ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 162 No. 8
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2024
'It's about what kind of university we are': Dramatic changes proposed to campus Potential new Miami community basketball stadium responds to to upend Slant possible hotel Walk location
COOK FIELD IS A HEAVILY UTILIZED GREEN SPACE ON CAMPUS AND IS A PROPOSED LOCATION FOR A NEW UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED HOTEL. PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCH
UNIVERSITY ADMIN IS CONSIDERING BUILDING A NEW ARENA NEAR SLANT WALK AS A REPLACEMENT FOR MILLETT HALL. PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCH
In this issue
ANNA REIER
KETHAN BABU
ASST. CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR
SPORTS EDITOR
Throughout parent’s weekends, move-in and graduation, one consistent complaint arises year after year – a lack of lodging options. With more than 16,500 undergraduate students, Oxford has just 379 hotel rooms. To provide adequate hotel options for campus visitors, Miami is looking to build a new university-af¿OLDWHG KRWHO IHDWXULQJ D FRQIHUHQFH center and upscale dining location on Cook Field. David Creamer, senior vice presLGHQW IRU ¿QDQFH DQG EXVLQHVV VHUvices, said he gave developers two sites to consider: one on Cook Field and another by Millett Hall. While QR ¿QDO GHFLVLRQV KDYH EHHQ PDGH Cook Field is preferred due to its centralized location on campus. “The location down by Millett still has some problems from a development standpoint,” Creamer said. “Our goal is to have a developer come in and do this without the university having to take tuition money. That’s why we put it out there; we were concerned that there wouldn’t be any interest in the project, but [Cook Field] did prompt interest because it’s right on [Highway] 73.” To accommodate the hotel and avoid losing green space for student use, Miami would place the hotel on the northwest corner of Cook Field and replace the natural grass area closest to Highway 73 with new turf. “The turf is about 12 years old and needs to be replaced,” Creamer said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
‘Outrageous’: First-Year Integrated Core attendance policy sets high bar for business students PARKER GREEN THE MIAMI STUDENT
GREENHAWKS
Meet Jack Vaughn, Miami’s very own 'Butterfly Man' - page 12
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
‘Understanding and uplifting’: How one professor passes on her passion for music - page 5
)RU ¿UVW \HDU VWXGHQWV LQ WKH Farmer School of Business, going to class is no laughing matter. Members of the First Year Integrated Core (FYIC), face some of the strictest attendance policies on Miami University’s campus with only two excused absences before their JUDGHV EHJLQ WR VX̆HU $FFRUGLQJ WR ṘFLDO )<,& V\Olabi, anything after those two days, including illness or a death in the family, is considered unexcused and ZLOO UHVXOW LQ D PDUNGRZQ R̆ WKH VWXGHQW¶V ¿QDO JUDGH IRU HYHU\ GD\ missed. And if you miss nine additional days, it’s an automatic failure in the course, making the stakes incredibly high. But what is FYIC? The FYIC program prepares business students for the rest of their time at Farmer, featuring four core classes that cover everything from team building to beginner coding. The program prides itself on prepar-
TYLER BLUM OPINION
Hat tricks over hail marys all day - page 9
SPORTS
Walk-on Ethan Wright hopes to make waves for RedHawks - page 7
Deer populations in Miami University’s Natural Areas (MUNA) have skyrocketed in the past decades, and the forest can’t keep up. This increase in population has led to biodiversity loss and created a void for invasive plants to grow and take over the land. Miami responded to this problem in its backyard, and with hunting season gearing up across the state, the natural areas will be open to deer hunting from November 16-February 2 as a further continuation of the deer management plan, which has been in practice for the past few years. Zach McCoy, a senior sports media and communications double major, who previously hunted in the SURJUDP H[SODLQHG WKH H̆HFW RI KLJK GHHU WUḊF “Hueston Woods is a big public hunting area… which gets high [foot] WUḊF DQG LW SXVKHV WKHVH GHHU LQWR
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
What to Expect: Miami synchronized skating 202425 season HAYLEY LUBY STAFF WRITER
MIAMI UNIVERSITY'S FARMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS HAS ONE OF THE STRICTEST ATTENDANCE POLICIES ON CAMPUS. PHOTO BY LUKE MACY
ing students for the real world, right down to the attendance policy. Joshua Ferris, director of the FYIC, claims that the stringent rules DUH UHÀHFWLYH RI WKH PRGHUQ ZRUNplace. “Just as companies have policies UHJDUGLQJ SDLG WLPH R̆ DQG VLFN GD\V this attendance policy is designed
