February 3, 2022

Some students say budget didn’t impact decision to attend OU PG 6 Faculty layoffs continue to impact smaller university departments PG 10 Student movements surrounding budget cuts have widely fallen off PG 14-15 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Why we made The Budget Issue

ABBY MILLER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

We’ve all heard it at one point or another during our time at Ohio University: The university is in a “budget crisis.”

I first heard those buzzwords when I was a sophomore in 2019. As a journalist, the rush of countless discussions and demonstrations related to OU’s uncertain financial position led me down a lot of rabbit holes. I can’t begin to tell you how many times in the last few years I’ve opened up one of OU’s budget books or felt my eyes glaze over while staring at spreadsheets filled with numbers.

Then, COVID-19 hit. The closure of dining and residence halls combined with lost parking fees cost OU millions. Although some grace measures, such as a temporary pause on “budget reductions,” were put in place, OU’s Board of Trustees still authorized the use of $65 million from its reserves through the 2024 fiscal year. Some upper administrators, such as former OU President Duane Nellis, took voluntary pay cuts.

Despite the hardships COVID-19 has put on OU — and virtually every other institution of higher education — the university was projected in December 2021 to end Fiscal Year 2021 with a surplus of $42.6 million.

Though CARES Act funding was partially attributed as a reason for that surplus, some in the OU community have expressed con-

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Abby Miller MANAGING EDITOR Bre Offenberger DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Matthew Geiger EDITORIAL NEWS EDITORS Emma Skidmore, Ryan Maxin ASST. NEWS EDITOR Molly Wilson PROJECTS EDITOR Taylor Burnette SPORTS EDITOR Jack Gleckler ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Ashley Beach CULTURE EDITOR Riley Runnells ASST. CULTURE EDITOR Kayla Bennett OPINION EDITOR Mikayla Rochelle ASST. OPINION EDITOR Hannah Campbell THE BEAT EDITOR Madyson Lewellyn ASST. THE BEAT EDITOR Emma Dollenmayer COPY CHIEF Anna Garnai SLOT EDITORS Anastasia Carter, Will Cunningham, Bekah Bostick, Isabel Nissley ART ART DIRECTOR Mary Berger ASST. ART DIRECTOR Olivia Juenger DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Nate Swanson PHOTO EDITOR Jesse Jarrold-Grapes DIGITAL WEB DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Brianna Lender AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Jack Hiltner ASST. AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Claire Schiopota DIRECTOR OF MULTIMEDIA Noah DeSantis BUSINESS DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Andrea Lewis MEDIA SALES Grace Vannan, Jamyson Butler 2 / FEB 3, 2022

fusion and anger as to why mass layoffs and other financial decisions have still been implemented in light of the pandemic, this surplus and other promising university trends, like increased enrollment.

To help cut through some of this confusion and to better give an understanding of OU’s budget position and how we got here, The Post presents “The Budget Issue.”

In these pages — or on our special landing page online — you’ll find a mix of explainers, reported articles, commentary and data visualization all meant to give context, nuance and perspective on the past and present standings of OU’s budget. For older Bobcats, we hope this issue reminds you of how our campus responded to financial concerns before the pandemic hit while also educating you on where we are today. Newer Bobcats may not have heard about the “budget crisis” or know about all the student advocacy that broke out a mere two years ago. We hope this issue arms you with the knowledge to fully understand the budget situation and how it impacts different facets of our campus community.

Our news editors, Ryan Maxin and Emma Skidmore, dived into why student movements advocating against budget cuts have died down on campus. Maxin also wrote

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about how many new and current students did not research OU’s budget before choosing to come here, and multiple news reporters have data included in their stories to give a more visual picture of OU’s finances.

Conversations related to the budget can be complex. This situation is not explicitly good or bad nor is it black or white. While some individuals we talked to for this issue wouldn’t say OU is in a “budget crisis,” many did express concerns over what further reductions may be necessary for OU to stabilize financially. That’s a perspective more than worth exploring.

I’m incredibly proud of the news, opinion, projects, design, coding, copy and photography staff members who have played a role in this issue. We hope this issue helps inform our university community and empowers them to use their voice in budgetary discussions that continue to impact us all.

Abby Miller is a senior studying journalism and political science at Ohio University and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Have questions? Email Abby at am166317@ohio.edu or tweet her @abblawrence.

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Clarifying the ‘crisis’

Some say OU is not in a budget crisis, must continue to manage costs

ABBY MILLER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ohio University leadership has refuted claims of an ongoing budget crisis for years and continues to say the university’s financial position is strong despite contrary characterizations by some in the campus community.

Discussions of an alleged financial crisis reached a tipping point during November 2019. That month, a group of OU faculty members met to discuss the university’s financial state in addition to a possible walkout and faculty unionization efforts, according to a previous Post report.

Student discussion of the budget also flourished that month, with a student group called OU Fun Facts posting flyers around campus with “fun facts” about OU’s budget on them. The group also organized a protest against proposed budget cuts Nov. 25, 2019, which saw about 200 people in attendance.

That same day, former OU President Duane Nellis sent a university-wide email condemning the spread of budget misinformation and denying the existence of a “financial crisis” at OU. Nellis acknowledged, however, the university was in a “critical moment that requires action,” citing decreasing enrollment

and students graduating quicker than the typical four-year track as reasons for decreasing revenue.

The “strong” financial position of the university was further affirmed by former Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Deb Shaffer at a Jan. 16, 2020, Board of Trustees meeting. Shaffer said the university had over $1 billion at the time, but some was unspendable due to bonds and other financial restrictions.

While COVID-19 significantly impacted the university’s budget, OU was still projected to end Fiscal Year 2021 with a $42.6 million surplus, according to a previous Post report. Some of that money comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act. Carly Leatherwood, a university spokesperson, said OU President Hugh Sherman has emphasized the university’s comfortable financial position since entering office in June 2021.

“His message has been consistent: Ohio University’s financial position is strong, and we have one of the strongest balance sheets of any institution in the state,” Leatherwood said in an email. “He has also been clear that across the higher education landscape we’ve seen a flattening of revenues, increases in competition, the escalation of expenses, and

shifts in programmatic interest. All of those realities require financial discipline so that we can invest in innovative programs, academic quality and student success.”

Richard Vedder, a distinguished professor of economics emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he believes the term “crisis” is overused. While he does think the university is in a challenging budget environment, he believes it can be solved without dramatic changes and warrants a response.

Vedder pointed to the projected surplus, an increase in the number of students applying for university honors programs and a recent uptick in enrollment as reasons why OU’s position has seemed to improve over the past six months. When factors like those are on the up, cuts and crises tend to be decreased, Vedder said.

“We maybe ought to talk about long-term structural change and use terms like that to describe what we’re in,” Vedder said. “I think … universities are always in transformation.

We’re in a transformative period, but I don’t think we’re in a crisis.”

Similarly, Joseph McLaughlin, an English professor and vice president of the OU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said some reports of the budget situation have been sensationalistic.

While he does understand the severity of situations resulting from OU’s financial position — such as the laying off of 53 instruction faculty members — he worries about the impacts of overstating the case.

McLaughlin agrees increasing enrollment and the budget surplus are signs of hope for OU. He said when it comes to finances, it’s always good to be conservative and have reserves. OU has built up its reserves and subsequently started to dip into them. Doing so shouldn’t be a sign of a crisis, McLaughlin said, because reserves are intended to be there to help as a rainy-day fund.

Vedder said Sherman, as the former dean of the College of Business, is sound with money and is also getting direction from the Board of Trustees on financial matters.

Both Vedder and McLaughlin believe the university is pursuing strategies to minimize spending, though McLaughlin believes strategies like reducing faculty are misguided. Pursuing the wrong solutions to financial struggles, McLaughlin said, could make difficulties worse or more long-lasting.

“It seems to be that the administration’s plan for dealing with budget difficulties continues to be this idea that we have too many faculty,and that we need to cut faculty rather than addressing the buildup of serious administrative bloat that’s happened over the course of the last 10 years,” McLaughlin said. “As you continue to fire faculty … you get into this situation where with fewer faculty, that means bigger classes for students.

It means less curricular diversity, and that does not strike me as a recipe for improving our enrollment situation.”

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Athens County reports 4 new COVID deaths, OU granted Research 1 status SOPHIE YOUNG STAFF WRITER Coronavirus: 4 COVID-19 related deaths recorded Over the weekend, Athens County reported four new COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the total number of pandemic deaths to 111.

The Ohio Department of Health also listed 238 new cases in Athens. The county has over 2,500 active COVID-19 cases and a 16.2% positivity rate.

So far, 52.83% of the Athens population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 49.15% fully vaccinated. Over 16,000 residents have received additional doses.

Ohio University receives Research 1 status Ohio University was recently awarded an R1 certification, signifying Research 1 status, by Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education for a high level of research activity taking place at the university.

R1 status is the highest level of recognition for

the Carnegie Classification, indicating that the university awarded “at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees and had at least $5 million in total research expenditures.”

The university is now one of just 141 institutions across the U.S. to receive the distinction, according to a university email sent Monday. The certification will grant the university more visibility as a public research institution, the email said. A celebration will be taking place at a later date.

