Vol. 17 Issue 4

backdrop magazine

SPRING 2024

A SPECIAL VIEWING pg.18 CHALK WARS pg.26

QUEEN A Double Life Fit for a

pg.30

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Letter from the editor

McKenna Christy | Editor-in-Chief backdropmag@gmail.com

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backdrop | Spring 2024

Hello!

Thank you for picking up Backdrop Magazine’s last issue of the 2023-2024 academic year. Our staff has worked extremely hard to put together one more magazine to send everyone off into the summer.

Ohio University’s campus and parts of Athens may get a little quieter these next few months without as many students present, but hopefully, our issue will give people reading opportunities and maybe just something to do.

For our last issue, writer Amber Phipps wrote a feature about the science behind the solar eclipse that occurred on April 8, which for some, was a once-in-a-lifetime event (pg. 18). Through her coverage of the eclipse, Amber shows how celebrations across Ohio took place.

Although Amber is soon to become an OU and a Backdrop alumna, I know the impact of her contributions to the magazine will live on.

Our cover of this issue is of Evelyn Everything, an iconic drag queen, who also goes by Jack Wilburn, an OU student who wrote about his double life on the stage and in the classroom (pg. 30). Thank you, Jack, for sharing your story and giving your fans insight into how you make Everything possible.

It has been an honor being editor-in-chief of Backdrop this year, and I will mostly miss all the job’s responsibilities, but I know the magazine is in qualified hands. I am beyond excited to announce that Voices/ Entertainment editor and current sophomore Darcie Zudell will be taking over as editor-in-chief of Backdrop for the 2024-2025 academic year and current junior Layne Rey will be next year’s managing editor.

I am grateful for their dedication to the magazine and am confident they will do amazing things.

Lastly, thank you to my current managing editor, Carmen Szukaitis, for jumping into the role without hesitation a year ago and for being someone I can rely on for anything. Also, thank you for being the entertaining one of our duo. Congratulations, soon-to-be OU, and Backdrop alumna, and I cannot wait to see what you do in the future.

Happy reading!

SPRING 2024 » VOLUME 17 ISSUE 4

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Backdrop magazine is an award-winning, student-run magazine aimed at covering current events and culture with OU and Athens as our "Backdrop." We are currently recruiting more people to join our amazing staff. We have positions available for:

• Writers • Photographers • Designers • Social Media Content Creators • And more! www.backdropmagazine.com

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backdrop magazine EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MCKENNA CHRISTY MANAGING EDITOR CARMEN SZUKAITIS COPY CHIEF GRACE KOENNECKE ASSISTANT COPY CHIEF PEGGY SPETZ SECTION EDITORS ABREANNA BLOSE, CAROLINE KAMMERER, DARCIE ZUDELL COPY EDITORS KIRSTEN ABBEY, MIMI CALHOUN, CLAIRE MOSSBRUGER, LILIA SANTERAMO WRITERS KIRSTEN ABBEY, ABREANNA BLOSE, MCKENNA CHRISTY, MACY COLBERT, EMILY HANNA, AMBER PHIPPS, LAYNE REY, LILIA SANTERAMO, CARMEN SZUKAITIS, JACK WILBURN

CREATIVE DIRECTOR ABBY BURNS ART DIRECTOR ELLIE SABATINO DESIGNERS ABBY BURNS, JULIA GREENWOOD, CARLEY HINTON, JULIA

PARENTE, ALLY PARKER, LAYNE REY, ELLIE SABATINO, ANNA SCHNEIDER PHOTO DIRECTOR PEARL SPURLOCK PHOTOGRAPHERS EMILY HANNA, MEG REES, PEARL SPURLOCK SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR ANNA HINKLE ASSISTANT SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR DARCIE ZUDELL DIGITAL DIRECTORS JULIA GREENWOOD, DYLAN WATSON

Interested in working with us?

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Twitter & Instagram @BackdropMag

SEE "A Special Viewing" PAGE 18

People look up at the solar eclipse on South Green, April 8, 2024.

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CONTENTS FEATURE

A SPECIAL VIEWING

Covering Athens’ celebration of the solar eclipse and the science behind the phenomenon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Q&A

(ALBERT'S) TAXI, PLEASE!

Backdrop talked with John Diles and his canine companion, Albert, who ensure travelers reach their destinations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

RECIPE

LET'S ROLL

The recipe for sushi, made simple. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

COMMUNITY

ROOTS DEEPER THAN THE FOUNDATION

The engravings on OU buildings reveal the stories of their namesakes and the implications of memorialization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

DEFINING THE BARRIERS

How national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on public universities create restrictions to academic access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

PHOTO ESSAY IT'S A GIRL!

A look into the expression of femininity. . . . . . 14

SPRING 2024 » VOLUME 17 ISSUE 4

EXHIBIT A Backdrop staff share common things overheard

during fest season at OU with descriptions for context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

THE DROP

WEST COAST BOBCATS

Scripps College of Communication alumni make their mark at the Los Angeles Times. . . . . . . . . . . 22

SNAGGING OUR ATTENTION

A closer look at the delivery service taking Athens by scooter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

CHALK WARS

A look into how Ohio Issue 1’s abortion debate took over campus sidewalks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

BY STUDENTS FOR STUDENTS

The passionate and challenging process of building an OU student organization. . . . . . . . . . . 28

VOICES

A DOUBLE LIFE FIT FOR A QUEEN

Student by day, drag queen by night, Jack Wilburn shares his journey balancing the best of both worlds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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Q&A

(ALBERT’S) TAXI,

Please!

Backdrop talked with John Diles and his canine companion, Albert, who ensure travelers reach their destinations.

BY CARMEN SZUKAITIS | PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK | DESIGN BY ALLY PARKER

J

and I’m proud of it because it’s very quirky just like Athens is.

It’s kind of the perfect little business in a college town.

BACKDROP MAGAZINE (BM): CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE ORIGIN STORY OF ALBERT’S TAXI?

JD: I wake up at about 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. [and] then I’ll usually work until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. whatever. I live right by Athens Public Library so [I’m] centrally located. When the phone rings, I can usually take the ride. I charge $10 for everywhere within city limits and if it’s out to the Plains or something I charge $15.

On average, I have about ten customers a day.

ohn Diles has been providing rides around Athens for over a year now with his taxi service, Albert’s Taxi. But Diles is not your typical taxi driver because his service offers rides with a furry friend named Albert, a rough collie, on all his rides.

Backdrop spoke with Diles to learn more about the origin of Albert’s Taxi and what makes it a one-of-a-kind experience.

John Diles (JD): I was living down at St. Lucia in the Caribbean running an ear clinic that was specializing in physicals for cruise ship crew members. So, when the pandemic hit, the cruise industry shut down and our clinic shut down.

So, I came back to my hometown, Athens. Rather than renew my license, I just decided to goof around and be a Lyft driver.

Albert was my pandemic dog, so I had him on [a] Lyft ride, and somebody complained that they disabled my Lyft. I said, “What can I do because everyone likes my dog?” Then, I started a Facebook page, and people started to notice it. That’s kind of how it started because Lyft fired me. It’s really the best thing they could have done because now I keep the revenue, and Lyft gets nothing.

BM: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO INCORPORATE YOUR DOG INTO THE TAXI SERVICE? JD: The amount of attention he brings whenever I take him up or down Court Street. Now I can’t even go down Court Street without hearing somebody yell out, “Albert!” It’s unique,

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BM: WHAT’S A TYPICAL DAY LIKE FOR YOU AND ALBERT ON THE JOB?

BM: HOW DOES ALBERT HANDLE BEING IN THE TAXI FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME? JD: He loves it. If I travel further distances, like to Columbus and back, I won’t take him on the next few rides. I’ll let him cool out on my back porch because I always look out for him first. There are times when he just doesn’t feel like going, he’ll just sit on my couch when I call him, so I just go and he’s fine.

BM: CAN YOUR SHARE ANY MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM YOUR RIDES? JD: Last summer, I got a call late in the afternoon, and he says it’s an emergency that he needs to get to the Columbus airport.