to mimic real-world workplace expectations,” Ferris said. “In many professional settings, employees are DOORZHG D FHUWDLQ QXPEHU RI GD\V R̆ for personal reasons and illness, but excessive absenteeism can impact their performance reviews and job security.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
The destructor of the natural areas: How Miami is combatting deer overpopulation THE MIAMI STUDENT
For nearly 60 years, Millett Hall has served as the home for the Miami University RedHawks men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams. Men’s basketball inaugurated Millett on Dec. 2, 1968, against the University of Kentucky Wildcats. The women’s basketball team played LWV ¿UVW VHDVRQ LQ DQG YROOH\EDOO moved from Withrow Hall in 1985. In the coming years, Miami might see these teams performing in a new location. In October, Miami announced SODQV IRU VLJQL¿FDQW FDPSXV DGGLtions. One project the university proposed is a $100 to $200 million sports arena to replace Millett. Miami shared information on the other development, a potential hotel on Cook Field, to faculty earlier this \HDU EXW WKH DUHQD ZDV FRQ¿GHQWLDO through the early planning process. University Senate and the Campus Planning Committee weren’t aware of the project until October. Millett’s last renovations took place in 2014 with upgrades to lighting, seating and locker rooms. However, Miami estimates that more than $80 million in deferred maintenance is required for the 56-year-old stadium. The high cost of renovating Millett provides an opportunity for Miami’s administration. David Creamer, Miami’s senior vice president IRU ¿QDQFH VDLG WKH PDLQ JRDO ZLWK future projects is economic development.
these non-pressured pockets,” McCoy said. “And when you have multiple herds of non-pressured pockets of deer, they tear up the native species, and it just invites room for these invasive species to take over and grow.” Hunting will be allowed to the individuals approved by the Natural Areas Manager in consultation with the chair of the Natural Areas Committee, according to their website. +XQWLQJ LV PDQDJHG LQ WKUHH GL̆HUent time slots where each hunter is DOORWWHG D GL̆HUHQW VHFWLRQ RI 081$ To protect potential hikers, hunters are only allowed to bow hunt from deer stands that are at least 50 yards away from trails and must pass an accuracy test before entering the pool of hunters. “There are hundreds of people that enter into this drawing for a limited number of slots,” McCoy said. “If I were to guess, there’s probably no more than 30 to 40 slots for several hundred people that enter into the
drawing. As far as I’m concerned, I think I’m one of the only students that is doing the program.” The program increased the bag limit for hunters this year from two to three, in accordance with the Ohio Division of Wildlife. David Gorchov, professor of biology and chair of the Miami University Natural Areas Committee, explained why Miami followed this change. “Miami University can’t change the bag limit – that’s set by the state,” Gorchov said. “But as landowners, we could impose other restrictions. So, for example, we could limit hunters to one or two if we wanted, but we’re not doing that. We’re allowing hunters to take up to three, as long as they follow state law.” Gorchov explained that the creation of Miami’s deer management program can be traced back to 2010. A study was done to see if deer or CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
The Miami University synchronized skating program enters a new era this season under new head coach Katey Nyquist. The senior synchronized skating WHDP NLFNHG R̆ LWV VHDVRQ this past weekend at the Synchro Fall Classic in Irvine, California. The WHDP SODFHG ¿IWK RYHUDOO The collegiate team’s season will begin this weekend as they travel along with the senior team to Boston for a showing at the Boston Synchronized Skating Classic. Nyquist takes the lead this year IRU KHU ¿UVW VHDVRQ DIWHU IRUPHU head coach Carla Degirolamo and assistant coach Lee Ann Shoker retired at the end of last season. She previously coached at the Denver synchronicity organization. 7KH IRUPHU ¿YH WLPH QDWLRQDO champion expressed her excitement to be in this new position, but she assured the skaters that she’ll do whatever it takes to continue the program’s long-standing history, along with assistant coach Sammie Levine. “I really wanted to make sure I was intentional when I came in, knowing that there is such a long legacy of success here at Miami,” Nyquist said. “I wanted to make sure I honored that and really listened to the athletes and heard where they felt we needed to make changes and where we should keep things the same.” With a strong returning roster PL[HG ZLWK D KDQGIXO RI ¿UVW \HDU skaters, the teams have high expecWDWLRQV FRPLQJ R̆ DQ XQGHIHDWHG collegiate team record and a national title last year. Senior and collegiate team memEHU -RVHSKLQH &ODUN UHÀHFWHG RQ ODVW \HDU¶V VXFFHVVHV DKHDG RI KHU ¿QDO season.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3