Spring 2013 (Vol. 6 Issue 4) by Backdrop Magazine

b SPRING 2013

DIVING IN

FEET FIRST

FLUSTERED CLUSTER WITH THE

NYC GREEN ROOF MOVEMENT BOBCAT « GOES

MMA

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3 bedrooms, central air, large open kitchen/ dining/living area, onsite parking for all residents.

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Providing quality residential rental properties to the Athens Community for over 25 years!

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3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house located at the end of a quiet southside street, central air, washer/dryer, plenty of off-street parking.

Floor plans, photos and more information at

www.diversifiedproperties.net

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

SEE THE PHOTO STORY

PAGE 36

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Fourth Issue— It happened— Backdrop has successfully produced four issues this year for the first time since our conception six years ago. We’re proud, and happy that we were able to give our readers more content than we ever have before. Besides printing four issues, Backdrop has made another great accomplishment this year: this past March, we were awarded the runner-up in the Scripps Organization of the Year Contest. In addition, photographer Daniel Owen was nominated for an SPJ Mark of Excellence Award for his photo essay, “Enduring Spirit: Nathan’s Fight,” which appeared in our second issue of fall semester. We are so grateful to win these awards and our staff can’t wait to improve and grow even more in the future. Although it’s sad that this year is coming to an end, we can at least celebrate that we’ve made it through the first year of semesters at Ohio University. Before I get too sappy on you, I’ll give you the rundown of what is happening in this year’s last issue of Backdrop incase you don’t want to hear about how sad I am to be a senior at OU. Check out the newest uptown clothing store in Athens, Kismet (pg. 14), a fighting alum’s story who landed in the MMA business (pg. 18) and Nick Harley’s hilarious Rant & Rage about enduring the trials of turning 20 (pg. 43). As for our features, we explored one of OU’s most dreaded courses, the Cluster (pg. 20), and one of the most adventurous courses, Scuba (pg. 24). As an extension of our Locavore/30-Mile Meal story in the last issue, Megan Westervelt shares her photo essay on NYC’s Green Roof Movement (pg. 36) and Zach Lloyd reveals how one Athens house creates sustainable living through gardening (pg 34). Now, back to my last Backdrop letter from the editor, three words: IT. IS. SAD. I couldn’t have imagined a better four years at OU. Through the best and worst times, my Backdrop and OU families have always been by my side and I couldn’t have asked for more. Thank you, Athens, for the best four years of my life. It isn’t a “goodbye;” it’s an “I’ll see you later.” I’m already looking forward to returning to Athens for Homecoming in the fall. In my four years in Backdrop I’ve done my best to leave a mark, but I’ve already heard enough from my staff about how my signature was too sloppy so, I’ll try to perfect my signature before I make my first post-grad return to Court Street. Until then, don’t laugh at me too much. Lots of love for Athens always,

20 Clusterphobia

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Business students beware: Ohio University’s one-of-a-kind business program is designed to challenge students in order to prepare them for future employment.

Shannon Miranda MANAGING EDITOR

Melissa Thompson ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR

Sara Portwood

24 Testing the

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Kelsi Bowes & Nick Harley

Waters

CONTRIBUTORS Zachary Berry, Jacob Betzner, Andrew Downing, Patrick Gray, Nick Harley, Zak Kolesar, Anna Lippincott, Zach Lloyd, Chris Manning, Alexander Muehlbach, Sara Portwood, Kaitlyn Richert, Melissa Thompson, Rose Troyer, Becky Wagner

Take the plunge and explore Ohio University’s scuba diving program.

COPY EDITOR

Margaret McGinley

ON THE COVER

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Cassandra Sharpe DESIGN DIRECTOR

Emilee Kraus

ART DIRECTOR

Olivia Reaney MARKETING DESIGN

Morgan Decker

DESIGN TEAM Lindsey Brenkus, Cassandra Fait, April Laissle, Karlee Proctor, Jessie Shokler

PHOTO EDITOR

Amanda Puckett CONTRIBUTORS Isaac Hale, Brice Nihiser, Daniel Rader, Megan Westervelt

Cover photo by Amanda Puckett Cover design by Emilee Kraus

Editor-in-Chief backdropmag@gmail.com

backdrop | Spring 2013

SPRING 2013 » VOLUME 6 ISSUE 4

b THE DROP » 12

Pressed for Funds

Perfect Fit

PUBLISHER

Katie Mefferd ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Adrienne Krueger MARKETING DIRECTOR

Angela Ignasky

ASSISTANT MARKETING DIRECTOR

Jared Looman

MARKETING TEAM Kerry Crump, Virginia Ewen, Angela Ignasky, Alyssa Keefe, Marc Robisch, Rose Troyer, Hannah Wheeless, Becca Zook

As the Ohio University Press faces funding issues, its small staff is utilizing newfound support to survive. Union Street’s newest shop is family-owned with an alternative edge.

ENTERTAINMENT » 16 18

WEB EDITOR

Jacob Betzner ASSISTANT WEB EDITOR

A Method to Their Madness

Graduate-student playwrights create a series of skits for Friday night showcases.

Bobcat Behind Bellator

University Commons “The only thing common is our name.”

Now leasing for the 2013-2014 school year Quality Student Housing

Studio, 2 bedroom and 4 bedroom

15 S. Shafer St. 593-7571 oucommons.com Follow us on Facebook

Colin Brown VIDEO EDITOR

RECIPE » 28

Chris Longo VIDEO ASSISTANT

Colin Brown

DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR

Rose Troyer

Want an advertisement in Backdrop? Simply send an email to backdropadvertising@ gmail.com to get started.

Interested in working with us?

Stop by one of our weekly meetings, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. in Scripps Hall 111.

SPRING 2013 » VOLUME 6 ISSUE 4

Easier Baker Oven

Craft your own West 82 signature sandwich in the comfort of your kitchen.

SPORTS » 30

Foreign Obstacles

Trading It All for the Team

Ohio University’s international athletes weigh the joy of competing overseas with the cost of leaving everything behind.

Cross country and track athlete Juli Accurso counts her team as a blessing through the ups and downs of success.

SEX & HEALTH » 34

Life’s a Garden

These Athens residents have redefined the meaning of “greenhouse.”

H4T » Attractive by Design

For visual communication professors Sam Girton and Lisa Villamil, their work ethic and passion aren’t the only things that make them aesthetically pleasing.

Sounds Like » Bixford

Photo Essay » Green Up

On The Web » An App a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Jam along with Bixford, Athens’ newest rock group comprised of five ambitious freshmen.

The New York City skyline is looking lively with a booming rooftop garden trend.

Computer science students are advancing social networking through a phone application that keeps patients eating healthy.

Bobcat Bjorn Rebney went from being an Ohio University football player to an entrepreneur at the forefront of a Mixed Martial Arts empire.

Kerry Crump

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RR&R » The Longest Year

For Fun » Photo Hunt

Exhibit A

Nick Harley tells us why 20 is the new 40.

How well do you know the bike path? Can you spot all of the differences between these two photos?

Take a peek inside Backdrop’s very own art gallery.

HOT4TEACH

Attractive by Design BY ROSE TROYER I PHOTOS BY BRICE NIHISER

From the great outdoors to beauty tips, these VisCom professors answer questions pertaining to the design of life. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

Well, I knew early on I wanted to work with photography because I was at camp and my counselor had a Nikon camera and he let me shoot it. I took a few pictures, and I remember that I was like, “this is what I want to do.”

Did you win any of your high school superlatives?

No, I worked when I was in high school and so I was never around after school. When school let out, I went straight to my job and worked until 2 a.m. I was a Zamboni driver. They said, “it was like icing on the cake when Sam took the caking off the ice.” And my license plate frame said, “My other car’s a Zamboni.” I wasn’t too much into high school culture.

What would you say makes Visual Communication sexy?

I think any subject is sexy for the person who is passionate about it. You talk to somebody about rhetoric and if they’re into it, there’s somebody that’s going to find that sexy right? I think it’s easy to be attracted to visuals, if somebody knows how to make something look good, right? Both people profit from that exchange: the subject feels good and the person who makes the art feels good. Storytelling is interesting also.

What do you do with the free time that you have?

I spend a lot of my free time with my son, which I enjoy. And I regret the day when that’s going to come to an end, where he’s like, “Get away from me, Dad.” That’s number one and I travel, visit friends. My job affords me the opportunity to meet a lot of great people who do amazing things. And so when I don’t have my son, I’m visiting people.

Do you have any specific beauty tips to give? Diet and exercise.

How often do you exercise?

Well, it depends, right? Splitting firewood, is that exercise? Walking to work, is that exercise? I don’t go to the treadmill, but I like to be active. I teach web design, but I don’t watch TV and I don’t have Internet at home.

What do you not think is sexy?

Scan to watch the full interviews.

What do you teach here at OU?

I teach information graphics and publication design.

What do you think makes that subject sexy?

Oh my god, it’s so cool. It is so complex. It’s mysterious, and, I mean, you’ll never get bored with it, never, because it’s information graphics and data visualization. It’s just sort of how far you want to go. You’ll never ever fully know it, and that is a great romance.

Explain your ideal day.

As much as I love work, there’s nothing like hanging out with people you love. So, definitely the ideal day is your coffee and you hook up with people you love, whether it’s family or friends or whatever. You go out on a beautiful day like this and you just hang out; you go to the zoo, you go get something to eat, you go hiking along a cliff. Of course it ends with a movie and popcorn. The best things are always just completely not planned.

Where can you get the best food in Athens?

Village Bakery. Fluff is really good. Perks has a really good tuna sandwich, many people don’t realize. Zoë’s is delicious and, of course, Salaam’s. Salaam is the most authentic of the Athens restaurants, I think, and it’s delicious. Oh you know where else is great, Purple Chopsticks. It’s a neat place. That’s a great place to ask someone to marry you.

Do you have any beauty tips?

Yes, I do. I’m actually famous for beauty tips under five dollars. This is my latest one; I’m so excited. It’s $4.95 so I’m still in the category, but at Farmacy, which I actually eat there almost everyday, it’s such a great, great place. But at Farmacy you can get the apricot oil, it’s $4.95, and it is like the best stuff to put in your hair in the summer to condition it. It’s great.

How would you define hot?

Hot is all about energy. It’s all about just, you know, it’s the shtick. It’s the indescribable. It’s not about being good-looking; it’s like an essence of someone. So, I think that someone who is hot, they’ve got it going on. When they walk by you go, “Whoa, okay. What were you saying?” to your best friend. But your best friend is looking, too. So, you know, it’s like, “Yeah, that’s hot.”

With that in mind, do you consider yourself hot? No, I do not. I’d like to develop that. I still feel like I have a lot to learn.

CONTACT

villamil@ohio.edu girton@ohio.edu

People who are arrogant or mean to other people.

Sam Girton: Associate Professor in the School of Visual Communication

backdrop | Spring 2013

Alabama state code allows only five minutes for one to vote.

