The Northerner | Ed. 60 Issue 8

Edition 60, Issue 8 Wednesday, October 11, 2017 www.thenortherner.com

The art of the haunt:

@northernermedia

NKU alum maestro of horror

PHOTO PROVIDED BY DENT SCHOOLHOUSE

Dent Schoolhouse, co-owned by NKU alums Bud Stross and Josh Wells, is one of the largest haunts in the region. Despite a cast of diverse characters, they’re also tightly-themed.

02 HAPPENINGS

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

northerner staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mackenzie Manley [mackmanley@gmail.com] MANAGING EDITOR Christopher Decker [deckerc0023@gmail.com] NEWS EDITOR Nicole Browning [browningn2@nku.edu] ASST. NEWS EDITOR Kristian Porter [porterk4@nku.edu] ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Cole Grecco [cdgrec10@gmail.com] ASST. A&L EDITOR Chris Robertson [crobertson3500@gmail.com] SPORTS EDITOR Christopher Decker [deckerc0023@gmail.com] PHOTO EDITOR Colin Johnson [johnsonphotography6626@gmailcom]

upcoming events Escape the white-walled prison of your dormitory--check out these events on campus and in Greater Cincinnati. You deserve it.

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12-15 OCT

13-15 OCT

CYBERSECURITY SYMPOSIUM (8 A.M.)

Held in the Student Union, NKU’s 10th annual Cybersecurity Symposium will feature technological innovation and research submitted by academics, industry professionals and members of the government, discussing techniques and processes to implement tighter security.

BLINK

Expected to be one of the largest light, art and projection-mapping events in the country, Cincinnati’s BLINK. festival seeks to transform the cityscape into a livable art gallery. Take time this fall break to explore the city and scope out some new public murals and interactive artworks.

HALL-ZOO-WEEN

Visit the hallowed birthplace of Fiona the Hippo while indulging your appetite for all things spooky! The Cincinnati Zoo is celebrating the month of October with autumnal decor, a Hogwarts-themed train ride and copious amounts of pumpkins, which will be dropped off in select animal exhibits.

DESIGN EDITOR Brittney Gunter [bnicolegunter@gmail.com]

POLICEBEATS

ASSISTANT DESIGN EDITOR Raegan Archer [archerr1@nku.edu]

October 2: Parking services reported a student was using a forged parking permit to part in Lot M

u n i v e r s i t y

VIDEO EDITOR Tommy Bailey [tommybailey44@gmail.com]

October 3: A report was received that a Snapchat was taken of subjects consuming alcohol on campus. One was known to

WEB EDITOR Chris Hennemann [chris.hennemann256@gmail.com]

October 3: An unknown person defaced several areas outside the second floor of Landrum Academic Center with graffiti.

ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Lauren Willis [Laurencw77@yahoo.com] SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Jude Noel [jude.noel3@gmail.com] STREET TEAM Nicole Browning [browningn2@nku.edu] Jude Noel [jude.noel3@gmail.com] Lauren Goderwis [goderwislauren@gmail.com] BUSINESS TEAM Cason Walden [waldenc2@nku.edu] BUSINESS ADVISORS Ashley Hempfling [ahempfling@hbi.com] ADVISOR Michele Day [daymi@nku.edu]

furtherdetails Entire content is copyright of The Northerner and may not be reprinted without prior consent. Views expressed do not represent those of the administration, faculty or student body. The Northerner is considered a designated public forum. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The Northerner staff respects the right to a free and open dialogue as allowed under the First Amendment.

contactinfo The Northerner Griffin Hall Rm. 125 Highland Heights, KY 41099 Editor in Chief: (859) 572-6128 Designers Desk: (859) 572-6677 Advertising: (859) 572-5232 Website: www.thenortherner.com

be underage.

What you missed at SGA Sam Rosenstiel COPY EDITOR

S

tudent Government Association announced a town hall meeting on immigration issues and approved new by-laws at their Monday meeting. Student Government Association read over a proposed DACA resolution and appointed five senators at their meeting on Monday.

DACA resolution

Student Rights Committee Chairman Jachelle Sologuren presented a resolution “to advocate for standing in solidarity with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” on Monday.

The first draft of the resolution states that third parties cannot force educational institutions to disclose student records without written consent under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).

The resolution also cites Western Kentucky University, Ohio University, Yale University and others as institutions that have “joined in solidarity with their students.”