So, I go to Baker Center and there’s a really finely appointed guy with a beautiful sport coat, nice dress shirt and beautiful luggage. I could immediately tell that he wasn’t from Athens.

He told me that he was a nuclear physicist at MIT. So, we’re

Albert, a rough collie and the face behind Albert’s Taxi, poses for a photo, April 11, 2023.

up on I-270 around Columbus and my back, right tire blows out going 65 miles an hour. He said, “pull over I will change your tire in 15 minutes.” We pulled over and sure enough, he changed the tire, and I helped him with it.

John Diles and his rough collie, Albert, at his home in Athens, April 11, 2023.

BM: WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE RIDING ALBERT’S TAXI? JD: I don’t think about this much. But one thing I do know is that people just kind of leave with a sense of calm. I can’t tell you how many times riders pet him for a minute or five minutes, and I’ve heard, “that just made my day.” I like people having such a unique experience. That need to pet an animal is very strong in some people, and it’s just nice that Albert’s Taxi could give them that opportunity to help them get through the day.

BM: WHAT POTENTIAL DO YOU SEE FOR YOUR BUSINESS MODEL TO BE REPLICATED ELSEWHERE? JD: This could work in other towns, especially small and mid-sized little college towns. I wish some other drivers could start their own service with their pet. So, if someone had the opportunity to do something similar in another town, it would please me very much to hear of another Albert’s Taxi somewhere.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

To request a ride from Albert’s Taxi, call 740-818-0490, and for more information, visit the Facebook page, https://www. facebook.com/p/Alberts-Taxi-100086574361764/ b www.backdropmagazine.com

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寿司 RECIPE

LET’S ROLL The recipe for sushi, made simple.

STORY & DESIGN BY JULIA GREENWOOD PHOTO BY MEG REES

A

s a college student, dining options may seem limited to frozen food, cafeteria staples and the basics. However, there is a surprisingly easy solution to spice up your meals: sushi. While sushi seems like a daunting task for dorm rooms and small apartment kitchens, with a few simple, affordable ingredients, students can partake in the popular Japanese dish.

First things first, the ingredients. The beauty of do-it-yourself sushi is that it is incredibly versatile and customizable. Traditional sushi ingredients include rice, nori (seaweed sheets), raw fish or seafood, vegetables and condiments such as wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger. Those ingredients are only the starting point. Get creative replacing the nori for rice paper, switch out proteins for cooked chicken, beef or fish, and even try out some fruit, like mango, for a fun twist. b

INGREDIENTS FOR BASIC ROLLS:

DIRECTIONS:

• Cooked rice (Preferably short-grained rice or sticky rice) • Optional ingredient for proper sushi rice: rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt • Nori sheets

1. Prepare your rice by package instructions and give time to let the rice slightly cool.

A few different basic roll fillings: • California roll- Imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber • Philadelphia roll- Smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado • Veggie roll- Avocado, cucumber, mango • Spicy crab roll- Imitation crab, kewpie mayo, sriracha, cucumber • Teriyaki roll- Cooked teriyaki chicken or tofu, cucumber and avocado

SAUCES: • Spicy Mayo: Kewpie mayo, sriracha, splash of lemon or lime juice (optional) • Eel sauce: Soy Sauce, mirin, sugar • Wasabi sauce: Wasabi paste, mayo, soy sauce

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2. Place nori sheet, shiny side down, on bamboo mat or plastic wrap.

3. Cover nori sheet with rice and press down with back of spoon.

4. Layer fillings off centered on top of rice. Less is more because too much filling will make it more difficult to roll.

5. Get rollin’! Use a bamboo mat to roll the sushi even tighter.

6. Slice with a sharp kitchen knife.

7. Serve immediately and enjoy!

We do not recommend storing sushi in the fridge as leftovers, especially if raw seafood is used, as it poses a food safety risk. The rice will become hard and dried out in the fridge and will be less enjoyable.

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COMMUNITY

ROOTS DEEPER THAN THE

Foundation The engravings on OU buildings reveal the stories of their namesakes and the implications of memorialization

STORY AND DESIGN BY LAYNE REY | PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK

T

he familiar, homelike feel of Ohio University’s campus can cause students to overlook some small, but once groundbreaking details. Every day, students walk by buildings displaying small plaques engraved with the names of people who impacted the university’s foundation and growth. Students often casually mention those names.

Of the multitude of buildings on campus, whether academic, dining or student housing, almost all of them contribute to carrying on the legacies of individuals that made the university what it is today. However, most students frequenting campus buildings have a lackadaisical understanding of who those walls are named after.

Here is a close-up look at just a few figures who received the high honor of a building namesake.

Eliphaz Perkins, Perkins Hall Eliphaz Perkins was a man of many firsts: first physician in Athens County, first postmaster of Athens, first Athens County auditor, first apothecary merchant of Athens and the first treasurer of OU. He was dedicated in his work to establish and sustain schools in Athens County for children.

Irma E. Voigt, Voigt Hall As one of the first woman to serve in her position in the larger field of academia, Irma E. Voigt became an influential figure at OU and beyond.

As OU’s first dean of women, she mentored hundreds of college-aged women, focusing on both their studies and giving back to their communities.

Voigt, before being known for her allfemale residence hall on East Green, gained popularity for the deep care she had for students. This included fireside chats at her home and weekly hikes with students.

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Daniel Nelson, Nelson Dining Hall Daniel Nelson has a dining hall namesake on South Green, as well as in the neighboring city of Nelsonville. He made many contributions to Southeast Ohio, including developing the clay and coal industries, as well as donating land for a public square, schools and a cemetery. He is credited with building the first bridge over the Hocking River. These efforts earned him an honor on campus.

Alvin C. Adams, Adams Hall As one of the first African American to graduate from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Adams went on to work for the Chicago Defender, which was the first Black newspaper to reach a circulation of over 10,000 readers. The South Green residence hall honors his work covering the Civil Rights Movement and more specifically Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and the assassination of Malcolm X.

Nelson Dining Hall, April 9, 2024.

Adams Hall, April 8, 2024.

Capital A As president of the Society of Athens Preservation (SOAP), Max Baker advocates for remembering the past and keeping records of people who were an integral part of creating the university’s legacy. But Baker also acknowledges that not every individual who made an impact on OU is recognized with a building namesake.

Cynthia Weld, OU’s first female professor who then went on to become The Ohio State University’s first female professor, had her name attached to the Weld House until it was knocked down. Baker explains that Weld’s unique contribution to OU and education as a whole deserves to still be honored on campus.

Francine Cheryl Childs, OU’s first tenured Black professor, has never had a building namesake on campus.

Childs was an instrumental faculty member in establishing OU’s African American Studies Department and an advocate for students who fostered change in their communities and the world. Baker believes that instead of some other namesakes on campus, a Childs House should be established.

In the same manner, Baker recognizes the lack of Catherine Brown’s recognition on campus. Brown served as women’s coordinator of athletics from 1970 to 1974 and is responsible for starting the women’s lacrosse and track teams at OU. Brown also played for the Irish National Field Hockey Team, was inducted into the National Field Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2012 and was a professor at OU. Baker believes that Brown was another influential figure to the development of OU who is not being acknowledged as part of campus history.

“We have people who are strong role models for people that have gone to OU, that have represented OU and that have been some very famous firsts,” Baker says. “We don’t have that kind of namesake for buildings anymore – they tend to focus on the presidents, certain deans when we have plenty of people that should be

represented one way or another.”

Baker is currently focusing on the namesakes of Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium as their current “passion project.” The building pays tribute to John Newton Templeton and Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn.

Templeton was the first Black man to graduate from OU in 1828, and Blackburn was the first Black woman to graduate from OU in 1916.

Baker holds the notion that both individuals should be honored with their own separate namesakes. They believe that combining the namesake diminishes Templeton’s and Blackburn’s individual legacies.

“I think it would be a lot better if those two people got their own recognition and their own memorial to who they were,” Baker says.