U.S. Senate candidates Josh Mandel and Morgan Harper debate race, environment Two U.S. Senate candidates, Morgan Harper and Josh Mandel, faced off at a debate on Jan. 27 moderated by Matter News Managing Director Cassie Young and Awake America Ohio State Director Daniel Wolvin.

The candidates discussed relevant topics including the environment, citizen rights, racial equity and others.

Mandel expressed his belief that the fossil fuel industry is an asset to the Midwest, while Harper countered him, saying government-elected offi-

cials should focus on addressing the climate crisis and not accept money from fossil fuel companies.

The candidates also clashed over the historic idea of the separation of church and state, which Mandel believes to be a fallacy. He also advocated for the idea that the U.S. was founded on Judeo-Christian values, not Islam or Atheism.

Harper made clear that she feels a core American value is the separation of church and state and the ability for citizens to worship in whatever way they choose.

Mandel feels confident he can win over a great number of Black voters by advocating a message of freedom and liberty. However, Harper alleged that the Republican party does not have Black voters’ interests in mind. Harper promoted her idea of making sure Ohio is a “state of the future” with focus on the people who live there. @SOPHIELISEY SY951319@OHIO.EDU

POLICE BLOTTER

Landlord, renter dispute; Vehicle removed from State Route 56 MOLLY WILSON ASST. NEWS EDITOR Rummaging through The Athens County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of two individuals going through a vehicle on South Plains Road in The Plains.

When deputies arrived, they found no evidence that the vehicle was entered. Units were unable to locate the individuals when patrolling the area.

Renters’ rights The sheriff’s office was contacted by a resident of Mineral, in Athens County, in reference to a dispute between the caller and her landlord.

In the complaint, it was stated the landlord had shut the renter’s water off. The sheriff’s office contacted the landlord, who stated the complainant did not allow him on the property to do a maintenance check on her residence.

Both parties were advised to contact the courts for the issue.

Nothing but construction here Deputies from the sheriff’s office were dispatched to North Clinton Street in The Plains for 4 / FEB. 3, 2022

an open-line 911 call.

When units arrived on scene, they discovered that it had been a construction worker who had accidentally pocket-dialed 911.

There was no emergency, and deputies returned to patrol.

Not your money Deputies were dispatched to North Plains Road in The Plains for a report that a stolen debit card was used at several locations.

The investigation is pending, and a report was taken.

However, no vehicles that matched the described vehicle of the suspect were able to be located in that area.

Storage troubles Deputies from the sheriff’s office responded to The Plains in reference to a reported breaking and entering of a storage unit.

Deputies are currently investigating the matter.

Hey, that’s my spot!

The sheriff’s office received a report for a parking dispute on Jan. 31. It was found that the involved parties had rights to the same shared driveway.

Both parties were advised to address the issue with their landlord.

Abandoned vehicle The sheriff’s office responded to State Route 56 in Athens for a report of a suspicious person and vehicle.

Units responded to the scene, but the vehicle appeared to be disabled with nobody around.

The vehicle was obstructing a driveway for a local church and was tagged for removal.

No further action was taken.

Threatening person Deputies responded to The Plains in response to someone calling for help.

Deputies located the individual who reported that they were threatened by someone in a vehicle.

@MOLLYWMARIE MW542219@OHIO.EDU

Admin Worries OU, faculty respond to administrative costs EMMA SKIDMORE NEWS EDITOR Administrative bloat is a phenomenon affecting universities across the nation, and faculty are concerned about how it’s manifesting at Ohio University.

Joe McLaughlin, vice president of Ohio University’s chapter of American Association of University Professors, or OU-AAUP, said administrative bloat happens when an institution increases its administrative footprint in terms of both people and financial resources.

The average base salary for a full-time faculty member, including instructional and tenure or tenure-track faculty, is $86,511, while it’s $74,204 for a full-time administrator, Carly Leatherwood, a university spokesperson, said. However, the majority of faculty only serve nine-month appointments.

In the last 10 years, McLaughlin said, there has been a visible increase in the number of administrators at the university and in the money going to administrative salaries and benefits. Conversely, he said, the same metrics for faculty members have stayed relatively stagnant.

The university was unable to provide an accurate number of new administrative hires in the last year at this time. However, Leatherwood said the university has invested in “key areas” with new administrative positions, such as enrollment management and OU online programs.

“I think that the frustration on the part of AAUP and faculty, in general, is the fact that the university is dealing with some pretty significant budget issues and, rather than looking at this issue of administrative bloat, their solutions continue to be to look to cutting faculty,” McLaughlin said.

In turn, McLaughlin said those choices affect students, as they result in larger class sizes and a decrease of diversity in curricular offerings.

McLaughlin highlighted the class and program cuts made in the Department of Modern Languages, which now lacks Russian classes and is only able to offer a minor in German rather than a major.

“Those don’t seem like strategies to deal with enrollment issues,” he said.

OU President Hugh Sherman said at both the administrative and faculty level, there are no plans for future layoffs. There is, however, a voluntary retirement and separation program, or VSRP, targeted to certain departments in which the university feels there is a surplus of faculty.

In a report provided to OU-AAUP by a faculty member, research indicated that from

2012 to 2019, the salaries and benefits paid to the top 250 administrations increased by 38%. Taking inflation into account, this is a 23% increase, he said. “(The) analysis seems to indicate that about 25% of our current budget deficit at the university can be attributed to the above-inflation increases to the top 250 administrative salaries,” McLaughlin said. “What AAUP would like to see is some right-sizing.”

OU’s current pay administration guidelines “reflect both the role of the job within the university and external market practices,” according to OU’s Human Resources website.

“The university will continue to monitor the market and will recommend adjustments to the pay structure, as appropriate, to ensure that it continues to reflect competitive pay,” the website reads.

New hires in administrative and professional positions who have a starting pay offer above the 25th percentile of the pay grade must have that offer reviewed by the Planning Unit and by Compensation prior to making the offer, according to the website.

An administrative and staffing history study from 2020 shows that from 2008 and 2019, OU hired roughly 314 new administrative positions and only increased faculty positions by about 124. Classified positions were decreased by 149 employees in this same time frame.

“Several years ago, there was a redefinition of what is an administrator and what is classified staff, and a bunch of people were moved to administrators from classified,” Robin Oliver, vice president for university communications and marketing, said.

“

“The idea that administrators are getting bonuses while letting go of over 400 people last year and buying out a bunch of faculty this year is outrageous. They’re congratulating themselves when they are flushing the university down the toilet.”

-Judith Grant, a political science professor

In the study, OU said average salaries for faculty and administrators have increased at “basically the same rate.”

“The reality is that there have been increases in both faculty and non-faculty positions,” Oliver said.

Including both full- and part-time employees from 2020 to 2021, OU stood at 1,607 administrative positions and 1,629 faculty positions. However, the number of part-time faculty is significantly higher than that of part-time administrators.

“We’re really being careful and strategic when somebody leaves,” Sherman said.

“There’s a lot of flow that naturally happens of people who leave voluntarily. That’s our biggest way that we can assess the need to replace that person.”

Sherman acknowledged the previous faculty layoffs and the effects those layoffs had on the university and staff. However, he said he is working to keep repeating the message that OU is not planning any further layoffs.

“The university is in really good shape,” Sherman said. “This university has been well-managed financially over the last 10 years, and even though there are some difficult times, they made sure that we have the financial resources to invest.”

Looking to the future, Sherman said he is focused on recruiting and retaining junior faculty members to bolster the student experience. He said there is no plan to increase administration, and administrative positions have actually been reduced over the past few years.

Some professors still see problem areas in the current administrative structure — one of which includes bonuses.

Judith Grant, a political science professor, and John O’Keefe, a history professor at OU’s Chillicothe campus, spearheaded a resolution in Faculty Senate to exclude deans,

ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA JUENGER vice presidents, presidents, provost, chiefs or anyone holding a Department of Athletics position with a base salary exceeding the governor of Ohio’s from receiving monetary bonuses, according to a previous Post report.

“I felt like (the reaction from Senate) was really positive,” Grant said. “In fact, the resolution that John and I initially proposed was not as what not as strong as the one that passed. We proposed limits on the bonuses, and one of the senators said, ‘Why are we having bonuses at all?’”

Grant said she did not initially think about the resolution in this way because she believed there was “no chance” the university would do that, given it is commonplace in higher-education institutions throughout the nation.

“The administration is treated like business executives and, therefore, they have bonuses,” she said. “That is a relatively new practice, and I don’t think it should continue.”

O’Keefe said the issues, such as administrative bloat, that OU-AAUP is bringing awareness to are important conversations many people agree with and care about. He said by skewing the cost of administration or paying administrative above-inflation rates, it can cause issues for students, such as concern about having the course offerings to facilitate a timely graduation.

“The idea that administrators are getting bonuses while letting go of over 400 people last year and buying out a bunch of faculty this year is outrageous,” Grant said. “They’re congratulating themselves when they are flushing the university down the toilet.”

@E_SKIDMOREGS ES320518@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 5

Budget Being Overlooked Little consideration given to OU budget during college selection process, students say RYAN MAXIN NEWS EDITOR Prospective and current Ohio University students often did not research the university’s budget when deciding to attend.

The university has faced widespread scrutiny in recent years in regards to its budget due to lack of shared governance, layoffs, program cuts and more.

Frustrations from students, faculty and staff have sparked protests and student-run movements, including OU Fun Facts and Save OUr Profs.

