The News Record 02.10.13

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VOL. CXXXVIII ISSUE XVVVIII • FREE-ADDITIONAL COPIES $1

THE NEWS RECORD THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI’S INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN NEWS ORGANIZATION / MONDAY, FEB. 10, 2014

HONORING METAMORPHOSES STREAK OVER HOFFMAN

CLASS PROJECT PUTS STUDENTS INTO HOMELESS COMMUNITY

URBAN IMMERSION

CCM PERFORMANCE SAVED BY SPECTACLE OF SET DESIGN

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UCPD offers exclusive look into protective service team training Unit tasked with protecting important guest at UC conducts monthly training simulation MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

The University of Cincinnati’s new athletic director has received a low-level threat from the father of a former basketball player and requires additional protection from the suspected adversary in order to secure smooth transitions throughout his busy day. This is the scenario members of the Dignitary Protection Unit, UC’s protective services team, was given when they arrived at the office early on a snowy Sunday morning. DPU consists of a team of officers that has undergone training through the Executive Protection Institute in Winchester, Va. and specializes in providing public and private executive protection training. The team has provided protective services to high-profile people that visit campus including Speaker of the House John Boehner and U.S. President Barack Obama. The team conducts training exercises similar to Sunday’s once a month. Once the team arrived at the office, they received a phone call from UCPD Capt. Rodney Chatman instructing them on the day’s mission. Once the plan was initiated, David Brinker, a three-year DPU team member, and Rick Rowan, a 10-month team member, climbed into UCPD’s new, unmarked vehicle and

drove to the Hampton Inn on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Former UCPD captain Gene Ferrara, sat in the back seat and critiqued the tow officers during the simulation. When they arrived at the Hampton Inn, Rowan and Brinker walked into the lobby and quickly shifted gears to begin their advance — a detailed check of the environment to ensure safety for their principal. Rowan, the newest addition to the team, followed Brinker for the morning and later put his freshly attained skills to the test. Chatman told Brinker to use the few mistakes that he made as a learning experience. “I don’t know what I don’t know yet,” Rowan said.“The more we do this type of scenario thing, the better I think I’ll be able to catch on.” The officers’ main objective was to control the environment and reduce the risk of exposure to the target — in this case the new athletic director — without him knowing what is going on. The main difference in DPU training from regular police training includes maintaining a proactive mind set and avoiding embarrassment for their principal, where regular police training is mostly reacting to incidents in the community. “The unprofessional approach is to have this big guy with muscles to push people around and keep people away,” Chatman said.“The professional approach is to really research the person you’re protecting, research the environment in terms of the local environment and what SEE TRAINING PG 2

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Officer Rick Rowan (left) escorts Eric Hoeffel (center), who played the new director of athletics during a training exercise, while UCPD Capt. Rodney Chatman (right) plays the role of Hoeffel’s security detail.

NEW DIRECTION

Mega church possibly coming near campus JAMIE MAIER STAFF REPORTER

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Mike Bohn, the new director of athletics at the University of Cincinnati, said he was eager to continue the momentum built under former athletic director Whit Babcock at a press conference Thursday. UC President Santa Ono (right) said he was impressed with Bohn’s experience as an administrator and his success at the University of Colorado.

New director of athletics looks to build on recent momentum at UC RYAN HOFFMAN NEWS EDITOR

The University of Cincinnati’s new athletics director Mike Bohn wants to continue building the successes gained under former athletic director Whit Babcock, and he’s being paid more money to do just that. “I want to take advantage of the momentum here,” Bohn said. “The fans want to see that consistent commitment.” Bohn, who last worked as the director of athletics at the University of Colorado, impressed those involved with the search process, which started and finished in about two weeks. “We have been able to attract to the University of Cincinnati someone whose truly exceptional, who is a seasoned professional who has really moved three great institutions forward,” said President Santa Ono. “I have every optimism and confidence that Mike Bohn is the person who will move the University of Cincinnati program to even greater heights. The future of Bearcat athletics has never been brighter.” Ono started the search immediately

after learning of Babcock’s departure in late January. The list quickly narrowed to 50 candidates, then 40 candidates and finally 10 candidates. Ono said finding a new director of athletics became one of his top priorities. “My job is not to mess around when it comes to the well being of students and the university,” Ono said. Of those final 10, Bohn stood out the most because of “experience and connections with power conferences,” said Fran Barrett, chairman of the Board of Trustees. While at Colorado, Bohn successfully oversaw a move to the Pacific Athletic Conference in 2011, a step up for Colorado. UC has been actively trying to get into a conference with more clout and competition than the fledgling American Athletic Conference that was created after the old Big East fell apart. Bohn said that — along with the recent surge in momentum — the commitment and communication between Ono, the board and other administrators was instrumental in his decision to come to UC. “The sense of team came through loud and clear and that’s impressive to me,” Bohn said. “You should be proud of that. I believe our future is very, very bright.”

