TNR 1.20.11

131 years in print Vol. CXXXI Issue xXxI

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWS ORGANIZATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI | WWW.NEWSRECORD.ORG

THE NEWS RECORD THURSDAY | JAN. 20 | 2011

GET FIT

NO LUCK No. 25 UC falls 66-58 Cincy ranked 5th most affordable spotlight | 3

sports | 8

sean peters | chief reporter

eamon queeney | photo editor

AMONG THE CHEAPEST Cincinnati has been ranked among the top most affordable cities in the United States by Forbes.

Out of the 50 largest metropolitan cities in America, Cincinnati has been ranked the fifth most affordable by a recent study.

Criteria considered in “Forbes” magazine’s study, published Jan. 6, included home asking prices with data provided by Altos Research, a San Fransisco-based real estate firm; salary rank of employees with a bachelor’s degree or higher provided by the website payscale. com; cost of living factoring in transportation, insurance, food and utilities and unemployment

rates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Although fifth overall in affordability, Cincinnati ranked fourth in home asking prices.

“To us, housing is cheap and affordable,”said David Brasington, current holder of the James C. and Caroline Kautz Chair in Political Economy at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Business.

“We’re doing well in the income/ housing ratio.”

Cincinnati has certain freedoms other cities do not, which helped raise the rank.

“Cincinnati is unlike areas like San Francisco, where they have a

Verizon to sell 4G iPhone

STUDENTS LEARNING LESS Almost 50 percent of college students are learning little, according to a recent report.

Verizon announced it will launch the iPhone 4 to existing contract holders starting Feb. 2.

Promotional pricing is $199.99 for the 16 GB model, and $299.99 for the 32 GB model with a new two-year activation agreement — new customers can order starting Feb. 10.

Also beginning Feb. 10, customers can visit an Apple retail store to purchase and activate the new Verizon version. However, existing iPhone users through AT&T will have to purchase the Verizon version of the iPhone to take advantage of their rates and services. iPhone customers are able to choose from any of the current Verizon nationwide plans. Customers will also be required to activate a data package, in which pricing will be announced at a later date.

Features for the new iPhone 4 include a five-megapixel camera with LED flash, Face Time and high-definition video recording, a mobile wireless hotspot app, a built-in microphone and speaker for voice command, headphones, a built in GPS system and built-in WiFi for Internet access on the go.

College learning declines anthony orozco | NEWS EDITOR

anna bentley | senior PHOTOGRAPHER

COMING VERY SOON Verizon will release the newest version of iPhone Feb. 2.

see afford | 2

File art | the news record

jasmine evans | staff reporter

photo illustration by sam greene | ONLINE editor

lot of restrictions on building new homes — if an increase in (San Francisco) homes is in demand, it cannot be met,” Brasington said.

In terms of salary, Cincinnati ranked 25th, with median salaries for workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher at $64,100.14, according to statistics taken from payscale.com.

“It’d be nice if we could increase our incomes by becoming more productive — there are different ways to increase wages, like having more businesses move into the area that require higher levels

HONORING KING’S LEGACY Hundreds of community activists gather with candles and signs at City Hall Friday, Jan. 14, to protest Gov. Kasich’s plan to strip low-income workers of rights and benefits and to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

Green movement losing momentum German lopez | senior reporter Mother Nature lost a few allies in 2010.

The annual study conducted by Harris Interactive, which tracks environmentally friendly attitudes among Americans, has found that less Americans were engaging in environmentally friendly activities and attitudes in 2010.

“Not only are fewer Americans behaving in environmentally-friendly ways, but many are now also less likely to embrace, or be influenced by, ‘green’ attitudes,” according to the report released Jan. 10.

The study found that Americans were less concerned about the planet they are leaving behind for future generations. Only

36 percent of Americans were concerned about the planet — down from 43 percent in 2009.

Fewer Americans were likely to make an effort to use less water, purchase locally grown produce, purchase organic foods, donate or recycle electronics or switch from bottled to tap water, among a few examples, according to the report.

The study also found 28 percent of Americans let environmental issues influence what political candidates they vote for, which is down from 36 percent in 2009.

Respondents were just as likely to recycle, however, and more Americans were likely to pick an employer or buy a product due to environmental issues, according to the report.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgender individuals were more likely to adopt environmentally friendly positions, the study found.

The report comes at a time when the University of Cincinnati is attempting to promote environmentally friendly values through its UC Sustainability program, which is a part of the UC2019 plan set by President Greg Williams.

Shawn Tubb the sustainability coordinator at UC, is not convinced the study’s findings match on-campus attitudes.

“We’ve nearly reached our goal of 2,000 people signing the sustainability pledge,” Tubb said. “That’s a good indication that more people at UC are going green.”

A report in the book, “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses,” shows that nearly 50 percent of college students learn little to nothing for the first two years they attend college.

The report suggested that the colleges held most of the blame for not making academics the key priority, citing the goal of many professors to be research rather than teaching.

The study compiled the transcripts, surveys and Collegiate Learning Assessment, a standardized test, of 3,000 college students from 29 universities.

Results show that 45 percent of students claim they learn almost nothing in the first two years of college, spending the majority of their time socializing and sleeping. Only 7 percent of their time was dedicated to hitting the books.

Four-year students did not show much more progress with 36 percent of students having learned almost nothing.

The research also suggests that students today are 50 percent less likely to study than students of previous decades.

The research also shows that despite the trend of groups study and collaborative work, students working in groups tend to learn less.

UC was not mentioned as a participant in the study.

INSIDE

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Spotlight Entertainment Opinion Classifieds Sports FORECAST

thursday

UC student injured during campus robbery JAMES SPRAGUE | NEWS EDITOR

amber lattimore

derwin davis

chris miller

A University of Cincinnati student was injured during an attempted robbery in the University Avenue parking garage Tuesday evening.

The student, who was not named, was on the top level of the garage and allegedly knocked down and struck multiple times by three suspects at approximately 5:45 p.m., said Capt. Karen Patterson, assistant police

chief for the UC Police Division.

