April 6, 2017

APD considers body cams P9 Coping with comedy P16 Diversity and OU athletics P20 THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

A PART OF

APPALACHIA In an overwhelmingly white region, black Appalachians ask to be heard P12

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emma Ockerman

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

MANAGING EDITOR Elizabeth Backo DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Seth Archer ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Hayley Harding

Help ‘The Post’ leadership team plan for next year

EDITORIAL

NEWS EDITORS Kaitlin Coward, William T. Perkins SPORTS EDITOR Charlie Hatch CULTURE EDITORS Alex Darus, Sean Wolfe OPINION EDITOR Chuck Greenlee COPY CHIEF Rachel Danner

ART

ART DIRECTOR Abby Day DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Alex Driehaus GRAPHICS DIRECTOR Samantha Güt SPECIAL PROJECTS DESIGNER Matt Ryan

DIGITAL

DIGITAL PRODUCTION EDITOR Hannah Debenham SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Hannah Wintucky BLOGS EDITOR Jeremy Hill SENIOR MULTIMEDIA PRODUCER Patrick Connolly BUSINESS MANAGER Matthew Barnett

Send us your letters

THE

POST

ISSUE 26 VOLUME 107 1 PARK PLACE, ROOM 325 EDITOR@THEPOSTATHENS.COM PHONE | 740.593.4010 FAX | 740.593.0561

ONLINE

Do you ever find something in The Post thoughtprovoking, questionable or even infuriating? Let us know!

We are always interested in hearing about the way our readers respond to our content every day.

POST BLOGS thepostathens.com/blogs

IN PERSON Baker Center, Room 325

FACEBOOK thepostathens

ONLINE thepostathens.com/letters

TWITTER @ThePost

BY EMAIL letters@thepostathens.com

Front Desk Hours

Your opinion is welcome. Letters should be fewer than 500 words.

Longer submissions will be considered as guest commentaries, but space is limited. All letters must be signed by at least one individual; anonymous letters will not be accepted. The Post does not accept letters soliciting donations or news releases. Please include your year and major if you are a student. Letters can be submitted online at www.thepostathens.com, by email at editor@ thepostathens.com or at The Post’s front desk in the media wing on the third floor of Baker University Center. We reserve the right to edit submissions for clarity, vulgarity and Associated Press Style.

Cost: 10 words: $3 students, $3.75 businesses, $.10 each additional word. Free lost and found daily, space permitting

The Post is an independent newspaper run by Ohio University students. We distribute the paper free of charge in Athens, Ohio, when classes are in session. Editorial page material represents the opinions of the editors, columnists and letter writers. Opinions expressed are independent of Ohio University and our printer.

9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

Closed Saturday and Sunday.

1 Park Place Baker University Center, Room 325 Athens, OH 45701 (740) 593-4010

S

everal people have made the comment in the past few weeks that I’m now the lame duck of The Post, which is not totally wrong. I have a few short weeks until I graduate, though I’d like to think (and maybe this is the “lame” part) that I’m spending my precious time still devoted to the newsroom.

But our executive office is changing, and for the first time in a long time (and honestly, I can’t tell our readers how long), that executive office is entirely female. The Post’s next editor-in-chief will be Liz Backo, the managing editor will be Kaitlin Coward, the digital managing editor will be Hayley Harding and the EMMA OCKERMAN / senior editor will be Marisa Fernandez.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF I do not know a group of women more talented or more capable. I’m immensely proud to be leaving The Post in caring hands, especially after the hurdles we’ve encountered with our transition to a print-weekly model with an entirely redesigned website. I’m grateful for the past two years as editor, but I think The Post will ultimately be a better product with these women at the helm.

Some of their plans so far relate to better communication with student groups and faculty members, increased emphasis on “beat” coverage (think: reporters covering each individual college, or student organizations), diversity in The Post’s newsroom and in its coverage and in a more engaging brand image.

One of the most valuable aspects of their training, though, will be explaining where The Post could have done better. That’s where our readers come in.

By shooting me a quick email or grabbing coffee in Front Room to discuss previous negative experiences you may have had with our staff, or maybe just areas where you thought our coverage should have been better, The Post can evolve into a sphere that better suits your readership needs. I’m here for your thoughts, still, for the next few weeks. And like any compliant employee, I’d like to be evaluated for my performance.

Emma Ockerman is a senior studying journalism and editor-in-chief of The Post. Want to talk to her? Tweet her at @eockerman or email her at eo300813@ohio.edu.

Advertising Policies The Post will not print advertisements that violate local, state or federal laws.

All advertisements must display good taste. The Post reserves the right to refuse any advertisement.

If questions arise, the editor will make the final decision.

The Post will not run real estate or employment advertisements that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, sexual orientation or national origin. All advertisements are

subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act. Phone numbers will not be printed in the Personals section.

If errors are found in a classified ad, please notify The Post by 4 p.m. the day the ad runs. Though The Post cannot be responsible for errors, a corrected ad will run free of charge on the next publication date.

Cash refunds will not be given.

Notify The Post by 4 p.m. of cancellations for the following day.

Cover illustration by Abby Day and Sarah Olivieri

Green Light wins Party sweeps Student Senate elections as voter turnout increases by more than 100 votes ANASTASIA NICHOLAS FOR THE POST The Green Light ticket overwhelmingly won the 2017-18 Student Senate elections.

Green Light candidates were elected to all three executive positions. Landen Lama was elected president, Nicole Schneider was elected vice president and Zach Woods was elected treasurer.

“I would say it’s a win for all,” Lama said.

The Green Light ticket won 34 of the 39 seats in the election. Voice won the other five seats.

The results of the senate elections were announced Tuesday night at the Bobcat Student Lounge. Voting lasted from Monday at 8 a.m. to Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Green Light’s overall goals include achieving greater transparency, collaborating with other organizations on campus and bettering Ohio University as a whole.

Voter turnout increased to 2,202 students, compared to last year’s 2,097 students. Current Student Senate President Hannah Clouser said she was disappointed with voter turnout.

“As always, I wish more students would turn out to vote,” Clouser said. “It’s not an OU thing, it’s a student government phenomenon everywhere that there’s a surprisingly low student turnout. Aside from that, I’m excited to transition the new team.”

In reaction to the low voter turnout, Lama said Green Light ran on getting senate’s name out there and getting involved. He said he hopes to increase senate’s voice on campus.

All three of the new executives hold seats on this year’s senate. Lama is chief of staff, Schneider is a senator at-large and Woods is a SAC senator at-large.

Green Light was competing against the Voice ticket, led by presidential candidate Jordan Kelley, vice presidential candidate Keyarah Newton and treasurer candidate Dane Hudson.

Lama defeated Kelley, who ran for president last year on the Impact ticket, by more than 700 votes.

“I’m really happy and excited for what (the Green Light ticket) plans to do,” Kelley said. “I’m obviously disappointed, though.”

“

I would say it’s a win for all.”

Green Light victorious in elections Green Light sweeps the Student Senate election in all categories by more than half NOT AFFILIATED WITH A TICKET

GREEN LIGHT

VOICE

President

Vice President

- Landen Lama Green Light president

Hudson enjoyed the experience he got from running for the first time in a Student Senate election.

“I talked to more people in the last 36 hours than I did this entire semester,” Hudson said. “I learned a lot from talking to these people.”

A third ticket, Fight, was disqualified Monday for neglecting to follow a portion of senate’s rules and procedures. David Parkhill, presidential candidate for Fight, said he plans on appealing the judicial panel’s decision.

Woods said he achieved both of his goals: to get Green Light elected and to increase voter turnout.

“We’ve worked so hard at this the past six months,” Woods said. “It’s really gratifying.”

Schneider said she thought the conceal carry referendum, which took place in January, informed more students about Student Senate.

“Like we were saying during campaigns, we want to get more people to know about Student Senate so that we can have higher voter turnout,” Schneider said. “It’s great so many students were able to voice their opinions in this.”

With more than 6,900 students voting in the conceal carry referendum, about three times more students voted in the referendum than in this year’s senate election.

Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones said she is looking forward to working with next year’s senate.

“It’s always a nice time as we are wrapping up this year to look ahead,” HallJones said. “I enjoy figuring out what (Student and Graduate Student Senate) platforms are going to be and how we can help.”

— Emily Leber and Maggie Campbell contributed to this report

@STASIA_NIC AN631715@OHIO.EDU

Treasurer

69.67%

69.55%

69.57%

28.32%

28.86%

30.43%

2.02%

1.59%

At-Large Senator 26.87%

73.13%

SAC Senator 31.18%

SAC Fund Senator 19.12%

80.88%

Off Campus Senator 68.82%

24.23%

75.77%

GRAPHIC BY SAMANTHA GÜT THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 3

AMPLIFIED OBSERVATIONS

Aloofness makes meaningful artist, products Nearly ten years ago, hip-hop enigma Jay Electronica released an equally singular project that propelled him to a strange status of poetic celebrity. A decade after Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The LUKE Pledge), an ingenious reworking FURMAN of the Jim Carrey film’s drum-free is a junior soundtrack, he has yet to release a studying debut album or a proper follow-up. journalism at Aside from two 2009 singles, Ohio University.

Electronica’s rap presence remains shrouded in uncertainty, randomly popping up as featured artist — most surprisingly in a 2013 Mac Miller song — with the frequency of El Niño. In addition to his undebatable lyricism, Electronica wields the power of reservation and aloofness, not giving too much of himself over to anyone. For anyone with lesser talent, the move might form a career of struggle, but for someone with the corresponding talent, it only elevates his work a rare pedestal akin to Kubrick film or a Harper Lee novel.