Lisa Villamil: Assistant Professor in the School of Visual Communication In Los Angeles, Calif., it is not legal to bathe two babies at the same time in the same tub.

www.backdropmag.com

SOUNDS LIKE

Athens is known for its beautiful landscape, the hills, the bricks and the people. How does that influence your song writing as a band and as the lead vocalist?

BIXFORD BY ANDREW DOWNING | PHOTOS BY JAMES CONKLE

Morgan Marvar: When you are writing lyrics or a melody, your inspiration is really derived from the things around you. So, being here in this beautiful place, it’s really easy to picture a landscape and describe something in nature. It just makes it a lot easier.

How would you describe your band to someone who knows nothing about you guys?

With the music scene in Athens constantly evolving, different bands and artists are always emerging to fulfill the new taste of audiences around campus. Bixford, an alternative band originally from Columbus, focuses on the balance of smooth acoustic guitars matched with hints of melodic rock. The band consists of Jaron Takach on the drums, Evan Thompson on the guitar and piano, Duane Wade holding it down on the bass, Alex Kesler also on guitar and vocals by Morgan Marvar. Each member of the band is a freshman at Ohio University, except for Thompson whom currently attends Columbus State and will be transferring to OU next fall. The band took the time to sit down with Backdrop and discuss its unique sound, how it fits into the campus music scene, and an upcoming record deal waiting to be signed.

SOUNDS LIKE: Young the Giant, The Kooks, Red Hot Chili Peppers When did the original Bixford band form? Jaron Takach: Around January 2012.

I understand that the original Bixford band only had two of the current members that you have right now (Jaron Takach and Evan Thompson). Can you explain to me how the old band disassembled? Jaron Takach: We kicked out one of our old guitarists and he deleted the band’s Facebook in rage. Eventually

backdrop | Spring 2013

he disappeared and our bass guitarist quit to pursue his education.

Tell me about your first show and how that influenced the name of your band. Jaron Takach: Well it was a random house party on a street that is right by me, the street was named Bixford. Basically, we played there in front of a lot of people and we just thought it would be original to name the band after the first street we played on.

How do you guys work with

only four of the five members of your band being enrolled at Ohio University? What problems have you guys faced and how did you find solutions to those problems? Jaron Takach: Well, Evan comes down and stays in my dorm a lot, so it really is not that big of a problem. Honestly, the biggest problem about the distance is finding a parking spot when he arrives. One of our biggest problems we have faced is finding time to practice in a quiet area as a full band and working around school, recording and gigs that we have.

In Connecticut, it is illegal for unmarried couples to commit lewd acts and live together.

Duane Wade: I always describe us as a weird alternative. A lot of the music I listen to doesn’t sound like anything we make. I’d say Evan is just this crazy guitarist that if you give him an hour with a guitar he already has the lead part to a song. Jaron will sit with him and they will put together the format of a song. When I get out of class they will email me an instrumental, then I will put a rhythm guitar or some bass on it. We’ll have a band practice and Morgan will write some lyrics and we will go from there. I don’t know, I would just say we are different.

You guys often talk about your uniqueness and variety of songs. Sound-wise, what exactly makes your music unlike others? Jaron Takach: It would have to be the wide variety of musical taste and studies throughout the members of

the band. For instance, Evan has a jazz background, while Duane has a more hard rock background. We are a very diverse band.

Where do you guys see yourself in the Athens music scene and how do you fit in? Alex Kesler: I think we fit in really well. When we went to the Smiling Skull people loved the music. I saw Ben Corbett’s band and honestly I think that when we are sophomores that’s going to be us and possibly even bigger. Jaron Takach: There aren’t that many alternative bands in Athens. When I listen to our music I honestly believe that we have the ability to be up there with them and possibly better.

What has been the overall feedback from your fans? Alex Kesler: We attract some older fans along with college kids. When we do shows we do some older covers so it brings in a wide fan base.

In our first video interview you explained a deal you signed with a student run organization titled Brick City Records. Can you explain how this happened and what brought you two together? Jaron Takach: Basically we showed the Brick City company some of our demos that we recorded in our basement and they really liked our stuff so they wanted to start an EP recording process with us. Once we are near the end of the EP recording we will sit down with Brick City and Spencer, the guy who actually

records us, and sign a deal that goes over the rights of the songs. Brick City is a nonprofit organization but they are going to promote us and distribute our music.

Have you talked about naming your EP? Morgan Marvar: Yeah, we have. I think it’s going to be called Spotlight Height. It has two different meanings. I think with music, eventually you’ll get to a height where you are so popular that you are always under the spotlight. It’s also a double meaning because when you are under that spotlight, that height and that high that you get from being up there. It’s just a play on words of how you want to interpret it.

What are the future plans for your band? Evan Thompson: World takeover. No, I’m just kidding, that’s not the plan. I think we are just going to make music and see where it takes us. Alex Kesler: Keep making music and if we get famous that’s cool. Jaron Takach: When I get out of college I think it would be so cool if that’s what my life would be; making music and playing shows. I think that’s what we all want to be doing when we get out of college. Just making music and getting our name out to people.

Check out Bixford online!

WHO PLAYS WHAT? Alex Kesler

Morgan Marvar

Guitar

Vocals

Evan Thompson

Guitar

A female shall not appear in a bathing suit on any highway within Kentucky.

Piano

Jaron Takach

Duane Wade

Drums

Bass

www.backdropmag.com

THE DROP

rial director of the press for the past tensive series, also known as lists, on three years, says. “We’re the only African history, Appalachian life, enones that can really tell what’s been vironment studies and the like. Cocut and what’s not.” coa plant slavery, labor strike analyGrowing from a full-time staff of sis and a history of South African two in 1947 to 12 today, the OU dockside prostitution are a few of the Press formally operates as a publish- subjects the press has to offer within ing arm of the university, reporting its 1,000 plus book titles. Among its to the Office of the Executive Vice many partnerships, OU Press works President and the Provost. Annually in tandem with Swallow Press, a bringing in more than one million venerable literary press well known dollars in book sales and other revenue, the press publishes 40-45 titles per year, a considerable amount for a staff of its size. The small staff is tight-knit and hardworking, proving their dedication with long hours and a lot of overtime. “We’re pretty bare bones for the amount of books we pubJeff Kallet lish per year,” Jeff Kallet, marketing associate for the press, Marketing Associate says. “We’re lean and mean, as I like to say.” in the academic world. Founded by The press is one of the university’s 1940s poet, professor and publisher most visible faces, representing com- Allan Swallow, around five Swallow mitment to scholarship and academic titles are published per year as well. activity. The press’ roots are based in In addition, the press houses an imscholarly endeavors, publishing ex- pressive intern program for students

“

aspiring to secure careers in the publishing world. Each department hires interns, who then receive concerted education and specific job training. The experience they earn stands for itself– past interns have gone on to snag jobs at presses like Simon & Schuster and even Oxford Press, the largest in the world. “We take seriously the fact that we’re the largest university press in the state and we have very strong lists,” Berchowitz says. The press will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2014, and hopes to put on further events with the university to increase visibility and foster recognition. Reviewers of OU Press/Swallow Press prove impressive, including The New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today among countless other publications. “I always feel that one of our most important achievements is that we get the Ohio University name out into the world,” Kallet says.

We’re pretty bare bones for the amount of books we publish per year....we’re lean and mean, as I like to say.”

PRESSED FOR FUNDS BY BECKY WAGNER | PHOTOS BY AMANDA PUCKETT

Despite crippling budget cuts, the Ohio University Press is still the largest academic and trade book publisher in the state.

are wooden shelves and boxes jammed with books line the office of the largest university press in the state of Ohio. Housed among the red bricks of The Ridges since 2005, the Ohio University Press is making a move to Columbus Road in Athens. Though those changes, stemming from university budget cuts have proved hard upon the press, its mission to uphold the university’s scholastic excellence holds strong. With a decrease in state funding circa 2010, OU’s subsequent budget cuts threatened the life of the press. A total of $180,843 was cut from the subsidy that the OU Press receives from the university’s general fund, a cut of exactly half of the press’s subsidy level. Exactly one quarter of the press’s budget comes from that subsidy, while the other three quarters result from book sales. Revenue earned from the sale of press books goes mostly into producing additional books. The subsidy alone accounts for half of

backdrop | Spring 2013

the staff’s salaries and benefits. With such drastic cuts, heavier workloads and inevitable staff reduction loomed on the horizon. Fortunately, two adherent university professors caught wind of the press’ troubles. In 2011, Sam Crowl and Tom Carpenter formed the Cecil Hemley Society, dedicated to keeping the press in production and to continue its mission toward university scholarship. Christened after the first editor and publisher to head the press, the Society provides intellectual, professional and financial support with members pledging a minimum $3,000 annually. About 20 members joined initially, with numbers rising today. But even with that help, the press still struggles. “It’s hard, and we’re doing our best to find ways to make due, but it’s a tribute to the prioritization skills and focus made at the press,” Gillian Berchowitz, editoIn Baltimore, Md., it is illegal to take a lion to the movies.

In New York, it is against the law to throw a ball at someone’s head for fun.

www.backdropmag.com

THE DROP

PERFECT FIT BY ANNA LIPPINCOTT | PHOTOS BY AMANDA PUCKETT

Kismet, a new boutique on Union Street, finds its niche in the tight-knit college environment.

backdrop | Spring 2013

A license must be purchased before hanging clothes on a clothesline in New York.

girly, glitter and flower boutique, don’t be. Kismet aims to branch out and shake off the loaded “boutique” title. Kismet houses edgy department store brand names, including Billabong, O’Neill, Volcom and Element. The store also carries opposite-end-of-the-spectrum names, such as the more bohemian inspired Free People and Jack by BB Dakota. Additionally, Kismet prides itself on offering men’s clothing and accessories. The store often features OBEY brand pieces and gathers clothing inspiration from Shepard Fairey street art, after seeing him paint murals all over Cincinnati. “We really want to attract not just college girls but are trying to branch out to women and men,” Schuck explains. “Our goal is to be able to have three generations of women in the store, and everyone can find something.” So far, that idea of age diversity has been a key selling point for the store. In Cincinnati, the Williams experimented with putting Kismet on Groupon and loved their findings. About 30 percent of certificates were bought by the 18-25 age range, another 30 percent bought by ages 26-35 and 30 percent more bought by ages 36-45. However, it is not only the diversity in clothing that attracts customers to the store. Kismet looks forward to offering toys, gadgets and accessories for men and women. The store maintains a wide range of jewelry by offering

pieces made by local artisans. In its Cincinnati and Yellow Springs stores, Kismet carries jewelry art from local jewelers and companies producing recycled goods. The employees’ favorite recycled pieces are necklaces made from both recycled soda cans and swatches of fabric. Even Schuck makes headbands as a hobby, which Kismet sells at its Cincinnati store. She says the store is always excited to feature local artists, and they are thrilled for the store’s arrival in Athens, which has such a vibrant art community. The shop has been open since mid-March, but the Williams anticipate a large grand-opening party in early June. Maybe the store’s arrival in Athens can be attributed to kismet, but the hard work and creative vision of the Williams is what makes all the difference. Oh, and don’t worry—the floor cleaner really doesn’t smell that bad.

