HALLOWEEN ISSUE
Schoolhouse scares students | pg. 3 How some costumes go too far | pg. 7 5K raises hell | pg. 8
OCT. 29— NOV. 4, 2014
Halloween Issue
October 29, 2014
ASK THE EDITORS What has been your best Halloween costume so far?
What scares you the most?
In high school I bought one of those layered dresses from the Ohio Renaissance Festival and proceeded to wear it as my best-worst Halloween costume for the next four years. I was a vampire, a witch, a gypsy and a bar wentch. It was red and black with a corset, and I thought it looked really good. Spoiler alert: It didn’t.
I think what I find most terrifying is being enclosed, like being trapped in a cage. I don’t mind being in the dark, but the feeling of being held in a straightjacket is terrifying, though I haven’t really felt this outside of a nightmare. Also (it’s probably a bad idea to reveal this to possible enemies) someone slicing or cutting my Achilles’ tendon. Not okay.
MANAGING EDITOR
NEWS EDITOR
Becky Butts @rebelee_92
Natalie Coleman @_nataliecoleman
Probably being buried alive, or losing one of the important senses like sound or sight. I agree with Kurt Vonnegut when one of his narrators said something about how he didn’t fear the future, but the past. Oh, and centipedes. I hate centipedes.
For probably two or three years I wore the same Elmo costume as a kid. I also wore it like bi-weekly until the belt that had a button on it that made Elmo sounds fizzled out and only made muffled indiscernable sounds. I absolutely adored Elmo growing up.
SPORTS EDITOR
ARTS EDITOR
Ellen Hadley @_ellenhadley
My favorite costume was a big blue Lego I wore when I was eight. My mom made the costume out of a giant cardboard box. She cut out holes for my head and arms and glued Tupperware containers to the box to create the Lego’s studs, or bumps. The last step was spray painting it blue. It even had a hat to top it off.
I have an irrational fear of whales. I have no idea where it came from because I have never been in the vicinity of a whale, but I’ve been afraid of them for as long as I can remember. I still have to close my eyes when I watch “Finding Nemo.”
COLLEGE LIFE EDITOR
ONLINE EDITOR
Emily Begley @egbegley
Courtney Stanley @coot_stanley
In sixth grade I had this brillant idea to recreate Charlie Brown’s ‘The Great Pumpkin’ into a costume more fitting to my personality — and appetite: ‘The Great Pizza.’ This consisted of two large cardboard circles covered in different colored construction paper to resemble a pepperoni pizza. To top off the outfit, I wore a red French beret and carried around a pizza box all night as if the life-sized human pizza didn’t already get the point across. Regardless, no regrets. I do it for the pizza. NEWS EDITOR
Katie Coburn @_katiecoburn
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Zack Hatfield @hatzack (Instagram)
There was this friend of mine in middle school whose house burned down a of couple times before her family owned it, and there were victims trapped inside. On more than one occasion, doors would open completely and slam shut and the piano would play itself late at night. We stopped hanging out and I stopped going to places where I knew people had died. PHOTO EDITOR
Madison Schmidt @madiesch
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October 29, 2014
Halloween Issue
BAILEY DOWLIN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
LEFT: Decaying dolls add to the grotesque atmosphere of the Dent Schoolhouse, which first opened in the late ’90s . RIGHT: Dent often utilizes claustrophobia and repetition to add to the shocking scares.
Dent Schoolhouse teaches blood-curdling lesson on fear Enrolling in Westside’s scariest haunt will mean frightening, exciting experience HANNAH BUSSELL | CONTRIBUTOR
The adventure into Cincinnati’s haunted Dent Schoolhouse begins in the queue, as a variety of revolting creatures terrorize customers waiting in line to enter the nationally acclaimed, best-haunted house experience in Ohio. The gruesome décor and brilliant live acting is some of the most impressive that I’ve seen at any haunted attraction. Aside from spectacular special effects and animatronics, it’s the added smaller details that truly terrify: rusty trinkets and toy boxes, severed pig heads, a chalked scrawl that reads ‘do not tease the janitor.’
then, his scarred face and his victims’ mangled bodies have supposedly haunted the boarded-up building. The haunt has progressed brilliantly over the 20 years since its inception, with a recent effort to tighten up the schoolhouse theme and produce a cohesive story. It now incorporates all aspects of a school
from a cafeteria — where bloodstained butchers lunge at you brandishing knives — to a library with a maddened, screeching librarian. Only occasionally does it branch away, throwing in a few aliens and humansized electronic mice just to throw us off guard. The haunt wastes no time in scaring you.