In recent years, more musicians have broken from the traditional one to three-year album cycle beholden to industry cash cows. Rick Ross, Big Sean, Gucci Mane and J. Cole might release a new album every year or two but it calls into the question of whether it’s to fulfill contracts, shoot for the narcissism of wide-

spread rap supremacy or actually release a developed artistic statement.

For instance, D’Angelo took 14 years to release his sophomore album Black Messiah in 2014, but the result produced two impeccable releases devoid of recycling. Likewise, the Australian plunderphonics, The Avalanches, released its sophomore album last year after 16 years to same unwavering acclaim.

Other musicians survive without albums completely, like André 3000, who offers a high-quality guest verse on a song every now and then but has not released solo work since the 2007 disbandment of OutKast. Along with Electronica and MC Missy Elliott, he floats in a twilight zone of rap that makes every appearance a blessing rather than a given, impossible without the lyrical clout to back it up.

If these artists were pigeonholed into releasing something every year, it would turn their work into the mediocrity of Call of Duty games or Transformers movies. Making money should only exist as a byproduct of releasing music, not the motivation for which it is made. In today’s music climate, that statement might induce laughter despite its underlying truth.

But, with the right sensibilities — like Frank Ocean acquiring the rights to his recordings between albums — artists can earn the agency to move at his or her own developmental pace.

The best and most recent representation of creative

freedom comes in a completely different medium than music: comedy. After an extended, self-imposed hiatus, Dave Chappelle sold two stand-up specials to Netflix for $60 million, his first since 2004’s “For What It’s Worth.”

Both specials, especially “Deep In the Heart of Texas,” challenge the conventions of the modern conversation and also point back to pre-21st-century stand-up when comedians smoked on stage, an endearing but seemingly appropriate inclusion in commenting on today’s unspoken pressures of correctness.

Whether it’s music or comedy, rushing the genesis of art before it can say something meaningful reduces it to entertainment. The significance that spans the length of 30 minutes to an hour only forms through enough experience and living to adequately fill that space without filler or cliché. In the words of Schopenhauer, artists like Chappelle, D’Angelo and Electronica do not descend from their mountains unless they’ve hit a target no else has yet seen.

Writing a weekly column doesn’t offer me the same luxury of aloofness, but compared to those mentioned in this one, I need all the practice I can get.

Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What do you think of artists being aloof? Let Luke know by tweeting him @LukeFurmanLog or emailing him at lf491413@ ohio.edu.

QUITE CONTRARY

Your favorite childhood activity is boring I’m coming dangerously close to graduation, which means that I’m growing ever closer to that elusive destination called “the future.”

When people are at such a point in their lives, they sometimes WILLIAM T. find themselves reflecting longPERKINS ingly on that other elusive time: is a senior the past. Remember sandboxes studying and balloons and hopscotch? Rejournalism at member flying kites and blowing Ohio University. bubbles? Now that spring is here, wouldn’t it be nice to go back and experience those simple pleasures once again.

No. It wouldn’t. The fact of the matter is, all of your favorite childhood activities were silly and boring and are nothing like you remember them.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a comprehensive list of things you can do with a helium balloon, not including activities that involve puncturing or popping it: Hold it. Let it go.

4 / APRIL 6, 2017

I don’t know about you, but holding a piece of ribbon only holds my attention for so long. Letting it go and watching it float away is fascinating for a while, but then you no longer have a balloon and you realize that the whole affair was basically just an exercise in futility and impermanence.

Kite flying isn’t much better. About 40 percent of the experience is the frustration of getting it in the air, followed by about 2 percent excitement once it does catch a gust of wind. After that, the remaining 58 percent of the experience is just standing around in an empty field holding a piece of string.

Experiencing the laws of aerodynamics at play right before your eyes can be fascinating for a couple of minutes. After that, the experience boils down to “There’s a piece of tarp up in the sky, and that’s kind of unique.”

Bubbles are tedious, too. Kids can spend hours playing with bubbles, and it will be the highlight of their day. But these days, the idea of an airborne soap swarm invokes more annoyance than wonder.

Even fireworks, the ultimate symbol of awe and excitement, have lost most of their luster since childhood. They go up, they flash and they go boom.

Big whoop.

“But all of those things were fun during childhood because it was a simpler time,” you might say.

Fair enough. As children, we didn’t have much of a frame of reference for fascination, and that’s part of what was so great about being young. But that’s a reflection on the stupidity — er, innocence of children.

There’s nothing inherently magical about those activities, and it’s no use over romanticizing them.

For better or for worse, we now have sex and drugs and Quentin Tarantino movies to entertain us.

But that’s OK. There are worse things than realizing your childhood is dead.

Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Is your childhood dead? Vent to William by emailing him at wp198712@ohio.edu.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Ginsburg Well threat to community The Ginsburg Well, an injection well for frack waste located at 2345 Ladd Ridge Road in Athens County, Ohio, violates the safety and well-being of our community. This pit of smelly, disgusting frack waste remains openly accessible to wildlife and vulnerable to the ravages of weather, allowing for the possibility of ground and surface water contamination.

The Ginsburg Injection Well is owned by Carper Injection Well-Albany LLC. Review of publicly-accessible inspection reports by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) shows that this well has a history of violations, non-compliance and being non-operational for months at a time. Mechanical failure and leaking has occurred, as well as soil contamination. From 2004-07, it was not in operation but was not plugged as

per ODNR regulations — just like today.

ODNR reports said this well has been non-operational since October 2015. According to regulations, injection wells not in use for longer than 60 days must be plugged.

This has not occurred and the well continues to be an open blight on our community.

During 2016 (when the well was listed as non-operational with no pump due to one needing replaced), 60 barrels of waste were added to its volume totals. According to ODNR spokesperson Eric Heiss, this was injected prior to the pump malfunction. This appears to be either a blatant lie or reveals incompetence and lack of attention to detail.

Both are frightening.

According to the permit, a fresh-water monitoring well was to be placed at this site.

There is no such monitoring well. This is another example of the ODNR failing to protect us and another reason that this well must be plugged immediately.

The Ginsburg Well must be a wake-up call — what other terrors lurk in our backyards, barely monitored and loosely regulated? Haven’t we seen enough environmental disasters to know that we can’t afford the luxury of complacency? Do we need another epidemic similar to C-8 in our community? Have we learned nothing from cities like Flint, Michigan, who struggle to provide clean water?

Annie Burke graduated from Ohio University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in the science of nursing.

STREETVIEW

“What is your favorite joke?”

“I don’t really have a joke... I basically come up with a witty response to whatever (people) say.”

Sean Miller, sophomore studying sociology criminology

“My favorite comedian is Daniel Tosh. I think he’s really funny just because he says a lot of things that a lot of people aren’t ready for, just like out there jokes that a lot of people aren’t expecting. I think he’s pretty funny.”

Michael Bowman, sophomore studying marketing and sport management

“My favorite joke is probably the orange joke, the one that goes ‘Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?’ ”

“Are you a banana?

Because I find you appealing.”

Carly Licht, freshman studying human biology

“Ohio State football team.

I’m a huge Alabama fan.”

Valerie Larkin, sophomore studying pre-nursing

Emily McCarthy, freshman studying visual communication

-photographs by Kevin Pan

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 5

NEWS BRIEFS

Flex meal plans to change; Fire damages building, causes rental company to relocate JONNY PALERMO FOR THE POST

A

s the semester winds down, the university announced the 2017 commencement address speaker.

Additionally, Flex meal plans will be restructured for Fall Semester, and the English professor accused of sexual harassment requested a hearing.

ACCLAIMED JOURNALIST WILL DELIVER COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS TO 2017 GRADUATES Wesley Lowery, The Washington Post national correspondent and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, was chosen as the 2017 undergraduate commencement speaker, according to a news release from Ohio University.

Lowery attended OU from 2008 to 2012 and is also a former editor of The Post.

“It’s always exciting to come back to Athens and be around OU students,” Lowery said. “... Athens is a place that’s

really special to me, where I got to do a lot of learning and a lot of growing, and so any time that I get to come back is a real honor and a real treat.”

During his career, Lowery has covered events such as the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the 2014 Ferguson riots, while also serving as a lead reporter for nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. Lowery has also published a New York Times-bestselling book They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a new Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement.”

OU interim President David Descutner met with Lowery in March during the annual Schuneman Symposium and invited him to deliver the address.

FLEX MEAL PLANS TO SEE ALTERATIONS FOR UPCOMING SEMESTER OU will be restructuring Flex meal plans for the next academic year.

Students with a Flex meal plan will receive 225 Flex points per semester to use at campus dining facilities including West 82 Food Court, Latitude 39

and Front Room Coffeehouse. Currently, Flex meal plans allot students 450 points for the entire academic year.

“It’s a good idea they’re going back to that,” Aaron Heber, a senior studying nursing, said. “It’s good because you wouldn’t blow through all of your flex points through one semester, and you can budget it out between semesters. ... I liked having the flex points, but I also liked it separated between the two semesters (my freshman year).”

OU Spokesman Jim Sabin said the alterations will alleviate problems caused when students do not return to OU for Spring Semester.

As part of the restructuring, meal swipes will also increase in value, from $6.25 to $6.50. The Flex meal plans allows students to use their unused weekly meal swipes at campus markets.

“The increase is to give students on a Flex meal plan more value and encourage students to consider upgrading from a traditional meal plan to a Flex meal plan,” Sabin said in an email.

