Vol. 10, Issue 2

backdrop magazine

FALL 2016

THE DEVIL'S TAPROOM

Pg. 38

A Costly Visit

When Hotel Rates Rise Pg. 20

SAUL PHILLIPS HIS MID-MAJOR DILEMMA Pg. 24

Letter from the Editor

Kaitlyn Pacheco Editor-in-Chief backdropmag@gmail.com

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backdrop | Fall 2016

In the (almost) 10 years since Backdrop was born from a magazine production class project, every story has started with an idea, issue or topic that made the writer curious. Curiosity is what made 2012 graduate Douglas Blair follow two rule-breaking students through the underground tunnels that run below more than 80 percent of university buildings. Curiosity is what inspired current staff writer Cheyenne Buckingham to examine how Athens residents find healthy food options in a food desert in 2015, and it’s what made 2015 graduate Sara Portwood look into the dark market of human trafficking in Athens County.

Our writers have always had a knack for digging into lesser-known topics, and some of our best stories have developed from pitches that started with, “I’ve always wondered about this” or “I know this is a national issue, but I want to find out how it affects Athens.” Backdrop thrives on curiosity, and the stories that fill the next 46 pages are no exception.

In our second issue of fall 2016, we explore issues and trends relevant to Ohio University and its surrounding communities. Mackenzie Smith takes a closer look at the science behind stress eating and why college students who are bogged down by exams tend to reach for high-calorie foods (Pg. 14). In the Infographic section, Publisher and Associate Editor Adam McConville shows how different economic trends have affected Athens County businesses over the past 15 years (Pg. 18).

On Pg. 20, read Managing Editor and Copy Chief Alexandra Greenberg’s analysis of an overwhelming development in Athens: sky-high hotel prices during Ohio event weekends. For our cover story, Justin Holbrock examines why Ohio men’s basketball coach Saul Phillips plans to stay in Athens for at least another decade, unlike the growing number of successful midmajor coaches who transfer to big-name programs with higher starting salaries (Pg. 24).

Until next time,

FALL 2016 » VOLUME 10 ISSUE 2

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KAITLYN PACHECO MANAGING EDITOR ALEXANDRA GREENBERG ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR EMMA JENKINS ASSOCIATE EDITOR ADAM MCCONVILLE COPY CHIEF ALEXANDRA GREENBERG ASSISTANT COPY CHIEF ELIZABETH HARPER COPY EDITORS MICHAELA FATH, ABBEY KNUPP, LANDER ZOOK WRITERS MARIE CHAILOSKY, JULIE CIOTOLA, BAILEY FINK, JUSTIN HOLBROCK, KATIE KINGERY, HALEY RISCHAR, MACKENZIE SMITH, LANDER ZOOK WEB EDITOR MADISON EBLEN VIDEO EDITOR ALEX BAELE

PUBLISHER ADAM MCCONVILLE CREATIVE DIRECTOR NATASHA RINGNALDA ART DIRECTORS MEREDITH KERN & AMANDA WEISBROD DESIGNERS EMILY CARUSO, KAITLIN HENEGHAN, JESSICA KOYNOCK DIRECTOR OF MEMBER RELATIONS BRIANA EKANEM MARKETING DIRECTOR GABBY HOLLOWELL MARKETING & AD DESIGNER MOLLY PETRE PHOTO EDITOR AMANDA DAMELIO ONLINE PHOTO EDITOR MADDIE SCHROEDER ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR MAX CATALANO PHOTOGRAPHERS JESSIE CLUTCHEY, CHRISTIAN GOODE, NOAH LEWTON, LIZ MOUGHON, OLIVIA RANEY

Want to advertise Interested in in Backdrop? working with us?

Send an email to Stop by one of our weekly backdropadvertising@gmail.com meetings at 8 p.m. to get started. Tuesdays in Scripps 116.

SEE THE PHOTO STORY

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backdrop | Fall 2016

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Follow us on Twitter @BackdropMag

CONTENTS FEATURES PRICED OUT

Athens hotel rooms are in high demand for Ohio University event weekends, and prospective visitors feel the pressure of steep prices.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

A MID-MAJOR DILEMMA

Million-dollar contracts entice some college basketball coaches, but Ohio head coach Saul Phillips has found multiple reasons to stay in Athens. . . . . . . . . 24

Q&A

LIFE OF THE POLITICAL PARTY

The presidents of the Ohio University College Republicans and College Democrats discuss the highs and lows of campaigning in Athens.. . . . . . . 6

THE DROP

LOOKING THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS

Athens Photo Project acts as a creative outlet for those living with mental illnesses to gain self-confidence through photography.. . . . 8

REVIEW THE BREW

Senior Kate Fickell offers a taste of local craft brews through her YouTube series, Craft Beer Fridays.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

FELLOWSHIP IN FAITH

ON THE BRICKS

Mark your calendars for the best events Athens has to offer this winter.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

PHOTO STORY

FINDING HER BALANCE

Senior Lexie Lombardi reflects on her experience in Ohio's Dance Division.. . . . . . . . . 32

RECIPE

GIVE THANKS FOR LEFTOVERS

Check out a recipe that will make you beg your family to send you back to school with leftover turkey.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

For 39 years, the Muslim Student Association has provided resources for Muslim students and community members. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

FOOD

SEX & HEALTH

Award-winning brewer Cameron Fuller, founder of Devil’s Kettle Brewery, shares his story and traditional beers with Athens.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

CONTROLLING THE CRAVINGS Cover photo by Maddie Schroeder.

CALENDAR

ONE HELL OF A BREWERY

Writer Mackenzie Smith explains the science behind stress eating and why students can be drawn to high-calorie foods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR, LOCAL INGREDIENTS

ENTERTAINMENT

SPORTS

Hilarie Burhan puts her culinary and travel experience to good use at Restaurant Salaam.. . . 40

LIVE FROM STUDIO C

TRANSITION IN LEADERSHIP

INFOGRAPHIC

EXHIBIT A A showcase of work by student photographers. . 44

Go behind the scenes with the cast and crew of Fridays Live and follow Ohio’s only live sketch comedy group during the week leading up to its show.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

THE EVOLUTION OF ATHENS BUSINESSES

Different economic trends in Athens County show how the county and town have grown over the past 15 years.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

FALL 2016 » VOLUME 10 ISSUE 2

Senior point guards Taylor Agler and Yamonie Jenkins hope to use their individual strengths to lead Ohio to post-season success.. . . . . . . . . . 42

PHOTO HUNT Spot the differences between pictures of a few of

the Humans vs. Zombies Athens participants. . . 45

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Q&A

Life

OF THE POLITICAL

The presidents of the Ohio University College Republicans and College Democrats reflect on the challenges they faced during the high-stakes election season.

SAM MILLER PRESIDENT, OHIO UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DEMOCRATS JUNIOR STUDYING STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION What did the College Democrats do to mobilize voters during the 2016 presidential election season?

The most important thing we’ve been doing is voter registration.

People cannot voice their opinions if they’re not registered to vote, so we’ve been reaching out to students. We’ve cast as large of a net as we possibly can to let them know that even if you’re registered in the primary elections, if you’ve moved, you have to re-register. [We're] also letting them know that this election is very important. There’s a lot at stake, keeping the progress of President Obama, but also the opportunity to appoint up to two new Supreme Court justices. That’s a huge thing that could happen in this country. So just

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letting them know that you really have to think about who you’re voting for and the issues that you care about and which politician really aligns with those.

Do you have any interesting stories or reactions that you’ve encountered during the campaigning process?

Oh, yeah. There’s this kid. Every time he sees us tabling, he always makes it very clear that he’s not registering to vote and then engages with us how the ‘state is the root of all problems.’ And then he once yelled at me, ‘No gods, no masters!’ while I was just asking him if he was registered to vote. And I was like, ‘Great. Have a nice day.’ But then on the other side of the spectrum, there are people that once we start going into a conversation about how they’re not registering to vote, I say like, ‘Well, at least hear me out first.’ And then by the end of the conversation, they’re like, ‘You’re right, I’m really passionate about this thing, and if I want that to advance then I [have] to register to vote, I’ve got to vote for candidates.’ So, you definitely get some people who are very against it, but it’s also really rewarding when you see people whose mind you got to change. b

*See full interviews on backdropmagazine.com.

Party

BY MADISON EBLEN PHOTOS BY NOAH LEWTON

DAVID PARKHILL PRESIDENT, OHIO UNIVERSITY COLLEGE REPUBLICANS JUNIOR STUDYING BUSINESS MANAGEMENT How has the presidential election influenced the organization this year compared to previous years?

[We're] so much busier, it’s unbelievable.

Last year was an off year. In 2014, I was a freshman, and maybe it was just my freshman naiveté, but we weren’t as busy. Our president last year was Anna Lippincott, and she did a great job, but there wasn’t nearly as much to do, and it’s really hard to get people involved when there is nothing to do. We would try to put on events; we’d watch certain movies or documentaries we thought were interesting. It’s going to be an interesting change of pace after Nov. 8, that’s for sure.

It’s going to be interesting to tackle that. … I love the environment that

we’re in right now, and I think it’s attracted a lot more members to the club.

We’ve had record turnouts.

How does your organization promote political involvement on campus?

We are very close with a lot of our candidates. Jay Edwards, who’s running for state representative, is at every single one of our meetings. We have a very awesome relationship with him. Congressman Bill Johnson has three of our alumni working for him, so we have an awesome relationship there as well. Congressman Steve Stivers, two of his interns are College Republicans, so we’ve met him, I would say, a handful of times already this semester. Same with Congressman Johnson. … Senator Rob Portman we were able to meet ... at a parade. So, I think pushing opportunities we have to meet our representatives is one big way we get our members involved. We really don’t promote much outside of our club because … it’s such a liberal campus. b

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THE DROP

LOOKING THROUGH A

DIFFERENT LENS Students and community members help those living with mental illnesses express themselves through the Athens Photo Project.

