Feb 8, 2011 | The Miami Student

The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826

VOLUME 138 NO. 37

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

In 1972, The Miami Student reported a new scheduling computer, designed to convert course request sheets to computer punch cards, helped create course schedules with the least amount of conflicts for students. At the time, the Miami analysis system was the only one of its kind in the nation.

’Hawks honor Burke, sweep Wolverines

By Hannah R. Miller Staff Writer

With emotions running high in the Goggin Ice Center and Burke on each Miami University hockey jersey, the RedHawk hockey team came ready to play Saturday night.

Saturday, Miami beat the University of Michigan 3-0 to follow up the 4-2 victory Friday and complete the sweep of the Wolverines. The weekend sweep moves the RedHawks into first place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Before the puck dropped, the team honored the late Brendan Burke. Burke, the team’s student manager, was tragically killed in a car accident Feb. 5, 2010.

Burke’s family was presented with the commemorative jerseys the team wore during the second game of the series.

The jerseys featured a red shamrock with the initials BB in place of the Miami M and Burke as the name on the back of each sweater.

After the emotional pregame ceremony, Reilly Smith said the team was united in its feelings heading into the game.

“There was one idea on everyone’s mind, and it was do it for Burkie tonight,” Smith said.

In the first period, The Brotherhood stepped onto the ice playing cohesive and physical hockey.

Eight minutes in, Smith found the back of the net, tapping in a rebound off a shot from Cameron Schilling at the point. Smith scored again before the opening frame was over, giving the ’Hawks a two-goal lead.

Penalties in the second period caused problems for the Wolverines, giving Miami a full twominute five-on-three opportunity.

On the two-man advantage, Miami’s Andy Miele skated into the high slot, faked a shot and quickly sent the puck to Cannone waiting on the far side. Cannone sent a one timer in behind Michigan netminder Shawn Hunwick.

In the third period Saturday, Miami’s penalty kill unit was called upon to make some big stops.

SCOTT ALLISON The Miami Student

The Miami University hockey team remembered Brendan Burke before the game Saturday at the Goggin Ice Arena.

Taking five penalties in the final frame, blocked shots were crucial for the RedHawks to keep the puck from reaching Miami goaltender Cody Reichard. Reichard

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had 23 saves Saturday and 30 Friday, backstopping both victories for the ’Hawks.

“We haven’t blocked shots like that in a while on the penalty

kill, so that was a big confidence booster,” Miele said after Friday’s win. “That was huge for us.”

wSee HOCKEY, page 9

Miami lacks social media policy

ONLINE ONLY: Check out a photo slideshow from the game.

By Amanda Seitz

After getting a snapshot, Vaughn then directed the guest list to Assistant Director of Greek Students may want to think about Life Tillie Good. double-checking their Facebook “Would you please let me know privacy settings because friends, if any of the individuals named family and future employers are in the attached guest list are afflinot the only people scanning social ated with a Greek organization?” networking sites.

Vaughn asked. “The Facebook Students now have Miami page has been removed so the University to snapshot is the add to the list best I can do.”

Part of the investigation of potential Good then included taking a page viewers. verified that The unithe individusnapshot of attendees versity has als who creof the Facebook responded ated the page ‘Indian Theme Party.’ were mempublically to two Facebook bers of Delta group events Upsilon Frain the past year. A Facebook event ternity. She also attached entitled “The Annual Ghetto Fest” the address affiliated with stirred up some mixed reactions in the individuals.

April 2010, and in November anFollowing a chat between the other Facebook event called “In- students affiliated with the event dian Party” riled others. and members of the university, The university ad- Mosley-Howard and Vice Presidressed both events after it dent of Institutional Diversity Ron received complaints.

Scott sent an e-mail to all underAfter receiving a complaint graduates expressing concern for from Miami alumna Teresa Zaf- the themed party and its potenfiro, the university addressed and tially racist implications. investigated the “Indian Theme Vaughn said this practice is not Party” Facebook event. a common occurrence in the OfPart of that investigation in- fice of Student Ethics and Conflict cluded taking a snap shot of at- Resolution (OESCR). tendees of the Facebook “Indian “We see very, very few reports Theme Party.” of any kind of e-mail, Internet, In an e-mail from Dean of social networking violations,” Students Susan Mosley-Howard Vaughn said. to Director of Ethics and StuOESCR only responds to a dent Conflict Resolution Susan violation if there is a complaint, Vaughn, Mosley-Howard asked Vaughn said. for Vaughn to send her infor“Our office receives commation about the public page. plaints, so we do not go looking “Susan, Can you get some im- for anything, that’s just not what ages from the Facebook page … our office does,” Vaughn said. and a snapshot of invitees?” the e-mail read.

See SOCIAL, page 9 Campus Editor

MICHAEL GRIGGS The Miami Student

Senior Pat Cannone rouses up the Miami student crowd at the hockey game Saturday against the University of Michigan.

MU student stress rates increase

By Emily Glaser For The Miami Student

Stress levels are at a record high among college students, according to a recent article in The New York Times, and Miami University students are no exception.

Kip Alishio, director of Student Health Services at Miami, has noticed an increase in student stress levels in the 19 years he has been at the university.

According to Alishio, the number of students coming to

college with emotional health issues has steadily risen over the past decade.

Alishio said much of the increase can be attributed to the struggling economy.

“Even if a student comes from a family that isn’t specifically

FIND A JOB exams

homework religion graduation group GRE FINANCES significant other

wSee HEALTH, page 9

PROJECTS

interviews friends m e e t i n g s hobbies roommates FAMILY

ERIN MAHER The Miami Student

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University to reorganize underenrolled classes, majors

BY THE NUMBERS Number of classes Miami is looking to cut:

200

Enrollment of these classes is less than:

20

By Stephen Bell Campus Editor

Ten-student classrooms may soon be a thing of the past as Miami University plans to cut 200 classes with an enrollment of less than 20 students.

Miami’s board of trustees met Friday and discussed the possibility of

cutting or consolidating underenrolled classes to cope with the university’s budget crisis.

Christopher Makaroff is a chemistry professor at Miami and former cochair of the Strategic Priorities Task Force (SPT), the group charged with making recommendations for Miami’s budget cuts.

Makaroff said the university is looking to cut 200 of 5,500 classes with enrollment less than 20 students. He said the cuts will not be made at random, but after careful consideration.

“One of the things you want to keep in mind is that we are not just looking to eliminate all classes

under 20,” he said. “The goal is to reduce the number of low-enrollment courses that have a history of not having many students and not a whole lot of student demand.”

Makaroff said the university also wants to modify or consolidate underenrolled courses so they become more popular.

Rather than eliminating courses, Makaroff said he hopes to eliminate and reorganize certain sections.

“There are a lot of good reasons to have classes that are under 20, like labs and honors courses, but maybe we could just offer them on a less frequent

wSee CUTS, page 9

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Campus

Tuesday

February 8, 2011

Editors Stephen Bell Amelia Carpenter Amanda Seitz campus@miamistudent.net

MU hires firm to fix budget woes NEWS BRIEFS

By Adam Giffi Senior Staff Writer

FYI Art Museum to feature portraits of children The Miami University Art Museum will host “Psychological Portraits of African American Children” at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 9 in conjuncture with the museum’s exhibition “Looking Beyond the Surface: Understanding Identity through Art.” The talk will be presented by Yvette Harris, associate professor of psychology, who will speak on issues of identity and the developmental needs of African-American children. The event is sponsored by the Black History Celebration Committee and will also feature a book signing by Harris after the lecture. The event is free and open to the public. “Looking Beyond the Surface: Understanding Identity through Art” runs through July 23.

MU hosts black faculty symposium Miami University will host a discussion about the challenges black faculty face in the administrative world.

The event, “Black Folks Blues: Impediments in Hiring, Tenure & Promotion in Academia,” will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18 in 212 MacMillan Hall.

Associate Professor Jeanette Davidson from the University of Oklahoma will present a lecture entitled “Black Faculty Members, Black Studies and the Academy: Challenges and Opportunities.”

Following the lecture, a panel of black faculty members from the Oxford, Hamilton and Middletown campuses will discuss the issue.

The Office of Diversity Affairs and the Black History Celebration Committee will host and sponsor the event.

The symposium is free and open to the public.

TOMS Shoes receives national recognition TOMS Shoes Campus Club at Miami University was named campus of the week Feb. 3.

The club is planning to make One Day Without Shoes on April 5 a hit. The day will consist of students around campus experiencing what it would be like not to have shoes, something 40 percent of the world deals with everyday. The event aims to draw attention to the One for One cause.

TOMS Shoes at Miami has approximately 300 members.

For more information, contact TOMS Shoes Campus Club president Christopher Kritsas at kritsacc@muohio.edu.

Miami University’s quest to solve budget dilemmas in line with the recommendations of the Strategic Priorities Task Force (SPT) is continuing with the hiring of an outside consulting firm, Accenture.

The university senate met Monday, Feb. 7 for an overview of the newly-begun consulting process from David Creamer and Rebecca Luzadis, co-chairs of the coordinating and steering committee for the Accenture project.

Creamer said the overall project will focus on a wide variety of university issues with an emphasis on comparing Miami to other organizations, higher education and otherwise.

