ESTABLISHED 1826 – OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
The Miami Student FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015 Volume 144 №16
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
MIAMISTUDENT.NET
Pot or not: MU considers Issue 3
Forums held for IT finalists
With Election Day less than two weeks away, Issue 3 decision looms
New IT director to improve services for students with disabilities
BALLOT
TECHNOLOGY
SAMANTHA MULLIN
BRENNEN KAUFFMAN
THE MIAMI STUDENT
THE MIAMI STUDENT
Elections are less than two weeks away, and Miami University students have voiced differing opinions on the controversial Issue 3. If passed, Issue 3 would legalize the use of medical and recreational marijuana for those over age 21 in Ohio. The proposed amendment would also permit 10 initial sites to grow marijuana for commercial sale. The sites, one of which is located in Butler County, would be controlled by campaign investors and compete with one another on the price and quality of the marijuana. After four years, the Marijuana Control Commission would be able to add additional licenses as they see fit, based on the demand of the product. “Our plan is to start off slow and make sure the industry is safe, then add additional licenses as time goes on,” said Faith Oltman, a spokesperson for ResponsibleOhio. ResponsibleOhio is the group advocating for marijuana legalization through Issue 3. If Issue 3 passes, Ohio will join the four states and the District of Columbia that have legalized recreational marijuana.. Twenty-three states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use. Olivia Teteris, a sophomore who plans to vote Nov. 3, said legalization would be positive for students and people in general. “If weed was legal, people would probably be happier in general, honestly,” she said. “You don’t usually meet stoned people who are belligerent or destructive. They’re usually pretty laid back.” Publications, such as Business Insider, have published lists of health benefits of marijuana use, which include diminished anxiety and control of epileptic seizures. Students also agreed that legalization could aide in coping with stress or mental illness. “I think that when students feel overwhelmed with either schoolwork, social issues or anything else they’re dealing with, weed helps,” said Miami sophomore Todd Lambert. “That’s not to say it’s for everyone, but since so many people do smoke and such little harm really comes from it, students shouldn’t have to face such harsh consequences.” In addition, Teteris said she feels that that if marijuana-related arrests in Oxford were to disappear, the fear of academic careers being ruined by convictions involving marijuana would also be removed. Although many Miami students would like to see marijuana legal-
Following a discrimination lawsuit, Miami University will add a new position to its IT department starting next week. The position will work to make Miami’s online content more available to students with disabilities. The three finalists for the Director of Accessible Technology will be discussed in open forums, and the official recommendation will be announced next Friday. The new director is tasked with making Miami technology more accommodating to students with disabilities, which includes anything from phone number readers to website redesigns. Miami currently has around 850 students who would be directly affected by the changes, which is a record high for the university. According to Alan Fennerberg, the associate vice president of the IT department and the head of the University Search Committee, Miami plans to lead other colleges in this area. “We want to go so far beyond
CONNOR MORIARTY PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
With sunny skies and temperatures rising into the high 70s this week, Miami likely experienced its last stint of warm weather for 2015. Expect rain and cooler temperatures in the forecast for the next few days.
TECH »PAGE 8
Basketball team goes global with inaugural ‘International Night’ ATHLETICS
RILEY STEINER THE MIAMI STUDENT
student community to get to know each other, because sometimes that can be an obstacle during daily life on campus. “We are trying to get closer to the international students,” he said. “We want them to not just see us as the players, we want to build friendships with them.” Head coach John Cooper said he sees the value in cultivating relationships for both the players and the student body. “It’s important that, as studentathletes, you understand engaging with the rest of the university com-
munity,” Cooper said. “We want to reach out to the international community because they are a very vital part of the university population.” Throughout the night, players and students were able to interact and get to know each other. The event was open to all international students, and included team introductions, three-point and dunk contests between players, free pizza and prize giveaways. The cheerleading team taught the students several chants for games later in the season. Afterward, the court was opened to students to shoot baskets
with the team. The basketball team and coaching staff are hopeful that International Night will attract support this season from students who attended. “Hopefully we’ll get involved with them and they’ll get involved with us, too,” said Wade. First-year Lulu Liu came to International Night to see what the program was all about. “It’s the first time I’ve taken part in a basketball [event] here, so I thought this would be a good
ISSUE 3 »PAGE 8
During the summer, the men’s basketball coaching staff began to think about ways to reach out to the student body, and came up with the idea for an event that would connect the team with the international student community. “Living in this community and noticing that we have a great international community, it was always very evident that they love basketball,” said assistant coach Trey Meyer. “We thought, ‘Why not connect the two?’, because we have an international presence on our team.” Several men’s basketball players hail from outside the United States. Sophomore guard Dion Wade is from Antwerp, Belgium; sophomore guard Abdoulaye Harouna is from Niamey, Niger; and forward Jere Vucica, a graduate student, is from Split, Croatia. Junior Jiaying Wang, the team’s manager, is from Beijing, China. “I know a lot of guys in China love basketball, so we want to introduce our team to the international students,” Wang said. “It’s a way for them to be part of the Miami community.” Harouna said it is important for the team and Miami’s international
NEWS p. 2
NEWS p. 3
CULTURE p. 4
OPINION p. 6
SPORTS p. 10
‘18 OF THE LAST 9’ COME TO CAMPUS THIS WEEK
NEW ASIAN RESTAURANT OPEN UPTOWN
AMERICAN HORROR STORY STARTS STRONG
EDITORIAL BOARD URGES TO VOTE NO ON ISSUE 3
REDHAWK HOCKEY TRAVELS TO NEW YORK
Noteworthy alumni visit campus for annual event, share experiences and advice
Tang Dynasty, which inhabits the old Quiznos location, recently opened Uptown
Lady Gaga headlines fifth season of the Emmynominated show
Editorial board argues Issue 3 not the right way to legalize recreational marijuana
RedHawks attend first away series of the season against St. Lawrence
TODAY in MIAMI HISTORY
AMANDA WANG THE MIAMI STUDENT
Senior Geovonie McKnight shows off his dunk for the crowd during International Night with the basketball team. After a successful night, the team and coaches plan to make it an annual event.
INT’L NIGHT »PAGE 9
Today in 1981, The Miami Student reported the beginning of a campaign to build a “student rec center.” This was a response to a 1976 survey that found 50 percent of the student body felt that current facilities were inadequate. The ’81 article reported that a recreation center with an indoor swimming pool and a racquetball court was an “impossible dream.”
2 NEWS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
‘18 of the last 9’ connect with students in Oxford
PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY JOY USNER
‘18 of the Last 9’ rewards successful alumni from the past nine years. (From left)Timothy Lu, Samantha Burgoon, Mark Cerny, Lyndsey McMillon and Alexandra Ricca are among the honorees for 2015. ALUMNI
BONNIE MEIBERS
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Eighteen alumni who have graduated from Miami in the past nine years will return home Thursday, Oct. 22 and Friday Oct. 23. These alumni are being honored by the “18 of the Last 9” program that recognizes young alumni who have done exceptional things since graduating from Miami, said Joy Usner, assistant director of the Young Alumni and Students Alumni Association. Usner is in charge of the program. Among the honorees is Samantha Burgoon (’14), the newest alumnus in the group. Burgoon spent a year volunteering in Malawi after graduation with an NGO called “Determined to Develop.” Burgoon taught English grammar and literature to secondary school students. She also led a fundraising campaign that installed electricity in the school. Going to Miami made Burgoon a more confident person, she said. “Through extra-curricular ac-
tivities that I got involved in, such as Dance Marathon and Kappa Kappa Gamma, and studying abroad in Italy, I was able to thrive in the opportunities presented to me,” Burgoon said. Mark Cerny (’06) studied architecture. In 2012, Cerny founded architecture firm eMCee Design. The firm focuses on planning community service projects and is involved with the D.C. Architecture in the Schools program and planning a design-build service project with Catholic University in D.C. He said the studio culture of the architecture program prepped him for teamwork in the present. “I can face challenges of today based on learning how to be a critical thinker and problem solver at Miami,” Cerny said. Tim Lu (’11) is now working for Operation Smile as a program officer. Operation Smile provides healthcare to the poorest third of the world. Lu has planned and led international medical programs in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nicaragua and Myanmar as well. As program officer, he oversees Operation Smile ac-
tivities in Vietnam and Thailand. He said his path to get to where he is today, however, was not simple. “Life is never that tidy,” Lu said. “The fact is, I didn’t get many jobs that I had directly applied for as a senior.” But Miami’s sense of community always provided Lu with a support network. “There was always a group where I could express myself as a dancer, a linguist and a dreamer,” he said. While a student here, Lu was involved in the Asian American Association, hip-hop dance team, Sigma Phi Epsilon, the Chinese American Culture Association and Campus Crusade for Christ. He was also a SOUL and an RA. After earning her bachelor’s degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering, Lyndsey McMillon (’13) has researched solar cells as a doctoral student at Yale University. McMillon said opportunities presented to her through Miami’s engineering department allowed her to find her niche in the engineering field. “If you have an internship or experience that you dislike, you’ll
Hoverboarding transforms transportation TREND
MAGGIE CALLAGHAN THE MIAMI STUDENT
Move aside, bikes, there is a new mode of transportation sweeping Miami University’s campus. It’s called the hoverboard. This electronic, two-wheel, hands-free segway has become increasingly popular in the United States, with celebrities like Wiz Khalifia, Justin Bieber and Cleveland Cavaliers player J.R. Smith seen riding around on one. It’s also a growing trend around Miami’s campus, particularly with student athletes. “It’s a lot easier to get home after a hard practice,” said Chris Joyaux, defenseman for the Miami hockey team. Joyaux said he ordered his hoverboard the second week of classes. The hoverboard uses motion and weight senses to help the rider balance, according to the website for Swagway, the creator of the first hoverboard. Once the board senses that the rider is balanced, it will begin to move. “It was pretty easy to get the hang of balancing, but I have pretty good balance from hockey and standing on skates,” Joyaux said. “It was a little hard to get off though.” The original Swagway hoverboard uses a battery charge that
learn a lot about yourself as a person,” she said. After graduating Miami, Alexandra Ricca (’06) has managed multiple HIV prevention studies and is a lead scientist at TheyFit a company that produces fitted condoms. Her research attempts to develop the use of condoms to prevent STDs, HIV and pregnancy. Her time at Miami, she said, helped shape her work ethic, grit and resilience in tough situations. Several honorees talked about the brilliant professors they had while at Miami. They also spoke of the excellent education they received. “The truth is, you have a degree from Miami University, which will get you far,” Burgoon said. Many talked about study abroad trips they took and about taking advantage of the many opportunities Miami provides, like clubs, classes, volunteer opportunities and social events. “Don’t let the stress of getting good grades prevent you from real living and learning,” Cerny said. The honorees are giving panels
Coming out on a college campus today GLBTQ
HALEY MILLER
THE MIAMI STUDENT
A.J. NEWBERRY THE MIAMI STUDENT
Hoverboards allow students to move with ease around campus, never having to walk, bike or drive to class. lasts up to 20 miles, depending on the rider type, weather conditions and terrain. The Swagway company offers its product for $399.99 in seven different colors. It can go as fast 10 miles per hour. But many Miami students don’t seem to be convinced by this new trend. “Although they may be fun to ride, has walking become such a burden that we would rather effortlessly hover to class? Maybe,” said Michael Merullo, a sophomore. Joyaux says he bought a Swag-
way hoverboard after trying out one of his teammates’ boards. He says the Swagway offers easier transportation, good quality and is a lot more affordable compared to other hoverboards on the market. Joyaux is one of five hockey players who own a hoverboard. However, for other Miami students, the convenience for few has become an inconvenience to many. “They do make it hard to walk HOVERBOARDS »PAGE 5
on a variety of topics during their stay on campus. “One of our goals this year is for more students to be able to interact with the honorees while they are in town,” Usner said. All students were welcome to attend the panels on Thursday afternoon in the Armstrong Student Center Pavilion. “Women in STEM,” was one of the panels. Ricca, McMillon and the other honorees in these fields had an open discussion about current issues. Another panel Thursday evening was “Working Professionally in Creative Arts.” These honorees discussed how they found ways to professionally pursue their dreams. Ricca, Alen Amini (’09), Kate Lehman (’07) and Ryan Batt (’09) held a panel on “What it’s Really Like to be in Graduate School,” in which they talked about the graduate school search, application process and their graduate student experiences. The alumni will be honored at a dinner at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 in the Shriver Center Heritage Room.