BY MICHELLE JACOBSON | PHOTOS BY RACHEL WAGNER

S

ixteen years ago, Elise Sanford took it upon herself to use what she knew — art and photography — to create a program that changed individuals' capacity to contribute to the community. Athens Photo Project (APP) began in 2001 and, since its opening, has developed a peer-supported environment for those with mental illnesses. The program embraces the arts and uses them as a mechanism to support members through mental health recovery.

“Mental health is an ongoing journey,” Executive Director Nate Thomson says.

“We distinguish ourselves from other programs because we offer art-based programming, not art therapy.”

Thomson has been the director of APP for almost 10 years and during that time, he has further developed the project and expanded the program’s membership capacity. The program now serves over 50 artists and houses their work at APP's location on West Union Street. Before he became involved with the project, Thomson only had an introspective view as a photographer and focused on objective images. Now, as a photography teacher at APP, he focuses on the parallels between creativity and wellness.

“I look at creativity as an amazing mechanism to create meaning,” Thomson says.

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backdrop | Fall 2016

“Having ideas come to life and be visible creates a strong impact.”

APP uses art-based programming to help its artists recover beyond themselves to rebuild an improved sense of self-worth. The community-based, non-profit program offers classes and training for its members. APP instructors guide individuals through a sequence of classes where they focus on different aspects of photography.

As they learn more about photography, the students start to trust people in that safe environment and build an identity of themselves as artists.

Longtime member and seven-year mentor Beth Klaus became involved with the project after a counselor recommended APP as a way to express her thoughts and ideas. Klaus says during that time, she spent 90 percent of her time in the hospital from continuously overdosing on Aspirin.

The program became her support system.

Klaus says the acceptance and respect the program's leaders has for the members is one of the best aspects of APP. The instructors and other artists worked as a “unified unit” to help her through her recovery process. Due to that support, Klaus chose to live for herself for the first time in her life.

“In the beginning, it was a question of finding something that would stimulate

my curiosity and revive my imagination, then it evolved into a clear realization that what I had to expresses meant something,” Klaus says. “That what one truly wants to say visually as an artist means something.”

Josh Birnbaum is one of the instructors at APP who uses art to help enable student to share their visions and feel recognized. According to Birnbaum, to provide guidance for those with mental illnesses, it’s important to be a good listener. The instructor must also have patience and truly listen to what individuals are saying and what they want to hear.

“I think you have to be very patient and also understand mental health and mental disease and what that can mean,” Birnbaum says. “I think you have to understand art, but understand art on a level that makes you see that it is therapeutic.”

All of the new members begin in the introductory courses, which is where they start building a sense of community and learning the basics of photography and how to use a camera. The goal is to create dialogue about the power of photography in the artists’ lives.

As students become more comfortable with their photographic voices, the focus of the classes turns toward expanding the artist’s photographic development.

They begin working with photo series;

they make their own books and continue learning more about the technical details of a manual camera. During this stage, artists begin to gain complete control over their expressive abilities.

“They can become much more functional individuals because they not only learned about art and are improving their self-esteem and ideas of self-worth, but they are then creating something and sharing that,” Birnbaum says.

Those who have been involved for four years or more then move into the advanced class. The project students work on at that level changes annually. This year, Birnbaum is teaching his advanced students about the wheat paste and emulsion transfer process, which will help the artists put their photographs on different substrates in an easy and accessible way.

The members of the advanced class also study the cultural context of projects and get their work out into the community.

Beginning this fall, members of the advanced class are collaborating with the city of Athens, Athens Municipal Arts Council, Ohio University, the Uptown Business Association and other local artists to create a community art installation. The art installation will be displayed on the external East Washington Street wall of the Athens City Parking Garage. Thirty-five largeformat photographs by APP artists will be featured as a part of this public showcase.

Construction for the project is set to begin in March 2017.

APP has helped individuals in Athens County and the surrounding area by not only impacting those students involved, but also the community itself. With the implementation of powerful voices through the arts, the goal of APP is to continue to grow, to build more awareness and integration and to break the stigma of mental illness. Its mission is centered around celebrating the ability that everyone has through the arts.

“I think that art is a beautiful thing that enables individuals to express themselves, that enables them to feel like they have control over their world, when sometimes the world can be overwhelming,” Birnbaum says. “It enables them to share their vision with the world and feel recognized.” b

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THE DROP

REVIEW

THE BREW Craft beer enthusiast Kate Fickell shares a college student’s perspective on local brews through her YouTube series, Craft Beer Fridays.

BY KATIE KINGERY | PHOTOS BY AMANDA DAMELIO

L

ife is too short to drink bad beer.

That is the message Kate Fickell, a senior studying photojournalism, is spreading through her YouTube series, Craft Beer Fridays. What started as a couple of photos on Snapchat blossomed into a weekly show in which Fickell reviews specialty drafts and shares her perspective on the craft beer community.

Fickell says she wants to create a show that not only reviews craft beer, but does so in a way that is casual and

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funny, unlike other craft beer YouTube channels that can be very technical. Her vibrant personality and deep passion for beer drives her reviews, and she doesn’t take herself too seriously.

“Craft beer doesn’t have to be a whole serious thing. … I want to give the viewers more and make them laugh in the process,” she says. “[Craft beer] isn’t just some stuck-up community.”

Fickell sees her channel as a way to learn from other people who love craft beer and also as an opportunity to do her own

research into new beers and breweries.

Viewers aren’t required to have extensive knowledge of craft beer to enjoy and learn from her videos. Although she has been drinking craft beer for almost two years, she has much more to learn.

“Even though you think two years is a long time, [it’s not],” she says. “… Craft beer is like an extensive, huge universe of just crazy beers all over the place.”

Quinn Shaller, owner of And Beer, is one of Fickell’s craft beer mentors and recommends new drafts for her to

review on her show. And Beer, the store connected to Big Mamma’s Burritos, features artisan brands from across the country. Shaller and Fickell became friends after she worked on an audio project that featured And Beer for one of her photojournalism classes. Since then, their friendship has grown, and Fickell is lovingly referred to as Shaller’s favorite customer.

Having a craft beer bottle shop in Athens is unique because some craft beers can be difficult to find. Shaller sends email updates to regular customers when he obtains new drafts, and the store draws craft beer connoisseurs from all over the country.

Many people travel to purchase craft beer because certain alcohol percentages are only available in some states. For example, in West Virginia, the alcohol by volume limit is still 12 percent, whereas in Tennessee, it’s 5 percent.

In May, Gov. John Kasich enacted House Bill 37, which eliminated Ohio’s previous 12 percent alcohol by volume limit. That means breweries can now create and release beers that have a higher alcohol content. Fickell is excited about the new legislation.

“Now breweries can … really experiment and give the people different stuff besides having to be limited on alcohol percentage alone,” she says.

Although that excites many craft beer enthusiasts, Shaller says the changes in the beer scene will be minimal. Many

of the beers with higher than 12 percent alcohol by volume already existed, just not on the shelves of a bar.

“A lot of times when small breweries and when craft brewers are experimenting, they end up with beers that are over 12 percent,” Shaller says.

Customers may have an increased interest in ordering the new brews because of the high alcohol content. The only deterrent, Fickell says, might be the price tag.

On average, craft beers are more expensive than domestic beers, such as Bud Light or Coors Light. Due to the specialty nature of those purchases, craft beer has created a subculture of people who are willing to pay extra money for a taste they love.

“I think that’s what makes the community is that people who like craft beer truly enjoy drinking that beer,” Fickell says.

She admits to spoiling herself with craft beer because she says many domestic beers don’t match up in quality of taste. But she’s not alone. Particularly in Athens, there is a large subculture of people who become interested in craft beer after drinking craft brews at Jackie O’s, a local brewery that offers a wide variety of well-crafted beer.

Fickell intends to take advantage of living near a brewery with such a large portfolio of different beers. She has interviewed brewery employees on her show before and has even discussed filming an episode at

Jackie O’s in the future.

“There is a community here in Athens,” Fickell says, “but it’s hard to know if they’re just enjoying Jackie O’s beer because they like the atmosphere or … they actually like craft beer.”

Connecting with the Athens subculture of craft beer enthusiasts is what prompted Fickell to ask her subscribers and friends to send in Beer Selfies. Throughout the week, fans of the show send in pictures of them having a drink of their favorite craft or domestic beer, and Fickell includes them in her weekly videos.

She appreciates getting feedback and suggestions from viewers who love craft beer as much as she does.

“It’s great to learn something new and always be on the lookout for new beers because it is a big, broad topic, and I don’t know everything about it,” Fickell says.

The support she gets from fans of the show goes a long way. Fickell uses that network of advice and feedback from other craft brew fanatics to help shape her episodes and tastes.

“When I started the channel,” Fickell says, “I started learning more about the breweries and about the beer itself and just the different properties of craft beer.”

Fickell now has a deeper appreciation for craft beer and the work that goes into it.

She plans to follow her passion for craft beer after graduation, working either for a brewery or its media team. b

PERCENT ALCOHOL BY VOLUME 5.77%

5.8%

4.4%

6%

4.2%

THE DROP

The Muslim Student Association provides a space that fosters faith, culture and community.

BY LANDER ZOOK PHOTOS BY OLIVIA RANEY

FELLOWSHIP IN

Faith

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O

rganizations, clubs and communities can help enrich the daily lives of students and are especially valuable programs for expanding diversity and cultural acceptance within a college community. For almost 40 years, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) of Ohio University has been a warm and welcoming community for many Muslim and international students on campus.

