September 23, 2021

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

Ohio’s first minority woman-owned medical marijuana dispensary opens location in Athens

FEAR Lab studies pandemic’s impact on mental health PG 6

Pawpaw Festival makes its return PG 12-13

Jerome Buckner is more confident than ever PG 18

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Robust student media at OU benefits all of us

ABBY MILLER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Last week, The Post learned of some news that allowed us all to let go of a breath we were holding in since the summer: our current student media sales internship manager, Andrea Lewis, will continue to have a funded position at Ohio University.

Lewis will transition to the role of director of student media, where she will continue to be paid about $45,000 by OU. The change in roles is part of OU’s greater plan to invest in student media, something it pledged commitment to in June when news of Lewis’ position being in jeopardy broke.

I previously argued if OU is truly committed to seeing The Post and other student media thrive, it needs to support not only The Post but also become more equitable in its support for student media. The needs of all student media need to be heard, addressed and nurtured by OU. Under the new investment plan, the need for equity will be realized. The plan involves the creation of two advisory councils. One will be a “student media advisory group” composed of OU alumni and media professionals. The second will be a student media leadership council, and it will hold leaders from all media organizations on campus. The second council, dean of the Scripps

College of Communication Scott Titsworth said, is supposed to help foster positive collaboration between the many different outlets on campus.

This is not just good news for The Post. This is good news for everyone at OU, whether they study journalism or not.

The student media scene at OU covers a broad, rich variety of topics. For example, Thread showcases stunning visuals and stories about fashion, The New Political produces high-quality deep dives into politics and The Athens Effect focuses solely on science and environmental reporting. There’s an outlet for every Bobcat on campus in one way or another.

Some OU students work for multiple publications, and we all benefit from doing so when it’s possible. The different experiences each outlet offers allow us to learn different ways of storytelling, gain experience in various mediums and discover what sort of topics we like to cover.

We also benefit from each other’s coverage.

We are pushed to think of new, unique angles for our own stories after reading other reports, and we collectively serve as a watchdog for every sector of OU and Athens when looking at the culmination of our coverage.

We unfortunately all navigate similar challenges as student journalists, too. We have to

consider how we’ll pay for printing our magazines and newspapers. We have to navigate bureaucracy, and we struggle with having a lot on our plate as both students and reporters. By having Lewis at The Post, we’ve been able to ease some of those burdens. I know Lewis will help every other outlet in equally impactful ways.

Although I will have graduated by the time this plan is implemented, I’m looking forward to seeing what the future of student media at OU holds. Know that our editorial and business divide will remain the same despite this change.

The Post and other student media will continue their editorial independence and will simply be afforded greater support and opportunities for collaboration under Lewis’ new role. OU’s plan to invest in student media has value, and I hope it continues to open up conversations about how all student media — not just The Post — can best have their needs met by the university.

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

COVER PHOTO BY CLAY STARK

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Abby Miller MANAGING EDITOR Bre Offenberger DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Matthew Geiger EDITORIAL NEWS EDITORS Emma Skidmore, Ryan Maxin ASST. NEWS EDITOR Molly Wilson PROJECTS EDITOR Taylor Burnette SPORTS EDITOR Jack Gleckler ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Eli Feazell CULTURE EDITOR Riley Runnells ASST. CULTURE EDITOR Kayla Bennett OPINION EDITOR Mikayla Rochelle ASST. OPINION EDITOR Hannah Campbell THE BEAT EDITOR Madyson Lewellyn ASST. THE BEAT EDITOR Emma Dollenmayer COPY CHIEF Anna Garnai SLOT EDITORS Anastasia Carter, Ashley Beach, Bekah Bostick, Isabel Nissley ART ART DIRECTOR Mary Berger ASST. ART DIRECTOR Olivia Juenger DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Nate Swanson PHOTO EDITOR Jesse Jarrold-Grapes DIGITAL WEB DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Brianna Lender AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Jack Hiltner DIRECTOR OF MULTIMEDIA Noah DeSantis BUSINESS DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Andrea Lewis MEDIA SALES Grace Vannan 2 / SEPT 23, 2021

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ISSUE 5, VOLUME 112

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OU regional campuses experience low vaccination rates compared to Athens campus ADDIE HEDGES FOR THE POST As Ohio University’s Nov. 15 COVID-19 vaccination deadline approaches, the vaccination rates of its regional campuses are much lower than the rates of the Athens campus.

OU’s Athens campus currently leads the regional campuses in vaccination rates by a large margin. As of Sept. 15, 72.9% of Athens campus students and employees were vaccinated while the second-most vaccinated campus is OU Southern, with a 36.8% vaccination rate of its employees and students.

Despite the difference of rates on OU’s campuses, Gillian Ice, special assistant to the president for public health operations, said all OU students, regardless of location, receive the same information about COVID-19 vaccinations.

Marisa Newland, a senior studying English and psychology at OU’s Chillicothe campus, said she hasn’t felt excluded from university information regarding COVID-19 and the vaccine.

“We’re constantly getting information through email. So, I think I feel pretty in the loop that way,” Newland said.

Newland also said she thinks the university has given students sufficient information about the vaccine and where to receive it. Presently, 35.3% of the total population at OU Chillicothe is vaccinated.

Nicole Pennington, executive dean for regional higher education, oversees all of OU’s regional campuses and has been keeping tabs on their vaccination rates. The regional campus’ lower rates may result from the variety of their students’ learning pathways, Pennington said. The regional campuses

offer courses to those ranging from high school students taking college credit to local community members taking on jobs alongside classes, and communicating vaccine information can be difficult when much of the student population isn’t on campus daily.

There is also the possibility that regional campus students taking classes fully online do not know the mandate applies to them, Ice said. It could also be that students at the regional campuses have not filled out their COVID-19 Vaccination Pathways.

Students at the regional campuses not only vary in education style but also in their views on how OU has handled COVID-19 vaccines.

“I don’t see why (vaccinations have) to be forced, and I wish that everyone had an option,” Maisey Russell, an undecided freshman at OU’s Lancaster campus, said. “I wish we could just continue to wear the masks and do the weekly testing, but I guess it’s not working anymore.”

Currently, 33.7% of all students and employees at OU Lancaster are vaccinated.

Another possible reason vaccination rates are lower at regional campuses is because College Credit Plus students who do not take classes on campus are not yet required to receive the vaccine, though they are included in campus vaccination rates, Pennington said.

Ice and Pennington agree the regional campus locations, the educational situations of regional students and the possibility that not all students have filled out their Vaccination Pathways can be the reason their rates are low. Regional campus students have other ideas as to why that’s the case.

Ohio University’s Lancaster campus.

(ASHLYNN MCKEE | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

“I think a lot of it has to do with mistrust and misinformation within the community, not even necessarily just on campus but within the surrounding community as well,” Newland said. “I think COVID is a very scary thing, and I also think that people are scared of the potential side effects of the vaccine.

And that’s causing a lot of hesitancy.”

Like Newland, Russell said she is apprehensive about the vaccine due to stories she had heard from others who have received it.

“It just intimidates me,” Russel said. “I am not absolutely against it or against anyone getting it, but it was the quickest vaccine ever made. I hear stories from people about the side effects … not from everybody but (from) some people, you hear some scary ones.”

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NEWS BRIEFS

Student media sales internship manager position expanded; Greek Life kicks-off COVID-friendly recruitment SOPHIA YOUNG STAFF WRITER

to create the Laura Landro Salomon fund to provide support for students who work at The Post.

OU announces long-term funding solution for student media, fund established to maintain ‘The Post’

OU implements COVID-friendly Greek life recruitment events

The Post’s student media sales internship manager, Andrea Lewis, will continue to receive financial support from the university, and her position will be expanded to serve all student media organizations on campus.

The university announced its plan to invest in campus media organizations Sept. 17, which secures Lewis’ position for the foreseeable future.

Lewis will transition to the position of director of student media at OU, which will include developing, maintaining and serving all student media organizations on campus.

Her salary will not immediately change.

Earlier this summer, OU cut funding for Lewis’ salary, and the position would no longer exist if outside funding was not found within the year. The position costs approximately $45,000 a year, according to The Post’s Salary Guide.

Lewis manages the business and financial side of The Post’s operations, allowing students to focus more on content creation and publication.

Under the new plan, WOUB Public Media, the Scripps College, the Division of Advancement and university leadership have all partnered to provide funding for the position through 2027 after which the university will be solely responsible.

Also announced Friday was a gift of $100,000 from the The Richard Salomon Family Foundation, which will be used

Ohio University instated several COVID-19 safety procedures for fraternities and sororities to follow this year as they begin new member recruitment events.

During recruitment events that take place indoors, existing and potential members must wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, Ariel Tarosky, director of Sorority and Fraternity Life, said. Masks will not be required at outdoor events on College Green.

Potential new members are also required to sign in when attending recruitment events to aid in contract tracing.

The number of current members at indoor Interfraternity Council, or IFC, meetings has also been limited to comply with capacity restrictions, Jeremy Paul, assistant director of Sorority and Fraternity Life, said.

Paul said the number of students participating in IFC recruitment is significantly higher than last year. The organization already has over 150 interested members compared to last year’s roughly 75.

Last year, all formal recruitment events were held virtually. Maggie Old, a senior studying visual communication who is also president of the Women’s Panhellenic Association, believes that coming back to campus helped reconnect students to the in-person aspect of sisterhood.

OU students express mixed emotions to university

vaccine mandate

Ohio University students have reported mixed feelings regarding the announcement of the university’s requirement for all students, staff and faculty to be vaccinated by Nov. 15.

The announcement followed a spike in COVID-19 cases in Athens County and after FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine. Other Ohio colleges and universities in the state have also implemented similar requirements.

Some students agree with the mandate and believe it is needed to regain a sense of normalcy on campus. Ashleigh Harrison, a freshman studying integrated language arts, hopes that the vaccine requirement will allow students to stay on campus.

However, other students do not agree with the decision, believing students should have the ability to choose whether they receive the vaccine.

