIELD, TENNIS CONTINUE SUCCESS

EducationCouncil meets with Miami faculty to discuss diversity and inclusion.

“When I looked up from reading the text, it was just a little too late.”

Rhythm X percussionist marches to the beat of her own drum.

Mainstream pornography, violence and its impact on college relationships

Miami teams continue their path to the top of the food chain.

2 NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

Mindfulness center opens in McGuffey UNIVERSITY

LAURA FITZGERALD SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The official opening of the Mindfulness and Contemplative Inquiry Center and the creation of the Miami Yoga and Mindfulness Club have given students new opportunities to experience the benefits of yoga and mindfulness practices.

The Mindfulness and Contemplative Inquiry Center was approved in 2014 by the university and received its space in McGuffey in fall 2015, said Suzanne Klatt, clinical faculty director of the center. While it has been holding events and sessions, it officially opened on March 31, 2016.

Mindfulness is being fully present in the moment and dedicating all thoughts and attention to that task. This differs from meditation in that mindfulness is a way of life and can be practiced while doing any task. Mediation is a practice that requires the participant to set aside time to do it.

Sophomores Claudia Read and Walter Pappas started the Miami Yoga and Mindfulness club this semester. They are partnering with other similar organizations, such as the Uptown yoga studio Root Yoga, to host yoga sessions. Read and Pappas plan to raise awareness about yoga and mindfulness with meditation sessions and educational events.

Klatt said mindfulness is an

ancient practice with origins in Hinduism and Buddhism. However, it has only gained popularity in recent years in healthcare and university programs across the country. Many universities are now incorporating programs in mindfulness practices, such as The Ohio State University which has incorporated mindfulness therapy into its psychological services.

“It’s actually a very old practice, but the way in which it has been developed and utilized in health care settings, education and the workplace is new,” Klatt said.

Pappas mediates and practices yoga every day, while Read practices yoga every day and mediates as often as she can. Pappas said practicing mindfulness and meditation reduces chronic stress, which has negative health effects ranging from insomnia to anxiety and depression.

“Stress is one of the most detrimental things we can do to our body and our mind,” Pappas said.

Practicing mindfulness and meditation also improves attention, which helps busy students by allowing them to focus on and complete homework, Pappas said.

“Attention is such an important art of getting things done and being successful,” Pappas said.

Pappas said a large part of mindfulness is withholding judgement of thoughts. That means experiencing thoughts and emotions and not immediately

MU calls in consultant amid diversity concerns DIVERSITY

MEGAN ZAHNEIS NEWS EDITOR

JING LONG THE MIAMI STUDENT

The Mindfulness and Contemplative Inquiry Center opened on March 31. associating them as “good” or “bad” thoughts. This helps give students gain emotional control over their lives by not allowing situations to affect their mood.

Mindfulness is especially important today as there are many distractions around us that command our attention, Pappas said.

Technology such as phones and computers offer distractions that can prevent people from being fully present in the moment.

Both Pappas and Read experienced Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), but practicing mindfulness has helped them focus and overcome it. Read said she disliked taking medication, and meditating and yoga have helped her get off medication for ADD.

Read said she enjoys the feeling she experiences from mediation and yoga because it helps reduce her anxiety and put her in a better mood.

“Every time I practice yoga I leave with such a calm mentality,” Read said. “I love the feeling I get from it and how it affects my attitude because I leave so happy.”

This semester, the Center for Contemplative Inquiry and Mindfulness Practices offered two courses, EHS 401/501, a three credit hour class on meaning and mindfulness in education, health and work and EHS 422/522, a one credit hour mediation lab.

The center also periodically hosts speakers, events and mediation times open to students.

Miami University hosted forums this week with Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm EducationCounsel.

According to its website, EducationCounsel has partnered with various academic institutions and higher education foundations to develop solutions to problems of diversity and inclusion.

An email sent to all academic advisors through Canvas said that EducationCounsel was contracted to aid in a greater awareness of diversity on campus.

“They will work with us to design highly interactive, solutionoriented events that leverage recent student interest in contributing to discussions related to enhancing diversity and inclusion efforts on campus,” the message read in part. “Through these interactions they will help us develop institution-wide understanding and awareness of the legal and policy framework for access, diversity and inclusion efforts at Miami University.”

Three EducationCounsel representatives — co-founder and managing partner Art Coleman, senior legal and policy advisor Terri TayFORUM »PAGE 8

DOUG CHAN THE MIAMI STUDENT

STRESS LESS Miami students feeling the pressure of a semester coming to a close, sought comfort with furry friends during a dog therapy session on Wednesday in Armstrong Pavilion C.

For students, texting and driving proves a dangeous endeavor SAFETY

SARAH KNEPP

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Captain Stephen VanWinkle of the Miami University Police Department reports that while there are no quantifiable records of car accidents caused by texting and driving, many student pedestrians texting while walking put themselves in danger of being hit.

Additionally, VanWinkle said that many drivers do not openly admit to texting and driving when they hit the back of another car.

First-year student Kelly, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was one of those drivers. When she was 17, she was driving home while distracted in rainy weather.

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By the time many students get to Miami, they’ve likely had cell phones for several years and have been driving for a year or two. However, texting and driving still proves to be a problem among young people — and accidents happen.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eight people are killed and over 1,000 are injured in car accidents every day because of a distracted driver. Drivers under the age of 20 are the most frequent victims of these types of crashes.

Last week, sophomore Chloe Reed was driving through the curvy roads of Cincinnati when a distracted driver hit her car.

“I came around the corner and this car came out of nowhere and was sideways in the lane,” she said. “I slammed on my brakes, but we just totally crashed.”

The other car’s passenger side hit Reed’s passenger side, leaving Reed’s car with around $12,000 worth of damage.

The other driver, a 16-year old, told the police that she was reaching for something in her car when she fell off the

road, hit the guardrail and then ended up in the other lane. However, Reed and the police did not seem to buy that story. The driver was issued a citation.

As the statistics indicate, these types of accidents happen all the time. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) reported that drivers aged 16-24 use their cell phones at higher rates than any other age group.

cream or something,” she said.

“When I looked up from reading the text, it was just a little too late.”

The slick roads and the delayed reaction time because of her distraction made it impossible for Kelly’s car to stop in time. She hit the car in front of her, causing a fender bender, with her car taking the brunt of the damage.

Scared about the consequences she could face, Kelly lied to the police and her parents about what caused the accident and blamed the slick roads.

“I felt super embarrassed and awful about actually getting in a texting and driving accident because of all the lectures in school warning us against it,” Kelly said.

Kelly learned her lesson the hard way, but this mistake still haunts her because of how many people get hurt and even killed in accidents caused by texting and driving.

Reed was fortunate enough to walk away from her accident with no injuries, but she said she will not be texting and driving any time soon.

“This experience made me more mad than anything,” she said. “You need to be responsible while driving. This is a good reminder to pay attention.”

NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

NEWS 3

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

RENEE FARRELL PHOTO EDITOR

Dr. Don Francis spoke Thursday evening in Benton 102 about his experience fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States.

FROM FRANCIS » PAGE 1

CONNOR MORIARTY THE MIAMI STUDENT

PEDAL PUNK acrobats associated with Cirque Mechanics perform at Millett Hall Wednesday, April 13.

FROM blow » PAGE 1

movement, though, is allowing for a civic awakening and new discussions on race and civil rights, he said. Blow also denounced institutional racism.

“I refuse to allow my biting selfdeterminism to blind me to systems designed and built on devaluation and destruction,” he said. “I know, as others do, the frustration and fatigue of swimming against the current.”

Blow also touched on the presence of implicit bias in America. He used characters in children’s books as an example of this bias. White characters are often depicted as astronauts or chefs or presidents, and black characters in children’s books are almost always learning how to cope with their skin color, their hair and their different-ness.

“What psychic damage does it do to the black mind when one must

FROM MANNION » PAGE 1

“I encouraged him to reach out to him,” Page said. “[It was a,] ‘If you don’t contact him, you’re definitely not going to meet him’ kind of thing.” “‘Let’s give it a shot,’” Mannion remembers thinking. “And so I found his phone number, called this big not-for-profit that he works for.”

The voicemail system at Francis’ nonprofit, Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases, told Mannion he could “press one to speak to Dr. Don Francis”, and a few weeks later, Mannion and Francis were sitting down for lunch in San Francisco. Mannion said they’d planned on spending 45 minutes together, but the three-hour conversation

come to fear to the black body?”

Blow said.

The lecture was followed by a question-and-answer session. The first person asked whether or not Blow believed attacks on white people, like the attacks in Paris and Brussels, deserve less attention than attacks on black people.

Blow began to answer, but the asker of the question interrupted him.

“So you’re saying white people dying deserve less sympathy because they’re not black?”

Blow was quiet for a moment, staring at his heckler.

“Every time there is a terrorist attack, our response should be the same if there is no ethnocentric sensibility to what our sympathies are,” Blow said. “Next!”

Another audience member asked if the #BlackLivesMatter movement is saying that not all lives matter.

“I believe this: all lives should

matter equally, but until this country recognizes that fact it is not only appropriate, but it is necessary to point out the lives that it tends to value less,” Blow responded.

First-year Bridget Larock said she found the lecture eye-opening. “[Blow] was able to explain the purpose of the movement well,” she said.

The lecture addressed daily inequality and racism black Americans suffer today.

“The most important thing that I took away from the lecture is that I, too, am not free of blame,” junior Christy Torrese said. “It is our problem.”

Blow’s lecture was a call to action for many, like Torrese, to unite as one group regardless of race. Blow asked the audience to do something about the inequalities that they know exist.