Two suspects, Derwin Davis, 19, and Chris Miller, 18, were arrested offcampus and charged with aggravated robbery. A third suspect, Amber Lattimore, 23, was also arrested and charged with complicity and obstruction, Patterson said.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, and was treated and released.

The three suspects are not UC students.

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THE NEWS RECORD everybody is doing it From Tennis | 8 11-13 last season, including a 3-3 mark in Big East play. Cincinnati begins its conference slate Feb. 12 against Seton Hall.

“In the past, our best finish since

I’ve been here is 10th,” Wilson said.

“Our goal is to be top-six. We play a good Big East schedule. They’ll all be tough matches, but I‘m optimistic we can reach our goal.”

From Big East | 8 sense this season.

The Big Ten will get its six teams into the dance, but a seventh — Penn State — seems unlikely at this point in the year. The Big 12 will send six teams tops, while the SEC, ACC and Pac-10 should combine for no more than 12 — and that’s being generous.

The point is that this season, the Big East’s 11th-place squad will be a better NCAA tournament team than the sixth-place finisher from the SEC and ACC — probably better than the third-place team from the Pac-10

as well as most mid-major at-large hopefuls.

The Selection Committee will have a tough time with seeding and placing that many Big East teams in the field, meaning conference foes might meet again as early as the Round of 32.

But the NCAA tournament’s goal is to give the most-deserving teams a shot at the national championship.

This season, there’s no denying the Big East’s top-11 teams are among America’s 68 best.

From AFFORD | 1 educated workers — especially those who’ve been through graduate school.”

The Queen City’s unemployment rates saw the city’s ranking below the 50 percent mark at

32nd. As of November 2010 — the Bureau’s latest batch of statistics — the Cincinnati metropolitan area has a 9.2 percent unemployment rate.

The study found Omaha, Neb., to be the

most affordable US city, followed by Buffalo, N.Y.; Detroit and Indianapolis. Cincinnati is ranked right above the sixth most-affordable city, Pittsburgh.

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Weekend Edition Jan. 20 | 2011 NEWSRECORD.ORG

SPOTLIGHT

shaping up w it h

Campus

re cr ea ti on UC student wins fitness blogging contest and works harder to become healthier perhaps she should feel embarrassed about her openness through her blog.

“But now, really, I’m over it,” Strong says. “It’s out there. Everyone’s seen it …

I’m embracing the attention and running with it.”The young blogger is accepting her publicity as a channel to help others by sharing her experience.

“There’s a lot of things that made me want to do it,” Strong says. “Obviously, I’ve been trying to lose weight forever, so this was a great opportunity to finally do that. Then I’ve always been interested in personal training, but never really pursued it — it’s expensive.”

That’s part the CRC contest appeal.

Giving regular members of the community a chance to utilize costly training and dietary education for free is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those determined to get in shape but lacking the proper resources.

“I had my pre-assessment with Ashlee [Hoffman],” Strong says. “She’s my trainer, and I like her a lot; she’s really cool. And pre-assessment … wasn’t too bad,”she says, glancing at Janowiecki while attempting to stifle a laugh.

“You have to be honest,”Janowiecki says.

“I mean, it wasn’t horrible,” Strong says.

“The first workout, I was really sore when I was leaving and [Ashlee] said, ‘Well, it wasn’t too bad today — we didn’t even finish the whole thing.’ ” This struck fear in Strong’s heart, leaving her wondering how much worse the workouts would actually get.

The initial meeting with Hoffman included various health tests on everything from her heart rate to body fat. Strong reiterates optimistically that the assessment went well.

Although she entered the contest to lose weight, Strong also wanted to enter the competition to try her hand at blogging.

Despite her lack of experience, her Journal Your Journey entries prove to be engaging, inspirational and raw.

Although Strong groans about the cellulite on her thighs, fans of the blog might be shocked to see an average-sized, pretty young woman when meeting Strong face-to-face.

She weighed 145 pounds when she entered the contest. After her first week, she was already down to 141 pounds.

“We don’t want to send the wrong message,” Janowiecki says. “A big focus for her is decreasing body fat rather than weight.”

Strong agrees.

“I don’t really care about a number on the scale,” she says. “I’ve only had one real workout in that [first] week. All of that [weight I lost] was watching what I ate and doing things like taking the stairs instead of the elevators.”

kelly tucker | entertainment EDITOR

K

irsty Strong has been seen stripping off her clothes on countless computer screens since her first video blog was posted on Jan. 4. In her filmed interview for the Journal Your Journey competition, Strong, at her peak of exasperation, peels off her outer layer of clothing, revealing a bikini-clad body she’s tired of hiding.

“Now, this is disgusting and I hate it,” she says into the camera, wrinkling her nose as she jiggles her upper arms. She points out her stomach and the cellulite on her legs as the world watches, fed up but unashamed as she publicly confronts the excess weight she’s been trying to shed for so long.

Clearly, the 21-year-old, third-year psychology and pre-pharmacy student at the University of Cincinnati, has got guts — that’s what won her the Journal Your Journey contest.

The program is the first in what the UC’s Campus Recreation Center hopes to be a series of contests open to any member of the Cincinnati community every six months. The winner is selected after submitting a blog post detailing their

If i didn’t know there were over 1,500 people who will have seen the horrible video of me online, I probably would have given up last week.

- kirsty strong

journal your journey contest winner three- and six-month weight loss goals and what they would do with the support CRC offers to the winner.

Brandi Hester Janowiecki, UC’s coordinator of fitness and wellness, explains that this support is a sixmonth membership to CRC, which, as a full-time student, Strong already has. In addition, Strong will receive 15 iTraining elite personal training sessions and three iNutrition sessions — personal nutrition counseling with a dietician. She also won a 60-minute massage, free instructional class, towel service and locker service.

“I’m saving it,” Strong says about her massage. “That’s my reward at the end.”

Janowiecki explains that people from all walks of life competed to be the first Journal Your Journey blogger including single moms, widows and nontraditional students.

While Strong’s first written blog submission made her a finalist in the contest, her bikini video blog solidified her as the winner, destined for six months of healthy eating and ass-kicking workouts to transform her body.