Oct. 11 marked the kickoff of National Coming Out Week. Numerous cities and college campuses participated in the week-long celebration, continuing the tradition that started in 1987 during the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Ryan Fry is a senior at Miami who came out during the spring semester of his first year. Before arriving in Oxford, Fry always sensed he was not like other male classmates. “I had always known I was different from the boys in my classes or on the sports team,” Fry said. “I had repressed my sexuality really the second I knew I wasn’t straight.” During his years in middle and high school, Fry, like many members of the GLBTQ+ community, was bullied by his peers. His classmates would make insensitive comments about his sexuality at a time when he was still unsure of his own sexual orientation. But upon coming to Miami, Fry noticed gay classmates living just like the other straight students on campus. They became his inspiration to accept his true identity. “The first thing that gave me the
courage to come to terms with it myself was seeing other gay people living their lives, normally, happily, just being functioning college students,” Fry said. After a semester of self-realization, Fry listed his closest friends in
I had repressed my sexuality really the second I knew I wasn’t straight. RYAN FRY SENIOR
order of who he would come out to first. “I still have that list somewhere … hidden for a scrapbook someday.” Starting on the ride back to Oxford, Fry began the process. He told his best friend from home, Erin, who was so happy for him all she could do was throw her arms up and give him a hug — despite the fact that she was driving. Slowly but surely, Fry came out to all of his friends, one by one. He found that he was met with love and acceptance. COMING OUT »PAGE 5
Lecture searches for connection between early rap music and crime television EVENT
HANNAH FIERLE
THE MIAMI STUDENT
With song titles like, “Gangsta, Gangsta” and, “Straight Outta Compton,” the first association that comes to mind may not be politics. But, beneath the surface of this rough-and-tumble genre is valuable insight into the tensions of the political landscape, both past and present.
Eric Harvey, assistant professor in the School of Communications at Grand Valley State University, will visit Miami University to give a lecture entitled, “Who Got the Camera?” on Monday afternoon. Harvey strives to analyze the relationship between the “gangsta rap” groups like N.W.A. during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the rise of the true crime television genre, with the increased popularity of shows like “Cops” and “Ameri-
ca’s Most Wanted.” The lecture explores the “gangsta rap” genre by dissecting lyrics and themes from both rap music and early crime shows to highlight the similarities in theme and political tensions each medium communicates. Through this type of analysis, themes of crime, law, order and reality are all portrayed, despite the differences in how that theme is expressed. By highlight-
ing the similarities, the audience is able to consider each medium with a new perspective. “The goal of the piece is to reevaluate N.W.A. through the lens of early crime television programs, which paved the way for a lot of reality shows today,” said Harvey. “We can understand N.W.A. differently by thinking about their approach toward music through the lens of reality as of a mode communication.”
The content of Harvey’s lecture came directly from a research paper he wrote as a graduate student at Indiana University several years ago. He always had an affinity for rap music from the era, and his father was a police officer, so the connection between the two subjects resonated with him personally. “Like a lot of kids, I liked to listen to music that made my parents HARVEY »PAGE 5
NEWS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
NEWS 3
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
New restaurant opens Uptown High Street gains another Asian eatery in former Quiznos
Gaming industry attempts to take off in Ohio GAMING
LAURA FITZGERALD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
PRAVALI KOTHAKOTA THE MIAMI STUDENT
There’s no sign on Tang Dynasty yet, but the restuarant is open and serving customers daily with authentic dishes. BUSINESS
KATIE ALCOX
THE MIAMI STUDENT
With no sign indicating its name and few distinguishing features, many Miami students and Oxford residents are unaware that Tang Dynasty, a new Asian restaurant focusing on authentic Chinese cuisine, has opened Uptown. Tang Dynasty moved into what was previously Quiznos on west High Street two weeks ago. It has yet to change the storefront, but it has already garnered attention from the international student population. Sophomore Mario Formica thought the restaurant might be temporary. “What I heard through the grapevine was that this pop up restaurant was going to be in town for a few weeks,” Formica said. “I know it’s Chinese food and the menus are all in Chinese, but that makes a lot of non-Chinese students intimidated to try it.” Johnny Liu, one of Tang Dynasty’s co-owners, said he is trying to market to Miami’s population of Chinese international students. The bulk of the restaurant’s menu is centered on food from Liu’s home city, Beijing — comfort dishes built for the cold weather in China’s
northern provinces. “We are doing a different thing. Phan Shin is doing more of American style. There will be competition between the restaurants, but I think we are good.” Liu said they don’t specialize in familiar, Americanized
competition and she is worried that the supply may be surpassing the demand. “They might have something really good and there may be a market for it, but seven is over the borderline,” she said. “To be honest, if I said I am not worried,
We are doing a different thing. Phan Shin is doing more of American style. There will be competition between the restaurants, but I think we are good. JOHNNY LIU
CO-OWNER OF TANG DYNASTY
Chinese dishes such as General Tso. One of Tang’s top dishes is the Lamb Backbone Hotpot, but diners can find a plethora of traditional Chinese dishes, like Ma Po Tofu. Oxford’s Uptown area is home to seven different Asian restaurants. Some, like Yum Yum and No. 5, which replaced Fuji Express this summer, have menus geared toward Miami’s international student population. Others, like Phan Shin and Wild Bistro, tend to serve more Americanized Asian food. Yvonne Lin, co-owner of Phan Shin, said the influx of Asian restaurants is creating some tough
I would be lying.” Oxford’s Economic Development Director Alan Kyger said history shows competition will eventually eliminate competitors. “Over the years, we’ve had a lot of pizza stores, another time there were a few more Indian restaurants. So there’s an ebb and flow,” he said. Liu, however, said that Tang Dynasty is here to stay. “There is only really one good Chinese restaurant in Oxford, so we wanted to start another one,” Liu said. “We wanted to bring back the feeling of home.” Additional reporting by James Steinbauer
a higher level than second-year students of Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Russian or another less commonly studied language, because those languages are harder to learn. This, he says, is why rubrics and guidelines must be adapted for each language. Both students and faculty find value in the merits of rubric grading. Sutcliffe uses a streamlined rubric. “For an ‘A,’ you have fairly accurate completion of the assignment, you have correct grammatical endings, you have appropriate vocabulary,” Sutcliffe said. Sophomore Sammi Marshall is pursuing a Spanish minor and finds the grading rubrics to be helpful in specifying expectations. “I would say it’s pretty fair because you know what is to be expected,” Marshall said. “There’s no straightforward way to grade [essays], so the rubric is the best way to go about making everything fair.” German professor John Jeep is another supporter of rubric grading. “What’s useful about it is the students can look at it in advance when they’re writing their essays and see what we concentrate on,” Jeep said. “The really helpful thing is when they get
something back, if they’re not happy with it, they can look at the rubric.” Jeep also said that rubrics provide structure for students to format and check their writing and learn to self-evaluate. The items on the rubric, minus foreign language-specific words, are important skills for any kind of writing that may prove useful in most careers. Jeep hopes the rubrics will help produce strong writers in any language. Not all students have this experience. Sophomore Kinsey Cantrell, who is working toward an Italian minor, said her Italian professor does not use rubrics on essays, but simply derives 75 percent of the essay’s grade from content and 25 percent from grammar. The grading system for university foreign language programs is under construction. Jeep said the state of Ohio is going through the process of creating transfer assessment guidelines, and is asking all foreign language programs for outlines of the curriculum, including assessments. “The idea of that is to guarantee that if a student transfers from one college to another that they’d know what’s been done,” Jeep said. “They could somewhat expect to be in the same place at the next college.”