Sologuren said the approval of NKU’s resolution would set a regional precedent.

A second reading and possible vote on the resolution will take place at SGA’s Oct. 23 meeting.

An SGA town hall on DACA/FERPA is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 19 in SU 107.

The meeting will feature a panel including NKU registrar Allen Cole, Interim Asst. VP for Student Engagement and Dean of Students Arnie Slaughter, Chase Law professor Felix Okpe and student DACA recipients.

5 new senators appointed

SGA appointed five new senators at their meeting on Monday.

Chief Justice Hunter Poindexter swore-in senators Emmanuella Asiedu, Madison Juarez, Noah Marcum, Adja Ndoye and Hailee Waltz.

Asiedu, a sophomore environmental science major, said she wants to plan monthly events where SGA can meet with the student body.

Juarez, a social work and criminal justice major, said she is most excited to work on NKU student rights.

Marcum, senior accounting major, said he wants to further inclusiveness and make SGA’s work more transparent to students.

Ndoye, a sophomore finance and accounting major, said she wants start projects to help international students during breaks.

Waltz, a sophomore journalism major, said she has a plan for eco-friendly initiatives like placing compost bins in the Student Union.

Student Government Association holds public meetings every Monday at 3:30 p.m. in SU 104.

Ed 60, Issue 8

Arts and Life 03

D aNKU’s d a , Parker Project funded by National Scence foundation Bluford win SGA presidential election PHOTO PROVIDED BY PARKER ACADEMY ARCHIVE

The Parker Academy is located in New Richmond, Ohio, where David and Priscilla Parker once housed and educated people from all races and genders at time where it wasn’t the norm to do so.

Josh Goad REPORTER

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he Parker Academy sat not too far from the Ohio River in New Richmond, Ohio, just beneath the horizon so that it was not easily seen. This was for good reason–David and Priscilla Parker housed and educated people of all races, creeds and genders, which wasn’t the norm in 1839 when they opened their doors.

Drs. William Landon, Sharyn Jones and Brian Hackett saw potential in this place not just for its history, but for leveraging a similarly inclusive learning environment.

NKU is now the recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant intended to help facilitate a transdisciplinary archaeological project that will span three years.

“We were seeking to do something that would integrate various disciplines from the humanities and the social sciences,” Landon said, a professor of history.

The grant application submitted to the NSF outlines the need for fifteen undergraduate students each summer, and according to Landon, they are a diverse bunch. Students of all majors, from theatre to engineering, have applied and may end up helping with future digs.

Sage Boyers, a senior anthropology major, has been involved with the Parker Project since students were brought on to help. The Parker Academy holds a special place in her heart; it is the sight of her first archaeological dig.

“As far as I know,” Boyers said, “it is one of the first, if not the first, fully integrated schools in America.”

This is a fact that all the faculty involved shared as well.

The legacy that the Parker Academy left is is a pretty big deal according to Hackett, associate professor of history. Hackett serves as a sort of history translator, getting the word out to the people interested enough to hear him.

“This is really what America is,” Hackett said enthusiastically. “This is the whole ‘American Dream’ summed up in one place, so early in American history.”

Hackett and the other members of the project will spend a great deal of time over the next few summers digitizing the vast archive of information lent by relatives of the Parkers.

The diaries, letters and histories left by the students and faculty of the academy will hopefully be available for anyone to read by the end of the grant period in 2020.

America’s history with civil rights is wrought with ups and downs. The Parker’s contribution to the betterment of race relations has so far gone relatively unnoticed. Hackett and Boyers both believe this has the weight to be a new big moment in American history.

“Everybody likes a good story,” Hackett said. “There’s not a more relevant story than this one.”

In a time that is seen as divisive by many, Hackett likes that he can look back at the darkest period in American history and still find a light on. The Parkers challenged our society’s views on education and inclusion, creating an environment for learning that would inspire future generations. They may not know what is around the corner, but those involved are excited to learn from our past so that we can better ourselves in the present.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY PARKER ACADEMY ARCHIVE

A fire roars in the old Donaldson residence.

04 ARTS & LIFE

The Dent Schoolhouse: from fro

PHOTO BY CAMERON KNIGHT

The Dent Schoolhouse’s infamous Charlie the Janitor is based on a real-life legend. The team prepares year-round for the Halloween season; Dent is open on weekends from Sept. to the first week of Nov.

