The Miami Student | August 23, 2021

ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

Volume 150 No. 1

Miami university — Oxford, Ohio

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Back to normal*

*well, almost

Miami plans for fall semester LEXI WHITEHEAD COSETTE GUNTER ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITORS Miami University’s COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines are still a work in progress as thousands of students move back into residence halls, apartments and houses this fall.

Miami announced new mask guidelines Aug. 5, requiring all faculty, students and staff to wear a face covering indoors regardless of vaccination status. The announcement came after several other Ohio universities implemented the same policy on their campuses.

On Aug. 5, Miami President Greg Crawford wrote in an email to the Miami community that “face coverings, social distancing, and vaccination will likely remain a part of our experience for at least part of this fall.”

Still, many COVID-related restrictions in place during the 2020-2021 school year will not return this semester.

Vaccines & testing Miami is not requiring students, staff or faculty to receive the COVID vaccine, yet. But the university is strongly encouraging those who can get vaccinated to do so. Otherwise, students who are not vaccinated or have not uploaded documentation of at least one dose of the vaccine will be required to submit to regular testing.

Jessica Rivinius, director of news and media relations, said Miami is not requiring the vaccine because it is still under emergency use authorization through the FDA and is not fully approved.

“Overall, we want to encourage our entire university community to get vaccinated, but at this time we’ve decided not to require vaccines,” Rivinius said. “We work closely with the Inter-University Council and if [the vaccine requirement]

A deep dive into the success of the incoming class of 2025 LILY FREIBERG STAFF WRITER When first-year education major Michael Sanchez heard Miami University’s class of 2025 had been named “the largest, most academically accomplished incoming class in history,” he was surprised.

“I’m a bit intimidated,” Sanchez said. “In front of other people, I don’t think I would hold up to that standard, but hopefully I do.”

Bethany Perkins, director of Admissions, said grades and course rigor were key factors in admitting the best students.

“Both of these metrics are tied to a student’s overall achievements and performance over their high school career, not a point-in-time measurement such as a test score,” Perkins said.

Zeb Baker, director of the Honors College, said the basic academic profile is the most important part of the admissions process for the college.

“Even though it was a cohort of students across the university that [were] admitted through test-score optional means, that didn’t deter the university from being able to identify outstanding students,” Baker said.

Baker said he thinks the Honors College has been successful with at-

This Issue

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY Student orgs will now have the opportunity to meet in person with less restrictions.

- page 5 ENTERTAINMENT From “Whip My Hair” to “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” Willow Smith has taken on a new, more mature sound.

- page 12

tracting students. Over 4,500 students applied to be a part of the Inaugural Cohort of Honors College students in the first year of its institution.

“We were able to help the university to continue to make the case for really good, smart students to choose Miami, whether or not they’re in the Honors College,” Baker said.

While some might have high ACT and SAT scores, that wasn’t the case for incoming first-year Kaila Powers.

Also an education major, Powers said her hard work and passion helped her get accepted despite her low test scores.

“I am more knowledgeable about stuff that strings along with my passions,” Powers said. “I work hard, I study hard and I get decent grades.”

Sanchez, like Powers, took pride in his determination and work ethic to get his grades up.

“I struggled early in high school and made up for it my junior and senior year,” Sanchez said.

Perkins said Miami attracts students because of the challenging courses, academic experience, positive career outcomes and engaging campus experience.

“I think our applicant pool reflects our student body,” Perkins said. “Our students work hard and are involved in life outside the classroom,

SPORTS The Olympics started a conversation between Miami RedHawks about the importance of mental health as student athletes.

- page 17 FOOD Our food editor documented her first experience trying Skyline Chili.

- page 10

and that foundation is laid before starting at Miami.”

Powers chose Miami because of the school’s proximity to her home in Cincinnati, Miami’s beautiful campus and the school’s opportunities for students.

“Every single time I went there [to visit], I just felt connected to it,” Powers said. “I was like, ‘Yes, this is the place where I fit in.’”

Both Powers and Sanchez plan to get involved in student organizations.

Powers wants to join an a capella group and an exercising program like yoga or zumba. Sanchez wrote for his high school newspaper and wishes to continue that in college.

Jayne Brownell, vice president for Student Life, said her role helps students get engaged in a lot of activities, supporting them as they progress through their years.

“We want to make sure [students] have a great experience while they’re here,” Brownell said. “We want them to stay, persist and graduate.”

Perkins said Miami plans to share students’ stories with everyone and anyone they can.

“We trust that the value of the Miami experience will continue to speak for itself in many ways.” @LLFreiberg freibell@miamioh.edu

were to change, we [would] notify the university community immediately, so it’s just one of those ongoing things.”

Vaccines are being offered to students, faculty and staff throughout the semester for free at the Student Health Services building and at the Armstrong Student Center.

Armstrong will have a drop-in vaccination clinic where students can get their shot without scheduling an appointment.

Students who upload their vaccination records are entered into Miami’s vaccine incentive program Your Shot to Win for a chance to win prizes such as bookstore gift cards, a laptop and a tuition credit for one semester.

Staff members who submit information about their vaccination status will receive two days of bonus leave to use in lieu of vacation over winter break.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Miami athletics has busy summer

SAM BACHMAN (PICTURED) WAS SELECTED NINTH OVERALL BY THE LOS ANGELES ANGELS IN THE 2021 MLB DRAFT. PHOTO EDITOR ZACH REICHMAN

LUKAS NELSON SPORTS EDITOR

JACK SCHMELZINGER ASST. SPORTS EDITOR While students were away from campus for the summer, the action continued for some of Miami’s athletes. Here’s a look at what Miami athletics was up to while you were away.

Embry gets statue in front of Millett Hall Miami basketball legend Wayne Embry, class of ‘58, was given the ultimate honor by the university: a statue of his likeness outside Millett Hall. The statue depicted Embry

OPINION Staff Editorial: Oxford is more than just the student body. We have a community to protect.

- page 20

STAFF BIOS It’s a new year, but our staff remains committed to you. Get to know more about us.

- page 22

STYLE Love to shop till you drop? Here’s how your habits are impacting the Earth.

- page 15

HUMOR Making your way back to Brick his sesmester? Here's some people you may encounter there.

- page 14

shooting a hook shot, a staple of his game at Miami and during his 11year NBA career.

Embry was honored in a statue-unveiling ceremony outside Millett Hall on May 18, at 11 a.m.

In attendance were Embry’s college teammates and other current and former RedHawk athletes, as well as other members of the general public. The event was called ‘Wayne Embry Day.’ Embry was also receiving the Freedom Summer of ‘64 Award. Beginning in 2018, the award is given

by Miami to a person or group of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

This Month

2 FYI

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021 Named the Best College Newspaper (Non-daily) in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists.

TIM CARLIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Briah Lumpkins Managing Editor Owen Berg Design Editor David Kwiatkowski Senior Campus & Community Editor Abby Bammerlin Madeline Phaby Campus & Community Editors Lukas Nelson Sports Editor Rebecca Wolff Opinion Editor Zach Reichman Photo Editor

Macey Chamberlin Alessandra Manukian

Sarah Grace Hays Maggie Peña Multimedia Editors Sam Cioffi Magazine Editor Dan Wozniak Business Manager

Fred Reeder Faculty Adviser

Designers

Cosette Gunter Sean Scott

Aim Media Midwest Printer

Editors

Advertising information: Send us a letter?

8/29

9/2

Jessica Robinson Humor Editor

Welcome Student Skate Goggin Ice Center Come skate for free at Goggin.

Mega Fair Academic Quad & the Seal Get to know Miami’s student orgs, and learn how to get involved.

1:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m.

11:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m.

Tie-Dye with MAP Central Quad Add some color to your wardrobe with tie-dye.

7:00 p.m. 10:00 p.m.

David Kwiatkowski Entertainment Editor

Thurs

Lexi Whitehead Asst. Campus & Community

8/24

Thurs

Owen Berg Style Editor

Megan McConnell Social Media Editor

Taj Simmons

Weds Sun

Sacha Bellman Business Adviser

Soren Melbye Sadie Van Wie

Things to do

Madeline Phaby Food Editor

9/9 barrea@miamioh.edu eic@miamistudent.net

The Miami Student is published monthly 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.

Conversation About Race & Caste Hall Auditorium A lecture on racism from bestselling author Isabel Wilkerson.

Fri 9/10

5:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m.

Art After Dark

9:00 p.m. Get creative and try out some new crafts. 12:00 a.m.

Armstrong Student Center Pavilion

CORRECTIONS POLICY

The Miami Student is committed to providing the Miami University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

Sun 9/12

The Miami Student Open House Armstrong 3018 Come learn more about joining The Miami Student team.

4:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Pandemics are the mother of reinvention TIM CARLIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF After months of planning and countless hours of work, The Miami Student is celebrating the release of our back-to-school issue.

And while it feels so good to be back in action, bringing the news of the day to our readers across the Miami community, things are a tad different. Like so many other aspects of Miami life in a pandemic-induced world, we at The Student have adjusted to better serve the community that has entrusted us to deliver its news.

This school year, for the first time in recent history, The Student will not print a weekly edition. Instead, we will focus much more of our energy on publishing daily, digital content to our website, miamistudent.net, and social media platforms.

If you’re a steadfast print edition reader, I want to first apologize for this shift. I fully realize the important role our reporting plays in our community.

But I also know that our print editions go largely unread by community members.

In some instances, businesses would receive copies of The Student on Tuesday mornings and drop them directly into the garbage can. The harsh reality is that much of our readership has gone digital.

So, we must meet them where they are.

The same quality reporting that has long filled the pages of our weekly print newspaper can still be found on our website, social media pages, and in our digital newsletter.

The Student has long been a part of the digital revolution, but by freeing our staff from the constraints of a weekly print product, we can truly flourish online.

In a time when print journalism hinders both quality and creativity, The Student’s digital realm offers an immersive experience into the world of

local, student-driven reporting.

After reading an intriguing article online, one click brings you to a podcast with the story’s author giving behind the scenes details. Another click takes you to a photo gallery filled with images that further tell the stories you care about.

So, to our small-but-mighty print readership, I implore you to join us online. I bet you’ll realize just how much more rewarding our journalism – and your time spent reading it – can be.

And the print newspaper is not going away entirely, either. Rather, we will print special editions once a month, like this current back-to-school special edition. These monthly print editions will be full of top notch journalism – twice as much as our weekly newspapers could fit, to be exact.

The true beauty of our new monthly editions is the adaptability they provide. If a compelling and complicated story breaks initially online, a monthly print schedule allows our staff to follow that story and update it online for an entire month all while putting together an informative and visually interesting package for print.

A monthly edition allows our staff to run timely, pertinent news stories that pop up just before we print next to in-depth features that take weeks to flesh out.

The opportunities are endless. And as the future of print journalism remains unclear, endless opportunities are hard to come by.

Our staff remains committed to delivering you the important journalism of our community. We will continue telling compelling stories and holding those in power to account while also offering the latest in pop culture news and five minute meals for students on the go.

Thank you for sticking with us as we reinvent ourselves to fit a new age. @miamistudent eic@miamistudent.net

Oxford City Council returns to in-person meetings SEAN SCOTT ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR When Mike Smith’s term as Oxford’s mayor comes to a close this November, he’ll have led more City Council meetings over Zoom than in the Oxford courthouse.

COVID-19 forced Council to switch to virtual meetings in March of 2020, a situation that wouldn’t change until June of this year, when Smith and his colleagues were once again able to hold their bi-weekly Tuesday night meetings in person.

The courthouse didn’t look the same as before, though.

“We still have some safeguards in place,” Smith said. “We have plexiglass dividers, which can make it a little awkward to see all the faces left and right, but it’s been good to be back.”

While the pandemic no longer forces councilors to meet from their own home offices or living rooms every other week, it hangs over the courthouse at every meeting.

Oxford lifted its mask mandate in May at the last virtual council meeting, but Councilor Chantel Raghu has continued to wear hers throughout the summer.

“When we decided, ‘The vaccine is coming out, everything’s over, let’s get rid of our masks, let’s go back to in-person,’ I was very hesitant about it from the beginning,” Raghu said. “I was the only person that kept my mask on.”

At first, Raghu was motivated by caution and a sense of equity. As long as some countries haven’t received any doses of the vaccine, she said, there is a risk of more infectious or dangerous variants popping up and spreading rapidly.

“As long as there is vaccine inequity across the globe … there will always be more variants that are going to develop, and it’s so infectious and it will spread to the rest of the world,” Raghu said. “If we can still be productive and get the job done, why can’t we just be safe?”

More recently, the issue became personal.

“My dad is hospitalized with COVID,” Raghu said. “He’s on oxygen, and he’s been in the hospital since Saturday. I feel layers of grief for my family and my dad, and also for my city, and my state, and my country, that this has turned into something political.”

While Raghu’s dad was let out of the hospital after eight days, her mom has now been admitted with complications of her own, and Raghu had to miss the most recent council meeting to take care of her parents in Texas.

With the delta variant now dominating in the U.S., others have started putting their masks on too.

At the Aug. 3 meeting, councilors Jason Bracken and David Prytherch wore masks throughout the meeting. Councilor Edna Southard says she’s been wearing her mask each time she gets up from her seat but otherwise relies on the plexiglass barriers for protection.

“The audience is finding it difficult to hear when people speak with masks on,” Southard said. “I think we’re going to have to try to either speak up or take our masks off when we’re speaking directly to the microphone.

There’s nobody in front of us, so we’re far away from anybody.”

Despite auditory setbacks, Southard says engagement has been up now that meetings are once again in person.

“There’s much more interaction if people are in person, and it’s better, but if it’s necessary to do, having online [meetings], that also works,” Southard said. “Everybody [on council] made a good adjustment to both situations, and I think it’s a pleasure to see people in person again.”

Smith said the audience has averaged five to 10 listeners each week, on par with pre-pandemic meetings. An additional 10 to 30 people come to participate in each meeting, depending on the agenda.

Despite Oxford’s success with online meetings, Smith said it’s unlikely the city will return to that format any time soon.

“State law mandates that we meet in person,” Smith said. “The legislature in 2020, in an emergency session, gave us the right to meet virtually, and that mandate expired on June 30. We’re gonna have to meet face to face, regardless.”

The Ohio general assembly passed legislation that went into effect this June limiting the governor’s power to make emergency decisions, so any future decisions on the legality of virtual Council meetings would have to be passed by the legislature itself. Still, Smith said he’s hopeful Oxford will be able to incorporate virtual feedback into its in-person sessions.

“We’re still working on electronic feedback,” Smith said. “We’re gonna have to spend a significant amount of money to update the electronics in the courthouse to do that, and we were going to use some of our most recent COVID money, which we haven’t received yet.”

Until then, residents can participate in Council’s in-person meetings at the Oxford Courthouse every other Tuesday to provide feedback on everything from planned developments to COVID legislation. scottsr2@miamioh.edu

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

3

4 CAMPUS & COMMUNITY

BAMMERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

‘Most things will look more like pre-COVID’:

Miami plans for fall semester

CONTINUED FROM FRONT Rivinius said the university hopes the incentive program will drive the Miami community to get vaccinated.

“We are hoping [the program] further incentivizes people who were on the fence or just hadn’t gotten around to it to just go ahead and get vaccinated,” Rivinius said. “We think vaccination [is] the most effective way to fight COVID.” Miami, following CDC recommendations, is also encouraging students, faculty or staff who travel to the U.S. from international travel, regardless of vaccination status, to get tested within 3-5 days after travel. Unvaccinated individuals who traveled internationally are also encouraged to self-quarantine for 7 days after travel.

Individuals who have received at least one dose of a two-dose COVID vaccine that is not approved by the FDA or WHO must also quarantine after international travel, as Miami is not recognizing vaccines not authorized by the FDA or WHO. Receiving a vaccine after international travel to the U.S. does not exempt individuals from protocol recommendations.

COVID-19 tests will be given at the Health Services building. Students who have uploaded their vaccination records to MedProctor or have shown proof of a positive COVID-19 test in the last 90 days are exempt from testing.

At-home antigen tests will also be available for students at various locations on campus, including Armstrong Student Center and King Library.

Move-in & residence halls Last year, move-in for underclassmen took place over the course of one week to allow for social distancing.

This year, it took place over two days, beginning Aug. 19. Upperclassmen and student organizations signed up to help students move in, a service that was not available last year.

Any students that did not upload their vaccination records were required to go to Millett Hall before arriving at their residence hall to get tested or show proof of vaccination or a positive COVID test within the last 90 days. Students could also opt to get the first dose of their vaccine at Millett during move-in.

Students who were vaccinated and moving onto campus could forgo move-in testing and go directly to their residence hall to move in as long as they uploaded their vaccine records to MedProctor.

Robert Abowitz, associate director of residence life, said Miami will continue to keep an eye on COVID in the residence halls and try to minimize cases.

“Based on testing, we are likely to continue to have the color coding of the residence halls,” Abowitz said, “so that we can publicly acknowledge where we see outbreaks, and we can react so we can reduce those outbreaks.”

Along with the color-coding system, which identifies how many students in a residence hall have tested positive for COVID-19, Miami will also set aside space for on-campus students to isolate or quarantine. It hasn’t been confirmed which buildings will be used.

Abowitz said he is anticipating full occupancy in the residence halls, compared to only 60% occupancy in the 2020-2021 school year.

The Office of Residence Life is planning to hold more events in person, such as corridor meetings, the fire safety fair and other hall programs.

“Most things will look more like pre-COVID than they [did] last year,” Abowitz said.

COVID guidelines in the residence halls will follow what’s set by Miami University, Butler County Health Department and the CDC. Masks will be required in public areas of residence halls, however, there will not be any capacity limits for public areas or student rooms.

Dining Dining halls will also return to full capacity, according to an email sent to students by Campus Services on Aug. 6. Other than that, most aspects of dining halls will be similar to the past school year.

“All commons locations will have full seating capacity,” the email read, “and food will be served in compostable, to-go containers at the start of school with the hopes to return to china plates and cutlery as the semester progresses.”

Along with using to-go containers, dining halls will also be closed for portions of the day. Unlike last year, however, they will operate on a staggered schedule. On weekdays, there will always be at least one dining hall open.

Dining hall hours of operation can be found on the dining services website.

“Unemployment, supply chain, product availability and operational changes in the food and beverage

industry are challenges seen nationwide and are affecting us,” the email read.

According to the dining services website, Cafe Lux will be open this fall, but Bell Tower Commons will remain closed.

Student life As Miami begins a new semester, Abowitz said outreach to sophomores, who haven’t had the normal college experience yet, is important.

“There’s a small committee right now that is planning the ‘second-year surge,’” Abowitz said. “These will be events and programs directed towards second-year students. I think we’re going to be doing some encouraging of second-year students to attend some of what we consider the traditional first-year programs.”

Mega Fair is scheduled to take place in person on Sunday, Aug. 29. Art After Dark, another popular event, will return as well.

Armstrong Student Center will take event reservations for the fall semester with no capacity limits. Study rooms in Armstrong also no longer have capacity limits, and all the furniture in Armstrong’s Shade Family Room has returned.

Katie Wilson, director of Armstrong, said she is excited to have more students and events in Armstrong this year.

“We’re looking forward to seeing a more vibrant student center next semester and having everybody back and creating the kind of Miami experience that we’re known for,” Wilson said.

Kimberly Vance, director of Student Activities and Fraternity and Sorority Life, said even though student organizations are able to host meetings and events indoors with masks, they are encouraging largescale events to be held outside when possible.

“What we’ve advised organizations to do is, yes, you can host an event … and if that is an event that will work outside, where people can naturally distance from each other a little bit or they’re just not all closed up in a room — if you can do your event that way, great,” Vance said.

“It’s a recommendation, it’s not a requirement.”

Vance said she plans to send out an email to student organization leaders so that they can stay up to date and plan their meetings and events this fall.

“We know that what we’re probably dealing with is, we went so long

AS STUDENTS BEGIN MOVING BACK TO CAMPUS, MANY COVID POLICIES REMAIN UP IN THE AIR. PHOTO BY CAROLINE BARTOSZEK

without typical functions of student organizations, that there’s an inevitable loss of information on how to do certain things,” Vance said. “So we’re trying to be very diligent and deliberate on creating some field workshops and other things that we probably normally wouldn’t have to bring student leaders up to speed.”

Vance said the only restriction student organizations need to worry about is the indoor mask requirement for right now.

Vance also noted that guidelines for fraternities and sororities largely depend upon national chapter rules, as well as the City of Oxford’s decision on mask mandates and/or gathering limits.

As student organizations return to meeting in-person, Wilson thinks it’s important to ease into it and to accommodate those who may not be comfortable being back in-person yet.

“Maybe you set up chairs three

feet apart instead of right next to each other, just giving people a little flexibility to create six feet around them if they need to do that in order to keep compliant with the university guidelines of maintaining distance indoors if you’re unvaccinated,” Wilson said.

“Just giving people that option as they transition back into going to events.”

As shown by the return of masks while indoors, COVID-19 is unpredictable, and all current policies are subject to change.

“If the university changes requirements, or the CDC or Butler County, then we could possibly have to adapt accordingly,” Wilson said. “Be ready to be flexible if we need to change what the parameters are.” @cosettegunter guntercr@miamioh.edu @nwlexi whitehan@miamioh.edu

Oxford divided on masks as City Council fails to vote on mask mandate SEAN SCOTT ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR By the end of the Aug. 17, Oxford City Council meeting, an ordinance mandating masks within the city was neither passed nor denied. The meeting was standing room only as residents showed up to speak both for and against the proposed mask mandate.

Council was set to decide whether to pass an emergency measure requiring masks to be worn indoors and on public transportation in response to the rapid spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 across the United States.

However, emergency ordinances require a supermajority of six out of seven councilors to vote in favor to pass. Councilors Chantel Raghu and Jason Bracken were not present Tuesday night, forcing the measure to be tabled.

Raghu sent a letter to City Manager Doug Elliott explaining her absence from the meeting and offering support for the mask mandate.

Raghu’s parents, who live in Texas, were both infected with COVID-19 despite being vaccinated. Her father remained in the hospital for eight days on oxygen before returning home to continue oxygen therapy.

Days later, her mother was rushed to the hospital.

“I have watched my normally chatty dad gasp for air as he tries to tell me his wishes for after he passes,” Raghu wrote.

Raghu compared the situation in Texas, where COVID cases have skyrocketed and the governor has avoided passing mask legislation, to the situation in Oxford, where cases remain low but could soon be impacted by the return of Miami students to campus from around the country.

“While the governor of Texas plays games,” Raghu wrote, “people will continue to die and hospitals will continue to be overrun.”

Because both Raghu and Bracken weren’t present, any vote on the mask mandate would have been as a regular ordinance rather than an emergency measure, meaning it would need to be revisited at the next meeting before going into effect.

City Attorney Chris Conard said Council could also call a special meeting to vote on the measure when six or more councilors would be present.

Even though the ordinance wasn’t voted on, Council still heard comments from the public and offered their own opinions on whether a mask mandate would be necessary.

Resident Kathie Brinkman spoke in support of the mask mandate, saying she worried for the health of her grandchildren who are not yet old enough to receive the vaccine. For them, she said, masks are their only line of defense.

“We’re not asking people to be mandated to receive the vaccine,” Brinkman said. “We’re asking people to put a cloth over their face.”

Nadia Hoffman, an Oxford resident since 1983, said a mask ordinance was in the best interest of the community, even if some individuals disagreed with it.

“With individual rights also come responsibilities, and that includes responsibilities to the common good,” Hoffman said.

Other residents disagreed with the mask mandate, however.

Dana Dunnegan said she accepted the personal risk of not wearing a mask and that others should be free to do so as well.

“If we look around the room, those who want to have a mask on have a mask on,” Dunnegan said. “If you don’t want to risk your life — I see many of you have your masks on — that’s your choice.”

For Eric England, changing guidance from scientific experts made it hard to accept a mask mandate. While he might wear one in crowded rooms out of common courtesy, he said, he was against an official mandate.

“Science has data, and it’s an opinion for a moment, until it changes,” England said. “The world’s flat until it’s not. The vaccines are effective until they’re not … No one chooses when and where [to die], and I appreciate that we may want to consider the other person’s well-being, but to mandate that, I think, is overstepping bounds.”

Vice-mayor Bill Snavely said individual freedoms ended when their choices had a direct negative impact on others.