“It’s very broad in regards to the things we will be looking at, but not everything will be looked at with the same amount of depth,”

It is the policy of The Miami Student to publish corrections for factual errors found in the newspaper. ➤In the Feb. 1 issue, Liz Kirkham was mistakenly quoted in the article “ASG censures, warns senators.” The quotes came from Lizzie Litzow, who spoke on behalf of Kirkham due to her absence from the meeting.

TMS www.miamistudent.net

ONLINE

interviews. March will begin a period of data analysis, including a focus on administrative support activities.

Accenture’s research at Miami is based on a model used in the company’s contract with the University of Michigan.

“In order to be able to benchmark, you have to have enough things in common when you collect data so you’re comparing roughly apples to apples,” Luzadis said.

Many members of the faculty have already been asked to complete surveys for Accenture.

Anne Schauer, assistant director of the Office for Advancement of Research and Scholarship, expressed displeasure with the questionnaires largely because of a perceived disconnect between questions that are appropriate for Michigan and those that are fitting for Miami.

Another related complaint

arose about the phrasing of the survey questions. Madelyn Detloff, associate professor of English and the Women’s Studies Program director, verbalized a complaint to the senate.

“I’ve received about four or five of these so far, and they are very difficult to understand,” Detloff said. “It might just be that they aren’t relevant to my unit, but on the other hand, I think the terminology used is over specialized.”

Luzadis took note of these complaints and others and assured she will address them to Accenture.

Toward the end of the meeting, Luzadis stressed the importance of the project going forward.

“Budgets are going to be cut and need to be cut,” Luzadis said.

“At the end of the day, what we need to do is do this on the basis of good data, which we currently don’t have, and a sense of priorities.”

Technology officials explain Blackboard, Gmail outages

By Maria Kreighbaum For The Miami Student

Technology glitches in Blackboard and Google e-mail peaked after an ice storm spurred the need for increased university communication. Students experienced delayed e-mails and Blackboard outages. University officials said the problems should end now that campuswide alerts are no longer being sent out.

Micah Cooper, project leader for the Google e-mail effort, said e-mails were delayed because the Google system incorrectly read the university-wide messages as spam.

According to Cooper, students are contacted through an e-mail distribution list that is still run on the old Microsoft Exchange system.

This distribution list, which acts as master listserv when messaging students, has not yet been migrated to the Google system.

Cooper said the Google system has an automatic defense against spam sources, which are sources that send large amounts of e-mails at the same time.

“If you have a site that is blasting tens of thousands of messages, the system will slow it down so that if it is spam it will become less effective,” Cooper said.

The Exchange distribution list sent approximately 16,000 messages in each universitywide e-mail. Cooper said this qualified the distribution list as a source of spam, causing e-mail deliveries to be slowed down.

“We’re already talking to Google to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Cooper said. “We’re going to move the lists out of Exchange.”

He said a Google-supported distribution list

should solve the problem. is down, which causes a delay. According to Although temporary, students were affected Cooper, the rerouted e-mails can go long disby the faulty communication. tances because Google has servers all over the Senior Bryan Lincoln said his marketing world. An e-mail that is sent within the univergroup was inconvenienced by e-mail delays. sity can be rerouted to places like California, “We had a big presentation this week and we Cooper said. sent each other individual parts of our project Blackboard showed similar slowdowns and through e-mail,” Lincoln said. “The e-mails many students were unable to sign onto the weren’t sending, so none of site during the worst days of our attachments were getting the storm. delivered in time.”

Cathy McVey, client “We’ve seen this Junior Kristen Krempp advocate for Miami Unihappen in the past also had issues with her eversity IT Services, said mail when she had to coorthe outages were due to and haven’t been dinate her sorority for Puttin’ university communicaable to diagnose On The Hits practice Jan. 27. tions being posted to the the source (of “I had three (e-mails) that MyMiami site. the problem).” showed up 24 hours after they E2Campus, an update were sent,” Krempp said. “It system, posts the automatic does matter. It was an e-mail CATHY McVEY alerts seen at the top of the CLIENT ADVOCATE I was supposed to forward to Blackboard homepage, IT SERVICES our new pledge class about a McVey said. new dance practice, and no “When it posts to MyMione got it in time. I got the ami, you see MyMiami slow e-mail a day later and the practice time had down within a few hours,” McVey said. already passed.”

E2Campus shut down the site for a couple Cooper said e-mail delays can also occur if of minutes to solve the problem, McVey said. servers are overwhelmed or if a link between The site was functioning normally after it two servers is down. Although these problems was reactivated. can happen at any time, he said in this most “We’ve seen this happen in the past and recent case, the Google server may have been haven’t been able to diagnose the source (of overwhelmed after it received what it believed the problem),” McVey said. “They are defito be thousands of spam e-mails. He said stu- nitely related, but we haven’t figured out what dents may experience delayed e-mails from exactly is going wrong.”

Assistant Director of Applications Sertime to time when the Miami servers have vices Kent Covert said Blackboard glitches extra activity.

Cooper said e-mails are usually rerouted when a system becomes overwhelmed or a link See GMAIL, page 3

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Friends, family celebrate life of senior Amy Schenkel

By Shannon Pesek For The Miami Student

CORRECTIONS

Creamer said.

Luzadis said the project’s advice will still be reviewed.

“We selected Accenture because of their expertise, but we also want to make sure the project is done in a way that best suits our needs,” Luzadis said.

“On an ongoing basis the steering committee is getting reports from Accenture from their on-site project manager about the next steps that are going on in the process, and we’re also open to receive any kind of input from the campus community.”

Currently, there is no way for the community to give feedback, but Creamer said a website is in the works.

Luzadis said Accenture will not be involved in decisionmaking and will be responsible for generating information. According to Luzadis, February will be used for data collection, including faculty surveys and

Simply described as “amazing” by all of those closest to her, Miami University senior Amy Schenkel excelled at everything she put her mind to. She was an accounting major and an accomplished equestrian who died on Thursday, Jan. 27.

“Amy really wanted to be a businesswoman,” her mother, Marcy Schenkel, said. “Her father was an accountant and she was always proud of her father’s work. In fact, she modeled herself after her father.”

As much as Amy looked up to her father, Steven Schenkel, he thinks of her just as highly.

“She was a strong-willed, single-minded young woman,” Steven Schenkel said. “She had so much purpose and outstanding career goals.”

She worked toward her goal of becoming an accountant through the help of professor of accounting Kathryn Easterday, who Amy grew close with during her time at Miami, according to Marcy Schenkel.

“I had Amy in the fall semester of 2009, and throughout that semester I was able to watch her grow and blossom,” Easterday

said. “She was always a very bright, gentle girl. She would come in to my office and talk to me even after she was not in my class anymore. I will miss her.”

The one characteristic Amy was most known for was her love of animals.

She had been riding horses her whole life, “ever since she visited a dude ranch with her Girl Scout group,” Marcy Schenkel said.

Amy owned a horse and recently adopted a puppy named Goose.

“She ruled with an iron fist, but she was always kind,” her mother joked.

Another characteristic Amy was most loved for was her perfectionism, something that led her to be an accomplished equestrian and student.

She desired to be accomplished in every way, whether it was in her sense of style, her schoolwork or in the way she always compared herself to her older brothers, Benjamin and Jason, Marcy Schenkel said.

“She never gave herself enough credit,” Steven Schenkel said.

“She was sensible and quality oriented, her life was coming into order as she started her second semester at Miami.”

Amy loved Miami, and her

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SCHENKEL FAMILY

Amy Schenkel was a senior accounting major who spent her free time riding horses. father said she always knew that Miami was “her place.”

Amy leaves behind a lot of people who loved her dearly, a strong family and a few great friends.

“If you were Amy’s friend, you were her friend forever,” her

father said.

That is how Amy will be remembered, not only as an equestrian with a love of all animals or a beautiful and intelligent accountant, but as a friend.

“She was our daughter, and she was our friend,” her parents said.

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Campus

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 ♦ 3

Miami to pair with world’s largest defense contractor

Waving to the Wolverines

By Kaler Hazen

to the company’s website.

The areas of technology covered by the products include The Miami University School aeronautics, electronic systems, of Engineering is currently in ne- information technology and gotiations with Lockheed Martin space systems. in hopes of constructing a partThe company is also listed nership between the university in the top 60 largest industrial and the engineering giant. corporations in the world by The relationship is being Fortune 500 and employs apforged in hopes of implementing proximately 5 percent of all engia cooperative leadership system neering college graduates nationfor engineering students who are ally, according to the Lockheed interested in real world manage- Martin website. ment skills and cooperative probWhile Dollar said the details lem solving, acof the partnership cording to Marek with Lockheed “It’s more Dollar, dean Martin have yet of the School interesting to look to be determined, of Engineering. primary foat how processes the “The expericus of students’ work and make ence would be a work there would them better.” combination of be research and formal training team building as and new coursopposed to pencil MARY PEARCE JUNIOR es, particularly pushing and cofnational workfee running. shops, internaAccording to tional experiences and intern- junior engineering student Mary ships,” Dollar said. “Altogether Pearce, the partnership will give it would be based on experiences students a hands-on learning exand learning.” perience in the field.