Jude Noel | Mackenzie Manley SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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or NKU alumnus Bud Stross, bringing the nightmarish figments of his imagination to life is a process that lasts year-round. From a 14-foot tall Necromancer statue to catacombs covered in 4,000 hand-made human skulls to a haunted tin can, the horrors that populate Stross’ Dent Schoolhouse are the product of a non-stop effort that just happens to revolve around the month of October.

“Sometimes, randomly, you’ll be sitting at the Thanksgiving table,” Stross said, “and all of the sudden you’re like, ‘ah!,’ with the turkey leg in one hand, saying you’ve got this great idea and to ‘write this down.’”

Climb up the repurposed schoolhouse fire escape and you’ll find yourself in the central hub for demented activity: actors, costume designers and makeup artists work on finishing touches as they prepare for the nights’ haunt.

Further back is Stross’ self-described makeshift office, adorned with a single strand of red Christmas lights, a Dent Schoolhouse mouse pad and a noose dangling from the ceiling. Off to the side, silicone horror masks sit behind

glass in a display case, crumpled to menacing contortions.

Though the haunt is one of the largest in the region, attracting national and international scream-seekers, Stross began his journey of horror in his own front yard.

“One day, in the late ‘90s, when I was a kid trick-or-treating, I thought [horror] was cool, so I asked my parents if I could put a bloody dummy out front and make a monster,” Stross said. “So I did that, you know, with the newspaper wads and took a flannel shirt and made the dummy. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. The next year, we carved out some styrofoam tombstones.”

With each passing autumn, Stross’ homemade Halloween displays grew more extravagant. In high school, he met Josh Wells, whose family also spent their Halloween seasons constructing haunts in their yard across town.

“We had this bromance,” Stross said. “We decided, like, ‘this could be fun for us to do for a living--let’s own a haunted house.’ So, that’s exactly what happened.”

Stross’ father, who contracted the same case of the “Halloween Bug” that infected his son,

joined in the venture. While searching for haunted real estate, Dent’s three future owners were introduced by a family friend to the schoolhouse, then owned by the Boy Scouts, who were looking for buyers.

“The scouts used it as a charity haunt,” Stross said. “It used to be called ‘The Haunted House.’

It was your typical black walls and moving monsters [type of attraction]. We took it over twelve years ago and wanted to make something unique for the tri-state.”

His freshman year at NKU was the first year that he--alongside his Father and Wells-- was an owner of Dent Schoolhouse; between classes and homework, Stross manufactured spooks and started a business that would eventually see 30,000 people circulate through its doors each season and employ about 140.

With the purchase of the schoolhouse came an opportunity to turn the building’s sinister backstory into creative inspiration.

“We found out that there was this legend of a murderous janitor,” Stross said. “I thought-‘how are they not using that?’--and decided to final coin a name for [the house] and make a brand.”

THE EVOLUTION

From there, the architecture of the rickety structure began its growth from a generic, monster house to an elaborate themed haunt complete with animatronics up to $20,000 that walk, crawl and grasp at guests who dare to enter.

Projected ghosts swirl on the walls as figments of cockroaches scurry across the floors.

In terms of the prop he’s most proud of, Stross said it was difficult to say.

“You roll the dice. You think something’s going to be cool and every once in a while you’ll buy something and say ‘Oh my god, that’s so awesome’ and find out that the crowd thinks that the neatest thing was a talking bean can.”

Last year, he challenged his staff to create the monstrosity, which is placed in the pantry.

Reminiscent of Wet Hot American Summer’s talking mixed vegetable can played by H. Jon Benjamin, Dent’s wisecracking version is rustier and grimier than its counterpart.

“Out of all the thousand dollar props we have and all the cool things,” Stross said. “I’d have to say it’s a simple bean can prop that’s one of our neatest things.”

ont yards to international fame

ARTS & LIFE 05

With bigger-budget scares came a larger fanbase.

“We usually have people who’ve come from three hours away,” Stross said. “We’re starting to get people from seven hours away. We see somebody from about every state by the end of [the season]. We’ve also started to get international visitors, which is really crazy.”

The media’s taken notice, too. Over the house’s 12-year history, it’s been featured on Travel Channel series like Halloween Crazy and Toy Hunter, has appeared on Buzzfeed and earned a position on Forbes’ 2014 “Best Haunted Houses” list.

