The Miami Student | May 5, 2023

GreenHawks announces its plan to merge with The Miami Student in the fall 2023 semester

REAGAN RUDE CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR

Next semester, a new section will be coming to the Miami Student: GreenHawks.

Currently an independent student publication at Miami University centered on sustainability and the environment, GreenHawks Media will merge with The Miami Student and continue covering climate-related issues around Oxford and beyond.

Sam Norton, a sophomore biology major with an environmental science co-major and a minor in journalism, is the current editor-in-chief of GreenHawks and an opinion columnist for The Student. Norton will continue serving as editor for the GreenHawks section of The Student next semester.

Norton said it was GreenHawks’ previous editor-in-chief, Morgan Schneider, who came up with the idea for the merger.

“She had been talking with [Annie-Marie] Blair, who’s our faculty advisor, about what was going to happen after Professor Blair retired, and that was an idea that foated around,” Norton said. “I was on board with it right away because I had written for The Student, and so I was very happy about it.”

Norton said another reason for the merger was GreenHawks' struggles with maintaining output and writers. With The Student, Norton hopes he’ll be able to recruit more writers and deliver content to a broader audience.

“I’ll have access to some people who already write for The Student who want to dabble in environment-related content,” Norton said. “I’m also hoping more people will see the option of writing for GreenHawks and feel confdent that what they’re writing will have a platform.”

Blair, a senior clinical lecturer of journalism, said although she’s sad

RILEY CRABTREE STAFF WRITER

For many students at Miami University, it’s easy to recount the trials that came with the COVID-19 pandemic: physical distancing, masks and contact tracing.

Usually students just beginning their college years associate the time with freedom, new friends and social experiences they’ll always remember.

Unfortunately, for many current Miami seniors, their experience was not what they expected.

Savana Colegate, a senior botany major, remembers how empty it felt to be on campus in a time where class was on Zoom and students had very little chance to interact with their peers or the campus.

“Everything was locked up. It was empty and sad,” Colegate said. “I think it’s a lot nicer now. It feels more human.”

Caden Wilcox, a senior Russian, East Europe, and Eurasian studies and economics double major, looked back on his experience on campus as a difcult time.

“The social element was defnitely lacking,” Wilcox said. “It was often difcult for students to get that support network that being around other people gives. It’s more difcult to approach classwork and academics without having friends or acquaintances by your side.”

Wilcox wished the university had worked more for their students at the beginning, but noted it was difcult to navigate the new circumstances administration faced.

Bill Knight

SEAN SCOTT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

New emails obtained by The Miami Student in its continued reporting on the wrongful death lawsuit against Miami University show that one administrator shared resources for the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) with Bill Knight when he brought up concerns about his health.

In early April, Miami, its Board of Trustees, former Provost Jason Osborne, Associate Vice President for Academic Personnel Ruth Groom, and Associate Vice President for Budget and Analytics Lindsay Carpenter were named as defendants in a lawsuit following Knight’s death by suicide in 2021. The lawsuit alleges that the university and its administrators are responsible for creating the conditions that led to Knight’s death.

Groom was accused in the lawsuit of “intentionally delay[ing]” Knight’s application for medical leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). However, an email from March 18, 2021, shows Groom showed concern for Knight’s health and provided FMLA information for him.

“I think Miami didn’t take the pandemic seriously at frst, and because they lacked that seriousness at the beginning, the efects were more longstanding,” Wilcox said. “I think their approach was disjointed, and they thought they could give the same experience, but that just wasn’t possible. Any attempt they made couldn’t give us what we needed.”

Colegate agreed that Miami did all they could, but she still felt her experience has improved without all the restrictions of the pandemic.

Despite what it may have felt like to students, Miami quickly began to plan their procedures after the shutdown in March 2020. Kimberly Vance, a director with the Center for Student Engagement, Activities, and

She also checked on the status of Knight’s FMLA application multiple times after he submitted it.

Groom emailed Knight and his coworker, Mollie Miller, on March 15, 2021, about inconsistencies in data on the number of professors in various departments.

On March 16, Knight responded that he was “profoundly sorry” and added, “I am very sorry that the health challenge I have been experiencing has afected my performance and consequently caused problems for several people including you.”

On March 18, Groom responded to Knight individually.

“Let me begin by frst stating that I am sorry to hear that you have been having some health challenges,” Groom wrote. “I wanted to share with you the link to apply for FMLA, in case the challenges you are facing result in the need for you to apply for FMLA leave.”

Groom then linked the application form, as well as the university policy on FMLA.

ALLISON LEE STAFF WRITER

Miami University Fashion & Design’s (MUF&D) 17th annual fashion show, “Ethereal,” took place Saturday, April 29, in Millett Hall. Expectations going into the show were already high but were still exceeded. Ethereal, as a concept, is incredibly open-ended. Ethereal is anything that is light, precious, delicate or otherworldly. While all of the pieces and collections were unique in their own right, they all followed the theme cohesively. MUF&D is Miami’s largest student organization with more than 800 members. Students can choose what committee they join, such as the modeling committee, the fnance committee or the public relations/ marketing committee. The fashion show is an end-of-year production centered around one theme, and student designers are hand-picked to create collections that relate to the theme. These student designers then pick their models from a pool of hundreds of students that audition in the fall semester, and they do not have to be in MUF&D. This year’s fashion show isn’t the frst to get this much traction.

On April 26, MUF&D won Miami’s

Student Engagement Activities and Leadership (SEAL) award for “Event of the Year” for its 2022 show, “Oasis.” One of the highlights of the entire show was senior speech pathology and audiology major Emma Neuhauser’s “M.I.A. (Mood In Ambivalence).” Denim, patchwork and oversized materials came together to create something straight out of

“Peter Pan.” The showstopper had to have been the giant mesh hoop skirt. The crowd gasped as the model stepped on stage, tying the skirt together with a whimsical-and-goth-esque corset top. The outft showed how versatile the theme of “Ethereal” and the creativity of our student designers can be.

Knight revealed in another email that day that he applied for FMLA on March 17. In a March 18 email, a staf member in HR responsible for coordinating medical leave confrmed that she had received his application and said Knight’s physician would need to provide medical certifcation.

Once HR received his medical certifcation, it would take up to fve business days for the HR department to approve the leave.

In an email to The Miami Student, Alecia Lipton, associate director of media relations, confrmed that a request needs to be received and reviewed by HR to start the FMLA process. Academic personnel will inform the faculty or staf member that they’ve met the eligibility requirements and request a medical certifcation from them and their physician.

“Once HR/Academic Personnel have the form from the physician’s ofce, it is reviewed for completeness and to be sure it meets the requirements of FML,” Lipton wrote.

Angela Wallace, the lawyer for Knight’s widow, Adriene Knight, didn’t respond when asked for more information on the lawsuit’s claim that Knight’s FMLA “application was intentionally delayed by Groom.”

According to the emails, Knight sent his medical certifcation form to his physician that day, but he didn’t hear back from her until March 23.

SOFIA CENTRELLA THE MIAMI STUDENT

There are 16 varsity teams here at Miami University, with nearly 600 total athletes. Of this number, just four attended the local high school in Oxford: Talawanda High. People typically think college students try to move away from home, but for these athletes, you couldn’t seem to get any closer.

Junior Dalton Norris is a defensive lineman on the football team, who majors in sports leadership and

management and minors in general business. He has lived in Oxford his whole life and picked up football once he reached second grade. Growing up, he knew he wanted to play football in college, but he often contemplated where to commit. He eventually landed at Miami because of the strong connection he made with the head coach, Chuck Martin, who he had originally met back in middle school. Norris also wanted to give his parents the best opportunity to watch him play football without having to travel long distances.

“I’m really glad that I decided to stay here because I’ve met my clos-

est friends I’ve ever had on Miami’s team,” Norris said. His favorite memory at Miami was earlier this school year when the team went to the Bahamas Bowl and played the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He described the experience as cool and said he and the team had a good time being there. Part of the fun occurred on the beach of their Atlantis resort while both teams battled in a dance-of.

“Luke Bolden got robbed of that title,” Norris said. “You can quote me on that. He should have won.”

When Norris isn’t on the feld, he loves to go to his favorite place in Oxford, which is Faded Traditions

Emails show administrator shared medical leave resources with

Four years later, Miami’s class sent home by COVID-19 is ready to graduate

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

At that point, his physician informed him that it could take up to 10 business days to get the form back to HR. The HR department informed Knight that day that his physician had 15 days to return the form, but if he took time of for his ML -related condition before being approved, it could retroactively apply.

On March 30, Groom followed up with HR to ask whether Knight’s leave had been approved yet and was told the university hadn’t received the paperwork yet.

On March 31, Knight updated HR that his physician had flled out the forms but failed to sign them and wouldn’t be back in the ofce until the following Monday, April 5. This put him past the 15-day window, but a staf member in HR responded the next day and wrote, “I’ll continue to keep an eye out for the paperwork. That should not be a problem.” The staf member added that he could submit his leave report or take time of as sick without ML notation.

“If an employee has sick time available in their leave bank, they can use the sick time prior to the 15-day FML window as well, as it is their accrued sick time,” Lipton wrote.

On April 5, Groom again emailed HR to check the status of Knight’s FMLA.

“The physician was out of the offce last week,” HR responded, “so we are giving a little more time past the 15 days.”

Two days later, Knight died by suicide.

Additional reporting by Senior Campus & Community Editor Alice Momany

scottsr2@miamioh.edu

Leadership, remembered how administration quickly got to work on what needed to be done for students when they returned.

“We started working over that summer in 2020, which was quite an activated time period,” Vance said.

“We had to ask ourselves how to help students make their voices heard when they can’t get in a big group and do much. How do we address behavior amongst our groups that are impacted by this?”

In addition to the event planning and organizing that Vance and her team were doing, Vicka Bell-Robinson, director of Residence Life at Miami, and her team were also trying to keep students in the dorms engaged during this time.

“We did a lot of grab-and-go pro-

grams that semester to get students engaged,” Bell-Robinson said. “We would tell students to grab this and then take it someplace where you’re not around other people.”

Colegate remembered the activities during COVID as a nice reprieve from the monotony of procedures and protocols at the time.

“They had a lot of fun Zoom meetings and activities to attend,” Colegate said. “I know they weren’t in person, but they were lively and gave me something to look forward to.”

In creating such measures and changes to engagement on campus, there were longer-lasting efects that can still be seen today. Events like MegaFair, which was previously crammed into the Recreation Quad, became more spread out and held at Cook Field. Scheduling times for

events like Miami Activities and Programming’s I Love You Beary Much became more commonplace, according to Vance.

Vance said the shift to events that involve advanced scheduling have stuck around even after restrictions were lifted because they helped with logistics. Even events like sorority recruitment, which Vance helps plan, saw lasting changes.

“If 10 years ago somebody had told me that you could run sorority recruitment on a Zoom webinar, I would’ve said no way,” Vance said. “We did learn how to do it, though, and even now we use some of those tactics like having potential new members submit videos.”

Even in the times of COVID-19, amongst confusion and questions, students were still able to enjoy their

experience on campus and feel safe. Bell-Robinson recounted some of the numbers from a residence life survey.

“In December of 2020, 96% of students said they had a positive experience in their residence hall,” Bell-Robinson said. “Comparing that to 87% in 2018, I think students, despite the challenges, still felt like they had a place here.”

Despite the work put in by the administration, many students still felt left behind during this time.

“Living in the dorms during O I was defnitely a negative eperience for me,” Wilcox said. “Digital college, while isolated, didn’t compare to what previous students had. It really challenged my mental and social health.”

crabtrr@miamioh.edu

At Oxford City Council’s May 2 meeting, councilors focused on hot-topic issues surrounding the Oxford community and Miami University’s campus, including gun violence and Ohio Senate Bill 83.

Mayor Snavely declares June 2 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day

The councilors started of the meeting by ofcially addressing gun violence in communities around the country. They approved the motion to declare June 2 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day, where citizens will be encouraged to wear orange in recognition of the gun violence problem that faces America today.

“Gun violence is not a partisan issue, it is an issue for everyone,” Mayor William Snavely said.

Two students from Miami University’s Students Demand Action student organization were present

at this week’s meeting to receive the printed proclamation signed by the mayor. They thanked the council for their dedication to acknowledging this issue within the Oxford community.

City Council pushes back against Ohio Senate Bill 83

The council then shifted to discussing how the newly formed Senate Bill (S.B.) 83 would impact Miami, and in extent, the Oxford community. S.B. 83 looks to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion training at Ohio’s public universities and will restrict the number of students from China who can come to public universities in Ohio. The council declared a motion to oppose S. B. 83 in support of diversity.

“Senate Bill 83 has tremendous unintended consequences statewide, which is why I am hoping the bill does not make it out of the senate,” Glenn Ellerbe, a city councilor,

said. Many councilors agreed with Ellebe.

The councilors worry that students may choose not to go to Miami if Ohio limits free speech on college campuses. This would indirectly affect the Oxford community because small businesses, vendors and landlords may all sufer from the unintended economic consequences.

“Miami’s livelihood is [Oxford’s] livelihood,” Councilor David Prytherch said. “If we make Ohio an unattractive place for students to go to school, they will choose to go somewhere else.”

The resolution, drafted by Doug Elliot in the City Management department, was supported unanimously by the council.

Council will meet again on Tuesday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Oxford Courthouse.

patelou@miamioh.edu

OLIVIA PATEL STAFF WRITER

Four years later, Miami’s class sent home by COVID-19 is ready to graduate

Oxford City Council and Miami University students band together to combat gun violence and Ohio Senate Bill 83

Emails show administrator shared medical leave resources with Bill Knight

Graduating Talawanda to Graduating Champions: Three Oxford native studentathletes share their Miami experience

barber shop. He also enjoys picking up a pound of mild wings and a calzone from Doughby’s to split with his roommate after a late night out.

He also points out some downsides of living in Oxford, which include parking Uptown and around campus and being called a “townie.”

First-year softball player Madie Patton is much newer to the Oxford scene. She moved here almost three years ago when her dad was hired as the ofensive line coach for Miami football. After moving from city to city, this is now her sixth home. She started playing softball while living in Oklahoma when she was 5 years old. While she loved living there, she has also enjoyed living in Oxford.

“The people of Talawanda and just the whole community of Oxford are just amazing,” Patton said. “I loved it for the nine months that I went there and now I love the people I have met here … it’s been a great experience.”

Patton studies sport media and communications and journalism at Miami. She hopes to work for a

professional sports organization in a larger city closer to Oklahoma after graduation.

Sports have consumed a good portion of her time at school, so she tries to see her family every few weeks. When the school year comes to a close, she spends time with her sisters walking around the city. Her favorite spots to visit include Graeter’s and El Burrito Loco.

Softball does not stop for Patton in the summer. She works as a counselor for various youth sports camps in the community. Another Oxford native Miami athlete, Mercy Patterson, a marketing and fashion business major, is a member of the swimming and diving team and currently swims sprint butterfy and backstroke.

The 19-year-old has lived in Oxford her whole life, and she began swimming at 4 years old. She knew early on that this was something she wanted to do at a high level. Miami felt like a good ft for her, athletically and academically, so she committed. She speaks very highly about her decision to come here.

“You have everything you need

GreenHawks announces its plan to merge with The Miami Student in the fall 2023 semester

its own section has additional benefts.

here in this little town, and it’s kind of like a little bubble,” she says. “Nothing that awful ever happens and you know all your friends and family are here, so I like it.”

The Patterson family not only owns Patterson’s Cafe, but Paesano’s Pasta House and Cru Gastro Lounge as well.

When she isn’t swimming or doing homework, she spends her time working at one of the restaurants in town. Her go-to meal is the fettuccine carbonara at Paesano’s, which she highly recommends.

As much as she loves her time here, Patterson does plan on moving to New York City in order to pursue more fashion-related opportunities.

“In schools, there’s not a lot of fashion stuf going on yet and that goes for a lot of smaller cities too. So you kind of have to branch out into those bigger cities with more opportunities,” Patterson said. Although Oxford has brought these three student-athletes together, the city serves as a place for them to create their own unique stories to tell. centresj@miamioh.edu

to leave her role as advisor for GreenHawks, she’s excited to see it start a new chapter.

“I am so thrilled that GreenHawks is joining TMS,” Blair said. “As I retire, that just makes me happy and confdent that it’s going to continue to be successful.”

Blair said merging with The Student will allow GreenHawks to achieve its aims.