“Having been in business for 20 years, the haunt has progressed brilliantly with a recent effort to produce a cohesive story.” There is no denying the passion of the actors, who go the extra mile to frighten even the toughest of guests, but what makes the experience creepier is the true horror story behind it all. The Dent Schoolhouse (located on Harrison Avenue) was a real school until it shut down in the ’50s after a number of children went missing. According to town legends, corpses of the pupils were found years later, buried in the basement. Janitor Charlie was blamed and since
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JOESEPH MEISBERGER | CONTRIBUTER
Dent was originally a real school dating back to the late 1800s until it closed in the ’50s due to unsolved cases of missing children. The attraction has up to 60 actors working inside the schoolhouse at one time.
It starts in a creepy overgrown playground featuring empty creaking swings and bodies hanging from the trees. Tiptoeing up the stone steps and peeking round the front door, you can see only darkness but hear distant screams — it is enough to make you want to turn around and exit. The basement, the bloody setting of the legend, is arguably the scariest part of the haunt. Authentic rusty pipes covering the walls and ceiling make the perfect hiding place for slimy limbs to suddenly burst out, reaching for passersby. The most horrifying and stomach-turning scene was a room featuring a gore-stained worktop sporting a live actor screeching as Charlie the Janitor pulled her intestines out. “The blood-curdling scream echoed round my head and into many of the rooms to follow,” said Katerina Dominis, a secondyear psychology student. “It was horrifyingly terrific.” Another outdoor attraction included with the $20 ticket is the “Queen City Slaughter yard,” a maze full of severed limbs, pigs and aggressive butchers running at you with chainsaws. The scares in the slaughter yard were less frequent and the production felt lifeless. Though it is true that everyone loves two for the price of one, the slaughterhouse felt stale in comparison to the truly terrifying schoolhouse, like an unnecessary extension. Overall this haunted attraction was extremely well executed, and has set the standard high for other Midwestern haunts. “I actually felt like I was in a scary movie,” said third-year business student Trish Tatay. “Getting chased by a man with a chainsaw at the end was a terrifying finale.”
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Halloween Issue
October 29, 2014
Ghost hunter leads haunting crawl through UC’s campus Former TV host gives presentation hosted by PAC, selects 30 attendees to accompany him on tour CASSIE LIPP | STAFF REPORTER
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combination of my obsession with “American Horror Story” and a curiosity for the paranormal excited me for a lecture and ghost hunt by paranormal researcher and TV personality Chris Fleming on Monday evening. The free event was sponsored by University of Cincinnati’s Programs and Activities Council. Fleming began with asking students in attendance to raise their hand if they believe in or have ever seen a ghost — the majority raised their hands. Fleming said that since he began speaking at colleges in 2006, about 75 percent of students he asks these questions to have seen ghosts, and 10 to 30 percent do not believe in ghosts. Fleming, who said he is a psychic and medium, co-hosted the TV series “Dead Famous” and “Psychic Kids.” He became interested in paranormal activity at age 5 when his family lived in a house that he said was haunted. Fleming spoke about the first time he experienced paranormal activity at his childhood home. He was tapped on the shoulder, and turned around to see no one behind him. He showed the crowd an illustration of the first ghost he saw. “Why is it that ghosts always photobomb?” Fleming said as he showed the photos and videos he captured of paranormal activity. Fleming said he does not just believe in ghosts — he knows they exist. To clarify how ghosts come into being, he referenced the Law of Conservation of Energy. He said that our minds, personalities and thoughts are energy. According to this law, energy cannot be created or destroyed. Therefore, our energy transforms into the form of a spirit after death. “Death isn’t the end of who we are,” Fleming said. “It is only the end of our physical body.” Fleming uses a variety of devices to communicate with “the other side,” such as the Ovilus 4, which detects changes in the environment, or the K2 Meter, which detects changes in electromagnetic energy. Ghost hunters believe detected changes are communication from “the other side.” “It is hard to believe that you can communicate with the
CASSIE LIPP | STAFF REPORTER
“I will never forget the image ‘till the day I die,” Fleming said of this sketch, which depicts the first ghost he ever witnessed.