The Islamic Center of Athens, which has housed the MSA since 1986, is located at 13 Stewart St. on East Green across from Gamertsfelder Hall. It includes different facilities that offer various religious and social activities for Muslim students. The MSA strives to provide education about Islam through outreach programs and events. With integration and coexistence in mind, the group has held several events in the past year, including a celebration of Eid al-Fitr at the end of the month of Ramadan, which brought many community members from the surrounding area together to celebrate the holiday.  For that event, the MSA invited those outside of the religion into traditionally Muslim spaces to educate the attendees about Eid al-Fitr practices and celebrations.   On Fridays, inside the main room of the mosque of the Islamic Center, the

student group meets to share a weekly meal and pray. Around the border of the room lie several low couches for members to gather on together. The rest of the space is used for prayer and group discussion. The events typically bring many members of the Muslim community together and last late into the night, with food and tea fueling friendship and brotherhood. Hospitality abounds, and visitors are treated as guests.

Abdulwahab Alsulami, graduate student and president of the MSA, says the group has been thoroughly accepted in the area.

Many members of the MSA voice the same sentiments and say they feel grateful for the Athens community and its unconditional respect of their religion.

“You find yourself in not such an American city, but one more diverse,” Alsulami says.

The religious aspects of the organization are an immense resource for its members. The mosque at the association’s center is the only one in Athens, and it comes as a relief to many Muslims at Ohio University. Muslims typically pray five times a day, as specified by their religious texts, and the mosque provides a comfortable space for many to pray throughout their day. The use of the mosque has created a close community of friends and colleagues among the devout, and many find the bond between MSA members to be an invaluable gift.

“The center’s mosque is not different from the one I attend in Turkey,” says Muharrem Tunel, a graduate student and member of the MSA. “It reminds me of home.”

Back on campus, many international Muslim students feel accepted in the university community because of the variety of services the MSA provides to help those new to Ohio navigate aspects of their daily lives.

Learning about the various quirks of American society can often be difficult for international students. The MSA helps ease students’ transitions into campus life by picking them up from the airport, helping them find apartments and teaching them the general practices and norms of American society.

The other resources at the center include an English and Arabic library, a kitchen and rooms available for new students and visiting scholars. The center also has a separate room for women and children to gather and pray.

“When you come to a city where [you] didn’t know anyone, you need something to trust,” Alsulami says. “Here, [the MSA] is that for many.”

That feeling of acceptance many of the MSA members express couples with an incredible amount of gratitude toward the university and its attached community.

“I love it because of the respectfulness of the people, the programs [at Ohio] available to improve my English and the studying spaces open to me,” Tunel says.

The MSA has become a strong religious and social resource for Muslim students on campus, and its members are grateful for the continual support from the organization and the university. Alperen Korkmoz, a member of the MSA, put it simply.

“The social group brings different groups together,” he says. “There aren’t any divisions in us, and we find happiness in being with one another. b

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SEXFOOD & HEALTH

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backdrop | Fall Spring 2016 2016

CONTROLLING THE

Cravings It’s not a lack of willpower that leads some students to stress eat, but instead, a biological response to stress.

BY MACKENZIE SMITH | PHOTO BY AMANDA DAMELIO

M

any students begin each new school year with vows to get in shape and live a healthier lifestyle. Goals such as going to the gym more than twice a year, cooking food instead of eating out and loading up on veggies instead of Wings Over Athens for lunch might be key components on this year’s to-do list.

Those plans might be going well, but suddenly, it’s finals week. The strong motivation and strategic battle plan are lost in the midst of all-nighters and exams, and Big Mamma’s Burritos and Avalanche Pizza become the only two things on the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

What is it about exams, term papers and final projects that can upset the willpower of even the most determined students? The answer is simple: stress.

Anxiety and stress are so prominent in the everyday lives of college students that they are considered normal emotions.

Unfortunately, stress can cause an array of undesirable side effects such as acne, irritability, insomnia and stiff muscles.

But what does stress have to do with those Big Mamma’s cravings? When the body starts to feel signs of persistent or chronic stress, the adrenal gland releases a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone (go figure), increases motivation in general, which also includes the body’s motivation to eat.

A lot. Inhaling burritos isn’t necessarily a

sign of nonexistent willpower, but rather — especially in college — having cona biological reaction: a reaction that has trol over stress eating can be pretty manbeen called “stress eating.” ageable. The obvious goal is to reduce Angela Bohyer, an administrative in- stress as a whole; meditating, exercising, structor and dietitian at Ohio University, dancing and listening to loud music are explains that eating may be a way for all ways to naturally release endorphins. some people to soothe negative emotions As Elle Woods would say, endorphins such as fatigue or stress. make you happy. Happy people just “When this [emotional stress] hap- don’t release cortisol. pens, food can serve as a distraction,” But sometimes starting at the source of Bohyer says. the problem isn’t an option. What hapThe negative side effects of stress don’t pens if the economics exam is tomorrow, end there. The release of cortisol not the cortisol has already been released and only affects the desire to eat, but also the it’s time to eat — now. The first step is body’s food preferences. Unfortunately simple: eat mindfully. Eating a third piece that doesn’t mean stress hormones will of pizza just to have something to furiconveniently stir up crazy cravings for ously chew on while cramming for that kale and spinach. Physical or emotional exam probably isn’t the best idea. But bedistress increases consumption of foods ing aware that those urges exist is the best high in fat, sugar or both. In other way to avoid them. Bohyer suggests avoidwords, the body craves comfort food. ing the allowance of hunger might be the Hello, pizza. key to success.

In an interview about overall body “It is best to not allow yourself to get too wellness with website The Skinny Confi- hungry or you may tend to overeat when dential, blogger, nutritionist and wellness food is available, especially when stress is coach Jessica Sepel emphasizes the impor- higher,” Bohyer says. tance of maintaining healthy stress levels.

If the hunger pains really become unOf course, that's easier said than done. Ac- bearable, opt for healthier options such cording to Sepel, high levels of unmoni- as fruits and veggies. Though they might tored stress can impact thyroid function not taste as good as a burrito, they will and can increase the chance of gaining provide more micronutrients and antiweight, particularly in the midsection. oxidants to the body. Healthy eating isn’t That being said, there is some good always the easy choice, but kale and spinnews, too. Though having control over ach will fuel an all-nighter better than stress levels may seem nearly impossible beans and cheese ever will. b

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ENTERTAINMENT

Live from Studio C,

IT’S FRIDAYS LIVE Get a front-row seat to watch the cast and crew of Fridays Live prepare for and perform a comedy show.

BY HALEY RISCHAR PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN GOODE

I

t's 11 p.m. Thursday, and the members of Fridays Live are scattered around the room, patiently waiting for the final rehearsal of the night.

The cast and crew have been in this room for hours, but no one is complaining. Cameras glide across the floor, cast members give their all despite the late hour and production crews work diligently behind the scenes.

For the members of Fridays Live, Studio C is home.

Fridays Live is Ohio University’s only live student-run sketch comedy show.

The 30-minute special is recorded and performed every other week, but it can sometimes have two consecutive weeks of episodes. Writers, cast members and production crews work together throughout the week to create a

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backdrop | Fall 2016

memorable comedic performance.

SUNDAY

Preparation for an episode of Fridays Live starts at the 7 p.m. writers meeting on Sunday. Anyone is welcome to pitch an idea for a possible sketch in that week’s episode. At the initial meeting, there are many new members and some are simply there to aid their peers during the writing process.

About 15 people sit at a makeshift conference table in RTV 639. Alex Lumley, a senior studying broadcast journalism and head writer of Fridays Live, goes person to person asking for sketch ideas. Writers shout out concepts left and right, with fits of laughter following each proposed sketch.

Maddie Climer, a sophomore studying theater, shares an idea she had while

visiting her grandparents in Jerusalem, Ohio. She can barely hold back laughter while describing her sketch of an Amish Uber system called “Amber.”

“This is actually relatively calm for a typical writers meeting,” says Richard Morrissette, a senior studying producing and Spanish, as well as the producer of Fridays Live. “In writers’ rooms like Saturday Night Live, things can get way more out of control.”

Putting together a sketch is a collaborative effort between writers. The group bounces ideas off of one another to create entertaining characters and scenes.

Climer says she usually thinks of sketches while she’s around her friends.

“Any time I hear someone say something remotely funny, I start to think of how I can turn that into a sketch,” she says. “For me, it’s all about the real-world inspirations.”

Lumley and Morrissette end the meeting by reminding everyone of the Wednesday deadline for written scripts.

Many of the writers stick around to discuss collaborations while other members begin to create the week’s digital short — a five-minute video used to break the show into two halves.

WEDNESDAY

Run-throughs take place at 7 p.m.

Wednesday. Members of the cast meet back in the same room to read through submitted scripts and, ultimately, choose three to be featured in that week’s episode. The writers assign parts and describe the vision for each sketch so the cast can understand character personas.

The group is extremely interactive during this, and it becomes clear in just a few minutes which scripts are favored.

Between lines, actions are read aloud to give the actors an idea of how the sketch will flow on set.

The entire room bursts into laughter as two cast members, Lizzie Hendricks and Alex Baumann, let out bloodcurdling screams during the reading of a voter registration script. Cheers erupt around the table as a Russian character discusses her rich husband who is helping her stay in the country.

Once the reading is complete, those in attendance clap in appreciation of the scripts and actor performances.

“The No. 1 thing [to do to prepare] is just to read the skit and get really familiar with the different scripts,” says Hendricks, a sophomore studying theater and that week’s host. “You need to recognize the diversity in each one, just kind of have a loose idea of what you want to do for each so you’re not struggling.”

After the cast reads the scripts, the members put their heads down on the tables. Lumley reads the scripts one by one as the writers and actors raise their hands to vote for the top three. Once everyone has voted, Lumley announces the sketches for the week.

THURSDAY

Cast members begin Thursday’s rehearsal by writing out the cue cards for each sketch. 1980s music plays quietly in the background while cast members and other volunteers transcribe the scripts onto poster paper and the crew prepares the Studio C set. Most people would consider those tasks to be tedious

and boring, but the Fridays Live cast and crew make the most of it.

