Mar. 26, 2010 | The Miami Student

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

VOLUME 137 NO. 47

Friday, March 26, 2010

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

In 1982, The Miami Student reported that after the 1982-83 school year the university would no long fund the McGuffey Laboratory School because of the need to offset a $8.2 million budget deficit.

Jury finds Bai guilty of sexual assault

By Amelia Carpenter Features Editor

Former Miami University sophomore David Bai was found guilty of sexual assault and assault of a Miami police officer, but not guilty of attempting to grab the officer’s gun.

The jury came to the verdict Thursday afternoon. Judge Michael J. Sage, Common Pleas Court of Butler County, ordered a presentencing investigation,

which will take place before the sentencing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. May 5, also before Judge Sage.

Bai will be held in Butler County Jail until his sentencing May 5. If convicted, Bai faces three to 13 years in prison, according to Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Janice Morse.

Bai was on the president’s list at Miami, a list that recognizes students with a 4.0 grade point average. Defense lawyer Wayne

CAMPUS

By Noëlle Bernard Staff Writer

Campus Editor

After a difficult and extensive search process, Miami University has announced its selection for the new dean of regional campuses.

G. Michael Pratt, a Miami alumnus and current associate vice president for academic affairs at Heidelberg University, will begin his work in this newly created role July 1.

Miami President David Pratt Hodge said, “As a Miami alum and somebody who grew up in the region … I think for him this is a life dream.”

Pratt began his undergraduate degree in anthropology at Miami’s Middletown campus and finished in Oxford in 1973. Pratt grew up in the area and his family still lives here.

Pratt said he is extremely pleased to be selected and happy to return to his alma mater.

“I had a great experience at Miami as a student and at the time I this would be a great place to return to,” Pratt said.

He said after applying in fall 2009 and completing the interview process he was offered the position March 17, which is also his wedding anniversary. He said he and his wife, who are Miami mergers, are excited to come home.

Hodge said throughout the decision process, Pratt demonstrated the depth of thinking and administrative experience necessary to take on the job as the inaugural holder of the position.

James Lentini, dean of the school of fine arts, chaired the search committee that assessed candidates and made recommendations to the provost.

“We were looking for people who might have experience with multiple campuses and the academic credentials to be a full

In fall 2009, Miami University’s department of political science introduced a new major, diplomacy and global politics (DGP) to replace a political science favorite diplomacy and foreign affairs (DFA).

Adeed Dawisha, distinguished professor in the department of political science, will be teaching classes for the DGP major.

“The department has been debating whether we should have a major called foreign affairs without having students

LLAMA MAMA!

Two new student organizations hope to combat world hunger.

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By Kristen Grace Senior Staff Writer

SAMANTHA LUDINGTON The Miami Student

Staff members in Culler Hall were stealing money from vending machines like the one pictured above. The staffers were fired and await trial.

SEXY SPRING

SOAK UP THE SUN

Anna Turner, Amusement editor, reveals her thoughts on spring flings as the weather heats up.

AMUSEMENT, page 8

The new Talawanda High School hopes to include solar paneling.

Four Miami University employees were discovered stealing from university vending machines from Sept. 30, 2009 through Jan. 21 and are currently awaiting trial after being charged with theft and tampering with a coin machine Jan. 31, according to Captain Jason Willis of the Miami University Police Department (MUPD).

“Basically there were some employees that were finding a way to get coins out of the machine,” Willis said.

According to Willis, the employees found a way to manipulate the identification card system into retrieving money from vending machines in Culler Hall.

They would swipe their card and then hit the change return to retrieve money from the machine. However, the money was not being deducted from their payroll return.

“Our theory is that one person maybe found out how to do this and maybe spread the word and others

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WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET STUDENT BODY DEBATES Check out video and selective quotes from Tuesday’s heated debates.

COMMUNITY, page 3

KISS AND TELL Read all the juicy details on a new Web site called KissAndDish.

A WEEK IN PICS

FEATURES, page 6

GAME ON

Miami’s men’s hockey team heads to the NCAA regional tournament.

SPORTS, page 14

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decided that a name change was necessary to reflect the shift of major requirements and expertise in the department.

According to Claudia Scott-Pavloff, assistant dean of the CAS, DGP went through strategic decision processes and the College of Arts and Science (CAS) is confident in the major’s success.

“Miami is moving in a direction where we are trying to have a curriculum that is very internationalized,” Scott-Pavloff, said. “This has been an emphasis over the last years and is one of the many changes that will be occurring.”

going to a foreign place,” Dawisha said.

A change was then decided after much discussion and was approved fall 2008.

“That’s why we could only get our first intake of students in fall 2009,” Dawisha said.

The new major emphasizes two specific requirements — students must study abroad for one semester or at least 12 credit hours and complete six hours of a foreign language at the 300 level. “(This is) signaling students that we really want them to be overseas for a continuous and intellectual period spent abroad,” Dawisha said.

According to Dawisha, the department

Vending thefts result in four firings

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CAMPUS

INSIDESCOOP

ASG creates legislation in hopes of overturning the ban on sidewalk chalk advertisements.

unaware of the victim’s intoxication, and that Bai was not intoxicated, but had consumed alcohol that evening.

The victim had been driven back to her residence hall after being treated at McCullough Hyde Hospital earlier that morning and reportedly had emptied her purse outside her residence hall in search of her university identification card that would

New major replaces foreign affairs, changes demands

By Courtney Day

CHALK TALK

officer and Bai, or more traumas on behalf of the victim and the defendant.

“He saved the life of the victim and quite frankly the life of the defendant,” Phillabaum said.

The young woman, a Miami sophomore, doesn’t remember a lot due to her admittedly intoxicated state. What she does know is that she said ‘no’ when a boy she didn’t know was on top of her in Gaskill Hall.

Staton said Thursday Bai was

CAMPUS

MU appoints regional dean

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Staton told the court Thursday that Bai plans to be a doctor.

Staton declined to comment after the trial.

“Obviously in a case like this there are no winners,” said Jason Phillabaum, Butler County assistant prosecutor, after the verdict was announced.

Phillabaum said it was up to Miami police officer Jay Young to prevent the situation from worsening, such as more or worse injuries by the

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Scroll through entertaining feature photos from around town.

HOCKEY LETTER Hockey writer Erika Hadley writes on the importance of supporting the team in Fort Wayne.

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Campus

Friday

March 26, 2010

Editors Courtney Day dayce2@muohio.edu Hope Holmberg holmbehh@muohio.edu Amanda Seitz seitzam2@muohio.edu

News Task force plans for future BRIEFS

By Amanda Seitz

fyi

Campus Editor

ASG names Outstanding Professor of the Year Martha Castaneda, assistant professor of foreign language, was named the 2010 Miami University Outstanding Professor. A total of 69 professors were nominated for the award. Castaneda was recognized by Associated Student Government (ASG) and Campus Activities Council (CAC) Monday, March 22.

Castaneda came to Miami in 2007. She is the director of foreign language education and teaches Spanish in the department of Spanish and Portuguese.

ASG and CAC also announced five finalists for the award: Rose Marie Ward, assistant professor of kinesiology and health; Philip Russo, professor and director of the Center for Public Management; Quanyu Huang, visiting associate professor and director of the Confucius Institute; Jeanne Hey, professor of political science and international studies, interim dean of Miami University Middletown; and Teresa Wagner, visiting assistant professor of management.

Hockey transportation available for game Miami University hockey fans can currently register for special travel packages for the Midwest regional in Fort Wanyne, Ind. on Miami’s official athletic Web site.

The team begins the NCAA Hockey Tournament this weekend. Game tickets are not included in the package, which entails two night’s accommodations at an official Miami hotel in addition to game day and transfers to Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

The packet also includes a Miami souvenir name badge and luggage tag. Special Miami arrival refreshments will be available Tuesday, March 24 as well. Since space is limited, interested fans must access the reservation form as soon as possible.

Registration forms and more information can be accessed at: http:// www.muredhawks.com/sports/mhockey/spec-rel/032310aab.html.

CORRECTION It is the policy of The Miami Student to publish corrections for factual errors found in the newspaper. ➤In the March 23 issue, the story “University looks for new Web site to replace Blackboard 8.0” should have stated myMiami may be impacted by the change. Blackboard won’t provide technical support after June 2011, not Miami, like the story stated.

For those who think the troubling economic times have reached an end … think again.

Miami University has developed a new task force, charged

by President David Hodge, to help the school adapt to strains presented now and in the future by the financial meltdown.

The task force is co-chaired

by Steve Wyatt, chair of finance and Chris Makaroff, chair of chemistry and biochemistry.

Fourteen other faculty and staff members as well as one student make up the task force, along with Hodge.

Hodge said he began to think of the idea for a new committee over the winter break.

“I was wrestling with how do we move forward and not just be in this reactive state,” Hodge said.

Chris Makaroff, co-chair of the strategic priorities task force, said the group will come together to look at Miami’s future.

“It is a very critical time at

Miami, and in higher education right now,” Makaroff said. “We need to make sure we get it right so Miami can move forward and be better in the future.”

According to Hodge, higher education is drastically changing around the country that makes this new task force even more vital to university success.

“The number of kids graduating from high school is starting to go down, in Ohio it’s going down, in the Midwest it’s going down,” Hodge said. “As a result you have more competition for a smaller pool.”

That is not the only adaptation Miami will need to make in the coming years, Hodge said.

“Then you’ve got technology, how is technology going to change what we do?”

Hodge said.

With all of the adjustments that Miami may need to make in coming years, Hodge said it is important for his task force to look at big picture issues.

“That was one of the qualities I looked for,” Hodge said.

According to Hodge, one of the focuses of the task group will

be to assemble a financial model for the university.

“One of the very specific things that I’ve asked is a financial model that is a credible and robust and balances the budget over five years,” Hodge said.

“That baseline budget is absolutely something that we need to have.”

Makaroff said among other financial issues, the budget for the state of Ohio has proved to be a problematic source of funding for the university.

“It’s more of the uncertainty in the state budget, last year the state budgeted its balance with stimulus money,” Makaroff said.

“We don’t want to be in a position where all of the sudden the state cuts our budget and we’re left to respond.”

Taking financial woes such as the state budget into consideration, Hodge said he would like to see the task force’s financial model go into effect for the 2011-12 year and for the group to meet an approximate deadline of Oct. 15.

“There is a sense of urgency that we need to have,”

Hodge said.

David Creamer, vice president of finance and business services, said the committee would not exclusively focus on budget cuts.

“We’re really looking at ways to operate more efficiently,” Creamer said. “As we look longer term, a lot of the conversation will be, ‘are there alternatives to generate revenue?’ The majority of the focus will be how we can improve revenue growth.”

Makaroff said one of the ways the committee will examine alternative ideas to improve the university’s budget will be by example from other universities.

“The University of California system has just recently gone through this process,” Makaroff said. “We’re sort of anxious to look and see the sorts of things they’ve done.”

According to Makaroff, the committee hopes to be open with the rest of the university about meetings and updates.

“We will try to keep everyone as informed as possible, communication is going to

wSee TASK FORCE, page 3

Code of conduct de-chalks university sidewalks

By Dylan Tussel Senior Staff Writer

Sidewalk chalk can provide student organizations a cheap, easy and accessible means of advertising, but the use of it has been banned on Miami University’s campus since the beginning of the 2007-08 academic year.

Matt Forrest, associated student government (ASG) off-campus senator, has been working with Katherine Wilson, senior director of student engagement, in hopes of amending the student handbook to allow the use of sidewalk chalk on campus.

“I don’t see any legitimate reason (for the ban on sidewalk chalk), and nobody’s really presented a legitimate reason,” Forrest said. “I think (administration) has a legitimate reason to want it to be a little more moderated, rather than having students write whatever they want, wherever they want.”

Forrest said as a result of numerous faculty turnovers in recent years, a lot of people who worked in student affairs at the time of the ban are now gone.

Wilson was unable to give a definitive reason for the ban on sidewalk chalk. She spoke with other staff in student affairs as well as physical facilities, and the best answer she could find for the rule against the use of sidewalk chalk is that it made the campus look trashy.

Forrest said that during the 2006-07 academic year, it was permissible to use sidewalk chalk on campus, but organizations were no longer able to do so the following year. He feels the ban on sidewalk chalk should be lifted.

One organization that would benefit from the ability to use sidewalk chalk is Miami University Students for Life (MUSFL), according to MUSFL President Rachel Barga.

Barga said MUSFL has been running an ongoing campaign, Abortion Breaks Tiny Hearts, and that many of the sheet signs and fliers they post are torn down and vandalized, even though the group makes sure to hang them in appropriate areas.

