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Feminist blogger uses experience to promote sexual, gender justice JACKIE MULAY | STAFF REPORTER

MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR

Wagatwe Wanjuki, nationally known feminist blogger from New York, talks to the UC community about rape and activism Thursday evening in the AACRC.

Pharmacy students help pass Ohio bill, change practices

African-American feminist, activist and blogger Wagatwe Wanjuki visited the University of Cincinnati Thursday to lead a discussion on gender and justice as a part of the Anita Hill Lecture Series hosted by UC’s It’s On Us. Her talk, titled “A World Free of Sexual Violence: Women of Color, Campus Sexual Assault and Title IX,” was held in the African American Cultural & Resource Center and drew a diverse crowd. Although the topic of her lecture was serious, Wanjuki’s biting sarcasm and lighthearted asides created a balanced atmosphere.

Wanjuki, a first-generation American, attended college at Tufts University, where she was raped in 2008 by an individual she was seeing at the time. Wanjuki sought help from the university but was met with opposition and apathy.

“No one cares about rape and no one really listens,”Wanjuki said of her personal experience during the talk.

After continued opposition from Tufts to take any disciplinary actions against her assailant, Wanjuki’s assaulter’s academic

adviser recommended that she leave the university because of poor academic standings. After she left Tufts, Wanjuki used her digital literacy skills to speak out about her own experience with sexual assault.

Wanjuki said the Internet is where she feels comfortable, referring to it as her “first home” during the lecture. Now Wanjuki writes for several blogs, including “F*ck Yeah, Feminists!,” and “Feministing,” where she blogs about feminism and activism.

Wanjuki’s talk focused mainly on how a university can create and maintain a “good sexual assault policy.”

Throughout the lecture, Wanjuki reiterated that sexual assault and rape were forms of oppression.

“Rape isn’t about sex, right, it’s about power,”Wanjuki said. “Rape is just one instance of oppression one person uses over another.”

Wanjuki discussed the concept of inter-sectionality, the idea that different oppressions based on gender, class, religion and sexuality do not function SEE IT’S ON US PG 3

WHITE HOUSE TASK FORCE VISITS CAMPUS, CONSULTS EXPERTS

UC TALKS 21ST CENTURY POLICING

MATT NICHOLS | CONTRIBUTOR

After only two short years of lobbying, students and faculty from the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati have succeeded in passing a bill for Ohio pharmacists and pharmacy interns.

The bill, which will go into effect March 19, allows pharmacists to administer certain vaccinations to younger patients and will drastically expand the range of immunizations a pharmacy intern can administer.

This immense shift in pharmacy practices is in part the result of ideas generated right here on UC’s campus.

Two years ago then-state senator Eric Kearney offered his services to an advocacy class at UC that had ambitious goals for pharmacy practices in Ohio. The class, taught by Michael Doherty, director of experiential training and assistant professor of clinical pharmacy practice, worked with the senator to produce a series of three bills that would expand the immunizations practices of pharmacists and pharmacy interns.

The bills would later be condensed into one comprehensive piece after receiving support from the Ohio Pharmacists Association.

Following the bill’s conception, UC students and faculty worked tirelessly with legislators to ensure the bill would gain traction. Students wrote letters to senators, attended various meetings with representatives and even testified in front of the Ohio State Senate and House of Representatives.

Erin Rogers, a fourth-year pharmacy graduate student and UC’s student representative to the Ohio Pharmacists Association Board of Trustees, was one of those students.

In her testimony, Rogers explained the difficulties that pharmacists have in administering vaccinations. In one case, a mother was attempting to have her two children, aged 14 and 9, vaccinated. The older child could be vaccinated by the pharmacist without a co-pay, but the law required that the younger visit a doctor to receive the vaccine.

“The mom expressed she could not understand why her 9-year-old child was unable to be vaccinated at the same time, and honestly, neither could I,” Rogers said.

The previous law did not allow pharmacists to administer the flu vaccine to patients younger than 14, and pharmacy interns could not vaccinate any patients SEE PHARMACY PG 3

DANIEL SULLIVAN | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Panelists presented their expert opinions and research Saturday on a range of topics from police community engagement through social media to the implementation of on-body camera systems for on-duty police officers.

PATRICK MURPHY | NEWS EDITOR

With a little less than one-fourth of Tangeman University Center’s Great Hall filled, the White House Task Force began hearing testimony after testimony on how to best revise police enforcement methods Friday.

The University of Cincinnati was selected to host two of the seven national White House Task Force sessions, held in TUC Friday and Saturday. Cincinnati was chosen because of its Midwest locale and its representative demographic on a national scale, but also because of the lack of opportunity that cities like Cincinnati have when discussions like these take place.

“I mean if we went to Chicago, for example, it would be no surprise, but we said, ‘No, let’s not do that,’ ” said Charles Ramsey, Task Force co-chair and police commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department. “Let’s engage people in other parts of the country that don’t normally have this opportunity.”

Selected by President Barack Obama, the 11-member Task Force was assigned the mission of hearing multiple testimonies from various professionals, in addition to online messages and tweets from citizens watching the live-feed presented with impaired-hearing translations.

“We got a lot of information, a lot of discussions from the people who presented as witnesses, but also online,” Ramsey said.

“We got a lot of written testimonies that will be very helpful in our ability to formulate recommendations for the president.”

There were a total of five panels for the Policy & Oversight section of the hearings, each panel consisting of four to five members discussing a certain topic within the boundaries of the overall theme.

These panel topics started with use of force research and policies, then moved on to use of force investigations and oversight, a discussion on civilian oversight and how to handle mass demonstrations, finishing with law enforcement culture and diversity.

Central ideas that reoccurred throughout

the discussions included police accountability, transparency of operations and information, communication with all levels involved within a conflict and the need to have a solid policy that makes sense.

Ramsey said these themes were also presented in the discussions in Washington, D.C., during the Task Force’s first session on Jan. 13.