Jordan Stickle, the prop master, walks around the room and asks cast members what kinds of outfits are needed for each sketch. Costumes for the show are usually recycled from past sketches and are stored in the prop room or provided by cast members.

Hendricks discusses her idea of using foil as decoration for her intergalactic queen character in the sketch “Space Puppies.” The one-of-a-kind script calls for other cast members to have paintedon noses and tube sock dog ears.

Once the crew finishes putting together the set, the cast makes its way to Studio C for rehearsal.

“The schedule for Fridays Live can be demanding, but it really depends on each week and the sketches we have,” says Gabi Tagliaferri, a sophomore studying integrated media. “The hard work is definitely worth it, and I love hanging out with the cast. It gets me out of my room.”

The rehearsals go on late into the night, with members returning home at about 1 a.m. Drained and exhausted, cast and crew members work to ensure that the sketches go as planned during Friday’s show.

FRIDAY

The final preparations for the show start at 4 p.m. Friday. The production crew makes sure everything is correctly lit and cameras are perfectly positioned, and the cast gathers for the final rehearsal.

Sketches are timed (usually about three to six minutes), and Lumley gives advice on where the cast should be located on set and how camera angles should be positioned during various points of the show. The cast members get a briefing on how to add more life to their characters and scenes.

“I want this scene to be more dramatic,” Lumley says while critiquing the “Space Puppies” sketch. “I want you guys to really overdo it so they know there was a crash.”

After rehearsal ends, the cast takes a final look at the scripts before it's time to depend on the cue cards.

“If it weren’t for the cue cards, I’d be screwed,” Hendricks says with a laugh.

Tagliaferri says she prefers to prepare by not preparing.

“Honestly, I’m more of a wing it person,” she says. “I find it less authentic and genuine if you practice a scene too much.”

The group takes a short dinner break before it is time for the final dress rehearsal. Even as the cast and crew prepare for the show in a high-stress environment, giggles and jokes are heard throughout the studio.

“It’s really cool to get my first opportunity [in comedy] with a bunch of really cool people,” Hendricks says. “I’ve never done live-sketch comedy before so this is a big goal of mine, and I’m happy I got to experience it here.”

THE SHOW

The line to be a part of the audience goes out of the Studio C door. After everyone is seated, the show begins at 8 p.m.

Fridays Live starts out with a short stand-up comedy routine to loosen up the audience, and then it's on to the show. The episode begins with the host’s monologue, and the sketches follow shortly after.

The first sketch opens with Hendricks playing an over-eager voter registrar. She begs and pleads with her co-registrar, Baumann, to help register less-thanexcited students. During the final scene, Hendricks and Baumann run around the set in an attempt to catch a lost voter.

The energy never dies throughout the episode. The crew works quickly from one sketch to the next, keeping the audience entertained and working within the commercial breaks.

“It’s totally different when you’re performing from when you’re practicing and doing rehearsals,” says Aidan Tracy, a sophomore studying theater. “There’s something about the adrenaline that really pumps you up.”

As the show concludes, the difference between the rehearsals and the live show is clear. The hard work and long nights made all the difference. “[The show] is so much work, but it’s super satisfying,” says Dan Telek, a senior studying English and geography. “It’s especially gratifying when you’re putting flats away and think to yourself, ‘Wow … we did this.’ ” b BE A PART OF FRIDAYS LIVE’S LIVE AUDIENCE. THE SKETCH COMEDY TAPES AT 8 P.M. MOST FRIDAYS IN STUDIO C.

INFOGRAPHIC

TH E EVO LUTI O N O F

ATHENS BUSINESSES OWNERS BY GENDER

Trends show how businesses in Athens County have progressed since 2002.

For this data, a business is defined as a U.S. firm operating in the 45701 zip code with receipts of $1,000 or more.**

BY ADAM MCCONVILLE

O

MALE-OWNED

hio University changes each year as students leave and new ones take their place. The city of Athens and the county that bears its name also experience that change; businesses come and go, too, along with the employees that work there. Here is how Athens measures up economically to its past self. b

2007: 1,106 2012: 1,216 FEMALE-OWNED

2007: 1,909 2012: 1,972

BUSINESSES IN 45701

For this data, a business is defined as an operating establishment with one or more paid employees in the 45701 zip code.*

EQUALLY MALE& FEMALE-OWNED

*Includes most establishments classified in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes 11 through 813990

2007: 561 2012: 296

**Includes the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sectors 11 through 99, except

NUMBER OF BUSINESSES

for NAICS 111, 112, 482, 491, 521, 525, 813, 814, and 92 which are not covered.

758

2004

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backdrop | Fall 2016

764

765

772

2005

2006

2007

744

2008

732

2009

ATHENS

UPS AND DOWNS

For this data, a business is defined as an operating establishments with one or more paid employees in the 45701 zip code.*

ALBANY

11.64 % 6.49 % 5.34 %

GLOUSTER

3.44 % 2.58 % 2.19 %

COOLVILLE AMESVILLE

2010-12

THE PLAINS

For this data, a business is defined as a firm with a vendors’ license, which is required to conduct taxable sales in the state of Ohio. In Athens County, there are 1,048 vendors licenses as of Oct. 17. Cities with over two percent of total license registrations are shown.

2010

724

732

2011

2012

6.01%

-4.12%

2.74%

-3.57%

-4.30%

-5.20%

10.81%

-2.56%

716

2013

2012-14

BUSINESSES BY TOWN

728

NUMBER OF PAID EMPLOYEES

2008-10

NELSONVILLE

ANNUAL PAYROLL 2006-08

60.02 %

695

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19

FEATURE

Priced Out Visitors are often left searching for alternative options to high-priced hotel rooms for Ohio University event weekends.

20

backdrop | Fall 2016

BY ALEXANDRA GREENBERG PHOTO BY NOAH LEWTON

L

eslie Corbitt and her parents had done their research. They knew how quickly Athens hotels filled up, especially for event weekends, and they needed to book two rooms for Ohio University’s spring graduation. The Hampton Inn was the first to allow guests to make reservations on May 27, and the Corbitts were ready.

Leslie’s mother, Laura Corbitt, dialed the number for the hotel with her purse nearby. She needed to work quickly, as the Hampton takes reservations on a

first-come, first-serve basis. After speaking with a member of the staff, Laura learned the cost of two rooms for two nights — the Hampton had a two-night minimum in place for that high-traffic weekend — would be more than $1,000.

Laura almost couldn’t justify spending that much for a hotel, but her desire to see her daughter graduate overshadowed her doubts.

As Laura gave the Hampton her credit card information, her husband, Randy Corbitt, searched the web for other options while he was at work. About five minutes after Laura booked the rooms and received a confirmation email, Randy called and said he found a threebedroom cottage for half the price.

Laura and Leslie looked into the Creekside Cottage, which sits on 20 acres of wooded land and has a standard rate of $179 per night for two people and $20 per additional guest. With a full kitchen, hot tub, fire pit and enough space for other family members to visit without spending hundreds on extra hotel rooms, the cottage was the perfect option for the Corbitts. After securing their spot at the cottage for spring graduation, they called the Hampton and canceled their reservation.

That’s not a rare scenario for students, parents and alumni to encounter when trying to book hotels at Ohio University, especially on event weekends.

Those high-traffic weekends include Black Alumni Reunion, Parents Weekend, Homecoming, Dads Weekend, fall commencement, Sibs Weekend, Moms Weekend and spring commencement.

Although there are 10 hotels and motels within 10 minutes of campus, they fill up quickly, often leaving visitors searching for other solutions when they try to come to Athens during busy weekends.

Most Athens hotels open their books for event weekends about a year in advance. The Fairfield Inn and Suites began booking rooms for 2017 spring graduation on June 1, but it began taking reservations for Moms Weekend (March 31–April 2, 2017) on April 18.

But even those who plan ahead might not have an easy time reserving rooms in their hotel of choice.

Fairfield General Manager Mark Samuels tells visitors when rooms will be available through the hotel’s Facebook account.

“When mine are ready, I just let everybody know,” Samuels says. “They’re available online, and we’re sold out within five minutes.”

If visitors get reservations for big weekends in Athens during the early stages of the booking process, the prices can be intimidating. The Fairfield’s event weekend price is $249 plus tax when its rooms are first available for sale, but its general price for non-event weekends is $149 plus tax. Samuels says he often places two-night minimums on hightraffic weekends, which is common among other hotels as well.

The Hampton has different tiers of prices it charges for rooms. Its base rate is $119 plus tax, but the prices increase for weekend stays. The first tier has prices ranging from $169 to $189 plus tax, and the next tier ranges from $209 to $219 plus tax. The highest-demand tier of rooms can cost between $239 and $249 plus tax.

Hampton General Manager Lindsay Shaver says the hotel works with a revenue manager to decide what to charge for each weekend, but supply and demand are the big factors the hotel and its management consider when deciding what to charge for certain rooms.

“We base a lot of stuff on history and projections based on that history. … We discuss the different things that are going on in the area [and] the demand that we have,” Shaver says. “But demand is really the true factor [that affects] rate.”

A big part of demand is the type of clientele who come for each weekend. For example, people who visit for Parents Weekend are different than those who come for the Halloween Block Party.

Samuels says the Fairfield charges less when it doesn’t expect much demand, but it might charge more to appeal to a different audience.

“Sibs Weekend isn’t as busy, so the rate isn’t as bad,” Samuels says. “Halloween, with the block party, we keep the rates fairly high because we don’t want our rooms to be trashed.”

The Hampton and Fairfield are owned and managed by SJB Development Inc., a subsidiary of SJB Hotel Companies that manages multiple hotels in Ohio and West Virginia. But their prices and the prices for each Athens hotel differ based on the ser-

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21

vices each inn has to offer its guests.

“It’s definitely about value,” Shaver says. “… That price isn’t just for a bed in a room.”