“I think for example that I have

the freedom to swing my arms, but that freedom stops when I hit my neighbor’s nose,” Snavely said.

Councilor Glenn Ellerbe agreed with Snavely and compared the pandemic to the angel of death in Exodus. Vaccines and masks, he said, are like the mark that protected Jewish households when the angel came to Egypt.

While Ellerbe supported having a mask mandate on hand, he didn’t think it should be enforced until Butler County’s healthcare system says rising COVID cases warrant its implementation.

“I believe that a mask mandate needs to exist on paper,” Ellerbe said.

“I do not believe that it needs to be enforced today, but the moment that our healthcare system says the needle has moved and we need it … zero issue, pass the mandate.”

Council will meet again at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, in the Oxford Courthouse unless councilors decide to call a special meeting to vote on the mask mandate before that point. scottsr2@miamioh.edu

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY 5

PHABYMR@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Miami alumni and donor Richard Farmer passes away at 86

DICK FARMER, MIAMI ALUMNUS AND NAMESAKE OF THE FARMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, DIED AUG. 4. PROVIDED BY FARMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

SEAN SCOTT ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Businessman and philanthropist Richard “Dick” Farmer, namesake of Miami University’s Farmer School of Business, died Aug. 4 at 86 years old.

An alumnus of Miami, Farmer donated frequently after graduating in 1956, providing the cornerstone gift to the school of business in 1992.

Farmer and his wife, Joyce, donated an additional $30 million through the Farmer Family Foundation in 2005 to fund construction of the building

and support faculty.

Before the physical building to house the school of business was completed in 2009, Farmer signed the inside of the cupola that now sits on top of the building.

In 2016, Farmer gave $40 million to the school of business, the largest single donation in Miami’s history at the time.

During his college years, Farmer met Joyce at Miami. He graduated with a degree in marketing and went on a tour with the Marine Corps while she finished her education and graduated in 1957.

They married the day after his discharge.

Farmer came back to his alma mater often to visit his fraternity brothers, the Delta Tau Deltas.

Through them, he met John Altman, a 1960 graduate who would become a lifelong friend.

“Us young guys, we looked up to Dick,” Altman said. “He joined the Marine Corps and went through Officers Candidate School … The guys always looked up to him. He was a tall, good looking, smart guy, and we were young kids.”

The pair wouldn’t stay kids forever, though.

Farmer joined his family business, Acme Wiper and Industrial Laundry Co. After a decade of work, he left to found his own company, Cintas, to test new ideas in business.

Two years later, Cintas was successful enough that Farmer was able to buy his family business. Now a Fortune 500 company that employs 40,000 people, Cintas supplies uniforms, first aid and cleaning products to businesses around the globe.

When Tim Holcomb, associate professor and chair of entrepreneurship at Miami, met Farmer in 2014, he said he didn’t give the impression of a high-strung businessman.

“I’ve had the opportunity and fortune of meeting and talking to quite a few Fortune 500 CEOs,” Holcomb said. “Most of them are incredibly busy, under a lot of stress. If Dick was

Miami University to increase salaries, pay bonuses after year in pandemic

feeling stress and anxiety at the moment he sure didn’t show it.”

Holcomb had only been teaching at Miami for a few months when he met Farmer. At the time, he was the Cintas Chair in Entrepreneurship — one of the only chair positions at the university named after a business.

“He took time to get to know me and get to know a little bit about what I was doing at Miami,” Holcomb said.

“Although I’d been there just a few months when we first met.”

Through every interaction, Holcomb said Farmer maintained an air of graciousness and humility, a description Altman agreed with.

Farmer owned property in Arkansas and took Altman duck hunting with him once. At the dinner table, he asked Altman to offer a blessing.

Despite the short notice, Altman said when Dick Farmer asked you to do something, you did it.

“Here’s a guy that was certainly connected to the spiritual world, as well as to the real world, a so-called foot in each camp,” Altman said. “The bridge was humility.”

Along with humility, Farmer’s ability to delegate brought him far in both business and life.

When FSB’s Board of Visitors, a network of successful alumni founded by Farmer to advise the school’s administration and staff on curriculum and resources, came across a task at one of their meetings, Farmer sent everyone on their way in groups

MANAGING EDITOR Although Miami University has mandated masks to be worn indoors on campus, student organizations will have more opportunities to meet in person this semester.

Armstrong Student Center (ASC), an on-campus hub for many student organizations, will continue to mandate masks within the building unless actively eating or drinking. Katie Wilson, director of ASC says they have, however, dropped the occupancy limits in-

JAKE RUFFER ASST. MAGAZINE EDITOR Miami University faculty and staff will receive increased salaries and financial bonuses for the 20212022 academic year, as announced by university President Gregory Crawford in June.

Miami’s salary pool will increase by 2% this year, and full-time employees in an annual pay bracket above $75,000 will earn an additional 0ne-time payment equal to 1% of their salary. Bonuses for employees below that bracket will be $750. Crawford said part-time employees would also receive bonuses.

The payments are a reward for “the extraordinary work and tireless efforts of Miami’s employees throughout the pandemic,” Crawford wrote in his announcement.

The bonuses follow an especially trying year for Miami employees, who taught and worked in difficult circumstances without the help of colleagues who were let go in anticipation of the COVID-19 pandemic’s financial toll.

In March 2020, Miami refunded tens of millions of dollars to students for unrealized services like

housing and meal plans at the start of the pandemic.

Over a year later, Crawford reported that the university is now “in a much stronger financial position.”

This is due in part to what Crawford called “difficult steps,” including layoffs of visiting assistant professors and other employees.

Miami also had additional sources of funding including federal assistance from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and other emergency relief funding.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine told universities to expect a 20% reduction in state funding due to the pandemic, but by the end of the year, he only cut funds by 4.5%.

Miami’s Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Services David Creamer said DeWine’s aid didn’t stop there.

“Before we ended the year, [DeWine] actually, through some of the CARES Act money, restored almost all of that cut,” Creamer said.

Unexpected rounds of funding were approved by Congress in December 2020 and March 2021.

Creamer said those funds helped patch losses caused by refunds and

cover costs to test, quarantine, isolate and vaccinate students for COVID-19.

Crawford also credited the university’s financial position to “unexpectedly strong returns on [its] investments.”

“We had one of the strongest financial market performances this past year that we’ve seen in the last 30 years,” Creamer said.

He and Crawford credit those three pieces — investments, federal and state funding — with Miami’s ability to provide honorary payments.

Creamer said the university is still watching the virus closely in Oxford before expecting finances to make a full recovery.

“The year is so far off to a pretty good start,” Creamer said, “but we all remain concerned about the number of positive cases … We’re trying to prepare in case we see some outbreaks on campus to make sure we can manage that, but we’re certainly hopeful it’s going to be a more normal-looking year.” @jakeruffer rufferjm@miamioh.edu

scottsr2@miamioh.edu

Student orgs will have more opportunities to meet in person this semester BRIAH LUMPKINS

DESIGNER SOREN MELBYE

of two to get the job done.

“There’s a lot of people competing with each other to take credit, and Dick wasn’t that kind of guy,” Altman said. “He wanted to bring out the best in all of us … like the Marine Officer he was. We all understood we had a job to do, but it was just the way he handled everything.”

Farmer was inducted into the Greater Cincinnati Business Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2010, he received the key to the city of Mason. His foundation donated over $27 million in 2019, and throughout his life Farmer donated to over 200 nonprofit organizations, including the Ronald McDonald House and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Farmer leaves behind his wife and son, Scott D. Farmer, who retired as CEO of Cintas this summer, as well as two daughters, Brynne Coletti and Amy Joseph.

He leaves behind friends and colleagues like Altman, relationships which spanned decades, and he leaves behind innumerable memories of the ways he laughed with, served, learned from and taught others.

“Like all long term relationships, there are a lot of stories I can’t tell for The Miami Student,” Altman said.

“But I tell these stories in private to a lot of people. [Dick’s life] had all the colors of every pallet known to man.”

she’s heard from Greek affiliated students are about the potential return of the 10-person limit on social gatherings instituted

by Oxford City Council last year.

The mandate allowed for no more than 10 people to be in an enclosed space at one time, which made it difficult for these students to conduct in-person activities.

Although Vance said she doubts the mass gathering ban will be reinstated, her office will continue to follow the guidance of state and federal officials.

“I am not in charge of Oxford City Council,” Vance said. “I don’t know what might be coming down the pipe, but as of right now we’re following CDC guidance and [guidance from the] state of Ohio Department of Public Health.”

Associated Student Government’s (ASG) Secretary for On-Campus Affairs Becca Pallant said she’s happy to be able to meet in person while also having the mask mandate.

“I think it really is the safest way to protect our unvaccinated students, and our at-risk students, the most,” Pallant said.

In addition to ASG, Pallant is also the president of the National Residence Hall Honorary. After a year of virtual connection in both orgs, Pallant said she is looking for ways to overcome the “awkwardness” being in person could bring.

“I know we’re struggling with coming up with ideas because our org members haven’t seen each other in over a year in person, and that’s kind of awkward. Like you don’t see somebody for a year, but you have on Zoom, so it’s just a weird experience to go back to in person, but I think it’ll be really good for students.”

“I think it really is the safest way to protect our unvaccinated students, and our at-risk students, the most.”

- Becca Pallant side student org offices.

Wilson also said the staff urges student orgs to maintain social distancing as much as possible.

“We’re encouraging people to do room setups that would allow for a little more distance and to spread out a little bit,” Wilson said. “If that means using a larger space, that may be exactly what you need.”

The same rules apply to fraternities and sororities, said Kimberly Vance, director of Student Activities and Fraternity and Sorority Life. Members will still be required to wear masks indoors on campus, including in sisterhood and chapter suites.

Vance said the main questions

@briah_lumpkins lumpkibm@miamioh.edu

Talawanda School District votes to mandate masks

MADELINE PHABY

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Oxford’s Talawanda School Board voted 4-1 in favor of instating an indoor mask mandate for all students and staff regardless of vaccination status at its Aug. 16 meeting.

Previously, at its July 8 meeting, the board passed a resolution stating that elementary school students and all visitors would be required to wear a mask, while masks will be optional for middle and high school students.

However, the new resolution extends the requirement to all students.

Before the vote, a number of community members came forward to express their thoughts about the potential mandate.

Summer Garland, a parent from

Hanover Township, spoke in opposition to the mandate because it would take away personal choice from parents.

“I believe that every parent here wants what is best for their child, but … there is a difference in our opinions on what is best, which is why I am asking you to give families a choice in whether to mask our children,” Garland said. “We are not going to change each other’s minds on this issue, so I am asking for a compromise.”

Dr. Jim Davis, a pediatrician in Oxford for the last 39 years, was one of only a few community members who spoke in favor of the mandate.

“Last year in my office, I saw less strep throat, less ear infections, less pneumonia [and] the least number of respiratory infections that I’ve seen in my entire career,” David said. “Mask-

ing clearly decreased the spread of all those respiratory infections … I don’t understand why people wouldn’t want to do the best possible thing to protect our teachers and our children.”

Ron Siliko, a parent of two sons in the district, started a petition to make masks optional for Talawanda School District students, which has received more than 500 signatures as of Aug. 17.

Siliko spoke on behalf of all the petition’s signers at the meeting, citing COVID-19’s relatively low death rate among children.

“There have only been 15 [COVID-related] hospitalizations ages 0 through 19 in Butler County in the past 16 months,” Siliko said. “In making this request, we are asking the board to look at our local situation rather than engaging in medical na-

tionalism.”

Amy Shaiman, a parent of a child at Kramer Elementary, also presented a petition at the meeting. Her petition, signed by more than 245 people at the time of the meeting, called for a continuation of TSD’s mask requirement.

Shaiman also criticized TSD for not requiring masks at events in district buildings, such as during teacher training, and said she felt the district was not taking COVID seriously enough.

“We do not tell kids allergic to peanuts and tree nuts that their allergies are optional and a matter of free choice … we take it seriously, and those around that child avoid peanuts and tree nuts,” Shaiman said. “We take care of each other.”

Before the vote on the mandate took place, Partick Meade, a member

of the board, expressed support for masking and urged the audience to look to health experts for guidance.

“When there’s something wrong with my car, I take it to a mechanic,” Meade said. “The Ohio Department of Health recommends masks in schools K-12. I don’t know medicine, but I know those people know more than I know.”

The resolution passed, with board member Rebecca Howard as the only “no” vote. The board said it will revisit the mandate when Butler County’s vaccination rate increases but did not give an exact date. @madphabes phabymr@miamioh.edu

6 CAMPUS & COMMUNITY Students both protest and praise university mask mandate

MIAMI UNIVERSITY HAS ANNOUNCED IT WILL REQUIRE MASKS DURING ITS FALL SEMESTER, BUT SOME STUDENTS BELIEVE THE POLICY WAS NOT THE RIGHT CALL. PHOTO EDITOR ZACH REICHMAN

CLAIRE LORDAN ASST. MAGAZINE EDITOR Miami University will require face coverings indoors for the fall semester regardless of vaccination status. Students have expressed both opposition to and support for the decision.

The same day the mandate was announced, Miami University College Republicans (CRs) created a petition urging the university to end the mask mandate.

The CRs petition currently sits at 1,071 signatures at the time of publication. The organization released a statement shortly after the announcement expressing their disapproval of the mandate, calling the move “unnecessary from a scientific standpoint” despite the Butler County Health General Health District’s recommendation of wearing a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

“This requirement is not based in science,” the CRs statement reads. “Young people are not vulnerable to serious harm from COVID-19, making this virus a low risk to Miami’s community.”

Madeline Whistler, a junior East Asian languages and culture and international studies co-major, said that type of rhetoric erases the effect students have on the Oxford community.

“People forget that Oxford isn’t just full of college students,” Whistler commented on the university announcement via Instagram. “People of all ages call it home. As students who have had the privilege to choose Oxford to attend college, it’s also our job to protect those who live in the town we enjoy.”

CR Chairman Collin Finn said he also believes the mandate will decrease vaccination rates among students.

“We know that the vaccine is the best tool we have to protect ourselves from the virus,” Finn said. “By continuing to enforce masks on campus, we’re weakening the credibility of the vaccine to those on the fence about it to begin with. It makes the messaging pretty foggy.”

Despite the university offering on-campus vaccinations to all students and various prizes through the “Your Shot to Win” lottery program, no vaccine requirement has been put in place for the fall semester.

In Butler County, 43.84% of all residents have received a full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine — well below the national average of 57% — according to the Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 vaccination dashboard.

With 83 new cases reported on Aug. 5, the number of active cases countywide currently sits at 625.

Dylan Sexton, a sophomore finance major, worries the university will continue to change its COVID-19 protocol without warning throughout the fall semester.

“Of course the mandate was frustrating to hear about,” Sexton said. “But the thing that’s even more frustrating than the mandate itself is the complete lack of communication from the university. Why wait to give us this information two weeks prior to moving in? What does this mean for classes returning to in-person?”

But Carole Johnson, associate director of university news and communications, wrote in an email to The Miami Student the university has no plans to return to remote learning for the fall semester.

“The university is planning a robust return to in-person classes and operations for the fall,” Johnson wrote. “While there might be some remote components of classes, most instruction will be faceto-face.”

Evan Gates, a sophomore business economics major, believes the backlash to the return of masks exemplifies a level of privilege among the student body.

“I understand being frustrated,” Gates said, “but when you make it clear that the thing you care more about than your friends and family’s health is a piece of fabric on your face, that really tells me everything I need to know.”

The university’s indoor mask mandate went into effect Aug. 9.

The CRs are hosting a press conference at 4 p.m. today, Wednesday, Aug. 11, outside Roudebush Hall in opposition to the mask mandate. It will feature Republican legislators from across Southwest Ohio. lordance@miamioh.edu

BAMMERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Students share mixed feelings about returning to bars this fall REAGAN RUDE THE MIAMI STUDENT For some Miami University students eager to make up for the past year and a half of college life during the pandemic, Oxford’s many bars are the perfect place to be. But some uncertainties linger as the delta variant and unvaccinated populations remain an issue.

Chi Pham, a senior strategic communication major, said she is looking forward to returning to bars but remains apprehensive about them as well.

“It’s my senior year, so I do want to have fun, but I want to stay cautious as well … With the delta variant, I’m not super comfortable going all out,” said Pham.

While many bars and restaurants across the state have dropped intense COVID-19 measures, there are some that have taken a new stance.

Brick Street Bar & Grill, Oxford’s most popular bar, recently announced it would require patrons to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for entry. Some students supported the measure, while others remained hesitant.

Faith Baxter, a senior chemistry major, said Brick’s requirement could help keep underage students out of the bar as well as limit the spread of COVID-19.

“I think some bars should be limited to exclusively vaccinated students just for the safety of people who are vaccinated,” Baxter said. “It would also [help with] underage drinking at Miami.”

Dornu Biragbara, a senior psychology and pre-medical studies double major, said she supports the elimination of COVID-related restrictions in bars and restaurants.

STUDENTS HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS ABOUT RETURNING TO UPTOWN BARS THIS FALL AS THE DELTA VARIANT OF COVID-19 RIPS THROUGH THE COUNTRY. PHOTOGRAPHER CAROLINE BARTOSZEK

“I think we should go back to [full] capacity … If you’re at Brick, you’re already putting yourself at that risk so the precautions don’t matter as much,” Biragbara said.

Baxter prefers that some precautions, such as limited capacity or mask requirements, still be taken.

“I think there should be a mask mandate at unvaccinated bars, and maybe an optional one at vaccinated [bars],” Baxter said.

Pham said she would like for vaccination requirements or limited capacities to be implemented, but for the dance floor to return.

“I want [some] precautions, but I don’t want the table,” Pham said. “The tables are super boring.”

Pham also stressed the importance of having

bars and their customers combine their attempts to minimize the spread of COVID. “I think both sides need to have some efforts into protecting the community, because if the restaurant doesn’t do anything, all my effort will [go to] waste,” Pham said.

Even though bars and restaurants can implement some safety measures, students are showing an understanding that there is always some risk in entering them.

“I feel like the most bars and restaurants can do is keep it clean, sanitize everything … After that it’s up to you to stay six feet apart, etc,” said Biragbara. “If you’re scared of COVID, you probably shouldn’t be at Brick.” rudere@miamioh.edu

Gone but not forgotten:

The life cycle of a major

SEAN SCOTT ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Real estate.

Sports leadership and management.

Data analytics.

When Miami University launches a new major, it’s greeted with press releases, articles and speeches from alumni about how excited they are for their alma mater’s new direction.

But when a major leaves the catalog forever, its death is marked with little fanfare.

Liren Wu graduated this August with a degree in interactive media studies (IMS) and a co-major in comparative media studies (CMS).

She will be the last graduate the CMS program ever has.

“When I took the basic course of CMS, I could use this knowledge in my other IMS courses,” Wu said. “That’s super helpful, and it’s like, you do learn something, not just to write a paper.”

Throughout her time at Miami, Wu was able to apply what she learned in CMS to aspects of IMS. She learned about media production and analysis and carried that knowledge back to her production classes in the College of Creative Arts, where IMS is housed.

“I just don’t understand why they’re going to phase out this co-major,” Wu said.

But the death of the CMS co-major was a long time coming.

Even before the pandemic, Mack Hagood, an associate professor in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film, said CMS was a difficult program to execute.

The co-major was designed to be highly interdisciplinary, with students focusing on how media impacted various industries. Studying in areas like politics and science became difficult, however, when CMS students encountered seat limits and classes required for other majors.

“It just becomes really difficult to choose your own adventure in the way the university is structured,” Hagood said. “Interdisciplinarity is something we really desire, and a buzzword at universities for years, and we’ve just found that it can be difficult to implement.”

The death of CMS won’t result in any lost classes or faculty. Hagood, the only full-time

faculty member of CMS, will move to media communication, a new major forming from the combination of CMS and the media and culture (MAC) major. Andy Rice, an associate professor who split his time between film studies and CMS, will join him as an instructor for the new major.

“In a way, it’s great for the new media communication program,” Hagood said. “If you think of it that way, it adds one and a half faculty members.”

CMS is only the most recent in a long string of majors that have seen their last graduates at Miami.

In 1983, photographer Ron Stevens was hired by Miami to teach classes in industrial art, a major which housed photography, woodworking and metalworking.

Soon after Stevens arrived at the university, the industrial arts program dissolved. Woodshop classes were picked up by the architecture department and photography by educational media.

Stevens stayed on as an instructor, teaching photography in a department that boasted other classes on how to use overhead projectors and VCRs. Technologies that rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s were soon replaced by even newer gadgets. The educational media program — created to prepare students for modern classrooms, — quickly became obsolete.

“Educational media morphed into the educational leadership [program],” Stevens said.

“When that occurred, photography … moved to the art department.”

More recently, programs that still have undergraduates on campus have stopped accepting new students as they prepare to shut down.

John Forren is chair of the Department of Justice and Community Studies, which offers a variety of majors at Miami’s regional campuses.

Starting this fall, however, forensic investigation won’t be one of them.

Two years ago, Forren’s department went through an academic program review. Professors and faculty studied the substance of their majors and classes, how enrollment had shifted in the past few years and student outcomes for each major. After a team of reviewers looked at more than 100 pages of documents, they made

their recommendations.

“One of the pieces of feedback we got from the external reviewers, which was something that sort of matched our own impressions, too, is that basically, ‘Gee, this major is very similar to your criminal justice major,” Forren said.

While some of the 40 students still majoring in forensic investigation were upset after receiving an email in February 2021 saying the major would no longer be advertised to prospective students, Forren said the content isn’t going away for good.

“We’re developing what is essentially a forensic investigation track within the criminal justice major,” Forren said. “This was not a situation where the university said, ‘We’re cutting things, [and] you’re next on the chopping block,’ or anything like that. This is a response to substantive concerns about whether the major was serving its purpose.”

The department is also saying goodbye to its forensic science and nonprofit and community studies (NCS) majors. While forensic science was cut due to its heavy focus on physical sciences like chemistry which led to staffing concerns, Forren said it hurt to get rid of NCS. “[NCS] has been a major that’s been very successful in its mission, and we’ve been very pleased with the outcomes,” Forren said. “This was not a concern about the substance of it at all. This was a concern about … can we sustain it with the numbers of students we were getting.”

Like prospective CMS majors who can redirect their attention to the media communication major, though, not all hope is lost for Miami’s regional students who wanted to major in NCS. Forren said the department is always exploring new options for education, and NCS may become a minor or career path within a different major.

“It’s a tough process any time a large organization pauses and says, ‘We’re going to revisit everything we do,’ because there will be some things that you conclude, ‘We shouldn’t be doing that,’” Forren said. “But that’s a healthy process, I would argue, and just because something goes away, that in some circumstances opens up new ground for something better.” scottsr2@miamioh.edu

Student Counseling Services accommodates for COVID-19 restrictions with new policies MEGHNA SANTRA STAFF WRITER Miami University’s Student Counseling Services (SCS) have undergone a number of changes to accommodate the rapid effects of COVID-19 on its patients and office since March 2020.

While students used to sign up for in-person appointments, the pandemic forced the office to shift to virtual meetings.

Dr. John Ward, a clinical psychologist at SCS, said the virtual counselling sessions were particularly unfamiliar.

“Historically, if you think about the way any sort of counselling sessions had been done, it had always been primarily face-to-face, and there were very few folks that did it in a virtual format,” Ward said. “Our office, along with countless other mental health agencies across the country … had to do a complete shift of how we had done things for hundreds of years and learn how to do it in a different way.”

To prepare for this change in practice, the staff had to be retrained. The technology required updates in order to accommodate for the telehealth format.

“Most [staff] took to it rather quickly,” Ward said. “I would say those that probably struggled a little more were those that don’t consider themselves to be rather tech savvy. I think that’s a natural thing to happen. But overall people went in with a really willing attitude, ‘Alright we gotta make this change, we’ve got to do this differently now.’ It was like all hands on deck to make the shift.”

Ward said students adapted to telehealth better than SCS anticipated.

“I thought that folks were going to struggle with the technology, or the virtual format,” Ward said. “It was like it came second nature to so many people that we’ve worked with. So that was just pleasing to know that it wasn’t too difficult or hard on the student end.”

There wasn’t a noticeable change in the quality of counseling from the student side. For one second-year student, who wished to remain anonymous, the biggest difference was a gap in communication before appointments got started.