“GreenHawks has always been about elevating the student’s voice on campus on sustainability and environmental science issues,” Blair said. “There is certainly enormous student interest out there, so I think the visibility of The Miami Student will really help the stories get more traction.”

Sean Scott, editor-in-chief of The Student, said he hopes the merger will boost coverage of sustainability issues and help localize national climate discussions.

“We’ve run stories like that in the past in our news section, but if you look at The New York Times or The Washington Post and all of these national news organizations, they have dedicated environment and climate sections now,” Scott said. “So being able to have that in our publication will help us stay on top of issues that are very important moving forward.”

Scott said having GreenHawks as

“When you run them with [Campus & Community], you run the risk of them getting lost with all the other news, and you run the risk of everyone coming at it from a journalistic standpoint instead of a scientifc one,” Scott said. “As a dedicated section, I’m hoping we’ll attract more writers who are interested in science and come from that background and can improve the accuracy and breadth of our coverage.” The GreenHawks section will also bring more consistent, focused coverage of local eforts around sustainability, including what Oxford and Miami are doing and what could be improved. Rather than being written on an as-pitched basis, an entire page will be dedicated to these kinds of stories in every print issue.

Katie Gabe, a junior biology major and sustainability co-major, said she is looking forward to seeing what The Student does with GreenHawks.

“The only reason I knew about [GreenHawks] was because I was searching for green organizations to join, but I think if they’re in a bigger platform like The Student, which most people on campus know about, they’ll be able to have a wider reach,” Gabe said.

lair said she’s confdent in Norton’s ability to successfully lead GreenHawks through this transition.

“[Norton] is a student of mine right now in journalism [JRN] 201, and he’s just done an outstanding job in that class,” Blair said. “He has a gift for storytelling, and that’s going to serve him well with GreenHawks and with The Student, so it’s the best of both worlds.”

rudere@miamioh.edu

EDITORIAL STAFF

EIC & ME picks

Curated by Sean Scott and Luke

Macy

Katia Del Rio-Tsonis:

Newt-hing will stand in the way of her research

In April, Taylor Stumbaugh and Sarah Frosch teamed up to create an incredible profle on one of Miami University’s professors. With Taylor writing and Sarah taking photos, the story was destined to be amazing. Be sure to look at all the cute photos and videos of the newts.

Academia lacks diversity.

What can Miami do about it?

Reagan Rude, a data analytics major, created this cool story that looks at statistics of diverse faculty at Miami and other institutions. The story also incorporates graphs and interviews with students and professors about the data.

The meeting of two worlds: documentaries and streaming services

Kasey Turman took a stab at entertainment writing for this story. He talked with documentarian and flm professor Andy Rice to discuss a rising problem with documentaries on streaming services like Netfi , where engagement and glamor are prioritized over accuracy.

Reviewing the 2023 Best

Picture nominees

Reece Hollowell, resident Academy Award expert, wrote his second annual in-depth review of all the flms nominated for the year’s Oscar ceremony. In a year flled with great movies, Reece brought his own opinions, as well as the opinions of some staf members, to highlight what made each movie so great.

Opinion: There’s a statue missing at Yager

Jack Schmelzinger, The Miami Student’s sports editor, knows more about sports than anyone on staf. So if you’re going to take anyone’s opinion, take his. Jack writes about Sid Gillman, a former Miami football coach who changed the game forever.

Campus & Community

Curated by Alice Momany and Reagan Rude

Talawanda’s budget: What happened and how did the district get here?

In March, Shr-Hua Moore wrote about the history of Talawanda School District (TSD)’s budget problems. After a tax levy failed to pass in November, TSD announced a series of budget cuts. Shr-Hua’s article investigates how TSD ended up in its current fnancial state.

A game of Kings: being sober at Miami University

In March, Ryann Beaschler wrote a captivating story about what Miami

is like for students who don’t drink alcohol.

Don’t get your wallet out, these shrinks are paid with treats

In October, Reagan Rude and Raquel Hirsch wrote an a-dog-able story about Miami’s therapy dogs. Miami Tribe and university relationship turns 50

Last year marked 50 years of the partnership between Miami University and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. In November, Luke Macy recounted the history of the tribe and its relation with the university.

Sports

Curated by Jack Schmelzinger

Cincinnati is entering a new age — as the soccer capital of the United States

Back in September, The Student’s resident soccer super-fan Michael estey refected on an international friendly match that took place in Cincinnati in November 2021 and made a bold claim about the future of soccer in The Queen City.

Miami hockey’s Swedish connection: how two best friends ended up in Oxford, an ocean away from home Will Kehres told the story of Ludvig Persson and Hampus Rydqvist, two Miami hockey players from Sweden who have been friends for more than six years, including the last three at Miami.

Miami feld hockey has ridden international recruiting and strong culture to MAC dominance

Miami feld hockey has won 11 straight conference championships, the last six Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season titles and the last fve M tournament titles.

ethan abu tried to fgure out how they’ve achieved such sustained success.

‘I thought it was just a dream’: Karli Spaid becomes one of the best softball players in the country Karli Spaid was ranked as one of the best softball players in the country coming into the 2023 season, and she has certainly delivered. Wes Payne dove into how the softball star got so damn good.

‘Nobody wants it more than me and more than us to get things right’: Hockey head coach Chris Bergeron talks the future of the Redhawks hockey program efrey Middleton attempts to get to the bottom of an issue we’re all wondering about: What the heck is up with Miami hockey? And who better to get that answer from than straight from the source: Head Coach Chris Bergeron.

Curated by Reece Hollowell

An obsessively close reading of AMC’s Nicole Kidman promo

Reece Hollowell kicked of his 2022-23 academic year with an article highlighting the most important face in modern cinema: Nicole Kidman. The piece is a mostly comedic deep-dive into her AMC Theaters promo that refects the e perience of having to watch something over, and over, and over and over again.

Miami’s performing groups experience culture through music

Sean Scott took an interesting angle toward covering performing groups at Miami, highlighting the process of their members learning songs in non-native languages. Sean weaves in various social and personal threads that make for an excellent reported story.

It may not always be a Wonderful Life, but ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ reminds us why it’s worth it

Maggie Peña wrote a wonderfully personal take on the classic holiday flm “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s an emotional read that speaks to Peña’s talents as a writer while demonstrating how media can help us through the hardest parts of our life.

Opinion

Curated by Devin Ankeney

The chicken and the egg: the cycle keeping women’s sports out of the limelight

In September, we ran an editorial board column that pointed out the failures that prevent women’s sports from seeing the limelight they deserve. This piece coincided with the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the legislation that paved the way for a massive increase in women’s participation in sports.

Why “voting with your dollar” is so important

In October, Sam Norton wrote about why choosing where to spend your money can, in some ways, be as important as voting for candidates in whom you believe. Most people have stores they don’t like for choices the company has made, but this in-depth look at “voting with your dollar” showed readers what it can mean when used to its fullest extent.

So none of your candidates won … now what?

In November, Devin Ankeney wrote a column imploring voters to continue caring even if their candidates didn’t win. As someone who voted for a ticket-full of losing candidates, they still learned to continue caring about and believing in democracy.

Don’t blame yourself for climate change paired with Fast fashion isn’t your fault, but you can slow down

In November, we ran a pair of columns by Sam Norton and Ava Kalina. oth of these showed diferent sides of engaging with climate change activism, and things you can do to take care of both the planet and yourself at the same time.

Style Curated by Evan Stefanik

The expressive art of tattoos

Julia Quigley got up close and personal with the art at Vertigo Tattoo for one of her frst stories. It pairs reporting with style, provides excellent photos and encourages readers to showcase their personality in more unique ways than just clothing. Check this one out to understand tattoos a little better or learn more before you schedule your appointment with Steve Cupp.

From old Hollywood to grunge, grunge to coquette –Lana del Rey has done it all

One of the section’s most seasoned contributors, Allison Lee, crossed into entertainment with this piece in appropriate time for Lana del Rey’s newest album release. She toured the various costumes del Rey wore throughout her musical eras and the message behind each. Read this story, especially if you love the evermore popular del Rey aesthetic.

Gender doesn’t dictate fashion: non-binary style at Miami and in the world Ames Radwan approached their frst story for style with a captivating perspective on the human body underneath the outft. mes walks through the history and current events of gender expression and offers their own advice, with the help of a student source, to those still exploring their fashion. Find out in this story that there are no rules in style, no matter how you identify.

Food Curated by Kaitlin McDowell Carla Hall cooks from the heart and styles from the soul

In November, Ames Radwan wrote about Celebrity chef Carla Hall’s visit and guest lecture at Miami. Hall spoke about her journey with food and her rise to fame.

Students advocate to expand kosher options on campus

In April, Meredith Perkins wrote about the kosher options served on campus, or lack thereof in the midst of Passover. Students shared their concerns and pushes to integrate kosher food into the dining halls. Aramark provided their own responses as well. To bagel … paired with … or not to bagel

In October, Ames Radwan and Devin Ankeney wrote competing articles about the quality of Oxford favorite Bagel and Deli and whether they classify as bagels. Read both and pick your side.

Humor

Curated by Patrick Sullivan and Teddy Johnson

Humor writers’ ASG endorsements

When the Associated Student Government elections were going down, the TM Humor staf compiled a list of wild card candidates who would be great presidents and vice presidents of ASG.

Five of the scariest places on Miami’s campus

Humor Editor Teddy Johnson wrote about some of the places around Miami that you should (or shouldn’t) avoid during spooking season. Pickup lines to use this weekend

The incredibly handsome Humor Editor, Patrick Sullivan, provides all those looking for love the perfect pickup lines to dish out at the bars this weekend. There is a reason they call him “The Love Doctor.”

eic@miamistudent.net

ASG bill to define antisemitism sparks controversy amid freedom of speech concerns

HR-H MOOR SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On pril 11, Miami niversity’s ssociated tudent overnment introduced a resolution calling for the university to ofcially adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance lliance’s IHR defnition of antisemitism.

lthough it is now tabled for ne t semester, news of this resolution prompted students from Miami’s tudents for ustice in alestine and the Muslim tudents ssociation M to publish a oint statement urging to not pass the resolution on the grounds that, per the statement, the defnition “attempts to malign and politically gaslight the alestinian struggle.” enator-at-large Matthew Lodge, a sophomore political science ma or, was one of the authors of the resolution. He said the purpose of the resolution was to help people identify antisemitism, which has been on the rise over the past year.

“ ntisemitism is very insidious. It looks very diferent depending on where it’s coming from, and there isn’t a rhyme or reason to it,” Lodge said. “ onsequently, it’s important to have an all-encompassing defnition to capture lived eperiences of ews.”

ccording to both the IHR website and the resolution, the IHR defnes antisemitism as “a certain perception of ews, which may be e pressed as hatred toward ews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward ewish or non- ewish individuals and or their property, toward ewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

However, this is not the issue that M and took with the resolution. Rather, they obected to an e ample of antisemitism under the IHR defnition.

The IHR website lists “claiming that the eistence of a tate of Israel is a racist endeavor” as

an e ample of antisemitism under the grounds that it denies “the ewish people their right to self-determination.”

The issue at stake lies with whether or not this e ample connects anti- ionism fnding issues faws with the establishment of a ewish state to antisemitism.

Lauren omers, a unior studying fashion and business analytics, is the president of Hillel at Miami. he e plained that anti- ionism and antisemitism were completely diferent things.

“Not a lot of people know about this, but you can be anti- ionist without being antisemitic,” omers said. “ ou can be entirely ewish and committed to your identity and not know anything about or support Israel.”

Whitney isch, the e ecutive director of Hillel, agreed with omers. he said the IHR defnition was intended as a guideline for identifying antisemitism instead of citing certain topics as prohibited speech.

“There are defnitely ways to critici e Israel without being antisemitic I’ve critici ed Israeli government and military in the past,” isch said. “ The IHR defnition is a tool. It’s not legal. It’s a tool to be used in con unction with thoughtful refection and conte t per the situation.”

ome students at Miami, however, believe this is a tool that can be used to shut down speech advocating for alestinian rights and anti- ionist views.

“ asically, the problem is that the IHR defnition has been largely weaponi ed against students and organi ations speaking out for alestine in the past,” llison ifri, the president of Miami’s , said. “When the epartment of ducation adopted the IHR defnition in 18, you can see groups in other colleges across merica that speak out for alestine being targeted more.”

acky Linden, a unior ma oring in diploma-

cy global politics and history, is a member of and agreed with ifri that the defnition had potential for weaponi ation, regardless of its intentions or whether it is legally binding.

“ The defnition can be weaponi ed. That is our problem with it,” Linden said. “I’m sure the people who wrote this didn’t have the intent to censor people, but it’s too vague and invites very right-wing views that can be problematic towards us.”

Linden cited an article detailing the problems the original author had with the defnition’s application and its potential for misuse by right-wing groups. he said that connecting anti- ionist statements with antisemitism is counterproductive to the work of some human rights organizations today.

“The Human Rights Watch, Israel’s Law rofessors orum and N special rapporteurs in alestine all claim that the state of Israel is committing apartheid,” Linden said. “ y the IHR defnition, all the aforementioned orgs and people could be seen as antisemitic and that shows how this defnition can be weaponi ed and how it is used to silence real critiques that are agreed upon by some of the most prestigious human right organi ations in the world.”

ifri, who helped write the letter responding to the resolution, said it was created because they didn’t learn about the resolution until the day before it was originally set to be voted on.

“We decided to write the letter because the resolution was posed to as something that wouldn’t cause any controversy or uproar,” ifri said. “We saw that it didn’t have any attention, so we wanted everyone to know our concerns with it. The handful of senators I talked to didn’t know anything about the controversy.” ontroversy is not ust related to the defnition, however. In response to the statement released by and M , Hillel posted a statement on Instagram critici ing the statement

as “an attempt to redefne antisemitism to suit and M ’s needs as a non- ewish organi ation.” Hillel said ’s resolution wasn’t legally binding and did not create ofcial prohibited speech.

“The purpose of the Hillel statement was to attempt to actually put a factual lens on to call out the hypocrisy and inaccuracies of the letter,” isch said. “It was also created to give information to ewish students and anyone who is frustrated or confused by the and M statement .”

There were also concerns that and M were trying to secretly pass around the statement in order to make sure it didn’t appear on the radar of ewish organi ations. ifri said this was due to time constraints and a misunderstanding. Since the organizations thought the resolution would be voted on a day or two after they learned about it, they had to rush out a statement.

“ ince the letter was kind of a last minute thing, we only had a day to act before the bill was voted on,” ifri said. “It wasn’t very organi ed, and based on what I know, I believe this was misconstrued because one person said something wrong to another person.”

There is still ongoing debate from both sides about whether or not the IHR defnition of antisemitism would be used to shut down free speech at Miami and whether this is possible in the frst place. In the midst of this dialogue, however, omers said it’s important to listen and respect other groups.

“The main goal is to never spread hate to other groups,” omers said. “ oth sides of any story are always valid to hear. rom my point of view, we’re all a community, so we should come together and listen to each other instead of always assuming things.”

moorese6@miamioh.edu

Park brings furry friends in service dog form

feld. carlet and other service dogs like her now have a new place to play.

This pril marked the grand opening of a new service dog park created by aws for a ause, an organi ation on campus that trains service dogs. The park, located by Cook Field, is the frst of its kind and is only available to service dogs and service dogs in training (SDiT).

The park has a picnic table, water fountain and pet waste station. To make the park more accessible, the entrance has a gate-opener button and a concrete pad. The park also requires a code to open the double gates, which can only be accessed through a form submitted to aws for a ause.

Nef, a unior psychology and neuroscience co-ma or, oined aws for a ause her sophomore year and has been an active member of the e ecutive board for the past year. This year she’s fostering carlet, a 1-year-old golden retriever.

Service dogs and SDiTs typically can’t use a normal dog park due to the disruption that regular dogs can have on the working dogs. In the past, Nef used study rooms and the tennis courts to let her iT play. ut that came with some of its own issues.

“There are people obviously using the tennis courts,” Nef said. “ o there would be times where we would walk all the way over there and not be able to have our dogs play.”

The tennis courts are made from concrete, so Nef noticed sometimes her dog’s paw pads would be in ured after playing.

ABBY BAMMERLIN

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Mouth open, tongue out, Scarlet raced to catch the ball as it rolled in the grass. Once retrieved, she rushed back to her handler Taylor Nef, who held out her hand with a smile. Nef tossed the ball again and of went carlet. Without a leash, she was free to run across the entire

O TT NT R

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

When M nnica ay entered Miami niversity her frst year, her goal was simple be best friends with everyone.