When Miami University students download a new game app, they may be aiding a burgeoning video game industry in Ohio that attracts talented college students and graduates. George Kovach, a game designer from Youngstown, Ohio, designed Mega Moves, a board game and Apple app that combines chess and checkers. Players have to roll a dice and capture the other player’s pieces. Kovach said anyone can play the game, from college students interested in chess to young children learning numbers and critical thinking. “My games — they have depth and playability,” Kovach said. Kovach launched it with Multivarious Games out of Dublin, Ohio. Chris Volpe, head of the Ohio Game Developers Association, hopes Ohio will become the next big location for the video game industry. “Central Ohio and Ohio in general really could be the next hubs for video games, and we could make a lot of jobs and a lot of money,” Volpe said. Volpe said the Midwest, and especially Ohio, has a large pool of talented young college students and graduates interested in game design. President of Miami’s E-Sports club, senior Stelanie Tsirlis, said she wants to go into the gaming industry, preferably on the marketing side. She said she doesn’t know if she wants to find a job in Ohio or go out to California where the industry is older and more established. Tsirlis created the start-up AllMid, an E-Sports company that brings E-Sports tournaments to the Midwest, especially for college students who can’t go to either coast for events. “We decided we wanted to make a big event in the Midwest because a lot of the gamers here aren’t catered to because it is a very coastal thing,” Tsirlis said. “We wanted to give them the opportunity to feel like a part of a larger community and know that the industry, the gaming industry, cares about them, too.” Volpe said Ohio is a prime
location due to overhead costs being much cheaper than other traditional locations like Silicon Valley. The cost of living in Ohio is also relatively low. “Students have a huge role in wanting to create small groups and teams to make games,” Volpe said. There have been many recent video game and media startups in Ohio in the past five years, such as Sidebolt, ClickShake games and Gear5 Media. “It’s really exciting that the momentum is growing and we’re getting more and more people that love to make games,” Volpe said. President of the Video Game Design club, senior Nathan Smith, said another advantage is that Ohio is in the middle of the country, so it is cheaper for enthusiasts and designers to travel here than to the coast. It also allows start-ups and companies to draw talent from all over the country. Smith said there are two sides to the industry — AAA publishers and Indie producers. AAA publishers are large companies that pour millions of dollars into developing a single product, while Indies are small games put out by one or a few designers. Commercial success among Indies and AAA companies are greatly varied. Smith and Tsirlis said game developers in both industries are usually very passionate about their jobs or Indie projects, even if in the Indie world developers are not able to make a living off of it. “These are people who are more passionate about their pursuit and their job than they are about living,” Smith said. Multivarious Games was created in January 2011. Volpe said he has about two or three college students from Ohio universities intern at his company every semester. The Ohio Game Developers Expo is a convention for game vendors to show off their developments and game enthusiasts to come revel in their love for gaming. It draws visitors from around the Midwest and even the country. Volpe said they have 70 vendors at this year’s expo and 36 sessions of workshops, speakers and panels. Nine universities will be represented at the expo as exhibitors, including Miami. The expo will take place at COSI in Columbus Nov. 6-8.
‘One Stop’ shop expands to Foreign language compositions pose challenge branch campus ACADEMICS
ELLEN STENSTROM THE MIAMI STUDENT
With Miami’s heavy emphasis on foreign language requirements, many professors have found ways to streamline the learning and evaluation processes in the classroom. The College of Arts and Science requires that its students complete a foreign language through the 200 level, meaning many students will take four semesters of foreign language before graduating. But, given the difficulty of learning a new language, the departments have created methods, like grading rubrics, to make the learning easier for students. Russian professor Benjamin Sutcliffe said the importance of recognizing that no two language departments can be treated alike. “If you have students who are studying French or Spanish or even German at Miami, they’ve probably taken these languages in high school,” Sutcliffe said. “And that means we are going to demand more of them in, say, third-year French than we would of a student who has just signed up for Hindi.” He said students with two or more years of Spanish or French experience, for example, will most likely be able to write at
REGIONAL
REBECCA HUFF
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Inspired by the Oxford campus and other local institutions, Miami’s Hamilton campus has adopted the concept of One Stop for Student Success. Instead of students being volleyed back and forth between the Cashier’s Office, Financial Aid and the Records of Registration offices, they can now get assistance in one location. The One Stop office, located on the first floor of Mosler Hall, will offer bursar, financial aid and registration assistance to students. One Stop is equipped with a kiosk for students to sign in, a flat screen monitor to alert them of their place in line and a waiting area. Students can select the reason for their visit — bursar, financial aid, registration, parking — enter their unique ID and phone number in the kiosk and then wait in the lobby. “We try to make it as convenient as possible,” said Mia Sanders, regional manager for One Stop. “It cuts down on the traffic.” For example, Sanders said faculty can go directly to the One Stop shop if they want to add or drop students from a class, rather than waiting in a long line with other students. However, students have had mixed feelings about the new office,
with some reporting helpfulness and others calling it inefficient. First-year Austin Malone said his experience at the One Stop office was not what he expected. “The efficiency wasn’t what they said it was going to be,” Malone said. “There were some things I needed answers to right away but I didn’t get a response till four days later.” Sophomore Ricardo Ugas, a One Stop student aid, said Malone is not the only student having these complaints. “I’ve also had people tell me it’s not efficient,” Ugas said. But first-year Breanne Moffitt said One Stop offered convenience for students. “I like how you can see how many people are in front of you, because on the [old] list you just see a bunch of names,” Moffitt said. “You don’t know where it starts and where it ends.” Although the new kiosk was intended to make it easier, Ugas explained some people have had trouble with the system. “I’ve had people [who] simply just don’t want to deal with the technology,” Ugas said. Sanders described One Stop as being the frontlines of the departments. “If a student has a question that can’t be answered on the frontlines, ONE STOP »PAGE 9
4 CULTURE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
Humans oƒ Oxford The man from 7,000 miles away
PERELMBK@MIAMIOH.EDU
‘AHS Hotel:’ Savior of the TV horror genre Lady Gaga headlines fifth season TELEVISION
DEVON SHUMAN
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
CONNOR MORIARTY PHOTO EDITOR
PEOPLE
MEGAN ZAHNEIS THE MIAMI STUDENT
Farooq sits alone on a Friday evening, studying on a bench in a quiet wooded area of campus as sunset approaches. A binder rests next to him, and he strokes a neatly trimmed beard, twirling a yellow pencil as he speaks. He has been in Oxford since June, and expects to stay for two years while he completes his degree. Then, he will make the journey back home, a 17-hour flight that spans 7,176 miles and nine time zones. He will reunite with his two young
children, his wife, parents, brothers and sisters. And he will work. He will use his American degree in educational psychology to educate teachers back in Pakistan, in a place called Azad Kashmir, on the fringe of India’s border. He’s here because of a contest. One of 27 winners culled from 10,000 entries, he was selected to further his education in America. The U.S. government would foot the bill. He is a serving person, he says. His duty is to his people, and he yearns for the day he can return home and put his knowledge to work, offering higher education to more Pakistanis. “These boundaries divide human
beings,” the man says. “But human beings are the same. People in Pakistan, they have two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two hands. The same as anyone else in Canada and America and the UK and Brazil.” “People are the same. Their feelings are the same. Their sentiments, their emotions, their habits of living. People all over the world make houses, they sing songs, they cry on woes and worries.” Someday, he hopes, his country will be okay. Until then, he is a man sitting on a bench in a quiet college town in southwest Ohio. A man with a binder, a pencil and a dream.
An owner glad to sweep
CONNOR MORIARTY PHOTO EDITOR
PEOPLE
PHOEBE MYERS THE MIAMI STUDENT
Eleven years ago, on Sept. 27, Juan Lin, who goes by Yvonne, and John were married during the Chinese Full Moon Festival. They always celebrate their anniversary the same way. “What we do every year,” she says. “Work.” Yvonne works 11-hour shifts seven days a week at Phan Shin in Oxford, Ohio, the Chinese restaurant she and her husband own. Seven and a half years of 80-hour work weeks, Yvonne working the front and John running the kitchen.
A head chef not above doing dishes, an owner glad to sweep. Phan Shin is doing better than ever — though summers are rough and the other Asian restaurant competitors in a small college town can be threatening. Yvonne’s mother worked in factories; her father was a construction worker. They wanted their daughter to get an office job with holidays off. They didn’t imagine she’d leave college to run off at 21 with John, who had worked in restaurants since he was 16 and barely graduated high school. Yvonne saw her parents work hard in China and then in Toronto, but was not afraid of following in
their footsteps. Her kids used to come to Phan Shin after school, but grew bored as they got older. Yvonne’s sister-in-law now babysits them every day. Yvonne finds it hard to leave work. She knows her customers by name, their orders, can accommodate with fluent Cantonese and Mandarin. She gives out free dessert with dinners at the restaurant. Something small, not too American, something she describes as “homey.” Every year, she orders moon cakes from New York City to serve during the Full Moon Festival, a common tradition that just happens to correspond with her wedding anniversary.
The success of “American Horror Story” doesn’t make sense on paper. Horror, as a genre, simply isn’t that popular. Truly remarkable horror films, such as “Crimson Peak” or “The Babadook” rarely do well at the box office. Audiences for popular flicks like “Insidious” and “Paranormal Activity” are mainly composed of teens and 20-somethings who see scary movies as a social event, a rite of passage in which they turn the lights off, cuddle up together and scare themselves. It isn’t the kind of audience that earns a show Emmy nominations. People who stay away from the genre handpick from a variety of typical, accepted excuses: — “The storylines are always stupid,” “They’re so predictable,” or, “Why would I want to watch something so grotesque and creepy?” And, as far as grotesque and creepy go, “American Horror Story” takes the bloody, slimy, body-part-infused cake. In “Hotel,” the first episode alone bombards viewers with an onslaught of horrifying and disturbing images — a human body crawling out of a sewn-up mattress, a bloodthirsty couple slaughtering and feeding on another couple during an intimate foursome, a not-quitehuman creature murdering a man by means of rape with a sword-like strap-on. “Friday the 13th” feels like a Disney musical in comparison. The latest season of the anthology series centers on the Hotel Cortez in Los Angeles, which offers much more than turn down service and a continental breakfast. James March (Evan Peters) built the hotel in the 1920s and designed it to accommodate his murderous desires. Like the “Murder House” in the first season, the eerie corridors of the Cortez are inhabited by both current residents and the ghosts of past occupants. The expansive list of inhabitants includes Iris (Kathy Bates), the cold hotel manager, Hypodermic Sally (Sarah Paulson), a drug addict and John Lowe (Wes Bentley), a detective investigating a string of murders. So, why does “American Horror Story” work? What makes the same people who abhor the genre for its cheap thrills and predictable storylines eagerly tune in every week? In many ways, “AHS” is nothing like the movies that
dominate the genre nowadays. While the “Sinisters” and “Conjurings” of the world cash in on quick scares and special effects, “AHS” puts its focus on well-developed, complex characters and storylines. It uses horror not simply for horror’s sake, but rather as a vehicle to expose and explore the terrifying capabilities of the human race. Showrunners Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are masters at creating characters. They fill each season with characters so deep and intricate we find ourselves sympathizing with even the most horrid individuals. These are the guys who, in “Coven,” made us periodically feel bad for a racist woman who caged and tortured black slaves in her attic. And, in a series that continually features Emmy-nominated actors such as Jessica Lange, Denis O’Hare and Angela Bassett, the most interesting character in “Hotel” so far is played by a newcomer — the ever-eccentric Lady Gaga. Gaga plays “the Countess,” a rich and seductive fashionista who uses her sexuality to lure victims and satisfy her thirst for blood. As anyone who is even slightly attuned to pop culture can attest, Lady Gaga is a strange individual — she’s bizarre, pushes boundaries and, at times, is quite disturbing — which is why she fits perfectly into the “AHS” universe. Fans of “Game of Thrones” complain about its 10-episode seasons, arguing that the story is so large and complex that it could benefit from an additional three episodes. The issue with “AHS” is completely opposite. Each season is constructed masterfully, slowly building tension and weaving together marvelous storylines. But then, around episode eight or nine, it falters. When it should be reaching a climax, it instead starts introducing new characters and subplots in order to fill the last few episodes. It becomes too complicated and hard to follow and, worst of all, detracts from the brilliance of the rest of the season. It’s too early to tell if “Hotel” will follow suit, but if Murphy and Falchuk want to turn a great show into a spectacular one, it’s something they will need to address. For now, though, we don’t have to worry about end-ofseason mishaps. For the next few weeks, all we need to do is check in and enjoy our stay.