Despite those issues, Emily Mapes, a sophomore studying health, said she hadn’t given any thought to OU’s financial health when deciding to attend the university. As a transfer student from Ohio State University, Mapes said she’s heard negative comments from her friends regarding the budget but never anything specific.

Mapes also said she was unsure how knowledge of the budget would impact her day to day because she is a commuter student.

“I think a lot of students probably wouldn’t care or know what to do with that information — like me, I wouldn’t know what to do with it — but I feel like it should be more transparent or available,” Mapes said.

One person who said they could benefit from knowing more about the budget was Konrad Gerhart, a high school student from St. Louis, who visited OU on Saturday with his father, Nick Gerhart.

Konrad Gerhart said he hadn’t examined the budgets of other colleges he applied to, though Nick Gerhart said he started wondering about the budget during their tour of the university, including when he saw what he described as “dilapidated” university buildings.

Carly Leatherwood, a university spokesperson, said OU does not typically discuss different things associated with its budget as part of its student recruitment efforts. However, Leatherwood said the university is happy to discuss those topics with families who are interested.

“OHIO’s student-centered commitments — to academic excellence, to a high-quality student experience and to on-plan graduation that leads to suc-

cessful outcomes, all at a competitive, affordable level of investment — are the same commitments that are driving major budget decisions at the university,” Leatherwood said in an email.

After their experience at OU, Nick and Konrad Gerhart said they’d both want to look into OU’s and other universities’ finances before deciding on a place to go to college.

Like Mapes and the Gerharts, Emily McClure, a junior studying psychology, also didn’t give much thought to OU’s budget when deciding to attend, though she wishes she would have.

One area where McClure has noticed problems with OU’s budget is in the residence halls, she said. When repairs

“

I think a lot of students probably wouldn’t care or know what to do with that information — like me, I wouldn’t know what to do with it — but I feel like it should be more transparent or available.”

have been needed in her residence hall room or in the residence hall itself, those repairs have not been made.

In Adams Hall, where McClure lives, there have been recurring issues with the hall’s sprinkler system and fire alarms, she said.

Although other students have overlooked the university’s budget situation, Graham Knerr, a freshman studying civil engineering, said he considered it so he could make sure OU was putting adequate funds toward his major program. Even then, Knerr said, the budget wasn’t a huge factor in his decision to come to OU, something he thinks other students should mirror.

@RYANMAXIN RM554219@OHIO.EDU

-Emily Mapes, a sophomore studying health

ILLUSTRATION BY MARY BERGER 6 / FEB. 3, 2022

GAMES

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 7

Tuition Thaw

OU yet to decide tuition increases after COVID-19 freeze

O

hio University froze all tuition increases due to the onset of COVID-19 for the 2020-2021 academic year and refrained from increasing tuition at the percentage allowed by the state of Ohio during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Each year, the state of Ohio decides the maximum percentage increase of tuition public universities can implement. That percentage is separate from infl ation increases, which universities

8 / FEB. 3, 2022

ADDIE HEDGES FOR THE POST also use to determine the cost of tuition.

Prior to COVID-19, OU charged tuition increases matching the amount allowed by the state of Ohio, John Day, OU’s budget director, said. However, recognizing the effect the coronavirus pandemic had on many individuals, the OU Board of Trustees agreed to opt out of implementing the 3.5% increase in tuition the state of Ohio allowed.

“For the 2020-21 academic year, our increase was 0% because of concerns

with the impact COVID was having on the economy,” Day said in an email. “We were the only public university in Ohio to do 0% - others mostly took the full 3.5% allowed.”

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, OU decided to continue increasing tuition but only by an amount that would cover the costs of infl ation.

For the 2021-2022 academic year, tuition increased at the rate of infl ation, which was 1.8% or roughly $112 per semester.

If OU would have opted to increase tuition for the 2021-2022 academic year at the maximum percentage allowed by the state, which was 2%, the increase would have been 3.8% with inflation costs, costing students nearly $237 more per semester.

The current cost of tuition for the 2021-2022 academic year is set at $12,840 for Ohio residents before individual scholarships or financial aid.

This price does not include the cost

of room and board or university meal plans. A standard double room and Traditional 14 meal plan, which allows students 14 meals a week in any residential dining courts, would bring the total cost up to an estimated $24,702 per year.

The percentage allowed next year by the state is 4.6% which, if implemented, will cost new students about $290 more per semester than students who enrolled for the 2021-2022 academic year.

The Board has yet to decide what percentage they will adopt for the 20222023 academic year.

Year-to-year increases only affect students enrolling as first-year students. Other students have the option of paying a predetermined tuition rate when they enroll at OU with the OHIO Guarantee+ program, which protects students from tuition increases for 12 consecutive semesters, or four years.

“The Guarantee rate cannot be extended beyond those 12 semesters, regardless of whether a student has taken classes in all of them,” Candace Boeninger, vice president for enrollment, said in an email. “Exceptions are available for students in majors that are known to take longer than 128 hours to graduate, or for students with extenuating circumstances, such as military deployment.”

Enrollment increased during the first two years after the OHIO Guarantee+ was implemented but has steadily decreased since the 2016-2017 academic year. The 2020-2021 academic year’s enrollment was the lowest it has been in nearly 10 years.

Students and their families considering enrolling at OU have responded

“

The Guarantee rate cannot be extended beyond those 12 semesters, regardless of whether a student has taken classes in all of them,”

-Candace Boeninger, vice president for enrollment, said in an email

ILLUSTRATION BY MARY BERGER well to the program, Boeninger said.

But although the Guarantee+ program has gained the approval of some students, others said it did not influence their decision to attend OU in any significant way. Emma Graham, a senior studying wildlife conservation, felt it was an added bonus but not a key component in the decision to enroll.

“I don’t think it was influential, but I definitely appreciated (it),” Graham said. “I feel like it was helpful. I knew I was going to OU, so it wasn’t really a (determining factor).”

As tuition rates continue to increase, Graham said the Guarantee+ program is an influence to complete college in the allotted time to avoid paying a higher tuition rate, should it exceed the 12-semester limit.

“I would definitely try to get it done (within 12 semesters),” Graham said. “(I

would) maybe take a gap year or two to make the money to pay for it if the Guarantee wasn’t still being applied.”

Being able to have a set tuition rate keeps things clear for those who have to take out student loans, Mallory Majoy, a freshman psychology major, said.

Not needing to guess what her loans will and won’t cover gives her peace of mind, Majoy said.

Next year’s tuition rate will be decided during the OU Board of Trustees Biennial Budget meeting in March or June.

@ADDIEHEDGES AH766719@OHIO.EDU

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Instruction After Layoffs OU faculty continue to grapple with the effects of 2020 layoffs PAIGE FISHER FOR THE POST

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Ohio University’s faculty morale has been low since cuts made in 2020. The faculty that remain are trying their best to keep their programs going, but it has been difficult for those affected.

In May 2020, OU notified 53 instructional faculty members that their contracts would not be renewed to mitigate some financial troubles the university was facing at the time, according to a previous Post report.

“Before we headed into the pandemic, the administration was signaling now we were facing a kind of historic drop in enrollments,” Loren Lybarger, a professor of classics and religious studies, said. “What that meant was to shed jobs, to shrink the faculty.”

OU had been planning potential layoffs prior to the pandemic, due to previous financial trouble and declining enrollment, Carly Leatherwood, a university spokesperson, said in a previous Post report. However, the pandemic increased university urgency and amplified revenue pressure.

Molly Morrison, an Italian professor in the department of modern languages, believes OU is trying to cut programs that appear to not garner as much interest by students based on the number of people enrolled in the certain classes.

“The philosophy here is ‘Let’s eliminate programs that have small enrollments’ because it’s not … cost effective,” Morrison said. “The number one purpose of a university is to preserve knowledge, to teach, to educate. It’s not just a simple business.”

Professors in departments that were affected by the 2020 layoffs are continuing to face certain repercussions of the faculty reductions.

“A portion of reductions in early 2020 were a result of reduced operations that continue to impact service levels in some areas such as Facilities Management and Safety including grounds, custodial services, and maintenance,” Leatherwood said in an email.

While Morrison understands that OU’s enrollment and financial concerns are reality, she does not agree with the way the situation was handled.

“I feel very dismayed by it,” Morrison said. “I feel very saddened by the turn of the university and the way they’ve chosen to deal with this situation … I feel

very saddened by it.”

Some academic programs have been influenced by the reductions made by the university, shifting more workload onto the faculty that remain in those programs.

“All of us are being forced to do much less research and a lot more teaching,” Lybarger said. “We’ve had to take on the courses that weren’t getting taught as a result of people leaving.”

Morrison said one of the main characteristics of a larger university in comparison to a community college is to have a wide variety of course offerings.

“Let’s be clear — what is the heart of the university? The faculty and students,” Lybarger said. “Without faculty, you don’t have a university.”

Morrison wonders if somehow the “tremendous amounts of money” that are being spent on extracurricular activities, such as sports, may be managed better elsewhere.

“Why are we cutting the academic side, which is really the heart of the university?” Lybarger said. “I’m not sure what the priorities here are.”

Faculty members remain concerned about the future of the university and what this may mean for the upcoming academic years.