Dollar said implementation of “(Students) like getting the opthe program would be a first for portunity to make a difference, Miami due to the novel nature of we don’t want to laminate pathe experience offered. pers and get coffee,” Pearce said.

“This would be more than go- “It’s more interesting to look at ing abroad and taking a class,” how processes work and make Dollar said. “Students would be them better.” exposed to leadership within a Miami does not stand alone in company and improve their man- anticipation of the opportunity to agement skills either nationally engage in an academic partneror internationally.” ship. According to Dollar, LockLockheed Martin serves pri- heed Martin has taken a special marily as a defense contractor to interest in Miami because it has nations around the world, includ- a unique sense that the faculty ing the United States. Renowned and teachers are scholars. Other for its achievements in aviation, schools visited by Lockheed the majority of Lockheed Mar- Martin include the Massachusetts tin’s business is with the U.S. Institute of Technology, UniverDepartment of Defense and other sity of Wisconsin and University government agencies, according of California.

For The Miami Student

SCOTT ALLISON The Miami Student

Students celebrate after Miami shutout the University of Michigan Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Goggin Ice Center.

GMAIL

continued from page 2 may occur at times when E2Campus is not posting to MyMiami.

According to Covert, there are several systems operating every time a student logs in to Blackboard.

He said the Blackboard site is an application that is supported by a database, which stores all of the information for each student.

To further complicate matters, Covert said Blackboard runs on

other systems that perform tasks such as authenticating passwords and unique IDs. “There are so many pieces and systems that are involved with Blackboard,” Covert said. “If one is having problems, you might not be able to get on.”

He said the most common system that could experience problems is a student’s wireless network.

“Oftentimes things happen that seem like a Blackboard outage, but it isn’t,” Covert said. “Many times there are problems and people don’t report it so we can’t fix it.”

The Miami Student is looking for designers.

E-mail design@miamistudent.net for more information.

4

Tuesday

February 8, 2011

Community

Editor Bethany Bruner community@miamistudent.net

OPD attempts to fill openings

By Brianne C. Reedy For The Miami Student

Male claims to be ketchup company heir At around 12:40 a.m. Saturday, an Oxford Police Department (OPD) officer on patrol outside The Wood’s Food and Spirits reportedly noticed a male urinating on the sidewalk.

The officer reportedly stopped his car and approached the male, who began to zip up his pants before walking away.

The officer reportedly told the male to stop and asked him for identification. According to police reports, the male reached for his ID “very deliberately” before producing an Illinois driver’s license identifying him as Miami University junior Cody Heinz.

While Heinz was reaching for his ID, the officer reportedly noticed a second Illinois driver’s license in his wallet. When the officer asked about the second ID, Heinz reportedly gave an “unintelligible answer.”

Heinz reportedly had the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and slurred speech.

Heinz was reportedly arrested and taken to OPD, where he was found to have an Illinois driver’s license and an international student card belonging to a 22-year-old.

While at the station, Heinz reportedly told the officer he had not consumed alcohol all night. Heinz also reportedly said he thought he would be arrested for underage consumption, but that if he would be he would be far more “blackout drunk.” Heinz reportedly said he was “not drunk enough to get arrested.”

Heinz then reportedly said he would no longer talk to the officer because his father told him to not talk to police. Heinz reportedly soon became upset and insisted he was the heir to the “Heinz Ketchup Company” and that his family owned both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Heinz Field, their home stadium.

Heinz also reportedly said he was due to receive $20 million Monday “after the Steelers win the Super Bowl” as a payout for the family’s ownership. Heinz’s claims were reportedly found to be untrue.

Heinz was cited for underage intoxication and possession of a fake ID.

Sophomore flees accident for homework At around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Oxford Police Department (OPD) received a call reporting that a white vehicle had struck a parked car on Chestnut Street.

According to police reports, the white car sustained heavy front-end damage and a bent hood. Officers also reportedly found the front Ohio license plate from the fleeing vehicle in the street near the scene of the crash.

Further investigation reportedly traced the plate to Miami University sophomore Elizabeth Connolly, and Miami University Police Department officers reportedly found her in her room at Porter Hall.

Connolly reportedly told officers her car was located in the South Campus Avenue parking garage. Officers reportedly found the vehicle in the garage with heavy damage and a missing front license plate.

Connolly reportedly admitted to driving the vehicle, consuming alcohol and striking the parked car.

Connolly reportedly told officers she fled the scene because she “had homework to do.”

Connolly reportedly had a strong odor of an alcohol beverage on her breathandperformedpoorlyonafield sobriety test.

Connolly was reportedly arrested and taken to OPD, where she was determined to have a blood alcohol content of 0.19.

Connolly was cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, underage intoxication, leaving the scene of an accident and operating without reasonable control.

Although employment may seem scarce due to the recent economic crisis, there are positions currently available within local law enforcement.

The Oxford Police Department (OPD) is seeking applicants for available officer positions through Feb. 18. A classified advertisement has been posted on the City of Oxford’s website explaining the application process and job requirements.

These available positions are partly the result of three OPD officers retiring in January.

“Within the department there are 18 police officers budgeted, and there are four vacancies, leaving 14 officers currently with the force,” City Manager Doug Elliott said.

These reduced resources have caused OPD to be faced with understaffing and low manpower. OPD Sgt. Jim Squance said current officers have a heavier burden when the department is understaffed because the remaining officers must do their job and pick up the slack left by retiring officers.

He said the force also has to be prepared for unexpected vacancies due to injury or illness.

Squance also said hiring a new officer requires extensive training and a current officer would be needed to

train them.

With the economic downturn that placed the City of Oxford under a hiring freeze, many are concerned about the timing of this employment opportunity.

“I think that the Oxford city police need to reassess their priorities to determine if hiring new officers is necessary at this time,” Miami University sophomore Logan Dick said. “At times like these, everyone is cutting back and I don’t think exceptions should be made for anyone.”

OPD Sgt. Jim Squance said the four vacant positions are already budgeted. As a result, the ability to fill these positions is not affected by the hiring freeze.

The department is taking measures to be more cautious about how many positions actually need to be filled. It will be implementing a civil service test for all applicants to determine eligibility for the position.

In addition to the test, each vacancy is going to be assessed on an individual basis.

“By looking at each individual vacancy, we can determine if the position needs to be filled or if it can be adequately filled by a part-time position,” Elliott said.

All of these actions are being taken so the city is well equipped with law enforcement while still being economically conscious.

According to Elliott, future employment is not being anticipated, but if more positions become available the same standards will be enforced throughout the application process.

ANDREW BRAY The Miami Student

The Oxford Police Department is taking applications for four officer positions. Applications are due by Feb. 18.

Study finds county drivers wear seatbelts less

By Leslie Scott Senior Staff Writer

Seatbelt usage in Butler County is below the state average.

Kristy Duritsch executive director of the Butler County Safe Community Coalition, said the reason seatbelt use is lower in Butler County is the county has more country areas compared to other counties in the state.

Country roads are statistically known for lower seatbelt use.

Oxford Police Department Sgt. Jim Squance believes people assume seatbelt use is not as important in small towns like Oxford.

“Many people assume that their destination is only a few blocks away and that they don’t need to wear their seatbelt for such a short trip,” Squance said. “However, statistics show that most accidents occur near your home.”

Miami University first-year Betsy Karlin said she was surprised the seatbelt usage rate is so

low in the county.

“I always believed that this area was very careful,” Karlin said. “I guess it might be lower because of the small town feel. Having this mentality might change the way people drive as opposed to bigger towns.”

Both Squance and Duritsch agree seatbelts are extremely important mainly because of the safety factor.

“It is a law of physics,” Duritsch said. “If you get in an accident, you are going to keep moving until something stops you.

That could be the windshield, the dashboard or even an other passenger’s head.”

Duritsch said she saw a video on youtube.com that really opened her eyes. The video contained three passengers wearing their seatbelts and one who did not.

“It was the one person who was causing damage against the other passengers,” Duritsch said. “Before I felt that it was their life they were risking by not wearing their

seatbelt, but this video showed Community Coalition is known me that they could harm others for surveying the area to gain within the car. statistics, look From now on, trends and “All it takes is one click. for if you are in to create pubI don’t know why more lic awareness, my car, you are people don’t do it.” buckling up.” according Squance to Duritsch.

KRISTY DURITSCH said wearThe coaliEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ing a seatbelt tion’s studies BUTLER COUNTY SAFE is a neceshave found COMMUNITY COALITION sity in order to one-third of prevent injury. accidents are “Most fatalities occur when pas- alcohol and drug related, Duritsch sengers are ejected from the car,” said. Also, a high percent of acciSquance said. “You get ejected by dents occur in the late afternoon instead of late at night. not wearing your seatbelt.”

According to Duritsch, the According to Squance, not study found the primary age wearing a seatbelt is a secondgroup of people not wearing ary offense. This means a driver their seatbelts is 15 to 25 years cannot be pulled over solely for old.

Also, the most common venot wearing a seatbelt. Drivers need to be breaking another law hicle that violates this law is as well. pickup trucks.