‘In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play’ delights, despite mature content THEATRE
MEGAN BOWERS THE MIAMI STUDENT
“The Vibrator Play.” Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. From the usage of an actual vibrator to brief male nudity, this play pushes boundaries and incorporates mature content in a way no other Miami University theatre production has before. But, don’t let these details scare you away — this 19th century play delves into deeper themes of women’s sexuality, motherhood and vulnerability in a composed format. It was also one of the most beautiful productions I have ever seen. That may sound weird, but honestly, every part of the show, from the costumes to lighting to the actors’ stage presence, all combined to make an unforgettable opening night.
“I read the script before coming and thought the show would be uncomfortable to watch,” said first-year Mary Yu. “But I felt that everything was done beautifully, and it was very aesthetically pleasing.” The show, written by Sarah Ruhl, is typically known as, “In The Next Room,” and discusses the early usage of vibrators to cure hysteria. “This was my most challenging role that I have ever done,” said Theresa Liebhart, who plays Sabrina Daldry. “We had to learn a lot about the 1890s, we had to learn a lot about hysteria and just how we had to be comfortable with the sexuality of it. It just took a lot of practice and research.” Despite these challenges, the show was still an incredible opportunity for many of the performers. “It’s just a nice release to be able to get out of your own world for a
little bit,” said first-year Abigail Murray, who plays Annie. “You get to step out of your own reality and you only have to worry about what the character is going through and what they have to face.” It’s clear the actors have all fully embraced their characters from just glimpsing a scene. The elaborate costumes and old-fashioned set pieces take you back to the 19th century, and many of the characters speak with accents that replicate women’s speech patterns during that time. The lighting and music seemed to coincide with every scene in very subtle ways. If you paid close attention, the lighting would get darker when the characters were depressed and lighter when they weren’t. The actors had great timing in the delivery of their lines. The ability of the show to transition from a witty scene that had everyone in the
audience cracking up to a touching scene that made you want to cry is part of what makes it so entertaining. This was something Ann Elizabeth Armstrong, the director, strived for when she staged the show. “I hope they will laugh,” said Armstrong. “It is a comedy and there’s a lot of irony, but it’s also very touching. There’s some very dark and emotional moments, and there are things about it that are shocking, but also thoughtprovoking in a really good way.” The show brought up difficult themes, like not being able to have children, losing a child and not feeling loved, which led to a tragically beautiful ending. Plenty of comedic moments also came up throughout the show, specifically in the character of Caroline Givings, played by junior Jessica Filkill. The character was bubbly and tended to say everything that came to her
mind, causing you to laugh at her general sweetness or the tough situations she found herself in. Her character, as well as several of the other female leads in the show, provided a charming kind of comedy simply because of the Victorian innocence they displayed when discovering more about their sexuality. “The play is set in the 19th century so we can see it as being in the past and having distance, but I really think it speaks to things we experience today,” said Armstrong. “We might laugh about what they didn’t or did think about sex in the 19th century, but we still haven’t totally unlocked that mystery.” “In The Next Room, or the Vibrator Play” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Oct 23-24 and at 2 p.m. Oct 25 in Gates-Abegglen Theater, in the Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available at the Box Office.
WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET
FROM HOVERBOARD »PAGE 3
on the sidewalks sometimes, especially when two of them ride next to each other,” said sophomore Elliot Narcross. Although Joyaux insists he rides in the bike lane, that in itself presents a new safety concern, but there have been no recorded incidents on campus yet. Similarly, with so many student athletes riding these hoverboards, their coaches have expressed concern, too. Coaches from the hockey team warned players about riding around on the hoverboards. But Joyaux says the coaches actually tried it out, and after they rode on
5
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
it, they understood why the hoverboards have become so popular. And for the players, the convenience outweighs the risk of injury. “I would consider myself pretty lazy and I like the convenience of them,” Joyaux said. “I could get from point A to point B faster.” While some may have their opinions about the hoverboards and the student athletes that ride them, it is clear that those who ride them don’t care. “Hmmm, yeah I get a lot of looks. Some people think I’m arrogant, others think it’s cool,” Joyaux said. ”I don’t really care what other people think.”
$499
FROM COMING OUT »PAGE 3
TMS ONLINE
MIAMISTUDENT.NET
First Mortgage
Closing Cost
(1)
• First Mortgages All Types • Serving the Greater Oxford Community • 10, 15, 20 and 30 Year Terms
Apply @ muccu.org
• We keep your loan!(3) • No Closing Cost Home Equity Loans • Lot Financing & Construction Loans
Miami University and Community Federal Credit Union 5120 College Corner Pike Oxford, OH 45056 513-523-8888 • www.muccu.org Call for complete details on the above product offering. APY, Rates, Terms, and Conditions are subject to individual credit worthiness, subject to daily change without notice. MUCFCU is not a legal entity of the University. (1) On qualifying mortgages. (3) Must meet certain qualifications.
“Every single reaction was happy and supportive,” he said. As Fry came out to his inner circle, he also began to come out to larger groups, like the Miami Men’s Glee Club and to some of his professors. Once again, Fry felt nothing but support. Even within a group of 90 men, like the Glee Club, Fry said he was able to be his true self without judgment. “I cherish this group so much, and it was just overwhelming because it wasn’t a big deal and it was just welcomed with happiness and support and love,” Fry said. Among faculty who have supported him, Fry cites Jeremy Jones, the director of the Glee Club, as an individual who has made the group a safe space for anyone. Regardless of race, sexual orientation or religion, Fry said Jones accepts students and calls all members “brothers in song.” Fry shared his appreciation for his group of friends, who have welcomed him, too. They call themselves the “gay mafia,” and as the name may suggest, are a close-knit group of gay and straight friends. He said he feels incredibly lucky to have friends that are accepting of him and his sexual orientation. “It was something, four or five years ago, I never would have been able to imagine,” said Fry. While Ryan’s experience of coming out at Miami has been overwhelmingly positive, he does acknowledge that he can’t speak for every member of the GLBTQ+ community. A recent 2015 survey found that only 33 percent of GLBTQ+ students involved in Greek life at MiFROM HARVEY »PAGE 3
mad,” said Harvey. After presenting his research paper, the editor of quarterly music magazine “The Pitchfork Review” expressed interest in publishing his work. Once published, the article began to circulate around academia. Ron Becker, professor in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film (MJF), stumbled upon Harvey’s article. Becker showed the article to his department colleague, Mack Hagood, who is, coincidentally, personal friends with Harvey from their Ph.D. program. “Given how popular the rap genre of music has become among Miami students, it will be interesting to consider when rap music was a very marginal form of cultural expression before it hit the mainstream culture,” said Becker. Hagood and Becker sought after Harvey to visit Miami and deliver his article in a lecture format. And, given that the MJF department focuses on how media shapes thought, opinion and cul-
ami feel comfortable, compared to 63 percent of straight students. Fry said he believes the GLBTQ+ clubs could be more visible on campus. He said he had to do his own research to find the on-campus organizations. The most prominent organization is Spectrum. Fry is a member of Spectrum and has been trying to convince more of his friends to come to their weekly Wednesday meetings. According to Spectrum president Jacklyn Heikes, there are close to 400 members on Spectrum’s email list. The club works extremely closely with GLTBQ+ Services and was vital in the planning of events for Out Week. Spectrum provides a forum for members of the GLBTQ+ community to come and discuss issues each week. Heikes estimates roughly 40 people attend the weekly discussionbased meetings. During Coming Out Week, Fry was bogged down with a cappella rehearsals, as he is the director of the Cheezies, one of Miami’s all-male a cappella groups. He said he wished his schedule could have allowed him to participate in more events during National Coming Out Week, but at the mention of the rainbow flags lining Slant Walk, his face lit up. “I love them!” Fry said of the flag display. The flags are meant to represent individuals who support the GLBTQ+ community on campus. They waved all the way from the Phi Delt Gates to Alumni Hall with countless names standing in solidarity with friends, family members and acquaintances who are GLBTQ+. ture, they thought Harvey’s lecture seemed like a perfect fit for reconsidering and reexamining different forms of media. “The lecture encourages thinking across different media platforms and hopefully will heighten students’ perspectives on media,” said Hagood. “Students will be able to see social inequalities we discuss today and how they were brought to the foreground in the 1980s and 1990s.” Because Harvey’s original piece was quite lengthy, he condensed the article into a lecture and added interactive media with music and video clips to engage the audience. Additionally, with the popularity of the film “Straight Outta Compton” this summer, Harvey wanted to include new insight and perspective after viewing the movie. “I hope students can show up and listen to cool music and maybe think about reality TV and rap music in a new and different way,” said Harvey. The lecture will begin at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26 in Kreger Hall, Room 319.