The discussions began at 10 a.m. and lasted until 5:30 p.m., when the attention moved to audience testimony.

Experts’ key testimonies Throughout the session, the panels addressed the reoccurring topic of improving relationships between the police and the community, with ideas ranging from allowing citizens to join in ride-alongs with police officers to making internal SEE TASK FORCE PG 3

Anthropologist, former journalist speaks to problems of media on culture JAMES DOLLARD | CONTRIBUTOR

MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR

Mark Peterson, former political journalist and current anthropologist at Miami University, presents the challenges of media across disciplines and how anthropologists address these challenges Thursday evening in the Taft Research Center.

The application of anthropology in media studies was the topic of discussion at the Taft Research Center Thursday, when around 25 people gathered to hear about the increasingly popular way of studying cultures and societies.

Speaker Mark A. Peterson argued that the studies of anthropology in relation to media devices — how a specific culture reacts to a method or medium of media, or in what ways it utilizes different mediums — is important in recognizing the broad spectrum of media and its affect on its audiences.

Peterson is a former political journalist from Washington, D.C., who went on to receive his doctorate degree from Brown University. Peterson currently holds a joint position in anthropology and international studies at Miami University.

Anthropology in media has seen a recent spike in application, yet, due to its relatively late arrival into the field of media studies, it still garners doubt about its contribution to the study.

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Irfan Ibrahim, a second-year architecture student, found himself on the same wavelength as Peterson.

“It’s evident that the pervasive nature of anthropology warrants itself in media studies,” Ibrahim said.

Peterson, along with other media anthropologists, argued that the scope of research that an anthropologist engages in could bring a stronger understanding of an audience and its culture through the way the society communicates, through what platforms the people interact with and their preferred sensory stimulant, such as auditory, textual and visual.

Western media and its studies consider western media to be the “norm,” but this school of thought neglects the full spectrum of users. Be it scattered locations in Africa or the metropolitan areas of Europe, anthropologists are doing research in virtually every market and region, continually penetrating different cultures, as they adapt their research to the everSEE ANTHROPOLOGY PG 3

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Student Organization Fair invites students to get involved MORGAN COOK | CONTRIBUTOR

With over 400 clubs and 40,000 students, the University of Cincinnati has a lot to offer, and students sometimes find it difficult to learn about all of the organizations available on campus.

“This is my first semester at UC and so far, other than my close group of friends, I don’t really know anyone,” said Claire Dunning, a second-year marketing transfer student from West Virginia University. “There’s so many cool clubs and organizations that I’m interested in. I honestly don’t know where to start.”

The spring semester Student Organization

TIMOTHY FOX | CONTRIBUTOR

A student shows interest in joining the Students Activity Board.

Fair, hosted by the Student Activities Board in Tangeman University Center’s Great Hall Wednesday, inspired students to get involved in new groups and make an impact on campus.

The fair gives students the opportunity to learn more about different campus organizations and meet their members.

Students can also join clubs on the spot and sign up for upcoming events.

The fair brought clubs ranging from areas including academics, athletics, community service, political and religious organizations in hopes of offering something for everyone to enjoy.

“I’m here because I want to get more involved,” said Bridgette Marks, a first-year English student. “I want to find something I enjoy and somehow make a difference on campus.”

With over 100 of UC’s clubs stuffed into the Great Hall, the sound of good times and laughs echoed throughout the building. Participants were excited to join organizations that would shape their college careers.

Meghan Wildes, a fourth-year biology student, said that Serve Beyond Cincinnati, an organization that provides students with multicultural world service experiences, has had a permanent impact on her life.

Through the organization, Wilde has had the opportunity to not only travel the world, but also help those in need.

Wilde talked about some of the experiences she has had in third-world countries while serving abroad, like playing soccer with children whose families could

TIMOTHY FOX | CONTRIBUTOR

The Recording Club attracts students to its table by playing the guitar and handing out fliers during the spring semester Student Organization Fair.

not afford a ball to play with and hiking up a mountain to deliver crucial life necessities to a small village.

“I was just walking through TUC between classes to get some food and saw the fair going on,” said John Gallo, a second-year finance student. “I decided to stop and check some clubs out so I can get more involved on campus.”

Colin Luck, a first-year engineering

student, said he liked the atmosphere of the event.

Even though the free food and drinks that many organizations offered is what lured him to many of the booths, Colin said all the members present were incredibly kind and well educated about their organizations.

SAB will host a similar event in the fall, in which restaurants and businesses from the Clifton area will join clubs on campus.

Exceptional students consider LAC positions ALLIE ALU | STAFF REPORTER

BAILEY DOWLIN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bobbi Ponder performs a dance she choreographed for her audition. The dance represents Ponder’s relationship with her mother.

Students audition for Black Women Revealed show MATT NICHOLS | CONTRIBUTOR

Sisters Impacting Sisters, an organization designed to inspire and empower young women through art, is holding auditions for the 4th annual Black Women Revealed Showcase.

The showcase, which generally has around 10 to 15 performers, features women in dance, poetry, and many other types of artistic expression.

Patrice Barnes, a former staff member at University of Cincinnati, created the event four years ago to spotlight artistic talent in the community and empower women to express themselves individually.

Continued success and a growing crowd have now turned the event into a tradition for SIS. They plan to hold the showcase in March.

“What’s unique about it is that a lot of times we have women that would never perform anywhere or are very nervous.” said Ewaniki Moore-Hawkins, a program director at UC’s African American Cultural & Resource Center. “Something about it gives them an extra boost of confidence to go ahead and step out there and share their talent with the UC community.”

Although the program itself has never been very large, with only 15 to 20 auditions every year, the lack of a massive crowd provides an advantage by giving performers a more intimate setting to express themselves, MooreHawkins said.

“It’s just not a huge crowd, and they’re not overwhelmed,” said Tamar Kinebrew,

AACRC program coordinator.

