ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 152 No. 7
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2023
‘It’s a crisis’: Oxford Fire Department suffers a major financial deficit OLIVIA PATEL ASST. CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR
GRAPHIC BY ERIN MCGOVERN
TAYLOR STUMBAUGH CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR
LILY WAHL
SENIOR STAFF WRITER In a world of romance novels, reality TV shows and love songs, expectations about college romance are
In this issue
high – only to be met with the dissonance of piles of homework, hook-up culture and Brick Street. “Miami … Merged” was created out of this imbalance as a chance for Miami University students to meet new people and experience what Oxford has to offer, without the stress of
asking someone out or the confusion of dating apps. Three couples were matched up out of a pool of applicants based on simple questions such as majors, hobbies and interests, to more indepth prompts like ideal types, if they like to talk during movies and who is
willing to kill bugs. Read about the other dates here and here. The three dates took place between Gina and Tommy, Katie and Theo and Amanda and Jack. Their love stories may not be long, but each gained different lessons from this experience. READ ON PAGE 6
The good and the ugly of LGBTQ+ representation in film and television STELLA POWERS STAFF WRITER
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
Miami University implements excess credit hour fee - page 4
ENTERTAINMENT
Stage Left’s ‘The Addams Family’: One not-sonormal night - page 8
FOOD
Christmas comes early at Starbucks - page 9
GREENHAWKS
Miami to allow deer hunting in the Natural Areas for second consecutive year - page 14
Over the years, LGBTQ+ representation has become increasingly more prominent in television and film. For the most part, this is a great thing, especially when it’s done well. However, that is not always the case. A few projects have made poor attempts to incorporate it, leading to bad and occasionally insensitive LGBTQ+ representation. Here are some examples of when representation works, as well as when it doesn’t. The good Released in 1998, “Will & Grace” was groundbreaking for LGBTQ+ representation on TV. The show was one of the first successful series to feature openly gay characters, although it did face some criticism and backlash for stereotypical portrayals. Despite the controversy, the show helped to normalize the presence of gay characters on television in a time where it wasn’t very popular or accepted. “But I’m a Cheerleader,” a comedy starring Natasha Lyonne as a closeted lesbian cheerleader who gets sent to a conversion camp, was released in 1999. Once again, this film was released before LGBTQ+ characters in entertainment were commonly accepted. Today, it’s regarded as
GRAPHIC BY ERIN MCGOVERN
a lesbian classic and, although some parts of it have not aged too well, it remains one of the most popular queer films. Based on the Alice Oseman webcomics and graphic novels of the same name, Netflix’s “Heartstopper” follows a cast of primarily LGBTQ+ characters as they face the hardships and heartaches of their teenage years. The series is known for its portrayal of queer characters, as well as the unique art style and design of its source material. More recently, the brilliant, laugh out loud comedy “Bottoms” follows two lesbian best friends as they form an all-female fight club at their school in order to get closer to
their crushes. The film includes some great LGBTQ+ representation and is a fun watch for anyone looking for a good laugh. Films such as “I Care a Lot,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Carol” are other popular movies known for their queer representation and storylines. Indirect representation Films and shows don’t have to be entirely centered around LGBTQ+ characters in order to be good representation. Sometimes, a project having gay characters whose main storyline does not surround their sexuality can be even better. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Oxford Fire Department (OFD) struggles under the pressure of serving the townships of Oxford, Hanover and Riley and the more than 16,000 students enrolled at Miami University living in Oxford. Facing financial deficit and staffing issues, Oxford is now considering where these deficits are coming from. The overwhelming response from Oxford community members is Miami. “Everybody pays their fair share except for Miami, who uses [OFD] as a free service,” Oxford Mayor William Snavely said. Dick Keebler, former OFD assistant fire chief retired in 2006, said one of the root causes for the financial crisis affecting OFD is that over 45% of Oxford properties do not pay property taxes. This leaves the burden of paying for these services on permanent Oxford residents and those paying an earnings tax within the city of Oxford, which includes Miami faculty and staff. Oxford City Council determined early this year that 43% of all fire calls in Oxford are for students on Miami’s campus or within the Mile Square. According to the Journal-News’ report done in February 2023, 57% of those calls were false alarms. According to Miami University Police Department records, so far during this academic year, OFD has been called to Miami’s campus 196 times, 84 of those calls for medical assistance and 112 for fire alarms. During the 2022-2023 academic year, OFD was called to Miami’s campus a total of 443 times. Of those calls, 284 were made to the fire department, and 159 calls were made requesting emergency medical assistance. Robert Abowitz, associate director of Residence Life, said the main causes of these false alarms were primarily in residence halls, where students would burn popcorn or mac and cheese in a microwave or spray an aerosol such as body spray, hair spray or air freshener. “Generally speaking, I can say that almost all of the alarms are false alarms,” Abowitz wrote in an email to The Miami Student. Keebler said during his time as fire chief, a main source of calls to the university were intoxicated students who would prompt unnecessary calls. “It’s ridiculous some of the calls that they send the life squad on,” Keebler said. “In 2006, I had to get out of bed twice to go pick up drunk students. That was the last night I ran.” The problem is only going to get worse with increasing calls, and something must be done by the university to compensate for the number of calls they produce, Snavely said. “The firefighters and EMTs have been so overworked because they go to Miami for at least half of their runs, and at least half of those runs are false alarms,” Snavely said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
‘Every swimmer dreams of representing their country’: Miami first-year to compete at 2023 Parapan American Games WES PAYNE THE MIAMI STUDENT Most 3-year-olds spend their time learning colors and shapes, participating in sports their parents placed them in and just learning to count. When Miami University first-year biochemistry major Carson Bruner was 3 years old, he had to fight for his life. Bruner was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a rare bacterial infection that destroys tissue under the skin and travels through the bloodstream, causing necrosis in the muscles. The infection destroyed muscles in Bruner’s legs, resulting in his right foot needing to be amputated. “I was in rough shape for about three months,” Bruner said. “I was on a ventilator, on dialysis and my kidneys failed. I was in a coma for most of it, and I almost died.”
Defying the odds, Bruner made a full recovery, learning to live with his new disability. Nearly 15 years later, Bruner will represent his country at the 2023 Parapan American Games from Nov. 17 to Nov. 26 in Santiago, Chile, as a member of the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team. Before Bruner was asked to wear the red, white and blue swim cap, he joined a more local swim team. Chris McKinney, head coach of the Miami University Aquatic Club Makos, never had a para-swimmer on the team before. “It’s really my first experience of getting into the para side of swimming and the knowledge base of it,” McKinney said. “I’m mostly just trying to keep him on the right track to reach his goals.” Bruner discovered his love of swimming like many others have: as a member of his local pool’s summer team.
WHEN HE WAS 3 YEARS OLD, CARSON BRUNER WAS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE. PHOTO BY KATHERINE HAMILTON
“My sister was already on the team, and I really got into it because of her,” Bruner said. “The next year I started doing club swimming, and it just took off from there.” Bruner competed year-round with the WTRC Sharks swim team, based out of Centerville, Ohio. When he was 9 years old, he swam his first 500-meter freestyle and discovered
his love for distance swimming. At a meet in Cincinnati, Bruner was introduced to the world of US Paralympics swimming by one of his first coaches, putting him on the radar of national officials. His swim journey continued into high school, where the “firsts” came in waves. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13