October 25, 2018

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2018

Restoring the WILDLANDS Wildland firefighters in the Wayne National Forest work to extinguish fires and protect the land

Neal and Stivers face off in Columbus P10

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Tom Pokorney on keeping his cool P17

The psychology behind horror films P20

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Keep the mission alive: how you can support The Post

LAUREN FISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

For more than a century, The Post has been around to witness some of the biggest moments in the history of our nation and our university.

I’m reminded of this daily when I look outside my office at the framed newsprints on the walls. One tells of the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. Another was published the day of the Challenger explosion. The walls of our newsroom are lined with images and stories that depict years of protest, celebration and heartbreak, collectively representing our history through the best and worst of times.

Despite the countless changes we’ve undergone over the decades, our mission remains steadfast: to report on the events surrounding our campus and community honestly and tenaciously.

But in order to keep that mission alive, we need the support of our readers and alumni.

Luckily, there are a few ways you can help.

Although The Post is editorially

independent from Ohio University, we don’t have the means to be completely financially independent. Historically, we’ve received money for the salary and benefits of our business manager.

This past spring, we learned that the university has cut funding for our business manager. We’re not alone in this dilemma — other college papers across the nation are facing similar struggles. Soon, we plan to hire a new business manager, using funds provided in part by a $30,000 per year advertising deal with the university.

The decision to go from a daily print newspaper to a digital-first tabloid two years ago was made to stay in line with the times, but it was also a decision made out of financial necessity. We’ve realized that we live in a day and age in which the free press needs a little extra support in order to remain effective.

This is where you come in.

We’re calling upon readers, alumni and, really, anyone who supports a free press, to

do what you can to support The Post, whether it’s through a donation, a follow on Twitter or simply picking up a copy of the paper.

If you’d like to donate now, visit the Ohio University Advancement website and select “Make a Gift.” When selecting a fund to give to, simply select “Other,” check the box stating the fund you’d like to support isn’t listed and type “The Post Fund” into the box.

Just by picking up this copy of The Post or visiting our website, you’ve played a small part in a larger mission. Your support not only helps keep the mission of The Post alive, but it helps our young journalists reach their full potential. On behalf of our staff, we thank you for your readership and support.

Lauren Fisher is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University and the editorin-chief of The Post. Have questions? Email Lauren at lf966614@ohio.edu or tweet her @Lauren__Fisher.

Cover photo by Emilee Chinn

THE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LAUREN FISHER MANAGING EDITOR Maddie Capron DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Alex McCann ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Jessica Hill CREATIVE DIRECTOR Abby Gordon EDITORIAL NEWS EDITORS Sarah M. Penix, Ellen Wagner INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR Bailey Gallion SPORTS EDITOR Spencer Holbrook CULTURE EDITOR Alexis Eichelberger OPINION EDITOR Chuck Greenlee COPY CHIEF Laila Riaz ART ART DIRECTOR Abbey Phillips GRAPHICS EDITOR Riley Scott DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Meagan Hall DIGITAL DIGITAL PRODUCTION EDITOR Megan Knapp SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Kate Ansel BLOGS EDITOR Georgia Davis DIRECTOR OF MULTIMEDIA Alex Penrose DIRECTOR OF PODCASTS Madeleine Peck

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Number of registered voters in Athens County

*2018 figure as of Oct. 19

**All numbers via Athens County Board of Elections data

Athens County sees slight increase in voter registration from 2017, decrease from 2016 MADDIE CAPRON MANAGING EDITOR Following typical trends, Athens County has seen an increase in the number of registered voters from 2017 but a decrease since 2016.

As of Friday afternoon, 45,316 people were registered to vote in Athens County.

In 2017, there were 45,165 registered voters and 45,418 in 2016. It is not abnormal to see a fall from presidential election years or an increase from local election years.

“I have not noticed an increase of registrations for this election,” Athens County Board of Elections Director Debbie Quivey said.

In Ohio, there were 8,069,215 people registered as of Saturday, according to the Ohio Voter Project, analyzes data from the Ohio Secretary of State. A week earlier on Oct. 13, the Ohio Voter Project reported there were more than 56,000 new voters and about 37,000 of those were voters ages 18 to 34.

“

People are very energized to vote, especially when you consider that it’s a midterm year. We typically see about a 20 percent drop in turnout between presidential elections and midterm years.”

- Bailey Williams, OUCD president At Ohio University, the OU College Democrats and OU College Republicans actively work to get people on campus registered to vote. OUCRs works to reg-

ister people at its meetings, while OUCDs tables and is present on campus to get people to register for the first time, update their addresses or ask questions.

“I think those voter registration numbers speak for themselves,” OUCD President Bailey Williams said. “People are very energized to vote, especially when you consider that it’s a midterm year. We typically see about a 20 percent drop in turnout between presidential elections and midterm years. The fact that voter registration levels are comparable to those of 2016 is a very promising sign for high voter turnout. I don’t think we’ll reach 2016 turnout numbers, but we will certainly top 2014 and 2010 turnout numbers.”

Voter turnout for 2016 was about 66 percent. In 2014 and 2010, it was 34 percent and 35 percent respectively.

“Highest voter turnout is typical for presidential elections and then midterm years you see the next highest,” OUCR President Missy Pedulla said. “ ‘Off’ years are when you see the lowest. The pattern

that Athens displays is pretty typical and aligns with most research. I think people are motivated to vote this year because of the current political environment.”

In a previous Post report, Anirudh Ruhil, a professor in Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, said the registration and turnout isn’t necessarily surprising.

“There is no mystery here; Ohio is a swing state that gets a lot of attention during Presidential elections, but in midterm election-years the strength and tone of campaigning depends upon what seats are up for grabs and how closely contested the races are,” Ruhil said in an email.

The deadline to register to vote was Oct. 9, but early voting is still going on.

Quivey said early voting has been steady, but she doesn’t think there’s been a spike in it compared to other election years.

@MADDIECAPRON MC055914@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 3

JACK OF ALL TRADES

Third parties exist, too Democrats and Republicans seem to have become more divided than ever, both against themselves and each other. The 2016 election only magnified this problem, with populists such as Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump JACK dividing their respective parties along GLECKLER is a freshman lines of moderates and those less willstudying ing to compromise their beliefs. journalism Both Republicans and Democrats at Ohio have actively worked against each University. other, and even against themselves, such as when The Democratic National Convention actively worked against Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primaries. Republicans are facing a split between pro-Trump members led by the president, and anti-Trump Republicans seemingly led by Mitt Romney. With these conflicts popping up more frequently as we speed towards the midterm elections, and the eventual 2020 election, a possible solution is there for those who are unsatisfied with both sides of the aisle:

third parties.

Third parties existed largely off the main stage of American politics, popping up every now and then, like when Ross Perot, arguably the most successful independent presidential candidate in the last 30 years, created the Reform Party in 1995. And with the wide range of minor parties just below the surface that cater to a wide range of issues or even just one, they could serve as popular alternatives to the major parties that don’t appeal to someone’s specific beliefs.

Take the two largest third parties in America right now for example. The Libertarian Party is based wholly around the idea of personal freedom. Libertarians campaign strongly in favor of issues such as gay marriage, marijuana legalization, gun rights, free markets, anti-war and decrease in size of the federal government. The Green Party, on the other hand, is much more focused on combating environmental issues. They are self-described as a socially progressive, future-oriented, nonviolent and environmentally-friendly socialist economy.

And while both Libertarians and Greens provide an

alternative yet still politically relevant stance, as both had mildly prominent candidates during the 2016 election in Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, some minor parties provide more radical or obscure stances. They can range from parties based on Christian philosophical politics like the American Solidarity Party or the Christian Liberty Party, to the variety of hard line groups such as the Communist Party USA and the American Freedom Party.

Although third parties have been largely insignificant for years, more and more Americans are flocking to them as alternatives. Libertarian membership jumped 92 percent over the last decade, and the Green Party has announced it will field 224 candidates for office around the country in 2020. Clearly these parties are providing platforms Americans are drawn to, as membership and opinion of Democrats and Republicans are reaching record lows.

Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Jack by tweeting him at @thejackgleckler.

AROUND THE WEB

Loki’s death is clearly final this time — or is it?

The first couple of minutes of Avengers: Infinity War were a blow for Loki’s massive fanbase and fans of all Asgardians in general. Although Loki’s death looked pretty real this time, fans have refused to believe that he didn’t CHARLOTTE have a plan all along and will return for CALDWELL Avengers 4. is a freshman This isn’t the first time Loki has studying been presumed “dead” in the Marvel journalism Cinematic Universe. It’s actually the at Ohio third time.

University The first time was at the end of Thor, and the second was towards the end of Thor: The Dark World, but each of these instances gave clearer clue-ins to the character’s return than this most recent death.

Yet back in June at ACE Comic Con, Loki actor Tom Hiddleston revealed that Thor: Ragnarok was the final character arc for Loki and the beginning of Infinity War was meant to be the conclusion. Hiddleston may seem insistent this is the end for Loki, but die-hard fans are coming up with multiple theories to back up their claims.

4 / OCT. 25, 2018

At this point, fans know many of the god of mischief’s tricks, as they’re displayed in every movie the character has been a part of. This spawned the theory that Loki used one of his holographic tricks in the scene as he did in The Dark World. The theory makes the argument that Loki is right-handed, as he typically fights with one-handed weapons using his right hand. However, when using holograms, like in his death scene in The Dark World, he holds his weapon in his left hand, symbolizing that the hologram is a mirror image of himself.

When Loki tries to stab Thanos in his final moments, he uses his left hand to hold the dagger, giving the theory some ground.

Some concrete evidence that Loki is still around is the released set photos from Avengers 4 showing Loki in scenes with Thor and Tony Stark, which could be a time travel moment as Loki is pictured in his old Avengers armor, but another theory that Loki could be resurrected may make the scene more than just a flashback.

A young boy asked Hiddleston if his character was alive or dead during “The Trickster and the Witch” panel at ACE Comic Con last weekend with Tom Hiddleston and actress Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Scarlet Witch.