WHEN YOU’RE FINISHED READING
PLEASE RECYCLE
6 OPINION
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
EDITORIAL@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
Issue 3 is the wrong way to legalize marijuana: Vote ‘no’ EDITORIAL
In less than two weeks, Ohio voters will determine the fate of Issue 3, a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot. If passed, the measure would make Ohio the first state east of the Mississippi to legalize the sale and use of marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes. The catch: the amendment would limit the exclusive commercial right to grow the drug to 10 facilities. The owners of the 10 facilities with the exclusive rights to grow marijuana are the donors who bankrolled ResponsibleOhio’s campaign. Some of the owners are local celebrities like former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Frostee Rucker, University of Cincinnati basketball star Oscar Robertson and Dayton pain specialist Suresh Gupta. Each donor was required to give $2 million to the campaign to get Issue 3 on the ballot. Let’s be blunt: the legalization of marijuana in the United States is long overdue. Washington, Colorado, Alaska and Oregon have already legalized the drug for recre-
The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board. ational use and public opinion has steadily swayed toward legalization for a while. Legalizing marijuana would bring over 500 million tax dollars to the state, along with over 30,000 new jobs. However, Ohioans should vote no on Issue 3. When the 21st Amendment re-
— the process would be similar to purchasing a hunting license — would be able to grow, cultivate, use, possess and share no more than eight ounces of homegrown marijuana from up to four flowering marijuana plants. The proposed amendment would also allow anyone, 21 years or older, to purchase, possess,
It’s high time to legalize marijuana and begin to roll back draconian, harmful and discriminatory drug laws, but Issue 3 is not the way to do it.
pealed prohibition, there weren’t restrictions on how many people could brew and bottle alcohol, just licenses on who could sell it and who could drink it. So what makes marijuana any different? Issue 3 is proposing similar licenses for marijuana as well. Anyone, 21 years or older, with a license purchased from an Ohio Marijuana Control Commission
transport, use and share up to one ounce of marijuana for recreational use. But limiting the growth to 10 different facilities leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Monopolies almost exclusively manifest out of government favor, and in this case, it is clear Ohio’s government would create an unnecessary marijuana oligopoly.
Lack of attention on Belfast bombings reveals Americans’ ethnocentric attitudes GLOBAL
MADDIE’S MATTERS A car bomb fell off the underside of a vehicle onto the street in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland last week. And I bet you didn’t even hear about it. Granted, I didn’t even hear about it. The only reason I knew is because I visited the city two days after it happened. I was in a lecture and the professor casually dropped the fact that a bomb had been reportedly found on the street. Some innocent child had apparently taken it for a fun hunk of metal and actually kicked it around before people realized that it was, in fact, an explosive set to detonate. Thankfully, it didn’t. Which is probably why you haven’t heard about it. It is currently believed the bomb was planted to the underside of a vehicle belonging to a member of the military, and it was found in a nationalist (a political party whose members support Ireland as its own country separate from the U.K.) quarter of the city. Many officials believe it was planted by a Republican dissenter. What we do know, however, is that it was clearly planted with the intent to maim or kill whoever was in its vicinity. It is an act that Belfast has intimately come to know, especially with the 20th century’s violent clash of political factions, i.e. the I.R.A., Unionists and Loyalists. In some areas to this day, the city itself is sectioned off using cement “Peace Walls”
But, if voters reject Issue 3, who knows how long it will be before Ohio can effectively roll back the disastrous war on drugs? Reagan’s War on Drugs has been devastating to people who have been excluded from participating in the legal economy. Ohio’s jails are filled with thousands of people — many of them
and gates that still shut every evening at 8. In 2011, one section of a Peace Wall had to be built up further in order to protect a new, taller apartment complex, as people were throwing rocks and debris at the inhabitants inside. Terrorism is something that Americans also know all too well. Both the American relationship and the Irish relationship with terrorism and bomb violence are young intimacies. They are still fresh. So why didn’t American publications at least touch on this scary, possibly deadly event? The only widelyread publications (besides the obvious Irish Times) that covered the bomb-in-Belfast while it was still newsworthy and timely was BBC and The Guardian, both of which
I attribute that, in part, to the fact that Ireland is small. There is more world news than there is Irish news. But back home, there seems to be more American news than world news, which makes little sense both politically and geographically. Senseless violence and the potential for it can happen anywhere. What’s scarier than that, however, is the idea that we have become absolutely desensitized toward violence. News organizations will ignore stories like these unless they involve some sort of blood. News about yet another bomb found in yet another populated city isn’t new. Nor is it, in some ways, shocking. In the articles on this event in Belfast, the people interviewed called the bomb planting “an incon-
We have become so desensitized toward violence. News organizations will ignore stories like these unless they involve some sort of blood.
are British news organizations. There is a tendency in the American mindset to be very focused on American news and American issues, which makes sense if not just politically then geographically –— we’re just so big. Living in Dublin, however, I’ve found an interesting pattern in the questions that I am asked as an American by my Irish peers. They’re informed questions, they’re worldly questions, they’re questions that I would never expect to be asked by a college-aged crowd. Most of the people I’ve met here are aware of the world, and
venience” and an “annoyance,” two hilariously low-caliber descriptions for what could have been a catastrophic event. It’s both this desensitization and our egocentric focus that I think we have to be careful with. We need American journalists to step up and report on little events like this, if only to make sure that people stay informed. Ignoring them will only stunt our ability to be global citizens. MADDIE LAPLANTE-DUBE LAPLANMM@MIAMIOH.EDU
LETTERS to the
EDITOR If you’re considering writing a letter to our editors, please keep in mind a few rules before you hit that ‘send’ button or seal that envelope: • Letters should pertain to previously published editorials and columns. • Letters should run between 200 and 400 words in length. • We will no longer publish anonymous letters.
Thanks!
black — convicted for minor drug crimes. The proposition of a select group of wealthy, elite business owners making millions of dollars from the legalization of marijuana and excluding small businesses seems counterintuitive. Thousands of people, convicted to decades-long sentences will continue to serve
time. Although Issue 3 would have an immediate effect on drug violence after its approval, the measure includes no language on a fresh start initiative, which would fast-track the release of the inmates already in prison. This basement round table is made all the more hazy due to the proposal of another constitutional amendment — Issue 2. This measure, which was almost explicitly formulated to counteract Issue 3, would prohibit any constitutional amendment from granting a monopoly. Issue 2’s unclear and complex language holds the possibility of confusing voters, who could end up approving both. A yes on Issue 2 would automatically counteract Issue 3. If both Issue 2 and Issue 3 receive a majority from Ohio voters, the issues will be taken to the Ohio Supreme Court. It’s high time to legalize marijuana and begin to roll back draconian, harmful and discriminatory drug laws, but Issue 3 is not the way to do it.
Speakership debacle highlights hard right manipulation POLITICS
GRETA HALLBERG THE MIAMI STUDENT
In late September, Speaker of the House John Boehner announced he’d be retiring from Congress. (Important to note, Miamians, as he represents Oxford. There’s going to be an election here soon.) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was set to take Boehner’s place as Speaker, but on Oct. 8, he dropped out of the race, shocking the Republican base. Some members literally cried. Rep. Paul Ryan, a Miami alumnus (’92), has repeatedly said that he is not interested in running for the position, though he has been a party favorite to take over for Boehner. On Tuesday, Ryan announced he would consider running for the position, but only if he had the full support of every major conservative caucus in the House of Representatives. That, of course, includes the Freedom Caucus, a group of 36 of the most right-wing members of Congress, led by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. The members aim to push leadership in a more conservative direction and a direction that decentralizes power from the leadership in favor of the rank and file members. The caucus audibly did not believe that Boehner followed House voting rules, effectively forcing him to resign from the position. The Freedom Caucus has an impact on Congressional votes — especially the one for Speaker. If 80 percent of the 36 voters decide against the party on an issue, the majority party loses a bloc of 36 votes. That brings their 247 Republican members down to 211, which is less than a majority. The caucus is a powerful force among conservatives that is not to be reckoned with. Enter Paul Ryan, begrudgingly forced into the Speaker’s race. He has repeatedly insisted he does not want the job, fearing the intense nature of it will take him away from his family. He also has reasonable qualms about the factions in the party, including the Freedom Caucus. On Wednesday evening, the Freedom Caucus so much as endorsed Ryan for Speaker, saying they had the 80 percent of votes necessary in favor of the Representative from Wisconsin. This is a good first step, but it is by no means a win for Ryan. So why does it seem like nobody wants the job? It’s because they don’t. The
Speaker has one of the most highpressure jobs in the United States, putting him two heart attacks away from the presidency. Besides that, he has to rally 247 strong-willed members of Congress to vote with him and the party on major issues. The best type of legislation is bipartisan legislation. Near unanimous support probably means a bill is effective. As the Speaker, that means reaching across the aisle and generating support from the Democrats. This is good leadership, but is partially what got Boehner in trouble with the Freedom Caucus. Members of the caucus, many of whom were part of the Tea Party movement, are willing to oppose anything that Democrats touch, even if Conservatives support it, too. While Tea Partiers are extremist ideologues who cannot be reasoned with, they are good at uniting against a cause: namely, President Barack Obama. Sure, this prevents bipartisanship and effective legislating, but that is not to discount their claims entirely. Obama promised to be the most transparent administration and has created the most barriers for the press and, therefore, the public. He often circumvents Congress by pushing his own agenda with executive orders. He is a polarizing president and quite frankly, the future Democrats on the slate do not seem to be any better. Hillary Clinton leads in the polls, and while this is a favorable rating for her campaign, she has as many haters as she does motivators. There’s a committee in the House whose main purpose is basically to bring her down. (Ahem, Benghazi, anyone?) Democratic-Socialist Bernie Sanders won’t fare much better. His views are too leftist to unite the party and even if he did that, he would get even less done in Congress than our current executive. A Republican president, granted a legitimate Republican like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, would probably make the Speaker’s job easier. GOP House members will hopefully rally around the Speaker and vote with the party. Maybe we’d actually get some laws passed instead of threatening to defund the government every few months. Regardless, the job of Speaker is lonely and hard. Paul Ryan is going for it against his will, but uniting the factitious party is going to be hard. As of now, he seems to be the party’s last hope. He has the far right-wing support. Now he has to unite a broken party and bring some solidarity to Congress. It’s no wonder Boehner retired.