“Where are we headed?” Lybarger said. “That’s a question that many faculty have on their mind right now. They’re looking sideways and looking around … and they don’t like what they’re seeing.”

@PAIGEMAFISHER PF585820@OHIO.EDU

Clouds roll over Gordy Hall on Feb. 2, 2022, where in lieu of the waves of faculty layoffs starting in 2020, some professors are now having to teach more classes on their own. (CARRIE LEGG | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Ohio University students Abby Hanrahan, left, and Audrey Wiliams working theVerde Blanco bar at West 82 in Baker University Center, Athens, Ohio, on Jan. 26, 2022. (ALIZA DUTT | FOR THE POST)

Student Wages Update SOPHIE YOUNG STAFF WRITER

Ohio University’s annual budget for student wages has decreased over the past four years, reflecting hiring difficulties and job vacancies, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The portion of the university’s budget allocated for student wages has also decreased.

For fiscal year 18, the university spent $18.6 million on student wages, according to the university’s 2021-22 budget book.

The university budgeted $16.7 million for student wages for fiscal year 21. However, OU forecasts only spending $7.8 million, less than half of the amount budgeted.

Graduate student wages have remained consistent, with an approximate $22 million cost per year.

“There has been a historical trend at the university to budget for all active and open positions that resulted in year end vacancy savings,” the budget book notes.

Jim Sabin, a university spokesperson, said some units on campus have had dif-

ficulty recruiting enough students to fill vacant positions despite increased incentives, which likely contributed to this year’s discrepancy.

The university offers jobs for students in a variety of sectors, ranging from culinary and cafe jobs to library and office work. The biggest employer of students on campus is culinary services, which handles food preparation at university dining halls, management of campus markets and cafes and university catering services According to OU’s website, students employed by culinary services may work anywhere from four to 25 hours per week during the semester based on need and academic schedules. Makenna Burton, a sophomore studying studio art and graphic design, said the flexible scheduling and hours are one of the reasons she chose to work at the campus cafes.

“Student jobs are more focused on school,” Burton said. “So if you have classes and stuff, it’s all about working around your classes. They don’t get mad if you

have to be like, ‘Hey, I’m going to class.’”

Burton works around 15 hours at the cafes each week and said she has enjoyed her time meeting people and learning skills like latte art. Additionally, she said she feels adequately compensated for her work.

Level 1 student positions within culinary services start at $10 per hour, unless otherwise noted, with the possibility for annual raises, according to culinary services’ website. Level 2 positions, including catering, dish room workers, servers and bartenders begin at $11 per hour.

The state of Ohio recently passed an increase in the minimum wage from $8.80 to $9.30 per hour, which is $2.05 higher than the federal minimum wage. Many OU student employees are paid at least $10 per hour as their starting wage.

Despite the pay rates, culinary services is also one of the campus units that had particular difficulty hiring students in 2021. Staffing shortages resulted in the department utilizing paper plates and plas-

tic silverware early in the academic year, as well as increasing hiring efforts via job fairs and mass hiring events, according to a previous Post report.

The university libraries employ up to 200 students each year in positions such as processing and digitizing collections, cataloging, ordering, technology service, office work and more. In addition to the option of hourly wage work, students may also work as part of a federal work-study program or the Program to Aid Career Exploration, or PACE, an internship-like work program through OU.

@SOPHIELISEY SY951319@OHIO.EDU

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 11

Budget Before and After COVID-19 OU’s financial trends before and after COVID-19, explained PAYTON DAUGHERTY FOR THE POST

The reported statuses of Ohio University’s finances have fluctuated in recent years while estimates for future years anticipate losses.

For the past couple of years, the new financial updates from the university have seemed grim, with the university’s 2020 State of the Budget stating that in Fiscal Year 20 alone, it experienced $22.8 million in COVID-19 revenue losses.

At the January 2021 Board of Trustees meeting, the Board explained what exactly the pandemic demanded from a financial standpoint. In Fiscal Year, or FY21, the university spent a total of $28,069,601 on personal protective equipment, protective barriers and signage, cleaning, athletics, dining halls, residence halls, testing and contact tracing, policies and procedures and more, according to OU’s summary of COVID-19 impact sheet.

As the pandemic continues, a more recent budget report presented at the January Board of Trustees meeting indicates that, overall, the university is expected to lose a total of about $44.4 million in revenue due to COVID-19 between FY20 and FY22.

According to a previous Post report, OU President Hugh Sherman said although the university is expected to break even for FY22, it is anticipating a $35 million to $38 million deficit for FY23.

12 / FEB. 3, 2022

Even with the losses, Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration Joe Trubacz said the university is in a strong financial position because its reserve levels are high. That provides OU with flexibility and time to adjust to any impacts to its operations, he said.

Trubacz also said part of the university’s ability to balance the budget is a result of the support it received from federal and state funds during the pandemic. The state of Ohio and the CARES Act from the U.S. Department of Treasury provided it with nearly $80 million, according to a previous Post report.

While financially burdening, the pandemic itself did not start any of the university’s issues, Richard Vedder, distinguished professor of economics emeritus, said. The university had started seeing declining enrollment back in 2016, he said, even while simultaneously increasing staff and constructing buildings. At the January 2020

“

The bigger staffing problem we have had is that we have allowed our non-academic staff just to grow like crazy. The faculty are kind of sitting on pins and needles because no announcements have been made. How many staff are we gonna let go for next year?”

-Richard Vedder, distinguished professor of economics emeritus

Board meeting, The Post reported that total enrollment for 2019 was down 5% from the year before.

“Our spending did not really dramatically slow down. And so, we started running budget deficits in that period,” Vedder said. “So, by the time the pandemic started, we were still in pretty decent fi nancial shape because we had started all this with so much money. We just didn’t have as much as before.”

When Sherman took office in May 2021, Vedder said his focus seemed to be on seriously reducing the amounts of money the university spends and downsizing to reflect the declining enrollment.

Cortney Rodet, assistant professor of

economics, said he believes it’s too early for optimism about enrollment given uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and the state of the economy.

Currently, the state of Ohio is experiencing a decrease in the in-state number of eligible students while having a large number of public universities, and future students will need to be convinced that the opportunities available by coming to OU will be better than those available if they were to study at other colleges and universities in the state, he said.

At the same January 2020 Board meeting, Deb Shaffer, former chief fi nancial officer and current special consultant to Sherman, attributed budget crises to irre-

sponsible fiscal management.

Vedder said the university has an ongoing staffi ng problem and unless the university solves that, it will have trouble with getting back to the position of “fi nancial strength” it was once experiencing.

“The bigger staffi ng problem we have had is that we have allowed our non-academic staff just to grow like crazy,” he said.

“The faculty are kind of sitting on pins and needles because no announcements have been made. How many staff are we gonna let go for next year?”

@PAYTONDAUG PD162120@OHIO.EDU

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n November 2019, students and faculty crowded College Green with signs reading statements like “No OU Without Faculty” and “OUr School Colors are White and GREED,” cheering in agreement with the rally’s speakers as they discussed Ohio University’s finances.

Some of the event’s organizers climbed the Civil War Soldiers Monument on the green, creating a makeshift podium on the chalk-emblazoned statue, with #FunFacts written on the concrete in bright orange.

At the base of the statue stood then-sophomore Sam Debatin.

Today, Debatin is a senior studying art history. He was involved with OU Fun Facts and helped organize about 200 students in November 2019 to protest university budget and faculty cuts.

Though it was his friend who managed the Twitter account, he joined in on the back end of the movement.

In 2019 and 2020, respectively, OU Fun Facts and Save OUr Profs sprang up as two student-led grassroots organizations with the main purpose to fight against budget cuts and layoffs affecting faculty and staff at the university. However, these movements have dwindled in recent years, as those leading the movements either graduated or lost widespread support. In the movements’ absence, others have yet to take their place.

approval among students regarding the university’s budget decisions, like the layoffs of numerous staff and faculty members.

“There were already so many factors at that point,” Debatin said. “(There was a) feeling like we weren’t getting our money’s worth out of our education.

I think that’s only increased for most people at this point.”

Debatin said because of that, he wasn’t necessarily surprised when the account started gaining traction, but he wasn’t expecting the magnitude of people who showed up in person.

Debatin said at the time, he was able to meet with former OU President Duane Nellis but said they were “pretty directly told to not make a big deal about it.”

“I don’t think anybody in that meeting felt listened to,” Debatin said. “We felt talked down to, and we felt pretty dismissed. There was this sense that we brought all this material to the table, and what ended up happening was we talked for 35 seconds, and then a table full of administrators making upwards of $300 (thousand), $400,000 … managed to, in essence, gaslight us.”

Carly Leather wood, a universit y spokesperson, said OU remains committed to the pr inciples of shared gover nance.

“The university takes student concerns seriously and welcomes the opportunity for meaningful dialogue with

Alex Armstrong leads a protest concerning Ohio University budget issues and attracts a crowd to College Green on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. (ALEC SYRVALIN | FOR THE POST)

“

I don’t want the administrators or anyone else to get the wrong impression that student movements are ever going to be gone.”

-Olivia Gemarro, a 2021 OU graduate, and created SaveOUrProfs student leaders, as evidenced by the meeting in question, which occurred the day following the event,” Leatherwood said in an email responding to those concerns.