While Hiddleston continued to skirt around the answer by commenting, “Your guess is as good as mine,” it seems that everyone is keeping Loki’s possible return a mystery as all Olsen had to say when the question was asked was “yes.”

Some fans had seemingly lost hope after Heimdall actor Idris Elba confirmed on Twitter that his last battle with Thanos — and his honorable death — was the last time the character will be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But after this past weekend and amid multiple theories, the same isn’t seemingly going to happen to MCU’s most beloved villain. After all, many characters supposedly killed in Infinity War, and they are expected to make a return.

If Hiddleston somehow doesn’t make a return in the film franchise, he is expected to have a spinoff TV series on the new streaming service Disney Go. So while he may be done on the silver screen, we may have a TV series to look forward to.

Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Charlotte? Email her at cc670717@ohio.edu.

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This year’s most popular Halloween costumes BAYLEE DEMUTH STAFF WRITER Every Halloween, there are always those costumes that you’ll see more than once walking up and down Court Street at the Athens Halloween Block Party. Whether it be the exact same costume or a close replica, multiple people will be wearing at least one of the five most popular Halloween costumes of 2018: FORTNITE You should expect to see many people dressed as a Black Knight or a Skull Trooper from the pop culture phenomenon Fortnite this Halloween. This video game was released last year and has gained a huge following. It’ll definitely be a set of costumes no one will be able to escape. Don’t be surprised if you see people busting out some of the video game’s most popular dance moves on Court Street.

THE INCREDIBLES After the Incredibles 2 movie hit theaters this past summer, it’s no surprise that Pixar fans have been waiting for the opportunity to dress up like a member of the superhero family. It’s also a fun group costume to get more people involved. The Incredibles have been around for years, but it’s still a popular go-to costume for Halloween. As long as nobody gets separated from their party and comes across another Incredibles-themed costume group by accident, then it should be a super night.

MARVEL AND DC SUPERHEROES On the topic of superheros, costumes featuring Marvel or DC characters will be a popular choice for many this year. With the release of DC’s Justice League late last year and Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War this past Spring, the abundance of Spiderman, Black Panther, Superman and Aquaman costumes will be plenty. Wonder Woman costumes will be just as, if not more popular, this Halloween.

MICHAEL MYERS Watch out for the people who are going to be dressed on the more spooky side of Halloween. The hype for the new Halloween movie that just came out this past weekend will definitely inspire several people to sport the famous Michael Myers look.

Considering the chilly weather coming up for the Athens Halloween Block Party, those dressed up as Michael Myers will at least be warm in their full-body attire.

RIVERDALE Riverdale has been a trending TV show since its first season aired in 2016, giving fans many options for their Halloween costumes. The Riverdale cast is another group costume that friends can put together and look just as amazing. From Betty to Jughead and everyone in between, you’ll be sure to see some Riverdale Bulldogs this Halloween.

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POLICE BLOTTER

Student stumbles down Morton; police find dog ELLEN WAGNER NEWS EDITOR It’s never easy to walk down Morton Hill, but it’s even harder when you’re drunk.

On Friday at about 2 a.m., an Ohio University Police Department officer observed a student “stumbling down Morton Hill” and almost fall into the bushes along the sidewalk, according to the report.

He had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet. He also urinated in his pants. The student was arrested for underage consumption by intoxication and transported to Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, pending his sobriety.

On Saturday at about 2 a.m., an OUPD officer observed a student stumbling down the sidewalk along Richland Avenue and saw him “veer off into the grass” by Bingham House, according to the report.

He was found laying behind a tree, and the officer observed he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.

He was arrested for disorderly conduct by intoxication and obstructing of-

ficial business and taken to Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, pending his sobriety.

According to the OUPD log, there were six reports for possession of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS OUPD responded to a call Sunday at about 1 a.m. for a student that was passed out and vomiting in the fourth floor restroom of Baker University Center.

According to the report, she was standing with the help of her friends and vomiting into a trashcan. She was unable to walk or stand on her own, smelled of alcohol and drifted in and out of consciousness.

The student was placed under arrest for disorderly conduct by intoxication. In the officer’s cruiser, she passed out. Athens County EMS responded, and she was taken to OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital for treatment.

PAINTING PROJECT On Friday, the Athens County Sheriff’s Office responded to The Plains Storage Units on Connett Road for a report of two

people painting a Ford Mustang with a paint roller.

On the scene, deputies found that both people had a suspended license. According to the report, the individuals said they were painting the car blue because “they liked the color and had spare paint from another project.”

No criminal activity was observed, and the vehicle was not stolen. No further action was required.

HOMEWARD FOUND The sheriff’s office responded to a call for a suspicious person report Tuesday on East 3rd St. A woman said a man was walking through her yard. Deputies made contact with the man, who said he was looking for his dog that ran away.

Deputies located the dog and returned it to the owner. No further action was needed.

COMPLETING THE CYCLE Last Wednesday, the sheriff’s office responded to a report for a recovered bicycle in Jacksonville.

A woman reported that she saw her grandson’s bicycle laying on the porch of

a recently vacated residence in the area.

She tried to contact the residence with no response, according to the report. She said the residence appeared to be vacated since there was no furniture or personal property that could be seen in the home.

Her grandson identified his bicycle based on unique identifying factors, and it was returned to him after being photographed.

READING THE (FENCE) POST The sheriff’s office responded to Canaanville Road on Tuesday for a property dispute.

A man said his fence post had been taken down that was marking his property line. He said it was an ongoing issue and believed it was his neighbor that tampered with the line.

After investigating the issue, deputies determined that there was no credible evidence showing the fence was removed by the neighbor, according to the report.

No further action was needed, and the case was closed.

@EWAGNER19 EW046515@OHIO.EDU

NEWS BRIEFS

Bar owner sues woman, rally demands changes SARAH M. PENIX NEWS EDITOR OUPD RECEIVES SEVENTH REPORT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT SINCE START OF FALL SEMESTER On Sunday, the Ohio University Police Department received a rape report in Boyd Hall.

The student reported unwanted sexual contact between her and a known suspect.

There have been 21 total reports of sexual assault to OUPD and the Athens Police Department since Fall Semester began.

This is the seventh report of sexual assault — six reports of rape and one of gross sexual imposition — to OUPD since Aug. 25.

Over the same period, APD has received 14 reports of sexual assault — 10 reports of rape and four reports of sexual imposition or assault.

THE UNION OWNER SUES WOMAN FOR DEFAMATION The Union Bar’s owner has filed a civil 6 / OCT. 25, 2018

complaint against a woman, who said the man who allegedly raped her is still an owner of the bar.

Andrew Studniarz, owner of The Union Bar, 18 West Union, LLC, filed a civil complaint and temporary restraining order in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas on Monday against Cara Chatfield Rohrbaugh, a former Athens resident.

Studniarz alleged that Rohrbaugh “engaged in a campaign of spreading false, destructive and defamatory statements and rumors” by making several posts on Facebook stating that the bar was still owned by Eric Gunn, and that Gunn still earned a share of the bar’s profits.

Studniarz is seeking at least $25,000 in damages for defamation, fraud, civil conspiracy, interference with a business relationship and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In October 2017, Rohrbaugh wrote on Facebook that Gunn had raped her on two occasions more than 10 years ago. The Union wrote on Facebook on Oct. 17, 2017, that the permanent departure of Gunn

was “necessary and in the best interest of all involved parties” and that the sole owner of the bar would be Studniarz.

At the time of the alleged assault, Gunn was neither an owner nor employee of The Union, according to court documents. Gunn has not been charged with a crime in connection to the incident.

In a statement, Rohrbaugh wrote that the suit was an act of intimidation by Studniarz.

“I think it is really sad that my pleas for justice have been met with a lawsuit.

I have been very clear in my writings that what I desire is accountability,” she wrote in a public Facebook post. “I simply wanted Andy to admit to his lack of transparency regarding last year’s statement and his ongoing business relationship with my rapist.”

She has also asked anyone else victimized by Gunn to contact her.

F--K RAPE CULTURE RALLY DEMANDS CHANGES FROM THE UNIVERSITY About 40 F--k Rape Culture demon-

strators marched around campus and to the Soldiers and Sailors monument on College Green to make their demands known by Ohio University.

The demands include implementing harsher punishments for sexual assault perpetrators, being a leader in eliminating rape culture on college campuses, creating a more visible definition of consent by the university and constructing more lights in dimly lit areas as well as more functional blue police lights across campus to ensure the safety of students.

The demonstrators said their goal is to meet with OU President Duane Nellis about these demands.

The route of the march took the demonstrators from the bottom of Jefferson Hill, across to Mill Street, through Court Street and then ended on College Green at the monument.

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Issue 3 will determine funding for Athens City School construction ARIANNA GUERRA FOR THE POST Proposed Issue 3 would renovate and rebuild several schools in the Athens City School District.

Athens City School Board member Sean Parsons said the plan would allow the reconstructed schools to be around for the next 50 to 60 years.

“It is specifically for addressing our buildings where we do not have appropriate funding stream to keep up with what we need to be doing with our building, and so we’re putting this forward for the public to consider doing a long-term plan for the buildings,” Parsons said.

This levy is being done in partnership with the state of Ohio and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. Issue 3 does not deal with teacher salaries or administration, Parsons said.

The schools being looked at for rebuilding are East Elementary School, Morrison Elementary School and Athens High School.

The Plains Elementary School would also receive a complete renovation.

If the levy is passed, the state would pay 32 percent of the project’s final cost, and the school district will be accepting the state’s money. The rebuilding of the elementary schools would begin immediately.

The Athens High School rebuild would not start until the school district receives money from the state.

If the levy does not pass, the repairs and new construction would have to be locally funded.

Some Athens residents are concerned with the cost of rebuilding versus renovating, while others are concerned with the shifting of the grade levels among the school buildings.

In August 2016, a steering committee was organized of teachers, teacher union representatives, school board members and the mayor to discuss how the schools should look.