With a new season comes new creatures, props and yes: smells. As you tread through the schoolhouse, Stross said their hopes are that the experience goes beyond the visual and taps into all senses These new smells include fresh dirt in the catacomb, a scorched scent in the Freddy Krueger-esque boiler room and cotton candy among the clowns.

BEHIND THE MASKS

Maximus Bryant is a hockey fan, a multi-instrumentalist, an enthusiastic member of his church and one of the many macabre characters that lurks among Dent’s halls.

A three-year schoolhouse veteran, Bryant seems to have been destined to become a member of the haunt industry. He was born PHOTO PROVIDED BY DENT SCHOOLHOUSE on Halloween night, and ever since then the spirit of the holiday has always been a major While waiting in line, actors walk around for photo-ops with visitors and to hype guests up before they enter. Charlie, wrench in hand, serves up some spooks. part of his life. manding than a lot of people think it is. But by In terms of adhering to Dent’s tight theme, Want to get into the spooky spirit with Dent “I’ve always had a huge fascination with Hal- the time January rolls around, you’re extreme- Stross said they landed on shaping the clown Schoolhouse? They’re open every weekend loween,” Bryant said. “I used to live in Spring- ly anxious to go back to it.” narrative around a PTA funfest. throughout October, ending the first field, Ohio, and when I lived there, I used to Between seasons, Dent employees attend “We’re putting on this festival that has clowns weekend of November with a ‘lights out’ have a yard haunt. It was free of charge--a fun team meetings and haunter’s conventions. in the gymnasium,” Stross said. “We have these showing. Tickets range from $20 (general adthing for the community. I did that for three Auditions and training take place in August, eight feet tall monster alien mission) to $50 (front of line admission). Free years.” about two months before the haunt officially clowns, clowns that are ripping off their faces, parking is available nearby at the nearby CinWhen Bryant came to the Cincinnati area for opens to the public. cotton candy cocoons--pretty much any clown emark, or you can drop $5 for parking across a job, he decided that he wanted to work for a “The owners themselves change about a third anyone could want in the genre we put it in the street. Pro-tip: cash only (unless you pay professional haunt. Though he considered ap- of the haunt every year,” Bryant said. “The ac- there.” online in advance). Never fear, however, ATMs plying for other local attractions like the USS tors start getting excited about, like, ‘what’s Looking toward the future, Stross said they are on-site.

Nightmare and Land of Illusion, it was the going to be new? What are the new scenes? have to keep up with pop culture to stay relehouse’s lore that piqued his interest.

Is this something I’d want to go for?’ Maybe vant to their audiences while adhering to their “There was the legend of Charlie the janitor, they’ll even try to make their way up to be a tightly woven theme. who had killed all these kids. That led me to character that’s more well-known like Charlie look up all these Youtube videos that talk- or the Pumpkin Smasher.” ed about the legend,” Bryant said. “There’s In the past, Bryant’s played a chainsaw-wieldso much content out there about the Dent ing man in a pig mask and a cannibalistic Schoolhouse that I became hooked. I said, ‘I butcher. This year, he’ll assume the role of one have to work for this haunt.’” of Charlie the Janitor’s assistants.

Since becoming a member of Dent’s crew, it’s “I don’t have a name this year,” he said. “But the schoolhouse’s atmosphere that’s kept Bry- I’m in one of the last rooms in the house.” ant coming back for three years.

“As actors, we kind of create this Dent Schoolhouse family,” Bryant said. “In the off- 2 0 1 7 : T H E Y E A R O F T H E C L O W N Last year, when news began to emerge of season, a bunch of us like to go to bars and do menacing clowns standing near rural roadkaraoke. That’s one of our things. While at the ways, Stross began to see a trend. The arrival haunt, we’re hanging out while we’re waiting to of Stephen King’s It solidified this notion, and get our make-up put on. Every Saturday night, thus clowns at Dent Schoolhouse were resurthere’s a meal provided.” rected.

This weekend dinner provides a chance for This year, among the usual ghoulish residents the staff to exchange “war stories”: recounted of the haunt, clowns will be in on the scare. tales of the shift’s best scares.