“If I didn’t know there were over 1,500 people who will have seen the horrible video of me online, I probably would have given up last week,” Strong admits. “[Knowing people are watching] is a big, big motivation.”

Although the attention was difficult for Strong to get used to at first, she’s warming up to being in the spotlight. After receiving video comments from people gushing they could never unveil their bodies publicly like Strong did, she grew concerned that

She’s tried everything in the book, from ordering expensive diet pills from europe to wrapping coffee grounds on her skin with cellophane.

Strong admits that before the competition, she used to drive to classes across campus, but now that she walks, she is already noticing a difference.

Rather than obsess over her weight, however, the student is more concerned with looking fit enough to visit a water park free of anxiety — and insecurity — for the first time.

While Janowiecki speaks about the CRC staff’s determination to get Strong into a bikini and into a water park by the end of her journey, it’s clear that Strong has already grown close to the people working to keep her on track.

Of course, Strong simply has the outgoing personality and honest charm that’s difficult not to cheer for.

Her unique British accent, one-sided grin and unashamed personality that make her an endearing fighter no doubt helped her to attain such an incredible opportunity.

Despite her non-technical style of writing or any prior blogging experience, she fits the candidacy for Journal Your Journey because she’s willing to do whatever it takes to lose the weight and has exhausted all her resources trying to do it alone.

“For awhile I did laxatives,” Strong says. “I learned to take them at night because they made you feel so bad during the day. I [also] tried not eating for a while, but my parents caught on real fast. That didn’t really last very long, because I really l i k e f o o d ,” S t ro n g s a y s , laughing.

She’s t r i e d everything in the book to try to lose weight, from ordering expensive diet pills from Europe that were outlawed in the United States to wrapping coffee grounds on her skin with cellophane.

“We chose Kirsty because we found a lot of college girls are just trying the lemon cleanse or the Kim Kardashian pills, and she identified with a lot of that stuff,” Janowiecki says.

Through Strong, the CRC staff hopes to show collegeaged girls struggling with similar body image issues that they don’t have to starve themselves or use expensive diet gimmicks to look and feel healthy.

As Strong thinks back on her days of eating Chipotle and guzzling white mochas from Starbucks with nostalgia, it’s clear this would be a difficult journey for anyone. The CRC staff, however, has created a mode of support through their dedication and the public eye that appears promising for Strong and her fitness goals.

“I’m just so excited that there’s someone pushing me to do this,” Strong says. “There’s no way I would have got myself up at 5:30 this morning to come down to the rec and work out. So I’m really thankful that I have all these people behind me making me do this. I’ve tried before, and I can’t do it by myself.”

Anyone who wants to follow Kirsty’s journey can do so at CampusRecBlog. blogspot.com. There, she plans to post information she’s learning about leading

a healthy lifestyle and sharing tips with the eight countries and more than 2,000 people who are currently following her online.

SEVEN CRC PROGRAMS TO HELP YOU GET IN SHAPE WITH KIrSTY

1 what

when where

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when where

Mondays

Step up! cardio This cardio-based class will use a variety of equipment and styles to burn calories and get your heart rate up.

5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

CRC Room A

Tuesdays

spinning A traditional spinning class with hills, jumps and endurance. Feel the power in your core and legs as you ride to your own finish line.

7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

CRC Room B

3 what

when where

4 what

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Wednesdays

hardcore abs This class will help you get closer to the hardcore back and abs you’ve been wanting! Get ready to feel it all through your gut.

12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.

CRC Room B

Thursdays

aqua power Traditional water workout formats with a blend of water dance, water boxing and water strength. Various equipment will be used in the leisure pool.

6:45 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

CRC Pool

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Fridays

zumba party!

The party continues in this longer formatted class that will get your heart racing and your feet moving-hope you like to shake it.

5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

CRC Room A

Saturdays

Circuit blast This 30-minute class will change weekly and include all muscles groups in a circuit designed to push you in a short time frame.

9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

CRC Room A

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when where

Sundays

YOGa flow The focus of this class is to get your heart rate up and work your cardiovascular fitness while helping you to increase your strength.

3:15 p.m. to 4 p.m.

CRC Room B

Go online to see exclusive photos, stories and articles @

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Weekend Edition Jan. 20 | 2011 NEWSRECORD.ORG

ENTERTAINMENT

SLACKER

SOLUTIONS sean peters

Being “with the band” properly I understand some people are excited to see their friends perform on stage, but a line must be drawn to determine how far they can exploit the fact they know the musician.

Recently, while covering a concert, I was made all too aware of the friendship between the musician and an audience member. Before the show began the audience member — an overweight hipster with an ironic Flock of Seagulls hairdo that was so ironic it was no longer ironic (if that’s possible) — was brohugging his musical pal right before he went on stage, much to the artist’s displeasure.

Flock of Seagulls had been causing a drunken scene the entire evening. Chugging down whiskey and Cokes, sweating through his too-tight leather jacket and keeping his hand constantly planted on his toopatient lady friend, I had already furrowed my brow at this mood killer several times this evening.

The musician, who I won’t name for the sake of covering my own ass, is likely a very polite guy. This is probably why he didn’t outright knock Flock of Seagulls on his ass.

Everyone in the crowd that evening can vouch for me here.

It was in his eyes, the look of “Listen, I’m real glad you paid to come here tonight, but please leave me the hell alone.”

Flock of Seagulls isn’t the only perpetrator. I’ve witnessed too many instances where the artist looks ecstatic to escape the crowd in order to do what he or she came to the venue to do: Perform.Yes, concerts are social functions, but don’t let your overbearing pride distract the artist from their intended performance. That would be like going to a NASCAR race and jumping in front of Jeff Gordon’s car so you can give him a radical high five that everyone is sure to see … except concerts are a little less dangerous and smell way better.

Some sure signs that you’re that jerk who wants to be a part of the show by being overly friendly with the performer are: - You yell “WOO!” between each and every song.

-You feel entitled to nonchalantly walk up on stage and exchange light banter with the performer.