The state was then able to assess the school buildings and believe rebuilding was necessary. The levy was created because of Ohio’s two-thirds rule, which states if the cost to renovate the school is two-thirds of the cost to rebuild, then rebuilding is recommended.

The committee also looked at how the schools should be organized in terms of grade levels. A few plans were proposed, and some Athens residents were outspoken in how they would like to see the schools 8 / OCT. 25, 2018

A sign in opposition of Issue 3 stands in the yard of a home on Congress Street.

(EMILEE CHINN / PHOTO EDITOR)

reconfigured, or how they would like to see no reconfiguration.

While this is an issue that is still waiting to be solved, it is not connected to the proposed facilities levy.

School board member Kim Goldsberry said Issue 3 is for the repair and replacement of school buildings. She said the levy is needed to do the major repairs, including replacing plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

“The school board is very conscious and diligent with taxpayer resources, we have trimmed spending in last several years, and have continually invested in buildings, so they are safe and better for our students,” Goldsberry said.

Other repairs for school buildings include clean water, heating and cooling repair, getting rid of mold, roof repair, accessibility for disabled students, cracks in foundation, and improved pick-up and drop-off areas.

Noriko Kantake, a parent and special needs advocate, is for Issue 3 and said the current accessibility for students with disabilities is not ideal.

“It’s not easy to address (accessibility is-

sues) with simple (renovation) because if we want to use (renovation) money, we need to meet the state guidelines and the state will not pay for it,” Kantake said.

New features that Athens schools would receive under Issue 3 would include fullsized kitchens, easy accessibility for people with disabilities, sensory rooms, separate areas for pick-up and drop-off, full-court gyms, more energy efficiency, furniture replacement and new technology.

“We are committing to schools and investing in our local communities,” Parsons said. “This is not just about rebuilding a new structure. It is all new technology in the classrooms, it is all new furniture and all new electrical and plumbing.

Courtney Koestler, a parent and Ohio University faculty member who collaborates with teachers, said she supports Issue 3 and knows the renovations can’t happen with the current budget for the schools. Koestler said one change she would like to see is enhanced safety features in the schools.

“I’m in the Patton College of Education, so I work with many of the schools (so much) that I can be buzzed in and just go straight to a classroom before even having to pass

by an office in most of the buildings,” Koestler said. “To me, that is frightening that the safety precaution isn’t there. If we had the money to fix it right now, we would have done it or they would have done it.”

At the board meeting Oct. 18, Superintendent Thomas Gibbs said the Board of Education should show support for quality construction for the planned construction projects.

“If we are fortunate enough to pass this bond issue, and we go out to bid on projects, we will not accept the lowest bidder,” Gibbs said. “We will accept the lowest responsible bidder.”

According to the school board meeting agenda, a responsible bidder is defined as having experience under the current and former business names, on-going and relevant projects, financial standing, facilities and equipment, and regulatory and contractual information.

Issue 3 will be voted on in the upcoming Nov. 6 election.

@ARIANNAGUERRA99 AG598417@OHIO.EDU

F--k Rape Culture rally Every Homecoming, F--k Rape Culture holds a rally to fight back against rape culture on Ohio University’s campus. This year, protesters marched down Court Street to College Green on Oct. 19

Bailey Stein, a student studying plant biology, chants during the F--k Rape Culture rally.

(MEAGAN HALL / DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)

Ohio University alumna Allison DeWitt speaks at the F--k Rape Culture rally on College Green.

(ANTHONY WARNER / FOR THE POST)

Riley Hensley, a senior studying women’s, gender and sexuality studies; speaks to the crowd.

(MEAGAN HALL / DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)

Ohio University psychology graduate student Rebecca Totton embraces a fellow F--k Rape Culture demonstrator.

(NICOLE HARVEL / FOR THE POST)

Ohio University students and alumni march at the F--k Rape Culture rally.

(ANTHONY WARNER / FOR THE POST) THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 9

The fight for the 15th: Neal and Stivers face off in Columbus, will debate in Athens next week GEORGE SHILLCOCK FOR THE POST Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, and Rick Neal, his Democratic challenger, debated in Columbus on Friday, sparring over issues such as civility, healthcare reform, Russian election interference and President Donald Trump.

The two candidates for Ohio’s 15th Congressional District often agreed on issues such as rural broadband and climate change. The debate was hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Club at The Boat House located in Confluence Park.

It was moderated by Colleen Marshall, co-anchor of Columbus’ NBC4.

The crowd of more than 300 included supporters of both candidates and members of the club.

The first question Marshall asked the candidates was about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s statement that the U.S. deficit is caused by entitlements such as Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.

Stivers proposed a bipartisan solution to the deficit in which the government works to cut defense spending and grow the economy.

Neal said that Stivers and McConnell’s decisions are what led to the high deficit and that cutting Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid is their way to find a scapegoat. Neal proposed expanding Medicare to a new age bracket, people aged 55 to 65.

Stivers said that would cost $1 trillion, adding that providing Medicare for all would cost $3 trillion. Both options, he said, would bankrupt the system.

Both candidates found common ground during the debate when discussing an increase of the gas tax and improving access broadband in rural areas, which make up a large portion of the 15th District. The candidates also agreed on the reality of climate change.

“Climate change is real and largely caused by human activity and so humans have to do something about it,” Neal said.

“Why is this even a question?”

Neal said he wants to do everything he can to support renewable energy companies and opportunities within the district. He wants to make sure communities that have had rough transitions into the 10 / OCT. 25, 2018

Candidates for Ohio’s 15th Congressional District in the U.S. House Rick Neal (left) and Steve Stivers (right) talk to each other before their debate on Oct. 22, 2018 at The Boat House Restaurant in Columbus. (HANNAH RUHOFF/ PHOTO EDITOR)

“

If you want someone who will be a part of the resistance, then vote for my opponent. But if you want someone who will deliver results, vote for me.”

- Steve Stivers, 15th Congressional District representative new energy economy are able to recover.

“The way forward involves moving toward negative emissions,” Stivers said.

“We’ve done a lot in Ohio through natural gas, which is still obviously carbon-based,

but it burns much, much cleaner.”

He said they need to do more and invest in technologies that allow the country to use renewable energy sources correctly such as microgrid and battery technologies.

One of the most contentious moments during the debate came when both candidates were asked if this upcoming election would be a referendum on President Trump.

“I think some people will (vote because of him),” Stivers said. “But most people are going to come out and they’re going to vote for the person who they think shares their values and will work hard to get results for them.”

The conversation took a turn when Neal took a jab at Stivers on the topic of civility.

“How can you build the trust required to be able to work together, Congressman, when you’re not standing up to (the) biggest source of incivility, which is the

president?” Neal said. “So you yourself are a source of the incivility that is creating the problems in this country.”

Neal’s said his accusations come from the fact that Stivers is the chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, which Neal said is promoting and funding negative campaign advertisements across the country for other races.

Stivers disputed that statement, and said the committee has guidelines that require all advertisements to be fair and truthful.

“If you want someone who will be a part of the resistance then vote for my opponent,” Stivers said. “But if you want someone who will deliver results, vote for me.”

The two will meet again in Athens on Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. at Nelson Court. The debate will be moderated by Ohio University alumnus Joe Hallett, a retired reporter from The Columbus Dispatch, The Toledo Blade and The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Neal and Stivers said they are looking forward to talking about more issues, including college affordability, at the upcoming debate.

“For eight years, Steve has refused to publicly debate his opponents,” Neal said in a news release. “I thank him for showing all of us in the 15th District this respect in a year when Washington appears to be completely off the rails.”

Adam Rapien, Stivers’ campaign manager, refuted this claim and said in an email that he has publicly debated Mary Jo Kilroy both in 2008 and 2010 in Columbus and he debated Pat Lang in Lancaster in 2012.

“Steve has been a strong advocate for students and Southeast Ohio during his time in Congress,” Rapien said in an email. “He looks forward to highlighting the work he has done to help students and boost the Appalachian region during the upcoming Athens debate.”

Each candidate will invite 50 guests and OU will distribute 50 tickets to a predetermined group of students, faculty and staff.

Johnathan Miller, the Libertarian Party Candidate, was not invited to either debate.

@SHILLCOCKGEORGE GS261815@OHIO.EDU

Meet the only two explosivedetection dogs in Southeastern Ohio MEGAN CARLSON FOR THE POST Ohio University is home to the only two explosive-detection dogs in southeast Ohio.

After the Boston Marathon bombing, civilians realized there was not enough protection from bombs and explosives.

Homeland Security started several grants, and OU was offered two grants for two K9 officers.

According to OUPD Lt. Tim Ryan, last fiscal year OUPD spent $6,076.78 on veterinary bills and $2,960.21 on food for the K9 officers.

Alex, handled by OUPD Officer Tim Woodyard, was OU’s first K9 officer and has been with the university for the past four years. Brody, handled by OUPD officer Mike Harlow, has been a K9 officer with OUPD for more than a year.

Both of OUPD’s K9 officers are single-purpose officers, meaning they are only trained to detect bombs, unlike other K9 officers that are dual-purpose.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know we had K9 officers. But, any extra precautions make me feel safer,” Savannah Medlen, a sophomore studying political science, said.

Harlow believes the dogs being single-purpose makes them more approachable.

“Everybody wants to come see the dogs,” Harlow said. “Them being single-purpose makes them friendlier because they don’t do the bite work.”

Before being able to work with the K9 police officers, the dogs had to be taken to their handlers’ houses to make sure each dog had a safe place to live and both families were on board with a new family member.

A master trainer went through a selection process for the ideal explosive-detection dog.

Having past luck with rescues, the trainer found 1-year-old Alex at a shelter in Columbus. Being 20 pounds lighter than he is now, and what the shelter called an escape artist, he was chosen for the training process.

Brody was originally trained in Slovakia, and was brought to New York as a Homeland Security bomb dog. He trained with another handler at OUPD before Harlow but later partnered with Harlow after his initial handler retired.

