ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 170 No. 13
Miami University — Oxford, Ohio
FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2026
MUF&D celebrates 20 years with The bond behind Blake annual fashion show ‘Allure’ Mesenburg’s Teammate of the Year finalist selection GRAHAM YOUNG SPORTS EDITOR
MUF&D DESIGNER SEWS TOGETHER A PIECE OF HER DESIGN IN THE FASHION STUDIO IN BOYD HALL. PHOTO BY EMILY CLARK
AYLA PEDEN
ASST. CULTURE EDITOR For years, the fashion world has captivated thousands of people — Miami is no exception. Over the past 20 years, Miami University Fashion and Design (MUF&D) has hosted its annual fashion show, showcasing the designs of fashion and non-fashion majors alike. With over 900 members, MUF&D is Miami’s largest student-run organization. This year’s show, “Allure,” will take audiences on a journey, exploring the mystique and intrigue of fashion. The show is brought together by 22 designers and 87 models, as well as dozens of executive and general
In this issue
members. MUF&D anticipates an audience of over 2,000 people, making this the largest in the organization’s history and one of the biggest student-run shows in the nation, according to a press release from MUF&D. At the show, audience members will see shimmer, elegance and grandeur. What isn’t shown is the hundreds of hours of work that go into planning every minute detail. Sara Rose Detwiler and Audrey Fitzgerald, the president and vice president of MUF&D, began planning “Allure” after last year’s show, “Mosaic,” was completed. “Right away [Audrey and I] met, and we decided what we wanted the show’s theme to be,” said Detwiler,
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THE MIAMI STUDENT
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sense of nostalgia that Detwiler wanted to highlight in this year’s show, as well as the artistry that goes into making the event possible. “We have all these very fun and mysterious, sexy things,” Detwiler said, “but there’s also such a humility and craftsmanship and hard work that goes on behind the scenes … you’re seeing all the shiny lights and the spectacle and the silhouettes on stage, and then we’re also taking you behind the curtain.” Audiences only see a small fraction of the work that goes into creating what is eventually a whole, unique project — the same goes for every live performance. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
In the early hours of March 26, Tom Heal woke up for a brisk, threemile run to start his day. He ate a simple lunch of rice before heading to the Raleigh Relays meet to represent the Miami University RedHawks. Heal competes in the 3000 meter steeplechase, an obstacle race featuring barriers and water jumps. Going into the event, he didn’t expect anything particularly phenomenal to happen. His preparation before and performance during the race felt like another day for the senior from the United Kingdom. When he crossed the finish line in Raleigh, North Carolina, Heal set a personal record with a time of 8 minutes, 50.32 seconds, ranking third in program history. One year prior, he had positioned himself at seventh all-
time in the same event during his first year as a RedHawk. Heal started his career at Queens University in North Carolina after crossing the Atlantic Ocean from his home country. He grew up in a running family, competing in 5 kilometer races before a coach at his local athletic club introduced him to the steeplechase. When he decided to transfer out of Queens, Heal began talking with De’Sean Turner, Miami’s head cross country and associate head track and field coach. Turner felt that Heal would fit well both athletically and academically at Miami, but the coaching staff at the time was on an interim basis. Heal took a gamble and committed to Miami, a decision that Turner said has boosted the program’s strength and lifted up the rest of the team. “One of the best things about Tom is you never doubt his ability to work hard,” Turner said. “You never doubt
that he is willing to put in the work to get better, which he’s done consistently since he got here … He’s actually somebody who I would really like others on the team and recruits that are considering Miami to take a look at.” Heal’s determination was on full display at the Jesse Owens Track Classic last season in Columbus, Ohio. The day of the 3000 meter steeplechase event was littered with rainstorms and no indication of the weather improving. Turner nearly pulled his athletes from their events, but Heal convinced him to let the team compete. Heal made it worthwhile; he finished in first place with a time of 8:54.77, seventh-best in program history. “Everyone else in that race is running in the rain,” Heal said. “It’s not like a special condition for you, somebody’s got a cloud over your head … I was kind of shocked about 8:54. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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CULTURE
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“How many of you were born before 9/11?” his professor asked. Reluctantly, Jackson Miller raised his hand, one of two raised in the entire class. Miller is a 26-year-old student veteran at Miami University. He’s a sophomore studying organizational leadership. Miller joined the U.S. Army in 2019, after about two years contesting a Marines disqualification over a minor eye condition. He served as a sergeant in field artillery at Fort Riley in Northwest Kansas, in Death Valley, California and overseas in Poland, Germany and Belarus. “I'm going to do it,” Miller said when recalling his path to enlistment. “I don’t care what it takes.”