Logan Lehman, a junior studying integrated social studies, has concerns about the university requiring vaccinations. He believes a vaccine requirement will not necessarily guarantee a normal year.

Hadass Galili, a junior studying political science pre-law, said that despite some students’ concerns about bodily autonomy, the requirement is for everyone’s health and safety, and she is trying to remain positive about the situation.

@SOPHIELISEY SY951319@OHIO.EDU

POLICE BLOTTER

Cows found in road; car window broken ANNA MILLAR FOR THE POST NOT YOUR PROBLEM

The Athens County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding a vehicle being operated by an unauthorized person.

While talking to the caller, police determined he was not the owner of the vehicle.

Police told the caller the owner of the vehicle would have to file the report.

JUST WAITING

Deputies responded to State Route 691 in Nelsonville in response to a report of a suspicious man sitting on the guardrail, according to the sheriff’s office. When deputies arrived and spoke with the man, he said he was fine and waiting for his ride.

Deputies returned to patrol.

4 / SEPT. 23, 2021

BUSTED GLASS

The sheriff’s office responded to Enlow Road in Athens regarding a broken car window. The caller said someone had shattered out his girlfriend’s car window.

No suspects or motive are known at this time.

CAREFUL WHAT YOU CARRY

The sheriff’s office received a report of a man with a firearm outside an apartment building in Glouster. When deputies arrived, they determined the man had left before their arrival.

A woman said the man was a relative of hers and had been carrying a BB gun. She said he had been shooting the BB gun into the wooded area behind the building.

No further action was taken.

MOOOOVE OUT OF THE ROAD

While en route to another call, deputies discovered mul-

tiple cows on Rainbow Lake Road, according to the sheriff’s office. Dispatch made contact with the cows’ owner, who moved them safely away from the road.

No further action was needed.

@ANNAMILLAR16 AM157219@OHIO.EDU

Ohio University’s Wray House endures a rainy afternoon on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (LESLIE OSTRONIC | FOR THE POST)

Residence hall mold complaints continue despite test results indicating low spore count SOPHIA YOUNG STAFF WRITER Over the past few weeks, students in several Ohio University residence halls have reported finding mold in various locations in their rooms.

The university received several work requests from students in Wray, Hoover and Ewing Houses regarding the presence of spotting mold, according to a previous Post report.

Complaints indicate mold in various locations, including ceilings, closets, desks and air conditioning units.

Kendra Mckitrick, a sophomore studying geography, said residents on her floor in Bryan Hall witnessed mold and moisture seeping through the walls and ceiling as humidity rose. After reporting the situation, facilities management came and cleaned up the visible damage, Mckitrick said.

Additionally, students claimed the mold was causing them to be ill with cold-like symptoms that were alleviated when away from the dorm. Rose Safford, a sophomore studying choral music education who also lives in Bryan, was first concerned about COVID-19 after beginning to show symptoms but tested negative.

“A lot of people who had the same symptoms as me also got tested for COVID, and that wasn’t it. Some people got tested for the flu and strep, and that wasn’t it. Some people

got tested for mono … and they don’t have that,” Safford said.

Safford also said her symptoms diminished upon leaving town for a few days for an unrelated reason and returned once back in the hall.

“Some people have just been wiping it up with Clorox wipes, and that’s been working fine,” she said.

The university has been unable to confirm that any illness is related to mold.

“We have an expeditious process in place to remediate mold when it is identified by an occupant of a University space to a housing or facilities management and safety representative,” Carly Leatherwood, a university spokesperson, said in an email. “Our response includes a timely evaluation by our experts followed by implementation of the appropriate corrective measures. Remediation measures vary based on the situation but generally include cleaning and treatment to inhibit recurrence.”

However, reports of mold in university residence halls date back several years. Between 2012 and 2017, 166 work orders were submitted for issues with mold, according to a previous Post report.

Steve Wood, chief facilities management officer, reiterated Leatherwood’s assurances in a Letter to The Editor on Sept. 10. Wood described the university’s change of occupancy procedure, which includes cleaning and painting spaces

with antimicrobial paint and cleaning air conditioning units.

“In short, we take the safety of our students very seriously, and we know that some students may be more sensitive to mold because of allergies or preexisting medical conditions. That’s why we have a robust system in place to work to prevent mold from growing and to respond quickly and effectively if it does,” Wood wrote in the letter.

Samples taken Sept. 2 from at least two rooms where mold was reported indicate no presence of black mold. However, a direct sample taken from a closet in a reported room detected a type of mold with a spore count within an intermediate risk range, according to Enzcycle Lab’s Consumer Mold Guide.

Leatherwood said mold airborne spore counts were significantly lower than outside air, meaning the counts were considered satisfactory.

@SOPHIELISEY SY951319@OHIO.EDU

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 5

FEAR Lab works to study anxiety, loneliness during COVID-19 pandemic EMMA SKIDMORE NEWS EDITOR The Factors of Emotional/Affective Risks, or FEAR, Lab employs student researchers and volunteers to study anxiety and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.

Located in Porter Hall, the lab is working to research “emotional distress disorders as well as related conditions,” Nicholas Allan, director of the FEAR Lab and assistant professor of clinical psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, said.

Allan said in his work, he mainly researches anxiety and depression but also aspects like suicide and substance use. He said though there are a variety of anxiety and depression disorders, all of them share a core set of risk factors. The lab currently has about eight graduate students and 15 to 20 undergraduate students.

To fund the lab’s research, Allan said the lab receives grants that fund participant payment, which ends up being the most expensive part. He said keeping the proper equipment up to date can be expensive, but it is not “prohibitively costly.”

“Research into how can we best treat people with these disorders, over the last decade or so — maybe two decades — has kind of changed the focus from treating individual disorders to either components underlying these disorders that we can target,” Allan said.

He said it was early in the pandemic when he realized COVID-19 would offer a unique yet fitting background for his research. Allan remembers being in disbelief about rumors of nationwide lockdowns and recognized the anxiety the coronavirus pandemic could cause.

“Through some of the work that I had already done, we know that there’s a connection between anxiety sensitivity and things like pain as well as chronic illness,” he said.

“Once I started seeing some of the symptoms of COVID — things like shortness of breath — it became also pretty obvious that we were going to have people either with elevated 6 / SEPT. 23, 2021

anxiety sensitivity who were going to have a difficult time during COVID, or we’re really going to have a build-up where people are just developing higher levels of these risk factors because of how prominent they were in their lives.”

Kevin Saulnier, a graduate student researcher currently completing his pre-doctoral internship, said he has been working with Allan for the past six years with a shared interest in discovering how the brain predicts the development of mental illnesses.

“When the COVID pandemic hit, we realized that, ‘Oh, wow, these things that predict psychopathology generally are going to keep very ramped up right now,’” Saulnier said.

Saulnier estimated the lab has recruited 600 to 700 participants throughout the course of research — both students and community members. They have completed longitudinal studies across the course of multiple months, lab-based research and questionnaires.

Allan also said he first didn’t realize how loneliness played a factor into his research during the pandemic.

“It seemed like, ‘OK, 14 days, two weeks,’” he said. “There was a time — it was actually early on — we were putting a study out … and we’re basically like, ‘OK, well, we’re not really going to gather that data. When we get this out, this thing’s going to be over.’ We were terribly, terribly wrong.”

In addition to studying loneliness, Allan said his team studies anxiety sensitivity, or fear of feeling the physical symptoms that arise with anxiety, and intolerance of uncertainty. The lab takes a translational approach to its research, Allan said. That includes both the research and using the research to inform treatments.

“We collect EEG data, which is basically brain waves, and we’re looking at how, in the lab, people respond to certain stimuli,” he said. “What we’re doing now is trying to design tasks to identify these neural correlates of things like anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty.”

Catherine Accorso, a third-year graduate student researcher, said she studies resilience qualities, or qualities that protect against the development of mental illnesses like depression and

anxiety.

“I applied here primarily because it’s a great program but also specifically to work with Dr. Allan,” Accorso said. “I know he’s interested in more looking at the etiology of mental health disorders — more broadly, risk factors. I thought that bringing together my focus on resiliency qualities with risk factors and looking at it more holistically would be a great fit.”

She said she has not yet been able to do much research on resilience since the pandemic began but predicts those with more resilience would be less likely to develop risk factors for mental health.

With the research, Allan said the lab is also trying to develop brief intervention techniques that can be delivered via telehealth services, supplemented with a mobile app.

“Our app essentially works as this aid so that we can present the material on this circumscribed period of time, and then we give

people the opportunities to practice and track their practice during their day-to-day lives,” he said. “(It’s) that element where we can really help people in the moment versus doing it just in a therapy session.”

Accorso said volunteers who are part of a grant-funded research study work with the Coping Crew, who provides intervention techniques.

While she said those groups do have to meet certain criteria, like above-average levels of loneliness and anxiety, they are hoping to expand it to accept others.

“We’re seeing that people are struggling with anxiety and anxiety sensitivity … more so than they ever have really been before, especially at the height of the pandemic when it first started,” she said.

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Parklets receive positive reviews from city businesses as end date nears RYAN MAXIN NEWS EDITOR Parklets, which provide Athens Uptown businesses with extended outdoor seating at the expense of nearby parking spots, have proven to be valuable for their respective businesses during COVID-19.

In Nov. 2020, Athens City Council passed an ordinance establishing the “approval and installation” of parklets for use by the general public. Parklets are intended to spur the economy for local businesses and encourage walking and biking, according to the ordinance.

Andrew Chiki, deputy safety service director for the city of Athens, said the city reviewed similar parklet programs held by other cities in order to best implement the program.

“For the long-term perspective, we wanted to create a program that could be long-standing well past the pandemic, something that we could use to recreate or reimagine what the Uptown space could look like,” Chiki said.

The first business to install a parklet was Brenen’s Coffee Cafe, located at 38 S. Court St. Jessica Thomas, co-owner of Brenen’s and chair of the Athens Uptown Business Association, said her business installed a parklet in July 2020 after being granted emergency action by Council.

Despite being allowed to have a parklet for longer than usual in 2020, Thomas said Brenen’s will adhere to the Sept.