Ohio University Police Department K9 Officer Alex has been with OUPD since 2014. (KELSEY BOEING / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

The training process Alex and Woodyard went through took 10 weeks with the Columbus Fire Department bomb squad.

Alex was trained to associate sniffing out bombs with a reward, which in his case was food. Each time he successfully sniffed out an explosive, Woodyard would feed him out of the palm of his hand.

“The master trainer imprints them on the odors, which means before the handler gets them, the dog usually already knows its odors,” Woodyard said.

When learning the odors, distractors are also put around them so that the dog is able to distinguish between an odor that is and isn’t harmful. That is done about 40 to 60 times a day.

“The dogs are very important to the university,” Woodyard said. “You can’t take a machine and sniff out Peden Stadium before a game.”

The K9 officers are by their handlers’

sides 24/7. They work the same hours, which means Alex and Brody have a work week of about 40 hours. They then go home with their handler every night.

Unlike a family dog, the K9 officers are the property of the university.

“You’re always paranoid about something happening to him,” Woodyard said.

The handlers have to be extra careful with the dogs.

“He’s depending on me to keep him safe and keep him comfortable,” Harlow said.

K9 officers typically work until they are 8 to 10 years old, but medical emergencies can end their careers earlier.

Since the explosive detection work isn’t as physically demanding for a dog as aggression work, their retirement depends on their health.

Police dogs prefer to work, Woodyard said.

After they retire, they tend to miss do-

ing their jobs. Since Alex has been working since he was about 1 year old, it’s all he knows what to do.

Once Alex and Brody have to retire and can’t work anymore, Harlow and Woodyard can buy them for $1. Technically, they aren’t able to give the dogs to their handlers for free since they are the property of the school.

The explosive-detection dogs are not only used at the university, but their services are loaned out for other big events.

They’ve worked at the NFL Hall of Fame, Columbus Pride and Jamboree in the Hills, a country music festival.

Just like OU needs additional dogs for events like football games and Halloween, events around the state also need extra help occasionally.

@MEGCHRIISTINE MC199517@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 11

Firetamers ASHTON NICHOLS SENIOR WRITER

Matt Castells, forestry technician, sprays down a tree while putting out a fire in Nelsonville on Thursday, Oct. 18. The property owners were burning trash and left the fire unattended.

(EMILEE CHINN / PHOTO EDITOR)

12 / OCT. 25, 2018

Smoke curled around Jeremy Waite. To his left, a barrel was on fire. To his right, black ashes scattered the ground.

He, along with six others — four men and two women — are a part of the Wayne National Forest Engine 611 team. On the chilly fall morning of Oct. 18, they traveled to a piece of private property in Nelsonville. The fire was small and started the previous night but hadn’t been extinguished. After monitoring the fire through the night, the crew went to put out the fire again in the morning, so it could not grow into a larger hazard or spread into the Wayne National Forest, Ohio’s only national forest.

This is Waite’s usual day.

He started working with fires 12 years ago, but now serves as the assistant captain for Engine 611.

Engine 611, a well-traveled, mint-green fire truck that holds 300 gallons of water, has driven more than 20,000 miles between Ohio, Oregon, California and Arizona this year alone.

As soon as it returns to the Athens Ranger Station in Nelsonville, it will be refilled with gas and water. If there is a fire day or night, the firefighters are ready. During dry spells, they receive about two to three calls per day.

“We’ve had a couple weeks of dryness so things are burning a little better now,” Waite said. “We will get a lot of false alarms too where some neighbors burn the fire and call because they don’t know the rules. When we come in, we don’t just try to suppress it, but we try to educate at the same time.”

Waite said fires in Ohio are mainly set by people who burn trash and don’t understand the dangers of open burning. Athens County deals with private property fires, and most of the time, the sheriff will not fine property owners unless the fire reaches the Wayne National Forest.

“During fire season, we work whenever the phone rings,” Waite said.

The procedure for dealing with fires is to typically stir up the embers and brush using a fire axe. The firefighters then spray down the area and then stir everything up again. They stand up any logs or large items to make sure they have been doused with water.

Clouds of steam rose throughout the air as the crew waited to see how the fire was doing. Sometimes they have to hose it down multiple times, Waite said.

The job of a wildland firefighter can also be dangerous. People often burn tree stumps, which can create hazards when the roots burn out and form an ash pit.

Waite said it can give bad burns to anyone who steps in the pit.

At the fire, the firefighters reminded each other to not breathe in the smoke while they are putting the fire out.

“We just don’t know what they’re burning in their piles,” Waite said. “It could be all kinds of stuff.”

Other times, windstorms will knock down trees and power lines, so they must wait to make sure the lines are not on when they go to put out the fire.

“We’re not trained to deal with structure stuff, so we can

only deal with the wildland part of it,” Waite said. “A lot of hazards that are associated with structure fires are different than wildlands. Hazards change from scene to scene.”

There is a burn ban for the state of Ohio during the months of October, November, March, April and May during the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to Ohio Revised Code 1503.18. People are not allowed to burn waste outdoors during those hours, and must be at the fire at all times in case it gets out of hand.

If a fire is unattended and violates the burn ban and if it is in the radius of the Wayne National Forest, such as the fire the crew attended on Oct. 18, it will be considered a hazard and be put out.

“If anything is within that protection zone or within a mile of it, we can respond to that because it’s a threat to the national forest,” Waite said.

Kevin Grodi, Engine 611 captain, said that when his engine or another needs assistance, he can pull in other federal agencies, state agencies or volunteer fire department firefighters. If another department needs assistance in another state, he and his crew will go there.

“I like using the local resources first because they can get here, they know the ground, they know the territory,” Grodi said. “For the most part, they know everybody who lives here by name. We’re able to have that rapport with them and keep them in the loop.”

Jacob Kovolisky is the senior firefighter of the crew. He’s worked for about five years as a wildland firefighter but has worked on the Wayne National Forest crew for a year and a half.

He said that in the morning the crew will come to the Athens Ranger Station in Nelsonville and check the trucks. They will then brief on what they need to get done for the day and decide who will be in which trucks.

The majority of the fires in Wayne National Forest are in the afternoon, Kovolisky said. People start lighting fires at about 4:30 p.m. when school or work is over.

“My favorite part about my job is (responding to fires),” Kovolisky said. “What other person can say that they get to go and work in the woods? Some people say that my job is better than your best vacation. I love doing it every day.”

He said they typically work 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but during dry spells will work until 6:30 p.m. or longer.

Everyone on the team wears a backpack containing 4 quarts of water, lunch and safety gear, while they work. They also have a bag to camp overnight in case they’re sent on long-term assignments.

“I’ve been to Alaska for wildfires. I’ve been to Oregon. I went to Puerto Rico last year for a hurricane assignment,” Kovolisky said. “You get to travel the entire U.S. Sometimes you go international. I’m

James Benson, incident commander in training, talks to the group of wildland firefighters before putting out a fire in Nelsonville on Oct. 18. The property owners were burning trash and left it unattended. (EMILEE CHINN / PHOTO EDITOR)

“

The more you suppress fire, the more fuel that is there, which makes fire danger a lot worse. Instead, we need to embrace fire.”

- James Benson, incident commander in training not sitting in New York City typing away at a desk.”

Kovolisky said the concept of fire is changing, which makes his job challenging sometimes. In recent years, fires have become more violent, which has made the job of a firefighter harder to control the situation.

“Back in the day, you would go to a fire and then put it out. Fire is changing and the ecosystem is changing,” Kovolisky said. “Fires are a big portion of the ecosystem. There’s a big portion of us living in areas that people didn’t live in before.”

James Benson commanded the fire the crew was putting out, instructing them where to hose and test if there was

still heat. He’s an incident commander in training and has worked for six years as a wildland firefighter.

The fire was a spot fire — a fire that ignited from the embers of a larger fire and was probably 1/16 of an acre, Benson said. It took the crew about two hours to put it out.

“The National Forest surrounds all of this private land, so if it did get out of hand, it could burn what we don’t want to burn because we don’t have controls in place to keep it from going to the highway or someone’s home,” Benson said.

A big part of the job —about 90 percent — is extinguishing fires, Benson said, but the other part is doing prescribed burns.

Prescribed burns are intentional fires that the fire department will set. They will create a box around a patch of land to keep the area contained, and then light it to burn off the underbrush. They burn oak or hickory trees because they are sturdy, can withstand heat and produce acorns and nuts for the ecosystem.

Prescribed burns work to prevent large wildfires. During these burns, they will bring in biologists to help with the ecosystem.

“We will go through and light it off, and it’s usually done in a day,” Benson said. “It is good for the forest and rejuvenates the soil and puts nutrients back.”

He said the department has about 5,000 acres it is planning to burn in the Wayne

National Forest. There is one planned for the fall and a few for the spring.

“Fire is needed in almost all landscapes throughout the country, and we’ve been suppressing it for years and years,” Benson said. “The more you suppress fire, the more fuel that is there, which makes fire danger a lot worse. Instead, we need to embrace fire.”

There is a scale for how large and dangerous a fire is, ranging from IC1, which is the largest and most dangerous, to IC5, a low-risk fire. If a fire is considered an IC5, like the small trash fire the crew put out on Oct. 18, Benson would be the one to command it.

“We’ve had a few fires in the last couple years that got 60 to 70 acres. That’s more Type 4 or Type 3 fire,” Benson said. “In the East, it is hard to get another more than a Type 3.”

Grodi said safety and putting out the fires are the main priority in his job.

“We’re not biologists. We’re firefighters,” Grodi said. “We don’t know all the answers to the forests, we just fight fires.

You can ask me what this tree is and I ain’t going to have a clue. Is it on fire or not?

That’s my answer.”

@ASHTONNICHOLS_ AN614816@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 13

Ohio University’s Hudson Health Center on Oct. 11. (HARLEY WINCE / FOR THE POST)

Why Hudson Health Center no longer performs sexual assault examinations ABBY MILLER FOR THE POST In 2005, Ohio University phased out the on-campus sexual assault examination program.