“None of our hands,” he said, “are clean.”

included a tour of Francis’ lab and a lift to the airport for Mannion.

Mannion was so inspired by Francis’ work — which includes a 21-year career at the Centers for Disease Control working with such diseases as smallpox, hepatitis B and measles and a stint as a member of the World Health Organization team investigating the world’s first Ebola outbreak — that he decided to ask Francis whether he would consider visiting Miami.

“Matt was a very clear thinker,” Francis said. “I thought it was worth supporting the way he thought and what he wanted to do.

Even though it’s a long trip and a couple of days of my life, I thought it was worth supporting his efforts.”

Mannion said Francis typically

speaks at prestigious medical institutions such as Harvard, Yale and UCLA, so his willingness to make the trip to Oxford came as a bit of a surprise.

Francis was on campus Thursday to deliver a lecture, also titled “And The Band Played On,” and to speak with a variety of classes and student groups throughout the day, from journalism to business students. His expertise in the medical field, social and political matters, and in entrepreneurship, Page said, make him a worthy role model for Miami students.

“He’s just incredibly impressive, [not only] from a pure academic standpoint, but the fact that he’s willing to come out here on the invitation of an undergraduate and come out and spend an

recycle this newspaper.

experiences and viewpoints that students here at Miami don’t typically get,” Page said.

But Francis’ story is more than just that of an extremely successful doctor. In fact, despite coming from a medical background, Francis never intended for his career to turn out the way it has.

For one thing, Francis said, he may not have been the most practical in deciding where to study medicine.

“I went to Berkeley [for undergrad] because my girlfriend went to Berkeley. I went to Harvard [for my Ph.D] because my girlfriend went to Harvard,” Francis explained during his talk Thursday night in Benton Hall. “Of course, these were two different girlfriends.”

Regardless, things worked out for Francis in the end.

“People say, ‘Gee, such a successful career, you’ve done all these things, eradicated smallpox and now you’re working on Ebola, yada, yada, yada…’” Francis said. “This was not a planned-out excursion. I was a competitive downhill skier, and I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon in the mountains of California and that was the limits of my interest at the time. And then I had my first exposure to the international world with a fellowship abroad and came back and I was interested in pediatrics and infectious diseases and it changed my whole career.”

But then, interestingly, it was politics that motivated him, Francis said.

Francis, who by then had his doctorate in virology from the Harvard School of Public Health, was against the Vietnam War. At the time, all doctors were being drafted to service, and Francis “refuse[d] to support that horrible adventure.”

His boss at LA County Hospital suggested he join the CDC instead, since doing so would serve as an equivalent to military service.

Within two years, Francis found himself shipping off to Yugoslavia to work on the smallpox outbreak in Europe.

“I was so enthralled with having this incredibly bad disease, [that,] with a very simple vaccination, you could just take care of. I told CDC if they’re ever going to do something in

smallpox, let me know. And the next thing I know I was with WHO in the Sudan, India, and Bangladesh eradicating smallpox.

“To have a disease eradicated under your belt, you get hooked,” Francis said.

He’s chased cholera in Nigeria, encephalitis in Japan, tetanus in India, polio in Pakistan, and yet, Francis said, his biggest challenges have come at home.

Francis, 73, said he’s dealt with his share of political maneuvering. After coming back to the United States to study AIDS, the Ronald Reagan administration refused to fund his research.

“Here I was, essentially trained and practiced in a way that couldn’t make my ability to contribute to the society any better than [what I was doing with] AIDS,” Francis said.

“And I was perfectly trained and was told to look pretty and do as little as you could. That’s Republicanism in central government.”

That’s when Francis sought out another way to study HIV, returning home to serve as an AIDS advisor to his native California.

“I just [had to] find some kind of an avenue that I can go around these doofuses that are intent on killing people,” Francis said.

It’s safe to say Francis has had a success.

“If I can stimulate, you know, even a handful of people to say, ‘Gosh, I want to do that kind of stuff too,’ then that’s enough of a legacy for me for looking at the next generation,” Francis said.

“But, in a similar sense, if I can get rid of smallpox and hepatitis B and whatever other diseases I’ve worked on and they don’t affect little kids around the world, that’s all I want.”

For Mannion, getting Francis to visit Oxford and share his experiences with the Miami community will go down as one of his own personal successes.

“As engaging as I remember him being all those months ago back in San Francisco, he was even more so here,” Mannion said. “On top of that, with the students and with my friends, they felt the same magnetism of being pulled in. It was everything I thought it would be and more.”

miamistudent.net entire day at Miami, meet with so many groups,” Page said. “His focus during this whole visit is that he wanted to interact with as many students as possible. That’s what he told us: he wants to meet with as many students as possible, have the maximal impact that he can.”

Page said the fact that Mannion, who has worked in his lab for the past two years, took initiative to hold the event came as no surprise to him.

“If you give him a glimmer of an opportunity, he’ll seize it and he’ll go after it and run with it,” Page said of his pupil.

And Mannion has been rewarded for his efforts. During his threehour lunch with Francis, he asked for some advice.

During one particularly rough

night on duty in his emergencyroom internship, Mannion was confronted with a 21-year-old gunshot victim. The experience left him shaken and unsure. He found the prospect of a life spent dealing with tragic situations intimidating.

“I talked to Dr. Francis about, ‘How do you see that one day and come back in?’” Mannion said.

“There was a period with AIDS when, he was telling me, ‘I was having ten, fifteen patients die a day, every day for years.’ “[He said], ‘You just have to press on and keep trying to get better the next time that case comes in,’” Mannion said. “Essentially the takeaway was, if you do nothing, then nothing will get done.

“As hard as it is you keep pressing on, or keep fighting on.”

4 CULTURE

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

Humans oƒ Oxford Abby Hermesch: A life full of rhythm

SHUMANDB@MIAMIOH.EDU

Fashion club to hold 10th annual fashion show FASHION

PEOPLE

RILEY STEINER

THE MIAMI STUDENT

EMMA K. SHIBLEY THE MIAMI STUDENT

Since late October, sophomore Abby Hermesch hasn’t had weekends.

Each Friday afternoon she packs up and leaves Oxford to join 43 of her favorite people and a veritable army of instructors somewhere in the Midwest to play drums in a gym.

She’s a second-year member of Rhythm X, an Ohio-based competitive percussion ensemble of college-aged kids from all over the country.

The ensembles spend months of rehearsal perfecting a seven-toeight-minute show. The final product involves choreography, costumes, backdrops and props.

Rhythm X is just one percussion ensemble among hundreds from across the world that converge in Dayton, OH for Winter Guard International’s Sport of the Arts World Championships.

“It’s such an all-encompassing thing,” Abby said. “It’s a lot easier for me to get invested in [performing] because the show has a purpose and you’re portraying a theme. You can kind of put your soul into it.”

But those fulfilling, life-affirming moments don’t come without a cost. Abby often finds herself walking up the hill from Ditmer parking lot with blistered hands from playing the vibraphone morning to midnight and tired muscles from sleeping on a gym floor.

Those walks usually happen

CONTRIBUTED BY ABBY HERMESCH

around 10 p.m. on Sunday nights in the cold. She worries about a big test coming up, probably the next morning. Sometimes she wishes she wasn’t doing Rhythm X at all.

“What am I doing with my life?” she thinks, panicked. “I’m not gonna get good grades, I’m not gonna have friends, I’m not gonna have a boyfriend.”

Maybe this isn’t what she’s supposed to be doing with her college experience.

Abby pauses, thinking, before coming back to the present.

“I don’t know,” she shrugs.

“Trade-offs.”

Because, despite the tension between her life here and her life there, Abby loves Rhythm X — the music, the traveling, the medals, the people.

“Being in a place where you feel accepted and welcomed and like a

badass and where you can be really good at something, that’s really important to your college experience,” she said. “That’s where you’re really gonna grow as a person and feel confident that you can be the person who you are.”

On Sunday, April 17, the competition season will end and Abby can return to her normal college experience until the audition process starts again in the fall.

But the WGI rulebook includes an age limit. Once she turns 23, Abby will have to say goodbye to this demanding, rewarding, hardto-explain winter life. Until then, she plans to leave it all on the competition floor.

“I’ll never be too old to travel, to get a job,” she said. “It sounds so dumb to say follow your dreams, but … you only get these four or five or three years once.”

‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2:’ Unnecessary, but still worth a try MOVIES

KIRBY DAVIS

THE MIAMI STUDENT

The film industry is swarming with sequels. Some (“Captain America: Civil War,” Independence Day: Resurgence,” the eighth “Star Wars” movie) promise to be worthwhile, while others (the third “Purge” film, the entire “Divergent” franchise) are just redundant, money-making cesspools of mediocrity.

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” has landed itself in the middle, precariously straddling the line between pandering to a nostalgic audience and thoughtfully reviving a beloved

rom-com staple.

In the original’s conclusion, Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) were sending their daughter Paris off to Greek school. She protested, wanting to be a Girl Scout like her American friends instead.

Now 17, Paris (Elena Kampouris) is still grappling with her dual heritage. Among a gaggle of Greek cousins who voluntarily kiss their mothers and carve Parthenons out of soap, the broody teen contends with simultaneously embracing her heritage and shielding herself from it with the threat of attending college out of state. Her angst-ridden ascent into adulthood mirrors Toula’s al-

most exactly, and Toula’s response mirrors her parents’ in the first film as well. The parallels are a little heavy-handed.