“That’s my entire thing, ust try to be best friends with everyone on campus,” ay said.

ay, a sophomore social work and urban and regional planning double ma or with a minor in social ustice, is involved with several diferent organi ations on campus and said her schedule tends to scare people when they see it.

“I’ll pull up my oogle alendar, and I’ll ust get aws dropped,” ay said. “It’s really not that bad.” ay is currently an intern for the enter for tudent iversity and Inclusion I the president of the Latin tudent lliance, Miami’s Latin and Hispanic student organiation the vice president of Recruitment for igma Lambda amma National orority Inc. and the community liaison for , a student organi ation that aims to build community around Queer and trans/non-binary students of color.

efore coming to Miami, ay grew up in irginia and Ohio. he was born in an uan, uerto Rico, and moved to the nited tates when she was years old. The middle child of two sisters, ay followed in her older sister’s footsteps and was the president of NI O and igma Lambda amma National orority Inc.

“My sister and I are really close,” ay said, “so I would always see her, especially over summer breaks. he would be doing club stuf, and she was like, When you come to campus, you

In early 1 , members of aws for a ause’s e ec team approached Robert ell, director of planning, architecture and engineering, to start the pro ect. t the time, he decided the group didn’t have the park planned enough for his team to start the pro ect. They needed funding, approval from administration and a sponsoring department to maintain the park.

Over the ne t two years, the group was able

need to come to meetings.’”

ay said her level of involvement can be tiresome, as most of her work involves putting her identity at the forefront.

“I eat, sleep and breathe diversity work,” ay said. “And it’s really, really exhausting because I’m putting my identity online all the time. ecause I am a ueer, Latina woman, that’s difcult at a primarily white institution.”

ay said she’s used to attending predominantly white institutions but was newly challenged with fnding a place for her culture without her family around at college.

“My culture has not been one that I’ve really built. It’s one that’s been passed down,” ay said. “ o me as Latina, it was like learning recipes from my mom, dancing achata in the kitchen with my grandma and trying really, really hard to hold on to panish with my older sister because the only times we spoke panish were in the house o now coming into college it’s trying to fgure out, once again, what that Hispanic identity looks like to me because my culture came from completely inside the home.” uilding a Latin community at Miami has been the focus of ay’s work over the last two years and was one of the main reasons she applied to be an intern with the I.

“ Miami’s Latin community doesn’t have a face yet, which is something that we’re working on,” ay said. “It doesn’t have that base or that connection yet that we really want it to. It’s as soon as you fnd a person that is even a little bit similar, like holding on and not letting go.” Mallory tiles, a sophomore theatre and marketing double ma or, has been roommates with ay both years they’ve been at Miami.

to gain approval from Miami’s administration and raised more than , for the proect. They received , in donations from MoveinMiami donors and numerous donations from other sources. ma ority of the funding came from diferent fundraisers the organi ation held throughout the past few years. In October 1, they approached ell again, and he ofcially began working on the pro ect.

“When we hear the compelling arguments, whether it’s our ofce or another administrative ofce, at some point someone hears those arguments and says, eah, this is something we feel the university can help support,’” ell said. “I think we saw that there were a lot of students involved in this kind of mission and so it made some sense to support that.”

lly e rofo, unior microbiology and public health double ma or, has used the park multiple times since it opened. he said the location has been helpful for her because of the parking. The added space also means that more dogs can be in the park at once.

“We normally have a lot of playdates too, so we’ll see if a few other people want to meet and then our dogs ust play at the dog park,” e rofo said. aws for a ause outlines all of the rules for using the park on its website. Nef is thankful to have somewhere to go to allow her dog a place to run around, without risking in ury or disruption.

“For our dogs [to have] that space to be able to let them play and run and have fun with other dogs that’s really important, especially for like the higher energy level dogs,” Nef said. “My foster carlet is very energetic, and she defnitely needs to be able to play and run around, and the service dog park has been great for that.”

bammeraj@miamioh.edu

Stiles said their relationship as roommates has been both supportive and benefcial.

“ s a white woman, and coming from a white, fairly a uent family, I’m coming from such a place of privilege, and I have learned about so many diferent things on this campus that I never would have learned if she wasn’t involved in them,” tiles said.

tiles said an important part of their relationship is their nightly debrief with each other because that’s one of the only times the two of them are both home.

“That centering aspect of our relationship, really, is when we both get to come home and talk to each other, and that’s a pillar of my routine is coming home and telling her everything,” tiles said. “Then I’ll be like, what happened in your day, and get to know what they talked about in her social work class, or like, what one of her professors said about trains or something like that.”

fter their frst year living together, tiles said ay wanted to apply for the cholar Leaders program, which would require her to live in a specifc residence hall.

tiles wanted to live with ay again, so she applied too.

“I followed her and I was like, you know what, M nnica is the type of person that you will write fve essays for and sit through an hour interview ust so that you can room with her again. nd that is what I did,” tiles said. ay said her focus going forward is self-re-

fection.

“I’ve been doing a lot of that these past few weeks,” ay said. “ specially going into my unior year thinking about what my plans for ne t year are, or being like, Have I been doing the work I set out to do initially ’”

However, ay is also fnding time to rela and take care of herself.

“

es, there are so many issues surrounding us, both on the grand scale and on the campus level, and on the microscale,” ay said. “ ut there are some times that I’m allowed to ust sit at home, watch my little show and not worry about anything and it’s completely fne.”

‘I eat, sleep and breathe diversity work’; a busy sophomore builds Latinx community on campus

From teaching to farming: the retirement of Annie-Laurie Blair

After working at Miami since 2004, Blair is retiring from teaching.

While fnishing her bachelor’s degrees in news writing and political science from the University of Missouri, Blair worked as a correspondent reporter for the Kansas City Times, now known as the Kansas City Star, for four months.

But Blair turned down a reporting position in Manhattan, Kansas, following graduation. Instead, she joined the army.

“I lived in Japan, lived in Korea [and] served with the 101st Airborne Division,” Blair said. “I earned my wings, my Air Assault Wings … I was the frst woman that the 101st Airborne Division ever let graduate from … the sniper school.”

Cincinnati Enquirer.

Bruce Drushel, a professor in the media, ournalism, and flm department, said lair is dutifully committed to her involvement as a professor.

“She also has been very active with graduate education here on campus, not just undergraduate [education],” Drushel said. “That’s, I think, an example of where she has kind of been willing to extend herself … to do things that are beyond what are really expected.”

Blair is well-known for her role as director of Miami’s Inside Washington program and her advising positions in the student publications UP Magazine and GreenHawks Media.

She’s connected many students with internships, especially through the Inside Washington program. Morgan Schneider, a senior journalism and environmental science major, recounted that Blair helped her get two internships, one of which was for the Inside Washington program through a personal connection of Blair’s.

Schneider was the only journalism major in the program and felt that if it had been run by a professor from another department, they might not have had the same set of connections that ft so well with her majors.

“I would have been kind of overlooked,” Schneider said.

On campus, Schneider said that Blair’s previous work in environmental communications helped create a space for students like her to blend science and communication together.

When

did not attend a staf meeting for Miami niversity’s student publication GreenHawks Media, journalism and environmental science professor Annie-Laurie Blair knew something was wrong.

Blair learned Vis was at McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital. “I came back from some procedure. I was still super groggy, and I’m opening my eyes,” Vis said. “I can still see it clear as day. There’s Annie sitting there … and so the fact that she cared enough about me to come to the hospital to check in-person if I was OK meant the world to me.”

Blair worked as a military intelligence analyst for four years with the army, then as a military intelligence technical writer for Boeing Aerospace for one year before applying to graduate school.

At Boston University, Blair earned her master’s in journalism. She worked for various news outlets, including the Ithaca Journal, Star-Gazette, Cincy Magazine, Dayton Daily News and

Blair now plans to work in environmental education and teach children in urban areas about growing and cooking food. She and her husband own 65 acres of land in upstate New York and hope to farm it one day.

“I feel like I’m young,” Blair said, “and I want to do some other good stuf.” sanderhp@miamioh.edu

innovative and passionate’: Miami professor retires after more than

RAQUEL HIRSCH STAFF WRITER

For Jane Lance, teaching at Miami University is all about relationships. From students to families and colleagues, Lance never grew tired in her role as an educator for more than 30 years because each new interaction re-energized her.

“That’s what I really enjoy,” Lance said. “Getting to know all the students.”

After the spring 2023 semester ends, Lance, an assistant clinical lecturer in the educational psychology department, will retire from Miami.

Lance started at Miami eight years ago. She spent her frst two years working at both the Middletown and Hamilton campuses as an instructional designer and then moved to the Oxford campus six years ago.

Before she came to the university to teach, Lance graduated from Miami in 1984 with a degree in special education. She worked in the public school system as both a second-grade teacher and intervention specialist in Wyoming, Ohio.

Lance has taught classes in both the inclusive special education and primary education programs at Miami. She also helped develop the dual pathway program which allows primary education majors to earn a special education license.

“That’s sort of my niche,” Lance said. “Teaching future educators about how to teach all students in their classrooms.”

Though Lance retired from the public school system, she decided to teach at Miami after working as an adjunct professor.

“I didn’t feel like I was done working,” Lance said. “I just felt like if I’m not gonna teach the little people, I’d like to teach the people who are

going to teach the little people.”

Throughout her career, Lance’s proudest moment is helping develop the dual pathway program for education majors. The program currently hosts three cohorts since its planning began in 2019.

“The teacher education program and the special education program have been very siloed over the years,” Lance said. “And so just developing those relationships to do away with those silos and bring the people together and understand that we’re here for all students, not just kids with typical needs.”

In addition to piloting new programs, Lance has enjoyed working with her students.

“[My favorite part was] getting to know them and seeing how they grow and develop as [future] teachers, as people and educators,” Lance said. “I love getting to know the students, and my colleagues are really awesome.”

Sarah Watt, an associate professor of special education, is a colleague of Lance’s in the educational psychology department.

“Jane is just incredibly innovative,” Watt said. “She cares deeply about her students and she cares deeply about their learning, and even in her last few weeks here, she is changing assignments and getting feedback from students and working to make our program better.”

The class sizes in the education department are typically smaller since many are grouped of into specifc cohorts, which helps Lance focus on her relationships within the classroom.

“The thing is, no matter how big her class is, she can tell you every student’s name,” Watt said. “She just really has that personal connection with students and wants them to succeed in both their personal and professional life.”

Emily Kizior, a senior primary education major with a special education minor, is one of

years in the field

REAGAN RUDE CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR

Picture working at a health center. Long shifts, mountains of paperwork, echoes of students coughing and phones ringing probably come to mind.

Not when Karen Kammer is around.

ammer, who worked as ofce manager of Miami University’s Student Health Center for 26 years, loved her job and made those around her love theirs, too.

“I loved it here,” Kammer said. “My biggest passion is helping students. I’ve helped them with insurance; I’ve helped them with medical

Lance’s current students in EDP 494: Assessment, Evaluation and Educational Planning for Learners with Exceptionalities.

“[Lance] shows [us how] to have that care for your students,” Kizior said. “Especially with special ed, she shows [how] to think outside the box and … see them for all their strengths.” or now, Lance doesn’t have any specifc plans for her retirement.

“I’m just hoping to enjoy life a little bit more,” Lance said. “More time with my family, being

A retirement well deserved: Karen Kammer’s legacy

issues over the years.” Kammer and her colleagues brought light to the ofce by turning lunchtime into mini parties, with catered food and potlucks.

“[The medical director] said one day, ‘You would fnd anything to party for around here,’” Kammer said. “So we laughed and decided we would do a national pickle day in his honor.”

The next day, Kammer and her colleagues brought in pickles that were dressed up in outfts ranging from a snowman to a sunbather.

“He was ust fabbergasted that we would do something like that,” Kammer said. “I loved being able to have fun along with [the job].”

After working at the health center, Kammer moved to the Ofce of tudent Life, working as an administrative assistant.

Lyndsey Tonyan, an administrative assistant for the Dean of Students, is Kammer’s colleague and works closely with her in Warfeld Hall.

“She’s the best. Hands down the sweetest person,” Tonyan said. “It’s easy to talk about Karen because she’s just, down to her core, a re-

ally good person.”

Tonyan said she’ll miss the unexpected moments of laughter and inside jokes that Kammer brought to the workplace.

“She’s got a really quick wit; her jokes will kind of come out of nowhere,” Tonyan said. “We’re always laughing in the ofce.”

Tonyan said that although she’ll miss her, Kammer has earned her retirement. One of her biggest contributions to Miami was her role in making the Student Health Service an independent entity.

“She’s a very humble person; she would never be boastful about some of her accomplishments,” Tonyan said. “She’s like that calm, behindthe-scenes leader type.”

True to her nature, Kammer said she’ll miss the people at Miami the most.

“Some of my best friends right now, and my one truly best friend, I’ve met here at Miami,” Kammer said. “Those are things you can’t put a price tag on.

outside, enjoying walking and exercising, and just visiting people when I want to visit them.” fter more than years in the feld, Lance attributes her success to the people around her.

“For me, it’s all about the relationships,” Lance said. “I hope that in some small way, I impacted some educator who will, in turn, impact the students they’re teaching.”

hirschr2@miamioh.edu

The feeling of being helpful. The feeling of being appreciated.”

Kammer said she is looking forward to reading and helping take care of her granddaughter when she retires. When she looks back on her time at Miami, she remembers it fondly.

“There’s tons of things that are just very special about working at Miami,” Kammer said. “It’s been a wonderful place to work. They’ve been very kind. It’s been a nice ride.”

rudere@miamioh.edu

HANNAH SANDER THE MIAMI STUDENT

Bridget Vis, a 2013 Miami alumna,

‘Caring,

30

HER 19 YEARS AT MIAMI, ANNIE-LAURIE BLAIR SERVED AS A PROFESSOR, STUDENT ORGANIZATION LEADER AND PROGRAM DIRECTOR IN MJF. PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCH FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, JANE LANCE HAS BEEN TEACHING FURTURE EDUCATORS.

PHOTO BY TAYLOR STUMBAUGH

THE PAST 26 YEARS, KAREN KAMMER HAS WORKED MULTIPLE POSITIONS AT MIAMI UNIVERSITY. PHOTO BY REAGAN RUDE

EDITED BY STAFF WRITER TAYLOR STUMBAUGH

Graduating Seniors

ALICE MOMANY SENIOR CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR

When Remy Allen was a senior in high school, they went viral, and their life changed forever.

A photograph of future young Black educators went viral on the internet, and Allen was front and center. After the photo circulated widely, a liberal arts school in Oxford, Ohio, reached out to Allen, recruiting them for the school’s education program.

That’s when Allen knew they were going to Miami University.

“I feel like education is the most impactful job you can have,” Allen said. “I’m very passionate about the education of our youth, and where education is going is kind of scary, but I feel like my passion can bring a change in that space.”

Over the next four years, Allen would go on to use their passion to make changes at Miami.

They became the president of Black Women Empowered during their sophomore year and have held that position since. They helped reestablish the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated on campus, they are

involved with multiple student organizations and they are a resident assistant in Anderson Hall.

This year, Allen began their teaching journey as a student teacher at the Hamilton High School Freshman Campus, and when they graduate, they plan to teach English language arts to seventh graders.

“I plan to teach for a couple of years, and then I want to go to grad school because I want to work my way up the education ladder,” Allen said.

Throughout their various involvements, Allen met friends, faculty and staf that made their time at Miami memorable.

“The most important thing I learned [at Miami] is how you treat people says a lot,” Allen said. “I’m happy that when I leave Miami, I will know that I was loved by a lot of people.”

One of those people is JaTayzia Agee, a senior education studies major. Agee and Allen lived in the same hall together during their frst year at Miami, and Allen’s contagious energy attracted Agee.

“Their warm personality is what really struck me and wanted me to

JACK SCHMELZINGER SPORTS EDITOR

As a walk-on for the Miami University Track and Field team during her frst year at Miami niversity, Gabby Cossio took two thirdplace medals in team races at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships. During her sophomore year, she was out for almost the whole season with quadriceps tears in both legs.

She returned toward the end of the season, though, and posted a personal record 1:03.74 time in 400 hurdles and came in second place for the 4x400 relay at the MAC Outdoor Championships. Her junior season, she was injured again. She used that year to rebuild her body and balance her mind.