Ever since, nurses at Hudson Health Center have not been required to undergo Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner training, and rape kits are not offered at Hudson Health Center. Today, the only place where OU students can get a sexual assault examination is Athens County is at the OhioHealth O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, according to a previous Post report. “[The] best practice is for sexual [assault] nurse exams to happen in the emergency room,” Dean of Students Jenny HallJones said. “[At O’Bleness], they serve the whole community, and their nurses are on a kind of a rotation and can be trained and then they’re more often called.”

O’Bleness Spokesperson Keely Stockwell said O’Bleness offers the highest amount of security, safety and accessibility for survivors of sexual assault.

“Our highly trained Sexual Assault 14 / OCT. 25, 2018

Nurse Examiners (SANE) and Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFE) have specialized training and experience with providing care for victims of sexual assault,” Stockwell said in an email. “The hospital emergency department is also well equipped to serve any additional medical needs victims of sexual assault may have.”

O’Bleness is 1.2 miles from Hudson Health Center. Hall-Jones said that Campus Care tries to ensure that survivors get to O’Bleness for a sexual assault examination after they are able to work up the courage to do so.

“The Campus Care people will do everything they can to help ensure that the survivor is taken care of and sometimes will even help transport them to the hospital because they don’t want that person to decide not to it,” Hall-Jones said.

O’Bleness also works in conjunction with Athens’ Sexual Assault Response Team to better help survivors when they come to the facility.

“This group is made up of representatives from the Athens County prosecutor’s office, OhioHealth O’Bleness [Memorial}

Hospital, Athens and Ohio University police departments, sexual assault victim advocacy groups and others,” Stockwell said in an email.

The availability of sexual assault examinations at O’Bleness hasn’t stopped students from wanting examinations on campus. Hall-Jones says that students want the SANE exams to happen at the university and have asked Campus Care to bring them back.

“I’ve heard survivors and others advocating to try and get them in campus care but I can understand Campus Care’s perspective of ‘they do them and they do them really well at the hospital’,” Hall-Jones said.

The sexual assault examination program began at Hudson Health Center in 1999 when OU received a grant that allowed four of its Campus Care nurses to become Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, or SANE, trained, according to a previous Post report.

Hall-Jones said the SANE trained nurses did not get called very often when the program was running. That was one of the reasons the program ended in 2005.

Another reason for the program’s ending was that SANE nurses can be called to testify in court, Hall-Jones said. While the SANE nurses at OU did not perform examinations often, the possibility of them being called into court became a concern.

“The chain of evidence is really important,” Hall-Jones said. “[The SANE nurses] weren’t feeling that they were doing [rape kits] enough to feel confident in their abilities to actually testify in court.”

Hall-Jones also said the program was phased out because the SANE nurses worked around the clock, but Hudson Health Center is not a 24-hour facility.

“The survivor would have to wait and there would be a police officer that would be there to guard the building and open up the facility because nobody’s there after hours,” Hall-Jones said. “It didn’t feel very comfortable to do that.”

@ABBLAWRENCE AM166317@OHIO.EDU

How OU’s African Studies program brings diversity to a largely white community LILY ROBY FOR THE POST The 2017 census data identified about 83 percent of Ohio as white, but Ohio University seeks to diversify through its highly successful African Studies program.

With such low ethnic diversity, it can be easy for individuals to grow up uneducated about other cultures and countries because they simply aren’t exposed to them. However, that’s where OU comes in.

The program offers languages like Akan, Kiswahili and Wolof and requires courses such as African literature and African history. Students are given the opportunity to learn the languages of African countries, while also being educated about cultures and traditions through a hands-on approach.

The majority of incoming students who have an interest in the African Studies program have a prior background studying, volunteering or living in an African country.

However, the African Studies program also aims to educate those who have no experience with Africa or African cultures, opening the minds of OU students who take a class.

“What we try to do here is make sure that Africa is present in Ohio University,” Ghirmai Negash, associate director of the African Studies program, said.

Negash is also a professor of English and African literature in the Department of English having firsthand knowledge of how strongly the African Studies program benefits OU students and alumni.

Some of his most impactful experiences at OU were through the African Studies program, such as the African Literature Association Conference in 2011 and the Ohio World Music and Dance Festival. Both events educate students by bringing scholars from all around the world and introducing African cultures to campus.

The African Studies program offers an extensive collection of books and media on African culture funded by a Department of Education grant. This means librarians can do more than just provide knowledge to students — they can present extensive exhibits on African culture in Alden Library.

The most recent exhibit covered famous African leaders. These exhibits expose students to African cultures and history even if they aren’t taking any African Studies courses, something that is necessary in order for students to become more educated and open-minded about foreign cultures.

“At times, most of the time, in the press,

they don’t portray a positive view of Africa,” Araba Dawson-Andoh, subject librarian for African Studies, said. “So, the program allows the students here to get a better understanding of Africa instead of relying on their negative views. The program allows the students to (have) a positive sense about Africa.”

Dawson-Andoh said the African Studies program also brings a lot of students from Africa to OU. “It helps Ohio University students who might not know an African to meet an African because Ohio University is in an area that isn’t very … diverse,” Dawson-Andoh said.

OU is also well-known for its African Studies program due to the highly successful alumni that have come out of it. Matt Kirwin, one of the most notable alumni of the African Studies program, has a master’s degree in African Studies. Kirwin has gone on to work in the U.S. State Department, studying migration and health care access in different African countries.

David Crane is another recognized graduate of the African Studies program. He was the chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. During his time in that position, he led the investigation that eventually resulted in the arrest of Liberian President Charles Taylor. Crane will be a visiting professor in November.

Rosa Armstrong, a graduate student studying African Studies, was originally getting her master’s degree in French. Armstrong turned her focus to African Studies because it offers more freedom and opportunity to students.

“With French, it was a little bit more inward-looking in the sense that you only stayed in Gordy (Hall) and you don’t go anywhere else,” Armstrong said. “It’s just you and the book. It’s interesting, but at the same time, African Studies offers you the opportunity to take classes outside your immediate focus.”

Armstrong is now looking for a career in international relations with a focus on Africa, so the African Studies program is extremely beneficial to her. Armstrong said many people ask her why she is studying African Studies when she was raised in Ghana and already speaks many Ghanaian languages.

“It gives you that foundation to take off from,” Armstrong said. “It gives you basic ideas that you can build on. It gives you that curiosity.”

ILLUSTRATION BY JASMIN GONCALO

@THELILYROBY LR158117@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 15

Natalie Condrac, a senior at Ohio University, paints on paper mache at the Passion Works in preparation of Honey for the Heart. (COLIN MAYR / FOR THE POST)

Thaddeus Semsel paints a bottle made of paper mache at the Honey for the Heart.

(COLIN MAYR / FOR THE POST)

Honey for the Heart parade to celebrate Halloween and the spirit of Athens BAYLEE DEMUTH STAFF WRITER All the hard work in Honey for the Heart’s month-long puppet making workshop will finally be showcased in its parade the night of the Athens Halloween Block Party.

“The absolute energy that drives Athens Halloween is what inspired us to add love and giant puppets to the idea,” Patty Mitchell, the executive director of Honey for the Heart, said. “So the parade is the manifestation of what we’ve done these past three weeks and our feelings toward Athens.”

The seventh annual Honey for the Heart parade has facilitated a workshop for Athens residents and Ohio University students alike to contribute to making the giant puppets that participate in the parade. This year, the parade will be focusing on the theme of hearts, bees and flowers and will take place Saturday night.

Honey for the Heart is facilitated by Passion Works Studio, an art studio that is celebrating its 20-year anniversary this year.

Passion Works has made more than 26,000 passion flowers since the studio’s establishment in 1998, Mitchell said. In light of that, 16 / OCT. 25, 2018

the parade will incorporate many passion flowers, the official flower of Athens.

The next aspect of the parade will be focused on involving bees that will represent The Wild Honeybees, a local band from Athens.

“The Wild Honeybees play New Orleans jazz-type stuff, so they’re actually going to march with us in the parade, and then also play at the Honey for the Heart Ball after,” Mitchell said.

The final component of the parade will be focused on hearts. People from other states and counties have been making hearts out of all different types of fabrics, photos and paintings that they’re sending to Honey for the Heart to use in the parade.

“We’re making a heart for every child that has been separated from their family at the border,” Mitchell said. “Along with those symbols combined, we’re bringing all types of life, love and community together.

It’s just like an explosion of joy and love.”

With all the different types of components and materials that go into making these giant puppets, it’s hard for Mitchell to say how many will be incorporated in the parade.

“We have costumes from previous years that we reuse, because we’ve had any-

where from 250 to 700 people participate in the parade,” Mitchell said. “It always depends on the year and the weather, but everyone is always wearing something.”

Anybody who wants to walk in the parade and wear a giant puppet costume can. Honey for the Heart wants to include as many people who are willing to participate as possible, Mitchell said.

“If the middle school marching band wanted to play, or families wanted to bang pots and pans in the parade, we would have costumes for them to wear as well,” Mitchell said.

Honey for the Heart started because of Halloween, and it was something Mitchell thought the town of Athens would really take to.

“With other art entities in town and volunteering, it’s something recognizable, and we make our own fun here,” Mitchell said. “There was an interest in making puppets, celebrating Halloween and then creating visual evidence of the spirit of Athens.”

Mitchell is looking forward to getting to dance and share this joyous experience with Athens for the seventh year in a row.

“We’re coming together and building our own culture and making your com-

munity what you want it to be is a really powerful thing,” Mitchell said. “I feel like people have felt very disempowered lately, and I think things like this can bring us together.”

Gillian Faut, a freshman studying business, attended one of the workshops in preparation for the Honey for the Heart parade for the first time.

“I just walked in here and didn’t really know what to expect. I just kind of started doing paper mache, and it’s been fun,” Faut said. “It’s a good opportunity to help the community, and I didn’t know you could walk in the parade until now, so I’m definitely going to consider it now.”