During the time that Blackburn attended OU, her last name was Hunley. During Women’s History Month, SOAP focused on women such as her that the organization believes are not receiving proper representation. Baker expresses specific concerns with the namesake holding her married last name.

Baker also expresses a gripe with the name “The Ridges,” which was chosen from a university-sponsored naming contest. Baker explains that this name implies an erasure of the building’s history of patient malpractice. “It’s erasing history that, even though it wasn’t good, is still very deeply important,” Baker says.

As these conversations arise about who is deserving of a namesake, whether it was established properly or not, there are simultaneous discussions about people who may not be as deserving of having a building namesake on campus.

Baker suggests that there are inspiration and groundbreaking Bobcats who were overlooked in order to name residence halls after former United States presidents.

“I think people overall, not just at Ohio University, don’t tend to think

about what namesakes can imply,” Baker says. “But for the people that do, we really notice what names you pick and how you choose to represent people.”

Washington Hall, Lincoln Hall and Jefferson Hall are named after former U.S. presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. Baker implies that historical figures with pasts that do not align with the values of OU may not be the most effective or valuable namesakes for campus buildings.

“If you have a positive role model for the students there that connect to the school, I think you would have a greater impact,” Baker says.

OU works to pay homage to those that informally founded the university through building namesakes scattered across campus. Conversations surrounding the implications of namesakes and buildings are prevalent for those on campus who notice the names etched into the plaques on the university’s residence halls, dining halls and academic halls.

“Maybe we should be uplifting the people who still need representation, who still need that uplifting,” Baker says. b

SOAP is actively working to engage students and alumni in the preservation of campus buildings and their namesakes through their social media accounts and newsletter. Follow its Instagram!

@soapreservation

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COMMUNITY

Defining the Barriers How national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on public universities create restrictions to academic access.

BY MCKENNA CHRISTY DESIGN BY ANNA SCHNEIDER

H

igher education has historically been an opportunity made accessible only to specific demographics.

The history of universities and colleges in the United States and the makeup of student populations has been majorly defined by barriers that exclude marginalized groups of people.

Harvard University, founded in 1636, was the first higher education institution to be founded in the U.S. Its first graduating class was made up of white, Christian males, which was the demographic given access to such opportunities at the time. Almost 200 years later, in 1823, Alexander Lucius Twilight was the first African American to earn a bachelor’s degree in the U.S., according to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. In 1854, Yung Wing became the first student of Chinese descent to graduate from a university in the nation, according to Yale Macmillan Center’s Council on East Asian Studies.

Groups of people in the U.S. have had to challenge the norms of higher education to enter the institutions that would give them an advantage in life.

The first woman to receive a university degree was Catherine Brewer Benson in 1840 from the Georgia Female College, now known as Wesleyan College, according to the school.

Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, of the Wampanoag tribe, was the first Indigenous person to graduate from Harvard University in 1665. However,

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in the U.S., Indigenous people, and specifically children, did not often have autonomy in choosing their education. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, there were at least 523 government-funded boarding schools developed where abducted Indigenous children were taken to be forcibly assimilated into U.S. culture, according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

While some Indigenous people were accepted into universities before other groups of people, the educational system was still not equitable or fair.

Ohio University also has its own set of firsts in comparison to the nation. From the first woman to graduate from OU, Margaret Boyd (1873), the first African American to receive a degree from the institution and the fourth to do so in the U.S., John Newton Templeton (1828), to the first Black woman to graduate from the institution, Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn (1916), their accomplishments and identities serve as a constant reminder of the value of diversity in higher education.

While the achievements of those who created paths for people who share similar identities are monumented on buildings throughout campus and through scholarships and awards, there is a national tension surrounding identity and what it contributes to an individual’s life regarding the advancement of one’s education. The state of Ohio in particular has created

Portrait of Margaret Boyd, first woman to graduate from Ohio University in 1873. Photo courtesy of Ohio University Libraries Digital Archival Collections.

Reprinted with permission.

and passed legislation that aims to curb curriculum in public schools that includes discourse of identity.

Dr. Christina Collins is the executive director of Honesty for Ohio Education, a nonpartisan, statewide coalition advocating for education that promotes honesty and “the affirmation of all identities, cultures, and lived experiences, and the rights and safety of all students, families, and educators,” according to the organization’s website.

Collins said the coalition that now represents 63 organizational partners, started organizing as a response to Ohio House bills 322 and 327, both of which resulted from debates surrounding

Photo of Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium, named after Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn, the first Black woman to graduate from Ohio University in 1916, and John Newton Templeton, the first Black man to graduate from Ohio University in 1828, taken in the 1940s. Photo courtesy of Ohio University Libraries Digital Archival Collections. Reprinted with permission.

Critical Race Theory and would prevent certain historical teachings of systemic racism in public schools, according to ACLU Ohio. The bills would also prohibit other lessons involving gender and sexuality.

“But the idea of the coalition was that it would be able to sunset, like it would go away when the attacks [against education] stopped, and the attacks haven’t stopped,” says Collins. “So, we keep building and now we’re growing.”

As Honesty for Education expands its work, so do Ohio state legislators in their efforts to restrict educators from being able to teach what House bill 327 describes as “divisive concepts,” meaning race, gender, sexuality and other identities in history that have been marginalized. Ohio House bills 322 and 327 are both still sitting in the House Committee, but other initiatives to restructure American higher education have followed through.

Senior portrait of Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn, first Black woman to graduate from Ohio University in 1916. Photo courtesy of Ohio University Libraries Digital Archival Collections. Reprinted with permission.

Affirmative action was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard on June 29, 2023. It is now deemed unconstitutional for universities in the nation to consider an applicant’s race as a factor in their admission review processes. Affirmative action, according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, is “a set of procedures designed to; eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future.”

As OU recently paused distribution of race-based scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year in late February following the Supreme Court’s decision last summer, discussions of diversity’s impact on higher education have increased.

Yvette McGee Brown, the first Black woman justice to serve on Ohio’s Supreme Court, a 1982 OU alumna and a current partner at Jones Day in Cleveland, gave insight into how and why the Supreme Court decided affirmative action in college admission processes is unconstitutional.

“Given the numbers of applications universities and colleges receive, a lot of them took what I’ve called ‘the easy way out,’” McGee Brown says. “It’s easy if you can categorize people by race, and I think in that they made an assumption that people of particular races would all come from the same economic profile, have been served in the same underresourced schools. And I think that’s where the Court is saying that in and of itself is a kind of insidious racism.”

History and current events reveal that there will continue to be people who discriminate against others based on skin color regardless of economic

status. An intersectional approach in college admission processes where a class’s demographics are chosen and made up of rich diversity in background and experience helps facilitate growth and change. If affirmative action does not exist, the question of how colleges keep and create a diverse community persists.

McGee Brown says she became a different person during her first couple of years in college because there were different people from different backgrounds around her who challenged her thoughts and ideas. The development of a diverse student body cannot just be obtained from observing a few transcripts.

“If test scores and GPA aren’t going to be the total sum of making a decision about somebody, then develop criteria that will allow you to get a diverse class in terms of thought, geography, economics, experiences,” McGee Brown says. “It takes more time. … I don’t think that then majority people will look at people who are diverse and assume that they’re only there because of their skin color.”

Given the patterns seen in legislation targeting diversity initiatives, programs and awards, the decrease in opportunities and resources available to students of diverse backgrounds this year may have lasting impacts on higher education.

“So apparently, Ohio has an established goal of 65% of Ohioans ages 25 to 64 having a degree, certificate or post-secondary workforce credential, and currently, even with the current structures, Ohio was at 49.5%,” says Collins. “Putting the barriers back up is only going to decrease that goal Ohio has set for itself.” b

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PHOTO ESSAY

IT’S A GIRL A look into the expression of femininity.

F

STORY AND PHOTOS BY EMILY HANNA | DESIGN BY JULIA PARENTE

emininity is no longer a one size fits all term. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary the definition of femininity is, “The fact of being a woman; the qualities that are considered to be typical of women."