KISMET

In Carmel, N.Y., a man cannot be seen in public while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match.

16 W. Union St. (740) 249-4536

W. UNION

COURT

Williams’ unique shops each have a flavor of their own, and Athens Kismet is no exception. They point out walls that have been put up, blank air where walls have been taken down, the red brick wall deco they have added and even the wood molding that has been recycled. “We should have Retail Rescue,” Victor says as he thinks of making their first Athens experience a show on HGTV. “We’ve always been keeping an eye on Athens,” Kismet general manager Megan Schuck says, “The stores in Cincinnati college towns have really done well and we loved the college small-town feel of Athens.” The word “kismet” means “the will of God,” and Schuck claims that finding the newest location, “felt like kismet.” She says she has loved traveling between Cincinnati and Athens to get the new store up and running, and her favorite part of the area includes the small city feel, especially compared to big Cincinnati, and the small businesses lining uptown. She was even quick to compliment the local support system Athens has, such as restaurants cooking with locally grown produce. The owners are thrilled about the addition of an Ohio University area store, and one Cincinnati assistant manager has even moved to Athens to help get Kismet going. The Williams have no hopes of globalizing the company and want to keep their stores in the Ohio tri-area. The Williams have worked together as a team their entire married lives, and began their small business endeavor by opening Kismet Cincinnati in 2002. After their second Kismet opened in Yellow Springs, the couple branched out and opened two Pangaea Trading Company stores, another Cincinnati area boutique, and later Toko Baru, in addition to a Toko Kids. But for those scared off by the seemingly-

CONGRESS

“Please excuse the smell,” Kismet owner Victor Williams says, as the tangy stench of Pledge and stale smell of Windex fills the air. The new 16 W. Union St. clothing and accessories shop is still under some construction, with paper covering the windows and aerosol carpet cleaner cans covering the freshly polished hardwood floors. It is hard to believe that only five weeks ago the quaint pale green-painted shop was the remnants of Art Apocalypse Now Tattoos and Piercings, which has since relocated to Carpenter Street. The finished store is impeccably put together, with colorcoordinated clothing racks lining the walls and small accessory stations filtered within the mix. Jocelyn and Victor Williams, the married co-owners of Kismet, are happy with the way the new store looks and are excited to announce that it is their biggest store yet. The couple knew they wanted an Athens area store because of the quaint college environment and welcoming sense of community. After a two-year search, the couple was drawn to this particular location because of the bare space and the building’s huge front windows. The

Boutique retail shop selling ladies and mens clothing, accessories and gifts.

www.backdropmag.com

ENTERTAINMENT

A METHOD TO THEIR

“MADNESS” BY ZACHARY BERRY | PHOTOS BY DANIEL RADER

The Playwrights Production Class pushes its students to insanity every weekend to foster creativity, spontaneity and just the right amount of madness.

t is a late Friday night, and all of the seats of the successfully craft their very own masterpieces over the years Hahne Theater in Kantner Hall are packed. The the- because of the program. Some of the plays even garner their ater is engulfed in mysterious darkness that increases creators’ awards, such as third year graduate student Greg Althe anticipation of an already eager audience. Lights drich’s play The Blue Hotel, which won at the City Lit Theater hanging above the theater suddenly illuminate a small Company’s Second Annual Art of Adaptation Festival. section of the stage. A few moments of silence and inacThe process of developing each week’s event is one that tivity pass before music, specifically Sinéad O’Connor’s is creative and often demanding. Coming up with the ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U,” swiftly breaks the still- theme of each week’s spectacle is a role that falls upon ness. From here the specone of the playwrights. That tacle shifts from mysterious individual playwright is seto outright hilarious as seclected as the producer and ond year graduate student, is given the responsibility I think every piece is sort of about toying Anthony Ellison, dances of choosing the week’s mawith the audience to a certain extent. I dramatically, stopping ever jor theme. For example, one think that’s what the theater is about. We so often to let another acweek’s theme was “Welcome tor shave his head. Locks of to the Jungle,” which not bring you into our world and we twist it hair hit the ground as the only dealt with the physiaround and change expectations up.” audience erupts into a fit cal jungle, but also the wild of laughing frenzy. As the nature of human beings. Bianca Sams short performance comes to Another performance was Second Year Graduate Student an end, it is clear to the au“Wow Madness,” which was dience that Midnight Madall about grandeur and surness is like nothing they have ever experienced. prise. From there, the other playwrights use that theme to The Playwrights Production Class, better known as Mid- help them create their own short plays. night Madness, is a unique program available for graduate “Every prompt is different because each idea kind of takes playwrights at Ohio University in which the students are a different amount of time to gestate,” Aldrich elaborates. given the chance to produce their own short plays every The genre of each script varies. While one playwright week. The conception of Midnight Madness in the 1990s may choose to craft a witty and humorous comedy, anwas the brainchild of Charles Smith, the head of the Pro- other may take a dark and tragic look at life in their fessional Playwriting Program at OU. The program was narrative. Since the event only lasts one hour, the playfounded on the principle that the graduate students could wrights have to condense their ideas down into three to expand their creative abilities as playwrights by observing five minute pieces. and working with fellow scriptwriters. “It becomes part of your muscle to write short stories after a The series of short plays is then showcased Friday at 11:00 while,” Chanel Glover, a second year graduate playwright, says p.m. in Kantner Hall. Many of the alumni have gone on to about the pressures of abridging the ideas of some of her plays.

The graduate playwrights have until noon on Friday to turn in their scripts. After that, the tricky part can be recruiting actors for the plays. Madness playwrights utilize a number of actors to bring their plays to life, many of whom are playwrights themselves. Bianca Sams, a second year graduate student, says her experiences with both acting and writing vary. “I feel like each kind of gives you a completely different high and different amounts of control,” Sams says. “As a performer, getting to manipulate yourself in a way and then as a writer you get to manipulate words and then help somebody else to bring them to life.” After practicing their skits, the playwrights and actors put on a show for the audience that is made up of all the different short plays and ideas. Members of Madness feel that the audience is an extremely important part of their program, and believe that the audience can even dictate the course of the show, just by how they react. “Sometimes the audience becomes way more of a role than you expect,” first year graduate Morgan Patton says. “It just really brings a lot of energy that might not have been there.” However, just because the Madness crew appreciates their spectators, that doesn’t mean they are not going to take the audience members slightly out of their comfort zones. “I think every piece is sort of about toying with the audience to a certain extent,” Sams says. “I think that’s what the theater is about. We bring you into our world and we twist it around and change expectations up.” As evidenced by the haircutting incident, Madness is all about shaking expectations up and averting the expected.

That is what so many people find appealing about the performances and what has them coming back every Friday night for more. Not only do audience members benefit from the plays, but members of Madness benefit from them as well. It prepares them for the world of screenwriting and playwriting and readies them for their future careers. “When you leave, you not only have the structural tools but already know who you are and have a very large body of work,” Sams says about the benefits for the graduates who take part in Madness. But for the members of Madness, the greatest reward is not the tools of the trade they obtain. Rather, it is the experiences of working with likeminded and talented peers. “I used to live in Chicago and we would watch some of the plays at the festivals and it would be like two good plays, two mediocre plays and then two really awful plays,” Aldrich says. “But every week I do Madness, and I work with some of the most talented writers in the country. So every week I get to see what new exciting things they bring to the table.” As the show ends, the lights dawn on a scene of graduate playwrights and actors all gather on stage. As they take a bow, the audience explodes into applause. After the performance, the actors and playwrights in Madness gather to talk about the performance or just to joke around and hang out together. They relish in the fact that they have not only been able to bring such a large amount of entertainment to their audience, but to each other as well. It’s a mad showcase, but it also happens to be a fun one.

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backdrop | Spring 2013

In Staten Island, N.Y., you may only water your lawn if the hose is held in your hand.

In Tennessee, you must believe in God to be elected into any kind of office.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Bobcat Behind

BELLATOR

BY CHRIS MANNING | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

n any given Thursday night, if you are flipping through the channels on your television, there is a chance you will see Bjorn Rebney. The average person may not recognize him, but in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), there are few men with more power. As CEO and chairman of Bellator MMA, Rebney runs the world’s second largest mixed-martial arts promotion. But before he ran Bellator, Rebney was a Bobcat. “Look, for a West Coast kid, for a kid that was born and raised in Southern California, Athens was a completely and totally different environment,” Rebney says. “For a kid from the West Coast, it felt like I was seeing the Ivy League.” Rebney came to Athens on a full football scholarship after playing a semester of community college football in his home state of California. Rebney took trips around the country to visit various college football programs and he

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After fighting through the Sports Administration program at Ohio University, Bjorn Rebney decided to take on his toughest contender to date by challenging the UFC.

decided on Ohio after his initial visit. Seeing an opportunity to get playing time on the football team and attend a top-notch sports administration program, Rebney says the choice was an easy one to make. While in Athens, Rebney says he did not have much time for anything other than school and football. In his three years as a student, he completed both a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and his master’s in sports administration, graduating in 1989. After graduation, Rebney immediately went to work in Boston promoting and marketing Soviet athletic teams in the United States. After a year and a half, he went to back to school for a law degree, graduating from the University of Pacific’s McGeorge Law School in 1992. From there, he got into boxing promotion - most notably working with boxing legend “Sugar” Ray Leonard to create Sugar Ray Leonard

When I graduated from OU, I had this magical foundation set where I had an understanding of kind of the building blocks of sports marketing and I was able to get a big leap ahead of most people that were young at the space.” Bjorn Rebney President of Bellator Fighting Champions

backdrop | Spring 2013

In Rome, it is illegal to eat or drink near a monument.