EDITORIAL@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
OPINION 7
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
A 20-year-old looks at 60: New perspectives on feeling old LIFE
GRAHAM VON CARLOWITZ THE MIAMI STUDENT
A.J. NEWBERRY NEWBERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU
Creating communities: Micronations serve as an important basis for formulating ideas POLITICS
A RELUCTANT ROYAL Over the summer, at the Free University of Alcatraz near Perugia in central Italy, an environmental agreement between micronations, known as the Alcatraz Accords, was signed during the International Polination 3 Conference over afternoon tea. Those in attendance came from all over the globe to meet, learn and share with one another what it means to be a member of the micronational community. There were journalists from Sweden, Belgium and a film crew from France; academics from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Austria and many more places. But most importantly, there were the representatives, and royalty from the micronations of the Principality of Aigue-Mortes, the Free University of Alcatraz, Angelystia, the Bunte Republik of Neustadt, Noseland, the Republic of Benny, Ladonia, the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis and the Fomoire Institute — their titles ranging from Grand Duke, to Emperor, to King, Queen, Prince and Princess,
President and Minister. The term “nation,” among many Americans, is often used in reference to the populations of nation-states. However, there are numerous types of nations, each referring to different groups of people connected to one another in various ways. The concept of a “micronation” is most closely related to cultural
They employ humor, creativity, and our species’ natural desire to be a part of something larger than ourselves.
nationalism, and can be broken down into three main categories: role playing, social experiments and political simulations. More often than not, people assume that those participating in micronations fall within the first category, immediately dismissing the entire concept as a farce. To some, the idea may seem, at face value, childish, ridiculous or even narcissistic, but there exists many micronationalists who go beyond these negatives. Not every Grand Duke or Em-
press is out for self-glorification. There are a plethora of micronations who deserve the same amount of respect that any campus greek organization receives. The founders and citizens of these micronations are building real communities of real people who share a culture all their own. Not so different from fraternities and sororities, these micronations appropriate history to establish a foundation for their identity, adopt meaningful symbols, create flags and traditions and often share a common goal or interest with one another. Some have physical territory, with or without human inhabitants, while others are solely online, or even others still who exist in a purely metaphysical sense. These micronations are not out to cause trouble, incite separatism or become microstates. Instead, they employ humor, creativity and our species’ natural desire to be a part of something larger than ourselves to create culturally rich and close-knit communities that operate within the framework of society and provide opportunities for individuals to discover their potential, experiment with alternative government structures and express frustration with current geopolitical issues in a productive way. GRETCHEN SHELBY
SHELBYGE@MIAMIOH.EDU
Online courses offer benefits, choice to students ACADEMICS
TO THE EDITOR: The article, “Online classes don’t compare when it comes to quality learning,” which appeared in the Miami Student on Oct. 20, overstates the disadvantages of online courses, suffers from some faulty assumptions and fails in considering other benefits. It’s misleading to assume students enrolled in an online course would all be “sitting at home watching a lecture online while simultaneously talking on the phone, blow-drying [their] hair and making [themselves] something to eat.” It is true that online classes generally require more of students, in that they’ll need to be more dedicated, conscientious and proactive about their education since the format is less structured. However, far from being a negative, obtaining these skills and traits can be beneficial for students. Naturally, online and brick-andmortar courses are not the same. They have their own unique sets of pros and cons. It is true that brick-and-mortar courses have the potential to be more collaborative both in and outside of scheduled lectures, as face-to-face communication is the most effective way to interact compared to the alterna-
tives in online classes. Likewise it’s entirely possible a professor can enthusiastically captivate the minds of students through a recorded online lecture, as there is no reason to flatly assume all professors are disengaged when creating course content. Nonetheless, to categorically say the online class format eliminates opportunities for having “quality interactions with peers” or developing “meaningful relationships with professors” is a hasty generalization. Even in traditional classes, it’s not uncommon for students to collaborate together remotely, utilizing google documents and chatting with each other while working on a paper or an assignment. Of course, there is the downside that students can’t interact in real time with the professor while watching recorded lectures, but such a cost doesn’t come without benefit. Recorded lectures offer an advantage in that they can be rewound or watched multiple times if the student finds something hard to understand, and in some cases slowed down or speed up if desired. As for the idea of “knocking out” a requirement, wouldn’t the students taking an online course as a perceived shortcut likely be the same ones that fail to apply them-
selves fully in a brick-and-mortar class, possibly also being on their phones or otherwise not paying attention in class? Are online classes actually any easier? Shouldn’t we quantify empirically that before making such a claim? At the very least isn’t it reasonable to assume they typically require more work on the part of the successful student, as they require a higher degree of dedication, conscientiousness, and proactiveness? It would be a mistake to broadly discourage Miami University from increasing the number of online classes offered overall. Students should be presented with the choice between class formats as much as possible. Traditional students should have the ability to solve scheduling conflicts by taking an online class. How much a student gets out of their education, how much they learn, is likely largely a function of how motivated and interested they are in a subject. Online classes shouldn’t be viewed as a mostly negative hindrance, but rather a tool that fits specific needs and can be sufficiently effective for the students motived to learn.
MATTHEW R. SPINELLI SPINELMR@MIAMIOH.EDU
As I rose from a nap under a shady tree one day (shady in a good way), I felt the rust-ridden bones in my back. They didn’t crack, they haven’t the energy for such child’s play. I am 20 years old, I have lived a fairly fulfilling life and I plan on continuing in that path. Changes are in order, though. As it stands now, or rather, how I stand, the harsh reality is clear –– I’m an old man. The funny part is, I’m willing to accept it. To accept my knees’ uncanny ability to read the subtlest climate changes, accept that I can’t take a clear photo or sip on a drink without spilling it to some degree — both attributable to my tremor-ridden hands — and I accept my bad back, stiffer than a professor who assigns an essay over Thanksgiving break. Not only do I accept the circumstances, hell, I embrace them! At least since that fateful day under the oak. As such, I must take the required steps to fully initiate myself into old manhood. Step one: I must always have a quill pen and scroll of papyrus close by to take notes, otherwise clauses must be repeated two... three, right, three times. The problem with this practice? It tends to scare people away. No doubt does it seem as if I’m warding off evils by repeating “it tends to scare people away.” Nope, just warding off dementia. Step two: I must develop one of those respectable, raspy voices. Warning flag here: I will not achieve this goal by simply talking like a demon in the closet. There’s more to it than that. Al Pacino
should herd together a group of old men, looking to inspire the flocks of his disciples to gargle, rinse, speak and repeat. Step three: (Trying to) keep an aspect of step one in mind, that is, the skill of forgetting, I must forget that I have a bladder and visit the facilities every 30 minutes. To start. I’m no expert, but I would assume this number is the elderly’s equivalent of peeing once a day for the young. In other words, implausible. Step three: One thing I personally don’t have to work on, as the process has already begun, is to become hard of hearing. This can be easily accomplished by strategically placing oneself directly beside an airport, a shooting rage or a high school garage band. The latter especially reinforces old manhood, uh, the latter especially reinforces old manhood, as it presents the special opportunity to protest “that damn garbage” those kids call music. “What in tarnation” will undoubtedly enter your vocabulary. So, what’s the goal here? To hide the fact that I am being punished for all those times I swan dove down the staircase for some laughs? To have an excuse for going to Bob Evans’ lunch hour or for not using the Internet machine? To, the goal is to, well, uh... fleeting thoughts are what I am reduced to at this point. In any case, I look forward to using the pronoun ‘sonny’ while explaining why getting upset today will not change what’s in store for tomorrow. Old manhood is at my doorstep, now all I need to do is ask someone to answer. Oh, and yes, the discount at Bob Evans is nice, too.
College means enjoying the good, accepting the bad LIFE
MARY WILLIAMS THE MIAMI STUDENT
When I first applied to college, my parents’ friends would look at me and say the clichéd “College is the best four years of your life.” While I agree with the wise parents whole-heartedly, I think the statement must be amended. While college has the capability to be the best four years of your life, it also has the capability to hold the worst. As a senior, I can positively say that while college has been the most fun, rewarding and awesome experience that I do not want to leave behind, some of my worst memories are from college. Upon leaving the dimly lit, linoleum-graced high school halls for college, most newcomers will automatically focus on the good. You are told how you will meet your best friends in your dorm, how your classes will be stimulating, your major will be rewarding and you will know what you want to do immediately. You’ll go to parties and indulge in the work hard, play-hard mentality that you throw back with the communal punch. Everyone grabs a Natty. Here’s what we weren’t told: You will make friends in your freshman dorm, but you will not be friends with the majority of people in your freshman dorm after that year. You will all probably fight a lot with the people across the hall since you
have clashing personalities. You will have classes that are easy, but you will most likely struggle in your classes freshman year, because you took botany thinking it would be an easy A only to find out that your teacher’s exams are based on readings he never gave you. Sometimes you hate your major so much you’ll cry and wonder why you chose it. You will clash with a professor. You might get arrested Uptown for drunken disorderly conduct or you might drink so much that you puke while walking in front of a line of people waiting to get into the bars. You will forget about a paper that was due last week. You will miss an exam. You will get homesick at inconvenient times and not know where to turn. You will eventually refer to college as home and your mom will be mad at you for that. You will get in fights with the people who you love the most. You will have your heart broken. You will make mistakes. Everyone has most likely experienced some variation of the aforementioned college occurrences, or else they will. But, the point is, while these experiences are the worst, they shape us into who we are, and as a senior, I can say that the messiness of college lifestyle has definitely made me a better, stronger person. So while college has been the best four years of my life, it has also, sometimes, been the worst. And I am thankful for that.
8 FYI
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
The Miami Student
Reis Thebault Editor-in-Chief
Victoria Slater, Emily Tate Managing Editors
Thomas Briggs Business Manager
Kyle Hayden Design Editor
Ali Hackman Asst. Business Manager
Carleigh Turner Web Designer
Sydney Medema, Charles Cucco Advertising Representatives
Abbey Gingras, Grace Moody News Editors
James Tobin Adviser
Britton Perelman Culture Editor
Drew Davis Business Adviser
James Steinbauer, Marissa Stipek Opinion Editors
WDJ Inc. - Bill Dedden Distributor
Grace Remington Sports Editor Connor Moriarty Photo Editor Assistant News Editors Emily Williams, Justin Maskulinski
Crime Beat Writer Brett Milam
Senior Staff Writers Bonnie Meibers Emily O’Connor Rebecca Huff Abigail Kelly
Designers
Will Fagan Julie Norehad Katie Hinh
Opinion Columnists
Brett Milam Greta Halberg Madeleine LaPlante-Dube
Sports Columnists Justin Maskulinski Jordan Rinard
Emily Sabanegh Ian Marker Jing Long A.J. Newberry Amanda Wang Jennifer Mills Marek Kuspan Pravali Kothakota Tyler Pistor Jacklyn Hayes Beth Pfohl
Cartoonists
Photography Staff Jalen Walker Angelo Gelfuso
A.J. Newberry Chris Curme
Website: www.miamistudent.net For advertising information: miamistudent@gmail.com
WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET
HOUSES
NOTICE
SCHMATES HOME RENTALS Secure your House now. We are now renting for 2016/17. Make you Miami Memories last forever. Rent for your JR/SR year! Visit us: @ www.schmatesrentals.com
ROBERTS APARTMENTS Great Location! Close to uptown/ campus. 1 to 5 Bedroom Apartments Available for 20162017. Also 1 Bedroom for Spring only 2016 Available. Parking/ Laundry! 513-839-1426 or 513461-1165 www.roberts-apts.com info@roberts-apts.com
LIVE UPTOWN 12 N College (Between High St. & Church St.) 5 person 5 Bedroom Available for 16-17 $3250 per person per semester 513-524-9340 513-524-9340 513-524-9340 513-524-9340
FOR RENT QUAINT 4 BDRM HOUSE FOR RENT Student rental available 2016/17. Off street parking, 1.5 baths, washer/dryer, 1.5 blocks to Rec. Permit for 4. 2,100.00 per semester per person. 612 South Main 513-8967358
The Miami Student (Tuesday/Friday) is published during the school year by the students of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
The content of The Miami Student is the sole responsibility of The Miami
Student staff. Opinions expressed in The Miami Student are not necessarily those of Miami University, its students or staff.