With the spectrum of femininity growing and evolving over-time, there

are many different definitions of what it means to be a woman and to present as one. According to the National Library of Medicine, "The last fifty years of women's social and economic progress have been lauded as the 'grand gender convergence,' the 'second demographic transition, and the rise of womenterms pointing to the remarkable transformation in women's social and

economic roles since the 1960s." So, what does it mean to be a woman?

Pat Hanna (seen in photos 1-3), 82, expresses her femininity through her strong marriage of over 60 years with her husband, Howard Hanna. “She takes care of me, I wouldn't know what I do without her,” Howard says.

Also, by embracing her soft and caring personality. She has always been the one

4: Skyli Alvarez applies mascara, November 4, 2023.

3: Pat Hanna and Howard Hanna hold hands, October 27, 2023.

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2: Pat Hanna and her husband, Howard Hanna, sit on the couch together, October 27, 2023.

to take on the nurturing and caregiving role in her relationship. “I think by nature, I am more patient with people and I'm able to be a caregiver to Howard and my own parents,” she says.

Creative expression through self and style is a very prominent part of life for women. According to the National Library of Medicine, “The earliest known evidence of ‘artistic behavior’ is of human body decoration, including skin coloring with ochre and the use of beads, although both may have functional origins. Zig-zag and criss-cross patterns, nested curves and parallel lines are the earliest known patterns to have been created separately from the body…” In today’s day in age, using art to express oneself still stands true. Tattoos, hair color, decorative piercings and clothes are among a few of the self expressions to name. Skyli Alvarez (seen in photos 4-5), a student at the University of Georgia studying journalism and art history, uses creative ways through both art and style to express her femininity and self-identity.

She is a multi-platform storyteller and uses her creative ways to produce projects with deeper meaning and exploratory projects of women through history.

Her own unique style is particular to her and challenges traditional societal norms. “To me, embracing femininity is anything but a monolith, that it doesn’t

1: Pat Hanna brushes her hair while looking in a mirror, October 27, 2023.

represent just one singular experience,” Alvarez says.

Evelyn Everything (seen in photo 6), a young drag queen with a big personality, mindset and an even bigger following, is a Cincinnati sensation. Jack Wilburn, 20, the person Evelyn is outside of drag, grew up in various places around the United States, and even spent some time in England. It was not until October of 2022 when Evelyn Everything came to life. Evelyn performed one show in Athens and never looked back. She now performs nearly every weekend in

Cincinnati and is known for her everyridden performances doing handstands, flips and occasionally brings out rollerskates. Fans of Evelyn Everything describe her as, “The best drag queen in all of Ohio,” “An upcoming star” and someone they “can’t stop watching.” b For the original photo story and more of Hanna’s work, visit https://emilyhannaphoto.myportfolio.com.

5: Skyli Alvarez prepares to take a photo, November 4, 2023.

6: Evelyn Everything puts on makeup to perform, November, 8, 2023.

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15

DESIGN

Things we Overhe ard at Fest...

BOR

G-XHI BIT

A

BY BACKDROP STAFF DESIGN BY ELLIE SABATINO

“JUST TAPE YOUR BORG!” How could a gallon-jug of mysterious and colorful liquid (liquor) be considered an open container? The black out rage gallon (BORG) lives in either praise or infamy depending on the person asked. The truth of the matter is that a BORG is an open container. Some partygoers; however, say taping the top of the jug when walking in between parties makes it more legal (it does not).

“CAN I PET THE HORSES?” Each year the police bring horses to campus to emphasize their masculinity and power, and each year students never fail to realize how badly they want to pet the horses. So, instead of the horses being used as a scare tactic, students are usually interested in their cuteness and wish to pet them. Do not pet the horses without asking.

“DO YOU THINK THIS COUNTS AS AN OPEN CONTAINER?” Well, it might just… Fest Season is considered a time to party it up and get as wasted as possible for many students. Often, one can see students walking around with water bottles, Starbucks tumblers, or maybe even a BORG filled with some seemingly suspicious liquid that is definitely not water.

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“I WISH I HAD PAID THE OU STUDENT LEGAL SERVICES FEE THIS SEMESTER...”

So you’re down on your luck and in some legal trouble. You may be wishing you paid the $15 fee to enroll in the OU Student Legal Services program at the beginning of the semester. Next time, it may be wise to put down a couple of bucks for legal representation or advice.

“STAY ON THE GRASS” A friendly remark that every person must have heard at one point or another if they chose to take part in this year’s festivities. Make sure to stay on the grass unless you want a chance at being arrested.

“IF WE GET SHUT DOWN AT 3:00, THEN WE CAN NAP AND HIT THE BARS BY 9:00” When it becomes clear that parties are being forced to stop, the rest of the day is not ruined. A good portion of Bobcats rest up and continue to party on for the rest of the night on Court Street. b

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17

FEATURE

A SPECIAL VIEWING Covering Athens’ celebration of the solar eclipse and the science behind the phenomenon.

BY AMBER PHIPPS PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK DESIGN BY ALLY PARKER

Ryleigh Drew looks at the solar eclipse on South Green, April 8, 2024.

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F

or the first time in Ohio since 1806, a total solar eclipse took place on April 8. The total eclipse lasted approximately four minutes, and areas across the country were enveloped by a curtain of darkness as the moon passed between the sun and Earth.

The stark contrast from daylight to darkness caused animals to behave as if was nighttime. For the duration of the eclipse, the path of totality made its way northward across the globe, blocking the earth from the light of the sun.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. As the moon moves between the planetary bodies, it appears as if the sun and moon are the same size, which is why totality is possible. Totality occurs when the moon completely obscures the sun from view, according to NASA.gov.

Professor Douglas Clowe has taught at Ohio University since 2006 and is the director of the Astrophysics Institute.

He focuses his research on cosmology with a specialization in eclipses. With years of fieldwork and experience observing the galaxy, Clowe considers himself “an expert on eclipses.”

“The moon is in its orbit around the Earth, and the Earth is in orbit around the sun,” Clowe says. “But about every 18 months or so the orbits line up such that the moon covers the sun and somewhere on Earth gets a total eclipse.”

As an observational cosmologist, Clowe is well-versed in the physics behind solar eclipses. With a P.h.D. from the University of Hawaii and postdoctoral positions at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, the University of Bonn and the University of Arizona, Clowe has spent years studying the universe.

“The sun is actually much larger than the moon, it’s just the moon is much closer to us, so they just happened to be at about the same size in the sky, which allows us to have this nice eclipse,” Clowe says. “We’re the only planet that we know of where this actually happens, all the other planets, their moons are further out or they’re smaller, and so you never get a total eclipse, but for us, it’s nicely aligned.”

As this process unfolded, the air became colder and day turned to night as the sun’s light became obscured from view.

Animals treated these few minutes of darkness like a sunset and crickets began chirping.

Clowe explains how at 2:00 p.m. on the day of the solar eclipse, the moon began its journey toward covering the sun.

And then around 3:10 p.m. to 3:12 p.m., depending on what one’s location was in Ohio at the time, some experienced totality. Clowe also says that the moon covered the sun for about three to four minutes.

During totality, it appeared as if it was roughly 30 minutes after sundown. Clowe explains that a total solar eclipse is interesting to experience in the countryside because the cows start walking back to the barn and all the animals behave as if it were the end of the day.

“When you get to totality, that yellow disc that we’re used to thinking is the sun is covered and what you will instead see is what we call the corona, which is a lowered light intensity region that’s immediately outside of the part of the sun that we normally see,” Clowe says.

As the moon aligned with the sun, filaments of the sun’s

plasma could be seen along the outer rim of the moon. Due to the sheer volume of the sun’s brightness, plasma arcs cannot typically be seen with the naked eye.

Long-term light exposure from the sun can cause severe and permanent damage to the retina of the eye. At no point during the eclipse was it safe to stare directly at the sun except for when it is obscured by the moon during totality. Proper eye protection is imperative for observing a total solar eclipse to avoid any permanent damage to the eye.

A pinhole camera is one of the safest ways to view a solar eclipse without compromising your eyesight. Clowe explains how a pinhole camera can be made using a cardboard box, foil and a white sheet of paper.