FIRE CAUSES DAMAGE TO PROKOS RENTALS A fire broke out at Prokos Rentals at 88 E. State St. on Monday morning.

The Athens Fire Department was notified of the fire at about 5 a.m. and found the left rear side door open when firefighters arrived on scene. They discovered the fire in the reception area and in the left rear storage area.

The building was left with smoke and heat damage throughout the building, and water, gas and electricity were shut off. As a result of the fire, Prokos Rentals relocated to 9 W. Stimson Ave., next to Hocking Valley Bank. It is unclear how long the business will remain there.

The Ohio State Fire Marshal was notified of the incident, and the fire is under investigation.

@HEEEEERES_JONNY JP351014@OHIO.EDU

POLICE BLOTTER

Mysterious break-ins remain unresolved in Chauncey LAUREN FISHER FOR THE POST Deputies with the Athens County Sheriff’s Office found themselves frequenting nearby Chauncey on Wednesday after separate reports of home invasion and burglary resulted in two still-unresolved cases.

On Wednesday, deputies were called to a residential street in Chauncey, having received a report of burglary. According to the police report, the caller told deputies her home had been entered and money had been stolen from the residence.

Although there were signs of forced entry via the doorway, further investigation revealed no other traces of evidence. Given the lack of evidence and witnesses in the immediate area, the case was closed, pending further investigative information.

That same day, however, deputies 6 / APRIL 6, 2017

were called back to Chauncey regarding a possible home invasion, after a woman reported “someone may have been in her basement.” The exterior of the house was found to be secure, and an investigation of the basement revealed no further evidence to support the claim. With no evidence of criminal activity, deputies took no further action and returned to patrol.

It is unclear whether the two cases are related.

DING-DONG DITCH On Friday, deputies were called to a street in The Plains in response to a complaint of a suspicious person. The complainant informed deputies someone had “pounded on” their locked door before fleeing the scene in a vehicle, and the complainant had chosen to call authorities as “this has happened before.”

Although deputies patrolled the area

and documented the incident, they were unable to find anyone whose description matched that of the suspect. The suspect’s description was noted so it could be used in the future, according to the police report.

RIGS AND ROBBERY On Monday, deputies were called to a street in New Marshfield, located west of Athens, in response to an in-progress theft of a vehicle engine.

After making the initial complaint, the

HILLTOP GUN CLUB Firear m and Archer y Range Concealed Carr y Training

hilltopgunclub2@gmail.com

www.hilltopgunclub.com

CLASSIFIEDS

FREAKY FAST! FREAKY GOOD! ®

WE DELIVER! TO FIND THE LOCATION NEAREST YOU VISIT JIMMYJOHNS.COM ©2017 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

JOIN THE POST! news // culture // sports copy desk // photo // design multimedia

PRIME LOCATIONS

CONTACT EB823313@OHIO.EDU caller questioned the individuals, who said they had arranged to purchase the vehicle, and were “just now coming to pick it up.” While en route, the deputies were informed that the suspects left the scene in a truck.

When the deputies arrived, the caller told them she did not believe the suspects because she had seen two people attempting to steal from her landlord, who owns the property behind her home.

While the deputies were on the scene, the truck arrived. After speaking to its two occupants, the deputies discovered the suspects had no evidence they had purchased the vehicle.

One of the suspects was identified and asked to leave the area until proper arrangements could be made with the seller, according to the police report. No further action was taken in the case.

NOW LEASING 1-6 Bedrooms

86 North Court Street 740-594-4441 www.BobcatRentals.net

@LAUREN__FISHER LF966614@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 7

OU researchers to study natural compounds, cannabis extracts NORA JAARA FOR THE POST

R

esearchers at Ohio University will be conducting studies with the hopes of developing compounds from natural products, including extracts from cannabis and other plants that could be used for human medical conditions.

John Kopchick, a principal investigator at the Edison Biotechnology Institute who is leading the research team in the fiveyear study, said several groups are doing research on natural products for medicinal use, and his team wants to be one of them.

A license from the state and federal governments must be obtained in order to study cannabis for therapeutic uses, Shiyong Wu, the director of the Edison Biotechnology Institute and a co-investigator, said.

“We cannot just work on it," Wu said.

"We have to have a license to work on it.”

Wu is also a professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Dhiraj Vattem, the director

“

The whole market right now is not totally regulated for the nature products.”

- Dr. Shiyong Wu Directior of the Edison Biotechnology Institute of the School of Applied Health Sciences and Wellness and professor of nutrition, is also a co-investigator.

Kopchick said they plan to include cannabis in their study once the proper documentation is in place. Their applications are currently pending.

Black Elk Biotech, a subsidiary of the Westerville-based company Black Elk, awarded the university a $1.85 million contract for the research, according to a news

International

Consulting Program Tr a n s l a t e t h e o r y t o p r a c t i c e

Gain consulting experience in Athens working on international business projects

Satisfies Global Perspectives AND Internship Requirements

APPLY ONLINE! DEADLINES: Summer: April 15 Fall: July 15

www.business.ohio.edu/oicp

8 / APRIL 6, 2017

Dr. John Kopchick, left, and Dr. Shiyong Wu stand for a portrait with a plant in a lab of the Konneker Research Center on April 4. (PATRICK CONNOLLY / FOR THE POST)

release from the Office of Research Communications.

“The group over there at Edison Biotech is one of the best in the country at researching natural compounds and how they affect and cure different ailments in the human body, so that’s why we decided to go with them,” Chris Vince, a co-founder of Black Elk, said.

Kopchick said the researchers will use cells to test the activity of various plant extracts. After verifying the results of that first stage, the next step would be to move to living organisms such as mice, a type of worm or a type of fly. Moving to humans after that requires meeting "explicit criteria" outlined by the Food and Drug Administration, Kopchick added.

“The whole market right now is not totally regulated for the nature products,” Wu said. “That’s another thing — we want to try to help to have these evidence-based nature product supplements for people.”

Wu pointed to supplements containing green tea extract, which studies have suggested could lead to liver damage. Green tea extract is commonly found in herbal supplements for weight loss.

“I drink a lot of green tea, I have no problem,” Wu said. “In the capsule, it will cause problems.”

The American College of Gastroenterology issued new guidelines in 2014 regarding herbal supplements that warned of possible liver damage.

“A good thing is not necessarily good for you if you don’t take it right,” Wu said.

Vince said that both natural products and medical marijuana are under-researched. Although some states have legalized medical marijuana, its status at the federal level hasn’t changed. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, and it defines drugs under that classification as those that have no accepted medical use and have a “high potential” for abuse.

Vince said that makes it hard to research, and a lot of research on the topic occurs with the help of private funding.

“There’s not a whole lot of groups or individuals out there willing to privately fund research into marijuana because of its current federal legal status,” Vince said.

Black Elk plans to apply for licenses to cultivate and sell medical marijuana, according to the news release from the Office of Research Communications. Vince said the company was “fairly far along” in the planning process.

“We feel that we are ready, we have a group together, we have everything in place to make the applications, and our goal would be to use the proceeds from our facilities to continue to fund the research, because right now, we’re funding it out of pocket,” Vince said.

@NORAJAARA NJ342914@OHIO.EDU

Athens police officers may start wearing body cameras if city officials find room for them in the budget.

(ERICA BRECHTELSBAUER/ FILE)

Athens Police Department looking into body cameras BAILEY GALLION FOR THE POST

I

f Athens officials find room in the budget, city police officers may soon be wearing body cameras.

Athens City Councilman and local attorney Pat McGee, I-At Large, said he has been pushing for body cameras for months. He hopes cameras will clear up stories about potential misconduct by Athens Police Department officers.

“I constantly hear stories different from the police reports, and some of them include some graphic statements made by the arresting officers,” he said. “If those stories are true, I think something seriously needs to be done with the City of Athens’ training.

If they’re not true, then let it come out that it’s not true.”

McGee said his approval of Athens Mayor Steve Patterson’s annual budget was contingent on Patterson agreeing APD would deploy body cameras. Patterson said the city and police department are looking into costs.

“I have told our police chief, start looking at the costs behind getting them, and let’s move forward with them,” he said. “It’s going to be expensive, and he agrees that this is a good expense.”

The city passed a tax levy to increase revenue, but the revenue increase from that won’t come immediately. Patterson expects to reevaluate the budget by June.

“The city auditor has told us in past months, ‘You need to cut your budget,’ ” he said. “So we’re sitting here scratching our heads.”

The initial cost for the cameras could be $25,000, Patterson said, along with yearly storage and upkeep fees. APD Chief Tom

Pyle said costs to store the videos, which are subject to public records requirements, would be substantial because the department has no storage system in place.

In 2016, APD did not spend about $67,000 of its nearly $4 million budget. That money is spread across several funds, however, some of which have other designated purposes.

APD will be the second local agency to consider the cameras. The Athens County Sheriff’s Office considered body cameras in 2016, but Sheriff Rodney Smith opted to stick with dashboard cameras.

Smith said he didn’t want deputies to be recording video on two different devices and had reservations about deputies recording sensitive encounters like domestic abuse investigations. Regardless of whether APD deploys the body cameras, he doubts he will reconsider.

“For now, no, because it’s so expensive,” he said.

Ohio University Police Department Lt. Tim Ryan said his department has no immediate plans to deploy body cameras.

Pyle said he has reservations about body cameras. After the Columbus Division of Police accidentally deleted thousands of cruiser videos, he worried something similar could happen to APD’s body camera footage in the future. He worries new regulations will increase the cost for the department after it makes the financial commitment, or that legislation could render the cameras useless.

