ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
9olume 164 No. 10
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
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‘I like to live without the label’: Miami community reacts to new DEI developments
New course load requirements for professors raise concerns among faculty SHANNON MAHONEY ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR Miami University released new course load requirements to its SURIHVVRUV RQ 'HF 7KH UHquirements are calculated based on the workload equivalent (WLE) system used previously. However, the revised requirements, which would JR LQWR H̆HFW IDOO RI ZRXOG increase the number of courses for most professors. Quality vs. quantity
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SOLOMON BOWSER THE MIAMI STUDENT Within the last two weeks of JanuDU\ 3UHVLGHQW 'RQDOG 7UXPS VLJQHG three executive orders mandating the elimination of diversity, equity and LQFOXVLRQ SURJUDPV '(, WKURXJKout the federal government and armed forces. The second order states that the Attorney General and the Secretary of (GXFDWLRQ ZLOO R̆HU JXLGDQFH WR LQVWLtutions of higher education regarding measures to comply with Students
In this issue
for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. On Feb, 11, Ohio Senate Bill 1 passed in the Senate and is on its way WR *RYHUQRU 0LNH 'H:LQH¶V GHVN S.B. 1 would ban diversity and inFOXVLRQ H̆RUWV SUHYHQW IDFXOW\ IURP striking, set rules around politically-controversial classroom discussions and put diversity scholarships at risk, among other things, according to Ohio Capital Journal. Pepper Stetler, a professor of history of art and architecture at Miami University, wrote a testimony as a
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federal requirements and is not intending to comment at this time,” wrote Seth Bauguess, senior director of communications at Miami, to The Miami Student. Between both sides of these decisions, there’s a battle of interpretations taking place, including one that UHTXLUHV XV WR UHLWHUDWH ROG GH¿QLtions, reinterpret our own meanings DQG UHGLVFXVV WKH YDOXH RI '(, )RU VRPH SHRSOH DW 0LDPL '(, LV GH¿QHG E\ WKHLU H[SHULHQFHV CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Miami students react to Trump’s LGBTQ+ related executive orders and policies
ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY AND ASST. CULTURE EDITOR GREENHAWKS
private citizen to the Senate Higher Education Committee in opposition to S.B.1. “S.B.1 is the epitome of big government overreach,” Stetler wrote. “This bill would impose unprecedented levels of political interference and unnecessary micromanagement on Ohio's colleges and universities. They would severely undermine the integrity of our higher education system.” More than 800 people submitted a testimony. “Miami University is monitoring proposed state legislation and new
,Q KLV ¿UVW PRQWK DV SUHVLGHQW 'RQDOG 7UXPS LPSOHPHQWHG VLJQLIicant changes in the United States. 7KH GD\ KH WRRN ṘFH WR EHJLQ KLV second term, he signed a record number of 26 executive orders. Trump was quick to implement the changes he campaigned on. He signed orders to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America (in which he was successful) and ban birthright citizenship, as well as many orders directly impacting the LGBTQ+ community. Many of these actions are alUHDG\ WDNLQJ H̆HFW 7KH 'HSDUWPHQW of State’s website now refers only to LGB individuals instead of LGBTQ+, and individuals using the X gender marker on their passports are currently unable to renew them, with only male and female being recognized.
This comes after an executive orGHU FDOOHG ³'HIHQGLQJ :RPHQ IURP Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which states: “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” Gwendolyn Rhorer, a junior individualized studies major with a focus on sexuality education and women, gender and sexuality studies, said while she hasn’t seen any major Trump-related changes implemented at Miami University yet, she thinks his election has made people feel more bold. “People think that the president has a lot more individual power than he actually does,” Rhorer said. “Being gay and trans is objectively more accepted than it was. Even within the last 10 years, we’ve come so far. People understand that sexuality and gender is a spectrum and that it’s not
GH¿QHG E\ OLWWOH OHWWHUV RQ RXU ,'V ,W¶V QRW GH¿QHG E\ OLWWOH OHWWHUV RQ RXU ELUWK FHUWL¿FDWHV ´ $V VRPHRQH ZKR LGHQWL¿HV DV ELsexual, Rhorer said she doesn’t fear for her own safety as much as she does for the safety of others, including those who identify as transgender. She emphasized how important she thinks it is to provide health and mental resources for the LGBTQ+ community, especially due to the suicide rate of transgender people. According to The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ organization, suicide attempt rates for transgender and non-binary identifying children had increased by nearly 72% due to anti-transgender laws. Spencer Mandzak, a senior public administration major and state chairman for the Ohio College Republican Federation, said Trump’s post-inauguration actions shouldn’t come as a surprise, because these policies were a huge part of his campaign.