APARTMENTS COURTYARDS The Courtyards of Miami, located across from Miami’s Rec, on the corner of East Central Ave. and South Main St. offers two bedroom $2500. per person Heat and water included. 1 bedroom $3700. Free Summer available, parking included. Great location, and excellent upgrades, make the Courtyards worth looking at. Visit web thecourtyardsofmiami.com or call 513-659-5671 LARGE 1 BEDROOM APTS. Student rental. Available 2016/17. Off street parking, 1.5 blocks to rec. 475.00 per month or 2,800.00 per semester with 2 semesters required. Water, sewer trash included 610 South Main 513-8967358
YOUR AD HERE
WANT TO BUY A CLASSIFIED AD IN THE MIAMI STUDENT ? IN JUST A
FEW MINUTES YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE YOUR AD, PLACE YOUR ORDER FOR ONE OR MULTIPLE EDITIONS AND PAY ALL IN ONE LOCATION. CREATE AN ACCOUNT AND SUBMIT YOUR AD HERE: GOO. GL/8YBBOR.
YOUR AD
CORRECTIONS POLICY
The Miami Student is committed to providing the Miami University community
HERE
with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.
Dermatology Practice Opening New Locations in Ross & Oxford Accepting New Patients Weekly • Accepting Most Insurances www.dermatologist-plasticsurgeon.com
Premier Plastic Surgery and Dermatology Assoc.
TMS ONLINE MIAMISTUDENT.NET
Additional Offices in Hamilton & West Chester! 800-248-0491 TECH »PAGE 1
what we have to do,” he said. “New tech will always come out, so this will be an ongoing challenge.” The position was created in response to a lawsuit filed against Miami in January. Aleeha Dudley, a 21-year-old former student who is blind, accused Miami of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act for not providing her with appropriate technology. According to Dudley, several resources Miami provided for her were incompatible with her Brailleencoded screen reader, and she found it difficult to navigate Niihka and the degree audit system. FROM ISSUE 3 »PAGE 1
ized, many of them may not have given much thought to voting. In a survey of over 100 Miami students, 65 percent felt that legalization would have a positive impact on Oxford. However, 67 percent of the total respondents had not registered to vote. At the time of the survey, registration had already closed. “I’m sad to hear that [so few students are voting]. We did make a big push to go out and register vot-
The Department of Justice agreed that the university had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and Miami was forced to settle out of court. The school quickly began taking steps to improve. Miami posted an ad for the new director in July, along with openings for an accessible technology specialist and a web accessibility manager. Two of the three candidates have already attended the open forums in the Dolibois Room in the Shriver Center. Michael Wigle, the current IT manager for the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, spoke on Monday about
his qualifications for the job. “I want all my students able to access what I’m trying to teach,” he said. “That’s what I do as a teacher.” Wigle said he got invested in accessible technology while attending the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1993. One of the other students in his class was blind, and watching him use early technology blew him away. He began working with the available technology and has worked in the field for over 20 years. The second candidate, Sean Poley, currently works at Miami as the IT Accessibility Coordinator. Many of the members attending the forum
saw his current involvement with Miami as an important advantage. He spoke Thursday afternoon. Karen O’Hara, a web specialist from the University Communications and Marketing department, worried the two outside candidates would have a hard time working with other employees. “A lot of the staff will be reluctant to change their content,” O’Hara said. The third finalist, Tracy Jordan, has a unique perspective on the issue of accessible tech. After being bitten by a spider in 2003, she lost one of her legs and her eyesight. She has since earned a doctorate from the University of Texas at
Dallas and currently works with assistive technology for the Tarrant County College District. Ferrenberg said Jordan is a promising candidate. “She was sighted and now isn’t, which gives her a different outlook,” Ferrenberg said. He also said that, beyond some minor changes to the mobile pages, the average student wouldn’t notice a difference after the new director takes over. Jordan will speak at an open forum at 4:45 p.m. Monday in the Shriver Heritage Room. The search committee will recommend its choice for the director by the end of the week.
ers,” said Oltman, who visited Miami with ResponsibleOhio earlier in the semester. “Of course, people who are most supportive of legalization are college students, so having their votes is very important, but we are talking to voters of all ages, and I think folks across the board support legalization.” The passing of Issue 3 may seem to be in the majority’s favor, yet students are uneducated on the specifics of the amendment. Seventy-three percent of those surveyed either knew nothing about
Issue 3, or knew very minimal details. Of those who oppose the issue, a main complaint is that it doesn’t expunge the records of anyone with previous marijuana-related convictions. If passed, the issue would not permit citizens currently serving a marijuana-related sentence any release. The College Democrats at the Ohio State University are one of over 30 organizations against the passing of Issue 3. While the organization is for the legalization of
marijuana, they believe Issue 3 is not the right way to do it. “Issue 3 makes it legal for a select elite to have monopoly control of the market, charging us more for marijuana than in states like Colorado or Oregon, while doing nothing for the tens of thousands of Ohioans affected by marijuana -elated fines and convictions,” the group said in an official statement, which can be found on their medium.com page, reads. In response to this complaint, Oltman referred to the “Fresh Start
Act,” which, if approved, would expunge previous convictions and fines. She is confident that the Fresh Start Act will be on the 2016 ballot. Teteris, however, did not share the opinion of the organization. “I’m not totally informed on the issue, if I’m being honest, but I think it’s fair that the people who were convicted with illegal possession before [legalization] keep the charges,” she said. “It wouldn’t make sense otherwise. They got charged while it was still illegal.”
TMS ONLINE M I A M I S T U D E N T . N E T
WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET
9
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
FROM FOOTBALL »PAGE 10
fense,” Martin said. “The focus, obviously, again, will be being where you’re supposed to be, getting off blocks and making plays and not giving up those big plays.” Freshman quarterback Billy Bahl is expected to make his third career start for the ’Hawks. He showed much improvement in his second start against NIU, completing 16 of 33 passes for a career-high 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception. In his first start against Ohio on Oct. 10, he completed 8 of 23 passes for 150 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions. FROM INT’L NIGHT »PAGE 1
chance to have a try,” she said. “I think I will come back for the next game.” Graduate student Michael Ma also said he would come to games this season after International Night. “I love basketball, and it was a good event,” he said. After close to 60 students attended the first International Night, the team and coaching staff want to hold the event annually. “There’s always a start,” said Cooper. “We hope to build on this
Bahl will have to watch out for sophomore safety Asantay Brown, who leads the Bronco defense in tackles (49) with one interception and three pass breakups, and sophomore corner back Darius Phillips, who has three interceptions and nine breakups. MU holds a 37-20-1 all-time series advantage over Western Michigan, but the Broncos have won the last four meetings, including a 41-10 victory over the RedHawks last season at Yager Stadium. Miami last beat the Broncos in 2004 and have lost five straight at Waldo Stadium. Kickoff is 2 p.m. Saturday in Kalamazoo, Michigan. and develop a kinship with the international community.” At the end of International Night, Cooper addressed the students. “What we have here as a program, you all are part of that,” he said. “We hope that you all will create a great environment and become one with our program.” Friendship between the team and the international student community was something everyone was excited about. “This is beneficial for the team and the students,” Wade said. “We’re all having fun out here.”
FROM HOCKEY »PAGE 10
Blasi said. “As we go along here, hopefully we continue with that mentality, especially in the defensive zone, and it carries over into all three zones from there.” Another factor for the weekend may be Miami’s power play, which had a slow start to the season. After scoring on their first attempt, the RedHawks were stifled on their next eleven tries before finding twine on two of the five-man advantages they received against the Buckeyes. The RedHawks may extend those positive results this weekend. St. Lawrence averages nearly five penalties a game and has taken 19 trips to the sin bin in only four games. Miami holds a 7-6-1 lead in the all-time series after splitting a series in Oxford last season. This is MU’s first trip to SLU since Nov. 24, 2006 (4-3 win). Both games begin at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday in Canton, New York.
FROM COLUMN »PAGE 10
Romo, so they purged an offense mired in sludge and installed quarterback Matt Cassel and (purportedly) running back Christine Michael as starters during their bye week. Change is better than sticking with a losing formula, but it still doesn’t mean they’re likely to win. And although Dez is nearing his return, he’s doubtful for Sunday. >>Giants 23, Cowboys 16 Eagles (3-3) at Panthers (50)...CAR -3 The Panthers return to Carolina off a statement victory over twotime defending NFC champion Seattle. I don’t think I’m buying them as an elite team, but with the return of All-Pro middle lineFROM ONE STOP »PAGE 3
then we will escalate the student to someone directly from that department,” Sanders said. Destini Burns, student service specialist for One Stop, said it is not a substitute for Records, Registration, Admission and Financial Aid. “We communicate with Admission, we communicate
backer Luke Kuechly, they have the defense firepower to lock down Sam Bradford, who’s consistently inaccurate. >>Panthers 24, Eagles 20 Ravens (1-5) at Cardinals (42)…AZ -10 The Ravens’ D has had all their halfway-holepunched defensive lapses blown wide open with the season-ending injury to Pro Bowl quarterback-harasser Terrell Suggs. Their defensive backfield is not playing well at all. Cardinals QB Carson Palmer is scorching actual pass defenses this year, let alone old-fashioned units made out of paper metaphors. >>Cardinals 31, Ravens 27
RYAN MCSHEFFREY
MCSHEFJR@MIAMIOH.EDU
with Records and Registration and Financial Aid, we’ve been trained in all those areas to assist students as best as we can,” Burns said. Despite One Stop’s best effort in being convenient and efficient, Ugas recognizes that not everyone is happy with the new system. “I think change is the No. 1 thing people don’t want to deal with,” he said.
