ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016
Volume 144 №44
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
Remembering MinGi: Compassionate and dedicated DEATH
AUDREY DAVIS ANGELA HATCHER ALISON PERELMAN THE MIAMI STUDENT
MinGi Kang woke up early on Thursday, March 25. His friends had a flight to catch at 7 a.m., and he was the only person willing to drive them. So his alarm went off early, he got dressed, grabbed the keys
to the car and drove his friends to the airport. At 3:45 p.m., just eight hours later, MinGi climbed and fell from the radio tower at Williams Hall. A couple weeks earlier, a pair of his friends had a flight at 5 a.m. No one wanted to drive them to the airport. MinGi woke up, got dressed, grabbed keys to the car and drove his friends.
He was always willing to drive his friends, no matter the time of day. He never asked for anything in return. “He really knew how to take care of others,” said Ting Zhao, MinGi’s girlfriend of a year and a half. “He helped people every day.” As the Miami community — both international and domestic — mourns the passing of MinGi Kang, his com-
passion, humor and smiling face live on as reminders of who he was and still is to his friends and family. MinGi was a gamer at heart — League of Legends was one of his favorites. He liked reading the Harry Potter series, playing soccer and listening to punk music. His favorite bands were Green Day and Nirvana, and he often played their songs on the guitar.
He missed his hometown food but loved going to a Korean BBQ place Uptown with his girlfriend. He was also a good cook — making real Korean stir fry and dumplings — and would often surprise Ting with breakfast when she woke up. “There’s a lot of memories,” Ting said. “The memories are all good.” Ting first met MinGi at Tea Cha House. They were both
first-years. She lived in Morris; he lived in Stanton. They didn’t realize how close they lived to each other or that they had gone to the same international high school, HuiJia, in China. Ting walked into Tea Cha House with a small group of friends and joined MinGi’s much larger group. The only MINGI »PAGE 9
CREDITS FROM TOP LEFT: DARSHINI PARTHASARATHY, BRIANNA NIXON, CONTRIBUTED, DARSHINI PARTHASARATHY
MEMORIAL FOR MINGI Students, faculty and staff came together on Friday afternoon in MacMillan Hall to remember the life of sophomore student MinGi Kang
Stomp Dance and Myaamiaki conference International student spotlight, Natasha celebrate Miami Tribe traditions Quitano: Not Samoa, not Spain, but Saipan MYAAMIA
EMILY WILLIAMS NEWS EDITOR
Late Friday night, a dozen Shawnee Tribe members arrived in Oxford after traveling over 600 miles from Miami, Oklahoma to lead students, faculty, Miami tribe members and other community members at Miami University in a traditional Stomp Dance. The event, held on Saturday, April 2 in the Armstrong Pavilion, was a collaboration between Late Night Miami, Miami Tribe Relations, the Myaamia Center, the Office of Residence Life (ORL) and the Center for American and World Cultures. The Stomp Dance was planned in conjunction with the seventh biennial Myaamiaki Conference, an educational event that celebrates the namesake of the university, the Miami Tribe, their current activity and projects and their relationship with the university. This year’s theme was eempaapiikinamankwi kineepwaayoneminaani, “We pick up the threads of our knowledge.” The conference, which ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the John Dolibois Room in the Shriver Center, featured presentations on everything from the launch of the Myaamia Online Dictionary to the recovering of traditional tribe names
and naming processes to the implementation of Montessori teaching methods in Myaamia educational programs. Among the conference attendees was Doug Lankford, the Chief of the Miami tribe, and Dustin Olds, the Second Chief, who also made the journey from Oklahoma to Ohio for the weekend. Many Myaamia families who live in Indiana were also able to attend. Ben Barnes, the Second Chief of the Shawnee Tribe, and Roy Baldridge, a Shawnee Business Council Member, also attended with the Stomp Dance performers. Coordinator of Miami Tribe Relations for the university, Bobbe Burke, compared the conference to a large family reunion. She was especially excited to see many of the Myaamia alumni return to campus, some of whom were among the presenters at the conference. “That’s what’s really fun for me to see,” Burke said. “We’ve had a really good track record of having people who are so engaged with the tribe here that they are able to give back in uniquely different ways.” Over 180 Miami community members swiped their IDs at the Late Night Miami check-in table, and more than 250 people participated in the Stomp Dance that night. Available at the entrance of the event was a card with
