April 7, 2015 | The Miami Student

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The Miami Student Established 1826

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015 VOLUME 142 NO. 46

WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

PHOTOS BY FRANKIE ROSKAM, LAUREN OLSON AND CONNOR MORIARTY

Each year, Miami students pay a general fee of $1,860. Of that, $997 — or about 54 percent — goes toward intercollegiate athletics, most of which is allocated to student-athlete scholarships.

Fee frustration: Students pay $997 yearly for athletics ATHLETICS

MARY SCHROTT THE MIAMI STUDENT

This year’s budget shows that over 50 percent of the $1,860 general fee paid by all Miami undergraduates is going toward intercollegiate athletics. With the general fee being mandatory, this means each year undergraduates must pay $997 for intercollegiate sports, as well as a combined $350 for the Rec center and Goggin Ice Center, leaving $513 to be allocated to Armstrong, Shriver, Millet, Health Services, Transportation Services, ASG, Lecture Series, more than 240 other student organizations and several other services. Current senior and vice president of Student Organizations,

Nathan Lombardi, is heading an eight-person task force of students and faculty aiming to address and alter the general fee by 2020. Lombardi said the money paid toward intercollegiate sports mainly supports student-athlete scholarships. “I think it’s a disproportionate allocation of the student fee away from areas that create tangible student life on campus,” he said. The other areas of tangible student life Lombardi alludes to are MAP events, like Spring Fest, as well as the Lecture Series, an organization he describes as “extraordinarily successful.” Though Lombardi said he supports Miami’s intercollegiate athletics, he believes the money and energy being spent on sports doesn’t match the culture of Miami, and he cites low attendance

Community questions alcohol task force findings ALCOHOL

SARAH BUOP

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Miami University students have begun to question the Alcohol Task Force’s recommendations and their effectiveness in reducing the high-risk drinking culture on campus. The task force released a report last Monday, March 30. President David Hodge announced the report to students via email, explaining that a newly formed Alcohol Coordinating Committee (ACC) will be taking action to find ways to improve the drinking behavior at the university. According to the report, Miami students’ high-risk drinking rates have continually ranked higher than the national average. The report states that the number of non-drinking students decreases

M

TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY UNIVERSITY

TASK FORCE »PAGE 9

would be spent at the five major conferences,” Creamer said. Though the fees Miami charges students may be controversial, Creamer feels they ultimately even out for students and provide each individual a rewarding college experience. “We don’t try to provide one specific educational experience for every student,” Creamer said. “We hope to provide enough variety and options that your goals and expectations are met and a student who is very different from you hopefully has the same outcome that their unique goals and expectations are being met.” Although attendance at Miami sporting events is a small percent of the student body, many students, like sophomore Nicole Waker, specifically enjoy attending Miami hockey games.

“Going to the games adds a sense of community around school, and it’s fun to support a aschool team that does really well,” Waker said. Creamer notes that many students share Waker’s enthusiasm for supporting school teams. “We have students who line up waiting to get into the hockey game and it’s a very important part of their experience here,” Creamer said. “Is that true for every student? Absolutely not, some couldn’t figure out why they would even go to the game, let alone wait up all night to go.” For the student’s who don’t enjoy intercollegiate sports, Creamer says there is still the potential for them to benefit from the services the general fee pays for. ATHLETICS »PAGE 5

ASG ELECTIONS —VOTE ON THE HUB BETWEEN 12p.m. APRIL 8 AND 7p.m. APRIL 9

CONNOR MORIARTY PHOTO EDITOR

ARCH YOU THERE? Rays brightens the Upham Arch as the sun sets behind King Library in the distance.

In 2010, The Miami Student reported $2,100 in hotel damages put a dent in not only students’ credit cards, but also in the university’s Greek system.The Alpha chapter of Sigma Chi was suspended for a semester following damages done to Ohio State University’s Blackwell Inn. COMMUNITY

PLASTIC PROFITS POSE PROBLEM »PAGE 2

after four to six weeks of students arriving at school. In other words, Miami students are less likely to remain non-drinkers — and more likely to participate in alcohol consumption — when they arrive at school, compared to the national average. After receiving a notification about the report, students are having a difficult time believing that Miami’s drinking problem is different from other schools and that the report will help change students drinking habits. Junior Emily Anderson said she, like other Miami students, remains unclear as to what the task force even is or does. “I feel there is some confusion on what the task force really is,” Anderson said. “To me I thought it was just a series of seminars or info sessions, and I had no idea it was a set plan over time to in-

as evidence. “You can’t force a cultural change on a campus, you have to move with whatever cultural direction is going on,” Lombardi said. While Lombardi wants to see change in the general fee’s focus on intercollegiate athletics, Miami’s vice president of finance, David Creamer, believes intercollegiate athletics are an important part of the college environment. “This is not new,” Creamer said. “Intercollegiate athletics have always been supported by student fees.” What Creamer said makes Miami’s fee allocations stand out as an outlier is a result of its size. “We are called a mid-major, and the amount that we spend on athletics is a fraction of what

UBER DRIVES INTO OXFORD »PAGE 3

Apartments

CULTURE

FATHER JOHN MISTY ALBUM REVIEW »PAGE 4

OPINION

SPORTS

SEXUAL ASSAULT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED

TRACK

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