The department hasn’t made any commitment to the cameras. Members of the city and department are “gathering data and looking at it very patiently,” he said. @BAILEYGALLION BG272614@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 9

Opera goes modern to keep centuries-old tradition alive Opera turns to technology, storytelling to appeal to younger audiences

JESS UMBARGER FOR THE POST

T

hough opera’s roots go back centuries, the musical style has adapted over time so current audiences still take interest in the genre.

Operas, a type of dramatic work that combines acting and singing, have been around since the early 17th century. They aim to show emotion and drama while the performers sing in different languages.

“An opera is lyrical stage work,” Margaret Kennedy-Dygas, a professor of voice, music theory and music literature, said.

Kennedy-Dygas sang professionally for 30 years, some of which included opera.

The roots of opera come from Europe, Kennedy-Dygas said. The productions go as far back as the early 1600s.

Opera helped establish other forms of performance, such as musical theater. “(Opera) is a staged work where all of the communication is done with singing instead of talking,” Tyler Thress, a senior studying music and anthropology, said.

In much current popular music, singers use the lower parts of their voices. In opera, the singers use the higher parts of their voices to carry the sound better.

Opera singers have to go through a lot of vocal training for years, Kennedy-Dygas said. They also do not perform as often as pop singers because of how much athletic ability it takes to sing an entire opera.

“Being a famous opera singer is like being picked for the NBA,” Kennedy-Dygas said. “They tend to be singers who have the gift of the voice.”

Only a small fraction of singers are able to sing opera because of the intense training of the higher register of the voice, Kennedy-Dygas said. There are not as many opera houses left today, either.

Unlike Kennedy-Dygas, Thress believes anyone can be an opera singer.

“There is this misconception that only certain people can and should sing opera,” Thress said.

Gabby Romeo, a junior studying psychology, saw opera in the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma while studying abroad in Italy.

Romeo is especially interested in operas because she speaks Italian, which is a lan-

10 / APRIL 6, 2017

A performance at the Ridges Auditorium of “Così fan tutte” on March 25. (OHIO UNIVERSITY / PROVIDED VIA OHIO UNIVERSITY VOICE DIVISION FACEBOOK PAGE)

guage operas are often sung in. “(Being able to sing opera) is one of the coolest abilities a human being can be capable of,” Romeo said.

Aside from finding singers who can perform demanding shows, the high cost of staging operas is another constraint.

“One of the things that affects where operas are is the economy,” Kennedy-Dygas said.

In 2013, the average opera ticket for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City was $174. It can cost millions of dollars to produce an opera.

Although many people believe opera is slowly fading away, Kennedy-Dygas be-

lieves that is not the case at all.

“The genre is doing OK compared to what it is up against,” Kennedy-Dygas said.

Kennedy-Dygas recently went to an opera where the words were translated to English and projected on screen. She believes that kind of technology is what is keeping people coming back.

Thress believes there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to how people view operas.

“I think if (people) were aware of how opera is actually performed in the real world, then they would take an interest,” Thress said. “It’s not all fat tenors and powdered wigs.”

Thress emphasized how opera has changed over the years and how it has evolved for the modern times.

“People who are off-put by opera have not found a way to tell the stories that resonate with them,” Thress said.

Smaller opera houses that are more aligned with the spirit of opera rather than the rules are doing better, and the old rules and conventions are what scare people away from attending the opera, Thress said.

“At the end of the day, opera is just storytelling,” Thress said.

@JESS_UMBARGER JU992415@OHIO.EDU

English professor accused of sexual harassment requests hearing Andrew Escobedo emailed OU interim President David Descutner on Monday BAILEY GALLION FOR THE POST

O

hio University English Professor Andrew Escobedo has requested a hearing before a faculty committee to respond to the sexual harassment allegations against him.

Escobedo, who is facing detenuring and dismissal, requested the hearing in an email to interim President David Descutner at 11 a.m. Monday. After Descutner’s March 2 letter informing Escobedo he had initiated the dismissal proceedings, Escobedo had 30 days to request the hearing. Monday was the 30th day.

Escobedo’s request is one of the final stages of a process that began more than a year ago. On March 24, 2016, two female gradu-

ate students filed a complaint with the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance stating Escobedo had sexually harassed them and touched them sexually without consent. Four more complaints followed.

Investigators from the office found enough evidence that Escobedo violated university policy in four of the six cases.

According to the memorandum of findings the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance released Dec. 15 at the end of its months-long investigation, Escobedo bought female students drinks at bars and then touched them inappropriately. One woman told investigators Escobedo put his hands down her pants to touch her buttocks at an end-of-year event at Jackie O’s and forced a kiss on her at the end of the night.

Another woman said he rubbed her vagina over her clothes that same night.

The earliest incident reportedly took place in 2003. Several of the women told investigators they thought denying his advances would harm their grades or reputations.

According to the faculty handbook, Escobedo will be allowed 60 days to prepare his case before the hearing. That means the hearing may not take place until June.

The faculty committee will include all faculty senators in the third year of their terms. According to the faculty handbook, the faculty senate chair heads committees that hear cases involving dismissal of tenured professors.

Joe McLaughlin, the current chair of Faculty Senate, has been implicated in a civil rights complaint two female graduate students filed against Escobedo and the university.

Christine Adams and Susanna Hempstead argue in their complaint that McLaughlin failed to report a violation of university policy

by Escobedo when it came to his attention in 2006, allowing Escobedo’s behavior to continue. McLaughlin was chair of the English Department at the time.

McLaughlin said he will recuse himself from the hearing. He said he will request that Descutner ask the four remaining members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to

appoint a chair for the hearing committee.

“I believe that, as a member of Dr. Escobedo’s home department, it would be inappropriate for me to perform that function,” McLaughlin said in an email.

Escobedo may request the hearing to be held in open session. If he doesn’t, it will be a closed session — only he, his counsel and members of the committee will be allowed in the room, and witnesses will only be allowed in the session while they testify. The university president may also choose to attend the hearing.

After the faculty committee votes, the Ohio University Board of Trustees will review the committee’s decision and either sustain it or object to it.

Escobedo has repeatedly declined to comment on the disciplinary proceedings or the federal complaint against him. He is currently on paid administrative leave and is banned from campus.

@BAILEYGALLION BG272614@OHIO.EDU

The Global Leadership Center is accepting applications for the 2017-2018 academic year

1 2 3

}

Do you want to become a more engaged leader and build global awareness?

Do you want to tackle collaborative projects for real-world clients?

Have you always wanted to travel abroad?

If you answered "yes" to any of these, then the Global Leadership Center may be the right certificate program for you. Visit www.ohio.edu/global/glc to learn more.

CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 11

Major Fountain and children in Rendville, Perry County in 1946.

(PHOTO PROVIDED VIA EBERLY FAMILY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES)

Being

‘Affrilachian’

Those who identify as both black and Appalachian have deep history ABBEY MARSHALL STAFF WRITER

20 / APRIL 6, 2017

A

s the sun set on a cold February afternoon, 100 people gathered on and near Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium’s portico to speak out against rumors of a “resurgence” of the Ku Klux Klan in southeast Ohio.

Several speakers shared their stories to celebrate diversity in Athens and the surrounding region, one historically thought of as almost exclusively white. With an introspective rally as the backdrop, attendees wanted to prove an important point: Black lives matter, even in Appalachia.

Black people, who make up fewer than 5 percent of Athens County’s population and 9.1 percent of the Appalachian population, have long been overlooked in an impoverished region that is overwhelmingly white.

“When people say we need to fix the white problem first, you can’t fix one without fixing both,” Ada Woodson Adams, a Nelsonville resident and 1961 Ohio University graduate,

said. “When people say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ it’s a cry out that we have not been heard or seen, and we have been systematically institutionalized.”

Frank X Walker, a professor of English and African-American studies at the University of Kentucky, invented the word ‘Affrilachia’ in 1991 in response to the marginalization of black people in the region. He penned the word in a poem as a way to explain the “invisibleness” of Affrilachians.

“A lot of scholars quickly embraced the word because it allowed them to recognize that diversity had not been a large part of the conversation when we talked about the 13-state region that officially was Appalachia,” Walker said. “They embraced the word and began to recognize that they had missed something.”

White people make up 83.6 percent of the people in Appalachia in comparison to the national white population of 63.7 percent, according to 2010 U.S. Census data.

That lack of visibility creates a

stigma against black people in Appalachia, Otis Trotter, the author of Keeping Heart: A Memoir of Family Struggle, Race, and Medicine, said.

He spent a majority of his childhood in West Virginia before moving to Newcomerstown, Ohio in the ’60s, where he was subject to criticism because of his Appalachian and black roots.

“We still were looked on as black hillbillies,” he said. “They anticipated that we could be these typical black hillbillies, that we were unsophisticated and dumb.”

SEGREGATION IN OHIO Ohio’s de facto segregation was more subtle at that time than the blatant racism in the Deep South, Adams said.

“Going Uptown, we didn’t have the same places you could go and eat if you wanted to go to the restaurant with your friends, because they would turn you away,” she said.

“There was no sign, but they would tell you you weren’t welcome there.”

A more glaring and obvious form of racial discrimination were socalled “Sundown Towns,” or communities that kept out black people by law. The term was coined because the towns would sometimes have signs by their city limits stating black people must be gone by sundown. Some of those areas remain very white to this day, according to James W. Loewen’s book Sundown Towns.

