MQ Issue 4 May 2021 by Miami Quarterly

MQ May 2021

Embodying Love and Honor:

Miami’s Sikh Student Association honors the victims of the Indianapolis shooting

Uplifting Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices: Oxford women speak out against Asian hate

The Secret to Oxford’s Newest Deli and Bar: What lies behind the Secret Elephant’s success?

Inside a COVID-19 Vaccine Trial:

A Miami student chooses to participate in a clinical trial

Miami Quarterly Contents

MQ Magazine

May 2021

OXFORD LIFE 06

The Secret to Oxford’s Newest Deli and Bar

Catching Up with the Commuters

Traveling Trials: Part II

FEATURE 15

Oxford’s Focus on Drug Rehabilitation

Where are they Now?

Inside a COVID-19 Vaccine Trial with Participant 0228

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION 25

Uplifting Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices

Embodying Love and Honor

Who is Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins?

A Look Into the Future with ASG Presidents Past and Present

OPINION 34

The Importance of Creativity

Stepping Stones

cover photo: Bo Brueck MQ Magazine

Editor’s Letter

MQ Staff Editor-in-Chief Leanne Stahulak Business Manager Morgan Schneider Art Director Lucy Greaney Photo Editor Bo Brueck Feature/Digital Editor Emily Scott Opinion Editor Ethan Icarus O’Brien-Scheffer Writers Alicia Graham Britt Graves Haley Griffin Claire Lordan Alison MacGillivray Anna Moellenbeck Heather Rolfert Maya Stoffer Photographers Duncan Platt Jake Ruffer Designers Alicia Graham Emily Scott Head Copy Editors Sydney Hill Brianna Porter Faculty Adviser Patricia Gallagher Newberry

MQ Magazine

Dear MQ readers, It’s mind boggling to think that in just a few days, I’ll be donning my cap and gown, stepping across that stage and leaving Miami and the college life behind. It almost feels like graduation is happening to another person, that in three months I’ll be back on campus once again, already registered for classes and ordering textbooks. But that stage in my life is coming to an end, whether I like it or not. It doesn’t matter that these four years swept by in a blink, or that my senior year was hijacked by a global pandemic. All that matters is that I take the lessons Miami has taught me and put them to good use moving forward.

Lordan explores the background of the class of ‘21 commencement speaker, Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins. And on page 32, Feature Editor Emily Scott speaks with outgoing ASG president Jannie Kamara and President-Elect Madelyn Jett about their vision for the future of Miami. Emily also shadowed a care coordinator who works to connect drug users in Oxford and Hamilton with the best treatment for them on page 15 of our Feature section. On page 18, Alicia Graham caught up with Miami journalism grads who are now working in top newsrooms across the country. And Haley Griffin explores what it’s like to be a participant in a clinical COVID-19 vaccine trial on page 20.

And yet, it’s sad and terrifying to think that those lessons are finished, and that the next education I’ll receive will be in the real world while living my adult life. Part of me is reluctant to let Miami go, but a bigger part of me recognizes that this change will ultimately be for the good.

I kick off our Oxford Life section on page 6 with a look at the popular new bar and restaurant in Oxford, The Secret Elephant. On page 8, Heather Rolfert breaks down the life of a Miami commuter student, and on page 10, our three study abroad writers are back with a look at their adventures and struggles halfway through their semesters.

If I’d remained stagnant all four years of college and never pushed myself to grow, I wouldn’t have made the friends I have. I wouldn’t have fostered relationships with fantastic professors. I wouldn’t have become the editor-in-chief for this incredible magazine.

In our Opinion section, Opinion Editor Ethan Icarus O’Brien-Scheffer contemplates how we can foster more creativity in ourselves on page 34, and I reflect on the senior year experiences that have shaped me this year on page 36.

I’m so proud to see my last issue of MQ tackle such important topics and issues as they also pertain to change — changes not only in our institutions and communities, but also in ourselves. We all have steps we can take to embrace the change in our lives and channel it for the better. Alison MacGillivray leads our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion section on page 24 with stories from Asian American and Pacific Islander women in Oxford who are using their voices to champion other AAPI community members and their struggles. Photo Editor Bo Brueck follows up on page 28 with emotional photos from the candlelight vigil held by the Miami University Sikh Student Association after the Indianapolis shooting. On page 31, Claire

After three years of working with this magazine and its incredible staff, I’m crushed to have to say goodbye so soon. But I’m also so proud of the work we’ve done all year, and I know that our editorial team next year will do so many great things with MQ. A big thank you to Emily, Lucy, Ethan, Bo, Morgan and Hannah for everything they’ve done to make this magazine the best it can be. And thank you too, dear reader, for sticking by our side through all this. We couldn’t do what we do without you, and I hope you enjoy what’s coming next. Take care,

A moment with the staff! Now that people are getting vaccinated and things are starting to open up again, what’s one thing you couldn’t do last summer that you can’t wait to do this year?

Leanne Stahulak

Ethan Icarus O’Brien-Scheffer

Go to King’s Island or another amusement park. I never realized that I tend to go on some kind of roller coaster adventure at least once a year, and now it’s been almost two years since I’ve done any kind of thrill ride. I’m ready to scream my head off and get that adrenaline rush.

Haley Griffin

I cannot wait to go to the pool! I love being outdoors in the sun, but a lot of the traditional summer activities were closed last year. I’m also excited to be able to have bonfires with my neighbors again where we are not all yelling at each other while six feet apart.

Work! It sounds crazy, but last summer was rough for a lot of people who lost work or had internships canceled. I am lucky to have a full-time internship this summer with an awesome company, and I can’t wait to get started!

Maya Stoffer

Claire Lordan

Going out to eat with my group of friends! Last summer, I was able to safely see some of my friends individually and have Facetime group hangouts. However, I am really looking forward to getting to hang out with all of them over some great food.

Heather Rolfert

Emily Scott

Lucy Greaney

Travel without the fear of spreading COVID! I was evacuated from Kenya where I was studying abroad last spring and I don’t think I’ll be able to make it back to Africa this summer, but that is definitely on my bucket list. This summer, I plan to visit friends in Colorado, Washington DC, Florida and California.

Volunteer. Before COVID hit last summer, I planned on going to the Animal Adoption Foundation to help with socializing the cats. Of course, I wasn’t sure if a small place like them would allow volunteers to come in. I hope to be able to see some cats this summer. Maybe even see some kittens!

I plan on going on vacation with my mom to some historical places, as well as the Outer Banks which is one of my favorite places to be. I love the beach there and the little crabs in the sand.

Go to concerts! I know some local artists in my area are planning to do some outdoor, socially distanced performances, and I’m so excited to go hang out with my friends and listen to some live music!

Duncan Platt

Visiting my out-of-state friends. COVID-related concerns and travel restrictions have put a major damper on my plans to visit friends from out of state, including a plan to maybe visit Europe. Hopefully, with all the positive developments so far, we will be able to make good on those plans.

Alison MacGillivray

Living in Michigan, lake days are essential for a fun summer. It’s not quite the same to go alone or with a few people. I’m excited to go this summer with at least a bit more friends!

MQ Magazine

The Secret to Oxford’s Newest Deli and Bar story: Leanne Stahulak photos: Jake Ruffer design: Lucy Greaney

n her second visit to Oxford’s newest Uptown addition, senior strategic communication and IMS major Katie Giles claimed to know the secret behind the Secret Elephant. “We were sitting over there, and it felt like old MIA, and then we were saying that if you turned up the music and made it loud, it could be a club atmosphere. Or it could be like a lounge,” Giles said. “So, that’s the secret to the Secret Elephant — it can be whatever you want it to be.” Housed at the old Wild Bistro location on 37 E High Street, the Secret Elephant opened its doors on March 24. Owner Desi Durkin planned a soft opening for that day, and she’s waiting to have a grand opening until she can roll out her full lunch and dinner menu. Durkin is a licensed real estate agent who’s been living in Oxford since 2010. In 2015, she helped a family buy a house for their son in town, and eventually she helped them buy the spot that would become Wild Bistro. When the pandemic hit last year, Durkin said the Chinese restaurant was losing close to $300 a day. So, in October 2020, the family decided to sell Wild Bistro, but Durkin said the family wasn’t getting any buyers. She recommended that they think about 06

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In the weeks since the Secret Elephant’s been open, owner Desi Durkin has helped out as a bartender, waitress, hostess, cook, cleaner, and everything in between. But at the end of the day, she’s happy to help in any way that she can so her customers are fully satisfied. “I like taking care of people, I love feeding people and I love allowing other people to have a relaxing and good time,” Durkin said. rebranding and offered up several ideas for how they could turn a profit with a new place.

to be able to provide that same atmosphere for the locals as well, and in the dead season we can all sit and enjoy some adult time.”

“Rather than selling, they said, ‘It sounds like it should be yours,’ and they invited me to be a partner with them as the financial backers,” Durkin said. “And they were willing to implement all of my ideas, so this is the result.”

The Secret Elephant wasn’t meant to exclusively be a bar scene that students flocked to. But with food supply chain issues still rampant during the pandemic, Durkin has had issues getting enough ingredients to sustain the deli she wants to have open during the day.

The result is a modern, chic interior with gray-painted walls, stone backsplash and multicolored lights that rotate between blue, purple and a host of other colors. Booths line one wall, with tall tables and high chairs scattered throughout the rest of the space and one long bartop running across the middle of the room. Several students visiting the bar late on a Thursday night complimented the Secret Elephant’s vibes, calling it “modern,” “chill,” and a refreshing change from the bar scene everyone is used to in Oxford. Durkin said she was aiming for a more mature and upscale space, something that would stand out from other places in town but ultimately be welcoming to everybody. “A place that people can come and feel comfortable in their own skin, enjoy themselves, but also I want a place where, when the students are gone, the locals want to come visit as well,” Durkin said. “I want

“Us being the proverbial new kids on the block, we’re at the bottom of the food supply chain,” Durkin said. “For example, I’ve had to change what french fries I’ve been using to what’s available to me three times already. So next weekend, it could be a different french fry. And that’s a big struggle for me, because I want to be able to provide our customers with consistency.” Right now, Durkin is serving pub style food on a limited menu. But ultimately, she plans to focus on artisan sandwiches, soups and salads, embodying a Panera vibe but with her own homemade recipes. She’s hoping a big draw will be the sourdough bread bowls, served with her famous jambalaya and loaded broccoli cheddar soups. “There’s a lot of love that goes into my cooking,” Durkin said. Another big draw to the Secret Elephant

is the bottoms up beer system. Instead of making room for a beer tap, Durkin stores the kegs under a countertop behind the bar, with tubes directly connecting the kegs to the spout on top of the counter. The bottoms up pouring system comes with special cups with holes in the bottom, which are covered by a magnet. When Durkin or a bartender pushes the cup down on the spout, the magnet pops up and beer pours in. There are five spots for cups, so five beers can be poured in 10 seconds. “It makes our lives a lot easier and functional, and it’s a perfect pour every time — there’s no waste,” Durkin said. “And it comes out right at 33 degrees, so it’s just under freezing, it’s ice cold.” Once the beer is gone, patrons can pop out the magnet on the bottom of the cup and keep it. Durkin ordered ones with the Secret Elephant logo on it, so people will take it home, stick it on their fridge and remember to come back for more. Senior economics major Ryan Glauner plans on doing exactly that. He lives with seven housemates, and when he goes home and sticks his magnet on the fridge, he hopes his housemates will ask him about the new place in town. Glauner used to love coming to Wild Bistro and was sad to see it close down. But, he’s impressed with how Durkin has turned everything around, and he appreciates all that Durkin does, from helping behind the bar to greeting people at the door to sitting down with patrons and getting to know them. “She’s great, she’s working hard here, she