“We always hang three bed-sheet displays, which are really expensive to make,” Barga said. “It’s about $75 each time, and they usually get stolen within two or three days.”

Barga said the vandalism is not restricted to the advertisements MUSFL posts about their campaign.

“When we try to advertise for events, it’s a lot more difficult to put advertisements out there,” Barga said.

SCOTT ALLISON The Miami Student

A sidewalk by Bachelor Hall violates Student Code of Conduct Barga said being able to advertise for group events using sidewalk chalk would not only benefit MUSFL and other student organizations financially, but it would also improve their communication with the student body as well as the overall look and feel of campus.

“Maybe with chalk, people would be more willing to write their opinions next to it … I would much rather have that than have our side be completely muted,” Barga said. “And I think it’s kind of cool too –– it creates an environment of engagement and real student enthusiasm.”

The issue of student groups being unable to use sidewalk chalk has been raised several times in ASG meetings, and Forrest is writing a piece of legislation to formally address it.

“The legislation would hopefully get across that we as students see chalking as advertising that provides students an outlet that’s cheap and accessible,” Forrest said. “We’d like to see it move forward as something that could happen on campus on a more moderated scale.”

Wilson supports Forrest’s efforts, but stresses the proper channels must be followed in order to amend the student handbook, which include having the proposal approved by the Campus Planning Council and the Student Affairs Council.

“I support it, but I respect that there’s a university process that it needs to go through,” Wilson said. “The power is in the students advocating, and I think that’s a powerful part of the process.”

Coal Week to raise awareness of clean energy, sustainability

By Hannah Sutter For The Miami Student

Green Oxford is sponsoring a week-long project to raise awareness about the effects of coal-produced energy.

The events, which will take place from March 29 to April 2, will promote “clean energy” and bring the focus to a local level by talking about Miami University’s reliance on coal and alternative ways to fuel the campus.

“The goal is to educate and inform Miami University and the Oxford community about the human and environmental costs of the coal industry,” said Teresa Zaffiro, vice president of projects for Green Oxford (GO).

Many students may not realize how heavily Miami relies on coal, which is an unsustainable means to produce energy. According to Zaffiro, students need to “hold Miami accountable for sustainability,” and push for change.

The hope is the experience will generate student power and encourage campus-wide collaboration to demand a say in where their energy comes from.

“It’s everybody’s issue,” Zaffiro said. “We live on campus and pay tuition but we don’t make the decisions. How can we be conscious consumers?”

While coal is one of the cheapest means of energy, parts of the coal mining process such as the after-product of coal ash can contaminate ground water or the air with toxic metals. Rural communities in the Appalachian Mountains and elsewhere breathe in the toxins produced by coal plants and watch the integrity of their environment and culture lessen.

“We need to understand the interconnectedness of the energy network,” sophomore Christian Adams, a member of GO, said.

The week will begin Monday, March 29 by featuring a speech by grassroots activist Elisa Young followed by a question and answer session. Her speech will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Social Action Center, located in the basement of the Hanna House.

Young will discuss how the health and well-being of her community in Meigs County, Ohio has been compromised by local coal plants.

“We need to build bridges between where the impacts are and where the electricity is being used to work toward a just energy future,” Young said.

Young said in her experience, once people know the damage caused to communities near coal plants, they immediately become active on the issue.

“It’s impressive that students are so engaged in critical

energy issues,” said David Prytherch, sustainability coordinator for Miami, via e-mail. “Miami, like much of America, is reliant on coal, a fuel that has serious environmental consequences.

Imagining alternatives isn’t easy, and will involve tough choices.

Coal Week is a great place to start.”

On Tuesday, March 30, the Green Economy Roundtable, which is co-sponsored by the Fair Labor Action Coalition, will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in 115 Shidler Hall. Members from Repower America and the Blue Green Alliance will be in attendance, as well as Young.

The Day of Action will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 31 at the hub. Visual representations will help students get a grasp on the abundance of coal used by the university and its negative effects.

A screening of Coal Country will take place from 7 to 9 p.m.

Thursday, April 1 in 209 Upham Hall. A discussion will follow.

The Beehive Collective will present “The True Cost of Coal” from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, April 2 in the front of the Shriver Center and also from 7 to 9 p.m. in Shriver’s Heritage Room.

According to Zaffiro, the message of Coal Week is “Who has to suffer so you can keep the lights on?” Members of GO hope the week will inspire students to ask questions and to think about the human cost of the coal industry.

Campus

THE MIAMI STUDENT

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 ♦ 3

ASG moves forward on environmental goals for MU

By Dylan Tussel Senior Staff Writer

One year ago, Associated Student Government (ASG) student senate established an ad hoc committee on environmental sustainability (CES), and Tuesday, student senate showed its support for the work the CES has done over the past year.

Nathan Zwayer, off-campus senator, took over as chairperson of the CES fall 2009 after Adam Harris, the writer of the committee’s original legislation, was elected student body vice president.

Zwayer presented ASG with a one-year report March 16 to evaluate the committee’s objectives, composition, effectiveness and future existence.

“Over the past year, the CES has really tried to come up with its mission,” Zwayer said.

“When we initially passed the legislation to start the ad hoc committee, there was no mission within the bill … (so we) spent the last year coming up with the mission.”

Currently, the CES is putting together a

binder of possible programming events, one of which is Earth hour, Zwayer said.

“Earth hour is where students turn off all their lights and nonessential objects for one hour,” Zwayer said. “It shows financial savings as well as teaches students they can live without these things … students can start on a path to see how easy it can be to take their chargers out of the wall and turn off all their lights when they’re not using them.”

Zwayer hopes to follow up events such as Earth hour with quarter sheets and informational packets about environmental sustainability.

So far, the CES has proposed two bills to student senate, both of which have been passed.

One bill, passed Feb. 23, encourages Miami to sign the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which would commit the university to reducing its carbon emissions.

The other bill was to establish an ASG Green Mission Statement. “(The Green Mission Statement) basically describes ASG as promoting environmentally sustainable and socially justifiable groups and

student organizations as well as programs,” Zwayer said.

Student senate unanimously approved the CES’ one-year report Tuesday.

“A year ago we said environmental sustainability is an important issue for universities,” said Adam Clampitt-Dietrich, president of student senate. “Now we’ve moved past the looking-into stage and moved into the implementation stage.”

If the CES is promoted from ad hoc to standing-committee status, it will be established as a permanent group and will also have more representation within ASG, according to Zwayer.

“It would get its own chair, its own committee of senators and it would be able to operate every year until it’s stricken from the bylaws –– it wouldn’t have to keep being approved as an ad hoc committee,” Zwayer said. “(Being a standing committee) would give the committee on environmental sustainability lifelong stature as a committee and show how important environmental sustainability is to ASG.” Zwayer said other committees such as

academic affairs and diversity affairs have representation within ASG and are able to act on issues pertaining to their own areas, but there is not yet a committee that specifically represents environmental affairs.

First-year Trevor Cook thinks environmental issues are very important and supports the CES becoming a standing committee.

“We definitely have to be doing stuff now –– we can’t deny the environmental issues are arising,” Cook said. “It’s our responsibility as the younger generation to begin helping the environment and realizing there’s definitely a sustainable aspect we can add to every part of life, whether it’s work or just daily life.”

Clampitt-Dietrich thinks the CES will not only continue to develop at Miami, but also at universities throughout the U.S. “We’re definitely in the beginning stage, and there’s a lot more to come,” ClampittDietrich said. “Our ASG is on the forefront of this because we’ve acted before others. Every cabinet will have a position for environmental sustainability, and it will be a staple of student governments across the country.”

Student groups hope to furnish poverty stricken nations with cattle

By Bridget Vis For The Miami Student

Two new student organizations are teaming up to help fight world poverty from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, March 27 in Lower Alexander Hall.

The Optimist Club and Slow Food are co-sponsoring a benefit event for Heifer International that will include food, raffles, musical acts and most importantly an explanation of their message.

“We are all about creating a better outlook on life for people,” said Lisa Wilmore, president of Optimist Club. “Heifer has the same goal to bring hope to poor families around the world.”

Heifer International is able to do this by supplying poor families with livestock they can use to create a higher standard of living, according to Wilmore. She said Heifer provides a catalog of animals, from water buffalo to llamas, which donors such as the Optimist Club can choose from.

“Unlike other non-profits, you know exactly where your money is going,” Wilmore said.

Selected animals are sent to a family in need so they can use it to improve their lives and their community. A cow can provide a family with milk to drink and sell to neighbors. This both

nourishes and provides the family with extra income they can use on things like education for their children. When the cow reproduces, the most important part of Heifer takes place. At that point, the gift is passed on to another family in need.

“Passing on the gift empowers communities to have a greater sense of hope for their future,” said Mandy Gaerke, vice president of Optimist Club.

Gaerke said all of the money generated at Saturday’s event will go to Heifer.

Another key feature of the benefit will be to explain the pillars of Slow Food (Good, Clean and Fair) and how they relate to Heifer and the Optimist Club.

“Slow Food is an organization that tries to reconnect people with eating,” Jillian Hertzberg, president of Slow Food, said.

“Our culture is so focused on go, go, go that we’ve become a fast food culture. Slow Food tries to reverse it by promoting family dinners, getting food from local farmers and enjoying food for being food.”

Hertzberg said Heifer’s mission relates to Slow Food’s because Heifer promotes sustainable communities and livelihoods in developing countries, while Slow Food does that on a smaller scale nationally. She said by supporting local farmers, people are helping themselves in addition to their community because

locally produced food, without hormones or antibiotics, is better for people’s health than food from corporate farms.

“I want people to leave feeling like they’ve not only learned something (about our mission), but also want to share the message with others,” Gaerke said.

Gaerke said she is expecting 175 people to attend from all sorts of backgrounds.

“All the groups will have a global flair that fits with the evening,” Gaerke said. “It will be a lot of fun.”

First-year Charlotte Freeman, an Optimist Club member, said there will also be numerous raffles people can purchase tickets for. Prizes include gift certificates to Uptown restaurants, T-shirts from Miami University’s women’s basketball team and gift baskets. The grand prize is a mountain bike.

“I’m excited for people to experience this unique event that has never really been brought to Miami before,” Gaerke said.

“We are bringing together these organizations with common cause that’s greater than us all.”

Presale tickets will be on sale from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at a table next to the Haines Food Court in the Shriver Center or $7 at the door. The ticket price covers food tasting catered by Stella 21 Beech, as well as live entertainment by the Mergers, Miami Steel Drum band, Dance Theatre and Vision Dance.

Jazz legend performs at Millett, works with Miami alumnus

By Patrick Wolande Senior Staff Writer

Jono Gasparro, a 2008 Miami University alumnus, is currently working with Wynton Marsalis, arguably one of jazz’s most successful icons. Both were in Oxford Tuesday for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) performance.

Marsalis along with the JLCO played a show Tuesday night in Millett Hall.

The first set in the performance was five assorted pieces consisting of more soft, yet sometimes sporadic pieces. The second half of the show was a set of five pieces from JLCO’s new album, Portrait In Seven Shades.

JLCO’s own trombonist, Ted Nash, composed the entire album. Using iconic paintings from history as his inspiration, he was able to create a mixture of unique key signatures along with different layers of music.

To the surprise of some, Marsalis was in the back row of the band along side the other trumpeters as opposed to being up front leading the band.

“While the big band was amazing, I would have enjoyed hearing more of Wynton and to hear some more recognizable songs,” Daniel Gordon, guitarist of the Miami Jazz Ensemble, said.

Though Gasparro does not play in the JLCO, he is a trumpeter and said he has learned a lot about music just by being around Marsalis.

Gasparro said there is something even more valuable he has learned being around someone successful like Marsalis. “Seeing how much

work goes into being successful ... it encourages you,” he said.

Marsalis has a list full of accolades including nine Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and fourteen honorary doctoral degrees with five being from Ivy League schools.

Gasparro credits his own success to internships, networking, hard work, and being in the right place at the right time.

“I wanted to do this so bad, nobody could stop me,” Gasparro said.

When Gasparro was asked about what current Miami students can do to find themselves in a successful position after college he said, “Check out what you can. Take advantage of the opportunities.”

Gasparro spoke to some students about the music industry in MacMillan Hall along with Patti Liberatore, director of performing arts.

“It’s not about the paycheck, you have to really want to do it,” Liberatore said. “You have to feed your soul ... where nothing else will feed it like that.”

Gasparro chuckled as he described how far his hunger drove him.

“I sold my car just to pay for the broker’s fee of my first apartment,” Gasparro said. Having referred to his job several times as his ‘dream job’, he did not seem to upset about it.

“I just haven’t had to use a car (in New York) since,” Gasparro said.