-You unsuccessfully tried to get on “the list” to avoid paying the cover.

-The main point of conversation you utilize throughout the entire evening centers around how you know the performer.

If you find yourself guilty of such concert crimes, don’t feel too bad — well, you should feel dumb, but don’t fret too hard. There’s a cure.

Instead of harassing musicians with sloppy banter and unappreciated hugs, you can instead: -Enjoy the performance within social reason..

-Make an effort to make the musician as comfortable as possible by respecting their boundaries and personal space.

-Do your best to promote the band without being a bore.

-Get less drunk than Flock of Seagulls guy.

I know I’m a hypercritical jerk with no room to talk, but I’m the one with the column here.

Art exhibit “inForms” public jason erler | staff reporter Think about a newspaper stand. It’s an object we interact with every day, but produced somewhere beyond our vision in some mysterious place outside our homes and planted in the streets during some clandestine operation.

Then consider the machine that creates the newspaper stand; It too must go through a similar process.

Four instructors from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning have recently gathered some of these tools for an exhibit at the college’s Phillip M. Meyers Jr. Memorial Gallery for a show titled “inFormed: an exhibition of custom made devices used to make other things.”

The objects in this curious exhibit are exactly what the title claims. Some of them large and industrial, like a halved aluminum mold used to make “Gametime Duck,” a piece of playground equipment. Some of them are handmade jigs used to make small chairs, and at least one is delicate — a clear glass mold of a baby doll used by Procter & Gamble for diaper commercials.

A collection of wooden jigs and molds from the Reliable Casting Company were the

eamon queeney | photo editor

STEP BY STEP “inFormed” unveils the machines behind creation of everyday objects. most unique objects, each carved and sanded carefully by hand with a singular purpose in mind: to create something else.

Many of the pieces on display are either defunct or were made for a one-time project.

A beautifully crafted, wooden arch used to support the weight of bricks for a kiln during its construction will likely never be used again. The arch’s own construction required

careful planning and precise workmanship.

It is aesthetically pleasing. It is, outside of its function, a work of art.

The same can be said for many of the devices in the gallery. Taken out of context, they were given the same attention as any well-executed sculpture. They are abstract in this way and, therefore, worthy of our attention.

The devices in the gallery might also be viewed as tools of education, as the instructors involved in the exhibition likely intended. It is important in any academic discipline to value the process as well as the outcome. “inFormed” proves that there is worth, both aesthetically and academically, in the devices used to make the things we see and use every day. Surely the sculptor can appreciate the simple elegance of the hammer and chisel.

An engineer might find beauty in the complex equations that dictate how a complicated apparatus works to assemble a newspaper stand. These are the tools that help to define us as humans. It might just be worthwhile to know that great care went into their production. “inFormed” runs through Feb. 11 at the Phillip M. Meyers Jr. Memorial Gallery, in the Steger Student Life Center. coulter loeb | chief photographer

ALL THAT JAZZ The Loft Society, a one-bedroom apartment-turned-music-venue, paid tribute to the jazz genre as well as a civil rights leader in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Saturday.

commemorating an icon The Loft Society pays tribute to MLK

Gin A. Ando | editor-in-chief First, it’s important to understand what the Loft Society is. It’s self-described as a venue dedicated to the preservation of jazz. A “melting pot of diehard jazz fans, a rainbow coalition of artists, writers, poets, musicians, graphic and photographic artists, radio and television hosts, impresarios, entrepreneurs and too many other good people to mention.”

But to every type of person mentioned, it’s something different. The Loft Society, located at 119 Calhoun St. between Myra’s Dionysus and the Gypsy Hookah Café, is a sanctuary for music in a most nontraditional sense.

On Saturday night, the Loft hosted a collection of bands to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. While seemingly difficult to pull off — a jazz show in memoriam of King — the show was both a brilliant veneration of the American icon and mesmerizing as a stand-alone performance.

Covington-based trio RX-2 was a standout.

They don’t really play the type of music you’d expect to hear at a jazz show. Described as anything from progressive rock to freeform jazz, guitarist Lou Larson’s sound can apply to all of it and more. RX-2 sounds like a band that would have an entire show devoted to them on John Diliberto’s “Echoes.” Larson’s clever use of loops and other guitar effects lent an almost dreamlike quality to the songs.

Between acts, Rasul the Knowbody Elder, a spoken word poet and emcee, played something unique: A mash-up of King’s speech condemning the Vietnam War and a jazz tune.

While it wasn’t something orthodox to some, it was assuredly interesting to hear the booming voice of King laid over hi-hats and a sax.

Next up were The Last Boppers, a local bebop band. Since “Echoes” was previously

mentioned, the Boppers can only really be described as a head-on collision of a semi carrying all the avant-garde jazz musicians and a semi driven by Diliberto himself transporting all the acts he has played on his show. To put it simply, The Last Boppers’ music is surreal. The presence of two keyboards, a guitar that sounded like a saxophone, sitar and regular guitar in one song with instruments I wasn’t even aware were in existence sums it up quite nicely.

The Boppers have a quality about them that can only really be appreciated live. Each of the musicians has idiosyncrasies that are interesting to watch while they perform, and the music’s evident pacifying effect allowed the audience to watch the show in silence.

Or not at all, as some people had their eyes closed as long as there was some sound coming from the stage. And by “some sound” I mean literal, palpable waves of sound that you can feel in your entire body. While there were some obscure, dissonant phrases in the songs, it was obvious that it was for the love of music. The Last Boppers know how to play their respective instruments well enough to do whatever they want and, frankly, they do.

And it sounds good.

Unfortunately, I had to attend to some personal matters that particular evening, so I wasn’t able to stick around for the entire show. But, let me say this, as someone who devotes a lot of time sitting on the floor, listening to jazz, drinking bad coffee and eating burnt English muffins because he spends too much money on jazz records: The Loft Society is a gem. A little one-bedroom apartment/stage tucked away safely from all the yelling, inebriated concertgoers. Safe from the crime we seemingly always hear about. And, maybe best of all, it’s a place to feel safe from judgment.

anna bentley | senior photographer

MAKING SOME NOISE Local Jazz group RX-2 performs dreamlike jazz for fans at the Loft Society on Calhoun Street Saturday.

