February 10, 2026

One city, two councils

FINN SMITH NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tensions continue in Nelsonville surrounding Issue 23, as both the statutory and charter city councils continue to hold meetings, while only one has real governance.

Issue 23, a passed ballot initiative in Nelsonville intends to disband the Nelsonville City Charter and return to a statutory form of government, according to the proposal.

US Headlines

ICE in Minnesota, backlash over Trump’s racist post

2 Mon

Partial government shutdown continues, House split on immigration

The partial government shutdown continues as House Democrats and Republicans fail to reach an agreement on the federal funding package President Donald Trump brokered with the Senate, according to The Associated Press. The stalemate is due to disagreements on immigration enforcement operations, with some Democrats refusing to vote for the package without increased restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Democrats are pushing for more regulations beyond the $20 million included for body cameras. According to Kristi Noem, secretary of Homeland Security, all ICE officers in Minneapolis will be issued body cameras and the program will be extended to the entire country as funding becomes available.

3 Tue

Clintons to testify in House as Epstein investigation continues Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to testify in the House investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the AP reported. The announcement comes as the federal government continues to release the Epstein files, and as Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, pushed forward with the potential of charging the Clintons with criminal contempt of Congress charges.

The initiative passed in November 2024 with about 70% of the vote and was set to take effect Jan. 1, according to a previous report from The Post. Nelsonville City Council, however, passed an ordinance with a 5-1 vote Aug. 11, 2025, which repealed the initiative on the basis that it lacked transitory language.

Nelsonville City Council President Cameron Peck initially voted for Issue 23 but decided the city council needed to repeal it after recognizing the problems.

“When the folks who were trying to pass it came down and told me face to face,” Peck said. “What I listened to, what they told me it was going to be and what I ended up reading were two separate things.”

Since the repeal, the decision has been contested in court, with a case rising in the Fourth District Court of Appeals, according to an Ohio Official Report.

According to Peck, the court agreed the municipality of Nelsonville maintained the right to repeal Issue 23 because there were potential future issues and the city was able to act on behalf of the people.

Charlene Pickett, a Nelsonville resident, voted for Issue 23 and commented on the charter council’s reasoning for repealing the ballot initiative.

“To me, that’s petty,” Pickett said. “What are they talking about? We didn’t want them there. We voted them out. I don’t care how it was worded. We made this decision as a community, we decided we wanted a mayor back, and people had different various reasons for that. I had my reasons. Some people agreed with me, some people had other reasons for it, but ultimately, that’s what we did.”

The mayor, city auditor, city treasurer, city law director, seven city council members and council president were all voted in last year.

Elected mayor, Jonathan Flowers, declined an interview with The Post but provided a short statement.

“Our city attorney, Mr. Garry Hunter, has advised the elected council, council president and me, the elected mayor, to let the courts settle this and mudslinging isn’t doing any good for our case,” Flowers wrote.

Pledge of Allegiance conversation hits city council, Athens citizens

KAITLIN HOGG NEWS STAFF WRITER

In recent weeks, the Pledge of Allegiance became a significant topic of discussion among the Athens City Council.

The Council distinguishes itself from neighboring councils like Gallipolis, Marietta, Cambridge, Portsmouth, Zanesville, Lancaster and Circleville, as it is the only one that does not recite the pledge before its meetings.

In Athens, the school board and the Democratic Central Committee both recite the pledge at the start of their meetings. Additionally, the Ohio University College Republicans also include the pledge in their meetings, and several members were present at the Council meeting Jan. 20.

Ohio stays hot, shuts out Canisius

CAMDEN PAELTZ FOR THE POST

Ohio DI Hockey steamrolled Canisius in a 7-0 shutout Friday night, outshooting its opponents a staggering 64-18 to dominate every inch of the ice.

The first period hit fast, with Ohio stuck defending for the opening ten minutes as Canisius controlled possession, but once the Bobcats finally broke clean through the neutral zone, they flipped the script and piled on shot after shot to seize momentum.

“We didn’t take care of the puck as well last weekend,” Ohio head coach Barry Schutte said.

Athens residents wait outside the Athens City Building prior to a city council meeting on

FINN SMITH

Students, university debate dorm occupancy, size

Ohio University has 36 operational dorms that house approximately 8,000 undergraduate students, with another dorm, McDavis Hall, set to open at the start of the 2026-27 academic year. The buildings contain a total of 3,751 rooms that have the maximum capacity to house 7,493 students.

As enrollment continues to grow, some students say dorm rooms originally designed for fewer occupants have been converted into triples, creating crowded living conditions.

The university requires students to live on campus for their first two years. Students can choose from single, double, triple or quad rooms available in traditional, renovated, suite-style or apartment-style residence halls.

Addie Kearns, a sophomore studying journalism, said dorm rooms in Adams Hall were previously doubles but have since been converted into triples.

“When we first got assigned to that dorm, it was kind of devastating,” Kearn said. “We weren’t super excited about it just because we knew that it was built as a double. They renovated (the hall) into triples, but really they just added more furniture into the rooms.”

Each dorm room is furnished according to capacity, with a bed, desk, chair, closet and set of drawers for each resident.

The university also provides a refrigerator and microwave unit in each room.

Lily George, a sophomore

studying marketing, said the triple room she lived in last year in Treudley Hall lacked sufficient space. She currently lives in a double, which she said better fits her belongings.

“We had a whole wall of closets, we had a bunk bed and a lofted bed, and three desks,” George said. “One of the desks was under the lofted bed, and the other two were squeezed in between the bunk and the lofted bed. Everything was touching in that room. There wasn’t really an ounce of open space.”

George said the limited space made it difficult to complete everyday tasks indoors.

“It was even hard to have friends in our room,” George said. “We’d be touching, sitting on the floor. It’s hard to play games. It’s hard to do lots of stuff because of limited space.”

Alesha Morrison, a sophomore studying biology, said her first-year triple dorm room provided just enough space for essentials, in part because she shared a bunk bed and had no space underneath for storage.

“The way it was laid out was our bunk bed was against the wall, (then it was my roommate’s) desk and my desk, so there was no ladder,” Morrison said. “I would have to climb up my desk to get onto my bed. As the year went on, my desk became more and more full because that’s the only storage space I had. It was really hard to get into my bed … That was tedious.”

Jneanne Hacker, the executive director of Housing and Residence Life, said average dorm sizes vary by location and building type.

Pledge of Allegiance/ continued from pg 1

The Jan. 20 meeting drew considerable public attention for a spirited yet respectful discussion about reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before Council meetings. If the pledge is adopted for recitation prior to council meetings, participation is entirely voluntary. Only those who choose to stand and recite it do so.

Councilmembers are split on the matter. Councilmember Alan Swank (D-4th Ward) said he is in favor of reciting the pledge. Councilmembers Michael Wood, Jessica Thomas and Paul Isherwood shared their reasons for opposing saying the pledge prior to their meetings.

Wood, who is a Quaker, said reciting the pledge conflicts with his beliefs, particularly in light of the current administration. Thomas, who identifies as an atheist, voiced her objection to the inclusion of the phrase “under God.” Isherwood said, as an immigrant, he is proud to be a U.S. citizen but thinks the pledge has an anti-immigrant history. Nonetheless, he stood and recited the pledge during the meetings.

Swank said his suggestion to propose reciting the pledge was not arbitrary but the result of extensive research and an understanding of practices in other cities.

“I said we should say the pledge as Council was talking

about December and what we were going to be doing forward and starting to look at rule changes and things, and then my research and what other communities in the area do, and the fact that our school board does it, and the Democratic Central Committee does it, thought it was appropriate to add it to our agenda,” Swank said.

The discussion rapidly took a political turn, particularly with the involvement of Ohio Treasurer Candidate Jay Edwards. On Jan. 16, he shared a post on Facebook urging attendees to “Bring America to Athens” and invited people to join the meeting to recite the pledge. Following the event, Edwards utilized social media to share updates.

Edwards reiterated his opinions about Athens councilmembers on his official Facebook page for Treasurer candidates, writing, “If there was ever a question if these folks hate America, make no mistake about it.”

Aiden Fox, a senior studying political science and the president of the OU College Republicans, said he met with Edwards at the Jan. 20 meeting, where Edwards asked him to lead the demonstration.

“I get there, I shake his hand and then I was asked if I would lead the demonstration because he had another event that he was also scheduled to be at, so there was no collaboration in

On West Green, the average dorm size varies by type, ranging from approximately 125.38 to 194.67 square feet. Dorms located in The Convo are somewhat larger, averaging around 326.29 square feet.

A non-suite style single room on South Green typically measures around 78.51 square feet, while doubles average about 176.54 square feet.

In the front four halls, Crawford, Brown, Mackinnon and Pickering, quads have an average size of 367.19 square feet. Suites provide more space, with singles averaging 144.79 square feet and doubles averaging 273.17 square feet.

“The size of a single and the size of a double in a mod style facility it’s pretty consistent across all five of those halls,” Hacker said. “Now there’s some nuances here and there, where a room might be a little bit bigger, or a room might be a little bit smaller, but it doesn’t necessarily impact the experience of the student living in the space.”

The dorms on East Green vary in size, typically ranging from 196.88 to 229.63 square feet.

The doubles are the smallest option, averaging 196.88 square feet, making them 32.75 square feet smaller than the average East Green triple.

Students can visit the OU website to access the floor plan and select individual rooms to see their dimensions. Hacker said the measurements provided online are generally reliable.

Hacker said since OU administrators do not reside in the dorms, they have students assess the dorms and share

their views on what size they should be classified as. The custodial staff also help make the decisions because they are directly supporting students in those spaces.

“There have been times, perhaps, that we convert a double to a triple because we feel that it can accommodate three people,” Hacker said.

Morrison said she wishes the university did not charge students living in smaller dorms as much as students living in larger dorms with more amenities and space.

“I think if you’re forced to live in a triple in those that used to be doubles with terrible conditions, you should get significantly less in housing fees,” Morrison said.

OU’s enrollment increased by 3.6% this academic year, according to a previous report by The Post. Kearns said she believes the university is over-admitting students while continuing to require two years of on-campus living.

“Interest in OHIO has been at an all-time high in recent years, but we wouldn’t expect recent growth trends to continue in perpetuity,” Vice President for Enrollment Management Candace Boeninger said in an email. “OHIO’s integrated planning processes allow the institution to take into account student interest, programmatic and residential capacities and available resources to support an excellent Ohio University experience.”

Hacker said Housing and Residence Life continues to collect student feedback as it plans for future housing needs.

“We will continue to build towards the future to meet the students’ needs and their wants, and do so in such a way that it’s once again continuing to ensure the success for our students required to stay on campus for two years for all the value that contributes toward, quite honestly, student retention and student success,” Hacker said.

planning the event prior,” Fox said.

Fox also said he is not in favor of forcing anyone to say the pledge, but he thinks the choice an individual makes on the matter shows how they view the U.S.

Incorporating the Pledge of Allegiance into meeting proceedings is not a new idea, as Swank said, “years and years and years ago the pledge was a part of meetings.”

Swank also noted that among the seven nearby cities that recite the pledge before their meetings, four also include a prayer. Although Swank

recognized a prayer might not be appropriate in Athens, he anticipated some resistance regarding the Pledge of Allegiance.

“I thought there might be a little bit of pushback, depending on how one views the Pledge of Allegiance,” Swank said. “To be honest, I was surprised at the amount of pushback.”

Although there is some resistance, Swank said the majority of discussion are respectful.