obviously cares about it a lot,” Glauner said. “She obviously has a plan in mind, she’s got her vision of what she wants this place to be, and I really respect that. If you start something with an end goal in mind and everything else in between, I can’t help but respect it.” Durkin’s big plan at the moment is to get the deli menu up and running, but eventually she wants to turn the Secret Elephant into a space that welcomes the arts too. She’s planning on having a large stage built to hold open mics, comedy nights and live music performances. She also wants to decorate the space with artwork for sale from local artists. Durkin already recruited Connor Lawson, owner of Royal 24 Gym, to display some of his abstract work on the walls of the Secret Elephant. But before she can really explore these artistic endeavors, Durkin wants to focus on sustaining her establishment throughout the summer. With most of her staff and customers being students, Durkin hopes she’ll be able to draw Oxford locals to the Secret Elephant during the dead season. But she said she feels overwhelmed and blessed by the positive reviews from students and the packed hours she gets on weeknights and weekends. “I am shocked at how fast the word got out and how much business we’ve had in such a short period of time. I’m really excited about it, I didn’t expect this,” Durkin said. “When you open a new place… you expect to be struggling for the first few years, and financially, we still will, because it took a lot of investment to remodel and create what’s

there now. But the support is awesome.” Students keep coming back to the Secret Elephant for more than just the cool lights, immaculate vibes or great drink deals, though. “I love Desi, I literally love her. She was the main thing that made me wanna come back here,” senior psychology and strategic communication major Victoria Crabtree said. “She’s so nice, and she just made me want to give her my business. Of course I want to give her my business.” Liz Osborne, a senior media & culture and fashion corporate business co-major agreed that Durkin’s bubbly and friendly persona immediately set the tone for the evening. “She’s so welcoming. You walk in, she makes sure she gets to know you, she’s talking to you,” Osborne said. “She’s so caring and remembers everything about you. She’s a really good owner.” Durkin calls the regulars who come to the Secret Elephant her “tribe,” and she said the tribe just keeps growing and growing by the day. “I have fun with them, I have a great time with them. I feel like I have a whole bunch of children now, and that’s the way they are with me,” Durkin said. “You walk through the door, you’re part of the tribe too.” Based on Durkin’s relationship with her customers and grand plans for the space, it’s no surprise what the real secret to the Secret Elephant is.

Senior strategic communication and IMS major Francesca Khanga (left) joined her friend Victoria Crabtree (middle) for her first visit to the Secret Elephant. Khanga is already a “die-hard fan” and plans to come back after graduation. She says the addition of a new bar in Oxford is just the kind of spicing up the city needs. “Everyone got used to COVID restrictions and the new fixtures that could happen, and I think that there’s no ‘Wow’ factor anymore. So, a new place was definitely needed,” Khanga said.

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Catching Up with the Commuters story: Heather Rolfert photos: Bo Brueck design: Emily Scott

alking along the sidewalks of Miami University, many students head to their next classes while talking with friends or immersing themselves in their own thoughts. As they walk past buildings, up stairs and through crosswalks, it is easy to forget that some of them do not call the streets of Oxford home. Commuters. They are the students who travel from home to Miami for one class or many classes, knowing that they will have to brave the flow of traffic. They are the ones who plan semesters in advance. As a second year commuter student majoring in journalism and creative writing, I decided to commute because of financial issues. I had already secured a job close to home, so I did not want to sacrifice losing a paycheck to live on campus. While I don’t regret my decision, once I began my college life, I realized that the commuting life stacks more stress on top of everything else. For 10:05 a.m. classes, I get up at 7:30, then I leave my house at around 8:45. I have never had the luxury of hitting the snooze button and getting another hour of sleep. I always have to make sure I have time to eat breakfast on top of getting ready and making sure that my class has not been canceled. I cannot predict what traffic will be like. I never know if I will get stuck trying to find an alternate route or if backed up traffic will eat away at the time I have to get to Miami. Even though I leave an hour and twenty minutes early

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for a 30 minute drive, I still have a 20 minute walk from Ditmer (down past Western campus and Cook Field) to the Academic Quad. I am not the only commuter who experiences these headaches. Commuters from other Miami campus branches have also dealt with these issues. Emily Buckner, a junior majoring in early childhood education, commuted to Miami Hamilton for roughly two years before having to switch to online classes. Buckner said the 15 minute drive to the campus is not terrible, but it also comes with downsides. “It’s just annoying to me, because if I lived up at Oxford, I’d be able to just jump out of bed [and] walk down to class,” Buckner said. “[But] I have to actually get up out of bed, get dressed, do all that stuff and then I have to put time aside to drive.” Hayley Kash, a sophomore majoring in applied biology, is another commuter who travels back and forth to Miami Hamilton about two days each week. Kash mentioned that she puts more thought into planning each day. “My class doesn’t start [until] like 10:05 [a.m.], and I could leave at 9:45 if I want to, but I leave earlier than 9:30 because I want to get there early enough,” Kash said. Driving and getting to classes on time are not the only commuting issues. Scheduling has its own set of problems.

When first scheduling classes at freshman orientation, I made sure to not choose any 8:30 a.m. classes. I can force myself to get up early if I have to, but I did not want to deal with figuring out when I would need to wake up and leave so I could get to class on time. I had a Spanish final exam, my freshman year, that began around 8 a.m. I had to get up around 5:30 just so I could leave around 6:30. Driving early in the morning already had me out of my comfort zone, but driving in the dark also had me on edge. I should have been exhausted, but after focusing when driving and walking through the crisp morning air in Oxford while listening to music, I was fully awake. Fully prepared is another thing, though. After that, I told myself that if I did not have to take an 8:30 a.m. class, then there was no way I would voluntarily take one. Although, it does not always work that way when scheduling specific classes. One semester, Buckner said she ended up having a class schedule that left her driving early in the morning for a math class and late at night for a lab. She could not create a better schedule because she needed the math course to fulfill requirements for her major. “I had a couple 8 a.m.’s. And I’m out that late, then I go home, get dinner, I have homework to do. It’s a mess. The whole thing is a mess,” Buckner said.

Hayley Kash (left) and Emily Buckner (right) each commute to Miami University’s Hamilton campus. Next semester, Kash will travel to the Middletown campus as well.

Sophomore Heather Rolfert commutes to Miami University’s main campus each day from her home in Colerain. While commuting adds some extra stress and problems, she does not regret her decision.

Kash said that she recently found out that her schedule is going to change a lot more next semester. She mentioned that one of her applied biology classes is going to be offered at the Middletown campus instead of the Hamilton campus. “Next semester is going to be me going back and forth [from] Hamilton and Middletown on multiple days a week. So, I’m going to have to leave the house earlier and spend more time deciding when to go to class,” Kash said. As a commuter, it is important to remember that life is not always easy. “You’re kind of more on your own, I guess, when you commute … You have to adjust more as an adult versus a college student,” Buckner said. Being an adult and a college student is an adjustment. Many of the activities I want to go to I cannot because I drive home right after my classes are over. I do have a friend living on campus. Unfortunately, the moments I get to spend with her typically happen because I am already at school for class related projects. Commuting life has its downsides, but that never makes me give up on my experiences. Instead, I look for activities, here and there, that offer relief. Whether those activities are ice skating at Miami or exploring parks around Ohio, I enjoy each one.

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Traveling Trials Part II design by: Lucy Greaney Last issue, our three study abroad writers covered what it was like to live abroad during a pandemic. This issue, they dove into the specific cultural challenges they’ve encountered and how they overcame them. They also recounted their travels to different regions and countries in their corners of the world.

Uruguay by: Anna Mollenbeck

hen I read my first “Traveling Trials” article over again, I breathed a sigh of relief. So much has changed since writing about my first few weeks abroad.

I came to Uruguay with impossible expectations both for myself and for the experience I wanted to have here. I felt alone, nervous and terrified out of my mind when I realized everything wouldn’t go according to plan. I was having an amazing time exploring and learning everything about Uruguay, but I let tiny language and cultural differences damper my spirits indefinitely. I see how much I’ve grown since my first article — both in my language skills and with my confidence navigating life as a young adult abroad. We’ve made it to the halfway point of my time in Montevideo, Uruguay. My main goal while studying abroad has always been to develop my Spanish, and it’s easy to tell that my skills have improved incredibly in these past two months. Immersing yourself

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in this way certainly doesn’t come without its challenges or odd experiences. However, the challenges and odd experiences I’ve encountered have only improved my confidence and the skills themselves. I’ve always thought that fluency would just come to me one day. I’d be in the middle of a conversation, speaking Spanish, and everything would click. A switch would be turned on in my brain. From that point on, Spanish would come as easily as English. While I’ve learned that achieving fluency in a language is a lifelong process and doesn’t work like how I imagined, I’ve certainly made immense progress in my speaking and comprehension skills. The other day, however, I conquered a hurdle I didn’t know I needed to overcome — I finally lost my fear. This fear was conquered in one small but important interaction I had at 9 a.m. on my way to my friend’s apartment. My transition from a country girl to a city woman has included becoming a master of Montevideo’s public bus system. The other day, I went to a local kiosk to put more money on my

bus card. A young man helped me at the counter where I told him how many pesos I wanted to put on my card. Everything was going fine until he told me to tap my card on a little machine in order to refill it. At least, that’s what I thought he said. I kept tapping my card when he kept talking to me. Finally, I understood that he was saying that I needed to keep my card on the machine. I laughed and apologized for the misunderstanding. The worker turned to his coworker and while shaking his head in disgust, said to him “los estadounidenses” (Americans).

Spanish. While it was intimidating, because my Spanish skills were probably the worst out of the three Americans, I had an amazing time.

If this would have happened to me during my first month here, my confidence would have dropped dramatically. It probably would have ruined my day. But after he said that, I just laughed. It was a breakthrough. My biggest fear when speaking Spanish is that someone will laugh at me, make fun of me or act coldly toward me when they realize it’s not my native tongue. That’s exactly what happened with the woman at church from the last issue. My “worst fear” came true in this kiosk, but it didn’t bother me in any way. Instead, I laughed at the misunderstanding, learned the word for “to leave/abandon”, and moved on. Without this fear, I’m free to have new experiences and conversations with strangers without hindrance.

One of the hardest things I’ve faced in my fluency journey is having conversations with strangers on the street. The slang, other noises, and, at times, the uncomfortableness certainly contributes to my struggles comprehending the speech of strangers. However, you never know the strange and amazing conversations you’ll find yourself in.

The best way to practice Spanish, and the most enjoyable, is actually using it. Even with the pandemic going on, I’ve been fortunate to meet some incredible Uruguayans who I’m excited to have as friends. One weekend in March, my two American friends and I went to one of my Uruguayan friends’ beach house in La Paloma for a weekend with his two friends. It was a whole weekend of speaking only

The six of us went to the beach, relaxed and even had our own asado (Uruguay’s version of a barbeque). I even taught the whole group how to play Kerkook, a game one of my friends from Iowa made up when we were in high school. I never thought I would be capable of abandoning my first language for a whole weekend, but it allowed me to have one of the best weekends of my life.

I was walking the streets of Montevideo one Sunday morning when a motorcycle pulled over, leaving traffic, and stopped right next to me. An old man got off and approached me, asking where I was from. We talked for about five minutes about my time in Uruguay, his life and my life in the United States. While it might have been one of the strangest occurrences in my life, I ended up making a new connection to a person who invited me and my friends to his restaurant for a free meal! Buying my ticket home last week was a gentle nudge that I need to keep working hard and creating experiences like these for myself every day. With the state of the world currently, no one knows what the future of international travel will hold. I

want to make every minute count. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to live in a Spanishspeaking country next, so I can’t wait to take advantage of these next 45 days in one of the greatest places in the world.