Presents Friday Night Fights for ESPN. Around that time, Rebney began training in MMA with friends in California, and he became enthralled with the sport soon after. In 2005, he started to make the basic plans for Bellator and eventually received the funding in 2008 from an investment bank out of New York. Bellator held its first event on April 3, 2009 in Hollywood, Fla. From the start, the Newport Beach, Californiabased promotion has used a tournament format (meaning a fighter will fight three times in three months in order to earn a title shot) that no other major promotion uses. Several tournaments take place in each Bellator season, which typically runs 12 weeks. The winner of each tournament earns a title shot in their weight divisions, as well as a $100,00 payday. Bellator’s first season featured the featherweight (145 lb.), lightweight (155 lb.), welterweight (170 lb.) and middleweight (185 lb.) divisions. For Rebney, that first season was a validation of years of hard work and planning. “It was just something that was great to see everything that had been an idea in my head for so long become real on television,” Rebney says. “It was in Spanish and on a teeny distribution platform, but was great to see in happen.” Flash forward four years to present day, and the Bellator that exists today is nothing like the one that was around in 2009. Back then, Rebney was only backed by his original group of capital investors and operated on a relatively small budget. Today, the organization is backed by media giant Viacom Inc., which bought a majority stake in Bellator from Rebney last year. Even with the growth in his company, Rebney still maintains one-onone relationships with his employees. Fighters Brian Rogers and Jessica Eye both have a positive relationship with their boss. In MMA, that can be uncommon. Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, for example, has a long history of publically feuding with his top fighters. Rebney has only had a few instances of public disputes, the most famous one in-

volving former strawweight (115 lbs.) champ Zoila Gurgel, who missed over a year with knee injuries and claimed that Bellator would not pay her bills. When Gurgel returned, she moved up to flyweight and took on Eye, who defeated the former champ via first round submission. “We discuss things that need to be taken care of and things that I need to do. He’s a great guy, and he talks to me like a normal person. I don’t know him on a personal level but I mean, as my boss, I love having him as a boss,” Eye says. Rogers fondly remembers the first time he met the Bellator president. “You know, the first time I met Bjorn was before I even signed. I went to what was now champion Michael Chandler’s tournament final in Atlantic City and when Hector Lombard fought some Hawaiian guy,” Rogers says. “We talked in-between fights for about two or three minutes and we just hit it off from there.” When it comes to his top stars, Rebney is focused on organically building them under Bellator and giving them a chance to showcase their skills on Spike. He likens it to professional baseball, where a team will draft a player, build him up in the minors and develop a relationship that keeps said player committed long term. Looking back on his time in Athens, Rebney credits his college education at OU for laying the building blocks for his entire career. “It was at the time, and remains, one of the foremost preeminent sports business educations that you can get in the entire world,” Rebney says. “When I graduated from OU, I had this magical foundation set where I had an understanding of kind of the building blocks of sports marketing and that I was able to get a big leap ahead of most people that were young at the space.” With his education and faith in the business model he created, Rebney has no doubt that the future is bright for him and his company. “We share a vision that is much better described as a marathon and not a sprint,” Rebney says. “It’s an exciting, exciting time to be part of this. This is my dream job.”

In Dubai it is illegal to share a hotel room outside of marriage.

PROFILES OF THE BELLATOR TEAM Bjorn Rebney Title: President of Bellator Fighting Championships College: Ohio University Height: 6’3” Hometown: Newport, Calif.

Jessica Eye Nick Name: Jessica “Evil” Eye Record: 9-1 Height: 5’6” Weight: 125 lbs Class: Flyweight Hometown: Parma, Ohio

Brian Rogers Nick Name: “The Professional Predator” Record: 9-1 Height: 5’11” Weight: 185 lbs Class: Middleweight Hometown: Kent, Ohio In part two, learn more about Bellator, its fighters and its relationship with Spike.

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CLUSTER

PHOBIA BY MELISSA THOMPSON & SARA PORTWOOD PHOTOS BY BRICE NIHISER | INFOGRAPHIC BY OLIVIA REANEY

The Business Cluster is unavoidable in the quest for an MBA at Ohio University, but the real-world experience makes it worth the frustration.

t is the scariest seven minutes of your life: five weeks worth of project information condensed into a sevenminute presentation of your findings. Combined, the report and presentation affect your grade in four classes. It is no surprise that a collective sigh escapes from students’ mouths as they say, “business cluster.” In the midst of the cluster, there isn’t time for anything else. “The business cluster is the centerpiece of our core curriculum,” Dr. Gary Coombs, associate professor of management and the Interim Chair of the Management Department for the College of Business, says. “And the initial intent of putting it together was to have students have a more holistic understanding of business and business problems.” The standard courses for the cluster include an introductory management course, marketing and finance courses, and a course in management information systems (MIS). Together, those disciplines intertwine to help students address a real business situation. Students must understand, analyze and create recommendations throughout their designated projects.

ALL HANDS ON DECK

Sophomores: Chris Hemans, Jack Shaeffer, Jeremiah Helle, Samantha Ciraci and Jade Cain were recently paired together to complete the second project of the cluster. The group members’ grades on the first project ranged from 77 to 91 percent. Now, they must come together to create a feasibility analysis for Southern Ohio Health Care Network (SOHCN). “Our objective is to take this new technology, called MHealth, which is mobile health,” Jack explains. “It is a way of tracking and recording a person’s health from the In 1996, the Association to Advance the Collegiate use of smart phones and tablets, transmitting that data to Schools of Business (AACSB) recognized that real-world a facility where there are social workers and practice nurses business was evolving and business education should that can check up on you.” Each member will be responsible for his or her individual evolve as well. Thus, Coombs and three other faculty members of the business school gathered to reevaluate part of the project, but after already completing project a tired curriculum. They adjusted a fairly new teaching number one, the five cluster students are certain teamwork style being used in the MBA program. The program was is key. The group has put in about 70 hours of work collectively, and that then brought down to number does not inthe undergraduate level clude individual work and worked into a rigorous collaborative curThe greatest benefit for students is that outside of group meetings. Then estimate an riculum known today as it challenges them with very realistic additional 36 hours the cluster. business issues, like they are going to purely for the financial “Back then, we called involved it Business 20/20— presee in their careers, where there is no statements in the project. Stuparing students for the dents taking the cluscertain answer.” future, looking ahead to ter know going into the year 2020, and also, Dr. Gary Coombs the course that their obviously playing on the Interim Director of the Management Department project grades are for idea of 20/20 vision: a the entire group. Indiclearer view of busividuals cannot score higher than any other group member, ness,” Coombs recalls. The original line-up of classes was management, MIS, unless someone receives an especially favorable peer evaluabusiness law and a course in professional communications. tion or faculty observation, which happens rarely. “It does cause some unhappiness,” Coombs says about Students and faculty were “clustered” together to work in a the cluster grading procedure. “It takes a certain amount of holistic business environment like they are today. The cluster has been a serious academic and social de- control over their own grade out of their hands.” He explains that if there is good teamwork, there aren’t mand on students both then and now.

BUSINESS 20/20

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In Thailand it is illegal to step on currency. Breaking the law can result in a severe beating.

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BREAKDOWN OF CREDIT HOURS

CLASSES

CREDIT HOURS EACH

CREDIT HOURS

MEMBERS PER TEAM

ASSIGNED RANDOMLY

CLASSES TAKEN FIN 2400

MIS 2020

FINANCE MANAGEMENT

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

MKT 2400

MGT 2100

INTRO TO MARKETING MANAGEMENT

INTRO TO MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATION

PROJECTS SPECS

12 15 TO TO

HOURS PER WEEK

≈

WEEKS PER PROJECT

GRADE BASED OFF TEAM PERFORMANCE

HOURS PER PROJECT PRESENTATION

any problems. However, the moment someone stops pulling his or her fair share, the entire group suffers. “In my group, a person was struggling with getting her lines ready,” Chris says. “We went from 11:30 in the morning until 8:30 at night just reciting her lines to make sure that she had it down and that she wasn’t going to choke when we did the presentation. She did great during the presentation, but if it had just been based on individual performance, I don’t know if I would have actually helped her because I would have been worried about what I was going to do instead of how the team was going to do itself.” But teamwork is not easy when you are spending 1215 hours per week for five weeks with a specific group of people. There are schedules to work around and social life activities in which to partake. “That was one thing I got slashed on in my peer reviews,” Jack says, a collegiate athlete on the cross country team at Ohio University recalling his last group project experience. “This one girl said I had to make school a bigger priority and miss practice two or three times a week in order to meet group meetings.” The quarter-to-semester change contributed to the challenge of setting up group meetings. On quarters, taking the four standard cluster courses would have been a full course load, but not on semesters. Now, cluster students

backdrop | Spring 2013

40%

REPORT

60%

have to decide if they will add a fifth class to achieve 15 hours or remain at the 12 hours provided by strictly cluster classes. The added obligation to take a fifth class creates scheduling conflicts. And what about the weekend? The current group remembers the different scheduling strategies they experienced from their last projects. “We would meet Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Chris says. “We would just meet in the middle of the day so we would have the Sunday night to do homework and Saturday night for whatever social activities.” While some groups, like Chris’, utilized their weekends in full, other groups gave themselves some slack. “We never met on Saturdays and our weekends were not structured,” Jade counters. “It was a lot more loose on the weekends.” Regardless of time conflicts and difficulties with class schedules, the work must be done. The group’s grade depends on it. And the cluster’s grading process is not everyone’s favorite. When grading, the four teachers who instruct the cluster are expected to pull together and cooperate as much as the students are. After the students hand in their reports and finish their presentations, the teachers meet and evaluate their projects. Discussions are necessary for the projects, In Oklahoma, you can be arrested for making ugly faces at a dog.

because they are designed not to have a “right” answer. “I mean it kind of makes me mad that they assign us a project that they don’t necessarily know the answer to and they rely on us to provide the answer,” Jeremiah says. The case studies are not always pulled from textbooks. Real companies seek out help from OU’s business school, making a concrete answer for each situation difficult to determine. As a result, professors evaluate the groups’ presentations and research skills used to support their arguments. “We don’t care as much about the specific answer. We care about how they got to it and can make a good reasoned argument for why they chose the answer they did,” Coombs says. Coombs defends the group grading system because it reflects what students will experience in the real world. “The greatest benefit for students is that it challenges them with very realistic business issues, like they are going to see in their careers, where there is no certain answer,” Coombs says.

Students gain realistic business experience through helping established companies and nonprofit organizations. Such businesses seek out OU’s business school for guidance. Coombs explains that companies ask for help from fundraising ideas to large-scale marketing advice. OU’s business school has helped numerous for-profit companies as well as nonprofits, such as the Nelsonville Downtown Association, Habitat for Humanity and the Empower Campaign. Those companies not only seek the opportunity to work with students for business advice, they also see the opportunity as a valuable chance to job scout. “They want to be able to recruit here. They’re seeing this as an opportunity to meet students earlier in their career path, talk to them about internships and eventually fulltime employment,” Coombs says.

THE DREADED SEVEN After five weeks of painstaking research, the cluster dons crisp button-down shirts and sleek jackets to give their presentations that final business-professional touch. The past 70 hours of work are compressed into seven minutes of clean, green and white PowerPoint slides. The students have survived round two of the cluster ordeal and will carry these skills from the classroom to the conference table. After the presentations, the next task on the agenda is to celebrate. “We have one day to forget the past five weeks,” Jack says as the rest of group laughs in agreement. And Court Street anxiously awaits the sound of polished heels and dress shoes on its bricks.

In Salt Lake County, Utah, it’s illegal to walk down the street carrying a violin in a paper bag.