30 parklet removal deadline outlined in the ordinance. With Ohio University events such as Homecoming approaching, Brenen’s needs to be able to use the parking spaces currently occupied by the parklet.

Regarding the loss of parking spaces, Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said scarcity of parking spaces Uptown is a misperception. Parking is almost always available, he said, and each parklet takes up two parking spaces on average.

Thomas said businesses with parklets do not currently pay the city for the use of parking spots. The city has the ability to ask, she said, but it has not yet done so.

Chiki said businesses with parklets pay the city a $50 permit fee and a $100 annual licensing fee. They also pay the cost of whichever parklet they choose to the company who builds it.

“We intentionally made the dollar amount low and accessible because, for 8 / SEPT. 23, 2021

Jeff and Jennifer Jones enjoy a lunch-time meal by Union Street Diner’s newly opened parklet in Athens, Ohio, on Aug. 30, 2021. The outdoor space allows customers to dine in the summer weather. Jeff Jones relates the outdoor eating experience to “European style” restaurants. (DYLAN TOWNSEND | FOR THE POST)

one, we want businesses to adopt it if it’s right for them, and not be a hardship based on that,” Chiki said. “But also (it’s) intended that the costs really just cover the administrative and city time to process those permits.”

Chiki also said the fees associated with parklets are paid into the city’s general fund.

So far, Thomas said Brenen’s parklet has benefited the business and has received good reviews from customers.

“It pulls people’s eye in and it really makes people realize we’re Uptown and what’s going on Uptown, so it’s been a really, really positive feature,” Thomas said.

Recently, Union Street Diner, 70 W. Union St., became the second Uptown business to implement a parklet outside of its front door. Jay Shapiro, co-owner of Union Street Diner, said his business

got the idea from Brenen’s, according to a previous Post report.

Shapiro shared Thomas’ feelings toward the parklet, saying the added option for customers to eat outside has helped his restaurant, though not everyone is jumping on the opportunity.

“A lot of people will only eat outside.

Certain people will not eat outside,” Shapiro said. “So, you got the 50/50 split, and a lot of people really, really, really like it, and then there’s the people who don’t like it.”

Though the annual cost for parklets is low, Chiki said there are several stipulations to having one. Parklets need to be kept clean, be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, follow all rules and regulations of the Athens City-County Health Department and more, he said.

For 2022, Chiki said the city has talked with several additional businesses that are interested in installing a parklet, though none have filled out a formal application yet. He also said although both parklets belong to eateries currently, parklets can be adapted for any situation.

Parklets will return May 1, 2022.

@RYANMAXIN RM554219@OHIO.EDU

Medical marijuana dispensary Harvest of Athens holds grand opening

BY SOPHIA YOUNG STAFF WRITER Harvest of Athens, the first medical marijuana dispensary in the city, held its grand opening Monday morning.

The location is one of three Harvest of Ohio locations, with others in Columbus and Beavercreek. The Athens location held a soft opening Sept. 15.

Harvest of Ohio was licensed in 2017 and opened its first location approximately three years later.

The company is patient-oriented and philanthropic, with the goal of “giving people real control over their health and wellness through access to quality products, education, resources, and support,” according to its website.

Inside, Harvest of Athens hosts a check-in lobby and product floor, which is only accessible to patients. Products for sale include vaporizers, topical ointments, edibles, concentrates and flower, with various strains available. Products are also available on their website.

A patient adviser tends to customers at all times, helping assess individual needs and recommend products to meet them. A separate room exists for those who want to discuss their needs in a more private setting.

Harvest of Athens is officially open for business after the ribbon cutting on Monday, Sept. 20th, 2021. (CLAY STARK / FOR THE POST) “We are very, very people oriented, we’re very conversational in our training. We talk a lot about includes a cultivation center and processing of our community,’” and so they were very appreciative that they getting to know our patients on facility, in addition to the dispensaries.

Medical marijuana is legal in Ohio for peo- can come right next door – within 5 (or) 10 a more personal level in terms of Harvest’s cultivation center in Ironton, ple with conditions such as cancer, chronic minutes – to receive their products, their what brings them into our store, Ohio reopened June 30. The company ex- pain, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Dis- medicines,” Davis said. and having just sharing our story, pects its first harvest at the end of December. ease, Tourette Syndrome and more, accordLocal customer Dave Neal is a caregiver and listening to their story,” Amon- Currently, their dispensaries sell cannabis ing to Ohio’s Marijuana Card website. In- for his wife, who utilizes medicinal marijuana ica Davis, chief operations officer products from 11 vendors across the state. dividuals must have a state-issued medical to ease pain while battling cancer. Neal exfor Harvest of Ohio, said. “Ours is pressed his excitement at the opening of a The dispensary is the 56th to open in Ohio marijuana card to purchase products. not a clinic, it’s more of a place of since marijuana was legalized for medical use “I’ve been deeply involved in trying to local dispensary, so he does not have to travel encouragement, advisement, and on a state level in 2018. However, Kirkpatrick make sure that Athens does become a home so far to obtain products. helping to meet the needs of our is the first minority female to be licensed by to a dispensary, which is so needed in our re“We all drive to Logan, Marietta or Jackpatients.” the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy to grow, gion,” Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said. “It’s son … This is so much more convenient, beMajority owner and Chief Ex- dispense and process medical marijuana. so needed not just here in Athens County, it is cause I live, literally, five minutes from here,” ecutive Officer Ariane Kirkpatrick Neal said.

“I had to stay in this fight, because I care needed in the entire southeast Ohio region.” is the first owner of a vertical- about people,” Kirkpatrick said. “I care about Prior to the opening of Harvest Athens, ly-integrated cannabis company the patients that we are going to serve. I care the closest dispensary was located in Logan, @SOPHIELISEY in Ohio, which means the business about being right here in Athens, Ohio, Co- about a 30-minute drive from Athens.

SY951319@OHIO.EDU controls all aspects of the produc- lumbus and Beavercreek. This is a market “There’s lots of local doctors here that tion and distribution process. This that I can and should be in. It’s representative have prescribed treatment for their patients

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 9

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDER GRAHAM

Center for International Studies opens opportunities for students LAUREN SERGE STAFF WRITER The Center for International Studies, or CIS, at Ohio University is an academic community that offers educational programs for students interested in global and international issues. The center offers programs within African studies, Asian studies, communication and development studies, European studies, global studies, Latin American studies, international development studies and war and peace studies.

Patrick Barr-Melej, history professor and interim executive director for CIS, described the center’s interdisciplinary approach. “(CIS) is an interdisciplinary academic unit, meaning that we provide academic programs that cross many disciplines across many colleges at the university,” Barr-Melej said. “We provide a global education in which students explore topics that reflect global concerns, ranging from development and sustainability to environmental concerns to culture and politics.”

Within its complex purpose, Barr-Melej said the center’s mission resides in the opportunities it offers to students and faculty through its global connections.

“I like to say that we help bring the world 10 / SEPT. 23, 2021

to Ohio University, and we take Ohio University to the world,” Barr-Melej said. “The program really provides opportunities for students to explore their own personal interests in a global context, and we attract students from all over the world. So, this is an academic unit that is extremely diverse. We are very much enriched by the presence of students and also faculty associated with the center and staff from all over the world.”

This semester, CIS is hosting various events to engage with its members and educate the student population. In particular, Barr-Melej said this Fall Semester will kick off a new event series, which will focus specifically on current events impacting international topics, for the center.

“Beginning this fall, we will be having a global current events series in which we will explore important happenings in today’s world from the perspectives of professors, students and others on and off campus to further educate us on global events,” BarrMelej said.

Bose Maposa, the assistant director for graduate programs at CIS, said the specific areas of focus within CIS will highlight the current issues affecting their respective areas of the world.

Alongside current events, Maposa also

said the center will emphasize the importance of social justice issues happening around the world.

“I think that the social justice aspect is an important take, so I am looking forward to more programming with Black Lives Matter and racial justice,” Maposa said. “Global movements is what the Center for International Studies is all about. I’m interested to see more on what we develop with that.”

Anastasiia Sakharova, a graduate student studying Latin American Studies, said the events CIS will be hosting are beneficial for students because they illuminate other areas of the world to them.

“I’m really enjoying the opportunity of organizing events and actually being part of this international community that we have because we have a lot of international students,” Sakharova said. “Our center is very diverse.

This is something I really enjoyed because we get to know people from different parts of the world. We really have a lot of great events that can help us to broaden our horizons.”

Sakharova said these benefits have applied to her own studies as well.

“I’m studying Latin America, and I’m from Ukraine so, in my country, the knowledge of Latin America is quite limited,” Sakharova said. “I always had to study extra on my own. I

really received this raw knowledge about the region from the point of view of politics, history or economics. I’m really enjoying that.”

With the COVID-19 restrictions in place last year, the CIS was not able to operate normally. This year, however, Barr-Melej said the opportunities for the center are broader, enabling further connections between international students that make the center what it is.

“I’m very excited to be in person this semester,” Barr-Melej said. “Especially because last year, COVID-19 prevented many of our International graduate students from coming to Athens. So, this year, we have a large number of international graduate students in particular who were able to come to Athens and join us here. So, to have them here, to be teaching them in person and to be able to share space with them in events and interact with them face to face – there’s nothing quite like that. We are so thrilled that we’re able to do that this year.”

@LAURENESERGE LS351117@OHIO.EDU

OU’s vaccination efforts stress importance of COVID-19 vaccine education LAUREN SERGE STAFF WRITER On Aug. 31, Ohio University announced that all students will be required to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 15, with some exceptions allowed.

Ever since the regulation was announced, the university has made numerous attempts to roll out vaccines quickly and encourage students to get vaccinated to fulfill the requirement.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has garnered mass attention, it is not the first vaccine the university has required students to have in order to be on campus. Gillian Ice, special assistant for public health operations, said several other vaccines are required for college-aged students.

“For students that are in residence halls, we currently require Meningitis and Hepatitis B,” Ice said. “And the reason why for those specifically is that meningitis is particularly a risk for people in congregate living situations.

