October 2, 2015 | The Miami Student

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ESTABLISHED 1826 – OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

The Miami Student FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET

VOLUME 144 NO. 11

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

Curtains close on Princess Theatre

CONNOR MORIARTY PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

ABBEY GINGRAS NEWS EDITOR

The historic Princess Theatre was demolished Monday, to make way for a new housing development that will feature a digital movie theatre on one of its four floors. CONSTRUCTION

AUDREY DAVIS THE MIAMI STUDENT

Just a few days ago, the shelves at the Princess Theatre were still stocked with candy. A batch of popcorn, though stale and old, was still piled in the machine, ready to be eaten — even though the theatre had been closed for well over a year. Before the demolition began Monday, the historic Princess had been around for over a century. It was first opened Sept. 11, 1911 and was originally called the New Oxford Theatre. From its opening to its demolition this week, the theatre went

through several ownerships and two additional name changes. It wasn’t until 1982 the theatre got name it is known by today. While it was called the Talawanda Theatre, Angela Provines, a Miami alumna (’75), recalls spending many evenings there. “Many professors and their families would attend movies there,” Provines said. “It was weird to see them out of the classroom and being ‘real people.’” An ad for the New Oxford Theatre was featured in a 1938 edition of The Miami Student, promoting ticket prices at only 10 cents for children and 25 cents for adults. Students used to be given discounted prices if they brought

their college IDs. Provines said because of this, the theatre was usually packed, especially on Saturday nights. The theatre had always been known for its cheap ticket prices, making it a great hangout spot for Oxford’s younger population, like first-year Phoebe Myers. Myers has lived in Oxford her whole life. She had been watching shows at the Princess Theatre for as long as she can remember. She recalls the day she was allowed to go to the theatre without her parents, when she was 11 years old — a monumental moment. The theatre, she said, was a large part of her childhood and teenage years.

“Freshman year of high school, all of the English classes read the Hunger Games,” Myers said. “One day we all walked from the old high school to the Princess to watch the movie, and that was just a really great memory.” Senior Jillian Runser also remembers watching the same movie at the theater. “My sophomore year we got free tickets to see the Hunger Games premiere there,” Runser said. “It was just a bunch of girls from my corridor freaking out about it, so it was a lot of fun.” In the past few years, the theatre has closed and reopened several times. In 2014, not long after it had been renovated, the Princess

caught fire from an overheated ice machine. Although the theatre was not open at the time and no one was hurt, it was shut down due to smoke damage and has remained closed since. “It was just a really good place to go if you wanted an alternative to going out to bars or just hang out with your friends and relax and forget about what was going on around you,” Runser said. The theater has been missed in the town since its indefinite closing. Myers said younger kids, especially, have lost something that gave them a sense of freedom. “It was part of the town’s identity,” Myers said. “It just fit with Oxford.”

University to spend $140M on campus-wide construction projects Trustees request tax money for Pearson, Bachelor updates

Miami University is looking to spend more than $90 million on renovations to Pearson and Bachelor Halls on Oxford campus. During a meeting last Friday, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the proposal of a Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2017 -2022. The proposal was approved without any further discussion. “We’re optimistic that a capital bill will move forward in the January/February time frame, and we’re hopeful with our submissions that our priorities will be funded at the highest possible level,” said David Creamer, vice president for finance and business services. Miami is hoping to receive more than $97 million from the state of Ohio in renovation expenses for buildings on the Oxford, Hamilton and Middletown campuses. The Pearson Hall renovation is by far the most costly, at $60.1 million. The renovation will be completed in parts, with Phase 1 taking place during the 2017-2018 fiscal year and Phase 2 taking place during the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Pearson Hall, home to the

biological science departments, was built in 1985. The building has not been updated since, and the upcoming renovation is intended to modernize and bring it up to current standards. “The big thing is to provide more flexibility in how we use the spaces,” said Thomas Crist, chair of the Department of Biology. Crist explained that many of the lab spaces include benches that are immobile, which creates workspaces that cannot be tailored to the needs of specific instructors or classes. The renovation would fix this problem and accommodate both technology and equipment the departments already use, and technology that will become available in the future. Crist also hopes the renovation will take into consideration the severe lack of communal space for students in Pearson Hall by creating more study areas. Like Pearson, Bachelor Hall, home to the English and Mathematics Departments, also hasn’t been updated since it was built in 1978. The renovation to Bachelor Hall is a proposed $32 million, and will take place during the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The remaining $5.4 million is intended for general building repairs