The consequences for not “It is just such a simple thing to wearing a seatbelt include a traffic do that can prevent such atrocicitation and a small fine, a cording ties,” Duritsch said. “All it takes to Squance. is one click. I don’t know why The Butler County Safe more people don’t do it.”

Local hockey league gives girls chance to shine

By Castle Arnold For The Miami Student

Hockey is a sport that is usually thought of more as a boy’s sport.

It is a rough game and it’s no surprise when a fight breaks out on the ice, but hockey has been gaining popularity in girls’ athletics. Even at Miami University, there is a women’s club team.

The interest is starting at a young age, and girls around the Butler County area are playing in the Butler County Youth Hockey Association (BCYHA).

The BCYHA is a hockey association that serves the Butler County area and children of all ages. All of the teams practice in Oxford at the Goggin Ice Center, but they are not associated with Miami.

“We’ve grown quite a bit the past few years,” Ron Spaulding, BCYHA board president, said.

“We have about 100 players and a total of seven teams including the high school club team. Just back in 2007 we only had three teams.”

The youngest of the teams that BCYHA has is the 9 and 10 year olds that play on the squirts.

Next come the peewees, and then the bantam level, which is the 13 and 14 year olds. Then, it goes to the high school level, and the Butler County high school club team is a part of the BCYHA. This year, there are five girls playing through

BCYHA, three on the high school club team and “They are three of the hardest-playing hockey players regardless if they’re girls or not, and the two playing on bantam teams.

“What’s really interesting, and I hope it’s true most coachable players on the team. We’re lucky with other places, is that the girls really fit in re- to have them.”

Felici said all three of the girls have a high ally well,” Spaulding said. chance of playing Division I college hockey. Bell Spaulding said contact begins at the young is currently in the process age groups at BCYHA, of looking at schools and but all-girl teams don’t “With all-girls teams you hockey teams. have contact. can’t check, and with the “I want to play Division I “The girls who play with boys it’s really physical.

I in college,” Bell said. “The us are stronger because they process is really exciting, do the same drills the boys like the physical part but stressful at the same do, they’re involved in the of hockey.” time.

I’ve had a handful (of games where there is checkschools) that have contacted ing, so the girls that we have SAMANTHA HANNON me, so that’s exciting and are pretty tough,” he said.

HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN BCYHA HOCKEY PLAYER knowing that they are going Derek Felici is the head to be watching me at tournacoach of the Butler County ments is exciting.” high school club team and curBell, Blank and Hannon also play on a Triple rently has three girls on his team, junior Sydney A league travel team based in Pittsburgh.

Bell, sophomore Morgan Blank and freshman “They just go to showcases, so they play at a Samantha Hannon.

Hannon said playing with the boys has really high level for girls hockey, but they really its advantages. like playing with the guys,” Felici said. “It really “With all-girls teams you can’t check, and makes them better players and they can handle with the boys it’s really physical,” Hannon said. strong high school guys. When they play with “I like the physical part of hockey.” girls, it’s easier for them.”

This is the second year of having girls play on Bell has been playing hockey since she was the team. four and said it has always been her favorite “They’re definitely contributing to our success, we’re having a great year,” Felici said.

See BCYHA, page 9

w

Editor Hunter Stenback features@miamistudent.net

Features

Tuesday

February 8, 2011

5

By Kaitlin Schroeder For The Miami Student

If anyone were to see Greg Durivage on campus, first looks would be deceiving. As a junior business studies major, he can be found most school days heading to class at the Farmer School of Business.

The marble floors and textbooks create a false impression. They portray a static image of a fairly typical student. The image passes over the dynamic character that is Greg.

The real Greg also craves dirt racetracks and waits for those six months of the year spent flying down them.

The real Greg lives for that adrenaline rush when he is airborne on a dirt bike, calculating his next move and hoping the landing doesn’t end in a broken pelvis.

More importantly, the real Greg gets paid to satisfy this adrenaline craving.

The real Greg is a professional motocross racer.

The early years Greg has been racing almost his entire life.

His father, Jim Durivage, who raced motocross recreationally, introduced his son to his first dirt bike when he was just five years old. Greg caught on quickly, and his dad saw some potential.

When he was seven, he started racing on real motocross tracks.

Greg pointed out that while this may seem young, in the motocross world racers as young as four years old can compete.

Greg made it to nationals for the first time when he was 10 years old. Not knowing where he stood in comparison to other top riders, Greg said he and his family were unsure of his full potential.

“My jaw was just on the ground,” Greg said of nationals. “It was a really, really big eye opener. You’re there for the first time with all the corporate sponsors … it was completely overwhelming.”

He ended up being the seventh-fastest 10-year-old there, and he has placed at nationals every year since.

“It’s sort of surprising,” Jim said. “You never know where you’re going to be, and for as much effort as we put into it, there were people that went way more into it than we did.”

At 17 years old, Greg turned professional.

An extreme sport At Miami University, Greg said a lot of students don’t seem to have a concept of what motocross racing is all about.

“That’s pretty disappointing to me. I like to get it out there,” he said. “When I say I’m a pro motocrosser, they’re like ‘cool,’ and they kind of blow it off.”

Motocross is an extreme racing sport. As its name alludes, the sport is roughly a combination of motorcycle racing and cross country. The racers compete on high-power dirt bikes in a closed dirt track made hazardous with turns, jumps, elevation changes and approximately 30 other speeding riders.

For Greg, there is nothing quite like the sport.

“I’ve played every sport, and nothing compares to motocross whatsoever,” he said.

Motocross, according to Greg, is the second most physically demanding sport in the world next to swimming.

As racing season gets closer, Greg will drive six or seven hours to find the right tracks and high enough competition. He also trains with road bicycles in order to maintain the heart rate he needs to race, along with weight training and swimming to keep in shape.

Professional races are typically 30 minutes long, and Greg said if he does not practice maintaining a high heart rate, it would be impossible for him to finish a race.

“There is no way I would last 30 (minutes). I might last for 15,” he said. “You have to train to be competitive. You have to work hard to keep in shape.”

When racing, Greg wears 40 pounds of gear, sometimes in heat indexes of 110 degrees.

“People will think all that you do is sit on a bike and turn the throttle,” Greg said. “People don’t realize that you’re using your whole body. On top of that, it’s balancing, it’s style … you’re just constantly thinking ahead.”

Broken bones Motocross is a high-speed, high-impact sport, and Durivage has the injuries to prove it.

“I broke my first bone – my collar bone – when racing, and ever since then it’s kind of been nonstop,” Greg said.

Over the years, he’s broken his arms and legs multiple times. He has broken his collarbone twice.

“It’s going to sound pretty scary, but my mom has kind of lost count of how many bones I’ve broken once it got up to 20,” he said.

His mother, Patti Durivage, said she has had a hard time watching her son participate in such a dangerous sport from such a young age.

“That’s when it really bothered her, when I was younger,” Greg said. “No mom likes seeing their kid fall and hurt themselves.”

Patti said being a “motocross mom” has its ups and downs, but the injuries never get any easier.

“When he’s going for that first corner, I usually can’t watch at first and just have someone tell me what’s going on,” she said.

Greg said he remembers his mom asking him if he wanted to continue racing after he broke his femur when he was 12 years old.

“I remember her sitting by my hospital bed … she pretty much asked me, ‘Do you want to keep racing?’” Greg recalled. “She knew there was a lot of expectations and pressure from all my sponsors. She wanted me to know that I didn’t have to do this if I didn’t want to.”

Greg said even back then his desire to race was not because of outside pressures but because he had fallen in love with the sport.

“I told her that I want to keep racing,” he said. “It was my passion.”

It’s a family thing One thing people don’t realize, Greg said, is that motocross is an extremely family-oriented event.

“That’s the thing people don’t know about motocross,” he said. “The sisters are there, the moms are there, the dads are there and you just camp out with your friends and family for the weekend.”

Jim said his family has been brought very close together by the sport.

“I think it’s like travel soccer,” he said. “It’s not something you can do by yourself, and

PHOTO COURTESY OF: GREG DURIVAGE

when you’re out on the road every weekend like we did, you’re going to have some good memories.”

Patti said the different families that saw each other weekend after weekend also grew close.

“Some of them are still some of our best friends,” she said.

Greg laughed, remembering how crazy some of the dads could get from the stands at the races.

“Just like in any sport, the dads get pretty into it,” he said. “It’s funny watching the kids that are younger, like four to eight years old, and how their dads go crazy there.”

A crazy combination Despite being a professional athlete, Greg is still a full-time student at Miami. In the professional motocross world, this is virtually unheard of.

Greg, however, has never really considered another option.

“I love the college experience,” Greg said. “School has always come first and then racing comes behind that.”

Jennie Gilbert, associate student athletic director, said it’s not unusual to see an athlete with strong academics at Miami, where athletes have a higher graduation rate than regular students. What is unusual, she said, is that Greg is not a professional prospect but an actual professional.

“The fact that he has that opportunity but sticks with his career speaks volumes to his intelligence,” Gilbert said.

Patti said she feels very lucky that her son considers school to be important.

“I’m just so blessed that he has his priorities straight,” she said. “He went to a college prep school and carried a 4.0, and now he’s at Miami.”

By choosing school, Greg has had to watch some of the racers he grew up racing against and winning against get signed to a racing team. Once on a racing team, a professional motocross racer can make six figures and have access to high-quality bikes not available on the market to other racers.