“The folks that came (to the Jan. 20 meeting), it was a large group, and they had very, I don’t

mean this in a negative way, but they have very strong feelings, but they comported themselves in a very civil manner,” Swank said. “To me it was an exercise in civic engagement that night.”

At the recent Feb. 2 Council meeting, the suggestion to include the Pledge of Allegiance on the agenda did not receive enough support for official adoption.

As a result, the pledge will not be recited before meetings in a formal capacity. Although some community members have chosen to recite it during the meetings, it remains unofficial.

Athens residents gather for a city council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2025, in the City Building in Athens. During the time for public comments, several residents expressed support for saying the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of the council meetings. (HG BIGGS | FOR THE POST)

Blotter: Protection order violations, butt dial, warrants of the week

KAITLIN HOGG NEWS STAFF WRITER

30 Fri ________________________

Protection order violation

Deputies of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office received a walk-in report for a violation of a protection order. Christopher Tedrow of Athens was found by the Logan Police Department and taken to the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.

Help a guy out

Athens County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway to investigate a complaint.

On the scene, deputies located a man walking his bike along the path. The path had not been cleared, and the man was struggling to get home, so he was given a ride home. Patrol was then resumed.

31 Sat ________________________

You butt-dialed the cops!

Athens County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to West Clinton Street in Albany regarding a 911 hang-up call.

Deputies on the scene determined a child had been playing with the phone and accidentally called 911.

Just fixing my car

Deputies of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to York Township after receiving a call about people walking in front of a residence.

After deputies arrived, the caller realized it was a neighbor fixing their car.

1 Sun ________________________

Over-the-phone harassment

Deputies with the Athens County Sheriff’s Office responded to Oakdale after receiving a telecommunications harassment complaint.

At the time the media report was released, deputies intended to speak with the suspect.

Law and (Dis)order

Athens County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to Chestnut Street in Nelsonville following a disorderly complaint.

Once on the scene, deputies spoke with all involved and determined no crime had occurred.

2 Mon ________________________

Warrants of the week

The Athens County Sheriff’s Office has posted warrants of arrest for Christopher Hill and Melena White. White is wanted for possession of drugs. Hill is wanted for having weapons while under disability and for possession of criminal tools.

Anyone with information on either individual is to contact the Sheriff’s Office immediately.

Theft! … or not

Athens County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to West Bailey Road in Millfield after receiving a theft complaint.

Deputies on the scene spoke with several individuals and determined no theft occurred. No further action was taken.

3 Tue ________________________

Wave the flag

Deputies with the Athens County Sheriff’s Office responded to state Route 682 near Slater Drive in The Plains regarding a traffic hazard.

Deputies on the scene spoke with the workers and the company crew about having flaggers present while work is being done.

You hit a parked car?

Athens County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to Jacksonville after receiving a call about a car accident.

The caller said her vehicle was hit while parked in her driveway and wanted the incident documented for insurance purposes.

4 Wed ________________________

Up-to-date ex Athens County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a potential trespassing complaint.

The caller told deputies his exgirlfriend was at his residence, going through his mailbox. At the time the media report was released, the case was under further investigation.

Potential active burglary

Deputies with the Athens County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to Walnut Street in Trimble regarding a potential active burglary.

Deputies on the scene were able to make contact with the residents, who said nothing appeared to be stolen and nobody else was in the house. The residents said they would contact the sheriff’s office if they discovered anything stolen.

5 Thur ________________________

Help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up Athens County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to North Plains Road in The Plains to assist after a drunken man fell over and could not get back up.

Assistance was provided, and the individual was taken to the hospital.

House fire

Deputies of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to High Street in Chauncey after reports of a house fire with a man inside.

The man was removed from the residence, and the Fire Department began an investigation.

@KATE_H1105 KH303123@OHIO.EDU

Nelsonville/ continued from pg 1

Pickett stated the current city council has been inadequate for the city, specifically mentioning difficulty maintaining code enforcement.

Pickett said having a mayor would be beneficial, as they could hold the council accountable.

“I’ve been here for 20 years, I’ve been buying my home for 20 years here,” Pickett said. “I’ve been paying land taxes and everything, and I have never really had a good experience with the City Council. They’ve always been, not very helpful, very rude, and then there’s just a lot of fighting and drama, and I just felt like the city would be better off if we had a mayor.”

While the statutory government continues to host city council meetings at locations such as Hocking College, Peck said it has no real governing power.

“There is no other council,” Peck said.

“What they are is a group of people who formerly had positions under a statutory government that does not exist. Those are folks that have the freedom of speech and the freedom of association to meet wherever they want, whenever they want to say whatever they want while they’re there, but there is no governing going on there.”

The Steering Committee in Nelsonville surveyed 110 people, and only one individual had questions about why Issue 23 was not being enacted, Peck said.

Peck advised all residents to share

The Clintons attempted to arrange the format of the subpoenas, offering to provide a transcribed interview and sworn declaration. Comer rejected the offer, and the final agreement has not yet been finalized, according to the AP.

4 Wed _________________________

Tensions remain in Minneapolis as immigration officers arrest activists Activists following immigration officers in Minneapolis were arrested. Immigration arrests continue across the city, as officials make more targeted moves at houses and neighborhoods, according to the AP.

Multiple cars followed immigration vehicles throughout the city before being stopped and told to exit their vehicles at gunpoint, threatening to use pepper spray. A spokesperson for Homeland Security said the officials did so because the activists were impeding their attempt to arrest an illegal immigrant.

ICE’s presence in Minneapolis is beginning to impact schools. ICE vehicles were reported outside of school board members’ and the superintendent’s homes, the AP reported.

5 Thur _________________________

Nike investigated amidst claims of ‘DEI-related’ discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disclosed that sportswear company Nike is being investigated due to claims that it discriminated against white employees through diversity policies.

The EEOC filed a motion in a Missouri federal court and demanded Nike comply with a subpoena for the company’s criteria for selecting employees for layoffs, how it tracks and uses worker race and ethnicity data and information about programs that allegedly provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership or career development opportunities, according to the AP.

Nike said it is complying with the EEOC and has shared thousands of pages of information and detailed written responses with them.

what they feel is the appropriate course of action. He said he is very open to shifting the government to a statutory form and electing a mayor, but wants to make sure the language is unimpeachable.

“It is so devastating to see where this town has gone, and I blame the council for it … it’s just really devastating to some of us that live here, that’ve lived here all of our lives,” Pickett said. “I haven’t lived here all my life; I’ve lived in Athens County all my life, but as I said, my late husband did … It really, really, makes my heart heavy knowing what is going on in my little town.”

Peck also intended to clear the air and clarify the issue is not as contentious as local media outlets have reported it to be.

“There’s not any level of chaos going on,” Peck said. “There is a simple civil disagreement that is playing out in the courts. I just have to state that plainly, because it is the one thing about the coverage that I can honestly say I kind of took umbrage with.”

6 Fri _________________________

TrumpRx website launched by Trump Administration

The Trump administration officially released the TrumpRx website, intended to help patients buy prescription drugs directly at a discounted rate, according to the AP.

The website is set up as a facilitator and will point users to drugmakers’ direct-to-consumer websites, also providing coupons to be used at pharmacies. The initial launch includes over 40 medications.

Included in the medications are weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, claimed the site will help the country lose a collective 100 million pounds this year.

According to the AP, the site is a part of the Trump administration’s effort to tackle rising costs and affordability issues.

8 Sun _________________________

Trump receives bipartisan backlash for racist portrayal of Obamas U.S. Lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum have publicly criticized Trump for a racist video posted online that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates, according to the AP. Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator, criticized the image and urged the president to remove it. Other Republicans, including Sens. Susan Collins, John Curtis, Pete Ricketts and more, also expressed criticism of the image.

A few of Trump’s allies maintained support, saying Trump is not racist. Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, claimed the video depicted Trump as “King of the Jungle” while the Obamas and other Democrats were characters from “The Lion King,” the AP reported.

Editorial

Don Lemon, journalists remain stronger than ICE

“I’m not going to let them steal my joy,” Don Lemon said on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Feb. 3, just days after being arrested by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Los Angeles. Lemon was also covering the lead-up to the Grammy Awards on Jan. 30 before his arrest.

Lemon and an independent Minnesota journalist, Georgia Fort, were among four people arrested by federal agents in connection with an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 18. Since the arrests, journalists, press advocates and Democratic lawmakers have begun to call out President Donald Trump’s administration, specifically for “attempting to intimidate journalists looking to conduct accountability reporting.”

Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s attorney, posted on social media saying the arrest was an “unprecedented attack” and a “transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing the administration,” according to CNBC. The former CNN anchor, Lemon, went into the church to cover the protest as a journalist who is constitutionally free to do so. Yet, those in power who sit within the White House walls can arrest journalists for covering the disasters set by those inside.

In the church where the protest took

place, the pastor serves as an official ICE agent, according to NPR.

Under a roof and within a structure dedicated to worship and communitybuilding, churchgoers, protestors and journalists were exercising their First Amendment right of free speech. A grand jury in Minnesota accused the four arrested of charges related to the interruption of a religious service at a church.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel brought up the recent home invasion of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson by the FBI. The newspaper called this a “highly unusual and aggressive” move by law enforcement, and “press freedom groups condemned as a ‘tremendous intrusion’” by the Trump administration,” The Guardian said.

“The FBI went to her house, and I feel like it didn’t get much attention at that time,” Kimmel said.

“Because people are afraid,” Lemon replied. The journalist spoke about his concerns for corporate media and referred to the mass media outlets as “neutered.”

Since January 2025, Trump’s administration has worked to penalize and deprive corporate media of its rights by limiting the press’ access to information on a large scale. On Feb. 14, 2025, the same administration banned the Associated Press from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other restricted spaces for refusing to use

Voices on Court Siblings Weekend Edition

This past weekend was Siblings Weekend in Athens. The Post took to the streets to find out what the siblings have been up to this weekend and who they think is going win the Super Bowl.

Video by: Hunter Gillispie & Hayley Mitchell

Edited by: Cassie Dye

The Post

the term “Gulf of America,” chosen by Trump.

This administration has instilled fear among journalists. They have proven successful in banning global newsrooms and shutting down smaller ones. Where the Trump administration can’t go themselves, ICE agents have targeted journalists, arresting them and leading to federal crime charges against them.

“They want to embarrass you,” Lemon said. “They want to intimidate you. They want to instill fear, and so that’s why they did it that way.” He said after the FBI arrested him inside his hotel, he walked outside to see a dozen people.

Lemon said it was “a waste of resources” to see such a large presence of law enforcement when he was arrested. Weeks prior, he said his attorney contacted authorities to indicate he would turn himself in, leading to the surprise of the arrest with a warrant on a cellphone, presented by an FBI agent.

The illegitimacy of Lemon’s arrest shouldn’t stand as a representation of the current administration; however, it does. When a journalist’s arrest occurs after weeks of silence from authorities, the agenda isn’t to protect religion and free worship; it is to deliberately turn off the cameras that are portraying alleged crimes against America.

Bald eagle comeback results in 4 nests in Athens

American bald eagles are an incredible sight to see, even with their population increasing significantly over the years. Athens’ bald eagles are often spotted, flying majestically through the air or perched on a tree after being considered endangered on a federal or state level. In 2020, there was only one confirmed nest in Athens, and since the most recent nest survey conducted in 2025, there are now four bald eagle nests in Athens.

Ohio currently has 964 nests as of July, a staggering difference from the previous survey in 2020, which found a total of 707 nests in Ohio.

At one time, the U.S. bird was at risk for extinction, with there only being a total of 417 known nesting pairs in the country in 1963, according to the American Eagle Foundation.