Gasparro lastly gave some advice about networking with as many possible people, no matter their current position. “Having connections... when those people go onto succeed, those connections become more valuable.”

TASK FORCE continued from page 2

be critical,” Makaroff said. “We’re going to try to make everything transparent.”

Much of the student body, faculty and staff will be absent while the committee works on steering the university in a new direction over the summer.

“The university is going to set up a Web site,” Makaroff said. “We’re going to work through the summer (and) we’re going to post progress and updates through the summer so everyone can stay informed on what we’re doing.”

Makaroff said the committee might hold forums for the

SAMANTHA LUDINGTON The Miami Student

Members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra perform Tuesday in Millett Hall.

The concert also includes Wynton Marsalis.

university to participate.

“We’ll come up with a game plan as to how we’ll approach our job,” Makaroff said. “I would envision there would be some large or small group forums where one or all of the committee members would meet with different constituent groups.”

One of the ways the group will reach the student population is by installing a student representative to the committee.

“We’re hoping it’s going to be a back-and-forth dialogue,” Makaroff said. “Students have never been shy from sharing their opinions, everything we do is for the students, we want to make sure we get it right.”

Jonathan McNabb, student body president, will serve on the committee until student body elections are over.

“Whoever the new student body president is, I’ll work with that person to transition them into the position when

my term ends,” McNabb said.

McNabb said the student body should care deeply about the committee’s future plans and suggestions for the university.

“It goes down to the value of the Miami degree,” McNabb said. “Our degree is only as good as the incoming freshmen class, or degree is a reflection of them and the university as well.”

Go to The Miami Student Web site and check out a document detailing the task force and a full list of members.

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Community

Editors Kelsey Bishop bishopka@muohio.edu Erin Fischesser fischeee@muohio.edu

School to use solar panels

By Leslie Scott Staff Writer

Senior receives OVI charges At 4:56 a.m. Thursday, an officer pulled up to a vehicle stopped at a gas pump at Circle K on the corner of S. Locust and Spring streets.

The driver, later identified as Miami University senior James Bitting, 21, was reportedly staggering around his car “looking disheveled.”

The officer asked Bitting if he was ok and he responded, “No.” When asked by the officer if he had anything to drink, Bitting said, “Yes, actually, quite a bit. Probably too much.”

The officer then asked to see Bitting’s drivers license and he reportedly handed him the keys to his car.

Bitting then reportedly returned to his vehicle and attempted to start the engine.

Bitting said he couldn’t remember where he had been drinking, but the officer noticed an orange and white wristband on Bitting, indicating he had been at a bar.

Bitting reportedly performed poorly on field sobriety tests and was transported to OPD where he consented to taking a Breathalyzer test. Bitting reportedly had a 0.26 BAC. Bitting was cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and transported home.

Suspicious male in SUV follows female On Monday afternoon, police met with a female juvenile regarding a suspicious male in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that had been reportedly following her home from school.

She reported to police the male had circled the residential area of Western Knolls before stopping near her more than once to simply watch her.

The juvenile described the male as in his early 30s with brown hair and a beard.

She described the vehicle as a white Toyota SUV with a spare tire holder on the rear and an orange advertisement on the driver’s side door. She was unable to read the lettering.

Upon a search of the area, police were unable to locate the vehicle.

There are no suspects in this case.

Ex-boyfriend harrasses student, enters home At 9:09 a.m. Tuesday, police spoke with Miami University junior Alex Pinkerton regarding an irate ex-boyfriend.

Pinkerton reported to police that the suspect, whom was not identified, has been growing increasingly agitated over their separation and has been making inappropriate comments to her and her friends.

The suspect reportedly has a key to Pinkerton’s apartment and has already entered the residence without permission to remove items from inside.

Pinkerton reported some of the items missing were belonging to the suspect while other items were not.

No restraining order had been filed at the time of the report.

Pinkerton was advised not to allow the suspect to enter the apartment and to notify police of his presence.

Talawanda High School is being rebuilt in a different location, and the new school plans include many more modern features and several environmentally friendly ideas, including the use of solar panels, which came to be despite controversy.

After approving and breaking ground on the construction of a new building for Talawanda High School (THS), the school board is deciding on green features the school should include.

Originally, the new school was designed to include the panels, but the design was rejected the first time around due to lack of funds.

“Although we thought the solar panels sounded like a good idea, we just found out the school did not qualify for any grants toward the solar panels from the county,” said Kelly Spivey, assistant superintendent. “The panels were just not cost effective, and we would not see a payback for at least 35 years.”

However, the solar panels will be implemented after all, according to Holli Morrish, coordinator of community development for Talawanda Schools.

“Our treasurer, Mike Davis, just recently received some new information, re-ran the numbers and has calculated that the school can receive a return on the investment in 17 years instead of 35,” Morrish said.

The school can achieve a faster payback by selling their Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to government-regulated energy companies (such as Duke Energy, First Energy and Dayton Power and Light), according to Morrish.

Since these groups are federally regulated, they are required to buy energy credits from entities using green energy. This is enforced in order to allow entities such as THS to see an increase on the return from the

investment being made. Essentially, this is also created in order to promote green energy being used.

The new high school is going to be built within the lines of Butler Rural Electric Cooperative (BREC).The BREC is a cooperative business, which means it does not deal with federal regulations such as energy credits.

Due to the cooperative company, THS needed to receive permission from BREC in order to sell their energy credits to other companies.THS has also received funds for the construction from the Ohio School Facility Commission (OSFC).

“The OFSC helps public schools improve and build modern facilities by co-funding their approved projects,” Morrish said via e-mail. “Funding is based on community land wealth. Talawanda will receive 24 cents of every dollar (spent) on approved projects.”

In order to receive the grant from OSFC, the school needs to meet certain criteria.

“One aspect is the new school must be a green building,” Morrish said.

“It also needs to meet LEED requirements. LEED stands for Leadership Energy and Environmental Design. The new school is required to reach a silver rating, but Talawanda anticipates reaching a gold rating which could be the first LEED gold school in the state of Ohio.”

Although the solar panels are a large part of achieving their goal of a gold rating, the school has other ideas on how to save energy.

“We plan on using a geothermal wall system to heat and cool the facility,” Morrish said. “This is a series of wells that are about 300 feet into the ground. The ground water will be used to provide a steady temperature instead of using furnaces or boilers.”

A second idea involves using the sun directly for energy.

wSee SOLAR, page 5

‘Shop Local’ card offers discounts uptown

By Vanessa Feigen For The Miami Student

The McGuffey Foundation School has developed a discount card that will provide buyers with various benefits to businesses uptown and around Oxford.

The “Shop Local” card is $15 and can be purchased at Juniper, the Oxford Farmer’s Market uptown on Saturdays and online at http://www.oxfordshoplocal.com.

“The card will offer a discount at our store of 15 percent off your entire purchase of regularly priced items,” Tamar Lask, owner of Juniper, said. “That is the best coupon we have ever offered.”

Aside from Juniper, nine other local businesses have partnered with the McGuffey Foundation School. Discounts are offered at Kofenya, Kona Bistro, Marcum Center & Miami Inn, Moonshine Printing, Oxford Farmer’s Market, Salon Signature, The Smokin’ Ox, Walker’s Footwear and Apparel and You’re Fired.

Certain discounts include 10 percent off your entire purchase at Kofenya, $5 off a purchase of $25 or more at Walker’s Footwear or $5 off any service or product at Salon Signature.

Other discounts can be found on the Web site.

Miami University sophomore Jillian Zimmer believes the ‘Shop Local’ card could be quite helpful for college students.

“It is a cheap alternative that will offer students discounts at stores where they wouldn’t want to normally spend as much,” Zimmer said.

The card will be effective until the end of 2010. However Sue Bartow, principal of the McGuffey Foundation School, claims they hope to have a new card available for 2011.

“The coolest thing about the card and

SAMANTHA LUDINGTON The Miami Student

The McGuffey Foundation School is offering a discount card which Oxford residents and Miami University students can use at several local businesses. fundraising is the money earned goes to several family-centered businesses or enterprises in town,” Bartow said.

After production and other additional expenses are deducted, the McGuffey Foundation School will receive approximately twothirds of the remaining profit.

Bartow said the earnings will be used to help enhance the curriculum, facilities and scholarship at the school.

The Oxford Community Choice Pantry, the Oxford Lane Public Library and the Oxford Farmer’s Market will also all receive a portion of the proceeds.

Bartow, as well as Juniper and the Oxford

Farmer’s Market are all trying to raise the community’s awareness of the card.

“Right now, we are mostly promoting the card through the parents of McGuffey students, the Web site and signs that are posted up at the Farmer’s Market,” Bartow said.

Lask has made an effort to spread the word through Juniper’s Facebook.com page, as well as their e-mail blast.

“I’m really hoping to catch people through the Internet, but we are also having our workers at the register inform our customers,” Lask said.

Since the card’s debut in February, approximately 100 have been sold.

House bill regulates telecommunication services

By Caitlin Varley For The Miami Student

In a bipartisan movement that is uncommon in present times, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a telecommunications reform bill.

House Bill 276 attempts to put landline companies and handheld wireless phone companies on the same basis. Under the current system, landline companies cannot do the same things that wireless companies can do because of different regulations.

“It allows competition between the Verizons of the world and the Cincinnati Bells of the world,” Rep. Courtney Combs (R-Hamilton), sitting member of the House Public Utilities Committee, said.

The bill also updates old legislation and allows for 911 communications up to four days after a landline is shut down for failing to pay the bill. It also provides Internet access for the unemployed so they can search for jobs, Combs said.

“It does bring telecommunications into the 21st century,” Combs said.

Cheryl Burchard, director of government relations for the Ohio Telecom Association, said the legislation is necessary because telephone companies are not being treated like their competitors.

“This legislation is an attempt to even the playing field,” Burchard said. “It doesn’t go all the way, but it does take some significant steps.”

Burchard said the legislation will allow telephone companies to

compete with their competitors, like wireless and cable companies.

“By saving money on the regulatory side, telephone companies will have the opportunity to invest more money,” she said.

Burchard said these investments should allow the companies to improve and provide faster service.

She also said the industry will become more competitive, giving people more choices.

“In a nutshell, the main reason why we were pursuing this legislation is telephone companies are not being treated like their competitors,” Burchard said.

Combs hopes this bill will lower costs for Ohioans.

Combs said the bill was passed unanimously. He said they had to compromise by setting aside legislation about the telecommunications companies attaching to utilities poles and what companies can change.

“I think we ended up with a very good bill,” he said. “It was a good show of bipartisan politics.”

The Ohio Senate has also passed a telecommunications bill.

Burchard said the bills are very similar and both are significant.

“The Senate bill and the House bill need to somehow come together,” she said.

Burchard said 26 other states have already passed similar legislation.

In addition to the Ohio Telecom Association, the bill is also supported by the Ohio Chamber, National Federation of Independent Business, AT&T and the Institute for Policy Innovation.

Community

THE MIAMI STUDENT

Program to unite religion, environment

By Adam Giffi

For The Miami Student

Oxford residents and Miami University students will have the opportunity to attend a multi-part program on faith and environmental climate change, March 26 and 27.

The event conducted by the Oxford Interfaith Climate Change Work Group is open to students and Oxford residents alike.

The program will feature a visit and lecture by Greg Hitzhusen, director of Ohio Interfaith Power and Light and faculty member at Ohio State University. He plans to show that many religious organizations are active in the green movement.

“The Vatican became the world’s first carbon neutral state,” Hitzhusen said. “That’s just one example of one denomination in the world taking some extraordinary steps to address environmental concerns.”

Hitzhusen said college students concerned about the environment might want to explore the link between faith andenvironmental issues.

“Any students interested in the future of the environment … should know how the faith communities are playing a particularly important role,” Hitzhusen said.

Don Pestana, coordinator of Oxford Interfaith, said the program is being conducted in association with more than six faith-related institutions in Oxford.

Pestana said there are three activities taking place for this event, starting with the Hitzhusen lecture at 1 p.m. Friday, March 26 in 269 Upham Hall.

“The one on campus is being aimed at students and faculty,” Pestana said. “This lecture is designed to

answer the question as to why global warming is a faith based issue.”

Following this, there will be a presentation of the documentary Renewal at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Parish Center.

Finally, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Holy Trinity Church, the event will conclude with a hands-on workshop providing participants with applicable energy saving skills.

Karen Bernard, a reverend at Holy Trinity Church, one of the organizations sponsoring this event, encourages students to participate.

“When you do conferences like this, you hope everyone learns something,” Bernard said. “The group process, I think, helps people think and learn in different ways.”

She said this discussion is important because it will educate people on how they can fulfill their responsibility to the planet.