Though your first instinct may be that Stross’ “It’s a very friendly, welcoming group,” he team was inspired by Stephen King’s It, the said. “It’s great to become part of it. As soon as PHOTO PROVIDED BY DENT SCHOOLHOUSE carnival-esque creatures closely represent that the season ends you can’t wait for it to be done. of cult classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

About 30,000 thrill-seekers flockto the schoolhouse each year.

It’s exhausting. It’s tiring--more physically de-

06 NEWS

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Cincinnati Woman of the Year overcomes homelessness to help others Christopher Decker MANAGING EDITOR

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usan Landis was standing in line for the deli counter in Kroger when her husband, Samuel came rushing to her, phone in hand, and informed her she needed to take a call.

“I got on the phone and the guy asks ‘is this Sandra Landis?’”

Susan said. “I said ‘No this is Susan Landis.’ He said, ‘Well I have some great news for you. You are one of 2017’s Women of the Year.”’

Initially Susan, a social work major at NKU, was in disbelief; she asked if they were speaking to right person. They were.

The 29-year-old is one of the youngest to ever receive the award since its inception 49 years ago. Along with nine others, Susan now has the honor of being named one of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s and Greater Cincinnati Foundation’s Women of the Year. She’s the first Norse since 2006 to be honored, Rachel Votruba being the last.

A few days later Votruba gave her a call and some advice about the luncheon she’ll be honored at, along with the other women, on Oct. 23 at the Hyatt Regency in Cincinnati.

“I was saying ‘I’m nervous and I’m going to be one of the youngest ones there,’” Susan said. “And she said ‘just be yourself and don’t worry. It’s an honor.’”

Susan founded the organization Maslow’s Army with her husband Samuel in October of 2016. Every Sunday on Fountain Square starting at 1 p.m., they hand out over 700 pizza slices to the homeless community of Cincinnati, along with new clothes and shoes while offering free haircuts.

Narcan kits are on standby in case of a heroin overdose.

Starting from their tent on the sidewalk of Vine St., a line of in need people stretches around the corner of Vine and 5th St. On Sunday, Oct. 1, Susan said Maslow’s Army fed around 500 of Cincinnati’s most in-need citizens.

The Landis’s credit their success to their own personal experiences.

Since childhood, Susan said she has battled some form of depression and mental illness; she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which worsened her senior year of high school in 2007.

“The first part of my senior year, I was winning scholarships. I was putting in applications to NKU and looking at dorm rooms,” Susan said. “By the end of 2007, I was barely going to school.”

By 2008--in a period of mania-- Susan was homeless.

Though she grew up in a loving home, Susan’s parents could not help support her.

“When I ended up in the situation I was in, it wasn’t due to the fact I was unloved,” Susan said. “My family could just not do anything for me.”

She began using opioids as a way to self medicate and relieve symptoms of Bipolar. Samuel said that she formed her addiction when she was in her mania.

At the lowest point, Susan found herself in the back of the pickup truck in the middle of the night too exhausted to move out of a rain storm.

“I remember just feeling like I had been beaten,” Susan said.

“I didn’t know how this could get any worse. And I guess I shouldn’t have said that, because it did get worse.”

A couple weeks later, Susan said she was restless, alone and uncomfortable. She accidently woke her now ex-husband after he’d been drinking with friends. She became a victim of physical abuse.

“He just started pounding me in the head. Another friend was laying in the back of the truck and he just laid there while I got pounded,” Susan said. “After it was over, I was just like, ‘this is horrible.’ That’s when I knew there is some mental illness here because I should not be living like this.”

PHOTO BY COLIN JOHNSON

Maslow’s Army is a non-profit organization focused on meeting the needs of the most vulernable.

The turning point came, Susan believes, when she became pregnant with her son. She knew she needed to get help.

“I knew I had to quit the drugs and quit the drinking,” Susan said. “I may have felt I wasn’t good enough. But I was good enough and that was not the life I wanted for my son.”

Samuel, much like Susan, had a place to call home and a family growing up. Born to upper-class parents, he was sent to several different boarding schools and was kicked out of his house at the age of 18.

“I didn’t know who I was. I was always being compared like ‘why can’t you be like this person and why can’t you be more like that person,’” Samuel said. “I didn’t have security there.

When you are 18 and not knowing who you are and they put you out of the house, it’s a shock. I didn’t have any survival skills.”

For 20 years, Samuel lived in homeless camps, under bridges and found abandoned homes to stay in, sometimes getting arrested for trespassing. He adapted to the street life and learned how to lie, cheat and steal. He also used opioids as a way to escape from the reality of his situation.