American bald eagles were dying off due to human interference, reaching low numbers in population due to DDT, a pesticide commonly used to control insects before its ban in 1972. DDT builds up in the fatty tissue of birds and fish, which is a large part of the Bald Eagle’s diet. DDT made Bald Eagle eggs extremely thin, making them break.

Along with the ban on the use of DDT in the U.S., and the Bald Eagle Protection Act, which outlaws the disbursement of eagle nests or eagles as well as owning any part of them, has helped bring the population back up.

Lindsay Rist, an Athens wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said that particular rule has ties to the early 20th century, when it was popular to have feathers, or entire birds, on hats.   Rist said the population growth in Athens is a slow increase, as they are still recovering from when they were considered endangered. Rist explained the bird does not have a high reproductive rate, and they require an area with water.

“It takes longer, sometimes, for those

populations to increase at the same rate that we could see something that has a high population rate,” Rist said. “They’re only nesting one time a year, and they’re not producing a ton of eggs per nest, as opposed to something like a mouse or a rabbit that can have several litters a year and is producing a lot of milk per litter.”

Now, as the number of bald eagles in Athens increases, some are making smaller watersheds their home, which is surprising to Rist, as this wasn’t the ideal habitat before. She explained this is because the birds are territorial and will fight for their nest locations.

“They’re either recognizing that there’s already a nest established in that area, so they’re not gonna go try to fight off the bear,” Rist said. “They’re more spaced out in Athens county because they’re using those resources and not interfering with other pairs that are already here.”

Rist said ODNR has not seen problems with folks interfering with any nests or

eagles, as the criminal act is enough to keep people from disturbing these birds, but there have been many sightings from Athens residents.

Carl Brune, an Athens local, shared his experience of seeing a bald eagle while in the Zaleski State Forest near Lake Hope. Brune said he spotted an adult and an immature bald eagle more than once while in the park.

“They’re an iconic symbol of the United States, and growing up as a kid, I never saw one,“ Brune said. “I mean, I grew up in California, and then I lived in Athens for 25 years, and I had never seen one around here until this spring.”

Brune said bald eagles were more than a patriotic symbol for him, as his father loved the bird of prey and collected Bald Eagle sculptures.

Amanda Vanderford, curator of animals at the private non-profit Ohio Bird Sanctuary in Mansfield, said the organization’s two female Bald Eagles, Saint Alice and Tahoe, live with

them at their sanctuary permanently due to them having disabilities. They were brought in because they had suspected West Nile virus, which commonly affects birds of prey.

“Luckily, both of those eagles got to us relatively early on with being sick,” Vanderford said. “We were able to administer treatment to them for that West Nile virus, which is really just supportive care and anti-inflammatories.”

The two eagles are now living separately in the sanctuary and are on display for visitors to learn about the national bird. The sanctuary currently has an eagle in its flight enclosure and are preparing for its release in the spring. Vanderford said the eagle was hit by a car, surviving with a spinal cord injury and was in rehabilitation for months at Lake Metro Parks in Lake County. It was transferred to the Ohio Bird Sanctuary to use its flight enclosure, which is one of the largest in Ohio.

As for the other bald eagles they’ve treated recently, Vanderford said 2025 was a record-breaking year for the sanctuary, as its staff treated 17 bald eagles. Many of the eagles they saw were suffering from vehicle strikes or lead poisoning.

“Bald Eagles are one of the most common birds of prey to get lead toxicity, because they do scavenge a lot, and one of the main ways that they get the lead toxicity (is from) scavenging on dead animals that had actually been shot with lead ammunition,” Vanderford said. Many of Ohio’s scavenging species are susceptible to ingesting lead, and Vanderford said using non-lead type ammunition is a “very powerful way” to protect Bald Eagles and other Ohio wildlife.

To report a Bald Eagle nest in your area, visit ODNR’s website.

BedPost | Spice up your long-distance relationship

In the United States, 14 million couples are in long-distance relationships, with 34% of college students involved in such relationships. Dating apps like Hinge and Tinder make it easier to romantically connect with others far from you and increase the commonality of these long-distance relationships.

Long-distance relationships bring a multitude of challenges, especially in terms of intimacy. This Valentine’s season, it might be time to look at new ways to spice up long-distance relationships.

Sex is very important in relationships at any age; 76% of adults agree, according to the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan.. But for Generation Z, sex has become

more mysterious than ever, with conversations about sex being less common among Gen Z and more common with millennials. Online access often alters expectations of sex, but also shows new ways of having sex, such as looking up sexpositive guides or engaging in sex online, in forms like sexting. With long-distance relationships specifically, there is less time to explore the sexuality of your partner. This is even more true if they are against sending nude photos or sexting. Couples report experiencing a desire discrepancy, meaning one partner has a lower desire than the other, because of decreased effort or investment over time. Not being open to conversations about sex can be a mistake many couples make, and having a distance barrier makes this harder.

Balancing sex in a relationship

maintained through texts and once-a-month meetings is difficult. There are many solutions for sexual intimacy with a long-distance partner. Personally, I find myself having lots of sex throughout the weekend when I am physically with a long-distance partner. At the end of the weekend, it’s easy to anxiously feel like you spent too much time having sex. However, having conversations with your partner about this can improve any anxious thoughts that come up. It’s OK to be all over your partner, especially if you haven’t seen them in a few weeks.

However, it’s also a good idea to find ways to have sex and intimate times in the space between in-person meet-ups. Send a saucy picture to your partner on a random Tuesday, or a dirty text when they’re out with friends. Invest in apps such as Agape, a relationship

wellness app that provides questions for couples to answer for each other, including a multitude of questions surrounding topics of sex, sexting and intimacy.

No matter what you engage in, though, virtual or in person, make sure that you are doing so with a partner you trust. You should never send or text something if you fear what your partner will do with it; you deserve someone you feel comfortable sending a nude to.

It’s important to remember that sex isn’t the only important aspect of a relationship. There are plenty of things to do with your partner that aren’t sex; indulge in a new hobby, try a new activity together, then get freaky in the bedroom after.

Long-distance relationships don’t mean you have to cut out sex entirely, but it shouldn’t be all you do either.

Talking to your partner,

long-distance or not, about your feelings on sex, sexting and other topics related can strengthen the balance. Perhaps it’s time for us to learn and talk about sex as a generation of young adults.

BedPost is a perfect example of using online resources to improve a relationship built through online use. Sharing playlists, relationship apps, online games and so much more can aid the relationship without sex or thinking of new topics to talk about through phone calls and texting. Explore sexting or explore other means of spicing up your long-distance relationship. It takes effort to make a longdistance relationship work, and I think, as a generation known for being tech savvy, our relationships can be strongest with this fact. Have fun sexting.

Break of Dawn | 100 years later, Black History is being undone

This year marks the centennial anniversary of the creation of Black History Month. Created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson as Negro History Week, the celebration of Black innovation, excellence and resilience expanded beyond a week. Despite being 100 years into the celebration, there has been a gradual effort to minimize the importance of acknowledging the contributions and history of Black people in the United States Understanding why the celebration was proposed is integral to understanding why the erasure and minimization of Black history is disappointing. Woodson was an educator, author and historian born before World War I to illiterate parents. Woodson went on to become the second Black person to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, with W.E.B. Du Bois being the first.  Woodson was a member of the American Historical Association, yet he was excluded from attending meetings.

He realized a white hegemonic perspective of history was being prioritized and that contributions of Black Americans were being underrepresented. He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life in 1915. In his book, “The Mis-Education of the Negro” Woodson says African American contributions were “overlooked, ignored and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the

teachers who use them.”

Fast forward to 2026, and President Donald Trump’s administration’s executive orders are reversing decades of acknowledgment. This included scrutinizing the Smithsonian Museums’ exhibits and the National African American History Museum. There were attempts to erase contributions of Black people from federal training courses, including the Tuskegee Airmen from an Air Force training video, or the National Park Service removing a page featuring Harriet Tubman.

Black History Month has also grown to shed light on the sins of this country’s past. By removing these reminders or the contributions of Black people in this country, we set ourselves up to be surprised when these issues arise again. In a time when we are overwhelmed with multiple issues, having access to the past is important.

Understanding state violence isn’t new, and the cruelty of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement evolved from the slave patrols, which would have helped people recognize patterns between the two sooner.

To know stories such as Africatown, Alabama, a town established by enslaved people who were aboard the last slave ship to America and became victims of air pollution as industrialization advanced, parallels the neighborhood pollution by generative artificial intelligence data centers currently.

Woodson said in “The MisEducation of the Negro” that, “The oppressor has always indoctrinated the weak with his interpretation of the crimes of the strong.” Negligence of history keeps us in such cycles.

Chatasia Davis is a junior majoring in anthropology and the vice president of the Black Panther Legacy. BPL is a club that draws influence from the Black Panthers of the ‘60s. One of the key points in the Panthers’ Ten-Point Program was education.

“Educating ourselves about history is important because we don’t want to repeat a lot of things,” Davis said. “It also sometimes gives us clues to how we should move in the future.”

The BPL uses the Panthers’ knowledge and practices to navigate the present.

“We try our best to educate people about what happened in the past,” Davis said. “We also try our best to keep those same values when we hold events that educate people, or when we’re doing our own programs, like our free breakfast program. We try our best to bring those values forward in the things we do and the things we teach people.”

Davis also believes a lesson from the past we should use to improve our future is studying protests and organizers.

“We need to start learning how to protest as a united group,” Davis said. “People show up for one day, and then that’s all they do. When I think it needs to be a lot more than that.”

Though acknowledging America’s brutal past of oppression is important, Woodson also understood the importance of representing Black Americans in a way that gave us pride and hope. Woodson’s vision for Black History Month was primarily to spotlight the contributions of Black Americans.

He also understood the importance of representation. Besides his own comments about motivating Black people through learning their own history, Woodson himself was an example of the need for representation. He provided a unique perspective on history at a time when institutions were primarily white due to segregation.

As time progressed, others noticed a lack of diversity and representation in institutions, and over time, this was addressed through diversity, equity and inclusion, and affirmative action. Both of those assets have been stripped after decades of hard work to achieve them for future generations.

“We can’t use diversity or inclusion … we’ve been told multiple times to stay away from those words,” Davis said. “Don’t use those words in your applications because they will automatically be denied.”

Bailey Smith, a senior majoring in retail and fashion merchandising and president of Ohio University’s Black Student Union, understood firsthand the effects of reversing DEI. She spoke about the importance of giving a platform to the marginalized.

manner of their behavior.”

“All year long, everyone else gets to have a voice and gets to have a say, they get to feel important,” Smith said.

“Even with Ohio University’s administration changing things they rightfully have to do because of Senate Bill 1, they still aren’t getting the Black voices they should to get a consensus from the community.”

BSU had to rely on funds from local businesses and alumni to hold events this year, including its Multicultural Expo budget for the expo was significantly reduced this year.

“The whole point of the Multicultural Expo is to highlight voices that are drowned out, especially with the (Involvement) Fair,” Smith said. “You can’t get to all the clubs, so we have that one specifically catered to multicultural clubs).”

Even though there have been setbacks, it’s never too late to educate yourself. This country might have a dark past and arguably present, but there’s also been resistance and optimism that we have to learn from.

Don’t limit your exploration of the past to Black History Month; we need the lessons of the past to guide our future more than ever. Woodson understood a century ago how important the remembrance of this history would be.

Scroll through TikTok or Instagram long enough, and you’ll eventually hear it: the overly polished voice, stretched vowels, exaggerated enthusiasm and strangely identical tone that seems to exist across thousands of creators.