Hepatitis B is blood-borne and also can be transmitted through sexual

contact. And so, obviously, this is a time in college where people are sexually active, and so any sort of sexually transmitted disease we’re going to be concerned about.”

With the coronavirus still a prominent issue on campus, Ice said it will also help to emphasize the importance of the flu vaccine, as the risk of the flu is very similar to that of the coronavirus.

“One of our concerns, particularly this year, will be having opportunities for flu vaccines and really trying to encourage that on top of the COVID vaccine,” Ice said. “We anticipate that flu is going to come roaring back because so many people are lifting those prevention measures.

Certainly having masks required indoors on campus will help quite a bit, but we know students spend a lot of time off campus and times when they could potentially transmit that disease as well.”

James Gaskell, Athens County health commissioner, said a large reason why there has been an increase in coronavirus cases is the abundance of individuals who refuse the vaccine.

“There’s been a fair amount of vaccine refusal that has somewhat stymied our efforts to mitigate the coronavirus disease,” Gaskell said. “We haven’t been able to vaccinate enough people to provide herd immunity and prevent continuing infection. So, we continue to have lots of people

y k S

15

infected with coronavirus.”

One of Athens’ responses to this has been the creation of vaccination clinics in which Gaskell has taken part.

“We’re giving vaccines at every opportunity,” Gaskell said. “We’ve vaccinated, so far, 47% of the people that live in Athens County.”

While there have been numerous conspiracies and misconceptions associated with the vaccine since its premise, Gaskell said it is imperative to reject them in order to distribute accurate information and ultimately decrease the case statistics.

“This is a messenger RNA vaccine that they started working on in 2002 when they had another coronavirus, called SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,” Gaskell said. “30,000 people worldwide got SARS. So early on, our scientists started to produce a vaccine, and they started working on messenger RNA vaccines.

They continued to research and applied it — then they were starting to work on messenger RNA vaccines for influenza, anthrax, smallpox, Ebola — so they worked on messenger RNA vaccines, but they didn’t complete their work until the current coronavirus pandemic came along.

And the government gave them a lot of money to complete their studies.”

Carole Merckle, assistant director of the area

%

health education center, said the willingness to explain the importance of the vaccine to those who are uncertain of it will help in the need for increased vaccinations on campus.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there, so we can help to educate them and provide the facts versus all those myths that are floating around,” Merckle said. “It’s also important, I think, to not let political thoughts influence your decision whether or not to get the vaccine. Because we can see the numbers — we know hospital systems are posting vaccinated versus unvaccinated hospital admissions due to COVID. And we’re seeing that the vaccine really is preventing severe illness and ICU admissions and the need for a ventilator.

So, looking at those numbers, we know that it is preventing severe disease. So, it is important to keep those ideas in mind.”

If you are a student looking to get a vaccine through OU, call Campus Care at 740-5927100 to schedule a vaccine. Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome.

Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Valerie Garrett entices customers with her Pawpaw trees at the Pawpaw Festival in Albany, Ohio. (AKASH PAMARTHY | FOR THE POST)

The 2021 Pawpaw Festival is welcomed for the first time since COVID-19 TRE SPENCER FOR THE POST

T

he 23rd annual Pawpaw Festival kicked off this past weekend and introduced history, education and cooking tips for festival-goers who were unfamiliar with the pawpaw fruit.

The festival ran from Friday, Sept. 17, until Sunday, Sept. 19, and had a sizable turnout despite COVID-19 virus fears.

One of the founders, Chris Chmiel, said the festival 12 / AUG. 26, 2021

has been a staple of the local Athens and Albany community for over 20 years. Partnering with local vendors, shops and sponsors, the future of the festival is quite bright.

“I started it in 1999 with some other folks as a way to basically bring people to Albany, Ohio,” Chmiel said.

“I mean the first year we had it in October, and it was just one day, and in 2019 we had close to 10,000 people.

We’ve continued to grow, partner with different organizations and such. We always try to add new things.’’

There were numerous tents that each tackled a dif-

ferent piece of the agricultural side of handling pawpaws. From pollination to harvest, there was a plethora of information to learn from experienced farmers, cooks and botanists.

First time festival-goers like Kalyan Chakiararlhy thought the festival was slightly underwhelming primarily because of the limited pawpaw availability and lack of pawpaw infused food items despide highly enjoying the taste.

“We were asked to buy a limited quantity of pawpaws and whatever we got was not up to the mark –

what I expected it to be,” Chakiararlhy said.

However, Ken Dwigans, an experienced pawpaw grower and educationalist, gave festival-goers all the information they needed about starting their own pawpaw farms. Situated under one of the numerous white tents, Dwigans answered questions about pawpaws, including cultivation, where growers can see varieties of the fruit and a timeline of when you should see a pawpaw tree start bearing them.

“So, essentially a pawpaw … it’s the only cold tropical fruit that grows in our climate,” Dwigans said. “Nowadays we have different cultivars that are just enough different where we can start to see different colors of yellow, different times that they fruit and different amounts of weight. So, as far as planting in the field, as long as it’s two years old, and it doesn’t get picked up by the sun as much, and without competition, and with a little bit of love and moisture and proper rich soil, you should have a tree fruiting in about eight years.’’

The 2021 annual Pawpaw Festival brought family-friendly fun, learning opportunities and great food to the local area, and it continues to be a staple for people.

Food is served fresh off the grill and at concession stands set up to serve the attendees of the 23rd Ohio Pawpaw Festival. (DYLAN TOWNSEND | FOR THE POST)

@TRERSPENCER1 TS582119@OHIO.EDU

Festival-goers dance together to jazz music by The Wild Honeybees as the sun sets after another day of the Pawpaw Festival Sept. 18, 2021. (TANNER PEARSON | FOR THE POST)

People attending the Pawpaw Festival in Albany, Ohio, relax and take in the view of Lake Snowden in the afternoon sun. (RYAN GRZYBOWSKI | FOR THE POST)

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 13

Q&A

Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium in Athens, Ohio. (ASHLYNN MCKEE | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium prepares fall events KAYLA BENNETT ASST. CULTURE EDITOR Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium, 400 E. State St. Suite A, opened in May 2021 and features many local artists’ work. Kelly Lawrence, owner of Chosen Pathways, has made a home for her business in Athens and continues to cultivate people together. Through the personalized art and goods, Lawrence believes there’s something for everyone at her business.

The Post sat down with Lawrence to discuss settling into her new, growing business and the events she has in store.

The Post: How has your business been doing since its opening in May? Lawrence: It’s been doing great. It’s been holding its own. More people find it every week. I have people from all over the area come to my shop. I’ve had a lot of people come up from (the) Parkersburg areas and then all over the whole southeastern Ohio region. I think I may be one of the only shops in the area like mine, the only metaphysical store in the area.

TP: Have the people of Athens been supportive of your business?

Lawrence: Oh, yes, I had a soft opening 14 / SEPT. 23, 2021

back in May, and I had so many people in the community come into the shop for both of my openings and in between. It’s been really nice to see how I’ve been embraced. A lot of people are familiar with the artists that I have in the shop. That’s really great, too, because I have a lot of artists in there who don’t have art in many other shops. If any, some of them are only in my shop. I’ve been very happy to be able to support the artistic community of Athens. I’ve known the people who are spiritual in our community for many years. We’ve always had to go to Columbus or Cincinnati to find anything that we need. I didn’t want it to be someplace that made people uncomfortable and wanted everybody to feel like they could find something that spoke to them in the store. My main theme is coexist.

We’re all here together. I don’t want people to feel excluded.

TP: What events does Chosen Pathways have coming up?

Lawrence: First of all, this coming Saturday, I am going to have Penni AlZayer, who is “The Henna Faerie.” She’s just a wonderful artist and beautiful human being. She is going to be doing henna in the shop this weekend. I think we’ve decided from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. She has all kinds of designs. She can do traditional hand ... just about anything you

want. Next week on (Sept.) 29 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., I have Sue Zano, who is a master astrologer coming in to do a workshop on healing and the moon. Attendees will give me their birth date, time and place, and I will turn that over to Sue, and she’ll look up the moon — all the attributes that are attributed to them specifically. She’s very knowledgeable.

TP: Are there any events happening for Halloween?

Lawrence: I haven’t filled out all of October yet, but on (Oct.) 23, I plan to have a Halloween party, and that will go all day long until 10 at night. I’m hoping vendors will want to set up, and we’ll have games and ghost stories and snacks and stuff. I definitely want to really advertise that I’m having it until 10 at night because I want kids to be able to enjoy having something after dark. On Halloween ... from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., I have Gina Kruzel. She’s a paranormal investigator. She’s going to be talking about her experiences. She’s fascinating; she’s experienced some pretty interesting things.

TP: Do you feel your business has added anything to Athens?

Lawrence: I’d like to think of it as a safe place. I was very much involved in the LGBTQ Pride Month, so I like the idea of it being a safe place for people who may feel disen-

franchised, not to say that it’s only safe for the LGBTQ+ community. I was one of those kids, too, where I felt kind of weird about the things that I was interested in, and I didn’t know if people would be accepting of me.

Lawrence has been working hard to create a space bringing exciting, never-seen-before events to Athens. She hopes to continue filling her fall calendar and encourages students and those in Athens to join her and her business in the ringing in of fall. More information can be found on the business’ Facebook.

@KKAYYBEN KB084519@OHIO.EDU

Students express excitement over the arrival of fall in Athens KATE ANDERSON FOR THE POST Fall is finally here. The pumpkin spice lattes already made their debut this year, but the official start of autumn was Wednesday, and Ohio University students are excited for what the season has in store.

Students are excited about the changes throughout campus nature and decorations, while others are more excited about activities associated with the season.

“My favorite part about Athens during fall is definitely College Green and campus with the bricks and the leaves changing. It’s just so beautiful,” Doneeqwa Goins, a senior studying accounting, said.

Other students feel the same way. Fall in Athens is a popular favorite season, not only because of the beautiful campus but also because of the activities and seasonal drinks that arrive this time of year.