But Paris isn’t the film’s main concern. Chaos commences when Toula’s father (Michael Constantine) discovers that his and Maria’s (Lainie Kazan) marriage certificate wasn’t signed by a priest, meaning they were never officially wed. Maria is unfazed, but the traditionalist patriarch demands that they hold a real, legal ceremony.

Toula, a beacon of practicality in her frenzied family, works to WEDDING »PAGE 5

The Miami University Club of Fashion and Design is holding its 10th annual fashion show at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, in Millett Hall.

Featuring pieces designed and modeled entirely by Miami students, the show is a celebration of MUCFD’s 10th anniversary with a theme of “Past, Present, and Future Successes.”

“You will get a glimpse of what we’ve been working on this year, but also what we’ve been working on over the past 10 years,” said fifthyear senior and MUCFD president Madeline Rieman. “We’re really focusing on how this program has developed and where it started.”

In 2006, five students created Miami’s first fashion show. It was held in a library and had an audience of 50. In 2009, Miami alumnus Frederic Holzberger ‘77 — founder of the Aveda Frederic’s Institute — donated $150,000 toward the program and Miami introduced its fashion design minor in 2014. The faculty would have considered the minor a success if they had 80 students enrolled, but within two semesters of the program’s beginning, over 120 students had enrolled. Miami will now be launching the fashion comajor and thematic sequence in the fall 2016 semester.

Miami’s is one of the only fashion shows in the country completely student-run and student-created.

The club has seven different committees — handling areas from marketing to design to finance — and over 250 members.

These members come from a variety of academic disciplines across Miami’s campus.

“What’s really cool about our designers is that most of them don’t have that formal training because the program is being built right now,” Rieman said. “So to see students who are so passionate about design and the creative aspect that they’re doing it on their own is amazing. We help inspire the creativity and the art behind fashion, and the show really does exemplify that.”

First-year Alexandra Bogut will be modeling in the show. She has been modeling since high school, but this will be her first experience in front of an audience of this size.

“It’ll be really fun to see all the pieces that the students created,” Bogut said.

The process began in the fall with casting auditions for the models and sketching workshops for the designers. Planning among the committees

picked up during the spring semester, and the week leading up to the show, deemed “Fashion Week,” included daily events such as a showcase of the designers’ pieces, a trunk show with seven different vendors’ apparel available for sale and even a keynote speaker — Miami alumnus and Macy’s chief merchandising officer Tim Baxter.

The fashion show itself will include 20 designers, 50 models and 88 individual pieces. After the models walk down the runway in front of the audience, their designers will join them for another lap.

“Walking down the runway behind my models is one of the most exhilarating feelings I could ever have,” said junior Liz Whitney.

Holzberger, one of the program’s biggest sponsors, will be speaking at Saturday’s show, and the organiza-

I love every second of it. It is crazy, it is chaotic, but it’s something that makes me jump out of bed in the morning.

MADELINE RIEMAN PRESIDENT OF THE MUCFD

tion will present its first-ever Outstanding Alumni Award.

The event’s surging growth is a testament to the club members’ tireless work and dedication throughout the year.

“I love every second of it,” Rieman said. “It is crazy, it is chaotic, it is hectic, but it is something that makes me jump out of bed in the morning. I really do feel like we are creating something bigger than we even know and I think it’s going to continue to grow.”

The diversity of interests among its members allows MUCFD to enhance the show for the audience.

“Everyone has different styles, and it’s just really cool to have all these creative people in one environment,” Bogut said. “It’s a really cool thing to see [people] who work so hard in school also have a creative outlet and create this beautiful clothing. It just has a lot of really awesome energy.”

While part of this year’s show is paying tribute to the past, MUCFD is continuing to look toward the future.

“Next year, we’re going to be really focusing on the fact that we’re not just a club anymore,” Rieman said.

“Everything that we’ve been doing proves that we’re not just a group MUCFD »PAGE 5

With latest original, Hulu is headed down the right ‘Path’ TELEVISION

DEVON SHUMAN CULTURE EDITOR

JENNIFER MILLS THE MIAMI STUDENT

Students dance to the beat of their own drum at Silent Disco, an event to raise awareness for mental health issues.

Groovy, baby: Silent disco raises awareness AWARENESS

HANNAH FIERLE

THE MIAMI STUDENT

It was just like any other dance party. There was a room full of people, all smiling, laughing, dancing and enjoying themselves. But there was one notable, peculiar difference: there was no music playing.

Student organization, MU Project You, hosted a silent disco Wednesday as part of Miami’s “Stress Less Week.” At a silent disco, participants bring headphones and are given a choice of playlists to stream on their individual devices. However, it is only heard through their headphones and no music is broadcasted

to the room. So, one person may be dancing to a different song than the person right next to them.

“Our goal as an organization is to see positive self-worth,” said Alyssa Zediker, event coordinator for MU Project You. “We want to send the message to students that you don’t have to change yourself to have a sense of belonging at Miami’s campus.”

The silent disco is symbolic of the silence around mental health. The organization strives to change and promote the conversations that need to be had about mental health awareness on college campuses.

“Just because others can’t hear the music doesn’t mean it’s not

there,” said Ashton Spann, president and founder of MU Project You. “And likewise just because you can’t see mental illness doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

Project You aims to create programs that promote awareness of mental health and self-esteem on campus.

“We want to create programs that support our mission and tear down the silence and stigmas around mental health,” said Zediker.

“Stress Less Week” is partnered with Student Counseling Services for a week of activities for students to unwind, relax and learn about camDISCO »PAGE 5

“Cult” is a loaded term. It’s packed to the brim with a very particular set of images — secluded compounds, eerie symbols, Utopian communities.

When we think of a cult, we think of the leader, the despicable individual that preys on the weak and uses false rhetoric to sway them to the cause. But we also tend to focus on the followers. We question their unwavering devotion, wondering how they can’t see through all of the bullshit.

The beauty of “The Path,” Hulu’s latest original series, is that while it skewers the immoral practices of cults, it also puts us into the minds of the followers. The show introduces us to Eddie Lane (Aaron Paul) his wife, Sarah (Michelle Monaghan), and their children as if they are a normal, happy family. It’s not until Eddie starts talking about his recent trip to Peru for his “6R” retreat that we realize something is up. We’re not outsiders looking in anymore — we’re right in the thick of it.

While in Peru, where the headquarters for their cult — The Meyer-

ist Movement — are located, Eddie has a bad ayahuasca trip that causes him to begin to question his faith.

This is where the show starts to create the tension that makes it so compelling. It’s fascinating to watch how the fabric of Eddie’s reality begins to dissolve as he reluctantly questions everything he knows to be real. You can see the crippling apprehension on his face as he types “Is Meyerism real” into Google.

As the all-seeing eye that acts as a symbol for the Meyerist Movement suggests, secrets are hard to keep in a cult, and Eddie’s lapse in faith does not go unnoticed. When he sneaks out in the middle of the night to call someone and then meet them at a motel, his wife follows him and comes to the conclusion that he’s having an affair.

When she relays this information to their leader, Cal Roberts (Hugh Dancy), he recognizes what is actually going on and is quick to confront Eddie about it. This swift action reminds us of the chilling truth about cults — there is no room for critical thinking.

Dancy plays the role of a cult leader with a delightful creepiness.

PATH »PAGE 5

WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET

5

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

FROM SOCCER»PAGE 10

FROM MUCFD »PAGE 4

FROM PATH »PAGE 4

continuing to improve our consistency as well as ability to attack,” Shteyn said. “We’re going to go out there and learn from the experiences we’ve had and find ways to apply what we’ve learned to hopefully make us successful this weekend.”

Match play against Bowling Green begins at 1 p.m. Friday. The match against Eastern Michigan begins at 1 p.m. Sunday. Both matches will be held at the Hepburn Varsity tennis courts.

of students involved in fashion.

We have to see ourselves as leaders and be inspiring to others so that they can feel the passion that we do, and I really think that we’ve been able to prove that over these past 10 years.”

One of MUCFD’s goals is to leave a legacy for its future members.

“It’s about something so much bigger than a fashion show,” Rieman said. “It’s been about how we are able inspire others to create something even bigger than we can imagine today.”

He’s equal parts charismatic, sinister and psychologically messed up.

He’s quick to lend a hand and usually has a smile on his face, but it’s the kind of smile that has darkness lurking behind it. The kind of smile that reminds you that one wrong move could cause him to snap.

The tension between Eddie and Roberts has the potential to make for some great television, but “The Path” has yet to play it up too much. Hopefully it will continue to develop their conflict in the coming weeks (like the other Hulu original, “11.22.63,” FROM death » PAGE 1

FROM WEDDING»PAGE 4

“fix” all of their issues with the fervor of “Scandal’s” Olivia Pope & Associates. But she neglects Ian in the process and the film becomes a side-by-side comparison of hers and her parents’ struggling marriages.

There’s a lot going on in “Greek Wedding 2” — maybe too much.

While the original adhered to a singular focus, the sequel tries to cover too many bases. Almost the entire original cast has returned, and then some — most of them have procreated, nearly doubling the onscreen population. New additions Rita Wilson and John Stamos also pop up as a couple whose sole purpose, seemingly, is to look pretty and be Greek.

Masses of side characters provide screenwriter Vardalos with a surplus of opportunities for distracting side plots and, unfortunately, she takes advantage of most of them.

This is no longer a simple multicultural love story like its predecessor. It’s a raucous, overcrowded spectacle.

We can thank Rita Wilson for “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” She saw it when it was still a one-woman production in Canada (penned by and starring Vardalos). Wilson convinced husband Tom Hanks to produce a film adaptation and the next year saw it skyrocket to the title of highest-grossing romantic comedy FROM DISCO »PAGE 4

pus health resources.

