February 4, 2021

North End opens on Court Street...PG 6 Ohio football gains 4 new recruits...PG 16 Hocking Hills Winery to host live music...PG 22 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

The Issue of Income Inequality A look at the proposed federal minimum wage

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Remember to still take time for yourself during virtual classes

MOLLY SCHRAMM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

After a quick change to a virtual format last Spring Semester and a full load of virtual classes for most students this past fall, it seems that there’s a perception that online classes are easier for students and professors. Well, I can personally tell you this perception is false.

Though I’ve adjusted fairly well, virtual classes aren’t any easier than day one last March. I still find I’m less attentive during online classes. Pairing that with the fact that I’m learning 3 feet away from my bed, it all has really screwed up my whole work/relaxation separation philosophy.

Furthermore, I had to spend $500 to repair my laptop’s battery after its power source and lifespan decided to give out at the start of winter break. Was that because of constant Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings? We’ll never know.

But I’d like to think it had some impact on my computer’s health. The whole ordeal definitely weighed on my mental and financial health.

Nevertheless, what I’m trying to say here is that virtual classes drain you in a way that

in-person classes usually don’t. Every college student faced with online classes has more or less accepted them, but that doesn’t mean these students — and even the professors faced with teaching virtually — shouldn’t take the time to relax and focus on themselves for a bit.

With the first of Ohio University’s multiple Wellness Breaks coming up Feb. 9, I can’t help but guess if I’ll be using the day to unplug from Blackboard or if I’ll be instead using it to catch up on the multitude of discussion board posts I have looming over my head.

While in theory I think these wellness breaks are a great way to compensate for the lack of spring break during the semester, I don’t think they’re necessarily equate. The need for selfcare this semester goes beyond that of three days off.

Throughout this semester, I’ve been attempting new ways to relax from classes, even if it’s for a few minutes or for an evening.

Sometimes when I could be working on my next assignment, I sit down and play a game of

sudoku (yes, I realize I sound 75 years old here) or play with my roommate’s cat, Mako, instead.

On Tuesdays, after all my meetings for the evening, I’ve made it a ritual to watch TV with my best friend. Even drinking a glass of a new wine while cooking and eating dinner has been nice. It’s the little things.

And while I’m in no way advocating for procrastination or simply not doing assignments, sometimes I do truly believe one’s own mental health trumps that of a simple participation or discussion grade. Apologies if you disagree.

Even if it’s even lying on your bed and dissociating from everything around you for five minutes, take the time and prioritize yourself this semester. Grades do matter, but Bobcats, you and your mental health matter more.

Molly Schramm is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Have questions? Email Molly at ms660416@ohio.edu or tweet her @_molly_731.

COVER DESIGN BY MARY BERGER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Molly Schramm MANAGING EDITOR Baylee DeMuth DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Matthew Geiger EDITORIAL NEWS EDITORS Abby Miller, Nolan Simmons ASST. NEWS EDITOR Emma Skidmore LONG-FORM EDITOR Jillian Craig SPORTS EDITORS Jack Gleckler, J.L. Kirven CULTURE EDITOR Riley Runnells ASST. CULTURE EDITOR Lily Roby OPINION EDITOR Noah Wright ASST. OPINION EDITOR Mikayla Rochelle THE BEAT EDITOR Madyson Lewellyn ASST. THE BEAT EDITOR Emma Dollenmayer COPY CHIEF Bre Offenberger SLOT EDITORS Eli Feazell, Anna Garnai, Katey Kruback, Molly Powers ART ART DIRECTOR Mary Berger ASST. ART DIRECTOR Olivia Juenger DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Kelsey Boeing PHOTO EDITOR Nate Swanson DIGITAL WEB DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Brianna Lender SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Taylor Burnette DIRECTOR OF MULTIMEDIA Ethan Sands BUSINESS STUDENT MEDIA SALES INTERNSHIP MANAGER Andrea Lewis MEDIA SALES Grace Vannan

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Shifts for Students Shively Grab N’ Go’s reopening creates 60 additional shifts for student workers COLLEEN MCLAFFERTY FOR THE POST

culinary shifts for student workers, Gwyn Scott, associate vice president of auxiliaries, said in an email.

Scott said the Culinary Department is Ohio University’s decision to reopen taking steps to advertise the benefits of Shively Grab N’ Go to alleviate the long their positions to students, hoping to fill lines at dining halls has added 60 open more shifts.

“In order to employ more students, we shifts for students looking for work.

The university opened the Grab N’ Go in are leveraging multiple approaches to reJanuary after students reported standing cruit students, such as promoting the pay in up to hour-long lines at the campus din- structure, the flexibility of venue locaing halls. OU released an app, OHIO EATS, tions, hours and days of work, the varied the same day, allowing students to pick up types of positions, large banners and flat screen ads across campus, social media, meals from several places on campus.

“I know a lot of people are looking for and utilizing communication in the Keepjobs, so it would be beneficial for every- ing Bobcats Informed and the Parents one involved,” Lily Biros, a sophomore and Families letter from the Dean of Students,” Scott said in an email. studying journalism, said.

Likewise, the Housing and Residence Life Biros initially intended to work off-campus this semester but was is working to keep its department staffed.

“Housing and Residence Life continues only able to find on-campus jobs. She described the off-campus job market to recruit and employ talented student leaders in a variety of on-campus emas “cutthroat.”

3209-ES-21-Frontiers-in-Science-Post-Ad.pdf 1 2/1/21 12:51 PM opportunities,” Jneanne Hacker, With the addition of the Shively Grab ployment N’ Go positions, there are 860 available director of business and conference ser-

frontiers in science

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ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA JUENGER vices, said in an email.

Hacker said, although Housing had experienced a reduction in students coming to campus, any staff member wishing to come back to campus was offered continued employment.

“We are fully staffed for spring semester but will continue to assess and evalu-

ate the need to onboard additional staff,” Hacker said in an email.

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NEWS BRIEFS

Coronavirus vaccination available for new groups in Athens County; GSS to donate to OU’s food pantry ABBY MILLER NEWS EDITOR GRADUATE STUDENT SENATE HOLDS FIRST MEETING OF SPRING SEMESTER

Graduate Student Senate passed amendments Tuesday to help support Ohio University’s food pantry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cats’ Cupboard, OU’s food pantry, provides the university and community with fresh produce, non-perishables and personal care items. The food pantry has seen more students visiting during the pandemic, but donations have been decreasing, Nick Whitticar, translational biomedical sciences department representative, said.

GSS is donating $1,000 through purchasing needed items for the pantry. GSS is not allowed to donate money directly, Amid Vahedi, GSS treasurer, said.

The donations will help supply 40 students with three days’ worth of food and other products, Whitticar said.

GSS also discussed how it will advocate for the Academic and Global Communication program at Ohio University to continue during its meeting.

The Academic and Global Communication program, or AGC, helps graduate and undergraduate students at

OU learn English communication skills. The program offers presentation and pronunciation tutoring for graduate students, Amal Shimir, GSS vice president, said. Due to financial reasons, the AGC program will be ending in May. The Graduate Writing Center will try to front-load the service of the Academic and Global Communication program, Kaelyn Ferris, GSS president, said.

CORONAVIRUS: FIRST COVID-19 DEATH OF THE YEAR REPORTED IN THE COUNTY

Athens County’s coronavirus death toll hit 10 Wednesday after a new death was confirmed.

A male in his 70s died Jan. 30, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health. It is the fourth death in the 70-79 age range, according to the Athens City-County Health Department.

The report Wednesday marks the first coronavirus-related death to be confirmed in the county since Dec. 27, 2020. That death was a male in his 50s.

As of Feb. 3, Athens has 4,127 COVID-19 cases. Of those cases, 561 are considered active.

nounced Monday the launch of the city’s new app.

The Athens Ohio City Source app is now available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store, she said.

Athens citizens can use the app to report city issues, receive news updates and find city jobs.

In addition to the app, issues and concerns can be reported on the city website, Knisely said.

Mayor Steve Patterson said COVID-19 vaccines will be available this week for people ages 70 and older.

Vaccines will also be available for employees in the K-12 school system.

There’s a level of patience everyone should keep in mind, as vaccine distribution is based on when Athens County receives enough doses to vaccine all eligible individuals, Patterson said.

This week, Athens County has received over 900 doses of the coronavirus vaccine for distribution.

@ABBLAWRENCE AM166317@OHIO.EDU

CITY COUNCIL ANNOUNCES CITY APP, CORONAVIRUS VACCINE DISTRIBUTION PLANS

Athens City Council President Chris Knisely an-

POLICE BLOTTER

Woman takes calming winter walk; false hold-up alarm activated ANNA MILLAR FOR THE POST WATCH YOUR BACK

The Athens County Sheriff ’s Office responded to State Route 682 in The Plains based on a report of a suspicious car following a woman who was walking.

Deputies located the car and found no criminal activity. They then searched for the woman but were unable to find her.

BROKEN SWITCH

The Athens County Sheriff ’s Office responded to a business hold-up alarm on North Plains Road in The Plains. Store employees told the deputies the alarm had been activated by accident because they thought the switch didn’t work.

A CALMING WALK

The Athens County Sheriff ’s Office responded to a suspicious persons report on Baker Road and Radford Road in Athens.

When deputies arrived, they saw a woman sitting in the snow by the side of the road. She told deputies she was having a bad week and had taken a walk to calm down. Deputies took her back to her home and called her parents, who said they would stay with her for the night.

GHOSTLY LIGHT

The Athens County Sheriff ’s Office responded to Hawk Road in New Marshfield on a report of someone with a flashlight outside of a residence.

Deputies searched the area but did not find a person or any footprints in the snow.

DRUNKEN WANDERER

The Athens County Sheriff ’s Office arrived at

4 / FEB. 4, 2021

Tomoko Trailer Park in The Plains on a report of a possibly intoxicated man wandering around.

Deputies searched the area but did not find the reported man.

@ANNAMILLAR16 AM157219@OHIO.EDU

Bookstores Battle Changing Times Stores like Little Professor Book Center and College Book Store are learning how to operate during a largely virtual semester RYAN MAXIN FOR THE POST As the majority of Ohio University’s classes are being taught virtually due to COVID-19, many required reading materials are following suit and have been for several years.