“I am looking forward to going apple picking with my friends,” Lauren Bailey, a junior studying early childhood education, said.

“We always carve pumpkins together, too.”

Aside from OU’s campus, Athens County

has a few nearby pumpkin patches offering multiple fall activities for anyone and everyone. Libby’s Pumpkin Patch is about 15 minutes outside of OU’s campus and offers an array of pastimes.

The pumpkin patch’s admission of $7 includes entrance to the pumpkin patch, a corn maze, hayrides, a spooky hiking trail and many other fall festivities. Libby’s opening day is Saturday.

“I am obsessed with Halloween, so I cannot wait to dress up, and I love all the traditions of going to the pumpkin patch, apple picking — all of that good stuff,” Ariyana Suchora, a sophomore studying business, said.

For those who enjoy the thrill and haunts of Halloween during the fall season, there’s a haunted house called “Field of Screams,” Murphy Farms, 28364 Osborne Road, Coolville. This haunt also opens Saturday for the season. Tickets can be purchased online on their website.

“I do like haunted houses,” Matthew Hendrix, a senior studying media arts production, said in a message. “I think they’re a fun time. If there was a haunted house in Athens I would

probably go to it!”

If students cannot make it to haunted houses, they can choose an alternative option: scary movies.

“I like being scared … I like watching scary movies. If there’s any new scary movies, I usually watch them. There’s no tradition, only Hocus Pocus. I think that is everyone’s tradition,” Suchora said.

Autumn’s arrival brings many changes including the weather, the leaves and activities.

ILLUSTRATION BY MARY BERGER Athens provides scenery and activities as well as food and drinks to make the most of the fall time.

@KATE_ANDERSON4 KA668316@OHIO.EDU

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ATHENS FOOTBALL

Luke Brandes excels playing on both offense and defense

Athens High School’s wide receiver Luke Brandes (#27) dodges an Alexander High School defender. (RYAN GRYZBOWSKI | FOR THE POST)

MARIA MONESI FOR THE POST Luke Brandes is Athens’ jack of all trades.

The junior is one of a handful of utility players for the Bulldogs.

Due to a roster of just 46 players, Brandes and several other Bulldogs have to take on multiple positions on both sides of the ball during games. For some high schools, this isn’t the norm. Athens coach Nathan White has said the team has players who can’t be off the field, and he knows the most success is found when they’re in the game.

Brandes is one of those players who White needs on the field.

Brandes has dabbled in a bit of everything. He’s appeared on de16 / SEPT. 23, 2021

fense, special teams and even spent time as quarterback early this season. Although he’s adapted to it well, Brandes admitted the task can be draining.

“Any person that plays both sides of the ball will tell you playing offense and defense is a little tiring sometimes,” Brandes said. “But you get used to it after a couple of games.”

Playing all over the field makes it hard for some players to pick which position they prefer and have the best handle on.

Despite enjoying his various roles on offense, Brandes feels most comfortable when he can stick to being a linebacker.

“I’m probably naturally more comfortable with defense because I haven’t been able to run the ball in a while but, getting back into it, stuff is starting to come back,” Brandes said. “Probably defense (is my favorite), but I am getting there and all offensively.”

What’s more is that Brandes can run the ball, and he runs it better than the rest of his teammates. He leads the Bulldogs with 235 rushing yards and is responsible for all six of Athens’ rushing touchdowns.

No other player has more than 85 rushing yards this season.

Brandes credits his success to playing on both sides of the ball. The experience helps him visualize what the linebackers might do in certain situations. Sitting through film sessions doesn’t hurt, either.

“Watching both sides and kind of putting yourself in that position as a defensive player and getting your reads as a linebacker, you get what the linebackers are supposed to do so that can sometimes help you as far as running the ball,” Brandes said.

He’s prepared to change roles on the fly. It’s not an uncommon sight to see him run in a touchdown and then kick the extra point right after. It can be jarring to

players not used to playing multiple positions, but Brandes doesn’t mind. In fact, he believes it helps him focus.

“The adrenaline actually helps because ... you just went on the whole drive,” Brandes said. “It doesn’t really bug me too much.”

The Bulldogs have just five games remaining in the regular season and have only won one game. Brandes wants to end the season with a winning record. He sees progression from the Bulldogs as a whole and believes they have a shot to finish on a high note.

With a utility player like Brandes, those hopes aren’t unfounded.

“As a team, we’re gonna keep progressing because we have been progressing,” Brandes said. “So, I just kind of count on that.”

@MARIAMONESII MM017019@OHIO.EDU

VOLLEYBALL

Maggie Nedoma uses her age to her advantage ASHLEY BEACH SLOT EDITOR It took a moment for Maggie Nedoma to recollect how long she has been playing volleyball.

“14 years,” Nedoma said.

The fifth year was immersed into the world of knee pads and service aces at just 6 years old. Her mother, Renee, took her under her wing while coaching a 10-and-under team. She spent countless hours in the gym watching the older girls develop their love for volleyball as she developed one of her own.

Her exposure to the game at a young age allowed Nedoma to become a force on the court in high school. She graduated from Berea-Midpark High School as the career kills record holder and as the single season record holder for most aces, kills and digs. But despite having these talents, Nedoma was not always dead-set on continuing her journey at the collegiate level.

“In the beginning, honestly, I just played because that’s what I did … I was just playing to play. Then around 13 to 14 years old, you get recruited,” Nedoma said. “As you get older, you kind of find out the financial side.”

Her talent opened the door for Nedoma to receive funding for her education. She acknowledged that she would have most likely not been able to attend a higher institution otherwise. With that in mind, Nedoma pushed herself to land on the recruiters’ radars.

Southern Illinois signed the opposite hitter, and she began her career in fall 2017. Nedoma spent two years there before transferring to Ohio her junior year.

In her first season with Ohio, Nedoma made a large impact on the court.

The First-Team All-MAC selection led the team in kills with 388. Her power mixed well with the rest of the Bobcats, and she felt solid in her space as a silent leader.

However, Nedoma realized she needed to become more vocal as she entered her final year with the team.

She wants to help grow the younger team members into leaders by being an “older sister” to them. Nedoma also wants to create a lasting, positive culture for her teammates so they can continue to succeed after she leaves Ohio.

“The biggest thing for me is just being confident, and what I have to say is going to be heard and acted on by the other girls,” Nedoma said.

Maggie Nedoma poses in the Convocation Center stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2019.

(NATE SWANSON /DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)

But she doesn’t want her voice to be the only one resonating through The Convo’s walls. Nedoma wants the younger Bobcats to feel comfortable speaking up when something is of concern. She encourages them to seek out leadership opportunities of their own, too.

Her age has also helped her realize that while it is important to take care of her teammates, it is equally as important to take care of herself.

After the 2021 spring season, Nedoma decided to take a break from volleyball-related activities. She stayed in Athens over the summer and worked in the weight room with coach Rodnei Santos.

Her focus was on staying strong while allowing her body to relax from the wear and tear of her repetitive routine.

Nedoma eased herself back into the game by playing sand volleyball.

“Even though it’s volleyball, to me, it was so much fun and really brought my love of the game back,” Nedoma said.

Sand volleyball is traditionally played in pairs unlike indoor volleyball. It has the same basics, but there are slight changes in strategies and rule of play. She was able to stay active and reset her mind before

practices were back in session.

Nedoma has also found her stride in the physical side of volleyball, too.

She earned the nickname “Thunder”

by Ohio announcer Lou Horvath because of her hard-hitting playing style. Nedoma makes her opponents scramble each time they hear the smack of her hand on the ball, but, despite this, Nedoma saw a need to redistribute her power.

Now that she’s older, Nedoma doesn’t want to simply attack her opponents.

She wants to play the game with strategy and intent. By using her more-developed game IQ, Nedoma has begun to slow the game down in her mind. Doing so also allows her to dissect the importance of her shots in such a fast-paced environment.

Her change in physicality also allowed her to evaluate her mental game.

Ohio has had an underwhelming start to the 2021 season, and Nedoma said her younger self would not have been able to handle the rough patches. Now, however, she takes each moment as they come.

Nedoma’s mind is set on how she and the team can grow from their learning curves. She focuses on navigating the good from the bad so that she can help

the team succeed in the latter half of the season.

Reflecting back on all of her experiences, she has one piece of advice for her younger self.

“Remember why (you’re) here,” Nedoma said. “I started playing because it was fun, and my family loved to be around me.

Younger Maggie sometimes would just freak out about everything … so just reminding myself that I love what I am doing, and it’s all going to work out. Everything happens for a reason.”

@ASHLEYBEACHY_ AB026319@OHIO.EDU

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 17

FOOTBALL

Jerome Buckner is playing with newfound confidence JACK GLECKLER SPORTS EDITOR Jerome Buckner has had plenty of time for introspection.

The redshirt junior has been reflecting on his collegiate career on-and-off since March 2020. The isolation from quarantine during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a brief and unproductive 2020 season sent Buckner looking for answers from within.

“Quarantine was a lot of time to just think, a lot of time to reflect and a lot of time to make some choices,” Buckner said. “When you’re by yourself, you’ve got to really think about what you want out of life, what you want people to see you as and what you want to get out of this.”

Has the introspection helped? The stat sheet can testify. Buckner is second in receiving yards for Ohio and leads in yards per reception among wide receivers this season. He hasn’t caught a pass in Ohio’s last two games, but his performance against Syracuse still tops many of his fellow wide receivers.

Buckner isn’t superstitious, but he believes he manifested his early success into existence. His personal philosophy is a spin on “fake it until you make it.”

If he isn’t confident in himself, he won’t reach his potential. Buckner has grappled with that mindset before.

Buckner earned his first start as a redshirt freshman in Ohio’s game against Pitt in 2019. He took the starting job with no questions asked, but he doubted that he could live up to the standard he placed on himself. To compensate for his lack of experience, he attempted to force himself to stand out on the field.

Looking back, Buckner wishes he approached 2019 differently.

“I just wish I prepared a little bit more mentally so I could be more confident out there on the field,” Buckner said. “Because I’m doing the same things that I could have did back then, but now I just know that I can do it with confidence.”