It’s common to see hotel rates rise and drop in the weeks leading up to big events or the dates close to them. The price of a room with a king bed in the Fairfield for Dec. 10, the date of Ohio’s fall commencement ceremony, increased from $105 plus tax on Sept. 15 to $142 plus tax on Sept. 20.

But cancellations — as well as a lack of available rooms — on big weekends can also affect pricing. On Sept. 15, the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of 2017 spring graduation weekend were available for check-in at the Fairfield, and the charge for a room with a king bed was $108 plus tax for Thursday night and $132 plus tax per night for Friday and Saturday. Five days later on Sept.

20, Friday and Saturday were unavailable for check-

in and the price for Thursday had skyrocketed to $244 plus tax for one night.

Samuels says guests can cancel their reservations up to 30 days before their stays, but the Fairfield isn’t alerted when a previously fully booked weekend has an availability. A previously booked room that becomes available will relist with the same price it had when it was originally booked, but the dates close to the in-demand days will experience price changes. Samuels says he and the management company monitor how a certain weekend is booking far in advance, and if they see a high demand for that day, they will raise the price.

However, Athens hotels don’t base prices off of what other hotels in the area decide to charge. Even if the same company owns two competing hotels, such

2016

DADS WEEKEND PRICES

as the situation with SJB Development Inc., it will choose prices based on the amenities the lodging offers and the demand for certain weekends. Shaver says the policy of avoiding what is generally called “price fixing” also applies when a hotel decides to increase or decrease prices as dates get closer.

“You don’t really base your rates off of other hotels, and that’s pretty clear when you look on a Thursday night, and the [Ohio University] Inn’s at like $95,” Shaver says. “We don’t drop our rates just because they’re lower. We kind of base it on our own rate structures.”

Although the OU Inn charges a standard rate between $129 and $139 on low-traffic weekends and prices in the low $200s on event weekends, which are similar to the rates of other Athens hotels, it has a different approach to booking rooms it believes is fairer to its guests: a lottery system.

$350

$350

$280

$249

$250 $220

$189

$200

$210

$199

$135

$140

$70

*Prices represent the rate for one king room OU

22

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backdrop | Fall 2016

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OU Inn General Manager Scott Kovalick says the inn schedules summer call-in dates on which potential visitors have 12 hours to call the hotel and enter the lottery. Staff members take down guest information for each caller, and after the day is over, 139 names are picked.

“We actually draw it right out of a bin,” Kovalick says. “… If they’re interested, we’ll ring them up. And if not, we’ll just keep drawing names until we fill up.”

Kovalick says the OU Inn decided to do its booking process differently than other hotels to make it a more even playing field, especially for people who have difficult work schedules and aren’t able to call in at a certain time. But booking rooms based on a lottery system helps the hotel out, too.

“If we did [first come, first serve], we’d have 3,000 people who are trying to call in at 9 a.m.,” he says. “We’re Ohio University Inn; we don’t have a Marriott flag where we have a bunch of people at a call-in center. We wouldn’t be able to take all of the calls at once.”

Even if visitors are unlucky with booking hotels or choose not to make reservations far in advance, they have other options in the form of bed-and-breakfasts, cottages and Airbnbs.

Emily Schmitt and her parents fall into the latter category. Mary and Steve Schmitt don’t normally plan their visits to Athens very far in advance and prefer to come on less busy weekends to avoid the crowds.

Last year, the Schmitts decided to do something different and visit their daughter, a fifth-year senior studying applied nutrition, on Sibs Weekend. They started their hotel search about a month before the event and found themselves out of luck.

“They brought my little sister down, and they wanted to stay away from us. …

[But] they couldn’t get a hotel room; they were all booked up,” Emily says. “So, they decided to get a cabin in Hocking Hills.”

Steve was already familiar with Airbnb, an online service and app that allows people to list and reserve casual accommodations, so the family searched the app and found a large

cabin to stay in for the weekend. Although it was more space than they needed and a longer drive from campus than they would have preferred, Emily says the family enjoyed doing something different.

“They usually try to do something a little unique,” she says. “They don’t like hotels; they don’t like staying in them. … We have so many beautiful state parks nearby, and they’re excited to utilize that and get a unique experience.”

Athens Cottage and Athens Footpath Bed and Breakfast, which books through Airbnb, offer alternative solutions to the typical hotel stay. For event weekends, Athens Cottage charges $350 plus tax per night for Friday and Saturday, and Athens Footpath B&B charges $175 plus tax.

Another option, although farther away from campus, is Hyde House B&B in Nelsonville. Regardless of the weekend — event or non-event — the price stays at $109 plus tax per night.

The addition of Airbnb has also affected the hotel market. Although homeowners who rent through Airbnb are generally more flexible with the dates, prices and amenities they offer to guests, White says he doesn’t see Airbnb affecting the OU Inn very much.

“The clientele that we normally have are still going to want the experience here versus staying in someone’s spare bedroom,” he says. “But I think the college side of things, people coming to visit friends and just coming down to town to kind of party, the Ohio lifestyle, I think it’s a good option for them.”

Although White says Airbnb is an option college students would prefer, parents and alumni as well are starting to seriously consider the other options Athens has to offer, including cottages.

For the Corbitts, those other options are more appealing. Although some visitors choose lodging by comparing amenities offered to price requested, bigger hotels might not always win.

“My dad was saying he wished he would have known about this sooner,” Leslie says, “because on those weekends of freshman and sophomore year, it would have been nice to know that this [cottage] was an option.” b

EVENT WEEKEND PRICES *Prices represent the starting rate for one king room for one night on high-traffic weekends and don't include tax. Some event weekends, such as Sibs Weekend, have lower rates.

Fairfield Inn: $249 OU Inn: $219.95 Hampton Inn: $200 – $249

Baymont Inn: $199 Knights Inn: $135 Hometown Inn: $99 Athens Footpath B&B: $175 Athens Cottage: $350 Primrose B&B and Hyde House: $109

Lake Hill Cabins: $450

Creekside Cottage: $179 for two people $20 per additional person

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23

FEATURE

A MID-MA JOR

Dilemma 24

backdrop | Fall 2016

Big-name colleges are luring successful coaches away from mid-major schools, but Ohio men's basketball coach Saul Phillips doesn’t see himself leaving Athens anytime soon.

BY JUSTIN HOLBROCK PHOTOS PROVIDED BY OHIO ATHLETICS

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25

S

aul Phillips leans back with ease in his swivel chair and extends his right arm toward the shoulder of his daughter, Jordan, or Jojo, as he calls her. Phillips’ hand lands gently on the 12-year-old, but his expression tenses as he discusses his future as the coach of the Ohio University men’s basketball team. More than two years ago, Phillips left his coaching job at North Dakota State University for the same position at Ohio, a move that boosted Phillips’ annual base salary from $175,000 to $550,000.

As he leads the squad into the 201617 season, Phillips is determined to help Ohio work toward his ultimate goal for the team.

“I want [Ohio] to be an elite midmajor program,” he says. “… What I’m interested in doing is building a longterm project here.”

Several mid-major coaches, such as Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart, took on simi-

26

backdrop | Spring 2016

lar projects over the last decade and succeeded. Both men made five NCAA Tournament appearances each during their six years at Butler University and Virginia Commonwealth University, respectively.

Both men also left the mid-major scene to coach at a higher level. Stevens was hired to coach the Boston Celtics during summer 2013, and two years later, Smart signed on to lead the Texas Longhorns.

The trend of basketball coaches leaving for higher-paying jobs with more prominent teams is all too familiar at Ohio. Although Ohio hasn’t come close to the sustained mid-major success achieved by Butler and VCU, the Bobcats lost their last two basketball coaches, John Groce in 2012 and Jim Christian in 2014, to jobs at one of the Power Five conferences in the NCAA, which include the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and PAC 12.

Similar to Groce and Christian, Phillips coached the Bobcats to success during his second season; he led them to a regular

season in which they finished second in the Mid-American Conference. Despite losing in the MAC Tournament semifinal on March 11, Phillips has set Ohio up to be one of the best teams in the MAC this year. Ohio returns with the majority of its players from the 2015-16 team, which led the MAC in points per game as well as 3-point and free throw shooting percentages. Plus, 2016 MAC Player of the Year, forward Tony Campbell, returns for his senior year at Ohio, while redshirt junior point guard Jaaron Simmons is back after averaging the third-most assists per game in the country last season.

For Ohio, all of those factors add up to a chance of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. It also means that well-known teams that are looking to hire a coach will be focused on Phillips.

But when Phillips contemplates the notion of Ohio as just a pit stop to help him land a more prominent coaching job, he

sees the answer sitting to his right. He wants Jordan and his two sons to graduate from Athens High School, which indicates another 12 years of coaching at Ohio before Phillips’ youngest son, Ben, graduates.

“Boy, by that time, … you might not want me here anymore,” Phillips says with his trademark suspicious smirk.

As he thinks about his family, Phillips’ grip on Jordan’s shoulder tightens. He simply can’t fathom the idea of moving her, his wife, Nicole, and his two sons from the comfortable life they’ve created together in Athens. His dilemma is a recurring theme in today’s college basketball landscape.

Coaches who have the potential to turn or have turned a mid-major school into an elite college basketball program usually have to decide between a multi-milliondollar coaching position at a bigger school or staying at the same school in a community they call home.

Although Phillips planned to commit long term to Ohio, he was not prepared

for the news that shocked his family in May 2015. Two months after Phillips’ first season ended, Nicole was diagnosed with breast cancer. That summer, she and Phillips relied on a support system of family and friends in and around Athens to help care for her and their children while he was on the road recruiting for the upcoming season.

“If we had just moved to town, who in the heck’s going to come over and drain her drainage tubes when I’m out of town?”

Phillips asks in exasperation. “She had good friends [here] that would do it. It’s easy to look at sports just as the business side of it, but there’s real emotion and real family issues that go on with moving.”