Dancers “Burn the Floor” at Aronoff A flurry of feet and sequins usher in a new kind of musical ariel cheung | managing editor

courtesy of broadway across america

TAKING IT SLOW Dancers pause for a dramatic moment.

There are five key components to every musical: a plot, characters, dialogue, songs that advance the plot and a pit orchestra.

“Burn the Floor,” playing at the Aronoff Center for the Arts Jan. 18-30, has none of these.

Despite being on Broadway for six months, “Burn the Floor” is almost a musical, but not quite.

It’s almost a dance recital, but not quite. It’s a strange combination of the two, with a little “Dancing with the Stars” and amusement-park theater show thrown in.

In 25 numbers, “Burn the Floor” showcases the 10 different types of ballroom dancing, from the elegant waltz to the sensuous rumba. The lightning-fast beginning catches the audience off guard as the dancers zip through the cha cha, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, samba and

rumba. The numbers begin and end seamlessly, intertwining with one another, leaving the audience breathless and wishing for an extra pair of eyeballs to take it all in.

With such a fast, furiously paced set, it feels like you’re constantly falling behind. The audience barely has time to process the samba in “Magalena” before the “Slip into Something More Comfortable” rumba begins.

The dancing itself is, of course, spot on. Each dancer’s fluid, effortless moves make it seem utterly natural, as if each was born waltzing. The skill level is remarkable, but not surprising, considering the international cast’s history. Every biography touts worldwide acclaim and appearances on shows like “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing with the Stars.”

The rhythmic Latin dances

were mesmerizing as the lead dancers moved so fast their legs were practically a blur of motion.

And while these sexy, primal dances are interesting to watch, it is the slow, beautiful “Burn for You” rumba in Act 2 that stands out from the rest.

Clad in the show’s simplest costumes, a pair of dancers evoked feelings of passion and longing, intensified by an acoustic guitar and vocalist Peter Saul’s rich tones.

That emotional effect was missing from most numbers, making “Burn for You” shine.

While the “Burn for You” couple was clothed in a simple white tank top and jeans for the man and black undergarments and a white button-up shirt for the woman, the rest of the costuming was too sexy, too glittery and too stringy.

During the fast dances, the women were usually in lingerie-like

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costumes with an unholy amount of fringe and sparkle, while the men sported tight black pants and bare chests.

Perhaps the show would have a better connection if it featured more recognizable songs. Crowd favorites were classics like“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),”“Proud Mary”and“Turn the Beat Around.”The stunning vocals, performed by Saul and American Idol participant Vonzell Solomon are one of the show’s best assets, but it would have been nice to see more of them.

For fans of ballroom dance reality shows, “Burn the Floor” is a great way to bring the dances to life. But for anyone looking for a musical in the classical sense, “Burn the Floor” is an unsettling blur of dance scene after dance scene. Fun to watch, sure, but not quite satisfying.

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Weekend Edition Jan. 20 | 2011 NEWSRECORD.ORG

an ariel

view ariel cheung

Final test of college?

Graduating I’m not afraid of too many things. Snakes fascinate me and I even used to find insects rather cuddly. But I do have a serious, troubling fear of not graduating.

I can’t help but worry that during my last quarter of my senior year, I’ll proudly turn in my application for graduation, only to be rudely informed that I have forgotten a required course and will be forced to postpone my graduation for another year.

Frankly, for a student on a scholarship that expires after four years, there’s nothing more terrifying.

As a result, I tend to obsess over my degree audit on OneStop’s website. I like to make long lists of the classes I have yet to take and plan out my remaining quarters.

Last month, I made such a list and realized I was almost done with all my requirements.

A couple more psychology classes to complete my minor, a few journalism seminars and I’m pretty much through.

Unfortunately, I’m still going to be approximately 45 credit hours short of the required 180.

This leaves me with a pretty big opportunity in my senior year. Immediately, the possibilities overwhelmed me. I could explore the realm of creative writing or fill my schedule with electronic media classes (at least, the ones that are available to nonCollege-Conservatory of Music students). I could waste my time with the easiest courses I could find.

But what would be the point of that? Why waste a year of classes with fillers and worthless credit hours?

So I decided to search for something more meaningful.

Perhaps I could return to Spanish, my original minor, and finish two minor programs. While conjugating poner in the irregular preterite was fun, I always ended up confusing my verbs.

Then if Spanish wasn’t my cup of tea, I thought to myself, why not try another language?

I enjoyed Spanish while it lasted, so maybe starting fresh with another would do me good.

French didn’t really interest me, neither did the more exotic languages like Arabic, Chinese or Swahili. Some programs even confused me — who knew Irish was a separate language?

— while others just didn’t really catch my eye.

And then there was American Sign Language.

I had noticed the program since my freshman year, but it had consistently eluded me with its few classes and small enrollment numbers.

I always wanted to learn sign language. The idea of communicating with my hands was fascinating. In first grade, my music teacher taught everyone sign for “Silent Night,” which I proceeded to show extended family members, friends and unsuspecting passersby.

My friend Marc was also a signing whiz kid, and seeing him converse in the flowing language fascinated me. Sure, he was signing obscenities about me right to my face, but I didn’t care. I wanted to understand.

Now that I’m a third-year student, I have an earlier class registration date. And so I managed to slip into ASL 191, the first signing course, for Autumn quarter.

I absolutely loved it. One of the best parts about the University of Cincinnati’s deaf studies program is that many of the professors are deaf themselves. This gives students the opportunity to learn about signing and deaf culture from someone who experiences it firsthand. It’s the equivalent of having a Spanish professor teaching Spanish — you feel as if you’re getting the real deal and not some cheap, classroom imitation.

The sign language program is also far more interactive than my Spanish classes were. During each quarter, students are required to spend time in the sign lab, located in Teachers College, where advanced students are more than happy to help out with signing practice. We also watch movies about deaf culture and attend silent dinners at local malls.