Buckner has talent, no question. He’s difficult for defenders to cover despite his small frame — 5 feet, 8 inches and 165 pounds — and his speed helps him cruise downfield and evade tackles with

18 / SEPT. 23, 2021

ease. Still, his lack of confidence held him back in previous seasons.

This season, Buckner is learning to slow down and seize opportunities when they come. He knows he can be the receiver Ohio needs in big plays, but he’s not going to force Ohio’s offense to revolve around him.

“That was a lot of my chest (in 2019), but I was ready for it then,” Buckner said. “Back then I just didn’t take the game for what it was, I was trying to rush the game a little bit and trying to force the game instead of letting the game come to me.”

Part of his mentality stems from his inherent knowledge of the field. Buckner has his role in Ohio’s receiving unit down to a science, and he’s even studied other positions in order to better grasp how he can utilize himself.

Wide receivers coach Dwayne Dixon took note of Buckner’s willingness to learn. Dixon is both a mentor and a sort of father figure to Buckner, and he was crucial in fostering the confidence Buckner now wears on his sleeve.

Dixon is a tough-love coach. He’s not afraid to call out Buckner when he makes a mistake, but he also wants Buckner to keep his head up after those mistakes. The two both recognize the redshirt junior’s inherent talent, and Dixon helped develop a work ethic that spurred his development and confidence as a player.

“We feel like God’s blessed him with enough talent to be here, feel like he should know what to do and then be able to go out and execute it with confidence,” Dixon said. “I think his confidence has grown since he was thrown

into fires at an early age.”

Buckner isn’t the same player he was in his first start. He’s matured. The time he spent reflecting on his past helped him realize his own talent. It’s been a mental battle, but Buckner is winning.

“I just put a lot of work in mentally just to prepare for this moment and for the rest of my life, and just manifesting how I want it to go,” Buckner said.

@THEJACKGLECKLER JG011517@OHIO.EDU

Ohio’s Jerome Buckner (#8) runs the ball during its match against Duquesne on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. (ANTHONY WARNER | FOR THE POST)

SAVE THE TREES OR I’LL BREAK YOUR KNEES

The future of sustainable farming MEG DIEHL is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University Farmers are the backbone of society. No farmers?

No crops. No crops? No food. No food? Famine, which historically can cause enough stress to facilitate immense social unrest.

The well-being of modern society rests on the shoulders of farmers. Unfortunately, many farming methods prove to be harmful to the environment, in turn hurting farmers and putting their livelihoods at stake along with the well-being of the planet.

This puts environmentalists and farmers alike in a tough position: How can we simultaneously support farmers and the planet? The answer to this is unclear, but the best place to start is making farming more sustainable by taking care to support a healthy environment, profitability for farmers and encourage government programs and policy.

Some of the main environmental concerns with current agricultural systems in the U.S. are the impacts on

natural resources, such as soil and water, and the emission of greenhouse gases. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, forestry and agriculture accounted for 10.5% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. The USDA also reports that while carbon dioxide emissions are the most common globally, this is not the case within the agricultural economy as a whole, with 12.3% of emissions being carbon dioxide, 36.2% methane and 51.4% nitrous oxide. Traditional farming also creates environmental risk by practices such as tilling, a method to prepare soil for seeding. Tilling practices can be damaging to soil health and carbon content, water pollution and the energy and pesticide use of farmers.

It’s easy to understand how farmers may feel threatened by some aspects of environmentalism, seeing it as an incursion on their livelihoods when environmentalists become critical of their methods. However, what is best for the planet and the population, including farmers, is to get more of them on board with sustainable farming by making it more profitable for them.

According to the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy, or IATP, there are already agricultural incentive programs in place for farmers that provide monetary incentives in exchange for taking extra environmental precautions in their work. Increasing financial op-

portunities for farmers is one of the most productive methods of making way for sustainable farming, as it directly benefits those on the front lines of the issue.

The problem with this, however, is not a lack of willingness to partake in such programs but a lack of funding.

IATP reports that two incentive programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, and the Conservation Stewardship Program, or CSP, have had to deny farmers contracts at least partially due to a lack of funding, with EQIP only accepting 31% of its applications and CSP only 43%, collectively denying over 1 million farmers the opportunity to receive compensation in exchange for implementing more sustainable practices.

There is no easy answer for a problem as multifaceted as climate change, especially pertaining to agriculture. However, there are absolutely steps that can be taken to both uplift those in the agriculture industry and begin to heal our planet.

Meg Diehl is a freshman studying journalism 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 Meg by tweeting her at @irlbug.

KUDOS FROM KAYLA

‘Christian girl autumn’ needs to stop KAYLA BENNETT is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University Fall weather is right around the corner, and the change in clothes might be the best part. However, there’s one style that has become a stereotype around this time of year that needs to be stopped.

A once popular style around 2010 has turned into a joke in recent years. Although a joke to many of a younger age, the style is still sported by many middle-aged women today. The style falls under the name “Christian girl autumn.”

“Christian girl autumn,” which originated from tweets simply calling this certain style by this name, has become more of a joke than an actual style.

For those wondering what the style is, it consists of infinity scarves, chunky cardigans and shirts with sayings like “pumpkin spice and everything nice.” Delving further into the detestable style, many people attribute the dislike for the style to the dislike of skinny jeans and

catchy quotes.

During the 2010s, the style was increasingly popular among those who were growing up in the time of YouTubers like Bethany Mota and Zoella. These YouTubers provided fall lookbooks and have created a foundational style for many. They had a hold on the minds of every preteen from about 2010-2016.

Due to the style being correlated with the 2010s, seeing it nowadays seems abnormal. Today, many posts are misconstrued and used for the goal of creating a “meme;” however, in hindsight, this style was started as something expressive and fun.

“Christian Girl autumn” has become the new “hot girl summer,” which has become a headline in recent years.

The conflict with the style comes from the assumption the people in the photo that went viral on TikTok are racist or homophobic, but that’s not the case. The internet was able to take a style and build such an animosity on it that it eventually turned into a toxic style.

However, the hate affiliated with the style is not true, and the original “Christian girl autumn” woman, Caitlin Covington, is only a “Southern belle” with positive intentions. She’s made it known on Twitter she doesn’t fit the stereotype of the meme.

Aside from the wreckage to the style caused by so-

cial media, the style itself is so 2010s. With a growing, evolving world of style, the time to say goodbye to infinity scarves has arrived. It’s time to spice up the wardrobe with a new pair of flare jeans and a perfectly oversized sweater, and it’s time to trade in the riding boots for a pair of Doc Martens.

Although the clothes need to be replaced, the pumpkin spice lattes can stay.

Kayla Bennett 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.

What are your thoughts? Tell Kayla by tweeting her at @kkayyben.

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 19

your choice of cheese on any bagel. Personally, I always opt for the pretzel bun. The Ray Pruitt keeps you full for hours and can help power you through an intense Sunday morning study session. Order online for pickup or brave the long line, either way the Ray Pruitt is sure to satisfy your breakfast needs. - Ashley Beach @ashleybeachy_

4. The MacGyger from Bagel Street Deli

ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA JUENGER

Athens food we love THE BEAT STAFF When you graduate from Ohio University, you leave with new skills to help you succeed in the real world, a degree to show for all the hours of hard work, a sense of relief that you finally have reached the finish line of school ... and an obsession with Bagel Street Deli (one that proves you’re a well-seasoned OU-alumnus).

While all students come to Athens from different places on the map, we all enjoy the few stellar restaurants Athens has to offer during our years on the bricks. Only OU students would acquit late-night Souvlaki’s to a 5-star meal or choose Union Street Diner as their last supper on death row.

No matter where you come from, you ended up here: a place where we eat deep fried cheese balls at 3 a.m. and smash a breakfast sandwich from a hippie bagel shop at 3 p.m. You’ll miss it someday. Here are a few of our favorite Athens foods:

1. A corn dog from Souvlaki’s Mediterranean Gardens

It’s the snack that’s calling your name at 2 a.m. after being out on Saturday night. It’s the pick-me-up that can better a night gone wrong. It’s what you force your mom and dad to try on Parents Weekend (or maybe that’s just me?) Nonetheless, it’s a Souvlaki’s corn dog. The joy my friends and I get when our number is called is indescribable. We’re all content because we know, soon enough, a hot dog wrapped in Souvlaki’s incomparable golden, fried, fluffy cornmeal batter will be in 20 / SEPT. 23, 2021

our tummies soon enough. No matter how much we hate ourselves in the morning for it, in the moment, it’s simply heaven on a stick.

- Emma Dollenmayer, @emmadollenmayer

2. Vegan Burrito From Fluff Bakery

I will never understand how underrated Fluff Bakery is. Located in the heart of Court Street — right between Cat’s Eye and Pita Pit — Fluff is a little hole in the wall that is something you don’t wanna miss. Basically, if you’re a vegan or vegetarian in Athens, this is your hidden gem from plant-based paradise. Some honorable mentions include The Greenery salad, the Thai Peanut Wrap and the Fluffhead breakfast sandwich (get it with pesto, omg). While you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, the vegan burrito is simply off the charts. Stuffed with rice, griddled veggies, roasted potato and sweet potato, pico, cucumber and house-made pesto in a tortilla, this menu pick is flavorful and the perfect combination of satisfying ingredients. Take a break from your usual Chipotle burrito and put Fluff’s vegan burrito in your Athens food rotation. - Madyson Lewellyn, @ maadilewellyn

3. The Ray Pruitt from Bagel Street Deli

Picture this: it’s a Sunday afternoon, you’re exhausted from running around Athens with your best friends all weekend long and your stomach is growling the minute you wake up. That is where the Ray Pruitt bagel comes in. The simplicity of the bagel is what I love the most — it’s just hard boiled eggs and

Yes, Bagel Street Deli is a gift from heaven, and you cannot go wrong with any bagel choice you make. But, if you want to make the right choice, get the MacGyger. Not to be confused with the famous fighter, Conor McGregor, the MacGyger is everything a person would want on a breakfast sandwich. The bagel is loaded with hard boiled eggs, crisp bacon, melted cheese, lettuce and tomato all balanced out with creamy avocado and mayo.