Lindsay Griffin, a senior studying business, has volunteered with a few girls in her learning community the past two years and has enjoyed helping out at the workshops.

“I thought it’d be something cool for my students to come and volunteer for,” Griffin said. “I’ll definitely miss it because it’s fun to get involved in the community and learn more about Athens that’s not just OU.”

@BAYLEEDEMUTH BD575016@OHIO.EDU

HOCKEY

Pokorney’s Peace

Tom Pokorney has found his headspace, and it’s helped him on the ice MATT PARKER FOR THE POST Tom Pokorney is no stranger to the penalty box.

He’s been there countless times; skating past the referee to the box after being whistled at for doing something wrong.

It’s a path he’s skated probably too many times. It’s a path he’s trying to skate away from.

The conversations he’s heard for the past three years echo in his head. He’s been told by multiple people how talented of a player he is and how he makes the game look easy. But he can’t be the elite player he’s praised to be until he learns to stop taking so many penalties.

“I had a different mindset my first three years,” Pokorney said.

“I used to not care about getting stupid penalties, but now it really matters.”

He’s tired of hearing about the promise of being one of the country’s best players, so he’s attempting to turn it into a reality. But it hasn’t been a solo journey for mental stability.

His journey started through one of the most looked-up-to people in the program: coach Sean Hogan.

Before the season, Hogan had a lot on his plate. He had a baby on the way, so he had to make sure the logistics of the program and other operations he does at Bird Arena were in check. It was a balancing act he was struggling with until he found a meditation app called Headspace.

“It’s been a stressful time in my life and someone recommended this app to me,” Hogan said. “It helped me maintain a little bit of focus, and I thought of (Pokorney), so I showed it to him.”

Hogan’s been one of the many people in Pokorney’s ear telling him about his potential, and with Headspace, he believed that it could be what Pokorney needed.

“I’ve always told (Pokorney) that he can be an elite defenseman in our league,” Hogan said.

Senior defenseman Tom Pokorney displays the app Headspace, which he uses to meditate weekly.

(EMILEE CHINN / PHOTO EDITOR)

“

I only have so much time here, I can’t be spending time in the box. I’ve got to be on the ice. I’m an asset to this team, I don’t want to be a liability.”

- Tom Pokorney, senior defenseman

“I think he’s one of the best, the kid can flat out play, but hopefully this app works for him.”

Pokorney’s potential to be this elite player has been halted by his penalties, and he decided to make a change.

While he was apprehensive at first, Pokorney downloaded the app and the next morning, started one of the lessons on it. The lesson was supposed to be Pokorney visualizing that he’s sitting on a rock. As he’s on the rock, cars pass by. The cars passing by are representative of his thoughts and how to let the

negative ones pass him by.

“Getting that 10-15 minutes of me-time and getting your mind right has been crucial,” Pokorney said.

In tandem with his on-ice performance, and perhaps where he needs focus the most, Pokorney meditates in his locker stall before games as a way to be mentally clear.

So far, it’s worked. Through eight games, Pokorney has only 14 penalty minutes. Both he and Hogan give credit to the meditation.

“There’s tangible results to it as he hasn’t taken as many pen-

alties this year,” Hogan said. “I’m glad it’s been working for him.”

Because he’s had fewer minutes on the box and more minutes on the ice, Pokorney believes those talks of him being elite. Or at least having the potential to be.

“I only have so much time here. I can’t be spending time in the box,” he said. “I’ve got to be on the ice. I’m an asset to this team, I don’t want to be a liability.”

While his stats don’t jump off the stat sheet – he has just two goals and five assists – Pokorney has had multiple shifts this season when it was clear he was the best player on the ice.

Without being overly aggressive or emotional, the senior defenseman has helped Ohio with some of its best moments of the season thus far in terms of special teams, puck retrievals and simply just setting up the offense. Most notably against West Virginia, while he only scored once, the senior had multiple shifts where it was clear he was the best player on the ice.

It’s because of being more level-headed. Pokorney has experienced unrivaled success, so far anyway. And the success has come off the ice first.

“Mental health is just a serious thing,” he said. “You need to take care of your mind as well as your body. I never used to take it seriously and maybe that’s why I’ve had these lapses of judgment.”

As his journey toward being a smarter player trudges forward, Pokorney just wants to do one thing: play hockey.

“I’m tired of watching from the stands or from the box,” he said. “I want to be on the ice. I want to make an impact on the game.”

@MPARKER_5 MP109115@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 17

VOLLEYBALL

Supporting from the sides Tia Jimerson didn’t let her month-long injury lower her spirit and has acted as her team’s no. 1 fan from the bench. Now, she has a chance to push Ohio though the MAC tournament Ohio’s Vera Giacomazzi (#6) sets a ball for middler hitter Tia Jimerson (#15) during the Bobcats’ game against Northern Illinois on Saturday.

(KELSEY BOEING / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

ANTHONY POISAL STAFF WRITER Tia Jimerson took a seat in a chair along Ohio’s bench before its match against IUPUI on Sept. 8. She leaned back, curled her jacket’s hood around her head and extended her left leg, which sported a black bulky medical boot.

She was nursing a stress fracture in her tibia sustained one week earlier. As the reigning Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year sat on the bench to watch her team warm up, all she could do was think.

Misery and impatience were knocking on the door to Jimerson’s mind.

But Jimerson never let those feelings intrude her recovery process. When she was sitting on the bench during warm ups, she wasn’t thinking about how she was going to miss 11 of Ohio’s 29 regular season matches — valuable time to continue a career that could finish among the best in Ohio history.

She blocked those feelings and channeled her thoughts toward something else: Amping up her teammates and bringing even more passion to her team.

When Jimerson watched her team warm up, she was thinking about the bench chants she had made for each teammate before the match. The “Go Big Red” chant for Katie Nelson and her red hair. The “Fore!” golf chant and imaginary swing before a player hammers a serve 18 / OCT. 25, 2018

over the net. Or the “Hercules” chant Jimerson specifically made for Sara Januszewski, the middle blocker who was replacing her in her absence.

Jimerson was only letting her injury affect one thing — her leg. Nothing else.

“We started winning games and started having fun on the bench,” she said. “When you’re on the bench, you just see it differently and you see the passion in everybody. It’s a completely different point of view. As the weeks went on, I got used to it.”

Ohio went a respectable 6-5 in Jimerson’s four-week absence, which started after she was ruled out for the Bobcats’ match on Sept. 5 against Marshall. One of the wins was Ohio’s only five-set match win this season, and the Bobcats started MAC play with a 3-1 record, its best fourmatch stretch this season.

Coach Deane Webb would have much rather had Jimerson in his starting lineup for all 11 matches she missed. Before Jimerson’s injury, she led the team with 60 kills, and among Jaime Kosiorek, Lizzie Stephens and Nelson, gave the Bobcats a full front line of players capable of producing powerful attacks.

Webb was forced to dip into his team’s depth to replace Jimerson, but ever since her return to the court on Oct. 5 against Miami, he hasn’t been able to replace the impact the Sugar Hill, Georgia, native had on Ohio’s bench.

“She was really, really good on the bench during that time,” Webb said. “She

was just really driving energy and driving cheers and all that.”

Jimerson needed a way to stay excited for matches she couldn’t play in. She played in all 32 of Ohio’s matches in 2017 and wasn’t used to watching from the sidelines. She needed a way to stay in the match.

So, she joined a meeting with some of her teammates before a few of Ohio’s matches.

The topic was simple: What is the bench going to yell tonight?

“You just sit down, come up with a cheer that sounds good and people like it, and you do it,” Jimerson said.

In each match she sat out, she stood at the end of the Bobcats’ line of subs and arguably brought more energy than any other person in the arena. She was the loudest voice in many of Ohio’s raucous chants, and when the Bobcats would swing a service ace, she’d dance down the sideline and swing her boot back and forth.

“I think I did a pretty good job of having energy on the bench, and I just felt like the bench was riled up when I was with them,” she said.

Jimerson’s injury has healed, and she’s played in every set since her return to the lineup against Miami. She’s still rebuilding strength in her leg and hasn’t quite re-discovered the full range of motion she had before the injury, but there’s one part of her game that’s remained constant all season.

Her enthusiasm.

When Jimerson pounds her first kill or block of each match, she usually lets out a

Tia Jimerson cheers on teammates from Ohio’s bench. (KELSEY BOEING / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

roar and thrusts herself toward her teammates in the mid-point huddle. After a kill in the second set of Friday’s win against Western Michigan, Jimerson turned around, pumped her fists and shouted “Let’s f---ing go!”

Ohio will need all the energy it can receive if it wants to clinch and win the MAC Tournament in November. The Bobcats have six matches left to play and will likely solidify a spot in the postseason with a .500 record.

That will be more attainable if Jimerson keeps building her ability and continues her uptick in production. She went from scoring a combined 25 kills in her first three matches back from injury to 34 kills in the next three, and she hit a season-high six blocks last Saturday against Northern Illinois.

Misery is still knocking on the door for each member of Ohio if it fails to miss the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2001. But opportunity is knocking again for Jimerson, too — she has a chance to boost the Bobcats into the tournament and extend what has already been a shortened season for her.

Now that she’s healthy, Jimerson doesn’t have to just think about it. She can do something about it.

“I just want to come back,” she said. “I have no doubt that we can still win this tournament.”

@ANTHONYP_2 AP012215@OHIO.EDU

FOOTBALL

Ohio controls its own destiny moving forward PETE NAKOS ASST. SPORTS EDITOR With about 10 minutes remaining in Ohio and Bowling Green’s game Saturday, an advertisement for the Mid American Conference Championship Game showed on the Peden Stadium videoboard.

It was a reminder of the goal Ohio has been searching for for 50 years. It’s been two years since the Ohio last played at Ford Field, when it fell to Western Michigan.

Against the Falcons on Saturday afternoon, the Bobcats played their most complete game of the season, easily winning 49-14 on Homecoming weekend. More importantly, it was a step back to normalcy and relevancy in the MAC Championship picture.