Each year, the showcase decides on a theme that is chosen to empower women and help the performers tie their acts to the show.

This year’s theme will be about women finding their internal “She” and will focus on the understanding of the self and growth of these young women.

“I think that when [students] come out and see other women sharing their stories through their artistic talent that they can be empowered too,” MooreHawkins said. “A lot of times in ethnic groups or in a cultural setting, art is a great way to share that with others, because a lot of times if you can bond over the art you can capture another audience.”

The first round of auditions was held last Friday in the AACRC. Although the turnout was smaller than anticipated, the performers who did show up set the bar high for fellow students.

“I’m actually going to do a piece for my mom’s birthday,” said Bobbi Ponder, an architecture student. Ponder performed an intricate, barefooted contemporary dance piece.

“It kind of represents my relationship with my mom and having a strong woman in the household showing me how to be a woman,” Ponder said.

Makayla Raney, a first-year criminal justice student, also auditioned for a spot in the showcase with an original poem titled “What’s Up?”The poem talked about the students’ feelings towards black culture and how she is stepping up to make positive changes.

“[The showcase] is important to me because it gives me a chance to step out, to actually get more involved,” Raney said.

While the event spotlights black women, auditions are not limited by race or gender. SIS encourages anyone who wants to perform to come out and participate in the show, Moore-Hawkins said.

The show has allowed faculty and staff to perform in the past, and even community members involved with UC have an opportunity to participate.

“The gifts that you have are no good if you don’t share them with other people,” Ponder said.

A second round of auditions will be held Friday from 4-6 p.m.

BAILEY DOWLIN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Makayla Raney, a first-year criminal justice student, reads her original poem.

Outstanding students from different majors who wish to assist individuals in need of academic help were invited to participate in the Learning Assistance Center’s recruiting session Wednesday.

Interested students can apply to become academic coaches, peer tutors, supplemental instructors or student workers for the Math & Science Support Center in French Hall.

The employee’s hours are flexible and, although they are also paid, the money is just one of the benefits of working for LAC. Students can use this experience as resume builders and attend exclusive events organized by the LAC. “There are very flexible hours and we provide built-in professional development opportunities,” said Lauren Clark, LAC program director. “We bring in speakers who speak on interview strategies and all positions have potential for promotions and raises.”

Although the positions have different responsibilities, they all aim to help students achieve their highest potentials.

Peer tutors are responsible for coaching students taking classes in which the tutors have excelled in in the past. The sessions are individual, and students have time to ask questions and have challenging subjects individually explained to them.

Academic coaches work with students in a broader sense. They are usually University of Cincinnati upperclassmen interested in helping their peers achieve success. They work by focusing on individual students and helping determine their strengths and interests, as well as developing study methods that will help students succeed.

The MASS center works with students who need help specifically in math and science courses by hosting specialized study tables.

Supplemental instructors provide assistance to students taking courses known to be generally difficult, such as calculus.

Mackenzie Robinson, a first-year biology student, was one of the eager students willing to help.

“A few of my teachers emailed me and posted on our Blackboard about this event,” Robinson said. “I think this would be a good thing to put on my resume, and you get paid for it.”

Amina Ait-Bella, a first-year political science student, decided to attend the event because of the potential to receive an oncampus job.

“It would be really nice to have an oncampus job and make money at the same time,” Ait-Bella said.

After students had the chance to meet the LAC staff and ask questions about the different positions, Clark gave a formal presentation.

“I really like being a part of the LAC,” said Dea Stucke, a second- year dietetics student and LAC academic coach. “It’s a nice, easy and convenient job, and I really like to help people. I view it as my way of giving back and using my skills to help others.”

La Mesa Hispana motivates students to practice, perfect their Spanish CAMRI NELSON | CONTRIBUTOR

Whether a student is fluent in Spanish or just a beginner, La Mesa Hispana is an organization at the University of Cincinnati in which students can socialize while improving their understanding of one of the most spoken languages in the world.

Professor Danae Orlins, coordinator of extended basic and intermediate Spanish, has been running the program for the last three years.

Her main goal is to provide a pressurefree environment for students who wish to practice speaking Spanish.

“Students have the opportunity to talk without the pressure of the classroom,” Orlins explained.

Orlins said the pressure of having to pronounce words correctly discourages

students from participating in class. Most of them are afraid of saying something wrong and being made fun of, Orlins said.

Olivia Hill, a first-year psychology student, attends La Mesa Hispana’s meetings on a regular basis. Although she believes reading is her best skill, she said practicing with other students can improve her skills regarding different aspects of the language.

“Getting the opportunity of speaking Spanish is important because it is something you need to learn from the nuances you get from the language that you can’t get off of a page,” Hill said.

Students who wish to join La Mesa Hispana are encouraged to simply show up and participate in its activities. They can also bring their homework and assignments from Spanish classes to get help from more advanced students.

Karen Hildebrant, a first-year chemical

engineering student, attends most of the meetings because she is worried she will loose proficiency in the language — a common sentiment among the students who attend.

“It is very important to talk, because without it the words will not be remembered,” said Pedro Stiver, a fourthyear international relations student who is fluent in Spanish.

Stiver has had the chance to travel to various Latin countries while studying abroad.

After coming back from Guatemala, Stiver said some of the words he had learned there were forgotten due to lack of use. He said he knows from personal experience what happens when you don’t practice a language.

La Mesa Hispana meets every Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR

Professor Orlins leads the conversation during La Mesa Hispana, an all-Spanish speaking hour.

NEWS / 3 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

FROM IT’S ON US PG 3

independently of each other. Wanjuki argued that because of this, each form of oppression needs to be addressed and dismantled simultaneously.

A good sexual assault policy, Wanjuki elaborated, should challenge all of these oppressions as opposed to ignoring them.