People call it the “influencer accent,” and to me, it’s one of the clearest examples of how online culture has turned authenticity into performance. The “influencer accent” is not just a harmless speaking style; it is a front. It represents a fragmented version of the self that influencers believe audiences want.

Recently, a template has been copied and pasted over and over again for what influencers are supposed to be and how they should act. Online communities, with this newly indoctrinated set of rules, have reshaped what content creation can and should entail.

What makes this worse is that many people aren’t just watching influencers for entertainment. They are watching because they feel connected. When I search for content, I’m not just looking to disconnect or fill time; I’m looking for creators who feel relatable and real.

However, the “influencer accent” creates the opposite effect. It’s hard to connect with someone when they sound like they are reading off a script. It comes to a point where the content influencers are creating is not fueled by passion but by pressure.

Influencers know they are being judged, even more than the typical A-list celebrity, and that pressure contributes to the polished and curated personas they feel forced to present. The difference is that influencers turn this persona into a fulltime business model. They aren’t performing occasionally; they are always performing.

This ties directly into Sherry Turkle’s TED Talk “Connected, but Alone?” Turkle argues that even though technology connects us more than ever, it often destroys meaningful connections.

Influencers create a feeling of closeness while maintaining complete control over what audiences see and feel. Though the result may be companionship in a way, the connection looks real but lacks depth.

“Being alone feels like a problem that needs to be solved,” Turkle said. “... People try to solve it by connecting. But here, connection is more like a symptom than a cure.”

Turkle points out people try to fix loneliness by turning to social spaces, but warns that online connections can create more problems rather than solve them. That is exactly what happens when audiences form parasocial relationships with influencers who are not showing their true selves. People feel connected, but it is often a manufactured bond built on performance rather than authenticity.

Influencers are always performing, drawing a clear line between what they wish to be known for and the reality that hides behind the masks they wear. Erving Goffman’s theory clearly defines this behavior as front-stage behavior.

Nicki Lisa Cole, author of “Goffman’s Front-Stage and Backstage Behavior,” explains why influencer culture often feels so identical. Influencers are always in front-stage mode, and their entire job depends on following a learned script.

“According to Goffman, people engage in ‘frontstage’ behavior when they know others are watching,” Cole said. “... Frontstage behavior typically follows a routinized and learned social script … it shapes not just what individuals do and say in social settings but how they dress and style themselves, the consumer items they carry around, and the

Of course, it’s normal for people to act differently depending on the setting.

As Cole puts it, most people behave differently as their professional selves versus their private and intimate selves.

But when audiences build relationships with influencers’ fabricated “professional selves,” they often connect with a persona rather than a person.

This becomes even more concerning when we consider how influencer culture affects communication itself.

According to Keri K. Stephens and Dron M. Mandhana’s academic article, “Media Choice/Use in Organizations,” media richness in computermediated communication plays a major role in creating connections online.

They discuss how computermediated communication is often “lean,” meaning it lacks the depth and true connection people experience in faceto-face interaction. That predefined leanness already makes authentic connections harder online, coupled with influencers who curate every detail of their persona, the possibility of genuine connection becomes even smaller.

It’s crucial to recognize this disconnection, especially with

younger audiences. With their brains still developing and being unable to fully understand their surroundings, teens and young adults might not be able to differentiate this fortified act of false presentation from authenticity.

This leads to connections shifting in the younger generation because of technology. Not knowing the difference between what is real and fake online has leaked into people’s interactions in real life, which sets the stage for genuine personal connections to dwindle further.

That is why the influencer’s accent matters. It’s not just an annoying trend. It’s a symptom of a culture that rewards performance over truth and connection over authenticity. The influencer accent represents the evolution of frontstage behavior into something permanent, a personality built for algorithms and approval.

The internet has been flooded with curated authenticity and personalities, making it nearly impossible for anyone to know what a real connection even feels like anymore. The question now isn’t whether influencer accents are fake; it’s whether we’ve become used to fake connections and stopped expecting anything real.

Men’s Basketball loses hard-fought battle to Old Dominion

OWEN LIPSTREU

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR and senior guard Jackson Paveletzke to give him eight consecutive points for Ohio, and an 18-9 lead.

Ohio (13-12 overall, 7-5 MidAmerican Conference) fell 78-72 in a down-to-the-wire game against Old Dominion (8-17 overall, 4-8 Sun Belt) to close out the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge on Saturday, despite a strong performance from senior guard Ajay Sheldon.

Ohio arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, on the heels of a twogame win streak to take on Old Dominion in the second half of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge on Saturday night. This game would mark the final nonconference matchup for the Bobcats, and they looked to capitalize and keep their momentum rolling.

The Monarchs were first on the scoreboard with a dunk, but Ohio immediately responded with a 5-0 run that included a 3-pointer from senior guard Ajay Sheldon and a bucket from redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons. Sheldon followed Old Dominion’s score with another 3-pointer, which gave him a quick six points and Ohio an 8-4 advantage.

Ohio continued to pressure the Monarchs with some offensive paint touches for Simmons, who hit a jumper from the elbow, but then he was replaced by redshirt senior Jalen Breath, who was immediately found under the basket for a layup, and Ohio remained out front by a score of 12-6.

The Monarchs kept trying to force the ball into the paint, but Ohio crashed the ball once it got inside and forced a handful of early misses and a couple of turnovers. This pace was exactly what the Bobcats needed as they continued to find success down low with Breath getting another three layups on passes from Sheldon

Old Dominion responded with an 11-2 run after finally slowing down the Bobcats and seeing a couple of shots fall, including a pair of layups from forward Caelum SwantonRodger and a four-point play by guard Scottie Hubbard to tie the game at 20.

The Bobcats ended the run on another 3-pointer from Sheldon to give him 11 points. He was one of only three Ohio players to score in the opening 12 minutes.

Sheldon continued his hot start with another bucket, but Old Dominion started to get hot, making four of five shots to go on another quick run and put Ohio in a 30-27 hole. The Monarchs started to stretch out their offense on this run, and started four of five from beyond the arc in this game, which was much better than Ohio’s three for 10 with only three minutes to play in the first half.

The final few minutes of the first half saw both teams go through a bit of a cold stretch, and whichever team could get something rolling would take all the momentum into the locker room at halftime with them.

The Monarchs were the team to take advantage with a layup and a pair of free throws to go up 36-29, but Ohio did not go away. Paveletzke found senior forward Aidan Hadaway for a long two-point jumper in the left corner to silence the crowd. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the crowd was right back to their feet after a thunderous dunk from Old Dominion guard KC Shaw. Ohio kept fighting to cut into

the lead and did well to keep the deficit small, heading into halftime trailing the Monarchs 40-35. Ohio brought the solid shooting from the Western Michigan game on Tuesday, but needed to make a few more 3-pointers to cut into the lead in the second period. Both teams looked to take control of this game, and that meant trying to slow the pace down, but neither was very successful as the Old Dominion lead remained stagnant as both teams drew fouls and turned the ball over. With just over 12 minutes to play in the half, Sheldon hit his third 3-pointer of the game, the Monarchs responded with one of their own and the lead was 54-51 in favor of the home team.

Old Dominion looked to hold its lead, but it could not contain Sheldon, who hit a three-pointer out of the media timeout to give Ohio a 55-54 edge. The clock continued to tick as the squads went back and forth until the Monarchs erupted for five points in quick succession to go up 61-56 with only eight minutes to play.

After a step-back jumper from Paveletzke, SwantonRodger converted an and-one for Old Dominion, followed by another bucket for the Monarchs to put them up 6659. The Bobcats responded as Paveletzke kept facilitating, this time finding Kelly for another 3-pointer.

Up 69-64, Old Dominion guard LJ Thomas drew a foul

Women’s Basketball drops close game in The

BRANDON GROSS SPORTS STAFF WRITER

Ohio (13-9 overall) lost to the Old Dominion Monarchs (1510) by a final score of 84-76 on Saturday in The Convo. This was the first time since Dec. 28 that the Bobcats faced a team outside the Mid-American Conference, and they fell to their last non-conference regular-season opponent.

The main pain point for Ohio in this game was the layups. In all four quarters combined, Ohio went 13-42 on layups, missing way over half of them. In what was only an eightpoint game, even converting half of their layups would’ve helped the Bobcats secure the win.

“Just getting more reps in, practice, and game-like reps,” Ohio point guard Bella Renallo said on the layup problem.

“Not going half speed but going full speed and just putting that in a game.”

Free throws also plagued Ohio this game, with nine points missed for Ohio, which

could’ve made a real difference in a tight game.

The first quarter saw Old Dominion instantly open the game with barrages of 3-pointers, something Ohio didn’t seem to anticipate. Lots of open shots were made, and the Monarchs’ length and height helped them heavily on offense.

“They’re just more aggressive than us,” Ranallo said. “We kind of just sat back and let them do it, but we need to set the tone earlier.”

Despite how well Old Dominion shot the ball, Ohio was able to still get a lot of rebounds, something the team has struggled with this season.

This allowed Ohio to get up 18 shots in the quarter, and despite making fewer than Old Dominion, it allowed the Bobcats to end the quarter down 5, with a score of 24-19.

“People are going to be able to make tough shots even when we play good defense,”

Ohio’s Aliah McWhorter said.

“It goes back to doing our principles, doing our work early, don’t let them catch the ball and if she likes to go right, take away that hand.”

Ohio continued to struggle in the second quarter, with a shooting percentage of 33.3%; however, the Bobcats were able to overcome this with eight points from free throws.

Old Dominion also had a huge dip in shooting after its blazing hot first quarter, which gave Ohio some leeway with its own offense. The second quarter ended with Ohio still down, only this time by four points, with a score of 44-40.

“I thought we generated good shots, “ Ohio head coach Bob Bolden said. “We missed a couple of them, and they blocked a couple of them too.”

Ohio continued to chip away at Old Dominion’s lead in the third quarter, with the Monarchs once again struggling to regain what they

on Hadaway that would foul him out with five minutes to go, a crucial loss for Ohio. Despite losing a key player, the Bobcats kept fighting, and who else but Sheldon supplied another 3-pointer to cut the lead to two and give him 19 on the night.

The Monarchs worked the clock down, and Thomas stepped to the line with a chance to ice the game away with only 42 seconds left, and he would hit the pair. Ohio would finish the game scoreless over nearly the last three and a half minutes and fall to Old Dominion 78-72.

OL415422@OHIO.EDU

Convo

had in the first. Ohio finally shot over 40% from the field, and it showed, as the Bobcats looked like they had control this entire quarter. McWhorter also started to slash to the rim more, and Ohio’s score consistently went up while Old Dominion’s remained stagnant.

“Definitely, as a team we shoot a lot of 3-pointers, but my game is kind of more inside getting to the rim,” McWhorter said. “That’s something we’ve been emphasizing these past couple of weeks.”

Ohio’s rebounding was growing stronger, despite Elli Garnett fouling out in the second quarter. A team effort on the rebounds made up for it. This allowed Ohio to end the third quarter down by 2, the score being 61-59. Ohio went into the final quarter with a good chance to win.

“I think it’s just being in the right place at the right time,” McWhorter said. “It works for all of us to get our rebounds

and get our steals.”

Ohio’s poor layup shooting would inevitably catch up to it, and this was the quarter that it happened. The Monarchs also caught fire from 3-pointers again, making three out of four. In what looked like a winnable game for Ohio quickly evaporated toward the end, as costly turnovers and shooting errors mounted to become too much. Ohio would lose the game 84-76, with the game being within a few points for almost the entire game.