Two months later, Nicole was declared cancer-free after having a mastectomy to remove her left breast. But the possibility of a recurrence is always there, and Phillips can’t imagine taking a new job where they would be away from the people who cared for his wife.

SAUL PHILLIPS 18th men's basketball coach in Ohio University program history Led Ohio to 23 wins and a 2nd place finish in the MAC last season Overall coaching record after 10 years of coaching: 167-116 Graduated from University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a degree in business and psychology in 1996 Played basketball for four seasons at UWP under Bo Ryan and was captain of the Pioneers' undefeated national championship team in 1995

Suddenly, Phillips jolts forward in his chair, remembering another reason he wants to coach at Ohio for a dozen years.

He has talked about it before with Stevens and Smart, and both men gave him the same reason for staying at their schools for six years despite offers to leave sooner.

“You get to a level where, ‘I’ve got things the way I want it,’ ” Phillips says. “ ‘OK, I might be able to make a little more over here, but it’s starting all over again, and I’ve got to get a whole different group of people to understand my vision.’ ” But in order to stay, success on the court is crucial. That's nothing new to Phillips. At North Dakota State, he led the Bison to two NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2009, North Dakota State became the first team in nearly 40 years to make it to the NCAA Tournament in its first year playing Division I basketball. The second tournament appearance was in 2014 when North Dakota State won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game by upsetting No. 5 seed Oklahoma 80-75 in overtime. That same season, the Bison went undefeated in the Summit League regular season and tied a school record for wins with 26, the second time they accomplished 26 wins under Phillips.

The man who initially brought Phillips to Ohio had similar success in basketball.

Before becoming Ohio's athletic director in spring 2008, Jim Schaus ran the athletic department at Wichita State University from 1999 to 2007 and made an enormous impact on its basketball program. Success on the court didn’t happen immediately, though. Schaus began his work at Wichita State knowing it would be a long-term project, similar to the one now underway at Ohio. No matter which school he’s at, Schaus begins each project the same way.

“To build programs, … personnel, facilities and operating budgets are the key areas of investment,” Schaus says.

During his first year at Wichita State, he hired Mark Turgeon to coach the team.

With direction from Turgeon and Schaus, Wichita State’s basketball program rose to national recognition. The investments Schaus made started working for the Shockers during the 2005-06 season as they made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988 and advanced to the Sweet 16. They followed that season up by earning a top 10 national ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for three weeks during the 2006-07 season.

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27

“

It’s easy to look at sports just as the business side of it, but there’s real emotion and real family issues that go on with moving.”

SAUL PHILLIPS OHIO BASKETBALL COACH

28

backdrop | Fall 2016

After that season, Turgeon signed on to coach at Texas A&M University and left Wichita State’s basketball prominence in question. Schaus wasted no time rebuilding the program and hired Gregg Marshall to replace Turgeon in 2007. The Shockers’ status as a basketball powerhouse returned during Marshall’s fifth season, but unlike last time, Schaus didn’t stick around to see the end product; he left to become Ohio's athletic director in spring 2008.

During the 2011-12 season, Wichita State returned to the NCAA Tournament and has been there every year since, advancing to the Sweet 16 twice and the Final Four once in 2013.

Meanwhile, Schaus was busy building Ohio’s basketball program. Less than four months after he was hired, he brought on John Groce to coach the Bobcats. Within four years, the team played in the same 2012 Sweet 16 tournament as Wichita State.

Phillips knew exactly where he wanted to be after watching Schaus hire three different coaches who made it to and succeeded in the NCAA Tournament. “[Schaus] has built that before, and that had everything to do with me wanting to be here,” Phillips says. “They’re clearly not dreaming small.”

That big-picture thinking includes winning the MAC regular season and tournament on a regular basis, then making the NCAA Tournament and winning there, too. And Schaus believes that type of success is possible with Phillips. “[Phillips] is an outstanding coach, person and leader,” Schaus says. “He has built programs before, and he will do so again.”

If Phillips is able to build Ohio into a program similar to Wichita State’s, the Bobcats would have leverage to schedule aggressively enough to get at-large looks into the NCAA Tournament, instead of having to win the MAC Tournament to get into the big dance.

In order to get to the point where Ohio can schedule those kinds of games, the team would need to earn several years’ worth of solid Rating Percentage Index (RPI) rankings. RPI is a measure of a team’s strength of schedule and how the team does against that schedule. Beating an Ohio team with an RPI of 50 or lower would make the Bobcats more appealing to play because a win over them would increase their competitors’ chances

of making the NCAA Tournament later in the season. As of April 16, the only MAC team inside the RPI top 50 was Akron at 44, while Ohio ranked well behind at 86.

For a program such as Wichita State, reaching that level of success to break into the RPI top 50 took more than a couple of years. Under Schaus, it took the Shockers over half a decade to reach the NCAA Tournament and earn a national ranking, which is why he reiterates that the first step to building a program is time. After coach Turgeon left, it took another four years for the program to go back to the tournament.

Winning consistently to reach college basketball’s biggest stage is no small feat, and Phillips, like Schaus, knows how much time is required to get there.

“It took me seven years to build exactly my vision of what I thought North Dakota State could be,” he says before shifting his focus to Ohio. “… We’ll get there, but it’s a long process.”

One player who won’t be there as the process unfolds is 2016 graduate and forward Treg Setty. After several oneon-one conversations with Phillips throughout their two years together, Setty believes his coach will stay for years to come and understands why Phillips wants to.

“It’s harder to stay at a place and build a quality program that sustains over time than it is, say, to win an NCAA Tournament game, get on the map and then go to a school like an Illinois, like a Boston College, where it’s more difficult to sustain that level of excellence,” Setty says. “… If anybody were to create longevity in one program, it would be coach Phillips, for sure.”

But there’s still another reason Phillips wants to stay at Ohio. He is among the community of people who love Athens, and his personality perfectly fits the town.

“For someone who is as outgoing and people-friendly as coach Phillips is, I think Athens is a place that’s very fitting,” Setty says.

On and off the court, Phillips is Athens: vivacious, welcoming, quirky and captivating. And above all, he exudes an unwavering happiness, a reflection of Athens and the students who call it home. “[Athens] is a great — not good — great American college town,” Phillips says. “…

Everybody in Athens loves Athens, and that’s infectious.” b

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29

CALENDAR

ON THE

S K C BRI Check out these events happening around Athens this winter.

BY MARIE CHAILOSKY AND BAILEY FINK

Elle King | Tuesday, November 15 Bluesy bombshell Elle King will rock out with the Athens crowd to hits such as “Ex’s & Oh’s” and “Under the Influence” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at Mem Aud. The concert is a stop on the Grammy Award-winning artist’s nationwide tour, The Ministry Tour. Artist Paul Cauthen will open for Elle King, and tickets ranging from $25 to $45 can be bought online, in person or by phone.

Trans Day of Remembrance | Thursday, November 17 Join the Ohio University LGBT Center in mourning the loss and victimization of members of the transgender community. A vigil will be held 8-9 p.m. in Galbreath Chapel. Those attending the vigil are invited to share personal experiences of hardships and joy.

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backdrop | Fall 2016

Marching 110 at Palace Theatre | Monday, November 21 Cheer on the Most Exciting Band in the Land as it performs at the Palace Theatre in Columbus. If the Marching 110 isn’t enough to make you want to go (why wouldn’t it be?), the gorgeous theater is an extra incentive. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the theater.

The Ten Tenors Home for the Holidays |

Tuesday, December 6

Ten talented Australian men are heading to Mem Aud, enough said. The Ten Tenors, also known as Australia’s rock stars of opera, will entertain audiences with dazzling versions of “Joy to the World,” “Amazing Grace” and “Winter Wonderland.” These guys are sure to make the most wonderful time of the year even more wonderful.

Also, did we mention they’re Australian?

Historical Walking Tour of Athens Asylum | Sunday, December 18 If you’re in Athens during winter break, take a guided tour of The Ridges. George Eberts, an expert on the history of the Athens asylum, will lead daring guests through a two-hour walking tour of the asylum grounds. Hear stories about the “lost lady” and the alligator searching for past residents’ names carved into the woodwork. The asylum is not as spooky during the day, but after this walking tour, you’ll definitely know where to take your friends next Halloween.

Ohio University vs. Eastern Michigan | Saturday, January 14 New year, new you, new school spirit. Celebrate the first weekend of spring semester by supporting the Ohio men’s basketball team as it takes on Eastern Michigan at the Convocation Center. Get your head back in the game and cheer on the Bobcats as they fight for a spot in the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Sibs Weekend | February 3 - 5 Do you think you’re seeing double? Don’t worry, it’s just Sibs Weekend at Ohio! Invite your big or little sibling to spend the weekend with the Bobcats. Take them to cheer on the men’s basketball team or watch the Ohio hockey match against the University of Pittsburgh.

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31

PHOTOSTORY

32 32

backdrop | Fall 2016

Lexie Lombardi leans over to stretch before practicing. “I go from dance class to normal class to dance class, so my muscles tighten up. I stretch whenever I get a chance,� she says.

FINDING HER

BALANCE L

BY LIZ MOUGHON

exie Lombardi always wanted to become a dancer, but she didn't originally plan on attending Ohio University. When the New Jersey native visited her mother's alma mater, however, she fell in love with the atmosphere of Athens and decided to study dance performance and choreogra-

phy at Ohio. Four years later, Lombardi is currently practicing an average of 14 hours per week in preparation for a senior choreography show and a senior solo show. After graduation, Lombardi hopes to get a job with a cruise line or move to Los Angeles to dance professionally and, eventually, teach dance. b

LEFT

Lombardi’s ponytail swings as she slides across the floor of a secondfloor dance studio in Putnam Hall.