Robin Oliver, vice president for university communications and marketing, said at the time of the protest, students were “appropriately concerned” but hasn’t heard as many concerns from students regarding the budget — specifically, faculty layoffs — recently.

“I think we’re in a different place now as a university,” Oliver said. “We are not looking at any reductions in faculty at all.”

OU President Hugh Sherman said he is focused on the student experience and how budgetary decisions will affect students.

“W hen people come to me to t alk about, ‘Hey, we want to spend money on this,’ my f irst question is, ‘ Tell me about how that impacts our

student exper ience,’ ” Sher man said.

“So, for me, it ’s prett y easy to make these decisions.”

Sherman said changes in faculty are a result of f luctuating demands in different colleges and are done with improving the student experience in mind. For example, Sherman said 30% of OU students are in health-related majors and, as a result, the university’s goal was to hire more faculty in that area.

“I think part of the university experience is to help students understand the role that they can play in our greater society,” Sherman said. “I think it’s good that students understand the issues that are going on in the local community and the university … I think asking questions and being active is a positive.”

Additionally, Sherman said average class sizes have “shrunk dramatically,” and he has been visiting every college, in addition to regional campuses and student organizations, to address students’ concerns.

“I don’t think there’s a group that I haven’t (talked to),” Sherman said. “If they ask, I come and talk with them and listen to them. They have serious concerns, and it’s helpful for me to hear it.”

Debatin said between student movements losing traction due to COVID-19 and other budget-reduction plans, such as divesting in properties, things are still getting worse.

“Not only are they firing professors, but they’re literally physically destroying buildings,” he said. “That is part of this slimming down of a physical campus … I think at the heart of what we’re

trying to emphasize way back in 2019 was that OU’s campus is what brings people here.”

Debatin said that isn’t a fight he’s currently fighting, par tially due to many of the original organizers graduating and a feeling there is no longer a network of people committed to the cause.

“Everybody only has limited mental energy,” he said. “If you were (a) graduated student, it would be hard to rally people in a place where you don’t really know what the current culture is like.

Even if there’s a sense of collective amnesia, I think it’s also just a practicality.

This isn’t their fight anymore.”

Olivia Gemarro, a 2021 OU graduate, created SaveOUrProfs, a Twitter account dedicated to supporting the university’s professors and faculty, in 2020 after seeing the effects budget cuts and layoffs had on them.

Now that she’s graduated, Gemarro said she’s not able to keep up on current issues affecting OU’s budget. Despite her best efforts and a desire to pass the SaveOUrProfs account on, no one has been interested in taking over for her, she said.

Though she is concerned with the lack of interest from others to continue the account, she’s confident more student movements will spring up as university issues arise.

“I don’t want the administrators or anyone else to get the wrong impression that student movements are ever going to be gone,” Gemarro said. “Even

though it is a transient population, there’s people coming and people leaving within a specified amount of time.

There will always be that mindset that stays, which is the willingness to organize and speak up for a cause that we care about.”

Gemarro said some students may be apprehensive to voice their concerns with OU’s budget and build student movements like hers because of the time commitment and the possibility the efforts won’t lead to any change.

“I think that that aspect of it can be really discouraging, especially if we think that our actions are going to be fruitless and not have any benefits come out of it,” Gemarro said. “Like why would we put that valuable time into something that might not even garner the results that we want?”

Debatin said, in his opinion, alumni can lend their support, but it feels more like an effort that needs to come from within.

“Fighting institutions is a really big task,” Debatin said. “They’re unforgiving. They’re unrelenting.”

@E_SKIDMOREGS ES320518@OHIO.EDU @RYANMAXIN RM554219@OHIO.EDU

A motorcade forms in front of Peden Stadium on Aug. 27, 2020, to raise awareness about the faculty who have been laid off due to COVID-19-related budget cuts made by Ohio University. (KEVIN PAN | FOR THE POST)

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 15

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Ohio falls behind in loss to Ball State ASHLEY BEACH ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Ohio has routinely found itself playing catch-up against Mid-American Conference opponents this season.

Time and time again, it lags in the first half and falls behind early. Ohio repeated this trend Wednesday after falling to Ball State 84-74.

The Bobcats had their worst night from beyond the arc since their loss to Miami two weeks ago. They did not make a 3-pointer until Madi Mace knocked down back-to-back shots midway through the second quarter.

Mace’s pair of 3-pointers were the only two that the Bobcats made in the entire first half.

Ohio didn’t fare any better in the second half. It ended the night 4-for-23 from beyond the arc, and three of those baskets were made by Mace.

Ball State had no problem sinking 3-pointers, though. Ally Becki went 7-for-13 beyond the arc, and she sank six in the first half alone. Ohio’s already lackluster defense was unable to guard Becki, and she made Ohio regret that.

“Knowing that (Becki) is capable of hitting all those 3s, we had to focus on her, finding her on the floor,” Cece Hooks said. “We couldn’t leave her open.”

The Bobcats attempted to play damage control after halftime, but their efforts were too little, too late. They managed to hold Becki to a single 3-pointer, but the rest of the Cardinals picked up the slack and shot 50% from beyond the arc in the second half. The Bobcats had modified their defense to try and adjust, but they couldn’t keep their heads above water.

Ohio spent over 38 minutes trailing Ball State and never once took the lead.

Wednesday was the first time this season that it has never held the lead. Even when Ohio was blown out of the water

by Notre Dame in its season opener, it held the lead multiple times.

A lack of shooting range hurt the Bobcats, and it did not help that one of its most consistent long-range shooters was absent from the game.

Kaylee Bambule was not in the lineup due to COVID-19 protocols. Instead,

16 / FEB. 3, 2022

Yaya Felder got her fourth career start against the Cardinals in Bambule’s stead. Felder played a career-high 34 minutes and was 2-for-5 from the floor.

“I wanted to play (Yaya) about 35 minutes,” Ohio coach Bob Boldon said.

“Yaya’s a young kid trying to figure it out and I though she did a great job figuring it out.”

Felder was not the only young Ohio player to see substantial time against the Cardinals. Kate Dennis played 10 minutes off the bench to help rest Felder and Mace. Dennis, who has been instrumental for Ohio as of late, was brought in early in the first quarter. After Ohio fell behind 15-6 in the first quarter, Boldon

brought out Dennis in hopes of her knocking down a clutch shot.

None of the Bobcats did their best tonight. The constant uphill battle wore heavy on the defense and exhausted them when it came time to shoot the ball. The Bobcats simply weren’t equipped to handle the Cardinals.

Ohio now sits in the middle of the MAC standings with just over a month before the MAC Tournament. If Ohio wants a chance at making a run in the tournament, it needs to find depth — both off the bench and when shooting.

@ASHLEYBEACHY_ AB026319@OHIO.EDU

Ohio University guard Cece Hooks (1) driving in the paint against Ball State guard Marie Kiefer (14) at The Convo on Feb. 2, 2022.

(CLAY STARK | FOR THE POST)

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Ohio obliterates Ball State behind massive scoring run JACK GLECKLER SPORTS EDITOR Jason Carter isn’t used to resting early.

Two minutes into Ohio’s game against Ball State, the redshirt fifth year collapsed to the floor after being elbowed in the face. After writhing in pain, Carter got up and walked over to Ohio’s bench for a rest.

His injury wasn’t serious. Carter was back on the floor in two minutes with little more than some residual throbbing.

But that stint on the bench proved to be what the forward needed. After returning to the court, Carter scored six points in just over a minute.

“I just locked in,” Carter said. “I got a little early break that I usually don’t get, so then I came back in and I was like, ‘Alright, let’s go.’”

Carter ended the night with 18 points and tied for the game high with Ben Vander Plas. The duo, however, were only on the court for a combined 47 minutes.

Neither of them even closed the game out. Carter and Vander Plas, alongside the rest of the starting rotation, spent the majority of the second half watching from the bench as Ohio waxed Ball State 87-63.

They deserved the reprieve. Carter and Vander Plas had been the focal point of a scoring run that buried Ball State beneath the floor of The Convo.

Over a 13-minute stretch midway through the game, the Bobcats (17-3, 8-1 Mid-American Conference) outscored the Cardinals 30-1 and shuttered any chance of an upset. The Cardinals (10-11, 5-5 MAC) missed 18 consecutive field goal attempts, and they only snapped their scoring drought after Payton Sparks sank a free throw less than a minute into the second half. The Bobcats, on the other hand, were 9-of19 from the field during that span and played solid defense that only added to the Cardinals’ woes.

With 12 minutes remaining in the game, Ohio coach Jeff Boals gave his starters a breather and ran out the remainder of the game by bringing in bench players. The transition was seamless. Ohio’s lead never shrank below 23 points in the second half.

“That last eight-minute period, we went on a run and didn’t let them score,”

Boals said. “As a coach, you’re always worried about the other team coming out with more intensity, try to do something different from the first half. I thought we sustained it moving forward.”

The Bobcats never had to worry about a late surge by the Cardinals. Even when the Cardinals pulled themselves out of their shooting rut, the Bobcats had shut them down long enough to maintain a double-digit lead.

Boals takes pride in Ohio’s growth on defense. Ohio has the best turnover margin in the MAC and frequently beats its opponents at the boards. Boals’ primary objective has been to throw opponents off-kilter and keep Ohio one step ahead

at all times. His plan worked Tuesday.