“When we first went into lockdown, there was a period where nothing happened which was a bit weird,” she said. “I think it was two or three weeks because I know that they were trying to get everything ready.”

Once everything was arranged, she received a message that the service was up and running again.

One new aspect of virtual appointments was the handling of appointments through her counselors rather than the front desk.

However, the student found that the quality of her appointments meant she could go for longer without visiting again. This allowed for other students who needed appointments more urgently to get them while the office was still working on getting back on their normal pacing.

“I think after the first month, maybe two, they kind of figured things out and maybe got some students who needed more urgent sessions in and got a better schedule,” she said.

While Ward said many students did adjust

well to virtual appointments, some still felt more comfortable with someone seeing them face-toface and reading nonverbal cues. He noted that the loss of physical cues in virtual appointments was one of the biggest factors in adjusting his approach to counseling.

“There are things that intuitively we’d know before the session would start with someone when it was face-to-face,” Ward said, “because maybe they’re already tearing up in the waiting room, teary-eyed, and as they’re walking down the hallway, we’d catch that before the session even started. Maybe the gait with which they walk, something is off about that.

He also said some students also struggled with finding a safe, private space for virtual sessions.

“Say [students] were at home with everyone else in the house and the walls were thin, and they didn’t necessarily want their parents to overhear their session,” Ward said. “Students had to get creative in terms of where they would go to have their sessions.”

This year, SCS will begin to re-integrate in-person appointments. Ward said the office will start the semester splitting their time between virtual and face-to-face counseling.

To best accommodate the needs of students, Ward believes that maintaining an overall balance is necessary.

“We will continually try to work on that ratio as we go throughout the course of the semester,” Ward said. @meghnasantra1 santram@miamioh.edu

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY 7

PHABYMR@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Many dining options remain closed

LAURA GIAQUINTO STAFF WRITER

Despite the indication from Miami University that Bell Tower Commons would reopen this fall, the dining hall will remain closed indefinitely for the upcoming semester.

Haines, Spring Street Market, Dorsey Market and the Starbucks at Withrow Hall will also remain closed for the time being.

In an email to The Miami Student, Executive Director of Food and Beverage Geno Svec wrote that Miami dining is currently understaffed.

“Unfortunately we are dealing with a staff shortage, and we are working hard to recruit the best talent that we can to fill our roster,” Svec wrote.

As the dining halls add staff throughout the semester, Svec wrote they may expand hours.

“We are also hopeful that the student body will be interested in working with the Food & Beverage locations,” Svec wrote. “We have a new pay structure in place for stu-

dents with the potential of making $13 per hour.”

For now, the dining hall options will remain similar to last semester.

“We will have to start the semester with to-go containers and move towards china service as we increase staffing,” Svec wrote. “As we add staff to our roster we will open more stations.”

In addition to the dining options in Armstrong that will not be open, Cafe Lux, Sundial Pizza, Curve and The Toasted Bagel will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Sophomore political science major Ethan Chiapelli started the petition to reopen Bell last year, and Miami had later confirmed that Bell would be open for Fall 2021.

“There’s a lot of things going on right now that the school has said are going to happen, and didn’t happen, you know, that we would be fully back to normal this semester,” Chiapelli said, “and that’s not true anymore.”

Chiapelli lived in Ogden Hall last year and said he was disappointed to not have the convenience of Bell’s proximity.

“The way my schedule worked is that on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would only have 30 minutes to get food,” Chiapelli said. “I’d either have to walk all the way to Garden, wait in line for stir fry for 30 minutes and then try to make it back before class, or I just went to Uptown which was much closer for me, and ate there, but then I ended up barely using my meal plan, which I paid $5,000 for.”

Although Chiapelli is commuting this year, he said students this year living in Ogden could have similar issues.

“It’s not as bad for most students, but for the kids that live near Ogden or in Ogden, their best options are going to be the food in Armstrong,or the food uptown,” Chiapelli said. “So I think that it’d be good of Miami to either make the food in Armstrong part of the meal swipes or at least discount it instead of having to pay $8 for a hamburger at Pulley’s.”

The full list of dining option hours can be found online.

DESIGNER SOREN MELBYE

giaquiln@miamioh.edu

Affirmation, education and advocacy:

a new year for LGBTQ+ initiatives

LEXI WHITEHEAD ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR In May, April Callis began working at Miami University as its new associate director of LGBTQ+ Initiatives in the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion (CSDI).

Callis said her responsibilities lie in three different categories: programming, education and advocacy.

The first category – programming – entails planning events to build

ics. One of her goals is to revamp Safe Zone, a program that already exists at Miami but has not been active for the past few years.

“What it’s going to be is a threehour initial training for people to learn about the language around the LGBTQ community and go through scenarios to talk about what it means to be an ally,” Callis said. “Because being an ally is something that’s active.

It’s not just going to this training; the training should be the start.”

She also wants to set up contin-

“I saw this job open up at Miami, and I was really excited,” - April Callis community and raise awareness.

Callis is currently planning CSDI’s Rainbow Reception, an annual event that welcomes new and returning LGBTQ+ students back to campus.

The second category – education – is one Callis has experience in. From 2012 to 2017, she worked as a faculty member at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) teaching classes in gender and sexuality.

At Miami, Callis is focused on creating training around LGBTQ+ top-

ued education trainings to talk about particular identities in the LGBTQ+ community, such as asexuality and nonbinary identities.

Previously, Callis received her masters from the University of Kentucky in 2004 and her PhD from Purdue University in 2011. Both degrees are in cultural anthropology with a focus on gender and sexuality.

While teaching at NKU, Callis also worked part-time for GLSEN, visiting middle and high schools in Kentucky

and Ohio to facilitate training. She also worked with an LGBTQ+ youth group, and decided she wanted to do LGBTQ+ work full time. In 2017, she became the associate director of the LGBTQ+ Center at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC).

“What I found when I was at NKU, I was really gravitating toward supporting queer students, toward teaching classes around gender and sexuality. This was my passion,” Callis said.

“And I decided to look for a job that was really specifically focused around LGBTQ students.”

At UNC, her job focused primarily on programming and education “This policy piece, this advocacy piece I wasn’t working on as much,” she said. “It’s something I was really interested in. So, … I saw this job open up at Miami, and I was really excited.”

The advocacy portion of her job is Callis’s favorite. To her, advocacy can mean having one-on-one meetings with students or looking at Miami policies to see how they can be improved.

“Yes, we need affirming events very much. And yes, there needs to be an educational program … but there also needs to be affirming policies in place,” she said. “Nobody is going to feel like they can be who they are if they are somewhere where there are not policies that affirm them.”

Another one of Callis’s goals she’d like to accomplish this year is to get Miami ranked on the Campus Pride Index, a website that rates universities on how welcoming and affirming they are to LGBTQ+ students. Miami is currently not listed on the website, but Callis is working on getting

answers to the questionnaire. “[It’s] going to allow us to see where Miami ranks, but also it’s going to give me a really great idea of where are the places Miami is doing really well right now and then where are the places of potential future growth,” Callis said. “So that will kind of allow me to see where I need to put some of my enAPRIL CALLIS, MIAMI’S NEW DIRECTOR OF LGBTQ+ INITIATIVES, HOPES TO ADVOCATE FOR STUDENTS ACROSS CAMPUS IN HER ergy in the next few NEW POSITION. PHOTO EDITOR ZACH REICHMAN years.”

Once she began Callis’s position has had a high working at Miami, she started by turnover rate in the past, and Kridli’s talking to different people to get to biggest hope is that Callis continues know the university. to build relationships with students “I didn’t want to come in and asand do meaningful work. sume, ‘This is what I should do here,’” “I think that having somebody she said. “I really wanted to organiwho knows the ins and outs of Miami cally figure that out from talking to and can consistently interact with people.” students and have things ongoing, One group Callis has started to for a very long time, have a long term build a relationship with is Spectrum, project, or keep pushing for somea student-led LGBTQ+ organization thing to get done in a certain way, is on campus. very useful,” Kridli said.

Megan Jordan Kridli, a junior Callis is excited to be on campus computer science major and co-presithis fall and work with students. dent of Spectrum, said she thinks Cal“The thing I’m looking forward to lis is a perfect fit for the job. is getting to meet students here and “It is very good to have someone getting to be the affirming presence in like April who is sociable as well,” Kritheir life,” Callis said. “Getting to credli said. “I think that she’s a lot more ate these educational and social and sociable than she lets on which is very cultural programs that are going to good for her interaction with students make them feel seen and valued.” in the sense that she’s somebody we can actually get to know, get to under@nwlexi stand and work alongside when we whitehan@miamioh.edu have something we want to do.”

Changes coming to Miami Plan next school year LEXI WHITEHEAD ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Starting in Fall 2022, the Global Miami Plan, the set of classes required for all Miami University students, will be replaced by the Miami Global Plan.

Revisions were made by the Liberal Education Committee, which started working on the new plan in 2019.

Both plans share the same amount of credit hours, and most of the requirements for students will remain the same, but revisions were made to clarify the plan for students and faculty.

Provost Jason Osborne said that changes were made to continue pushing Miami forward.

“It wasn’t really that anything was wrong, it’s just that we want to keep improving and streamlining where possible,” Osborne said.

Current students, including this year’s incoming first-years, will continue taking classes under the Global Miami Plan. Incoming students beginning in fall 2022 will have to complete the Miami Global Plan requirements.

“This year is an implementation year,” Osborne said. “Which means we’ve got the framework, but now we’re working with departments, and we’re trying to make sure that we’re ready to implement it.”

After fall 2022, all students will have the option to switch to the new plan if they decide it works better for them.

The current plan requires students to take classes in five foundations: English Composition, Creative Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Global Perspectives, Natural Science, and Mathematics, Formal Reasoning and Technology.

It also includes a thematic sequence, which requires students to take 9 credit hours in a major outside of their department.

Instead of five foundations, the Miami Global Plan will consist of four perspective areas: Formal Reasoning and Communication, Science and Society, Arts and Humanities, and Global Citizenship.

The main difference between the Global Miami Plan and the new Miami Global Plan is that the thematic sequence will be replaced by Signature Inquiries.

Leighton Peterson, interim director or liberal education and member of the Liberal Education Committee, said Signature Inquiry courses will be more interactive.

“One of the requirements in the Signature Inquiry courses is that it’s not just that you sit there and listen to a lecture – that it is hands-on, and students have opportunities to investigate, to research, to test hypotheses … so it’s a different kind of introductory class,” Peterson said.

In their Signature Inquiry, students will take classes in different departments that address similar real-world issues. For example, students can choose Equity, Justice and Diversity or Global Health and Wellness as their Signature Inquiry concentration.

Peterson said these Signature Inquiries will highlight “Miami Moments,” an experience students may have in class when they make connections to another class in a different discipline.

“It’s where you’re sitting in a class and you’re like, ‘Oh my god, I’m sitting in this English class, but that’s what my physics professor said,’ and it all kind of clicks,” Peterson said. “It’s those ‘Miami Moments’ that we’re trying to build on and facilitate.”

Shelley Bromberg, director of the office of liberal education and chair of the Liberal Education Council, said thematic sequences confused both students and faculty. The Signature Inquiries will hopefully be less confusing and

DESIGNER MACEY CHAMBERLIN

more flexible.

“It’s not just one set of courses like the thematic sequences – a lot of times students couldn’t get those courses, these are much more,” Bromberg said.

“You’ve got many more options.”

Students can also “double-dip,” and earn credit for perspective-area courses while completing their Signature Inquiries, which was not possible with thematic sequences.

Both plans account for the requirements set by the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), which dictates the general education require-

ments for public Ohio universities. One new requirement is diversity, equity and inclusion, which will be covered by the plan’s Global Citizenship perspective area.

The plans also align with Miami’s value of liberal education, where students gain a broad width of knowledge, something employers also value.

“At a university like Miami, a liberal education says, ‘We want you to explore your major, but we also want you to be able to understand how a large variety of things may interact and [we want to] provide you with additional resources

for your future,’” Bromberg said.

One of the main purposes of the new Miami Global Plan is to be more beneficial for students.

“A lot of things don’t have to change,” Peterson said. “Social sciences courses will still be social science. Humanities courses will still be humanities. What will change is how we look at them together.” @nwlexi whitehan@miamioh.edu

8 CAMPUS & COMMUNITY

BAMMERAJ@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

College republicans oppose mask mandate, find few supporters at press conference

COLLEGE REPUBLICANS (CRS) HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE TO PROTEST MIAMI’S INDOOR MASK MANDATE. PHOTOS BY CAROLINE BARTOSZEK

ABBY BAMMERLIN CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Miami University’s College Republicans (CRs) hosted a press conference in opposition of Miami’s new mask policy, which requires masks to be worn indoors on cam-

pus regardless of vaccination status.

The conference, which took place Aug. 11 at 4 p.m. in front of Roudebush Hall, included speeches from Ohio State Senator George Lang, Ohio Representative Thomas Hall, political candidates and CR representatives.

Miami names first associate provost, dean for undergraduate education

AMY BERGERSON HOPES TO SUPPORT STUDENTS AND STAFF IN HER NEW ROLE AS ASSOCIATE PROVOST PROVIDED BY MIAMI UNIVERSITY

CLAIRE LORDAN ASST. MAGAZINE EDITOR Miami University Provost Jason Osborne announced that Amy Bergerson will serve as the university’s first associate provost and dean for Undergraduate Education.

The announcement came on June 3, nearly two weeks after the search had narrowed down to three potential candidates, including Bergerson.

Bergerson will support undergraduate students and faculty and will also assume responsibility for student success within academic divisions across campus, including diversity and inclusion and global initiatives.

Before coming to Miami, Bergerson served as senior associate dean for undergraduate studies at the University of Utah for five years.

“Dr. Bergerson brings extensive experience, scholarship, and expertise to our new position of associate provost and dean of undergraduate education,” Osbourne said in a June 3 press release. “Her depth really showed throughout her extensive interview process.”

After receiving her doctorate from the University of Utah, Bergerson held multiple positions within the university’s office

of undergraduate studies and led student support efforts focused on individual success and retention rates.

“Her primary job is to ensure our undergraduate students are as successful as possible, our faculty are well supported in serving this important mission, our policies and practices are leading-edge and our curriculum differentiates us from other institutions,” Osborne said.

As the first to fill the role of associate provost, Bergerson hopes to address needs specific to Miami students while becoming part of the campus community.

“Miami really appealed to me because everyone there is so focused on undergraduate education,” Bergerson said. “Everything is centered around the undergraduate community, which creates so many more opportunities to develop an amazing college experience.”

Bergerson’s starting work will center around the development of the new Honors College and implementing the revised Global Miami Plan.

“Developing new roles is something that I’ve focused on a lot in my career, and it’s something that I really enjoy doing,” Bergerson said. “Part of what drew me to the position in the first place was its new role on campus.”

With a passion for undergraduate education, Bergerson believes her position will allow her to assist students in making the most of their four years at Miami both in and out of the classroom.

“College is such a terrific time,” Bergerson said. “There’s just such an amazing transformation that happens for people in college, but it can also be a really difficult time. I feel like there’s so much potential to change people’s lives for the better while they’re college students.”

Bergerson will officially begin her new role as associate provost on Aug. 1. lordance@miamioh.edu

The audience was small, only a handful of people in addition to the speakers that were featured in the event.

Senior political science major Collin Finn, CR Chairman, helped organize the event after he and other CRs voiced their opposition to the mandate on social media. He said CRs reached out to politicians in hopes that they’d join the press conference and spread awareness about their cause.

Finn said the mask requirement may create a lull in vaccination rates.

“I think that reinstituting the mask requirement, it really undermines confidence in the vaccine,” Finn said, “I think the vaccine is the best weapon we have to fight this pandemic.”

Mark Pukita, a candidate for US Senate and one of the speakers, said he stands for “personal liberty.”

“We need to get back to living our lives,” Pukita said. “We need to have the ability and the freedom to make our own choices.”

Counter protesters were present at the event to show support for the university administration’s decision. Alden Trotter, a senior environmental earth science major, was at the press conference to oppose

CRs. “As far as choices go, you really either mandate vaccines or mandate masks, and that’s the one (Miami) chose,” Trotter said.

CRs had previously published a statement explaining its opposition to Miami’s mask policy, writing the decision was not based in science.

“Young people are not vulnerable to serious harm from COVID-19, making this virus a low risk to Miami’s community compared to other risks that the university has not addressed with such urgency,” the statement read.

While fully-vaccinated adults are at low risk of requiring hospitalization or dying from COVID-19, the CDC recommends wearing masks for fully-vaccinated adults indoors when in an area of substantial or high transmission environments.

Butler County is currently labelled as a high transmission environment by the CDC. Trotter said the university isn’t just considering Miami’s students, but the surrounding Oxford community as well.

“I mean, we have an aging population,” Trotter said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of Oxford residents were above, like 40 or 45.”

In an email sent to The Miami Student on Aug. 11, Jessica Rivinius, director of news and media relations, wrote that Miami is joining universities across the country in implementing a mask mandate regardless of vaccination status.

“We do this to protect the students who live in congregate housing, the faculty who teach our classes, the staff who serve our students, and individuals with children under the age of 12,” Rivinius wrote. “We recognize that there are a broad range of opinions on how to combat the pandemic; however, we do believe that face coverings play a critical role in that effort.”

Rivinius said Miami still sees COVID-19 and the delta variant as a danger to vaccinated individuals.

“While vaccinated people remain highly protected from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, the unfortunate reality is that the delta variant has been shown to be highly contagious,” the statement read. “Even those who are vaccinated may become ill and may be capable of passing the virus to others.”

Finn said due to the mask requirements, he believes there will be no incentive for students to get vaccinated because they can’t go maskless.

“I think everybody had the choice whether or not to wear a mask,” Finn said. “At the very least they should let vaccinated individuals make that choice for themselves.”

In Miami’s statement in an Instagram post released Aug. 6, it cited the rising cases of the delta variant and CDC guidelines as one of its motivators for moving forward with the new policy.

“Public health officials have advised us that the safest course of action for the successful completion of a robust, in-person semester is to take preventative actions now,” the statement read.

Currently, Miami has not announced if or when it will require vaccines in the future.

Kit Gladieux, a junior arts management and individualized studies double major, was at the press conference to protest it. They said mandating vaccines at Miami would be in the students’ best interests.

“I do understand that people do have free will and free choice,” Gladieux said, “but I want the safety of our community in our school over anything.”

Rather than mandating vaccines, Finn thinks Miami should continue to encourage students to get the shot.

“I encourage everybody to send in their vaccination status because I think when the university finds out that the vaccination rate is really high here on campus, they might reconsider the decision,” Finn said.

CRs created a petition on Aug. 5 in an effort to reverse Miami’s mask policy. At the time of publication, the petition had garnered 1,073 signatures.

Gladieux said her view on Miami’s mandates is simple.

“My stance on it is if you do not want to comply with the rules that Miami has laid out to keep us safe,” Gladieux said, “then do not come to Miami.”

Photographer Caroline Bartoszek contributed reporting to this story. @abby_bammerlin bammeraj@miamioh.edu

“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”:

History in the making

ALICE MOMANY THE MIAMI STUDENT In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project, which is not yet published, is currently composed of about 30 entries documenting the feelings and emotions of everyday life while quarantined during a pandemic.

Rachel Makarowski, a special collections librarian at Miami, pitched the idea after reflecting on her own journal from the pandemic. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and even spouses have all sent in materials documenting their experience during the global lockdown.

“I think that it was a kind of motivation of just wanting to help people because journaling is such a good way to kind of help to process what it is that you’re experiencing,” Makarawoski said.

Makarawoski also found inspiration from other institutions such as Indiana University and Harvard University, who created similar archive collections, but this project differs because of its focus on Miami.

“We wanted to capture this moment for what it’s like as someone either in Oxford or connected to Miami University because everyone was experiencing the pandemic in a similar, but also different way,” Makarowski said.

Grace Berry, a junior zoology major, discovered the project through Miami’s Honors Program.

Berry wrote in her journal on Google Docs three times a week during the Fall 2020 semester. Because her classes were online, Berry stayed at home during the fall semester and filled her journal with stories of studying remotely, seeing an albino squirrel and wrestling a snake out of her dog’s mouth.

While Berry sees the pandemic as a dark time in history, she enjoyed having a space of her own to

let out her frustrations.

“It was definitely interesting because I’m writing things as I’m seeing it on the news,” Berry said. “I remember writing about the election and different stances on the pandemic, and I’m just expressing my opinion on that, but it’s kind of hard to take a step back and look at it when you’re living through it.”

In addition to journals, the archive also includes a documentary created in associate professor Andy Rice’s documentary production class.

The documentary titled “Generation COVID: Coming of Age While Six Feet Apart” follows the lives of eight students during the spring 2020 semester. Currently, it is the only video submission in the archive.

“I suppose a default for most people when they think about an

songs that highlight the misinformation and uncertainty in the beginning, the isolation and loneliness throughout, and the established new normal.

Johnson and her students unanimously decided to donate it to the archives.

“It seemed like housing as part of the COVID archive project would be a perfect way for it to be somewhere, and then whoever wants to take it up and do something with it, I think that would be really wonderful,” Johnson said.

Johnson hopes the anthology will give an insight into a significant moment in history for future generations.

“I hope it offers a glimpse of the humanity of the writers and a snapshot of us going into it,” Johnson said. “The pandemic will get much worse, and yet, it’s this in-

“We wanted to capture this moment for what [the pandemic] is like as someone either in Oxford or connected to Miami University.”

- Rachel Makarowski

archive and contributing to it, is text-based documents and materials, but we certainly don’t live in a world anymore where that’s the only way we consume media,” Rice said.

Rice hopes the documentary will spark questions and conversations for future historians.

“If somebody watches this 15 or 20 years from now, there’ll be a lot of things that we don’t even notice that they’ll have lots of questions about,” Rice said. “The more forward you go, the stranger history gets.”

Also submitted to the archive is “Through It All,” a play anthology created in professor Katie Johnson’s spring 2020 studies in drama and performance class about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Set in the U.S., the anthology comprises 21 short plays and two

sight right at the beginning that offers perspective and understanding and compassion.”

Almost a year and a half later, the archive project is still accepting submissions. The project, set to be published at the end of this year, will be accessible online. Some of the entries are embargoed and will not be released to the public right away, but Berry’s journal, Rice’s video and Johnson’s anthology will all be available.

Students and faculty can submit materials for the COVID-19 archive through the form located on the “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic” library page or by contacting Rachel Makarowski at makarorm@miamioh.edu. @alicemomany momanyaj@miamioh.edu

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY 9

PHABYMR@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Brick Street to require COVID vaccine, test for entry ABBY BAMMERLIN CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Oxford’s Brick Street Bar and Grill announced the bar will now require proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours or evidence of a positive COVID antibody test before allowing entry. The announcement came in an Instagram post Thursday, July 29.

The statement also explained Brick Street hopes to host vaccine clinics on the premises during the day Monday through Thursday. The statement did not include when when those clinics would begin or at what times they would be held.

Brick Street will be providing incentives for guests to get vaccinated including drawings to win one of 50 VIP passes, as well as having the bar’s cover charge waived.

“We fully respect a person’s right to make their own decision about getting vaccinated,” the statement read. “At the same time, we hope that all of you respect our right to take precautions that we believe are in the best interest of our customers, employees and community.”

Mark Weisman, Brick Street’s co-owner, could not be immediately reached for comment.

So far, the post’s comments have been mostly positive.

Emerson Day, a senior public administration major, said he is glad to see Brick Street’s new policies.

“They’re literally just asking the bare minimum,” Day said. “Just like asking people to get vaccinated – I think all bars should honestly be following suit.”

As of July 29, no other Oxford bar has released a statement explicitly requiring proof of vaccination before entry.

Day said he’ll be going back to Brick to support a business with this kind of policy.

“Seeing that they actively care about not only their workers, but about the community as well, I think that makes me excited,” Day said.

BRICK STREET OPTED TO REQUIRE PROOF OF COVID-19 VACCINATION OR A NEGATIVE COVID TEST FOR ALL PATRONS UPON ENTRY THIS YEAR. PHOTO BY WILL GORMAN

Dillon Canter, a senior kinesiology and premedical studies double major, also supports Brick Street’s new policy.