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33

RIGHT

Lombardi practices her En Dedans turns in the same dance studio she took dance classes in as a freshman. “This is a smaller studio, so the younger classmen use it ... because it gets tight with 13 people, but the upperclassmen get to use the large studio.�

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backdrop | Fall 2016

RIGHT

Lombardi’s hair flies as she jumps with her classmates during a two-hourlong modern class.

They begin their class by slowly warming up and easing into dynamic moves before erupting into jumps and twists.

LEFT

Lombardi demonstrates a new step to her ballet class for nonmajors she teaches twice a week.

“I pretty much live in this building,” she says.

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35

ONE HE BREWERY OF A

Devil’s Kettle Brewery serves traditional brews in a laid-back atmosphere.

BY GABBY HOLLOWELL PHOTO BY JESSIE CLUTCHEY

C

ameron Fuller was born into a winemaking family, but instead of following in their footsteps, he tapped into beer brewing instead. With no experience, he taught himself how to brew beer while

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he was a marketing student at St. Mary’s College of California. Fuller homebrewed for about five years, and the idea of opening a brewery was always in the back of his mind. Thanks to the internet and his family’s old winemaking tools,

Fuller acquired enough knowledge and skills to brew on his own. He knew his beer was good; however, if Fuller wanted to “go pro,” he needed objective feedback, rather than his friends’ opinions.

Fuller entered 17 of his beers in the

2013 Ohio Brew Week Homebrew Competition. Eight of his brews won, and he received the Jim Leverentz Award for the most winning entries. For one of those wins, Best of Show, he beat out 281 beers. That was more than enough to convince him that he had what it took to open a brewery, and Devil’s Kettle Brewing was born.

Fuller struggled with naming the brewery for quite some time. He didn’t want to have a location-based name and call it Athens Brewing, but he ironically ended up naming it after a different location.

“I learned about a state park in Minnesota called Devil’s Kettle Falls,” he says.

“There is a beautiful waterfall that falls into a whirlpool and disappears underground, and they named that Devil’s Kettle. There’s also a lot of history of brewing being associated to either God or the devil — depending on your perception on what the benefits or negatives of alcohol are.”

The name seemed obvious; a lot of breweries have the name “kettle” in them. Fuller was surprised no one else had used what he thought was a “kickass brewery name.”

Fuller opened Devil’s Kettle in June 2015, making it the second-oldest brewery in Athens. Located at 97 Columbus Road, the brewery sits in a plain, steel building that once housed Southeast Imports, a used car lot. If it weren’t for the large red and black sign in the front yard, the brewery would be easy to miss.

Fuller, a California native, moved to Athens about six years ago to work at StewartMacDonald, a company that sells tools and parts for building guitars, which is what he did before he started brewing professionally. Fuller fell in love with Athens and wanted to live here. Unlike Athens, California is much more expensive and has a more developed beer scene.

“Everything [in California] is way more competitive, and there’s more regulation,” Fuller says. “I just knew that if I had a chance to pursue my dream, it would have to be in Athens.”

Devil’s Kettle is one of three breweries

in Athens, the other two being Little Fish Brewing and Jackie O’s Brewery. Although Fuller faces competition from the other two breweries, each has a distinct location that attracts different crowds.

Bartender Tessa Evanosky thinks it’s a Columbus Road thing.

“People have wanted a brewery here for a while,” she says. “They stop by on their way out of town. We are not a restaurant. Some people just bring a picnic.”

In fact, Fuller encourages his customers to order out and bring their own food.

OMG! Rotisserie down the road offers free delivery to the breweries in town.

Athens local Leslie Johnson says she frequents Devil’s Kettle more often than she’d like to admit. In fact, she has had the opportunity to name a couple of the beers, one of which is the Gemini.

“I enjoy the beers here much more than I do at the other breweries,” Johnson says as she enjoys a slice of Avalanche Pizza that she had delivered to the brewery. “When I look on Cameron’s board and see an IPA, when I taste it, it tastes like an IPA.” Hoppy, malty, roasty, and wild and sour flavors come alive in Devil’s Kettle’s 18 drafts. Fuller says he focuses on traditional brewing and is a fan of German lagers, which, in his opinion, are underrepresented in the craft beer scene.

“What’s crazy about the German lager is they are good transitional beers for the people just trying to get into it because they’re not the over-the-top, extreme, experimental thing,” he says. “They’re really flavorful, but they’re just malty and not overly bitter, just very drinkable beers. That’s some of the stuff I’m most proud of.”

Because he’s from California where there is a more mature craft beer scene, Fuller says he has a different perspective on beer.

“I’ve tried a lot of the things that I’ve seen a lot of people in Ohio … experimenting with,” he says. “So, I feel like I have a bit of a sense of what works and what doesn’t work.”

Fuller says he has plans to make the facility look like a more inviting place by

VISIT DEVIL’S KETTLE BREWERY HOURS:

e Driv ace Terr

oad us R umb Col

Monday and Tuesday: Closed Wednesday - Friday: 4 - 9 p.m.

Saturday - Sunday: 12 - 9 p.m.

making the outside more appealing. Fuller, also a woodworker, made the countertop of the bar. The taproom is hand-built and the patio is locally built. He hopes to install solar panels to make the brewery more sustainable.

On the third Wednesday of every month, Fuller has “Pints with a Purpose” and donates $1 from every pint sold to a particular charity. He previously donated money to Community Food Initiatives, victims of the Orlando shooting and breast cancer research.

Besides working for a place that gives back to local and national causes, Evanosky enjoys bartending at Devil’s Kettle because it is a more grown-up bar to work at.

“Customers are less intense here than they are Uptown,” she says.

The atmosphere in the bar is more mature as well.

“Some people want to have that intense party atmosphere that you see at Jackie O’s on a Friday night, but if you wanna just kick back and hang out with a bunch of friends, this is one of the few places in Athens where you can really hold a conversation,” Fuller says with a laugh.

For those who are underage, don’t underestimate Devil’s Kettle’s root beer, cold brewed nitro coffee and ginger ale.

Although Devil’s Kettle is not within walking distance from campus, Fuller doesn’t struggle with bringing in customers. Thanks to social media and word-ofmouth, locals and out-of-towners frequent Devil’s Kettle each week. Its beers are also always on tap at Casa Nueva, Tony’s Tavern and The Union Bar & Grill.

“The great thing about the brewery scene right now is that everyone wants to try the new brewery,” Fuller says. “There are so many people every weekend who come in and tell me they’re from Cleveland, Toledo or Cincinnati. I just often ask, without even explaining it, ‘So what number stop am I?’ and knowing that they’re here to go to Jackie O’s, Devil’s Kettle and Little Fish. It’s a great thing for all three of us to [be] here.” b

96 Columbus Road

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37

FOOD RECIPE

F O R L E F T OV E R S Repurpose Thanksgiving leftovers into something you’re not tired of: chili!

BY MACKENZIE SMITH | PHOTOS BY JESSIE CLUTCHEY

A

s if a food baby and a weeklong, post-Thanksgiving food coma isn’t torture enough, parents somehow think sending copious amounts of leftovers back to Athens with their children is a good idea. Tupperware containers filled with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes

and that weird cranberry gelatin will sit in a tiny Athens apartment fridge until it is found again two weeks later.

To reduce the loss of perfectly good turkey, Backdrop found a recipe to cure all Thanksgiving leftover needs — and no, it is not a turkey sandwich. b

CAYENNE PEPPER

CUMIN

CINNAMON SPICED BASIL

THANKSGIVING LEFTOVER CHILI Ingredients: 2 cups shredded leftover turkey, 1 can butter beans, 2 garlic cloves, 1 onion, 2 cups sweet potato, One 28-ounce can tomatoes, 1 green pepper, diced, 2 cups chicken stock, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cumin, salt and ground black pepper, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese Directions: Grease the bottom of a mediumsized pot with olive oil.

Next, add all seasonings and sautĂŠed garlic, as well as diced sweet potatoes, green peppers and onions.

When the mixture has boiled down, mix in the shredded turkey and pinto beans. Cook until warmed. Then, add in tomatoes and chicken stock.

Let the chili simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish with cheddar cheese and basil, then serve.

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39

FOOD

International Flavor,

Local Ingredients C

Restaurant Salaam brings Mediterraneaninspired dishes and worldly flavors to the Athens food scene.

BY JULIE CIOTOLA PHOTOS BY AMANDA DAMELIO

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backdrop | Fall 2016

ustomers who step into Restaurant Salaam are transported to a place so bold and different it feels like another world. Or at least another country.

Thick tapestries drape from the walls, each marked by brilliant color and crafted jewels. Long square rugs cover the floor, their unique patterns bearing a cozy, well-worn look. Soft cloths cover each table where rich oils and spices sit and invite customers to experience new flavors. The lighting is dim, the music is soothing and scents of international taste are wafting from the kitchen.

That worldly dining experience is the brainchild of one family, the Burhans, who incorporated elements from across the globe into their business.

Co-owner and executive chef Hilarie Burhan has lived in Asia and Africa, though she is a graduate of Athens High School, and chose to bring ele-

ments from those places back to her hometown.

“I am very fond of fabrics and rugs and tiles, so the décor part came easy,” Burhan says. “All I was really wanting to do was to put some of the things into the restaurant and make it have the feel of you’re not in Athens anymore, you’ve stepped into another world.”

Burhan’s business is a product of her culinary knowledge and travel experience, both of which come together to bring Salaam’s customers a special dining experience. She worked as a culinary arts instructor for Hocking College and taught off-campus programs, giving her the skills necessary to experiment with new recipes.

“I have always had an interest in the science of cooking and what goes on, why different ingredients and techniques have the effects that they do,” Burhan says. “With some of that background

knowledge, you can manipulate your results really well. So I do.”

Much of Salaam’s menu is inspired by Burhan’s trips around the globe, where she was exposed to all kinds of foods and flavors. She has traveled to India and Nepal, and her most recent expedition was a trip to Australia about two years ago. Burhan admits that much of her travels involve trying new foods, though that is not the sole purpose.