Last week, I applied for see gloomsday | 4

OPINION

Everyone needs to loosen up SEAN PETERS | CHIEF REPORTER Ricky Gervais’ performance as host of the 2011 Golden Globes has caused a naysayer uproar. What’s the big deal? Dry, witty and abusively critical, his commentary was not far off from what’s become expected of the creator of “The Office.”

With news that Gervais will be guest starring on the U.S. version of “The Office,” there’s a lot of hype circling the UK funny man. His animated talk show, “The Ricky Gervais Show,” premiered on HBO in February 2010 with the second season starting Jan. 14, 2011.

It’s been said that Gervais was barred from performing several of his jokes during the awards ceremony for being too risqué.

One such joke included how Gervais wanted to start off the evening. He explained on “Conan” how it would have gone down, had NBC allowed him to go through,: “In the opening, I wanted it to be like ‘Please welcome Ricky Gervais!’ and then I was going to come out dressed as Adolf Hitler. I was going to come out with the little

moustache, waving to them, get to the podium and let it die down and say, ‘Too much? Well, this is the wrong crowd … this is the last time I borrow a suit from Mel Gibson.’ ” Gervais’ technique has always depended on shock value and smug satisfaction that what he’s saying is mean, but in good fun. He’s very much like Michael Scott of “The Office” in his arrogant assertion of self-worth.

While the Golden Globes are an extravagant event, the pomp and circumstance of the entire ordeal comes off as stale and staged.

“We’ve seen some worthy winners … and some not-so-worthy winners,” Gervais said at the 2010 Globes.

Gervais’ lack of respect for such bloated, ceremonious ass kissing was the highlight of the evening.

Also host of the 2010 Golden Globes, Gervais admitted that he held himself back from going too far last year. After wryly promoting people buy DVDs of his flop “The Invention of Lying,” Gervais stated: “One thing that can’t be bought is a Golden Globe… officially.” After the crowd’s laughter died down Gervais followed up with “I’m not gonna

do this again anyway.”

I’ll bet Gervais was pleasantly surprised NBC asked him back to host again. I know I was. Let’s hope they don’t blacklist him from further hosting duties, it’d be a step in the less-funny direction.

courtesy of MCT campus

NOW BACK TO THE MUD SLINGING!

DREW SHENEMAN | mcclatchy tribune

UC students must take back campus Student rights come before university red tape The University of Cincinnati seems to be taking steps in the wrong direction toward promoting student activism and involvement.

First off, why were the flyer boards outside McMicken removed? This spot served as the main public space on campus for students to post their events, advertisements, ideas or anything else students wanted to share with others. Space to share information is crucial for the student community. As far as I know, neither Student Government nor UC students had any input into this decision. Isn’t this our campus too?

Secondly, many students have expressed discontent with the proposed new rule regarding chaperones. Why should we, as college students who are expected to act like adults, be required to secure chaperones to travel to events like conferences?

There are many other questions we could ask as well. Why do flyers for Tangeman

University Center need to be approved by the administration?

Why do we need signed permission to chalk on campus grounds?

Why is there so much paperwork just to register a student group?

Why do we need the administration’s approval to use the logo for the university we pay for?

Why do we need to have a campus room approved by the administration five days in advance just to show a movie? Five days in advance? An empty room is still an empty room.

Why is it that student groups are not

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

offered free printing and office space, but the football team got $11 million to construct an air-conditioned training facility?

Are we doing enough to encourage participation and attendance at community events? Maybe The News Record should publish a weekly student events page?

By removing public services that encourage student agency on campus, and by burdening many students (who are often juggling many classes and a job) with too much bureaucracy, we are limiting both the right to free expression and access to open and inclusive spaces.

Students must reclaim campus as a public space that cultivates a flourishing student culture, as well as reduce the hurdles that students must overcome.

Kyle Galindez is a fourth-year sociology student and member of the International Socialist Organization at the University of Cincinnati.

Sustainability: More than just being green maria bergh | staff REPORTER The sustainability movement is often critiqued as being all about consumption, and therefore all about limits.

All those “nos” get old. What about the positives, what about production?

Sustainable food production focuses on returning to natural methods.

Worms, for instance, or manure and compost, or natural pest management (ladybugs).

These are rotten, squiggly, winged alternatives to the state-of-theart chemical standard. But they don’t kill or burn on contact. They don’t require heavy metals, high temperatures, mining, petroleum, long-range shipment or extensive safety procedures.

Animal keeping is another issue entirely; feedlots are down, the right to roam is up. While hormones are gone, antibiotics are still considered necessary because of feedlot culture; protesting this, vegetarian and even vegan lifestyles are common.

Animals are essential on ultraorganic farms to eating grubs or

cover crops while aerating and fertilizing the fields: almost like it was meant to be that way.

Energy production is facing a similar reform. No longer is gas or coal really in vogue, despite desperate tar sand conversions and gulfcleaning activities.

Instead we want s o l a r , geothermal, w i n d , ethanol, fuel cells, you name it.

This push is based on disgustingly high gas prices, asthma rates, and dependency of foreign oil.

Local, natural power supplies are simple.

They remove transmission lines and end extensive extraction and emissions.

Fair trade is another sustainable takeover. Why support dirty, wasteful, exploitative systems? Why not cover the

Perhaps to be truly sustainable we need to realize that supporting life is inconvenient.

actual cost of production, instead of creating “externalities” paid for by the laborers, the earth, and the residents nearby production centers that clear cut, burn, dump, force long hours of labor, or underpay?

The added cost of fair trade or “equal exchange” goods is simply the internalization of these byproducts that no one wants anyway.

Sustainability is focused on creating abundant life, as these examples of production clearly show. In fact, the seminal definition of sustainability is “to meet the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

Sustainability is an ethic that is totally integrated, from the stock you hold to the toilet paper you flush. This is integrity, and it’s the core of our generation.

But what about sex? Do we really hold a liberal, life-based vision of sustainability completely, until we take it all the way to creating new life? Abortion is a way to end or limit life for convenience, like sweatshops, pesticides, strip

OPINION.NEWSRECORD@GMAIL.COM | 513.556.5913

mining, or feedlots.