“The Silent Disco is an opportunity for students to come have fun through dance while also learning about mental health resources in the campus community,” said Jennifer Young, assistant director for outreach and programming for Student Counseling Services. “We hope to raise awareness of mental

ever made, despite being an independent film.

Fourteen years later, the film relies on archetypal personalities and a lot of tired tropes to move it along, but Vardalos’ writing makes normally tired scenes — Kostas’ exasperated children attempting to teach him how to use a computer, a tentative prom date, clandestine car sex — earnest and hilarious. It does suffer, as most family-oriented flicks do, from excessive campy moments. But the authenticity from Vardalos’ (and most of the cast’s) genuine Greek backgrounds, as well as the undercurrent of relatability that propelled the original to fame, help maintain its dysfunctional appeal throughout.

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” is not groundbreaking. But it still works — and not just because of the return of Ian’s illustrious shoulderlength mane. The Portokalos-Miller family’s shenanigans aren’t just relatable to Greek-Americans — everyone with a horrifically inappropriate aunt or shamelessly misogynistic older male relative can identify with them. This film may have been unnecessary, but it does prove, one allhealing spritz of Windex at a time, that not all unnecessary sequels are condemned to being terrible.

Fresch remained brain-dead until he died four days later, Varley said.

Varley said that OPD is still waiting for the coroner’s report, but drugs and alcohol have not been eliminated as a potential cause of Fresch’s respiratory distress.

Oxford, like many rural and predominantly white cities, has seen an increase in drug use, especially hard drugs such as heroine and, this year, powder cocaine, Varley said.

“We don’t know for sure what he ingested, but we’ve seen [cocaine] this year,” Varley said. “We haven’t

“The Path” is being released episode by episode instead of all at once).

For now, what makes it great is the way it examines the psychology behind cultists, both the leaders and the followers. It’s mesmerizing to watch how someone can lead people to believe that there is a spiritual “ladder” they must climb in order to gain entry into the “garden” that awaits them in the afterlife. In one breathtaking scene, Roberts lectures his followers about Plato’s cave, detailing how the inhabitants of the cave don’t realize that the images they see on the wall are simply shadows of reality. As everyone throws their hands up to

bask in the light of his wisdom, Eddie looks around with unease, clearly wondering if what he sees is real or simply a shadow.

“The Path” has work to do, but it’s off to a promising start. With this, and the spectacular “11.22.63,” which ended on Monday, Hulu is showing its rival, Netflix, that it can churn out great original programming as well.

It may not be “House of Cards,” but “The Path” is sure to attract much more than a cult following.

really seen it in several years, and now to see it back again … powdered cocaine especially … that’s odd for us.”

In a statement to the Miami community on the myMiami homepage yesterday afternoon, Dean of Students Mike Curme extended condolences to Fresch’s family and friends and reminded students who need support of the resources available. So far, the student body has not been formally notified by email.

“Tim’s passing represents a loss to our entire Miami University community,” Curme wrote.

Fresch was a junior at Miami and studied political science. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity. However, fraternity officials confirmed that Fresch’s house, “Tuna,” is not a chapter “annex house”.

“Tim was a member who was incredibly beloved and had a huge heart. He really had a natural ability to light up any room he walked into, always,” Paul Fortin, acting president for SAE, said. “He will be missed. We are all struggling with this loss at the moment.”

Additional reporting by Mary Schrott.

VISIT US ONLINE: MIAMISTUDENT.NET

health problems as well as student prevention efforts.”

Other events during “Stress Less Week” include dog and miniature horse therapy, free massages, coloring books and stress management resources.

Following the event, Zediker felt that the Silent Disco was a success.

“I think we made a positive impact on those who attended,” she said.

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6 OPINION

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

EDITORIAL@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

Abuse of internet pornography detrimental to daily interactions EDITORIAL

The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

Despite a litany of complaints concerning MU-Wireless, the internet connection on campus is nonetheless free. With free internet comes the opportunity to constantly peruse cyberspace, where access to online pornography — colloquially “porn” — outlandishly easy to come by. This ease of access sets the stage for an omnipresent issue — addiction to porn — which corrupts our everyday interactions more than most people care to notice.

According to Stop Procrastinating, an app that blocks distracting websites, “A study of 3,000 male college students has revealed that a majority of them believe they are addicted to watching online pornography.” Of course, porn addiction is not limited to males, but the scope of this discussion need not dwell upon who watches porn, rather why and what effects result from the addiction.

Porn is not only free, but to many, watching it appeals more than going out and interacting with real people. Why risk going Uptown and getting shut down by a guy or girl when your mobile device is only inches away?

That is not to say that those addicted to porn do not go out. However, due to porn’s potency and widespread influence, simply being around other people and interacting with them is an experience tarnished by subconscious thoughts that bleed into our unspoken ones. Porn addicts are taught to objectify

anyone they come into contact with, keeping in mind the different ways the person might be manipulated.

Indeed, these thoughts are uncomfortable and disturbing across the board. Yet, porn undoubtedly pushes our society to think this way.

Adolescents begin to explore the boundless universe of porn at young ages. According to a CyberPsychology and Behavior graphic from 2008, “The Nature and Dynamics of Internet Pornography Exposure for Youth,” 93 percent of boys and 62 percent of girls are exposed to Internet porn before the age of 18.

This exposure clearly has a lasting impact, as shown by the aforementioned study, and poses issues concerning objectification. The porn industry successfully gears its videos toward the interests of its viewers, and these interests often turn out to be that of stereotyping.

In porn, men are generally strong, dominant and in control, while women are subjected to men’s desires. They act as the inferior partner, the one to be manipulated, abused and spoken down to.

Thus, it is not a stretch to link an objectifying behavior to porn. In the same vein, watching porn perpetuates unrealistic expectations for real life sexual encounters. The basis of porn is to produce fantastical images of sex which one might otherwise never experience.

Porn stars do not shy from enhancing surgeries and numbing drugs in order to produce the

most effective videos.

This unique characteristic of porn, of escalating extremes in its depiction of what sex is, leads to another severe consequence for those who use it. Porn destroys the image of sex in the minds of those who watch it frequently,

When the natural human desire to have a healthy sex life is replaced with the unnatural dependence on pornographic images, nothing good can result.

especially users who are exposed at a young age. As youth become more desensitized to “vanilla” sex and situations, the desire to seek out more extreme and more unrealistic porn creeps in.

This phenomenon can lead to the destruction of a healthy libido and destroys the ability of young partners to bond and experience sex naturally. When the natural human desire to have a healthy sex life is replaced with the unnatural dependence on pornographic images, nothing good can result.

Family history reveals past of racial inequality, requires attention RACE

MILAM’S MUSINGS BRETT MILAM COLUMNIST

Charles M. Blow, columnist for the New York Times, gave a speech Monday on campus about #BlackLivesMatter. Blow is as eloquent and poetic in his oratory as he is in his writing, even though much of what he said was “preaching to the choir.”

He started his speech with the story of Emmett Till, which presented me with an opportunity to talk about black lives in a new way.

In 1955, Till was a 14-year-old black boy at a meat market in Mississippi who was said to have wolf-whistled at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, who happened to be the wife of the store’s owner, Roy. A few days later, Bryant and his half-brother, J.W., kidnapped, beat, tortured and shot Till in the head and pushed him into the Tallahatchie River.

Till’s mother, Mamie, opted for an open casket, despite Till being unrecognizable and brutalized, to “let the world see what has happened, because there is no way I could describe this.”

That moment, when thousands of people attended the open-casket funeral of a brutalized 14-yearold black boy, is often cited as the catalyst for the Civil Rights movement.

Just four months after this incident, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus.

“I thought of Emmett Till, and when the bus driver order me to move to the back, I just couldn’t move,” Parks said.

Blow said Till was the first instance of a black life mattering.

Bryant and J.W. were arrested and charged with the murder and then predictably acquitted by a jury of 12 white men, who deliberated for only 67 minutes.

Later on, both confessed everything ito William Bradford Hui, a journalist for Look magazine.

J.W.’s last name was Milam. In fact, his nickname was “Big Milam.” Look magazine described him as 6 feet 2 inches, 235 pounds, an extrovert with jet-black hair and a lower lip curl.

Huie says of Milam, “Those who know him say that he can handle Negroes better than anybody in the country.”

Big Milam wanted to put Till in

his place, so he said to Look, regarding what he said to Till, “Goddam you, I’m going to make an example of you — just so everybody can know how me and my folks stand.’”

It was Milam, using a .45 Colt automatic pistol from his time in the U.S. Army, who sent the fatal shot through Till’s head.

My family name is connected, in whatever manner you want to say, to arguably the most notorious crime in American history.

I had known for years that one of Till’s killers bore the name Milam because my great grandpa has an interest in genealogy and I’ve seen it in history textbooks, though I never knew what to do with this information.

The furthest we can trace the Milam name is to John Milam of Virginia in the mid-1700s.

J.W. was a descendant of John, and my lineage in particular comes from John’s brother, Thomas.

There have been other interesting Milams, like Benjamin Rush Milam, a rather heroic name in Texas. Benjamin was my grandpa’s great, great uncle.

There was the Milum Apple, grafted by Thomas Milam and mentioned by Mark Twain in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

My grandpa’s grandfather, William Allen Milam, at just 15 years old and taking the place of his father, fought in the Civil War as a Union soldier. He was with General Sherman when he burned Atlanta and even named his son after Sherman.

I asked my grandpa why digging into the Milam family tree was important to him.