“I think, obviously, as coaches, this is the team that we wanted to have on the field,” coach Frank Solich said. “It’s not all their (players’) fault that there were a few games that slipped away from us. They’ve kept a great attitude. There has been great leadership on this football team, and despite the few tough moments we’ve been through, they marched on. That’s the sign of a really good football team.”

Quarterback Nathan Rourke didn’t have to play in the fourth quarter. Instead, he was able to hang out on the sidelines and see his teammates play. That’s something he was able to do a lot last season when the Bobcats routed countless opponents, when they were the favorite to win the MAC East.

Against Bowling Green, Ohio showed its strengths for the entirety. It ran all over the Falcons defense, finishing with 392 yards on the ground. Rourke threw for four touchdowns — a new career-high — and ran in one more.

Defensively the Bobcats allowed 14 points, a season-low.

Ohio forced a turnover and didn’t turn over the ball once, too — that’s a step in the right direction.

Most importantly, Ohio didn’t put itself in a position to either

Freshman Jake Neatherton stiff arms a defender during Ohio’s game against Bowling Green on Saturday.

(KELSEY BOEING / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

come back or hold off for the win.

There was no need to score a touchdown with a minute to go — like against Kent State — or hold off a Marcus Childers-led Northern Illinois offense.

It was normalcy.

“One of the biggest things about this game was obviously win, but also come out healthy,” Rourke said. “I think it was good to get other people in as well.”

The win was a step back to relevancy in the title chase, too. With the win, Ohio sits behind Buffalo and Miami, third in the MAC East with a 2-1 record.

For the Bobcats to make it back to Detroit, they’ll have to stay perfect the rest of the season. That includes winning the next three games, which they’ll have to play in a 13-day period: Thursday versus Ball State, then on the road for matchups with Western Michigan and Miami. All mid-week games.

Then they will have the chance to knock off Buffalo.

With a win against the Bulls and a win on Black Friday against Akron, Ohio would find itself at Ford Field on Nov. 30. Yet again, it will come down to the last two games of the season, eerily similar to last season when the Bobcats squandered their opportunity.

It’s a tall task for a team that’s struggled to get above the .500 mark. There’s no room for slow starts or struggles to close out games. It’s a broken record, but it’s the truth, and it all lies in the next month and a half.

The last five games of the season could give Ohio a chance to break its 50-year championship drought — or extend it to 51.

VIEWER GUIDE

How to watch: Ohio vs. Ball State can be watched on CBS Sports Network through select television providers. Ben Holden and Jay Feely will be on the call.

How to listen: The game can be heard on the Ohio IMG Sports Network with Russ Eisenstein and Rob Cornelius, which is available online through OhioBobcats.com and TuneIn.com/OhioBobcats.

@PETE_NAKOS96 PN997515@OHIO.EDU THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 19

Seeking Scares ILLUSTRATION BY RILEY SCOTT

GEORGIA DAVIS | BLOGS EDITOR

F

Filmmakers find ways to keep even the biggest horror movie fans on the edge

rom an early age, Bianca Malcolm grew accustomed to latenight binge-watching with her sister as Gilbert Gottfried introduced Up All Night movies on the USA Network. The television series was known for showing B movies, low-budget films that were often part of double features.

Some B movie staples are horror films, a genre Malcolm can’t get enough of.

Malcolm’s earliest memories of horror films formed around the age of 7 with the Nightmare on Elm Street films in particular.

The first one she remembers watching was the fourth installment, The Dream Master, which was released in 1988.

“I loved Freddy (Krueger) because he was such a unique villain. He would not only kill people, but he would taunt them,”

20 / OCT. 25, 2018

said Malcolm, a second year master of fine arts student studying film. “I remember being afraid to fall asleep because that’s how he got you.”

Despite the nightmarish tendencies of the horror genre, Malcolm loves the thrills and scares that come with watching the genre.

Horror films accounted for 9.46 percent of ticket sales in 2017 — the genre’s peak was from 1995 to 2018, according to The Numbers. That number increased by 5 percent from 2016.

Horror movies have been a staple in cinema showing that people love being scared. More specifically, people love seeing the fear of the unknown personified on the big screen. But seeing the films in the comfort of a theater or home allows for the rush of being scared, without the threat of actual danger.

SEEING FEARS Kimberly Rios, associate professor of psychology and director of experiential training at Ohio University, discussed the science and psychology of watching horror films at a screening of The Shining at The Athena Cinema, 20 S. Court St. Most of Rios’ work delves into how people respond to different threats and uncertainty — common themes in horror movies.

“Some of us, depending on certain personality traits and contextual factors, really find uncertainty to not be such a negative experience,” Rios said. “Some of us actually seek it out, then that absence of threat and that presence of uncertainty could be a large part of what motivates people to watch these things.”

The scariest movie Malcolm saw was the 1973 classic The Exorcist, which features a demon-possessed girl. The girl’s mother calls for the help of two priests to extract the demon from her daughter.

Malcolm watched the film for the first time as a sophomore in college. The movie had been out for quite some time, but it didn’t stop her from hiding under the blankets in her dorm room as the demon kills the priest as crosses on the walls turn upside down.

As for the realistic aspect of the horror genre, Rios said some research has concluded women are drawn to serial killer and crime dramas. The subgenre of horror films can potentially teach women defense techniques while can empathizing with the characters.

“Part of the differences in reactions might be that because the non-supernatural movies are potentially more realistic,” Rios said. “Depending on what they are of course, they could be something one could imagine happening to themself.

Sometimes that has the potential to be even scarier for people who actually put themselves in the mindset of the characters they’re watching.”

HORRIFYINGLY REALISTIC Thrillers are often categorized as horror films. In both genres, the protagonist — and most times the audience — doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, said Anil Srivastha, a second year master of fine arts student studying film.

“In horror, it’s much more immediate and physical, in terms of he literally cannot see what’s in the dark, which means he doesn’t know what’s coming,” Srivastha said.

Protagonists in thrillers are often intellectual detectives trying to solve a murder like in the movie Se7en starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, Srivastha said. The two characters set out to find a murderer

“

It’s something primal. I think we all like to be scared, and it’s great watching horror movies because on a subconscious level, or maybe on a conscious level, you know nothing that happens in the movie can happen to you.”

- Bianca Malcolm, second year master of fine arts student studying film who uses the seven deadly sins to kill his victims. When compared to a horror film like The Conjuring, it’s clear the characters in both films don’t know what’s going to happen next, he added.

“Thrillers are mostly grounded in reality,” Srivastha said. “The fantastical element is removed. It’s nonexistent. It’s more in terms of human behavior.”

For Srivastha, no thriller has ever scared him as much as horror films. The only time the experiences were at an equilibrium was during the movie Gone Girl.

The film highlights what can happen when a marriage falls apart because one person expects the other to be someone they’re not, Srivastha said.

“When you look at it, it’s pedestrian — it’s marriage,” Srivastha said. “But, that it’s taken to a higher level where this could happen if you don’t watch out, that’s really where these two met for me — these two horror and thriller. There’s not many thrillers I would relate to (with) that much fear.”

Srivastha’s friends try to tell him that a scary movie isn’t real and the events within its duration won’t happen, but he doesn’t see it that way.

“When I see a horror film, the very reason I get scared is that this cannot be a movie unless someone saw it or felt it in real life,” Srivastha said. “It need not literally be what’s in the movie, but they would have felt some element in their life that resembles that force.”

SCARING THE SEASONED It’s easy for any type of movie to fall into tropes, especially in the horror genre.

Filmmakers have to continue to put horror movie junkies on the edge of their seats.

Cinematography plays an important

role in horror films, but each shot the director of photography sets up is elevated with strategic lighting, said Keisha Martin, a first-year master’s of fine arts student studying film.

“Usually what makes the movie scary is what we can’t see,” Martin said. “It’s very important to highlight certain areas, like a protagonist’s face, but leave the space dark enough that you can see a hint of a creature or of someone lurking in the background.”

It’s in human nature to fear the dark because it symbolizes fear of the unknown, Martin said. An audience member’s imagination starts to take over when watching a film; it tries to figure out what’s lurking in the shadows of a well-constructed frame.

“If we were to shoot a horror film in just broad, natural daylight, I don’t think it would set the same atmosphere and mood because everyone would be like, ‘There’s a guy in the bushes. Why doesn’t she see that?’ ” Martin said.

With lighting, the director’s vision comes to life. From the beginning, the director will establish whether he or she wants the viewers to know what the imminent threat is. If a director wants to focus on the character’s uncertainty, he or she might want to light the protagonist's face so the audience can feel what the character is feeling.

Jordan Peele’s Get Out used close-up shots of Daniel Kaluuya focusing on his eyes, allowing for an intimate experience.

“The closer you get and the more you show intimately with the light, the more connection the audience feels,” Martin said. “If we were to show a wide shot where we can see everything, we don’t feel the fear. You’re not in the character's mindset.”

Horror films of the ’70s and ’80s had memorable villains. Those of the late ’90s focused on building different tropes, and now the genre has moved toward concept-driven plots.

“What keeps horror movies fresh nowadays (is) we’re trying to move toward the Get Out and socially conscious horror films,” Malcolm said. “Though, I see those more as thrillers than horror films.”

Putting the audience in the horror film mindset allows for a form of escapism. It’s a simulated adrenaline rush with no actual threat. But the need for thrills and scares is part of human instinct, Malcolm said.

“It’s something primal,” she said. “I think we all like to be scared, and it’s great watching horror movies because on a subconscious level, or maybe on a conscious level, you know nothing that happens in the movie can happen to you.”

Highest-grossing horror films (1995-2018) in millions I am Legend (2007): $331.5 It (2017): $327.5 Hannibal (2001): $261.6 The Blair Witch Project (1999): $248.1 Scream (1996): $204.3 The Ring (2002): $199.2 Scream 2 (1997): $197.4 A Quiet Place (2018): $188.0 Sleepy Hollow (1999): $177.6 Get Out (2017): $176.0 *adjusted for inflation

THEPOSTATHENS.COM / 21

the weekender Court Street bars prepare for the annual block party ALEXIS EICHELBERGER CULTURE EDITOR

IF YOU GO

JESS UMBARGER ASST. CULTURE EDITOR

WHAT: Athens Halloween Block Party

Preparations are underway for the thousands of costumed visitors who will fill Court Street on Saturday night for the annual Athens Halloween Block Party.