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BAILEY DOWLIN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
During his tour through campus, Fleming used a spirit box to speak with spirits. A disembodied voice broke through, saying “animals for our protection” and repeating the word “cats,” inspiring the group to gather around UC’s lion statues Mick and Mack.
other side,” Fleming said. He added that believing this is the hardest part of talking to spirits. Fleming said his father, who has passed away, has told him “I love you” and “I miss you” through these devices. “It’s that intent and emotion that allows us to connect with the other world,” he said. After Fleming concluded his lecture, PAC members randomly selected 15 audience members to choose a friend to join Fleming on a ghost tour around campus. We began the tour under the moonlight outside of McMicken College. Fleming used a device he calls the spirit box to invite spirits to communicate with us. The spirit box, officially known as the P-SB7, sweeps through different radio frequencies to create static. The purpose of the static is to create an energy that allegedly attracts spirits and encourages them to break through with messages of one to two words. I was not the only one who gasped and got goose bumps when the supposed ghosts broke through with “F--- Heaven”, “What’s up?” and a variety of other messages. Fleming invited us to ask the spirits our own questions or try to contact loved ones. With my insides twisting and my hands trembling, I asked a friend, who died unexpectedly in May, where he was. I was not sure if I was actually reaching him, or if this was even a good idea. I knew it was just wishful thinking, but I asked my friend if he was doing okay. I could not help breaking into tears when the words “so scared” broke through the spirit box. At that point, I knew. We reached contact with my friend’s spirit.
Fleming proceeded to ask him why he was scared and what we could do to help him. After a few more words broke through, Fleming pieced together a message: He told me to visit the place where my friend died and play some peaceful music. Other tour members attempted to reach out to loved ones residing on the “other side” as well. “My dead grandma, Anita, said two of my relatives’ names, which was pretty freaky, but kinda cool,” said Ben Sirkin, a UC graduate. “I’m skeptical, but not completely cynical about ghosts.” The spirits broke through the static and said “animals for our protection” and repeated the word “cats.” Everyone was in shock when someone realized what the ghosts were talking about. “Mick and Mack,” a girl on the tour shouted. The crowd moved to gather around the lion statues on the other side of McMicken. Fleming concluded the ghost hunt with a prayer for those who have died. As everyone posed for a group picture, tourgoers felt a mixture of excitement, fear and skepticism. Kirsten Linanabary, a first-year biomedical engineering student, said she came to the event because her aunt and cousin love the Travel Channel show “Ghost Adventures.” “I have always wanted to see that in person and witness exactly what happens instead of the edited versions,” Linnabary said, referring to the paranormal activity the “Ghost Adventures” team strives to capture on camera. “I SEE GHOST HUNTER PG 5
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October 29, 2014
Halloween Issue
Volleyball prepares for Halloween game with sweet incentives JOEY LAURE | STAFF REPORTER
The University of Cincinnati volleyball team will faceoff against the American Athletic Conference bottom-dwellers, University of Connecticut, at 7 p.m. Oct. 31. The Bearcats have a special treat in store for the fans who attend the game — a costume contest. The fans who wear their costumes during the game will be in competition to win a prize. “Creating a fun atmosphere like this is always engaging for the fans,” said head coach Molly Alvey. “Anything to reach fans makes the game really entertaining. Our DJ usually does this for us by playing music, but now the fans can do the same thing, but in costumes.” The game will feature a Bearcat team that is 13-9 (5-5) and came up on the losing side of three straight matches. The Huskies, 9-12 (2-8), lost their last eight matches in conference play. “Any team we play we should have the mentality that we are the better team,” said junior right outside hitter Emma Roberson. “It does not matter if we play last place UConn or first place [University of Central Florida], we have to have the same mentality for every game.” The Bearcats are at the midway point in their season and are in the middle of the pack in the conference with a split record. “We are starting to find our competitive fire after losing back-to-back games against Memphis and UCF,” Alvey said. UCF 17-5 (10-0) and University of Memphis 18-6 (8-2) are the top two teams in the ACC