various challenges and questions such as, “Participate in the Stomp Dance,” “Talk with a member of the Miami tribe” and “Where is the Miami Tribe officially headquartered today?” Each activity or question corresponded with an amount of points participants could use to win prizes such as imprinted mugs, plastic tumblers and “I am Miami” flags in the Myaamia language. “We wanted it to be a means to encourage students to actively participate and learn some things about the Miami Tribe,” said Rob Abowitz, Associate Director of the Office of Residence Life. The chairs in the room formed a circle around the dance space where two groups of Shawnee tribe members alternated leading the stomp. Each dance proceeded in the same way — a male “caller” led the dance followed by a female “shaker.” The women set the rhythm of the dance by stomping and shaking the shells worn around their ankles. Traditionally, the shakers were made from turtle shells but are typically now made from cans filled with small stones. The dancers, alternating male and female, continued to form a spiral as more people joined the dance. Although many of the stomp »PAGE 9
PEOPLE
ANGELA HATCHER NEWS EDITOR
Natasha Quitano greets customers who walk into Krishna with a smile, telling them to grab a seat wherever they want. She’s been working there for roughly two months. She loves her coworkers, manager, customers, and she loves the food. When Natasha turned 15 years old, her summer was not spent lounging on the beach like it had been for the past 14 years. Instead, she spent her time packing and preparing for the 7,051 mile move from her home of Saipan to the United States. Not Samoa, not Spain, but Saipan. Saipan is the second largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a fourteen chain island, all of which are U.S. territories. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, near the Philippines and Guam. The island is 12 miles long and 5.6 miles wide. “It’s a dot on the globe,” Natasha said. Home to the Chamorro people, the island’s population is roughly 48,000, according to the 2010 United States Census. Natasha is half Chamorro and half Thai. She has 14 half siblings and one full blooded sister, who
CONTRIBUTED BY NATASHA QUITANO
she grew up with. Out of her 16 siblings, she and her sister are the youngest. She didn’t grow up with her 14 other siblings because they had a different mother. Part of the reason she moved here was because her dad, who is Chamorro, and her mother, who is Thai, decided to separate. Oxford, Ohio: A town her mother viewed as a package deal because of Talawanda high school and Miami University. Saipan has only three high schools and one university which is more of a community college. “America just has more opportunity,” she said. And so the journey to
Oxford began. She is a first year art major. Her main focus is studio art, rather than graphic design. Her favorite medium used to be graphite because she specialized in portraits. But she paints a lot more nowadays. “I sold more of my paintings than my portraits,” Natasha said. “I’ll just post stuff on my Instagram, and if people like it, they ask to buy it. In Saipan, when she was little, the frequent power outages left Natasha bored and idle, itching for something to do to keep busy. She had a Tom and Jerry coloring book natasha »PAGE 9
NEWS p. 2
NEWS p. 3
CULTURE p. 4
OPINION p. 6
SPORTS p. 10
NEW PROMOTION POINT PROPOSED FOR LECTURERS
ASG AMENDS RESOLUTION WITH PARTIAL MAJORITY
MIAMI ANNOUNCES VARSITY ESPORTS PROGRAM
BOARD LAMENTS LOSS OF STUDENTTEACHER BONDS
POTENT MU CORNERBACK LOST TO AUBURN
University Senate committee examines promotion process for lecturers and clinical faculty.
Controversial recognition of Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day passes.
Gamers now have opportunity to earn scholarships, national recognition.
As reliance on contingent faculty increases, mentor-pupil relationships suffer.
Redshirt junior Marshall Taylor swayed by relationships with coaches, friends.