Greg races as a privateer because he is in school and can only compete six months out of the year. As a privateer, he’s responsible for expenses that a racer on a team would have covered and makes considerably less than a racer on a team. However, Greg always comes back to the conclusion that higher education was the right choice.

“I don’t even know how many of those kids have a GED or high school diploma,” Greg said. “All it takes is one injury and you can’t ride for the rest of your life. What am I going to do with a GED or high school diploma in this day and age?”

Bright prospects As spring approaches, Greg said he is excited about his potential for the upcoming season.

His previous years as a professional have been riddled with injuries, forcing him to the sidelines for much of the season.

Greg said he is ready to show he can compete with the best, even as a full-time student.

“I’m very naturally talented, which is the thing that saves me,” he said.

Even though it means facing lost weekends, a hectic finals week and possible hospital visits, Greg is ready to start the balancing act again.

“Motocross (is) like an addiction to me,” Greg said. “The adrenaline rush, I mean there is just no other thing like that at all.”

HANNAH MILLER The Miami Student

6

Opinion

Tuesday February 8, 2011

Editors Sam Kay Jessica Sink editorial@miamistudent.net

➤ EDITORIAL

The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

Miami needs consistent social media policy A

n investigation by The Miami Student has brought to light a previously unknown side of the “Indian Theme Party” incident that occurred in November 2010. An exchange of e-mails between Miami University administrators obtained by this paper demonstrates the need for the university to establish a social media policy.

As the university struggles to balance intellectual freedom and intellectual safety, the role of social media must be recognized.

The editorial board of The Miami Student urges the university to learn from its problematic response to the incident.

The students and organizations involved were caught off guard in unprecedented territory. The university needs to issue guidelines explaining what students can expect administrators to do when it comes to social media. Which office will handle social media issues? Who will decide which issues to investigate, how to investigate them and what action to take? The administrative response to the “Indian Theme Party” was counterproductive. An e-mail sent to all undergraduates condemning the party only served to draw attention to it.

Making a policy will not be easy, but using past experiences dealing with social media incidents will help. Administrators should analyze each step of past responses to create a future policy.

Potential future incidents will undoubtedly be unique, which is why it will take experience and introspection for the administration to fine tune its social media policy. Clear guidelines are needed as the university deals with highly subjective issues.

The process of establishing a policy should be highly transparent and involve students as much as possible. Adminis-

trators of a certain generation cannot be expected to understand how students use social media. The bulk of university policies relating to conflict resolution predate the explosion of social media usage among students. A new reality merits new policies.

This board encourages the administration to handle future incidents in private whenever possible. An event involving a few students may not necessarily merit a university-wide response.

If students are found not to have violated any university policies, they should not have to suffer the scrutiny of their peers and professors. The university should be working to minimize the impact of potentially problematic social media incidents, but the administrative response to the “Indian Theme Party” did just the opposite.

Administrators also risk making spurious moral judgments, creating a safe social environment that is unsafe for ideas. If the university starts getting involved in ambiguous moral issues, it is taking a stance, whether intentionally or unintentionally. A university is a place for ideas to be openly exchanged, and social media are part of that exchange. The university should not take a moral stance on a debatable issue that does not involve the law or potential bodily harm.

While students deserve a clear social media policy from the university, they should also rely on their own judgment about what belongs online. The Internet is anathema to privacy. Students must realize anything posted on social media may eventually find its way onto the desks of university administrators.

Students who don’t police their own presence on the Internet are their own worst enemies.

Rule of thumb RedHawks hockey Congrats to the hockey team! Sweeping away the competition.

Ben Roethlisberger Nothing needs to be said.

CHAD STEBBINS The Miami Student

➤ LETTERS

Miami University needs cleaner energy source Student power is pushing coal off Midwest campuses. Friday, Feb. 4, Purdue University announced it would be canceling plans for a proposed coal burning power plant on campus.

The proposed plant was defeated by a prolonged student campaign urging for an end to dirty coal and a renewable energy future for Purdue. This marks the 150th plant to be defeated since the beginning of the national Beyond Coal campaign in 2001.

Purdue has made a choice to switch from dirty coal to a cleaner form of energy. It’s joining 12 other universities that have made a similar commitment, and Miami University should be next.

Right now Miami’s administrators are determining how our school will be powered in the long term, and students have already contributed important dialogue in letting them know how they feel.

Feb. 3, more than 300 students came out to support a coal-free Miami at the Beyond Coal kickoff meeting. Miami’s campaign is the largest and fastest growing in the country, and students are continuing correspondence with university administrators to reach their goals.

Overwhelmingly, students at Miami and across the Midwest are calling for coal-free campuses, and we ask that President Hodge and the administration put us on track to meet these demands so that the Miami of 2019 won’t be powered by the energy of 1809.

IAN WINNER

WINNERIM@MUOHIO.EDU

Tom Crabtree, a Miami alumnus winning the Super Bowl It’s always nice to have a famous connection.

Snow and ice

Egyptian regime must end This letter is in response to the articles covering the civil unrest occurring in Egypt. As a citizen of and believer in democracy, I applaud the efforts of the Egyptian people. Their efforts

are similar to what happened following the election in Iran and the most recent revolution in Tunisia. Believe it or not, one thing that trumps capitalism and political correctness in the United States is the right to have one’s voice heard. This is the foundation upon which our democracy is built.

The Egyptian people should continue to defy President Hosni Mubarak’s powerful security forces so that Egyptian democracy can begin to thrive. It is unfortunate that the United States compromised on one of its most fundamental values in order to protect its economic interests in the Middle East, something that happens all too often domestically as well. It is not the Egyptian people who are attempting to seize power, but it is those currently in power who have engaged in intimidation to prevent the will of the people from being heard. Why else would they stoop to such underhanded tactics to block various means of communication among the citizens of Egypt? Why is the government in power utilizing such political strong-arm tactics as the use of violence?

President Mubarak, you have had 30 years to lead Egypt and have failed them by your own choosing. The days of the puppet regime are finally coming to an end as it appears the desire for freedom will continue to sweep among the Arab nations. Accordingly, let the call go forth among all citizens of Egypt that your brothers and sisters of democracy from all over the world are with you during every trial and tribulation you may encounter during this crisis.

To the people of Egypt, the trumpet of freedom beckons you to rise in protest and ensure your voice to preserve your sacred heritage, promote your children’s future and obtain the blessings of liberty we all cherish. As was spoken to an Egyptian pharaoh many years ago by another enslaved people, “Let my people go!”

JOE BIALEK

JGBIALEK2@ROADRUNNER.COM

Winter has definitely outstayed its welcome.

Gmail and Blackboard Technology becomes more of a hindrance than a help when it doesn’t work.

Student on the street

What do you think of the new bookstore renovation?

“It’s really nice, spacious and very well organized.”

Brenden Burke tribute Remembering a fallen brother.

Kate Leonetti First-year

“It looks really cool, it’s all wide open and there are lots of new things.

It’s bright and cheerful.”

The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826

Greg Hawk Senior

EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Fischesser Editor in Chief Thomasina Johnson News Editor Erin Maher Managing Editor Scott Allison Online Editor Sam Kay Editorial Editor Jessica Sink Editorial Editor Stephen Bell Campus Editor

Amelia Carpenter Campus Editor Amanda Seitz Campus Editor Bethany Bruner Community Editor Michael Solomon Sports Editor Hunter Stenback Features Editor Samantha Ludington Photo Editor Hannah Miller Art Director

“It’s a lot better than the older one.

It’s nicely organized.”

Marina Mirkovic First-year

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Opinion

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 ♦ 7

➤ ESSAY

➤ STRATEGICALLY SPEAKING

Just say no: unplug and disconnect Recently, one of my professors, while attempting to run a PowerPoint presentation for the class, stated that technology can have two kinds of users. “There are technology natives and technology immigrants,” he said. “I’m definitely a technology immigrant trying to learn this new culture.”

His statement made me reflect on how influential technology has become in Jessica modern society. To always Sink be beeping, buzzing, ringing and dinging is certainly part of everyday life, especially for technology natives like today’s college student. Certainly, being connected to the digital world can offer new opportunities, but what is the cost? Are we becoming too addicted to technology?

According to a 2010 New York Times article, new research shows that the average American consumes 12 hours of media and visits 40 websites per day, with these numbers continuing to rise.

Why are these numbers so large? Studies have shown that the use of technological gadgets and the flow of information they provide is extremely stimulating to the human brain.

Constant connection to the world combined with the primitive human desire for knowledge can make those smart gadgets not just helpful to everyday life, but essential. Scientific studies on brain response show that each time a person checks in to the digital grid, the brain releases a burst of dopamine, a hormone that initiates feelings of excitement. Without the ability to be connected to e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, phone and television, people feel

bored and out of touch. as our lives become increasingly complex, a Digital gadgets allow for information on return to simplicity and nature will lead to rethe go, which has led to multitasking mania. newal and rejuvenation. He himself acted on Although multitasking is generally consid- his view, secluding himself in a log cabin at ered productive and necessary for a fast-paced Walden Pond, a nature reserve in Massachuworld, research overwhelmingly concludes that setts, from 1845 to 1847. His experience led to attempting to focus on too many things at one the writing of his most famous work, Walden, time can increase stress and actually decrease which emphasized the beauty of nature and the a person’s ability to think clearly even after need to slow down and reflect on life. Even shutting down the computer then, he wrote about the danand smartphone. In short, dogers of too much technology.