First-year Alina Osowski finds the subject matter of the program intriguing when she considers her religion.

“I’m a Catholic and I would be interested to hear what (Hitzhusen) has to say,” Osowski said. “I’ve never thought about global warming and faith together.”

Sophomore Daniel Powell said he is unsure of a connection between faith and global warming, but admires the program’s goal.

“The more people we have trying to save the environment the better, regardless of religion,” Powell said.

Sophomore Brooke Bonner, however, took a different stance on the topic of Hitzhusen’s talk.

“Faith is a very personal issue,” Bonner said. “To try to link faith to political issues is completely unrelated, even if it is for good, is completely manipulative.”

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 ♦ 5

Breakin’ ground uptown

SCOTT ALLISON The Miami Student

Workers continue uptown road construction Tuesday afternoon near the intersection of High and Beech streets.

Lecture to kick off Oxford’s bicentennial

By Sam Kay Editorial Editor

Valerie Elliott has devoted her career to getting history to the people.

She will be doing just that at 7 p.m. Monday, March 29 at the Knolls public auditorium.

She will be giving the Robert T. Howard lecture, presented annually by the Oxford Museum Association (OMA). According to William King, OMA director and Miami University professor emeritus, the lecture is the kickoff for OMA’s celebration of Oxford’s bicentennial year. “(Elliott) is about the most knowledgeable person about our community history,” King said.

Elliott, head of the Smith Library of Regional History, grew up in Oxford, graduated from Miami and received her Master of Library Science degree from Indiana University.

SOLAR

continued from page 4 “Another plan is to use light energy,” Morrish said. “The building will be positioned so that the windows are on the north and south sides. Classes will be conducted by natural sunlight until the sun moves. Once the sun is re-positioned and the room becomes too dim, then electricity will be used.”

The new building will also include a natural area for the students to use for science classes, energy efficient windows and low flow

Elliott said she is dedicated to spreading knowledge of history, especially local history.

“I enjoy getting Oxford history to people who are interested,” Elliott said. “Getting something published … or giving a lecture helps get the word out to people who might not necessarily come to the library.”

Elliott’s lecture, “Historic Oxford … A Bicentennial Journey,” will be divided into four sections spanning 50 years each.

“I’ll be covering which churches and schools were there, transportation changes, houses, ethnic groups and what was driving the economy at the time,” Elliott said.

In her job at the Smith library, Elliott has daily exposure to newspapers, history books, cemetery and church records, birth, marriage and death records and other first-hand sources chronicling Oxford’s history.

Senior Jen Schufreider, a history major, said understanding Oxford history is an important part of the student experience.

“Oxford is still pretty close to its roots … we have a lot of historical sites still remaining that are preserved as they were in the time period,” Schufreider said.

Schufreider worked for OMA over the summer at the Pioneer farmhouse, one of several historical sites managed by OMA. The farmhouse dates back to 1826.

Schufreider feels it is more important now than ever to be aware of Oxford’s history.

“It’s important to realize how far back this university and town go,” Schufreider said.

Elliott agreed Oxford’s bicentennial year, immediately following Miami’s, is an opportunity to increase community awareness of history.

“It focuses the community’s attention,” Elliott said.

toilets and plumbing.

“The solar panels (are) beneficial in the sense that Talawanda is a LEED school,” Spivey said. “It (is) a good education model to show the students how to save energy.”

Morrish said the change in plans will not affect overall construction.

“The (reconsideration) of the solar panels doesn’t change our timeline at all,” Morrish said. “We are confident in our other ideas and are on schedule and on budget.”

Miami University students are impressed with the efforts the district is making to go green.

“It is really great because this is the first school outside of a university I have ever heard of

going green,” sophomore Erica Norman said. “It is great they plan to be environmentally friendly and are actually following through with their plans. However, I worry about how much money this is going to cost.”

Morrish said the district is prepared to make the best decisions for the new construction.

“The board of education will have an opportunity to evaluate the merits of incorporating solar energy into the project,” Morrish said via e-mail. “We want to build the best school we can build. If that means making decisions that need to be made, then that is what we will do.”

6

Friday

March 26, 2010

Features

Editor Amelia Carpenter carpenab@muohio.edu

By Natalie Engel For The Miami Student

Kristen Ricordati waited all week for Saturday morning brunch. She and her girlfriends would sit around the table and share stories about their sex lives, scandals and secrets inbetween bites of french toast.

“One thing I loved about college was getting up on Saturday morning, going to breakfast and sitting around swapping stories and talking about who hooked up with who,” Ricordati said.

Ricordati graduated from Kenyen College in 2005. It wasn’t long after her commencement when she began to long for the hot gossip that flew through the busy campus.

“I began to hash around the idea of having a Web site where people could talk about their own love life,” Ricordati said.

And thus, KissandDish.com was born St. Valentine’s Day 2009.

Ricordati focused the site on a venue where people could share gossip, get advice and dish on relationships, love, and sex.

“There is no feeling of judgement on this site because no one knows who you are; the advice and comments can be brutally real,” Ricordati said. “People can give you raw honesty and the advice and comments people leave can be very helpful.”

Both men and women use the site. Ricordati even admitted to dishing on her own life on the site.

“Every once in a while I will post a blog or write a confession annonamously.”

Kiss and Dish not only allows any and everyone to confess or blog, but also has a page called, “Our Writers,” a place on the Web site, where there are permanent bloggers.

Ricordati hand picked these people to blog on her site because each one of them is very different and they have varying perspectives and engaging experiences to share. There are 11 bloggers for Kiss and Dish each with a user name, such as the Dating Doctor, SexPot and Married Vet. The writers post at least one blog a week and they can also post advice or chat with members.

“Quick Confessions,” is a branch of the Web site where the online passerbys can post confessions annonamously in a onestep process. The permanent writers’ blogs are open for anyone to read. All confessions and blogs that others have posted are accessable to all to read and comment.

Mary Massiello, a first-year at Miami University, is a frequent visitor of Kiss and Dish, although she said she has never posted on the site. “(Kiss and Dish) is a good way for people to share their secrets without causing all the drama of naming names,” Massiello said. “It’s also really funny for others to read.”

Becoming a member is not required, but has additional perks. Members have the capabilities to post quick confessions or blogs, talk with other members or even ask advice from the permanent writers.

Ricordati handles the creative side of the Web site while her partner and former flame, Daniel Kipfer, is more of the business man. Although the two have not seen each other for over five years, Kipfer helped Ricordati launch the site from his home in California.

Kipfer keeps an eye on the number of ‘hits’ on the site as well as any money business that needs to be taken care of. The number of hits on a site is the amount of times the site, as well as different branches of the site, are visited.

Junior Carla Stick said she has never heard of Kiss and Dish.

“With my schedule, unless my roommates force me to, I probably won’t visit the site,” Stick said.

Senior Raymond Gardner agreed.

“(I’m not) interested in doing so anytime soon,” Gardner said.

While others had never heard of the site, they were more forgiving.

“I probably wouldn’t use it, but I do think it’s a good idea,” senior Mike Rooney said.

Beyond managing the site, Ricordati is a producer for the local news station, NBC, in Columbus. Ricordati writes the news, or essentially decides what is said on the air.

Ricordati said it’s easy to manage the site from anywhere.

“From work to my vacation on the beach,” Ricordati said.

Ricordati said she does have to monitor the site and delete anything inappropriate.

“Luckily there have only been a few times that something has been really obscene or inappropriate,” she said. “For the most part people have been pretty respectful.”

With the Web site being over a year old now, Kipfer and Ricordati have started to look into partnering with other companies, such as WE tv, a cable television channel geared towards women. Up until now, Ricordati and Kipfer have made no profit from Kiss and Dish.

In fact, they have been paying out of pocket.

HANNAH MILLER The Miami Student

THE MIAMI STUDENT

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 ♦ 7

DEAN

ASSAULT continued from page 1

continued from page 1

professor,” Lentini said. “We were also looking for someone who could look critically at this new position.”

Pratt is dean of graduate programs and dean of professional programs at Heidelberg as well as a tenured professor in the department of anthropology.

He has also served as director of Heidelberg’s Arrowhead Park campus for almost 10 years. Pratt said Arrowhead Park operates much like Miami’s Voice of America Learning Center (VOALC).

“My experiences at Heidelberg line up well with the role at Miami,” Pratt said. “Over my career I have done a lot of building programs.”

Hodge said many of the candidates for the position liked the idea of charting new territory and partly creating the new job.

Pratt said he recognizes the challenges he will face in managing three facilities together will be a great opportunity.

“That was very attractive to me,” Pratt said. “And the fact that its Miami University … I had no hesitation about wanting to have this job.”

Both Lentini and Hodge spoke highly of Pratt.

“This is a thoughtful person,” Lentini said of Pratt. “He’s going to be someone who will be able to analyze the challenges and gather information.”

Hodge agreed.

“We were delighted with our candidates and we are delighted with our choice and we can’t wait to get going,” Hodge said.

allow access into her building. Bai allegedly asked the victim if she needed help, and the two proceeded to his residence hall, and then to the Shriver Center before heading to Gaskill Hall.

Bai testified on his own behalf March 24 on charges for sexual assault, aggravated robbery and assault on a police officer.

Bai upheld that he stopped when the victim said ‘no’ incourt Wednesday.

Staton said Bai had never been in a fight before. Now, Bai has been charged with assault on apolice officer.

Young said he witnessed Bai rubbing the victim’s groin in a dark room of Gaskill Hall in the early morning of Nov. 1, 2009. The officer was allegedly punched, kicked, forced to the ground and Bai attempted to remove the officer’s gun.

Bai said Wednesday he had pushed past the officer to get out of the building.

Staton said Bai was unaware the man he pushed was an officer, despite his official uniform.

Morse covered the trial Wednesday.

Her reporting said, “When the woman testified Wednesday, her voice quavered as she read from a written statement: ‘He began touching me and forced himself upon me ... I was not consenting in any way.’ A nurse with special training to collect evidence from sexual-assault victims, Charlene Wooten, testified that, during an examination at McCulloughHyde Memorial Hospital, the young woman kept weeping and repeating, ‘I wanted to keep this special for when I got married — and he violated me.’”

tried it,” Willis said.

The problem was detected when the Miami vending began coming up short and product was missing, Willis said.

Therefore, the MUPD set up video surveillance tapes in Culler Hall, which subsequently captured the offenders on tape.

This led to interviews and further investigation by the MUPD, Willis said.

The employees were then arrested and charged with theft and tampering with a coin machine.

“Usually in court there will be some restitution that they have to pay to make the university whole with the money they had stolen,” Willis said.

According to Bill Moloney, senior director of dining and auxiliaries, more

continued from page 1

Check out our Web site www.miamistudent.net

THEFT

MAJOR

continued from page 1 However, current DFA majors and sophomores and juniors who transfer to political science still have the option to graduate with a DFA major.

“If a student is a sophomore or junior that wants to transfer, he or she can choose between the two,” Dawisha said. “Any incoming students can only register for DGP.” Sophomore Elijah Santiago, DFA major, feels Miami is losing something unique by eliminating DFA. “Miami was the only school that offered this kind of major,” Santiago said. “If global politics is like political science, international studies or international relations, Miami has lost something. It’s kind of redundant.”

With the new requirements, DGP may resemble many majors dealing with politics internationally, as the department is trying to advocate the importance of globalization and being interconnected.

“Don’t change a major to make it

than 79 vending machines have been replaced, and the problem with the system has been corrected.

“Once they helped us determine how the thefts were being committed we were able to use that information to diagnose how the machines could be reconfigured such that further thefts of that nature would not be possible,” Moloney said.

“The solution involved changing a computer chip in each of the snack machines which we were able to accomplish ourselves in a relatively short time frame.”

Willis did not think Miami has ever had an incident like this.

“I’ve been here 13 years and I’ve never heard of anything like this happening,” Willis said. “We’ve had people break into vending machines, but I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

Senior Morgan Riedl was surprised to hear the case was going to court.

“Clearly if you took $1000 out, you knew what you were doing,” Riedl said.

like another major,” Santiago said.

“If I wanted an ITS major, I would be studying ITS. I love my major for what it is, because I’m not required to study abroad so I don’t miss out on classes here. This major is unique to Miami and it will help me out with law school.”

However, sophomore Tim Model, DFA major, sees the new major as a good opportunity that will be beneficial to future students pursuing a career in international politics.

“It’s good they are changing (DFA), because it’s impossible to understand politics and other people from what you just learn in a book,” Model said.

“You have to go immerse yourself in another culture to understand how that culture works. There is only so much a lecture can teach.”