Simply place a white sheet of paper on the inside wall of a cardboard box. Poke a hole on the opposite side of the paper for the sunlight to filter through and project onto the sheet of paper. Next to the pinhole, cut out a viewing hole which will allow you to look into the box and safely view the eclipse without looking at the sun.

“You can buy these eclipse glasses, you don’t know how good the pair that you bought is,” Clowe says. “The first thing to do is before even thinking about doing it, the morning of, get out the glasses and carefully look at that film that’s in the eye slots.

If there’s any pinholes or any scratches, don’t use it because it might not be good anymore.”

For the few minutes of totality during a solar eclipse, it is safe to look at without glasses or cameras. In order to do this, it is imperative to know exactly how long totality will last in your current location. As totality occurs, it is safe to view with the naked eye but after those few minutes, any exposure to unfiltered sunlight can result in long-term damage to the retinas of the eye.

Yun Pujastiti lays on South Green to look at the solar eclipse, April 8, 2024.

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19

Once the proper glasses or pinhole camera are obtained and properly tested, a solar eclipse can be observed safely.

Jan Wittry is the News Chief for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and is in charge of communication planning, press releases and media relations for NASA. Her goal is to inform the public of the eclipse and the eclipse festival in Cleveland.

“The American Astronomical Society has a website where they list reputable vendors that sell what we call ISO certified glasses,” Wittry says. Leading up to the solar eclipse, Wittry was in the community handing out the certified glasses.

As the News Chief for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Wittry promoted the eclipse and festival. This oncein-a-lifetime event is accompanied by a weekend of celebration hosted by scientists and astronomy enthusiasts.

Similarly to so many others, Wittry had never witnessed a solar eclipse or experienced the few minutes of solar eclipseinduced darkness.

“So, they occur about every 18 months somewhere around the globe but usually they’re over the ocean or some uninhabited part of the Earth where people can’t see them,” Wittry says. “So, it’s really rare in Ohio, it really is a once-ina-lifetime opportunity.”

Ohio had not seen a total solar eclipse since 1806, which makes the experience an extremely rare occurrence. The next eclipse is said to take place in Ohio in the year 2099, according to NASA.gov.

“We did have a partial eclipse in 2017, but the difference

A group of people cheer for the solar eclipse on South Green, April 8, 2024.

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between a partial eclipse and a total eclipse is like night and day,” Wittry says. “When you have a full eclipse you kind of experience it through all of your senses.”

Even though total solar eclipses do happen, for Ohioans and many other states across the country, the total eclipse on April 8 was special. Due to the path of the eclipse, only certain parts of Ohio were be able to see the eclipse in its entirety from 3:10 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.

“The shadow of the moon is 100 miles wide, so you basically get this small streak going across the earth,” Clowe says. “And it’s just luck of the draw as to where that’s going to be for any given eclipse.”

For many Southeastern Ohioans, a partial eclipse was visible, but the path of totality stretched diagonally from Cincinnati to Cleveland. Due to the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth, solar totality lasted for 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

To celebrate the ecplise, the Total Eclipse Fest occurred from April 6 to April 8 in downtown Cleveland. “[We had] experts there to talk to the public about access science and engineering,” Wittry says. “So, all sorts of fun things that the public can do to engage with NASA and learn about our work.”

Along with the multiple vendors and science exhibits that took place, NASA TV broadcasted the view of the eclipse as it happened. Cleveland was one of the main channel locations broadcasting the event live across the country.

The Total Eclipse Festival was entirely free to the public for the weekend. There was performances by The Cleveland Orchestra

to kick-start the three-day event packed with engaging activities revolving around the science behind the eclipse.

Despite the potential cloud coverage, Professor Clowe planned to watch the eclipse with his family north of Columbus.

Similarly, Wittry will be enjoying the eclipse in Cleveland while working at NASA Village during the eclipse festival.

Grace Eichler is a student at Ohio University and planned to return to her hometown in Cleveland for the Total Solar Eclipse festival. As astrophysics major, Eichler was beyond excited to witness this event with her friends and family.

“It’s something really cool because eclipses don’t happen a lot,” Eichler says.

Eichler returned home to spend time with her family and experience the eclipse in Cleveland. The path of totality runs diagonally from Dayton to Cleveland so Eichler and many others headed north to witness the total eclipse.

Eichler says the solar eclipse was visible in her “hometown, so I mean, it works out nicely. … I could get there early to be out of traffic.”

Cleveland was one of the go-to destinations to watch the solar eclipse. Due to Cleveland’s location within the path of totality, the city was a hub for solar eclipse enthusiasts and the place to be to engage with NASA members. b Everett LaMantia looks at the solar eclipse on South Green, April 8, 2024.

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21

THE DROP

West Coast

BOBCATS

BY MACY COLBERT | DESIGN BY ABBY BURNS

G

Scripps College of Communication alumni make their mark at the Los Angeles Times.

enerations of journalism and communications students from Ohio University and the Scripps College of Communication are spreading their impact across America by working for well-renowned newspapers and organizations.

Several alumni from OU are now employed by the Los Angeles Times, an impactful and widely read periodical that reports on California, the United States and the world. Their education at OU kickstarted their careers, launching them into the workforce as competent media professionals, and employers took notice.

After graduating in 2008 with her degree in visual communications, informational graphics and publication design, Amy King held jobs with several publications before landing her position of leadership with the Los Angeles Times.

She was first employed by the Arizona Republic where she produced print designs.

Moving forward in her career, King was employed by The Washington Post.

There, she first held the responsibility of being the art director for the print newspaper. Later, King adapted her designs for the digital platform as the job transitioned to become digitally

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focused. Because of her success in digital media, she became the leader of a team developing the newspaper’s app. Aside from managing the success of the app, King provided leadership for a new publication of The Washington Post called The Lily, which addressed gender and identity, an increasingly popular topic.

In 2020, King became employed by the Los Angeles Times. Her experience boosted King into her current position as the deputy managing editor and creative director. At the Los Angeles Times, she now leads a group of about 50 individuals that report on West Coast lifestyle, and the best food dishes the city of Los Angeles has to offer. King also manages a team of art directors to facilitate the development of aesthetic appeal.

King’s successful career began even before her college graduation when Athens was her home. King maintained a position as the design editor of The Post and occasionally collaborated with Backdrop, too. During her time at Ohio

University, King shares that her favorite campus spots included Casa Nueva, College Green and Tony’s.

As a student, King gained experiences inside and outside of the classroom that she still praises today. “At OU I had the chance to work on projects with real newspapers, like The Columbus Dispatch,” King says. The workspaces of student-run publications and her professors helped develop King’s professional experience as a Bobcat.

“My professors led design critiques that taught me how to give and receive feedback, a skill I’m always developing,” King says.

In transitioning from being a student to a leader, King asserts, “I’ve always been vocal with my bosses about the kinds of projects I like to work on. I make sure to always meet the expectations the job requires and then pitch other ways I can add value that may be more in line with my interests or skill set.” Confidence is of high value in the field of visual communications and journalism. King encourages young professionals to “keep pushing for your ideas and don’t let them get watered down.”

Ready to work with new media communications graduates, King believes young generations have a lot to offer. She

also encourages students to “remember that a fun part of being a young person is that you likely get to be around and learn from so many experienced people. Take advantage of that.”

King is optimistic about newer generations learning on the job. “I hope the younger generation of journalists can help us understand how to authentically reach younger audiences in ways that will actually work,” she says. “We rely a lot on older ways of doing things, and I think young people can bring in a lot of fresh perspectives.”

Joining Amy King at the Los Angeles Times in 2020, Micah Fluellen is another OU alumnus who is making the most of his degree. Having studied interactive design and specializing in journalism, Fluellen attained a Bachelor of Science in visual communications.