“This was a bizarre game to play,” Boldon said. “It puts a lot of stress on your staff to try and figure out a game plan for kids that you don’t know a whole lot about.”

With this loss, Ohio returns to MAC play in its next game, traveling to Toledo on Tuesday.

BG326422@OHIO.EDU

Luc Reeve had the first goal for the team with 3:42 left in the first period, assisted by Jack Glen. Lance Mengel scored shortly after 17:32 into the first, assisted by Will Cohen and Blake Dustin.

In the second period, Luc Reeve bagged the second goal for the team, assisted by Hollander Thompson and Jack Glen. The Bobcats were able to possess the puck more in the second period, only allowing Canisius to get four shots off.

In the third period, Thompson was able to score two goals. The first goal was scored after the puck shot out to Thompson after a faceoff, and on the second goal, Thompson was able to take advantage of a power play after Canisius defenseman Kobe Depedrina was called for crosschecking, the first penalty of the game.

Nolan Abraham also had a goal in the third period, 6:17 into the third, assisted by Mathieu Ovaert and Drake Albers. Drake Nabozny also had a goal 10:39 into the period, assisted again by Ovaert and Albers.

The Bobcats have had many injuries this season, messing up their lines. Even with the unexpected changes, Schutte was glad it was able to work out as well as it did.

“Games like these are difficult,” Schutte said.

“We’ve had a bunch of injuries, and we had guys playing different roles. We had a forward playing defense to have six back there, and (Kevin) Kasper, I thought he did great. I thought guys stepped up and it was positive, and we finished the right way.”

Saturday

The Bobcats were able to keep the momentum going into the next game,

dominating again to finish with a final score of 9-2.

Noah Hold set the tone for the game just two minutes in, scoring his first goal of the period, assisted by Kasper and Nabozny.

Canisius forward London Goodwin was called for cross-checking seven minutes into the period, the first penalty of the game. Glen took advantage, scoring the second goal for the Bobcats and just over a minute later Abraham scored the third.

Canisius’ Matt Bowen was able to score, but Holt was able to score just nine seconds later, assisted by Nabozny and Gavin Keller.

“We wanted to have a better start, which we did,” Schutte said. “We wanted to have a little more purpose in our O-zone play, and I thought it was a step in the right direction.”

Goodwin scored less than two minutes into the second period for the Golden Griffins, but 26 seconds later, a high-sticking call was called against Canisius. Hollander Thompson scored 2:31 into the second, taking advantage of the power play. Cohen was able to score for the Bobcats, assisted by Kasper, putting the score 7-2 at the end of the second.

Reeve was able to take advantage of another

power play after Canisius’ Patrik Pagno was called for tripping, scoring the first goal of the third period unassisted. Matt Witt scored the ninth and last goal of the game deep into the third period, assisted by Graham Broadfoot.

In total, seven penalties were called against the Bobcats, but the defense was able to stop any goals while being a man down.

“We’ve had some good pairings up front on the kill, and they’ve been really consistent,” Schutte said. “I think they’ve really done a nice job as a unit overall. We want to be aggressive and take away time and space

and not allow them to set up, and have the time and space.”

With the Winter Olympics airing, he said the team is excited to follow the hockey competition and the rivalries that come with it.

“All the teams are pretty stacked, and it’s anyone’s game, and it’ll be interesting,” Schutte said.

“We’ve got some Canada, US, Switzerland wars going on in the locker room, but it’ll be a lot of fun, and there’ll be some banter back and forth.”

Ohio dominates Canisius with strong effort, energy

Ohio DI Hockey (25-5) faced Canisius University (9-14-3) Friday and Saturday at home. With only two weekends remaining until Nationals, the Bobcats needed to play hard against this team. Canisius may b e a weak opponent, but every game counts. They did exactly that as the Bobcats played physically and put maximum effort into every play.

“We’ve never played Canisius before, so it was a different look,” alternate captain and senior forward Luc Reeve said. “Maybe not one of our hardest games. Our shots were really high. There were some good takeaways offensively.”

A key to Ohio’s success is its offensive possession time. Friday night, the Bobcats took 64 shots on goal. Saturday’s total was 54. Even when the goals aren’t coming, they tend to control the puck in the

offensive zone. They embody the saying “the best defense is a good offense.”

“We came out and stuck to the standards that we set for ourselves,” alternate captain and junior forward Noah Holt said. “I’m really proud of this group, h ow we play.”

Holt scored twice in the second game, bumping his season total to 10 goa ls.

Another consistent strength for Ohio was the penalty kill. The team only drew one pen -

alty in Friday’s game. Saturday, however, physical play led to seven penalties. Ohio head coach Barry Schutte said he wanted the team to finish checks, and his pl ayers delivered.

“We wanted to be a little more physical,” Ohio head coach Barry Schutte said. “(Saturday) was definitely more physical than last night on both sides.”

The Bobcats did not allow any

goals on the penalty kill and almost scored short-handed twice. Over the season, their penalty kill sat at 87.38 %.

“It’s just finding your rhythm and your partners,” Schutte said. “Jack Glen and Hollander Thompson have been really effective. They get us off on the right foot every kill, especially winning that face off.”

Senior goaltender Matt Zazon started in net in both games. He earned his fourth shutout of the year on Friday. For goalies who played ten or more games, Zazon ranks first in save percentage at .950.

As they look toward their final home weekend against Liberty University (18-8-1), the Bobcats need to continue to dominate possession time. The goalies have not faltered all season, and the defense needs to help them stay that way.

Ohio has not lost momentum down the stretch of this season so far, and the wins against the Golden Griffins came in an impressive blowout fashion.

Importantly, the players remain relaxed while still training hard. They have fun and keep the pressure off. The team follows Olympic hockey closely, especially with three nationalities represented on the roster. Reeve mentioned how he prioritizes good sleep.

“Watched the 2019 Masters final round last night,” Holt said. “It was the most heartwarming little 45-minute clip I’ve ever watched.”

Ohio defenseman Blake Dustin (29) fights for the puck against Canisius at Bird Arena in Athens, Feb. 6, 2026.

(ETHAN HERX | FOR THE POST)

Ohio forward Barron Stibbe (22) fights for the puck against Canisius at Bird Arena in Athens, Feb. 6, 2026.

(ETHAN HERX | FOR THE POST)

Soph’s Soapbox

Loopholes don’t make Grammy awards less deserved

SOPHIA ANNESS ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Award season can bring out the worst in social media users, as people flock to Instagram stories and TikTok videos to explain why a winner was not deserving. However, this often discounts a lot of artists’ hard work and dedication to their art.

Following the 68th Grammy Awards, disagreements broke out across the internet for multiple categories, as people vocally disagreed with multiple artists’ wins across categories.

Specifically, “Song of the Year” was a large point of contention after Billie Eilish won for a song that came out during the last Grammy cycle.

Eilish won for her song, “WILDFLOWER,” which came out May 17, 2024. This falls into the last award cycle. However, the song was able to win because Eilish rereleased “WILDFLOWER” as a single March 4, 2025, making it eligible for the 68th Grammy Awards.

Also nominated for Song of the Year were “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga, “Anxiety” by Doechii, “APT.” by ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, “DtMF” by Bad Bunny, “Golden” by HUNTR/X, “luther” by Kendrick Lamar & SZA and “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter.

This isn’t the first time this happened. In fact, multiple songs and performances have been eligible for Grammy awards because of this loophole.

The Grammys’ eligibility rules make the awards so complicated. Luckily, the rules are clearly outlined on “The 68th Grammy Awards: Rules and Guidelines.”

“Recordings must be available to the public as stand-alone, audio-only purchases or streams (exceptions: opera, immersive audio album and music video/music film) beginning on any date within the eligibility period through at least the date of the current year’s Final Round voting deadline to be GRAMMY-eligible,” the Recording Academy said.

There are many examples of award loopholes in recent years, proving Eilish’s award was not a singular phenomenon.

Take Adele, for example. In 2012, her album “21” swept the Grammy Awards, making all original versions of her track ineligible for future awards. However, “Set Fire to the Rain,” originally released as a single on July 4, 2011, was rereleased in a live version on Nov. 16, 2011, making the song eligible for the 2013 Grammy Awards, as well. She then took home the Best Pop Solo Performance win for the second year in a row.

In 2015, there were three songs in the running for pop solo performance, even though the songs had been released years prior. The nominated alternate

versions of the originals included:

“Happy (Live)” by Pharrell Williams, “All of Me (Live)” by John Legend and “Stay with Me (Darkchild Version)” by Sam Smith. Ultimately, Williams took home the win, showing these performances still hold up even after their initial release.

The same goes for Eilish’s win. It was well within the rules of the Grammys, as it never would have been nominated if it weren’t for the technicality of the single’s release. Yet, people still took to social media to bash Eilish’s win.

One TikTok user, @trishlikefish8lover, posted a controversial TikTok that garnered 5.3 million views to Daya’s song, “Sit Still, Look Pretty.”

“How Billie Eilish felt winning song of the year at the 2026 Grammys with a song (that) was released in May 2024 that I genuinely haven’t heard in two summers,” the TikTok user said in the post.

Many users expressed their shared confusion about Eilish’s nomination and win in the comment section of the TikTok. However, a simple Google search could have told them all they needed to know about the Grammys’ eligibility rules.

Furthermore, if people have such a problem with wins such as Eilish’s, perhaps they should turn toward the Recording Academy for a rule change rather than bashing an artist for their work. Many artists are allowed to submit their hard work to be considered for an award. At the end of the day, it is up to the Recording Academy to decide which artists get sent home with a golden gramophone.

After Eilish’s snub at the 67th Grammy Awards, it only makes sense that she gets recognized for the biggest album debut of her career.

According to Billboard, “Hit Me Hard and Soft” in 2024 was the best debut of Eilish’s career thus far, so when it got completely shut out at the 67th Grammy Awards, fans were surprised. The same thing happened at the 68th Grammy Awards to Sabrina Carpenter. Personally, I wonder if Carpenter will attempt the same move and release a single off her 2025 album, “Man’s Best Friend,” within the eligibility period for the 69th Grammy Awards.

The artists make the art for fans to enjoy, not for award recognition. Stop bashing artists who put hard work and dedication into their music for people to enjoy.

Sophia Anness is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University.

Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Sophia about her column? Email/ tweet them at sa425522@ohio.edu /@AnnessSoph0415.

Weekender

Dogs, craft nights, shows at The Union

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

MARIA

Tuesday, Feb. 10

Stuart’s Opera House, located at 52 Public Square, Nelsonville, is holding a craft night. Starting at 7 p.m., attendees can learn how to make floral pop-up cards for Valentine’s Day.

Admission: $30 for crafting only, $35 for crafting and two beverages, $40 for crafting, two beverages and a Stuart’s wine glass

Wednesday, Feb. 11

Ohio University Police Department

K-9s will be in Front Room Coffeehouse in Baker University Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be free coffee and snacks.

Admission: Free

The Office of Sustainability is hosting a sustainable Valentine’s Day workshop from 5-6:30 p.m. in Baker third floor atrium. Attendees can use upcycled materials to create gifts and cards for Valentine’s Day.

Admission: Free

OUPD is offering the first session of a four-week women’s self defense class from 6-9 p.m. The address is posted upon registration and athletic dress is recommended.

Admission: Free for women from the OU community, registration required

Thursday, Feb. 12

THRIVE is hosting a craft night with Collegiate Recovery Community in Baker 333 from 1- 3 p.m. Students are invited to create Valentine’s Day themed arts and crafts.

Admission: Free

Friday, Feb. 13

Housing and Residence Life is holding a faux flower bouquet making event. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., students can stop by the Den on the first floor of Boyd Hall.