“Things like that affect the psyche of people black and white,” Adams said. “It diminishes the strength of a community when you have racism.”

INTEGRATED COAL MINING TOWNS Many black people migrated from the South to Appalachia to find work in the coal mining industry, as the Deep South lacked decent paying jobs for black workers. Trotter said his family moved from Alabama to West Virginia for that reason.

“My father was recruited by coal miners,” Trotter said. “He ventured out and tried to take jobs near where he lived, but he couldn’t find a paying job, so when the recruiters came, he took (them) up on (their) offer.”

A notorious integrated coal mining town was Rendville, located in Perry County. It was established by the Ohio Coal Mining Company in 1879, made up by primarily German immigrants and black families.

Despite initial racial tensions, the

town functioned much better than other integrated communities in Appalachia with a mixed race village council, Cheryl Blosser, office coordinator for The Little Cities of Black Diamonds, said.

The Little Cities of Black Diamonds is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of coal mining regions.

“Rendville had a lot of opportunities and many other black miners moved there to work,” Blosser said in an email. “Because all of (the workers) were new and the miner owner paid the workers the same rate, some black families prospered better.”

BEING BLACK AT OHIO UNIVERSITY Though OU was relatively progressive during times of de facto segregation, problematic policies were still in place.

John Newton Templeton, a freed slave who earned his bachelor’s degree from OU in 1828, was the fourth black college graduate in the nation and first in the Midwest.

Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on College Green is named for Templeton and Martha Blackburn, the first black woman to graduate from OU in 1916.

“It is nice that OU educated (Templeton). However, there are some stains on that,” Bailey Williams, a freshman in the Templeton Scholars Program, said.

Templeton could not live in university housing with other students, so he lived in the log cabin near the Hocking River that now houses the Office of Sustainability and the Visitor Parking Registration Center.

More than 100 years later, Adams faced similar discrimination. Adams, who began her freshman year in 1957, said she could not join social sororities or fraternities during her time on campus because of the color of her skin. She also could not complete her student teaching in Athens County because OU had an agreement with local schools that they would not send black teachers to instruct students.

Adams also noted subtly segregated areas on campus. For example, black students often gathered in a room in the student center called the “Bunch of Grapes Room,” which white students nicknamed

Percent of population in the Appalachian region that is black alone, not Hispanic

NY

OH

PA MD

KY

VA

TY

NC

SC

PERCENT BLACK, 2010 less than 5 percent 5-12.1 percent

GA

MS AL

12.2-24.9 percent 25 percent or greater

DATA SOURCE: POPULATION CENSUS BUREAU, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, 2010 DECENNIAL CENSUS

the “Bunch of Apes Room.”

“We have to take the good with the bad,” Williams said. “I feel like a lot of our history gets washed down looking at the good. We have to take it for what it is and look at the good and the bad.”

Though incidents like the painting of a hanged figure on the graffiti wall in September have left a sour taste in Williams’ mouth, he said overall, he has not experienced discrimination because of the color of his skin.

“There is a good diversity blend here (at OU),” Williams said. “It’s not much, but what we do have, it’s diverse.”

RACISM IN APPALACHIA TODAY Appalachians have made significant strides, Trotter said, but negative stereotypes surrounding those who identify as both black and Appala-

chian still exist.

“There is still a negative stigma,” Trotter said.

“A lot of people tend to think about Appalachia as monolithic: They’re all white, they’re all poor.

Many people still have that perception.”

The key to true integration of the region is to understand the differences among the population, Trotter said.

“We need to highlight a variety of people (from Appalachia) that are doing well, that are educated,” he said. “You can’t overlook that there are poor people ... but you also have to try to do something to make people realize that yes, you can be poor but also intelligent and diverse.”

AM877915@OHIO.EDU @ABBEYMARSHALL THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 21

OU’s first-generation faculty assist students through shared struggles Ohio First Scholars guides first-generation students with experience TAYLOR JOHNSTON FOR THE POST

A

fter both of Diana Goins’ parents were diagnosed with different types of cancer, she found it difficult to pay her way through college.

“I had to drop out of college my first year and move back home so that I could take care of my terminally ill parents and finish raising my younger brother,” Goins, administrative assistant for the College of Health Science and Professions, said in an email.

Goins had to give up her scholarships, which made her financial situation worse, and she had trouble getting financial aid after she withdrew before finishing her full semester.

But she didn’t let those struggles keep her from graduating, and now she serves as an Ohio First Scholars advocate, a group of faculty and staff who use their experiences to help first-generation students.

To get through college, Goins worked as a waitress at least 60 hours a week so that her family could survive, and she decided to start college again but had to drop out for the second time after facing more financial problems.

“I could not afford a car when my old car blew up,” she said in an email. “So, after I started back to college, within my first year, I had to drop out again.”

After she had her daughter at 22, she had it set in her mind that nothing would stop her from finally finishing her college degree.

“I struggled, remained dedicated and pushed through,” Goins said in an email.

“I wanted to finish my college degree, and I attended four years straight and finished my Bachelor’s (at Franklin University).”

Angela Lash, associate director of the Allen Student Advising Center and director of OHIO First Scholars, was also a first-generation student at OU and said part of her job is trying to help students facing some of the obstacles she faced.

“Filing the FAFSA was hard, (my family and I) were under-informed about a lot of the financial aspects of college,” she said.

“We likened FAFSA to a college application, so there was this really big challenge 14 / APRIL 6, 2017

I faced before my sophomore year when all of a sudden I realized I had no financial aid and wouldn’t be able to come back.”

Until a couple of years ago, OU did not have a campus-wide program to support first-generation students.

“I thought this was really important,” Lash said. “I am really grateful I was given this space within my job to make some of those things happen.”

Kerri Shaw, another First Scholars advocate and a field education instructor in the department of social and public health, said the most challenging experience was visiting campuses with her mom and both of them becoming incredibly nervous and stressed.

“There was so much that was unknown,” Shaw said in an email. “My mom and I normally get along great, but I remember fighting with her from the time we left our house, all the way to Athens, when we came for orientation.”

Her parents did not want her to visit home while she was at OU during her first quarter because they wanted her to acclimate to college life.

“I didn’t take my coursework seriously my first quarter, and didn’t have anyone checking in on me regarding classes, so I did not do well academically,” Shaw said in an email. “My parents were very upset, and threatened to bring me home, if I didn’t bring up my grades. The transition was not as smooth as it could have been if I had known what to expect.”

Some advice Lash gives to her students is to not be afraid to ask questions or say that they need help.

“We all struggle sometimes, we all have questions,” she said. “As I reflect on my own experiences, I think that any of us are very used to doing things on our own and being pretty independent but also very successful.”

She said sometimes, students hit their first bumps in the road when they come to college, and it is hard to say that they are struggling or don’t know how something works.

“If they don’t know who to ask, that is why I am here, that is why my job exists,” Lash said. “You can figure those things out on your own, but you don’t have to.”

@TF_JOHNSTON TJ369915@OHIO.EDU

Angela Lash, director of the Allen Student Advising Center’s OHIO First Scholars program, sits in her office in Baker University Center on March 27. Lash was a first generation student when she was stdying at OU. (LAILA RIAZ / FOR THE POST)

Grocery store to help alleviate ‘food desert’ New Vinton grocery aims to solve issue of residents driving an hour for fresh food BENNETT LECKRONE FOR THE POST

W

hen residents of McArthur heard a new grocery store was moving into town, it meant more to them than just fresh

produce.

For more than three years, about 1,700 people of the small village in Vinton County had to drive nearly 60 miles — more than an hour round trip — to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

In December, the Finance Fund Capital Corporation, which funds nonprofits and community initiatives, announced it would be giving Campbell’s Market, a family food chain with locations in Zanesville and Duncan Falls, more than $1.5 million to build a 12,000-square-foot new store at 636-698 W. Main St. in McArthur. It was a decision that was lauded by members of the community, and the store is expected to open in August, and broke ground March 20.

“It’s just great because it’s been a hardship on everybody,” Vinton County Commissioner Tim Eberts said.

The Vinton County Commissioners spent more than three years trying to convince a food store to move into Vinton County. Ebert said most chains wouldn’t even consider their offer due to Vinton’s low population of about 13,000.

“No one was interested,” Ebert said. “Most places want you to have a population of 30 to 50,000 in that town.“ Even workers at competing businesses praised the new grocery store. Joye Bobb, a worker at McArthur’s R & C Quick Stop, said the closeness of fresh produce would benefit everyone.

“They’ll sell different things than we do,” Bobb said. “This way, we won’t have to go out of town for a head of lettuce.”

But not all residents of Vinton County will have access to the new grocery store. Some, like Ashely Riegel, who lives near Wilkesville, more than 20 miles along country roads south of McArthur, will still have to drive nearly a half hour for food.

Riegel, who directs McArthur’s St. Francis Outreach Center, a food pantry and clothing center, said residents who live outside of the village are faced with inflated prices at gas stations and dollar stores.

“I either pay $4 in gas to get $2 milk, or get it here for $4,” Riegel said.

Not all residents have the luxury of a car to get food. Riegel said the Outreach Center

Vinton County has been without a grocery store since 2013. Residents have to travel to other counties to shop for produce, but many people get their packaged goods at local dollar stores. (ALEX DRIEHAUS / DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)

has mobile units that drive into the county to serve more than 100 Vinton County families in need of food and clothing every week.

She estimated that up to 60 percent of Vinton County residents don’t have cars.

“Most people don’t have reliable transportation at all,” She said.