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ARMY ROTC SOPHOMORE CLASS. PICTURING MARY CATHERINE KELLY (FOURTH FROM LEFT) AND JACKSON MILLER (FIFTH FROM LEFT). PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARY CATHERINE KELLY.
When Miller returned home to Oxford, Ohio, in 2023, after a little more than four years of service, it
MOLLY FAHY
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
took him about six months to a year to adjust to civilian life.
From service to campus: Student veterans and military members at Miami ZOEE ROBINSON
The last six Miami football players drafted to the NFL
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Theater professor Ann Elizabeth Armstrong was cleaning her office in the Center for Performing Arts building when she found her old lesson plans. They were tucked beneath a stack of books, piled 10 high among her other papers and notebooks. They were for a field trip from four years ago, a visit to the Cincinnati Theater. Armstrong used to enjoy planning trips and giving her students a hands-on learning experience. She doesn’t have time to do that anymore. “If I’m teaching an extra class, I can’t take one of my classes on a field trip,” Armstrong said. “That takes away from my other classes, and then everything’s out of balance, but those are the kinds of things that people remember.” In December 2024, Miami University announced its new professor course load policy. The number of classes professors would be required to teach now runs on a new merit-based approach that considers factors such as the amount of research published or their level of undergraduate teaching. Interim Provost Chris Makaroff said a professor workload policy is not new at Miami.
THE MIAMI STUDENT
SPORTS
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‘It’s going Tom Heal leads by example as RedHawks see steeplechase success to have EDITOR-AT-LARGE
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
a senior strategic communications major. “So that was in May of 2025, [we knew] what the show was going to be.” The duo came up with the theme “Allure” to represent the appeal and mystique of MUF&D and the fashion world in general. Detwiler said that much of what draws students in is the mystery and excitement of the whole process — it’s alluring. Additionally, Detwiler said that she and Fitzgerald, a senior emerging technology and fashion student, wanted to pay homage to the runways and fashion shows that defined the 2010s, as well as her childhood. Images such as Victoria’s Secret Angels, catwalks and shining lights created a
Every Monday night from September to March, the Cincinnati Icebreakers, a nonprofit sled hockey organization, hosts practices for individuals living with physical impairments that prevent them from ice skating. Miami University senior forward Blake Mesenburg and five teammates saw this as an opportunity to surprise one of the Miami hockey team’s biggest fans. They drove 45 minutes down to the Queen City Sportsplex in Cincinnati. As they entered the lobby, Mesenburg peered through the rink glass and spotted him. Sixteen-year-old Liam Jergenson looked up from his sled with a bright smile on his face. For the next 90 minutes, Mesenburg and the team sat in chairs with blades on the bottom, extended their legs and held two sharp-edged sticks for pushing off. Even though Mesenburg had been on the ice his whole life, he struggled to get the hang of the sled and felt out of place. Luckily for him, Jergenson cared more about the team being there than him sitting in sled hockey practice. “It’s funny, we’d do drills and I’d be trying to pay attention as he’s talking to me, trying to figure out what we’re going to do,” Mesenburg said. “He could talk all night. He’s that type of kid.”