While doing so, he took advantage of several opportunities OU offered. As a student, Fluellen went to Washington D.C. through the Scripps College of Communication’s program. “Something about that program made something inside of me click to where everything that I learned in school my freshman and sophomore year became easily applicable to the situation that I was in,” Fluellen says. While studying away, Fluellen had the chance to participate in an internship while also visiting alumni working in D.C. To make the most out of meeting mentors who attended OU, he and his classmates developed a strategy. To make a good impression and to learn as much as they could, Fluellen shares, “We all decided that we would make an active effort to ask as many intentional and conscious questions as possible no matter where we went.” Carrying this forward into his personal life, Fluellen believes in taking conscious action.

Spending time and effort on the right projects and people is primary to him.

“We create our own luck and our own opportunities,” Fluellen says.

Outside of his busy schedule, Fluellen fuels his passion projects. “A lot of my

time that is spent not working at the Los Angeles Times is spent working in some sort of communication, community outreach to help offer resources to underserved people with talent who have an interest in communications or any sort of entertainment industry,” Fluellen says.

Los Angeles Times employee Sandhya Kambhampati graduated in 2018 with a degree in journalism. Before that, she was a president of OU’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, a staff member of the now retired Essay magazine, a WOUB reporter and producer of long-form documentary works along with other involvements sprinkled on top.

“

No matter what the medium is, I want to just tell good stories, and stories that make a difference.”

SANDHYA KAMBHAMPATI LOS ANGELES TIMES DATA REPORTER On Kambhampati’s varied resume of accomplishments, she lists several jobs that led her to the Los Angeles Times, which is where she has been working at for five years now. She has contributed to The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Republic in Illinois, and has traveled to live in Berlin, Germany, for a fellowship in investigative journalism. She adds that she could make a grocery list in German, but probably not much else.

“No matter what the medium is, I want to just tell good stories, and stories that make a difference,” Kambhampati says. “Stories that help people understand the world that they live in.”

Though she was initially drawn to broadcast journalism, Kambhampati is now a data and graphics reporter. At the

Los Angeles Times, she covers politics, city government, earthquakes and other demographic data including statistics concerning the census or election trends. Using the numbers pulled from various methods of collection, her job is to break down data into comprehensive formats that allow readers to better visualize what they are reading about.

“Data is great. But at the end of the day, it’s not just numbers. It’s the people behind the numbers that you have to keep in mind,” Kambhampati explains.

At OU, Dr. Aimee Edmondson, professor and director of graduate studies of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, became a mentor for Kambhampati. Dr. Edmondson taught computer assisted reporting and Kambhampati found a deep appreciation for the field. One semester, she went with her professor and classmates to her first National Institute of Computer Assisted Reporting conference. There, she connected with the purposeful professionals leading the event. Kambhampati urges that working with numbers is not something journalists should be afraid of.

Having experienced many transitions and changes within the industry, Kambhampati affirms that journalism will be different in the coming future; however, “Journalists still need to hold the people in power accountable for their actions. And that also holds true for within journalism itself.”

Tackling the workforce head-on, former OU students were able to find success in the competitive world of communications. Their stories serve to illuminate that ambition can travel a long distance, even from Ohio to California. b

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THE DROP

SNAG on Stimson Avenue, April 5, 2024

Snagging

OUR ATTENTION A closer look at the delivery service taking Athens by scooter.

BY KIRSTEN ABBEY | PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK | DESIGN BY ELLIE SABATINO

B

y now, the sight of Snag scooters zipping down the streets of Athens has become a familiar one. Despite having only opened its doors this past fall semester, the snack delivery service has become a student staple. For only a small fee, students can have their snacking needs met at a top scooter speed of 15-25 mph. Convenience is certainly a factor in its popularity, but this company has more going on behind the scenes than just accessibility.

Founded in California, Snag has multiple locations at campuses in Ohio, including The Ohio State University, Miami University and Bowling Green State University. They added Ohio University to their repertoire in the fall of 2023 and swiftly became well known on campus. The overwhelming success of Snag can be attributed not only to demand, but also to its marketing strategies.

Annie Lieb, a senior studying marketing at OU, is the marketing manager for every campus with Snag across the state. Snag drew her attention through its promotional methods. “I just really liked the marketing approach that they take, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, they take a really fun, laidback approach, and they’re really big on getting the customers involved,” she says.

Lieb also largely attributes the company’s rise to fame at OU to its focus on student engagement. “I feel like a lot of companies, especially on college campuses, don’t make it so fun to be a part of the company and to be a customer,” she says. “I think because it’s unique in that sense, and it kind of caught on pretty quick.”

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This reasoning is backed by the students themselves. Kennedy Simmons, a senior studying management information systems, is a self-described Snag fan. The adoration for Snag is derived from being involved in one of the many giveaway competitions that the company hosts. Simmons had much praise for Snag’s willingness to go out and be a part of student life. “I think I saw that they were at one of the parties on Mill Fest giving out hats as well, so they’ve done a really good job with getting the brand out there on campus,” she says. “I think they do it in a way that no other business in the market actually hits, especially with their student focus.”

Snag’s success in engaging its clientele transcends physical interactions, with popular social media accounts providing the foundation for its snack empire. Managed by Lieb, OU Snag’s Instagram, @snagohiou, is flourishing. “Their social media is very Gen Z,” Simmons says. “With the memes that they post, the jokes that they make, they stay relevant all the time, and I think this is one thing Annie [Lieb] does a really good job at, staying relevant with what’s going on. It’s a really good job of keeping up to date with trends.”

This company’s investment in students extends to an investment in their employees as well. Valuing committed and enthusiastic workers, Snag has purposefully cultivated a positive and appealing atmosphere for those on its payroll. Lieb describes the hiring process as a more selective one. Snag employers look for “people that are going to be excited about it, and they’re going to do their best to deliver a good service,” Lieb says. They hired the right applicants then, as Lieb says, “They love Snag, they love promoting Snag. They begged to be on Instagram, to be in the videos that we make. They love riding around listening to music, and they love the team events.”

Caden Glodde, a junior studying marketing, is a delivery driver for Snag who loves his job. “I just feel like there’s not very many jobs where you can have a lot of fun, as terrible as that sounds,” he says. “It’s just so much fun to ride around on the scooter everywhere.”

Glodde describes a relationship with his coworkers that sounds almost familial. “Everybody’s always talking to each other,” he says. “There’s even times where we ended up dancing in the warehouse.”

Satisfied workers may translate into satisfied customers. “I have never had a negative experience with them,” Simmons says, “I’ve never had a wrong order.”

This contentedness is further proof that Snag’s methods are the right ones. Snag has planted its roots in the concept of community and relating to its clients and workers: the students.

Lieb explains that Snag’s goal was to commit to a “by students for students” approach to the business.

Snag has taken up a special and somewhat original business model and excelled, leaving it on the lips of students for the foreseeable future. “I don’t really think any other future brand is going to be able to impact that market as greatly as they did,” Simmons says. Snag is not only accessible for snacks, but it also reaches people on an interpersonal level, casting the key to its potential lasting imprint on OU. b

“

I think that they do it in a way that no other business in the market actually hits, especially with their student focus” KENNEDY SIMMONS SNAG CUSTOMER Left and right photos: A SNAG delivery employee on April 5, 2024.

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THE DROP

CHALK

WARS A look into how Ohio Issue 1’s abortion debate took over campus sidewalks.

BY ABREANNA BLOSE | DESIGN BY ELLIE SABATINO

P Bobcats for Life draw pro-life messages with chalk. Photo provided by Bobcats for Life student organization.

Ohio U For Issue 1 create pro-choice chalk messages ahead of the Nov. 7, 2023, election. Photos taken from @OhioU4Issue1 Instagram account.

Posted on Nov. 6, 2023.

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icture this: a chalk drawing of a coat hanger with the words “never again” scrawled beside it. Not too far away is another drawing – an Earth with a depiction of a fetus inside, accompanied by the phrase “every life matters.”

These contrasting images and messages could be spotted all around Ohio University’s campus and on sidewalks and pavement in Uptown Athens leading up to the Nov. 7, 2023, election.

The aim of the chalk drawings? To sway Ohio voters to either protect reproductive rights or restrict abortion access within the state.