Wanjuki said that the language surrounding campus sexual assault is part of the problem. In an interview before her lecture, she said that after her own experience with sexual assault on campus, she realized schools “took advantage of the silence around sexual assault.”

“The way that we’re talking about campus sexual assault is completely wrong,” she said during the talk.“We need to talk about what rape is so we can get to the root of it. I think there is a particular stigma about the word ‘rape’ and we need to recognize the term for what it is.”

There are currently over 50 higher education institutes under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for Title IX violations, according to the U.S Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Ohio State University, Wittenberg University and Denison University are the only three universities in the state with open Title IX investigations.

Wanjuki said that sexual assault policies should be constantly evolving.

“There is no one perfect sexual assault policy,”Wanjuki said.

Speaking about her own experience, she added,“I knew that I felt more empowered to do something about it when I knew I had Title IX behind me.”

FROM PHARMACY PG 3

younger than 18.

The new law will allow pharmacy interns to administer the same immunizations as pharmacists to anyone over the age of 18 and will also allow them to give the flu vaccine to anyone over the age of 7.

“Although there is no difference in the pharmacy student training from a pharmacist, previously we were only allowed to give the [flu] vaccine, which just doesn’t make sense,” Rogers said. “We’re trained in full to do all of them, we just weren’t allowed by law.”

Students at all Ohio universities will benefit from the expanded practices.

“This bill allows interns and pharmacists alike to give all CDC vaccinations under certain conditions, so we will have to change our curriculum to show that,” said Jessica Thorburn, a fourth-year pharmacy student. “It also means that pharmacy interns will have more experience giving all the vaccinations before we become certified pharmacists.”

This change in law is the first major expansion of Ohio immunization laws since its debut almost 10 years ago, Doherty said.

“I’ve been here 15 years, and it was one of the most fun things I’ve done,” Doherty said. “It’s not every day students get to change what they practice.”

FROM ANTHROPOLOGY PG 1

constant evolving nature of human interaction.

Peterson had previously added testimony to a series of scholarly papers focused on the question, “What is the point of media anthropology?”

“Anthropology is better positioned than many other disciplines to explore media practices around the world,” Peterson said in a 2009 essay aimed at answering, “what is the point of media anthropology.” He points out that anthropologists are disciplined to look at media as it establishes itself within human action rather than looking at it as a social phenomenon, which focuses more on the question of what media is. This assertion goes hand in hand with the same point Peterson was driving home Thursday.

“Anthropological study is imperative [when looking at media studies],” said Matthew Talley, a fourth-year archaeology student. “It is the people who are using the media, and what their region, demographic, and associated culture are all play into how they’ll use it. How could you not see its application?”

FROM TASK FORCE PG 3

police investigations operated by third-party sources.

Constance Rice, a Task Force member and civil rights attorney who was selected to lead the a panel that investigated the largest police corruption scandal in Los Angeles Police Department history, has a particular idea of how to improve police and citizen interaction.

“The President’s question is, ‘How do I tell police departments how to get closer to poor communities who are alienated from them and angry with them?’ ” Rice said. “How do I bring them together? And we heard from [LAPD] Chief [Charlie] Beck about a program that does just that.”

Charlie Beck, LAPD police chief and part of the Civilian Oversight panel, worked with Rice to address the hostility that project communities have with the police force.

Beck referenced Jordan Downs, which is historically one of the most violent housing developments in the city of Los Angeles.

“When I was a young police officer in that same neighborhood, we would have three homicides in a weekend,” Beck said.

Jordan Downs has now gone three years without a single homicide from its last murder on Aug. 28, 2011. Beck attributes this to the Community Safety Partnership.

According to Beck, the Community Safety Partnership is a group of police officers that were selected purposely for their emotional intelligence and their ability to work with the community. Selected from hundreds of applicants, these members were put into the toughest housing developments in Los Angeles with the specific mission of building communal ties.

“These are cops who go into the housing projects every day — not in their cars, but on foot — and they go in with gang intervention workers as their partners and they ask the elders, ‘What do you need?’ ” Rice said. “And they’ll say, ‘Well so-and-so has high-blood pressure, but he can’t afford a doctor,’ so what do these cops do? They go out and they get two trailers full of medical equipment, and they gets doctors, and they take them to the housing projects, and they test everyone who needs hypertension testing.”

Rice and Beck also credit the CSP with providing bifocals for senior citizens, ensuring that children arrive to school safely, making sure those students don’t turn to violence, creating afterschool programs and ensuring that preschool programs work, creating lunch programs and providing underprivileged children with computers through charity efforts.

“And when they see the population cleaning the street allies, bringing them glasses, getting them medical treatment, they start to think of the police in a different way, instead of thinking of them as their oppressors, they think of them as, ‘Oh, they’re trying to help us; I get it,’ ” Rice said.

Rice said the relationship then became reciprocal when members of the Bounty Hunter Bloods gang, local to the Jordan Down complex, threatened the LAPD that if action was not taken against Christopher Dorner, an officer who created a 11,000-word list of officers on Facebook he was prepared to kill — including the names of CSP officers — the gang would personally take action against Dorner.

“Whoever heard of black gangsters protecting cops?”

Rice said. “But they wanted to protect these cops. These gang members felt that these cops did such a service to the community that they wanted to protect them, and that tells you a lot.”

Rice also said that their business is to build trust, not make arrests. CSP cops do not make arrests for small drug amounts or small thefts.

“Now when the police walk into Jordan Down’s housing project they get a standing ovation, they don’t get garbage thrown at them, because it’s a model based on service and trust building,” Rice said. “Building trust through service to the populations.”

Audience testimonies Among those who spoke, Eric Ellis, a UC graduate and president and CEO of Integrity Development — a management consultant firm that specializes in diversity inclusion training — spoke extensively about the discussions necessary to diffuse disputes between police and communities.

“We’ve got to rise above the conflict and debate that exist between police and the community; we have to be able to look at the whole fundamentals of problem solving. That’s really where we’re lost,” Ellis said. “Every time we come together, people are either playing offense or defense.”