But Canter also said this policy might help the university in its efforts to encourage vaccination. The COVID vaccine has not yet been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so Miami University can not require students to get vaccinated, despite its incentives.

“I imagine it encourages a lot of people to get the vaccine, they pretty much require it to go out which is smart, because it gets the campus vacci-

nated quicker,” Canter said. “Whereas the school, I don’t think the school is actually allowed to require it.”

The policy may also affect another problem of accidentally serving alcohol to minors in a college town. Day said because vaccine cards have guests’ names and birthdays on it, it will be harder for customers to lie about their ages.

“It is our hope that we will quickly get to the point where these added safety measures are no longer necessary,” the statement read. “Until that time, we greatly appreciate your understanding and support! Let’s have a great year! It’s time to

Oxford comic shop thrives, looks toward the future

move forward!”

In its post, Brick Street’s account mentions the rise of the Delta variant as being an important factor in its decision to change its policy.

Day hopes Brick Street’s policy will become a role model for the rest of the community.

“Good for them for setting an example of how we can move forward,” Day said, “how bars should be moving forward in addressing the new rise of Delta.” @abby_bammerlin bammeraj@miamioh.edu

Cristina Alcalde named vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion

CRISTINA ALCALDE BEGAN HER NEW POSITION AS VP FOR INSTITUTIONAL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ON JULY 1..

PROVIDED BY CRISTINA ALCALDE

JARRED WATKINS THE MIAMI STUDENT

FUTURE GREAT COMICS, WHICH OPENED AT THE END OF LAST SEMESTER, IS ANTICIPATING CONTINUED SUCCESS AS STUDENTS RETURN TO CAMPUS. PHOTO BY CAROLINE BARTOSZEK

SHR-HUA MOORE ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR While the summer usually takes students away from Oxford’s local establishments, one Uptown business has weathered the quiet storm.

Future Great Comics opened this past May and sells comics, records, collectible card games and board games, along with other products related to games and hobbies.

Brian LeVick, Future Great Comics owner, said despite the reduced number of students during the summer, the store has been doing well. “[Oxford] hasn’t been a ghost town like people have warned me — I’ve definitely had a pretty good turnout from the people that stuck around,” he said. “I’ve been so busy [at the store] this summer that I haven’t had much time to do much other than stay in Oxford, so it’s been a happy surprise for me.”

LeVick also said he was happy to see people of all ages stopping by the store this summer, a marked difference from the

lecting comics. It’s something that I think any comic book store owner wants to see — a wide variety of people enjoying comics.”

While the shop has done well this summer, many customers are predicting it will do even better once the student population returns this fall.

JS Bragg is the assistant director of Student Activities at Miami University and a regular customer at Future Great. He thinks based on student interest last May, the shop will explode in popularity once more students come back to campus.

“I am absolutely happy [for the shop], and I think that the best is yet to come,” he said. “We saw that at the open in the spring — during the launch, he sold out of almost the whole store.

It’s just going to be a steady flow once the students get there again, and it’ll be nice to see how the place will continue to grow.”

In addition to students coming back to campus, some student organizations are already looking to partner with the shop to host novel events.

Isaac Nelson is a senior computer sci-

“Sometimes I see kids roll up to the shop on their bikes, and I’ll sometimes get a 78-year-old person that got back into collecting comics.”

- Brian LeVick

store’s former Hamilton location.

“While people from their 20s to 70s went to the Hamilton store, up here it’s from young to old, entire families,” LeVick said. “Sometimes I see kids roll up to the shop on their bikes, and I’ll sometimes get a 78-year-old person that got back into col-

ence major and the president of the League of Geeks, a blanket organization for comic and gaming clubs on campus. While he wasn’t in Oxford this summer, Nelson was excited to start planning events at the shop in the fall.

“I’ve talked with [LeVick] about figur-

ing out what [the League of Geeks] could do to support and coordinate with him on different events as well as about things that people are interested in in the community,” Nelson said. “We’re figuring out what sort of things he can sell so he makes money and people get the things they are interested in.”

Like Bragg, Nelson also thought the shop would do even better once students came back.

“I think it’s been doing well so far, and I certainly think it’s going to do well in the future, especially as people come back to campus,” Nelson said. “All my friends are like, ‘Oh, it’s really nice there’s a game store in town now to buy small things that are annoying to buy online,’ or they’ll stop in there for five minutes, or maybe plan to have a game night in a place that isn’t subject to all campus rules or regulations.”

The shop has an appeal to more than just student organizations, too — students like M. Bea Hosenfeld have quickly turned the comic shop into a regular hangout. A senior art education major, Hosenfeld said she liked the shop for both its products and layout.

“You can go through and browse easily, and I get manga, Pokémon cards and sometimes dice there,” Hosenfeld said.

“The shop is well organized, but just chaotic enough where you can explore and find something new — it’s kind of like a happy medium between super neat and super messy.”

Hosenfeld is also looking forward to the shop’s growth once the fall semester starts this year.

“I think that when the other students come back, people will start to notice the shop more,” she said. “Word will spread that it exists, people will go in casually, and I think that eventually it could be a place where students could meet and play games and be this comic store community type thing.” @hua_shr moorese6@miamioh.edu

Miami University President Greg Crawford announced M. Cristina Alcalde will serve as the new vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion on Thursday, June 3. She assumed her new position July 1.

Alcalde is originally from Peru and immigrated to the US when she was 7-years-old.

Since a young age, she has been interested in learning about people and their cultures.

“I was so curious to understand people who were different from myself; that’s what led me to anthropology,” Alcalde said. “I love talking to people, relating to people, learning languages and how people behave and interact. Anthropology was the one discipline that tied all those things together.”

Alcalde earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology at the University of Louisville.

She then earned her master’s degree in Latin American studies and her doctorate in anthropology from Indiana University.

Alcalde is currently a professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky (UK) and a Marie Rich Endowed Professor – a position established by the Marie Rich family to support the research and teaching of one faculty member. She is also the associate dean of Inclusion and Nationalization in the College of Arts and Sciences at UK and the director of the university’s online graduate certificate for diversity and inclusion.

Alcalde noticed the hierarchies and structures of power that surrounded her as a child, but it wasn’t until she got to college that she developed a deeper understanding of those structures.

Alcalde has done research on racism and structures of power. She recognizes these structures can deeply affect people in negative ways and said she wants to help change that.

“If we listen to everyone in a society, or in a group, or in a population, we hear all sorts of different voices,” Alcalde said. “So I am interested in hearing and including people whose voices do not necessarily get heard.”

At Miami, Alcalde wants to learn from students, staff, alumni and the broader Oxford community. She wants to collaborate with each of those groups to bring about positive change.

“I think there is no one person who can do anything,” Alcalde said, “so my role and my goal is to support everyone and support processes and work together.”

Alcalde noted that diversity and inclusion work is constantly evolving and changing.

“This work never ends,” Alcalde said.

“I want to make sure that we’re constantly changing and adapting so that we can truly be inclusive.” watkin16@miamioh.edu

Food

10

PHABYMR@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Skyline Chili is an acquired taste that I will likely never acquire MADELINE PHABY CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Being from Chicago, a place with iconic regional food, I love trying “specialty” foods whenever I visit other cities and states.

From Michigan cherries to Nashville hot chicken to Florida grouper, I’ve had some really amazing food during my travels around the U.S. When I found out Cincinnati’s signature dish was chili, though …

I was less than enthusiastic about trying it.

It’s not that I dislike chili – in fact, my dad, the best cook I know, makes amazing chili. His recipe includes three types of meat (ground beef, ground bison and beef chuck roast), tomatoes, beans, red pepper and jalapeños.

My dad loves to cook for others, and his chili is universally regarded as one of his finest dishes.

“In all fairness and humbleness,” my dad said while discussing his chili recipe, “I’ve been told by many people that my chili is far and away the best they’ve ever had.”

So, yeah. That explains my hesitation to try fast food chili.

Despite my reservations, my good friend and co-editor, Abby Bammerlin, a Cincinnati-area native, finally convinced me to give the iconic Skyline Chili a shot.

One of the first things I noted when we walked into Skyline was how amazing the interior was – genuinely, no sarcasm. It gave similar vibes as the old-fashioned McDonald’s and Taco Bell designs before they made them look all fancy and gentrified. It was my first time at Skyline, but it still felt like a throwback to my childhood.

Abby advised me to order the three-way, and I resisted the urge to giggle at the name because I’m far too mature for that. She also suggested I try a Coney, but hot dogs are sacred to me as a Chica-

goan, so I decided against that.

Our food came concerningly quickly after we ordered, and it quickly became apparent what the three “ways” represented: chili, spaghetti and fluorescent orange cheese.

I asked Abby if I was supposed to mix all the ingredients together, and she looked at me like I was an idiot.

“No,” she said, “you just cut it with your fork and eat it.”

Not wanting to look like a tourist, I cut into my noodles the way she suggested.

Abby filmed my reaction as I tried my first bite, and it went like this: “And?” Abby said, as I pensively chewed my threeway.

“It’s just like …

OUR CHICAGOAN FOOD EDITOR TRIED SKYLINE CHILI FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND SHE WAS LESS THAN IMPRESSED. PHOTO BY CAROLINE BARTOSZEK wet,” I replied.

Describing a soupy because Skyline’s recipe includes nothing more than ground beef Hell, he makes great burgers too, food like chili as “wet” may sound chocolate and cinnamon. While I and broth? but I still eat McDonald’s on the dumb, but it’s the only word I guess I understand the appeal of These questions floated regular. could think of that suited the the subtle sweetness, the chili I’m through my mind as I took a few I can’t put my finger on what strange bite I’d just taken. used to is purely savory – even a more bites of my three-way. Once exactly I didn’t like about it – I Compared to other chili I’ve bit spicy.

I finished about a quarter of my think it was a combination of the had, Skyline’s chili is indeed wet.

Amid the texture and strange dish, I decided I was done. I had sweetness and the weird energy It’s basically just ground beef flavors was the strangest part of seen (or tasted, I guess) enough. of the spaghetti. Or perhaps you and broth, unless you splurge the entire experience: the concept I’m sorry, Cincinnatians, but I just need to be a Cincinnatian to for a four-way, which adds either of pouring chili over spaghetti. just wasn’t a fan. fully appreciate the enigma that is beans or onions. If you’re feeling What makes Skyline chili difNow, let me assure you that my Skyline Chili. really wild, you can even get a ferent from spaghetti with meat dislike for Skyline does not come Maybe I’d have better luck if I five-way, which adds both beans sauce? from a place of snobbery. Yes, I tried a five-way. and onions.

Why is a three-way considered said earlier that I’m used to my Even more interesting to me a chili dish rather than a pasta dad’s amazing chili, but having @madphabes than the wetness, though, was dish? a dad who’s a great cook doesn’t phabymr@miamioh.edu the actual flavor of the chili. It Honestly, is it still chili if it’s mean I can’t appreciate fast food. was slightly sweet, apparently

Oxford’s coffee shops, ranked MADELINE PHABY

CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR For better or worse, coffee is an essential part of the college experience, and like most college towns, Oxford has no shortage of options for those looking to get caffeinated.

Of course, not all coffee shops are created equal. As a senior who has spent huge sums of money on coffee during my time at Miami, I feel I’m qualified to rank all the shops in Oxford to help others decide where to get their caffeine fix.

Note that I’ve only included places whose primary specialty is coffee in this ranking.

5. King Cafe I actually worked at King Cafe for a semester, which is part of the reason it’s ranked dead last. Nothing against the job – it was actually pretty fun. But I can personally attest that the coffee isn’t that good.

For one, it’s pretty low-quality stuff to begin with, so it’s not going to taste great no matter how well it’s brewed. I don’t know much about coffee beans and what determines their quality, but Miami obviously isn’t about to invest in anything too expensive or fancy.

That low-quality coffee is also brewed by student employees who receive very minimal training and don’t get paid a whole lot. I think this point speaks for itself.

Despite the coffee’s quality, though, the prices at King rival those at Starbucks. While I’d argue Starbucks isn’t that great either (I’ll address that later in this article), it’s easily better than King.

As if there wasn’t enough material for a last-place ranking already, King also only has one non-dairy milk option. And it’s soy. My fellow lactose intolerant baddies – avoid this place.

Most people who go to King Cafe only go because they’re already in King and are desperate for coffee, so unless you’re in that situation, go somewhere else.

Overall score: 4/10 4. Cafe Lux Cafe Lux, located in Armstrong, was closed last semester, and I’m honestly not sure whether it’ll be open this year. I do hope it reopens because it’s good to have as many options as possible, but if it remains closed, we won’t be missing a whole lot.

There really isn’t much to say about Lux because it’s pretty much the same as King: same coffee, same high prices, same soy milk. But it

does have a couple major differences that make it a slightly better option than King.

First, many of the workers at Lux are full-time employees of Miami rather than students. Now, I mean no disrespect to student employees – I have been one myself for three years. But I speak from personal experience when I say many of them don’t care a whole lot.

Second, Lux is in a much more central location than King. Sure, the cafe is a great option if you’re already studying in the library, but Lux is very conveniently located in Armstrong for students who are on their way to class or just out and about.

Overall, Lux isn’t great, but it’s probably the place on this list with the best location.

Overall score: 5/10

3. Starbucks Now, this is where I may lose some people.

In my humble opinion, Starbucks sucks. I know a lot of people hate it just because other people love it, but I hate it because the coffee is not good enough to justify the high prices, it’s always absurdly crowded and I actually don’t think it’s a very good study location.

The worst thing about Starbucks as a Miami student, though, is that you can’t really avoid it (unless you want to go to King or Lux, which you probably don’t).

If you drink coffee every day and buy it rather than making your own, Starbucks is your best option unless you have a car – and even then, you can’t really drive somewhere if you need to quickly grab a coffee before class.

As for my study location comment, I have plenty of friends who love studying there. But as someone who is very easily distracted, the huge crowds of people and chaotic vibe make for a less-than-optimal workspace.

Will I continue to spend half my meal plan at Starbucks even though I don’t like it? Yes. Will I still audibly sigh every time I enter the jampacked coffee joint 10 minutes before my class starts? Also yes.

Overall score: 6.5/10 2. Dunkin’ Donuts I am a well-known Dunkin’ loyalist. Few things in life make me happier than a medium caramel iced coffee with oat milk.

Dunkin’ can definitely vary by location in terms of quality, but as someone who has been to many of them, trust me when I say the one in Oxford is amazing. It’s always fast, the employees are sweet and my cof-

fee is consistently great.

Do I think Dunkin’s coffee is wildly superior in quality to Starbucks’?

No. But Dunkin’s sizes are bigger (compare a Dunkin’ medium to a Starbucks grande, and you’ll see what I mean) and cheaper.

More coffee for less money is a no-brainer in my opinion.

Dunkin’ is also very no-frills compared to Starbucks. It may be slightly less customizable, but they still have plenty of flavor and milk options. They also have cheap, unpretentious breakfast food that is delicious, filling and barely worse for you than Starbucks’ “healthy” options.

Dunkin’ is my ride or die coffee place, but it’s ranked second because it’s still a chain, and I’m hugely in favor of supporting local businesses. Still, it’s a damn good chain and worth the drive up to Locust.

Overall score: 9/10

1. Kofenya Think of the coffee shops you see in TV shows and movies.

Cozy vibes, lots of comfortable seating, tons of people sitting around doing homework or on dates or just chatting with friends.

That’s Kofenya.

There’s a reason so many people swear by this place. Firstly, and most importantly, they have great coffee. Pretty much any flavor combination or milk you could want is available, and it’s made by people who love working there and know what they’re doing.

My personal favorite is a Milky Way iced coffee with macadamia milk. Chef’s kiss.

I don’t drink tea, but my mom and best friend do, and they both have good things to say about Kofenya’s tea selection. They also have great food that pairs well with coffee: pastries, toasts and bagels, among other things.

Kofenya is at the very end of High Street, so it’s a bit of a hike, but I

KOFENYA IS THE BEST COFFEE SHOP IN TOWN, PERIOD. THE MIAMI STUDENT

“Think of the coffee shops you see in TV shows and movies.

That’s Kofenya.”

promise it’s worth it if you’re looking for a good study spot. It’s far more inviting and less crowded than Starbucks, and the seating is comfortable enough to chill in for hours. The only drawback is that seating is limited and fills up very fast, but if you know when to get there, you can snag a seat.

Many people who have been around Oxford a while will tell you

Kofenya is the best coffee shop in town, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Make Kofenya part of your life during your time at Miami – you’ll thank yourself later.

Overall score: 9.5/10 @madphabes phabymr@miamioh.edu

PHABYMR@MIAMIOH.EDU

FOOD 11

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

No money? No Time? No problem:

Surviving Miami: Easy meals for off-campus living dietary restrictions ABBY BAMMERLIN CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR

THE SIMPLE (AND CHEAP) INGREDIENTS FOR MAGGIE’S SIGNATURE MAC AND COTTAGE CHEESE. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR MAGGIE PEÑA

MAGGIE PEÑA MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Residence hall life is easy.

Well, in terms of food, at least.

Living on-campus means daily trips to the dining halls and few trips to the kitchen. Your dorm room might be decked out with a microwave and more packs of ramen than is recommended for a single person, but let’s face it — you’re no master chef.

The real fun comes when you move off-campus. You have to deal with rent, utilities, roommates, neighbors, cleaning, furniture, landlords … oh, and on top of all that you have to feed yourself.

Students are often strapped for time and cash as they make their way through college classes and maintain a social life. That’s the case for me, and as I enter my first year of off-campus living, I’ve thought a lot about the tedious process of grocery shopping.

Some of these recipes may seem a little odd (I’m looking at you, Mac and Cottage Cheese), but give them a try. Your wallet and taste buds might thank you later.

All prices come directly from Kroger and are the cost of the whole item.

Mac and Cottage Cheese: $3.15 Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: • There are no specific measurements associated with this dish • Macaroni ($1.00) • Cottage cheese ($1.40) • Tomato sauce ($.75) Recipe: Boil some water in a small pot.

Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt, you unseasoned heathens Once the water is boiling, add the macaroni (add either the serving size on the box, or however much you want to eat — there’s no specific amount) Cook pasta for 8-10 minutes or until it is soft/to your desired texture.

Drain pasta in a colander and put back into pot Plate your pasta, put a couple

spoonfuls of cottage cheese on top, then add a couple spoonfuls of tomato sauce on top of everything Mix it all together and behold the strange yet beautiful taste of noodles, cheese and tomato!

Chicken Casserole: $14.21 Time: 45 minutes Ingredients: • 3, 10 oz. cans of cooked chicken ($5.97) • 2, 10.5 oz. cans of cream of chicken soup ($1.50) • 10 oz. of sour cream ($1.25) • 1 ½ stacks of ritz crackers, crushed ($2.99) • 4 T. (tablespoons) of melted butter ($2.50) Recipe: Preheat oven to 350° Drain and shred 3 cans of chicken In a bowl, mix the chicken with the cream of chicken soup and sour cream Mix ¾ of the crushed crackers with the melted butter, then add to the chicken mix Add everything to a greased casserole dish Top the mixture with the rest of the cracker crumbs Bake uncovered for 30 minutes Allow to sit for five minutes, then enjoy!

Rice, Beans and Tajín: $5.02 Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: • 2 cups long grain, white rice ($1.69) • 4 cups water • 1 can black beans ($.69) • 1 can whole corn ($.65) • Tajín seasoning ($1.99) • Optional add-ins: • Bell peppers • Peas

• Soy sauce Recipe: Place 2 cups rice, 4 cups water, a splash of vegetable oil (optional) and a pinch of salt (optional) into a casserole dish. Cook in the microwave for 20 minutes.

You can also cook your rice however you want with a rice cooker.

While the rice cooks, you can chop up whatever vegetables you want to add (bell peppers, tomatoes, avocados, etc…).

After the rice is done cooking, drain the beans and toss them with Tajín seasoning to taste. Then heat up the corn.

Add rice to a plate, then add whatever toppings you want. You can also add more Tajín or mix with soy sauce.

Make it your own!

Bonus — Strawberries and cream with a twist: $5.44 Time: 5 minutes Ingredients: There are no specific measurements.

• Strawberries ($2.50) • Sour cream ($1.25) • Brown sugar ($1.69) Recipe: Clean and cut the strawberries (Yes, seriously. They are consistently at the top of the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list) Scoop a pile of sour cream and a pile of brown sugar onto a plate (you will need less of the sour cream than the brown sugar) Dip the strawberries in the sour cream, then in the brown sugar Enjoy this easy and cheap dessert!

The best part about these meals is that most of them can be made for one person or will provide leftovers for many days. They may not be the world’s healthiest meals, but they’ll save you a buck and might just remind you of home.

Well, at least for me because all of these meals came straight from my childhood. Thanks, Mom!

• Tomatoes • Avocado

penaml@miamioh.edu

I don’t eat red meat or pork. Actually, up until I started at Miami, I was completely vegetarian. Personally, I do it for health and environmental reasons.

Now, this isn’t a lofty worded essay where I pour my heart out on why you should stop eating animals and explain the health benefits of a plantbased diet. You should definitely stop eating as many animals and eat more broccoli, but that isn’t the point of this particular piece.

Actually, I want to focus my attention on those who are already facing some kind of food dilemma. Students who are thinking, “How do I continue living my food lifestyle at Miami University?” or “How do I live on-campus with my dietary restriction?”

So after two years of living at Miami both on and off campus, this is what I’ve found to work the best.

As you might have guessed by now, Miami’s dining hall options for people like myself are somewhat limited. Every dining hall will offer vegan and vegetarian options. That doesn’t mean it’s good.

It’s not really Miami’s fault though. They sign a contract with outside dining services which can limit the food Miami brings in from other businesses or competitors.

That said, Maple and Western dining halls are by far the best.

There’s no competition.

Maple has the largest selection of entrees while Western has the most diverse options. I loved going to the international section of Western because it usually offered more variety than just tilapia and asparagus.

This might mean a bit of a hike for those on the North side of campus. I found Garden is a good option too, but there’s only so many times you can eat stir fry and salad.

But dining halls should really be your last resort, or if you’re in a rush.

If you happened to sign up for the Diplomat Plus meal plan or another plan that offers a lot of declining dollars, you are in luck. You get more options.

Inside of Armstrong there are a handful of specialty restaurants, which can be a nice change of pace from the monotony of the dining halls. They also allow you to customize your order a little more.

The shops have your basic pizza, diner, sandwich and coffee options, sure. But (in a non-COVID year) you can also choose from Mediterranean bowls, sushi and international inspired foods.

But the best option for on-campus eating are the markets. Because friends, Miami’s markets are exceptional.

There are 11 markets on campus to choose from, and there’s always one nearby or connected to a dining hall. These markets allow you to have more freedom in what you eat, for a price.

I spent half a semester eating ramen with egg and would happily do it again. I know a lot of people without dietary restrictions that will only use the markets to eat just because the dining halls can get boring after a while – even for meat eaters.

Besides some of the crazy prices, the only drawback would be you may actually have to do some cooking. Most of the food and pre-made meals they have is microwavable, but if you’re late to class that’s difficult to justify. But most markets also have to-go options like prepackaged sushi and salads that make up for it.

Finally, if you’re on campus and love to cook (and are willing to meet some hungry hallmates), or off-campus and celebrating your freedom from the two-year dining requirement, you have the best chance of being able to maintain your food lifestyle.

For on-campus students, every residence hall has a closet filled with cooking supplies. All you have to do is ask your RA where it is. It’s as basic as cooking supplies get, and everything will definitely have a thin layer of gross, but after a good scrub, it’ll do the trick.

Once you figure out the bus system, there are some good options for stores outside of campus. Obviously you have Kroger which is probably your cheapest and blandest option, but if you have a little extra cash and are up for a bit of an adventure, the Moon Co-op is the best place to find food in Oxford.

If you’re a fan of sustainable, locally sourced and delicious food, I

“Every dining hall will offer vegan and vegetarian options. That doesn’t mean it’s good.”

highly recommend taking a trip to the Moon Co-op. I spent the latter half of a semester going every weekend and always made a point to try something new.

But the best part for me was the store’s employees. They were always friendly and even gave me a tour of the store once. Each item has a story, so if you have time, ask to hear it.

There are also pop-up farmer’s markets all around town and I’m sure a bunch of other options I haven’t discovered yet! If you have a dietary restriction, you probably understand how difficult it can be to find food that not only meets your restriction but also tastes good.