If one takes the suspicious view of chemicals in food (pesticides, colorings, genetically modified organisms, BPA, MSG) morningafter pills, or birth control, which are designed to disrupt the process of reproduction have to cause concern.

We even try to limit plastic bags dispensed at the grocery, but not condom use, similar as they are in material and form.

Perhaps to be truly sustainable we need to realize that supporting life is inconvenient.

When I drove, I was annoyed if I filled my car up more than once a week; on the other hand I fill me up three times a day.

Babies are disruptive, and birth control or abortion are rights we want to have.

This is where real liberals are conservatives, and where we are challenged to live our beliefs.

Real ecology is supporting life as it was meant to be.

Two people, coming together in respect to make life. Isn’t that sustainable?

7

Weekend Edition Jan. 20 | 2011 NEWSRECORD.ORG

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EFFICIENCIES, 1-BEDROOM, 2-BEDROOM, 3-BEDROOM in HYDE PARK for rent in excellent condition.

New appliances including dishwashers, A/C. HEAT and WATER paid. Balcony, pool use, 10 minutes from UC. New kitchens and bathrooms. Laundry, off-street parking/garage. Starting at $545 per month. Contact us at 513-477-2920 or pgspropertiesincincinnati@ gmail.com.

Furnished third floor, utilities included. Shared bath/kitchen.

Detached garaged. Kennedy Heights. Call 513-226-4082 Cleaning, painting $7.50-$9.00.

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Clifton 4 bedroom house.

Walk to UC, hospitals.

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Available immediately. $1095.

Call 513-631-5058, 513-4840960. 412 Ada Street.

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COMMUNITY Get in shape with UC tennis classes starting January 23rd. http://www.uc.edu/ce/commu.

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EMPLOYMENT Bartenders needed. Earn up to $250 per day. No experience required, will train. FT/PT. Call now 877-405-1078 EXT. 3503 Servers and bartenders.

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8

Weekend Edition Jan. 20 | 2011 NEWSRECORD.ORG

THE SAM

ANTICS sam elliott

Big East can’t be topped No breaking news here: the Big East is the best college basketball conference in America.

The once-mighty Atlantic Coast Conference has fallen to the wayside. Other than No. 4 Duke, every ACC team has at least five losses.

After beating the Blue Devils, Florida State is the closest to joining Duke in the Associated Press rankings, but the Seminoles sit at No. 33 based on their votes received.

Overall state of the ACC: Weak.

The South Eastern Conference and Pacific 10 clashed in college football’s national championship, but with just one AP-ranked basketball team each, their hoops strength isn’t much to write home about. No. 12 Kentucky, the pride of the SEC, can expect another drop following Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of seven-loss Alabama.

Overall state of the SEC: Weak.

The Pac-10 can use the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll to claim Arizona as ranked at No. 25, but Washington at No. 20 is the highest the conference reaches in either poll.

That pair stands as the league’s likely only NCAA tournament representatives come March.

Overall state of the Pac-10: Weak.

The Big 12’s four AP-ranked representatives all reside in the poll’s top 13 — not too shabby.

No. 2 Kansas leads the league as a legitimate national title contender, while Texas, Texas A&M and Missouri could all make strong March runs.

Overall state of the Big 12: Good.

More than half of the Big Ten finds itself in the AP top 25. Ohio State is the new No. 1 in all the land, while five fellow conference members are found from No. 14 to No. 24.

Overall state of the Big Ten: Great.

The Big Ten has staked its claim as the nation’s No. 2 basketball conference, but it’s nowhere near the top. While it might possess the county’s top team, the Big East follows with four national-title caliber squads before the Big Ten’s next ranked member, Purdue.

All four made an appearance on this week’s edition of ESPN’s Big Monday and, as expected, didn’t disappoint.

Kemba Walker and No. 8 Connecticut scored a mild upset against No. 7 Villanova, while No. 5 Pittsburgh did the same to No. 3 Syracuse, playing without leading scorer Kris Joseph.

In one day, the nation saw the conference’s best on full display.

This season, the Big East isn’t just good — not even great — it’s certifiably insane.

Nine teams are ranked in the AP top 25, with St. John’s and Marquette — both 4-2 in conference play — receiving votes. The Big East boasts two teams in the top five and four of the top eight.

The league seems to be on pace to break its own record for NCAA tournament teams this season. The Big East has sent eight representatives to the Big Dance two of the past three seasons, but an unprecedented 11 could receive invites in 2011.

ESPN’s Bracketologist Joe Lunardi and Sports Illustrated’s Andy Glockner both project for the conference to send its top 11 squads — including Cincinnati for the first time since 2005 — to March Madness sites. While 11 tournament teams might sound like madness, it only makes sense this season. see Big East | 2

SPORTS

Shooting slump continues Women’s basketball losing streak extends to 3 games Duane McDonald | staff reporter The Bearcats women’s basketball team extended its losing streak to three games Tuesday, falling to the No. 22 St. John’s Red Storm 63-34 on the road in Queens, N.Y. With the loss, Cincinnati (8-9, 1-4 Big East) dipped to worse than .500 overall for the first time this season.

“We’ve struggled with our shooting all year, and in this game it was a little bit worse,” said Cincinnati head coach Jamelle Elliott.

Tuesday’s game marked the first time the Bearcats were limited to fewer than 40 points this season, as they shot just 12 of 45 from the field. Freshmen guard Kayla Cook and forward Jeanise Randolph led the team with eight points each, while senior guard and leading scorer this season Shareese Ulis was limited to three — her lowest total of the season.

“Shooting has been our Achilles’ heel all year long, but St. John’s is a good defensive team,” Elliott said. “We didn’t shoot well, but I thought we had some good open looks that we couldn’t capitalize on.”

Elliott said the game’s noon tipoff time might have had an effect on the team’s opening performance. It was the earliest the Bearcats have played all season on the road.

Sam Greene | Online editor

SCORING NOT EASY UC’s 37.6 percent shooting ranks 12th in the Big East, while its 56.3 points per game is second worst.