Admission: Free

Culinary Services is hosting a bouquet making workshop in Jefferson Marketplace from noon to 2 p.m. The event is also happening Saturday from

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Admission: $12.99-$24.99, depending on size of bouquet

4 Paws and Bobcat ArtsCare are bringing service dogs in training to the Well-Being Wing in Ping Recreation Center from 4-5:30 p.m. Anyone is welcome to sketch the puppies, take photos and play with the dogs.

Admission: Free with admission into Ping

Little Fish Brewing Company, 8675 Armitage Road, is hosting a Galentine’s Wine Tasting from 6-8 p.m. There will be beaded bracelet making and refreshments.

Admission: $33.85 online before sales tax, registration required

The Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts is hosting its Winter Dance Concert at 7 p.m. in MemAud. There is a performance Saturday at the same time.

Admission: $21 online, free tickets available for OU students with ID

Saturday, Feb. 14

Nelson Court has a special dinner and dessert menu for Valentine’s Day including a chocolate fondue bar and yogurt parfait bar from 5-8 p.m.

Admission: one meal swipe, or $19.95 Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery, 67 Columbus Road, is offering a parents’ night out. Children ages 5 to 10 can be dropped off anytime after 5:30 p.m. to be picked up by 8 p.m. for a night of STEAM activities, pizza and time in the exhibit hall.

Admission: $25, registration required

ACRN is hosting Emo Prom at The Union, 18 W. Union St. The show features Touchdown Jesus, White Flag Over Providence and Jone & The Hissyfits. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m.

Admission: $11 for ages 18-20, $8 for ages 21 and up

Sunday, Feb. 15

OU’s School of Music Violin Studio is hosting a concert at 4 p.m. in Glidden Hall.

Admission: Free

Ali Hazelwood’s novella “Two Can Play” is available for print and e-book purchase. Since its original 2024 release, it has only been available for audio listening. There will also be an additional chapter in this release.

The Athena Cinema, 20 S. Court St,. is showing “The Dead Zone” at 7 p.m. as a part of its “Enter the Kingdom” series. This 1983 Stephen King adaptation stars Christopher Walken. Tickets can

Rhapsody Restaurant at 18 Public Square is hosting Jazz Night at 6 p.m. Kay Carter and the Bernie Nau Quartet will perform various jazz pieces. Food

Stuart’s Opera House at 52 Public Square is hosting Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Valerie June at 7:30 p.m. Until 9:30 p.m., there will be a blend of folk, blues and soulful music.

Admission: $35

Friday, Feb. 13

Grammy-nominated artist Jill Scott’s sixth studio album, “To Whom This May Concern,” is available for streaming and purchase globally after nearly a decade since her last release.

Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of “Wuthering Heights,” starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is in theatres globally. The 12-song soundtrack, produced by Charli XCX, is also available for streaming and purchase.

The Athena Cinema’s “Heroes in Color” series is showing “Sinners” at 7 p.m. This year celebrates the third Heroes in Color series, celebrating marginalized voices in film. A special cocktail is served, and a pre-show trivia contest with a winning prize will also be available.

Tickets are required and can be reserved online.

Admission: Free

Saturday, Feb. 14

Beginning at 7 p.m., Ohio University’s School of Dance is hosting the second night of its Winter Dance Concert. The performance will be held at TempletonBlackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium at 33 University Terrace.

Admission: $21

Sunday, Feb. 15

“The Simpsons” season 37 finale is available on FOX. This double-episode premieres earlier than the typical end of the season for the show, which is normally in May. The finale will be the 800th episode of the series. “The Simpsons” can be streamed on Hulu and Disney+.

Animated movies that deserve more hype

Animation has been a consistent medium of visual storytelling and performance. Some of the best movies of the year have been animated movies, yet they lack respect as a genre in the movie award industry. With the recent interest in movies like “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” “Zootopia 2” and “Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse,” there is an eye on animation and its unique ability to tell poignant and expressive stories. For those who are new to the animated genre, here are some animated movies that deserve more hype.

Disney’s “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” set the tone for the CGI x 2D genre

“Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (2001) follows Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox), a linguist whose grandfather was an explorer who searched for Atlantis before his death. When given a proposition by Preston B. Whitmore (John Mahoney) to go on a secret expedition, led by Commander Rourke (James Garner), to use his grandfather’s journal to locate the underwater civilization, he takes it.

Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, Disney’s “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” proved that traditional animation could successfully coexist with emerging computer-generated imagery without losing its visual imagery.

2D animation was the focus in creating unique and diverse characters and landscapes in the 2001 animated movie.

The underground city of Atlantis was inspired by New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns, as the creators visited the site’s subterranean trails and wanted to get away from the usual Greek ruins that propagate the narrative of Atlantis.

The film used CGI to enhance the expansive environments, vehicles and action sequences, most notably the submarines and the collapse of Atlantis. It doesn’t take away from the art style, helping to create an advanced ancient civilization that was still more futuristic and advanced than the “modern” early 20th century in which the story takes place.

RATING: 5/5

Focus Features’ “9” taught us how to have hope in hopeless times

“9” (2009) is set in a postapocalyptic world where humanity has been wiped out by machines created during a past war. The story follows 9 (Elijah Wood), a small sentient ragdoll brought to life by a scientist who transfers his soul into nine creations to preserve human knowledge.

As 9 explores the ruined world, he joins the other dolls and learns that a powerful machine, the Fabrication Machine, is still active and harvesting their life energy. Despite internal conflict and fear among the group, 9 pushes them to confront the threat rather than hide.

Focus Features’ “9” presents hope as an act of courage in a world that appears as a wasteland beyond saving. Humanity is destroyed and

the last hope is in small, fragile creations who carry the last remnants of the human spirit and knowledge. Using 9’s curiosity and determination as a catalyst for many of the events and discoveries in the film, the audience is introduced to hope as not a belief of certainty or absence of fear, but a willingness to question fear and take action even when the odds are overwhelming.

Instead of hiding in fear, 9 and the other dolls show that hope is a force of resistance. Even faced with their mortality, death is a real outcome for 9 and his people, with numerous deaths in the film.

RATING: 4.5/5

“The Prince of Egypt” is a beautiful blend of religious and coming-ofage storytelling

“The Prince of Egypt” (1998) retells the biblical story of Moses, following his journey from adopted Egyptian prince to the liberator of the Hebrew people. Raised as the brother of Pharaoh Ramses (Ralph Fiennes), Moses (Val Kilmer) lives a life of privilege until he discovers his true Hebrew heritage and is forced into exile after killing an Egyptian overseer.

While in the desert, Moses encounters God, who commands him to return to Egypt and demand the freedom of his people. Moses confronts Ramses, leading to the plagues that devastate Egypt and test their brotherhood. The film concludes with Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt and parting the Red Sea, securing their freedom.

A religious story, “The Prince of Egypt,” is a

beautiful story about coming of age. We watch Moses figure out his identity, both as an individual and his background.

The story focuses on identity, freedom, brotherhood and responsibility; focusing on Moses’ internal struggles and his deeply complex relationship with Pharaoh Ramses, the film’s religious message is rooted deeply personal to Moses’s journey.

VAccording to Looper, The Los Angeles Times, The Tampa Bay Times and The New York Times, over 300 cultural and religious consultants were included in the making of the film. Those consultants included both conservative and liberal experts in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths, as well as archeologists,

groups.

The film, directed by Brenda Chapman, is the first American animated feature film to be directed by a woman, a fact that Chapman got to reflect on in 2023, when speaking with the Oscars about the film’s 25th anniversary.

“I never looked at my position as being a milestone,” Chapman said. “I was just doing what I loved to do, but I became aware of it as a moment in time for women.”

RATING: 3.5/5

Olympians share Winter Olympics gear on social media

The Winter Olympics this year are being held in Milan, Italy, an international fashion capital that holds the headquarters of some prominent Italian designers, such as Versace and Prada. Needless to say, the Olympics will be in high fashion this year. The games are being held from Feb. 6-22.

One of the most anticipated outfits is that of Team Mongolia. Their outfits in summer 2024 were celebrated, and 2026 is similar. The idea is to pay tribute to the Mongolian Empire from the 13th to 15th centuries with cashmere deels and robes.

There has been a question about whether these athletes have to pay for this, but the swag is free for them. Some of the articles of clothing cost thousands of dollars, but the brand exposure of the Olympics is worth giving the clothes away for free.

Team USA also has highly anticipated uniforms and is deemed the most wearable. Designed by Ralph Lauren, the team resembles American heritage and warmth with white wool coats and wooden toggles atop red, white and blue sweaters. For the closing ceremony, the Americans will sport vintage skiing styles with a puffer jacket and white pants.

posted an unboxing video showing her Ralph Lauren kit. In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies uniforms, the Olympians were given gear for the entire event. Per the season, the athletes were given many sweaters and jackets, all with Olympic and

captioned her video.

Christina Carriera, a Team USA ice dancer, released a video for the Nike ACG gear she received while wearing the Ralph Lauren sweater set. Nike ACG embraced a slight orange theme, giving the athletes many articles in

competing on.

Hannah Lim, an ice skater from South Korea, participated in the trend. She quite literally unboxes her kits, as her gear is in The North Face-labeled cardboard boxes. Lim had fun trying on all her outfits, although she found some of the pieces were too big.

came with jackets, shirts, pants and even accessories. All of them have a theme and match, but still own a unique style. All clothes are classy and very Ralph Lauren. Hahna even displayed a matching sweater and sweater-pant set.

showed that Nike ACG was more interested in giving accessories and athletic wear for athletes than Ralph Lauren’s aesthetic haul, which is more in line with the company. She pulled out multiple pairs of socks, athletic shirts and hats.

white with minimal patterns. The Team Korea logo is not blatantly visible on all of their articles, which is a very clean style choice. Everything Lim wore looked like something people would actually pay for and wear on their own.

Slightly hidden, Nike ACG appears on parts of the uniform, resembling a bald eagle.

American snowboarder Hahna Norman, known as Hahna Boards on TikTok,

Taylor Heise, a USA female hockey player, recorded her own review.

“So obsessed with this stuff … like what a dream. The opening and closing fits are gonna be AMAZING!” Heise

A third brand of gear for Team USA was by Skims, as revealed by skier Grace Henderson. Mostly everything from the company was off-white and fuzzy, all matching and warm.

Giorgio Armani’s recent passing gave way for Team Italy to embrace the sportswear brand. The kits are clean white to suggest harmony with the snow, helping them get to know the landscape they are to be

Lara Naki Gutmann, a figure skater for Team Italy, showed the internet what comes in the package. While not all the clothes are white, they are simple in color and display “Italia” boldly on all the jackets, putting their mark on the Olympics.

The Canadian Lululemon gear is highly controversial. They leaned away from the traditional red puffer jackets and opted for a more conceptual aesthetic.

Juliette Pelchat is a snowboarder for Team Canada and tried everything on for a TikTok video. The video showed fewer pieces than the others but includes multiple pairs of leggings and unique

Twins Lilli Welcke and Louisa Welcke play for Germany’s women’s hockey team and showed TikTok the haul for their team with teammate Svenja Voigt. Adidas sponsored Germany and sent them plenty of athletic equipment. Black, red and gold are prevalent, with a few pink items scattered throughout.

All of the olympians have received their gear and are expected to sport them during the games, as well as after. No matter how well these athletes are projected to do at the games, they are there to represent their countries and are willing to do it in free, cute and branded gear. @SIIMPLY_NYNY

scholars and Arab American

ALAINA DACKERMANN DESIGN DIRECTOR

CLARA LEDER ASST. OPINION EDITOR

It’s officially Valentine’s Day week, and the cosmos are busy lining up a story for each sign’s love life.