“I just knew how hopeless my situation was,” Samuel said. “I was just waiting to die out there, really.”

There were times where Samuel would meet drug dealers and intentionally rip them off, hoping a bullet would find him in the process.

In one instance, Samuel says he was surrounded in an apartment building by six pistol-wielding dealers he had ripped off. Samuel opened the door of the apartment and leaped down three flights of steps as the dealers were firing at him from behind.

Several of those dealers, Samuel said, have come up to the Maslow’s Army tent and told him they don’t know how he escaped that night.

Samuel is now 30 months sober from drug and alcohol use and decided to quit smoking on Sept. 27.

Despite all of the hardship, Susan always had a dream to complete her education.

“In the back of my mind, I was always driven to get my education,” Susan said. “That was always a dream of mine. It

was really hard at one point because I didn’t see any of these dreams coming to pass. They never went away, I was just struggling with my own demons.”

Susan attempted to go back to school in 2010, but was unable to keep up. In 2015, she enrolled at Gateway Community College and was able to begin the pursuit of that dream. In 2016, she and Samuel met in class at Gateway. By this time, Susan had developed severe social anxiety and would shake in public situations.

When they first started dating, they went to a buffet, where Samuel fetched food for Susan because she shook too much to hold a plate.

It didn’t take long, however, for the two to realize they needed to be together; they were married on June 13, 2016.

The Landises are now enrolled full time at NKU as social work majors. Susan has won two scholarships since she has arrived.

“Everything has come full circle. Exactly 10 years later, I’m enrolled at NKU and I’m getting great grades,” Susan said.

(Story continues on page 8)

PHOTO BY COLIN JOHNSON

Every Sunday, Maslow’s Army provides food, haircuts and clothing.

Ed 60, Issue 8

ARTS & LIFE 07

Linking two worlds: how students and professors communicate digitally PHOTO BY COLIN JOHNSON

Christine Curran, associate professor in biological sciences, uses texting in her lab classes.

Natalie Hamren REPORTER

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s a kid, you may have believed the myth that teachers lived at school. Scrolling through Facebook today, your professor may pop up under “people you may know.” Two worlds--business and personal--were once separate; in today’s technological world, social media links them together. The ‘line’ where communication should cease can be blurred.

Michelle Crowley, a lecturer in communication studies, said texting students is not appropriate while they are currently in a class.

Crowley said that communication should remain professional while they are students.

“I don’t think that it’s appropriate when they are your student,” Crowley said. “So, afterward perhaps, if you had a positive relationship with that student and if they wanna keep in touch, or if you have something in common outside of school, then it’s okay.”

Crowley uses email and Blackboard to communicate with her students, saying that she also has the same stance on using social media. She stated that professors and students might develop a “mentor” relationship in college and that it would be appropriate to maintain communication after they graduate.

Crowley said that relationships between teachers and students in high school are formalized, whereas in college they are more “relaxed.”

“I teach at some schools where teachers have Twitter accounts and they post if their assignments are due, and students follow that,” Crowley said.

Dr. John Alberti, English department chair, requires his students to use social media for some of his classes, including Writing in the Digital Age. “Everybody had to set up a Twitter account.

Everybody had to have a blog. So we were all connected in that way,” Alberti said.

Alberti said he uses Facebook both as a recruitment tool for studying abroad and for his classes and are the only times he’ll send out friend requests to his students.

“From the beginning, personally, I would accept friend invitations from students, but I still don’t send friend invitations to students,” Alberti said.

Alberti stated the importance of having “guidelines” for what is posted on social media. He said that because these sites have been around for awhile, people have become more comfortable with what they’re posting.

Using social media and texting students have been topics of discussion among faculty as the perception of texting has changed over the years, according to Alberti. He also said that when texting first became popular, the question of “who you should give your number to” was heavily debated.

“Phone numbers went from, you had one phone in your house--that was the only phone there was, so you gave your phone number to everybody,” Alberti said. “That was the only way to reach you. And then, if you became a professional, you would have your office phone.”

According to Alberti, texting students is most beneficial when studying abroad or on other off-campus trips when communicating locations and times are necessary for the trip to function properly.

Alberti has found that when he does give his number out to students, they are very respectful and do not text him at unreasonable times. He stated that most of the time students use other modes of communication.