For two of the most popular bookstores on OU’s Athens campus — Little Professor Book Center and College Book Store — the recent onslaught of textbook digitization is affecting their sales in big ways. Even with many students back on campus, both stores are seeing decreased sales from years prior.

“Since the students have been back, (I’ve) definitely seen an uptick in sales (but) not as many class sales or general readings as I expected,” Nicholas Polsinelli, owner of Little Professor, said.

Gene Armes, general manager at College Book Store, said his store is experiencing similar fluctuations to Little Professor.

“Business has naturally picked up somewhat with the limited return of students this semester,” Armes said in an email. “We still are at no where near full attendance here on campus so we continue to lag behind historical sales trends and expect to do so for the foreseeable future.”

Armes said Inclusive Access is another explanation for why physical textbook sales have been in freefall in recent years.

“The by far largest event that has hurt textbook sales on this campus is the introduction of Inclusive Access by Ohio University,” Armes said in an email.

“Inclusive Access ... has forced us to make radical changes in what merchandise we offer in our store in order to survive.”

Inclusive Access provides students in participating classes access to their reading materials in a digital format on the first day of their classes, according to OU’s website. Those materials are offered “at a significantly lower price than printed materials.”

Inclusive Access isn’t the only alternative way stu-

dents are getting their required reading materials.

Even students who wish to purchase physical textbooks are buying them elsewhere, either out of convenience or competitive pricing. Hannah Moore, a freshman studying translational health, is one such student.

“I have access to all my books online. However, I went ahead and bought my physical textbooks for biology, chemistry, and I tried to buy it for calculus,” Moore said. “I just … can’t read the online ones.”

Moore said she purchased those physical copies throug h the website from which she had an access code.

To survive students’ newfound desire to buy textbooks from other sources, both Little Professor and College Book Store are exploring alternative paths for revenue.

College Book Store sells OU merchandise, including clothing, mugs and keychains. Textbook sales have been waning from College Book Store’s total sales in recent years as other items take their place, Armes said.

The same goes for Lit tle Professor, where class book sales make up about 30% to 40% of its annual revenue.

“We’re really doubling down on the idea that you go to a bookstore for kind of the atmosphere, or the recommendations … for something different, not just to get a book,” Polsinelli said. “Getting a book, you can do that here, it’s great, but you come here to get a sense of community.”

Polsinelli has also set aside a portion of his store to showcase the goods of artists as a way of diversifying the store while also giving those artists a small market to sell their items.

As the pandemic rages on and financial stress tightens around businesses in Athens, bookstores are turning to the community for support.

“The community itself has really been the engine that has kept the store going,” Polsinelli said. “The community is really the ones that are helping push us forward.”

@RYANMAXIN RM554219@OHIO.EDU

Little Professor Book Center located at 65 S. Court St. in Athens, Ohio. (JULIA STRAUB | FOR THE POST)

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The North End opens its doors after months of delays RYAN MAXIN FOR THE POST After many months of delay, The North End Kitchen and Bar, an open-air, streetstyle taco restaurant, is finally open.

The restaurant, located at 77 N. Court St., officially opened to the public Jan. 13, months behind schedule. Due to COVID-19, the restaurant wasn’t able to obtain its liquor license or state inspections on its original timeline. According to a previous Post report, the original grand opening was scheduled to take place in April 2020 but was pushed back to August 2020 before, finally, the start of the new year.

Despite these complications, The North End’s owners, David and Jen Cornwell, are keeping their spirits high now that their restaurant is up and running.

“It’s nice because all of our hard work is finally starting to pay off,” David Cornwell said. “It’s like a weight lifted off our shoulders. It sounds kind of backwards because you think a lot of the pressure would be when you opened … but more of the stress was getting ready to open.”

Ty Word, director of operations for the North End restaurant group, agreed that after so many obstacles, it’s relieving to be able to open up the restaurant.

“As frustrating as (the delays) were, it is sort of a weight lifted off us knowing that we could finally open up (and) give Athens another food option as well as a Athens’ newest addition to Court Street is The North End, serving tacos and margaritas to its new customers on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. place that came along, really, really nice- (NATE SWANSON | PHOTO EDITOR) ly,” Word said. “I think it’s just another As expected with the opening of any new restaurant, takeout option, which officially went into effect Jan. 26. great food choice option for students and locals alike to The North End has stayed consistently busy since the Additionally, curbside pickup is available. come down and enjoy.”

Despite these issues, Mattox can’t wait to go back Now that many students are back on campus for the day it first opened to the public, a trend that the owners with more of her friends.

Spring Semester, The North End has quickly become a and customers alike have tried to get used to.

Although Minter expressed uncertainty on if he will “Obviously, weekends we’re busy — Thursday, Friday, popular choice for people to try out.

“The overall atmosphere is just really fun,” Julia Mat- Saturday, Sunday — that’s when everyone wants to go return again, he suggested that others check it out for eat, and I realize that,” David said. “(On days like) Mon- themselves at least once. tox, a sophomore studying marketing, said. “(With) all of my friends and the people that I know, She added that she enjoys the food and that the price day, you can probably walk right in and get a table.”

Mattox has gone to the restaurant three times thus (the restaurant is) always now in the mix of like, ‘Oh, reflected the quality. “(I ordered) a large-sized quesadilla for $8 (one time) far, dining in each time. She also mentioned she and her should we go to The North End tonight?’” Mattox said. and I couldn’t even finish it … so I definitely think that it’s friends have only had to wait once, and they found tables “It doesn’t really feel like it’s just another place on Court Street.” easily on the other two occasions. worth it,” Mattox said.

“The first time, we had a wait of roughly an hour,” Prestin Minter, a senior studying journalism, said he really liked the bar and the food, but it was extreme- Mattox said. “But it’s nice because you can put in your ly busy, and the overall atmosphere didn’t match what name and then they call you … so I did like that about it.”

Another way the Cornwells are trying to stimulate he was looking for. As a vegetarian, Minter was under@RYANMAXIN business while mitigating overcrowding is by offering a whelmed with the options available to him.

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Discussing Income Inequality Debates over a proposed federal minimum wage change persist in 2021 ADONIS FRYER SENIOR WRITER Since March 2020, billionaires have gained over $1 trillion since the start of the pandemic. On the other hand, millions of Americans have been financially struggling this last year. The coronavirus pandemic didn’t create income inequality but surely stretched it further.

As a result, many are advocating for an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, which would create a $15 rate nationally. Richard Vedder, the author of Out of Work: Unemployment and Government in Twentieth-Century America and an economics professor at Ohio University, explained the origin of the law.

“At a time when the minimum wage went into effect, nationally, the unemployment rate was nearly 20% and had been very high for the last eight or nine years,” Vedder said.

“So that was the impetus for the minimum wage.”

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 prohibited child labor and limited the work week to 44 hours. The first minimum wage law was set at 25 cents an hour and was passed as a part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

“The laws were advocated on the basis that if we can

raise the wages of workers from what they currently are to a higher wage, we will move some workers out of poverty or make them better off. They’ll release the suffering,” Vedder said.

States can set their own minimum wage laws to be higher, lower, equal to or nonexistent compared to the federal rate. So while the federal minimum wage hasn’t increased since 2009, the Ohio minimum wage has increased five times in the last five years.

Vedder disagrees on the effectiveness of raising the minimum wage to curb income inequality.

“You can argue it’s not a very good way to target the poor,” Vedder said. “It’s a crude way and an inefficient way.”

Other possible ways to reduce wealth inequality are programs like universal basic income, or UBI — which was popularized by 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang — or a negative income tax rate, which was popularized by 20th century economist Milton Friedman.

For some, these programs are preferential because there’s skepticism on how raising the minimum wage could impact unemployment. Bradley Kennedy, a junior studying political science who serves as the political director of OU College Republicans, expressed concerns that an increase would have on businesses.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY BERGER 8 / FEB. 4, 2021

“I would say their hearts are in the right place, but raising the minimum wage to $15 isn’t exactly the best way to do it,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy, a self-described “Ron Paul” Republican, believes that an increase to $15 could cause an increase in unemployment, could raise the price of goods and eventually create a situation where the economics balance out so that the increase isn’t felt. Instead, he prefers a different approach.

“I would say the best way is to get rid of unnecessary government spending,” Kennedy said. “That way, taxes could be lower for everyone else around because there’s a lot of things that you could argue the government spends millions on each year that they don’t need to spend that much on.”

Kennedy specified TSA as an example of a program that Americans spend too much on. Kennedy said independent studies have shown that people sneak contraband through the security system anyway, so it’s an expense that needs to be reconsidered.

Nationally, 57% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents oppose raising the minimum wage to $15.

Eli Kalil, the Democratic chair of Ashtabula, currently serves as the youngest Democratic chair in the state. He is a self-described conservative Democrat and supports a minimum wage increase.

“I definitely support a minimum wage increase,” Kalil said. “I haven’t wrapped my head about what that number would look like, as far as, you know, is it $12 an hour? Is it $15 an hour like folks have kicked around?”

Kalil has never worked a minimum wage job and has always lived in a higher income household in Ashtabula.

Nonetheless, his reading on the minimum wage causes him to believe that pros outweigh the cons of an increase.

“Even if I’m paying 10 more cents for a hamburger at McDonald’s, to see someone else have a three, four or five, maybe $6 increase in their minimum wage, I’m OK with that,” Kalil said.

Kalil expressed support for further policies like UBI and negative income tax credit. He believed UBI could be a success depending on its implementation and also believes that poorer individuals shouldn’t be paying as much as wealthy individuals in taxes.

Nationally, 87% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents favor raising the minimum wage.

Some people who do not politically identify as a Democrat believe the minimum wage should be increased.

Betty Miller, a senior majoring in political science and minoring in Black studies, who also serves as the president of the Black Student Cultural Programming Board and co-founder of the Black Student Organization Coalition, doesn’t fully embrace either party but supports raising the minimum wage.

“The Democrats and the Republicans have shown that they do not really take the minorities or marginalized groups as a concern,” Miller said. “It’s more so a political strategy on who they think they can get out. And that’s really shown throughout history.”

While she dreams of being a lawyer one day, a job that would pay far more than minimum wage, she has loads of experience with less glamorous jobs. She’s worked at Nel-

son Dining Court in Athens and at Steelcraft, Amazon Fulfilment Center and Delivery, as a lifeguard and at Taco Bell in her hometown of Cincinnati.