The department of political science is excited for the future of DGP as it was welcomed by the CAS. “It’s a move in the right direction,” Dawisha said. “It’s a new major. We have only had it for literally half a semester. We haven’t had any evidence that there are problems or that we should change anything. We need three to four years before we can reassess the major.”

Got the

inside scoop

on something??

The Miami Student is looking for:

story ideas.

E-mail Hannah at poturahe@muohio.edu.

Check out the crossword

? on page 12.

Friday

8

March 26, 2010

Amusement

Editor Anna Turner turnera6@muohio.edu Assistant Editor Liz Caskey caskeyem@muohio.edu

ANNA TURNER The Miami Student

spring romance

Five ways spring flings are sickening

By Anna Turner Amusement Editor

Last week I wrote a short column about spring romance, kicking off Amusement’s Spring Romance series.

This week I will continue to explore that inexplicable thing called love, and why this season of abundance makes us all want a little of our own.

There is a specific type of romance found only in spring, and that wonderful form of affection is known as the spring fling.

A spring fling is always the perfect cure after a depressing winter of hypothermia-inducing walks uptown and that mascara-smudging bitter wind, right?

Wrong.

Spring flings are annoying.

First annoying thing about casual spring flings: PDA. You’re an adorable couple, but your handholding is getting in the way of my roller blading. Stop taking up the whole sidewalk!

I JUST WANT TO ROLLER BLADE IN PEACE! Also, since technically you guys are dating, you can make out whenever you want, wherever you want, without being accused of random hook-ups.

It’s fantastic!

Well, fantastic for you. Not so fantastic for anyone else that happens to be in King Café … or Shriver … or Kofenya … or anywhere else in Oxford, really.

Let me make something clear: I am very happy that you are happy. But stop exposing me to your happiness because that makes me unhappy.

Second annoying thing about casual spring flings: It isn’t anything serious — he doesn’t have to be husband material!

Who cares if his Chia Pet collection is the only thing he has going for him? He’s cute and pays for your late night Bagel and Deli.

These relationships are as fleeting as the good weather. Whatever irks you about your spring mate seems insignificant because, let’s face it, you only have to put up with it until it’s time for that steamy summer romance.

7 the

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Because pet peeves can be overlooked in spring dating, guys who play Magic: The Gathering have as good a chance as anyone else — hey, capes are freakin’ hot, I don’t care what you say.

Third annoying thing about casual spring flings: A myriad amount of chick flicks have given America’s youth the FALSE impression that whirlwind romances more often than not mean true love.

If you can fall in love with someone after knowing them for, oh, 10 seconds, it must be real! This is so dumb it makes me

want to vomit.

Spring flings happen in the blink of an eye, and to most people this overwhelming infatuation can only mean one thing: You’ve found your soul mate.

He or she must be your soul mate if you’re already deciding what to name your firstborn child. Is Ezekial too Bible-y?

Love at first sight doesn’t exist in any other season, so if you want that fairy tale romance, you better start making eye contact with everything that moves. You never know which awkward gaze-lock could be “the one.”

I should probably point out the love at first sight doesn’t exist. Sorry to rain on your parade ...

Fourth annoying thing about casual spring flings: The influx in happy couples means a detrimental decrease in single hotties roaming uptown or having fun at parties.

With everyone pairing up, Oxford begins to look more like Noah’s Ark than a college town.

These happy couples are everywhere.

They’re in front of you in the Jimmy John’s line, taking 12 years to decide which cookie to get (don’t get Grandma’s Oatmeal Raisin — I can’t believe you think that’s even an option).

They’re sitting across from you on the bus, giggling about “that hilarious thing that happened last night” even though it wasn’t hilarious — you weren’t even there and you know it wasn’t hilarious.

They’re walking behind you down High Street, trying to decide if they want Coldstone or not.

As if it’s even a question — of course you want Coldstone! IT’S COLDSTONE. But anyway ... These happy couples are everywhere,

and hot singles are nowhere.

That’s not right.

Fifth annoying thing about casual spring flings: It’s a waste of our time at college.

Why pair off with someone when you can hang out with a dozen someones?

I mean, these are the best years of our lives!

Get out there and meet new people!

Have fun!

Don’t hold yourself back by tying yourself down. And I know you’re thinking that a casual spring fling is a great way to meet new people and have fun, but guess what?

You’re dead wrong.

How many new people have you met since you and your new friend got together? Would none be the right answer?

Believe me, you do not want to be the guy stuck at home watching Never Been Kissed while your single friends are out scoring digits. That guy sucks.

So, don’t be the annoying, sucky guy: Don’t be in a spring fling.

Because if you are, I will punch you.

Just a quick disclaimer: I’m not encouraging everyone to go skank it up and have a string of one-night stands (all though if you can pull it off, I won’t complain. Mad props to ya, man).

All I’m saying is springtime is nature’s way of saying, “Hey, I know I screwed you over with the whole winter thing. Here’s some nice weather, go have fun!” and being single is WAY more fun than being in a spring fling.

So, say thank you to mother nature by saying hello to “single” relationship status on Facebook.com and goodbye to “it’s complicated.”

ANNA TURNER The Miami Student

Reasons to ditch your significant other ...

7. Get your OWN initials tattooed on your bicep 6. Hook up with a Miami Student editor 5. You can put the “three” in threesome 4. Score yourself a townie 3. Don’t have to wash your sheets as much

2. More people can appreciate your manscaping/vagazzling 1. Freedom

Amusement

THE MIAMI STUDENT

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 ♦ 9

film

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is wonder-full

By Andrew Klatzke Senior Staff Writer

Alice in Wonderland is a staple of most people’s childhood.

The original Disney animated film captivated the hearts of audiences that were previously oblivious of the book.

Lewis Carroll’s book, in itself, is a masterpiece, but when things hit the big screen, (especially with the aid of a powerhouse like Disney), things can really begin to take off.

This newest Alice adventure, however, is neither the Lewis Carroll fable nor the Disney-fied animated cartoon. Tim Burton, master of such cult classics as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Big Fish, has applied his own spin on the classic story.

By buffering its oddities, Burton explores a new facet of Alice’s world that was hitherto unreachable by imaginations: the sequel.

Burton isn’t arrogant enough to tackle what I’m labeling a “sequel” as a separate entity; instead, Burton’s story adds to the previously explored area of Wonderland while creating a fable entirely his own.

In the movie, Alice, now 20, returns to Wonderland and has to slay the “jabberwocky,” a mythical beast whose name has an uncanny resemblance to another famous

poem Carroll wrote. Here we see the strengths of the movie in full force.

The references, from Carroll’s poems to Wizard of Oz, and Narnia-esque imagery inspire resemblances beyond the original Disney movie. These nuances in the film are what make it so endearing.

As far as the plot goes, I simply think the best way to cope with it is to ignore it.

Honestly, the plot is Disney-riffic to such

instance: We all know he’s a wonderful actor, and honestly his performance here just strengthens that idea.

Though over the top, (like many things in the movie), Depp performs the Mad Hatter’s character with an aplomb and swagger that no other actor would have been able to successfully capture. The made up dance Depp eventually performs, which he promises to perform “vigorously” is just one example of the pure fancifulness of the movie; something few films can pull off anymore without seeming superficial.

In moments where pure madness is warranted, that’s what you get, and in moments where serenity is the more important order, Burton and co. deliver beautifully.

Overall, with its references galore, excellent cinematography and great graphics, it’s a definite eye-pleaser with a deeper significance than most one-off ANNA TURNER I THE MIAMI STUDENT graphic extravaganzas.

While Alice in Wonderland may not be the film everyone was expecting, it’s an extent that it seems like Robert A. Iger definitely a movie that deserves a spot as wrote it himself.

It has all the appeal of the typical youth one of the more interesting movies to be blockbuster, but luckily the intelligent released in the last couple of years. undercurrent keeps it alive. The film walWhile not swaying too far from Dislows joyfully in its own silliness, and I ney’s audience, the film manages to think, most of all, that’s the feeling Burton be both intelligent and maniacal at the same time, something that I, for one, can wanted to convey.

Take Johnny Depp’s character for deeply respect.

more amusing shiz

How not to be the fool on April Fools’ Day

By Liz Caskey

Amusement Assistant Editor

The month of April may bring showers, which in turn bring May flowers, but another glorious thing the fourth month of the year brings is the year’s silliest holiday … April Fool’s Day. The first of April is a day of fun and trickery. Parents, teachers, friends … everyone is fair game. It’s a day that allows you to brainstorm and, more importantly, carry out dastardly deeds on any unsuspecting prey around you. April Fool’s Day gives everyone a free pass to be … well, to be an ass.

The problem arises when you are the lame John or Jane who lacks the cajones to carry out a plan of trickery. If you aren’t a schemer, than more than likely you’re the one getting schemed on … and that sucks.

For you Lame Lorettas, April Fool’s Day is practically a day of justified torture. You are the butt of every joke, the recipient of every trick and no one has to feel bad about owning you.

They don’t have to apologize. They don’t have to help you up after they push you down a flight of stairs. They don’t have to feel guilty for being an awesome prankster.

You don’t even get any of the spotlight for the great trick — that only goes to the tricker … no love for the trickee.

So, for all of you out there too uncreative and passive to develop your own April Fool’s trickery plan, here are a few helpful hints of how to lay low and avoid being the target for the day.

No. 1: Make yourself scarce.

Lucky for you, April Fool’s only comes once a year —

dastardly day, which means a plethora of faulty machinery making avoiding the blessed holiday fairly simple to do. will be on the roadways. Steering clear of them could save If you live alone, you are golden. your life from an out of control driver.

No one will be in your zone and you could alBetter safe than DEAD. most entirely avoid the day all together. Just No. 3: Don’t eat anything. make sure to stock up on bread and milk, Lord only knows what kinds of characters are skip all your classes, and more or less hiberrunning the show in Miami University’s dining nate for the entire day. Curl up with Nicholas halls. If even just one of them gets a wild hair, Spark’s The Last Song (you big wuss) and cry and decides to poor Tabasco sauce in all of your day away. the food, anyone who eats anything could Twenty-four hours of hibernation will leave be in jeopardy of walking around the you refreshed and injury-free. If you don’t have rest of the day breathing flames. your own place, then confine yourself to your Or what if your roommate decidown bedroom. ed to get crafty and poor a little arShare a bedroom, you say? Well, then you’re senic in your morning coffee? Then just screwed … unless, of course, your you’ll be walking to class all, ‘yum-o roommate is as lame as you, then pass what a delicious cup of Joe’ and whamyour whimping out strategies on to him zabam-boom you’re dead. and spend your day crying together — No. 4: Do what smart possums do … play dead. better than crying alone, I suppose.

No one will seek you out as prey if it looks like No. 2: Avoid roadways and vehicles.

Nothing is funnier than cutting you’ve already been preyed upon. Sloppy fooled seconds? No thank you. someone’s brake lines on April Fool’s Therefore, making yourself look like you’ve Day — think Toyota for inspiration — so ANNA TURNER I The Miami Student already been tricked could actually prevent you for those of you who can’t simply hide out all from getting the real thing. day long, the least you should do is steer clear Punch yourself in the face for a realistic black eye. Run of the roads.

If you have your own car do not, I repeat, DO NOT get your car into a wall so no one will mess with it. You get the inside of it. More than likely it has been tampered with. Bro- idea; just get creative!

Although apparently you can’t do that since you can’t ken door hinge, punctured gas line, rabid animals trapped come up with the tricks on your own. inside … anything is possible.

So, protect yourself April 1 from being the fool. And if In fact, you should just avoid roadways all together. There is a good chance that you are not the only target on this you blow it … well … There’s always next year.

The Miami Student is looking for an advertising layout director.

E-mail Mark at andreaml@muohio.edu.

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10

Friday, March 26, 2010

Opinion

Editors Thomasina Johnson johnsota@muohio.edu Sam Kay kaysj@muohio.edu

➤ EDITORIALS

The following pieces, written by the editorial editors, reflect the majority opinion of the editorial board.

Student voice must be heard in committee

M

iami University has created a new Strategic Priorities Task force, headed by President David Hodge.

This task force will help Miami adjust to economic hardships and ultimately operate more efficiently.

The task force is composed of 18 professors and administrators and the president of Associated Student Government (ASG).

The editorial board of The Miami Student supports a strong student voice in this task force because students will be greatly affected by any decisions the task force reaches. To hear these opinions, the board believes more students need to be involved in the decision-making process.

The board recommends that before the student body president meets with the task force, a group of carefully selected student representatives meet and share their concerns with the president. It is often unrealistic to expect 100 percent dedication from students because of prior commitments, the board believes one student representative from each school within Miami should be selected by professors and administration of the specific college. Each selected student must comprehend the great importance of this leadership role. Each student would meet with professors and administration to formulate needs and opinions of both the college and the students he or she represents. After gathering the needs of the college, the student would discuss them with both the other students in the inter-collegiate task force of

students and the student body president. The student body president would then relate these concerns to the Strategic Priorities Task force.