South Korea by: Britt Graves

ince first coming to Korea and writing about my initial experiences, I’ve noticed my confidence has grown significantly. I used to be afraid of meeting new people, but now it’s all I want to do. Last issue, I said I wanted to speak with more Korean students and, recently, I finally gained the courage to speak to a student I had never met before. I’ve noticed that there aren’t many Linguistics majors here at Korea University, so when I saw Linguistics written on the back of one student’s varsity jacket, I knew I had to say something. I was in one of my favorite traditional Korean restaurants waiting for my 순두부찌개 (tofu stew) to cool down when a student walked in. I happened to look up while his back was turned and noticed the college major written on his jacket. Immediately, I felt my stomach flip inside out. This was my chance. I finally found someone studying in the same field as me. Excitement and nerves wormed their way through my gut as I quickly put my mask on, food completely forgotten. I argued with myself for five minutes, trying to work up the courage to say something, and almost

For her advanced conversation class, Anna Moellenbeck (second from right) went on a field trip with her professor, Trilce (far left) and her classmates Chloe (second from left), Claudia (middle) and Zeke (far right). The class visited a neighborhood in Montevideo called Punta Carretas.

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Britt Graves (left) had a fun photoshoot with her friends Sinait Sarfino (middle) and Yessi Pardosi (right) on Korea University’s campus. Britt and Sinait are both Miami students studying at the university, and Yessi traveled from Indonesia to study in South Korea.

missing my opportunity when he turned to leave. Interestingly, he stopped at the door as if checking for something, giving me one last chance to get his attention. A small “저기요” (excuse me) escaped me. He turned around, seemingly just as shy as me. I asked him in Korean if he was in the Linguistics major, to which he said yes. I mentioned I was also studying this, which led to us introducing ourselves. I found out he was a freshman from China completing his degree at Korea University. He was also finding it difficult to make Korean friends because of COVID. Eventually, we exchanged Kakao ID’s (a popular messaging app like WhatsApp) and are now planning to meet for lunch. Starting a conversation with a person I’ve never met is something I would’ve never done in the past. Just the thought of it would terrify me. However, I’ve learned that putting myself out there in situations like that may feel uncomfortable at first, but there may be something great that can result from it. It’s one way to make friends during a pandemic that seems to be never ending. Admittedly, I believe some of the friendships I’ve made here have also contributed to my confidence growth. I’m surrounded by people who are fully confident in themselves and the things they do. They’re always encouraging me to put myself out there and be self-assured in who I am. I’ve received quite a few compliments, which is something that didn’t occur too often in the United States. There was a moment where I was out with 12

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my friends in Hongdae (the party area of Seoul where there are many bars, stores, restaurants and cafes), looking around an art store. I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me, but one of my friends who was standing next to me was watching. She told me a young Korean woman and her boyfriend were walking behind me, and when the girl looked over at my hair, her eyes grew wide and she whispered “oh 예뻐” (pretty), to which her boyfriend nodded. When my friend told me this I remember feeling my heart grow a few inches. I had never expected people in Korea to like my hair since natural curls aren’t a typical occurrence in this country. This experience, while small, did help me to feel more confident in myself. While there have been many positive experiences, there have also been some negative aspects as well. The amount of staring I receive as a mixed woman whenever I walk around is immense. To some degree I’m used to it, but at times it can be irritating. It’s as if I’m an exotic creature that nobody has ever seen before. At first I thought, “Wow, this is interesting,” but now it’s gotten old, and I wouldn’t mind if it tapered off. I definitely don’t feel unwelcome in Korea, yet the staring can be somewhat overwhelming. I remember a group of friends and I were leaving a store in Dongmyo (an area of Korea that appears to be full of older people), and we were dressed quite nicely. We passed by two older men, one of which said “ohhh” when he saw us, while the other said something trashy in Korean. I wasn’t able to catch what he said exactly, but I almost told him to screw off.

I didn’t care if he was older than me. It was rude, and both of those men knew better. As women, we shouldn’t need to be concerned about what we’re wearing. I’ve noticed this is an issue in Korea that still needs to be addressed. That same day in Dongmyo, there was also a man who stopped to talk to my friends and I, but his English wasn’t very strong. To this day, I’m still not sure what he was trying to say, but he looked at me and said “Oh, Mariah Carey!” I froze for a second with a confused expression, trying to figure out what he was getting at. I have a feeling he brought her up because we’re both mixed. Even still, it wasn’t necessary to bring up, and it made me confused. I was so shocked I wasn’t sure how to feel in the moment and still haven’t to this day. I wasn’t offended, but I didn’t know what to do with his remark. I have a while before my trip is over, but I’m hoping by the end I will be more fluent in Korean than I currently am. My goal is to make more friends from my major before the semester ends as well. Hopefully my confidence will continue to grow even when I return home. I’ve been enjoying my time in Korea so much that I’m considering pursuing graduate studies here. It’s been such an amazing experience with new relationships and occurrences each day. You never know what’s going to happen when you step out of your comfort zone, yet this is part of the fun. Embarrassment is just part of the experience. It adds to the fun stories you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. I feel

as if I’ve matured so much since arriving, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the semester.

Luxembourg By: Maya Stoffer

ince writing for the last issue, I have been on day trips to Trier, Germany and Born, Luxembourg. I wanted to travel further away from Luxembourg, since three day weekends became available for me with the end of my Friday classes. However, many countries were closing in anticipation of people trying to travel for Easter weekend. While this was an effective measure for preventing people from traveling far before Easter, I was afraid the largely celebrated holiday in Europe would cause COVID-19 cases to rise again and cause more countries to remain closed for tourists. So, when I had the opportunity to get out of Luxembourg, I jumped on it by visiting Stockholm the weekend before Easter, then Mallorca for Easter weekend, and Barcelona the weekend after. When I think about my trip to Stockholm, what mainly comes to mind is the food and lack of masks. With COVID restrictions being a lot less strict compared to Luxembourg, including no mask mandate, indoor dining being open, and curfew being at 11 p.m., there were many more opportunities to eat at restaurants. Sweden is known for its meatballs and cinnamon buns, so of course I had both during my three day stay. The cinnamon buns in Stockholm had sugar granules on the top versus icing that I am used to, along with the dough having herbs in it to make it more savory. The meatballs were smaller and more delicious than ones I am used to in the United States. It was also paired nicely with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, a fruit well-known in Sweden. I also got to enjoy some delicious chai tea lattes — five to be exact. Vegan oatmeal, a cheese board, a turkey sandwich, and spaghetti carbonara were also all great meals in Stockholm. Looking back now, Stockholm had the best variety of food both for me and the friends I was traveling with, one who is vegetarian and another who is gluten free.

Although I traveled to Sweden on a four day weekend, the flights lined up in a way so I only had three days in Stockholm. There was plenty to do there for those three days. On Friday, two of my friends and I went to an ice bar, the world’s first permanent one. It was attached to a little gift shop so it was smaller than I imagined. However, we saw all sorts of Swedish inventions, such as the zipper, pacemaker, oat milk, and adjustable wrench, described within the 40 tons of natural ice walls. I had never been to something like it before, so it was really cool to get our drinks in these neat solid ice glasses and listen to music while we drank. I think it will be the closest I get to feeling like I’m in Antarctica, though, because it was so cold in there with a temperature of -5 degree Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit,) even with the ponchos and gloves they provided. On Saturday, my group had plans for an archipelago boat tour, where we got to learn more about Stockholm and Sweden in general. The fogginess and high 40s temperature caused our photos to have this weird aura around them, where items in the background were grey and murky. However, this made photos of the bright red houses on the water stand out even more and really provide me with this feeling of being in a completely different world than tall-colorful-city-building Luxembourg. The next weekend I went to Mallorca, Spain, for five days, because students studying in Luxembourg got the Monday and Tuesday after Easter Sunday off from school. Mallorca was almost completely the opposite of Stockholm. The rush of exploring Stockholm in

two full days greatly contrasted with the meandering I spent on the island of Mallorca. Because my two friends and I were staying longer, we got a beach day every other day we were there. Despite the high for the week being in the mid-60s, since we were laying out for so long, we all got a bit tan (and even minorly burnt). It was forecast to rain the whole time we were there, but luckily this was not the case. It ended up being warm, but not stifling, the whole time. The two days we had planned to lie on the beach and go on a boat tour, the weather was perfect. One thing this weekend taught me was adaptability. We got there earlier than we had expected, so we spent the rest of the evening just sitting on the beach. Then, we scheduled a boat tour for Sunday. However, on Saturday morning, one of the boat staff members called saying they had to cancel the boat tour the next day because of the forecasted strong winds. They provided us the option to go the day of, if we could get to the meet up location at noon. With it being 10:30 a.m. when we received this call, and us being 15 minutes from our hotel where we would have to get a taxi to drive us literally across the island to where the boat tour was, all three of us were doubtful that it would happen. Nonetheless, we made it to the meeting location on time, and it ended up being my favorite day of the whole trip. We got to see wild mountain goats, dive into the freezing cold water to explore a hidden cave with flashlights, and hike around part of the island to see the glistening, clear blue water from an amazing vantage point. The trip back to the mainland was 30 minutes long; 30 minutes of just sitting on the boat

Maya Stoffer took advantage of her five-day weekend due to the Easter holiday and traveled to Mallorca, a gorgeous island off the coast of Spain. She loved being able to spend time on the beach, hike the island and explore hidden caves. Oxford Life I MQ Magazine

with the wind drying my ocean-soaked hair; 30 minutes of feeling the boat go over ocean waves; 30 minutes of soaking up the warm sun. Even now, I can close my eyes and be transported back to one of the most tranquil moments of my time studying abroad. I fell in love with Spain’s weather, and because I have a better grasp of the language spoken there compared to previous visits to other countries, I went back on the Friday of the same week that I had returned from Mallorca. This time, we visited Barcelona. I decided to fly to have more time exploring the city, while my two travel companions went with the cheaper option of the train. Because of our different modes of transportation, we spent one day trying to cram in as much as we could in Barcelona. My feet had blisters on the bottom of them, my socks were worn thin, and my back ached at the end because we walked 22 miles to see Barcelona in one day. However, I would do it all over again to see La Sagrada Familia, Placa de Catalunya, Camp Nou, Park Güell, St. Josep La Boqueria, Barcelona Beach, and Montjuïc Park in one day. The architecture and artwork in Barcelona is absolutely gorgeous, and despite walking all around, I felt that I was still able to take in the beauty and uniqueness of the city. As I write this, I only have 27 days left in Europe before heading back to the United States. This translates to only two more weekends for travel because of the upcoming weekend and week being MUDEC’s study tour, where students will be traveling to Croatia to combine their learning from the semester with sightseeing. My time here is dwindling. I feel like I am just getting used to living in Luxembourg and within reach of my goals. As of now, it does not look like Switzerland or Italy will be open for travelers before I leave for the States. While I did not visit Malta, Mallorca was basically the same experience, with spectacular views of the clear water, warm weather, and nice sandy beaches. For my second-to-last weekend here, I plan to travel out of Luxembourg and for the very last weekend with finals the week following, I want to travel somewhere new in Luxembourg for a day trip. Though I have still been wearing my fall coat here, I am hopeful that the last few 14

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weeks we have in Luxembourg will be warm enough to do work and hang out with friends outside. I also think any extreme sport activities, like paragliding, are out of the question with COVID-19 still being a large concern. Although, swimming in freezing water with waterproof flashlights to reach a cave is pretty hardcore, in my opinion.

