ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 151 No. 5
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2022
LUKE MACY
"Faculty morale has never been lower"
"...he wants POWER..." "...generated a culture of fear..." "The
entire office needs to be replaced."
"...leadership has been gaslighting us for 2 years." "He has hired a
number of people, and all are strong leaders..." "...just as tone-deaf and profit-driven as all other universities." "The worst provost we have ever had (and we certainly have had many bad ones)."
"...junior and female colleagues have
felt that their interaction is a 'power/bullying' space..."
"He is a liar, manipulator, and a fool. He needs to be fired." "...fair and consistent in decision making." "Does not play well with others." "... useless lump..."
" ...living in a completely different world..." GRAPHIC BY MACEY CHAMBERLIN
In this issue
META HOGE
ENTERTAINMENT The only thing ‘Carmilla’ film adaptations have in common with the titular character: They suck - page 8
FOOD A non-coffee drinker’s guide to cafes in Oxford - page 9
Miami University students, alumni and Oxford residents gathered Uptown on Saturday for the city’s first Oktoberfest, dubbed Oxtoberfest. Booths for local retailers and artisans lined High Street, and food trucks and stands were set up on Park Place. Right next to Oxford Memorial Park were activities for kids, including inflatables, pumpkin painting and train rides provided by Schwab Family Farm Market. The Klaberheads, Ohio’s premiere Oktoberfest band, also performed live music in the park. The band played everything from polka to Big Band (jazz and dance music played by a big group) songs to rock music. Oxtoberfest, “a fall festival, Oxford-style,” was put together by the
City of Oxford, Enjoy Oxford and the Oxford Chamber of Commerce. The event brought in the Oktoberfest theme through stands with German, craft and domestic beers and the Burgermeister’s Beer Garden, sponsored by Steinkeller. The garden had select beer tastings and flights. People dressed up in lederhosen and dirndls. Sarah Osinkosky, a Miami alumna, dressed up with her family, including her dad, Mayor Bill Snavely. Osinkosky, who lives in Middletown, said she came to the event for her dad and in memory of Todd Hollenbaugh, who passed away last year and was a previous owner of Mac and Joe’s and Steinkeller. “[He] was one of my dad’s best friends,” Oskinkosky said. “My dad CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
Miami Theater’s 'These Shining Lives' truly shone
SPORTS RedHawk roundup: hockey impresses against ranked opponent, field hockey’s tough weekend and more - page 10
"THESE SHINING LIVES" HIGHLIGHTS CATHERINE AND TOM'S RELATIONSHIP AS HER HEALTH DETERIORATES AFTER WORKING FOR RADIUM DIAL. PHOTO BY GION DEFRANCESCO
EVAN STEFANIK
- page 16
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
THE KLABERHEADS, OHIO'S PREMIER OKTOBERFEST BAND, PROVIDED LIVE MUSIC IN OXFORD MEMORIAL PARK. PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCH
Mac Hippenhammer is making the most of his final season at Miami THE MIAMI STUDENT
PHOTO Fall break in the mountains
On March 17, almost a thousand faculty members were invited to take an anonymous survey to assess then-Provost Jason Osborne’s threeyear tenure at Miami University. Over the course of two weeks, more than 37% of eligible faculty members left comments on the survey. The 352 respondents left more than 1,400 comments. Five faculty members were chosen to be part of the committee, called the All-University Faculty Committee for the Evaluation of Administrators, which reviews the results. It was tasked with writing Osborne’s three-year evaluation report based on the survey results. After presenting its findings with the university’s president, the committee would then share the report with the rest of the Miami community. But the report was never published. Instead, Osborne resigned just four days before it would have been finalized. After months of investigation, The Miami Student has obtained the survey results and a rough draft of the committee’s report through multiple public records requests. The Student has created a timeline of events leading to Osborne announcing his resignation on April 11 and the termination of the final report ahead of its April 15 deadline. In the time since, Osborne has accepted a position as special assistant to the president, even as the university spent $24,000 on an external investigation into his conduct. In an email to The Student, Jessica Rivinius, interim vice president for communications, wrote that Osborne would be unable to answer questions related to the story. “Jason Osborne is unavailable to respond at this time,” Rivinius wrote. “He is on intermittent FMLA leave, caring for a terminally ill family member.”
THE FIRST OXTOBERFEST WAS HELD DURING MIAMI UNIVERSITY'S HOMECOMING WEEKEND. PHOTO BY GRACE AXLUND
LINDSAY STEVENSON
HUMOR The Silly, The Goofy, The Quirky Jaywalking Lads. - page 13
SEAN SCOTT
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR
Oxford hosts its firstever Oktoberfest SENIOR STAFF WRITER
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY School district levy creates controversy in the community - page 6
ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR
THE MIAMI STUDENT Time just ran out to see Miami University Theater’s production of “These Shining Lives,” but its message still lingers. The historical play centers around four women in the 1930s who got radium poisoning from their factory job painting watches. Meanwhile, their doctor and boss ignore their complaints. The women then fight for justice against the doctor and boss for enabling their sickness. Their power in solidarity reflects today’s urge to hold higher-ups accountable for their errors.
Visiting director Torie Wiggins allotted the students time to learn the history. “They were always so willing to be stretched,” Wiggins said. “What really resonated with them was the message of women's rights.” The actors handled the serious scenes, which spanned from the courtroom to the dining room, unflinchingly. They easily adapted to the setting, despite its old language. The play’s lighting went from a standard antique yellow to deep blues to ultraviolet darkness, when the radium glowed inside the women for the first time. Massive dirty window CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
“When you understand the game you don't really panic,” he said. “I've obviously been around this for a while, especially playing at Penn State in front of like 100,000 people in these games. I'm kind of used to these environments.” Hippenhammer added that playing in front of large away crowds was actually one his favorite experiences. “When you know what you're doing, you take it all in,” he said. “Making a big play, especially at an away game, and hearing everybody go silent and celebrating with your teammates is a surreal feeling.” When Hippenhammer decided to transfer for his fourth and fifth year,
It’s second and goal. The first half is going to end in less than a minute. Miami University’s defense has been good today; it held Northwestern University to just seven points in the first half. But the offense hasn’t been able to strike. The RedHawks’ line up on the 12-yard-line across from the Northwestern Wildcats, down seven in front of a hostile crowd of over 23,000 people. The ball is snapped, a play is made, and the quarterback finds standout wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer in the end zone, tying the game and silencing the crowd. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 For some of the RedHawks, who typically see home crowds of only a few thousand people, the immense audience might be overwhelming, but not for Hippenhammer. Unlike his teammates, he spent the first three years of his college football career at Penn State, which he says prepared him for high pressure situations like HIPPENHAMMER ENJOYS CROWDS AT AWAY GAMES FOR these. THE ROAR OF THE CROWD PHOTO BY JESSICA MONAHAN