Without a vehicle and with a distant commute, many residents of Vinton County are living in one of Appalachia’s numerous food deserts.

The Food Empowerment Project, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about healthy food choices, defines food deserts as “geographic areas where residents’ access to affordable, healthy food options (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) is restricted or nonexistent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient traveling distance.”

That lack of fresh food leaves residents living in food deserts with few options for shopping. According to an American Nutrition Association article by Mari Gallagher, an expert on food deserts, that can lead to residents only buying cheap junk food.

“While food deserts are often short on whole food providers, especially fresh fruits

“

They’ll sell different things than we do. This way, we won’t have to go out of town for a head of lettuce.”

Ebert said he hopes the new store will increase business in McArthur.

“I’m hoping businesses will begin to come back,” Ebert said. “If people go out of town, they get into that pattern. I hope they stay right here in McArthur to do their shopping.”

@LECKRONEBENNETT BL646915@OHIO.EDU

- Joy Bobb, worker at McArthur’s R&C Quick Stop and vegetables, instead, they are heavy on local quickie marts that provide a wealth of processed, sugar and fat laden foods that are known contributors to our nation’s obesity epidemic,” Gallagher said in the report.

Unhealthy options are abundant in Vinton County, Riegel said. She noted an abundance of pizza places throughout the small county.

Homegrown options made through community gardens or sustenance farming can help people sustain their families, according to a previous Post report.

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 15

LAUGHING Ohio University comics get more than just laughs out of performing comedy on stage TONY WOLFE SENIOR WRITER

S

tudents and parents fill up chairs as Daniel Brenner, a freshman studying music production, works through his material during Ohio University’s Moms Weekend. It is Saturday night in the Bobcat Student Lounge, the night of the week that gives a chance for Blue Pencil Comedy members, as well as new faces, to try out material on an open mic, and this particular Saturday is no different.

Brenner’s subject matter differs, however, from those who precede and follow him on stage.

Brenner is talking about cancer.

“I think I brought it up at one of my first shows,” Brenner said. “I made my joke that I was a cancer survivor, and that’s the reason I’m so short and look like a Hobbit.”

Brenner was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 4 years old and relapsed again when he was 8.

Even for years after Brenner had recovered, he avoided bringing those times up to people whenever possible. He didn’t like the way he seemed to be treated differently by those who knew what he’d been through.

“For the longest time, I kept to myself about it, mostly because I was always treated kind of with gloves and treated as fragile, even after the whole process was over,” Brenner said. “But being on stage and making jokes about it, it kind of softens the whole thing and makes it easier to deal with. It’s been a great experience, it’s really helped me build my self-confidence.”

Brenner’s story is distinct, but his motivation to perform isn’t unlike what drives

16 / APRIL 6, 2017

Ryan Harroff, a freshman studying journalism, poses for a portrait in Baker Theater on April 5. (LAUREN MODLER / FOR THE POST)

many young comedians to the stage.

While many make the initial leap toward stand-up for the purpose of emulating comics they’d watched growing up and sharing their perspective with others, many also find it to be a chance to talk through hardships they might not feel comfortable addressing offstage. That could mean anything from

opening up about a trying time from one’s past to using humor to deal with ongoing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

From 3 Mics, a Netflix comedy special from Chappelle’s Show co-creator Neal Brennan which was released in January, to actor and comedian Chris Gethard’s Career Suicide one-man show set to air

on HBO in May, some nationally known comics have begun a trend of using the stage to shed light on darker subjects and turn them into topics that are OK to laugh at.

It doesn’t take a comic with a national tour schedule to use stand-up comedy to deal with personal struggles, though. Comedians on campus at OU can achieve the same benefit, even without attempting to tackle those serious subjects on stage.

“When you’re faced with things that make you sad all the time, you just want to laugh,” Emily Pyle, the vice president of Blue Pencil Comedy, said. “So you look for ways to see things in a funnier way. For me personally, when I’m feeling sad, the thing that makes me happy is to make other people laugh. … So it really has helped me cope a lot with my own anxiety issues.”

The effect that being on stage has on the performer is different from person to person. While some performers, such as freshman Rachel Bishop, say they don’t notice an impact on the way they think and behave off stage, Brenner said it has helped him make real progress from being the much more shy person he was when he arrived on campus in the fall.

“Offstage I do this thing where I feel like a spaceman, almost,” Bishop, who is studying commercial photography, said.

“Like, I’m just visiting a situation and there’s all these people in front of me, and I’m not a part of it. When I get around this community of people that I’m comfortable with, and it’s something I love doing, and it’s something they love doing, I feel more grounded.”

Some comedians show less hesitation to dig into darker topics on stage but then face the challenge of attempting to get a laugh while tackling more serious subjects. They can find help in doing so during pitch meetings before shows, when everyone from full-time members

Rachel Bishop, a freshman studying commercial photography, poses for a portrait in Baker Theater on April 5. (LAUREN MODLER / FOR THE POST)

to first-timers come together to bounce joke ideas off each other.

During those meetings, comics will tweak jokes in areas such as delivery, word choice and the number of words used to tell it. It’s also a chance for comedians to evaluate what exactly they want their audience to laugh at and what they’re trying to say with the joke.

“A lot of people are really invested in having the time and space to talk things out,” Peter Vilardi, a former Blue Pencil member who graduated in spring 2016, said. “There was a few times in college when I would go through some crappy situations and I would be like, ‘I can’t wait to tell this to the group because I know I’ll get a killer joke out of it.’ I think it’s really therapeutic.”

That comfort of coming to the group

with a bad situation and being able to come away with a different perspective is good example of the community that comedy groups at OU foster with one another.

Newcomers to the comedy landscape are welcomed and encouraged from the beginning and have many chances to break into other comedic endeavors on campus. In addition to Blue Pencil Comedy, OU also has improv groups and special events, such as the women’s show that took place on Moms Weekend, which donated proceeds to domestic violence agency My Sister’s Place.

“If standup comedy has therapeutic value, I think it’s the result of writing rather than performing,” Mark Schatz, professor emeritus of psychology at OU’s Zanesville campus, said in an email.

“Writing, especially writing humor about

“

When you’re faced with things that make you sad all the time, you just want to laugh.”

- Emily Pyle, vice president of Blue Pencil Comedy

painful events, provides perspective. By putting life into perspective, humor is a natural pain buffer.”

There’s a saying that goes “comedy is tragedy plus time,” but that’s not to say tragedy is a part of every good comedian’s material, nor is it every comic’s mo-

tivation for being on stage. That doesn’t change the fact that every comedian can bring their own stories and challenges to an audience and come away with a perspective they didn’t have before.

“I think it’s a certain aspect of control,” Chrissy Grieshop, a junior studying political science, said. “When you’re on stage, you have five minutes of perfect control that the entire audience has to listen to.

In my personal experience, I think telling stories that are really close to me make it a little bit better and easier to think about because then you have those good memories associated with it.”

@_TONYWOLFE_ AW987712@OHIO.EDU

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 17

A passion for BBQ excellence Barbecuing meat in Athens allows for modern experimentation with traditional techniques ALEX DARUS CULTURE EDITOR

L

earning recipes and cooking techniques was much different for Alfonso Contrisciani when he was an up-and-coming chef.

“A lot of the old techniques I have, they were honors,” Contrisciani said. “I earned them. I had to work 90 to 100 hours a week for a chef to give me a recipe or a formula. … Nowadays the information is all there (online).”

Contrisciani, who is the executive director of food and beverage operations at Hocking College and a certified master chef, is involved in the process of creating almost any meat dish from start to end — he raises pigs, butchers, brines, cures, smokes and grills. He learned the best from training under master chefs who are not around anymore. Now, passing on his skills to a younger generation is more than just a way for him to make a living — but a drive to teach others.

“We can’t take anything with us (when we die),” Contrisciani said. “The only thing that’s really important in a man or a woman’s life is the legacy that they leave behind. And I think it’s my duty to teach and to pass the information on.”

Many people who have a passion for meat start out with a curiosity for creating their own food. As technology advances, and there is more of a need to be sustainable, barbecuers are experimenting now more than ever with what kinds of food to put on the grill.

John Gambill and Tony Bunce first got into smoking meat out of a general interest in cooking on a regular Weber Smokey Mountain grill. The owners of Historic BBQ in Lebanon, Gambill and Bruce opened their business in 2010 and have competed in numerous competitions cooking on many different kinds of grills and smokers. There is not one cooker that is superior, as different smokers that use different fuels — such as wood, pellet or charcoal — create diverse flavor profiles in the food.

“There’s no right way or wrong way to do it, that’s the great thing that we love about barbecue,” Gambill said.

Sean Kiser, a co-owner of Kiser’s Barbeque, started barbecuing on the side while attending OU and his interest developed into a full-blown business plan. Kiser’s is the only barbecue place in Athens that actually smokes their meat, Kiser said.

“People here in Athens … didn’t really know what barbecue was. It’s not just putting barbecue sauce on something and calling it barbecue,” Kiser said.

The big trend among chefs now is sustainability and using every part of the animal in cooking. Also, buying

18 / APRIL 6, 2017

Scott Sartoski, an employee at Kiser’s Barbeque at 1002 E. State St., cuts up pork after taking it out of the smoker. Kiser’s uses fresh local meat and smokes its meat overnight in the store. (CARL FONTICELLA / PHOTO EDITOR)

“

It’s not just putting barbecue sauce on something and calling it barbecue.”