In terms of travel and activities, I don’t know what to expect for these following weeks. I am currently preparing for our week-long study tour before thinking about plans afterwards. Additionally, I am on the lookout for souvenirs to bring back home for friends and family. It’s hard to believe that the end of my study abroad is quickly approaching with so many of my goals still waiting to be fulfilled.

Maya Stoffer enjoyed her time in Spain so much that she came back the next weekend, this time to Barcelona. Though she spent most of her time walking around the city to take in the incredible architecture and visit famous sites, she still found time to see the beach too.

Despite the lack of drug rehabilitation programs in Oxford, those in the city working with drug users are committed to connecting them with treatment options. The closest options are in Hamilton or Fairfield.

story: Emily Scott photos: Emily Scott design: Emily Scott

Oxford’s Focus on Drug Rehabilitation

T 2021.

here were 21 drug overdoses in Oxford in 2020. Multiple overdoses were repeat offenders. One of those repeat offenders from 2020 has already overdosed four times in

A majority of drug use in Oxford and in Southwest Ohio is heroine and methamphetamine. “So many of our problems are mental illness and drugs,” Oxford Police Department Lt. Lara Fening said. “So many are repeat offenders that we get calls multiple times a week, if not multiple times a day. There’s just no end in sight for this cycle of either behavior or mental illness or whatever their need is. There just doesn’t seem to be an end.” Liz Dickinson is part of an organization whose goal is to end this cycle. She found herself in her current role almost by chance. After accepting a job at a drug rehabilitation center, she found a passion for helping her community. Now, she is a care coordinator for the Hopeline, where she helps

drug users in Oxford and Hamilton get connected with the best resources to overcome their addiction. She works with the police departments in both cities to connect with users in the communities. Dickinson likes that she can help her clients explore all the options available to them, instead of just focusing on one treatment center. “For an addict, it’s hard enough to get them to do it when you have someone holding their hand through the process, much less having them just initiate it all themselves. I think that that’s a recipe for failure almost, is to expect them to initiate these things on their own,” Lt. Fening said. “I think that there’s probably a very small population that will say: ‘That’s it, I’m done. I’m gonna go seek help.’ I don’t think that is very common at all, and so you’re just missing that referral aspect, which I think is really important.” The Oxford Police Department alerts Dickinson each time there is an overdose, and the Hamilton Police Department alerts Dickinson each time there is an overdose and each time there is a drug citation. Feature I MQ Magazine 15

Hopeline Care Coordinator Liz Dickinson follows up with her clients in Oxford. She works with them to find the best drug treatment options for them, and continues to follow up throughout the process. She is able to maintain a cheerful attitude, because she knows what she does is helping her community. Some users inevitably slip through the cracks, which is why Dickinson attends Hamilton Municipal Court each morning. If she sees someone at court who needs to be connected to treatment, she will meet them in the hall after their case has been heard to give them her business card. She will also follow up with users who are in jail. Hamilton Municipal Court Judge Daniel Gattermeyer is very supportive of the work that Dickinson does. He tries to keep users out of jail and instead connect them to resources for treatment when the situation allows. Those struggling with substance abuse and their families can also contact the Hopeline directly before encounters with law enforcement. The Hopeline serves Butler, Hamilton, Warren, Clinton and Montgomery Counties. The Hopeline is run through One City for Recovery and is free to all who use its resources. “I never know what my day will look like,” Dickinson said. “I get to see firsthand how hard it can be to access treatment. There can be a lot of barriers. It frustrates me, and imagine how the client is feeling, because they are also dealing with a million other things in their lives that aren’t going well. They’re trying to do better, but it can seem like they’re constantly being shut down. I like that I can be there as an advocate and a problem solver for them, because they are not necessarily in a position to solve all the problems to get them where they want to be.” According to OneCityForRecovery.com, there are 10 care coordinators with the Hopeline, which grew from seven in 2020. Last year, they interacted with over 7,800 people. Of the 2,300

clients, almost half were receptive to learning about treatment options, and 650 got the help they needed. At least once a week, each of the care coordinators, along with local police, go out into the communities they serve to try to find and connect with each person who had overdosed in the last week. This is called the Quick Response Team. Over 75% of the clients in 2020 were new clients. A few years ago, Narcan became available for emergency response personnel, then became available for personal use after that. The drug naloxone, commonly referred to as Narcan, helps to reverse the effects of an overdose and save a person’s life. After naloxone became available, Lt. Fening said that overdose deaths plummeted. After it became available for personal use,

Dickinson and Officer Matt Wagers prepare to go out into the Oxford community with the hope of connecting with an overdose and some of Dickinson’s clients. They met a woman who had plans to go to an inpatient program in a few days, but did not have transportation. Two days after they first amde contact with her, Dickinson was able to transport her to treatment so that she could begin healing.

Officer Heffernan and Dickinson drive through a neighborhood in Hamilton where they consistently find drug users they can connect with.

overdoses dropped.

2018, then 21 in both 2019 and 2020.

She said she knows this is not because less people are using drugs, but now users can recover from an overdose without getting the authorities involved.

“Wagers knows this community very well. Sometimes when we’re driving around, he’ll point someone out to me that I had never met before, but he knows that they use,” Dickinson said. “This makes my job in Oxford so much more effective, because we end up helping so many people.”

This had made the treatment referral process more difficult. However, Lt. Fening still sees the drug as a positive. She said that each time a user recovers from an overdose is one more chance they have to seek treatment and better themselves. In both Hamilton and Oxford, only the EMS carries Narcan. It is up to the police chief if their officers carry the drug. Some think it is too much of a liability for officers to carry it, because they are not medical personnel. Others think that if the police have the opportunity to help someone, they should take it. “If someone’s dying and you can give them Narcan, then you should help them,” Hamilton Police Department Officer Steven Heffernan said. “If you could save someone’s life, why wouldn’t you?” Officer Heffernan is one of two in Hamilton that Dickinson works with. He works daily to connect with users before they overdose. Dickinson is in Hamilton almost everyday, but comes to Oxford when there is an overdose. She goes out into the community with Officer Matthew Wagers to try to find the person who overdosed, and to connect with Dickinson’s other clients. In Oxford, the police and EMS responded to 33 overdoses in

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Talawanda High School and Middle School no not have school on Wednesday. Officer Wagers is the school resource officer at Talawanda Middle School. He does not have to be at school on Wednesday, which opened him up to another opportunity in the community. On Wednesday, Officer Wagers is the community resource officer. In this role, he tries to connect with users who have overdosed before Dickinson comes to Oxford, which makes her visits much more efficient. He also connects with known users in the community to follow up on how they are doing, even when Dickinson is not there. He has been serving Oxford as a police officer for 10 years, so many people in the community know and trust him. Lt. Fening said the OPD does not know how they will fill this role once students attend school in person everyday, although recognizes the need in the community. “It could be really frustrating and discouraging [for addicts to get help],” Lt. Lara Fening said. “The options are overwhelming, so I don’t blame them for getting frustrated. You need someone to help guide them through that process.” Feature I MQ Magazine

Where are They Now? Miami journalism grads track their journeys from the classroom to top-notch newsrooms story & design: Alicia Graham Bethany Bruner ‘12

The Columbus Dispatch Q: How would you say your Miami education prepared you for your career? A: I would say it prepared me better than I could have ever hoped it would. There’s a lot in journalism you can’t prepare for, you can’t teach, just because you have to do it to really learn it. You have to learn on the fly, but the things that I did learn in terms of how to file public records requests, how to go up and talk to somebody and interview them, how to write quickly and be accurate, and write clean copy, those are all things that are really important that most newsrooms anymore don’t have a lot of time to teach to reporters who are just starting out. So, the more you know when you walk into your first job, the better. And Miami really helped me be able to do that and walk into my first job as prepared as I could’ve possibly been.

Photo courtesy of the Washington Post

Reis Thebault ‘16

Photo courtesy of Bethany Bruner

The Washington Post Q: How did your time in student media at Miami impact you as a journalist? A: It was huge. It was probably the single most formative experience I had. My graduate

school was great, but The Miami Student was really a crash course in journalism. You know, it’s not class; it’s really doing the work, it’s really doing more reporting, and you can’t really substitute any sort of academic experience for actually working. It shaped who I am as a journalist; it changed the kind of journalist I wanted to be. I wanted to be a sports reporter when I first started at the Student my freshman year, and that changed very quickly when I started realizing how important it was to hold people in power accountable for their actions. You can really do that as a student journalist. It’s cool to be able to walk into the university president’s office and ask them why they’re not doing more to combat campus sexual assaults, to ask various hard questions of people in power. I saw that early on, and that really changed how I wanted to approach the rest of my career, so it was really impactful. Q: What should current journalism students be doing to prepare for their careers? A: I think working for campus media is a really big deal. You can not only get experience but get clips, get work examples, and that’s hugely important when you’re applying for internships and later applying for jobs. You need examples of good stories that you’ve done, and you can get that in some classes, but typically you’re going to get your best clips in your work for the newspaper or the school magazine. So, I would really encourage people to do the stories now that you would like to do for the rest of your career. There’s nothing really stopping you, which is sort of the amazing thing about student media — students are in charge of it, so there’s never going to be someone who tells you, ‘You can’t do this, or you can’t write about this, or you can’t ask these questions.’ Another thing would be to apply for internships early and repeatedly. I found that I was often not successful the first time I applied for an internship, but the second time around or even third time around, editors at the publication were sort of familiar with my name, and they were able to see my work and my growth, and I think that really helped. So, after your freshman or sophomore year, I think it would be helpful to apply for internships at smaller regional newspapers and then continue applying. Even if you don’t get it one year, apply the next year and just kind of build-up that recognition within whichever outlet you’re hoping to work for. 18 MQ Magazine I Feature

Emily Williams ‘18 The Post and Courier

Q: What should current journalism students be doing to improve their future prospects? A: Just report as much as possible; doing that work, writing stories, reporting, whether that’s for Miami Quarterly, the Miami Student, starting your own or finding a place to write for elsewhere. Just to do the work as much as possible because that’s what I think really helped. Yes, I was going to class every day, but also, I really was doing that work of writing and reporting or editing or all three most days out the week. So then when you start doing it every day out of the week, and you don’t have classes and homework, then it’s great. Photo courtesy of The Post and Courier

Bennett Wise ‘20

WKEF-TV/Dayton 24-7 Now

Q: What makes Miami’s journalism program so distinct from others? A: The ability to write. We’re not necessarily known as a broadcast school,

but we have produced a lot of broadcasting alums. Everything comes from the foundation of writing, so using that tool and becoming a strong writer, supporting their evidence with facts or quotes from people who are legitimately important, not some everyday person on the street, and recognizing that’s what you need to do to be successful. Then in terms of writing style and how to do it, the professors here will instill that in you and get you proper AP format and make you become the best writer that you can possibly be, and that I think helped me, because while you need to be descriptive and even though broadcast is a different writing style, that foundation of being active and having active tense compared to passive is a real benefit.