On Feb. 6, Mercury, the planet of the mind, fell into Pisces, heightening intuition and prompting reflection of past romantic experiences.

Also, framing the week of love is Venus’ position in Pisces beginning Feb. 10. Love has few or no barriers when Venus is in this dreamy sign. Our desires point toward deep connections, valuing romance, as boundaries blur this week and gut feelings take the lead.

Cupid’s arrows are flying and Valentine’s Day is approaching, bringing love and light for the zodiacs.

Aries (March 21-April 19):

You may crave alone time more than usual this week as private emotions and feelings come to the surface. Take time to journal and process before going on your Valentine’s Day date. With your focus inward, expect harmony in your romantic or familial relationships. Your practical approach to life and love will bring balance to your week.

Taurus (April 20-May 20):

You may feel you have outgrown relationships in love or friendship this week. The cosmos pushes you to have honest conversations, so sit down with your situationship and define your

ABBY DOENCH ASST. DESIGN DIRECTOR

HOROSCOPE

relationship, or leave them high and dry. It’s time to rid yourself of “what ifs.”

Gemini (May 21-June 20):

Pay attention to romantic connections that could spark from casual places, Gemini. This week, love will find you in spaces where you are already comfortable. Someone you know may be crushing on you. This week, chase adventure and focus on saying “yes” to more experiences.

Cancer (June 21-July 22):

Focus on your inner needs and march to the beat of your own drum in love. You may feel more sensitive than usual this week, and now is a good time to express what you truly need to those you love. Have hard conversations with your partner and reveal what you need to say. Redefining your boundaries helps your relationships blossom, Cancer.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22):

Love is in the air for you, Leo. Romantic energy is strong around you, and for singles, this week may bring you a new fling. Stay open to unexpected connections, attraction is most likely to come from someone opposite of your typical type. Focus on growing your own confidence and maintaining your magnetic energy.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Virgo, pay attention to the people and spaces that spark meaningful

CROSSWORD

conversations. This week is a time to focus on intimacy rather than whether your relationship or crush meets your idealized standards. Take the time to break down your walls and focus on emotional honesty. This week, love deepens for you through shared moments.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

For you, single Libras, a friendship sparks into something more this week. Express your feelings, Libra, and push yourself to share your truth, as this brings new relationships forward. For those coupled up, this week will bring a sense of peace to your relationship, and all will feel perfectly aligned.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

Scorpio, you don’t always need a plan in love. For you, love can often feel confusing and enticing, but surrender to it, let the universe guide you. This week, your past will resurface as someone re-enters your life with force. Go after them, Scorpio, send them a valentine. This is your chance to make moves in love you’ve been avoiding.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Relationships will feel more secure this week after open conversations. Focus on trust in your relationships and nurture those you keep close. This week, make a grand gesture and take the lead in your love life. You will only get what you give, Sagittarius.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

This week, Capricorn, you need to lay it all out there. The universe is begging you to share your feelings and desires directly and talk about what and who you want. Buy some flowers and ask them to be yours this Valentine’s Day; love and honesty will only bring you stronger connections.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

For you, sweet Aquarius, relationships can only deepen with selfunderstanding. This week, don’t focus on who will be your Valentine, instead make yourself your crush and let go of old habits. You can only welcome in romantic energy if you create habits for a healthier relationship. Self-love sets the tone for all.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20):

Be gentle with yourself this week, Pisces, as Mercury’s position can cause extra sensitivity and confusion. Focus on using your words to express yourself, even if your feelings don’t quite make sense. Surround yourself with positivity from friends or loved ones and embrace the day of love, as it will bring you intense feelings and desires.

SUDOKU

ALAINA DACKERMANN DESIGN DIRECTOR

ANSWER TO LAST EDITION’S PUZZLES | 2/3

The Bird Carcass in My Backpack’ reminds viewers take time to listen, care

RUBY

Sidney Kramer, a sophomore studying acting at Ohio University, made her playwriting and directing debut with the show “The Bird Carcass in My Backpack”.

Kramer said her background in poetry helped spark the play’s central image.

“This is…the first play I’ve ever written,” she said. “I’m a poet, predominantly.”

She explained her creative process often begins with a vivid image, and for this piece, that image came from an experience with a friend: a bird carcass tucked inside a backpack. She initially tried to shape it into a poem, but quickly realized the idea demanded more space than a poem could hold.

“I immediately was like, ‘this can’t be a poem,’” Kramer said. “‘There’s too much I want to put into this, and I can’t do it in a poem.’”

After jotting down the initial idea, Kramer set it aside. She didn’t return to it until her freshman year at OU, when a class assignment required her to write a one-page play. She revived the bird-carcass concept and began shaping it into the piece it has become today.

“The Bird Carcass in My Backpack” was co-directed by Kramer and her friend Carmen Foster. Foster studies playwriting, and her past works include “All Playwrights Aren’t Dead” and “Three, Two, One.”

“I give a lot of credit to Carmen Foster,” Kramer said. “I’ve never directed anything before in my entire life, and Carmen is a big reason why all the technical stuff got done.”

The show follows Child, an 11-year-old boy with autism, played by Isabella Campi. Child is selectively nonverbal, and throughout the play, Kramer confronts the stigma surrounding nonverbal autistic children. Sarah Comer, a senior, plays Teacher, who repeatedly pushes Child out of his

comfort zone by forcing interactions with other students. In one scene, when Child has a meltdown, Teacher restrains him in an attempt to make him stop.

“[Campi] has been so dedicated to really taking the time to, like, care for representing an autistic person in a way that’s … genuine and real,” Kramer said. “It’s just really amazing to see everyone fully understand and begin to embody their characters … It’s really amazing to be with people that clearly care about this show as much as I care about this show.”

Kramer said she wanted the play to highlight real-world issues that often go unnoticed until it’s too late. The production was staged in OU’s Putnam Hall, room 227 — a small space with limited seating. Kramer said the intimate setting makes the show feel more immediate, placing the audience directly inside the classroom alongside the characters.

Kramer doesn’t plan to stop writing with this show, nor does she plan to stop shining a light on injustice. She already has two new ideas she hopes to carve out time to explore. One would center on consent and feature a cast of only three actors. The other would approach race from a white perspective.

“I know I’m a white person,” Kramer said. “And I obviously cannot explore that in the exact same way, but I very much want to present it as, like, you’re following this white main character as she becomes the antagonist in everyone else’s story without her necessarily, like … doing anything wrong.”

Even as her work tackles heavy, real-world topics, Kramer draws much of her inspiration and grounding from her parents.

“[My parents] have always been very supportive of me being an art kid,” she said. “I was always a very big writer. And I remember being 11 years old, and my dad gave me an old journal he had that was full of his poetry.”

Her father’s screenwriting background has shaped her, but she turns to both parents when she needs to talk through ideas, whether she’s working on an essay, a poem or a script.

“I think that, without my parents…” Kramer said. “I don’t think I would’ve gotten to the point I’ve gotten to with my writing.”

Although the run of “The Bird Carcass in My Backpack” has ended, Kramer remains grateful for everything she learned from writing and directing it.

More than anything, she hopes the message she built into the play lingers with the audience long after they leave the room.

“I hope that this play helps people really be like, ‘oh, we need to be listening,’” Kramer said. “Take the time to listen, take the time to care about things that matter to you.”

@OTHERSIDEOFREADING

RJ519724@OHIO.EDU

PROVIDED BY SIDNEY KRAMER

‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ brings nostalgia

During the 68th Annual Grammys on Feb. 2, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” official trailer premiered, becoming 20th Century Studios’ most viewed trailer of all time. Featuring the original cast of Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, the May 1 release is one of the most anticipated of the year.

With the original release celebrating its 20th anniversary this June, audiences have wondered what the iconic characters would be up to in 2026.

While the trailer doesn’t reveal much, it is apparent that the adaptation will be centered around Andrea “Andy” Sachs’ (Anne Hathaway) return to a modern-day Runway magazine and the drama revolving around the publication.

Since 2006, the cast of “The Devil Wears Prada” has continued to be some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Aside from success, the actors continue to be good friends and consistently express their gratitude for the film.

“It changed everything,” Blunt said in a 2025 interview for Elle. “David Frankel (the director) changed my life by casting me when I was an unknown.”

In December 2023, Hathaway and Blunt were on Variety’s Actors on Actors. They discussed their careers and ended the interview with a conversation about the impact “The Devil Wears Prada” had on them, creating valuable friendships.

Since its premiere, Hathaway has starred in “Alice Through the Looking Glass” (2016) and “Ocean’s Eight” (2018), to name a few. Her portrayal of Fantine in “Les Misérables” (2012) has been awarded various accolades.

Aside from “The Devil Wears Prada 2”, Hathaway will star in multiple major releases this year, including “Mother Mary,” “The Odyssey” and “Verity.” With over 120 award nominations already under her belt, she is predicted to receive more for these roles.

“Anne Hathaway is always worth backing,” Stacey Henley, editor-in-chief at TheGamer, said in a 2027 Oscars nomination prediction article.

With over 90 acting credits and 50 years in the industry, Streep has been a

widely respected actress for decades.

“Meryl Streep is not just among the best actors of her generation, but every generation,” Billy Eichner wrote for BuzzFeed.

Since “The Devil Wears Prada,” she has notably been in “Mamma Mia” (2008), “It’s Complicated” (2009) and “Little Women” (2019). She has also starred in “Into the Woods” (2014) and “Mary Poppins Returns” (2018), both alongside Blunt.

Before the 2026 Grammys, producer Clive Davis confirmed rumors of Streep portraying Joni Mitchell in an upcoming biopic. While little information has been released about the film, director Cameron Crowe said it has been in the works for four years.

With “The Devil Wears Prada” being her first large-scale acting credit, Blunt has since accumulated over 50 total roles. Notably, she has been in “A Quiet Place” (2018) and “Oppenheimer” (2023), two highly popular films of the past decade.

According to IMDb, the sequel will follow Runway magazine editor Miranda Priestly (Streep) and her conflict with Emily Charlton (Blunt), her former assistant turned rival, as Priestly nears retirement.

Tucci returns to his role of Nigel Kipling, art director at Runway. While it is unclear where Kipling and Priestly stand after her betrayal in the first film, the reprise of this high-fashion duo is highly anticipated.

The film will also address the developmental decline in print media as technology and production have evolved unprecedentedly since 2006.

While the first film features a nowiconic scene of Sachs throwing her T-Mobile Sidekick into a fountain in Paris, the new trailer is full of iPhones and Instagram scrolling.

Throughout the clips that have been released, Priestly seems unfamiliar with her former assistant Sachs. It is ambiguous if this is her pretending not to know her, truly can’t remember due to her meeting many people over the years or if she has been diagnosed with dementia. YouTube users have taken to the trailer’s comment section to voice confusion with the choice.

Along with the original cast, there will be new faces. Kenneth Branagh is

set to portray Priestly’s husband, while Patrick Brammall enters as a new love interest for Sachs.

Not returning is Adrian Grenier, who played Nate Cooper, the former boyfriend of Sachs. This is not surprising, as their split played a large part in the first film.

With over two months until the release, fans are ready for Runway to be on their screens, giving them all the early 2000’s nostalgia.

“I’m not just excited for the plot — I’m ready for the suits,” Adam Cheung of GQ said.