this year. “We are starting to take the right mental approach and are looking forward to the back end of the season,” Alvey said. The team looks to gain an edge with its promotion for Friday’s game, and expects many fans to show up in costume. The Bearcats average 440 fans in the 10 home games played thus far in the season at Fifth Third Arena. “The team loves rowdier crowds and we try and keep the fans really close to the court,” Alvey said. “The crowd definitely helps the team pull through when the games are close.” With it being Halloween, the team knows it would be tougher to draw fans to the game. The team hopes that adding an incentive to come to the game will be beneficial for the fans and the team. “The bigger the crowd, the more fun it is for us,” Roberson said. “I am a player that shows a lot of emotion on the court. And I love when the crowd shows the same amount of emotion as I do.” The team will be more focused on its conference foe, UConn, than what the crowd is doing. “Like any sport, we hope people are there to watch us, we don’t really notice the promotions. But if it gets more people in the stands, I am all for it,” Roberson said. The Bearcats, along with their raucous supporters, hope to end the three-game losing skid. The team looks to add another conference victory to its resume midway through conference play. With fans dressed to scare, the game should be a real thriller.
FROM GHOST HUNTER PG 4
got to see an interesting mixture of science and that type of science that people don’t really accept as science.” Savannah Glenn, a third-year biology student and PAC special events director, said she was pleased with the turnout of the event. “It was a risky event because he is a ghost hunter, and a lot of people believe in ghosts and a lot of people don’t,” Glenn said. “I think the majority of the audience was kind of in the middle—they don’t really know. It’s also Halloween, so it really did spark people’s interest.” Like Glenn said, I am somewhere in the middle. I did feel some sort of connection with my friend, but it is not the same kind of connection I feel when I am at the place I saw him and remember him the most. I know spirits exist, but I’m not sure how we can communicate with them. Like Fleming said, “we’re at the tip of the iceberg.” Understandably, acorns falling from trees and shadows on cars freaked me out on the walk home. Once safely inside, I curled up in bed and slept with the lights on.
BAILEY DOWLIN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
TV personality Chris Fleming asks spirits how many fingers he is holding up during a tour through campus Monday night. Fleming picked up disembodied voices using a P-SB7 spirit box, which uses radio frequency sweeps to create white noise, giving spirits the energy to speak and be heard.
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Halloween Issue
October 29, 2014
Word on the Street: Students’ opinions on questionable costumes PHOTOS BY MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR
“If someone actually came up to you and said that [your costume] was offensive, I feel like you should at least try and switch your outfit maybe or explain to them why it’s not trying to be offensive,” said Jimmy Reyes, a thirdyear finance, marketing and international business student. “It’s Halloween you know. It’s the one day of the year. I mean sometimes you know it’s still not right. I mean it all depends on who you’re going to be with and it’s all about your situation.”
“I think students don’t really realize what they’re dressing up as and what it could mean to the person that the costume is supposed to look like,” said Emily Heine, a second-year finance student. “They just don’t realize because they think it’s a fun costume; they don’t realize that it could be hurting someone else. I don’t think they really would be able to apologize. I think they should just think while they’re planning their costume and consider beforehand what the different implications may be of what they wear.”
“On Twitter I’ve seen a few [offensive costumes]: Ray Rice, the football player,” said Estevan Carrillo, a firstyear electrical engineering student. “There’s a lot of people wearing his jersey and they’ll have a little doll of like someone beaten. I don’t like it. It’s disrespectful to me. I don’t know why they do it. They think people will laugh probably [but it’s not worth the laugh]. I’m not really for it. I wouldn’t do it personally, so I just go by that … I don’t think it’d be the right thing. I just think it’s wrong.”
“I’ve never really paid that much attention to [offensive costumes],” said Aimee Haluska, a first-year nursing student. “I mean there’s Native American costumes and things like that that are offensive to people, because they’re stereotyping other cultures and not what the people are actually like. I’m not sure all people mean to do it. They should definitely take other people’s feelings into consideration, but a lot of people don’t.”