Irish deal UC third straight road loss sam weinberg | sports editor

F

ollowing a 67-52 loss against Syracuse, Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin said playing great basketball is necessary to win Big East road games — something he said didn’t happen against No. 16 Notre Dame Wednesday in South Bend, Ind. For the first time this season, the No. 25 Bearcats have lost back-to-back games, falling 66-58 to the Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.

“We’re not in Conference USA anymore,” Cronin said.

“These are top-20 teams and we’re on the road.

These are hard games to win and you need to play 40 minutes of good basketball.”

The Bearcats’ shooting struggles of their past two games reappeared in the first half Wednesday.

UC shot 29 percent from the field en route to a 14-point halftime deficit.

While the Bearcats improved their shooting in the second half — netting 48.2 percent of their shots from the field — it proved too little too late. “[It’s] pretty simple — you can’t come out and shoot 9 for 31 on the road in the first half, 27 of those being 2-point shots,” Cronin said. “Somebody’s got to put the ball in the

basket from point-blank range.”

Despite Cincinnati’s defense, which allows a Big East-best 56.2 points per game, all five Notre Dame starters reached double-digit points. The Irish shot 45.5 percent overall and 50 percent from behind the arc.

“I’m not happy with our off-the-ball defense,” Cronin said. “Notre Dame is hard to defend. Obviously, they do a great job spreading you out since they have shooters everywhere.”

Cincinnati began the game going basket for basket with Notre Dame, but with the game tied at six, the Fighting Irish went on a 16-3 run to gain a 13-point lead.

With just more than four minutes to play in the first half, the Bearcats went on an 8-2 run to cut into the deficit. But with two minutes remaining, the Fighting Irish ended Cincinnati’s spurt with an 8-2 run of their own to end the half leading 33-19.

“Thirty-three is not a ton of points for them at home,” Cronin said. “You can’t have 19 points — it’s just not going to cut it.”

Notre Dame kept a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half, but with 1:25 remaining, a Dion Dixon 3-pointer made it a five-point game.

Despite closing the gap, the Fighting Irish’s lead held strong, claiming the team’s 14th-straight home win.

“One thing about our team right now is that we need to put 40 minutes of intensity together to beat these kind of teams on the road,” Cronin said.

The Bearcats return to action at 4 p.m.

Saturday against the St. John’s Red Storm in Queens, N.Y., for their third-consecutive road game.

Chuck Myers | MCT Campus

Sam Greene | Online editor

IRISH PROTECT HOUSE Head coach Mike Brey and No. 16 Notre Dame is undefeated at home this season, winning its past 14 games at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish last lost at home Feb. 14, 2010.

Opening serve: UC tennis eyes 2011 File art | The news record

ARMED AND READY UC’s opening weekend of the 2011 season features matches against Purdue and Ohio State.

Senior Ksenia Slynko will play in the No. 1 spot for UC.

Sam Elliott | sports Editor After a three-month hiatus following four fall tournaments, the University of Cincinnati tennis team opens its spring season Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind., against Purdue.

Entering her third season at the helm, UC head coach Angela Wilson has added a number of newcomers to her roster,

including freshman Ashley Witte and sophomore Iowa State transfer Jasmine Lee. In her collegiate debut, Witte won the No. 3 flight of the Bowling Green State University Invitational with three straight-set wins Sept. 18-19, 2010.

“We weren’t really surprised,” Wilson said, “just really happy that she competed well and had a good transition from high

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“I don’t know if the game’s start time had an effect on us, but looking back, it might be a reason why we started off so slowly,” Elliott said.“However, I do not want to make excuses.

We simply didn’t execute and we had trouble scoring points.”

The Bearcats were limited to just 11 points in the first half, and Elliott believes the team’s shooting woes are something that will take time to remedy.

“This is an ongoing process and it’s not anything that will be solved overnight,” she said.

The Bearcats return to action at 2 p.m. Saturday, to play their first game at the new KFC Yum! Center against the Louisville Cardinals.

In their last meeting at Fifth Third Arena Dec. 15, 2010, the Bearcats lost by 38 points after a strong Louisville defensive effort.

Elliott believes the Cardinals will use a similar gameplan Saturday.

“They press very hard for 40 minutes and they never let up,” Elliott said. “They were able to force turnovers from us and they won pretty handily. We just need to make progress and do better on offense.”

After completing their two-game road trip, the Bearcats return home to play No. 18 DePaul at 7 p.m. Tuesday, at Fifth Third Arena.

513-475-9999

school into college tennis.”

The team’s one month of fall play provided an “evaluation season” for Wilson and assistant coach Jennifer Keiner before team play begins.

“The fall is really just a time for us to see who competes well, who’s coachable, who needs to work on things and look at the doubles combinations,” Wilson said. “Fall is a little less stressful. Now the real deal starts on Saturday.”

Wilson expects both first-year Bearcats to contribute this season, adding depth to Cincinnati’s squad.

“We’ll have a deeper lineup,” Wilson said. “I have more girls this year than I’ve had in the past, so we’ll have some different options and different doubles combinations. It will help us hopefully over the long season.”

Although her lineup for Saturday’s season opener isn’t finalized, senior Ksenia Slynko will play in the Bearcats’ No. 1 spot for the third consecutive season.

“We’ll fluctuate it a little throughout the season, but Ksenia Slynko will play No. 1 for us. She’s just a really great competitor and a good athlete. The rest of the lineup is a little bit up in the air,” Wilson said. “I have to figure it out

by Saturday. I have a pretty good idea of where we’ll be, but Ksenia will play No. 1 for sure.”

The Bearcats will follow Saturday’s match with the Boilermakers with a Sunday meeting against The Ohio State University in Columbus.

“Ohio State used to be on the schedule before I came here, so we’re trying to reestablish that relationship with them,” Wilson said. “They’re a top-30 team in the country and they’re very strong. It helps our strength of schedule and we can compete with Ohio State.”

Cincinnati hosts Miami University at the Western Tennis and Fitness Club Jan. 28 in its first home match of the year.

The Bearcats finished see Tennis | 2