“I am (in favor of raising it to $15) and honestly, I think it should be raised more,” Miller said.

Miller cited the racial wealth gap and the cost of living as reasons to increase the minimum wage above $15. She said a $15 minimum wage would be great for students and dependents but wouldn’t be a living wage for individuals who have more things to worry about than books.

“Let’s say you have a car note; let’s say you have your phone bill; let’s say if your job doesn’t cover your medical: you’re not going to be left with a lot after that,” Miller said.

George Ofori-Atta, a graduate student at OU who is majoring in African studies and is specifically researching the legacy of British imperialism in Ghana, is also in favor of raising the federal minimum wage to $15.

Ofori-Atta got his undergraduate degree in political studies from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

“If there is an opportunity that we are going to increase this minimum wage to 15, I think it’s a great idea, especially looking at how even the economy’s run in a moment, where we are afraid that it might collapse,” Ofori-Atta said.

Ofori-Atta believed that increasing the minimum wage would motivate people to work harder due to higher pay, stimulate consumer spending and also believed an increase could help International students on campus.

“So I mean, it has had a huge impact on us. And I sometimes imagine how international students are able to support themselves in a foreign law school. You have been able to put together some programs that have been very supportive,” Ofori-Atta said.

Ofori-Atta also believed that businesses may lay off people in the short term, but the long-term and racial impacts would outweigh possible problems.

There was much conversation around whether or not businesses would cut workers if there was a minimum wage increase, but Alicia Cordell, the human resources manager at Casa Nueva, believes that it shouldn’t be a concern.

“Businesses should take care of their workers and try to retain their workers anyway (regardless of a minimum wage increase),” Cordell said.

Casa Nueva already pays its workers higher than minimum wage at $11 per hour. The company gives raises to employees after 1000 hours and is a union-owned restaurant, meaning there’s not one central manager.

“Maybe there will be a short-term impact, but the ripple effects would be positive,” Cordell said. “It would be a net

gain if workers could afford where they’re living.”

Cordell believes businesses would be impacted differently depending on the region. For example, it would affect Athens and Columbus differently.

Los Angeles County is one place in America that already has a $15 minimum wage. Athens County and Los Angeles County are in two different states, have different climates and are known for radically different things, but one thing they have in common is a resident named Nathan Bouie, a 2019 graduate of Ohio University and Ohio-in-LA alumni.

Bouie used Ohio-in-LA to get out west and believes that his job at Nelson, which paid $9.55 an hour, is actually hard-

er than his current gig at HBO. Bouie believes that a minimum wage increase would be useful, despite detractors.

“I feel it’s when people always mention raising the minimum wage, I always say like, ‘Well, like what if you raise minimum wage, but then like the company will raise the prices of things?’ but they’re like, ‘That’s not how it works,’” Bouie said.

Bouie believes that a UBI or negative income tax rate could also be helpful. Bouie ultimately pointed to the cost of living being too high around the country and believes the income tax rate has failed to keep up with the cost of living.

“Putting more money in people’s pockets can’t get hurt, unless they’re doing illegal things,” Bouie said. “Obviously not but as far as people struggling, check the check. I personally see no issue associated with more money in their pockets.”

Bouie said that a UBI could possibly pay his rent and would help people in Appalachia support their families better. Ultimately, he believes Americans need to do a better job of supporting policies that will help one another.

“I think as a country, we kind of need to look more toward each other and care more about how we all live,” Bouie said. “I think once you can kind of get together and be more unified and focus on things, that (will) kind of help us all grow together.”

AF414219@OHIO.EDU

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 9

Adventurous Vendors Athens Farmers Market is home to many inspiring vendors

KAYLA BENNETT FOR THE POST The Athens Farmers Market has been a treasure to Athens for about 50 years now. Every Saturday brings a new array of people and a new chance to introduce newcomers of Athens to the locally produced foods and goods and their makers.

The market is made up of an array of vendors. Those who choose to participate are usually from around Athens, but the distance can range from up to 150 miles. Wherever they come from, Athens has been able to build a sense of togetherness for the vendors and their consumers.

The vendors of the market dedicate their time and effort to displaying their goods for the people of Athens to see. Giving a big commitment, the vendors have been able to share how they ended up at the market and how the experience has been for them.

“It’s more than just the marketplace,” Ed Perkins, a

veggie vendor at the market, said. “Although COVID has kind of suppressed the social life of the market, it’s still a gathering place in the sense of the old-fashioned, outdoor local market. Before supermarkets came along, every community always had their local outdoor market day, which was a gathering place for the community. So this kind of continues that tradition.”

Perkins sells locally grown veggies and has been for most of his life. In fact, he has contributed to the market the longest. Originally coming to Athens, Perkins was an OU student. He later met his wife, who also attended OU, and they made Athens their home. The market quickly began a chance for them to feel connected with the faces of Athens.

For some, the market is their key to a creative outlet and paves the way for them to share their stories that have been waiting to be shared through their work.

“I’ve been with the Athens Art Guild for about four years and selling at the market for that amount of time,” Beth Weingroff, owner of Sledding Hill Pottery, said. “I love being out in the community. The work that I make

reflects my take on life, my take on politics, the joy that I have in exploring pottery. I tend to work with really vibrant colors that just kind of reflect happiness, but also there’s subtlety, like in my bird mugs, which I make on a regular basis, the attitude of the face of the mug will reflect what’s going on politically. The last batch of mugs that I made, the little birds are wearing pearl necklaces because our vice president wears pearls. All my work is functional, and I love having it out in the community — keeps me really connected to the great people.”

Weingroff has been able to use her pottery to tell a story and use it to feel more connected with herself while also using it to connect with the people who visit her on Sundays. Her pottery creates a sense of individuality and value, something all vendors at the market have in common.

The market has been a growing experience, even for the vendors.

“We run a small vegetable farm,” Adam Blaney, owner of Blaney Farms, said. “We live in Albany. Our farm is about five acres, but we grow on about an acre-and-ahalf, so we only grow about an acre-and-a-half of vegetables. Some of that’s under cover, under tunnels and greenhouses. Next week will be two years that we’ve been here, so we’re still fairly new to full-time farming.

I grew up in this area around Athens, and my wife and I both went to OU.” Blaney has been able to bring ministry into his farming, creating a sentimental value in it for himself and his family.

Although not all vendors are right around the corner local, they have felt drawn to stay connected with Athens and continue the bond they had formed with it earlier in their life. Therefore, the vendors encourage anyone who hasn’t been to take a chance one Saturday and introduce themselves to the talent Athens holds.

“Students come, and they should try it out,” Perkins said. “We have lots of great foods available. Get a taste of Athens.”

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Largemouth Brass Band rebrands with ‘Repilot’ Originally from Athens but now based in Columbus, the band released an album over quarantine.

ERIN GARDNER FOR THE POST The Largemouth Brass Band knows the show must go on.

The band originally formed in 2017 in Athens as members of the Ohio University School of Music but has since relocated to Columbus. The eight-piece all brass band, save for one drummer, released its newest full-length album, Repilot, over quarantine — which is no small feat.

The original members still in the band are: Frankie Wantuch, Ben Baker, Ben Stingo and Seth Alexander. Since moving to Columbus, the band added four new members: Taylor Leonard, Ian Harrah, Chris Hines and Jocelyn Smallwood.

The name Largemouth Brass Band is a pun on the fish the Largemouth bass. “(The name) is just a stupid pun that we came up with on the first day of rehearsal when we had decided who was in the band,” Alexander, who plays the drums, said. “It doesn’t mean what it used to. It’s now becoming the name of our entity, instead of just a dumb pun.”

The group favors references that go even further than its name. Repilot, the name of the band’s album, isn’t actually a word.

“I got it from an episode of Community. They just made it up for that episode,” Ben Baker, who plays the tenor saxophone, the baritone saxophone and the bass clarinet, said.

Much like the Community episode, the band is reintroducing themselves.

“We have restructured the way the band is: not only in personnel, but in musical style, in actual location, in our general understanding of what the band is and how we play live shows,” Alexander said. “Everything got restructured, reformalized, re-whatevered. (Repilot) kind of kicks off our new style of music.”

The band rebranded its logo and got a new website where it sends out monthly, if not biweekly, newsletters to its fans.

The new logo and the album art were done by Sara Krivicich, an Ohio artist, Alexander said.

The album itself is made up of 10 tracks, five of which Baker wrote. The songs were written before the pandemic but were recorded mid-pandemic.

“It was really important for me to get my music out there since half of it was from me,” Baker said. “This is a way that I can present myself to the world. This is my music. I hope people enjoy it, and if they enjoy it, I can write more, and maybe people will want more.”

The overall album has an upbeat tone.

“I think we just have a lot of fun playing together,” Harrah, who plays trumpet, said.

However, recording in the midst of the pandemic did produce some concerns.

“We were probably in the absolute worst situation we could be in because we’re a band of eight people, and seven

of us have basically these giant tubes where we’re blowing air and spit through,” Baker said. “It’s like exactly what you’re not supposed to do. We had to basically split the album up because we couldn’t have the whole band in there all the time.”

The rhythm section would record first with a couple of horns and then the other instruments would come in and record over top, Wantuch, who plays the alto saxophone, said. However, the entire band came in to record “Spirit” because “You can’t cut around that,” Baker said.

Although the album is new, the band members wrote the songs a little over a year ago.

“I’d say around last winter and last fall of 2019 we decided to make an album because we were writing a few new tunes,” Alexander said. “We set a deadline for anyone (who was going to) write a new tune … and that deadline was reached by December 2020.”

Looking back, Baker said it’s almost hard to listen to the tunes because they’re a year old.

“A year in shutdown, at home practicing,” Baker said. “I think if we had our way, we would record the album again.

We’ve all practiced since then; we’ve rehearsed. We know the music better. I think that’s what makes the album itself.

It’s a little bit sloppy, but that’s kind of the idea. With brass band music in general, that’s the idea: it’s sloppy, a lot of it is improvised, but it’s tight, meaningful. It’s coming from an honest place.”

For the new band members, this is the first album for which they’ve written songs.

“This is my first album that has music that I composed on it,” Harrah said. “I’ve been writing music for a long time, but I’ve never had a whole slew of people playing it and an actual audio engineer helping us put it together. So it’s really fun. I was grateful to get to do it.”