THE MIAMI STUDENT IS LOOKING FOR AD REPRESENTATIVES FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THOMAS BRIGGS AT BRIGGSTW@MIAMIOH.EDU
WHEN YOU’RE FINISHED READING
The Elie Wiesel Foundation
Prize in Ethics Essay Contest 2016
The Prize in Ethics Essay Contest is an annual competition designed to challenge college students to analyze the urgent ethical issues confronting them in today’s complex world. Articulate with clarity an ethical issue that you have encountered and describe what it has taught you about ethics and yourself. Full-time Juniors & Seniors at accredited four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. are invited to enter.
PLEASE RECYCLE
FIRST PRIZE: $5,000 SECOND PRIZE: $2,500 THIRD PRIZE: $1,500 TWO HONORABLE MENTIONS: $500 EACH
ONLINE ENTRY & GUIDELINES:
www.ethicsprize.org DEADLINE: ONLINE BY DEC. 14TH, 2015, 5PM PST
www.eliewieselfoundation.org
10 SPORTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
RedHawks face test in WMU
SPORTS@MIAMISTUDENT.NET
STAT OF THE DAY
556
FOOTBALL
GRACE REMINGTON SPORTS EDITOR
The Miami University football team has a shot at redemption when it travels to Western Michigan University on Saturday to face an offense similar to Northern Illinois University, who beat Miami 45-12 last weekend in Oxford. NIU defeated the RedHawks (1-6, 0-3 Mid-American Conference) with its run game, scoring four touchdowns on plays of 22 yards or more. WMU (3-3, 2-0 MAC) beat Ohio University last week with the run as well, scoring three touchdowns on rushes of at least 20 yards. So, this week’s matchup against WMU is more than facing similar offenses back-to-back, it’s a measure of Miami’s improvement. “Obviously, when you play another top team back-to-back, and this one’s on the road, it’s a great test for your football team,” head coach Chuck Martin said. “When you watch their game tape … those big one-play scoring drives killed [OU] … they gave up big plays, much like you saw us do a week ago. That’s the scary part for us. We know they’re capable of getting big plays via the run.” Sophomore RB Jarvion Franklin and redshirt freshman RB Jamauri Bogan see most of the touches, and each averages at least five yards per carry. Freshman wide receiver LeVante Bellamy averages 10.1 yards per carry on 20 rushing attempts. Miami gave up 311 rushing
The number of games volleyball head coach Carolyn Condit has won with Miami. She signed a contract extension through 2020-21 Tuesday and is the only MU coach with 500-plus wins.
MU takes on St. Lawrence HOCKEY
STEVE PERKINS STAFF WRITER
ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT
Redshirt freshman RB Alonzo Smith leads MU with 254 yards and three TDs. yards to NIU last week. Martin said there’s a small margin of error when playing these types of teams, and in order to limit the big run plays, defenders must fit runs properly and get runners to the ground. “Every run that popped through Saturday turned into a touchdown,” Martin said. “Every time you pop a run, it shouldn’t be a 60-yard touchdown or 30-yard touchdown.” “We have to make them drive the ball. When OU made them drive it, OU had some success. When OU didn’t make them drive it, they
went on those one-play big plays.” Redshirt junior quarterback Zach Terrell is also a threat. He leads an offense that averages 441 yards and 32.5 points per game. Terrell has thrown 17 touchdowns and six interceptions on the season and averages 252 yards per game. His two top receivers, redshirt junior Daniel Braverman and junior Corey Davis, total 11.5 and 12.9 yards per catch, respectively. “We know they’re a big-play ofFOOTBALL »PAGE 9
Miami prepares for final home stand SOCCER
HARRISON SCHWARZ STAFF WRITER
The Miami University women’s soccer team (9-5-1, 5-2-1 MidAmerican Conference) looks to rebound after failing to win both of its games last weekend. The RedHawks play the University of New York at Buffalo (9-5-2, 5-2-1 MAC) Friday and the University of Akron (6-9-1, 3-5 MAC) Sunday. After playing six of their first eight MAC games on the road, MU finally gets to enjoy a home stand longer than a weekend. After this weekend’s two games, the ’Hawks face Ball State University on Oct. 29 in the final game of the season. “We’ve been eyeing this home stand since the beginning of the season,” head coach Bobby Kramig said. “Certainly there was a huge challenge by starting con-
ference play with having to play four straight games on the road. But here’s the payback: coming up here in the next two weeks with three straight at home to finish it off. We’re looking forward to it.” The next three games are critical for Miami’s chances of achieving a high seed in the MAC tournament, which begins Nov. 1. The ’Hawks must improve on last weekend’s performances, when they lost 2-0 to Western Michigan University and tied with a two-win Northern Illinois University team. “Our focus right now is to be playing a little bit better than we did this past weekend,” Kramig said. “We didn’t play as well as we could have, and we didn’t play well enough to get the result that we needed in either game. Our focus is on our own game and to try to get a little bit better so we can get some good results this weekend.”
The Buffalo game is a grudge match for Miami. Last year, the Bulls snatched the conference title from MU in the final game of the season. Junior midfielder Stephanie Dillon, a returning member from last year’s squad, looks forward to seeing Buffalo again. “We’re pumped. It’s definitely going to be an aggressive game,” Dillon said. “I know I’m thinking forward to it and the rest of the team is looking forward to really getting back on track, getting our minds right and finishing business from last year with Buffalo.” MU and Buffalo are tied for first in the MAC East Division, so the game is significant to both teams for MAC tournament seeding purposes. The RedHawks face Buffalo at 3 p.m. Friday and Akron at 1 p.m. Sunday in Oxford, Ohio.
The No. 14/15 Miami University hockey team hits the road this weekend for their first away series of the year against No. 17 St. Lawrence University. The RedHawks (2-1-1) head into the weekend fresh off last weekend’s sweep of in-state rival Ohio State University. The Saints enter the series 3-1-0. Head coach Rico Blasi said the team is excited for the weekend. “Well, I think everyone is looking forward to getting on the road and being together,” Blasi said. “It’s a series that’s extremely important against a very, very good St. Lawrence team.” St. Lawrence scored 14 goals in its first four games, three more than Miami. Of those 14 goals, three have come from the stick of senior forward Christian Horn. Horn’s first NCAA goal was in his first game on his first shot against Miami last year in Oxford. The forward also has an assist this year, for a total of four points. He is a +4 this season. On the RedHawks’ side of things, almost half of the scoring comes from the young guns. Miami’s freshmen have accounted for 15 of the 31 points tallied this year. Forwards Jack Roslovic and Josh Melnick each have five points. Roslovic has three goals and two assists, including both gamewinners against the Buckeyes
last weekend, which earned him this week’s National Collegiate Hockey Conference freshman of the week title. Fourteen others have at least one point this season, leaving only five players on Miami’s roster without a point through the first four games. The RedHawks need that scoring this weekend, as they face Kyle Hayton, one of the best goaltenders in the NCAA. Through his first four starts, Hayton is 3-1 with 92 saves on 100 shots. He has given up eight goals in his four games for a 1.98 goals against average. Blasi said the key to disrupting a good goaltender is a lot of shots. “You’ve just got to continue to get pucks to the net. You’ve got to get traffic in front of him,” Blasi said. “You’ve got to force him to make saves. He’s one of the best goalies in the country. There’s really no weakness to his game.” Miami has 123 shots in its first four games, which is 13 more than its opponents (107 shots). MU goaltenders have stood equal to the task 95 times. Senior Ryan Mckay has made 77 of the team’s 95 saves, earning a .939 save percentage and a 1.53 goals against average. But Blasi also gave credit to the defensemen. “I think our guys are a little more determined right now,” HOCKEY »PAGE 9
NFL Week 7: picks and previews COLUMN
RYAN MCSHEFFREY Bills (3-3) v. Jaguars (1-5) (London)...BUF -7 You may have seen some of the articles about the time zone change — apparently the Jaguars are going about the process in all the wrong ways, which doesn’t bode well for a team that’s not too impressive to begin with. My guess is Tyrod Taylor plays in this one, so the Bills will probably just be playing keep away. >>Bills 27, Jaguars 20 Colts (3-3) at Saints (2-4)...IND -4.5 This is an interesting matchup of teams with great quarterbacks who are failing to meet expectations. The Saints no longer have a great swagger boost at home, so don’t count on it being a factor. Neither of these
defenses is above average, so expect this one to feature a good deal of scoring. >>Colts 27, Saints 23 Texans (2-4) at Dolphins (2-3)... MIA -4 If you’re a believer in the power of first impressions, then new head coach Dan Campbell’s convincing win over the Titans last week finally led the Dolphins out of the wet paper bag they had been suffocating in during the beginning of the season. The Texans defense hasn’t been as good as expected, and the Dolphins D is ready to tee off again. >>Dolphins 27, Texans 20 Jets (4-1) at Patriots (5-0)...NE -10 This is the Pats’ first look at their traditional rival under head coach Todd Bowles. The Jets have been less about talk and more about performance under the new reign, which
is refreshing. The team is going in the right direction. I don’t see this being anything other than a one-score game. And at the end of the day, there’s a reason why people say the quarterback is the most important position. >>Patriots 24, Jets 20 Chargers (2-4) at Raiders (2-3)... SD -4 With the way the Chargers and Raiders have been playing, you’d think there would be very little chance for the Raiders to have a record that is technically better. San Diego’s Philip Rivers-led offense should rip through Oakland’s defense. >>Chargers 31, Raiders 23 Cowboys (2-3) at Giants (3-3)... NYG -3 The Cowboys continue to struggle without Dez Bryant and Tony
ANGELO GELFUSO THE MIAMI STUDENT
Senior forward and captain Sean Kuraly has 10 shots, but no points this year.
GOLF FINAL LEADERBOARD
MOUNTAINEER INTERCOLLEGIATE
OVERALL
MIAMI
1. Penn State, +9
T-19. Bud Radis, +6
2. UConn, +19
T-19. Jack Sparling, +6
3. Mississippi State, +20
T-31. Patrick Flavin +8
4. Towson University, +22
T-37. Brian Ohr, +9
...
T-37. Greg Conrad, +9
7. Miami University, +26
COLUMN »PAGE 9
Moonlight Skates
GOGGIN ICE CENTER | 513.529.9800 | MiamiOH.edu/ICE
Saturdays 9:30-11pm FREE w/ Miami ID $2.75 Skate Rental *Ages 17 & up only