NEWS p. 2

NEWS p. 3

THE MAN BEHIND THE MUG

THE FRESHMAN EXPERIENCE

Managing partner of Oxford Coffee Company discusses his love for coffee, how his shop came to be

Writer follows group of student through their first year of college at Miami

CONSTRUCTION

BRITTON PERELMAN CULTURE EDITOR

TODAY in MIAMI HISTORY

on the Hamilton and Middletown campuses. Creamer explained the faculty members of the departments in each building will be asked for suggestions about what is in need of renovation. In addition to the funding from the state of Ohio, Creamer expects Miami will need to secure between $11 million and $20 million in a local match in order for the Pearson Hall renovation to proceed on schedule. “The amount that is appropriated by the state of Ohio won’t allow us to keep up with the aging of our facilities,” said Creamer. The state of Ohio has been able to fully fund similar projects in past years, but a decline in federal contributions has created a need for local funding to support these necessary renovations. “This issue is made worse by a growing backlog of academic building projects that may require even more local funding if projects are to be undertaken more timely,” said Mark Ridenour, chair of the board’s finance and audit committee. Local funding will most likely come in the form of fundraising and university funds originally intended

Renovations will equip Shriver with new welcome center, auditorium CONSTRUCTION

VICTORIA SLATER MANAGING EDITOR

Armstrong opened in 2013, when several student organization spaces in Shriver relocated, subsequently leaving large portions of the building vacant and unused. “It created opportunities to make improvements in the space and meet other needs on the campus,” Creamer said at the trustee meeting. Currently, Shriver houses the H.O.M.E. office, the university bookstore and an auditorium, as well as a print and IT Services desk. One goal of the completed renovation project is to allow Miami’s recruitment offices, currently housed in the Campus Avenue Building, to relocate to a more central area of campus. As such, the first floor of the revamped Shriver Center will be dedicated to an admission center, as well as 250-seat auditorium, expanded bookstore space, a new convenience store and counseling rooms. “I think these enhancements further reflect the improvements we will achieve through the Armstrong project that will now allow us to make further improvements in student services within the Shriver Cen-

RENOVATIONS »PAGE 8

The 50-year-old Shriver Center is getting a $20 million face lift after the Board of Trustees unanimously endorsed renovation plans. The trustees announced Phase I of the project — which will use university funds — at the Sept. 25 board meeting. The construction will update the former student center with refurbished office spaces, meeting rooms, a larger bookstore and a welcome center. The estimated completion date is in January 2017. Opened in 1957, the Shriver Center served as the student center for several decades, equipped with a popular food court and student common area on the first floor. However, Shriver’s small size and fragmented layout, according to Miami University’s archives, led ASG to propose the creation of a new student center in 2004, sparking the construction of Armstrong Student Center in 2011. Vice President of Finance and Business Services David Creamer said plans for the Shriver renovations have been in the works since

CULTURE p. 4

OPINION p. 6

SPORTS p. 10

WIL HAYGOOD ON CAMPUS MONDAY

OPEN SEARCH WILL BENEFIT ALL

DON TREADWELL VS. REDHAWKS

Award-winning alumnus to discuss his new book about Thurgood Marshall

Editorial board requests more transparency in the search for the new university president

Football team takes on Kent State Saturday, facing MU’s former head coach Don Treadwell

SHRIVER »PAGE 8

This day in 1956, The Miami Student reported the Oxford Chamber of Commerce initiated an annual fall festival that included games, booths and contests. The main event was the Melon Mess, a watermelon eating contest.


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