“Being injured was a blessing in disguise,” Cossio said. “It let me slow down and realign my focus. It helped remind me that my value doesn’t come from my sport and my times on the track. I focused on my faith and put my trust in God and started to take the pressure of of myself.”

After she was cleared to compete, Cossio said track became even more enjoyable. Now in her senior year, Cossio is soaking it all in before she moves to Chicago for a job she has lined up in fnance, which is her ma-

jor at Miami.

“I’ve really just been using senior year I think to soak in every single memory,” Cossio said. “I love the sport. I love running. But even more, I just love my team. I love being able to do really hard workouts with my team and afterwards just lay on the foor with the girls.”

Cossio has had two siblings graduate from college already. Her sister Anna ran track at Washington University in St. Louis, and her brother Luis also ran track at Notre Dame University.

“There’s a lot of joy in seeing her graduate,” Luis Cossio, Gabby’s father, said. “ ut there is defnitely a bit of sorrow in that. I think most parents who have gone to college know that that period of time is very, very special. And oftentimes you don’t want to see it end.”

efore this season, ossio was fnally put on scholarship.

“Helen and I were really happy,” Luis Cossio said. “Because she had been working hard and not always having the success she wanted, but she continued relentlessly towards making herself better, and the coaches, to their great credit, acknowledged that.”

Cossio has had great times at Miami. She says she loves being on the track team because it’s like one huge family.

stay close to them,” Agee said. “Remy just has the best personality I’ve ever met.”

Although Allen just started student teaching, Agee said she has been learning from them throughout the past four years.

“One thing that I learned from Remy is to be myself at all times,” Agee said. “Remy is really open and really out in the community and just

their authentic self.” But Allen’s friends and students aren’t the only people who have learned from them. Allen has learned a lot from themself.

“If I could go back,” Allen said. “[I’d] tell my freshman self, ‘See it

through. It gets better. It gets so much better.’”

momanyaj@miamioh.edu

“They become your brothers and sisters,” Cossio said. “At the end of the day you have close to 100 other people who are always supporting you.”

According to Cossio’s parents, she was always a good kid.

“Gabby has always been a joy,” Helen Cossio, her mother, said. “She’s a really happy, positive, bright person. We’re really proud of the way she’s handled her academic career along with her athletic career. She’s always managed to do it in a positive way. And we feel like she’s always managed to be a strong leader.”

Cossio is the vice president of Miami University Women in Finance and a member of Athletes in Action, an organization of Christian athletes on campus. She says what she’ll miss most as she leaves college is the camaraderie.

“I don’t think there’s anything better than going through a really, really intense practice, or a really, really hard 400 workout with your best friends pushing your bodies to the limit and pushing each other,” Cossio said. “And then just afterwards all going out to eat or going on to get smoothies or even just laying on the foor.”

@jackschmelznger schmelj2@miamioh.edu

ALICE MOMANY SENIOR CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR

For Aiyana White’s whole life, she knew one thing for certain: She would go to college. Throughout her academic career, she focused on getting the perfect grades, taking the hardest classes and perfecting her college application. The one thing she failed to focus on, however, was what she would study. She loved education and the human body. She wanted to be an OBGYN, a teacher and a social worker. She came to Miami University as a social work major but dropped it before orientation.

Unsure of what to major in, White was encouraged by her academic advisor to take Individualized Studies Seminar (WST 251).

“We read ‘The Road Not Taken,’ and we talked about making our own road, even though it seems like it’s not possible,” White said. “So that’s when I sat back, and I refected.”

Because of her interests in reproductive health and teaching, White decided to study sex education. Miami didn’t ofer that as a ma or, but White knew she could make it work through the university’s Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation. “I was scared to have that much

choice over what I wanted to do because it was all on me,” White said.

“At that time, I’m 18. I’m just out of high school. I don’t know how to do anything myself.”

She decided to take another course in the individualized studies major, Interdisciplinary Inquiry (WST 231), with Jacqueline Daugherty, the director of the Center. White conducted a research project on the quality of sex education people had received in seventh through 12th grade with a focus on LGBTQ+ individuals. As a nationally certifed se uality educator, Daugherty was interested in White’s research.

“Still, four years later, it was one of the strongest projects I’ve had in that class,” Daugherty said.

After that course, White was confdent that the Western program was for her.

“This [program] was the perfect place for me to fnd myself, be myself, do everything I wanted and have all the resources and assets that I needed to do so,” White said.

In the summer of her junior year, she earned a research fellowship through the Western program to research the impacts of period poverty and how it impacts individuals based on intersectional identities. She spent the summer working with Daugherty to gather period products and donated them to the Talawanda Oxford Pantry & Social Services (TOPSS) and

the Miami Valley Immigrant Coalition in Dayton.

During her junior year, she continued this work and partnered with the Sexuality Education Study Center to collect menstrual products to put in academic buildings on campus.

Over the past four years, Daugherty said she has enjoyed watching White follow her passions, even if they don’t fall under an ofered ma or at Miami.

“She was always good at asking questions,” Daugherty said, “but I think part of the college experience as students mature is realizing that they always have more questions than answers, so watching her fgure out what to do with the uncertainty innate in that feld is something I’ve really enjoyed.”

But White said learning to be comfortable with the unknown hasn’t been easy. If she could go back and give her frst-year self one piece of advice, White said she would tell her to accept the uncertainty.

“Even though it feels so overwhelming and so scary and like it will never end, life goes on,” White said. “The most inevitable thing about life is [the] change from one state to another.”

@alicemomany

GABBY COSSIO SAID SHE’S GOING TO MISS THE CAMARADERDIE OF COLLEGE. PHOTO BY JACK SCHMELZINGER

‘My passion can bring a change in that space’: Future educator reflects on their past four years at Miami

‘She’s always been a joy’: Gabby Cossio has made her mark at Miami University

‘This was the perfect place for me to find myself’: The student who loves learning finds value in the unknown

Charlotte Perez takes a unique approach to entering the world of theater

OLIVIA PATEL STAFF WRITER

Charlotte Perez, a senior theatre major and social justice and inequities minor, is spending her last few weeks at Miami University looking ahead to the next chapter of her life.

Perez attributes her sense of preparedness to Miami’s well-rounded bachelor’s program, where she felt as if she had to learn everything.

“I primarily identify as directing stage management,” Perez said. “However, I also have the history background to be able to properly talk about theater. I have also taken lighting and set design, so I know how to properly communicate on set.”

Although she regrets leaving behind her four years here, Perez

is looking forward to returning to her internship this summer at Cedar Summer Stock Theater in Iowa, where she will primarily be a stage manager.

After that, Perez will move to Florida to start an apprenticeship at Florida Studio Theater in Sarasota to continue her work as a stage manager.

“An average day will look like rehearsals in the morning, then the show in the afternoon,” Perez said.

“I’ll mainly be helping lead rehearsals, taking notes, going into tech for the show that will be going on later in the evening, then leading the show for that night.”

Perez’s friend and classmate Madeline Collins, a senior marketing and theater double major, said Perez is considered extremely impactful within the theater department.

“I would say that Charlotte is extremely passionate about what she does,” Collins said. “She has always been someone that I can go to when I need advice or help with something getting done.”

Perez’s impact is larger than just within the theater department. As the president of The Walking Theatre Project, a tour guide manager and a member of Alpha Phi Omega and Alpha Kappa Delta, Perez believes she has truly made the most out of her four years at Miami.

Outside of her busy academics and extracurriculars, however, Perez says the thing she values most is “enjoying the simple things in life.”

patelou@miamioh.edu

Outgoing Student Body President Amitoj Kaur reflects on her experience at Miami

AMANDA WANG

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Amitoj Kaur is widely known as Miami University’s Associated Student Government’s (ASG) outgoing Student Body President. But her time at Miami expands far past that.

Before becoming student body president, the political science and emerging technology in business and design (ETBD) double major was in ASG as a student trustee for two years. She was also a student employee at the Carruthers Commuter Resource Center on campus.

In high school, though, Kaur had planned on avoiding Miami entirely. Too many people from her high school chose the school, she said.

“I was touring schools out of state, comparing every school to Miami,” Kaur said. “Eventually, I took a step back and realized that Miami was the best place for me to be.”

Despite her initial hesitance, Kaur quickly got involved once she came to Miami. Throughout her time in ASG, Kaur impacted many who she worked with. One of these people is Eli Da-

vies, a junior double major in political science and urban planning.

“I’d say that [Kaur] is a really welcoming and inviting person and has really done a lot to make us both as members of ASG feel welcome as well as just students in general,” Davies said.

Davies also mentioned how she utilized her best qualities to get things done at Miami.

“Her knowledge of the university and her ability to make connections with administrators, which comes from her personality, helped her get things done,” Davies said. “I know she worked with the senators last year to allow students to change their email address if they changed their name for a variety of reasons.”

She co-founded Women Of Kolour Excellence Group (W.O.K.E.) to transform an underground support group for women of color into an ofcial student organization. She wanted to create a space for women of color to share their experiences at Miami, which is a predominantly white institution (PWI). She also joined the Advancing Women in Entrepreneurship

club and is the owner of Love, You! Boutique.

Kaur chose to major in political science because of her interest in politics.

“I have always been a politics buf,” aur said. “I also believe that local politicians matter greatly.”

Kaur also chose to double major in ETBD because of her personal experience.

“I had worked in digital media for a local political campaign,” Kaur said. “I saw how social media plays a great role and afects how women in politics are perceived. My advisor recommended that I check [ETBD] out.”

After graduation, Kaur plans on working at J.P. Morgan for the Chase Leadership Development Program.

Looking back, the best advice aur could give her frst-year self is that embarrassment is a choice.

“There were hundreds of opportunities where I was scared of what other people would think of me,” Kaur said. “My embarrassment held me back from putting myself out there.”

wanga31@miamioh.edu

From mentee to mentor: Kinshuk Tella’s reflection on his time at Miami University

SADIE CHILDS

THE MIAMI STUDENT

If Kinshuk Tella could pick one quote to defne his e perience at Miami niversity, he would choose, “In order to be a great leader, you need to be a great follower.”

Tella has done many things during his four years at Miami. He is a double major in environmental science and geology, a resident assistant, a treasurer on the Students with Disabilities Advisory Council (SDAC) and more. He’ll walk away from Miami with not just his two bachelor’s degrees, but his master’s in environmental science with a concentration in water resources as well.

Tella is from Dayton, Ohio, and ended up coming to Miami because of his liking for the programs and faculty here.

In Tella’s own words, “there is value in being diverse,” something he has both learned and embodied at Miami.

Tella is legally blind, and has used his experiences to help other students with disabilities.

Last summer, Tella helped lead a pre-semester program to help students with disabilities transition into life at Miami.

“It wasn’t until I came to Miami, I met other people that have had those same lived shared experiences and it meant a lot to me,” Tella said.

But more than the things he’s accomplished are the people he’s managed to uplift along the way.

Annastashi Blesi, who met Tella back in 2021 when she started advising the SDAC, described Tella’s impact on those around him.

“He is this powerhouse that is so innovative and uplifting of other people,” Blesi said.

When Tella won the Presidential Distinguished Service Award this spring, he was nominated by not just one or two people, but fve. uring Thanksgiving, Tella put up a bulletin board in his hall asking people to write what they were grateful for. Most of his residents wrote “Tella.”

Though Tella would never brag about his accomplishments, he simply leads by example.

“That’s just quintessential Kinshuk,” Blesi said. “Sharing his experiences so other people are comfortable and so they know that he’s a person they can share their experiences with.”

Tella will be in Washington D.C. this summer interning through a nonproft called the American Association of People with Disabilities. “I still haven’t found that career path that kind of clicks with me, and that’s OK,” Tella said. “And so I’m still very much exploring diferent options. The biggest thing I want to explore right now is government. I haven’t tried that out.”

Even though Tella is preparing for the next steps after his academic career, the students, faculty and staf at Miami who know him are sad to see him leave the university.

“We are so excited for him,” Blesi said. “ ut we are defnitely going to miss him.” childssb@miamioh.edu

TEDDY JOHNSON CO-HUMOR EDITOR

As Ryan McWood’s time at Miami University nears an end, the seventh-year linebacker from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, looks fondly upon his academic tenure. His seven years of playing football for Miami have been riddled with challenges from the beginning.

McWood joined Miami’s football team as a preferred walk-on, meaning he didn’t receive an athletic scholarship to join the team. He earned one Division II football scholarship but opted to try his chances playing Division I football at Miami instead.

Since no Division I schools offered him an athletic scholarship, McWood felt he had a chip on his shoulder and something to prove as a walk-on. He cited that desire to prove himself as fuel for the fre that

developed in his and his fellow walkon teammates’ hearts.

“The walk-on mentality is really a powerful thing,” he said. “A lot of guys on the team who have been walk-ons and got put on scholarship have a little something diferent in their mindset.”

Despite being a walk-on, McWood stayed committed to his practice and seized any opportunity presented to him.

“It’s a long journey, especially as a walk-on,” the linebacker said. “You’re never gonna get the frst team reps. You’re never gonna get even the second or the third reps. It might be the eighth rep you might get, and you have to take advantage when you get that opportunity.”

The COVID-19 pandemic spoiled McWood’s ffth season, and an in ury prevented him playing in his sixth year, but he did not let these challenges faze him.

“Staying positive through all that

and learning to just kind of take it day-by-day and not try to go from A-to-Z but try to go from A-to-B — that 1% better every day kind of mindset,” McWood said.

While many would quit in the face of all these setbacks, McWood’s love for football and his desire to play at the next level kept him coming back. He encourages anyone facing setbacks to not give up.

“Just keep believing in yourself,” he said. “Know who you are as a person and what you can bring to the table.”

Fellow linebacker on the Miami football team, Matt Salopek, sees McWood as a big brother and someone with a great football IQ who he loved playing with on the feld.

“He was always there for you on and of the feld, ” alopek said. “I hope he does great things in the future.”

john1595@miamioh.edu

‘Just keep believing in yourself’: A walk-on’s journey to seven years of Miami University football

It’s time for a ‘Debrief’: RedHawk Radio hosts share music and life updates on show

CHLOE SOUTHARD SENIOR STAFF WRITER

It’s Wednesday, which means at 5 p.m., “The Debrief” is going down on RedHawk Radio.

Hosts Mary Hines, Abbie Stoner and Connor Donaldson do some chaotic last minute prepping before their radio show starts, as the three friends sort through the songs they’re going to play today.

Finally, it’s time to go on air.

“Hey, everyone,” the trio says in unison as Stoner turns the microphones on.

Immediately, there are issues with Donaldson’s microphone; Stoner and Hines refer to this as “having the ghost.” Once the problem is

solved, the hosts introduce themselves and begin cracking jokes. Hines takes the reins on the chaos and pulls her friends back on track.

For each broadcast, the trio selects three categories of songs to play, with three songs per category. Today’s categories are elite vacation songs, songs that would be on the soundtrack to your life and, of course, sharing is caring – a staple of “The Debrief.”

Hines sends out a list of category ideas on Wednesday morning, and the friends agree on which ones they’d like to do.

“I play it pretty fast and loose with preparation,” Hines said. Toward the end of the show, the trio does a segment called “There’s Something New I’m

Doing.” In this segment, Donaldson, Hines and Stoner take turns describing whatever new things are occurring in their lives.

The trio refers to this catch-up session as their debrief, which is where Hines got inspiration for the show’s name.

“The best part about having friends is waking up the next morning and rehashing and giving a debrief of everything that occurred the day before – especially after having a fun night together,” said Hines, a junior political science and media and culture major. “Then it’s like, ‘OK, let’s recap.’”

“Last spring semester, we’d sit at my kitchen table in my apartment … we’d just talk and reel a little bit,” said Stoner, a senior marketing major. “That was our debrief.”

Now, the three friends have their debrief on air for everyone to hear. onaldson defnes the show as a “chat/giggle sesh” with her two besties – and that’s exactly what it is.

When the hosts of “The Debrief” are broadcasting, the fun never stops. The trio is quick-witted, shooting wisecracks back and forth. Even when the music’s playing and the mics are of, the okes never stop coming.

“I think it’s nice to have other people get to hear what we’re laughing at,” Stoner said. “I wonder if people are also laughing because there’s no way they can’t be. We’re having such a good time, like, there’s no way people aren’t enjoying it as well.”

Donaldson, Hines and Stoners’ humor is infectious; while they have their own bits and inside-jokes, any listener can feel as if they’re in on them.