Since moving to Columbus, the band has played larger venues like Brothers Drake Meadery, Strongwater Food and Spirits, the Jazz & Rib Fest and the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

But they didn’t start that way. In Athens, the band would play street music — literally on the street. The bandmates first started recording covers, which inspired them to write their first album. “(Repilot) is really who we are in terms of the music we play,” Wantuch said. “Bands are ever-changing over time. I’m really excited for how we sound and what we’re saying musically. I think the number one thing that our voice says is to just have fun and be carefree.”

Looking forward, the band wants to play more outside shows. If the pandemic improves, the group is planning on having a busy summer and fall season.

“Be on the lookout for possibly new music videos with these songs (and) definitely some new collaborations,” Alexander said.

Every member of Largemouth Brass Band is proud to be a part of something so special.

“We just wanna get our name out there because we are so proud of what we have put together,” Wantuch said. “It’s important to be supporting your local artists, and it doesn’t cost a dime to share a post. We just want everyone to be as hyped as we are.”

They also each feel so lucky that they have each other to go on this musical journey.

“When you’re in a band, you’re basically a small family or group of friends,” Alexander said. “And ever since then, it’s worked out pretty well, so we kind of lucked out.”

@ERINGARDNER_ EG245916@OHIO.EDU

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 11

Heather Harmon, owner and founder of Hazel Reese Vintage Market in The Plains, stands at the front counter on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (CARRIE LEGG | FOR THE POST)

Hazel Reese Vintage Market offers vintage, antique items to Athens LILY ROBY ASST. CULTURE EDITOR Heather Harmon never expected to turn her lifelong hobby into a full-time job.

Nonetheless, Hazel Reese Vintage Market, 70 N. Plains Road, had its grand opening Nov. 13, 2020, and has had success during its first few months.

Heather Harmon, owner of Hazel Reese Vintage Market and an associate professor of health sciences at Ohio University, said while teaching has always been her dream,

her side hobby of redoing furniture and home decor is always what she was really into. Once she brought up the idea of opening a local vintage market, countless members of the community reached out to her, either encouraging her to open the space or requesting to become vendors.

“I wanted other people to be able to get access to stuff because in Athens, there’s not really a place to really buy a whole lot of stuff like furniture and home decor things,” Heather Harmon said, describing her business’ new benefit to the community. “So it just made sense to open it, even

though it’s the worst possible time in history to open a business.”

The vintage market hosts 32 cosigners and vendors in a large space, with around 20 actual vendors coming to the space every weekend to sell pieces they’ve made or collections they’ve curated. Heather Harmon plans to keep introducing vendors for as long as she can, selling vintage items, antiques, home decor and handmade items, such as masks, T-shirts, soaps, jams and jellies. Soon, Hazel Reese Vintage Market will also have a section offering baked goods.

“There’s something for everybody to see,” Heather Harmon said, emphasizing that any group, be it college students, high schoolers, parents or just people passing through, will find something to appreciate at Hazel Reese. “It’s not boring. It’s not like going to Hobby Lobby and buying the same stuff everybody else has. You’re buying stuff that nobody else has, and that’s what makes it cool.”

The name Hazel Reese was picked from the first and middle names of her two children. One of those children, Allie Harmon, is the manager of Heather Harmon’s store.

Allie Harmon, who is a senior at Athens High School and plans to major in business next year, took the position to gain experience in her future field of study.

Allie Harmon mostly works behind the scenes, running the store’s social media and cash register and doing paperwork for the vendors. She said actually getting the business set up certainly has been a learning curve, especially as a high school student, but keeping everything organized is what helped her efficiently open the store.

“I’m just really excited to see how the end of the year turns out, and I really hope that me and my mom can make this a successful business in the end so that we have something in Athens where people can get anything,” Allie Harmon said. “I’d hope to manage it for a pretty long time … I don’t really want it to be just a side job.”

Over last summer, vendor Kim Hobbs

originally sold vintage jewelry, clothing and books and hand-sewn dog bananas, aprons, crock and bowl covers, pillows, quilts and tic-tac-toe games in her booth at the Meigs County Farmers Market. She saw online that Hazel Reese was looking for vendors and quickly connected with Heather Harmon to set up her booth.

Hobbs said her favorite part of Hazel Reese Vintage Market is that the inventory constantly changes. At their personal discretion, vendors can take out things that aren’t selling well and add fresher pieces for their customers. “(Vendors are always) recycling, updating, putting new inventory in,” Hobbs said.

“So every time you go into the shop, it’s like going into a new place again.”

Hobbs’ booth was originally called Kim’s Sewing Garden, but in Hazel Reese, it’s mostly known as Booth 33. Every booth is assigned a number, which vendors label their items with in order to be given credit at the register for each sale. It’s a smooth system that allows customers to shop through the store and then check out at one location at the end of their visit.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Hobbs said, describing the atmosphere of Hazel Reese.

“I mean, it’s a little bit of everything. I consider it one of those, ‘Don’t know what to get somebody? Go to Hazel’s for that perfect gift’ kind of place.”

Hazel Reese Vintage Market is open Friday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It plans to expand business hours to seven days a week in the coming months. Those interested in applying to become a vendor can email Heather Harmon at hazelreesevintagemarket@gmail.com.

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Women’s Center offers virtual events for February HALEY SWAINO FOR THE POST

Through leading strong women in discussions of diversity and inclusion, the Ohio University Women’s Center hopes to continue offering an outlet for conversation.

The Women’s Center has been on this mission to support OHIO women since 2007.

“We hope that our programs, through the co-curricular guide, can help participants identify the programs that will be most helpful to them as they address their own goals on inclusivity,” Geneva Murray, director of the Women’s Center, said in an email. “We hope that folks attend a variety of programs, because our speakers all address a different perspective and viewpoint.”

In unique, pandemic times, its mission remains unchanged and strong. As the Women’s Center has recently released its full spring 2021 calendar, it is pressing on and hosting positive and powerful events.

“We are elated to still offer engaging and interactive programming virtually,” MaryKathyrine Tran, assistant director of the Women’s Center, said in an email. “The virtual world can feel isolating, but the Women’s Center is elated to support and ensure that while we may be physically distant, we are not socially distanced from each other.”

Besides circumstances implemented from COVID-19 in our society, issues of political and social justice have been raised for discussion immensely over this past year. These issues may have brought more attention to matters not as discussed previously.

The Women’s Center began February with highlighting World Hijab Day at OU. For its next event, it will be hosting “SayHerName: Building Community to Support Women of Color at OHIO” on Feb. 17.

“This past year has demonstrated the importance of on-going conversations about social justice for those who maybe were not engaged before,” Murray said in an email.

“And programs like SayHerName underscore the importance of an intersectional analysis that highlights how gender and race intersect.”

As monthly attendees of the Women’s Center’s events began to express the need for action and discussion on such issues, the SayHerName events began being pushed for to get a conversation started. The center hosted a SayHerName program Jan. 20 of last month. This will be the second,

with another scheduled to follow March 17.

“These gatherings are important because they are rooted in remembrance and action,” Murray said in an email. “We begin each gathering with a moment of silence and reflection, and we encourage attendees to become engaged with the African American Policy Forum, which created the powerful movement SayHerName.”

Thursday, Feb. 18, will be Thirsting for Knowledge Thursday. Presented by Habiba Mohamed Montasser Mohamed Abdelaal, the event is titled “Women on the Frontline: The Anti-Sexual Violence Movement in Egypt Post Revolutions.”

“Our Thirsting for Knowledge Thursday sessions this academic year have been focused on what we can learn from leaders,” Tran said in an email. “Thus far, we’ve reflected on BlackLivesMatter, MeToo, and media coverage of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.”

As this is the Women’s Center’s first Thirsting for Knowledge Thursday of the year, it is looking forward to Abdelaal’s presentation.

“She co-founded and worked with several initiatives and grass-root organizations for women and girls across Egypt,” Ohio University’s Thirsting for Knowledge Thursdays website said. “These community movements have continued to grow over ten years, creating safety, power, and solidarity for Egyptian women.”

The Women’s Center enjoys hosting women from all around the world to share their diverse stories, lifes and lessons.

Feb. 23 is International Women’s Coffee Hour. This is an evening that the Women’s Center is looking forward to, co-sponsoring with BSCPB, the Multicultural Center and the AAUW Student Group. This month’s coffee hour topic is “International Standards of Beauty.”

“Examining beauty standards and expectations from an intersectional lens will provide important dialogue about both similarities and differences across cultures and creating change within our communities,” Tran said in an email.

Co-sponsored by the same groups, on Feb. 24, Joshunda Sanders will be presenting “Fractured Freedom: Navigating Race, Identity, and Self-Promotion Online.”

“We know that women, and particularly women of color, have inequitable access to virtual spaces,” Murray said in an email. “One only needs to look at how Leslie Jones, Kelly Marie Tran, or Anita Sarkeesian have been treated in online environments to witness trolling behavior and the impact that it has on one’s personal and professional life.”

As a successful author and educator, Sanders has led a career shedding light on important matters of race, sex, identity and more.

“We are so excited to have Joshunda Sanders lead this important conversation,” Murray said in an email. “Joshunda’s talk will allow us to explore this more deeply, including the impact of Zoombombing during COVID-19.”

The Women’s Center will host its final event of the month Feb. 25.

“Stay Out of Your Own Way: How Gender Stereotypes Threaten Our Success is one of many workshops offered at the Women’s Center,” Tran said in an email. “We are elated to offer this workshop each semester as an option within the Ohio University Human Resources Personal Development Platform (PDP).”

Though this event is offered to faculty and staff through OU’s Human Resources PDP, others interested in participating are more than welcome to attend the event as well.

“The Stay Out of Your Own Way workshop helps participants assess the language that they use about themselves, consider stigma women leaders are faced with, and assess how language can impact our confidence level and the ways in which women have been socialized to undersell their skills,” Tran said in an email. “This interactive workshop allows participants to not only learn these skills, but practice them in order to utilize them best in their classes and workplaces.”

The Women’s Center is continually offering various programs so there is something comfortable and useful to everyone. Registration for specific events can be found on its spring 2021 calendar.

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map that John Knouse had created: a very detailed map of the area and all the trails,” Fokes said. “The second is a gift certificate to Donkey Coffee and another one to Kindred Market.”