“I think the purpose of traveling for me is to jar yourself out of a complacent comfort that you might have with your current situation,” she says. “Normally I don’t go places where almost everybody speaks English. I’d rather be somewhere completely different from here.”

Burhan’s passion for exploring the unfamiliar has given her unparalleled opportunities to experience new cultures that she can share with her customers and employees. “[Before I worked here], I would come in and eat and the food was always so good,” waitress Jordan Toney says. “The atmosphere here is really cool.”

Burhan says Salaam employees tend to be really happy, which she believes is an important part of running a successful business. She says the entire staff strives to serve fresh food and keep customers satisfied.

“We come for dinner most of the time, and the food is always fresh,” says Chris Stalder, a Salaam customer whose favorite dish is the chicken coconut curry.

Dishes such as the coconut curry reflect Burhan’s passion for Indian food.

During a trip to Udaipur, India, she had the opportunity to take private cooking lessons to learn how to make basic Indian dishes, giving her the chance to duplicate traditional recipes for her business. When such opportunities are not available, Burhan looks to cookbooks and YouTube for assistance.

“I tend to have my favorite YouTube people for Turkish cuisine or for Indian cuisine, you know,” she says. “I like their style of teaching and demoing online, and they have a good body of videos and things out there.”

Though those dishes often call for unusual ingredients, Burhan strives to use local food. Thus, each dish adopts

an international feel but is comprised of foods not normally found in that country’s cuisine. That helps keep the taste diverse and the substance close to home.

Although Salaam’s menu has certainly thrived from Burhan’s travels, her worldly appreciation extends far beyond trying new recipes. Such experiences have ignited a desire in her to serve afflicted communities around the world.

For Burhan, that service began in 2004, when a tsunami devastated the people of South Asia. She saw an opportunity to gather citizens of Athens in hopes of raising money to make a difference.

Burhan organized a benefit, complete with fresh food and music, and encouraged attendees to donate for the cause. Her plan was a raging success; the benefit raised $18,500 for the tsunami victims. For a Thursday night in a small, middle-class town, the results were astounding.

“I remember walking out in the middle of this benefit, there were bands playing and people [were] helping themselves to food in the buffet line, and there’s this silent auction and everything,” she says. “And I’m thinking, ‘Man, I love this town. I love Athens. People are so good here.’ ” Over the years, Burhan has been involved in similar charitable events; she most recently helped flood victims in Rainelle, West Virginia. She also regularly donates gift certificates to silent auctions and raffles around Athens, hoping to share the magic of Salaam with new customers.

“Not a day goes by that we’re not asked to give something for something,” Burhan says. “We look at it as a good way to introduce our restaurant to people that haven’t been here yet.”

Burhan’s passion for hearty, honest cooking makes Salaam a staple of the Athens food scene. Aesthetically, Salaam is ornamental and inviting in a way unlike other restaurants. The appearance, combined with the fresh dishes and the hardworking hands that prepare them, reflect the true essence of dining at Salaam.

“We try to sell our customers good, honest food that we’ve prepared with care,” Burhan says. “The harder you work, the better things are.” b

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41

VOICES SPORTS SPORTS

TRANSITION IN

BY BRIANA EKANEM PHOTOS BY MADDIE SCHROEDER

LEADERSHIP Ohio looks to seniors Taylor Agler and Yamonie Jenkins to pick up where celebrated point guard Kiyanna Black left off.

K

Taylor Agler

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backdrop | Fall 2016

iyanna Black began her collegiate basketball career as the third-leading scorer on one of the worst squads the Ohio University women’s basketball program had ever seen. Before she notched her place in the record books as the second-highest scorer in program history and the leader in most 3-point field goals made in a season, Black helped lead the 2014-15 team during one of the best seasons in program history.

Black, the two-time All-MAC First Team awardee, left her mark on Ohio in a big way. She helped the squad earn an NCAA Tournament bid and the

title of back-to-back Mid-American Conference regular season champions.

Black played her last game for Ohio in the third round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) where the Bobcats suffered a 61-75 loss to Temple University.

The close of the 2015-16 season ended Black’s career at Ohio and left one question on Ohio fans’ minds: Who’s next?

“I’m very concerned about replacing what KB [Black] did for us in a number of ways,” fourth-year coach Bob Boldon says. “… We have some people, and I’m excited to see if they can do it. … I’m anxious to see who steps up and fills that void, and I think we have players that have the ability to do so.”

The point guard position can be compared to that of the quarterback in football. A point guard initially controls where the ball goes and is a

team’s playmaker and decision-maker.

Filling that position is a focus during recruitment and can set the tone for how the rest of the team is formed and coached.

With the loss of Black, Ohio enters the 2016-17 season with an opportunity for dynamic leadership in the point guard position, but there is still hope that the team will find similar success this year in seniors Taylor Agler and Yamonie Jenkins.

“One of the big things I wanted to focus on was becoming an all-around better scorer and working on all facets of my game,” Agler says. “I don’t want to focus on just the 3-point shot, and that’s something I kept in the back of my head last year. KB really helped me with that.”

Agler started her collegiate athletic career at Indiana University in 2013 and helped the team earn a 21-13 overall record during her freshman season.

The Westerville, Ohio, native started in all 34 games as a freshman and averaged 7.8 points per game. She also tied for the team lead in steals during her freshman year with 36 and finished the season in assists with 65.

“When I went to Indiana, it was a program that was rebuilding so I was able to start as a freshman,” Agler says. “I got to step into a leadership role pretty early. I got to play a lot of minutes against really good teams, and I think that helped me a lot. ” In high school, Agler played for AllOhio, a Columbus-based Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) girl’s travel basketball team. While playing for All Ohio, Agler met several other current members of the Ohio roster including senior guard Quiera Lampkins, senior forward Jasmine Weatherspoon and fellow point guard Jenkins.

“We’re really close,” Jenkins says. “She was always my roommate during those AAU trips, and we used to always be together and be point guards together, leading the team.”

Jenkins, a regular leader on the team and on the court, has played in nearly every game over the past four years and started in 31 out of 33 games last season.

The point guard averaged 7.2 points per game and finished the season with a .81 free-throw percentage, the second

highest on the team. Jenkins was also the second highest in assists with 99.

The senior recorded a career-high 18 points in the 2015-16 season as well as a career-high eight free throws.

Jenkins helped the 2015-16 squad earn the MAC Championship title for the second time after the team produced a disappointing 9-21 record during her freshman season. Jenkins says those highs and lows have helped her to grow into her current leadership role.

“Basically, I need to be an extended version of [Boldon] on the court,” Jenkins says. “I think my role is the same, but I just have to be better at it.”

Although Agler was not able to play for Ohio last season due to her transfer year of ineligibility, the senior has shown her exceptional skills and abilities in practice and is sure to add to the competitive nature of the squad. “[Agler’s] ability to play with the ball in her hands is something we’ve never really had,” Boldon says. “… I think her ability to be multi-dimensional is what excites us the most. She’s a very willing passer and she’s kind of trying to find where she fits from a passing and shooting standpoint. She’s able to do both of them.”

The combination of Agler, an experienced transfer, and Jenkins, a consistent leader, will introduce an exciting dynamic to the point guard position.

“I think we’re really good at holding each other accountable as well as picking each other up,” Agler says. “Because we do play the same position, we know what the other one is going through, so I think we’re really good at just keeping each other level-headed.”

The duo will not only face pressure to perform on the offensive side of the ball, but also on defense. Black was the leading scorer for Ohio, but she also proved to be a defensive threat to her opponents. Black recorded a total of five blocks and 55 steals while grabbing 108

defensive rebounds in the 2015-16 season, which made her one of the top four rebounders on the team.

“I want to be the best shooter and scorer I can be and focus on my defense a lot,” Agler says. “That’s something I’ve really struggled with. … I just want to become the best defender I can be.”

With defense as a focus for improvement and scoring a consistent concern for filling the point-producing shoes Black left, the two point guards will have to use their individual skill sets to lead Ohio through the season. Although Black played an instrumental role for Ohio, the 2016-17 season will focus on the talent of this year’s team as it looks to make another run at the MAC Championship title and earn a NCAA Tournament bid.

“KB was a main scorer of ours and a main leader,” Agler says. “I think [Jenkins] and I both have to step up in the scoring area and in leadership and just try to fill KB’s void that she left.

That’s going to be a big problem for us this year if we don’t.” b

www.backdropmagazine.com

Yamonie Jenkins

43

EXHIBIT A

Exhibit A. Student photographers Tyler Ross and Quinn Corrado share their creative interpretations of Athens.

QUINN CORRADO

QUINN CORRADO

TYLER ROSS

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backdrop | Fall 2016

PHOTO HUNT

PHOTO HUNT Locate all of the differences between these photos of a few of the Humans vs. Zombies: Athens participants.

PHOTO BY MAX CATALANO

1 2 3 4 5 www.backdropmagazine.com

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68 N. Court Street Athens, OH 45701 • (740) 593 - 5155 importhouses.com

f

How can the Alumni Association

help you NOW? THE OHIO UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION helps students make the most of their college experience and stay connected with OHIO after they graduate.

BB T O

BobcaThon is a dance marathon on campus to raise awareness and funds for seriously ill children and their families staying at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio.

BobcaThon culminates in a 12 hour Dance Marathon in February.

You can sign up to be a dancer or volunteer today! www.bobcathon.com

STUDENT ALUMNI BOARD (SAB) SAB is a professional organization that strives to connect students to the University and Bobcat alumni through exciting programs and initiatives. SAB has passionate, creative, and hardworking undergraduates who make a difference on campus. Look out for Homecoming Events including the Yell Like Hell Pep Rally. More information can be found at www.ohiosab.com

QUESTIONS? Contact Katrina Heilmeier at heilmeik@ohio.edu or 740.597.1216

OHIO

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

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