ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 170 No. 1
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
BACK TO SCHOOL EDITION
In this issue
5 Miami home games to watch this fall semester KETHAN BABU SPORTS EDITOR
JEFFREY MIDDLETON ASST. SPORTS EDITOR GREENHAWKS
It’s all downhill from here: Best natural areas to explore around campus - page 14
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
Miami uses Hawks Landing as additional university housing - page 4
As the fall semester begins, the Miami University football, volleyball, field hockey and soccer teams open their 2025 seasons looking to capture a Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship. In October, the hockey and men’s and women’s basketball teams will look to succeed in their non-conference slates before beginning MAC and National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) play in December. Incoming and returning students have many chances to support the Miami sports teams this fall semester. Here are five must-watch home games for the RedHawks. Volleyball vs. Ohio State University (Sept. 3) Dan Gwitt enters his second season as the RedHawks’ head volleyball coach. Early in the season, Miami will face the Ohio State University
PARKER GREEN
COLUMN
Uptown bar in Oxford closes after 6 years, replaced with new bar - page 10
SPORTS
Cradle of contenders: The RedHawk football team begins their assent to Detroit - page 8
matchups against Big Ten opponents. Following their game against Rutgers University, the RedHawks return to Oxford for the 2025 home opener against the University of Las Vegas Rebels, the first time the two will face. The RedHawks are looking to replicate their 2024 success that brought them to their second-straight appearance in the MAC championship as well as a win at the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl. Dequan Finn, Miami’s new quarterback after Brett Gabbert graduated in May, will have his first chance to show the crowd at Yager Stadium what he can do. Finn joins the roster alongside several wide receivers from the transfer portal, including Deion Colze from Notre Dame University and Keith Reynolds from the University of Washington.
As a tour guide, I get asked about Miami University’s on-campus food selection about 2,384,756 times a shift. While I typically give the general answer (“It’s not Michelin Star dining, but it’s not bad as far as college food goes”), I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a clear ranking system in my head. For the sake of fairness, I will be ranking places that only use meal swipes, since it’s not really fair to put Panera up against Western Dining Commons (we all know who’s winning). Additionally, new locations added after the ’24 - ’25 school year will not be ranked since I haven’t tried them yet. So without further ado, here’s all of Miami's dining locations, ranked best to worst. #1: Bell Tower Bell Tower is the place to be if you have meal swipes burning a hole in
your pocket. The food is consistently better than every other dining hall and well portioned, and the building is centrally located on campus. While I’m partial to Southwest Express (especially the burrito bowl – I dream of those), you really can’t go wrong with any of the options. Plus, there’s always something for everyone there, since the menu is consistent. My only complaint is the lack of dessert; as a sweet treat fiend, I really wish one of the ghost kitchens offered something to satisfy my sugar addiction. #2: McCracken Grill/Scoreboard Market Placed together because they’re functionally the same, these locations offer made-to-order sandwiches, salads and chicken fingers. They also both offer breakfast, which includes shockingly delicious bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. However, the meal-swipe menu isn’t huge, and there aren't places to sit within the locations themselves, which can make dining here a little boring and occasionally precarious. Still, when you’re craving a burger,
TAYLOR STUMBAUGH SENIOR CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR
there’s only one place to get it … or two. #3: Garden Dining Commons Garden is hands down the best dining hall, and no, I won’t take any criticism on it. Not only is it clean and well-lit, but the menu is always more well-rounded and better rotated than at any other buffet-style location. Plus, this is the only dining hall with a buildyour-own stir-fry, which is actually pretty fantastic. My roommates and I lived on Western Campus last semester, and we would routinely forgo closer dining halls in favor of Garden. #4: Western Dining Commons To quote “Dance Moms:” “You didn’t stick out to me.” Western is a beautiful dining hall with the best playlist, but the food is either decently good or shockingly bad. While convenient for Western Campus students, it seems like convenience is the main reason anyone actually likes it.
Back-to-school season is one of the most fun times of the year. From the fresh faces on campus to the leaves changing, there is no better time to explore Miami University and the surrounding Oxford community. Both the university and Oxford put on fun events to help students get acclimated on campus. Here are a few to get you started this year: Saturday, Aug. 23 Visit the Oxford Farmers Market for fresh seasonal produce, local artisans, baked goods and more. The market is located in the parking lot north of Memorial Park at the corner of Main and Church Streets and takes place every Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon. Map My Classes, put on by the University Libraries from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., gives students the chance to familiarize themselves with the campus map, locate classes, plan routes to get to class on time and make sure they’re in the right place on Monday morning. Additionally, they offer tours of the library and its resources. Oxford Community Yoga puts on outdoor classes every Saturday through October from 9-10 a.m. in Uptown Park. These are free to attend, and no experience level is needed to participate. Sunday, Aug. 24 First-years are invited to experience the Love and Honor Convocation from 3:30-4:30 p.m., where they will celebrate the academic year, get their class T-shirt and learn the Miami fight song. Monday, Aug. 25 If skating is your thing, you’re in luck. Goggin Ice Center will be hosting a free “Welcome MU” students skate from 9-11 p.m.
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Ranking Miami’s meal swipe options, so you don’t starve this semester ASSISTANT CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR
CULTURE
Buckeyes at Millett Hall for a midweek matchup. The RedHawks open the season with an exhibition game against Cleveland State University on Aug. 23 before heading to Louisville, Kentucky, for the Bellarmine Classic from Aug. 29-30. The match against Ohio State on Sept. 3 will also serve as the home opener for the season. The meeting between the two Ohio schools will be the first since 2019, when the Buckeyes took two early sets to finish with a 3-1 win over the RedHawks. Miami is 4-12 against Ohio State overall. With one year at Miami under his belt and six new players on the roster, Gwitt and the RedHawks have an opportunity to snap a seven-game losing streak against Ohio State, as well as set the trajectory for the rest of the season going into conference play at the end of September. Football vs. University of Las Vegas (Sept. 20) The Miami football team kicks off the 2025 season with two road
How to kick off the 2025-2026 school year