“Different things are important to different people,” he said. “I feel a connection when I learn more about where I came from.”

I also like learning about my family name. I am particularly fascinated by the various spellings: Mileham, Milom, Milum, Mylam and of course, Milam.

Still, it’s the connection to Emmett Till that most vexes me.

My grandpa didn’t know about the connection until he dug into the history.

“It really upset me to know what happened and that a Milam was responsible and was unrepentant,” he said.

It seems like it’s in our conception of history, whether as a country or as individuals, where we most fail to connect the dots.

As a country, plagued by the need to hide our sins and declare our innocence, we — we being white people — have the privilege to declare the momentum of history’s cessation.

Which is to say, a defiant reader may declare, “Okay, what happened to Till was terrible, truly, but it was 60 years ago. Things are different now.”

It is true, much has changed in the 60 years since Till’s grotesque and unjust murder, but can we say, given what we know about the current state of black lives in this country, that they matter?

Isn’t the very defiance to the #BlackLivesMatter movement axiomatic proof of this?

Blacks in this country were enslaved, raped, tortured, terrorized and killed for 245 years until slavery was abolished. And in that time, they were obviously kept from literacy, accumulating wealth and building strong families since families were often separated.

Then, for another century, blacks were terrorized and lynched either by the most successful domestic terrorist organization in this country’s history (the KKK) or by people like Bryant and Milam.

Along with that, blacks were forced into the ghettos by redlining, kept from owning homes, voting and were segregated in the public space.

Within the last 45 years, we have elected the first black president. The KKK is still around, but mostly as a sideshow act. And overtly, individual racism is ostracized in society.

But 350 years of historical momentum aimed at keeping black people “in their place,” as Big Milam desired, doesn’t suddenly stop being momentum because of our better intentions.

Even if the systems in place today were actually reflective of black lives mattering, blacks would still have years of catching up to the advantages generations of white people have been given.

I write this, not because I feel personally guilty about Emmett Till’s death, but because of the advantage the Milams had — being white.

As Blow said in his speech, proof of black lives mattering less is that none of my ancestors, J.W., nor I, could honestly say they would trade that in for being black in a society in which blackness does not matter.

I write this because such a historical and present day fact matters and the forces that gave rise to that power dynamic don’t stop mattering because I have the privilege of saying it does.

MILAMBC@MIAMIOH.EDU

This is not to say that use of porn will automatically lead to young people trying to copy and emulate the images they see on the computer screen, or to scare people into believing that this is the case. However, the tendency of pornographic experience to seep into the malleable minds of our youth and create harmful subconscious effects is a real problem.

In fact, this unseen aspect of the ill effects of porn makes it all the more dangerous, as most of the consequences may remain hidden until they are too late to fix. Make no mistake, the cumulative effects of porn abuse have the ability to ruin lives.

The hard evidence of the effects that porn has on the young mind is currently a tricky situation, as the use of porn by teenagers and young adults is a difficult pattern to study. We have yet to see all the harm that may come of an age in which teenagers have unlimited and instant access to porn at a young age.

However, the anecdotal evidence is there, and as the statistics tell us, many of you have no doubt had experience with porn.

So, we call upon the reader to ask yourself whether or not you truly would like to see what is down the rabbit hole of excessive porn use, considering subtle yet long-term consequences. Relying on porn for sexual pleasure may be easy, but clicking “X” to close that browser is even easier, and it may very well save your life.

LGBTQ+ community still faces hardships worldwide LGBTQ+

MADDIE’S MATTERS MADDIE LAPLANTE-DUBE COLUMNIST

Sitting down to breakfast at a B&B in west Ireland while on a road trip with my mom, I listened while she and the B&B owner, Maggie, chatted.

Their conversation veered toward the state of the youths in the world today, and Maggie said, “I don’t mean to be rude, but truly it seems like everyone is either depressed or, pardon me, gay.” I saw my mom recoil but Maggie continued. “It’s like the new trend or something. Everyone is gay.”

This idea that homosexuality is becoming more widespread because it is trendy has been popularized over the past decade as the older generation watched gay Millennials and now Generation Z make waves, not only in legislation, but also in pop culture. The surge of support for members of the gay community has also been met with scepticism: how could all of these people actually be gay?

There’re just too many of them!

And for those sceptics, gender identity confuses them even more.

If you’re a girl who identifies as male but likes women, aren’t you just a lesbian?

The issues surrounding sexuality and gender have always been around. There has not been an increase in the amount of LGBTQ+ people in the population, but an increase in spaces in which this community is accepted. This increase, not only in understanding, but also in acceptance can be seen in Gen Z’s collective identity — based on a new study by Innovation Group, Gen Z might be the most defiant generation of the gender binary ever, with only 48 percent of the Group’s sample identifying as totally heterosexual.

Maggie’s comment was relevant, especially now.

In China, the gay men and lesbians who are getting “sham” marriages in order to conceal their sexuality and to avoid bringing shame on their family is certainly trendy. In fact, the trend is on the rise: in the past year, dating apps in China such as Queers has allowed gay men to matchmake with lesbians. In a country that only just took homosexuality off of their official list of mental disorders in 2001, it is not yet a safe place to come out, so many Chinese LGBTQ+ community

members prefer to stay deep, deep in the closet.

New recruits of the LGBTQ+ community in Australia are probably enjoying the many benefits of hopping on the gay bandwagon: namely, none, as Australian legislation continues to refuse the gay community any rights, especially those regarding marriage equality. In parts of the country, same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt, and its Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has called same-sex marriage an “erosion” of the family.

Even the United States, always the frontrunner in all things trendy, has recently displayed the kind of reception that young people can look forward to upon joining the trend. Now, after the legitimization of gay marriage (which, to be clear, was only a step towards

There has not been an increase in the amount of LGBTQ+ people in the population, but an increase in spaces in which this community is accepted.

equality for the gay community and not a solution), new legislation allows Mississippi businesses to opt not to serve members of the LGBTQ+ community based on the business owner’s religious beliefs.

This is exciting for trend setters everywhere because it makes going out to eat/shop/do various life things a fun challenge. For example, they can ask, “Will this place make me feel ashamed of who I am or will it let me get food like everyone else?”

In reality, the new legislation in Mississippi is some of the most depressing law-making this century has seen yet, and that’s saying something. Not only does it blur the line between church and state, a basic violation of the constitution, it also effectively encourages hate in the name of the law, under the guise of “state’s rights.”

Understand that these complaints aren’t some liberal rant.

The LGBTQ+ community is one that faces persecution in all parts of the world. Being gay or trans isn’t trendy. It’s scary, especially in a society so dead set on managing identities.

LAPLANMM@MIAMIOH.EDU

EDITORIAL@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

OPINION 7

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

Trump supporters not simply angry white people POLITICS

CAMPUS LIFE

NICK ANDERSON ANDERSN6@MIAMIOH.EDU

A.J. NEWBERRY NEWBERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

World food insecurity calls for students to educate themselves GLOBAL

JACOB MUELLER GUEST COLUMNIST

Chicago, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati. None are even slightly surprising answers to the question, “Where are you from?” I find my response, rural Indiana, seems to be quite surprising to almost everyone who asks. Yes, I grew up on a farm and, based on my observations, this puts me in a rather small minority here at Miami. But, this experience has given me insight into several subjects, most notably food.

As an agriculturist, I think about food a lot. It is, after all, the product of my industry’s toil. The production of food is a broad topic on which my upbringing gives me a unique perspective. Nearly every day I hear suburbanites sounding off about the evils of everything from large-scale animal production to genetically modified crops, and I wonder if these people have ever set foot on a real farm or even talked to a real agriculturist (not just the small-time organic tomato grower at your farmer’s market who profits from your fear of “the system”). I avoid these polarizing topics because, although my views are different and founded in firsthand experience, I’m fully aware that I’m no expert on anything. Therefore, I encourage dialogue on a topic relating to food on which we can all agree. Indeed, everyone needs food, but not everyone has food.

There are a lot of hungry people in the world. We all know that.

Our understanding of the scale of this statement is, however, probably lacking. A quick Google search reveals that, worldwide, there were about 795 million undernourished people in 2015, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Sentient beings everywhere agree that this is a large number of undernourished, or hungry, people. This number is so large, in fact, that it serves to dehumanize the issue. We can’t comprehend the enormity of that figure, so let us narrow our scope.

There are a lot of hungry people in the United States — roughly 17.4 million households

(not individuals) were food insecure in 2014, according to the USDA. This number still has a dehumanizing immensity, so let us narrow the scope even further.

Figures from feedingamerica.org reveal there are about 1.9 million people living with food insecurity in Ohio, and about 54,000 in Butler County, which amounts to seven times the number of students enrolled at Miami University.

I would wager that a large percentage of Miami students have never experienced this, and if that includes you, try to imagine that, on Monday morning, you wake up

that is also a real issue, hunger in America looks drastically different. In a developed country like the United States, poverty is linked closely with obesity and the health complications that accompany it. This is because people living on low incomes consume more processed foods that are high in fat and low in nutritional value. Thus, we have the phenomenon of the undernourished yet overweight. That is the hallmark of food insecurity in our communities. Five dollars does, after all, buy a lot more McDoubles than fresh produce. During the time I

Unfortunately, like so many other pressing issues, food insecurity is often misunderstood and misinterpreted, while the causes are misdiagnosed by the general public.

wondering how you will acquire food this week. When your stomach starts to growl, there is no stopping at Armstrong for a snack and there is no mom and dad to call when your account balance gets low. If this thought makes you uncomfortable, it indicates you are both human and beginning to understand the severity and reality of this issue. Unfortunately, like so many other pressing issues, food insecurity is often misunderstood and misinterpreted, while the causes are misdiagnosed by the general public.