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FEATURES

TESTING THE WATERS

BY AMANDA PUCKETT PHOTOS BY BRICE NIHISER

For deep-sea explorers itching to get their feet wet, Ohio University provides students with the chance to become certified scuba divers while plunging into their own underwater adventures.

sea of bubbles and a gulp of stored compressed air may trigger anxiety for the average college student. With tense uncertainty below the surface, however, there is also a beautiful new world that awaits Ohio University students interested in exploring the underwater experience. “Everybody has an element– air, earth, fire, water. If you’re a water person, [scuba diving’s] great for you,” says Michelle Doe, a senior studying journalism and visual communication. “It’s so freeing and amazing the first time.” Michelle took REC 1220, or SCUBA, last fall. The condensed course is offered fall and spring semesters within campus recreation’s outdoor pursuits. The class, which consists of a lecture portion and a lab session, allows students to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for safe and comfortable scuba diving. In addition to the college credit, interested students can earn their open water diving certification through the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) on a weekend trip to Williston, Fla. After warming up to the activity, Michelle attended the scuba diving trip, completed her certification and gained a lifelong hobby. “I remember being underwater that long, and you kind of forget what’s going on,” Michelle recalls. “It’s like an out-of-body experience and you almost see a whole new world.” Although scuba diving may strike the interest of college students across the country, OU’s scuba diving program offers a comparatively low cost for the whole package of the program, which includes acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to carry the skill for life. A scuba certification never expires. Each student enrolled in SCUBA must pay the $288 instructor fee for the semester, which covers instruction time, textbook and logbook costs, among other course necessities. Future divers are also responsible for an out-of-pocket

cost of personal diving gear, which includes a mask, fins and a snorkel. On average, the items range from $150 to $200 for the semester and should last for years. The Outdoor Pursuits Scuba Shop on the second floor of Bird Arena sells the equipment and divers can try it on before making a commitment. Another cost, although optional, is forking over $225 for the four-day trip to Williston, Fla., in which students can get certified in open-water scuba diving. Interim Executive Director of Campus Recreation Steve Sammons, or “Scuba Steve,” is also the head of SCUBA at OU. He teaches scuba diving and sailing classes through the recreation department and has been involved with them since he was a student employee in 1983. Sammons says that OU students consistently walk away from the program with strong comfort and responsibility in their capabilities. “We really drill down and teach,” Sammons says. “If you went to get certified in Florida, it might only take a weekend, but you can’t learn enough about it to be comfortable in the water. Here, there are several weeks to teach and learn.” Before the scuba course dives into the material, students must pass a mandatory pool test to ensure they’re at ease in the water. The test consists of treading water with and without hands (five and three minutes, respectively), a sevenminute survival float, a 23-yard underwater swim without a push-off and a 300-yard surface swim in any position. The course may seem to be all fun and games, but Sammons has high expectations of his students. “Be informed and ready to go,” Sammons says. “This isn’t an easy, three-credit-hour A. You’ve got to earn your A in here.” Before 1998, SCUBA at OU was offered through an outside vendor. After the department was left without an instructor, Sammons looked at how the program could be sustainable over time. Since then, the program’s two instructors have doubled, and Sammons is preparing to certify three more potential instructors. The core of the program hasn’t tremendously changed, even with the switch to semesters. However, on the quarter system, SCUBA was offered fall, winter and spring, so instructors had the chance to teach and certify more students. Each class has a maximum capacity of 44 students, so only 88 can be certified per year under semesters, as opposed to 132.

Still, the course has flourished into a lifelong leisure for eager students. “It’s a hobby that expands all ages and sizes,” Michelle says. “But an adventurous person would really love it.” Brynn Shuller, a senior interactive multimedia major, took SCUBA last winter quarter. After receiving her certification, she decided to become a teaching assistant for the course. She calls her hobby “incredible and life-changing.” “(Scuba diving) really captures all the adventure,” Brynn says. “It’s different than anything else you could experience – even skydiving.” Brynn says that when she was living in the dorms, a 30-gallon fish tank overtook her desk. She had tiny fish and even used a snorkel sometimes. “That had somewhat of an impact on me,” Brynn says. “And you kind of have to learn how to snorkel before you learn to scuba dive.” On the other hand, Michelle says she decided to pursue SCUBA at OU because the university setting allowed her to be more frugal with the hobby. She felt she was able to afford the price tag behind the course and the trip. The tools are readily available through the course and the instructors gave Michelle everything she needed to know before diving. To Brynn, taking the course at OU was an experience within itself. Like Michelle, she mentions that the trip to Florida and the people who instructed her were among the highlights. “The teachers and students are a great group, and they make it so much fun to learn with,” she says. “Also, having Sammons teach us was special because

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If you don’t scuba dive, you don’t really see everything. There’s just so much life in and under the water.” Steve Sammons Interim Executive Director of Campus Recreation

backdrop | Spring 2013

he’s so experienced in SCUBA.” Sammons is an instructor trainer, which means that he can certify instructors. That high level of scuba diving ability is earned after becoming an advanced open-water scuba diver. He is passionate about his teaching job and hobby. “If you don’t scuba dive, you don’t really see everything,” Sammons says. “There’s just so much life in and under the water.” According to Sammons, a whole mix of students take REC 1220, from marine biology to recreation and outdoor majors. However, it is not a requirement for any major. Occasionally, some students who are already certified will take SCUBA because they don’t really feel comfortable diving. OU offers a free refresher course for students who have already taken the course and would like to review, and Sammons encourages students who haven’t been diving frequently to brush up on their skills. “If you haven’t dove in 10 years, you need to refresh,” Sammons says. “It’d be like if it were 10 years in which you hadn’t driven a car, and then you headed out into New York City traffic.” Sammons says that, unlike OU, most universities don’t have in-house programs. Instead, they contract classes outside of their schools. Ac-

cording to its website, The Ohio State University pays an outside instructor to teach its students, who do not have the opportunity to get certified through the course. The trip to Florida seems to bridge any nervous gaps that SCUBA students may have had during their course training. Devil’s Den, the first stop, is where students perform their open-water check out dives to earn their openwater certifications. Devil’s Den is home to fish and turtles that swarm its hills and caves in crystal-clear waters. Brynn describes the spot as “majestic.” The temperature hovers around 72 degrees year-round. On the Saturday of the Florida trip, the group travels to Rainbow River, a site not far from Devil’s Den, where the new divers have the chance to snorkel. Michelle and Brynn say they swam with manatees there. Michelle was worried that not being a serious swimmer would hinder her scuba diving ability, but after the trip to Florida, mental reassurance changed her mind. “You need to have the mentality that you’ll be underwater for a while, and be calm about it,” Michelle says. “You can psyche yourself out, but I just kept coming back because it was worth it.” Although some potential divers seem to be dissuaded by the expenses, the

In California, it is illegal for a vehicle without a driver to exceed 60 miles per hour.

SCUBA course feedback has been relatively positive. “[Students] have a great time both in the class and on the trip,” Sammons says. “They’re thankful for the experience they have, and when they’re out there with people trained from other programs, they see it, how much better they can handle themselves in the water.” One scuba dive can take anywhere from 35 to 60 minutes depending on depth and breathing rate, according to Sammons, and the common water temperature for divers is 80 degrees and warmer. However, with a proper wetsuit, you can dive in conditions as low as 55 degrees. “I never know what I’m going to see on my next dive,” Sammons says. “Even if I dive on one location and come back later, I will have a different experience.” Brynn says that her connection to scuba diving goes beyond description and expectations. “I didn’t expect it to be so rewarding,” Brynn says. “I would definitely recommend the class, and the oncein-a-lifetime e xperienc e, to anyone.”

WHAT TO WEAR WHEN TAKING THE PLUNGE MASK & SNORKEL FINS WETSUIT

Depending on water conditions 3

WEIGHT BELT BUOYANCY COMPENSATOR

Similar to a backpack, it helps maintain position in the water

TANKS

Air is compressed into a tank for breathing

REGULATOR SET

Includes hoses for breathing

In Switzerland, it is illegal for a man to relieve himself while standing up after 10 p.m.

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RECIPE

Easier Baker Oven BY JACOB BETZNER I PHOTOS BY JULIA LEIBY & AMANDA PUCKETT

West 82 is a necessary fueling point for underclassmen and a guilty pleasure for those living off campus. During prime hours, Bobcats attempt to time their stops perfectly to avoid long lines. But who is the man behind the madness? Kevin Hurst gave Backdrop the scoop on all things West 82— extra flavor included. First of all, what exactly is your title, and what do you do at West 82?

I’m the general manager of West 82. I handle day-to-day managing operations of West 82 and the staff, which includes student staff and unit staff, and make sure that they are doing their job –show up for work on time, follow the correct procedures, safety procedures, sanitation guidelines and general oversight and financial responsibilities.

BASIL PESTO CHICKEN SANDWICH Take one of West 82’s favorite deli sandwiches, the basil pesto chicken sandwich, to your own kitchen and avoid the crowd at Baker! But don’t forget to stop by and say hi to Chef Hurst and try all of the other West 82 creations.

Ingredients Sourdough Bread

Mozzarella Cheese

Why did you decide to become a chef?

Basil Garlic Pesto

Grilled Chicken Breast

Where are you from and where did you go to culinary school?

Mayonnaise

Roasted Red Peppers

Basically, my mom cooked a lot at home, and it just always interested me. So, when I got done with high school, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, and since I liked doing it [cooking], it was an area or avenue that I pursued. Columbus; I went to Hocking College.

Personally, what’s your favorite menu item at West 82?

Boy, that depends on the day. I actually like a lot of the specials that we do—the day-to-day specials at the concepts, because usually they’re different, and add variety. I really like, like even today, we’re doing a chili-braised pork at Verde, which is very good, and we’re also doing a blackened fish at the Smokehouse concept, which is fantastic, too. I usually like a lot of things with a lot of flavors and stuff like that.

What do you think is the most popular menu item for students?

I would say probably the burger, a burger of sorts, is probably the most popular. But it varies from day-today. We sell a lot of burritos; those are always very, very popular. And deli sandwiches. The line at the deli is almost always as long as the line at the grill everyday, so it’s really hard to sort of pinpoint that actual favorite.

Directions 1) Take two slices of sourdough bread and spread 1 tablespoon of prepared basil pesto sauce on one slice of bread. 2) Spread 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on the other slice and top with mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken breast and roasted red peppers. Prefer warm sandwiches? Simply toast your bread before adding toppings!

So what’s it like when you go to a restaurant? Is it hard not to critique the cooking, or think of ways you might do something different? Sometimes, but I’ve always tried to be open-minded when I go out to eat, you know? I usually go to places that I know the food that they cook, and I know what they do. Obviously, some places have their certain things, like, BW3’s is primarily wings. I wouldn’t go to BW3’s to get a salad, you know? That’s not their forte. What they do best is wings. So, I don’t really critique them on things that they probably aren’t really known for. And it’s different if I’m going to a high-end restaurant as opposed to a diner. Expectations are always a little bit different, too.

Do you see yourself moving anywhere different in the future, or are you happy with where you are?

Probably not, I’m very happy here. I’ve got a family and children. Ohio University is a great place to work.