Bohn takes the job formerly held by Babcock, who announced Jan. 24 that he was leaving UC to take the same job at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Babcock was instrumental in the current renovations of Nippert Stadium, as well as hiring head football coach Tommy Tuberville. Ono said he is not worried about Bohn living up to the standards set during Babcock’s 27 months at UC. “He is a communication and marketing genius,” Ono said. “He’s got big feet too, so he’ll have no problem filling those shoes.” Bohn is slated to receive a salary around $500,000 with incentives as high as $150,000, Ono said. His base salary is the second highest at UC, trailing only Ono, and it’s $75,000 more than Babcock’s base salary. Bohn admits it’s going to take time to learn the ropes and the depths of the current situation, finding a home in a more successful conference and renovating the dated Fifth Third Arena are at the top of Bohn’s priority list. While UC has experienced a consistent exodus of coaches and administrator in the past decade, Bohn said he is here for the “long hall.” Ono pointed to Bohn’s

A local church’s desire to establish a location near the University of Cincinnati could help ongoing development efforts in the area while giving students and residents a new place to worship. Crossroads, a so-called “mega church” with three current locations throughout the region, recently announced that it wants to add a property in the uptown area. “We’re still in the beginning stages of exploring locations on and near campus,” said Jennifer Sperry, a Crossroads representative. “We’d love to find something that allows us to create a great atmosphere, both for students who are used to attending service in Oakley and also for them to invite their friends, too.” Currently, the nondenominational church hosts more than 15,000 people during weekend services at its three campuses in Oakley, Mason and Florence, Ky. The UC expansion would follow the opening of Crossroads’ site on the west side, which is set to open in late spring. A property in the uptown area would be the church’s first university location. “We’re looking at existing spaces, [and are] not planning to build something new from the ground up,” Sperry said. The UC location would draw people from surrounding neighborhoods as well as provide a location closer to home for students who usually attend services at the Oakley location, Sperry said. “I am always encouraged by churches actively investing in students,” said Alyssa Morrison, a fourth-year communications sciences and disorders student. “University Christian Church does its best to invest in students while they are attending the university and I think it is neat when other churches do the same.” The new location could also affect surrounding businesses and developments. “More people expressing an interest in the area shows that what’s happening is positive and people want to be a part of it,” said Matt Bourgeois, Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation director. The past few years have brought largescale re-development to the uptown area and CHCURC has been involved with, or helped facilitate much of it. U Square @ the Loop opened in 2013 in the space between Calhoun Street and McMillan

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Professor helps design new, improved sled for Winter Olympics UC faculty member works with athletes, coach to improve sled; competition to start Feb. 13 CASSIE MERINO CONTRIBUTOR

PROVIDED Professor Grant Shaffner was part of the team that redesigned the skeleton sled for the U.S. team competing in the Winter Olympics.

Members of the U.S. skeleton sled team could ride their way — fast and smooth — to victory at the Winter Olympics courtesy of the University of Cincinnati. Grant Shaffner, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, worked closely with the team tasked with redesigning the sled. Skeleton is a racing event in which individuals race down an incline covered in ice, with speeds often exceeding 90 mph. Shaffner worked with the athletes — Matt Antoine, Katie Uhlaender and John Daly — and head coach Tuffield Latour to find out what they needed in a sled. The result was a combination of engineering, science and trusting the intuition of the athletes. More often than not, he said, the modification resulted in real improvements. CHIEF.NEWSRECORD@GMAIL.COM / 513.556.5908

Shaffner originally helped design a skeleton sled known as the X2 for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Soon after the 2010 games, he and the rest of the team went to redesign the sled that is currently in Sochi, Russia — the ProtoStar V5. The team used a different metal on the ProtoStar V5 because the standard steel previously used on the sled led to corrosion. “While it may not have had a big impact on the steel, it just looked bad,” Shaffner said. “As an athlete riding on rust it doesn’t build your confidence. We learned very quickly, they need to feel they are riding on the best equipment.” They also redesigned the frame to better absorb the shock from the track. The sleds are not actually allowed to have shock resistant system, but redesigning the frame helped make the sled ride smoother. To help gain more of perspective, Shaffner tested the sled himself. “It was quite a rush,” Shaffner said. “We learned very SEE SLED PG 2


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