Ohio committed 10 steals and out-rebounded Ball State 40-26.

“I think our half-court defense is elite,” Boals said. “We’ve kind of played the defense that we want. Disruption, taking them out of what they want to do, and I thought our activity on the ball was really good. That’s why we’re winning at the rate we’re winning.”

The Bobcats weren’t expecting a tugof-war. The Cardinals were playing their fourth game in eight days Tuesday and have clung to the middle of the conference standings for much of the season.

The Bobcats are in the middle of one of the best starts to a season in program

history, and they’ve only lost one conference game thus far.

They may have notched their thirdstraight win and blown out a middling conference opponent, but the Bobcats are already pivoting toward their next game.

“At the end of the day, we just keep taking it one game at a time, and you don’t get focused on all this other stuff,” Carter said. “Like the saying we’ve been using: one game and one possession at a time. We’re taking that and rolling with it.”

@THEJACKGLECKLER JG011517@OHIO.EDU

Ohio University forward Jason Carter (No. 30) tips off the ball against Ball State center Payton Sparks (No. 5) at The Convo on Feb. 1, 2022. (CLAY STARK | FOR THE POST)

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 17

THINKING IN PRINT

Faculty layoffs reduced the quality, quantity of courses at OU CHARLENE PEPIOT is a senior studying English at Ohio University When one of my professors last semester told the class the university was forcing them to teach the course and they didn’t care if we dropped out, I was shocked. After all, I was paying for a college education and expected my instructor to at least want to teach. I hardly learned anything in that class, and I have to wonder how different my experience would have been if I had a professor who actually cared.

I can’t blame that professor, though. In 2020, Ohio University’s budget cuts prompted 53 instructional faculty members’ contracts to not be renewed, according to a previous Post report. This has forced the professors who remain to take on extra classes and, from my experience, to potentially water down the course to make it manageable for the instructor rather than educational for the student.

Of course, not all of OU’s classes could continue under new professors. Ohio University’s class roster has seen a reduction since the budget cuts. This semester, there are 140

English courses available to students, which is a drop compared to the 174 English classes taught in Spring Semester 2020, before the budget crisis cut staff. That’s 34 fewer classes to choose from. The 162 journalism classes from Spring Semester 2020 have also dropped to 145 this semester.

The downside to cutting those courses is it limits students’ options and forces them to take classes they have little use for to fulfill their graduation requirements. As an English major specializing in creative writing, I’ve had my sights set on the ENG 4810 — Fiction Form and Theory course since I was a freshman. Last spring, I had fulfilled the requirements needed to take the advanced class and was looking forward to it. There’s just one problem: OU hasn’t offered ENG 4810 since spring 2019 when I was a sophomore, making it impossible for me to take the class before I graduate. This forced me to take a class on a writing genre I had little interest in to fulfill my requirement.

As someone with several pieces of fiction published, I came to OU to improve my skills in writing fiction, and I hate that I’m spending money to be educated on a topic I know I will not use in the real world when I’m supposed to have options on what courses I take.

Besides being an inconvenience to students, cutting pro-

fessors has made it hard to take pride in attending a university that cuts staff whose loyalty served the university for years, especially when they were phased out during a global pandemic. Those professors speaking out about having a lack of support from the university, stress at securing a job and fears over losing their homes, as a previous Post report states, are sickening. No one deserves to go through that, especially in a time of heightened stress and uncertainty.

OU’s decisions to cut staff have hurt the quality and quantity of classes I’ve taken. I can’t recommend OU to others in good confidence knowing that course options are limited, my favorite professors are gone and those left are overwhelmed and struggling to pick up the slack.

Charlene Pepiot is a senior studying English at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Charlene know by emailing her cp872117@ohio.edu.

SO LISTEN

How OU’s budget issue compares to other schools MIKAYLA ROCHELLE is a graduate student studying public administration at Ohio University It’s not new news that Ohio University is facing a budget issue. This issue does not have its genesis in COVID-19, but the pandemic has certainly exacerbated the circumstances.

This budget situation has created a slew of issues for students and staff: Programs have been cut, and faculty and staff have been laid off.

In 2020, 53 instructional faculty members’ contracts were not renewed, and the number of courses available for students to take is on a steady decrease with this reduction in instructional staff.

While some of these issues seem OU specific — administrative bloat, declining enrollment — these are actually issues that have plagued all public universities. Several other universities have also had issues with their budgets, though it is not always clear if this is from the pandemic or previous mismanagement.

A big issue is that universities often function in a deficit.

Something as minor as a decrease in enrollment can send a university into financial peril. It’s unfortunate that students when choosing their universities can’t predict these things, as their education can suffer when professors and programs are cut or their tuition is raised. Luckily, OU has the OHIO 18 / FEB. 3, 2022

Guarantee+, which promises that what students pay their freshman year for tuition, they will pay their senior year as well. However, this does not stop the university from raising tuition costs on future students.

If universities raise tuition due to dropping enrollment, not as many students will be able to afford to come, and the enrollment is likely to continue to drop. Luckily for some universities, federal and state aid due to the pandemic is helping to mitigate this issue alongside monetary loss from COVID-19, but it isn’t saving them all.

The way that OU is feeling is the same as other universities all across the country. Massive layoffs and salary cuts are unfortunate, but these cuts have to be made somewhere.

At the University of Akron, about the same size as OU, the pandemic expedited its former budget issues, too. Akron’s enrollment is in a steep decline of about a third in the past decade. It, too, is making cuts to faculty as a way to try to deal with its budget issue.

The University of Toledo faces the same issue. It is also dealing with decreased enrollment and money lost from the pandemic through layoffs, salary cuts and furloughs.

Overall, the experience and value of college is going to decline as programs are lost and tuition goes up. More and more students are going to question if the education they are paying for is worth it, especially as more and more colleges continue to be online. There doesn’t seem to be a clear solution yet, but assistance from the federal government in

the form of the CARES Act has definitely helped. The public university budget crisis is a national issue; maybe the national government can mitigate these challenges when they get their ducks in a row.

Mikayla Rochelle is a graduate student studying public administration at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Tell Mikayla by tweeting her at @mikayla_roch.

HOT TAKES WITH TATE

Students should be able to opt out of tuition benefits like ‘free’ sports tickets TATE RAUB is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University There is a multitude of reasons why going to college has resulted in people still paying off their loans decades after earning their degree, going into debt as a result of not being able to pay off said loans and people avoiding college altogether because it’s simply too expensive.

Ohio University has what’s called the OHIO Guarantee. It ensures the price of tuition, housing and meal plan for students’ first year doesn’t change over four school years, since that’s typically the amount of time it takes to complete an undergraduate degree. While that seems great on the outside, the things students pay for under the umbrella of tuition are a black hole of fees.

Tickets for home sporting events for any OU team are “free” for students. At some other public universi-

ties in Ohio, students still have to pay to go. For example, University of Akron charges $15 for general admission at football games, and Ohio State University offers season passes that cost from $144 to $272 for all seven home football games. Bowling Green State University, however, also provides students with “free” tickets to all home sporting events.

The reason I say these tickets are “free” is because students generally assume they are paid for by a portion of our tuition, and they don’t actually cost us $0. The cheapest price for a ticket to a men’s basketball game, for instance, ranges from $10 to $25. While it’s a great price range for any sporting event, if students are paying to go to every single home game, it adds up.

The kicker is that many students are not huge fans of sports and will likely only attend a few, if any, events. It would be nice to be able to opt out of the cost of going to sporting events for “free” or be able to choose to cover the cost of a certain number of games that’s similar to the meal plan options available for students.

There are only two fees that students are able to opt

out of: insurance and student legal services. With the insurance fee, students who already have comparable insurance are able to fi ll out a waiver so they don’t have to pay for it twice. The catch is if the university doesn’t deem the insurance to be equal to or better than what they provide, students are not eligible to fi ll out the waiver.

Any student can opt out of paying the student legal services fee but, naturally, it only costs $12 per semester for those who don’t opt out of it. In comparison to all of the other things students have to pay for, $12 a semester is not the decrease in tuition students are pleading for.

OU — and other universities — should do a better job of not only showing students exactly what they’re paying for but also give them the ability to opt out of paying for things they don’t need and possibly can’t afford.

Tate Raub is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not refl ect those of The Post.

Want to talk more about it? Let Tate know by tweeting her @tatertot1310.

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Students, faculty take a moment to celebrate National Thank You Month

RILEY RUNNELS CULTURE EDITOR

January is a time for new beginnings, as everyone rings in the new year and makes new resolutions. However, with this opportunity for a fresh start comes an opportunity to show appreciation and take a step back to say “thank you.”

Throughout the whole month of January, National Thank You Month brought a chance for people to start the year off with grateful hearts and appreciative attitudes. For some like Audrey Grone, saying “Thank you” can make all the difference.

“A ‘thank you’ goes a long way,” Grone, a senior studying strategic communication at Ohio University, said. “And you don’t have to be over-excited about me handing you your coffee, but just a thank you is all I personally need, and that shows me that you appreciate it. And it’s honestly just the respectful thing to do.”

Grone is one of the managers at Brenen’s Coffee Cafe, 38 S. Court St., and knows firsthand how impactful saying “thank you” to people in the food service industry can be. She can honestly say that 90% of the customers she interacts with are appreciative.