By sharing the needs of the all the colleges that make up Miami, the student body president would be the only student with the responsibility of attending every meeting, therefore limiting the potential problems of missed crucial information due to gaps in attendance by students. This student task force would represent a broader spectrum of the opinions and needs of colleges, and streamline them to the student body president.

The board urges the task force to make themselves more visible to the student body. Most students do not know this group exists, and therefore, would be missing out on an opportunity to get involved. The board recommends the task force send out an e-mail explaining the purpose of the task force, the need for student input and the opportunity for students to gain leadership experience over the undergraduate listserv. The task force should stress not only this great resume builder, but the student’s ability to help other students. Since students will be highly impacted by the decisions of the task force, the board agrees that interested students have the right to receive updates about decisions through a special Strategic Priorities Task force listserv. The board hopes that by reaching out to more students, Miami will encourage interdisciplinary cooperation, as well as faculty and staff, administration and student collaboration on the future of the university.

Miami should lift sidewalk chalk ban

T

he use of sidewalk chalk by student organizations for spreading awareness about events or ideas is a hallmark of the college experience, one that is relatively inexpensive and gives the campus more character. It is also banned at Miami University, and has been since the 2007-08 academic year, according to off-campus senator Matt Forrest. It is unclear exactly why the ban was put in place, or whether any specific incidents fomented it. However, the editorial board of The Miami Student feels it is unreasonable and borders on censorship.

At the heart of the problem is a dubious rationale. The prohibition likely does little to dissuade vandals from spay-painting or chalking profane or irrelevant things on sidewalks. Instead, it denies legitimate student organizations a viable platform for publicity. At a time when the administration is constantly (and rightfully) espousing the virtues of student engagement, it is counterproductive to stymie a means of student expression.

This board recognizes Miami’s need to protect its image and brand

equity. It is also important to guard against hateful or inflammatory speech. The need may also arise to allow groups to reserve certain areas of sidewalk — such as sidewalk surrounding the hub and Slantwalk — for limited time periods. This board feels a regulatory process similar to the process used for the approval and disbursement of table tents would be a good fit for sidewalk chalk advertisements.

Finally, we feel sidewalk chalk is aesthetically pleasing. In the mind of this board, sidewalk chalk is an organic fit for the picturesque college experience, alongside Frisbee playing in the quad or studying under old, distinguished-looking trees.

Sidewalk chalk is the perfect embodiment of everything college students are: passionate about ideals, yet light-hearted and youthful. It says, “Let’s save Darfur … and then play some hopscotch!”

The prohibition on sidewalk chalk is unfounded, detracts from student involvement, smells a bit like censorship and is plain silly. It’s so absurd it would be funny if it weren’t so draconian.

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

EDITORIAL BOARD Catherine Couretas Editor in Chief Hannah Poturalski News Editor Erin Maher Managing Editor Scott Allison Online Editor Thomasina Johnson Editorial Editor Sam Kay Editorial Editor Courtney Day Campus Editor Hope Holmberg Campus Editor

Amanda Seitz Campus Editor Kelsey Bishop Community Editor Erin Fischesser Community Editor Katie Giovinale Sports Editor Amelia Carpenter Features Editor Anna Turner Amusement Editor Samantha Ludington Photo Editor Hannah Miller Art Director

BIZZY YOUNG The Miami Student

➤ LETTERS

Coal week of action affords chance for activism, education

Let’s talk about coal. Yes, coal, that black stuff some of us might vaguely remember being threatened with come Christmastime. Next week, Green Oxford is sponsoring a series of events meant to highlight the controversies of coal, environmental and social. Why would we want to talk about that?

Whether you burn it, scrub it or put it in a stocking, coal might not appear very interesting at first. Allow me to convince you otherwise.

Coal is integral to our society. It heats our homes, makes our steel and in the simple words of one industry lobbyist, “it keeps the lights on.” The United States generates about 50 percent of its electricity by burning coal; Ohio is closer to 90 percent. Miami University’s Steam Plant burns 25,000 tons of coal every year. All the Facebook.com chatting, fiendish texting and hot showers stem from this sooty little rock. I won’t play down its importance.

What I will ask is what else comes from coal and why should we care?

Coal is hands down the dirtiest, nastiest, artificially cheapest fuel source around. The burning of coal releases hundreds of millions of tons of waste into our atmosphere and watersheds each year. Fun stuff like uranium, thorium, arsenic and other heavy metals. Much of this waste is not even regulated. This pollution has a cost: human lives.

Studies have estimated that roughly 28,000 lives are shortened each year by coal. It is responsible for more than a million asthma attacks annually.

Coal is also one of the biggest, if not the biggest long-term concern for global climate change.

James Hansen, chief climatologist at NASA, has stated that getting rid of coal is 80 percent of the solution to global warming. Why? Because coal is so abundant.

Sure, we produce a lot of CO2 from other fossil fuels, but we will exhaust those sources decades, if not centuries before we run out of coal. What kills me most about coal is its inequality. Most of the pollution, negative health effects and ecological damage from the coal industry are concentrated in specific areas, on specific communities. Take Racine in Meigs County, Ohio. Their community has four coal plants within a 10-mile radius. Excuse me if I don’t write that off to poor planning. Communities like Racine are targeted by the industry because they cannot or won’t fight back. Median income in Meigs County is below the poverty line and unemployment was in double digits before the economic crisis. But these are the types of communities where our industrial society tucks away its dirtiest by products. The power generated near Racine is destined for Columbus and Cleveland.

Many of the residents in Racine are not even on the power grid. In Appalachia, surface strip mining is literally blowing up the mountains and the people who live next door suffer for it. These are just some of the reasons why we are hosting Coal Week, why we should all care an awful lot about coal.

If I have interested you at all please join us for one, two or all of the events that we have planned for next week. You will find flyers up in most academic buildings and table tents in the dining halls with lists of the events. If you are feeling tech savvy you can check out our Web site http://www. coalweek.org. Let’s talk about coal and let’s make it a meaningful conversation.

Christian Adams

adamscf@muohio.edu

Students should stand against legitimacy of Sudan elections A historic day in the international community is quickly approaching. On April 11 Sudan will hold its “democratic elections,” mandated by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ending a three-decades long civil war between North and South Sudan.

Elections in a third world country should illustrate political progress in a nation known for its tyranny, yet these elections illustrate the opposite.

Current President Omar al-Bashir seeks to continue his reign in Sudan — a reign that includes a legal genocide against his own citizens in Darfur. Bashir, when elected, will gain legitimacy and support from the international community with a facade of being a democratically elected leader.

Bashir is responsible for the genocide plaguing

Darfur since 2003. Up to 400,000 people have died, mostly due to direct violence, and an additional two million Darfurians are displaced — many seeking refuge in neighboring Chad. The International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Bashir several years ago for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide and in March 2009 issued an arrest warrant, the first ever against a sitting head of state. Nearly the entire international community recognizes him as a tyrant (one major exception is China, Sudan’s leading trade partner) yet too few international leaders are voicing concern for the upcoming elections.

It is quite common for dictators to hold “democratic elections.” They seek to mask their dictatorial ways with democratic legitimacy and the pretense of a public will. Much like dictators of the past, Bashir controls Sudan’s media, thereby eliminating access to alternate candidates. There are other candidates, but without venues to communicate their message they have very few opportunities to engage their public. Additionally, Bashir continues his traditional use of intimidation and violence. On March 15, Abdallah Mahdi Badawi, an accounting student at Ahlei University in Sudan, was detained and tortured for his involvement in Girifna, a non-violent political group literally meaning “we are fed up.” Furthermore, only secure areas of Sudan can participate in the April 11 elections, and many towns in Darfur are cast as too volatile for elections. Thus, all two and a half million displaced persons cannot vote, because they are considered unregistered voters. Those who remain in Darfur will be excluded because polls will not be organized, and any opposition faces detention, torture and potentially death. This potent mixture will only result in the election of Bashir. On paper, he will be a democratically elected official, but nothing is fair or free about these elections.

We must combat any U.S. support — and, astonishingly, there is some — for these sham elections.

Sudan Sham 2010 is a national campaign aimed at eliminating American support, thereby refusing to legitimize Bashir’s reign or condone its violence.

The campaign targets the 50 states in the 50 days leading up to the elections, and Ohio acts on April 1. More incredibly, Miami University’s Save Darfur student organization is leading students, activists and all Ohioans on April 1. Ohioans have a unique moment to raise their voices, but the Miami community especially has a wonderful opportunity to unite and effectively influence this campaign.

We hope you’ll join us on April 1, a truly historic day for Miami and Ohio.

Brooke Hathaway hathawbl@muohio.edu

Jono Kupferberg kupferja@muohio.edu

Women’s Center underutilized due to lack of awareness With all the attention given to numerous oncampus places of support for students, the Miami University Women’s Center is often overlooked. Nearly everyone knows about Student Counseling Services, the Rinella Learning Center, the Howe Center for Writing Excellence and Career Services, but it seems like hardly anyone is familiar with the Women’s Center. I will admit I didn’t know we even had a Women’s Center until I applied to work there as a student ambassador. The Women’s Center, located in 205 MacMillan Hall, provides a place of support and community for students, as well as a community room with a library resource collection and free printing. Unfortunately, it seems many students are afraid to utilize the Women’s Center because they do not understand what is available or who can use it. The staff of the Women’s Center hopes to provide a comfortable area where everyone is welcome: men and women, students and staff. From personal experience, I have found the Women’s Center is a place where there is always lively discussion and a place where it easy to be myself and form strong friendships.

I would encourage anyone who has not been to the Women’s Center to stop by and see what we are all about.

Maggie Elwood

elwoodme@muohio.edu

OpEd Page

THE MIAMI STUDENT

➤ THE WORLD ACCORDING TO WILL

Drug war requires cooperation Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

After years of losing the battle of drugs, Tuesday, the United States and Mexican governments reached the same conclusion on Will the war on drugs Hoyt Launching a $331 million counternarcotics initiative that redirects both nations’ unified war, they will move away from a military-led strategy that has resulted in enormous drug related violence, and which Mexican President Felipe Calderón has made the core of his presidency since he took power in 2006.

The plan aims to strengthen Mexican law enforcement institutions and rebuild communities ravaged by crime and poverty. While it is certainly clear a change in strategy is necessary, it is unclear on whether the new plan can uproot the fundamental problems that comprise the drug war.

Since taking power in 2006, Mr. Calderón has deployed more than 45,000 federal troops to battle cartels, including 7,000 to Ciudad Juárez, the symbolic capital of the drug war. It hasn’t worked.

During four years there have been more than 18,000 drug related murders in Mexico, with over 5,300 occurring in Ciudad Juárez.

Moving away from military based strategy is the correct first step.

Much of Mexico’s drug related violence stemmed from federal troops upsetting the order of cartels that battle for lucrative trading routes into the U.S. The new plan will move funding away from military equipment and place the focus on the training of Mexican intelligence officers, judges, prosecutors and local police who have been largely uninvolved in combating organized crime in Mexico.

All of these moves are a step in the right direction. However, it will be seen as to the whether they can truly harm the cartel’s business. Drug cartels possess enormous power in Mexico, and tap into nearly every government entity within the country. The U.S. and Mexico need to be careful with current and new tenants of these positions, as many are susceptible to being either bribed or threatened into working for drug cartels.

It will take careful screening to ensure the integrity of these revamped civilian law enforcement institutions.

Aside from a departure from military strategy, and increased border security, the plan also seeks to strengthen communities ravaged by drug violence. According to a March 23 article in The New York Times, to cities like Juarez that have lost out on nearly $1 billion in potential investment over the past few years this is vital. Without a steady flow of investment, cities like Juarez are stuck poverty and very susceptible to drug gangs. As long as murders keep occurring however, investment will be impossible to achieve.

Overall, the plan is the right move in a war that has devastated the country, especially those who live in major border towns. Although it may not solve the problem of drug trafficking, it hopefully will result in an eventual decrease in violence, at least compared to at the height of Calderón’s campaign. If there is to be a major breakthrough in the war on drugs in Mexico it will be through a unified effort like this.

Both countries are responsible for the problem. As they are beginning to now, the U.S. needs to acknowledge it is their demand for drugs that drive the drug trade in Mexico.

Additionally, guns made in the U.S. are being used by the cartels to fight against government officials.

It will take the addressing of these fundamental issues for any strategy change to have any substantial effect.

Until then, all they can do is keep try to avoid insanity.