While radio is on the decline, the hosts of “The Debrief” still have a passion for it.

“[Radio] isn’t a regular thing for people to be into,” said Donaldson, a junior primary education major. “I feel like it’s just niche enough for it to make you want to keep doing it.”

Both Donaldson and Hines agreed that college radio is a large part of the culture at universities everywhere. Stoner mentioned that radio is diferent at all colleges, but what makes her want to stick with RedHawk Radio are the people involved and the organization itself.

“RedHawk Radio is the coolest thing I did at Miami,” Stoner said. “I mean, everyone [who’s] in this room, I’ve met there … Aside from that, [I get] to tell people, ‘Yeah, I have a radio show.’ It’s like, I want to contribute so that [radio] doesn’t die.”

“Like 90% of my friends are from RedHawk Radio,” Donaldson added with a laugh.

Stoner will soon graduate, which leaves Hines and Donaldson. “The Debrief” will continue, but Donaldson and Hines said it will return in the fall semester in a diferent form they still plan to keep Stoner around, though.

“Abbie has started the Instagram account for ‘The Debrief,’ so we’re keeping her around as marketing director,” Hines said.

“You can keep your job, but you just can’t be on air,” Donaldson joked to Stoner.

Stoner plans to call into the show occasionally while it’s on air and join her friends to share her songs of the week.

“To get sad here, I think [‘The Debrief’] should continue because it’s such a good show,” Stoner said. “I personally want to listen to it and laugh along and feel like I’m there.”

@_chloebowie_ southacr@miamioh.edu

The epidemic of lazy sampling

DEVIN ANKENEY OPINION EDITOR

You can’t make it an hour listening to your potify or the radio without running headfrst into a song that samples another song. It’s the big thing now.

Songs like “First Class” by Jack Harlow (samples “Glamorous” by Fergie) and “Freak” by Doja Cat (samples “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” by Paul Anka) use samples lazily. These are songs that seek to feed on your nostalgic bone until you’re numb.

They take popular elements of former pop songs and make them the basis of “new” songs. Ask yourself this the next time you listen to songs like these: Do you like the new song, or do you like the old song behind a new mask?

Even songs that have a basis in comedy, like Yung Gravy’s “Betty (Get Money)” (samples “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley), are profting of the efort put in by artists of yesteryear, rather than Gravy’s own musical poise.

But people love this trait of some popular songs. Let’s face it; they’re popular for a reason, and not everyone cares whether a sample takes advantage of the listener or is genuinely used to make something cool, new or entertaining.

That’s a fair opinion. I might be looking too far into these current songs and judging them too harshly. However, my biggest fear is not what songs like “First Class” or “Freak” are doing right now to backdoor their way into enjoyment by listeners.

I’m worried about the future.

Songs like “Super Freaky Girl” by Nicki Minaj (samples “Super Freak” by Rick James) are just the beginning. These are songs that prey

on our nostalgia and fail to use genuinely new elements simply to make it to the top of the Billboard charts.

But this attack on our deeper engagement with music in favor of lazy listening is paving the way for the future of lazy music creation that, I promise you, will hurt the art form as a whole.

It was only in November 2021 that Sting, legendary frontman of The Police, spoke of pop music in a similar way.

“In modern music, the bridge has disappeared,” Sting said in an interview.

This has been true for years now, but still rings importantly true. Sting is foreshadowing a deeper change based in artifcial intelligence and laziness that takes advantage of the listener for proft.

First it was the loss of the bridge. Now, it’s the beginning of the loss of the original melody. After that, it will be AI-based music without any artist involved.

There’s a future in which popular music doesn’t require anything more than a prompt to a ChatGPT-esque service. “Savages,”, a song posted only last month, features Jay Z. Except … not really.

It’s an entirely AI-based song that would fool virtually anyone into believing Jay Z is the lead on the track. And, honestly, it doesn’t entirely suck.

Another song generated by AI, “by” Drake and The Weeknd, does suck but apparently was good enough to stay posted on Spotify for a while after garnering nearly 7 million views on Twitter alone.

We’re entering a dangerous period of art history in which the defnition of art is shifting. Music is becoming less original to become more

popular. Artists like Kygo are remixing popular songs to gain more popularity without bringing more than a few dial switches to the table.

There is still a glimmer of hope. Not all samples, obviously, are lazy attempts to poach listeners rather than creating something new and great. Some songs, like “Vegas” by Doja Cat from the movie “Elvis,” are simply fantastic. Using the conte t of the flm and the original version of “Hound Dog” by Big Mama Thornton, Doja masterfully combines her expertise with the need to use the original song to make something genuinely worth listening to. On repeat.

There’s no reason we need to enter a brave new world of AI-generated, lazily sampled mu-

sic that simply wants to proft instead of making new, original art.

There’s no reason we can’t continue making original music that doesn’t cut corners.

We may be in an epidemic of lazy sampling paving the way toward a pandemic of artist-less music, but the world is not devoid of music made with genuine creativity and efort, with an interest in making art rather than content.

It’s not like we want our music to get simpler and less intricate.

Hell, “Bohemian Rhapsody” still goes hard no matter your age.

ankenedw@miamioh.edu

Family hurts in ‘Evil Dead Rise’

KASEY TURMAN STAFF WRITER

The Evil Dead franchise is alive and well. The characters can’t say the same.

The in-your-face action the franchise is known for continues in “Evil Dead Rise.” Just like past entries, brutal melee thrives in enclosed spaces, this time with the focus being a family trapped in a Los Angeles apartment.

Now, fghting a possessed mother hellbent on ending her family’s bloodline doesn’t sound easy. That’s because it’s not.

The “new” Necronomicon unleashes a type of deadite (the demonic enemy of the Evil Dead series) that is unseen so far in the series. The powers and motivation of Ellie, played by Alyssa Sutherland, are powered up compared to the original three movies. This deadite is closer to “Evil Dead” (2013) in its movements and thought process.

In another sense, nothing has changed. The deadite plays tricks on the survivors. Playing dead and changing into their non-possessed fgure are staples of the franchise that continue in “Rise.”

Sutherland’s performance brings the whole movie together. In the past, the deadites mirrored the main protagonist in their actions and lines. In this installment, Sutherland changes the emotion of every scene for the better.

Her movements and delivery of her lines add to a creepiness that is already crafted through the flm’s lighting and sound.

From the start of “Rise,” the audience knows that they’re back in the Evil Dead universe. The swinging following shots that ooze demonic possession are still a mainstay.

The technical shots that used to bend between trees now go from a city street to an apartment door, not a cabin. The new-to-the-franchise setting creates new unseen opportunities

for both horror and environmental storytelling.

The best shot in the movie comes from a set perspective through a peephole that shows action removed from the viewer. Throughout the movie, the directing combines action both closeup and distanced from the viewer in a way that keeps the audience frmly placed in their seats, void of a few jumps and yelps.

The lighting in every room creates an almost claustrophobic setting. The darkness encompasses the viewer and pushes them into the action. Even in a moment that is driving the

story or developing the characters, the setting screams terror and a soon-to-fail plan.

One of the key factors of the movie that allows it to be so great is its ability to stand alone. Yes, there are callbacks and references that are put in place for Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi fans. But director Lee Cronin makes it his own through his unique writing and directing.

One large diference in writing is the serious tone throughout the flm. “ vil ead” 1 has a similar nature, but the campiness of the original trilogy is gone. There is no humor, but

GRAPHIC BY REECE HOLLOWELL

that’s not the point of this movie.

If you like horror or thriller, “Evil Dead Rise” is for you. The flm combines ama ing acting, makeup and set design to create an atmosphere to get scared in.

The one-and-a-half-hour-long movie packs itself with references and new nightmare material that welcome fans new and old.

Rating: 8/10

turmankd@miamioh.edu

SADIE CHILDS THE MIAMI STUDENT REAGAN RUDE CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR

As the spring semester comes to a close, a new addition has been made to GrubHub on the Miami University campus: Starbucks. The recent change has afected both the workers at the on-campus Starbucks and the students who frequent the cofee shop. Further changes will be coming in the fall. Miami’s dining services recently announced the reopening of Bell Tower dining hall in fall 2023. The new, nontypical dining hall will include a “ghost” Starbucks where students can place orders online or at a kiosk.

At the start of the academic year, students who wanted to purchase Starbucks had to wait in line and order in person at the Shiver Center location. Now, not only has another Starbucks location re-opened in Withrow Hall, but students can order ahead and pay with their declining dollars using the GrubHub app for either location.

Olivia rello, a frst-year political science major who frequents Starbucks almost every day, prefers ordering ahead using the app.

“If I’m going in the morning before class, I like to be able to kind of time out when I need to leave and then get there because it’ll tell you when it’s ready,” Brello said.

Although ordering ahead can make planning easier, the wait times presented on the app are sometimes unreliable. Brello said, “It’s hit or miss.”

Juan Moya, a sophomore mechanical engineering major who works at the Withrow Starbucks location, said the system is normally accurate but a little behind.

“The most I’ve seen people waiting is 30 minutes past the time that they had,” Moya said. The in-person wait times have been afected by the addition of rubHub as well, as all the orders get put together at the Withrow Starbucks. If a customer orders in-person, their order will be put in the same place as a GrubHub order received at the same time.

However, the Shriver Center Star-

bucks does not combine its online and in-person orders, creating two separate wait times for customers, due to the high volume of orders at that location.

Joe Suek, a junior economics and math major and barista at Shriver Center, said the in-person line and wait has gone down at Shriver, and ordering in-person is likely faster than other options.

“Your best bet for getting a drink quickly is probably in-person,” Suek said. “It is probably going to go a little bit faster just because we can print that and put it in line immediately. If you order online, you’re way behind it; everyone’s already ordered online.”

The change has also impacted how busy the stores are on a daily basis. Both workers and students said that although the physical lines have gone down, there always seems to be more orders coming in.

“I feel like we’ve picked up a little more,” Moya said. “It makes it a lot more busy in peak times. It’s kind of rough.”

The longer wait times may not be permanent, though, when Bell Tower’s Starbucks opens up next fall.

Amanda Casey, director of dining services, said in an email to The Miami Student that Bell will include a “ghost” Starbucks, where students place their orders through a kiosk or app, and the cofee is prepared the same way as at other Starbucks locations on campus. Casey also noted that the updated Bell Tower won’t be a “typical” dining

hall, and a meal swipe won’t be required for entry.

“Orders will be placed through Grubhub kiosks or the Grubhub app, and the food will be prepared in the kitchen by our team,” Casey wrote. “Once ready, it will be picked up from a food locker.”

Miami’s dining services hope to shake up the on-campus dining experience with the revamped Bell Tower.

“It’s not just about meeting student demand, but also about bringing something truly innovative and exciting to campus,” Casey wrote. “We wanted to make a big splash with Bell Tower’s reopening, and what better way to do that than with an all-ghost kitchen dining hall, one of the frst of its kind?”

Despite the opening of an additional store, Suek said he doesn’t think a third on-campus Starbucks will reduce trafc at the other locations.

“Shriver is always super busy like this,” Suek said. “I think if you’re looking at upperclassmen, that’s where you’re gonna go, you’re driving and stuf. It’s really convenient for you in that regard. And I don’t see you going into a dining hall for Starbucks.” childssb@miamioh.edu rudere@miamioh.edu

KAITLIN MCDOWELL FOOD EDITOR

On April 25, Miami University’s dining services hosted what they called a “Plant Forward Picnic” at Western Dining Commons. This event was in an efort to promote the steps Miami is taking to serve more sustainable and plant-based foods.

In the true nature of a picnic, the chefs set up the bufet of options outside Western, along with many wooden tables for students to truly enjoy the food in nature. The dining staf also set up a picket fence around the event to give the illusion of being in a garden.

Upon walking outside the dining hall, students were given a tray — made of sustainable materials, of course — with enough spaces for each course ofered.

The frst food option was referred to as “crunchy bits.” These were cooked and seasoned edamame beans which were very tasty and a good plant-based protein option.

Ne t up on the menu were bufalo caulifower wraps, marketed as “cigars” due to their shape. These were another good source of plant-based protein.

My favorite part of the meal, though, had to be the cowboy caviar and watermelon salad.

Cowboy caviar is a bean salad made popular of TikTok that is composed of black beans, tomatoes, corn, edamame, red onion and avocado. This is one of my favorite things to make at home, so needless to say I was very excited to see it being served at the dining hall.

The watermelon salad was sim-

ilar to the cowboy caviar but a little sweeter. It contained corn, watermelon, avocado, red onion and feta cheese with a little more dressing than the cowboy caviar. These two dips contrasted each other very well.

The main course was two bao buns flled with vegan chori o and chicken. Bao buns are a popular hinese dish made of four, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil. These are rather sweet and defnitely a switch up from a traditional college student’s diet.

The frst ao bun was flled with vegan chorizo and topped with cabbage. This one was good, but I felt that the sweetness of the Bao bun overpowered the favor of what was inside, which was similar to spicy pork.

Next was the plant-based chicken topped with tortilla strips. I really liked this one as it tasted very similar to a taco, but the meat was a little spicy for my liking. I defnitely couldn’t have had more than one.

At the end of this food line, students were met with a table flled with free succulents to take to promote this new plant-based and sustainable agenda from Miami’s dining halls.

Overall this was one of my favorite events Western has hosted. I love to see the dining halls ofering healthier, and especially vegan options as many vegan-based students have struggled with fnding good choices in the past, even fnding meat in food options labeled vegetarian or vegan. I hope these eforts continue and we see meals like this more often in the dining halls next year.

SOPHIA MILLER THE MIAMI STUDENT

Oxford residents and visitors can soon fnd themselves at Wa e House, enjoying breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a late-night snack. The restaurant chain has plans to open a new location at 5000 College Corner Pike, perhaps as soon as this fall.

Wa e House will be open hours a day, providing the city with new, easily accessible food options. The restaurant is supposed to contribute to the city’s economic growth by increasing commerce and adding construction and food service jobs.

The Oxford City Council unanimously approved several variances to continue the Wa e House development at its March 21 meeting. Oxford’s Economic Development Specialist Seth Cropenbaker said variances like these are common.

“They’re in the breaking ground,” Cropenbaker said. He couldn’t give a defned date for when the Wa e House will be open for business as the supply chain is still experiencing severe disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite near-uncontested approval by the city government, various members of the public have raised complaints.

Cathleen Zion, an active member of St. Mary Roman Catholic Parish, was one of the most vocal opponents in the development. Like many other members of the church, she had concerns about litter on Mount Olivet the t. Mary’s-afliated cemetery ne t to the Wa e House property. he continued that Wa e House has nearly 2,000 restaurants.

“They don’t need Oxford,” she said. s a restaurant chain, Wa e House does have a plethora of already-established locations. According to the Wa e House website, there are already 80 in Ohio.

Ethan Corey, a biology student at Miami University, was excited for the Wa e House development until he learned of its location.

“Wa e House is my favorite place to spontaneously go to,” he said, “but it’s hard to spontaneously go to a place I cannot walk to.”

Kinesiology student Garrett Perry said any of his stops at the new restaurant would be late at night when other establishments are closed, not during normal business hours.

“If it’s breakfast time, I’m going to Bob Evans,” he said.

However, several city members have made it clear the Wa e House development is completely reason-

able, even if it wasn’t their frst choice for a restaurant.

Mayor William Snavely said City Council doesn’t have the power to decide which businesses come to Oxford as long as they abide by established policies and zoning.

“For the public’s information, we don’t choose tenants,” Snavely said. “We don’t choose which restaurants come to town. So that’s why it’s not a Panera.”

Typically, City Council receives less opposition than the Wa e House development. Yet, the city does not fnd complaints from the public to be frustrating.

“You get to see the democratic process unfold at these meetings,” Cropenbaker said. “It is the right of members of the community to express their feelings, regardless of how anyone else in the room may feel about it.”

mill2008@miamioh.edu

BARISTAS AT THE STARBUCKS IN

Journeying to gross places: Miami’s bathrooms, reviewed

CONNOR OVIATT MICHAEL PATTEE THE MIAMI STUDENT

Love and honor ’em, or hate ’em, we all have to use the public bathrooms that Miami University’s wonderful campus has to ofer. ut which ones should you go to often, and which ones should you stay away from We went across campus to fnd the best and scariest latrines.