Although the hike may not be as social an event as in the past, both the Athens Conservancy and Friends of Strouds Run are hoping people will take the advantage to experience nature in the area.

“We want people to go out and enjoy themselves,” Flowers said. “Check out our preserves, and that includes OU students.”

This event provides students the opportunity to explore the area, especially if they’ve yet to have a chance to visit Strouds Run State Park or the Baker Preserve.

“I plan to take part in the hike to meet others who enjoy hiking and to enjoy the many trails that we have in the area surrounding Ohio University,” Alex Hines, a freshman studying history, said in a message. “Each of these trails are beautiful and a joy to hike in any weather.”

@ACARTER3602 AC732319@OHIO.EDU

The John Knouse Groundhog Hike photo booth at the head of the Baker Preserve trail in Athens, Ohio.

(KELSEY BOEING | DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)

Ground ‘Hug’ Adventure celebrates 18th year and founding member of Athens Conservancy ANASTASIA CARTER FOR THE POST Celebrating its 18th year, the John Knouse Groundhog Hike will take place from Feb. 2 through Feb. 14 and be a “hike-it-yourself” event with trail options at Baker Preserve and Strouds Run State Park.

In the past, the hike has taken place typically on a Sunday prior to Groundhog Day. The group would take on a few different hikes and end the day with a potluck.

“We would rent the shelter house and provide lots of food,” Jackie Fokes, vice president of Friends of Strouds Run, said. “It was a big social event with families and kids.”

Both Friends of Strouds Run and the Athens Conservancy have been working together to put this event together for the past 18 years. This is largely due to one of the founders of both organizations being the creator of this event.

14 / FEB. 4, 2021

The hike this year is in honor of that founder, John Knouse, a local trail blazer and conservationist. After struggling with illness for the past year, Knouse died Jan. 9.

“This hike was his baby. It was his signature event for the Athens Conservancy and for the Friends of Strouds Run,” Barbara Flowers, a board member for the Athens Conservancy, said. “John’s been a tremendous force behind local land protection and recreational trails.”

During his time with Friends of Strouds Run and the Athens Conservancy, Knouse produced numerous field guides about Athens and the surrounding area.

“He had an extremely wide breadth of knowledge on plants,” Fokes said. “He produced Athens Outdoor guide, which is an extremely detailed and thorough collection of all the places you can go and be immersed in the outdoor activities in Athens and the surrounding county.”

This year, the hike will take on a different format that allows everyone to remain safe and socially distanced. The three trails will be open for people to hike on their own time from Groundhog Day to Valentine’s Day. The first trail is the Blackhaw Accessible Trail at Strouds Run State Park, which is a 1-mile loop. It begins at the Bulldog Shelterhouse and is one of the easier trails. The second trail is the Mythical Tree Trail at Athens Conservancy’s Baker Preserve, which is a 1.7mile loop. The final and longest trail is the Liar’s Ridge Trail at Baker Preserve, a 2.3-mile loop. At Baker Preserve, they’ve even constructed a photo frame for people to take pictures with.

Anyone who goes on the hike, snaps some photos and submit them on social media using #GroundHugAdventure will be entered into a drawing for one of three prizes.

“One (prize) is a very large framable

IF YOU GO WHAT: 18th Annual John Knouse Groundhog Hike WHEN: Feb. 2 through Feb. 14 WHERE: Strouds Run State Park or Athens Conservancy’s Baker Preserve ADMISSION: Free

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Takeaways from Ohio’s 85-70 win over Kent State J.L. KIRVEN SPORTS EDITOR Ohio went into Wednesday’s night matchup against Mid-American Conference leader Kent State with one hand tied behind its back. The Bobcats were without star guard Erica Johnson and starter Peyton Guice. Kent State, who already beat a healthy Ohio team back in December, was fresh after not playing a game since Jan. 9.

But nobody told the Bobcats they had no chance of winning. Ohio battled Kent State throughout and pulled off one of the best wins of the season, defeating Kent State 85-70.

IT’S CECE HOOKS’ WORLD

When it’s all said and done, CeCe Hooks will probably go down as the best female

basketball player to ever play at Ohio.

What’s made her legacy grow even more this season, however, is her ability to take over the game.

At halftime, Hooks had 18 points, six steals and five assists. And she could’ve had much more, had a few baskets rolled the right way. In her four years in Athens, Hooks has managed to get better each year. She’s still the dominant defender that set, and then broke, her own steals record.

Hooks ultimately finished the game with 29 points, nine assists and seven steals.

Unfortunately for Ohio, Hooks couldn’t be the one to pull out the win.

IN GABBY WE TRUST

With 5:51 remaining, Hooks fouled out.

The Bobcats were on the bad end of a 10-0 run, and all the momentum was sucked

out of the air. Luckily for the Bobcats, Gabby Burris stepped up.

Burris led Ohio on an 11-0 run to end the game. Burris scored nine, all from the free throw line, and iced the Golden Flashes’ hopes of stealing the win. Burris finished the game in the hero’s chair with 22 points and five rebounds.

MADI MACE MAKES AN IMPACT IN HER FIRST START

All season long, Madi Mace’s been Ohio’s spunky freshman off the bench, but Wednesday, Mace had her name called out by Lou Horvath in the starting lineup.

Mace was ready for the big moment, and despite a few bad shots and mental lapses, the freshman stayed in the game.

Mace hit several big shots and competed down low with Kent State’s bigs all game.

Obviously, Mace will go back to her role as sixth player the moment Erica Johnson is healthy enough to come back, but with a huge win on the line, Mace was the star the Bobcats needed.

A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

It doesn’t get any easier after tonight.

The Bobcats have a two-game road trip against two of their toughest foes. First up on Saturday is Bowling Green. Last season, the Falcons ran Ohio off the court 82-68.

After the trip to Bowling Green, Ohio has to head to Muncie, Indiana, for a rematch with Ball State. Ohio lost to Ball State 8885 on Jan.13.

The trip is bound to be Ohio’s toughest of the season.

@JL_KIRVEN JK810916@OHIO.EDU

Ohio guard Cece Hooks (No. 1) jumps for a layup in a match against Kent State at The Convo on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021.

(NATE SWANSON | PHOTO EDITOR)

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 15

FOOTBALL

Ohio adds 4 more recruits on National Signing Day J.L. KIRVEN SPORTS EDITOR Ohio announced four more additions to its roster during Wednesday’s National Signing Day. Ryan Bainbridge, Ohio’s director of recruiting and player personnel, said an unnamed fifth recruit would announce his intent in a matter of days.

Bainbridge unveiled four recruits, T.J. Jackson, Shakari Denson, Amani Rhone and Tillman Weaver. Bainbridge also mentioned tight end Will Kacmarek, who signed a few days after the early signing period back in December.

“I think we’ve really rounded out our class, especially on defense,” Bainbridge said. “Overall, I’m really excited about this class. I think this is a really good group of guys that maybe has the highest ceiling of any class that I’ve been a part of at Ohio.”

Here are the four signees Ohio announced Wednesday:

NAME: T.J. Jackson POSITION: OL HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’ 7”, 375 lbs HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL: Cumberland, Virginia/grad transfer (Virginia Tech) In back-to-back seasons, Ohio’s picked up a guy out of the transfer portal who can help its offense right away. Last year, it was quarterback Armani Rogers, and this year, it’s offensive lineman T.J. Jackson.

Jackson played in 24 games for Virginia Tech and started two as right guard. Since Jackson is a graduate transfer and an early enrollee to Ohio, he’ll be able to find his rhythm with the Bobcats as early as spring ball.

Ohio offensive coordinator Tim Albin is excited about the experience and depth Jackson can bring to an offensive line that gave up nine sacks in three games.

“That’s going to be a need at tackle. I think that’s where he’ll start,” Albin said. “It’ll be tough to get around him, so we’re looking forward to getting him here and getting him started.”

Albin said Jackson is currently dealing with a death in the family, so he’s not in Athens yet. Once Jackson joins the team, it’s expected he’ll immediately become an anchor of the line.

NAME: Shakari Denson POSITION: CB HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’0”, 170 lbs HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL: Claxton, Georgia / Claxton High School According to ESPN, Shakari Denson is the crown jewel of Ohio’s signing class not just this year, but ever.

The four-star cornerback from Claxton, Georgia, is the highest ESPN recruit Ohio has ever had. During his time at Claxton High School, Denson totaled 17 interceptions and was a staple for the Tigers’ defense.

16 / FEB. 4, 2021

It wasn’t easy to get Denson to Ohio. He originally committed to Michigan State. Once Denson reopened his recruitment, local Georgia State and Ohio’s Mid-American Conference foe Kent State badly wanted Denson’s services. Bainbridge credits Ohio cornerback coach De’Angelo Smith for being able to secure another key piece for the Bobcats.

“Coach Smith had a great relationship with Shakari even before he committed to Michigan State,“ Bainbridge said. “When he (Denson) decommitted from Michigan State, it was just very natural for him to continue building that relationship and get him here.”

NAME: Aramoni Rhone POSITION: WR HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’5”, 190 lbs HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL: Orlando, Florida / Plant City High School While defense seemed to be the focus of Wednesday’s additions, Ohio also managed to secure a potential stud on offense.

Aramoni (pronounced Ar-mon-knee) Rhone is a potential No. 1 receiver in Ohio’s offense. His size and speed could make him a perfect companion to quarterback Kurtis Rourke. The last receiver Ohio recruited with Rhone’s skillset out of Orlando also was a perfect fit in Ohio’s offense.

It’s unknown if Rhone will end up being the heir replacement to Shane “Hollywood” Hooks, who transferred to Jackson State, next season. But Albin was pretty excited to bring him to Athens.

“He’s going to be a target for us,“ Albin said. “Not that he can’t go inside, but we’ll start him outside and use him in the red zone with his height. He’ll be the tallest receiver we’ve had here.”

NAME: Tillman Weaver POSITION: DE HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’3”, 240 lbs HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL: Sandy Springs, Georgia / Riverwood High School Tillman Weaver is unlike any of the other signees Ohio’s had this season and perhaps ever. What makes the 6-foot-3 edge rusher an exciting pickup for Ohio is that he had 71 tackles (40 for loss) and 10 sacks for Riverwood High School last season.

But what makes Weaver unique was that was his first season ever playing football.