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 ♦ 11

A look at liberal education: Part 4

➤ FOLLY, HATRED AND SCHIZOPHRENIA

The Miami Plan: 24 years later Education, T. William Houk Professor of physics houktw@muohio.edu

Liberal education means a lot of things to a lot of people. In an exploration of what liberal education means to those who teach and learn by its precepts, The Miami Student is printing a series of essays on the subject by students, staff and faculty culminating in an open forum at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 6 in Pearson 218. Liberal Education Council members will be on hand to consider ways the university can improve the substance and implementation of the Miami Plan.

In 1986 when I was asked to write a piece for The Miami Report discussing liberal education, we were at the cusp of a new beginning for the liberal education process at Miami University.

The Miami Plan was a culmination of five years of intensive effort by many of us and our colleagues to provide a rational basis for what a liberal education should be and how it would be accomplished within the university’s framework.

While the details of the implementation of the theoretical framework were where the devil was, as usual, I do believe the basic structure of the Miami Plan was overwhelmingly accepted by the university community.

In my remarks at that time I focused on the overall goal of what I thought liberal education meant: providing our students with the breadth of knowledge and the intellectual maturity and the motivation to continue to learn and adapt throughout their lifetimes. I do not think that overarching goal is any less important now than it was then.

However, there is no question the changes in the world in which we live have, and will continue to have, an important impact on how we view liberal education.

In the 1980s we still had some ability to take the “ivory tower approach” that a liberal education was not supposed to be vocational; some still maintain this is so. Under this approach, liberal education is only for the “elite” who can afford to engage in the idle pursuits of the trivium and quadrivium. This is clearly not where we find ourselves today. We must strengthen the meaning of liberal education in the context of the vocational drive we now find prevalent in our students. We must be sure members of the Miami community understand why the construct of a liberal education is essential to students’ abilities to have successful, satisfying careers as members of a highly diverse, global, technological society.

The shift from Euro-American centered economics toward globalization and the increasing importance of diversity in cultures has also had a powerful influence on how we envision the framework of liberal education and its implementation within the Academy. This past year we created the Global Miami Plan in recognition of

these changes.

In addition, there can be no question the technological milieu in which we find ourselves today is vastly different than 20 years ago. Only those who have lived through the development of the information age may be able to appreciate the changes that have been wrought in the ability to instantly communicate and access the knowledge base of humanity. It can be overwhelming, although students accept it as a way of life. Those who have the advantage of hindsight realize the goals of a liberal education are even more important now than they might have been just a decade ago. Our students must have the breadth and depth of knowledge the Miami Plan provides in order to become intelligent evaluators and discriminating users of the information they see on their screens every day nearly all day, if my classes are any indication.

We must, of course, incorporate the best practices in education to insure the outcomes we seek. The top 25 project, inquiry-based learning and involvement of our students in the highest from of learning, original inquiry, (research) are all emphases we need to pursue vigorously, even in times of limited resources.

In closing let me provide some insight onto just how “prescient” the Miami plan was when it was developed by looking at a recent report on liberal education in the 21st century. “College Learning for the New Global Century” from the Association of American Colleges and Universities lists essential learning outcomes for liberal education.

They are knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural sciences, intellectual and practical skills, personal and social responsibility, and integrative learning.

While these “outcomes” are more expansive than those in the original Miami Plan, a reading of the “little red book” that is the plan’s founding document, as well as knowledge of the changes instituted in the Miami Plan since its inception, should convince you that members of our community are well served. The above recommendations clearly dovetail closely with what the Miami Plan espouses, and we need to be vigilant that we can show it accomplishes what it sets out to do.

➤ ESSAY

Flights yield surprise opportunities For the past three years I have taken the same flight home to New York from the Dayton International Airport. It’s also been three years since I started my long streak of plane rides plopped next to the most peculiar walks of life. On these flights, I have yet to fail at meeting anyone less than ordinary. Whether it was my encounter with a man traveling to California from Morocco in hope to start a restaurant business, and later inviting me to his camel farm situated on the coast, the female screen writer who was finishing her third screen play about the terrible divorce her and her all-along gay husband went through or the lonely traveling business man who did everything in his right mind to draw attention to the fact that his ring finger was vacant, I’ve heard and seen it all.

Last weekend I had to make my usual trip back home, however, this time it was for a more exciting reason than to see mom and dad. After months stalking human resource departments and stressing over the infamous senior year internship that began to seem more like a maddening requisite than an additional opportunity, I received a call from the model management company I’ve been dreaming to work with. They wanted to meet in New York for an interview. Ecstatic, I booked my flight, packed my bags and ventured onto the familiar flight back home.

With my track record, I knew I was about to hear a sorrowful life story as soon as I took my

seat in the back of the plane. I put on my headphones and daydreamed out the window while the man next to me took his seat. For a while I was in the clear until I felt a tap on my shoulder and hear the words, “What’s your horoscope sign?” I thought I heard it all …

It turned out I was the first Taurus he has ever sat next to on his familiar flight from Dayton to New York. He had been flying back and forth also for three years, trying to start up an organic food company in Cincinnati. He asked me what I was studying in school and what I wanted to do with my career. Having memorized my elevator pitch, what every student studying business must know better than his or her own address, I told him I was studying mass communications and entrepreneurship and wanted to pursue something along the lines of publishing and production. With the sound of those few words, the man, who also was an aspiring entrepreneur, turned to me and said, “Well you’re talking to the right person. I’m one of the producers at ‘The Martha Stewart Show,’ how about I get you an interview for an internship?”

I was astonished. Just like that? After months of making hundreds of phone calls, revising hundreds of resumes and cover letters to fit company descriptions and after months of not hearing back from places nowhere near as prominent as “The Martha Stewart Show,” I received an interview from a man I met for only five minutes on my usual schlep to New

York. What made me even more surprised was the fact that I was hoping to ignore him, thinking he would waste my time with stories of jejune life lessons and small talk in way too small of spaces. That day I realized being stuck with a total stranger on an hour and 20 minute flight could in fact be the best business networking opportunity to ever happen.

Intrigued by the idea of using airplane time to network, I discovered a Web site called AirTroductions.com, which allows you to post a public profile about yourself. You, along with other travelers, can then read about the different types of people traveling on the flight and are given the opportunity to sit next to them. You can network, meet a love connection or sit next to someone you think to be interesting for your multihour flight. Instead of hearing the Jaws theme song every time someone sits into the seat next to you, you could view your plane time as more as an opportunity rather than an annoyance.

For all students at Miami University, the next few years will be full of desperate attempts to stand out in a sea of applicants yearning for the same thing.

However, what I learned that day was the best opportunities are often invisible and are often closer and easier to grasp than we think. So the next time you put on your iPod and zone out, pay attention to what’s around you; you’ll end up a lot further from where you last took off.

CHLOE ESPOSITO

esposic@muohio.edu

sports, need integrity

College sports had their fair share of scandal in 2009. Two of the best-known involved University of Oregon (UO) and University of Southern California (USC).

UO’s football team had problems with a handful of players, the Lawrence most famous of Uebel whom probably being LeGarrette Blount who was reinstated after a suspension for cold cocking an opposing player who had taunted him during one postgame. USC, on the other hand, has been under investigation by the NCAA for years. The NCAA had received reports that USC coaches or their intermediaries may have enticed star players Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo with benefits worth thousands of dollars.

Commenting on the situation at UO, Lonnie White wrote, “A head coach’s desire to win is usually heard a lot louder than his willingness to recruit responsible student athletes.” Many people quickly condemn such decisions.

But the reality of the pressures facing coaches is astounding.

Running a top-tier NCAA program is an activity abounding in complexity with millions of dollars at stake.

Philosophy is a subject that is unbearably frustrating at times and frequently disconnected from reality. Bertrand Russell once wrote, “The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.” But one good thing about philosophy is it forces you to think in great depth, often about things you would hardly have considered otherwise; and one of the most valuable of those things is to consider your own outlook on subjects that seem straightforward at first glance.

The term “coaching philosophies” gets thrown around a lot, but there are two that every college coach has to choose between: the belief that anything is worth winning and the belief that developing student athletes into mature, responsible adults is first priority. It’s easy to knock the first school and tout the second, but the first is probably the most widely practiced and is often responsible for getting us the super-powered teams that we love to watch.

Education faces a similar dilemma. In front of the new Farmer School of Business, two mantras are engraved fittingly opposite each other. The first reads, “Knowledge is power” and the second, “Leadership requires vision, integrity, and courage.” The real keyword in that second one is “integrity.” While the first espouses a value-neutral philosophy of education — we’re here for our own personal gain, to obtain the skills necessary to get influential and well-paying jobs, with which we can do good but are not necessarily expected to do so — the second implies a communal approach, in which we become leaders possessing character and responsibility.

Unlike the football example, these two beliefs are not necessarily exclusive. The second, in fact, almost incorporates the first. The emphasis is still on producing “visionaries” of great ability. But the tones starkly contrast, and they reflect a differing of opinion on education’s true purpose, a difference of opinion that silently splits both students and faculty.

So how far did I get here? Not very. I have my own beliefs about both education and college sports, but they aren’t necessarily the “right” ones. But, as my teachers keep telling me, sometimes pinpointing the question is more valuable than actually answering it.

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March 26, 2010

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Sports

THE MIAMI STUDENT

HOCKEY

continued from page 14 Miami will face off against UAH in the afternoon semifinal contest on Saturday, while Michigan and Bemidji State University (BSU) will clash in the late game that night. The regional final is set to take place on Sunday.

Per the usual, the Red and White will be taking this weekend one game at a time. “Our thought is only Alabama right now,� Blasi said. “There is no Sunday game scheduled for Miami — there’s only a Saturday game, so our focus is on Alabama. They’re a very good team, they’re a champion, they won their playoff, they’ve got a great goaltender, they’re very good down the middle and they’ve got a big D-corp.�

Miami and UAH have arrived at this crossroads by different paths — the RedHawks proved their worthiness from the get-go, topping the national polls in 17 of 23 weeks in the 2009-10 campaign, while the Chargers pulled off a surprise win in the CHA championship to clinch the conference’s final auto bid. This marks just the second time in program history UAH has broken into the final field of 16, with the last appearance occurring in 2007.

This Saturday will mark the seventh time Miami and UAH have faced each other, the first since 2003-04, and the first in the postseason. The Brotherhood holds a 5-1-0 ledger in the all time series over the Chargers. The Royal Blue and White, though not quite as impressive on paper as some of the nation’s other elite teams, is a force to be reckoned with and a team the Red and White is not taking lightly. “They’re a good team,� Wingels said. “They’re playing very well right now. Obviously, if you win your conference tournament, you’re probably playing your best hockey. We’re going to have to play our best to beat them and we know they’re going to come out hard.�

UAH sophomore Cody Camp-

bell and junior Andrew Copburn lead the team’s scoring, currently holding identical marks of seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points.

By this ruler, the Chargers appear outmatched when compared to Miami’s eight 20-plus point holders, three of whom — senior Jarod Palmer along with Wingels and Miele — have exceeded the 40-plus mark. The Royal Blue and White’s offensive numbers fall near the bottom of the pack, while the RedHawks’ 3.44 goals per game average ranks eighth overall. “Our team’s the best when we can roll all four lines and it shows in our scoring,� Wingels said. “Teams can’t match lines at this point in the season when you have three, four lines going, and we have a lot of skilled guys. Guys who work hard are spread amongst all four lines, and it makes us very difficult to play against.�

The takeaway point from all of this is that the Chargers know how to play, and succeed, in close games.

Eight of UAH’s 12 victories have been won by one-goal margins, with the Royal Blue and White’s most recent triumphs in the CHA Tournament serving as key examples of this. The Chargers bested favored regular season runaway BSU 1-0 in the semifinals before moving on and securing a 3-2 overtime win against Niagra to claim the title.

This experience will prove invaluable to UAH in the national tournament, as close games are the norm amongst the nation’s top 16 teams.

Games at this elite level are battles and score sheets are normally devoid of blowout victories.

Though the Red and White has expanded its scoring margin to the point of overtaking the topranked spot on the national stats sheet, Miami is also very versed in playing close games, as some of the RedHawks’ most critical wins (and losses) this season have ridden the fine one-goal line.

The biggest common denominator for these two teams is some of the hottest goaltenders in the country. The Brotherhood has relied on sophomore net minders Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp to stay strong when things break down in front of the net.

The tandem has combined for a school record eight combined

shutouts this season, and has been an invaluable contributor to the RedHawks’ No. 2 defense.

Reichard (0.924 save percentage, 1.79 goals against average) and Knapp (0.921 SP, 1.88 GAA) enter the weekend ranked second and third overall, respectively. One of Blasi’s favorite things to say is that he has two No. 1 goaltenders that makes choosing a go to guy for the tournament all the more difficult. Speculation has it that the recently red hot Knapp will get the starting job over CCHA Player of the Year Reichard this weekend, though.