Most resembles a war bunker — King Library

Most likely to have an awkward bro moment — Irvin Hall

When nature calls, you want to make sure you have a nice, comfortable seat on the thinking stool. However, this toilet in Alumni Hall will make you repeatedly bump into the wall. ood luck getting to that toilet paper. Most likely to see something you can’t unsee — The Rec

Creepiest bathroom — Harrison Hall

Of course Farmer has the most bougie urinals the world has ever seen. omehow, this bathroom is always spotless fnance ma ors don’t have the best aim . While intimidating for non- students, we recommend giving this one a try. We ust wouldn’t recommend going Number Two. Miami paid millions of dollars for this building but couldn’t set aside 1 for some two-ply toilet paper.

Honorable Mentions:

This one goes without saying. ll of the homies can understand our pain with this one. ven after removing the urinal on the far left, it just ain’t right. Most awkward arrangement — Alumni Hall

We support the right of everyone to use the pool at the Rec, and have a place to do their business afterward. However, some of the people at the Rec don’t really understand boundaries. We’ll ust leave it there.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of peeing with the cockroaches and avoiding the inward swinging bathroom doors of Harrison’s stalls, then you haven’t e perienced true terror. Straight out of a horror movie, the poor lighting and lack of maneuverability create the perfect ambush spot for Helen Peabody and all the other Miami ghosts. Most Professional — Farmer School of Business

Most likely to have a toilet stolen — Dodds Did you hear about the urinal smashing that took place earlier this year? Most likely to have pee on the foor — Brick It’s not if pee gets on the foor it’s when.

pattemj@miamioh.edu

oviattcc@miamioh.edu

HUMOR STAFF

House to debate debt ceiling bill as GOP confronts last-minute holdouts es, you read that right. Our House of Representatives currently is spending time debating the debt ceiling instead of debating issues that actually matter. Republicans want the ceiling to be painted pink and the emocrats want it to be painted brown.

rominent O leader Mitch Mc onnell thinks the ceiling needs to be pink because it’s his favorite color.

“I am a huge fan of Princess Peach and all she stands for,” Mc onnell said. “The least the O can do for her is paint the ceiling pink in her honor.” huck chumer, emocratic enate Majority Leader, says the ceiling needs to be brown because they can’t get shit done in ongress.

“The color of the ceiling needs to refect the progress we are making in the House and enate,” chumer said. “If we were getting things done then the color could be a happy color like orange or yellow.”

Woman lets intrusive thoughts win; bravely does what everyone wishes they could

Authorities arrested a 19-year-old woman after attacking and in uring three T agents Wednesday morning. Reports claim they have no idea what provoked this woman’s attack, but allow us to paint you a picture.

ou wake up at a.m. to make it to the airport by a.m. for your fight two hours later. Through your thick hangover, you get an Uber ride to the airport only to be shepherded into a security line snaking its way a mile from your gate. ll the while, you are being yelled at to, “Take your shoes of et out your electronics If you

TEDDY JOHNSON TRI LLI N CO-HUMOR EDITORS

have a acket, take it of ” There’s always the dreaded, ‘Oh, this is your favorite bottle of shampoo? Too bad, it’s one milliliter over the legal travel limit. Throw it in the trash ” This poor, hungover-stricken woman had enough. With her head throbbing and holding in the vilest puke known to man, she fnally snapped. t a.m., she charged the TSA agents, sending three of them to the hospital.

To all 10 people reading this article, do not pretend you’ve never fantasized about giving the T a piece of your mind. This woman ust gave them a piece of her fsts. The most incredulous aspect of this article is that the woman was awake enough to take down three agents before a.m. This really increases the confdence the merican people should have in the TSA to defend us against terrorists. ure, it takes more than three agents to take down a 1 -year-old, but a terrorist shouldn’t take more than fve agents. Right

Hammond mayor celebrates

4/20 Day with on-air smoke, good news for other local pot users

Tragedy struck the town of Hammond, Indiana, when the mayor lit a blunt and died on camera.

Luke la e, years old and ero months, was found deceased after livestreaming himself smoking mari uana to celebrate the popular internet holiday.

la e is the 1, , th mari uana casualty in the United States since the beginning of . “We are extremely disappointed at the passing of Mayor la e,” Hammond ity ouncil member llison enkins said.

la e’s death serves as a solemn warning of the dangers of mari uana. Millions of Americans each year succumb to the dangerous drug, despite the incredibly ef-

OPINION: Make It Miami kids would make me happy if they stopped judging me

Hula hoop competition between Greg Crawford and Elizabeth Mullenix breaks out in ASG pavilion, drawing crowd of hundreds

Gatlinburg, Tennessee, officially changes name to Fratlinburg due to overabundance of frat formals in the Smoky Mountain tourist trap town

UP Magazine sued by Disney Studios for stealing name from Pixar film

Climate change deniers cite 40-degree weather in May as ‘evidence global warming doesn’t exist’

Mothers from around Ohio invited to VIP experience at Yung Gravy concert; Miami claims it is a second alumni weekend

Rising sophomores relieved to find out they no longer have to be the dumb first-years at New Bar

Brick Street announces plans to launch a daycare over the summer to draw in younger crowd

Miami’s acceptance rate rising to 100% next term making it impossible for students not to get in

The Miami Student Humor section no longer smallest active section; chaos ensues in publication

Graduating finance major who does not have a dad at J.P. Morgan now looking for openings at your local fast food chain

fective and useful eforts of R .

Now, agencies that help warn kids about the dangers of marijuana are under attack. ust last week, Hugh . lount, mayor of Stonesville, Colorado, threatened to close schools due to their involvement in R . ocial media also continues to perpetuate lies.

lease, ensure that your kids aren’t being fed mari uana-related lies on TikTok. It is time we take the use of illicit drugs into our own hands.

Miami students skip classes to search for $25K rocks

This past week after loud sonic booms flled the air, a faming meteor landed in Maine. local museum, desperate to get its hands on this fantastically exceptional faming freball, has taken to bribing individuals for pieces of the rock.

This has inspired thousands of Miami niversity students to skip classes to try their hand at rock hunting. fter coming up empty handed, some Miami students have already returned from Maine because they only found “normal rocks.”

Sorority sister Samantha Smith stated that she ust wanted to fnd one of the rocks to get some apple uice money for her trips to rick treet.

In response to the mass exodus of students, the eology epartment declared that the ne t week of classes will be open to all and will focus on how to identify space rocks. In response to this, eology teachers are preparing for a increase in class attendance.

patteemj@miamioh.edu

john1595@miamioh.edu

sulli293@miamioh.edu oviattcc@miamioh.edu

his week, he iami tudent umor taf compiled a list of our favorite YikYaks, grammatical errors and all.

Miami housing at move in we’ve given you all specifc time and dates for when you should arrive to move in, along with bins and custodians to assist you.

Miami housing at move out

LI T N TO M ,, I HOW OR

WH N T T O M 1 T 7 M H R .

I couldn’t imagine growing up and thinking “I want to work in parking enforcement”.

fnals week Or my fnal week stay tuned

I truly have 0 sympathy when teachers complain about grading. I hope you’re as miserable grading as I was doing the assignment

This has been the longest week of my life and it’s on Monday

i could never abuse substances. i love substances the udgement i feel walking past the make it miami parents omw to darty

elling at Make It Miami students means there will be less students in the future to take your spot for registration. o your part.

This one is fairly self explanatory. The stall door looks like it could withstand a fame thrower. If a severe water balloon fght ever breaks out, I know where I’m headed.

Humor section rounds up what color the debt ceiling should be, 4/20 day and more

This week’s top YikYak posts

Humor writers are unable to come up with funny articles; lazily fall back on a ‘Headline Dump’

Get to know Miami basketball’s ‘fab five’: the 2023 recruiting class

ssociation state semifnals, along with Mitchell Rylee, who played for the RedHawks last year.

In the middle of his sophomore year of high school, Ipsaro received a call from Steele, who was working at Xavier University at the time. That early connection impacted Ipsaro’s decision to commit to Miami last summer.

“Right of the bat, I had that connection with him,” Ipsaro said.

“When he got the Miami job, he offered me a spot on his second day. That says a lot about the trust he has for me.”

Ipsaro is ecstatic about restoring Miami’s old history. He is ready to bring the basketball program back to where it once was.

“Miami hasn’t had a winning season in a long time,” Ipsaro said. “I’m excited to meet the team over the summer. Those are going to be my brothers for the next few years. I’m looking forward to meeting everybody and having a good experience with the team.”

Kotecki is looking to join the list of great basketball players that have graced Millett Hall. The basketball program has been sufering, but otecki wants to reinvigorate the team along with the other recruits.

“Recently, the program has been sufering, and our goal is to win the MAC again and compete at the highest level we can,” Kotecki said. “We want to show the country that we’re still Miami, and we can compete with these major programs and get the job done.”

Reece Potter — Lexington Catholic High School, Lexington, Kentucky Standing at 7 feet tall, Reece Potter is an interesting prospect for the RedHawks. When he was young, Potter was unsure if he wanted to play basketball full time. He split his time between baseball and basketball. But when he hit a massive growth spurt during his sophomore year, he fell in love with basketball and chose to play the sport full time.

KETHAN BABU THE MIAMI STUDENT

When Travis Steele got hired to be Miami University’s 28th head men’s basketball coach in March 2022, RedHawk fans were most excited about his recruiting chops. Steele recruited two national top-twenty classes in four years at his last head coaching job, just down the road at Xavier.

Already, Miami is reaping the benefts of having hired teele. The incoming recruiting class for Miami basketball is the program’s best in many years. Already, people are calling these guys Miami’s own fab fve.’ et to know each of the fve below.

Mekhi Cooper — Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook, Illinois Basketball has always been a big part of Mekhi ooper’s life. He frst started playing at 5 years old when he and his brother would compete against each other often.

Cooper played for Bolingbrook High School outside Chicago, Illinois. During his time there, he was nominated for All-Conference and Player of the Year. In his junior year, his team made it to the state championship, which remains a highlight of his high school career. When it was time to commit to a college, Cooper was impressed by the coaching staf at Miami niversity. Travis Steele and the rest of the basketball coaching staf showed genuine interest for Cooper, which pushed him to commit to Miami.

“The coaching staf was a big part of my decision,” Cooper said. “All the coaches are understanding. They’re good people of the basketball court

too. They push me to be the best person I can be.”

After meeting the other incoming frst-year players, ooper’s e pectations for the team were raised.

“It was good to meet the other guys,” Cooper said. “I knew Jackson Kotecki, so I was already cool with him. It was good to meet the guys and play with them. We all ft and got along.”

Cooper is hoping to bring his skills to Miami and make his mark. He feels that he and the other recruits can step up and prove that they belong on the team. Cooper is excited for the new experience and opportunities presented to him.

“I’m excited for it all, and I’m ready to go,” Cooper said. “I’ve been in Bolingbrook my whole life, so I’m ready for new experiences and opportunities. I’m excited to get on the court.”

Eian Elmer — Taft High School, Cincinnati, Ohio

Eian Elmer started playing basketball after his family moved from Texas to Kentucky when he was 4 years old. Throughout his career at Taft High School in Cincinnati, Elmer brought success to the basketball program. In 2022, Elmer and the Taft basketball team won the Division III state championship for the frst time since 2011.

Elmer is very team-oriented. He believes that his play style is similar to that of LeBron James.

“LeBron likes to get his team involved,” Elmer said, “and I feel like that’s how I play. I afect the game in every way possible.”

When he was choosing where to play at the next level, Elmer found

himself intrigued by Miami’s coaching staf and energetic athletic department.

“Miami was one of the frst schools interested in me,” Elmer said, “and it’s the college I’ve been around the most. The energy there is better than any other place I’ve been to.”

For Elmer, the opportunity to play with an outstanding recruiting class is the most exciting aspect of playing at Miami. Before committing, Elmer already knew Reece Potter and Evan Ipsaro from Kentucky, where he used to play against them.

“I knew they were good,” Elmer said, “so it’s going to be good to fnally play with them. I feel like we’re going to make a diference on the team.”

Evan Ipsaro — Covington Catholic High School, Covington, Kentucky van Ipsaro’s frst e perience with basketball came after watching his older brother play in the second grade. From that moment on, Ipsaro fell in love with the sport.

In his frst year of high school, Ipsaro and his older brother led the New Richmond High School basketball team to its frst conference championship in school history. This experience taught Ipsaro how to be a leader for his team.

“We didn’t have a single senior on the team,” Ipsaro said. “The team looked to me to lead them.”

In his sophomore year, Ipsaro transferred to Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky. While playing basketball there, Ipsaro made his mark as a team-player. As a junior at Covington Catholic, Ipsaro and the basketball team made it to the Kentucky High School Athletic

Jackson Kotecki — Saint Ignatius College Prep, Chicago, Illinois Jackson Kotecki’s love for basketball was instilled in him when he was 2 years old, playing on a mini hoop with his dad. He grew up watching Kevin Durant, who became his favorite player and made him want to start playing basketball. At Saint Ignatius College Prep, Kotecki and the basketball team made it to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) 3A state championship in for the frst time since 2000. Though the team didn’t win the championship, just making it to the semi-fnals was a memorable experience for Kotecki. They would make the state playofs again the following year. Kotecki believes that his versatility can be an aid to any team he plays for.

“I can stretch the foor and run,” Kotecki explained. “I like to think I’m pretty versatile. My height creates bigger mismatches for the opposing team because not many teams have 6’9” players that can guard another 6’9” player on the wing.”

In his junior year, Kotecki noticed many of his senior teammates committing to Miami, which led him to research the school for his own decision. When Kotecki visited campus, he said the coaching staf already had a plan for his development.

“Coach Steele and the other coaches have been mentoring me on how they want me to play, and it felt like they had a full plan before I even committed on how they were going to develop me,” Kotecki said. “No coach has ever done that for me. It was a no-brainer to come to Miami.”

Throughout his career at Lexington Catholic High School, Potter has impacted the game on both ofense and defense. Despite his numerous accomplishments, including making the Kentucky All-Stars team in 2023, Potter’s favorite memory was playing in front of the student section of his high school.

“We have a great student section that comes out to a lot of our games,” otter said. “ laying in the region fnals with all my friends in the crowd and playing with some of my best friends on the court was awesome.”

Along with Ipsaro, Potter was one of the 10 Kentucky players to make the All-Bluegrass Prep Team, which honors the state’s top players based on their versatility and contributions to their teams.

t frst, otter was going to commit to Xavier University for the opportunity to play under Steele. When Steele left Xavier for Miami, Potter was invited to visit and instantly knew he wanted to play for the Redhawks.

“The coaching staf is younger, which is really nice because you can relate to them more, and all of them have played some level of college basketball,” Potter said. “Coach Summers played the big man role, so he fts my play style.”

Above all else, Potter is excited to prove himself at Miami and restore the basketball program to its former glory.

“I’m excited to come in and do whatever I can to help the team get back to winning,” Potter said. “I’m looking to put Miami back on the basketball map.”

@thekethan04

babukc2@miamioh.edu

From Miami to Florida: two RedHawks’ paths to Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning

AMES RADWAN

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Despite these last few years, which can only be described as rocky, Miami University’s men’s hockey team has a long and rich history of turning out amazing players.

In the history of Miami’s hockey program, six former RedHawks have gone on to win Stanley Cups. They include Dan Boyle in 2004, Kevyn Adams in 2006, Alec Martinez in 1 and 1 , ef atkof in 1 , Mitch Korn (who coached, rather than played, at Miami) in 2018 and Blake Coleman in 2020 and 2021.

Of these six Cup winners, allow your attention to be drawn to the frst and si th an oyle and Blake Coleman (2020/2021). Despite the years between their graduations and their Stanley Cups, Miami’s least and most recent Stanley Cup winners have something in common other than the fact that they’ve both been talented and fortunate enough to hoist hockey’s most prestigious trophy.

Both Boyle and Coleman won all of their Stanley Cups (three, combined) with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Beyond that, these are the only three Stanley Cups ever won by the Lightning in their 32 years of franchise history.

The team has never won a Stanley Cup without a Miami RedHawk alumnus playing for it.

“It is a team sport, but I like to think I was a pretty important part of winning that Cup,” Boyle said of his experience winning the Cup with the Lightning in 2004. “I think the reason why we won is that we were a tightknit group of the ice. ou can be a good player, but you have to be a good person, too.”

The Lightning appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015 and 2022, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks and the Colorado Avalanche, respectively. Neither the 2015 team

nor the 2022 team had a RedHawk alum on the roster.

In fact, Boyle and Coleman are the only two RedHawks to have ever played with the Lightning.