What are some things you do when you’re not at work or outside of cooking? I spend time with my family. Go on bike rides, hike and travel. I travel all over the country.

backdrop | Spring 2013

In Samoa, it’s a crime to forget your own wife’s birthday.

In London, England, it is illegal for a city cab to carry rabid dogs or corpses.

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SPORTS

foreign

OBSTACLES BY ALEXANDER MUEHLBACH | PHOTOS BY JAMES CONKLE

International athletes competing amongst the collegiate ranks in the United States have been on the rise. What they sacrifice to come to America has some athletes questioning, is it worth it?

fter weeks of off-season training, Nicole van Batenburg felt burned out. She had talked to her family, her roommate and her friends about the sleepless nights she had been dealing with ever since the winter eased its way through the Hocking Hills. The freshman recently decided to end her dream of being a college athlete by quitting the Ohio University field hockey team. Instead of facing the next three years of her career, she had to

THE NETHERLANDS

“

I am never scared to try something new.” Nicole van Batenburg OU Field Hockey

backdrop | Spring 2013

face the coach that brought her to OU and tell him the harsh truth: it was over. Just seven months earlier, Nicole showed fearlessness in deciding to come from the Netherlands to OU to play field hockey. “I am never scared of trying something new,” Nicole said in an interview upon her arrival in Athens in September. “I wasn’t afraid to come

to Ohio. I am home at Ohio now.” The excitement she showed then is now gone, and it is replaced with a look of relief. Nicole, along with fellow freshman teammate, Adel Sammons, of Great Britain, is part of a trend that a lot of college teams across the country follow. Since 2000, the number of international students competing for college teams has risen from 1.6 percent to more than 4 percent in 2011, according to NCAA statistics. With some of the best talent to be found outside of the country, collegiate coaches have expanded their recruiting horizons far beyond the American border. The creation of international scholarship companies began the movement of recruiting international athlete-students to American universities. In times in which college coaches do not have the money to make recruiting trips abroad and when filling out a recruiting questionnaire often leads to a dead end, the companies act as mediators between the coaches and the potential athletes. “I couldn’t do it without help,” explains Nicole, who worked with a similar Dutch company, UStudy.

Companies such as German website sports-scholarship.com, promise the athlete to find the right college in addition to guaranteeing a scholarship between $10,000 and $50,000 a year. In return, the company charges the athlete $3,500 for its service. After years of operation, the companies have established a powerful communication network with college coaches around the country. About 80 percent of all athletes enrolling in the program receive at least eight different scholarship offers after having created an Internet profile and a video about themselves. Athletes would probably never be able to receive the same results on their own. Therefore, the demand for it is huge. Essentially, international athletes do not have any other option, but to pay if they want to play. Although the allure of attending an American college to play a sport is significant to some, coaches have a hard time convincing international athletes to leave their homes behind. Anastasia Bocharnikova, a senior from Russia and a backstroke swimmer for OU, competed in the Swimming World Cup in Moscow the year before she started her collegiate career in Athens. She lived in Nizhny Tagil, a city close to the Ural Mountains with 360,000 inhabitants 1,400 miles east of Moscow and enrolled in a college in her hometown, studying regional studies. Anastasia continued to swim for her club team, and if it were not for her coach giving her a flyer about pursuing a collegiate career in the United States, she never would have embraced change. As her dream of studying and swimming in the U.S. was about to become

reality, her parents only gave her partial support. Although her father supported her decision, her mother did not want to let her go, afraid that her educational career would take a major hit. The conflict didn’t pass without tears. Anastasia lowers her head as she talks about the time prior to the U.S. “I was afraid to come here because I was all by myself,” Anastasia says as she tries to hide her words with a smile. Anastasia competed for the last time this winter at the Aquatic Center. In her time at OU she was unable to match her personal bests achieved in Russia. Different training with more yards and less breaks hindered her ability to develop to her full potential. “She hasn’t really shown how good she is. She has a lot more to show,” Swimming and Diving Head Coach, Greg Werner, says. Although she

initially intended to pursue a sports management degree, Anastasia will graduate this summer with a degree in sociology. “My English wasn’t good enough to enroll in the business school,” she says. Anastasia says she will most likely return to Russia next year, to her hometown to finally reunite with her family. Nicole will return to the Netherlands after her one-year hiatus. Although she wishes to remain in Athens, quitting the team means losing her scholarship and paying full tuition, which are not feasible financial options for her family. Her credits from OU will not transfer to the University of Amsterdam, where she plans to study in the Netherlands. Thus, her college career will start all over again. Still, Nicole doesn’t regret her decision to become an international Bobcat, if only for a season. “I am happier now,” Nicole says. “I have more time to do what I want.”

RUSSIA

“

I was afraid to come here because I was by myself.” Anastasia Bocharnikova OU Swimmer

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SPORTS

TRADING IT ALL FOR THE TEAM

BY ZAK KOLESAR | PHOTOS BY ISAAC HALE

In addition to Juli Accurso’s individual athletic accomplishments, her most-coveted possession comes in the form of her supportive team.

uli Accurso has had to make many rational, yet decisive, assessments on her path to becoming an Ohio Bobcat. The trail that Juli, a two-time All-American cross country runner and an AllAmerican track athlete, has blazed for almost 10 years is paved with meditated choices that are not nearly equivalent to the sacrifice that she makes for her Ohio teammates every time she knots up her spikes before a race.

backdrop | Spring 2013

After rummaging through Juli’s box of countless NCAA medals, awards, plaques and certificates at her house, she is now tying up those very same aqua green shoes that she puts on before she goes all in for her herself and her teammates. While Juli gets lost in the raceday preparation, a sign made by Juli rests above her head, plastered on the front door. It starts off reading: YOU. ARE. THE. BEST. Juli will tell you that seeing her name next to the aforementioned accolades still elicits a dreamlike feeling. After claiming a second straight MAC individual title, winning 2012 Great Lakes Region Runner of the Year and finishing 38th at NCAA Championships just this past cross country season, she would still trade in all of her selfachievements for

the second family that her team provides. Her story, like many other great athletes, follows a course that leads you to think it is difficult to even fathom Juli reaching the national stage as a Bobcat runner. Perseverance, advice and an encapsulating mentality are all contributing factors in how Juli found her way through running. Around the time Juli entered seventh grade, her career as a runner began to develop. “Juli needs to go try out for the cross country team,” she recalls a soccer teammate’s parent saying to her parents. That is all it took to put the gears in motion, because her dad signed her up for a 5K event shortly after the suggestion. It was during one of the toughest parts of her first race, the final stretch, that Juli became attached to the thrill of racing. “I just remember coming down the final stretch of the run and running with my dad and that just being such a memorable moment,” Juli says. “That was the first time I was like, ‘Wow this is something special.’” Throughout junior high and high school, Juli was subject to few training partners when competing as a cross country runner. What kept her going on the destined path was the vast improve-

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ment she saw in herself within her sev- Juli realized how impactful enth grade running season. However, of a choice she was making there was something special about that when future teammate Kari particular cross country season that Summers and former Bobcat gave her a feeling that no other sport Kristen Altenburger reached could provide. out to her to run. That’s why “It was just something [about] run- the next sentence on her ning,” Juli says. “It’s this interior feeling front door letter, a dedication I guess.” to teammates Emily Pifer, She then points out that if it wasn’t Melissa Thompson and Olfor her departure from other sports ivia Vitou, starts off with: such as soccer and softball and her I am so lucky. personal relationship with her high Juli’s sign then continschool track coach, Steve Karnehm, ues to reveal that she’s so the thought of continuing to run at a blessed to have you guys as competitive level throughout college my teammates, roomies & may have not been initiated. best friends. “Coach Karnehm, he was the first perWhile reminiscing on son to actually speak with and look at me her first encounter with her in the eye and say, ‘Juli, you can do some teammates before officially great things. You have the potential to be joining the team, Juli comes a great runner,’” she remembers. to a realization. Her senior season in high school was “I would do anything to a pivotal point in forecasting just how have a team because in the much Juli could accomplish as a runner end it’s not about the mateand if she would ever find a team to em- rialistic things like having brace and lean on. Coach Alan Russell your name on a paper with took over as Juli’s cross country coach a record or having a medal while competing. that year and saw how much she wanted that signifies that I’m an All-American,” “[Runners competing at the NCAA to have teammates around to help and she says. level are all] good usually, so when look to for advice. Following her first two All-American you’re in an atmosphere and everyone “Her senior year I recruited one fresh- achievements– placing 36th at Nation- wants to try and work hard, that’s conman girl, so there were just two of them als and 12th in the 5,000 meter indoor tagious, and I think that’s why she loves on the team, but Juli really took her championship as a sophomore– Juli it,” teammate Ashley Waddington says. under her wing and just taught her and then chose to leave behind her newAfter the outdoor track season Juli worked with her,” Russell says of Juli. found running family to study abroad will have two years left as a Bobcat After finishing off a successful run- in France. runner. She will continue to expand ning career at Miami East High School, “There were days I was just like, ‘I on her legacy by seeking out her most Juli turned her attention to choosing a would do anything to be back in Athsought after accomplishment: college. Although nea team appearance at Nationglectful of the idea at als. Her teammates have willed first, her dad’s advice It was just something [about] her to heights she could have prompted her to visit never reached alone, and no running. It’s this interior feeling Ohio University, where individual accomplishment can coaches Clay Calkins come with a high enough price I guess. ” and Mitch Bentley gave tag to coax her into giving away her the break that she the intangible memories she has Juli Accurso had been searching for made with her teammates. All-American Ohio University Runner through her experiences “I just hope that I’m always running. half the inspiration that othFrom the time she spotted the Convo- ens to be meeting at practice at 2:15 and ers have been on me during my time cation Center cresting over the hills of just be giggling with a group of girls on a here,” Juli says. “If it weren’t for my Athens from Route 33 and the wind- run,’” she says. teammates and my coaches and… the ing running paths on the banks of the Her attachment to her team isn’t support from Athens, I wouldn’t be the Hocking River, she knew that her visit an uncommon theme among runners runner I am today.” was a strong enough foreshadowing to and is one of the reasons why Juli and Juli’s note finishes off with a promise capture her. It wasn’t until the summer her teammates feed off of each other’s that has yet to be broken: going into her first year at Ohio that motivation, strength and confidence I’m gonna make you proud!

“

In Australia, it’s illegal to name any animal you plan to eat.