“I’m going to be a giant tool,” said Zach Sable, a first-year electronic media student. “I’m going to wear old school snapbacks, a Hawaiian shirt, a wife beater ... Like the stereotype of a tool, and I’m going to carry around a little toolbox with me. I thought it was pretty funny and clever ... it could [offend people] that dress like that ... I don’t think I’ll be in a setting that any one would be too hurt. I think it’s a statement on our society: satire. I think it’s pretty funny. Totally [worth offending someone for a laugh].”
“Back home [in Lousiville, KY] I’ve seen a lot of people dress as the KKK, so that was offensive,” said Jayla Bethel, a first-year criminal justice major. “It’s just annoying because a lot of people don’t know the history with it. They just hear stuff about it, so they try to participate, but they don’t really know about it. So it’s just annoying because they don’t know anything. Honestly, just to get on people’s nerves and annoy people because I know some people just try to get on people’s nerves. No [it’s not worth the laugh].”
“I’ve seen people go actually blackface; you don’t do that,” said Teddy Kuntz, a first-year graduate medical student. “It’s not my thing. I realize a lot of people do it, you know kind of innocently and they’re trying to just be goofy on Halloween ... [Students dress offensively] for a laugh, to get attention, and because it’s probably one of the few days during the year when you can get away with something like that,” Kuntz said. “It’s kind of a free day,” said Michael Del Busto, a firstyear graduate medical student. “They just know they can get away with it.”
“I’m going to be an army man,” said Quinn Anost, a second-year marketing student. “I wanted to be Ray Rice, but I didn’t want to get a jersey and a blow-up doll. Everyone would laugh, because they would all understand what it means. Baltimore Raven fans and anyone that likes Ray Rice [would be offended]. Oh yeah [people would get mad everywhere I went] ... especially if I went to a Baltimore Ravens bar in Cinci to watch a game, I would get a ton of s---. I would say yeah [it’s worth the laugh]. I would so offend people to get a laugh.”
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October 29, 2014
Halloween Issue
Opinion: Year after year, US finds humor in offensive costumes NATALIE COLEMAN | NEWS EDITOR
I’m tired of talking about racist, insensitive and offensive Halloween costumes every year. It has become the norm for Halloween costumes to push the boundaries of comedy deep into the land of tastelessness. Every year, people try to out-offend the costumes from the year before. Some of the worst offenders, the most racist of the racist Halloween costumes include, but are not limited to: Trayvon Martin, Indian braves, Geishas, Ebola, ISIS and any costume that takes a single element of a culture and exacerbates it into a caricature of what that race or culture is actually like. This year, racist celebrators have packed a new trifecta of offensiveness into one costume. A costume that is racist, sexist and celebrates domestic violence: Ray Rice and Janay Rice. In September, TMZ — a celebrity-obsessed gossip and entertainment media outlet — published a video taken by a hotel camera in an elevator in Atlantic City, NJ. During the video, Ray Rice — a now-suspended NFL football player —punched his wife Janay into apparent unconsciousness. Shortly after the video was published, the Baltimore Ravens terminated their contract with Rice and the NFL suspended him indefinitely. The formula for a Ray Rice costume includes slapping on a jersey, buying a blow-up doll that vaguely resembles
MCCLATCHY
Ray Rice, right, and Janay Rice, left, spoke at a conference in May. Rice was suspended from the NFL after allegedly abusing his wife, Janay.
a black woman, and maybe even painting on some blackface — a way for (usually white) racists to laugh at African-Americans by painting their faces crudely with dark paint; a symbol of the marginalization of black people since the early 1800s.
MCCLATCHY
Ebola-inspired costumes have begun filling the Halloween stores. Disease containment suits and yellow rubber hazmat gowns have become something to satirize and create a “funny” costume from. As of Oct. 25, 4,922 people have died from Ebola, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The US has had one death from Ebola.