We own our ing too many things at one In his case, the advent of the time can lead to the long-term telegraph. “Men have become gadgets, they effects of a short attention don’t own us. They the tools of their tools,” he span and a predisposition for wrote in Walden. “We are in shouldn’t dictate easy distraction. great haste to construct a magour day-to-day Just because we can be connetic telegraph from Maine to nected 24/7 doesn’t mean we activities, and we Texas; but Maine and Texshould. Technology has gone as, it may be, have nothing should be able to too far when professors can to communicate.” turn off, unplug post assignments on Sunday Today, there seems to be no and disconnect. night that are due Monday or respite from being constantly record and send out lectures connected. There are certainly that were missed because of benefits to new technology, a snow day. Sometimes we just need a break. but it should not become necessary to our exisLimiting our exposure to technology can ac- tence. We own our gadgets, they don’t own us. tually help with mental capacity and focus. They shouldn’t dictate our day-to-day activiWhile smart devices have definitely increased ties, and we should be able to turn off, unplug our capabilities and knowledge positively, the and disconnect ourselves from the gadgets that benefits often come with the cost of sacrificing seem to rule our lives. We as human beings personal relationships and time for individual should learn to relax and take a break from the reflection. Although digital technology can constant stream of information bombarding us greatly help us accomplish tasks, it can also at all times. become a heavy burden.

While we, as Miami University students, The concern over technological influence is may be natives to the digital age culture, we do not new to the 21st century. One of the most fa- not need to be slaves to it. Life is about findmous advocates for the reduction of encroach- ing balance, and sometimes we need to refrain ing technology was the writer Henry David from calibrating our machines and recalibrate Thoreau. Thoreau promoted the idea that even our souls instead.

➤ ESSAY

Protests in Egypt show need for change Many news headlines have shed light on the recent escalat- the bottled up anger and discontent that suddenly escalated into vioing mass protests in Egypt between those who support Mubarak lent riots that took government officials by surprise. and those who want Mubarak to step aside. Hosni Mubarak is the This is a sign that is very alarming to other regional Arabic nations fourth president of Egypt who succeeded Anwar El Sadat. His presi- because their citizens can also be influenced to organize similar ridency has marked civil unrest and much unhappiness among the ots. It is bad to generalize, but many Arabic nations are very similar Egyptian people. to one another. They tend to be developing nations This most recent incident was influenced by a that have had the institutions for democracy or ilprevious violent protest in Tunisia, now called the lusions of democracy for a period of time but are The group gained Tunisian Revolution or the Jasmine Revolt, which still run by a handful of elites. momentum when it made its own President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali They also tend to be repressive regimes that influenced those who have less respect for rights and liberties such as resign in January.

In many aspects, the two events are alike. In Tufreedom of speech and press. Most importantly, were discontent but nisia, the riots were started sporadically after the too passive to actually the gap between the rich and poor tend to be on the self-immolation of a young Arab who felt humiliextremes. The people constantly feel exploited and speak up to take to ated by a government official’s constant confiscaleft out from the government’s economic policies the streets. tion of his wares while he ran a street vendor. because they don’t feel like they are the benefiters.

The bottled up anger popped because it incited These series of events in Tunisia and Egypt can young radicals to stand up against the corruption be a small spark in a dry forest that can spread like and the repressive government. The protesters called for political a wildfire. and economic reforms that led many government officials to step Whether or not the protests in Egypt are successful in bringing reform down and flee the country as the riots started to get violent with to the country, it is a sign that Arabic leadership has to start addressing resulting casualties. political and economic reform as a viable option in response to these Similarly, in Egypt, a spontaneous youth group formed that felt escalating events. discontent about the financial and political situation within the counThey need to understand that times have changed, that people try. Quickly, this group gained attention and strength and many peo- are well organized and connect to one another, therefore leadership ple went to the streets to protest. The group gained momentum when alone is not always needed to bring about social reforms. it influenced those who were discontent but too passive to actually CHARLES LEE speak up to take to the streets.

LEEC2@MUOHIO.EDU In many ways the starting of these two protests were sparked from

➤ ESSAY

Differences in mentality influence attitudes We’ve all grown up with the idea in our complex and their behaviors are not any heads that women and men are two different easier to explain. What is this mysterious kinds of people. fog that gives us such a hazy view of what In grade school, we spent time in our boys want? respective groups away from the oppoFor one, our priorities are way different. site sex in fear of catching the terminal Girls think in futuristic terms, while guys disease, cooties. prefer to stay right in To us girls, boys were the present. those nasty creatures While we’re busy dayEven after two decades dreaming of our wedding who burped, farted and yelled out inappropriand flipping through of interactions with ate things. To boys, girls baby name books, guys boys, their minds are were annoying, clingy are freaking out about not any less complex and talked too much. the accounting exam and their behaviors As we grew, mean they put off until the comments and rude geslast minute. are not any easier tures were justified by While we’re fretting to explain. What is this our parents saying “He’s over who we’re gomysterious fog that teasing you because he ing to take to formal in gives us such a hazy likes you.” Of course three months, guys are we never believed them, view of what boys want? screaming profanities at boys were just too differthe TV while their team ent from us girls and we is losing. would never get along.

Our thoughts and emoThe uncomfortable feelings that arose in tions have a longer timeline than that of a middle school created a feeling of push and man, whose mental timeline ends abruptly. pull. Part of us longed to explore the mysThen, of course, there is the major difterious ways of the childish boys while the ference that exists between men and other half still found them repulsive. women. Love.

If you’re expecting there to be a point of There are millions of movies, magazines, mutual respect and admiration on this time- books and TV shows that support our theory line of our relationship with boys, there that men only have one thing on their minds. won’t be one.

According to this extremity, women are Even after two decades of interactions the ones who foster a loving and caring relawith boys, their minds are not any less tionship, while men stick around to wait for

what’s to come later after a girl uses mindaltering substances.

According to Social Psychology, women become more attached after an intimate relationship with a man because as primates it was their biological duty to tend to and nurture the baby.

Men do not have any biological tie to the act they are performing. So, the next time you get screwed over, blame it on the science.

I’m not saying all guys posses the “hit it and quit it” attitude, but it’s those few guys who do that ruin it for the rest of them.

Girls talk, and because of that, stories spread like wildfire. If one guy hurts a girl’s feelings, every one of her friends is going to know every intimate detail.

Girls will then generalize the situation and apply it to their own lives. The differences in the way girls and guys internalize information is a huge testament as to why they are so different from one another.

Men and women are different. We’ve known this since boys harassed us in grade school, but I think they deserve a little more credit for the way they work.

They don’t stress over events happening months from now, they don’t generalize every bad situation and they seem to live life in the moment. Perhaps we should consider the differences between ourselves and, dare I say, learn from them.

SARAH TITLE

TITLESE@MUOHIO.EDU

Technology threatens private data If you need to find a cab in a crowded city, there’s an app for that. If you need to figure out your share of a restaurant bill, there’s an app for that. If you want to creep on that smokin’ hottie who sits next to you in your speech class, there’s an app for that as well. This is not all the world has on you. Every time you swipe a credit card, search the Web, check your e-mail, enter your residence hall, send a text, pay a bill or fire up the TiVo, a server somewhere records this information. We are all mountains upon mountains of data. To companies like Facebook or Google interested in selling advertisements that we’ll click, this is a very valuable thing, more so than it’s ever been in history. To those who want it, like corporations or governments, it’s more available than any moment before.

Our presence in datasets that we encounter in our wired world is so valuable that more transparency in its utilization should be available to users. We need to demand the right to know who is collecting our information and why they are accessing it.

Many may wonder, why would anyone ever want information on me?

For those of us reading who are neither terrorists nor drug traffickers, this may seem like a minor issue. As long as the information gathered by the government or corporations is used responsibly, why should I care who is accessing it? For the ones who wonder this, I ask in response, what about those who fled an abusive relationship and fear being tracked down by an angry spouse? Or have a religious philosophy different from the norm and wish not to be persecuted for it? Or have a sexual preference marginalized by society yet do not wish it to cost them a job?

There is more than enough information that should not be scrutinized in the public sphere.

Maybe you value your privacy, but perhaps you don’t believe that governments or corporations could ever get access to this information. Data mining has also gotten incredibly easy, especially with the advent of digital sweatshops. The massive online retailer Amazon.com has a market for what’s called mechanical Turks, the human laborers in a digital sweatshop.

For usually about a penny, the human users on Amazon’s marketplace will perform a task like categorizing a blog or searching for vandalism on Wikipedia, issues that computers still have trouble resolving. Many cell phone users have texted the service ChaCha, which is the same idea. For a few cents an answer, Turks, a group of mostly college students, will respond to questions sent from cell phones across the country.

Tasks like these are beneficial, but the technology can be manipulated for malice. Harvard Law Professor Jonathan Zittrain offered a scenario in a November 2009 forum with the Commonwealth Club of California.