But coming to Miami doesn’t mean giving it up or making compromises on your health. You’ll find your own way of navigating the food in Oxford.

Food is one of the best ways to meet people, so don’t forget to look up from your meal and talk to the people around you. Invite someone over and cook something for them, bring them to your favorite Armstrong restaurant or share a bag of chips from the market. Use your restriction to your advantage and find a community. @abby_bammerlin bammeraj@miamioh.edu

Have a sweet tooth? Here’s two unique desserts that take seconds to make LUKAS NELSON SPORTS EDITOR It was in Hillcrest Hall 157 where I first discovered just how good a s’mores Pop Tart can be with a little creativity.

I don’t remember what day it was, what I was doing or what I had for dinner that night. I just remember it was late, I was hungry and the snacks I had in my dorm room were Pop Tarts and an almost empty bag of marshmallows.

I think it was my roommate who suggested the combination. I’m not sure. Either way, I put two Pop Tarts in the microwave along with two marshmallows on top of one of the pastries.

I smashed them together and took a bite.

And the way I ate Pop Tarts changed forever.

I still eat s’mores Pop Tarts the normal way when I eat them for breakfast. If I’m having a midnight snack, though, and marshmallows are in the cupboard, it’s a no-brainer.

Sometimes I add a graham cracker, but it just depends on my mood.

After this, I thought, ‘What other foods can I combine into a sandwich?’

I’m not sure how long after it took me to think of the waffle ice cream sandwich or what stirred the idea in my mind. Whatever it was, I put my waffles in the toaster, then got out some ice cream and made it into a sandwich.

It was good, but it was missing something. I experimented with adding different toppings, including

LEFT: S’MORES POP TART SANDWICH; RIGHT: WAFFLE ICE CREAM SANDWICH. SPORTS EDITOR LUKAS NELSON

whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel, strawberries and syrup, which is delicious but also super messy. I still don’t think I’ve found the perfect combination, but it’s still pretty good, nonetheless.

Note: Both of these desserts have a LOT of calories, so eat at your own discretion.

Also, make sure you have plenty of napkins.

S’mores pop tart sandwich Ingredients • Pack of s’mores Pop Tarts (other Pop Tarts work too, but not as well as s’mores)

• Two marshmallows • Graham crackers (optional) Instructions (Optional) put two Pop Tarts in toaster on a low setting – the microwave gets the pastries pretty warm, but toasting them adds more of a crunch Lay Pop Tarts frosting-side down on a microwave-safe plate Put two marshmallows on top of one Pop Tart Put in microwave for 30 secs (Optional) put graham cracker on top of marshmallows, squishing them down into the Pop Tart; put other Pop

Tart on top of graham cracker Let set for ~1 min and enjoy Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich Ingredients • Two waffles • Ice Cream • Toppings of your choice; whipped cream, caramel, hot fudge, syrup, etc.

Instructions Prepare waffles This is what you’ll have to decide: do you want frozen waffles, or homemade with waffle mix? Personally, I usually use frozen waffles, since

they’re simple, time-effective and cleaner; with homemade waffles, the ice cream usually melts through them.

Still, it’s hard to deny that homemade waffles are higher quality than frozen.

Depending on the size of your waffle maker, they’ll also be larger than frozen waffles.

Once the waffles are done, lay on a plate and put 2 scoops of ice cream on one waffle.

Add toppings Put other waffle on top of ice cream Enjoy nelso156@miamioh.edu @LukasTheDream

Entertainment

12

KWIATKDM@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

WILLOW explores a new sound on her latest album – and it works LEXI WHITEHEAD

ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR WILLOW’s fourth studio album, “lately i feel EVERYTHING,” released on July 16, welcomes listeners into a new era for the 20-year-old artist: one of embracing angst and pushing forward.

WILLOW’s transition from the lowkey R&B of her first three albums to the beat-heavy, raw, in-your-face pop-punk on her new record feels authentic. She cites inspiration from Paramore, My Chemical Romance and her mom’s nu-metal band Wicked Wisdom. “lately i feel EVERYTHING” isn’t just a pop-punk album, though. It takes inspiration from the genre and blends it with other sounds to create something unique, which is why the album succeeds.

The album includes pop-punk/ pop-rock bangers “Lipstick” and “Gaslight,” but also “F**k You” and “¡BREAKOUT!,” which have a riot grrrl feel. “4ever” and “naïve” are reminiscent of WILLOW’s earlier, melancholic style. “lately i feel EVERYTHING” starts out strong with opener “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l.” Featuring Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, the song debuted on April 27, and was WILLOW’s first single for the album. “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” is the perfect track one, setting the tone for the album and introducing listeners to the new WILLOW. Its dynamic changes in tempo and volume continue throughout the album to ensure listeners don’t get bored.

The single also showed off WILLOW’s vocal range. With the switch of genres, it seems there are more opportunities to have fun with recording the songs. “lately i feel EVERYTHING” features WILLOW speak-singing, yelling and belting out choruses.

WILLOW’s perfectly on “Come Home.” Tierra Whack breaks up the pop-punk theme with her verse on “XTRA.” And Cherry Glazerr brings the raw riot grrrl vibe to “¡BREAKOUT!” WILLOW’s choice to collaborate with artists like Lavigne and Barker also helps her gain credibility while trying her hand at a new genre.

At only 26 minutes, “lately i feel EVERYTHING” is a short album, with most of the songs under 3 minutes. The length makes it easy to listen to — and easy to put on repeat — but it did leave me wishing some of the songs

“All the colaborations on the albim feel very purposeful...

WILLOW’s choice to collaborate with artists like Lavigne and Barker helps her gain credibility, ”

WILLOW EXPERIMENTS WITH A NEW SOUND IN HER LASTEST ALBUM. PHOTO FROM @WILLOWSMITH ON INSTAGRAM

WILLOW does a great job of bringing her emotions to life on “lately i feel EVERYTHING.” And she really does feel everything, as shown by angsty, self-aware songs like “don’t SAVE ME” and “naïve,” uplifting self-love anthems like “Gaslight” and “G R O W,” and sorrowful melodies like “Come Home” and “4ever.”

The lyrics on this album, however, leave something to be de-

sired. They’re simple and packed with cliches like “You open up to me like a flower, I just wanna see you bloom.”

“G R O W” featuring Avril Lavigne was the song I was most excited about, and I had high expectations. After listening, I was somewhat disappointed in its cheesy lyrics that give it a Disney Channel original movie feeling.

Once you look past the lyrics,

“G R O W” has a great sound, and any song featuring Lavigne is bound to satisfy. As a pop punk legend, Lavigne almost outshines WILLOW, since the song suits her voice so well and is reminiscent of the 2000s. Like Lavigne, though, WILLOW’s unique style allows her to stand her own.

All the collaborations on the album feel very purposeful. Ayla Tesler-Mabe’s voice complements

were more fleshed out.

Still, “lately i feel EVERYTHING” is a fun album to listen to. It’s relatable, human — and as the album’s title implies — there’s a song for anything you’re feeling. WILLOW’s vocals and the instrumentation are nicely balanced. Both are amazing, and neither outshines the other, instead working together to create WILLOW’s new sound.

Rating: 8/10 @nwlexi whitehan@miamioh.edu

“The Green Knight”:

A surprisingly relevant fantasy tale final confrontation. Along with creating clear dividing lines between narratives, this structure allowed for expectations to be set, followed, and sometimes even broken to create a compelling narrative as opposed to a predictable one.

“The Green Knight” is a fantastic example of believable fantasy, and that’s not because any moment of the film feels practical or realistic, but because the characters themselves and their interactions are entirely believable.

dication of the narrator’s warped perception of reality.

Gawain is more an inexperienced narrator than an unreliable one, something that is also reflected in the plotline itself.

The film becomes a commentary on privilege, nepotism and the fantasy-standard ideas of fate and destiny. With this, the ending of the film certainly finds a way to completely change directions from the start, which both emphasizes and breaks down the characterization that was created leading up to it.

Some people I know are very much not fans of the film, whether because of gratuitous scenes, being “too pretentious,” as a friend of mine said it was, or an ending they thought was unsatisfying.

Quite a few aspects of the film won’t appeal to everyone — “The Green Knight” celebrates ambiguity and takes joy in misdirecting viewers. For example, I had no clue until after watching that two characters were portrayed by the same actress — something that a friend had to point out to me.

The film can even be considered comedic. From laughable situations to entertaining twists of fate and drastic exaggerations, the movie has a sense of humor. It’s not front and center like “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” but I did find myself chuckling at a few of the films’ less serious moments.

Almost every fantasy film I’ve seen fell short in some way, be it storytelling, writing, or just bad artistic direction. But everything came together perfectly with “The Green Knight.” It was what I always wished I could find when watching a fantasy film — something willing to take risks rather than simply putting a traditional story in an untraditional world.

“Almost every fantasy film I’ve seen fell short in some way ...

But everything came together perfectly with ‘The Green Knight.’”

BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS AND INTERACTIONS BRING “THE GREEN KNIGHT” TO LIFE. PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM @THEGREENKNIGHT

HENRI ROBBINS STAFF WRITER Watching David Lowery’s “The Green Knight,” it’s hard to believe it’s based on the 14th-century tale. While I don’t watch that many movies, it has to be one of the most unusually clever and artistically adventurous films I’ve seen in ages.

The blending of dramatic visuals like the Green Knight’s worn,

wooden skin or the halo-like ring around the king’s crown with a more realistic color profile and setting works to create scenes packed with symbolism and oozing with artistic intent.

The film follows Sir Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur and son of an enchantress, who embarks on a quest against the Green Knight, a tree-like soldier, after King Arthur is challenged by the knight on Christ-

mas Day. A modern adaptation of an Arthurian legend, the film grapples with traditional ideas of honor and fate, questioning them through its establishment of characters and its choice of narrative structure.

The narrative was divided into multiple acts, each of which focused on a different leg of his quest: The first being the exposition, followed by a series of encounters, and ending with the

They’re all normal, empathetic people in a strange world — something that’s not too common in the fantasy films I’ve seen, and which makes the entire narrative feel immersive and real as opposed to a showcase of bravery and perfect decision-making with oddly religious undertones.

To keep alluding to my issues with “The Lord of the Rings,” the film doesn’t over-indulge in spectacle or drama, instead centering itself on Gawain’s quest.

The lack of B-plots and unnecessary side stories was a nice break from blockbuster movies plagued by overdone writing, and allowed for a precise focus on the actual story.

As a narrator, Gawain himself is shown to be inconsistent, but never an outright liar. The unreliability of the narrator serves as a reflection of his own internal anxieties and fears, as opposed to intentional ambiguities or an in-

robbinha@miamioh.edu

KWIATKDM@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

ENTERTAINMENT 13

Fear Street:

A witch hunt slasher film perfect for horror skeptics

PHOTO FROM @THEFEARSTREETFILMS ON INSTAGRAM

MAGGIE PEÑA ASST. ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Editor’s Note: The following article contains spoilers for Netflix’s “Fear Street” trilogy.

Never again do I want to watch someone’s head go through a meat grinder.

Of all the deaths in the fictitious town of Shadyside, the murder of preppy-schoolgirl-by-day, dirty-

drug-dealer-by-night, Kate Schmidt, was the most gruesome to watch.

In this R.L. Stine adaptation, gory deaths are anything but uncommon.

Shadyside has been plagued by an evil force for nearly three centuries, tagged “Killer capital, USA,” by fictional news outlets and “Shittyside,” by vandals on the town’s welcome sign.

Residents blame their misfortune on Sarah Fier, a woman hanged for being a witch in 1666. Legends say she placed a curse on the town and has haunted its inhabitants for more than 300 years to avenge her death.

Opposite of Shadyside is the town’s rival, Sunnyvale. The Goode family has run the clean, affluent village of Sunnyvale for years, keeping its upper class citizens well taken care of.

All three parts of the trilogy were released on Netflix in July, each film coming out one week after another.

Each movie explores a year of importance for Shadyside: 1994, 1978 and 1666.

Beginning in 1994, we follow the story of Deena Johnson and Sam Fraser, lovers turned exes turned lovers again. Through a series of lies, deception and crazy killers, the pair discovers the truth about the witch Sarah Fier, which (yes I know, this is a hilarious pun) changes the fates of Shadyside and Sunnyvale forever.

Now that I’ve summarized, let me say: I hate horror movies.

I don’t invite evil into my life, and whether it’s superstitious or not, I avoid horror movies like the plague.

I scare easily and I am not afraid to sleep with my light on to stave off a loose demon.

So imagine my surprise when I finished not one, not two, but three horror movies and comfortably slept with the lights off.

The film has just enough jump scares and bloody images to appease horror genre aficionados while staying behind a certain line for scaredy cats like me. Director Leigh Janiak pulls from iconic horror movies — including “Scream,” “Halloween,” and “The Witch” — and blends components of slasher films with paranormal activity to create a perfectly palatable scary movie.

While I rarely watch horror movies, I do spend more of my free time watching movies than I care to admit.

I’ve learned that while subpar cinematography and choppy editing can disturb a movie’s success, floundering storytelling can create a box-office bomb.

In the same way that the incredibly successful “Knives Out” is filled with twists and turns around every corner, so too is Fear Street. The brilliant minds of Stine and Janiak keep audiences on their toes for nearly six hours of content. Lies and secrets are revealed meticulously and in such a way that viewers feel as if they’re crawling through the underbelly of Shadyside along with the characters.

And the characters are really what make the story worth following.

Not only can many of the cast members boast having multiple roles in the same movie (every character of

which is portrayed flawlessly) but the diversity of the film is unmatched in any other horror film.

The protagonist of the story, Deena, is a queer person of color, and she’s not just a plot device.

Unlike Netflix’s other occult show, “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” Fear Street’s inclusion is not forced.

The plot does focus on Deena and Sam’s love (and another queer relationship), but their love is not a cheap ploy for Netflix to say they’ve made a diverse horror movie.

The subtext of queer themes is common in the horror genre, but rarely are audiences allowed to see a gay relationship drive the plot of a horror film. Unlike the queer undertones of Billy and Stu’s relationship in “Scream,” Deena and Sam’s relationship is not only front and center, but the motivating factor for the characters’ decisions.

Not to mention, Deena and her brother Josh — Black teenagers — are two of the only characters to survive Shadyside’s violence. Even when horror movies do decide to include people of color, those characters usually die the most grisly deaths.

The films were a refreshing change of pace in the straight, white Hollywood horror world.

It’s not October yet, but if you’re looking for a nice, violent slasher film to unwind with at the end of a long day of classes, you can’t go wrong with The Fear Street Trilogy.

Rating: 9/10 penaml@miamioh.edu

Dear Jack Antonoff, please take a break SEAN SCOTT ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR I didn’t intend to become a Jack Antonoff fan.

Not that I was actively avoiding it; I’ve just never given much thought to who produces the music I listen to, or how. Sure, I knew there were more people involved in a Lorde song than Lorde herself, but I didn’t care to familiarize myself with who those other people might be.

This all changed with the arrival of Taylor Swift’s album, “evermore,” in December 2020. “folklore,” Swift’s surprise album from July 2020, was already one of my favorite records of the year. I’d heard Jack Antonoff’s name attached to the project, and I knew he was the producer, but beyond that I wasn’t sure what he really did.

But with “evermore” came the jokes.

“Taylor Swift must have Jack Antonoff chained up in her basement.”

“How is Lana Del Rey ever supposed to release another album if Jack’s too busy with Taylor.”

“No wonder Lorde’s album got delayed - there’s no way Jack could make it to New Zealand with all his other work going on.”

Variations of the same comments floated around TikTok and Instagram for weeks. None of the other women of indie-pop could release an album until Swift was done using Jack for her projects, however many there may be. At the time,

popular wisdom said Swift would be releasing one more new album, “woodvale,” before she began rerecording her first five albums.

So, when Jack Antonoff first entered my awareness, it wasn’t entirely a positive experience. I’d been promised a Lana Del Rey album in September 2020. He was the sole producer of her last album, “Norman Fucking Rockwell,” and it seemed he’d failed to produce the follow up because Swift, by far the richest of his regular partners, was keeping him busy.

At the rate things were going, I could forget about a new Lorde album. Antonoff had produced every song on “Melodrama,” Lorde’s 2017 album (and the single greatest anything ever written), but in December it seemed unlikely we would get any future projects from the pair.

Then March rolled around, and a beautiful thing happened: Lana Del Rey’s album, “Chemtrails Over the Country Club,” dropped. Short and sweet at 11 songs, it’s still my favorite album of the year so far.

Antonoff once again produced every song.

I was struggling to hold onto my grudge against Antonoff. He’d only produced six songs from “folklore” and two from “evermore,” and none of them were my favorites. If anyone making jokes on the internet cared about accuracy (they don’t), their jokes about Swift locking up her producers would have been better directed at Aaron Dessner, who co-wrote and produced more songs than Antonoff on each album.

Plus there was the whole Lorde thing.

But then we got to May. St. Vincent dropped a banger of an album heavily inspired by the 70’s, a sound I hadn’t fully appreciated until then.

I had no idea who was on her team while working on the album, and it didn’t really matter to me, until I happened to be reading an article and one name stuck out.

Jack Antonoff.

Since the start of the pandemic, Antonoff has been attached to 11 projects, including his own album under the stage name Bleachers, Lana Del Rey’s poetry audiobook (for some reason) and nine albums.

By publishing time, that number will become 10 with “Solar Power,” Lorde’s first project in four years. I might die when it drops. We’ll see.

People love to say Taylor Swift is the music industry, but that’s not quite true. Antonoff isn’t the music industry either, but it’s a bit closer to the truth.

Antonoff has defined the sound of pop music since 2012 when his two-hit wonder band, fun., released its album “Some Nights.” Since then, he’s collaborated with Swift, St. Vincent, Lorde, Del Rey, Clairo,

THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS MORE THAN JUST THE MAIN VOCALISTS AT THE FOREFRONT. PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM @ JACKANTONOFF

Carly Rae Jepsen, FKA Twigs, The Chicks, P!nk and more.

He needs a break.

He won’t take it, of course. I doubt Antonoff will stop making his mix of bangers and ballads with the women of pop and indie music anytime in the foreseeable future, and of course I’ll keep listening.

Grudges aside, the man’s responsible for the sound of nearly half my favorite artists and albums, and even if Antonoff did call it quits, he’ll have left us with material to cry over and dance to for a decade. scottsr2@miamioh.edu

Editors’ music picks - August STAFF REPORT

At the start of the pandemic, our editors started to contribute to a monthly playlist where they all put in their five favorite songs for the month.

Read about our favorite picks from the playlist, and listen along with us by clicking the link, or by scanning the QR code if you’re reading in print.

“STONED AT THE NAIL SALON” – Lorde I’ve been patiently waiting for a new Lorde project for years, and now that it’s finally here I don’t know what to do with myself. Where “Ribs” perfectly captures the teenage fear of growing up, “Stoned at the Nail Salon” looks back and wonders if the choices we’ve made to get where we are today were good ones. The song offers a healthy dose of equal parts comfort and existential dread, like hugging a pillow after a party. – Sean Scott, Asst. Campus & Community Editor “PEOPLE WATCHING” – Conan Gray No song has ever captured my thoughts on love as perfectly as “People Watching.” I’ve been a fan of Conan Gray for years, but this song hits me in a completely different way than anything else he’s released. The chorus swells to match the melodra-

matic feeling of the lyrics. And unlike “Heather” by Gray or anything by Olivia Rodrigo, which embody “‘tis better to have loved and lost,” the lyrics of “People Watching” confirm the somber old adage: “than never to have loved at all.” – Maggie Peña, Multimedia Editor “BAD KID” – Foxx Bodies The live version of “Bad Kid” has been on Spotify since 2017, but Foxx Bodies finally released the studio recording in anticipation of their second album coming out this November.

The song embraces chaos and messiness, with its distorted guitar riffs and Bella Vanek’s wails exploding into the chorus. At only two minutes, it’s a cathartic listen, one where you can hear the desperation in Vanek’s voice and scream along. – Lexi Whitehead, Asst. Campus & Community Editor “WILD SIDE” - Normani feat.

Cardi B I’ve had “Wild Side” on repeat since the day it came out. The day the music video dropped, I gathered all the Chautauquan Daily interns, and we all watched, mouths agape. I’ve been following Normani since my days as a Fifth Harmony stan, but her influences of 90s R&B — and more importantly, Aaliyah — shine through perfectly in the production and the choreography. Also, Cardi B can suck a watermelon through a straw.

- David Kwiatkowski, Sr. Campus & Community Editor/Entertainment Editor “SCREAM DRIVE FASTER” – LAUREL “Scream Drive Faster” was the song of the summer for me. I kicked off the season with a road trip from Oxford, Ohio to San Francisco, Calif. It was just me, my boyfriend and a whole lot of open road. As you can imagine, there were a handful of times I wanted to scream “drive faster” in his face. It took a week to get there, and those seven days were, for the most part, fucking wondeful. For the rest of the summer, whenever I heard this song, I remembered the highly romanticized version of the trip in my head, and it was awesome every time. – Rebecca Wolff, Opinion Editor “ROSES” – Kanye West This year has been rough. Almost everyone has felt some kind of loss, whether it be because of the pandemic or otherwise, but I’ve learned a few things along the way. First, people who are important and want to be in your life will show up. Second, there’s a certain helplessness in death. Both of these things are addressed in Kanye’s song Roses. It’s an old one, but it’s especially meaningful at this time in our lives. –Abby Bammerlin, Campus & Community Editor

“SILVER LINING” – Mt. Joy It’s folky, it’s funky and it’s sweet.

My father described “Silver Lining” as “harsh-sounding,” and my brother said it was “no good”... I like songs that garner strong opinions! I appreciate the guitar; it’s just some good old strumming to keep my spirits up.

I feel like this would be great for the opening scene of a movie. It just has that vibe. – Jessica Robinson, Humor Editor “HONEY” - Coastal Club While Coastal Club’s “honey” was released in 2020, it has been my song of the summer. It’s vibey and never fails to make me smile. It’s a textbook “feel-good” song. With the chaos of COVID-19 and moving back to school, “honey” snaps me back into the last few days of summer and reminds me to just chill out. - Sarah Grace Hays, Multimedia Editor “CONFETTI” - Little Mix I recently rediscovered Little Mix while desperately looking for new music on Spotify. Although I tend to be drawn to slow, acoustic ballads, “Confetti” offers a refreshing new sound to my playlist. The layered vocals and bass create an upbeat and energetic sound that uplifts and hypes me up for the day. - Megan McConnell, Social Media Editor “ANIMAL” – Noah Kahan In a time when the news feels

overwhelmingly hopeless and it’s hard to be a young adult, this song strikes home. It’s sad, but it makes you feel a little less alone in facing whatever it is that makes you feel like an animal. And who doesn’t love a catchy, sad song? –Cosette Gunter, Asst. Campus & Community Editor “COME BACK TO EARTH” – Mac Miller Watching wide-eyed freshmen move onto a “normal” campus for the first time has me feeling nostalgic for my own first year at Miami. This song, the first track off of Swimming, Mac’s final album before his death, single handedly got me through my first semester. Now, as a rising senior, it reminds me of how far I have come.

– Owen Berg, Design and Style Editor

Humor

14 HUMOR Secluding myself in Rural Wyoming broadened my Global Perspectives KEVIN J. WOESTE THE MIAMI STUDENT There are times when the Miami University Office of Global Perspectives does a great job. Like when the office helped me find a green energy-focused program in Iceland that best suited my needs as a student.

Then there are other times when the office forgets it is also responsible for overseeing domestic travel programs.

As a geology major, one of the requirements for my program is to complete a five-week study away program in northern Wyoming and central Montana. In preparation for the program, students were required to take the basic study abroad/study away online course.

The course was designed to only take three to four hours, which made it bearable. But the vast majority of information was about things like making sure your passport was up to date, getting international health coverage, and most of all, how to push through culture shock.

Needless to say, there were only a few tidbits of information that would be helpful for students traveling domestically.

I know that Wyoming and Montana are different from Ohio culturally, but they’re not that different.

Beyond that, the point of the course was to go and map rock formations!

The best part is that thanks to COVID, we were encouraged to keep our interactions with locals to a minimum. So I pushed through the online course and learned some information that might be helpful if I ever travel internationally in the future, and I thought that that would be the end of it, but I was mistaken.