Junior Cameron Talbot has been the man for the Chargers this season, compiling a sixth ranked 0.922 SP that falls nearly dead even with Reichard’s numbers, in addition to a 2.64 GAA. The Caledonia, Ont. native is the final stopping point in UAH’s stingy defense and has also helped to maintain the team’s 87.1 percent kill rate when the Royal Blue and White finds itself at the man-disadvantage. “They’re a very good team,�

Miele said. “They’ve got a hot goalie right now. We need to get a lot of shots on net. They won their division, which is great for them.

They beat Bemidji, who beat us earlier in the year, so we’re not taking them lightly at all. We’re going to be ready to play.�

With the one-and-done consequences of this tournament, hopes of success hang on Miami’s capacity to play its best game under pressure. “We really enjoy (the single elimination format) because it brings the best out of every player on the team,� Miele said. “You get everyone’s best every night and we know when we’re playing our best hockey we have all four lines going, all six D playing, and our goaltender, we’re one of the best teams in the nation.�

Miami and UAH will face off at 4 p.m. March 27 in the semifinal contest. Should the RedHawks advance, they will compete against the winner of Michigan v. BSU at 8 p.m. March 28. Both games will be televised on ESPNU and, as always, fans can follow along with WMSR’s live coverage of the action by tuning in to http://www.redhawkradio.com.

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 ♌ 13

softball

Boilmakers halt RedHawk winning streak

By JM Rieger Staff Writer

Coming off a big win over the weekend at the Miami Invitational, the Miami University softball team was looking for their first ever victory against Purdue University Wednesday.

However, a four run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning was enough for the Boilermakers to hold on to a 6-4 victory over the Red and White. The loss drops Miami to 11-14 on the season, and ends their two game winning streak.

The RedHawks got great performances out of senior shortstop Sarah Billstrom who went 2-3 including a solo homerun in the top of the sixth and sophomore third baseman Daniela Torres who was 2-4 on the day including a leadoff home run to start the game. In addition, Torres was coming off a terrific week last week where she was named the Co-Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division Player of the Week. “(It is important) to play together as a team and we do have high potential (as a team),� Torres said. “I am not playing for myself but I am playing for the team and especially for the seniors to give them a great year.�

The Red and White got off to a quick start Wednesday as Torres began the game with a solo shot to right center field. Purdue answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first and the score remained tied until Billstrom hit a bases loaded single in the top of the third, scoring two.

Purdue would answer in the bottom of the fifth with a four run inning that ultimately proved to be the deciding factor as both teams would each score one run in the sixth inning.

“We thought it would be a slugfest and we wanted to shut them down on defense,� Billstrom said. “We kept ourselves in the game offensively and defensively and we need to keep working hard and continue to learn about the game.�

Sophomore Jessica Simpson got the start for the Red and White and allowed two earned runs in six innings of work. She pitched very well for Miami and has been one of their most consistent players this year. Meanwhile, senior pitcher Meredith Linch got the loss in relief of Simpson, giving up three earned runs and two hits in the fifth inning.

One of the biggest goals for this year’s team has been to repeat as MAC Champions. MAC play opens for the Red and White a week from Saturday against Ball State University, and the RedHawks will be looking to start off on the right foot. “We know we can play with anyone and we know the high expectations,� Torres said. “We’ve been there before so we just need to play our ‘A’ game every game.�

In addition, the RedHawks know the importance of senior leadership coming down the stretch, and they have plenty of experience on this year’s squad, starting with Billstrom. “We want to play for one another regardless of age,� Billstrom said. “Last year’s team set a level of expectations and I want to leave my mark on the program and give back to it what it has given to me. If we show up to play, (I believe) we can beat any given team.�

Up next for the Red and White will be a doubleheader against University of Dayton Thursday, where they will be looking to avenge this loss to Purdue. The first pitch is set for 2 p.m.

The Miami Student is looking for sports columnists E-mail Katie at giovinkl@muohio.edu.

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14

Sports

Friday

March 26, 2010

baseball

MU stuns EKU with 11-3 victory

Gallagher’s Going for Two

D

Senior Staff Writer

SCOTT ALLISON The Miami Student

Jordan Jankowski watches Brad Gschwind slide into safety Wednesday.

Jankowski was the highlight of the run barrage because of his towering shot to left field that got lost in the evening sky. The sophomore finished 2-2 in his five plate appearances, scoring four runs and getting walked three times.

“I was really patient and I got a pitch to hit,” Jankowski said. “Hitting around with Zak Hatfield and Weisenburger, it’s a lot easier to get pitches to see because they don’t want to face those guys. This is what we are capable of. If we work the plan like the coaches tell us, to be patient and get pitches to hit, we’re going to be hard to beat. If we are patient and get good swings on the ball, the ball is going to drop.”

Third baseman Brad Gschwind, Hatfield, Weldon and second baseman Jon Edgington each added two hits for the RedHawks.

“We’ve got a pretty good offensive team,” Simonds said. “We’ve got power and speed and feel that we can put runs up on the board. We are putting better innings together through the course of the game.”

The Red and White take the field again at 6 p.m. Friday for MAC action against CMU in Oxford.

MICHAEL GRIGGS The Miami Student

Sophomore goalie Connor Knapp stands guard of the sin bin during Miami’s CCHA Tournament game against Ferris State University March 20.

hockey

’Hawks head into NCAA tournament

By Erika Hadley Senior Staff Writer

Four wins. That’s all that separates the topseeded Miami University men’s ice hockey team (27-7-7 overall) from a long desired national championship.

Through many trials and tribulations over the past five years, Head Coach Enrico Blasi has held out faith that his team is a national championship team, but the Red and White has yet to claim the hardware to prove it, even after skating to the brink of clinching the title just one season ago.

This weekend, Miami will make its fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament with a regional semifinal matchup v. the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

The RedHawks have appeared in the final field of 16 eight times over the course of program history, though the consistency of the last five years has taken that accomplishment and evolved it from being a nice exclamation point at the end of the season to a serious goal.

In past seasons, the RedHawks have traveled hundreds of miles to play in their

Recalling greatest win in the MAC Brian Gallagher

By Alex Butler

After a successful opening day the Miami University men’s baseball team took a retreat from the pristine pasture of McKie Field at Hayden Park to tour the southern states.

The RedHawks have logged more than 5,000 miles traveling the states on the young season.

On Wednesday, the Red and White (9-10) were back where they belonged and a swarm of fans welcomed them with open arms and applauding palms while they pulled off an 11-3 victory over the Eastern Kentucky University (8-11).

“It’s nice to bounce back,” Head Coach Dan Simonds said. “We’ve had a few games where we are a little bit flat. I don’t know what played into that, granted it was some kind of long bus trips with it, but still it’s no excuse. We have to play better.”

The collision with the Colonels jumpstarts a five game homestretch and prepared the Red and White for the Central Michigan University (CMU) Chippewas in their first Mid-American Conference action.

Colonel bats took command in the first inning when the unwelcomed visitors put up a two spot to get things started. The Red and White wit was quick when they equaled the Colonel effort by crossing the plate twice themselves in the next inning and knotted the game up at 2-2. First baseman Kyle Weldon belted a pitch over the right field fence to earn both RBIs. “It’s nice to see us come out tonight and do things the right way in all phases of our game,” Simonds said. “We had much better approaches at the plate. We were fouling off more pitches, keeping our at-bats alive and some guys came through with big hits.”

From there, RedHawk pitchers started throwing flames and all the Colonels could do was sweat. Coach Simonds’ bullpen kept Colonel bats quiet by not allowing a run in five straight innings, allowing the offense to advance the advantage to 4-2 in the fourth frame.

The Red and White shoved salt in the wound by posting three and four runs in the sixth and seventh stanzas. Sophomore Jordan

Editor Katie Giovinale giovinkl@muohio.edu

assigned regional brackets, but this year Miami needs to look no farther than Fort Wayne, Ind. — for the first time in history, the Red and White has secured the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed.

“It’s a recognition of what we’ve done all year,” said Blasi, who was named collegehockeynews.com’s Coach of the Year.

“Obviously we’ve been pretty consistent and that’s a tribute to our team and staying focused week after week.”

Nearly a year has passed since the Brotherhood suffered a gut-wrenching overtime defeat at the hands of Boston University in last season’s national championship contest.

Returning to college hockey’s grandest stage has been on everyone’s minds all year and the team is playing with a purpose.

“We’re all real excited about it,” junior Andy Miele said. “(Getting back to the tournament) is something that’s been in the back of our minds all year.”

Perhaps even more prominent in the RedHawks’ minds is the most devastating loss of all – the tragic death of senior student manager Brendan Burke earlier this season. The loss sent shockwaves through the team and

the Brotherhood adorned their jerseys and helmets with clover-shaped emblems bearing the initials “BB” as a tribute to ‘Burkie.’

“We have a lot of things that serve as reminders of him, but probably the biggest reminder is the memories that we have,” junior captain Tommy Wingels said. “He meant something different to each guy on the team and each guy will have that one memory that makes you feel good about him.”

Fate works in interesting ways, and the RedHawks’ trip to Fort Wayne, Ind. will take them directly past the place where Brendan’s fatal auto accident occurred on Feb. 5.

“We’re going to stop the bus and take a couple of minutes as a team and just think about Burkie a little bit, and then we’ll make our way to Fort Wayne,” Blasi said. “We know he’s with us. We want to make sure he’s along for the ride and that he’s got the best seat watching his favorite team.”

Once in Fort Wayne them team will face stiff competition amongst a field comprised of two CCHA teams and two College Hockey America (CHA) teams.

wSee HOCKEY, page 14

eep within the bowels of Yager Stadium is a dark locker room, occasionally used by some of the “other” varsity sports. In this room, there is a board that remembers “The MAC’s Greatest Victory.” This is of course speaking of the hallowed day in 1986 when the Miami University Redskins (one of the most politically incorrect nicknames in history) took down the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers who were ranked eighth in the country at the time.

The board has every article published about the football game (people in Idaho even knew about this game) and it recalls a time when “little Miami” took down a college football powerhouse.

However, with all the upsets that have taken place recently in the NCAA basketball tournament, surely there must be a victory somewhere in the annals of tournament history that compares to the victory over LSU, right? So I hopped in the DeLorean from Back to the Future and took a ride through recent history to find another great victory for the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

The year was 1999, and our own Miami was living in Wally’s World as Walter “Wally” Szczerbiak led Miami to the Sweet Sixteen. In the first round, Wally put the team on his back and scored 43 of his team’s 58 points to beat the University of Washington 58-57.

Forty-three points out of 58! For those of you non-math majors, that’s nearly 75 percent of the Miami’s points. He even blocked a last second shot attempt by the Huskies that would have ended Miami’s run early. Even though he may have been sore from carrying his team into the round of 32, Wally still led the team to a victory of No. 2 seed, Utah.

The Utes had coaching legend Rick Majerus and were led by Andre Miller, who would become an established NBA player. The RedHawks eventually fell to Kansas, but even today people still remember Wally dancing Miami into tournament history.

The deepest a MAC team has gone in the tournament (in its current format with 64 teams) was in 2002 when Kent State University (KSU) made it to the Elite Eight. None of the players that led the Golden Flashes that year would play in the NBA. In fact, the most famous of any of those players was Antonio Gates, who has gained a reputation as one of the best tight ends in the NFL. The biggest upset KSU pulled during their run was against the SEC champions and No. 2-seeded University of Alabama Crimson Tide on their way to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The Tide had held the No. 1 ranking in the country for a time that year, and was led by future NBA All-Star Mo Williams. The Flashes shrugged off ’Bama only to fall to the Indiana University Hoosiers who made it to the championship game. By that time, KSU had already made their mark.

While I won’t try and pretend that I picked Ohio University to take down Georgetown University this year, they kept up the tradition of MAC upsets of big-time programs. This was their first win in the tournament since 1983, and the victory effectively ruined that side of my bracket. Few people picked them to win, and even those that did were shocked when it happened, but it’s those moments that make people love March Madness.

The MAC is not part of the Bowl Championship Series, does not routinely make the top 25 in the national polls and does not have first round draft picks leading its teams every year. Nevertheless, its teams have pulled some of the best upsets in NCAA tournament history. They beat the programs that had pampered stars, with full scholarships for everyone and possible NCAA violations. That’s why these upsets are so special. Whether it’s David versus Goliath, Henry V’s victory over the French on St. Crispin’s Day in 1415, or the simple Cinderella story, everybody loves an upset by the underdog.