The Iranian government, he proposed, could have used Turks to identify protestors. Simply show an ID card photo and ask if the man or woman viewable in this photo is identifiable in any other photo taken by surveillance cameras or the media. By offering a few cents for the work, the Iranian government could survey all the faces of its 72 million citizens for about the equivalent price of a Honda Civic.

Privacy lets us retain our individuality, yet technologies of the past decade threaten it. However, we should not change the technology, but rather how it is used, for the stakes in living in a country without privacy are too high.

Another award-winning newspaper reported from Beijing, China reported “The World Wide Web, a device used solely for the enrichment of the nation and the advancement of lasting social stability, gained another website for the convenience of its users Monday, bringing the current number of existing Internet destinations to 12.” Strict censoring over something like the Internet seems ridiculous to us. We might hope that violations of freethinking always seem that way, but we must remember there is no app for civil liberty, though there’s an app for protecting it. It’s called democracy.

ANDREW DUBERSTEIN DUBERSAJ@MUOHIO.EDU

8

FYI Page

Tuesday

February 8, 2011

The Miami Student Oldest university paper in the United States, established in 1826

Erin Fischesser Editor in Chief

Thomasina Johnson News Editor

Katie Neltner Business Manager

Erin Maher Managing Editor Colleen Yates Asst. Managing Editor

Joe Gioffre Asst. Business Manager Advertising Layout Director

Scott Allison Online Editor

Carly Huang Finance Director

Stephen Bell, Amelia Carpenter, Amanda Seitz Campus Editors

Kendall Flynn National Advertising Director Classified Advertising Director

Bethany Bruner Community Editor

Marisa Grindle Advertising Representative

Sam Kay, Jessica Sink Editorial Editors

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THE MIAMI STUDENT

ROCKETS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 ♦ 9

EAGLES

continued from page 10

continued from page 10

leading scorer.

Even with a stung wrist from the foul, Boyer made both her free throws, cutting the gap to five, but that’s as close as Toledo would let Miami get.

Under the leadership of Goodall and Shafir, Toledo won it 76-65, leaving Miami with its sixth straight loss.

Head Coach Maria Fantanarosa is encouraged that her team is continuing to improve and will get there.

“I think with a young team and us making progress right now, the most important thing we have to do is continue to focus on the progress and not deny the negatives but continue to fix them,” Fantanarosa said. “So, I leave today disappointed that we lost, but encouraged that we’re still making positive steps to being a good team.”

The RedHawks have a week off, but will be back on the court Saturday, Feb. 12 when they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on the Western Michigan University Broncos.

margin to nine before Harris caught the shooting syndrome. At 2:13, Harris hit from downtown off of a feed from forward Julian Mavunga.

At 1:27, the newly nested ’Hawk hit again to make it 55-49. A minute later, sophomore Orlando Williams vandalized the rock and

SOCIAL

continued from page 1 Vaughn said her office does investigate complaints it receives.

She said in the past her office has received complaints concerning stolen property via a social networking site.

Vaughn said students can only be formally disciplined by the university for their actions on a social network if they have violated the Student Code of Conduct.

The university does not have a formal or written policy concerning social networking sites. Vaughn said the only computer policy the university has is the Abuse of Computing Resources, section 112 of the Student Code of Conduct.

This policy states that users of any Miami network or computer must follow all federal and state laws as well as university policies and rules.

The handbook states “users must respect the right of others to be free from harassment or intimidation.”

The policy also states that people who violate this policy are subject to sanctions from the university.

Vaughn said the university does not keep documentation of social networking complaints.

“We only maintain records if a student is found responsible for violating the code, that’s the only type of record we would keep on file,” Vaughn said.

HOCKEY

continued from page 1

Friday’s game began with the intensity the ’Hawks had been expecting all week. Physical play from both sides characterized the contest. The Wolverines struck first, as A.J. Treais picked up a puck on the far side of the crease and tapped it in to put Michigan up 1-0.

In the second period, the Wolverines took four penalties, allowing Miami to get back into the game.

On the power play, Cannone fired a shot from the circle and Carter Camper picked up the rebound and sent it cross-ice to Miele, pulling Hunwick out of position.

Miele sent it back to Camper, who sent it top cheese, tying the game at one. The Wolverines pulled ahead seven minutes later on a snipe from Treais, his second goal of the game.

An evenly matched third period brought the game down to the wire. With eight minutes left, Miele found a rebound off of a shot from defenseman Schilling.

He tapped it in to tie the game at two.

With four minutes left, Matt

HEALTH

continued from page 1 financially stressed, there is still a perception among college students that it is really competitive out there,” he said. “The jobs are going to be rare and they have to work harder in order to be successful.”

Alishio said Miami responded by adding a psychiatrist six years ago and a substance abuse specialist 10 years ago.

Senior Michelle Herbert understands the stress of job searching.

She went through the process during fall semester, and many of her peers are still searching.

“I would have two to three interviews a week on top of schoolwork,” Herbert said. “Luckily, I started early.”

fed Harris for another three, cutting the lead to three points. Roberts succeeded on an and one attempt before the RedHawks’ defense shut down the Eagles’ threat and the freshman hit his biggest shot in red threads for the win.

“He kind of saved us,” Coles said. “He hasn’t shot well this year at all, so for him I’m sure that should be a confidence boost for him and for me too. It’s hard to play a guy when you’re not shooting it well, so it’s tough. He’s a freshman, but he came to us as a good shooter. Let’s hope that he found his rhythm.”

A final Eagle (6-16, 3-6 MAC) prayer wet the home net, but officials determined the shot came after the buzzer and the ’Hawks boarded the bus blissful.

Roberts said the RedHawks would find rhythm via iPods on the bus ride home. The old-fashioned means of travel is a MAC staple that can be grim after a loss.

“The bus ride today is going to be fantastic,” Roberts said. “They’ve got the TVs on and our iPods playing and we are having a good time. There is snow on the ground, but we are having a good time..”

Tomassoni hit Cannone with a pass at center ice. Cannone skated in and fed it back to Tomassoni waiting on the far side.

Tomassoni sent a shot in behind Hunwick to give the RedHawks their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Cannone sealed the victory for the ’Hawks with an empty netter with 12.7 seconds remaining in the game, putting the RedHawks up 4-2, the first time this season Miami has come back to win when trailing after two periods.

“It’s unreal coming back against them,” Tomassoni said.

“It’s a little something extra, something that we needed coming into the last part of the season.”

Miele has now scored five points in each series for four weeks straight and he has been on the ice for 25 of the last 32 Miami goals.

After recording two victories against the Wolverines, Head Coach Enrico Blasi was happy with the roles each player took on during the series, knowing his players had difficult emotions to balance. Blasi said it is important for the program to relay the message of acceptance that Burke was spreading.

“We tried to honor Brendan as best we could, he’s probably deserving of a lot more, but

hopefully the win and what we did and keeping him in our hearts and keeping his message moving forward I think is very important,” Blasi said.

The RedHawks face off against Western Michigan University at 7:35 p.m. Feb. 11 and 7:05 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Goggin Ice Center.

The percentage of seniors seeking help at Student Health Services has now surpassed that of first-year students, according to Alishio.

However, not everyone believes the economy is the sole contributing factor to student stress levels.

Rose Marie Ward, an assistant professor of kinesiology and health, has done studies on student stress levels and said there are other variables at play.

“The timing of the semester could make a difference on stress levels,” Ward said. “If you are a second semester senior still looking for a job, or a first semester freshman overwhelmed by college, you might have higher stress levels.”

Alishio also suggested what some of those variables might be. He said one factor in high stress levels could be a change in

parenting styles.

“One possible reason is a change in parenting practices beginning in the early 80s,” he said. “When students come to college, they are less capable of independent functioning than previous generations because they may be used to their parents taking care of things for them. This leads to more stress and anxiety.”

Alishio said increased stress levels could be due to the fact that more students with emotional difficulties have graduated from high school and moved on to college in the past decade.

“An increase in the availability of help for students with emotional difficulties at the high school level and a decrease in the stigma associated with getting help for psychological disorders have allowed students to be more successful,” he said.

The New York Times article also reported males feel overwhelmed much less than females, a statistic Alishio said also holds true at Miami.

“Here at Miami, much higher percentages of women report feeling overwhelmed by all they have to do than do men,” he said.

“This could just be gender differences in terms of expression or gender differences in how males and females cope with stress.”

Ward said the gender gap does not necessarily mean that men feel less stress than women.

She said males and female tend to experience different kinds of stress.

“Women tend to report relationship and interpersonal types of stress,” Ward said. “They are also more likely to report about their emotions and seek help for their anxieties. Men are less likely to report troubles in general.”

offer those courses? Or better yet, is there a way to restructure the major?”

John Skillings, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs, is on Miami’s board of trustees, which voted to approve the SPT’s cuts in December 2010.

Skillings said while no cuts will be made this academic year, the process will take place over the next few years.

“We don’t have any particular classes in mind at this stage,” Skillings said. “The priority will be to look at classes that are underenrolled … (or) classes that are smaller than they are planned to be.”