This means that the RedHawks and the Lightning have a stellar record when paired together — when it comes to Stanley Cups, at least. The only other team with such a record is the Carolina Hurricanes (with Kevyn Adams, the only RedHawk alum to have ever played on that team).

What makes the connection between the RedHawks and the Lightning so infallible (up to this point, at least)? Goggin Ice Arena, the RedHawks’ home base, and Amalie Arena, where the Lightning play, are a 959mile drive apart — so how do two separate Miami alumni end up winning Stanley Cups with the same team?

Part of this connection is simply the players themselves.

Boyle, for instance, was always known as the underdog — or, quite literally, the smaller one. A man standing at -foot-11 may not be seen as short of the ice, but in hockey, size is sometimes seen as everything — a stereotype that Boyle worked tirelessly to shatter both during his time at Miami (1994-1998) and after.

“I’d hoped [to go pro], but it was never something that I truly thought about or could see myself doing,” Boyle said. “I was told I was going to be too small to make it, so I wasn’t overly anxious on the idea that I was going to get drafted.” Sure enough, Boyle went undrafted after his graduation from Miami.

On the other hand, Coleman’s journey to the Cup began with a draft before he even became a RedHawk.

Drafted into the New Jersey Devils as a prospect in the 2011 draft — much like current RedHawks Logan Neaton and Red Savage are prospects for the Winnipeg Jets and the Detroit Red Wings, respectively — Coleman played for Miami from 2011 to 2015.

Coleman’s coach during his time at Miami, former RedHawk coach Enrico Blasi, is still one of his biggest fans.

“[Coleman was] very competitive, skilled, [a] very good skater and hardnosed to play against,” Blasi wrote in an email to The Miami Student. “Blake always had a very competitive spirit and wanted to do well. [The] value to play for something bigger than yourself allowed guys like Blake [to] move on to the NHL being prepared not only physically but emotionally and intellectually.”

Coleman also had the opportunity to play in the new Goggin Ice Center, which was built in 2006 — an experience that Boyle, playing in the old Goggin Ice Arena, never got. But there were other similarities and diferences between the two. Despite both standing at 5-foot-11, Coleman was drafted — and Boyle wasn’t.

But that didn’t stop Boyle from pursuing his dream. After playing three seasons with the Florida Panthers organization — two in the American Hockey League and one in the NHL — the defenseman was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he eventually won the Cup just one season later, his second with the Bolts.

“[The Lightning] was the last-place team in the League when I got there,” Boyle said, “but we won the Cup in two years. I’m proud of the turnaround. We all accomplished something that you don’t see in professional sports very often.”

This turnaround was, in part, thanks to Boyle. Hockey is a team sport, of course, but Boyle led the Lightning’s defensemen in points with 39 (nine goals and 30 assists) in the 2004 season.

This is an abridged version. To read the full story visit miamistudent. net

Names to watch in the Miami women’s basketball head coaching search

NISSO SACHA THE MIAMI STUDENT

For the fourth time in his tenure, David Sayler is faced with the task of fnding a new head coach for Miami University’s women’s basketball team following the resignation of e nna Hendrix. Here are some names to watch as the search begins.

Colleen Day Henderson

Day Henderson has been a hot prospect among fans on social media.

In 1 , she was inducted to Miami’s Hall of Fame and earned three degrees from the university. he was one of the most successful basketball players in Miami’s history, leading Miami to a M championship in . he ranks among Miami’s alltime career leaders in eight ma or categories.

Day Henderson most recently served as the Associate Head Coach for the University of Akron, also leading the team’s recruiting eforts. ay Henderson could bring strong loyalty to the program, something Miami has benefted from in the case of arolyn Condit, who has coached the volleyball team for 39 years.

However, in Sayler’s previous hires, he tends to hire those with head coaching e perience, something ay Henderson lacks. Sayler may not be willing to take the risk considering the shaky ground the program currently stands on.

Michelle Clark-Heard

fter a tough season, fnishing - 1, lark-Heard was fred from her head coaching position at the niversity of incinnati , following her third season below . . uring her fve year tenure, lark-Heard was 77 . Clark-Heard has 12 years of head coaching e perience, with an overall record of 252-155 (0.619.) ClarkHeard was Western Kentucky University’s W head coach for fve years, transforming the program during her time.

She led the team to three NCAA tournament appearances and won three conference tournament championships and two regular season conference titles. Her time at WKU and UC showcased her ability to develop players and make a quick impact on a team.

Carla Morrow

Morrow currently serves as Ohio State University’s (OSU) associate head coach for its women’s program,

Darweshi Hunter: ‘As a team I expect us to win the whole thing’

M RON OHN ON THE MIAMI STUDENT

RedHawks’ faithful fans can expect this upcoming season.

a position she has held since 2019. Morrow helped lead the team to a strong 8-8 record and its frst N lite ight appearance in years in 2022-23. The 2022-23 team had its best start in program history, going on a 1 - run and being one of three teams across the country to be undefeated in January 2023.

rior to O , Morrow was an assistant coach in the WN , working for the hicago ky for three years where she helped develop stars Diamond eshields and llie uigley. She also was an assistant coach for Xavier University for 11 seasons, solidifying her e perience in Ohio’s recruiting territory.

Melissa Jackson

ackson’s head coaching contract with the University of Akron was not e tended this ebruary, making the 2022-23 season her last at UA. The team fnished with a 17-1 record and an appearance in the M tournament. ackson fnished her term with a 7 - record over her fve seasons. In the 2021-22 season, Akron made an appearance in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

As head coach, Jackson had multiple tournament wins including the 1 uerto Rico lasico. uring her time at Akron, which included six years as an associate head coach, Jackson became the all-time winningest frst-year head coach with 1 wins.

Carlos Knox

fter winning in his debut game as a head coach, Knox failed to make a strong impact on the Indiana ever, missing the playofs with a - 1 record in . ut his coaching showed promise that Miami could take advantage of. uring his term with the ever, no had many bright spots, especially in playmaking. His coaching can be heard on many Fever broadcasts from this past season. The most prolifc scorer in Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) history and a former NCAA player of the year, Knox is a vocal leader with more than years of coaching e perience. long with coaching the ever and playing professionally for the Indiana acers, no has e perience playing abroad and coaching with I I, the University of Cincinnati and the University of North Texas.

@NissoSacha sachanz@miamioh.edu

On April 12, it was announced that the RedHawks would be getting some much needed help at the guard position with the addition of 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior Darweshi Hunter.

Hunter’s decision to come play for the RedHawks was fueled by multiple factors.

“It was a few things,” Hunter said. “It’s close to home, I trust in what oach teele has going over there at Miami. Of course, we played them last season; I like what they did over there. They beat us once. We beat them once. oth games were competitive, and I en oy the M conference, so that also played a factor.”

Born in 2000, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Dwayne and Natasha Hunter, arweshi attended high school only 22 miles away from Oxford at Princeton High chool on the outskirts of incinnati. There, he averaged 17. points per game and 1. assists as a senior.

Hunter played his frst year of college at the ivision II H entral State in Wilberforce, Ohio, in 2019. He averaged .7 points, .1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, earning all outhern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team and Freshman of the Year honors. He then transferred to Weber State in tah, where he averaged . points, 1. assists and . rebounds per game as a sophomore. Hunter also described what the

“ s far as me, I’m gonna play hard every night,” Hunter said. “I can defnitely shoot the ball, so a lot of threes are gonna be going in. I’m good on defense, so a lot of good defense, and as a team I expect us to win the whole thing, win the regular season and the M and then go to the N tournament. This is my last season of college basketball, so I’m trying to go all out.”

fter his disappointing sophomore year, Hunter transferred to Northern Illinois, where he spent the ne t two seasons. Though he had another subpar year as a unior, he followed it up by averaging a solid . points, 3.0 assists and 0.5 rebounds per game in games played and eight starts last season. He also shot 42.1% from three, which put him in the top 150 in the country. Considering that Miami shot from three as a team last season, which was 225th in the country, Hunter’s shooting should provide a much-needed boost.

Miami Head oach Travis teele is happy to have Hunter on his side now.

“Having played against him, which was great for us, seeing him twice live as well as watching several game flms over the course of the year preparing for Northern Illinois, arweshi is going to bring a veteran maturity to our team that we really need,” teele said. “He’s a guy that can really impact both ends of the foor. Obviously he’s a prolifc shoot-

er. You look at his numbers, he was one of the best shooters in the league last year, and he’s ” and strong.”

Steele is also excited about the potential of Hunter’s leadership, especially with a promising group of fve recruits coming in for theseason.

“He’s been through college basketball practices, he’s lifted, he’s been through some tough losses, he has seen some good wins, he has seen a little bit of everything, and I think that goes a long way in college basketball,” teele said. “We are bringing in fve freshmen, and our guys are going to be very young, but we have a good blend with some older guys as well, and I think you need that in the current landscape of college basketball.” Hunter also hopes to keep playing after graduation.

“I’m defnitely going to try and continue my playing career.” Hunter said. “Hopefully the NBA of course but also overseas, ust trying to keep playing and make some money from it.

In his two games played against the RedHawks this past season, Hunter scored 14 points and nine points respectively, with one loss and one win. His increase in production year after year is no doubt a positive sign for Miami, whose youth combined with Hunter’s veteran leadership can only mean there are brighter days ahead for the RedHawks.

@c__j30

john1610@miamioh.edu

Miami football notebook: what we learned at the Miami football spring showcase

HM L IN R SPORTS EDITOR

When Silas Walters woke up on aturday morning, he never e pected what was about to happen to him.

“I ust thought he was pulling me up for the coin toss,” Walters said. Miami niversity football’s spring showcase took place last Saturday at the Dauch Indoor Sports Center which is east of ager tadium. efore kickof, Miami conducted a coin toss to see who would get the ball frst in the scrimmage, which was open to the public.

“We’re gonna have a coin fip to decide who goes frst,” Martin said. “ i is gonna call it. ou got two choices now. If you win the fip, you either get to pick ofense or defense, or whether you want to be on scholarship at Miami.”

There was no time for a toss. Michael owell, who was lined up opposite Walters for the fip, got to him frst, and soon after, Walters was mobbed by the whole team.

Gabbert is the guy

When asked to list a depth chart at quarterback at this point of the schedule, Martin was quick to name abbert his number one guy,

followed by last year’s backup Aveon Smith and then Colorado transfer Maddo opp.

“Obviously Maddo ust got here in anuary,” Martin said. “ He’s got a high ceiling. veon also, which we’d e pect with all his game e perience last year, is a totally diferent this fall. Took a giant step forward throwing, commanding our ofense.”

huck Martin said his staf has put more on abbert’s plate this season, especially when it comes to postsnap reads.

“That’s been my ob since day one,” abbert said. “It’s gonna be my ffth year I’m gonna be . I have a lot of games under my belt I’ve won a lot of games. I like having more on my plate. It gives me more chances to do more stuf and it helps take more pressure of the other guys.”

Last season abbert dealt with two in uries and only started four games. irst, he sustained a clavicle in ury in the fnal minutes of the frst game of the year against entucky on Sept. 3, 2022. That one required surgery. He returned to play on Oct. , , but sustained an ankle in ury three weeks later against Ohio niversity.

“Brett will put up really really ridiculous numbers for us ne t year,”

Martin said. “That’s the goal play good around rett I feel as good about our quarterback situation as I’ve ever felt in 1 years of coaching.”

Defense is coming along Miami only allowed . points per game last season, good for best in the M . ccording to senior defensive back Michael owell, this year could be even better for the RedHawk defense.

“We’re in a better position than we were last year,” owell said.

Miami’s defense e pects to return nine starters from its M -best unit last season. Dowell isn’t the only person who’s optimistic about the unit.

“We’re trying to fll some holes,” Matt alopek, a redshirt unior linebacker and one of the team’s leaders, said. “We’re in a good spot right now, and we’re gonna come back in the fall and see who steps up to fll those remaining spots. ut we feel really good as a whole right now.”

Many players, one spot: the o en i e ine Miami lost two ofensive linemen to power fve programs this ofseason. Last year’s starting center Rusty Feth transferred to Iowa, and the starting left guard aleb hafer is now at Oklahoma. ut am aughan, who was slated

to be the starting left tackle last year but got hurt in game one, will be back, along with the other three starters from 2022.

“I’m ust really e cited to put my helmet back on and get back out there,” aughan said. “It hasn’t always been easy these last nine months, but I ust can’t wait to get back out on the feld. I’m blessed to have that opportunity in my future.”

The right side of the line, tackle Reid Holskey and guard olby orders, are returning, as well as last year’s eventual left tackle Will Jados. Martin said he’s still not sure whether ados or aughan will play left tackle, but he expects them both to be starters. That leaves one spot on the line open. aughan listed si players who he believed could be in the mix for that spot. Martin echoed his sentiment.

“We have a lot of ofensive linemen who want to play,” Martin said. “We have a lot of guys who had great springs. We’re in a good position.”

Skill positions are murky or receivers, Martin said that sophomores Reginald irgil and avon Tracy had great springs.senior Miles Marshall is the only returning receiver who caught a pass last season, and he’s expected to be

the number one option.

Miami also brought in two transfers this ofseason, senior oe Wilkins from Notre ame, and unior age Larvadain from outheastern Louisiana (D1 FCS).

“If you say, Hey, which group had the biggest ump this ofseason ’” Martin said. “The receiver group, no doubt.”

s for the running backs, last year, Miami had fve non-quarterbacks rush the ball 10 or more times. Three of them are back. Rashad Amos transferred from South Carolina this ofseason, and Miami fans are buing about his speed and shiftiness. Miami’s frst game of is on riday, ept. 1, against the other Miami, the niversity of Miami, in oral ables, lorida. ick time and television details of the battle of the Miamis have not yet been announced, but it’s one of the most anticipated matchups of Week 1.

This is an abridged version. To read the full story visit miamistudent.net

@jackschmelznger schmelj2@miamioh.edu

The 17th annual MUF&D fashion show is absolutely ‘ethereal’

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

In all gold and black, senior botany and fashion double major Laura Schonken’s “Paisley Isles” collection ofered a glimpse into the alace of Versailles. The models walking the catwalk would ft right into an art gallery, matching the golden frames and Renaissance art. At the same time, the collection had a 100% ’70s feel. Most of the pieces use the same material a stunning gold, paisley brocade. Subtle fringe adorns corset tops, skirts and eans. implistic and sleek, “Paisley Isles” had a rich and

consistent contribution toward the entire theme.

By far one of the most eye-catching collections in the show was senior art and entrepreneurship double major Katie and senior art education major Molly Ensor’s “We’re All Going to Limbo.” Quilted materials and baby blues matching with stark bright reds looked like something out of “The Shining.” Bows, leg warmers and red star decals tied the pieces to the theme. Harnesses and leather chokers were staple accessories in the collection, adding a grunge

How my first year on campus changed my style

GIANNA COLARICH THE MIAMI STUDENT

I spent the entirety of my high school career in business casual. la ers, heels, pleated skirt and quarter ips consumed my 1 - to 18-yearold wardrobe, all paving the way for a “ est ressed” senior superlative win. s I packed up my closet for my frst year at Miami niversity, I felt ready to enter “ . rew .” I spent the weeks before I left stocking up on a preppy wardrobe I thought I needed. To my surprise, I noticed a much more laid-back approach to fashion from other students when I stepped onto campus.

The shell shock really set in when I woke up for my frst 8 a.m. class. To no one’s surprise, the last thing I wanted to do was walk a mile across campus in my -inch heels or a tweed blazer in the sweltering August humidity. I was thrown yet another curveball when, under almost every single syllabus, was a dress code. Being both a dancer and a theatre major, the words “dress for movement” became all too familiar to me. It quickly became clear that my preppy, formal wardrobe wasn’t going to cut it, and it was time to embrace a more casual college look. I started to take note of the style of

my peers and spent half of my frst semester confused as to how everyone seemed so put together yet so efortless at the same time. I saw students embracing comfort over style, as well as various social media trends refected in Miami style, most notably athleisure, the of-duty model and clean girl look. By the end of the semester, I was no stranger to these trends, either.

I found freedom in merging my style with campus fashion, creating a wardrobe that’s both practical and professional. My heels became tennis shoes and my mini skirts transformed into biker shorts and fare leggings. As I began dressing casually, I found I took myself less seriously and allowed myself to have fun when it came to choosing my daily outft and how I presented myself to the world.

Most importantly, I noticed I was ust as comfortable in my appearance dressing for comfort as I was in snappy casual. It allowed me to be more fe ible for whatever student life threw at me.