- Sean Kiser, co-owner of Kiser’s Barbeque fresh produce and food staples can help a person live a healthier life. Contrisciani strongly urges everyone to evaluate what they are consuming and know where it is coming from.

“When you go out to eat at a restaurant, you put your health into the hands of whoever is in the back of that kitchen,” Contrisciani said. “When you go to a grocery store and you select a product off the shelf, you’re putting your health into that manufacturer’s hands.”

Because Kiser started experimenting with smoking without extensive training, he knows the importance of trial and error for amateur smokers. However, he encourages people who are interested to keep trying be-

cause the finished product is so rewarding, even after a person masters the craft.

“I’ve had the business open for almost eight years, and each time I pull the car up and get out of the car and smell the smoke … it never gets old,” Kiser said. “It’s always like, ‘Man that smells good.’ ” Gambill and Bunce also encourage barbecue enthusiasts to experiment with what they are putting on the grill. In the past, they have smoked burgers and meatballs but said you can really try to smoke anything.

“A lot of young people are bringing different experience too … (and) they’re not afraid to try,” Gambill said.

“I’m a big fan of anybody that’s trying to (experiment with smoking).”

However, it is hard to beat the classic flavor of traditional beef on a smoker.

“I’m a brisket fan. I like eating brisket, so I would say that’s probably one of my favorites to cook,” Bunce said.

“It’s hard to beat a well-cooked brisket and burnt ends.”

@_ALEXDARUS AD019914@OHIO.EDU

Wrestling coach Joel Greenlee celebrates 20th season at Ohio MATT PARKER FOR THE POST

W

earing a dress shirt and slacks, coach Joel Greenlee is red in the face, his famous mustache curled over his lip.

He’s having a heated discussion with an official in Ohio’s last home dual against American. This isn’t the first time it happened in the span of his 20 years at the helm of the Bobcats, nor will it be his last.

The reason for the confrontation, however, was to protect his one and only senior, KeVon Powell, wrestling in what would be his last match of his career.

Throughout the years at Ohio, Greenlee’s wrestlers have been his second family.

And to him, family is everything.

BEFORE OHIO Although he’s been in Athens for 20 years, Greenlee established his roots in the small town of Waverly, Iowa.

In his senior year at Waverly-Shell Rock, Greenlee won the Iowa state title and found himself on his way to wrestle at Northern Iowa.

“When I first got there, they were good, not great,” Greenlee said. “I wanted to make them great.”

In the 1986-87 season, the freshman went 20-0 in dual meets to start off his collegiate career. The heavyweight never lost a match in a dual meet and compiled a record of 58-0-3 — both of which are still records today.

Greenlee was a two-time All-American, thanks to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Tournament in 1988 and the runner-up spot in 1989.

When the wrestling career ended, the coaching began, and in 1989-90, he went from teammate to coach for a vast majority of people involved with Northern Iowa wrestling at the time.

While many good things happened at UNI, perhaps Greenlee’s favorite was being able to coach his brother.

“I won’t say we never had our points of conflict at times, but overall it was a lot of fun.” Greenlee said.

OHIO The state of Iowa was home for Greenlee. It was comfortabl, and it wasn’t new.

The 1997-98 season marked when he would leave home. Leaving Iowa and all its 19 / APRIL 6, 2017

Jeremy Johnson, left, and head coach Joel Greenlee, right, celebrate a win over Kent State at The Convo on Jan. 24, 2014. Greenlee recently finished his 20th season coaching Ohio’s wrestling team. (ISAAC HALE / FILE)

memories behind, he set to build up and create his own wrestling program at Ohio.

“Northern Iowa wrestling was pretty dang important to students, the school, the whole town,” Greenlee. “Here it was, ‘Hey, we have a wrestling team and some other sports.’ ” With the challenge of making Ohio into more than just a university with a program, he looked into his past.

“I came here where there were some tough and talented kids, but it wasn’t a year-round thing,” Greenlee said.

The amount of success that came the Bobcats’ way under his first year was unprecedented.

They won the Mid-American Conference regular season title with a 5-0 record.

Greenlee also coached the Bobcats’ first individual national champion in 10 years, Dwight Gardner (158 lbs). The team finished ninth in the National Championships.

It wasn’t until the 2000-01 season when the team success struck again. In just his fourth year, Greenlee’s squad went on to win the MAC Tournament, the program’s 15th overall and first since 1997.

While team success has been up and down, he has had many wrestlers achieve individual success.

In 20 years, he has led four wrestlers to nine individual MAC Championships, most recently with sophomore Shakur Laney.

Along with the champions, he has had over 20 NCAA qualifiers and multiple wrestlers reach All-American status, with the most recent being Cody Walters in 2015.

While it’s safe to say Greenlee has changed the Bobcats program for the better, Athens itself has seen change — and it has changed him too.

“When I first moved here, there was no Walmart, there was no Lowe’s, no Texas Roadhouse, and now it’s all here,” he said.

In the earlier years, when it came choosing between taking one of his kids on a play-date or talking to recruits on the phone, he said he chose the latter.

“There’s a time for work and there’s a time for family. It’s all about finding that balance,” Greenlee said.

As he sits at his desk, the once-jet black hair that came to Athens 20 years ago shines a glistening gray. Twenty years is a long time for anything. But to him, it’s gone faster than the blink of an eye.

He doesn’t know what his future will be like. Another 20 years? More MAC and NCAA Champions?

But what he does know is that for the time being, he is here to stay.

@MPARKER_5 MP109115@OHIO.EDU

Fielding diversity In a predominantly white institution, black players say race is not an issue in athletics CAMERON FIELDS / FOR THE POST

W

hen Sam McKnight was looking at attending college, his coach at Ginn Academy, an all-

boys public school in Cleveland, told him that Ohio University was split in terms of race. // “I really didn’t even know about (Ohio),” McKnight said. “My coach told me it was like 5050.” // But not exactly. // During the spring 2016, 4.87 percent of 38,651 students enrolled were black. Those low numbers are expected, particularly because Ohio is a predominantly white institution. // But McKnight and other black players on the football team were not concerned about coming to a campus that didn’t have a lot of people who looked like them. // Despite the potential challenges of being a black student-athlete at a predominantly white school, McKnight and others on the team have adjusted well. // “It’s not really different to me,” McKnight said.

Freshman safety Javon Hagan and freshman defensive lineman Sam McKnight pose for a portrait after practice in the Walter Fieldhouse. (EMMA HOWELLS / PHOTO EDITOR)

20 / APRIL 6, 2017

ADJUSTING WITH THE TEAM Javon Hagan, a native of Jacksonville, Florida, wasn’t worried about going to college in Athens, a markedly less diverse area than his hometown.

He was just concentrated on playing football for Ohio, along with getting a good education. He didn’t want to dwell about the lack of diversity in town. And as a noticeable figure, he didn’t want to worry about the parties or bars on Court Street, either.

A member of Omega Psi Phi, a predominantly black fraternity on campus, Hagan has good distractions around him: his fraternity, and most importantly, his football team.

“On weekends, I’m never here in Athens,” Hagan said. “I just leave. I either go to Columbus or go to Cleveland with my fraternity brothers.”

Though Hagan has obligations outside of playing football, his place on the team is important. The team is more diverse than the university. Despite the low number of blacks on campus, black players on the team – or anyone on the team – are not uncomfortable.

Because for the most part, players on the team hang out with one another.

“Rarely unless they’re in class, they’re pretty much with their team,” wide receivers coach Dwayne Dixon said. “(The) team is pretty diverse.”

With the team’s diversity, the players aren’t shocked. When the players are with their teammates, they feel comfortable, their race not being noticed.

One way the Bobcats ease the transition for all players – not just black or other players of color – is by having a unity council. Each position group has two players as leaders. The leaders help new players adjust and tell them the team’s core values and expectations. The unity council helps the team maintain its cohesiveness.

Aside from the unity council helping the team stay together, Ohio has been welcoming toward recruits. The Bobcats haven’t struggled to persuade black players to come to a school that isn’t as diverse as some of their hometowns.

“The guys who want to have success, you go where you can have success and got a chance to get on the field,” Dixon said.

When freshman wide receiver Cameron Odom was being recruited to Ohio, he wasn’t concerned about the school’s lack of diversity. He felt like he belonged.

“We all treat each other like we’re the same color,” Odom said. “We’re brothers, so you never get any of that diversity mix within the team.”

Javon Hagan returns a interception against Kent State at Dix Field.

(MATT STARKEY / FILE)

ADJUSTING TO CAMPUS Though players like Odom and Hagan enjoy the unity of their team, life on campus is different.

Sure, the football players can be together on campus, too, but at some point, even teammates have to break away from each other.

That’s why Hagan is never here on weekends. If he stays, he could be distracted, potentially succumbing

You gotta be able to adapt to the circumstances if you want to have success in your life.”

- Dwayne Dixon, wide receivers coach

to the party culture.

He doesn’t want to have to deal with drunk people on Court Street.

“You never know what could happen if someone was to just throw up on you or something like that,” Hagan said. “You never know how you would react.”

As a football player, he knows that people pay more attention to him and others on the team. Skin color does not matter in situations where a football player is out on a Saturday night.

They aren’t regular college students. Most regular college students can drink whenever and not receive criticism. But athletes are criticized if they drink at all.

“If I’m like out somewhere at a party, I can’t be acting crazy and everything,” defensive lineman Keith Key said. “I can’t be acting crazy in public because everybody knows ‘Oh, that’s a football player.’ ” Key is a member of Omega Psi Phi as well, and part of his adjustment involves being active in black student organizations.