Ellis, who has served as a consultant for 24 years, noted that citizens do not look at the difficulties of law enforcement because they are too busy playing defense.

“I think until we understand that all people have prejudices, and that sometimes that’s going to manifest

itself into ways that we interact with each other, I think that that is a big part of what we have to do,” Ellis said.

Ellis is also working with Cincinnati Chief of Police Jeffery Blackwell — who purchased Ellis’ book “Diversity Conversations” for every police officer in his department — on community policing mobile apps, which, according to Ellis, would help collect data and research from citizens about the quality of policing, the good examples of policing and the opportunities for improvement.

Ellis also noted that while inequity and unfairness exist, these are the exceptions of successful policing. “[We have to understand] that most police officers do a great job, most citizens are doing a great job,” Ellis said.

“It’s the exceptions that we are — I don’t want to say we’re hyper-focusing on because there are some real and legitimate problems — but we’ve got to stop trying to solve them through adversarial, media-driven ways. We’ve got to be smarter than that.”

Ellis also suggested that one breakthrough in assessment work is Harvard University’s Implicit Bias assessment which screens individuals to measure their prejudice toward a certain group or ethnicity of people. “[This would be done] not to disqualify [police officers], but to help them understand themselves, their own latent biases so they can manage them more effectively,” Ellis said.

Ellis also expanded on the conversations people must consider when they talk about conflict resolutions regarding diversity.

The first conversation occurs in individuals’ heads: their thoughts. Ellis said that each person needs to bring thoughts to the surface in order to understand our mental mappings and some of the stereotypes and vices we all have.

The second conversation occurs between people that are like us, when police members talk to the police or the community members are talking to other community members.

“Sometimes it’s OK if we come to an agreement, but sometimes we have to challenge each other, we have to challenge others like us,” Ellis said.

The third conversation occurs with people who are different than us, and then having the skill, the knowledge, the experience and the exposure to develop meaningful conversations with people who are different than us, Ellis added.

Lacey Jane Brewster, a second-year law student, voiced her concerns about the militarization of the police force.

“I have a real problem when the police, that keep people safe, are also decking themselves to look like a military,” Brewster said. “The police are not there to keep people in place, they are there to serve.”

Brewster spoke of her experience in St. Louis and Ferguson, Missouri, witnessing what she believes was the excessive use of force by police enforcement.

“People should not be afraid that they are going to be shot or beaten by the police while they are exercising their constitutional rights,” Brewster said.

What’s next Ramsey recognizes that change is necessary, but cannot happen overnight.

“It starts with communication, its starts by trying to build trust and understanding that it’s not going to happen overnight, but we can’t just allow things to continue down the path they are right now,” Ramsey said. “Change has to happen.”

Ramsey was not at liberty to address any specific recommendations before the Task Force presents its findings to the President, but said that they have been working hard to hone down the specifics for the March 2 deadline.

The Task Force’s next destination is Phoenix, Arizona, where panelists will listen to another two-day series of panels on Community Policing & Crime Reduction and Training and Education.

Ramsey advises students to work with police officers.

“I was young once, believe it or not, and you see things slightly different, but that’s a good thing — that’s how change happens,” Ramsey said. “We have to push for positive change. That’s how this country was founded.

That’s how it’s going to continue to grow and become even stronger.”

For day two coverage of the White House Task Force, visit newsrecord.org/news

DANIEL SULLIVAN | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

On day two, the first panel discusses research and legal considerations of adding on-body camera systems to police equipment.

4 / SPORTS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

Track and field has successful weekend at two-day meet JAELYNNE JOHNSON | SPORTS EDITOR

The University of Cincinnati track and field programs put up impressive performances this weekend in New York City at the Armory Track Invitational meet, one of the toughest meets of the indoor season.

The two-day meet was held at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory. American Athletic Conference rivals University of Connecticut and University of Central Florida joined Cincinnati in top-caliber competition.

The Bearcats began competing Friday morning and concluded competition Saturday night.

Going into the meet, Bearcat Erika Hurd was on the “to watch” list. Hurd was slated to compete in the Elite division of the women’s high jump event, where she currently holds the nation’s lead with a height of 6 feet 1.25 inches.

The highlight of the meet came from day one, when the Bearcats earned two new school records, having eight top-eight finishes and advancing two student athletes to the finals.

Junior Macklin Tudor had an impressive showing as he broke his own school record in the men’s shot put event by over a foot.

The new school record now stands at 59 feet 4.75 inches. Finishing behind Tudor was junior Stephen Boals of Duke University with a throw of 58 feet 5.25 inches.

For the women in the field, Frida Akerstrom had a third-place finish with a mark of 51 feet 4.5 inches, just two inches away from her career best. Teammates Mekayla Breland garnered a fifth-place finish with a throw of 49 feet 5.75 inches and Leah Heckaman finished eighth with a throw of 47 feet 1.5 inches.

On the track, the Bearcats made their statements as well starting when junior and Cincinnati native Kelsey Mueller broke

the school record in the 1,000-meter run.

Mueller crossed the finish line in a time of 2:50.48 to break former Bearcat Jenna Heaton’s school record time of 2:52.32 from the 2011 indoor season.

Distance runner Toby Loveridge finished fourth overall in the 5,000-meter run with a clocked-in time of 14:31.27, his new personal best.

Teammate Dan Huben finished seventh overall in the 3,000-meter run with a new personal best time of 8:36.23.

The 60-meter hurdle race also had impressive showings for the Bearcats as both Je’Rica Sanders and Bryan Cain advanced to Saturday’s final. Sanders had a time of 8.38 seconds in the semifinals and Cain crossed the line in 7.87 seconds.

400-meter dash record holder Kenya Woodall took sixth in the 400-meter dash Friday in a time of 54.71 seconds.