She also recognizes that when customers say “thank you,” it puts the employees in a good mood, which then becomes infectious toward the rest of the employees and, typically, has a positive impact on the customers of the business.

“I personally feel energy is contagious,” Grone said. “And if I’m in a super good mood, that is most likely going to bounce on other people as well. And a lot of people are like, ‘Audrey, you’re always in such a good mood.’ And I’m always just like, ‘Well, I’m so thankful, and I’m thankful I have a job — I’m thankful to be here.’ And that rubs off on other people as well.”

But food service industry workers aren’t the only ones in thankless jobs. Steve Mack, director of facilities management at OU, acknowledges the fact that even though the facilities employees do so much work to keep the university running, they get very little recognition.

“We’re the people that keep the electric on; we keep the water in the pipes; we make sure the place is clean and safe to use,” Mack said. “The university is a very large facility — it’s a city in and of itself.

And the facilities staff is the staff that

20 / FEB. 3, 2022

keeps that city running. People don’t think about, ‘Hey, I’ve got electric, that’s great, because so many people have done their job.’ It’s not really, typically, a positive feedback industry.”

Mack believes appreciation is within human nature — both the need for appreciation and the practice of showing appreciation. Because the facility management positions all operate behind the scenes

However, the university staff and students aren’t the only ones trying to encourage infectious appreciation. Others in the community are doing their part to spread that positivity around. One such community member is Joe Higgins, a Nelsonville resident who started a social media series called “On A Positive Note” where he features a person or group in the community deserving of some extra

ILLUSTRATION BY MARY BERGER and aren’t usually public-facing, it means all the more to him when people recognize his staff for all the hard work they do.

Further, Mack emphasized just how unglamorous a lot of the jobs can be when working in facilities management. Jobs like unclogging toilets, changing light bulbs or contributing to the general beautification of the campus are often tedious and difficult to do, Mack said. Though his employees hear how much he appreciates them on a regular basis, it definitely makes the team feel more appreciated when other university staff or students make appreciative comments.

appreciation.

“It’s basically just to give people their flowers — creating a platform to highlight someone or something,” Higgins said. “The main thing of it, though, is just to let other people comment on that person. Because I may say something about them that hopefully brightens their day a little bit, but the goal is to allow other people to comment and make their feelings known about that person as well.”

Higgins started the series, found on Facebook and Twitter, to encourage others to take the time out of their day to comment something positive — a demean-

or he feels social media is in dire need of.

As a journalist, Higgins sees firsthand the way social media can create the illusion of interaction without having any real interaction at all. However, he also realizes that though a lot of the content can be negative, the interactive illusion doesn’t have to be. That’s why when people continue commenting their appreciation on his Facebook series, the subjects of the posts can feel like people are positively interacting with them.

In a similar vein, Higgins feels bad news is what dominates the news cycle, so spreading happiness in a media format can be a nice change of pace.

“The ultimate goal would be to have everybody do something like this on their own to find their own way to spread positivity on social media,” Higgins said. “That’s easy to do for people to pile on or to add to the negativity, but it takes effort to be nice or to just be positive. It’s really just a positive note that literally would somehow spark people to just try to think twice before they lean to the negative side that’s so easy and instead make an effort to be positive to someone else in their life.”

Grone, Mack and Higgins all encourage people to look back to lessons that have been taught since a very young age: respect and kindness. All three know that when it comes down to it, showing appreciation is just a form of respect and kindness, and simply saying “thank you” can make a significant impact on the individual employees and the company culture as a whole.

“Take a step back and don’t walk through life in a daze,” Mack said. “Make sure you appreciate everything that’s going on around you and just thank people.

Just appreciate what people do for you — don’t take it for granted.”

@RILEYR44 RR855317@OHIO.EDU

you arrogant and allow for it to go to your head.

with those around you so no misunderstandings occur.

Snake (1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013)

Pig (1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019)

People born in the Year of the Snake are known to be extremely wise, observant and even a bit mysterious. You’re probably goal-oriented and keep organized in order to achieve those big plans you have. Snake people are also known to be intelligent and faithful to those with whom they have close relationships.

Horse (1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014)

Horses, you are the embodiment of beauty, freedom and power. Active energy and cheerfulness is centered around you, as those in the Year of the Horse tend to have energetic and uplifting personalities. However, you may be impatient and moody. Pay attention to the way you react to certain situations this New Year, and try to practice mindfulness.

ILLUSTRATION BY KENNEDY OGDEN

Here’s what your Chinese zodiac says about you MIMI CALHOUN FOR THE POST Happy Lunar New Year! It’s the start to a fresh beginning, and it’s time to celebrate the prosperity and good luck to come. Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year and Spring Festival, marks the ending of the winter solstice and the welcoming of new seasons in different countries across Asia. Along with the changing of the year, a new Chinese zodiac also gets its time to shine.

For some background, the Chinese zodiacs came to be because of the Jade Emperor, who’s considered to be one of the most important gods in traditional Chinese religion. He held a contest on his birthday and decided the appearance of whomever came to his party would get to be a part of the zodiac, and their arrival time would determine their rank.

The rat was the first to show up to the party, as it hitched a ride on the ox, who came second, but then hopped off before the ox could cross the finish line.

The tiger came third after sprinting to the birthday party, followed by the rabbit and then the dragon. Like the rat, the snake

wrapped itself around the leg of the horse and managed to get across the finish line, making it six and the horse seventh.

The sheep, monkey and rooster arrived in that respective order. The last two animals were the dog and the pig, but the dog got distracted, and the pig fell asleep after eating too much. In the end, the dog became eleventh, and the pig came twelfth.

Wonder why there’s no Year of the Cat? The rat was supposed to wake the cat up, but in all of its excitement, the rat forgot.

By the time the cat woke up, all of the zodiacs were assigned.

Interested in Chinese zodiacs and want to know what yours says about you?

Look no further, as we’re here to share what your Chinese zodiac says about you:

Dragon (1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012)

The Dragon represents good luck, strength and health. If you’re born in this year, you’re most likely confident, intelligent and charismatic. Dragons are seen as a symbol of fortune in Chinese culture, so those born as dragons are seen to be naturally lucky and gifted.

Just try to not let that prosperity make

Sheep (1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015)

Those born in the Year of the Sheep are usually calm, patient and courageous.

Though sometimes under-appreciated, sheep are considered to be trusted and ambitious. The sheep is also seen as lucky and fruitful. Sheep people can be a bit naive and emotional as well.

Monkey (1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016)

For the years that fall during the monkey cycle, these people are witty, curious and even a bit mischievous. You might be the funny one of your friend group and are likely always making others laugh since monkeys are seen as jokesters and playful. Even though some may love your outgoing energy, others may be wary of your straightforwardness.

Rooster (1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017)

If you’re a rooster, your most notable traits are being outspoken, daring and hardworking. Roosters are also observant and deep thinkers, so you may be more of the sharp and analytical type. People born as roosters sometimes can be a bit egotistical or boastful, so remember that it’s OK to be humbled every now and then.

That’s not a sign of weakness!

Dog (1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018)

The saying “Dogs are a man’s best friend” definitely holds true to you.

Dogs are loyal, honest and sincere, which makes you a great ear for those who may need comforting. Though honesty is a positive trait, it can sometimes come off as harsh or blunt. Remember to have open communication

The Pig is viewed to be culturally lucky since they’re seen as well-fed. Some notable traits for those in the Year of the Pig are diligence, compassion and patience.

Though pigs are deemed to be generous and hard-working, they’re also known to be gullible, materialistic and self-indulgent. Think about possibly volunteering and getting more involved in your community this year.

Rat (1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020)

People born in the year of the Rat are clever, quick-witted and resourceful.

Ambitious in nature, rats are sometimes overly stubborn and can lack empathy.

That may have to do with the fact that they’re a bit sensitive to their own emotions. A good cry may be in store for you this New Year, but it’s not a roadblock in your life — just something that may make you a little stronger.

Ox (1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021)

Just like the animal, Ox people are strong, determined and fair. Oxes are seen as valuable in Chinese culture due to their participation in agriculture, so those born in these years are also viewed as hard-working and good leaders. The persistence that oxes hold may wear them down sometimes, so try and take some time to loosen up and take a break this New Year.

Tiger (1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022)

Tigers, it’s your year, so own it! People born in the Year of the Tiger tend to be independent, sharp and fiercely loyal. You care deeply about those who are close to you, and you’re almost always on the move. However, remember to take a moment to recharge and relax because you don’t want to overwork yourself.

Rabbit (1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023)

Those who are born in the Year of the Rabbit are more quiet and shy. Though it might take you a little to warm up to new people, your kindness and trustworthiness is evident and shines through to those you meet. Sometimes, you may put others’ needs before your own, but make sure to speak up for yourself and let your voice be heard.

@MIMI_CALHOUN MC300120@OHIO.EDU

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 21

the weekender OU linguistics department celebrates 50 years with colloquia ALYSSA CRUZ FOR THE POST

Ohio University’s linguistic department celebrates 50 years this academic school year. In the spirit of celebration, the department is hosting a total of 10 virtual lectures this semester for students and faculty to attend.

These colloquia feature faculty, program graduates and former faculty delivering a lecture about a research topic pertaining to linguistic studies. The first colloquium took place Jan. 28, and the final one of the semester will take place April 22.