When I returned home, I received an email from the Global Perspectives office asking me to fill out a survey that would be “very important in helping them determine if they need to make changes to the course.”

Being the helpful person that I am, I agreed to participate in the survey, where I spent the next hour of my life trying to relate how my experience looking at sandstone beds helped me to “understand cultural perspectives other than my own.”

Seriously, GP, I love ya, but could you maybe spend a little more time making your end of course surveys more relevant to the course? woestekj@miamioh.edu

ROBIN199@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Putting the FUN in funeral

PATRICK SULLIVAN THE MIAMI STUDENT

What is your first thought when you think of funerals?

Stand up comedy? No? Me neither.

But apparently, that was my grandma’s first thought for my grandpa’s funeral because she called me a couple weeks before asking if I could surprise the family with stand up comedy there.

As an aspiring stand up comedian, I have no choice but to accept any gig presented to me.

So when my grandma asked, I agreed to put the “fun” in funeral.

My grandpa was a proud Irishman. One of the things the Irish are most proud of is our raging funerals. We buy a ton of alcohol, get drunk, tell stories, and in some cases, have a grandson do free stand up comedy.

Unfortunately, my grandparents are the cheapest people I’ve ever met. I’m surprised we didn’t just put my grandpa in a cardboard box and bury him in the

backyard. But because of tight pockets, no alcohol graced this Irish funeral.

I don’t know if you’ve ever done stand up comedy, but a sober crowd is much less likely to laugh than a drunk crowd. I don’t know if you’ve ever done stand up comedy at a funeral, but they are also much less likely to laugh than a crowd that didn’t just bury their family member.

So, a sober crowd of grievers is probably the worst audience for a surprise stand up comedy show. In addition, I went up right after my father gave a heart wrenching eulogy. Honestly, I was just excited because I’d never done stand up comedy in a church before.

Almost every comedian knows to start their set easy and save the darker jokes till the middle, once the crowd is already laughing.

But not me. I decided to go big or go home. I told my grieving family that I didn’t know what to say on stage because I wanted to roast my grandpa, but the crematorium already beat me to it.

Silence.

Then, a communal gasp as people understood my joke.

You would think that would have been enough to slow me down, but you would be wrong.

I proceeded to make fun of my grandpa and all his children. The

so I could take that weekend off, too.

The only people laughing were my cousins and my grandma. The rest of the crowd was paralyzed in fear and disappointment. But I regret nothing. Because even

“I told my grieving family that I didn’t know what to say on stage because I wanted to roast my grandpa, but the crematorium already beat me to it.” fan favorite was when I joked about my grandma now hooking up with guys from ChristianMingle. My family also did not laugh when I noted that it was never easier to get off of work than for a funeral.

I suggested we throw another funeral for him over 4th of July

though I’ll probably never be invited to a funeral again, seeing the look of glee on my grandma’s face and the look of fear on everyone else’s made it all worth it.

This was worth it. sulli293@miamioh.edu

Four people you’ll see at Brick Street Bar and Grill this semester JESSICA ROBINSON HUMOR EDITOR

seemingly always present in our favorite Uptown establishment:

It’s crowded, hot, and sticky.

Your feet, thankfully covered with closed-toe shoes, walk through a light layer of liquid covering the floor. No one knows

1. The Bouncer This guy just sits out front, baby! Every once in a while, a confident blonde girl tries to flirt her way into the bar. But this

your group, but he’s there dancing. He’s fairly drunk, and he bumps into everyone, but he’s too drunk to make any serious moves, and the sweat dripping from him is enough to solve the droughts threatening foliage around the world.

“He’s like a secret service agent protecting Mr. Joe Biden, but in this case, Mr. Biden is Brick, arguably more influential than any old man in politics.”

exactly what the juice consists of, possibly a mixture of sweat, tears, beer, and other questionable substances.

Looking up, you breathe in body odor, alcohol breath, and something vaguely sweet – peach mango juul smoke. As people bump you from all sides, you notice four characters that are

man doesn’t budge.

He’s like a secret service agent protecting Mr. Joe Biden, but in this case Mr. Biden is Brick, arguably more influential than any old man in politics.

2. The Loner Who the hell is this guy?

He doesn’t know anyone in

Eventually, he moves on from your group to another. But no one quite knows, where did he come from, and where did he go?

3. The Couple Okay this is technically a two person gig, but they’re so close together you didn’t realize it was more than one person at first.

And now, you wish they weren’t so close to you.

They don’t seem to notice you, or anyone. In fact, they’re treating this bar like it’s a very private date. You look away just as they topple to the floor, splashing Brick juice onto the nearest passersby.

4. The Puker This is a freshman, and they pre-gamed too hard.

At first, they move around, flailing their arms with an impressive fervor. But then, all too suddenly, they move more slowly and double over.

It’s time to leave.

As you exit Brick, you feel the intense need to shower. You don’t understand how every portion of your clothing is wet, either with sweat or loose alcohol splashed around by your nearby neighbors.

But even with how gross you feel, and how hungover you may be in the morning, you’ll still go back again to experience that comfortable consistency Brick provides. robin119@miamioh.edu

In a Flash!!! Breaking News at Miami University JESSICA ROBINSON HUMOR EDITOR

Reporter says, “What’s your dream job?” Student answers, “Data analytics.” Where did these nerds come from?

GOT fans riot after professor describes the series as “medieval porn”

Innocent college freshman tries to rebel, puts weeds from Fraternity brothers force flower bed in meat smoker in pledges to solve complex math attempt to “smoke weed” problems with four-function calculators during rush season Navy ROTC members exposed for wearing floaties during top secret training session Miami Basketball Players challenge Dennis The Miami Student forced to Rodman to game, lose apologize to Farmer School of Business because the Farmer Ask Shelly: Why won’t celebrities boys can’t take a joke shut up about showering?

Pre-med kids revealed as most dramatic kids on campus

Freshmen who come in saying, “I’m a junior, credit wise” 10 times more likely to drop out by sophomore year, study finds Man blames Helen Peabody’s ghost for his 3-day bender in PEA121.

Brick Street Bar and Grill voted “Classiest Restaurant” in newest poll Woman explains to date how to butcher a chicken, date files immediate restraining order Dear Abby: Man asks to touch base… Is that flirting?

I’m just so excited for Miami’s Football season... the packed stadiums, the endless touchdowns... the riled up fans... everything.

BERGOE@MIAMIOH.EDU

style

STYLE 15

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

The history of the split-toe Tabi MIHAELA MANOVA THE MIAMI STUDENT The Tabi boot not only has a split toe, but it has also caused a split in public opinion.

Constructed of leather panels, a heel, and a hoof-like front, Martin Margiela’s debut footwear offering introduced the fashion house’s most notable silhouette.

But Margiela wasn’t the sole inventor of the Tabi (no pun intended).

The first Tabi socks were created during the 15th century in Japan, when the island nation opened trading with China. The socks, much like the boots today, have a split-toe front, which the public would wear with traditional thonged sandals and kimonos.

Tabi socks were first worn by the upper class. Made up of three fabric pieces, the top two are sewn together above the toe gap while the third is meant for the sole. The socks’ colorway indicated hierarchical status, with the upper class wearing gold and purple and the working class wearing only blue. Samurai were allowed any color, except the elites’ reserved colors.

White was a formal color, saved for special occasions.

In 1921, the sock evolved into the Jika-Tabi. Tokujirō Ishibashi designed a rubber sole shoe that ended at the ankles, protecting the feet of manual laborers. Metal closures (Kohaze) secure the shoe at the top, acting like modern buttons. This design is the most similar to Margiela’s silhouette, but Ishibashi created it for functionality rather than for aesthetic.

Ishibashi created a shoe that promoted holistic reflexology for Japanese workers. According to Carmenta Life, holistic reflexology works via the foot to create a balanced and clear mind, as well as battle disease and stress. As the shoe would aid in agility, it benefitted manual laborers and farmers.

Sixty-seven years later, Margiela would introduce the Tabi boot to the world of high fashion.

Before leading his own fashion house, Margiela designed shoes before working for French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

In 1988, Margiela, freshly inspired by the Japanese footwear, was ready to send the Tabi down the runway. But when he introduced the design for the boot, cobblers rejected his idea.

It was not until Geert Bruloot, the first retailer to stock Margiela’s shoe line, introduced him to an Italian craftsman. Mr. Zagato took on Margiela’s idea and handcrafted the Tabi, creating a limited number of pieces.

At the Spring/Summer 1989 show, Margiela wanted to showcase the boot in a way that hadn’t been done before. His models strutted down the runway wearing lab coats and dripping in red paint, while their Tabis left a trail of split-toe footprints.

After the show, Margiela was bombarded with clients requesting the Tabi to come in more colors. “There was no budget for a new form. So I had no other choice than to con-

tinue with the style if I wanted shoes,” said Margiela after the positive response. “[But] after several collections people started asking for them. And they wanted more … And they didn’t stop asking, thank God!” For the next season, Margiela repainted the originals due to budget costs.

But it wasn’t only the clients who were inspired by the shoe. A 20 year-old Raf Simons snuck into Margiela’s Fall/Winter 1989 show and “was moved to tears” because of the design. Simons has since become a creative director for Jill Sander, Dior, Calvin Klein, and was deemed one of fashion’s most influential designers.

As the Tabi became a staple in the Margiela house for the next 30 years, the shoe itself has gone through many different patterns, colorways, and has even become unisex.

Most recently, Tabi has gone through another round of evolution. Reebok has partnered with Margiela for their new collaboration, creating a $358 split-toe dad sneaker.

But this isn’t the first time a Tabi-like style has become sporty. In 1996, Nike cre-

“Tabis don’t compel apathy— they force you to feel.”

- Arabelle Sicardi for SSENSE

MARGIELA’S TABI SILHOUTTE, THROUGHOUT ITS MANY ITERATIONS, HAS ALWAYS BEEN A POLARIZING TOPIC AMONG FASHION ENTHUSIASTS PHOTOS FROM INSTAGRAM: @MAISONMARGIELA

ated the Air Rift, a split-toe velcro shoe.

Once again centered around holistic reflexology, the shoe was inspired by Kenyan runners who would run long-distance barefoot.

The shoe was shelved due to unpopularity, but made its comeback in 2015.

Much like any political divide, the Tabi has become a polarizing topic for Internet critics.

“Unpopular opinion: I don’t like Tabi boots,” one Twitter user wrote. “ I like the concept of how it forces you to have an opinion on them because it’s unique. You’ll either hate it or love it—there’s no in between. I like how it’s made to be comfortable since it follows the foot’s shape. But it looks weird.”

On the other side of the Tabi toe debate, “ My opinions on Margiela Tabi boots have changed,” another Twitter user wrote. “I never would have imagined liking them but now they’re all I can think about.”

Love them or hate them, SSENSE’s Arabelle Sicardi said it best when observing the reactions toward her Tabi boots, “Tabis don’t compel apathy— they force you to feel.” manovamd@miamioh.edu

Miami Students Stand Up To Fast Fashion LAURA GIAQUINTO THE MIAMI STUDENT For college aged students, clothes are expensive, and styles are constantly changing. Popular stores such as Shein, Forever 21, H&M and American Eagle operate as “fast fashion” – stores specializing in trendy clothes at the cost of workplace ethics. To some students, this is highly unacceptable, and they search for alternatives to fast fashion.

Sophomore social work major Caroline Wert says the way some stores present their merchandise is misleading.

More expensive fast fashion stores such as Urban Outfitters only pretend to be more environmentally and socially conscious, Caroline said, but their clothes are made in the same way as their cheaper counterparts like Fashion Nova.

“Even if they’re different price points, people don’t really realize anything that’s mass produced, that it’s all the same,” Wert said.

Wert says for her the biggest turn-off toward a store is how their clothing is sourced and what they do with the clothes they don’t end up selling.

“So stuff doesn’t sell, do they donate it, or did they just put it in a landfill?” Wert said. “Or do they at least send it to stores like TJ Maxx, where they can have a second chance of being sold?”

To sophomore president of Green Team Jillian Gruber, fast fashion is hard to avoid.

“All of the stores at the mall like H&M, Forever 21, Hollister, all of those are fast fashion. And I don’t have the money to shop at places that don’t mistreat their workers,” Gruber said. “A lot of these clothes are designed to just fall apart within a few years, and you throw them away, and you go buy more.”

Second-year social work major Grace Brunton said changes to the fast fashion industry need to be made at a systematic level rather than an individual level.

“I think it’s a symptom of a larger problem, that people can’t afford sustainable living,” Brunton said. “There’s that mindset

DESIGNER MACEY CHAMBERLIN

of if you really boil down to it, almost every single store has those human rights violations and has this issue”.

Gruber, Brunton and Wert all often thrift, but Brunton says sometimes that is not possible for her.

“If you need a specific thing, or a specific item, there’s no guarantee that’s gonna be at

a secondhand store or something like that,” Brunton said.

Gruber uses an app called Good On You to seek out brands she’d prefer to buy from.

Good On You gives the store a rating in regards to environmental friendliness and how they treat workers.

“I think we could use a lot more types

of software like that, for all companies in general, just to expose them.” Gruber said.

“I think we need to develop that culture of exposing the businesses and demonstrating to them that they should not be in control of our lives.” giaquiln@miamioh.edu

16

Sports

NELSO156@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Experience is key as RedHawks go for another MAC title Second-year players Kevin Davis and Keyon Mozee, a Kansas State transfer, could also step in and contribute when needed.

Of course, the running game always starts up front. The team is replacing key parts on the offensive line, as former left tackle Tommy Doyle was drafted by the Buffalo Bills and right tackle Danny Godlevske transferred to Oklahoma State.

Third-year Sophomores Caleb Shaffer and Rusty Feth will start at left and right guard, respectively, and should be strengths on the offensive line. Besides that, Martin says there are as many as ten offensive lineman battling for the last three starting spots. Still, Martin is confident the group will be one of the team’s strengths this season.

“I think we’re gonna have some guys [on the offensive line] that step in and become, like, you don’t even know who they are now,” Martin said. “But by the middle or late in the year, like, ‘Hey, he’s a pretty damn good player.’”

Defense The defense returns most of its starters from last year, many of whom were key pieces in 2019.

The defensive line is anchored by defensive ends Kameron Butler and Lonnie Phelps, who both earned spots on last year’s All-MAC team. Sixth-year defensive tackle Ben Kimpler will start and should provide a veteran presence in the trenches Still, the most impactful defensive lineman might be someone who never played a snap on defense until last season. Fifthyear senior Dominique Robinson was a quarterback in high school, then transitioned to wide receiver for his first three years as a RedHawk.

Now? He’s a 6’4”, 252 pound defensive end with real NFL draft buzz. In three games last year, Robinson had 9 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.

The RedHawks return most of its linebacking corps, including sixth-year senior Ryan McWood and third-year sophomores Ivan Pace Jr. and Luke Bolden.

McWood’s acrobatic interception helped seal Miami’s victory against eventual conference champs Ball State last season.

Behind the trio are a lot of unproven young players, including McWood’s younger brother, Oscar. A player who could break out for the RedHawks is Ed Warinner, a transfer from the University of Michigan.

Warinner, the son of a former Ohio State assistant coach with the same name, was a three-star recruit who started his career at Michigan State.

The secondary is anchored by veterans like safety Sterling Weatherford and corners Mike Brown and Cedric Boswell. Matthew Salopek and Cecil Singleton will also be seeing increased roles from last year.

Weatherford hasn’t participated in fall camp so far. Martin says he’s dealing with a nagging lower body injury, and should be able to suit up for the team’s first contest against Cincinnati.

Special Teams Last year, Miami had to figure out how to replace NFL kicker Sam Sloman, as well as punter Kyle Kramer. While it’s too early to tell, Henry Beckett and Dom Djobian have settled nicely into the roles.

Beckett made 3 of 4 field goals in 2020, with his longest make from 42 yards, and was a perfect 11/11 on PATs. Djobian punted the ball 15 times last season for an average of 42.7 yards per punt.

Walker was the team’s primary kick and punt returner last season, so expect him to play that role again this season. Hippenhammer or any of the team’s running backs could also get some return man reps.

“You spend all the time with these kids and you just grow relationships with them ... I just like being around those guys.”

- Chuck Martin MIAMI BRINGS BACK KEY SENIORS, LIKE WIDE RECEIVER JALEN WALKER (BOTTOM, IN WHITE) AND BEN KIMPLER (RIGHT, NO. 92).

CONTRIBUTED BY MIAMI ATHLETICS

LUKAS NELSON SPORTS EDITOR Last year was supposed to be a big season for Miami football.

Coming off a Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship run, the RedHawks had most of their starters returning and were poised to be loaded with seniors.

Instead, COVID-19 hit, and the 2020 season was different than any other. The MAC reduced its season to six games, but Miami only played in three games due to positive COVID tests on either their team or the team they were scheduled to play.

The NCAA Division I board of directors voted to give every fall athlete an extra year of eligibility.

All of the seniors the RedHawks were supposed to have in 2020?

They had the ability to come back in 2021.

Inevitably, some chose to leave anyway. Left tackle Tommy Doyle and defensive back Emmanuel Rugamba both declared for the draft, and are now on NFL rosters. Center Danny Godlevske transferred

to Oklahoma State. A few others decided it was time to graduate and leave college.

Still, head coach Chuck Martin has to be pleased with the players who are now here for their fifth — and in some cases, sixth — year in Oxford. Players like running back Jaylon Bester, defensive back Mike Brown, wide receiver Jack Sorenson and more used their extra year of eligibility with the goal to win another conference championship.

Martin is not only glad for them to be back in red and white, he’s also happy he gets to see them on a daily basis.

“It’s just awesome,” Martin said. “You spend all the time with these kids and you just grow relationships with them … I just like being around those guys.”

Offense Quarterbacks Brett Gabbert and A.J. Mayer are more of a 1A and 1B than a true one and two on the depth chart. Both signal callers saw action last season, as Mayer stepped in after a week one injury to Gabbert and led the ’Hawks to

victory against Ball State. While Gabbert will likely earn the starting role, Mayer can easily step in and replace the St. Louis native if need be.

Both Gabbert and Mayer go into this season with three years of eligibility remaining. While both have shined in their brief careers, Martin is confident that they both still have room to grow.

“They’re not even close to where they’re gonna be yet,” Martin said.

The RedHawks also bring back a solid receiving corps, including Sorenson, Jalen Walker and James Burns, all three holdovers from 2019’s Conference Championship. Walker changed his jersey number from 83 to 14 this season.

The wild card in the group will be Mac Hippenhammer, a Penn State transfer who came to the RedHawks last year. Hippenhammer, who also plays on Miami’s baseball team, had five catches for 77 yards in his lone outing in red and white last season.

After not participating in Spring practices due to his role on

the baseball team, wide receivers coach Israel Woolfork is excited not only for Hippenhammer’s production on the field, but his role as a leader off of it.

“I’m more excited having him back around a lot of our young guys, because he is a great human being,” Woolfork said.

While none of the team’s receivers are big, physical targets (Sorenson is the tallest of the core four receivers at 6’0”) who can go up and get a jump ball in traffic, the RedHawks aren’t lacking in smart, fast and tough receivers.

Sixth-year tight end Andrew Homer is back after missing all of last season with an injury. Homer is expected to carry the load at tight end, as he and third-year Jack Coldiron are the only two tight ends on the roster with a catch in their college careers.

Coldiron recorded six catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s shortened season.

Jaylon Bester and Tyre Shelton are back after missing all three games last season due to injuries.

The duo will join Davion Johnson in a loaded backfield that should be the focal point of the offense.

@LukasTheDream nelso156@miamioh.edu

SPORTS 17

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

NELSO156@MIAMIOH.EDU

Youth movement:

“Mental health comes first”:

Underclassmen to play key role in volleyball’s season

the importance of mental health for student athletes

THE REDHAWKS ARE REPLACING KEY PLAYERS LIKE SARAH WOJICK (LEFT, NO. 14), ABIGAIL HUSER (IN RED) AND MORGAN SEAMAN (MIDDLE, NO. 12).

PHOTO BY ZACH REICHMAN

LUKAS NELSON SPORTS EDITOR Last year, experience was Miami volleyball’s best asset.

The RedHawks had four seniors; libero Abigail Huser, setter Morgan Seaman and right sides Sarah Wojick and Avarie Powell.

This year, however, the team brings a little bit less experience. All four of those seniors are gone, as none of them took the extra year of eligibility granted to them by the NCAA. The ’Hawks do have a few key upperclassmen, including senior outside hitter Gaby Harper and junior outside hitter Allyson Severance.

Others, like seniors Sophie Riemersma and Jennifer Schulze and juniors Jacquelyn Krumnauer and Lindsay Taylor, will have more responsibility than they’ve had in past seasons.

“With good practice and teaching right here, we’ll eventually be able to replace each one of them,” Head Coach Carolyn Condit said after practice.

Still, the team will have to rely on first-years and sophomores to carry the load at key positions. Sophomores Maggie McCrary and Abby Stratford both played important roles last year in the front row. McCrary will continue to play in the middle, while Stratford will take over Powell’s spot on the right side. Stratford’s status for the first game of the season is in doubt, as she recently suffered a sprained ankle.

The hardest spot to fill may be the libero position. Liberos are different from other players; they wear a different color jersey from their teammates, and can only play in the back row.

Teams are only allowed fifteen substitutions per set, but liberos don’t count toward that number.

Huser had been the libero for the last three years, and excelled at the position. Now, Condit will have to find someone to replace her production. She says there are three players who could be the team’s starting libero when the season starts: Krumnauer, sophomore Taylor Normanson and first-year Margo Lawson.

While losing a key player like Huser is always tough, Condit is thrilled with her options at libero going forward.

“I think they’re all gonna be really good and the depth we have at that position, whoever earns it on whatever day, will be phenomenal for us,” Condit said.

There are six first-years on Miami’s roster, and some of those players could make a big impact. One such player is setter Gracie Norris.

Condit thinks Norris will be a household name by the end of this year.

“She’s doing amazing,” Condit said. “I think Gracie will be a pleasant surprise for anyone to watch because they won’t know who she is and she’ll create a name for herself.”

Another first-year setter who looks to get a lot of playing time is Lydia Harper, Gaby Harper’s younger sister. Though the younger Harper has a stress fracture and isn’t practicing right now, Condit anticipates she could play a key role once she’s healthy.

Last year, the elder Harper was dealing with an injury of her own. A slight tear in her shoulder bothered her, but Condit says the injury didn’t require surgery. So far, the senior has been good to go in practice.

“She’s doing great. She rehabs all the time … her strength is really good and she swung really hard today,” Condit said.

The RedHawks have a solid program, and should be a contender in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) this year. Still, it’s hard to know for sure until the season starts.

The non-conference schedule to start the season doesn’t make things any easier. The team travels to Huntington, West Virginia to start the season, playing in the Marshall Invitational against Marshall, Alabama and Austin Peay State. The next weekend, Miami travels to Durham, North Carolina to play against Duke, College of Charleston and Howard University in the Duke Invitational.

The RedHawks get to host an invitational of their own the next weekend against Northern Kentucky, Evansville and Middle Tennessee before wrapping up the non conference schedule against regional foes Xavier and Cincinnati.

The target date for Condit? Sept. 24, when Miami takes on Buffalo in its first conference game of the season. With younger players trying to step into new roles, the head coach thinks that will be when the team finally starts to gel.

“It’ll happen,” Condit said. “We just need a little training time because we’re talking freshmen and sophomores filling those roles.” nelso156@miamioh.edu @LukasTheDream

’Hawks Talk

GRAPHIC BY OWEN BERG

MEGAN MISKE THE MIAMI STUDENT American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from multiple 2020 Summer Olympic events after citing problems with her mental health. Since Biles opened up about her decision to withdraw, many athletes around the world have shown their support for her and spoken out about the importance of mental health.

One of those athletes was Lauren Parker, a senior goalkeeper for the Miami women’s soccer team.

“If your mind isn’t in the game, then you aren’t going to perform at your best level,” Parker said, “I thought it was very eye-opening to see someone that is so successful be able to do that because people will think you can do anything when you are at that level.”

Biles withdrew because of a mental disorientation known among gymnasts as the “twisties,” which is defined as a mental block that causes a loss of sense of orientation while twisting in the air.

Sophomore synchronized skater Justine Ferrer related by saying, “There are some days when I simply can’t do something that I’ve been doing for ages.”