Heading into Saturday, the Bearcats were in good standings against their competition.

Sanders’ success followed her into Saturday as she marked another personal best time in the 60-meter hurdles with a third-place finish in a time of 8.26 seconds.

Cain finished his meet with a seventhplace finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.90 seconds.

In the field, Adrian Valles took second place in the pole vault event, clearing the height of 16 feet 10.25 inches. Craig Hunter of the University of Connecticut took first place with a height of 17 feet 7 inches.

Hurd concluded her performance with a fourth-place finish in the women’s invitational high jump as she cleared 5 feet 10.75 inches.

The Bearcats will return to the Armory for the 2015 American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Feb. 27-28.

The indoor season continues this weekend as Cincinnati travels back to Akron, Ohio, for the Akron Invitational meet Friday.

PROVIDED

Michael Nwankwo competes in the men’s triple jump at the Armory Invitational track meet on Saturday in New York City, New York.

Swimming and diving falls to UK in final regular season meet JAELYNNE JOHNSON | SPORTS EDITOR

This weekend, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats swimming and diving teams hosted the University of Kentucky Wildcats at home in the Keating Aquatics Center for their final regular season meet.

Sophomore Jackie Keire garnered a win in all three individual events she competed in. In the 50 freestyle, she finished in 23.24 seconds. In the 100 freestyle, she captured first with a time of 51.18 seconds and also won the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:58.34.

Wildcat Paige Wells took second place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.69 seconds — Keire’s

closet race of the meet.

In the women’s 200-yard freestyle, Bearcats Shelby Spitz, Jessica Piper, Milli Puth and Elizabeth Williams were dominated by the Wildcats and took fifth through eighth place finishes respectively.

Chris Bready took first place in the men’s 1,000 touching the wall with a time of 9:23.19, just ahead of UK’s Jamie Stevenson, who clocked in at 9:23.48.

Bready also won this race earlier at Alabama and Western Kentucky last weekend.

The diving aspect of the meet was hosted by UK. For the women, junior Amanda Coffey was the top performer on the platform and three-meter. Coffey finished third in both events with scores of 178.05 and 212.63. Zachary Wolcott earned the top men’s

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score on the platform with a score of 201.4 and teammate Mitch Beerse was the top male on the three-meter board with a score of 238.58.

The men and the women teams both fell to Kentucky with an equal final score of 216-84.

The meet served as a final tune-up before Cincinnati heads to Greensboro, North Carolina, for the American Athletic Conference Championships Feb. 18 through 21.

Following the league championships, swimmers who qualify will travel to the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships. This year’s women’s national meet will be held March 19-21, in Greensboro, North Carolina, while the men’s meet will be held March 26-28 in Iowa City, Iowa.

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ARTS / 5 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Whipped: Miles Teller (left) plays Andrew, the prodigy jazz drummer mentored by the harsh maestro Terrence Fletcher, played by J.K. Simmons (right). The latter won a Golden Globe for his performance.

Drumroll, please: Crescendo builds in Chazelle’s ‘Whiplash’ TONY JOHNSON | STAFF REPORTER

Andy Warhol once said, “What is life but a series of images that flash before your eyes?”

In “Whiplash,” that series of images manifests in flurries of drum rolls and the crashing thunder of cymbals.

The ball-breaking speed of jazz and the absurd amount of rhythm, guts and determination that are required to perform the songs, along with the tense moments in between that are overshadowed by music waiting to be made make this film a thrilling experience.

Miles Teller stars in director Damian Chazelle’s second film as an aspiring jazz musician and Schaffer Conservatory

drum student Andrew.

J.K. Simmons plays Terrence Fletcher, the composer and instructor for the best band at the Conservatory.

When Fletcher calls upon Andrew to be his alternate drummer, Andrew and Fletcher develop an intense, emotionally tumultuous mentor-student relationship.

Fletcher is fierce, vulgar and degrading toward his students, particularly Andrew, who he believes has what it takes. But Fletcher maintains that his teaching style is what makes his students exceed standard expectations, that he is able to push musicians beyond what they thought possible.

“Whiplash” explores the thin line between what it takes to achieve greatness and what it does to Andrew

when he takes the burden upon himself to be “one of the greats.”

But is “Whiplash” one of the greats?

Miles Teller is as good as ever and continues his push to break into the upper echelon of Hollywood (look out for him as Mr. Fantastic in this August’s “Fantastic 4” re-boot).

He carries the role with subtlety and charm, keeping us hoping for the best for Andrew throughout the gripping story up until its breathtaking conclusion.

J.K. Simmons, for his performance as Fletcher, has already been awarded a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, and although the nature of such awards ceremonies invite controversy, it is difficult to argue that Simmons was a poor choice.

Simmons’ take on Fletcher is astounding and brutal, but inspiring. His performance reflects what is so special about the film.

“Whiplash,” like the pursuit of greatness, is not one thing. It confuses you. Hurts you. Kicks you around.

But it also picks you back up, and wipes the dirt from your shirt. You take the good with the bad and you trust your gut.

Few films achieve the level of humanity and believability achieved in “Whiplash.”

The script is focused, the acting magnificent and the direction and video and audio editing all come together for a coherent and heartbreaking yet motivational vision from — as Simmons called 30-year-old director Damian Chazelle during his Globes acceptance speech — “the boy wonder.”

Natalie Prass traces love’s vicious circle in eponymous debut CHRIS STROHOFER | CONTRIBUTOR

Listening to the self-titled debut album from singer-songwriter Natalie Prass feels a lot like your best friend coming to you to vent about their tumultuous relationship.

Despite clocking in at a brief 38 minutes, this record could not be accused of lacking substantial material. Each track is heartbreaking and beautiful — a spilling of emotions onto lush string and horn arrangements.

For her initial release, 29-year-old Prass sought the help of her label’s house band to craft the heart-wrenching instrumentation that leads you through each confessional track. What you hear in this record is the contribution of more than 30 musicians — Prass has referred to the record as a “community.”