Yes, you read that right. Weaver turned himself into a Division I caliber football player in only one season on the gridiron. He plays fast and aggressive, but his inexperience makes him raw. Ohio defensive coordinator Ron Collins can’t wait to mold him into a dominating defensive end.

“We’ve watched him and evaluated his fundamentals

and techniques,“ Collins said. “He really stood out to me because he had only played football for that one fall. So you know we’ll get a guy who’s already producing, but obviously, he’s got a really high ceiling.”

Once Bainbridge’s mystery recruit reveals himself, Ohio will have 20 new players for its 2021 roster. It was about as balanced as a class can be. 10 players play offense, and nine play defense. Surprisingly, Ohio did not sign any quarterbacks. Coach Frank Solich said Kurtis Rourke, who injured his shoulder in Ohio’s win over Bowling Green on Nov. 28, should be ready to return by spring ball.

Solich also mentioned that graduate transfer Armani Rogers has not communicated that he won’t be coming back for another season. Six-year seniors like Rogers, De’Montre Tuggle and Cam Odom who are coming back next season have aptly earned the nickname “super seniors.” Solich believes he knows everyone who’s coming back but will still allow time for guys who are still on the fence about using their extra year of eligibility.

“We’re pretty well set on who’s returning,“ Solich said. “Now, again, you know I hate to put an end to everything and say we would never consider something ... We’ll always look at things and see what’s in the best interests of our team.”

@JL_KIRVEN JK810916@OHIO.EDU

HOCKEY

Ohio can’t finish rally in 6-4 season opener loss to Lindenwood ELI FEAZELL SLOT EDITOR Ohio was facing an uphill battle before it even stepped onto the ice, but it still put up a worthy fight until the end.

The Bobcats had their opener swapped from a home game to an away game, their opponent had already played four games prior to this one and Lindenwood is already one of the toughest teams Ohio will be facing this season. Despite all that, Ohio gave Lindenwood plenty of scares in its 6-4 loss Tuesday afternoon at an empty Centene Community Ice Center.

The game appeared to be evenly matched for most of the first half. Until there were about 11 minutes remaining in the second period, the Lions (5-0) held only a 1-0 lead while the Bobcats (0-1)

were holding their own. Ohio began to slip up after that.

In a Lindenwood power play sparked by a slashing call on Timmy Thurnau, Jeremy Velazquez scored to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, Vegard Faret scored another goal for Lindenwood to make it a three-score game.

At this point, with all the odds stacked against them, the game seemed to be a lost cause for the Bobcats. However, coach Cole Bell’s team never let the game be out of reach.

With 5:45 left in the second period, Matt Shipko scored the first goal of the season and the first of his career to put Ohio on the board. The second period ended with the Lions leading 3-1, but the Bobcats came back in the third period.

Less than two minutes into the final period, Drew Magyar scored Ohio’s second goal when the teams were playing

four-on-four hockey due to penalties on both sides. After being down three scores, the Bobcats were just one good play away from a tie game.

Kyler Newman responded quickly for the Lions, but Kyle Craddick later canceled out that score with a goal of his own with seven minutes remaining. No goals were scored for the next three minutes, until J.T. Schimizzi scored while diving for the puck with three minutes remaining. Ohio had silenced Lindenwood even after things looked bleak in the second period.

Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the tie didn’t last long, as Faret scored his second goal of the game to give the Lions a 5-4 lead again. With a minute remaining, Ohio went into empty-net formation in one last attempt to even the score, but Lindenwood just added on another goal, the final of the afternoon, to win the

game 6-4.

The biggest stat from the game was Ohio being outshot 39-21 on shots-ongoal. The Bobcats were expected to be rusty in their first game back, but they can’t allow their opponents to have nearly double the number of scoring attempts in the future. All game it looked as if goaltender Max Karlenzig — in his first career start — couldn’t take a moment to relax against the Lions’ aggressive defense.

Ohio got a second chance to take down Lindenwood on Wednesday at 2 p.m. back at Centene, but fell short with a 4-1 loss.

@ELIFEAZ EF195418@OHIO.EDU

Ohio forward Drew Magyar controls the puck with pressure from Kent State defender Jake Parry during their game on Saturday, March 2, 2019, in Bird Arena. (ANTHONY WARNER | FOR THE POST)

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 17

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Numbers to know from Ohio’s 83-69 win over Central Michigan J.L. KIRVEN SPORTS EDITOR Ohio may be the hottest team in the Mid-American Conference, and it proved it again Tuesday, defeating Central Michigan 83-69 at McGuirk Arena for its fourth-straight win.

The Bobcats (11-6, 7-4 MAC) have gone from scraping the barrel for eighth place to potentially contending for one of the top spots in the conference. That turnaround can be explained with several statistical categories that Ohio’s dominated in as of late.

Here are the numbers to know from Ohio’s road win:

4

Four clearly is the number of games that Ohio’s won in a row, but it’s also the consecutive number of times Ohio’s outrebounded its opponents.

After being doubled in rebounds against Kent State, Ohio made a promise to itself to take it personal and not let another team dominate them physically. Since then, Ohio hasn’t just outrebounded teams, it’s outtoughed them as well.

On Tuesday, the Bobcats beat the Chippewas in the rebounding margin 38-26. Jason Preston led the way with 11, but the entire squad is really keying in on that

important stat.

In the last four games, Ohio has outrebounded Ball State, Western Michigan, Buffalo (who leads the conference in boards per game) and Central Michigan by a total margin of 163 to 127. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see why the Bobcats are playing better. The Bobcats are still 10th in the conference in rebounds per game (34.0), but after averaging 40.75 the last four games, that stat might be very deceiving to upcoming opponents.

6

Six different Bobcats scored in double figures Tuesday, including all five starters. Jason Preston led the way with 17 points. Dwight Wilson was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and contributed 14 points. Ben Vander Plas totaled for 13 points and was 75% successful from 3-point range (3/4). Sophomores Ben Roderick and Lunden McDay each finished the game with 12. Freshman guard Mark Sears gave the Bobcats 11 points off the bench.

Ohio’s offense is one of the best in the MAC, totaling 80.1 points per game. It’d be hard to stop the Bobcats on a bad night, let alone a night when the entire starting five is feeling it. Ohio shot an impressive 56.7% from the field, but struggled behind the 3-point line. Ohio’s

six makes out of 25 attempts (24%) were well below the team’s season average (34.7%).

17

Jason Preston’s double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) was the star of the show, but the scene that needed to be cut included 17 turnovers. The Bobcats haven’t turned over the ball that many times since their loss at Marshall on Dec. 13. Ohio’s only turned the ball over more than 17 times once this season, in its second game of the season against North Carolina A&T (21 times).

Despite the 14-point win, Ohio could’ve put the game away faster and won by a larger margin, had it taken better care of the ball. Central Michigan (6-11, 2-8 MAC) isn’t considered one of the MAC’s powerhouses. Bowling Green, Ohio’s next opponent, is. Ohio has lost its last three meetings against the Falcons, and if it doesn’t want to have its winning streak snapped at Stroh Center on Saturday, it’ll have to clean up those turnovers.

@JL_KIRVEN JK810916@OHIO.EDU

THE BOTTOM LINE

Hank Aaron was one of baseball’s greatest ever players, and his death should be an important reminder WILL CUNNINGHAM is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University

Hank Aaron was without question one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived. When he died Jan. 22, it gave me a reason to look back on some of his absurd stats.

The first one that comes to mind for most people when Aaron is mentioned is 755, his career home run total. The crowning achievement of his career was when he surpassed Babe Ruth’s total of 714 to become baseball’s career home run leader. Even though Aaron’s record has since been topped by Barry Bonds, many people still think of Aaron as the home run king, due to Bonds’ use of steroids.

However, I think there are two other numbers that illustrate just how great Aaron was even better than his home run total. The first is 25, the number of times he made the All-Star team.

Now, for four years in the middle of Aaron’s career, Major League Baseball held two all-star games, both of which he made each year. But he still made at least one all-star 18 / FEB. 4, 2021

game in 21 consecutive years, a record that will almost certainly never be broken.

The second number is 6,856, Aaron’s number of career bases. He is, unsurprisingly, the all-time leader in this category as well, more than 700 bases ahead of second-place Stan Musial. This is one of the most unbreakable records in baseball, as evidenced by how far ahead Aaron is.

These two numbers showcase two things: Aaron’s longevity and his production. Both of these made him one of the sport’s greatest players.

The most impressive things about Aaron, however, was the way he handled himself in the face of blatant racism. He made his debut seven years after Jackie Robinson shattered baseball’s color barrier, but racism was still commonplace in both baseball and the U.S. as a whole.

Aaron played the first 12 years of his career in Milwaukee, which was a relatively progressive city, at least for the time. However, prior to the 1966 season, the Braves moved to Atlanta, and Aaron became one of baseball’s first Black stars to play in the Deep South.

The 1960s were a time of massive racial upheaval in the U.S., but Aaron was still able to perform at a high level

while facing constant harassment.

The height of this harassment came as Aaron approached Ruth’s career home run record. In 1961, as Roger Maris closed in on Ruth’s single season home run record, his hair began to fall out due to the stress. The fact that Aaron was able to chase and break a record as prestigious as the career home run record during a period of racial tension is incredible.

The story of Hank Aaron is the story of so many Black athletes who have persevered in the face of vicious racism. It is a story we have seen far too many times and continue to see today.

The bottom line is that Aaron’s death should serve as a reminder both of his greatness and of the fact that Black athletes have always had a steeper mountain to climb.

Will Cunningham is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Will? Tweet him @willocunningham.

SO LISTEN

Seniors are no more entitled to a college experience than freshmen MIKAYLA ROCHELLE is a senior studying strategic communication at Ohio University

We were all freshmen once, and it wasn’t very long ago. We remember the stress of trying to find something to do on the weekend, the fear of getting caught doing something we shouldn’t and the fear of missing out on new friends and unfamiliar fun. It helped us — as upperclassmen — grow up and become the people we are today. Any upperclassmen knows you can always tell who is a freshman and who isn’t. It’s not because you can physically tell their age, but it is the wide-eyed gaze and excitement about literally every part of the college experience.

My freshman year was a lot different than what the current freshmen are experiencing.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to start college during a pandemic. While it is unfortunate that my final year of college has to be spent online and social-distanced, that doesn’t mean I should feel any more entitled to being in the socially distanced areas of campus and Uptown Athens.