Greta Morris ‘17

Photo courtesy of Bennett Wise

ABC News

Q: What mistakes did you make early on in your career that you would advise new graduates to avoid? A: Something I definitely had to learn was how to advocate for myself. I think I thought that if you work hard and keep your head down,

you’ll rise through the ranks, which certainly can be true. But I found that having that courage to go to someone and say, ‘Hey, I want this job, this is where I want to be, I think I would be good at it,’ and being persistent is how I kind of rose through the ranks continually. Q: How do you feel your education and involvement at Miami prepared you for your current position? A: One of the really cool things about Miami and its journalism program is that it is really hands-on. So I felt like there were a lot of good opportunities, even first day freshman year, to get in the studio and start working on producing newscasts, specifically with Miami Television News, just walking in and being able to operate a camera or write a piece. You are able to just get involved and be really handson, and I’m very much a hands-on learner. I think there is so much in news that can’t be taught by just sitting in a classroom. I think the best way to do it is really just to start doing it and making those mistakes early and getting them out of the way, and learning from them. So, I think that really helped: the ability to get there and start making news. Q: What skills have you found to be vital in your career? A: Patience has been vital and something I continue to work on. Then more practically, I think knowing editing systems really well is pretty vital. I learned Premier and a little bit of Final Cut while at Miami. Then I think the ability to continue asking questions is really important, because that’s what journalism is; asking questions, whether that be authorities of a current event going on or your boss of what they expect you to do. Also, some camera work is maybe not vital, but I think really important. If you’re able to shoot something, if you’re able to film something, then they’ll let you go out and film in the field. Then you get more opportunities that way, whereas if you had never picked up a camera before, they’re probably not going to send you on a shoot; they’ll send someone with camera experience. So, it’s about those little tools in your toolbox ,having a variety of different things that you can just pull out.

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Inside a COVID-19 Vaccine Trial with Participant 0228 story: Haley Griffin photos: Jake Ruffer design: Alicia Graham Haley gets the first shot of her crossover vaccine. Each participant had to get two rounds of shots. One round was the vaccine and the other was the placebo. Neither the participant nor those running the study knew which was which.

y grandparents were vaccinated against COVID-19. My parents were vaccinated against COVID-19. My 18-year-old brother was infected with the virus at a party. My 16-year-old brother was infected by a classmate at his high school. In February, I was the only one left in my immediate family without COVID-19 antibodies. It was like the Instagram algorithm knew that I was anxiously anticipating when it would be my turn to be vaccinated. I was content to wait while older people, healthcare workers and other high-risk individuals were prioritized, but I was ready for my shot at immunity. While scrolling 20

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through my feed one night, an ad appeared offering something I’d never seen before: an opportunity to get paid to participate in a COVID-19 vaccine study. At first glance, it seemed too good to be true. I could get paid up to $1,200 to potentially receive a COVID-19 vaccine? I clicked on the ad, and while it indicated that there weren’t any opportunities in my area, a quick Google search later showed me the Sterling Research Group. And they were enrolling participants for the Novavax, Inc. COVID-19 vaccine officially named, “SARS-CoV-2 rS with Matrix-M1™ Adjuvant.” I called the phone number listed, and while

I got the sense that the woman who picked up was swamped with other callers, she kindly and diligently responded to all of my questions about the study. She also asked me a ton of questions about my health, lifestyle, and medical history. They ranged from if I had any in-person classes at school (yes) to if I planned on getting pregnant in the near future (no) to how often I exercised (somewhat often). After I got off the phone with her, I walked to King Library to meet up with some friends. I excitedly told them about the Novavax study. They were disappointed to hear that they were all ineligible for the study for the same reason: they had all tested positive for

COVID-19 at some point. But because I had narrowly avoided catching the virus from them, I was eligible. A few aspects of the study caught my attention and contributed to my decision to enroll. First of all, there was a two-thirds chance that I would receive the active vaccine and only a one-third chance I would receive the placebo. Even better, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had just approved an extension to the initial study officially called a “crossover” that would commence in April. During that time, participants who had received the active vaccine would receive the placebo, and participants who had received the placebo would receive the active vaccine. In short, I was guaranteed to receive the real vaccine by summer. At the time, I was under the impression that members of my age group without preexisting conditions wouldn’t be eligible to receive the approved vaccines until mid-tolate summer at the earliest. The “crossover” was a key factor for my parents to also give me their blessing for me to participate in the study. They knew that the vaccines that had already been approved would be distributed to the general public eventually and didn’t want me to have to turn down the opportunity

to definitely be vaccinated because of my participation in the study. I didn’t want to be put in that position either, but the promise of the crossover by summer really eased that concern. Another important aspect about the study that made me feel more comfortable enrolling is that it was the third phase. Two phases had already been completed that proved that the vaccine was reasonably safe and effective. Phase Three was going to include around 30,000 participants at about 125 study sites. This was not a small ordeal, and I was far from the only person that was going to be involved. Two days after that initial phone call, I had my first study appointment. Everyone at Sterling Research Group I interacted with that first day and every day since has been super nice and open with me. I never felt pressured to participate or felt like my health was going to be put at risk. I was also reassured when I learned this same research group is conducting a clinical trial for the Pfizer vaccine, which was approved in December. I never doubted that they knew what they were doing or that I would be well taken care of. The Novavax vaccine is a “Recombinant Spike Protein Nanoparticle Vaccine,” which is simplified to mean that it contains a small

portion of COVID-19 but not enough for you to actually get the virus. The vaccine includes two injections given three weeks apart. Unlike an mRNA vaccine like Pfizer or Moderna that includes new technology, the Novavax vaccine follows the more traditional vaccine format by introducing the body with a small amount of the virus so that it learns how to fight it. If the vaccine is effective, a few weeks after the second dose you will be protected if you do get exposed to COVID-19 because your body has already learned how to defeat the virus. At that first visit, I took a pregnancy test (pregnant women aren’t allowed to participate in clinical trials, so every woman has to take a test on days where they will receive an injection). I also had another health screening and a general physical, including a blood draw. I would have four ounces of blood drawn at every appointment so that it could be tested for antibodies. I also consented to have my leftover blood frozen and saved for future scientific research. It was during this first blood draw that I first saw it: my number. According to the individuals analyzing my blood samples and cross-listing the antibodies (or lack of antibodies) they find, I am no longer Haley Griffin. I am participant number 0228. There is something almost dehumanizing about being reduced to a number, but for

Haley found Sterling Research after an Instagram ad alerted her that she was eligible for a study with a different group.

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Before getting each shot, Haley had do undergo a short physical assessment including a blood draw. She had to be tested for antibodies to see when the vaccine took effect. She also had consented to have her leftover blood frozen and saved for future scientific research. the sake of science anonymity is key. It is also exciting to know that even though I may just be #228 in the eyes of the researchers conducting the trial, my blood is contributing to the massive amount of data that they need in order to receive approval from the US government.

symptoms I may be experiencing. I will continue to complete this 10-second survey every day for two years following the day of my first injection. For the week following each injection, there was an additional short questionnaire that asked about any pain or discomfort at the injection site.

After my blood was drawn, I was sent to a room where I downloaded the study app, Patient Cloud, on my phone and received instructions about how to use it. I was expected to fill out my “eDiary,” a short questionnaire, every day that asked for my temperature (I was given a thermometer to use) and to check off any COVID-19

While the app was downloading, a new woman came into the room and called my name. It was time for my injection. I rolled up my sleeve and relaxed my arm. It was over before I knew it and only hurt a little bit. I immediately began contemplating if I was part of the two-thirds of lucky recipients that received the active vaccine.

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Just a quick disclaimer before I continue discussing my experience with the Novavax vaccine injections: Everyone’s body reacts differently to every vaccine, and this is just my experience. Because the study is doubleblinded, neither I nor the employees at Sterling Research Group will ever know if I received the placebo or active vaccine during my first round of shots. Everything I experienced was unique to me. I haven’t even met anyone else in the study, so I have no idea how anyone else reacted to the injection. Continuing on, my arm never really hurt, even in the days following my first injection.

It was a bit tender the day after, but I could hardly even tell where the injection entered my arm after I took my bandaid off that first night. My friends took turns poking my arm to test it. To their disappointment, I experienced no pain. I really got in my head about whether this was a sign that I received the placebo or not. If I received the real vaccine, wouldn’t my arm hurt more? Of course, there is absolutely no science behind this line of reasoning, but that didn’t stop me from over-analyzing everything I felt in those days following the first injection. I went for a swim on Friday morning — could that have loosened up my arm and made it hurt less or does that mean I got the placebo? Am I feeling fatigued because of the injection or because I stayed up late studying? Is that a headache coming on? I am pretty certain that I didn’t experience any symptoms following my first injection. However, after my second injection three weeks later, I did experience potential real vaccine injection symptoms. I woke up in the middle of night with chills and a pounding headache. I checked my temperature, and I didn’t have a fever, but I barely slept the rest of the night. The next day, I had a raging headache that lasted

until the following morning. Just to be very clear, the symptoms I experienced may or may not have been caused by the injection. The “placebo effect” is very real and my body could have been playing tricks on me. I also could have eaten something bad the night before or contracted a short-lived non-COVIDrelated virus. These facts haven’t stopped me from assuming that I received the real vaccine during those first two doses, but I have no way of knowing if that assumption is true. In mid-April, the blinded crossover began, and I have now received a third injection. As I emphasized before, I will never know if this final series of shots consists of the placebo (either saline or saltwater) or the active vaccine. The steps for the crossover are exactly the same as the first round of doses, which is a purposeful way to maintain the integrity of the study. After my fourth dose in a couple of weeks, I will definitely be fully vaccinated and will receive a verification card that may or may not appear on social media. As someone who’s gone through this clinical trial in support of science, it is very

frustrating for me to hear people talk about choosing not to get vaccinated, especially when they clearly have been exposed to the conspiracy theories that have been circulating about the approved vaccines. People are entitled to their own opinions, and it can be uncomfortable to receive an injection, but scientific facts support widespread vaccine distribution. I have taken part in a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial, witnessed and even been subject to the thorough government-funded research that is taking place in the U.S. in order to prove the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is no doubt in my mind that vaccines that have gone through this process are safe, reliable, effective, and will bring back a sense of normalcy to the U.S. once enough people get them. I was so excited to get vaccinated like many of my family members that I joined a clinical trial just for a chance at protection against COVID-19. I didn’t make that choice because I was afraid of contracting the virus, but because I wanted to minimize the chance that I could spread it. I was also eager to help another vaccine gain approval, because they are so pivotal to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and the unfortunate waves of sickness and death that the virus brings.

By the time Haley got her crossover shots, Sterling Research Group was also conducting follow-up appointments for those who were in the Pfizer trial. Sterling Research Group conducted both the Pfizer and Novavax trials.

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Uplifting Asian American and Pacific Islander story: Alison MacGillivray Voices photos: Duncan Platt design: Alicia Graham

n April 3, 2021, Miami’s Asian American Association (AAA) organized a vigil for those killed in the Atlanta Spa shootings. The shootings resulted in eight deaths, six of which were people of Asian descent. Over 100 members of the Miami and Oxford community showed up to support the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. It was described by Miami sophomore Isabella Corder as an event open to the community. “You can just come and go as you please. It also makes it a lot more inclusive to people

who can’t stay the whole time or don’t have internet access to register,” Corder says. Corder is the social chair of the AAA’s executive team and spoke at the vigil. Sara Lu, a senior at Miami, also spoke at the vigil. “It was a good time, between healing from the news and actually having the capacity to act on it and speak up,” Lu says. Racism towards the AAPI community has increased significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because it is commonly believed that COVID-19

originated in Wuhan, China, the virus was given a false association with Chinese people, and those who are or look Chinese. This resulted in an increase in racially fueled incidents as reported by Stop AAPI Hate. The self-reporting forum documented 3,795 entries of hate incidents across the country toward the AAPI community from March 19, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Over this past year, there has also been an increase in activism and support for AAPI. Corder and Lu are just two of the many people in Oxford who have spoken against the racism towards the AAPI community.

Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Strategic Communication program Dr. Hongmei Li spoke at her first rally at the Freedom Center in Cincinnati, shortly after the murder of several Asian-American women in Atlanta, Georgia. “I never thought I would really speak as an activist,” Li said. “But when I was standing there, I felt I had to speak out, since we cannot be silent anymore, and I feel silence is kind of complicit.” This photograph was taken by Raymond Tan at the event in Cincinnati.

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Oxford Councilwoman Chantel Raghu wants to continue implementing positive changes in our community, but she said that starts with welcoming more people into the political conversation. “To have younger people or just different people in the room that just represent all these different identities, that is the healthiest form of democracy,” Raghu said.

consciousness,” Li said. “I never thought things could be so bad.” Every week, her university chair would document all of the faculty’s accomplishments, whether it be a conference or published paper, and send them out in a newsletter. After two weeks of noticing that her achievements were not included, Li confronted the chair and asked to be recognized. He promised that she would be, but the next week, she was once again forgotten. She ultimately sent out an email herself to faculty listing her accomplishments. Later, she organized an important conference at the university’s business school. When she asked the same chair to send out an email to the Ph.D. students, he neglected to do so. One of Miami’s very own professors, Dr. Hongmei Li, has also been vocal in the antiracism movement. Li is an associate professor and coordinator of strategic communication at Miami University. This March, she attended a rally in Cincinnati at the Freedom Center and gave a speech in support of the AAPI community. Her speech can be found on Miami University’s website under the Department of Media, Journalism & Film’s “Faculty statements on Asian hate.” This was Li’s first time speaking at a rally, an experience that she said was well-received by the audience. She was motivated to speak at the rally because she said she cannot be silent anymore. 26

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“I really was trying to show that solidarity is very, very important,” Li said. As someone who was born and raised in China, Li was not conscious of the kinds of race issues that are prevalent in the U.S. until she immigrated. She attended the University of Southern California, and it was there that she learned about racism and the effects it has on people of color in the U.S. She was never personally impacted by racism until she moved to Georgia, where she was hired as an assistant professor at Georgia State University. “Without my experience at Georgia State, I never would have developed such

“I never spoke about [these issues] to anybody except my friends. I felt like I could pretend they didn’t even exist,” Li said. “I could work harder to just overcome these issues. I could just work harder, then nobody could harm me.” That was Li’s original mindset. Now that she’s had the time to think about the impact those actions have had on her, she’s adopted a different mentality. She knows the challenges she has experienced were fueled by her race, even if the instigator did not fully realize that. “Some of these issues probably could be viewed as microaggressions. Some of them could be viewed as unfair treatment,” Li said. “But definitely, I think race and gender

played a role there.” She eventually opened up to her colleagues about what she was experiencing. After speaking with her colleagues, she discovered that they had similar experiences. One of her Japanese colleagues had begun to check each faculty handbook and publication for her name due to frequently being forgotten about. The same colleague went out of town for a while, and while she was gone, the chair circulated a document. In this document were recorded interviews where students talked about specific professors. One interview labeled a white male professor as the best in the department, while another interview in the same report placed her Japanese colleague in a negative light, saying, “She’s the worst professor I ever had, and I never understood her. She spoke with such a strong accent.” These experiences forced Li to learn about racism firsthand. Her speech at the Freedom Center in Cincinnati this spring was an accumulation of all the emotions and lessons she wants to share. Three lessons, in particular, are the most important to her. “I want to convey the message that racism should not be equated with whiteness… People of different ethnicities and races can adopt racism,” Li said. “Second, the racial map is more complicated. It’s not just between white and Black; Asians and Hispanics and Native Americans and so on should be included in the discussion about race. And the third message is that I really want people to come out together, form solidarity, and fight for justice, equality and freedom for all.” Students at Miami can help make this happen. Li advises students to reach out to AAPI students on campus to help all international students and AAPI students feel welcomed and heard. By listening to their stories, students can become better allies. “I definitely think that young people tend to be more accepting, so I am hopeful,” Li said. Miami students can work together to prove her right. Another member of the wider Oxford

community, Councilwoman Chantel Raghu, has worked in the local government to make a difference. Raghu moved to Oxford from Texas with her husband after completing veterinary school. She has always considered being a politician to be her dream job, and on Oxford’s City Council, her dream has come true. “I wanted to turn outwards and try to help and serve my community in politics,” Raghu said. In the wake of COVID-19 last spring, Raghu introduced a resolution condemning hate speech and discrimination in Oxford. A challenging aspect of hate speech and discrimination is that incidents often go unreported. The self-reporting Stop AAPI Hate forum is an important tool in this regard because it helps track anti-Asian incidents. “The hard part is… [the incidents] that might be more microaggressions or hate speech, a lot of those go unreported. And that’s the same for any marginalized community or for women,” Raghu said. “A lot of them are just not captured unless it escalates to a point like we see here recently where elder AAPI people are being beaten and assaulted on the streets.” It’s been a year since Raghu’s resolution was adopted on May 5, 2020. Still, racism against the AAPI community is rampant across the nation. “I think that the most important thing for me [to remember] is that we’re all in this together. Every single marginalized community… It’s not competing interests,” Raghu said. “It’s Black Lives Matter; it’s talking about non-binary people and about women; it’s about all these groups. It’s about undocumented Americans. It’s that all of us are staying together.” Raghu also emphasized how the AAPI community has a richness to it that often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. The Asian population is not a monolith, she says. There are many different cultures within it, each with their own nationalities, languages, cuisines and religions.

Another issue fueling anti-Asian racism is problematic policies. Raghu explains that the U.S. immigration policy is skewed to let people in who have the highest education and the ability to make the most money. By letting in only a certain demographic, it eliminates the true richness of the entire AAPI community. Raghu calls for reform in the immigration policy, which, like many other policies that impact the community, contributes to our current system of inequality. Raghu recently attended a Stop Asian Hate rally in Huber Heights, Ohio. It was organized by Huber Height’s Diversity and Cultural Committee, which formed after the murder of George Floyd last year. She learned about the rally through her involvement with Ohio Progressive AAPI Women’s Leadership (OPAWL). Raghu’s participation in the anti-racism rallies, OPAWL and her participation in the antihate resolution are all examples of how she is trying to fight this racism. “All of it is really just trying to uplift other AAPI voices that have gone unheard for so long and trying to add that to all the other voices, so that we can speak collectively for fairness,” Raghu said. Raghu recommends that students at Miami and those in the Oxford community get involved by encouraging a diversity of people to become politically engaged. She assures that the City Council is always ready to listen to and help students and community members, and she invites everyone to attend public meetings. “If you’re of an identity that constantly gets ignored, or a marginalized identity, but you’re in the room, it becomes a lot harder to ignore you,” Raghu said. Li, Raghu and the members of AAA are only a fraction of the people who are fighting for change in Oxford. This change would make the community not only more inclusive and accepting, but also more accountable for its past and future actions. By holding others to these standards, they hope Oxford can be a welcoming home to all.

“Talk to people who don’t look like you or think like you… Just talk to different groups of people or people who live in different neighborhoods,” Raghu said. DEI I MQ Magazine

Embodying

he beautiful spring night of Thursday, April 22, was tinged with sadness as Miami University students gathered at the Seal to honor the lives lost in the Indianapolis Fed-Ex shooting. The vigil, put on by the Miami University Sikh Student Association, attracted students and staff wishing to pay respects from many different races and religions. A solemn hush fell over the crowd as they clutched their candles and held hands.

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Love & Honor photos: Bo Brueck design: Alicia Graham

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Jakin Wu, a third-year student at Miami, volunteered to speak at the vigil out of frustration with the lack of change at the university and nationally. “It comes down to citizens like us to carry the burdens of the ultimate failings of our country and our society,” Wu said. “It shouldn’t be our burden to carry anymore. We shouldn’t be the ones out here every two weeks making a vigil or marching or protesting or doing whatever.”

Emma Drake, a second-year Miami student, attended the vigil in support of the Sikh community and one of her close friends. “I’m definitely privileged to be of a religion and race that is not subject to these sorts of awful crimes,” Drake said. “I’m really just here to show my support and show my love.”

Navkirain Kaur Chima, President and founder of Miami’s Sikh Student Association, organized this vigil in commemoration of the lives lost in the Indianapolis Fed-Ex shooting. “As a practicing Sikh I felt obligated to honor the lives of the victims,” Chima said. “Not only the Sikh victims, but all the victims who were killed in that act of hate.”

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Who is Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins? story: Claire Lordan design: Lucy Greaney

The Story Behind the Class of ‘21 Commencement Speaker

r. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins will deliver the commencement address at Miami University’s spring graduation ceremony, according to an announcement by President Greg Crawford. With the decision to split graduation into eight different ceremonies ranging across different colleges, Jefferson-Jenkins will deliver her address at all of the ceremonies.

women who made a difference, persevered and made contributions to the greater good while balancing life’s obligations.”

In addition to the eight ceremonies recognizing the class of 2021, held between Friday, May 14 and Sunday, May 16, the University will also recognize the class of 2020 at an in-person ceremony on Thursday, May 13 at 7:00 p.m. Jefferson-Jenkins will also deliver the commencement address for the class of 2020.

While serving as chair of the Education Fund, Jefferson-Jenkins promoted efforts to build strong democracies in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Israel, the Netherlands and various African countries. She worked to provide accurate election information to voters, as well as to register women and minority voters who had not been encouraged to vote in the past.

Jefferson-Jenkins, who graduated from the Western College for Women in 1974, began her career as a public school teacher and administrator. Additionally, she earned a master’s degree in education from John Carroll University, an educational specialist degree from Kent State University and a doctorate degree from Cleveland State University. “Western College prepared us for life, not just a career,” Jefferson-Jenkins said. “While teaching was my vocation, my calling was always communitybased activism. I grew up and came of age during the Civil Rights movement. There was never a time I was not active or calling for change, not calling for progress.” In 1998, Jefferson-Jenkins became the 15th president of the League of Women’s Voters and served two terms. Currently, she is the only Black woman or woman of color to serve as president. In addition to her two terms as president, she also served as chair of the League of Women’s Voters Education Fund. “I pursue my passions, and I am not hindered by the obstacles of gender, race or socioeconomics,” Jefferson-Jenkins said. “Whenever I was told that I couldn’t or shouldn’t, I did. I made sure that I had the education and experience to prepare me for any opportunity that presented itself.” Under her presidency, which spanned from 1998 to 2002, Jefferson-Jenkins assisted in passing the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). The act assisted in regulating the financing of political campaigns, and worked to close some of the more pressing financial loopholes within campaign finance regulation at the time. The act was sponsored by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). Jefferson-Jenkins also led the League of Women’s Voters to focus more on local elections, particularly elections with female candidates, while also increasing voter participation across all elections through the “Get Out the Vote” campaign. The campaign worked to register first-time voters, while also encouraging absentee or mail-in voting. “I have been inspired by women both directly and indirectly throughout my career,” Jefferson-Jenkins said. “I’ve been inspired by

Later, Jefferson-Jenkins sponsored the “Wired for Democracy” project, the first online tool to provide voters with objective, nonpartisan election information.