Although it seems Athens Halloween crowds have been getting smaller in recent years and the block party having one less entertainment stage on the lineup, special preparations still must be made by local businesses for what is known as one of the biggest block parties in the nation.

That includes some of the several bars that line Court Street and their employees, who are preparing their inventories and environments for the unusual influx of customers who will visit the establishments seeking spooky drinks and fun throughout the evening.

Tanner Stottsberry, a senior studying marketing, has worked at The J Bar, 41 N. Court St., as a bartender for less than a year, making this his first time working Halloween. Despite not having experienced it before, he feels prepared.

Because Homecoming, Halloween and Dads Weekend all fall on subsequent weekends this year, Stottsberry said the J Bar has been especially concerned with crowd control. However, he’s still looking forward to seeing the creative costumes people will wear Saturday and helping party-goers have an enjoyable Halloween. “(We) keep the crowd under control since a lot of people come down that don’t go here, so they don’t know how to respect the environment,” he said. “But (we’ll) still show people a good time.”

Rachel Recchia, a senior studying aviation, isn’t as worried about the larger-than-usual crowds. She’s worked as a bartender at

WHEN: 6 p.m., Saturday

22 / OCT. 25, 2018

WHERE: Court Street ADMISSION: Free

“

(We) keep the crowd under control since a lot of people come down that don’t go here, so they don’t know how to respect the environment.

But (we’ll) still show people a good time.”

- Tanner Stottsberry, a senior studying marketing Courtside Pizza, 85 N. Court St., for two years and said the bar typically prepares for the Halloween crowd by ordering more liquor and having a few extra people on staff.

“I think it’ll be fine, she said. “It’ll just be another night.”

Sophie Miller and Madison Simon, who are both servers at The Pigskin Bar and Grille, 38 N. Court Street, said they don’t do many special preparations for Halloween.

Small changes, such as having a smaller menu and setting up more tables to accommodate the crowds, are made to the bar.

“The bar knows to be ready,” Simon, a senior studying psychology, said.

Lines to get into The Crystal and The CI nearly spill onto Court Street during the Athens Halloween Block Party on Oct. 28, 2017. (BLAKE NISSEN / FILE)

An extra emphasis is also made on security. Simon said that once, she saw a woman dressed as a character from Avatar be turned away by a security guard because her elaborate makeup seemed to obscure her identity.

As waitresses, Miller and Simon said their Halloween evenings aren’t typically too outrageous because their shifts end at 9 p.m. before the block party crowd reaches its peak numbers.

“Usually serving is not that crazy in here,” Simon said. “It’s not busy really for us.”

Joe Lujan, a senior studying civil engineering, visited a few bars during the Halloween Block Party last year.

“It was insane,” he said. “It was a different atmosphere.”

Unlike what some bar employees may

think, Lujan said Halloween feels like the craziest weekend of the year to visit the Uptown bars. This year, he and his roommates plan to dress up as characters from the TV show King of the Hill and visit one of their favorite bars, Lucky’s Sports Tavern, 11 N. Court St., or Stephen’s on Court, 66 N. Court St. “Athens itself is a small community, but then when you get people from out of town it’s insane,” he said. “Normally you see familiar faces, but whenever you’re at the bar on Halloween, it’s something else.”

@ADEICHELBERGER AE595714@OHIO.EDU @ JESS_UMBARGER JU992415@OHIO.EDU

WHAT’S GOING ON? MORRIS WEIN FOR THE POST

FRIDAY DJ Barticus Y2K Millennium Dance Party at 9 p.m. at The Union Bar and

Grill, 18 W. Union St. DJ Barticus is at it again, ladies and gentlemen. If you’re a millennial and you’re looking for something to hype you up before the block party this weekend, this event is for you. Rock out with your socks out to some classic early 2000s jams. Costumes are encouraged. Admission: $5 A Nightmare on State Street at 10

p.m. at Casa Nueva Restaurant and Cantina, 6 W. State St. Solve the equation: dadARM + Largemouth Brass Band – Freddy Krueger trying to kill you in your sleep = A Nightmare on State Street. Come to Casa and listen to the sweet sounds of dadARM and the Largemouth Brass Band to get hyped for the block party Saturday.

SATURDAY Athens Halloween Block Party at 6

p.m. on Court Street. Beginning with the Honey for the Heart Halloween parade at 6 p.m., thousands of costumed people will gather from all around Ohio for Athens’ annual Halloween Block Party on Court Street. Arguably the only event that even matters this weekend, it’ll be hard to miss. Just remember: spook responsibly.

Admission: Free

NOW RENTING 2019 -2020!

Honey for the Heart Ball at 7 p.m.

at Central Venue, 29 E. Carpenter St. Crazy Halloween block parties not your thing? Go to the Honey for the Heart Ball at the Central Venue instead. With music provided by Athens’ own The Wild Honeybees, the folks over at Central Venue are offering an equally fun, but less hectic, experience for the people of Athens this Halloween. Admission: Free Tangled Roots/Prontoh at 9 p.m at

Casa Nueva Restaurant and Cantina. Tangled Roots and Prontoh return to Casa to jam out during this year’s Halloween Block Party. These two bands’ funky tunes are sure to make for great show and a nice little escape from the insanity that is sure to be ensuing outside.

SUNDAY Kids Halloween Party at 2 p.m.

at Little Fish Brewing Company, 8675 Armitage Road. Parents had their fun when they hired a babysitter and cut loose at the block party Saturday. Now it’s time to get back to the real world and let the kids have fun, and this Halloween party at Little Fish with music from OYO is the perfect event to keep those sticky-fingered little monsters satisfied.

Admission: Free Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at 5:30 p.m.

at the Southeast Ohio History Center, 24 W. State St. Come see professional organist Dennis James perform the score of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde over the 1920 silent film.

The event will also include a social hour and a silent auction before the show. Admission: $50 for members; $60 for non-members @MORRIS_WEIN MW774315@OHIO.EDU

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2017

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017

Virtual healing

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

The MAC’s rising star

DEFENDER THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

OF THE TURF

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Claire Buckey claims her territory on Pruitt Field despite recurring health problems P12

Free speech policy causes concerns P11 Cover: Medical field utilizes VR P12 Embracing local agriculture P20

ANOTHER REMEDY

President

Duane Nellis

+

Breaking down OU’s budget P12

MORE AND MORE WOMEN ARE CHOOSING TO TREAT MEDICAL CONDITIONS WITH ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE INSTEAD OF DOCTORS VISITS PAGES 20-21

After a nearly yearlong nationwide search, Duane Nellis took office as Ohio University’s 21st president on June 12.

Now, Nellis reflects on his past and shares hopes for the future.

Safety Javon Hagan’s new role P16 Exploring the world of animation P20

Comparing expression policies P9

A sit-down with the president P12

Nellis in college P10

Sustainable volunteering P20

Hockey’s second-year starter P14

Effects of marijuana depenalization 9

OU Southern’s equine program 12

Volleyball setter’s move from Italy 18

Nellis’ previous employment P20

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2017 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

GRASS-ROOTS

ELECTIONS

L I F E S T Y L E Mamerto Tindongan finds life more valuable with less P20

DECK CAN GO HERE FOR A HALLOWEEN-RELATED STORY YAY BOO MWAHAHAHAHAH

Evaluating Trump’s presidency P8 TACO exceeds majority vote P15

PAGES 16-21

[

DECISIONS FOR ATHENS Hispanic students balance college P20

Pumpkin’s rise to Athens celebrity P12 Setting up haunted houses P16

Looking for an enriching college experience centered around teamwork and creativity?

Quilt empowers sexual assault survivors P19

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

Foundation of The Post hasThe been serving Ohio University OHIO HOCKEY and the Athens area for more than 100 years, and we’re always hiring.

Baker 70: one year later

How Bill Gurnick put the Bobcats on the map P20

P12

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Faculty diversity rises slowly P8 Photo story: MLK March P12

w

Closing the gender gap in STEM 11

COVER: Ohio’s next big investment 12

NEWS SPORTS CULTURE OPINION BLOGS MULTIMEDIA VISUALS PROJECTS Basketball’s star center P18

Dave Jamerson’s journey to God 20

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

Healing the scars

P 11

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T H W B H E Post-grad possibilities P10

CONTACT EDITOR@THEPOSTATHENS.COM

E Y I L L E A R D

A love for cult classics P20

Sibs Weekend events P22

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

Pipe bursts in residence hall P8

It’s Women’s History Month. ‘The Post’ compiled a collection of stories to celebrate women in Athens and Ohio University.

Cultural problems with ‘Friends’ P19

Hockey works on power plays P21 Businesses in action P10

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

UNEARTHING A SECRET

She walks

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

by faith P12

The story behind a patch of farmland, a man and his reputation P12

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018 THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

FOOD ISSUE

UNCERTAIN FREEDOMS P14

ATHENS CULTIVATES RESTAURANTS AND DISHES THAT STUDENTS AND LOCALS HAVE COME TO KNOW AND LOVE. THIS ISSUE IS DEDICATED TO THOSE FAMILIAR FLAVORS.

The turnover rate of businesses P9

One team, one video game P19

Caligraphy in the digital age P20

Brunch life in Athens P6 Carriage Hill one year later P9

Donkey’s most regular regular P19

From junior college to Ohio P20

Athletes’ diets in season P17

Cover story: family kitchens P18 Updates on Union explosion P9

Land of opportunity P12

A dazzling history P20

THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018

Fridging in comic book culture P18

REFLECTING ON THE YEAR Take a look at the different faces, places and events that highlighted the 2017-18 academic year through the lens of ‘Post’ photographers