ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 148 No. 13
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020
The long road to sustainability at Miami
President Crawford decided to sign the PCLC. Here’s a roadmap to understand how we got here.
SAMANTHA BRUNN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Adam Sizemore sits in the dark. Down a narrow hallway of the Physical Facilities Department, behind a heavy door wired to a buzzing lock — one that can only be opened when an administrative assistant is at the window — Miami University’s Sustainability Director leans back in his office chair. The low afternoon sunlight comes through the blinds, dusting pieces of the room, the rest in comfortable shadow. “I figure, why waste electricity, right?” he said. Sizemore came to Miami in July 2018 as the sole member of the Sustainability Department. Before that, there was a push for sustainability efforts on campus beginning in 2008, when Yvette Kline was the Sustainability Director. After she left, two years went by while Miami failed to staff the department. Multiple hiring searches came up empty because Miami couldn’t find who they were looking for to lead the department in a new direction, David Creamer, Miami’s vice president for finance and business services and treasurer, said. The synergy built between the university and student groups on campus dwindled without a leader. “My first two months was really just going
ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR WELLS; PHOTO BY BO BRUECK
through Yvette’s old files and understanding what sustainability was at Miami, and that’s something that I still think I can continue to learn about,” Sizemore said back in April 2019. Sizemore spent his first year on campus trying to pick up where the progress had left off. He initiated a battery recycling program across campus. He calculated Miami’s carbon footprint. He spent three months just submit ting data for Miami’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) report, which is used as a “transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance,” according to the reporting system’s website. “You want to talk about the best way to learn a university, is this right here,” Sizemore said, gesturing toward his dimly-lit computer screen displaying the STARS report. “As someone that’s in this position that just has no idea where any of these things are and who all these people are, that has really helped me connect with people and network across the university.”
Despite all of the data he submitted for the STARS report, though, Sizemore said he still doesn’t know how to benchmark Miami against its peer institutions. Sizemore said Miami’s isolation among endless acres of corn makes it hard to compare to peer institutions. However, Miami certainly isn’t the only university to face this set of problems. But the whole point of STARS is to provide a common measurement system for campuses across the country. Miami was among 126 institutions to receive a gold rating. Only five universities have achieved the highest ranking — platinum. However, STARS is no longer widely-used in the industry. It merged with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the nonprofit known for its LEED certification system, in 2018. USGBC has faced accusations of greenwashing its ability to help corporations combat climate change and of not holding corporations to a high enough standard to face the current climate crisis. So Miami continues to measure its sustain-
For 10 points:
Who are the hosts of Top Deck Trivia?
CARRYING ON AN ILLUSTRIOUS TRADITION, BEN AND HUNTER ADD THEIR OWN PERSONALITY TO THE ROLES OF HOST. THE MIAMI STUDENT SEKSHAM SHRESTHA
MAYA FENTER
MAGAZINE EDITOR-AT-LARGE On the first Wednesday of the spring semester, the line to get into Top Deck extended all the way down the stairs.
Inside, the bar was buzzing with people carrying pitchers of beer to their tables and teams trying to find a space to sit — or at this point, stand. Ben Storsved, who graduated in December, and junior Hunter Wotruba stood in the back
corner of the bar, behind a laptop and sound system and under a glowing Chicago Cubs logo sign — one of many neon signs decorating Top Deck’s walls. As the clock strikes 10 p.m., Ben leans in and speaks warmly into a microphone.
CULTURE
SPORTS
ability by a standard that no longer carries the credibility it once had. Now, over the course of the last year, Miami has weighed whether to pursue a different standard — the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitment (PCLC). In January 2019, President Greg Crawford charged the University Sustainability Committee with determining whether the PCLC was worth signing and whether Miami should strive to become the most sustainable university in the U.S. The PCLC is a nationwide commitment pioneered by Second Nature, a nonprofit that aims to help higher education institutions eliminate carbon emissions, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deal with a changing climate. By signing the agreement, Crawford would be agreeing to complete a Climate Action Plan that would include a target date for carbon neutrality, among other things, and agreeing to submit annual progress reports and pay dues to the organization. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
“Hello friends and welcome back to another fantastic week at Top Deck Trivia!” At the beginning of the school year, Ben and Hunter took over after the previous hosts graduated and have spent just about every Wednesday night emcing Top Deck Trivia. The two didn’t know each other before they started hosting together, but they each started going to trivia nights regularly during their sophomore years. They also both happened to know a previous trivia host —Ben met Jordan Cameron through rowing club and Dungeons and Dragons and Hunter met Alexa Patsey through Model UN. When the call for new hosts went out, Ben and Hunter both expressed their interest, then started writing some questions and helped host until they could host trivia nights on their own. “We get along and we have similar interests,” Hunter said. “There’s been no conflict as of yet and I don’t think there will be.” The format of Top Deck Trivia is simple: There are 14 categories, three questions per category and two categories per round. Each correct answer is worth 10 points. At the end, there’s one Final-Jeopardy-style question where teams can wager their points. Teams can be any size and each has to come up with a team name. There are some teams who are Top Deck Trivia regulars and come back with the same name every time, like “Ikea Shark.” Hunter’s favorite names are ones that are puns on current events. First place gets a $25 Skipper’s gift card, second place gets $10 and third place gets a free pitcher of Mind Probe or Long Island Iced Tea. There’s really only one rule: no phones. “Friendly reminder: stay off your phones!” Ben will say over the microphone if he sees anyone hunched over. Then the whole bar will start chanting “shame” in the perpetrator’s general direction. Each week, Hunter and Ben write seven categories, or 21 questions each. There are some recurring categories, such as CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
This Issue NEWS
What's it like to be laid off by your wife? page 3
In the wake of coronavirus Miami students show support and skepticism. page 9
Football is over Get ready for baseball and spring. page 10
OPINION
Feeling nostalgic? Blame pop culture. page 12