Having mental blocks while competing can cause a lot of distraction for athletes and even lead to an inability to perform up to one’s normal standards.

Mekhi Lairy, who has been playing basketball ‘since he was able to pick up the ball,’ is a senior guard for the RedHawks.

“I am one of those people who doesn’t really show emotion on the outside, and I hold everything in, which could be a distraction during competition,” Lairy said about the difficulties of mental blocks. “I’ve now learned how to not let anything negative come in between those 4 lines.”

Throughout the year, Miami athletes have to be full time students while also keeping in shape for their practices and competitions.

“I don’t think regular students understand the time commitment of being a full time student and having to perform the best that you possibly can as a student athlete,”

miskem@miamioh.edu @meganmiske

From VHS tapes to YouTube highlight reels:

How social media has changed recruiting LUKAS NELSON SPORTS EDITOR

- Former Miami RedHawks Doug Costin and Emmanuel Rugamba after the pair played against each other in an NFL preseason game

Parker said. “I’ve had a hard time managing to be the best in both places.”

While some athletes find it stressful to do both, others find their sport helps with their stress.

“Soccer is a time to get my stress out, so it often helps me to relieve some stress from outside,” Women’s Soccer midfielder Tyler Klika said.

For the student athletes who are having a difficult time with their mental health during their season, Miami University offers a sports psychologist, Jim Slager.

Still, some athletes say this still isn’t good enough.

“I don’t think that I would say there’s enough [support],” Ferrer said. “It’s a lot for one person to be in charge of sports psychology for an entire athletic department.”

While Miami has resources for its athletes on campus, some student athletes don’t take advantage of this support.

“You can give [people access to care], but that doesn’t mean people will take the help,” Parker said. “I think the reason mental health is so bad in student athletes is because they don’t want to feel weak.”

Many student athletes are advocating for mental health to be talked about more within the athletic community.

Ferrer is an ambassador for The Hidden Opponent, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating student athletes about mental health.

“As an ambassador for the organization, I do what I can to spread awareness around student athlete mental health,” Ferrer said, “I’ve met athletes from around the country who are just as passionate about breaking the stigma as I am.”

While interning for Sports Health Institute, Parker learned about the importance of mental health education for athletes.

“I think there needs to be more of an education,” Parker said, “because you can be looked at as weak for being upset or sad, and that’s not the case.”

Gavin Rohrs, a high school offensive lineman who’s considered a 3-star recruit (out of five stars), announced his commitment to Miami University’s football program on his Twitter account earlier this month.

The announcement may have come as a surprise to some, but not for anyone who follows the team’s assistant coaches on Twitter.

Prior to Rohrs’s announcement, no less than 14 Miami assistants tweeted in anticipation of his commitment.

“When we are tweeting stuff out, it’s to tell the fans, like, hey, we got some big news, and kind of get people on pins and needles,” wide receivers coach Israel Woolfork said.

Though this may seem normal to a lot of high school and college students, the Internet and social media being such an important part of recruiting is a relatively new concept.

Twitter, Instagram and YouTube are essential now, whether coaches are trying to get in contact with a player or just see their highlights.

High school recruiting websites like Rivals or 247Sports are also frequently used.

Woolfork played college football from 2008 to 2012 at Division II Grand Valley State in Michigan, where Chuck Martin was the head coach before moving on to Notre Dame as an assistant. Before YouTube was around, he remembers mailing out DVDs and VHS tapes of his highlights when he was in high school.

“Now, to see where it is, where a kid can literally inbox me with his link to his highlights, his transcripts, and everything being on the phone and accessible in a matter of 30 seconds? It’s wild.”

Before transferring to Miami in 2016 to complete his college career, graduate assistant Jordan Diamond was a four-star recruit who was considered a top-100 player in the class of 2012, and he played at Auburn University at

the start of his college career. Even from then to now, Diamond notices a substantial difference.

“It’s been night and day,” Diamond said.

For football coaches who grew up before the social media era, it can feel like trying to navigate a whole different world.

“It’s 100% different than it was ten years ago,” Miami Head Football Coach Chuck Martin said. “I would say it’s completely changed [recruiting].”

A big reason social media is prevalent in recruiting is how easy it is to get in contact with anyone: potential recruits, their coaches and even parents. It goes both ways, too. Players can easily get in touch with college coaches to sell themselves to their programs.

Martin also recognizes that most of the time, social media is the primary way high schoolers communicate.

“You can DM ‘em all night and then in the middle of the DM you try to call them and they don’t pick up their phone,” Martin said.

“I mean, it is the way they communicate. To them, it is a phone call. They don’t have time to be talking on the phone.”

Woolfork and Diamond brought up the same word: branding. For players, social media is perhaps the only place they can showcase themselves and their personalities to the world.

The same thing goes for schools. When the assistant coaches tweet about commitments soon to be made by recruits, it’s really a way to get exposure and generate talk about Miami and its football program.

“It gets that buzz going,” Woolfork said.

“Not only is it on your feed, it’s on the next person’s feed that likes it, then someone likes that and then it’s on their feed, so more people are starting to see Miami University and Miami football from the likes and retweets.” nelso156@miamioh.edu @LukasTheDream

Sports

18

NELSO156@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

RedHawks in the NFL EDWARD ORZECH THE MIAMI STUDENT Six former RedHawk football players currently represent Miami University in the National Football League (NFL). Here’s a list of who they are and how they got there.

Tommy Doyle (20162020) During his time as an offensive tackle at Miami, Doyle led the way for a solid RedHawk o-line for three years. He played right tackle in 2018, then switched over to left tackle in 2019. Doyle earned First Team All-MAC honors in 2019 and 2020.

This led the Buffalo Bills to select him as their fifth-round pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Doyle’s best chance to make the Bills team is to beat out fellow rookie Spencer Brown and veteran Ryan Bates for either the swing-tackle role or the emergency tackle role. In his first preseason game, Doyle played right tackle during five of the team’s nine drives.

Emmanuel Rugamba (2019-2020) After transferring from the University of Iowa after two years, Rugamba played in 16 games at Miami, earning Third Team All-MAC honors in 2019 and 2020. His performance in the 2019 MAC Championship earned him the MAC Championship Defensive Player of the Game award.

The defensive back was picked up by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent this year as the first Rwandan to ever be on an NFL training camp roster.

Rugamba has a tough road if he wants to remain in the NFL. He’s listed at the bottom of the Browns’ depth chart for his position, so his best hope is to make the practice squad. In his first preseason action, Rugamba recorded two tackles.

Two important dates to keep in mind for Rugamba are Aug. 24 and 31. All NFL teams need to cut their rosters to 80 players by Aug. 24, and down to 53 by Aug. 31. If Rugamba gets released on either of these dates, his NFL future could be in jeopardy.

Doug Costin (2016-2019) Costin, a defensive lineman, earned a 2018 Second Team AllMAC selection and in 2019 received First Team All-MAC honors. His senior year in 2019 was his best season. He recorded 58 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four sacks. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

As a rookie for the Jags in 2020, Costin played in 12 games while starting 9, helping to record 32 tackles. He is known for being a strong defender against the run. Costin is very likely to make the team, as he’ll have to compete for playing time with teammates Taven Bryan and Jay Tufele.

Costin had four tackles in his first preseason game.

Sam Sloman (2016-2019) Kicker Sam Sloman will look to continue his NFL career after being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round in 2020. He was named Second-Team All-MAC for his senior season in 2019.

His career in college is marked with Miami records. In 2019, his 26 field goals made out of 30 attempts ranked first all-time for a single season for a RedHawk. His .867 percentage is second alltime. He ranks top four in field goals, attempts, percentage, extra points and scoring.

After a short stint with the Rams, he was waived and picked up by the Tennessee Titans, where he made a 37-yard field goal in week 17 to clinch the division for the Titans. In his short career so far, he’s made 10 out of 13 field goal attempts while hitting 88.5% of his extra point attempts.

Sloman was signed to compete with veteran kicker Chris Boswell, but he hurt his chances with a poor performance in the Hall of Fame Game, when he missed an extra point and a 49yard field goal attempt. He did hit a 48-yard attempt later in the game. In his next preseason game, Sloman nailed both of his

hopes to make a return after missing the entirety of the 2020 season with a torn Achilles.

Brooks started the first 24 games of his career at Miami before dealing with injuries in 2010. Starting at left guard his freshman year, he led the Miami offensive line with a team-high 855 plays along with 70 knockdowns. He earned Second Team All-MAC honors in 2009 and 2010. This led the Houston Texans to select Brooks in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

In his career to date, Brooks has played in 112 games, and he has started every game he’s played in since 2013. After a successful stint in Houston, Brooks signed a five-year $40 million contract with Philadelphia in 2016. The year after, Brooks was named to the first of three consecutive pro bowls while going on to win Super Bowl LII. Brooks signed a four-year, $54.2 million contract extension through 2024 with the Eagles as he looks to have a healthy season in 2021. He’s had a hamstring issue in training camp, but he’ll start for the Eagles if he can remain on the field.

Ben Roethlisberger (2000-2003) Now for the most famous of Miami University alumni in the NFL. Quarterback Ben Roeth-

FORMER REDHAWKS LIKE SAM SLOMAN (BOTTOM, NO. 79) AND TOMMY DOYLE (TOP, NO. 54) HOPE TO MAKE THE CUT FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE NFL TEAMS. PHOTO EDITOR ZACH REICHMAN

extra points and made a 22-yard field goal, his lone attempt of the game.

As most NFL teams only carry one kicker on their roster, look for Sloman to either move around to another team or earn a spot on the Steelers’ practice squad.

Brandon Brooks (20072011) A three-time pro bowler of the Philadelphia Eagles, Brooks

lisberger is looking to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers back to the Super Bowl.

In his final year as a RedHawk, Big Ben posted outrageous statistics including 342 completions for 4486 yards and 37 touchdowns while throwing only 10 picks. He finished ninth in Heisman voting in a class that boasted Larry Fitzgerald, Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers.

After being drafted by the Steelers eleventh overall in 2004, Roethlisberger went 13-0 in his rookie campaign before falling to the New England Patriots in the AFC Conference Championship.

Since then, he’s led the league in yards twice, yards per game three times, and completions once.

Roethlisberger’s résumé also includes six pro bowls selections and Super Bowl rings in 2005 and 2008.

Prior to this season, retirement rumors swirled around Roethlisberger. But he is back on the field, and many consider this year likely to be his last. The Steelers have not made it past the Wild Card round since 2017, so Roethlisberger hopes to grab that elusive third ring before his playing days are finally over. orzeched@miamioh.edu @edward_orzech

Miami field hockey aims at fifth consecutive MAC title graduated players Allie Grace Joyner and Leonor Berlie.

Joyner won first team All-MAC honors twice in her career. She led the team in points last year, finishing with 12 goals and an assist in fifteen games.

Isabele Parese, a junior goalie who led the MAC in goals against average (0.85), save percentage (75.5%) and shutouts (7) will be back in net for the ’Hawks.

The team also adds a talented class of recruits for 2021. Carlie

“From the moment we got here ... we’ve believed that Miami can be a powerful team in Division I field hockey, that’s what we’re trying to do,” - Iñako Puzo

MIAMI PLAYS TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS LIKE NORTH CAROLINA, MICHIGAN AND LOUISVILLE. PHOTO EDITOR ZACH REICHMAN

JACK SCHMELZINGER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR NCAA field hockey returns to its normal schedule this August, after COVID-19 moved the Fall 2020 season to Spring 2021.

Miami is coming off one of its best seasons on record. Last year, the team finished 13-2 and a spotless 10-0 in conference games. After winning their fourth consecutive Mid-American Conference (MAC) title, the RedHawks fell to

No. 13 Stanford in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 5-4 in overtime.

This year, Miami plays a schedule laden with top tier opponents. They will visit the three best teams in the nation from last year: North Carolina, Michigan and Louisville. The team also travels to play perennial powerhouses Connecticut, Wake Forest and Virginia.

Head coach Iñako Puzo believes that the tough schedule

could elevate his program.

“From the moment we got here … we’ve believed that Miami can be a powerful team in Division I field hockey, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Puzo said. “This is one of the efforts we’re making, being able to play against some of the best teams in the country.”

This year, the RedHawks will have to replace the scoring production and leadership from

Berlie was All-MAC in each of her four years at Miami and finished with five goals and nine assists last season.

“These players leave a big legacy,” Puzo said. “It’s our job to keep up that standard, and it’s going to be interesting to see who steps up, who’s a leader on and off the field.”

The team also returns many top contributors from last year’s championship winning squad.

Striker Claudia Negrete Garcia — last season’s MAC freshman of the year — returns after an excellent first season. Garcia finished second on the team with 23 points in 15 games.

Servis, a midfielder from Elverson, Pa, received first team allstate honors three times during high school. Reese Wearren, also a midfielder, won Kentucky allstate honors in her junior and senior year.

The RedHawks visit Michigan for their first exhibition game.

The teams will square off in Ann Arbor at 3 p.m. Aug. 18. Then, Miami travels to Evanston, Ill. to start its regular season with games against UConn (1 p.m. Aug. 28) and Northwestern (1 p.m.

Aug. 29). schmelj2@miamioh.edu @jacksmerz

SPORTS 19

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

NELSO156@MIAMIOH.EDU

Miami athletics has busy summer

.MIAMI LEGEND WAYNE EMBRY STANDS NEXT TO HIS STATUE AFTER IT WAS UNVEILED ON MAY 18 PHOTO BY LUKAS NELSON

CONTINUED FROM FRONT people who exemplify civil rights and social justice. The first Freedom Summer of ‘64 Award was given to civil rights icon and U.S. representative John Lewis (D-Georgia). This year’s award was jointly given to Embry and his wife, Theresa (class of ‘60), who passed away last August.

Sam Bachman selected in first round of MLB Draft Three Miami baseball players moved on to the professional ranks this summer.

Pitcher Sam Bachman made school history when he was drafted ninth overall in the 2021 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Angels. Bachman is the first player ever to be selected in the first round of the MLB first-year player draft out of Miami University.

Bachman was dominant during his senior season. Over 59.2 innings of work, the righty recorded an ERA of 1.81 and struck out 93 batters while only walking 17. Bachman signed with the Angels for a bonus of $3,847,500 and has already started his professional career with the High-A Tri City Dust Devils. In his first appear-

ance, Bachman pitched two innings and struck out two without allowing a run.

Jacob Webb, a right handed pitcher, was selected in the 14th round of the same draft by the Boston Red Sox. Webb started his college career at local Sinclair Community college in Dayton and transferred to Miami before the 2020 season. In 2021, Webb appeared 18 times in relief and pitched to a 2.08 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched.

Grant Hartwig — another right handed pitcher — signed a contract with the New York Mets after the draft. Hartwig started 11 games and appeared in three more as a reliever during his senior season at Miami, pitching to a 3.44 ERA in 73.1 innings. He struck out 82 and only surrendered 11 walks in 2021.

Miami track stars shine Finley McLear and Olivia Bechtel both had busy summers after their teammates went home. McLear, a junior with three years of eligibility remaining, qualified for the NCAA Outdoor National Championship in Eugene, Ore., as did the recently-graduated Bechtel. McLear ran in the 800-meter dash, while Bechtel competed in the 400-meter dash.

While Bechtel failed to qualify for the final round in her event, McLear shined. The England native had the second-best time in the semifinals, then finished fourth in the final round with a time of 1:45:80.

After the NCAA Championships, the pair competed for Olympic spots for their respective countries. Bechtel stayed in Eugene to run the 400-meter dash in the U.S. Olympic trials. She made it to the semifinals and placed 14th out of 24 runners, failing to qualify for the final round.

After his strong finish in Eugene, McLear headed to Manchester, England, to compete in the Muller British Athletics Championships.

Running in the 800-meter dash, he could’ve sealed a spot on the British Olympic Squad with a second-place finish, but only finished seventh out of eight competitors.

Softball makes NCAA Regionals appearance After Miami’s 2020 season was cancelled in March due to COVID-19, the RedHawks quickly made up for lost time in 2021. The team won a program-record 46 games, including a 20-game win streak in the middle of the season. Miami led the entire nation in doubles with 116.

The effort was good enough to earn a berth to the NCAA Softball Tournament in late May as the lone Mid-American Conference (MAC) team.

The RedHawks were placed in the Lexington Regional, along with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Northwestern Wildcats and Kentucky Wildcats.

Their first matchup was against Notre Dame on May 21. The score was close throughout the game, but Miami couldn’t prevail against the Fighting Irish. The RedHawks struck first with two runs in the top of the fourth inning, but Notre Dame answered with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the inning. The final score was 3-2.

Since the tournament was double elimination, the ’Hawks got to face Northwestern the next day. The Wildcats easily beat Miami, 7-1. @LukasTheDream nelso156@miamioh.edu @JackSmerz schmelj2@miamioh.edu

UP NEXT SEPTEMBER 3

Football Miami vs. LIU 3:30 p.m @, Yager Stadium

SEPTEMBER 4

Volleyball Miami vs. Cincinnati 7 p.m. @ Millett Hall

Field Hockey Miami vs. Rider 2 p.m. @ Miami Field Hockey Complex

Soccer Miami vs. Central Michigan 4 p.m. @ Bobby Kramig Field

Football Miami at Cincinnati 3:30 p.m. @ Nippert Stadium, ESPN+

SEPTEMBER 9

Soccer Miami vs. Bellarmine 4 p.m. @ Bobby Kramig Field

SEPTEMBER 10

SEPTEMBER 23

SEPTEMBER 24

Field Hockey Miami vs. Longwood 2 p.m. @ Miami Field Hockey Complex

SEPTEMBER 25

Volleyball Best Western Invitational Miami vs. Middle Tennessee 7 p.m. @ Millett Hall

Football Miami at Army Noon, CBS Sports Network

SEPTEMBER 12

Field Hockey Miami vs. Saint Francis 2 p.m. @ Miami Field Hockey Complex

Volleyball Best Western Invitational Miami vs. Northern Kentucky/Evansville 1 p.m./7 p.m. @ Millett Hall

Volleyball Miami vs. Akron 7 p.m. @ Millett Hall

SEPTEMBER 26

Football Miami at Minnesota Noon, ESPNU

A TMS PODCAST

SEPTEMBER 18

Field Hockey Miami vs. Indiana 2 p.m. @ Miami Field Hockey Complex

SEPTEMBER 30

SEPTEMBER 15

Soccer Miami vs. Morehead State 4 p.m. @ Bobby Kramig Field

Are you a: • writer • photographer • designer • or illustrator?

Join the TMS Team!

Opinion

20

WOLFFRG@MIAMIOH.EDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

STAFF EDITORIAL

If we want to go forward with Love and Honor, we need to get vaccinated The following reflects the majority opinion of The Miami Student’s Editorial Board.

While Miami University is currently bound by a state law prohibiting the requirement of vaccination against COVID-19, The Miami Student Editorial Board believes the university has a responsibility to use every tool in its arsenal to raise vaccination rates and combat misinformation that is running rampant within our community.

The vaccine is safe. Trusted medical sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The World Health Organization (WHO) have said so.

Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history, according to the CDC. Each vaccine currently under emergency use approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) underwent rigorous testing before becoming publically available. And that emergency use approval will soon be replaced with the comprehensive backing of a full approval from the organization.

These are things we know, but some are having a hard time believing.

As a university with thousands of students located inside a county with an above 18% vaccine hesitancy rate and only 48.8% of its residents vac-

cinated, Miami has a responsibility to help in any way it can.

At The Student, we appreciate the university-wide emails providing information on the COVID-19 vaccines’ efficacy, and we encourage administrators across campus to keep providing students with the facts about the vaccine and community resources to learn more about where and how to get vaccinated.

We understand these efforts won’t influence everyone. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make em’ drink.

But we commend Miami for taking a stand, and we hope university officials continue to fight political talking points with public health facts.

This virus has claimed over four million lives in the last 20 months.

Families have suffered, people have gotten sick and our world is still not back to normal.

It’s easy to think that Miami is an inherently “low risk” community because the student body is young.

But believing that narrative requires looking at our community through a narrow and convenient lens.

The professors and staff that work at our university and live in our town range from young to old.

They are a present and valuable part of our community, and they are more at risk.

Oxford is not just the student body.

Oxford is the parents who raise their children here. The employees who work at your favorite Up-

town shop. The older couple you pass in the Kroger aisles who can’t remember the last time they’ve seen their grandkids.

Our community members have roots here and should feel safe and supported by the students who call this town home for four years.

We need to think outside of ourselves. The excuses for not getting the vaccine are often rooted in fear and misinformation.

If you’re worried about the long term effects of the vaccine, we ask you to ponder the long term effects of a COVID-19 diagnosis.

If you trust the comment section of Facebook posts, we ask that you instead turn to the advice of licensed medical professionals who are tasked with keeping communities safe and healthy.

We acknowledge and fully respect religious and medical exemptions to the vaccine. But the political game of self righteousness and promoting individual freedom over the health of our community must end.

We can help our community get stronger and do our part in ending this pandemic.

Don’t think about the luckiest and healthiest among us. The longer we stick to convenient beliefs that keep us from doing the right thing, the harder it will be for us all to recover.

If we want to go forward with Love and Honor, we need to get vaccinated.

GUEST COLUMN

Looking at the glass half full: ASG’s plans for a new semester MADELYN JETT

STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT Just like that, another summer is somehow over.

It’s hard to believe that I’ll be starting my senior year in a week.

It feels like just yesterday I was a bright eyed first year lugging my mattress topper into Hahne Hall.

I remember actively avoiding eye contact with my mother, who was sobbing uncontrollably before we even left my driveway.

It’s a cliché at this point, but nothing can truly prepare you for how fast your time at Miami can fly by.

Three years later, a lot has changed. At the same time, a lot hasn’t. Our university has made great strides since I became a student, but there’s much more left to do. I am so lucky to be in a position where I have the honor to work alongside Miami’s best student leaders, who have been working tirelessly this summer to plan a year which moves Miami forward.

This year is a tricky one. Going into the summer, I hoped this fall would be a time for healing and

“I am so lucky to be in a position where I have the honor to work alongside Miami’s best student leaders,”

growth. I still think that’s true, but the threat of the delta variant has opened up new wounds. It feels almost like we’re starting over, reverting back to the familiar feeling of hopelessness we all understand too well. How can we heal from this crisis as it’s still happening?

Well, it’s hard to say. My best guess is to press on. This semester, there’s a lot for students to look forward to. A face-to-face Mega Fair, bus trips to Hueston Woods, another incredible inclusion forum and the revitalization of Miami’s backbone: student organizations.

ASG has been hard at work this summer to lay the groundwork for a successful semester, both internally and externally. Our incredible Speaker of Student Senate, Victoria Villanueva, has spearheaded an Elections Task Force which aims to engage underrepresented student groups in ASG. Senate leadership has come together to foster a more welcoming and inclusive environment for new and returning senators alike.

Thanks to the great work of our Speaker Pro Tempore, Wes Payne, and our Parliamentarian, Omar

Elghazawi, student activists in our organization will have the resources they need to make changes successfully.

Broadly, our external goals involve prioritizing student wellness and diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as holding our administration accountable for facilitating an excellent student experience. Our team has some great plans for this fall, which will bring us even closer to achieving these goals.

Vice President Aidan McKeon has been preparing to launch an application for our first directorship, a Director for Transgender Equity and Inclusion. As we’ve said many times before, trans and nonbinary students at Miami have been overlooked for too long. This is a groundbreaking opportunity to uplift trans and nonbinary student leaders, and give more queer students space in decision making rooms.

Among her other exciting plans, our Secretary for On-Campus Affairs, Becca Pallant, is currently furthering an initiative to provide menstrual hygiene receptacles in residence hall bathrooms. A legal aid initiative is in the works for students in need of affordable legal services, headed up by our Chief of Staff, Jakin Wu. Additionally, our Secretary of Infrastructure & Sustainability, Alia Agee, is collaborating with the Sustainability Department and green organizations to launch a sustainability module for all students.

This fall, students can look forward to the third annual Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Forum, a collaboration between ASG and DAC led by our spectacular Secretary of Diversity & Inclusion, Vada Stephens. Vada is also spearheading Miami’s first multicultural Mega Fair to more effectively and efficiently immerse students in a range of clubs and organizations tailored to them and their experiences, and also working with MADE@Miami to expose more students to ASG. This is only a snapshot of this team’s hard work, and I am immensely proud of every single member of cabinet and senate leadership for their grit, perseverance, and commitment to the student body. We have much more to look forward to.