My frst year fipped my world upside down, so it’s no surprise my style changed along with it. And if Miami had a “ est ressed” superlative, I can’t say I would be likely to win it now. But I can say I have found a wardrobe that is a refection of who I am, not how I wanted people to view me.

colarigi@miamioh.edu

feel to the whole thing. A blue dress with no arm-holes and a thick swallowed-tailed collar grabbed the audience’s attention, as such a unique piece wasn’t e pected of this theme. Such a Kubrick-esque collection felt very far out there, yet it tied to “ thereal” perfectly. It felt vintage yet modern and hardcore yet playful. There was nothing like it, and it was refreshing to see such a funky take to the theme. The fnal collection was senior fashion and art education double major Maeve Vulcan’s second col-

lection of the night, “Transcend.”

“Transcend” was the perfect closer to the show, and the audience was stunned as ’8 s arbie models paraded around in “Barbarella” bodysuits and chaps.

“Transcend” could have easily passed as a Thierry Mugler collection, or possibly even ivienne Westwood. The cream and turquoise color scheme was glamorous and combined the coastal cowboy aesthetic with a retro aesthetic. Knee-high white boots completed the look with a V-neck bodysuit and turquoise/

black mesh cape, and the entire outft screamed, “Take a ride to heaven.”

The M fashion show fowed together perfectly, no matter how contrasting each collection was. The theme meant something diferent for everyone and our student designers here at Miami proved that no matter the interpretation, “ thereal” is something that can be e perienced by all.

This is an abridged version. To read the full story, visit www.miamistudent.net. leeam8@miamioh.edu

Are we in the retail renaissance?

LANDON MORRISON

THE MIAMI STUDENT

On a quick weekend trip home, my frst stop was, of course, my hometown mall. A little retail therapy was needed as the semester was quickly coming to a close.

I have a ritual when I go to my mall. I park in almost the same spot, walk the same route — although the store I cut through recently closed, so it has changed — and walk into my favorite store, J. Crew. s I was shopping the sales racks last time, I noticed that the racks were fuller, the store was clean and the promotional material included top notch tables scattered with catalogs as if we had entered a store from the ’90s. And then I thought – have we entered a retail renaissance?

Many retailers, such as my closet staple, . rew, were at death’s door as the pandemic was beginning. ust fve years ago, . rew fled chapter eleven bankruptcy protection, bercrombie and Fitch was on the downturn in sales and closed many of its fagship locations abroad and and anana Republic closed a total of stores in alone. Lastly, Coach was on no one’s radar. However, while the threat of on-

line sales has been known for many years, it seems as though the pandemic might have changed peoples’ thoughts on how sacred human interaction with a sales associate actually is.

Many of these stores have come back from the ashes. Abercrombie has had surging popularity with not only shoppers but also stock holders, having one of the most successful social media rebrands in recent retail history. Now targeting an older demographic after having once served teenagers, bercrombie has e panded si ing selections and proudly displays a wider variety of well-crafted items.

Coach has become the hottest handbag maker on the market, creating new thoughtful designs such as the pillow tabby and reviving some greats from the archive. The brand has truly had a comeback, especially with younger consumers. Coach has become a lively brand on TikTok and has embraced making the Earth greener by launching a new brand of bags, oachtopica, made e clusively from recycled materials.

anana Republic has created a whole new image by harking back to its past, using warm tones, e ploration imagery and heritage pieces such as plored est. imilarly, .

Crew has launched its fourth anniversary campaign, reminiscing with celebrities over the catalogs of the past and reviving and releasing a limited amount of its classic roll neck sweaters from the archives.

o what is happening Is it the nostalgic marketing of Banana Republic and . rew that is bringing back consumers of the past Have brands fnally understood how to appeal to en as they are able to make their own fashion decisions? Or have we missed social interaction and are embracing the shopping mall again rands are e pected to adapt to ever-changing consumer habits and trends. ome brands easily adapt and evolve time and time again. Others are victims of fast trends and quick deaths. The threat of fast fashion and online sales have pushed classic brick-and-mortar brands to evolve, and some are doing it better than the fast fashion pioneers that nearly killed them. While all of my questions have surely come into play, one thing is certain – many mall brands have entered their own renaissance to compete with fast fashion and are doing it very well.

“M.I.A. (MOOD IN AMBIVALENCE)”

GRAPHIC BY MACEY CHAMBERLIN

My Miami Rules

AMES RADWAN EDITOR-AT-LARGE

When I was a frst-year at Miami University and new to the opinion section here at The Miami Student, a senior opinion writer named Kirby Davis closed out the year with a column listing everything she’d learned during college. Inspired by her work, I began to write my own rules over my time at Miami, starting a list that has spanned these last four years.

That was back when senior year seemed so far away, when an editor’s role at The Student was just a dream — when I hadn’t even met any of the people who would soon become my closest friends at The Student. I had found a home here, even if I didn’t know how far I would go — or how many articles I would write (this makes 65).

I think it is only right that, like Davis, my last article here be the “rules” I wish I had been told when I frst got to Miami — some important things I learned about the world during my time here.

1. Not everyone is as excited about snow as you are. But hey, you’re allowed to love things. Don’t let anyone make fun of you for that.

2. If you feel like people are shutting you out, they probably are — and they’re not worth it. People change — that’s out of your control. ou’ll fnd people who won’t ever treat you badly, and those are worth knowing.

3. Always add an extra cycle in the

dryers in residence halls.

4. Sometimes it’s worth it to wake up early, and sometimes it’s more worth it to get extra sleep.

5. Put an energy drink in the fridge the night before an early morning so you have a cold one when you wake up.

6. Don’t be afraid to realize you’re an adult one day.

7. If a get-together starts at 10 p.m., don’t show up at 10. You will be embarrassed, and your Snapchat memories will remind you of this day every year for all of time. Being late is not the monster you grew up believing it to be — nor is skipping class sometimes.

8. Buy a hand vacuum.

9. Every relationship takes work, and you might learn this the hard way. But if you cling too hard to something dwindling, it’s going to crash and burn — so trust your gut.

10. Metamora, Indiana, should be more beloved by Miami students, especially during October, when it turns into a city-wide “haunted house.” On that note, curate a silly little playlist for the 30-minute drive there — and beware of the ghost dog on your way.

11. Learn to budget.

12. You’re not better than other people for not laughing at stupid stuf — and no one likes a holier-than-thou attitude.

13. When you feel your emotions too strongly, write them all down. It may save your life.

14. Take pictures and videos of ev-

Another Ohio House bill threatens the power of the public

SAM NORTON GREENHAWKS EDITOR

With much of the recent political focus in the past few weeks centered around the highly controversial Ohio Senate Bill 83, another contentious new state bill has been brought forward that takes more power away from the people.

Ohio House Bill (H.B.) 507 was due to be put into efect on pril 7, but was temporarily halted and has yet to be signed into law. This bill takes away many of the measures in place that allowed state parks and the citizens they serve to push back against oil fracking on public land, making it much easier for oil companies to set up operations in state parks.

Having frst learned about this bill in my IES 275: Principles of Environmental Science class the week of April 19, I was reminded once more of it this past Saturday, while at Earth Fest in Oxford’s Memorial Park. People were handing out fyers with information about the bill, as well as a petition urging Governor Mike DeWine to reverse his decision, bringing up that he promised to “... continu[e his] administration’s policy of prohibiting any new surface use access in our state parks.”

Despite this statement, the bill

requires state parks to lease land to fracking companies that are registered with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Deemed unconstitutional by many environmental advocates, these groups are suing the state of Ohio for improper legal processes that led up to the creation of the bill.

Having started of as a bill regarding poultry regulations, the information about fracking requirements on state lands was added later and isn’t explicitly mentioned in the bill’s name, which is part of what the environmental groups are suing about.

Imagine wishing to take the afternoon and go to Hueston Woods for a hike, only for the natural scenery and peaceful quiet provided by protected forests to be interrupted by fracking pads, pipelines and new roads tearing through the serenity. State parks are protected for a reason, given to the public as an avenue of recreation and escape from the hassles of everyday life, and should not be for sale.

Along with the aesthetic troubles, underground hydraulic fracking poses other risks. These include a tremendous amount of water used in the wells drawn from precious freshwater sources, polluted wastewater after the process is over, methane emissions, the possibility of chemical spills and

Redefining my disability

I never thought that I would identify as disabled. As a society, we tend to avoid disability and push it of to the side. I’ve heard many say that disability is only for older people and leave it at that.

Disability is a scary thing; it can mean a loss of identity or friends, and as we avoid this difcult topic, we forget that it is the largest minority that anyone can join at any time.

Growing up, I had never understood what it meant to be disabled. I hadn’t yet developed my chronic illness, and my only interaction with the disability community was seeing the “special education” (more accurately labeled as accessible education) classrooms along the hallway of my primary schools.

Although I’m sure I have grown up with more disabled individuals than I reali e, their respective diferences were hidden away and treated as a shameful secret.

In the last semester of senior year in high school, most students are ecstatic, absolutely thrilled to be free from school and out of their parents’ reach. In the fnal semester of my senior year, I spent most days in various doctors’ ofces and sitting in bed, wondering why my entire body hurt.

Like most 18-year-olds, I had no idea where I was going with my life. I had a vague sense of direction and chose my college with what little I knew about myself. After months of questions that kept piling up and answers nowhere to be found, we had a moment of diagnostic success and ran from there.

People’s interactions with dis-

erything, lest you forget.

15. The things that are out of your comfort zone might just turn out to be your favorites of all. (The Student, I’m looking at you.)

16. You’ll wait a really long time to get things you’ve earned sometimes, but it’s worth it in the end. eople notice the efort you put in, even if they don’t tell you.

17. You know what’s best for yourself in the end, but other people have great ideas, too. Let them help you. (Some context: one of my professors, José Domínguez-Búrdalo, convinced me to add a Spanish major and join a Combined Spanish BAMA that then set me up for a dream career. Thanks, José!)

18. By the end of college, not everyone is going to like you, and that’s okay, no matter how much you may want everyone you meet to love you. No matter what, even if you lived life your way, and you’re proud of what you’ve accomplished, you can’t control other people. All you can do is live.

19. Go do that thing you’ve always wanted to do, because when you succeed, you are going to be so ecstatically proud of yourself. (This one’s for Onyx.)

20. Here’s the most important one of all, so if you skipped the previous 19, read this one: for every day you wish you were someone or somewhere else, you will have two days during which you wouldn’t trade your life for the

world.

I’ve had bad days here at Miami. I’ve sobbed in my bedroom at 2 a.m. and gone to Student Counseling Services. I’ve gone 24 hours without talking to another human soul or eating a meal. I’ve failed exams and had my heart broken. I’ve wished I could transfer and start over somewhere new, give myself a new name and pretend I’d never heard of a Miami outside Florida.

But I’ve also had a life I loved here. I’ve met people I can call family, more than just friends. I’ve fallen in love and danced in the rain. I’ve done shots with strangers and stayed up all night with classmates, taken frst-years under my wing and won awards.

I’ve studied abroad. I’ve pounded on the glass and screamed chants at hockey games, performed under the

lights on the football feld and fnished essays bleary-eyed at 4 a.m. in King Library during exam week.

I’ve toured hundreds of prospective students around campus and had people say to me, years later, “You were my tour guide!” I’ve eaten at nearly every restaurant Uptown and gone on a girls’ vacation for spring break. I’ve had snow days. I’ve cried happy tears.

I’ve had a whole, full life here, with all the ups and downs of a roller coaster — and that’s what college is meant to be. I’m proud of what I’ve learned and who I’ve become. Now all that’s left is to get my degree.

I’ll be back, Miami. Thank you for everything. radwanat@miamioh.edu

abled individuals are often limited by their preconceived notions. The disability community is vast, including people from every grouping we establish in society. Despite the wide breadth of the disability community, there is an innate connection. Whether it be due to shared hopes, fears, goals, struggles or simply being human, there are always aspects of us to be seen in each other — especially as we work through a society that suppresses so many people.

Seeing my peers struggle with the societal and physical boundaries that govern our lives has driven me into academic areas I have previously avoided. Living a well-rounded life is not despite having a disability; in my case, it is because of it.

lthough I can’t confdently make plans well in advance or travel without an array of medication, I’ve met some of the strongest and most compassionate people in my community. These individuals are strong not because they have physical or mental limitations but because they have overcome the societal obstacles put in place to dissuade disabled people from success or even just simply existing in the world.

Becoming disabled can be terrifying, a complete shift of your world, but realizing that my chronic illness is not going to simply disappear has enabled me to see it in a new light.

I have the luxury of not having my disability automatically disclosed; my appearance does not give away any indication that I am chronically ill. With this luxury does come some confict. concept that we get hung up on as a society is being “disabled enough.” As humans we tend to compare our struggles to the struggles of

other ecological damages that comes from building oil wells. Moreover, H.B. 507 would classify methane, a natural gas, as “green energy.” Although it is cleaner and more efcient than energy sources such as coal and oil, methane has no business being classifed this way.

The term itself is muddied because what makes something “green” is up to interpretation. What the U.S. should be doing is investing in renewable energies and reducing our dependence on unsustainable, non-renewable energy sources. H.B. 507 would therefore put Ohio behind in the sustainable energy circuit despite being above average in carbon dioxide emissions per capita.

Legal conundrums aside, what makes this bill and those such as S.B.

83 and H.B. 458 so dangerous is that it takes away the democratic power of the people. Decisions are being made behind closed doors by a small group of people while ignoring the democratically granted right of the people to have a say in government.

Public outrage is being largely ignored, and this is not healthy for a functioning democracy. America’s descent into fascism is a reality that some claim is bound to happen, while others believe that the people and system of government would never allow that to happen. No matter your opinion on this issue, all who are against the government overstepping its bounds should be worried about these bills.

The accessibility and purity of natural places needs to be preserved

in our state. State parks are incredibly important in preserving natural environments that have been largely destroyed by human activity in Ohio. Petitions and letters to representatives are good ways to push back against legislation.

This bill would be a step backward, and it is imperative to take action against it.

Sam Norton is a sophomore biology major with an environmental science co-major and journalism minor. He has been writing for The Miami Student Opinion section and magazine since the fall of 2021 and was awarded an SPJ Mark of Excellence award for opinion writing. nortonsm@miamioh.edu

our peers, if ours are not as extreme we often deny ourselves the care we deserve.

With accommodations in school, students may see their peers getting extra time, alternative delivery methods, lengthier deadlines and assume that this is setting them ahead.

Accommodations are not an inherent marker of success; equality is not the same thing as equity. Disabled people deserve equal access to the world.

Although I dread being pitied, being surrounded by individuals that genuinely care about my well-being is the way I was able to accept my situation. The events that have followed me since senior year have tested my relationships and have made me

question how to form new connections.

I have come to understand that relationships are only worthwhile when you mutually care about each other. Having friends that understand your needs and will alter plans to accommodate your current needs is necessary. Inclusion and accessibility are kind, but they should also be the standard; being surrounded by those that actively enforce this idea is an incredible feeling.

The world still has a long way to go in terms of genuine disability inclusion. I am unsure if I will always rely on my trusty bottle of Advil and many microwaveable heating packs, but I know that the compassion of those in my life has shown immensely.

Being a kind and inclusive human is unremarkable; what is remarkable is the work of disabled activists who fght their way through a system that actively and innately oppresses them. Although my journey is far from over, taking small steps toward activism and inclusivity can radically change our future.

Sarah Frosch is an out-of-state rst ear student ma oring in tudio Art with an Art Therapy co-major. She is from the northwest suburbs of Chicago and works as a regular photographer for multiple student publications.

SARAH FROSCH SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Where Miami students are studying this finals season

JAKE RUFFER

PHOTO EDITOR

Miami University’s 2023 spring semester continues to hurtle toward its end, and students are starting to seek out burrows and haunts to hunker down in and prepare for fnals.

Some people are spreaders and take up a whole table at rmstrong tudent enter. ome like it quiet, like in ing Library. ome focus better outside — or maybe they just appreciate the fresh air.

First-year Marion Dix, for one, prefers the

cofee shop scene.

“I like the ambience of cafes for studying,” she said. The biology pre-med major and Spanish minor sits in the Starbucks inside Withrow Hall almost every week to get a few things done. oing into fnals week she’s focused on her chemistry lab and biology e am.

Final exams run May 8 to May 12, and preparation resources can be found with the Rinella Learning enter. rufer m miamioh.edu