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SEX & HEALTH

life’s a garden BY ZACH LLOYD | PHOTOS BY BRICE NIHISER

Columbia Avenue residents redefine local sustainability and encourage the Athens community to do the same through home gardening.

here is a house on Columbia Avenue in Athens, Ohio that is unlike all its neighbors both inside and out. Upon entering the front sunroom, visitors are greeted with the sight of drying chili peppers hanging from the ceiling, colored maize nailed to the wall and a pair of steer horns over the front door that have a bright sunflower head drying on each sharp tip. Once inside the house, all a guest needs to do is deeply inhale to understand that this is a home where life is cultivated. The air smells newly filtered— green with an undertone of incense and spice. All around the living room more large pots hold basil, kale and a small pine tree. On the main wall hangs a painting, which was scavenged from a dumpster, of some postapocalyptic sorcerer offering a baby to a giant, smoke-billowing robot. The house was built in 1925 and was restored by a talented Athens woodworker in the 1960s. Beautifully carved cupboards and intricate sunroom walls are standing evidence to the house’s rustic beauty that has not faded with time. However, the truly intriguing aspect of the house is the way the residents have utilized virtually every inch of space to their advantage. Even though the lot it stands on is only 1,200 square feet, the tenants have found a way to cultivate more crops than most people can with multiple acres. Approaching the house from the road, the first thing visitors see is the large amount of vegetation growing in, on and around the home. The flowerbeds out front host the remnants of last season’s crops: tall, shriveled stalks

backdrop | Spring 2013

of sunflowers, the edible cover-crop chickweed as well as tobacco, onions and carrots. The residents installed the beds themselves and all the wood used to construct them was either donated or salvaged from local Habitat for Humanity projects. A pile of pallets is stacked on the hill behind the beds, waiting to be torn apart and reused for some upcoming project. Erik Peterson, one of the three residents of 21 Columbia, takes great pride in being an environmentalist. He runs the Community Food Initiatives Donation Station every Saturday at the Athens Farmers Market. The station accepts both locally produced food and monetary contributions from local gardeners, vendors and Farmers Market customers, which are then distributed to food pantries around the Athens area. “We started working on projects and

it was a slippery slope,” Peterson says. “It became us working on projects every day together with a common vision. I’m really thankful to have this connection with my housemates. I think that’s hard to find.” Steve Peters, another tenant of 21 Columbia, turned out to be an ideal housemate for Peterson. When he’s not working on some project for the house, Peters can be found dividing his time by volunteering on Habitat for Humanity builds or working at the local-supplied Della Zona pizzeria/ Village Bakery. Kyle Lyons, a friend of Peterson’s, works with Joshua Tree Landscaping, an Athens company that offers typical landscaping services in addition to more unorthodox practices like forest restoration and invasive species removal. Lyons also has experience in Earth building, which is literally using earth as a construction mate-

rial. That particular skill will no doubt come in handy this spring as the residents are planning to finish building an outdoor cooking oven using sand, clay and stone. Although Peterson, Peters and Lyons could be called the muscle of the house projects, the brains belong to the third housemate, Peterson’s girlfriend, Isabel Francis-Bongue. Having grown up on an organic farm, Isabel came to the house already primed with the knowledge to live naturally. “I would like to raise some chickens out back, but she doesn’t particularly want them,” Peterson says with a hint of disappointment. “In a lot of ways she provides the eye of experience around here.” The residents also collect rainwater from the front gutter that they use to water their many offspring around the house. “All we have to do is wait for it to rain, and then we have all the free water we could want. Who needs to pay the city for something like that?” Peters says. Other projects include a 50-gallon barrel that stands along the front wall, filled to the brim with dirt and potatoes. Also, during the warmer months, the house has trellises built on the walls where runner beans climb toward the sun, waiting to be picked. “The best part is that we’ve built all this stuff pretty much for free, we can grow our own organic food which saves us a lot of money and it’s some-

“

All we have to do is wait for it to rain, and then we have all the free water we could want. Who needs to pay the city for something like that?” Steve Peters 21 Columbia Resident

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thing that we enjoy,” Peterson says. Not only do the residents practice sustainability themselves, but they also hold potlucks every other Wednesday, and invite interested community members to attend. A speaker is invited most weeks to talk about important environmental issues in the area and to host open discussions on new ideas. Some speakers in the past have included Kyle O’Keefe from Rural Action, Sarah Vaughn from Habitat for Humanity, Duane Bogart from Community Food Initiatives and Benjamin Bushwick, Ohio University Eco House resident and member of the OU chapter of Students for a Sustainable Future. After the discussion, a bluegrass jam session ensues with many of the attendees joining in on the banjo, drums, fiddle or harmonica. “The potlucks have been going really well,” Peterson says. “It’s really been growing into a great thing because we get such a diverse group of people here. The most exciting dialogues are the

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ones where somebody doesn’t stand up there and pontificate, but instead the kind where it starts a discussion that gets people engaged and interested.” Commitment and teamwork toward a common goal is what makes 21 Columbia’s environment work. The evidence is clear just by walking past the house and taking a quick look. Where most front lawns in Athens are decorated with beer cans and empty pizza boxes, 21 Columbia boasts wind chimes, sunflowers and herb gardens. Community members stop just to give praise, or donate some building materials as the residents continue to improve the lot. “I think we all realize that this is temporary, that we’re just renting this house,” Peterson says. “But the point is, ‘So what?’ That shouldn’t stop us from caring. When community members walk by and notice our work and then stop to strike up a conversation, that makes us proud of what we’ve done.”

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b PHOTO ESSAY

n the city that never sleeps, it’s easy to forget the impact that eight million residents have on the environment. A green lifestyle is challenging for millions of people coexisting on the 305 square miles of land in New York City. Nevertheless, people are thinking outside the energyconsumptive, 21st century-lifestyle box. A wave of green roof sustainability, commercial rooftop gardens and urban skyhigh honey production is blooming beautifully throughout the core of the Big Apple. In the last 50 years, a movement for cities to “go green” has rapidly developed, and green roofs are at the center. Some benefits of green roofs include the increased structural lifespan of roofs, the improvements in air quality, noise reduction and a habitat space for migratory and local bird populations. Along with the green wave, a new emphasis on nature education is also growing. The NYC schools are embracing the green roof movement by covering their own roofs with a blanket of Sedum plants and herbs to offer students first-hand experience.

GREEN

up BY MEGAN WESTERVELT

From herbs to large-scale vegetable production, New Yorkers are beginning to find their own uses for rooftop spaces, too. As farmers’ markets gain momentum in the city, several entrepreneurial organizations have sprung into action to start their own local food sources. Green roofs and rooftop farms are not the only way people are experimenting with sustainably using rooftop space. Two passionate entrepreneurs with an affinity for cooking decided to start their own rooftop sea salt and artisan salt harvesting company, Urban Sproule. Not far from the local seasoning start-up, honeybees are buzzing away on top of the historic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The green roof movement throughout NYC provides just one piece to the sustainability puzzle, but as it expands, it strengthens. Those who are “greening” the fifth facade of skyscrapers, hotels and apartment buildings are also helping to plant a seed of hope for a more sustainable world in the future.

LEFT PAGE New York City lights spring to life as viewed from atop the historic WaldorfAstoria Hotel. The six rooftop hives house approximately 300,000 honeybees, which produce honey used in several dishes served at the hotel’s restaurants. RIGHT PAGE: TOP TO BOTTOM P.S. 41 Elementary School students, Sari Gabay and Gracie Kimbell, carry trays brimming with rosemary and basil collected from their school’s green roof. Brooklyn Grange Farm apprentices Matt Jefferson, Larry Benner and Melissa Kuzoian check on their organic kale plants.

RIGHT At daybreak, Fordham University graduate student, Jason Aloisio, climbs up through the rooftop access at Sunset Park Recreation Center in Brooklyn to gather data about how native and non-native plants grow together atop city roofs.

TOP Perched atop a private home in the heart of Little Italy, the rooftop garden presents a surreal view of a bucolic natural scene with a brick and concrete urban backdrop. A rooftop garden like this provides a perfect study area to observe the impact of rooftop greenery on local and migratory birds.

ABOVE Atop a parking garage at Fordham University, Girl Scout troop 1617 member Keelyn measures the depth of the growing media in experimental plots with graduate research student Jason Aliosio.

RIGHT Lee Mandell, founder of Boswyck Farms in Brooklyn exposes the inner workings of hydroponics, a completely water-based farming method, and the root system of a lettuce variant growing on the roof.

MIDDLE: LEFT TO RIGHT Taking a moment to reconnect with nature, Kate Shackford, Vice President of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, stands barefoot on a blanket of sedum in the middle of the green roof on top of the Bronx Courthouse. Sara Sproule and Ethan Gallagher, founders and proprietors of Urban Sproule, work to filter and dry salt crystals atop a 17-story building near Madison Square Garden. The two began their organic salt-making company last year to provide a local source for seasoning at farmers markets. BOTTOM Mandell evaluates the lettuce plants growing in the educational hydroponic rooftop farm he and his team use to teach adults and children about his alternative farming method.

ON THE WEB

app a day keeps the doctor away Computer science students at Ohio University are advancing medical check-ups in a positive light by programming a phone application that informs patients on proper dieting and leaves a doctor’s answer a post away. BY PATRICK GRAY

omputer science major Anders Storhaug plugs his Android phone into a black cord draped over a wooden classroom podium. He snaps a shot of the dark laminate wood and the image is displayed onto the projection screen behind him. An image of the wood is framed in a simple polaroid-like design with an empty comment box beneath the picture. Although it is not the most exciting test image to use for an innovative smart phone application, the picture is the groundwork for Ohio University computer science majors to improve their designs on a handheld medical food diary. From the surface of a podium to full course meals, the application has the potential to inform users exactly what

backdrop | Spring 2013

they are eating. Patients and their physicians have the opportunity to communicate through the application as easy as leaving a Facebook comment. Although patients may be surprised to have their doctors prescribe a mobile application for heart therapy, they may be even more surprised to discover that undergraduate students from OU programmed the software. The application is named Food Diary and serves as an extension to the O’Bleness Memorial Hospital HeartWorks cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation program in Athens. Food Diary is currently under development in Dr. Chang Liu’s software design and development course. “It’s an exciting opportunity for computer science stu-