As the passionate debate around reproductive rights and abortion in Ohio reached its peak, OU’s pavement and sidewalks became the battleground for a full-blown chalk war.

Ohio Issue 1 was on the ballot in November, proposing a constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right to reproductive decision-making.

A vote “yes” would support amending the state constitution to provide the right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to” abortion, contraception, fertility treatment and miscarriage care. A vote “no” would oppose the amendment.

Bobcats for Life, OU’s chapter of the national Students for Life movement, encouraged students and residents alike to vote no on the issue.

“I believe that all human life has value from the moment of conception,” says Olivia Barnes, one of the group’s copresidents. “I’m not willing to compromise a six-week-old fetus.

I’m not willing to compromise on that.”

Bobcats for Life was responsible for the spread of anti-abortion chalk messages across campus, including the image of an Earth with a fetus inside. Oftentimes, their chalk drawings would be washed off by passersby not long after they had been drawn.

“We understand that they’re going to get washed off, and it doesn’t really discourage us,” says Olivia Kaiser, the group’s copresident. “We think it’s still good to go do it.”

Maddie Ewing, a sophomore studying wildlife and conservation and a pro-choice advocate, was one of the students who made the decision to pour water on the pro-life messages.

“It’s not permanent,” Ewing says. “It’s chalk, it’s going to rain; it’s going to come off. Technically they can do that, but I also have the right to throw water on it.”

Ewing says she washed off the drawings because she felt they displayed misinformation.

“It’s one of the most important things to be correct about,” Ewing says. “When it comes down to these medical issues, it can literally be the difference between life and death for people.”

“Ohio U For Issue 1” was a campaign led by the Feminist Majority Foundation in support of the constitutional amendment on the ballot. In response to Bobcats for Life’s messages around campus, the Feminist Majority Foundation campus organizers also took to the pavement to spread prochoice messages.

“We weren’t trying to be aggressive towards the other group, but we definitely noticed that people were talking on social media a lot about that,” says Zoe Duncan, a campaign campus organizer. “So, we were like, ‘let’s take advantage of this.’”

Pro-choice messages consisted of phrases such as, “My uterus, my rules,” or “Against abortion? Don’t have one.”

The day after a pro-choice chalking, Duncan recalls walking past and seeing a scribbled mess of chalk. Their pro-choice drawings had been altered by pro-life advocates.

“They tried to write over and scrape out some of our words and try to disprove some of the stuff that we had written,” Duncan says. “It just ended up kind of looking like a giant mess of chalk on the pavement anyways, so it felt counterproductive.”

Bobcats for Life draw pro-life messages with chalk. Photo provided by Bobcats for Life student organization.

The co-presidents of Bobcats for Life confirmed they have edited pro-choice drawings around campus to make them fit their agenda.

“Our group has never washed off anything, but we may have taken creative liberty to edit some chalk messages and turn them pro-life,” says Kaiser.

Despite disagreements, both sides agree the use of chalk is protected by the First Amendment, as is the right to wash off chalk or edit existing messages.

As the chalk wars unfolded, many Bobcats utilized their freedom of speech in another way: joining the debates via social media.

Delaney Fullerton, a senior studying nursing and psychology, has left multiple comments on Bobcats for Life’s Instagram page.

She was motivated to do so after seeing the pro-life organization set up a table outside of Baker Center on election day.

“It was election day, and I think that’s a pretty gross thing to do to try and come and sway voters in their place that they’re voting,” says Fullerton.

Bobcats for Life draw pro-life messages with chalk. Photo provided by Bobcats for Life student organization.

Fullerton commented on a Bobcats for Life Instagram post, “remember when y’all tried to set up within 100 ft of a polling place today to influence voters? gross!”

Bobcats for Life responded to the comment, “Yeah, I’m glad we realized our mistake and moved!”

Julia Miller, a senior studying media arts and studies, says she felt motivated to comment on Bobcats for Life’s social media pages after feeling frustrated as a pro-choice advocate.

Miller commented, “Blah blah blah blah,” followed by a GIF, a short animation, that read, “Abortion is healthcare.”

On the @OhioU4Issue1 Instagram page, Bobcats for Life commented, “‘Abotion,’” poking fun at a chalk misspelling.

The campaign page responded, “The way you negatively and harmfully interact with each of our posts says everything about the type of people that are leading your cause…”

Ewing, one of the pro-choice advocates who erased pro-life chalk drawings with water, feels pro-life organizations such as Bobcats for Life should regulate their comment sections, deleting comments that are derogatory or aggressive toward pro-choice advocates.

“Don’t let those people be on your page if you want more people to agree with you,” Ewing says. “Don’t let students say things like that. It’s just pushing more and more people away from any kind of agreement we could ever have.”

Ewing emphasizes the importance of considering the feelings of those most impacted by this issue.

“Be a little more compassionate with the way they treat people who have had abortions,” says Ewing.

After intense back and forth, the rain washed the chalk away.

Issue 1 passed on Nov. 7.

The results proved that more than half of Ohioans supported a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access. 56.8% or 2,227,384 of Ohioans casted a “yes” ballot. 72.6% or 13,515 of Athens residents voted “yes.”

Regardless of the defeat, Bobcats for Life leaders feel chalking is an effective way to spread messages.

“The goal of the chalk is to make people stop and think because the fact that they are noticing it and commenting on it means it [has] done its job,” says Barnes.

Duncan and other pro-choice advocates celebrated their victory.

“This is actually something tangible that I was a part of and that I definitely contributed to it,” Duncan says. “It felt really good. It felt reaffirming in a time where a lot of our rights as women are being threatened.” b www.backdropmagazine.com

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THE DROP

BY students FOR students

The passionate and challenging process of building an OU student organization.

O

BY LILIA SANTERAMO | PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK | DESIGN BY LAYNE REY

hio University is home to hundreds of student organizations that are meant to give students opportunities to build smaller communities that meet needs that the larger network on campus cannot inherently provide. For those involved in creating new student organizations, the challenge lies in creating a sense of community from the ground up, which requires the ability to reach out to prospective members and to be adaptive to their needs.

The Fellowship of the Pen Samantha Imperi, a first year Ph.D. student studying creative writing, promoted her student organization, The Fellowship of the Pen. The Fellowship of the Pen is a creative writing organization that aims to bring different kinds of writers together to learn from and to educate each other.

The organization works on a rotating schedule, focusing on different things each week like workshopping, writing with one another and presenting ideas.

“I think that the most important thing for writers is building a community because writing is such a solitary activity, and we often feel really isolated in the creative process, and yet, you don’t really make it in the writing world without connections,” Imperi says.

Imperi says she was able to evaluate the need for The Fellowship of the Pen by assessing what other organizations were doing and by bouncing ideas off her colleagues and undergraduates she had come to know. Imperi was then able to successfully distribute fliers to get about 20 people at The Fellowship of the Pen’s first meeting.

She also promoted the meetings of the organization on Bobcat Connect.

From there, she had enough people to

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work with to get the ball rolling.

Imperi has experience with student organizations that helps her retain members and develop The Fellowship of the Pen smoothly. For example, to keep members engaged, she sent out a survey asking what members wanted out of the meetings. This strategy relies on acceptance of fluidity within the organization.

“We accept that we’re going to gain people, we’re going to lose people, we’re going to have to change directions at some point ... it’s a fun journey,” Imperi says.

As The Fellowship of the Pen continues to develop, Imperi hopes to work on holding events as an organization that will both help members develop their skillset and promote the organization.

Partnering with Designated Space at Donkey Coffee and tabling events are in the works.

Imperi also acknowledges that some people’s schedules may be incompatible with the meeting time for the organization and hopes to have events and systems set in place so that everyone who would like to attend can do so, with one idea being online workshops.

Creating a space for people takes a lot

of trial and error, and each new student organization will have its own story. The commonality will lie in their legacy as spaces dedicated to connecting Bobcats to one another in a meaningful way.

Samantha Imperi poses for a portrait outside of Ellis Hall, April 4, 2024.