“Through her illustrious career, Dr. Jefferson-Jenkins has dedicated herself to affirming and uploading our country’s democracy,” President Crawford said, in an announcement to the Miami community. “Time and time again she has used her voice and her platform to protect and expand voting rights, encouraging all to participate in the electoral process. Through her example, our graduates will be inspired to use their Miami education to serve, lead, and build a better future for all.” Jefferson-Jenkins received the Freedom Summer of ‘64 award from Miami in February 2020, becoming the third honoree to receive the award. The award, which was created in 2017 and serves to “award honored leaders who strive to advance civil rights and social justice in America,” was awarded to Jefferson-Jenkins on account of her dedication to expanding voting rights. “[Jefferson-Jenkin’s] push for grassroots organization and attention to local elections underscores the goals of Freedom Summer and affirms its values and principles.” Crawford said, when granting Jefferson-Jenkins the award. Though Freedom Summer, a 1964 voter registration drive aimed to increase Black voter registration in Mississippi, was not sponsored by Miami, the Western College for Women housed volunteers for the drive from June 14 to June 27. Three of the volunteers were later murdered in Mississippi while registering Black voters. Currently, Jefferson-Jenkins works as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Education. She remains active on numerous boards, and advises local community-based organizations. Jefferson-Jenkins hopes that her commencement address will inspire Miami graduates to take advantage of the opportunities of our time. “For my generation, it’s time to pass on the mantle and be supportive,” Jefferson-Jenkins said. “What I hope to convey to the new Miami alumni is that they were made for a moment like this. Every generation has a transformational time, and this is it for them. And while we don’t know what the future holds, we know that this class will make the world better, and that their Miami education has prepared them for that.” DEI I MQ Magazine 31

A Look Into the Future With ASG Presidents Past and Present

story: Emily Scott photos: Bo Brueck design: Emily Scott ASG President Madelyn Jett (left) and Vice President Aidan McKeon will aim to integrate diversity, equity and inclusion in many different areas of student life. Jett said she is excited to work with all of her fellow ASG members to better the Miami community. Photo provided by Madelyn Jett.

ormer Associated Student Government (ASG) President Jannie Kamara hopes to see three things in the future of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at Miami University:

1) Grassroot efforts to change university policy 2) An increase in shared governance between students and administrators 3) A shared sense of accountability Kamara became the student body president in May of 2020. After a summer of loss, protest and change, Kamara hoped that the momentum would continue into the 2020-21 school year on Miami’s campuses. There has been change throughout the last school year, including the creation of a DEI Taskforce, which is tasked with making recommendations to the University about new policies to implement and creating a clear vision of what DEI should look like at Miami. While she acknowledges this is an important step for the University, Kamara wants to see real action. “Money talks at the end of day,” Kamara said. “Money does talk. If they’re not putting that financial backing behind these different 32

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departments, these different programs, these different majors, then it’s not truly transforming our campus.” It will not happen overnight, but Kamara said that shared governance is an important step in accomplishing change. By creating better relationships between students and administrators, a better partnership will be created. Kamara said it is vital that this relationship is seen as a partnership, not as a customer-consumer relationship. She thinks the lack of information sharing between Miami and its students has been frustrating. Current ASG President Madelyn Jett agrees and thinks that students often do not have a say, because the administration does not know students want a say. “It’s kind of repetitive under our administration that they tend to ignore students,” Jett said. “Student voices aren’t heard because administrators don’t think that students care about issues, just because they’re not in the room. Getting students into decision making rooms is really, really important, but it takes a lot of great student advocates, which we do have.” Both Kamara and Jett recognize that change in Miami’s DEI policies will have to come first from students. When students make their voices heard so that the university feels a pull towards change, then it will occur.

One of the policies Jett hopes to implement next school year would bring more students into the conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion. All undergraduate assistants (UA) would need to complete diversity training prior to starting their role. This would help them be more aware of problems in the classroom and would help them be an ally to students of color. Jett had the idea for the program after she realized she never received diversity training when she was a UA. She is currently working with other members of ASG to draft a proposal for the program. Some academic departments already require diversity training. Jett helped the Farmer School of Business launch similar training within the college, but her new program would expand this schoolwide. Jett ran for ASG president on three pillars:

1) Administrative accountability 2) Student wellness 3) Diversity, equity and inclusion “There have been many times where our administration has made mistakes,” Jett said. “Some of our initiatives under [the accountability pillar] include parking and meal plans; things that are going to be a huge uphill battle, but things that we’re excited to start working on.” Kamara also thinks it is important for the university and its students to be held accountable for their actions. She has experienced racial discrimination on campus and knows that other students of color have as well. This has been a barrier to her learning, which is frustrating to her because academics are the reason she came to Oxford. There have been instances where Kamara felt she needed to share her experiences as a person of color so her professors and peers would better understand racial issues. She said Miami’s lack of diversity has been a challenge. “I think that our campus needs to be better at holding individuals who have discriminatory beliefs and practices accountable,” Kamara said. “Miami is historically a teaching institution or teaching-focused institution. How can you teach students when students in the classroom settings don’t feel as if they can show up and be their authentic selves?”

Former ASG President Jannie Kamara wants Miami’s students and administration to come together when deciding policy. She and Jett share a similar vision of shared governance, which would help students advance their interests.

Jett and her vice president Aidan McKeon also both want to advance the LGBTQ+ community. Jett said that because they are both queer students, this is an important issue to peruse. Specifically, they want to focus on advancing the rights of transgender and non-binary student. To accomplish this, they have formed a search committee to add a Director of Transgender Equity and Inclusion, who would work with the Secretary of Safety and the Secretary of Diversity and Inclusion. Jett’s student wellness pillar encompasses both physical and mental health. She wants to partner with different student organizations to work on destigmatizing mental health “from the bottom up.” Jett, McKeon and the incoming ASG cabinet were sworn in on May 4. Kamara trusts that Jett will do a great job in her role, and leaves her with some parting advice: “Always remember why you’re in the position,” Kamara said. “If you ever doubt yourself, go to other students to see what they think. Our role as presidents is to ensure that the voice of the students is heard. Find people that you can trust who will help you and support you. Leadership roles at the university are male dominated, but don’t ever let them make you doubt yourself. You know what you’re talking about. Your experiences as a leader, as a woman, as a student are valid. You are there for a reason.”

The Importance of Creativity

story: Ethan Icarus O’Brien-Scheffer photos: Jake Ruffer design: Lucy Greaney

e’re all familiar with boredom — the lazy days when there’s nothing specific to do or get done; the want for something to break you free from the mundane life you’re living. Is there a handbook for distraction — a guide we’re given at birth to tell us what to do when there doesn’t seem to be anything for us to do? Of course not. But there doesn’t have to be. The brain can come up with so much more than what we give it credit for. With boredom and free time comes the opportunity to explore first with your mind, then with the world around you. The answer to boredom, then, is creativity. But quite a few people struggle with being “creative.” In my own experience, as a creative person who deals with some mental health issues, 34

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Sometimes Ethan will head Uptown to work on a new story. Writing fiction is one of Ethan’s key creative outlets.

I’ve often used moments of boredom to make something new. Be it music, art or writing, I’ve dabbled in all of them. I continue to use them in my daily life to give me motivation to get through the day. Like, when after a long day of classes, I went down to one of the two pianos located in Stonebridge Hall to play my stress away. Or when, instead of lying in bed doing nothing for hours because I ran out of motivation for socialization or academics, I listened to good music while painting on the back of a paper plate that I then hung up on my wall (I still have this artwork in my possession). There were other times when I felt overwhelmed by friendship and personal troubles, and chose to escape to a fantasy world, writing outside on one of my laptops. While going on your phone isn’t always fulfilling and can lead to feeling numb and more bored, other more beneficial forms of escapism are easily achieved that can help

you with dealing with anxiety or feeling overwhelmed. Not all forms of escapism are creative, and not all creativity is escapist. Now, some might feel like different mental health issues prevent them from finding creative outlets for their boredom and lack of joie de vivre. While there is a definite struggle between having something like depression and being able to enjoy stuff and self-motivate, certain pains can be alleviated when one puts their mind toward something other than the issues at hand. Or when someone makes their issues, thoughts and feelings things for them to harness instead of immobile weights to be crushed by. Again, that’s not to say that all obstacles are mobile—sometimes it’s the case that prescribed drugs are needed to fix a chemical imbalance in the brain and that’s that—it’s for those that are, to make the most of them. For those who don’t have mental health issues already, long periods of boredom

and nothing-to-do won’t necessarily help with maintaining a happy mind and mood. So, what can be done? How can a person who struggles with being “creative” become creative? There is no easy answer. What it comes down to is: Are you willing to open your mind? Creativity is rooted in one’s ability to consider alternatives to their situation. What if my feelings can be translated into something that I can draw or paint or craft? What if I finally do what I keep saying I’m going to do but keep putting off? What if I return to certain childhood antics, like making a fort out of blankets and pillows, or using what I have in my current environment to make something new? In my case, I find that writing or making art/music that coincides with what’s on my mind or what I’m feeling generally helps make me feel less overwhelmed and anxious. When I make art about something I’m struggling with internally, I find that this helps me to compartmentalize. Also, listening to music that you wouldn’t normally listen to can help put yourself in a different headspace, which is important for creative thinking. The goal is really to break habits, more than anything else. With that comes new possibilities and originality. Habits are based around routine and the brain’s reward system, according to the article “Breaking Bad Habits” from NIH News in Health (a newsletter from the National Institutes of Health). So, habits can be broken from the repeated and practiced breaking of routines, or the practice of selfcontrol, even in areas that aren’t related to whatever the specific habit is: “regularly practicing different types of self-control— such as sitting up straight or keeping a food diary—can strengthen your resolve.” Some of the tips provided include avoiding the environments where you know you’ll be tempted into doing something that has previously been a habit, and visualizing yourself in a tempting situation doing what you would prefer to do instead of giving into temptation. Exercise, and finding healthier habits to replace unhealthy ones, are also possible ways to help kick a habit. So, you could make a habit of safely stepping

Ethan reads from his self-published book, Fearghus Academy: October Jewels. It was published in May 2020, and Ethan’s working on the second book in the series, Fearghus Academy: Crystal Shards. outside of your comfort zone. While artistic products might be the desired outcome for some, they don’t have to be for everyone. Your desired outcome is yours to decide, to feel out, to work toward. Personally, I’ve seen people who would be perfectly capable of making outside-thebox decisions, but who feel that they can’t because they aren’t particularly artistic. Just as not all art is particularly creative, not all creativity has to be tied to artistic works. You can be creative and not an artist. On the same note, not all artists are especially creative: in art class you’re often expected to copy another piece of art. This helps

develop technique, but it doesn’t teach students to think outside of the box. When it comes down to it, there is no onesize-fits all answer to the question of “how to be creative,” but the great thing about creativity is that it innately requires no single answer. And, when it comes to feeling less bored, it doesn’t hurt to try things you wouldn’t normally try. It might take a little bit of bravery, and giving yourself permission to fail, but new things can be created from old, and old habits can change. It takes time and effort, but that time and effort is worth it. Opinion I MQ Magazine 35

Stepping Stones story and photos: Leanne Stahulak design: Lucy Greaney

hen I decided to set out and pursue my senior year bucket list, I should’ve realized that it would require two things I don’t quite have: time and money. Despite my intentions to embrace senioritis and forget about job searching and classes, I can’t bring myself to take time away from those commitments. Instead, I’m continuing to squeeze in my senior year experiences

between homework assignments, writing tests for employers and wrapping up my final issue of MQ. So, rather than attempt to fit a semester’s worth of bucket list items into the next four days, I’m going to tell you about some of my other senior year experiences. The ones I didn’t plan on or prep myself for, but that still gave me hope and wisdom and caution for my future.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a tendency to hyper-focus on what’s coming next, to set up expectations for how the experiences I have planned out will change my perception on being a graduating senior. We’ve all done that at some point or another — concentrated only on what lies ahead. But with a majority of my senior year and college career behind me, it feels right to pause and look back. I hope you all take a second to reflect too, no matter what stage of your life you’re in. I know looking at the past can be painful, especially given all the crazy events that have happened since March 2020. But all of those moments, the good and the bad, are stepping stones for all of us on our way towards becoming who we are now and who we will be someday. This is the path that my stepping stones followed.