When he’s not with his team, he’s not trying to indulge in the party culture, either.

“It’s really good to be involved with the black people here because you don’t want to get too involved in the modern culture,” Key said.

The black student organizations on campus are in place so marginalized groups are properly represented. The organizations exist so black people and other minorities have a voice on campus.

Hagan said Omega Psi Phi recently had a women’s appreciation event. The fraternity also has an event that will be held April 17 called “Men of Black Excellence,” which will award black men who are succeeding in the classroom.

The adjustment the black players have made isn’t something to ignore, but it’s also not something to dwell on.

Playing football and achieving in the classroom is Hagan and others’ sole focus. But players like Hagan are also focused on not losing sight in a college town that is full of distractions.

Being black only matters to a point.

“You gotta be able to adapt to the circumstances if you want to have success in your life,” Dixon said. “Everything is not going to be the way you always thought it would be.”

@CAMERONFIELDS_ CF710614@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 21

the weekender Two up-and-coming acoustic musicians, OU students to play Donkey stage Saturday

Two singersongwriters and OU students will perform Saturday night at Donkey Coffee & Espresso ALEX MCCANN FOR THE POST Singer-songwriter Megan Wren didn’t actually start writing her own songs until December — it was just the next step in her music career.

Wren has always been deeply immersed in music. During elementary and middle school in Loveland, she sang in choir. At age 11, she picked up the guitar and taught herself to play. Her parents, neither of them musicians themselves, witnessed her passion for the instrument and signed her up for lessons at Buddy Roger’s Music in nearby Cincinnati.

“When your kid attaches to something, (the parents) support it,” Wren said.

Now Wren, a sophomore studying music production and audio engineering, is taking her acoustic music to a new level. Alongside fellow OU student Emma Schultz, Wren will perform at Donkey Coffee and Espresso, 17 1/2 W. Washington St., on Saturday evening.

Wren said she had no real reason for starting to write her own music. She said it 22 / APRIL 6, 2017

just felt right.

“It’s really starting to take shape now,” she said.

Wren previously only played acoustic covers of her influences — classic rock icons like The Beatles and Queen, and folk favorites like Ryan Adams and Nikki Lane — but she now blends her own songs together with others’.

The Beatles especially impacted Wren, who grew up listening to the “Fab Four.”

“They’re kind of addicting, the more you learn about them,” Wren said of the band.

Wren has covered a variety of The Beatles’ music, ranging from the tranquil “Let It Be” to the exuberant “Yellow Submarine,” but no song has made as much of an impact as “Imagine,” released in 1971 by former Beatles member John Lennon. Wren said when she first began to perform “Imagine” in high school, audience members would thank her after the show for playing it.

“That song has meant so much to people,” Wren said.

Wren and Schultz, a sophomore studying media and social change, both grew up in the Cincinnati area, but the two did not meet until just before their freshman year at Ohio University. The two women were in a group message together with other students from the School of Media Arts & Studies and met in classes that year.

Saturday is not the first

Megan Wren will perform at Donkey Coffee and Espresso with Emma Schultz on Saturday at 8 p.m.

(MEGAN WREN / PROVIDED)

time the two acoustic singers will perform on the same bill — the pair performed together over the summer at SharonFest in Sharonville. “(Wren’s) a really cool person and a great musician, and it’s really great to play with her,” Schultz said.

Schultz only recently began performing above the amateur level. Saturday’s show will be her second performance in Athens — her first was at an open mic night.

Like Wren, Schultz’s mu-

sic focuses on acoustic guitar and is heavily influenced by folk.

“I guess you could say ‘singer-songwriter,’ but I don’t really like that term,” she said of her music.

Schultz is only starting out and is just beginning to write her own songs, though she covers everything from the Avett Brothers to PWR BTTM. Her next step is to write more music.

Wren isn’t sure what her next step is, though she

is aiming to release an extended play before she graduates.

“If I can make a career from music … that would be the best,” she said.

Wren said she feels that all musicians want a career, though.

“Everybody wants to be a musician, everybody wants to tour,” she said.

Still, Wren played more shows last year than ever, and she doesn’t plan on stopping soon.

IF YOU GO WHAT: Megan Wren and Emma Schultz WHEN: 8 p.m., Saturday WHERE: Donkey Coffee & Espresso, 17 1/2 W. Washington St. ADMISSION: $3 “If it keeps going, no complaints,” she said.

@ALEXMCCANN21 AM622914@OHIO.EDU

WHAT’S GOING ON? ALEX MCCANN FOR THE POST

Friday Nadje Noordhuis with Ohio University Jazz Faculty & Guests and Jazz Ensemble 7:30 p.m. at ARTS/West, 132 W. State St. Accompanied by jazz faculty and students from Ohio University, Australian-born trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis will open the 2017 Athens Jazz Festival. Noordhuis, now based in Brooklyn, combines classical, jazz and world music styles. Admission: free.

The Wild Honeybees 8:30 p.m. at The Union Bar & Grill, 18 W. Union St. Athens-based New Orleans-style blues group The Wild Honeybees “have come out of hibernation” to perform at The Union. The nine-piece band certainly will get feet moving.

Admission: $6, $3 with student ID. Jake Dunn & The Blackbirds 10 p.m. at The Smiling Skull Saloon, 108 W. Union St. Americana band Jake Dunn & The Blackbirds is set to perform its first ever show at The Smiling Skull Saloon on Friday night. Admission: $3.

Saturday tRAC Color Blast 5K 9 a.m. at TailGreat Park. The Residents’ Action Council, or tRAC will host a 5K walk and run to raise money for the CASA/GAL program, which campaigns for neglected and abused children. Admission: $20 in advance, $25 day of, $15 in advance for each member of a group of four or more.

Little Fish Brewing Company Bottle Release 12 p.m. at Little Fish Brewing Company, 8675 Armitage Rd. Local microbrewery Little Fish Brewing Company will release three new beers Saturday.

The beers are Learn’d Astronomer, a sour raspberry ale aged in a wine barrel, Runcible Spoon, a blonde ale aged in a wine barrel for a year, and Strhubarb Reinheitsgewhat!?, a wheat ale made with strawberries, rhubarb and spices.

Admission: free, drinks for sale.

Ohio is Home Grand Opening Celebration with Red Tail Design Co. 12 p.m. at Ohio is Home, 94 Columbus Road, C11. Ohio-oriented apparel shop Ohio is Home will celebrate both its new storefront and its second anniversary Saturday afternoon. A red-tailed hawk named Naaka-Hay is schedule to visit from the Ohio Wildlife Center.

Local food trucks Hot Potato and Athenie Weenie will be present from 1:30 p.m. on. Admission: free, food and drinks for sale.

April Contra Dance 7:30 p.m. at ARTS/West, 132 W. State St. The Athens Area Contra Dance nonprofit group will host another iteration of a contra dance, a traditional folk dance. Admission: $7, $3 with student ID, $15 per family, kids 10 and under free.

Acoustic Jazz Night with music from John Horne 8 p.m. at Athens Uncorked, 14 Station St. Athens Uncorked regular John Horne is set to return to the wine bar Saturday night. Horne, an acoustic guitarist, is an adjunct professor of guitar and jazz studies at OU and a local guitar tutor. Admission: free, drinks for sale.

Jim Wachtel and Just Gigs 8 p.m. at West End Cider House, 234 W. Washington St. Singer-songwriter and pianist Jim Wachtel will join regular collaborators Just Gigs at West End Cider House on Saturday night. Admission: free, drinks for sale.

Beau Nishimura, taproom manager at Little Fish Brewery, a local microbrewery, pours a beer during an event Jan. 12, 2016. (PATRICK CONNOLLY / FILE)

Official Athens International Film and Video Festival Afterparty: “Sounds from the Underground,” with music from Aaron Michael Butler & the Ohio Percussion Collective; Us, Today and DJ Barticus 9 p.m. at The Union Bar & Grill, 18 W. Union St. To round out the 44th Athens International Film and Video Festival, The Union will host three artists in a free show Saturday night. OU alumnus and local musician Aaron Michael Butler will be accompanied by the Ohio Percussion Collective. Next is Cincinnati-based rock group Us, Today, and then local mainstay DJ Barticus will spin some records to end the night. Admission: free, drinks for sale.

African Dance Night 10 p.m. at Casa Nueva, 6 W. State St. The OU African Students Union will host a night full of African music and dancing. Admission: $2 for ages 18-20, $5 for ages 21+.

Sunday Athens Beautification Day 2017 8 a.m. at College Green. The 13th annual Athens Beautification Day is Sunday and will likely once again be the biggest day of community service in Athens all year. Admission: free.

Trivia Night 5 p.m. at Little Fish Brewing Company, 8675 Armitage Road. Eight rounds of trivia will determine who will receive a voucher for a free beer at Little Fish Brewing Company.

Admission: free, food and drinks for sale.

A cappella Invitational 8 p.m. at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. Several of OU’s leading a cappella groups will perform Sunday night, including the Ohio University Leading Tones, the Picardy Thirds, the Tempo Tantrums, New Chords on the Block, Title IX and Section Eight. Admission: free, donations accepted.

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 23

June 1-3 2017

Over 25 Bands on 4 Stages!

KARL DENSON’S TINY UNIVERSE TWIDDLE The MAin Squeeze Big Something Spiritual Rez Save $10 Off Tickets!

Promo Code: OUPOST

MountainMusicFestWV.com • 877.382.5893

24 / APRIL 6, 2017