Upon learning that there is sizeable number of people in our country that suffer from food insecurity, the intuitive thought is that we need more food. And, like many thoughts shared by the public, that one is wrong. If you follow commodity markets, you know that grain prices are currently at rock bottom and that the major economic powers of the world are sitting on enormous stockpiles of the stuff.

So no, we don’t need more food. The issue here is what many of us picture when we think of people living with food insecurity, i.e. emaciated and sad looking children in faraway lands. While

have spent at various food banks, I have noticed a pattern. Milk and eggs (quality sources of protein) and fresh produce are rare. It’s not a surprising trend, as these items are expensive compared to more highly processed and less perishable items. Protein and produce are vital to a balanced and nutritional diet, and they are what the food insecure people in our communities are going without.

There is an alarming amount of hunger in the world and it does not just exist in developing countries oceans away. It is in our communities and being felt by people we interact with every day. There is an unsettling lack of awareness on the part of the public regarding this issue. We are experiencing no shortage of food, but limited access to quality protein and produce. As contributing members of society, I encourage all of you to continue educating yourself on this issue so that we may combat the epidemic of food insecurity that surrounds us.

MUELLEJ5@MIAMIOH.EDU

POLITICS

TO THE EDITOR: I am writing in response to the article “Trump voting demographic reveals racial anxiety” by Greta Hallberg (published on April 12).

Greta characterizes Trump supporters as angry whites who just want to keep minorities down.

However, Trump supporters are not innately angry people — they are simply tired of seeing our government fail time and again to address important issues, most notably immigration.

I am about as pro-free market as they come. I believe that people tend to act in their own self-interest, and this self-interest can create win-win scenarios through the free market. Greta makes the claim near the end of her article that American citizens have no reason to be upset that illegal immigrants are taking jobs because it is simply the free market in action.

I would agree — if only this were true! The fact is, the market for labor is not a free market. If it were a free market, I would be able to set the price of my labor — that is, my wage — at whatever price I saw fit. This is not the case, though, as the state and federal governments keep the price of labor artificially high by imposing minimum wages.

Illegal immigrants do not adhere to these minimums and therefore have an artificial advantage in the labor market.

In fact, the driving force of illegal immigration is the very fact

that the labor market is not a free market. People choose to come to America illegally because they can do the same work for less than their law-abiding counterparts, all but guaranteeing jobs for illegal immigrants. It’s not that Americans don’t want the work (just ask the more than 17 million who are unemployed), it’s that the law prevents them from competing in the free market. If the labor force were truly a free market, Mexicans would have little incentive to make the dangerous journey across the border in the first place!

As I said before, people tend to act in their own self-interest, which is not in and of itself a bad thing.

Illegal immigrants are not “evil” for wanting to take advantage of a situation that benefits them. But, at the same time, we as citizens have the right to take action against this artificial advantage. Either everyone must play by the rules, or no one can.

Trump has tapped into a demographic that is sick of watching the rest of the world take advantage of America. Greta points to a Huffington Post article titled, “When You’re Accustomed To Privilege, Equality Feels Like Oppression,” suggesting that whites are threatened by equality. Actually Greta, equality is exactly what Trump supporters want.

JEFFREY SADOWNICK SADOWNJR@MIAMIOH.EDU

Black cat sighting sign of good things to come LIFE

GRAHAM VON CARLOWITZ OPINION EDITOR

Walking home from class the other day, I happened upon a black cat. Now, I should first mention that Frank (I name cats as a hobby) half-assed the superstitious look by sporting faint gray stripes, but I was convinced nonetheless of his spooky significance when we locked eyes.

I felt no sharp pang indicative of immediate bad luck, but rather a sense of familiarity, as if Frank has had his eyes on me this entire semester. Bad luck had even struck me earlier that day by handing me a dead car battery and laughing at my pain. Frustrated, I tried to drown out some warranted f-bombs with my car’s horn, only to realize that the joke of a car was so dead, even its pathetic excuse for a horn had given up.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate my car, one that gets me from A to A.5, close enough to B that I can walk the rest of the way. But I’ve had a semester’s worth of automobile hell and have no doubt earned the right to speak of my car as I would my cataclysmic joints, which mirror those of an 80-yearold failed gymnast.

In January, when I first bought the 2002 Saturn from my pops, he merely assured me that it functioned. What else could a college kid ask for?

Well, to begin with, a functioning starter — not like the disconcerting name waiters give to an appetizer, but the part of a car that spins the engine, that “starts” the engine.

Not two weeks into the new semester, I found myself stranded in a parking lot with a busted starter.

After a quick cry, I called the tow truck man, who didn’t take well to sarcasm.

“I dare you to try and wriggle my car off the back, you up for it?” I said.

“Ah, well, you know I can’t do that man, you crazy?”

Well, sort of, yes. But, looking back, I half-wish he had been crazier and sling-shot my car into the nearest ditch, where it would try to decompose for the remainder of its disappointing existence. Alas, the annoyingly sane tow-truck driver

delivered my cruddy car to safety (a garage), where it received a fresh start(er).

For a while after the repair, my Saturn orbited the streets without issue, save for my horn that resembles the yelp of a dying duck.

My duck horn came into play about a month later, in March, when I was forced to alert fellow car-drivers that my brake pads were but the dangerous density of a few tissues. “No worries,” I thought, “I’ll just scoot by for a few months more — until school lets out — and scrap the piece of crap for metal.”

But “no worries” doesn’t cut it

Happening upon a cat named Frank with whom you probably have a telepathic relationship is much easier to come by on foot. when lives are at sake, so I waited a week while my car was treated.

During that week, I quickly realized walking around was much more entertaining. For starters, walking for me often lends itself to a hilarious sequence of rolling my ankle on the sidewalk curb, ungraciously tumbling into an accidental somersault and recovering, only to discover the geese poop smeared on my pants. Such nonchalant accidents simply don’t occur in a car.

Moreover, happening upon a cat named Frank with whom you probably have a telepathic relationship is much easier to come by on foot. Not to say that being in a car eliminates this opportunity, I just struggle to imagine a scenario in which a driver, inching along at tortoise speed, makes eye contact with a cat at all.

Perhaps my car battery’s death is to my benefit. Contrary to my initial concerns with Frank, I have decided that the faintly grayed stripes symbolize my progress as a walker who walks away from his car trauma and into the day ahead — probably into a few more somersaults, too.

FACKLEET@MIAMIOH.EDU

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lor and policy assistant Amber Saddler — made the trip to Oxford to meet with 15 groups of faculty, staff and students over a three-day span.

Coleman and Taylor led the first event, a faculty forum on Tuesday, which was attended by about 20 faculty members, many of whom voiced their dissatisfaction with the status quo as it pertains to diversity.

Madelyn Detloff, an associate professor of English with a joint appointment in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, said during the forum that the students and staff are unhappy with what they perceive as an administrative lack of transparency on diversity issues.

“What I experience from the students is frustration with the connection between what the university says it does and what happens,” Detloff said. “On paper, [we] looked pretty good but in practice we look very bad. Not just neutral, but very bad.”

Detloff and others rattled off several recent instances of diversity issues on campus, including the defacing of a pro-LGBTQ+ mural in Thomson Hall, the death of international student MinGi Kang and an incident in which a transgender male student was blocked from serving as a resident assistant.

Brian Kirkmeyer, Assistant Dean for Student Success and instructor in the College of Engineering and Computing, told of questions he gets as the white advisor to the National Society of Black Engineers. “‘Are you supposed to be black to do that?’” Kirkmeyer said he’s been asked. “Do we have our heads in the sand, or is this just the reality that we continually, societally, have to deal with?”

One faculty member explained that he was asked by his department chair whether he’d be willing to be identified as a “friendly” faculty member who could mentor students flagged by administration as being “flight risks.”

Several faculty members in attendance voiced dismay at being forced to undertake much of the diversity-related work on campus, including committee service and minority student mentoring.

One faculty member said that, as

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a minority, she must mentor many minority students who have no one else to identify with.

“The students came to my office because they were dying for the kind of mentorship and conversation and support [I could provide],” she said. “Some would stay for an hour and two hours … they had no one to talk to them about the issues, no one they could feel comfortable talking to.”

Detloff said she and her colleagues do it all out of an implicit sense of duty and citizenry.

“We know we won’t get compensated for it or recognized for it. It’s not really going to count towards promotion or tenure or anything like that,” And yet, [we] can’t sleep at night because these things are going on.”

It all amounts to a “culture of sameness,” according to anthropology department chair Mark Peterson.

“I think that whiteness is a marked category. It’s treated as if it’s the norm and the other things are variations from it,” Peterson said. “Casual conversations at Miami would be fraught and you would say things and realize that people had very strange notions about otherness. Or notions that seem strange to them that they’re starting to see as very mainstream at this university. And, of course, if you’re in an environment, for example, where no black people are present, it’s considered okay to make racist jokes because ‘you’re not offending anyone.’”

Amber Franklin, an assistant professor of speech pathology and audiology, has a theory on why the culture at Miami is the way it is.

“This is the first time I’ve taken the time to come to an explicit diversity talk about change on campus. And part of the reason for me is that I almost feel like Miami refuses to accept really who they are,” Franklin said. “This is an institution that’s founded on the Greek systems, the mother of fraternities. The Greek system by nature is exclusionary, monolith, and I don’t know if it’s possible, truly, to change the culture when the Greek system and all the money that it brings in and the alumni and everything is such an integral part of the institution. I know there are some other institutions that in the past have abolished these sys-

tems.

