ESTABLISH 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
Volume 146 No. 3
UNIVERSITY AT ODDS WITH CITY ON E-SCOOTERS SAMANTHA BRUNN NEWS EDITOR
ILLUSTRATION: BEN SMITH DESIGN EDITOR
Enquirer faces controversy SAMANTHA BRUNN NEWS EDITOR
When Leah Sprock clicked on The Cincinnati Enquirer’s recently-published video series on sexual assault — for which she was interviewed about her experience as a victim — she was shocked to learn the newspaper had given her explicit, revealing testimony equal footing with perspectives of accused rapists. The Enquirer defended the series as
“journalistically sound.” She first told the newspaper she wanted her interview retracted from “The Sex Talk,” and then later asked that her story be featured in a separate video. She was rebuffed by Enquirer reporters Kate Murphy and Meg Vogel, and their editor, Amy Wilson. “We would have been remiss to not speak to everyone on all sides,” Wilson said in an interview with The Miami Student.
The series features interviews with two young men accused of sexual assault, among many others. Sprock, a senior at Miami, said she wanted no part of a conversation that gave the accused a platform. Sprock’s protest was amplified on social media, with supporters accusing the Enquirer of misleading Sprock into believing the piece was a work of advocacy and of not
Miami University issued a cease-anddesist letter to the City of Oxford on Sept. 14 regarding a tentatively-approved permit issued to Bird Rides, Inc. Bird Rides, Inc. is an electric vehicle sharing service which provides cities and campuses with electric scooters, or e-scooters. In the letter, David Creamer, Miami’s senior vice president for finance and business services, expressed safety concerns the university has over the use of e-scooters. “Miami University has serious concerns about the use of e-scooters, particularly in congested pedestrian areas and on streets where buses, trucks, farm equipment and automobiles travel at speeds that are capable of causing serious injury and even death,” Creamer wrote. The letter explains that the university would like to take time to review the due diligence performed by the city as well as review the measures Bird Rides, Inc. takes to ensure the safety of e-scooter users. In July, the university passed a policy prohibiting e-scooter use on campus. Due to this policy, Creamer said, the university denies any responsibility or liability for damage to e-scooters on university property. “I assume the meeting between Bird representatives and ASG (Associated Student Government) representatives will be held at an off-campus location and that neither the City nor Bird Rides, Inc. would knowingly violate University regulations,” Creamer wrote. The university expects the city to accept full responsibility for any legal and financial issues that may arise from the use of e-scooters in Oxford and on campus, and will sue the city and Bird Rides, Inc. if needed to enforce the university’s position. In a meeting between the university and the City of Oxford on Monday night, the university threatened to confiscate the scooters and otherwise take any action they deemed necessary to enforce university rules CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
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ARENA
Karaoke, Hennessy bring cultures together at Pixxo CÉILΊ DOYLE NEWS EDITOR
PIXXO PROVIDES A SHARED SPACE FOR CHINESE AND AMERICAN STUDENTS TO MINGLE. BO BRUECK ASST. PHOTO EDITOR
10:53 p.m. The bass booms inside Pixxo while a few Chinese students mill outside the karaoke bar, laughing and talking among themselves. An American student in a Sixers jersey strolls in, followed by a group of girls dragging their dads along. A group of Chinese students race to the back of the bar. Inside, the bouncer puffs on a Juul before casually scanning students’ IDs. Vinyls from obscure albums like “FILE” and “Ghetto Jams” line the walls of the bar. There are leather couches on both sides of the entrance, and a poster advertising a bottle of Hennessy is framed in a sharp, white neon outline next to the dance floor. Past the bar and down a narrow hallway to the left, streams of Chinese students duck into unmarked white doors. There are three private rooms for karaoke. Sounds of shrill Mandarin and off-key singing echo through the walls.
This Issue
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Student honors father’s memory
Bar 1868 fills a hole in the wall of Cellar
Junior, Chris Dombroski starts a foundation for cancer research.
New name, but ownership stays in the family.
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Put some R-E-S-P-E-C-T on those dreams
A group of American guys sit behind the DJ with a bucket of chilled Hennessy. “What’s Pixxo like?” Paul Williams, a 2016 Miami alum says. “It’s hella popular. Hella everything.” *** Pixxo officially opened, liquor license in hand, on Sept. 1, 2017. A group of five Chinese international students who have since graduated from Miami started Pixxo, eventually bringing on Roman Wang, who went to Purdue University for undergrad and got his master’s at John Hopkins University, as another business partner. One Thursday in November 2017, a group of American students decided to stop by. Senior Ethan Blaze had always joked about going to there with his best friend Brad Maupin, who is also a senior. “We had heard they don’t let Americans come in, which was strange because we walked in and had no issues,” Blaze said. “We got to talking with [Roman], we spent a few hours in there, we taught him
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Volleyball feeling de´jà vu
See the value in others peoples’ interests.
This year’s team looks as good as, if not better than, 2017 squad.
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Need a laugh? We sure do... Humor special section debuts on page 5