As we look onward to the fall, I have this to say to the student body: Stay safe, get vaccinated, and wear a mask. I know it feels like the goal post keeps moving every time we get close to the finish line. However, it’s still up to us to keep each other and our community safe.

In order to have fulfilling faceto-face experiences, we need to do everything we can to prioritize public health. The only way forward is through, so let’s keep pushing.

Here’s to a great year, and see you at Mega Fair!

First impressions, a second time AMES RADWAN ASST. OPINION EDITOR When I first met Jenna Calderón, I kind of hated her.

Jenna is one of this year’s Campus & Community Editors here at The Miami Student, and though we’re good friends now, I had never actually interacted with her at all until last fall.

As an opinion writer at the time, and a marching band member to boot, I had an idea for a column — an opinion piece on how excited I was that, despite everything that was going on with the pandemic, the marching band was still, well, marching on. My editor told me that the piece would be better off under what was then the Culture section, and my precious idea was sent off to another writer.

Normally, I wouldn’t have been so up in arms about it, but I love marching band; I really wanted to be the one to write this piece. So when Jenna, who ended up writing it, reached out to me to discuss sources and ideas, I let my emotions get the best of me and blamed

said my name was Ames, she replied, “I know!”

It turned out, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, that the Jenna on my study abroad trip was the same Jenna who had written the marching band article last fall. Immediately, I remembered how annoyed I’d been at not having that opportunity, but as the trip progressed, I realized that my dislike for Jenna was completely unfounded.

She was sweet, funny, smart and gorgeous; we quickly became friends and I often found myself going to her for almost-daily chats, tea-spilling sessions and outfit opinions.

Why had my first impression of her been so horrible when she was so easily becoming one of my favorite people on the trip? That was the question I asked myself a few times, until late one night in Italy, I came to a realization: it was because I had never actually met Jenna.

Our conversation had been limited to a total of about four text messages consisting entirely of business matters.

And because the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented me from meeting almost everyone at The Student, I’d drawn my own conclusions and formed my own (terrible) opinions.

Jenna isn’t the only one I’ve done this to; there are multiple people I’ve thought were shy, annoying or know-it-alls, only to meet them in person and discover they’re actually the exact opposite.

That’s the issue with meeting people over a screen, if Zoom and iMessage can really be considered “meeting” — your first impressions are going to be nowhere near as accurate as they would’ve been in person. Mine weren’t. That’s just the truth.

With Miami going back to in-person classes, club meetings and activities, we’re all going to meet these online acquaintances in “real life” very soon.

We’re going to have to reevaluate those first impressions we made while staring at our glowing little screens in the darkness of our rooms at three in the morning. We’re going to make friends, but to do that, we have to realize that people are very different in-person than they are over Zoom, text or email.

Personally, I’m thrilled. I know that it will be difficult to make myself develop “first” impressions all over again, but I look forward to meeting more people like the ones from my study abroad trip. People like Jenna — people who really made my summer special, and who will continue to do so for the rest of my time at Miami.

I know I’m not the only one.

(Love ya, Jenna! See you in the newsroom!)

“And because the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented me from meeting almost evert at The Student, I’d drawn my own conclusions and formed my own (terrible) opinions.”

her for the fact that I wasn’t writing the article.

(Even though, of course, she did a great job.)

Fast forward to earlier this summer.

As it was almost a year later, I’d forgotten all about the whole thing, and I headed off to Spain for a study abroad trip — Miami in Spain, a seven-week program of travel, friends, food and culture.

At risk of sounding like one of those study abroad kids, the ones for whom the travel becomes their entire personality, I could write twenty articles on how much I loved that trip. But that’s for another time.

In a group of twenty-eight students, plus three professors, it took some time to learn the names of all my peers — but I was surprised to discover that I had friends, clubs, and experiences in common with a lot of them.

I’d been in a group project with one girl last spring. Two of the girls were actually my coworkers. And, of course, there was the dark-haired girl who introduced herself as Jenna, and when I

radwanat@miamioh.edu

OPINION 21

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

WOLFFRG@MIAMIOH.EDU

ORL misses opportunity to include

It should’ve been Aidan…

REBECCA WOLFF OPINION EDITOR It should’ve been Aidan.

With the Sex and The City reboot, “And Just Like That..” coming soon to HBO Max, I decided to re-watch the show from the beginning. It was my third time.

And for the third time I wondered… Why didn’t Carrie end up with Aidan?

Maybe even more importantly, why did she have to end up with Big? The last two times I’ve watched the series, I got so incredibly frustrated with Carrie. I just don’t get why she has to make it so damn hard for herself.

I mean, just look at how it all went down: She falls for Big, which I can deal with because you can’t always choose who you want.

But then, after more than a year of dating, during which he didn’t let her meet his mom or give her a key to his apartment, he decides to move to Paris without talking to her about it or taking her into consideration.

But hey, it was for business, so we’ll overlook it.

Then he comes back without telling her, and he’s engaged to a much younger woman. This is after he told her for years he didn’t want to get married again.

You know what though, she was more his type: simple, elegant, tall and not Carrie.

Then he forces his way back into Carrie’s life once she’s finally happy with somebody else. She rejects him multiple times and is successful, until he forces himself on her in an elevator.

But she agrees to sleep with him right after, and a bunch more times after that, so he can’t possibly be at fault there.

He eventually leaves his young and tall wife, and he and Carrie are finally just friends – Yay? But then he follows Carrie to her boyfriend’s Cabin an hour outside New York, just to talk to her about a new girl he was seeing.

He gets into a fight with her boyfriend because, well, this was during round two of Carrie being with the man she cheated on with Big. Then he moves to Napa without telling her.

They only end up together because he gets old and realizes he has nobody to take care of him, and he isn’t attractive enough to pull the ladies like he used to.

And then in the movie that came out after the series, he doesn’t even show up to the wedding.

But don’t worry! He emailed her a bunch of love letters that other people wrote, so it’s a total happy ever after.

And that sorry excuse for a leading relationship is what HBO shoved down my 17-year-old throat the first time I watched it.

So, why did she end up with walking garbage, when Aidan was just a sweet furniture maker who loved her?

Well I know what it was – the drama.

When Carrie was with Aidan (post Big’s Paris betrayal), her main complaint at the beginning was that it was too easy. He was too available, and he was nice to her, and there was no drama. And in her world, this was somehow a red flag.

Now I get that after having a deeply flawed and dramatic relationship it can be a shock when everything is smooth sailing at the start of something new, because you’re not used to it. But at this point, she’s a 35-yearold woman.

I have to say, I think she should know better.

Not only because she’s had enough dating experience to know what’s what, but because her amazing friends both told and showed her so many times that the Big Drama is not what a healthy relationship looks like.

Aidan just wanted to love and support her. There were no major ups and downs, cold shoulders, miscommunication or any of the other toxic habits she took part in with Big. But no, no, no – the fact that her and Big have witty banter is enough for redemption.

The reason It’s such a let down that Carrie and Big are the central relationship, is because the other women in the show have amazing partners.

Look at Steve and Miranda. Sure, they’ve had years of back and forth and ups and downs, but that man adores her. Miranda had her issues, but I don’t think there was ever a moment when she didn’t know that Steve would be there for her.

and she said herself that she acted like Big in their relationship.

But, if she was going to end up with somebody, why couldn’t it have been him?

She spent years with these strong women who were hell bent on never settling for a man. And, none of them did. Except Carrie.

She settled for a man who only loved her when he realized he was getting older and finally saw her for what she was – a woman desperately waiting for him to put in minimal effort.

Harsh, I know.

But I’m unapologetic in my opinion, because this show set an example.

The first time I watched it, I was a junior in high school in a toxic relationship with a football player who barely cared about me.

And I thought it was normal – romantic even. This show validated the part of me that wanted so badly for things to feel OK. But they weren’t. That relationship was dramatic, and traumatic come to think of it, but hey – we had witty banter, and what else is there?

Now, I’m in a totally Aidan-esque relationship, and holy shit, it rocks.

I don’t stay up at night wondering what he’s thinking because I already know. I don’t have to wonder what

“Now, I’m in a totally Aidan-esque relationship, and holy shit, it rocks.”

Big sure wasn’t there for Carrie when he was a no-show at their wedding.

I repeat: he was a no-show at their wedding.

Then we have Harry and Charlotte. Yes, it was a little weird that she had to convert to Judaism for him to marry her, but he treated her like she hung the moon. He told Charlotte every day that she was the most beautiful woman he ever saw. And when she told him about her fertility issues, he assured her that there wasn’t a thing that could be a dealbreaker, well aside from her being Episcopallian.

Big chose Natasha over Carry because she was “easier.” Oh and younger and taller and rich.

Samantha and Smith. This one takes the cake for me. We watched Samantha be a confident woman every single season. There was never a man on her level, until Smith. Yes, he was younger, and so hot which helped, but he loved Samantha for exactly who she was. And when she found out she had breast cancer, he was by her side every step of the way.

Big moved to Napa and wasn’t even going to tell Carry because, well, he doesn’t like goodbyes.

The hard truth is, Carrie didn’t even really deserve Aidan. She never treated him the way he treated her,

his friends are like because they’re my friends too. I don’t have to wonder why he’s with me, because he tells me all the time.

I don’t say this to brag. I say this because at the beginning of this relationship, I felt like something was deeply wrong.

But it wasn’t. It was just easy.

And what a tragedy it would’ve been if I had pulled a Carrie and ditched him to go hunting for a dose of drama from a boy who would love nothing more than to serve it to me on a silver platter.

With a big glass of bare minimum to wash it all down.

So ladies, next time you find yourselves having to wonder if it’s worth all the drama, it’s not.

You deserve an Aidan.

And if you’re lucky enough to have a group of women who support you through your romantic relationships, they deserve a chance to see their friend with a guy who makes her life easier.

Just try and avoid the Big mistakes. wolffrg@miamioh.edu

JESSICA ROBINSON HUMOR EDITOR

The Office of Residence Life (ORL) provides training for resident assistants (RAs) on how to welcome their residents and promote diversity and inclusion. So, the behavior ORL expresses towards RAs indicates their expectations for an RA’s interactions with residents.

This means that when ORL hosts a breakfast for RAs of color, knowingly separating students from one another based on skin color, this expectation would easily be applied from RAs to residents.

From a conservative perspective, ORL has the opportunity to bring different groups together, but misses its obligation to do so with current practices. When we tell students that only LGBTQ+ people can understand one another’s experience, and only students of color can understand the experiences of other students of color, we fail to encourage empathy from group to group.

I was an RA for two years, and I loved working with my staff as well as my residents. At the beginning of my junior year, a lot of the training focused on racism, sexism, and privilege.

However, instead of encouraging students to overcome obstacles, I felt like we sat in training learning about how hard women and people of color had life, and how white men could easily skate by.

Instead of preparing RAs to connect students coming from different identities, our training stressed the difference between experiences for students of color and white students.

We were not encouraged to promote inclusion in a way that brought people together, rather what we learned promoted an air of separation and difference.

I was trained to consider privilege in everything I did. I was trained to recognize that white people automatically had easier lives than Black people, and in a more indirect way, I was trained to realize that white people couldn’t understand people of color.

It became obvious when, this year, ORL hosted a breakfast for RAs of color, inviting them to gather and be together. But if we segregate our community now, I firmly believe that we will lose all we did to fight for the idea that your skin tone doesn’t matter.

Through my perspective as a conservative woman, skin color doesn’t define your character, your life, your aspirations, or your upbringing. Instead, conservatism, at its core, fights to see you as an individual capable of connecting with people of all backgrounds, and that’s what I did with my residents. That’s why I believe I had successful corridors, but this is not what ORL teaches.

Aside from ORL’s training on privilege and racism, I felt isolated as a conservative RA. During training, speakers make comments, and throughout the year – it’s not weird to hear stereotypical comments about conservatives.

To ORL’s credit, they implemented a training session about differing political idologies last year, and they spoke about their desire to include everyone, but when juxtaposed with the laptop stickers and comments from liberal RAs, RDs, and superiors, these don’t seem genuine.

Especially as conservative opinions are increasingly viewed as hostile, racist, and angry by students at Miami.

The conservative perspective fights for people to be judged based on merit as opposed to skin tone or political ideology. But after working in ORL, I felt that merit seemed less important than looks and political party. The conservative perspective looks to integrate people instead of hosting a breakfast with a segregated audience, because it recognizes that we can’t understand one another if we remain taped in separate boxes.

I think ORL has the students’ best interests at heart, and once the office learns to embrace and encourage diversity of thought as well as of skin tone, we can experience a university where people participate in conversations with respect, and try to understand perspectives different from their own instead of being taught that they never will. robin119@miamioh.edu

Are you a: • writer • photographer • designer • or illustrator?

Join the TMS Team!

Meet the staff

22

MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Tim Carlin

Tim Carlin is The Miami Student’s Editor-in-Chief.

Tim, a senior studying journalism and American studies, joined The Student during his first week at Miami and has been writing for the publication ever since. He’s beyond excited to take on this new role, and he can’t wait to continue delivering quality journalism to the Miami and Oxford community. This summer, Tim had the op-

portunity to intern at Ohio’s largest newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch. He honed his writing and reporting skills while working with some of Ohio’s best journalists and learned leadership skills he hopes to apply this year. When he’s not working on anything newspaper related, you can find him at Starbucks, or watching Sex and the City reruns.

You can contact him by email (eic@miamistudent.net) or on Twitter (@timcarlin_).

Style and Entertainment being his favorites.

Outside the newsroom, you can find Owen making songs with his friends or digging around at the Oxford Goodwill. After graduation, Owen plans to go to graduate school, and hopes to find a career in multimedia journalism.

Madeline Phaby

Madeline is a senior from Frankfort, IL, majoring in history and sociology. She is a Campus & Community Editor at The Student and has written about a wide variety of topics during her three years at TMS. Additionally, Madeline is the editor of the Food section and a regular contributor to the Opinion section. Outside The Student, Madeline is an RA, a pledge trainer for Alpha Phi Omega,

the secretary of Adopt-A-School and a research fellow for the Humanities Center (yes, she’s exhausted). When she can find a sliver of free time, Madeline enjoys watching baseball (go Sox!), thrifting and going on long, aimless drives with friends. After she graduates from Miami, she hopes to attend law school and become some sort of human rights attorney. To leave feedback or pitch a story, you can contact Madeline at phabymr@miamioh.edu.

Jenna Calderón Jenna, a Campus & Community Editor, is a senior studying journalism, Spanish, and Global and Intercultural Studies. Fashionably late, she didn’t start writing for The Student until the end of her sophomore year. Since then, she’s written for nearly every section, but especially loves writing profiles about interesting people around campus. When

she’s not in the newsroom, she’s most likely working behind the front desk at King, hiking, cooking or making a Spotify playlist for a very specific occasion. Aside from The Student, you can find Jenna’s bylines in Men’s Health magazine, Cincinnati Magazine, the Oxford Observer and more. After graduation, she plans to teach English abroad for a while before pursuing a career in journalism.

Rebecca Wolff

Rebecca, the Opinion Editor, is a senior at Miami University, and has been involved with The Student since her freshman year. She’s from the Bay Area in California, so she grew up just outside of San Francisco. She has written for every section, but her favorites are Food, Style and, of course, Opinion. She is a member of Alpha Phi, a lover of long walks accompanied by a podcast, listening to music

with her friends and writing. You might run into her at the rec, where she works out to destress, or find her in Armstrong watching YouTube videos and eating her favorite sandwich from Toasted Bagel (and maybe sipping on a Bang … if she’s feeling desperate). When she’s back home, she loves to go on hikes through the redwood trees, go to the beach and go out to eat at overpriced restaurants. After graduation, she plans to continue pursuing writing.

Sarah Grace Hays Sarah Grace is a junior journalism and social justice studies student. She is one of two Multimedia Editors for The Student. She began writing for the paper in her first few weeks as a freshman but quickly fell in love with the audio section. She has written for Campus & Community, Food and Style, but she is most passionate about producing the

Student’s news podcast This Week @ TMS. She is from Birmingham, Ala. and tries to bring her Southern charm to her writing and hosting style. While Oxford is a big adjustment coming from Birmingham, she loves Miami and The Student. When she isn’t editing a podcast into the wee hours of the night, you can probably find her baking and/or rewatching any slew of television shows.

Lexi Whitehead Lexi, an Asst. Campus & Community Editor, is a junior journalism and American studies double major from Toledo, Ohio. She knew she wanted to write for The Student as soon as she got on campus, so she jumped right in and never looked

back. Lexi loves writing about anything from events on campus to LGBTQ+ issues to album reviews. When she’s not working on one or more stories, Lexi enjoys rewatching “Gilmore Girls” for the zillionth time, making Spotify playlists and spending time with

Cosette Gunter Cosette, an Asst. Campus & Community Editor, is a junior Strategic Communication major with a Professional Writing co-major. Cosette is from a small town in Ohio called Farmersville and joined The Student her first year because her dad used to be the editor of Miami Middletown’s newspaper “Kaos” in the 70s.

At Miami, Cosette is also the Business Man-

ager for Inklings Arts & Letters and a campus tour guide. Outside of school, she enjoys playing pick-up soccer, sailing at Hueston Woods and going to see movies. One of Cosette’s favorite memories is her trip to Sweden where she got to celebrate Midsommar with family friends. After graduation, Cosette hopes to travel and work with nonprofits as a communication director.

Jack Schmelzinger Jack Schmelzinger, the Asst.

Sports Editor, is a sophomore journalism and economics major from Orchard Park, New York. Jack started writing for The Student at the beginning of fall semester last year, and he’s been the assistant sports editor since the end of last

school year. He loves to cover sports on campus, especially baseball and hockey.

He hopes to pursue a career writing about sports. Jack spends his free time playing hockey with friends and agonizing over his favorite professional sports teams, the Buffalo Bills and Sabres.

Megan McConnell Megan McConnell, the Social Media Editor, is a sophomore journalism and psychology double major from Kansas City. She originally joined The Student at the start of her freshman year as a writer for Campus & Community. Although Megan continues to write for the section, she primarily focuses on her editorial role, which allows her to combine

Briah Lumpkins is a senior journalism and sociology double major from Toledo, Ohio.

She joined TMS her first weekend on campus and fell more in love with journalism with every story she wrote. She’s had the opportunity to intern at two of Ohio’s largest newspapers, The Columbus Dispatch and The Cincinnati Enquirer, where she’s learned

from some of the best journalists statewide and uncovered stories important to the communities she served. After college, she hopes to be a full time features or investigative reporter. Briah wears many hats at TMS. In addition to managing editor, she is also the recruitment chair and co-social chair. Briah loves connecting with the staff and is excited for the school year!

David Kwiatkowski

Owen Berg Owen is a senior journalism and Interactive Media Studies major, with a minor in fashion. He handles all things graphic design at the newspaper, and also edits the Style section, which covers fashion and lifestyle. He’s also written for almost every section of the newspaper, with

Briah Lumpkins

her passions for writing, designing and interacting with readers. Outside the newsroom, Megan is either listening to far too much Taylor Swift, watching Downton Abbey or studying at Kofenya – with her second iced chai in hand, of course. Additionally, Megan hopes to join more clubs and on-campus activities over the course of the next year.

David is a senior journalism and American studies double major here at Miami. In addition to his role as Senior Campus & Community Editor, David is also the Entertainment Editor, where he hosts his own podcast called “Pop Culture

Convos.” There, he discusses anything from freeing Britney Spears to his critiques of the award show circuit. You can find him on campus working at the Howe Writing Center or eating chicken marsala from Armstrong with his fellow editors Briah and Owen.

Abby Bammerlin

Abby, a Campus & Community Editor, is a junior from West Chester, Ohio. She’s majoring in journalism and political science. While she’s in Prague this semester enjoying everything Europe has to offer, you can normally find her bylines under stories about the Oxford community, Miami’s administration or major happenings on campus. When she’s not in the newsroom, she

can be found rock climbing or hiking trails on campus. Abby is a board game enthusiast and loves to host people for game nights. She also is a hobby photographer who loves taking shots of wildlife and natural landscapes.

She’s a member of Alpha Phi Omega and frequently volunteers in Oxford, mostly for Meals on Wheels. After graduation, Abby doesn’t have solid plans, but hopes to find a job in journalism or pursue law school.

Lukas Nelson Lukas, The Student’s Sports Editor, is a senior journalism and Sports Leadership and Management (SLAM) double major. Lukas started writing for The Student at the end of his freshman year, and has been the Sports Editor since the end of his sophomore year. His favorite sports to cover on campus are football and women’s

basketball, and his dream job is writing about basketball at any level. Lukas is from Brewster, Ohio, and is a long-suffering Cleveland sports fan. When Lukas isn’t busy with The Student, he enjoys watching (non-Miami) sports, Netflix, and reading good journalism. of any genre.

Sam Cioffi Sam, Editor of The Miami Student Magazine, is a senior from the Northern Kentucky area.

She is a journalism and American studies double major. This will be her second semester as editor of the magazine, but she’s been involved with The Student since her freshman year, when she first began writing about

the community of Miami University and Oxford. When she’s not studying or working on the magazine, she likes to hike the various trails of Oxford. She spent this past summer living in Oxford, where she worked at a golf course (she learned how to drive a golf cart for the first time) and as a remote intern for Cincinnati Magazine.

Maggie Peña

Maggie is going into her third year as a Multimedia Editor and her first year as an Assistant Entertainment Editor. As a writing scholar, Maggie found a home in the newsroom during her freshman year.

Maggie is a journalism and American studies double major with a film minor, and hopes to continue her writing career in the entertainment and culture fields. In addition to writ-

ing for the Food, Entertainment and Campus & Community sections, Maggie loves audio and video storytelling in the Multimedia section. Outside The Student, Maggie is the Vice President of Choraliers (all-women’s choir) and a member of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. In her free time, Maggie loves to spend time with her family, go to the movie theater and bake delicious treats.

Sean Scott Sean, an Asst. Campus & Community Editor, is a sophomore from Pittsburgh, majoring in journalism. He joined The Student at the beginning of last year and has written almost every week since. He also just recently became an Asst. Entertainment Editor. Sean enjoys writing about everything from City

Council, to profiles to music and movies. If he isn’t working on a story, Sean is probably exploring Oxford’s nature trails or listening to music, and the song is probably by Lorde or Florence and the Machine. He doesn’t have solid plans after graduation but hopes the next four years will be enough time to figure it out.

Shr-Hua Moore

Shr-Hua Moore, an Asst.

Campus & Community Editor, is a sophomore from Oxford, majoring in English literature and political science. He joined The Student the first semester of his freshman year looking for a way to write. He’s written more or less weekly ever since and was happily surprised to be picked for the editorial staff this semester. He enjoys writing about social justice

issues on campus as well as any businesses or people that warrant stories about them.

When he’s not writing, he’s usually playing a decent amount of video games and way too much chess. Some of his favorite memories at Miami so far are the nightly walks he’s taken with friends and the remarkable amount of buildings unlocked after 2 am. He’s probably going to law school after college, but there are still a few years for that to get decided.

Jessica Robinson Jessica, the Humor Editor, is a senior studying Professional Writing and Public Health. Aside from her work at The Student, she is the Community Team Leader at Miami’s Catholic Newman Center, treasurer of Sketched Out Improv Comedy, a writer for The Miami Patriot, and a Humanities Scholar. Jessica grew up in Liberty, In, right by

Oxford, on a small farm. Jessica likes writing, laughing, and talking with literally anyone.

She is always looking for new humor writers, and laughs at almost everything. Jessica continues to write for The Student because of the many talented people involved with it. After Miami, Jessica plans to pursue a career in Technical Writing.

Emil Barr Emil Barr, the Business Manager, is a sophomore business economics and international studies major from Cincinnati. His first year on campus, he read The Student almost every day and jumped at the chance to be involved.

Emil has a background working in communications at a non-profit that consults for the White House, is currently an Executive Di-

rector at the First Miami Credit Union, and works at Pay Theory, a Financial Technology startup. He is also the owner of a student-run social media agency, a certified caffeine addict, and an avid reader. Emil hopes to use his experience to put The Student in the hands of more students this year and can’t wait to share his love of journalism with more of Miami!