“That’s not going to happen here. It’s not going to happen. I don’t know that it’s realistic to think that the climate can change.”

Peterson also expressed worry for one of his faculty members in particular.

“I have a faculty member who has worked her tail off especially with international students in large 50-student section of an intro class. And she’s leaving at the end of this year,” Peterson said.

“She doesn’t have another job.

She’s leaving because she does not like the lack of cosmopolitan atmosphere. And she’s leaving because, she said, ‘I cannot maintain my professional networks and my professional productivity and do the work it requires to be a good teacher at this university.’”

“It’s the first time I’ve had a person leave without another job, and it really impacted me because I’m scared for her.”

One faculty member said that while the results of the EducationCounsel visit are yet to be determined, she remains guardedly optimistic for change, especially when it comes to diverse faculty recruitment and retention.

“I understand there is only so much an institution can do, but I think that the general sense of the faculty is that it takes a lot of time to respond to real needs on the ground,’ one faculty member said, speaking on terms of anonymity.

“We need actions. We need for the institution to put their money where their mouth is. We need resources. I’m glad that Miami is doing this to show that it’s concerned, but [I’m not sure] hiring an external consultant is the most effective way, paying an exorbitant fee.

“It’s never too late. I do hope that the upper administration does something in response to the report.”

Detloff fears change will be hard to come by, something EducationCounsel hopes to combat.

“I think the will to change has to happen at a structural level,” Detloff said. “There’s a great deal of fear that we will lose our financial base and really transform our character as a predominantly white institution into one that is more cosmopolitan and one that is more truly diverse both in class and race and different kinds of ways.”

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FROM ASSAULT » PAGE 1

Goettsch, director of the Women’s Center. “We’ve known for a long time that, in the actual incidences and the reported incidences, there’s a huge gap.”

The university’s reports and the results of the climate survey are incomparable and unrepresentative of the actual campus climate around sexual assault. Each uses different definitions of sexual assault.

Miami’s records show only the federally mandated reports made by student victim-survivors, and Miami does not record confidential reports made to Miami’s counseling services. Miami’s report does not include the number of sexual assaults that occurred off campus.

“Because we know that this is so underreported and because the geography is so specific … in order to make a more complete picture we have that student climate survey,” said Becca Getson, Miami’s sexual assault response coordinator and deputy Title IX coordinator.

The 2015 Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey was an online survey sent to 11,000 randomly selected undergraduates. The survey received a 15 percent response rate, and the data from the survey is representative of only 10.7 percent of those who took the survey.

“It’s hard to extrapolate further,” said Getson.

The second sexual assault student climate survey is live now and aims to gain a higher response rate, so that its results are more representative of the student body.

“This year we’re sending it out to every single student,” said Getson.

“Unless students take that survey, we won’t be able to see that response, and we won’t be able to see that climate.”

The second student climate survey will include the regional campuses and graduate students, and Getson hopes that it will provide more information about sexual assault among different groups of students. She expects the number of reported sexual

9

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

assaults to increase in the second survey.

“We, of course, all want to get to a day when there are no reports because there are no incidents, but until that day happens… if we could get more people to report what’s happening to them, that’s a good first step,” said Goettsch.

Rebecca Clark, the president of Feminists Working on Real Democracy (F-Word), agreed that reporting difficulties contribute to the lack of knowledge regarding the actual prevalence of sexual assault on campus.

“I think the biggest problem is that those numbers only reflect cases that have been reported,” Clark said.

“The vast majority of rape and sexual assault goes unreported, so it happens much more frequently than the data shows.”

On- and off-campus resources are available to students whether they report a sexual assault or not, and Goettsch said that Miami offers more opportunities for these support resources knowing that most incidents will go unreported.

“The reason victim-survivors don’t come forward is as varied as the individual,” said Getson. “If someone wants to get help but doesn’t want anyone to know … there is a list of resources that they can go to.”

The major resources for victimssurvivors to make a confidential report include Student Counseling Services, Health Services and medical personnel, as well as off-campus advocacy groups like Women Helping Women.

The Women’s Center offers added support to those affected and victimized by sexual assault by providing welcoming or “brave” spaces, listening to and believing students and making referrals to people and organizations like Student Counseling Services for extra help.

But the numbers are only part of the story. What the numbers don’t show is the emotional burden survivors of sexual assault often carry.

“Whether the number is one in five or one in twenty, none of that is

good because that means that’s still an individual that is being victimized,” said Getson. “Let’s not talk about what one in five … let’s talk about [the fact] that one is a person.”

Goettsch acknowledges that change will be difficult.

“I think the reality is that these issues are going to be with us for some time to come,” Goettsch said.

“Culture is enormously difficult to change, and yet it is changeable.”

Students have embraced the power of telling their stories of sexual assaults through speakouts hosted by F-Word, which allow survivors and supporters to come together to share their stories in a safe and confidential space. The most recent speakout took place Monday evening before Take Back the Night, where students and staff marched through the rain to raise awareness for sexual assault and the rape culture on campus.

“We want to give survivors the opportunity to share their experiences in a safe, supportive, and confidential environment. For many, this can provide healing,” said Clark.

Internal changes to support survivors are also underway. Goettsch said that she and Getson are working on creating a guide for professors and administrators to create more survivor-friendly language and prevent dialogue that may trigger a survivor’s memory of his or her sexual assault.

Goettsch said that it can be easy for students to assume no one cares or pays attention to sexual assault when students don’t see visible action addressing sexual assault on campus.

“Faculty and staff play an important role, but students do, too. It’s happening mostly to students, and students are mostly doing it,” said Goettsch. “So with our support, guidance, and resources, students also have to figure out how to take more than baby steps to change culture.”

“Telling stories can also be helpful,” said Getson. “What is that story we’re not telling through just numbers?”

From hijab » PAGE 1

eclectic Wiccan, so she draws from a lot of different religions.

“I love just learning about cultures and seeing ‘Why do they believe that?’ ‘Where’s the connection to that?’ ‘Oh! That’s why you do that!’”

Wott said. “I knew a little bit about [Islam], but while wearing the hijab, and even before, I researched as much as I could.”

While the Quran does not specifically mention the hijab, a couple of verses state that women should wear a khumar, or headscarf, and dress modestly. One verse translated to English reads, “Say to the believing women that: they should cast down their glances and guard their private parts (by being chaste) and not display their beauty except what is apparent, and they should place their khumur over their bosoms...”

“Wearing a scarf on your head and dressing modestly is something that women have done since the beginning of the Abrahamic faiths,” said Gina Petonito, professor of sociology at Miami University’s Middletown campus. “Basically, it’s only been with more secular societies the last hundred years or so that women have taken off scarves and hats and long dresses and things that cover their bodies.”

Most of Wott’s Muslim friends were in complete support of her. She said they understood that one don’t have to be a Muslim to wear a hijab.

“It’s more about your own faith and your own connection to God, and no one really has the right to question it,” said Wott.

Wott did have two friends who felt that she shouldn’t wear it. Once she explained why she was wearing it and the meaning behind it, though, they seemed more open to the idea.

People who didn’t know Wott never outwardly shouted slurs at her on campus, which she had feared, but lots of people stared.

“Being a girl,” Wott said, “you will sometimes get glances when you go out. I got glances like that — just negative stares from some people.”

On the last day that Wott wore the hijab, she went to a dinner theatre showing of “Fiddler on the Roof” with her family at La Comedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro.

“The people at the table in front of us at this big buffet left within two minutes of the show starting, and we all thought that was weird,” Wott said. “My mom is friends with the stage manager and found out that they left because a Muslim woman was sitting behind them. On campus, I never got anything like that. No one ever moved if I was sitting near them.”

Petonito said that what Wott is doing shouldn’t be something that people care so much about.

“What she’s doing is just an extension of what people have practiced,” said Petonito. “People in the Mennonite and Amish communities, collectively called Anabaptists, believe that they’re always in a state of prayer and, to be faithful, they should always cover their hair. You have Orthodox Jewish women who cover their hair, and some of the Orthodox Jewish women even wear wigs so that you’re not aware that their hair is being covered.”

Petonito added that what Wott is doing is not even something unusual with regard to Christianity. The Bible even states that women should cover their hair while praying.

“It’s just something that societies have lost and somehow equated with modernity,” said Petonito.

Petonito talked about a contemporary Muslim activist named Dalia Mogahed, who says that the value of women lies in their sexuality.

“When a woman’s sexuality is viewed as private, then it becomes a controversy because the person can’t place the value on her,” Petonito said.

“A woman who is stepping outside of it saying, ‘I refuse. I refuse to have my value be dictated by my sexuality and how I fit it with modern fashion,’ is then viewed as the deviant.”

Wott said that, through this project, she learned that people pay too much attention to the media.

“They pay attention to social media and the articles and then suddenly that’s, like, black-and-white correct for them when it isn’t,” Wott said.

“They just don’t know. The only ones who questioned me wearing the hijab were people who weren’t of the faith. I just don’t understand why people wouldn’t just talk to someone [who is Muslim] instead of relying on what the media is feeding them.”

Petonito stressed that people should be free to wear whatever they want.

“So people want to change the way they look? Why is that so problematic? You’re not hurting anybody with how you dress,” said Petonito.

“I’m not going to worry about that.

I worry about people who want to attack others and harm them. There is no harm in what this woman is doing. The attention is on a woman who just changed her fashion. Who cares?”

Petonito said the way people dress, the way people look and the way people act in Oxford can be very homogenous.