A lot of upperclassmen have been griping about the influx of people in Athens now that a lot of freshmen have come to campus for the first time since school moved online. For a lot

of these freshmen, they never even set foot on campus in the fall. Now, they are finally getting to have their college experience: eagerly waiting outside in long lines of Court Street bars. But for the upperclassmen who have been the only ones in Athens this school year, this has posed quite the issue. Upperclassmen now have to wait in these lines and deal with higher capacities, something that hasn’t been commonplace since March 2020.

The general consensus among upperclassmen has been now that the freshmen are here, they are the ones causing the COVID-19 cases, since they are attending bars and indoor public spaces. This concern was nowhere to be found, though, when upperclassmen didn’t struggle to get seated within a few minutes at Pigskin or get served quickly and easily at J-Bar. Upperclassmen are no more entitled to the college experience than freshmen. Those of us who aren’t freshmen are lucky that we didn’t have to deal with staying home during the first semester of this chapter of our lives. If we were in their position, we would be doing the same thing. Just because we got lucky and didn’t have to deal with a pandemic during our first year of college doesn’t mean we own Athens. The bars are open; if you think that they shouldn’t be, then don’t go. But we can’t blame these new students yearning for freedom and

an ounce of normalcy out of their freshman year for that.

The truth is, no bars should be open right now, but the reality is they are. Being born a few years earlier does not put you on a moral high ground. Everyone should know the risk they take if they choose to go out, and your age does not lessen that risk.

If the reason that you’re mad is because your ID came from a DMV and not a shady website, I understand your concern, but you likely went out before your 21st birthday.

Just because everything is different now, and you’re more experienced on campus and in the bar scene, doesn’t mean that your concern is warranted. If we were in their shoes, we would do the exact same thing.

It’s pointless to be mad at our new fellow Bobcats for this pandemic and the problems that come with it. It’s natural to try and find a scapegoat, but a bunch of fresh-faced college students who deserve our support — not our ridicule — should absolutely not be the scapegoat in this situation.

Mikayla Rochelle is a senior studying strategic communication 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.

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BENNETT’S BALLOT

Jay Edwards is infamously irresponsible on social media KAYLA BENNETT is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University

State Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, recently took office for his second term as the state representative of Ohio’s 94th house district, which is made up of Athens, Meigs, Washington and Vinton counties.

He’s claimed since the beginning that he knows what’s best for Southeast Ohio. Recently, Edwards announced a capital budget bill allocating nearly $2.2 million to his counties.

With his second term underway, there’s difficulty when trying to oppose Edwards in a candidate race and actually beat him. Despite Athens’ Democratic leanings, the Democrats have yet to field a successful challenger against Edwards. His opposition of right-towork legislation has gained him union support, an endorsement crucial for anyone hoping to win House District 94.

However, behind a screen and through social media, Edwards’ presence on social media has been questionable.

One of President Joe Biden’s first actions in office was an executive order that students who attend schools that receive federal funding may join the sports team that best

conforms with their gender. The order aims to provide equal opportunity to transgender collegiate athletes.

Edwards had to have his two cents known when it came to this order. Claiming in one of his Facebook posts that “Of all the issues facing America right now, President Biden’s top priority is the bathroom choice for children and allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.”

Biden’s executive order was one of many that he initiated in his first moments in office, and why does Edwards find the need to post about it if he’s focusing on the state of Ohio and openly being transphobic?

Biden’s executive order regarding Title IX was one of many he made in his first moments in office. Many of these will have a much more direct effect on Edward’s constituents.

It seems Edwards was more concerned with taking an opportunity to spout transphobia than he was with taking into account the ways Biden’s orders could affect Ohio’s economy.

After the raid on the Capitol, Edwards had to make his presence known yet again. This time he took the opportunity to spread baseless conspiracy theories in a Facebook post that reads, “Some of the rioters and looters were seeing on TV weren’t even Republicans or Trump supporters. Some were Antifa.”

Edwards failed to consider that the attack

on the U.S. Capitol was completely unprecedented and fueled by a dangerous conspiracy.

Not once did Edwards let Trump, or his supporters, take full blame. His “double standard” stems from his lack of wanting to fully understand that there’s a difference in accusation from Black Lives Matter to the attack on the Capitol. People were outraged in the comment section.

The controversy doesn’t stop there. Edwards has said some questionable things in comments as well.

In a Facebook comment, Edwards claimed that although the statue of a man being torn down during a Black Lives Matter protest was of a slave owner, his slave was “treated well.”

This post was, again, posted by his personal account rather than his professional account..

He sometimes can be seen shifting from his professional account to his personal Facebook account to continue arguments.

Two things can be learned from Edwards Facebook posts: If you’re an Ohio University student, this is not the man you want representing you, and it’s always best to think before you post.

Kayla Bennett is a freshman studying journalism. Please note that the views and ideas of columnists do not reflect those of The Post.

Want to talk to Kayla? Tweet her @kkayyben.

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FILM REVIEW

‘The Little Things’ aims high with ambitious plot, falls hard with bland characters MOLLY SCHRAMM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF On paper, a crime drama with Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto screams good cinema — maybe even a possible attempt at awards season.

Not this film.

Fitted with outlandish writing and underwhelming characters, The Little Things is a disappointing attempt at a genre that has been pulled through the Hollywood ringer.

Written and directed by John Lee Hancock, The Little Things follows Joe Deacon (Washington), a deputy sheriff who teams up with hot-shot detective Jimmy Baxter (Malek) as they investigate a series of murders that beckon back to an old case of Deacon’s. During the course of their investigation, Deacon and Baxter hone in on the unsettling Albert Sparma (Leto), and things go awry.

Though the trailer points to the typical neo-noir type of crime drama that predecessors like Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs have successfully achieved, The Little Things falls short. Rather, the film drags viewers along for a two-hour journey that deviates from what’s expected and has one-too-many twists for its own good.

Where Hancock goes haywire with the film is its lack of development. Washington, Malek and Leto are all A-listers who have the chops to create a memorable film. Nevertheless, their characters are as flat as can be and are more so archetypes than anything else. Washington plays the troubled cop with a mysterious backstory, Malek is the golden boy detective who’s determined to avenge the victims and Leto is the weirdo who could or couldn’t be the killer.

These characters aren’t anything new or special, and though Leto steals each

scene he’s in and Washington is usually above par in everything he touches, Malek’s lack of emoting reaffirms the blandness of these characters.

That lack of character depth is met with questionable writing that doesn’t perpetuate the grittiness of a crime drama. Having Washington comment on Leto buying a roast beef sandwich or screaming “your d--- is as hard as Chinese arithmetic” at the tops of his lungs during interrogation isn’t memorable for the right reasons. Some lines in the movie garner more laughs than chills — something Hancock probably didn’t intend.

Despite these glaring issues within the film, what really troubles The Little Things is its overly ambitious plot. Hancock attempts to point to bigger themes and storylines when, in reality, he should’ve aimed for a simple serial killer film. His over-ambitiousness results in

the last act filled with not one, not two but three plot twists. In fact, no real action or tenseness happens in the movie until its final 45 minutes or so.

These twists, a heavy number of religious allusions that go undeveloped and an ending that doesn’t justify the previous two hours amass for yet another unsuccessful attempt at the neo-noir genre. Despite Washington, Leto and even Malek trying to do their best with what they’re given, The Little Things lacks in almost every regard, resulting in an unfulfilling watch whether you’re at the theater or at home watching via HBO Max.

RATING: 1.5/5 @_MOLLY_731 MS660416@OHIO.EDU

4 music playlists for popular fashion trends HANNAH CAMPBELL FOR THE POST Every student has their own unique style. Fashion can say a lot about your personality, and that’s the same for music.

They are both ways to express yourself without even speaking a word. For essential pieces, style inspiration figures and the best stores, check out these four popular fashion trends to try this semester.

If you’re still on the search for your unique style, music can help you find out what you like and what you don’t. It’s all about your own tastes and how you incorporate them into clothing. Here are music playlists to match with some of the most popular fashion trends:

ACADEMIA PLAYLIST

Academia style refers to a group of aesthetics that involves learning and studying.

This style is very put together and professional, with some of its essential pieces including trench coats and blazers. This style is simple yet inspiring and would make anyone motivated to get some work done.

With the style being so centered around academics, its complementing music playlist is, too. The perfect songs are relaxing indie pop songs that can be used to play in the background when studying. “Old Money,” “Greek God” and “Cosmic Love” are all songs about finding love and the consequences that come from it. While they 20 / FEB. 4, 2021

are all soothing and calming, the euphoric melodies are able to get you lost in the lyrics. Whether or not you relate to academia style, these songs are perfect to add to your study playlist.

SONGS TO LISTEN TO:

“Old Money” by Lana Del Rey “Greek God” by Conan Gray “Cosmic Love” by Florence + The Machine

Y2K PLAYLIST

Now’s the time to pull out your throwback playlist. Y2K is officially back in trend, both in music and in fashion. Artists like Britney Spears transformed pop music in the early 2000s, on top of being fashion icons during the era. For more inspiration, check out the guide to becoming a Y2K princess.

“I’m A Slave 4 U,” “Buttons” and “Promiscuous” are all very well-known from the era. All of the songs were scandalous and wild, which embraced the new direction that pop music was going toward during that time. We didn’t know it at the time, but we are still partying to these songs today. It’s the perfect music to listen to, especially because we still can’t have those wild parties now.

SONGS TO LISTEN TO:

“I’m A S lave 4 U ” by Br it n ey Sp ear s “But ton s ” by T h e P u s s ycat D olls “Promis c u o u s ” by Ne l ly F u r t a d o and Tim b alan d

GRUNGE/VINTAGE PLAYLIST

Just like Y2K, there are still many Gen Z kids who wish they were around in the ‘90s. The throwback style originated from Seattle, as it gained popularity in the 1990s with the help of channels like MTV. The most popular of these bands were Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The songs below all represent what grunge music is about: rebellion. This was a brand new style during its era, and it had no restrictions or limits to where it could go. The song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” specifically talks about how teenagers view themselves and the freedom they crave so much. It truly embraces the out-of-thebox nature that grunge has to offer.

it like grunge music. “SOHO,” “Girls Need Love” and “WHOLE WORLD” also all give components of hip-hop but still remain under the genre of R&B. They give the perfect mix of Los Angeles and New York style, just like it’s inspired fashion.