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dents to solve real-world problems. Computer scientists know Java, Android and all the cool technologies. Now we can put them together in an app that serves a purpose for patients and doctors, and learn how to work in teams and communicate with others in the process,” Liu, associate professor of the school of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, says. When Liu is not conducting research, he is introducing his computer science students to real world experience in software engineering. Their skills are employed by on campus clients who have them code and test a meaningful application idea for an actual customer base. This year, the supervising psychologist at HeartWorks, Dr. Biing-Jiun Shen, sat down with Liu’s students to discuss the specifications for his application, Food Diary. Shen wants to give recovering heart surgery patients more incentive to care for their nutrition. He claims poor dieting is one of the leading causes of heart complications after surgery. Health care professionals have been actively educating people on the effects of foods on the heart. Saturated and trans fats are commonly advertised as a leading onset for heart disease. However, clogged arteries are only one of many health concerns while recovering from cardiac surgery. A challenge for patients is figuring out how to fuel their immune systems. Shen understands that most patients are not professional nutritionists and may be left grocery shopping with a poor knowledge of their bodies’ nutritional needs. Also, surgeons do not have the time to discuss all the benefits of one meal over another, which is why Shen proposed Food Diary. Before breakfast, lunch and dinner, patients will use their mobile phones to take a picture of their meals. Shen’s ideal goal is to have Food Diary analyze the picture with image recognition software to automatically determine what the patient is eating. The name of the food retrieved will be used to search through a food database containing general nutritional information, such as amount of protein and fat. The patients can then judge whether they need to find another source of certain vitamins and minerals, cut down on fat, or pride themselves on their healthy eating habits. However, each and every individual may have a different bodily response to certain foods, so they will write a comment on how they feel, both physically and mentally, after eating. The information will be shared with their doctor over the Internet, so he or she may easily report on any health concerns or provide updated nutritional plans based on the patient’s unique dietary needs. Additionally, patients may garner plenty of support from friends and family over a user-friendly social network. The students have diligently obtained every last detail of Shen’s idea of Food Diary. Now, they are in the process of adapting their notes into a concise and functional mobile application. However, converting the inanimate hardware of a phone into a medical professional seems like an impossible feat for an undergraduate computer science major. The project involves programming implementation from a variety of unique design fields, including image recognition, Android software development, social networks, and graphical user

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interfaces. However, as Liu has reassured his students, “You do not need to reinvent the wheel.” OpenCV is an open source library of program functions to recognize images. Some of its popular applications include facial recognition, motion tracking, and augmented reality. Anyone with Internet access may use the library, which has piqued the interest of Liu’s students. However, food has more dynamic and complex features than a human face. Color, texture, and size may vary, even among solid foods, such as an apple. Altering OpenCV’s code is beyond the scope of the computer science class, but Liu keeps the idea in mind. “When computer vision technologies are mature enough, for example, if the OpenCV library starts to provide underlying function to recognize different dishes, our students can incorporate that into the Food Diary app,” Liu says. With the help of the Android software development kit, the students can replace the feature with a textbox that links to a designated online database of nutritional information after a user has inputted the name of his or her meal. On the social network aspect of design, the students will attempt to utilize a feature familiar to millions of people, Facebook. Coordinating all those software components into a friendly user interface requires ingenuity and hands on work from all students. They must instruct the phone’s hardware to perform specific tasks, such as saving a photograph to memory, displaying a calendar of past meals, and sending and receiving messages to and from a patient’s doctor. The main purpose of Liu’s software design and development course is to simulate real world program development, similar to the work of employees at Apple, Google, Microsoft, or any software company. For students, it is valuable chance to develop programming and problem-solving skills required for their futures. Once the application is finished, Shen plans on taking this program to the patients at HeartWorks for their personal benefits. However, the immediate concern is developing a working application for people recovering from heart surgery. Shen genuinely believes the patients at HeartWorks will benefit from Food Diary, which will be distributed for real medical use. Patient-to-doctor communication has been made as simple as checking up on social media. Next year’s students may find themselves adding new features to Food Diary if another valuable application is not already in the works. However, the present opportunity has given computer science majors the chance to build on their programming skills while improving an innovative heath application that will impact the medical field. From the doctor’s office to your fingertips, Food Diary will make receiving dietary help just a snapshot away.

Read more about the Food Diary app online. *Photos from stockfreeimages.com

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PHOTO HUNT

RUTHLESS RANT & RAGE

the longest

Think you know the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway? Take another look and try to find all the differences between these two pictures.

YEAR

Write the differences next to the circles.

BY NICK HARLEY | ILLUSTRATION BY MORGAN DECKER

Pointless, insignificant birthdays are plentiful throughout a lifetime, but turning 20 ushers in the most unfulfilling 365 or so days of one’s life.

hat’s the worst birthday there is? I’m sure if you asked older people, your mother for instance, she’d tell you it is when you turn 40, you know, “over the hill,” and all that nonsense. When my mom turned 40, we had our front yard decorated with 40 pink elephants and a big sign that read, “Happy 40th Marsha!,” or something like that. I don’t quite remember, after all, it was about… well, I won’t say how many years ago. You’re welcome, mom. But 40 is a number that most people dread. I imagine 50 is even worse. I can see why 30 would cause some distress. And everyone knows that 17 ain’t so sweet. Those are all valid and acceptable answers, but I am here to tell you without a doubt that turning 20 is the worst birthday you’ll have in your life. Why? Well, there are a lot of reasons. First off, when you turn 20 you’re obviously not a teenager anymore. You may have been able to put off the whole “being an adult” thing when you turned 18 because you were still in high school and adulthood seemed so far away, but there is something that happens when you take that teen suffix out of your age. It is almost like becoming a worn out pair of shoes, a rusty bike or the hot toy of yesteryear. You no longer embody that new, fresh youth and you’re no longer a part of that ever-important teen demographic. When you make mistakes, it’s no longer cute or passible and where once the future seemed like a faraway date to worry over at a later time, now it is breathing down your neck, waving student loans in your face and demanding you start making a plan. Turning 20 is like taking the red pill and being awakened to what life really has in store for you. The worst part though? You still cannot drink. Let’s be real, waiting for 365 days to pass so that you can legally drink is the most agonizing holding period known to man. I could complain about how unfair it is that you have to wait to be 21 to drink by giving examples like the classic military defense (you can die for your country but you can’t

backdrop | Spring 2013

have a beer?!) or by looking at the lives of our parents (when my dad was in college you only had to be 18!) but in all actuality, the only part that really grinds my gears is assuming that age and maturity is correlative. Say tomorrow is your birthday. Today, if you were caught drinking they’d slap you with a citation or haul you off to jail, but tomorrow, well you’re 100 percent good to go! In a day’s time you’ve suddenly become mature enough to handle the realities of consuming alcohol. As someone who was raised around peers who were older, all my childhood friends can walk up to the bar and enjoy a drink together, but for some reason I am not allowed inside. Yeah, my buddy who pooped on the neighbor’s lawn last week is mature enough to have a beer, but I’m too young and stupid to join him. Our whole lives, with the way the school system is set up, we are socialized to believe that age is the marking of a mature mind, but I guarantee there are plenty of people far above the age of 21 that do not drink responsibly and should have their rights to alcohol revoked, and that somewhere there’s a wise-beyond-his-years 16-year-old who needs a beer. I don’t have a viable solution to the age and maturity issue; all I’m saying is that having the thought of legal drinking dangling right in front of my face is a huge tease. Welcome to being 20, where you have all the stresses and responsibilities of an adult without a legal option to take the edge off. I have just begun the longest year of my life, only 315 days left to go.

In Oklahoma, it is illegal to molest an automobile.

1 2 3 4 5 The first person to submit the correct answers to backdropmag@gmail.com will win a prize!

In Turkey, it is illegal for a man above 80 years old to become a pilot.

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EXHIBIT A

TAPIOCA PUDDING

SOMEONE BARELY THERE

BY RYAN JAMES

BY ELIZABETH RIEPENHOFF

BY BAILY HARNAR

UNTITLED

I didn’t eat tapioca pudding for my first fifteen years of life because my mother once said that the rubbery pearls are actually fish eggs and when I did finally bring the quivering spoon to my mouth I understood that regardless of its taste I would never be able to enjoy it because the image of those fish eggs would always return and her name is the same chewy and miserable on my tongue I cannot bring myself to say it or even bear the sound of others saying those dagger-like syllables I once loved whispering on dark nights in warm beds when the music was soft and the shadows were immense now I only think of opening that blue door and finding my place taken by a stranger melting into your hips.

THE ART OF LOSING MY MIND BY PATRICK BOUDREAU

UNTITLED

BY STEPHANIE CESEAR

backdrop | Spring 2013

To lose my mind; time and time again, Solace comes from the dreams I have forever when. For my reality takes on no validity, until I lie down to close my eyes from all this stupidity. I hate not the life I live that is real, merely I prefer the one where love I can feel. This love in real life I have had, Why must in every instance its outcome be sad? Perhaps its for the only reason happiness is here, is the truth that its demise looms so near. Just as you never feel that which soon wont die, These mortal things are what must get you by. One is only left to love in this world of dream, For love has no end as it would seem. How could love reside in this world of temperance, when this world of fantasy exists hence this. She appears in my dreams as only mine, yet in realness without me shes joyfully fine. I see no choice in this world for me, but to forget reality in my dreams ill forever be.

In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors.

You know that feeling when you’re hanging on a wall? You look down to see how high up you are but instead see how far you could fall… So you stall, freeze, lock your knees, and tell yourself to breathe when everyone sees and screams at you to just freaking MOVE. They think you climbed up to that place but you didn’t. You hang by one weak finger to this cliff face, trying to hold in your other hand the world that rolled off your shoulders as you rolled off solid ground into thin air. There are no ropes to secure you; if anything, there is only one long, thin strip of tissue paper, like the kind you get in a gift, as if these emotions are a Christmas present not a curse. The crowd’s screaming gets worse, screaming to move and you scream at yourself, “Why the hell did you walk the edge? And why didn’t you remember to lift with your damn legs?” From your one hand, the world starts to slip and you still barely hang on to the wall by that one fingertip. You begin to pray to some god your peers have told you to pray to in the hopes that some climber will make the trip not to the top of that cliff but to where you are, in the hopes that they’ll take that world, that weight, balance it on their head and carry it to the ground. You look up to the top to see not just the sun but a silhouette of someone barely there, and yelling up “help” or “I’m scared” doesn’t happen, isn’t heard because the words are suddenly stuck behind your lips, interrupted by what you swear is the slap of rope against rock. Do you dare to hope?

UNTITLED

BY RACHAEL STANLEY

UNTITLED

BY MARIA REDWINE

In San Salvador, drunk drivers can be sentenced to death by firing squad.

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EXHIBIT A

GREAT GRANDFATHERS COMPASS

EYES SHAPED LIKE PREDATORS

BY EMILY NEWMAN

BY STEPHANIE CESEAR

Fake, they themselves were twisted, spewing into a six-pack. Coming from their situations, it looked like a catch. Frantically pumped into blood, the fluid instantly found Kevin doubled over, burbling up chunks of hell. Using a language of clever propulsion, Tom said, “Look for the good from wherever!” Peter, looking to pass the Negro Modelo, headed toward the gallons of fuel. Panic – it was gone. Their escape, severed.

PURITY

BY KATHRYN MUHLEMAN In a crowded room these coffee eyes will always find yours Looking like a vision in all your beauty Talking of dreams with Neverland articulation Soul raw and pure, a child yet to face a world of cynicism Pulling me closer to you, moving so gracefully around my body as I fight my knees from caving in A heart no longer shielded from the threat of abandonment, two souls have connected and exploded into cosmic wakefulness

Want to be featured in our next issue? Submit your art, photographs and poems to backdropmag@gmail.com

backdrop | Spring 2013

UNTITLED

BY COTRELL LOFTIN

Check out more artwork by Ohio University students.

In Indonesia, the punishment for masturbation is death by decapitation.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 18TH | 10 PM

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