Skillings said the university will consider offering fewer

sections of a course in a given term or year, offering a class every other year on a regular announced schedule and co-listing courses to enable more students to take a class.

Skillings said Miami is not looking to drastically increase class sizes. He said small student-to-teacher ratios are important to the university.

Skillings said the cuts will still allow students to graduate on time.

“Having students graduate on time is a priority for the institution,” he said. “Whatever changes are made will be accomplished in such a way that students will continue to have available to them the classes that they need to graduate.”

two girls playing on the bantam level teams.

Gray has been playing for seven or eight years and got into hockey because she has older brothers who play.

She said it’s fun to hit the boys, but her favorite thing about hockey is the teamwork. She plays right wing for the bantam A team.

Spencer is the only girl goalie on an all-boys team.

She has been playing hockey for two years and became interested in hockey after her dad took

her to a Cincinnati Cyclones minor league hockey game. Spencer plays on the bantam B team.

With a growing interest in hockey from girls, Spaulding said this is the first year BCYHA will have a girls hockey camp during the summer.

The camps are run through Miami, and this is the first year that there has been enough interest.

“It’s still a growing sport as far as girls are concerned, and I hope that more and more parents get girls on their skates and that they will like it,” Spaulding said.

CUTS

continued from page 1 basis,” he said.

Makaroff said the university will also look to cut majors that have a large amount of underenrolled classes. According to Makaroff, majors could be cut because enrollment in respective classes is low.

“I think the thought there is to look at majors that have a lot of required courses where there is not a lot of demand for those courses,” Makaroff said. “So, if a major has 10 required courses and those courses only have five students, is there a demand to

BCYHA

continued from page 4 sport. She loves being able to play on a team with boys and another team of all girls.

“They’re completely different, but they’re the same,” Bell said. “I enjoy both. I just love the sport so much, I don’t care where or how I’m playing it.”

Christie Gray, 13, and Brooke Spencer, 14, are the

SCOTT ALLISON The Miami Student

Junior Alden Hirschfeld checks a Michigan player during Saturday’s game.

10

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Athletes do not deserve free passes Bethany Bruner

Buzzer Beater Many people are surprised to hear their favorite star athlete has gotten in trouble. I’m not usually one of them.

I admit the Tiger Woods scandal did throw me for a bit of a loop, but most of the time I have no problem believing an athlete got caught doing something they shouldn’t.

Maybe I’m a cynic. Maybe I believe the worst in people. Maybe I’m a realist.

How can we expect athletes to stay out of trouble when we treat them like deities? How are athletes, especially high school and college athletes, supposed to gain any idea of what the rules are when everyone around them worships them?

As a sports-loving society, we don’t help stop this process. We treat some college athletes like they are professionals already. When they go out with their friends, there are people taking pictures and gawking like they’re looking at a movie star.

I realize I’m generalizing and throwing all college athletes in the same pot. Many athletes in sports with a lesser profile don’t enjoy the benefits hockey, basketball or football players receive, but it’s not just college athletes who receive all the attention.

How can we expect athletes to stay out of trouble when we treat them like deities?

When high school football players are choosing where they’re going to college, ESPN puts a day-long special on TV showing the live press conferences where the player dramatically picks up a hat off a table.

Already, that player is being given special treatment.

As the older sister of a Division I recruit, the road to the press conference isn’t filled with only smiles and happy pictures if you even get a press conference.

The process is stressful. Picking the right school for solely academics is hard enough. Try adding on finding a school you like with a coach and team you fit in with.

Some athletes know they won’t be graduating, so they pick the school that gives them the best shot at going high in the draft, but as the commercials for the NCAA say so eloquently, most collegiate athletes don’t advance to the pros.

When you’re an athlete, you’re held to a higher standard, or you’re supposed to be held to a higher standard. You are an ambassador for your school. You are the face most people will readily associate with a school.

When you mess up, it comes back on the school.

The responsibility for keeping athletes out of trouble lies largely with the athlete, but the school also has an obligation. Athletic departments should educate their athletes about what violates NCAA rules and local laws. Expectations should be made clear and athletes should be held responsible.

When an athlete messes up, the program should not cover up. Instead, why not try coming clean and having significant punishment?

Better yet, if a program knows an athlete has a problem, don’t recruit them.

Right or wrong, athletes are seen as role models. We need to hold them accountable and make them clean up when they make a mess.

Although, when they go pro they’ll probably have a maid.

BASKETBALL

Sports

Editor Michael Solomon sports@miamistudent.net

NEXT HOME GAME: 7 p.m. Wednesday vs. Northern Illinois

Harris lifts ’Hawks over Eagles

By Alex Butler Senior Staff Writer

As the seconds fell from the scoreboard, Miami University men’s basketball Head Coach Charlie Coles did not have a game plan. It turned out he didn’t need one.

Freshman forward Jon Harris has only been a RedHawk for five months, but luckily for him and his teammates, talent has no tenure.

Harris had 14 points in nine minutes off of the pine, including a game-winning three pointer in Miami’s 58-56 win over Eastern Michigan University Saturday.

“That finish was phenomenal,” sophomore guard Allen Roberts said. “I could not realize what just happened. It was unbelievable. They were big time shots.”

Harris’ shot arsenal included three threes in the span of one minute, not including the game-clincher with two seconds on the clock.

“That’s probably one of the best games I’ve been a part of because it took so much effort to do, so it felt great,” said Roberts, who scored a game-high 19 points.

The Eagles took a two-point lead on the game’s first bucket and didn’t look back.

Shooting at a 47.5 percent clip from the first half hardwood, the Eagles distanced the margin to as much as 13 twice before going into the home locker room up 28-15. Coles then educated his team about the Eagles’ track record.

“I told them that Eastern wasn’t the kind of team that would blow you out,” Coles said. “They are hard working and mix it up defensively, but I didn’t think they would blow us out.”

The Ypsilanti, Mich. crowd of 1,200 begged to differ as the Eagles enhanced the lead to 20 points five minutes into the second stanza.

“Even with a 20-point lead they had some possessions where they weren’t great,” Coles said. “We were able to play good defense, and that’s what we had to do, keep guarding them and pick our moments and try to score.”

Five minutes later, freshman Josh Sewell and senior Nick Winbush picked great

BASKETBALL

MICHAEL GRIGGS The Miami Student

Sophomore guard Orlando Williams avoids a Western Michigan University defender Jan. 29. moments to make good on a layup and three pointer and get the ’Hawks (11-12, 6-3 MidAmerican Conference (MAC)) to within 14 points. Roberts and Harris followed with

back-to-back lay-ins to cut the lead to 10.

A Winbush layup at 2:33 chiseled the

wSee EAGLES, page 9

NEXT GAME: 2 p.m. Saturday at Western Michigan University

RedHawks drop close contest to Rockets

By Melissa Maykut

by Osborn and junior forward Rachael Hencke and a three pointer by junior guard Maggie Boyer.

After a compelling first half, the MiWith 14:12 left to play, sophomore forami University women’s basketball team ward Kirsten Olowinski made a defensive dropped a hard-fought game to the Univer- steal and quickly passed it off to Osborn, sity of Toledo Rockets 76-65 Feb. 5. The who produced a three point shot, putting Rockets are the leading team in the Mid- Miami up 13-4.

American Conference (MAC), and the loss With the Rockets shooting 58.3 percent dropped the RedHawks to 2-8 in the MAC from behind the arc, though, Toledo took and 10-13 overall. its first lead of the game, 26-25 with 6:08 “They’re a tough team, they’re the best left to play. Miami tried to stay close, but team in the MAC, and they shot the ball re- the RedHawks left the court at halftime ally well,” said sophomore down 39-30. guard Courtney Osborn, who Frustration could once led the team with 14 points. again be felt on the court as “This is a pull “For being the best team in the Rockets took a 10-point quote template. the MAC, we hung in there lead at the start of the with them and we fought This is a pull quote second half. template. This is a till the last second. That’s The young RedHawks just something we’re going to pull quote template. couldn’t stop senior forward take positively away from This is a pull quote Melissa Goodall and junior this game.” guard Naama Shafir from template.”

All of the usual starters hitting their shots. started the game for the Red Miami struggled to keep NAME NAME and White, except for junior Toledo from running up VISITING PROFESSOR forward Lillian Pitts, who the score, but with 10:46 had received a technical call left to play, Osborn hit a Wednesday night against Central Michigan three-point shot and then added a layup University (CMU). Freshman guard Hannah the next time down the court to make it a Robertson, who had scored 11 points against 57-50 game. With 9:35 to go, Boyer was fouled going for a field goal by senior CMU, took Pitts’ place.

The ’Hawks got off to a hot start in the guard Jessica Williams, Toledo’s third match against the Rockets. The RedHawks went on a 6-0 run early, with field goals See ROCKETS, page 9 Staff Writer

MICHAEL GRIGGS The Miami Student

Sophomore Courtney Osborn gets ready to shoot Jan. 29 against Eastern Michigan University.

w

Schedule

hockey

tennis

track and field

Western Michigan 7:35 p.m.

Oxford, Ohio

Michigan State 9:30 a.m.

East Lansing, Mich.

Hoosier Hills Invitational All Day Bloomington, Ind.

FRIDAY

SUNDAY

FRIDAY