Ohio has big choices ahead

Sherrod Brown is running to replace a Trumpy guy as Senator from Ohio. The primary takes place 5 May 2026, and the election takes place 3 November 2026. Jerrad Christian is running to replace a Trumpy guy as Representative for Ohio’s 12th District.

“Isthebuildingreallyinthechargeofa woman architect?”

After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which destroyed most of the city, architect Julia Morgan was hired to rebuild the Fairmont Hotel, in part because of her expertise in reinforced concrete, which was at that time a new material. Women architects were rare, so a woman reporter inspected the Fairmont Hotel and then asked the foreman, “Is the building really in the charge of a woman architect?” The foreman replied, “This building is in [the] charge of a real architect, and her name happens to be Julia Morgan.” After the building was completed, another woman reporter came to see it. Standing in the dining room, which was decorated with gold, gray, ivory, and scarlet, she said to Ms. Morgan, “How you must have reveled in this chance to squeeze dry the loveliest tubes in the whole world of color!” Ms. Morgan replied, “I don’t think you understand just what my work here has been. The decorative part was done by a New York firm. My work has all been structural.”

NOTE:

Currently, the Trump administrative is trying to erase the history and accomplishments of many peoples: women’s history and accomplishments, Black history and accomplishments, all history and accomplishments that smack of wokeness. But what this world needs is good brains. If we don’t use women’s brains, we are wasting half the brains in this world. If we don’t use Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, etc. brains, we are wasting a significant percentage of the brains in the world.

Source: Ginger Wadsworth, Julia Morgan: Architect of Dreams (Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Company, 1990), p. 43.

or

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David Bruce paid for this ad, which is not authorized by any candidate

candidate’s campaign.

Athens Crokinole Club creates friendship through board games

Crokinole is a Canadian board game created in the 1800s, popular across the world for its simplicity and enjoyment.

FIONA

PETTICREW HUMAN INTEREST STAFF WRITER

Most board game lovers enjoy a large group of people to share the fun with during a friendly competition. Many Athens residents also appreciate this aspect of board games, but their usual scene involves drinking crafted cocktails and cider and playing crokinole next to the cozy fireplace in the West End Ciderhouse.

The Athens Crokinole Club was founded by Adam Graham, a local musician and guitar teacher at Hocking College and Stuart’s Opera House After School Music Program. Graham discovered crokinole while at a neighbor’s house, where he was encouraged to try out the game. After playing, Graham said he was hooked.

“I went home and told my wife, ‘I am ordering a board, I love this game,’” Graham said.

According to Wooden You Know, crokinole is typically played between two and four players on a tabletop board. Each player takes a turn “flicking their discs” from the edges of the board onto their “field.” A player’s goal is to make contact with an opponent’s disc during their shot; however, if there are no other discs on the board, players must aim for the 15-point guarded line. During any shot, if a player flicks their disc into the 20 hole, the disc is removed from the play and “counts and twenty points for the owner at the end of the round.”

The end scores are determined after all discs are played.

The Crokinole Club has met for 11 years, holding tournaments and hosting gettogethers throughout the year.

Dawn Graham, a member of

the Crokinole Club and Adam Graham’s wife, said the group is more than just club members and they enjoy spending time at the Ciderhouse every second Saturday.

“It is like one big happy family and we just have a really good time together,” Dawn Graham said.

After Adam Graham got his hands on his own board, he introduced his friends to the game, inviting them to a few rounds before heading to a show at The Union. However, the group never made it to The Union that night, getting lost in the gameplay and thrill of their new activity. Since then, Adam Graham said boards were bought all across town, and many people were introduced to the game.

“So before you knew it, we had 10 boards or 15 boards in town,”

Adam Graham said. “I started ordering boards from this guy in Stratford, Canada, and he was giving me a really good deal on them. I was just distributing them for cost.”

Crokinole is of Canadian origin, and the earliest record of the game is from the 1860s, according to Canada’s History.

The oldest board still intact is from 1875 made by Eckhardt Wettlaufer, a carpenter who lived southwest of what is now Kitchener, Ontario.

Justin Shields, a member of the Crokinole Club, decided to bring down a crokinole board with a friend to play outside the Ciderhouse one day. He said the board caught people’s attention, and many were inquiring about the game, asking to play.

Crokinole eventually caught Deanna Schwartz’s attention, the Ciderhouse owner, and soon the establishment had a new club and events to host for

customers.

Adam Graham said he had “a vision” for the Ciderhouse before it was the club’s regular meeting spot. To him, it was the best place for the club, as it is not “populated” with college students.

The club has 31 members, and Dawn Graham said gettogethers are split between the serious crokinole players and those who just attend for the fun.

“We get together three or four times a year, and everybody brings something to share, for food and drink, and it lasts anywhere from God, six to 10 hours,” Dawn Graham said.

In 2018, the club rented out the entire historic Stockport Mill and Inn on the Muskingum River for an ‘80s themed crokinole party. Dawn Graham said the members stayed up until 3 a.m. playing and singing.

Many crokinole players view the game differently, as some find it enriching and others get lost in the gameplay, competing for endless rounds and perfecting skills and technique. Shields said he enjoys the game for the challenge and is always striving to improve.

“I like skill-based games where you can play it, and it’s easy, fun and enjoyable,” Shields said. “But at some point, you can get better at it and get really good at it, and kind of progress that way as a skill level, too.”

The Crokinole Club also has its own look, with custom T-shirts. The members also have their own trophy for tournaments, which is modified by each winner over the years.

The next Crokinoke Club meeting is at the Ciderhouse on Saturday from 2-5 p.m. and is open to any skill level.

Students prioritize fitness, gyms see spike in traffic

LIV JACOBS FOR THE POST

This year, plenty of Ohio University students are turning to the gym to burn off steam. As attendance continues to rise, the gym is becoming a second home to many.

At the beginning of the year, spikes in numbers at local gyms are no new occurrence. New Year’s resolutions are still going strong. Some are trying to build better habits, and others are finding a new outlet. This year, moving away from January, attendance is not dropping and crowds are here to stay.

According to the ABC Fitness Industry Insights Report from fall 2025, Generation Z and millennials are “driving growth,” accounting for 30% of new studio memberships and 60 percent of new gym joins. Gym and studio check-ins also rose 5% since fall 2024.

Each gymgoer has different drives to stay consistent.

Sadie Poudevigne, a freshman studying publication design, is motivated by establishing healthy habits now.

Poudevigne also said that her motivation mainly comes from within.

“I’m doing it for my future self, ultimately,” she said. “When I work out, I feel great, and I want to keep feeling that.”

Going to the gym looks different for everyone. Some go to become stronger, others go to add movement into their routine and some go just to get a good walk in on the track. With a surge in popularity, a couple workout styles have drawn people in the most.

Pilates and yoga have taken gyms by storm, bringing people together and providing a fun way to move your body. With classes offered every day of the week at the Ping Recreation Center, there’s always time to fit a workout in on Ohio University’s campus.

“I definitely think Pilates is taking over,” Annamarie Komma, a senior studying marketing and management, said.

Komma has been a gym regular for years and has seen the trends come and go. Not only does Komma attend Ping, but also the local Planet Fitness, which has been experiencing these trends as well.

One local gym has been dealing with this significant increase in traffic. Doc’s Gym, a new gym located on 93 Columbus Road, has seen the numbers rise. Doc’s Gym has a different look than what most students are used to. Unlike Ping or Planet Fitness, Doc’s focuses on old-school strength training.

Ian Butcher, owner of Doc’s Gym, has seen how fitness trends have changed over the years. He said that in recent times, the focus has taken a serious shift. Butcher expressed how a majority of new members at Doc’s are coming in with a plan already in mind, needing little help.

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Deep Dive Games brings tabletop fun to Athens

FIONA PETTICREW

Deep Dive Games is bustling throughout the week with tables of families and locals looking to have some fun while playing tabletop games and trading cards. Many customers come to the shop’s daily tournaments, while some are interested in its extensive collection of single trading cards and games such as Pokémon or Magic: The Gathering.

Deep Dive Games, located on 908 E. State St., opened in August 2024 to provide the tabletop gaming community with a space to play any game of their choosing. The shop offers a wide array of games, such as role-playing games with dice and figurines, card games and board games like Catan.

The tabletop gaming community has grown exponentially since the birth of trading card games in 1993, when Richard Garfield made history in his creation of Magic: The Gathering. The people who were once seen as having a unique hobby are now part of a billiondollar industry, with the non-sports trading card market being valued at $6.4 billion in 2022.

Eric Smith, manager of Deep Dive Games, grew up in Athens and enjoys supplying the area’s gamers with game nights and tournaments. Smith strives to bring fun and give back to the community, holding charity tournaments every season. Recently, Deep Dive Games posted on Facebook about its tournament for the Athens County Food Pantry, which raised $600. Smith said he enjoys providing the younger generation with a safe space to learn about trading card and board games, especially with the amount of card scalpers and resellers ruining

the fun for genuine fans and players. Sundays are designated for family Pokémon, where kids can learn to play in a forgiving environment with their parents.

“Pokémon is very inaccessible right now, it’s in a very bad spot,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, there’s scalping, and adults are buying up all the product and then kids can’t get a hold of it. That’s a big thing for me. We give a lot of free stuff to kids.”

Deep Dive also provides education for customers, with its “Athens IRL” group, a collection of parents, kids and healthcare professionals encouraging screen-free fun, and building connection over games. The group hosted a meeting on Saturday for parents to learn about online gaming and Artificial Intelligence, led by Ohio University Esports Program Director Jeff Kuhn.

Smith went to school with Braden Spencer, owner of Deep Dive Games, who helped Smith open the store in Athens. Smith said he was thinking of opening a game store and called Spencer for advice, since he had already opened a Deep Dive Games location in Georgia. Spencer convinced him to open up a Deep Dive in Athens, and Smith got to work creating an environment where residents could thrive.

The store holds a tournament almost every day of the week, and its schedule can be referenced on its Facebook page. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays are for Magic: The Gathering, and Sundays and Mondays are for Pokémon. Tuesdays are for the chess club, and the shop also holds a night for board games and Warhammer, a strategic tabletop fantasy game, on Thursdays.

Deep Dive’s single cards are priced by TCGPlayer, which Smith said is well

known for having the best way to get the average price on a card, as it has its own system based on market data. It autoupdates the system every day, so cards are always the best price for customers.

Single card prices range from $0.10 to $689.70, based on this pricing system.

Smith said the shop is popular, and it will have about 79 guests at the tournaments. There are tables and chairs available for customers to get comfortable and enjoy their games. Although the community loves to show up for the store, Smith said people often get nervous about being the first ones to arrive for a game.

“It could be studied how whenever people are interested in a tournament or interested in an organized game of any kind, they are often worried or anxious about going to be the first people to show up and kind of see what it’s about,” Smith said. “If no one wants to put their foot in the water, no one’s gonna swim.”

Caleb Smith, a frequent customer of Deep Dive Games, said the shop is perfect for family time, and he often brings his wife and kids to play Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer and Pokémon. Caleb Smith said he comes almost every day, for the people as well as the good times.

“It’s one of the few places left that you can just exist, and there’s no expectation that you’re going to spend money,” Caleb Smith said. “People do obviously, because when you like a place, you’re going to want to spend your money there. But there have been many times where I’ve showed up and I didn’t feel like spending money. I just wanted to hang out and play a game, and I could.”

Deep Dive Games is open every day. On Sunday through Thursday, it is open from noon to 9 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays, it is open from noon to 11 p.m. Stop in for a night of games or a new shiny Pokémon card.

HUMAN INTEREST STAFF WRITER

(ALLIE STEVENS | FOR THE POST)