The collaborative effort certainly comes through on the record, and what might otherwise feel like an intensely private and introspective album feels more like an anthem for anyone who’s felt the pain of a doomed relationship.

The opening track introduces you to Prass through the tragic realization that her home is occupied with her significant-otherturned-stranger.“Our love is a long goodbye,” she coos repeatedly on the chorus.

It’s a bittersweet reminder that, though a love may not be meant to last, it doesn’t

PROVIDED mean there’s no lingering love left.

Joan (Cate White) recants her experiences following the sudden death of her husband and daughter and the self-discovery that emerged from the trauma.

This is an important lesson to kick off an album that feels like a musical representation of love’s vicious circle.

In the next track,“Bird of Prey,” an empowered Prass decides to flee her doomed relationship and all its concurrent ZACK HATFIELD | ARTS EDITOR slipping health of her daughter Quintana, also employed to provide images, but the suffering. who is kept in an ICU. Also like the lighting interfered and whited the visuals However, as anyone familiar with love will Joan Didion has been experiencing a bit memoir, it is nonlinear, as Didion prefers out completely. know, cutting a relationship out of your life of a cultural resurgence lately. to tell her story in circular digressions that Musical transitions seemed unnecessary is rarely a clean cut.

A quarter of a million dollars was raised reveal linked observations. and embarrassing in their tones, which The following track, titled “Your Fool,” finds on Kickstarter to fund a documentary on “Life changes in the instant,” Joan says in would be more at home in a honky-tonk Prass abandoning her lover in the search her life helmed by her nephew, Griffin both the book and play. “You sit down to than a solo performance meditating on of happiness elsewhere, but the bittersweet Dunne, and the Internet had a little dinner and life as you know it ends.” grief. memories of her ex still haunt the thoughts moment last month when she was featured But whereas Didion’s voice in the memoir Didion’s story is cathartic and selfin her new life. in a Céline advertisement (you may have appeared uprooted, broken but controlled, revealing, but this production could have The tragic ballad “Violently” describes the seen her fragile presence paired with the White’s Joan is looking for answers the transferred more of those qualities to the emotional exhaustion that pining for lost brand logo plastered all over Instagram). real Joan knows do not exist. stage. Unfortunately it spends a lot of love inevitably brings after long stretches of But Didion’s legacy has nothing to do its time not pulling at heartstrings, but time without them. with the world of couture. She’s a literary grasping at straws.

Despite her overwhelming desire to return icon and master stylist of prose. to her ex, she knows it’s the wrong decision.

It’s no wonder the small venue of College “The Year of Magical Thinking” is showing Her suffering reaches a crescendo during Hill Town Hall decided to start their series through Feb. 28 at College Hill Town Hall. the bridge when she whispers,“And I’ll of one-act shows with “The Year of Magical break all my bones/because they all, they all Thinking,” a play adapted by Didion and want you,” before returning to the heartbased on her elegiac memoir exploring the wrenching chorus. aftermath of her husband and daughter’s — JOAN DIDION This track represents the height of her deaths, both of which occurred only a year longing before each following song finds her apart.

White was able to traverse the emotional resolve weakening, before landing on the Local theater vet Lyle Benjamin landscape Didion wrote and experienced final track,“It Is You.” directs Cate White in this one-act solo with some grace, relaying memories The closing song is the only positive performance, and although White exhibits of eating hamburgers with her dying representation of love on the album, with a feat of memorization and harnesses a daughter at an airstrip in a Kansas fluttering, romantic strings and mellifluous world of grief, it stands out that she does cornfield with poignancy. It’s difficult to be vocals from Prass. not inhabit the same world Joan does. The able to summon up the imagery of Joan’s After the previous eight tracks, it’s difficult role of Joan requires the same delicate past, and White is able to do this through to be optimistic. However, listeners can’t resilience, the dense intellectual acumen patience and timing. help but be glad that Prass has managed to displayed in the memoir, itself certainly a The script is elliptical, at times a must for pull some sort of joy from her relationship, masterpiece of chronicling the trauma and the character to reflect, question and savor however long it may have lasted. memory the production reaches for, but what she has just said; but other times it is This record deals strictly in love, a subject seems to never hold. too much, making it seem like the actress cultivated by writers for ages. However, Like the book, the dramatic narrative is simply trying to remember her line.

Natalie Prass goes beyond using us as the orbits around Joan’s fragmentary The set is sparsely arranged: a desk with shoulder for her to cry on. memories and the salvaged clues to a few books alluded to by Joan, a music Through her lyrical honesty and lush understanding the implications of death. stand that holds a couple of mementos, orchestration, it’s far more compelling to It’s full of literary references and intimate a bench. Curiously, three large mirrors enthusiastically sing along and perhaps remembrances of hospital visits and are placed around the stage, letting the contribute a little of our own suffering in an

PROVIDED vacations in exotic locations as Joan audience glimpse occasionally at another overwhelming, collaborative and bittersweet Joan (Cate White) staves off a mental breakdown mourns the loss of her husband and perspective of Joan. A projector was debut. in the one-act play, which was written in 2007.

Theater review: ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’

“

Life changes in the instant ...

You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.

6 / SPORTS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

UC Bearcats upset defending national champions Cincinnati player ejected from game after getting two technical fouls DAVID WYSONG | STAFF REPORTER

There were 11,092 fans at Fifth Third Arena Thursday night as the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team took on the defending national champions, the University of Connecticut Huskies.

With the teams’ rivalry carrying over from their time in the Big East together, this matchup was primed to be intense.

With everyone wondering what the Bearcats could do, the team made a statement in the first half. The Bearcats’ defensive pressure came when their 2-3 defense forced the Huskies to commit 13 turnovers in the first half.

Their defensive intensity transitioned the team to a high-energy offense in the half.