“The only text I received were sort of emergency texts, like ‘my car has a flat tire.’ One or two times someone was in a panic. They were stuck in an airport. They couldn’t get back to turn their paper in, or something like that,” Alberti said.

Other professors also utilize texting for emergency situations. Christine Curran, associate professor in the Biological Sciences department, uses texting in her labs.

“My lab students absolutely have my cell and home phone number. Occasionally I will even give out my husband’s cell phone number,” Curran said, “This is critical. The experiments have to be done on time. If there’s a problem or an issue--we have laboratory mice--someone needs to be notified and take action quickly.” Phone numbers went from, you had one phone in your house--that was the only phone there was, so you gave your phone number to everybody.

Curran relies on emailing her non-lab students, making announcements in class and using Blackboard as means of communication with students. She can easily email all her students using Blackboard with “the click of a button.”

“For a large class, I try to use the technology that’s available within the course-ware.

For every class, we have a discussion board section that says ‘general course questions.’

This was particularly helpful for large lecture classes,” Curran said.

Students can create a thread with a question. Instead of answering a question multiple times, she can answer it for all student to respond, Curran explained.

“Many students will not ask in class. They don’t want to show that they’re confused,” Curran said.

Curran said that the importance of social media isn’t as vital while she currently has students, and added that it’s important for students to be able to interact with their professor in a way social media can’t suffice.

“After they graduate, you find them on LinkedIn. So if I want to know what my

former lab students are doing, I can pop on there and figure out what their latest job title is,” Curran said.

She said there needs to be a line of demarcation when communicating with students through texting or social media. She said that there should not be an introduction of bias, as all students should be evaluated fairly.

“If you look at how social media is used or misused, all the things they tell you not to talk about--in terms of politics and religion--you tend to show more biases on personal social media sites,” Curran said. “And that could really discourage the type of communication you would want to have with your students.”

Alberti said that faculty-student friendship on social media can create problems in the classroom due to the authority a professor can have over a student.

“So I kind of feel that--my own understanding--that’s a power dynamic. It could make somebody feel uncomfortable, from my perspective, if one of their faculty members asked to friend you,” Alberti said.

This could be an issue for any figure of power, not just professors, Alberti said, adding that it might be fraught to decline a friend request from a professor you are currently in a class with.

Even with the occasional negative effects of technology, he said he believes technology is beneficial. Alberti also noted that technology allows barriers involving communication to be broken down.

“I think, actually, it’s a good thing because it’s rapidly expanded possibilities for communication. It has helped democratize communication,” Alberti said. “We can now communicate with people all over the world, instantly.”

08 NEWS

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Cincinnati Woman of the Year overcomes homelessness to help others (Continued from page 6)

Christopher Decker MANAGING EDITOR

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rior to starting Maslow’s Army, Susan and Samuel were working at a mental health agency part time and felt like they were not being utilized appropriately.

“We weren’t able to use our personal experience,” Susan said.

“We could only do one task at a time and we could only meet with [people] for an hour.”

Susan and Samuel talked about the idea of starting their own organization, which made her nervous at first.

“I’m like, ‘Honey, we are going to be the clients. We are going to end up homeless again,’” Susan said. “Let’s just work our jobs.”

With some encouragement from Samuel, she realized how her experiences could help those who in similar situations.

“The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I just can’t keep my personal experience to myself,” Susan said. “Sometimes you have to share your story in order to help the next person. Sam and I are both putting our lives out there for people to judge and pick apart, but there could be that one person out there that could really use it.”

The Landis’s were planning to buy a house prior to Oct. 2016; instead, they created Maslow’s Army.

“Knowing we weren’t going to get another paycheck for a year, we put all of our chips in one basket,” Samuel said. “We still live in a two bedroom apartment with a couple of cats. It’s really cramped, but we know this is going to be the new phase.”

They based their organization off Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory. The theory states humans have five levels of needs; physiological, safety, love/belonging, self esteem, and self-actualization.

When describing her recent recognition as one of Cincinnati’s Women of the Year, she uses ‘we’ to describe who won the award.

“This has always been a team effort,” Susan says. “So when I win something or he gets a recognition, it’s both of us. We do it together.”

PHOTO BY COLIN JOHNSON

Along with giving free haircuts out to the homeless, Maslow’s Army also seeks to provide meals, clothes and more.

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