Guests have their choice of bagel and cheese (my recommendation is everything bagel and cheddar cheese). Don’t let the bacon, egg and cheese combo fool you. This sandwich is just as delicious for breakfast as it is for lunch or dinner. For $7.50 you’ll have a mouthwatering hot mess that will keep you satisfied and full for hours. - Juliana Colant, @colant_juliana

5. The Trio from North End

Queso, salsa and guac: a love triangle that never misses. I ordered North End’s trio as an appetizer before a night out on Court Street just needing a little something in my stomach, and I was blown away at how delicious each dip was. North End’s queso is the perfect combination of flavor and is always piping hot, making it even better than Athens’ staple Mexican restaurant, Gran Ranchero on East State Street. Needless to say, The Trio itself has brought me back to North End for my “pregame” meal more than once now, and I’m not one bit mad about it. - Maddie Bussert, @ BussertMaddie

6. The Bobcat from Bagel Street Deli

When I first came to Athens for a high school media workshop, every counselor told me how good Bagel Street Deli is. Ever since then, I have loved that lil’ bagel shop. Listen, if you like bagels and sandwiches, this is your place, especially if you like your sandwiches as basic as possible. I mean, who doesn’t like a classic roast beef and cheese on an asiago bagel? I know I do, and they’re gluten friendly, too. What is there not to love about Bagel Street? - William Troyer, @destroyertroyer

7. The #1 from Brenen’s

It’s called the Miami Gobbler; a turkey sandwich served hot, with Muenster cheese, tomato, cream cheese, Russian dressing and lettuce. It’s a great light sandwich if you want something quick to eat with a coffee. Brenen’s is also a great, chill environment to study or do work, so while you do your work, you can

eat a pretty great sandwich. - Sean Eifert, @ eifert.sean

8. Chicken Tender Dinner from Union Street Diner

Whether I’m wrapping up a night out or seeking comfort food, the chicken tender dinner at USD has never failed me. This meal is a huge bang for your buck; it includes chicken tenders, two sides and a dinner roll all for $13. Personally, I like to get fries and salad for my sides, in addition to the soft and fluffy dinner roll that comes with the meal.

And, of course, some of the best ranch I’ve ever had for the dipping sauce. The meal brings waves of nostalgia for me, as chicken tender meals were my go-to meal at nearly any restaurant throughout my early childhood. For anyone looking for a restaurant with home-y vibes and food that will make you feel inner peace, the chicken tender dinner at USD is what you need in your life. - Jillian Craig, @jilliancraig18

9. Christmas Roll from Ginger Asian Kitchen

The flavor. The crunch. The presentation.

What’s not to love about this roll from Ginger? When I am in need of a sushi fix after eating dining hall food all of the time, this is my go-to. The inside of the roll contains the best sushi ingredients ever: tuna, salmon and avocado. Then, the roll is topped with caviar and a crunch topping. The creaminess of the avocado along with the crunch on top is the perfect combination. Not only does the roll taste delicious, but it looks beautiful too.

The roll is cut and arranged in a special way to make it look like a Christmas tree. For only $7, this is the best specialty roll you can get. Caroline Kammerer, @carolinekam12

10. Tom’s Turkey from Bagel Street Deli

One of the many things I love about Athens is this beautiful place called Bagel Street Deli. Maybe you’ve heard of it? This place has given me one of my favorite sandwiches: Tom’s Turkey. Now, when I first met Tom I did not know what to expect but soon after my first bite into this delicious bagel, I realized it was fate. This bagel includes turkey, lettuce, tomato, mayo and your choice of cheese and bagel (I go for the American cheese and an everything bagel, of course). Some say that this may sound like a basic sandwich, but let me tell you that they are wrong. Bagel Street Deli put its magic into this creation, and I am its biggest fan. You will not be disappointed if you try Tom’s Turkey for lunch. It will leave your tastebuds satisfied, trust me. - Samantha Kruse, @samanthakruse5

7 songs to amp up your workout GRACE KOENNECKE FOR THE POST When it comes to working out, most people need some kind of music to get them going. As a runner, I need some sort of distraction to avoid dropping dead from exhaustion, and music has always been the outlet I lean on most.

Music quite literally soothes the soul and allows your body to relax, especially in high-stress situations like working out.

For most people, it’s an escape as soon as you press play. It’s a world where you don’t have to worry about your next homework assignment or who is liking your Instagram posts.

If you can’t get through a workout without a stacked playlist, these songs are sure to elevate your heart rate, and hopefully your level of motivation, as you enter the final stretch.

Here are 7 songs to add to your workout playlist:

“Perfect Illusion” by Lady Gaga

The intro of this song alone will automatically make your legs move faster and make that weight you’re trying to lift over your head lighter. Blaring guitars and backup drums from Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker allow for a fast-pace tempo to workout to that overall makes time move faster.

There’s a pulse that you can feel echoing against you as Gaga wails “I still feel the blow but at least now I know / It wasn’t love.” The layered vocals also allow for you to sympathize with this heartbreak anthem of a song, which always makes me want to push myself harder on behalf of whoever broke this absolute legend’s heart. This track also provides a really good tempo for cardio with a steady baseline and drumbeat.

“Where Have You Been” by Rihanna

OK, this electro-pop song has the potential to get you out of that funk you’ve been in and turn you into the ultimate gym member you’ve always dreamt of being. The intro itself creates the ultimate crescendo with stacked beats -- all combining to make you feel like you’re walking into a club.

There are perfect moments in this song where you can increase the pace you’re running or walking at, especially when the line “Are you hiding from me, yeah? / Somewhere in the crowd?” starts pumping through your headphones.

The tantalizing vocals of Rihanna almost make you feel like she’s screaming in your ear to keep pushing yourself, and how can you forget the iconic DJ-like beat drops? This song will for sure get you moving.

“Hollywood’s Bleeding” by Post Malone

In general, this whole album is one of my favorites to listen to while hitting the gym. This track immediately feels like you’re in an underground world running away from whatever it is that’s troubling you.

At first, all you can hear are the stacked echoes of the singer’s voice, leading into a trance-like opening with an increasing bassline. Almost at the climax of the song, there’s a pause that braces you for a sucker punch of lyrics, accompanied with a rhythmic mixture of beats that beg you to stay around for the whole production.

My favorite line is “I go out and all their eyes on me / I show out, do you like what you see?” which gives you time to reflect throughout your workout, something I personally love to do. It’s so easy to get lost in this song that you forget you’re even working out, and I highly suggest you add this to your gym playlist. Post Malone just knows.

ILLUSTRATION BY KATIE BANECK “Heaven Is a Place in My Head” by Bad Suns

This is the perfect song for anyone who loves an 80s or 90s sound. Its upbeat persona and instrumentation makes you want to smile while you’re sweating your butt off or feeling pain all over.

It’s a constant mirage of guitars and bouncing vocals, taking you on a roller coaster ride of music production. “Take me anywhere besides here baby / Some things never last as long as you want it to” are the words where I find myself relaxing into my stride and feeling my confidence rise. Put this on when you’re feeling lazy or tired since it will lift your spirits instantly.

“Into My Arms” by COIN

Once again, this intro is absolutely stunning and will have you moving in step with the beat as the song evolves. The loud beating of drums and keyboard variations make this song unique in its production.

With witty lyrics and background vocals that almost equate to shouting, the volume of this song is hard to miss.

This would be the best song for that final mile of your run or that last push-up you just need to get over with. The lyrics “Karma killer, you know, oh, oh / You got my attention” will have you engaged with your workout the whole time, and you won’t even remember the pain in your legs or the tiredness you’re soon to feel walking home from Ping.

“Stockholm Syndrome” by One Direction

tar and bass-line in this song will remind you of the good old days of the 2010s music scene and inspire you to hit start on that treadmill or try a new machine at the gym.

“Who’s that shadow holding me hostage? / I’ve been here for days” will put you in a trance filled with good vibes only, and you’ll feel like Niall, Harry, Louis, Zayn and Liam are all cheering you on as you begin your workout. This song’s energy is electrifying, and the high it emits is worth taking time out of your day to go to the gym — trust me! The confidence boost from this song will ensure that it stays on your gym playlist for years to come.

“I am not a woman, I’m a god” by Halsey

This song dropped almost three weeks ago, and it immediately went to the top of my own workout playlist. If you like a punk rock sound, you simply need this song in your life.

Halsey’s wailing vocals and high-level production begs you to keep listening. I simply never want it to end as I’m running.

“I am not a woman / I’m a god / I am not a martyr / I’m a problem” screams at you to keep going and reminds you of the strength you have always had within you. The isolating screech of guitars and intense drumming makes you feel like you’re front row at their concert. This feminist anthem will rock you through any workout.

@GRACE_KOE GK011320@OHIO.EDU

To all my former One Directioners, this is for you! The guiTHEPOSTATHENS.COM / 21

the weekender Burr Oak State Park to host edible plant nature hike LINDSAY WIELONSKI FOR THE POST

On surface level, root beer, allspice and lemonade don’t have much in common. But in actuality, they share a similarity: they all originated from edible plants that are native to Appalachia.

Burr Oak State Park in Glouster is hosting a nature hike that will allow participants to identify and taste edible plants — especially those commonly used to make teas. The event is scheduled to take place Saturday, Sept. 25, at 2 p.m. at the Burr Oak State Park Nature Center. The event is open to all, and no prior registration is required.

“The Wild Edibles: Tasty Teas” hike aims to provide an enjoyable afternoon in nature while also connecting participants to the natural origin of modern foods and beverages.

Julie Gee, naturalist at Burr Oak State Park, has held the “Wild Edibles: Tasty Teas” hike for about five years. She recalls that in past years, many people who have been interested in nature have treasured the experience of learning more about the intersection of history and the environment.

“I just think they love having that connection,” Gee said.

“We have beverages today that really go back. If you go back in the history of root beer, you’re going to find that it goes back to the earth. It goes back to nature — to using the sassafras fruit and people finding out that sassafras tea really tastes great.”