SONGS TO LISTEN TO:

“SOHO” by Jaden “Girls Need Love” by Summer Walker “WHOLE WORLD by Earl Sweatshirt ft. Maxo

@HANNAHCMPBELL HC895819@OHIO.EDU

SONGS TO LISTEN TO:

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana “Even Flow” by Pearl Jam “1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins

STREETWEAR PLAYLIST

This last playlist is the most modern, but still gives elements of its initial roots.

Streetwear brands were introduced back in the 1980s. It was inspired by the street style of Los Angeles skaters and surfers and hip-hop fashion of New York City.

Similar to the fashion trend, “streetwear” music is both laidback and effortless. These songs give off relaxing energy, while still giving off emotion and free spir-

ILLUSTRATION BY MARY BERGER

The perfect Valentine’s Day gift based on your partner’s love language MADDIE BUSSERT FOR THE POST

This Valentine’s Day, we’re not following the golden rule of treating others how you want to be treated. Up your gift giving game this year by giving a gift that speaks your sweetheart’s love language.

What is a love language? In short, it’s the distinct way that each individual receives love. In the book The 5 Love Languages, Dr. Gary Chapman presents the idea that there are five different ways we receive love: words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time, receiving gifts and physical touch.

Chances are what speaks to your partner’s heart is not a life-sized teddy bear or a box of chocolates. Not sure how to translate your partner’s love language

into a gift? No worries. Here’s the perfect V-Day gift guide that’s anything but traditional: Words of affirmation For those who feel the most loved by receiving words of affirmation, it’s important to first realize that this goes beyond just giving compliments. Show your word nerd some love by putting some deeper feelings on paper this V-Day. Handwritten love letter, poem or journal Text messages can get buried, but a love letter will withstand the test of time.

Express your feelings on paper, and your partner will be re-reading it for days (or months) on end.

Add some spice to your written affirmations by crafting an original poem that showcases your love. The more creative you can get with it, the better. Since they

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDER GRAHAM

likely have a love for written communication, you could also buy a journal for them and write out some prompts or a special note on the first page.

Acts of service Someone whose love language is acts of service is going to really appreciate their significant other going that extra mile to do a simple task for them. If this sounds like your partner, putting in the time to take something off their plate, this V-Day will resonate with them more than anything else. You could make them breakfast in bed, finish a chore for them or even give them a day without any worries or responsibilities.

Treat them to a spa day or massage The person who feels the most love through acts of service is likely someone who’s overworked and probably stressed, aka they are probably in need of a massage or day at the spa. Treat them to a massage at home or give them a gift card for a day at the spa, and they’ll appreciate it more than you know.

Quality time Your partner feels connected to you the most when you two can spend quality time together. No, this doesn’t mean you’re off the hook by settling in for a night of Netflix and chill (unless, of course, that’s what they want). Plan an evening doing an activity they love, whether that’s treating them to a nice dinner or doing something adventurous.

Date jar Because quality time is so important to your loved one, show them that you want to keep things interesting this season by gifting them a jar full of folded-up sticky notes with date ideas written on them. Whenever you two can’t decide how to spend your time, have them pick out a sticky note. It’s the perfect way to avoid the “what should we do tonight?” question, all while showing them how meaningful it is to spend quality time together.

domly giving them flowers, is what shows them you care. Those with partners who have this love language arguably have the most freedom when it comes to Valentine’s Day. Gift your Valentine little things throughout the upcoming weeks “just because” to show you love them.

Basket full of their favorite things Because you’re likely giving this person little gifts all the time (or you should be), go above and beyond this Valentine’s Day. Show them you care by filling a basket full of their favorite things. Price isn’t important here. The key is having a solid meaning behind each gift. Bonus points if you throw in a practical gift, so they think of you every time they use it.

Physical touch This form of love language relies on physical touch to convey heartfelt emotions. Physical contact is what shows them you care, so don’t shy away from it this V-Day. If you’re not one to typically show love through physical touch, make the extra effort to prioritize some skin-to-skin contact this Valentine’s Day. Those with this love language appreciate holding hands in public, cuddling up on the couch to watch a movie, spontaneous massages and any other sensory ways to show you care about them.

A fuzzy blanket or jacket Show your loved one you care by giving them a super soft blanket or jacket.

Choose a material they love, or the softest material you can find, and they’re guaranteed to love it. It’s a way to surpass their expectations and show them you know they love physical touch.

@BUSSERTMADDIE MB901017@OHIO.EDU

Receiving gifts Not to be confused with materialism, someone whose love language is receiving gifts puts a lot of value in the symbolization of presents. Doing something small, like picking up their favorite candy or ranTHEPOSTATHENS.COM / 21

the weekender Hocking Hills Winery is hosting live music Fridays, Saturdays KAYLA BENNETT FOR THE POST

Hocking Hills is home to beautiful scenery and well-known hiking trails. Alongside the great outdoors, Hocking Hills also is home to wineries and breweries, offering visitors another eventful experience to try out.

During these unprecedented times, finding ways to safely gather and enjoy a night out is difficult to come by. Many people are missing the aspect of gathering in large crowds to listen to live music. Others simply miss the opportunity to spend a night out knowing they are surrounded in the comfort of others.

However, to safely encourage alternatives to these two longings and promote safe gathering, Hocking Hills Winery has taken the opportunity to host live music.

Customers can sit back and listen to live music while sipping on Hocking Hills premium table wine throughout these next few cold months.

While enjoying wine made by their own local grapes and others from around the world, customers can listen to several different artists Fridays and Saturdays.

Some of the artists include: Ingham Station, Dr. Dan (covers), Dwayne Haggy, TJ George, 732 The Electric Duo, Dave Hawkins, Jarron Sollee, Paul Blankenship and many more.

The artist’s music genres range from pop and rock to oldies, blues, country and more. The versatility leaves opportunity for anyone to find music they would enjoy.

“They are one of my favorite places to go, like, they’re wonderful,” Brad McNally, member of Ingham Station, said. “There’s always wonderful people there –– I mean, the staff are great. The crowd is good. They always have a great crowd in the summer.”

McNally said most times the crowd isn’t made up of local people, but people come from all over to watch the performances.

McNally began music with his wife, Jessica, and they have been performing folky Americana and using some original songs to bring the stage to life. Starting out, the McNally’s knew they would need a place to perform and ultimately decided the winery would be a great place to start.

The live music at the winery is a place for 22 / FEB. 4, 2021

everyone of any age to enjoy a show.

“When somebody’s really enjoying the show, like when somebody is really enjoying whatever music you’re playing, everybody else kind of enjoys it more,” McNally said.

“There was a little boy, who was 7 who was having the time of his life. His family was from, I think, near Canton. And they were down here. They have a pretty big draw of people, and it’s nice to meet all kinds of different people. I would say it’s one of the most fun places that we go.”

The winery provides a place for students to go as well.

“I definitely want to try it out,” Elaina Tartal, a junior studying political science and sociology-criminology, said. “I think

it’d be a fun thing to go with my friends for a weekend.”

Finding events to safely go to is difficult, especially on a college campus. People are wanting to stay safe in order to not risk the health of their family and friends. Students feel this is a good solution.

“I think it sounds like a really awesome event, especially because I know that all of the local businesses in this area have been really good about keeping everything safe with COVID guidelines and restrictions –– and keeping the community safe,” Cara Tee, a senior studying Spanish and Spanish education, said. “I think it’s a really awesome opportunity that they’re allowing musicians to come in and perform live music in

a way that’s going to be safe and beneficial for all the members of the community.” @KKAYYBEN KB084519@OHIO.EDU

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Hocking Hills Winery Live Music Nights WHERE: Hocking Hills Winery, 30402 Freeman Road, Logan WHEN: Fridays and Saturdays at 6 p.m..

ADMISSION: Free

Hocking Hills Winery located at 30402 Freeman Rd, Logan, OH. (KELSEY BOEING | DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)

WHAT’S GOING ON?

Shop at the Athens Farmers Market; learn about mushrooms with Rural Action

ISABEL NISSLEY FOR THE POST

FRIDAY, FEB. 5TH Diversity & Inclusion Drop-In Career Corner at 10 a.m., hosted online by Ohio University’s Career and Leadership Development Center and Division of Diversity and Inclusion. Get help with career-related needs from career coach Tamika Williams. Sessions are often used to discuss resume feedback or to answer general questions about career development.

Admission: Free Colloquium: Dr. Robyn Dahl, “Lab Camp: Novel approaches to inclusion and geologic training” at 2 p.m., hosted online by OU’s Department of Geological Sciences. Join Robyn Dahl and learn about novel approaches to inclusion and geologic training. Dahl is an assistant professor in Western Washington University’s Geology Department.

ing protocols are in place.

Admission: Free Mushroom Workshop at 9:30 a.m., hosted by Rural Action, 42520 State Farm Rd., Albany. Learn about mushroom inoculation and cultivation.

Participants will explore the specifics of growing shiitake, lion’s mane and wine cap mushrooms using a variety of different methods, including drill-and-fill, “totem” and wood chip beds. Masks and social distancing are required.

Admission: $10

SUNDAY, FEB. 7TH Athens United Immigrant Support Project at 11 a.m., hosted online by The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens. Listen to Kerri Shaw and Debbie Schmieding of the Athens United Immigrant Support Project speak about their work sponsoring asylum seekers who are in detention, at the border, have moved to Athens or used Athens as a stepping stone to a life in the U.S. As of now, the group has sponsored nearly 20 asylum seekers from eight countries.

Admission: Free

@ISABELNISSLEY IN566119@OHIO.EDU

Great student employees wanted.

No pressure.

Admission: Free

SATURDAY, FEB. 6TH Athens Farmers Market at 9 a.m., hosted by Athens Farmers Market, 1000 E. State St. Shop for locally grown and locally made foods and goods at the farmers’ market. The market accepts SNAP, credit cards and wholesome wave. Masks are recommended, and social distanc-

Apply online: bit.ly/dosa-jobs

HOUSING AND RESIDENCE LIFE CULINARY SERVICES

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 23

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3 Bedroom . $537 per person/month

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3 Bedroom . $499 per person/month

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Call TODAY to schedule a viewing

740.594.9098