Boys and Books By the time my senior year started, I was tired of waiting. I wasn’t even entirely sure what I was waiting for. The right looks? Similar interests? A complete telepathic connection where millions of words could be communicated in a single glance? I wish. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself otherwise, boys in real life were nothing like the boys I read about in books. I knew they only set my expectations too high and made the realities before me Leanne and Mateo celebrate Valentine’s Day together, reminding each other on this day and every day how much they care for one another. 36

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seem disappointingly low. The perfect boyfriend didn’t exist, I told myself. It was beyond time for me to stop waiting for him to drop into my lap (or spill coffee on my shirt. Or knock my textbooks out of my hand. Or hit me in the head with an Ultimate Frisbee). So, at the start of my senior year, I took a more practical approach. I went on as many Bumble and Hinge dates as I could (while still following COVID precautions). I talked to as many guys at once as I could keep up with. I didn’t specify that I was only looking for a relationship on dating apps. I just put myself out there, in the only way I knew how, and waited to see what happened next. What happened was one case of COVID, one instance of strep throat, three dates in one weekend and the start of a long-lasting relationship. I went on a couple of dates with Guy #1 around mid-August, and things were going pretty well. But on the day of our fourth date, when I planned on asking him if he wanted to make things serious, I came down with a super bad case of strep throat (which I was convinced was COVID until I got tested). Guy #1 kept his distance and wished me a safe and speedy recovery. A week passed, and just as I was feeling better, he shot me a text about having a really bad headache. The next day, he and his roommates tested positive for COVID. I would’ve hung out with him that night if I hadn’t gotten strep throat. Maybe we would’ve gone on a few more dates that week, kept talking and getting to know each other. But the reality is, we lost our momentum while we were both sick (even if he didn’t know it yet). So, the night he told me he had COVID, I jumped back on the dating apps.

By the end of the week, I had three dates lined up for Labor Day weekend: Two dinner dates and a trip to Barnes and Noble on Labor Day. I liked talking to Guys #2, 3 and 4 for different reasons, and I wanted to see if the in-person chemistry matched up to the vibe we had over text. Right as I was leaving for my date with Guy #2, Guy #4 texted me. I wish I could tell you what he said, but I remember how he made me feel. I melted inside, the kind of slow, warm feeling that envelopes your body while simultaneously speeding up your heart rate. For the entire 40 minute drive to see Guy #2, I couldn’t stop thinking about Guy #4. Lo and behold, the SAME EXACT THING happened before my date with Guy #3. Guy #4 texted me out of the blue, maybe about our upcoming date, maybe about the books we were reading or how work was that day. It didn’t matter. I sat through my dinner with Guy #3 just waiting to be able to text Guy #4. When the day arrived and I pulled into the parking lot at Barnes and Noble, I remember not just feeling nervous or excited. There was a weight to this moment, a tension in my bones that told me this guy could be different than the other ones. Not just because he wanted to meet in a bookstore and buy books of each other’s favorite authors; it was the way he applauded my work with MQ, made me laugh when I was having a stressful day, opened up about his life and the work he does. Something felt right about the way we vibed, and I just needed that in-person confirmation to know if this could have potential.

remember how he hugged me at the end of our date, how right it felt to be folded against him.

I remember how his brown eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled at me behind his mask. I remember the deep tone of his voice, the way it made my toes curl in my sandals. I remember his tattoo-covered arms, sprawling in stories about the things that are important to him in his life. I

Before my senior year in college, I’d never had a boyfriend. Before January 2020, I’d never kissed a guy. Before the pandemic, I’d never truly contemplated how alone I felt, even as I reassured myself that I was fine not having someone who cared about me romantically. But when I met Guy #4, when

Leanne’s high school friend Madison accepts this horribly dead plant at a Christmas gathering and promises to propagate it and attempt to bring it back to life.

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I started dating Mateo, I knew that all the waiting was worth it. It wasn’t just waiting, though. It was believing in myself and what I had to give to another person that allowed me to put in the work to find him on the dating app. It was having the courage to shed the skin of a girl who only looked for boyfriends in books and become the girl who fell in love with boys in bookstores. It was being confident enough to just be myself, to not pretend to be somebody in a desperate attempt to make a connection. There was no need to pretend with Mateo, because he saw me and understood me completely. We went back to that Barnes and Noble last week. He bought me another book, I bought him another coffee and we grinned like lovesick fools as we reenacted the scene of our first date. I can’t wait to see how many other goofy and heartwarming and thoughtful moments we share in the months to come.

That Dead Plant I had killed it. For three weeks, I’d kept this stupid plant alive as a Christmas present to my friend. It wasn’t my first choice for a gift, but my other two friends had already claimed the other items on Madison’s Christmas list for our yearly gift exchange. All that remained was “Plants (preferably ones that are easy to care for, but omg no more snake plants, I have four pots of them).” When I looked up “easy to care for plants,” devil’s ivy was one of the first to pop up. It’s a vining, hanging type of plant that grows with little water and little sunlight. Kevin at epicgardening.com even said the plant goes by that name because “it’s nearly impossible to kill.” Yeah right, Kevin. Maybe I potted the tiny sprout wrong when I transferred it from a cup of water to a planter. Maybe I overwatered it once it was in the pot. Maybe I should have paid more attention when Kevin said that only direct sunlight and direct darkness was bad for the plant, and I should not have boxed it up for a four hour car ride from Indianapolis to Chicago on Christmas morning. 38

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Leanne checks out the Continental Divide on her way through New Mexico. This is her first time traveling through the Southwest United States, and she is loving the desert scenery so far. By the time I reached my friend Janae’s house for our gathering, that sucker was dead. I didn’t put it with the rest of my and Janae’s presents under a fake palm Christmas tree in her basement, but placed it on an end table off to the side. I didn’t want Madison to realize right away that she’d gotten a plant as one of her presents, and that whoever had gifted it to her had done a shitty job of keeping it alive. The second she saw it, she’d know it was from me anyway. The four of us — Madison, Janae, Kirsten and I — have exchanged presents every year since junior year of high school. As sixteenyear-olds, we had bonded over shared nerdy interests and AP classes, celebrating homecomings and proms and graduations together without fail. Even when we scattered across the country for college — I went east to Ohio, Madison headed to Iowa, Kirsten traveled north to Minnesota and Janae escaped west to Colorado — we never lost contact with one another. And we always matched up our winter breaks to be able to see each other at least once a year around Christmas time. That didn’t quite work this time around. Primarily, because of the pandemic. Cases were skyrocketing at that time, and the four of us only promised to meet up for a few hours to exchange gifts and watch a movie

together, fully masked and socially distant at all times. It was a far cry from the actionpacked weekend we usually crammed in every December, trying to make up for lost time. But it was also our last winter break as college students, the last time we knew for sure that the four of us would meet up in Chicago to cackle over inside jokes and bond over Mamma Mia movies. Next fall, Kirsten would head to the West Coast for grad school, Janae was moving permanently to Colorado, and Madison and I had no idea where the job hunt would take us. But what were the chances that we’d all be able to meet up in Chicago around Christmas next year? What if life pulled us in a different direction? As the four of us sat in Janae’s basement though, opening gifts and sneaking bites of Doritos under our masks, I knew we would be alright. We’d survived not only four years of college apart, but a global pandemic keeping us from in-person visits all year. We’d perfected weekly Bachelor watch parties on Zoom and late-night phone calls when we were stressed. We’d found ways to lean on each other when tight hugs weren’t an option. We’d recognized each other’s growth, from the tiny high school students we were into the adult women we are today. And we’ll continue to be there for each other, no matter where the future takes us.

I told myself. And I did find time, in between visits to the Botanical Gardens and L.A. Zoo, walks down to the beach and yoga in the park. I forced myself to pick up my laptop, go to the next room, and try to focus on my work for MQ or class. But in the background, all I could hear were my parents laughing at something my sister said, the clink of the wine bottle hitting the rim of the glass, the murmur of conversation as my family soaked in their time together. Without me.

Leanne (left) spends time at the pier at Manhattan Beach with her parents and older sister on their cross-country vacation. When everyone had opened the last of their presents, I stood up and started towards the plant sitting on the end table. “I have one more present for you, Madison.” “Is it that dead plant?” she exclaimed. The whole world seemed to shake with the force of our laughter.

Fake Spring Break Without fail, I have worked during every college spring break. No sunny beaches or wild road trips for me. Just putting in as many hours as I could at Shoe Carnival, measuring people’s feet and signing them up for rewards cards they didn’t need. I thought about planning an elaborate trip sometime my senior year, but when the pandemic hit and Miami announced that spring break would be replaced by wellness days in the 2021 spring semester, I laid those dreams to rest. Only for my parents — my parents, who insisted I work as much as I could in college — to resurrect those dreams again. Of course, my senior year spring break trip wouldn’t be a rowdy getaway with my close college friends. It would be a family road trip, traveling from Indiana to California to

visit my older sister, Hannah. Hannah’s partner was away on an extended business trip for three months, leaving Hannah on her own for the first time since the start of the pandemic. We’d only seen her once in the past year, for two days at my cousin’s wedding in October, and with her and my parents half-vaccinated at the time, they decided it was worth it to drive out for a visit. I couldn’t wait, both for the chance to see my sister and to get out of the Midwest for a while. We’d be traveling through the Southwest, a region I’d never spent much time in aside from layovers in airports, before reaching Manhattan Beach, the L.A. suburb where Hannah lives. But the closer we got to the trip, the more worry started to set in. Online classes made it easier for me to up and leave for a vacation during school, but it still meant I’d have work to do and classes to attend while I was there. I told myself I’d have roughly five days total in the car to work on assignments when I wasn’t driving. The journey to Manhattan Beach flew by with barely a dent made in my homework. Between the hours I put in driving and the pile of leisure books I’d brought with me, I couldn’t bring myself to focus on classwork. You’ll find time when you get to Hannah’s,

Not that I resented my family for having a good time. I was more angry with myself for not trying to get ahead the week before, for scheduling an MQ meeting, for continuing to push things off because I just couldn’t concentrate. It was impossible to focus on work when all I could think about were all the moments I was missing out on right in the other room. So, eventually, I closed the laptop. I finished the one assignment I absolutely had to get done that week, and pushed off the rest. I only got to see Hannah a few times a year, and I was tired of wasting that precious time. I allowed myself to laugh and drink and soak in those moments too, because God knew I’d earned it. I’d earned this rest, this break from the constant slog of schoolwork. I’d earned the chance to enjoy an afternoon sitting on the balcony, watching the sun crest over the waves and keeping still when hummingbirds flitted up to my sister’s feeders. I’d earned a reprieve from the guilt that I should’ve been doing something productive. I’d been productive every other damn spring break of my college career. Between Shoe Carnival and homework, I’d been kept busy enough during my supposed time of rest. Even now, on the fake spring break I was lucky enough to have, I still found myself working. When I think about the trips I have ahead of me this year, I know one thing for sure. I’m not going to worry about whatever work I might have pressing me at the time. It’ll still be there no matter where I go, what I do, or who I spend time with. And it’s no more or less important than the memories I can make while I fully enjoy my (real) time off. Opinion I MQ Magazine

MQ Issue 4 May 2021

Articles inside

Stepping Stones

The Importance of Creativity

Who is Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins?

Embodying Love and Honor

Oxford’s Focus on Drug Rehabilitation

A Look Into the Future with ASG Presidents Past and Present

The Secret to Oxford’s Newest Deli and Bar

Uplifting Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices

Traveling Trials: Part II

Catching Up with the Commuters