This week’s 50th Anniversary Linguistics Colloquium will take place Friday from 12:55 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. Alumna Tetiana Tytko will be discussing one of her research proposals that investigates the effect of captions of L2 vocabulary acquisition in the music-based language learning platform Rockalingua.

Tytko has a master’s in English languages and literature as well as a master’s in applied linguistics. She graduated from OU after receiving the latter in 2020 and is now a Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland studying second language acquisition.

Reflected in her extensive knowledge of the field, Ukrainian native Tytko claims she has always been interested in linguistics studies.

“My whole life, I was super into learning languages,” Tytko said. “I speak Ukrainian, Russian, and I’m fluent in English.”

Tytko is also proficient in German, French and Spanish.

She began this project last semester and will present her most recent findings this Friday.

“It’s about how young learners of Spanish acquire vocabulary,” Tytko said. “Specifically, I want to look at the effect of captions in this respect. I have access to young learners of Spanish, and the instructor they have uses this platform called Rockalingua. (Rockalingua) invited a couple people from the University of Maryland to conduct research.”

Tytko is looking at captions, specifically comparing dynamic caption versus static captions. She is studying the benefits of having visual material in addition to auditory material when it comes to conforming media in another language.

“For example, if a teacher shows a video that has dynamic captions, the students listen to the songs, and they also have visual input,” Tytko said. “But, sometimes, the teacher can present the exact same song but with the lyrics and the worksheet, which I will treat as the static captions. I’m going to design an experiment, and I will compare these different modalities.”

Oli Arambula, a freshman studying history and Spanish, has experienced the benefits first-hand in regard to language acquisition through auditory and visual mediums.

“My parents used to watch telenovelas a lot, and that 22 / JAN. 27, 2022

Once the 50th Anniversary Linguistics Colloquium comes to a close, Bell and the department are hopeful to end the celebratory year with a party. The department has even commissioned Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery to make a special linguistics anniversary beer.

“It’s not really time to be thinking about parties, but we desperately want to have a party, so we’re hoping that in April, we can get together to celebrate the 50th anniversary together,” Bell said. @ALYSSADANCCRUZ AC974320@OHIO.EDU

ILUUSTRATION BY OLIVIA JUENGER

used to help me learn new vocabulary,” Arambula said.

The chief organizer of the 50th Anniversary Linguistics Colloquia is David Bell, chair of the linguistics department and associate professor of applied linguistics. Bell’s responsibilities with the event lie in coordinating the weekly events and reaching out to potential speakers.

Although the pandemic has altered the linguistic department’s approach to the colloquia, including delaying the 50th anniversary a year, the virtual set-up for the events has proven to be advantageous in some aspects.

“The move to online platforms has also been beneficial in some ways because we’ve discovered we can have a really full colloquium, and we don’t have to think about financing people to come to campus,” Bell said. “Our colloquium has expanded, and it’s great.”

Bell and the department had three motivations when it came to hosting these colloquia.

“Firstly, we want to hear from our former alumni because it’s a great inspiration to my present students,” Bell said.

“The second motivation is that it helps connect us better with our alumni. Then, the third motivation is to help them with their careers.”

Tytko’s research aligns perfectly with a specific class Bell teaches, Introduction to Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. He is excited to give his students an example of what the research looks like in the field.

“Tetiana is going to demonstrate one of those particular research methods,” Bell said. “Because she’s an alumni, it means that it is much easier for my students to look at Tetiana and say, ‘She did the same class I do and, now, she’s doing all this fantastic stuff.’ Those are all the kinds of things that Tetiana will bring, and Tetiana is a wonderful person, so it’ll be great to see her.”

IF YOU GO WHAT: 50th Anniversary Linguistics Colloquium WHERE: Online via Teams WHEN: Friday, Feb. 4, at 12:55 p.m.

ADMISSION: Free

WHAT’S GOING ON? Enjoy Sibs Weekend events, meditate deep in the forest

ALEX IMWALLE FOR THE POST

FRIDAY, FEB. 4 Michael Carbonaro: Lies on Stage will feature Michael Carbonaro’s mystical illusions and showmanship, as he dazzles Athens with his — quite literally — unbelievable performance. The TruTV star will take the stage in MemAud at 8 p.m.

is open to anyone ages 16+.

Admission: Free The Sibs Weekend Concert begins at 8 p.m. and features the musical talents of Key Glock and DJ Bandcamp. The event will be held in MemAud. Admission: $25 to $35, depending on seating SUNDAY, FEB. 6 The 19th Annual John Knouse Groundhog Hike will take place at Strouds Run State Park. The event, put on by the Athens Conservancy, will host two hikes: a longer 2.75mile option beginning at 12:30 p.m. and a shorter 1-mile option set to leave at 1:30 p.m.

Snacks and drinks will be provided, and the hikes will be followed with a raffle.

OPEN STAGE

Various locations

Baker Center • Theater Lounge

Baker Center • 4th floor

The need is constant, the need is urgent, sign up and give today.

Join us on the second floor of Baker Center and test your knowledge each week.

AT THE FRONT ROOM

BLOOD DRIVE

A Nature Meditation held at and sponsored

by Lake Hope State Park will begin at 10 a.m.

It will be an hour-long experience of surrounding yourself with nature and washing away in the green of the forest. This soothing experience is an excuse to finally practice meditation in an environment that allows for a full submergence in relaxation.

Admission: Free

@ALEXIMWALLE AI687120@OHIO.EDU

Admission: Free

SATURDAY, FEB. 5 UPC Siblings Weekend Scavenger Hunt! at 10:30 a.m. will be presented by the University Program Council. Travel across Athens in a challenge full of sibling bonding, and be the first to take pictures of all the Athens staples to win a gift basket courtesy of UPC. Admission: Free Expressive Puppet and Articulation Workshop will be held at the Kennedy Museum of Art from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop will cover basics to the art of puppetry and

Thursday, Feb. 3rd 7-9 pm

The Latino Student Union are proud to bring back this event. Doors open at 7 pm

Friday, Feb. 4th 6-8 pm

Free & Open to the Public

visit the Red Cross online.

Enter your zip code to search for an available drive. Times availble each week

The Market on State ATHENS FARMERS & ART MARKET Locally grown and raised meats, cheeses, vegetables, fruits, prepared foods, , traditional and specialty bread, coffee, wine and cider, shelf stable canned goods, sweets, plants and seeds. Plus locally made artistic goods Find us in the front parking lot and inside the Market on State Mall

Saturdays 9 am - Noon

ArtsWest • 132 W Union

PRINTS, PLANTS & POTS SALE:

FRIDAY NIGHT: BILL FOLEY

The perfect place to gather ANY NIGHT OF THE WEEK! we have 32 Beers on Tap & Don’t Miss Bill Foley every friday in January at 6pm.

Tuesday night trivia.

@EclipseBeerHall Open to All

Alden Library • 4th floor

NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED THROUGH TIME Exhibit of items entirely selected and described by students in the Margaret Boyd Scholars Program Freshman Seminar, delayed since spring 2020. This student-curated exhibit features materials from various collections in the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, and that address questions and issues of relevance to all students around gender, sexuality, societal expectations, rights, and so on.

on view through February 10th Free & Open to the Public

VALENTINE’S EDITION Join us for the Valentine’s edition of the Prints, Plants & Pots Sale to be held in the performance space and lower gallery of Arts West!

At this truly unique shopping experience, the focus will be on handmade artwork, live plants, and ceramic work, all created or grown by local artists or horticulturalists.

Sat. Feb. 12th 10-6 Sun. Feb. 13th 10-5 Free & Open to the Public

The Union

Y2K NIGHT WITH DJ BARTICUS Spinning the hits from The Greatest Decade

Friday, Feb. 4th Doors open at 8:00

Admission: $10 The 50th Annual Linguistics Colloquium will be held virtually at 12:55 p.m., as Ohio University alumna Tetiana Tytko leads a discussion on Young learners’ L2 Spanish vocabulary acquisition through captions.

TRIVIA NIGHT OPEN MIC NIGHT

Free & Open to the Public

scan to schedule your donation

Admission: Free

Admission: $30 The Sibs Weekend Stargazing and Campfire event will bring Ohio University students and their siblings down to the ridges at 8 p.m for hiking, s’mores and a scenic environment. A night sky of shining stars paired with spending time with loved ones is sure to make for an unforgettable experience.

w

$5 cover 21 & over $7 under 21

Southeast OH History Center 24 W State Street THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF BRIAN BLAUSER: A CAREER RETROSPECTIVE

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This exhibit of Blauser’s postadvertising@ohio.edu black-and-white photographs Semester pricing and from 1960s and ‘70s discounts are available.

Appalachian Ohio is enhanced with artifacts Space is limited from the origins of StewartMacDonald Mfg., the Dairy Barn’s Quilt National, and 1980s local TV program For more “45701.”

Music, Arts, and Events on view through scan February 17th http://MyACPL.org Free & Open to the Public

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 23

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+ in print 2 .17 .22 Love Lines is a paid promotion that will be featured on Instagram @thepostathens and Twitter @ThePost throughout the day on Monday February 14th and printed in the weekly newspaper on Thursday the 17th. The cost to participate in this promotion is $5 per message, payment must be received prior to 12:01 am on February 13 to be included in the promotion. *Special rules and conditions apply see order form