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In a tweet, Janay Rice responded to the outburst of costumes making fun of her as a victim and survivor of domestic violence. “It’s sad, that my suffering amuses others.” In one of the most disturbing, disgusting and thoughtless social media posts possibly ever posted, two white parents dressed up their less-than-10-years-old son in a Ray Rice jersey. They bought him a black baby doll and painted the doll’s eye black and purple. The parents then painted their son in blackface. The boy was so young he must have had no idea what his costume meant and should have never been placed in such a costume. I am not a black woman, and therefore I cannot imagine what it is like to experience the effects of racially based microagressions on my daily life. I will never know first-hand the feeling of another race painting themselves into a parody of who they think I am. I am lucky, and I am privileged that I will not feel that racial insensitivity and cultural appropriation. As a woman, I’m highly offended by the connotations of the Ray Rice costume: that domestic violence is funny, that it is something to use as a punch line. This costume further objectifies women, especially black women. As though women needed any more devaluing during a holiday that glorifies our sexualization as a badge we wear on the barely-there costumes that dominate the racks in Halloween stores. No one, of any age, should ever think it is okay to use another race, another culture of people, or another gender, as the punch line of their Halloween costume. No, you are not funny, and no, you are not clever. Believe me: we can all see you are racist, even under the mask.
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Halloween Issue
October 29, 2014
Racers raise hell to benefit cystic fibrosis CHRISTINA DROBNEY | CONTRIBUTOR
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY PHIL DIDION
Someone dressed as The Stig from BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ walks during the entire race Friday. Some say he walks races and still wins.
Superheroes, monsters and more amassed for the 23rd annual Run Like Hell race Friday evening, and took off down Woodburn Avenue to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. At this year’s race, approximately 1,200 participants signed up and an additional 1,800 joined on the day. Around 3,000 people of all ages ran or walked the spooky 5K, according to Tony Montelisciani, the chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. An estimated 30,000 children and adults in the United States have cystic fibrosis, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s website. “Being that this is the 23rd year of the Run Like Hell — and personally my 20th year — we continue to raise more and more money each year. I hope to accomplish the goal of raising around $100,000,” Montelisciani said. Since its inception in 1991, the race has raised $1.3 million, and was voted best 5k in Greater Cincinnati by Cincinnati Magazine. Multiple people volunteered at this year’s race, whether they were part of the foundation or not. Volunteers were found either walking around or in the booths that were located all around for sign-ins and questions. Volunteers were in charge of setting up and taking down decorations and booths, said Martin Moore, a third-year volunteer. “This year, I am in charge of checking in volunteers signed up and also I am a part of the clean-up crew at the end of the night,” Moore said. Participants ran in a variety of costumes including
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, skeletons and Dr. Seuss characters. Nintendo brothers Mario and Luigi even made an appearance. A costume contest took place at the end of the night during the after party. Mark Schorr, a first-time runner at Run Like Hell, was dressed as a joker mixed with Ronald McDonald for the evening. He was excited for both the race and the party following it. “I just started running competitively again so I figured this was a great opportunity to practice and have a fun time being dressed up,” Schorr said. Some teams also made T-shirts for the event. The largest participating team was Maggie Mae’s Monsters, composed of more than 60 people who support a girl named Maggie diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Both family and friends — all wearing matching shirts — joined the team to support Maggie and enjoy the evening together. Chris Koch, a family friend, has been a member of Maggie’s Run Like Hell team since 2011. He said he loves being able to be a part of an event like Run Like Hell to raise money for someone close to him as well as others with cystic fibrosis. The party after the race consisted of food, drinks, games and live music starring The Wammies, an ‘80s cover band. Anyone was welcome to come join the fun, even if they did not partake in the race. Every year during this time, a Run Like Hell race occurs in the Cincinnati area and each year the nonprofit encourages more people to participate, including students, according Teresa Connolly, a member of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “We hope to see more college students from either UC or Xavier to come out next year,” Connolly said. “We want as many young people as we can get.”
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY PHIL DIDION
LEFT: Zoey, dressed as a cheeseburger, gets the attention of Run Like Hell participants and volunteers while waiting for the race to start. RIGHT: The Run Like Hell 5K began Friday evening with local firefighter and police recruits and a whole slew of costumed participants running down Woodburn Avenue across the street from Xavier University.
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