Cincinnati first jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two quick three-pointers. They then led 17-9 with 10:35 left in the half, but the Huskies answered and went on a 9-4 run to trim the lead to three, making the score 21-18.

The Bearcats responded back with a 9-4 run to end the half with the lead, 30-22.

Sophomore guard Troy Caupain left the first half with four points.

The second half was a different story for the young guard; he came out fast and had five points out of the gate. This put the Bearcats on a 9-4 run to extend their lead to 39-26.

After a fast break layup where Caupain was fouled for the opportunity to complete an and-one play, he received a technical foul for staring down a player.

Caupain then went to the locker room with a knot on his head from being hit by an elbow from a UConn player.

Caupain was not gone for long though.

The sensational guard came back with 10:36 left in the game and continued to produce.

On his first possession back, he made a running floater to keep the lead at 13 with the score at 50-37.

Caupain was still playing well when there was 2:24 left in the game, and he beat the shot clock on an inbound pass to make the score 66-52.

After that shot, Caupain said something to his teammate and got his second technical foul of the game.

That foul meant an automatic ejection for Caupain. He left the game with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists.

After Caupain’s ejection, the Huskies

made a late game push with a 6-0 run to trim the score to 66-58.

But the Bearcats did what they did all night, answering UConn’s run with a 6-0 run of their own to win the game 70-58.

On Jan. 10, the Bearcats lost to the Huskies in Hartford, Connecticut, 62-56 when Caupain was outplayed by UConn senior guard Ryan Boatright.

Caupain took that loss personally, leading to his stellar performance Thursday.

“I took that game real personal,” Caupain said in a post-game press conference. “It kind of touched my insides when we lost last time. [Boatright] is a great player, and matchups like that is what you come to college basketball for.

“Playing against Boatright and having a wonderful game has been running through my mind since practice. … Real hoopers, they take games like that personal.”

With two technical fouls and an ejection from the game, Caupain had some questions to answer.

“The first tech I understand, but the second one I was talking to my teammate and it could have been the perception the ref took of it, and he T’d me up,” Caupain said. “That’s the game of basketball though — it’s a game of emotion.”

There was another great performance by a young UC player on Thursday night; freshman forward Gary Clark only had two points in the last matchup against UConn, but on Thursday he dominated inside the paint with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“I was really patient this time,” Clark said. “I was really going to the glass offensively and making sure that I was in the right position to score. At their place (in Hartford) I was really rushing and worrying about the shot blockers, but tonight I was taking my time.”

The Bearcat basketball team is now 15-6 overall and 6-3 in the American Athletic Conference.

Cincinnati hit the road for a Sunday afternoon conference match against East Carolina University were they lost 50-46.

The Bearcats are currently third in the AAC behind Southern Methodist University and Tulsa University.

The team was victorious over SMU on Jan. 3, but will face the Mustangs on Thursday. They then play the first-place Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Wednesday, March 4. The team looks to go on a run to the NCAA tournament moving forward.

DANIEL SULLIVAN | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Gary Clark (11) came up with his second career double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds against UConn.

Coach sees growth in tight loss Women’s basketball underclassmen step up in 56-44 loss against Tigers KENSINGTON WIELAND | CONTRIBUTOR

In the 47th meeting since 2005 between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Memphis Tigers, the Bearcats suffered another loss in conference play, 56-44.

UC took the floor in Fifth Third Arena Wednesday after facing a top-ranked University of Connecticut Huskies just days before.

The Bearcats held the Huskies to under 100 points in a game that head coach Jamelle Elliott called successful because “we came out of there injury free and I didn’t see any bad body language, any negativity.”The Bearcats lost to the Huskies 96-31.

The same could be said for the matchup against Memphis, where Cincinnati put up a fight and came out strong in the first period, taking an early 8-4 lead.

After getting out-rebounded in the first half, the Bearcats ultimately won the rebounding battle 36-35.

A last-second three-point shot from freshman and Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, native Makenzie Cann brought the score to 22-25 at the half.

The blow to Cincinnati came when the Tigers opened the second half of the intense back-and-forth game with a 14-4 run to build a 13-point lead on the Bearcats, making the score 39-26.

The team did, however, come back to close the gap to seven points with a 14-3 run which Elliott credits to sophomore Marley Hill’s defensive growth and superior low post presence.

Hill, Owens and Bianca Quisenberry, three of the five starters in the contest against Memphis, are at the top of the list

on a team that Elliot said is “committed to growth.”

Cincinnati did see season highlights in this game with Cann, draining a three in the first half to mark the 15th time this season she has found the net from outside the key. This added to UC’s five other three-pointers made during the game that marked the most they have had on the stat sheet since playing the University of Tulane Dec. 28.

Elliott said she is most proud of her team for “fighting back from 18 down to cut it to seven.”

Hill’s double-doubles may have been an obvious highlight, but Elliott challenged Hill “to grow her game in different areas, and she’s committed to that and we saw that tonight.”

The youthful Cincinnati team, which boasts eight of its 12 players as underclassmen, has suffered through a tough first half of the season, holding a 6-15 record overall.

The Bearcats have made early sweeps over Kentucky Wesleyan University, Delaware University and University of Detroit before winning back-to-back in early 2015, first on the road at the University of Houston and then at home against the University of Central Florida.

The latter marked a season-high scoring record for the Bearcats creeping over the Cougars 76-73 in a double-overtime match.

These two wins also proved to be the grounds for talented underclassmen to make their mark.

Hill was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week and teammate freshman Ana Owens also collected accolades such as leading the league in total game minutes, averaging 16.5 minutes per game.

The Bearcats hit Fifth Third Arena again Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. to play AAC foe Houston.

DANIEL SULLIVAN | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Memphis defenders Breigha Wilder-Cochran, left, and Asia Fuqua-Bey, right, double-team UC’s Bianca Quisenberry (22) and fight for possession during a conference game Wednesday.