“There’s a lot of conformity,” said Petonito. “She decided to break the mold. It’s horrible that we just live in a society that’s so based on looks.”

Zimmerer has seen first-hand what happens when someone breaks the status quo.

“I think some people who are close to you get worried that you’re straying from mainstream religions.

I know my family was pretty concerned and some close friends expressed concern when I starting wearing the hijab and really practicing,” said Zimmerer. “I know people who are interested in doing it without necessarily converting just because dressing modestly is a beautiful thing, and I have a lot of respect for her for doing it. It is hard. I know that.”

Wott said she plans to wear the hijab again and research even more about it, as well as learning about other cultures and religions that emphasize the wearing of headscarves.

“My biggest outcome, amazingly, was that I found a lot more confidence in myself,” Wott said. “There were two days where I didn’t wear makeup at all. You become kind of self-conscious because the only thing you’re showing is your face. I became much less aware of what people were seeing me as and becoming more aware of myself.”

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10 SPORTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

RedHawks head to Indiana for Ball State Challenge

IAN MARKER THE MIAMI STUDENT

Distance runners senior Brenna Paulsen and sophomores Alesha Vovk and Maria Scavuzzo will compete in the 5000-meter race Saturday in Muncie, Ind. Vovk won the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Hilltopper Invitational last weekend with a 10:52.68 time.

TRACK AND FIELD

BEN BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER

The Miami University men and women’s track and field program travels to Muncie, Ind. for the Ball State Challenge this weekend.

The RedHawks look to improve upon a strong team performance in the Hilltopper Invitational last weekend.

“The team feels great, and we’re really excited for warm and clear conditions,” junior thrower Arionna Darling said.

Teams entered in the women’s meet include Ball State University, Bowling Green State University, Butler University, Indiana Tech, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, University of Rio Grande, University of Toledo, Wright State University and Xavier University.

On the men’s side, Butler, University of Dayton, IPFW, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Rio Grande,

TWO MINUTE DRILL GARY RUSO

Toledo, Wright State and Xavier will compete.

Darling has been a major contributor this season, scoring and reaching the podium for shot put in every meet so far. She was named the Mid-American Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week on Monday. She leads the MAC standings in the shot put.

“It’s always nice to be recognized for your achievements, but I’m definitely more focused on the awards given out at the end of the season,” Darling said.

Darlings mark of 51-5 inches leads the MAC standings in the shot put and ranks 41st across all NCAA Division I marks this season. She also sits third in the Miami top-10 list, .75 inches behind leader Alexandra Roberts.

Sophomore Alesha Vovk has been another standout for Miami. She set a Hilltopper Invitational meet record last weekend in the steeplechase with a personal best of 10:52.68. This automatically qualifies her for the MAC

Championships. It places her third in the current MAC rankings and is the eighth fastest time in Miami history.

Senior Kathie Wollney has also excelled throughout the indoor and early outdoor seasons. She improved her MAC-leading 400-meter hurdles time by .14 last weekend, finishing in 1:01.94.

“I was really happy with how the meet went, but I’ve tried to stay focused on my end-of-season goals, because I still have a long way to go,” Wollney said.

Senior Laura Bess won the Hilltopper Invite 1500-meter and looks to improve upon her time of 4:31.32 this weekend. This finish automatically qualified her for the MAC Championships and is the fifth fastest MAC time this season.

Senior high jumper Jess Baker will look to pick up another win this weekend after taking the Hilltopper high jump title with a leap of 5-7.

The meet begins at 1 p.m. Friday at the Ball State University track in Muncie, Ind.

How long have you been playing baseball?

Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Ever since I was a kid, essentially. My entire life I have been playing baseball.

What is your favorite Miami Memory?

Winning the MAC East two years ago, so far. We were on the bus ride home from Buffalo when we heard the news that we had clinched it, and we went nuts the whole way home.

BRIANNA NIXON

SPORT: Baseball YEAR: Senior HOMETOWN: St. Louis, MO

I like to take a nice, hot shower before every game.

Do you have a secret nonsports related talent?

I can freestyle rap very well.

It’s really fun to do before games.

If you could have a superpower, which would you choose?

I wish I could fly, that would be fun.

If you could spend a day with anyone, dead or alive, If you could go anywhere who would it be? in the world, where would That’s an easy one: you go?

Jesus Christ.

Italy. I’m Italian, and I’ve always wanted to see my homeland.

Who is your funniest teammate?

Ryan Marske. He always has something funny to say.

Miami continues conference play against Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan at home TENNIS

SCOTT SUTTON

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Continuing Mid-American match play, the Miami University tennis team (8-9) hosts Bowling Green State University (2-15) and

Eastern Michigan University (414) this weekend in Oxford.

The RedHawks are coming off a weekend in which they defeated University of Akron (13-9), 5-2, and University of Buffalo (11-6), 5-2.

Freshman Emily Struble is

leading the team with an overall record of 24-8. Struble is on a four game winning streak and is 7-2 in her last ten matches.

“We are working on a lot of footwork and consistency drills,” Struble said. “We just have to stay positive and fight for every match

SPORTS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET

SPORTS BRIEFS BLASI ADDS THREE PLAYERS TO MIAMI HOCKEY CLASS OF 2020 Head coach Rico Blasi and Miami University hockey completed the signing class of 2020 with the addition of three players Thursday.

Defenseman Jared Brandt, forward Carter Johnson and forward Christian Mohs will join the RedHawks next season. Miami has 13 incoming freshmen.

Brandt, a native of St. Peters, Mo., spent three seasons with the Minot Minotauros of the North American Hockey League. During the 2015-16 season, he served as team captain, posted 26 points (5 goals, 21 assists) and notched a careerbest +18 rating in 57 games. He holds a +7 rating overall in 147 NAHL games and helped the Minotauros to a 34-18-6 record last season.

Johnson is on the Corpus Christi IceRays with 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 57 games during his first season in the NAHL. The Gimli, Manitoba native spent the previous two seasons with the Swan Valley Stampeders of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, where he notched 85 points (36 goals, 49 assists) in 122 games.

Mohs, who played two seasons with Minot, is the club’s all-time leading scorer and the first to reach 100 career points.

During the 2015-16 season he led the Minotauros with 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) in 60 games with a +8 rating while serving as an alternate captain. The Andover, Minn. native has 101 career points (35 goals, 66 assists) in 118 career NAHL games.

THREE SIGN LETTERS OF INTENT WITH MIAMI BASKETBALL Miami University men’s basketball head coach John Cooper signed three to national letters of intent Wednesday. Forward Marcus Weathers, guard Michael Weathers and forward/center Bruno Solomun join the RedHawks next season.

Twin brothers Michael and Marcus Weathers, natives of Roeland Park, Kan., helped Shawnee Mission North High School to its first state title since 1953. In the state title game, the brothers combined for 46 points and 16 rebounds in a 80-56 win. The duo helped the team to a 21-4 record on the season.

Michael Weathers, a 6-foot3, 165-pound point guard, finished as his school’s all-time leader in points (1,626) and steals (189). He was named Sunflower League Player of the Year as a senior, after he averaged 20.9 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game

and 3.4 assists per game in 2015-16. He shot 52.2 percent from the field for his career.

Marcus Weathers, who stands at 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds, finished as Shawnee Mission’s second all-time leading scorer with 1,150 points and its second all-time leading rebounder with 425 boards. He was named to the First-Team All-Sunflower League, averaging 18.5 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game in 2015-16.

Bruno Solomun is originally from Zagreb, Croatia and prepped at Forsyth Country Day School in Lewisville, N.C. He stands at 6-foot-9, 218-pounds and earned AllNorth Western Private School honors as a senior after averaging 18 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game and 5.0 assists per game. Solomun also played in Euroleague tournaments in Rome and Belgrade in 2014 and 2015.

MIAMI HOCKEY SCHEDULE FOR 2016-17 SEASON RELEASED For the third time in the last four years and second-straight season, Miami hosts the NCAA Midwest Regional in March at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati.

Miami plays 16 games against teams that competed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Eight of those pit the RedHawks against Frozen Four participants.

The Brotherhood begins next season on the road Oct. 7-8 against Providence College, which knocked Miami out of the 2014-15 NCAA tournament.

Miami plays at home for the rest of October, hosting Ohio State University (Oct. 15), University of Maine (Oct. 21-22) and Bowling Green State University (Oct. 28-29).

National Collegiate Hockey Conference play begins Nov. 4-5 with a road trip to Western Michigan University, one of three NCHC series in November.

this weekend.”

Sophomore Nelli Ponomareva was named Miami’s Athlete of the Week for going 4-0 against BGSU and EMU last weekend, making her 4-0 in MAC matches. She is on a five-match win streak with an overall record of 18-14.

Miami also plays host to University of Nebraska-Omaha Nov. 11-12 and concludes the month with a trip to University of Denver Nov. 18-19.

The RedHawks finish nonconference play with a series at Cornell University (Dec. 2-3) and a single game against Ohio State Dec. 31. They’ll host NCHC member Colorado College Dec. 9-10.

January begins with a home series against defending conference champion St. Cloud State on Jan. 6-7. After visiting defending national champion North Dakota on the road Jan. 13-14 and traveling to Omaha Jan. 20-21, MU hosts Western Michigan Jan. 27-28.

Miami’s last two regular season road trips are against St. Cloud State Feb. 10-11 and University of Minnesota-Duluth Feb. 23-24.

Sophomore Hannah Shteyn believes these wins will continue, especially in the MAC tournament, which begins April 29.

“We’re working on just being prepared for anything and just

Bell Tower Place

April 19, 2016

4–7:30PM

TENNIS »PAGE 5