Capital A Capital A, established by Daniel Swartz, a senior studying music in the Honors Tutorial College (HTC), is a newly formed student organization that aims to give students studying different disciplines of art a space to collaborate.

Swartz founded the organization in the fall semester of 2023 alongside Ph.D. candidate Johanna Amaya and HTC dance students Maralee Joiner and Milo Bathory-Peeler, who inspired him when they collaborated on a series of improvised performances involving dance and percussion. Joe Rollins, a senior HTC student studying music, is also a founding member.

Capital A quickly sparked to life, but outreach to prospective members remains an ongoing process.

“The kind of people that are our main audience, like all the creative people, are slammed with everything else that they do. They’re really one of the hardest audiences to reach,” Swartz says. “We

made a social media account; we’ve tried posters everywhere ... but really what’s been most successful is talking to people one on one.”

Capital A also promotes itself through mixers and upcoming collaborations such as a workshop at the Kennedy Museum of Art and a multisensory library workshop with the Multicultural Center. The biggest promotional event in the works is an interdisciplinary arts festival Capital A has organized for April 22 to April 27.

“Our festival is going to happen ... we have almost 15 submissions that range across all of the disciplines,” Swartz says. “[I] as well as the student organization [have] signed out several spaces across campus. ...Soon we’re going to start programming and scheduling, putting the thing together ... the next step is going to be promoting that, which is going to be another whole ordeal, but we’ll figure it out.”

Daniel Swartz poses for a portrait outside of Schoonover Center, April 4, 2024.

Students for Justice in Palestine For Amish Askri, a doctoral student at the Patton College of Education, attempting to voice concerns through the student organization Students for Justice in Palestine has been difficult to navigate as a person of color on a predominantly white campus.

Askri was inspired to get involved after attending a documentary screening at Alden Library, which concerned Israel’s war against Palestinians in Gaza. At the screening, Askri met Professor Thomas Hayes, an associate professor of instruction at OU’s School of Film, who told him about a student organization that had existed in the past but had fizzled out. The organization was Students for Justice in Palestine. Askri then re-established the organization with guidance from Hayes.

Though the organization got off to a quick start, there have been some difficulties. Students for Justice in Palestine was historically and is currently mostly comprised of students who are of Arab descent. Askri describes

friends approaching him and expressing concerns about the organization, urging him to let white students be at the forefront of the organization, a view that he feels is justified.

“I know my limitations as a person of color,” Askri says. “As an F-1 student, as an international student, I know there are things I am not allowed to say.

I’m very mindful of the fact that this is something that hinders my ability to go up to people and talk to them about it. If you take my honest opinion on this, I would like some white students to take over.”

Fears related to promoting the organization and difficulties finding individuals who are sensitive to the struggles in Palestine have affected the organization greatly. Students for Justice in Palestine has yet to hold its first meeting.

Askri has networked with people he knows to be sympathetic but has struggled to reach out more broadly across the campus. Due to the highly

contentious political nature of the issues that Students for Justice in Palestine addresses, Askri cannot even feel comfortable promoting the organization through social media.

“I have not personally experienced [censorship], but the atmosphere [online], it kind of gives you a chilling effect. Putting it on social media exposes you in many different ways,” Askri says. “Social media is a platform where everyone is entitled to their own opinions and people can say things that are very derogatory in the comfort of their own homes.”

Things are, of course, still in the early stages, as Askri started the organization this semester. He has since transitioned from president of the organization, to a member.

In the future, he would like to see the organization used as an educational tool, hosting documentary screenings and guest lectures by those knowledgeable on the issues facing Palestine. b

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VOICES

A Double Life Fit for a

QUEEN Student by day, drag queen by night, Jack Wilburn shares his journey balancing the best of both worlds.

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BY JACK WILBURN | PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK | DESIGN BY CARLEY HINTON

uring my three-hour drive from rustic Athens to urban Cincinnati, I let go of my studious and academic self to rediscover my glittery, fiery and feminine side each weekend. Like Hannah Montana, I get the best of both worlds by following the traditional college path, but some nights by the power of heavy cosmetics, wigs, nails and heels, I become one of Cincinnati’s drag sensations. For most of the week, I walk the streets of Athens as Jack Wilburn, a classics major in the Honors Tutorial College (HTC), but by the weekend I prowl the city of Cincinnati as Evelyn Everything.

Jack and Evelyn are not too different. I do not find that Evelyn is a separate persona for me, instead she is an element of myself that is unleashed when I apply my glam. The process begins by smearing a glue stick in my eyebrows. Then with contour, I shepherd light to the center of my face, somehow making the illusion of a smaller head. Within the process of erasing and redrawing features, my mission becomes finding the shape of femininity. I usually begin to feel a change in my personality at the final step of my makeup process, the application of my eyelashes. Once my face is done it adds a

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sway to my walk and shifts my gaze to a feminine one.

While Jack and Evelyn are really one and the same, my lives as a drag queen and as a student do exist separately. Since I’m off performing every Saturday, I miss most of the weekends at OU. Though I cannot party on Court Street and take time to recuperate from classes, I do get to spin, twirl, dip and split elsewhere. Due to my classes, I have negligible time to recover from the demands of my work, diving back into academic pursuits immediately following a weekend of dives off the stage.

While the recognition of Jack and Evelyn is usually separated by a city, they still exist in the same body and share the same bank account. Drag is not cheap. The pressure of presenting new looks and new hair to crowds each weekend plus the cost of restocking makeup means that most of the money I make through drag performances gets recycled immediately back into the drag itself.

Moreover, while the archetype of a drag queen may not align with traditional academic pursuits, my personal experience has revealed how drag can enhance an academic journey. Initially, the notion of a drag queen being an academic may seem

incongruous, but the skills of a drag queen extend far beyond the realm of entertainment. Participating in drag performances has helped to develop my confidence, especially in public speaking. Through the platform of drag, I’ve cultivated the ability to captivate and command attention, skills that are undeniably beneficial in academic settings where effective communication is paramount. Whether it’s brainstorming ideas with peers, presenting research findings to an audience or collaborating on group projects, the social proficiency honed through drag empowers me to excel in collaborative tasks.

By pursuing my college education concurrently to building my drag career, I am approaching a path in which the two are uniquely intertwined. As a student in HTC, I am required to write a thesis during my senior year. To synthesize the sides of my life, my thesis will be about the role of drag in ancient history, investigating antiquity’s historical moments of drag and what role they play in history through a queer lens.

Classics and drag are also both undeniably interdisciplinary.

Within the field of classical studies, scholars deal with language, archeology, history, epigraphy, literature and a multitude of other fields. The varied skills of classicists mirror the diversity of talents honed by drag. I have learned how to style hair, do my makeup, emcee, dance and procure costumes. Since the sides of my life squeeze out as many skills as they can, I chose the drag name Evelyn Everything. My name is a nod to my aspiration to be the most well-rounded entertainer I can be and reflects the use of the word everything as slang in the queer community (i.e. “that’s everything!”).

My official drag name is Evelyn Everything, but my nickname at my home bar, Bloom OTR, is “Fireball.” It stuck because of my signature ginger hair color, frequent performance of Pitbull’s song “Fireball” and for my energetic dance numbers. I always have lots of energy to expend (probably because I’m an Aries), and these days, I Evelyn Everything gets studious in the Classics Library, April 12, 2024.

use performance as the outlet for all that pent up energy. As such, drag has influenced my life outside of it because I have the capacity to be much more chill in dress and in behavior.

Because I give so much of my femininity and physical strength to drag, my personal style outside of it has become much more relaxed. The duality of my personal style springs from my needs as both Evelyn and Jack.

Drag is always undeniably authentic, and college is the time when people hunt for their authentic selves by cultivating their interests and diving into their prospective fields of study. Therefore, drag and college, though a challenging combination, is a perfect one. For me, drag is a model for finding authenticity because it is simultaneously a career and lifestyle. As I have navigated OU constantly seeking who and what I want to be, drag has come at the perfect time as the answer to that question. b

Evelyn Everything serves on College Green, April 12, 2024.

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