Those who attend the hike can expect to learn about other edible Appalachian plants as well, such as wild spicebush and smooth sumac. Both of these plants have been used to create modern-day food and drinks. Spicebush can be used to make allspice, and smooth sumac can be used to make lemonade. Not only are spicebush and smooth sumac edible, but they also have several medicinal properties, such as spicebush’s ability to combat colds and fevers and to alleviate aches and pains.

Nature offers a way for educators to provide students with hands-on learning experiences. Many schools implement nature-based learning experiences as part of the required curriculum. A 2005 study by the California Department of Education found that students’ science test scores increased by 27% after they engaged in outdoor science programs.

Elizabeth Garcia, a visitor to Ohio University’s campus, experienced this type of learning firsthand.

“I did a hike when I was in high school for my biology class, and it was really fun,” Garcia said. “It was a similar thing. We did mushroom foraging and that stuff. I really enjoyed it.”

In addition to brief history and science lessons about the origin of modern-day food and drinks, the event offers a relaxing and scenic afternoon in nature, which can be a rarity in everyday student life.

“If you’re stuck in the dorm rooms all day, there’s not very much nature unless someone has a house plant,” Julianne Ra22 / SEPT. 23, 2021

ILLUSTRATION BY MALAYA TINDONGAN

packi, a fifth-year nursing major at OU, said. “It’s just nice to get out there, especially when it’s fall. All the trees turn this beautiful array of warm colors.”

Athens is home to many plants that are edible or have medicinal properties. Participants of “Wild Edibles: Tasty Teas” can expect to learn more about Appalachian nature and about plants they may be able to find in their own backyards. OU students are especially encouraged to attend and may recognize plants that are also home to quintessential Athens destinations, like Strouds Run State Park or even OU’s campus.

“I think college students from OU would really enjoy the experience,” Gee said. “They would learn about common plants that are all around us — that are not just at Burr Oak State Park — that would be at Strouds Run State Park and even at Sells Park in Athens. I bet there’s a sassafras tree that’s been planted on the campus at OU.” Those who have questions about “Wild Edibles: Tasty Teas” can contact Julie Gee at julie.gee@dnr.ohio.gov.

@LWIELONSKI LW293117@OHIO.EDU

IF YOU GO WHAT: Wild Edibles: Tasty Teas WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 25, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Burr Oak State Park (Nature Center), 10660 Burr Oak Lodge Road, Glouster ADMISSION: Free

WHAT’S GOING ON?

Visit plastic bag art installation, hear live poetry reading ANASTASIA CARTER SLOT EDITOR

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24 The Jellyfish Garden: a plastic bag art installation from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., hosted by the Office of Sustainability at the Athens County Courthouse, 8 E. Washington St. Campus Recycling & Zero Waste will have an art installation at the Athens County Courthouse to encourage others to limit their use of single-use plastics.

Admission: Free “The Van Gogh Affect” anytime between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., hosted by the Kennedy Museum of Art, 100 Ridges Circle. The exhibition features work addressing the artist Vincent Van Gogh’s contemporary perceptions of the world. Masks indoors are mandatory, and the number of visitors will be limited as per university guidelines.

Admission: Free Interlude: Second Year Graduate Show from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., hosted by the College of Fine Arts at the School of Art and Design, Seigfred Hall 536. Masks and social distancing will be required.

Admission: Free Dallas Craft with Tim Buck from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., hosted at Donkey Coffee, 17 W. Washington St. Enjoy the performance of stylings from these artists on the Donkey stage.

in place.

Admission: Free Poetry reading by Athens Poet Laureate, Wendy McVicker, at 6:30 p.m., hosted in the Grand Lobby of Stuart’s Opera House, 52 Public Square in Nelsonville. McVicker will share from her new collection, “Zero, a Door.” Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken 72 hours or less prior will be required.

Admission: Free ‘90s Night with DJ Barticus at 7 p.m., hosted by The Union, 18 W. Union St. Come party with DJ Barticus when the show starts at 8 p.m.

Admission: $5 over 21, $7 under 21 U2: The Making of the Joshua Tree from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., hosted at Donkey Coffee. Check out this intimate look at the creation of one of the most important albums of the 1980s.

Admission: Free Black Sire, The Long Hunt and Burning Brain Band at 9 p.m., hosted at the Smiling Skull Saloon, 108 W. Union St. Enjoy live music from two Ohioans and a Pennsylvanian artist.

Majestic Galleries • 20 Public Sq Nelsonville

Starbrick Gallery 21 W Columbus• Nelsonville

CANNABIS MUSEUM PRESENTS:

WATER & MUD GALLERY EXHIBIT: MARIA FREED, GREG GRIMM & IKAIKA GRIMM

ART NOVEAU AND THE COUNTERCULTURE MOVT: THE EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN POSTER Curated by Tiana Hough, Curatorial & Collections Management Graduate Intern.

The exhibition showcases a selection of posters from the Cannabis Museum’s collection. The selected posters, as part of this exhibit, outline the linear progression of art in advertising posters and illustrate how two different artistic movements paralleled each other.

OPENING Sept. 24 6-9 pm

Athens Cars and Coffee from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., with the meeting taking place in the parking lot at the Athena Grand, 1008 E. State St. Visit this end of the month car show and refrain from excessive revving or burnouts.

Admission: Free Okkervil River and Damien Jurado at 6 p.m., hosted by Stuart’s Opera House. The show will follow the appropriate COVID-19 guidelines that are in place at the time for the show.

Admission: Reserved Seats: $20 in advance, $25 at the door; Box Seats: $25 in advance, $30 at the door

on view through Oct. 24th

FREE ADMISSION exhibit information at

cannabismuseum.com

The Market on State

ART MARKET

at the Athens Farmer’s Market Find hand-crafted jewelry, pottery, paintings and prints, yarn, lotions, quilts, eco-printed clothing, silkscreened t-shirts, wooden tables, boxes, bowls and more!

Locally made by members of the Athens Art Guild.

Saturday, Sep. 25th 9 am - 12 pm Masks required

ADVERTISE SMALL BOX 15 per week

$

Admission: Free

SATURDAY, SEPT. 25 Athens Farmers Market at 9 a.m., hosted by Athens Farmers Market, 1002 E. State St. Shop for locally grown and locally made foods and goods at the farmers market. The market accepts SNAP and credit cards. Masks are recommended and social distancing protocols are

200 per semester

$

@ACARTER3602 AC732319@OHIO.EDU

Through Oct. 15th Tue-Sat 10-5 Sun. 12-5

FREE ADMISSION

LARGE BOX

$25

per week

$300

per semester text can be updated weekly, logos, specialty fonts and spot color IS INCLUDED

THEATER

ArtsWest • 132 W State St

th

Admission: Free

SUNDAY, SEPT. 26

Featuring watercolor paintings in the genre of realism by Maria Freed and historically inspired pottery designs by Greg Grimm.

ADVERTISE

messaging can be updated weekly, TEXT ONLY

College Green - West Portico

MARCHING 110 Concerts on the Green are

presented by the OHIO Performing Arts Series, OHIO College of Fine Arts, OHIO School of Music, and the Division of Student Affairs with support from The Ohio Arts Council and Envisage Wealth.

Wednesday, Sep. 29th 6:30 pm Free & Open to the Public

Uptown Athens Parking Garage West Washington Street Gallery Wall ATHENS PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECT

BEAUTIFUL REALITYPHOTOGRAPHS BY ATHENS YOUTH APP proudly presents photographs by 31 young artists in Athens County.

These artists were able to share the joy and tumult of this time in their lives, to find unique visions of the world around them

OPENING Sept. 30th 5-7 pm on view through Oct. 31th

Find More News, Sports, Culture @ thepostathens.com

OUTDOOR PUBLIC ART EXHIBIT

Ohio Valley Summer Theater presents a stage version of the hit 1985 comedy CLUE. Based on the screenplay

by Jonathan Lynn. It is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience one of the most classic comedies in modern history. Seating is limited for this unique prodution as you will be comfortably situated around Body Manor in this immersive production.

By special arrangement with the Araca Group, Work Light productions and Michael Barra/ Lively MccCabe Entertainment

October 8th-10th & 15th-17th Fri & Sat 7:00 pm Sun Matinee 2pm $10-$12 all tickets are general admission

OVST.ORG/CLUE

Kennedy Museum of Art • The Ridges

LACUNA

This exhibition is an intermedia collaboration between Mateo Galvano, a multimedia conceptual artist, and C. David Russell, whose practice includes performing objects as well as scenic and costume design for theater.

Through Mar. 6th

FREE ADMISSION check the website for a schedule of virtual opportunities

ohio.edu/museum THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 23

Now Leasing New beginnings

PRIME UPTOWN & CAMPUS LOCATIONS 2022-2023

CHECK OUT OUR HOUSES 199

$

Security Deposit

$

199

Security Deposit

2-12 bedrooms with locations in every neighborhood

& APARTMENTS LEASE SIGNING

BONUS $150 cash

113 N. Congress St. 6-7 Bedroom . $500* $

on any unit with 5 or more Bedrooms

199

Security Deposit

16 Hocking Street 5 Bedroom . $525*

199

$

Security Deposit

$ LOW SECURITY DEPOSIT

☞ CLOSE TO CAMPUS

160 Mill St.

6 Bedroom . $550*

18 Oak Street 5 Bedroom . $550

OUrentals.com

199

$

99

$

AVAILABLE NOW for 2021 - 2022

*Security deposits are per person, monthly rates are per person/per month

& TOWNHOMES

4-5 bedrooms • 2 bath FEATURING: separate living area, on-site parking, trash included, and access to the bikepath.

· NO HIDDEN FEES

& UPTOWN & MANY MORE EXTRAS

4 bedrooms • 2 bath FEATURING: off-site parking, balcony, trash included, in prime neighborhood

Security Deposit

Security Deposit

2 Milliron Apt. A 5 Bedroom $450*

97½ Playground Ave 5 Bedroom . $525*

740.594.9098 Call TODAY to schedule a viewing