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The Miami University men’s basketball team has rolled to a 19-5 start during its 2024-25 season, the RedHawks' best record since the 1998-99 season. 7KH VHDVRQ NLFNHG R̆ RQ WKH URDG against Appalachian State University with a 77-63 win. Junior Bellarmine transfer Peter Suder and redshirt sophomore wing Kam Craft led the team in points that night, totaling almost half of the team’s points. The RedHawks lost to the Wright State University Raiders and the University of Michigan Wolverines but managed a win against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore sandwiched between the two. Miami then traveled to the Fort Myers Classic, where it brought home the championship win. Suder was named the Fort MyHUV 7LS 2̆ 3DOPV 'LYLVLRQ 093 LQ KLV ¿UVW WRXUQDPHQW ZLWK WKH 5HG-
Hawks along with Miami Athlete of the Week after leading the team to a 2-0 tournament win. He averaged 17 points per game and shot 9-for-9 from the foul line. “Anytime you can win a championship, I think that goes a long way,” head coach Travis Steele said. “Our goal is to win the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship, but sometimes you have to take those smaller victories, so winning that was KXJH DQG D ELJ FRQ¿GHQFH EXLOGHU ´ 7KH 5HG DQG :KLWH¶V ¿UVW )RUW Myers Classic win against Siena College, 70-58, was Steele’s 100th career win. Steele started with the RedHawks in 2022. Later in the season, Miami faced multiple non-conference competitors. It secured big wins against Air Force and Sacred Heart University, but it fell short of Indiana University DQG WKH 8QLYHUVLW\ RI 9HUPRQW Suder led the team in points against Air Force, having a career-high of 42 points that night.
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I saw the Los Angeles wildfires CHLOE MCKINNEY CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR
Before beginning MAC play, the RedHawks were 8-4. Miami cemented a winning season after a victory against Ohio University in the Battle of the Bricks. “We realized we had a lot of pieces to be good as a team and took all of our skill development seriously,” Craft said. “Everyone got better in the R̆ VHDVRQ DQG RYHUDOO ZH KDYH D ORW RI JRRG WHDP FKHPLVWU\ RQ DQG R̆ WKH court.” The team, made up of a deep bench all of whom know each other well, and Steele describes the most important attribute of their success as their connectivity. “It’s connectivity,” Steele said. “Our guys get along really well and WKDW VKRZV RQ WKH ÀRRU R̆HQVLYHO\ DQG GHIHQVLYHO\ 7KH\ DUH QRW VHO¿VK WKH\ SXW 0LDPL DQG WKH WHDP ¿UVW DQG themselves second, and that is really KDUG WR ¿QG LQ WKLV ODQGVFDSH ZH DUH in.”
Around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, the smell of burning rubber hit my nose outside my DSDUWPHQW LQ $9$ 7ROXFD +LOOV /RV Angeles. That’s when the adrenaline started to kick in. 2QO\ KRXUV EHIRUH , ZDV ¿QH I remember reassuring my roommates. “Fires happen here all the time,” I said. “They know how to handle it.” Myself, 15 other students and two professors were less than a week into Miami University’s Inside Hollywood study away program. Andy Rice, who’s been leading this program for the last three years, lived in 6DQ 'LHJR DQG / $ EHIRUH PRYLQJ to Ohio to work at Miami. He shared the same initial thoughts when we ¿UVW VDZ QHZV FRYHUDJH RI WKH 3DOLVDGHV )LUH RQ WKH FDIHWHULD 79 LQ 3Dnavision that Monday. ³,W¶V QRW WKH ¿UVW WLPH ,¶YH EHHQ LQ D FLW\ ZKHUH WKHUH ZHUH ¿UHV ´ VDLG Rice, associate professor of media DQG FRPPXQLFDWLRQ DQG ¿OP VWXGies. “When those things initially break out though, it seems to be the most scary, devastating images that ÀRRG WKH DLUZDYHV DQG WKHQ HYHU\body across the country is like, ‘Oh P\ JRVK DOO RI / $ LV RQ ¿UH ¶´ Rice said his main concerns were ensuring we, the students, weren’t scared while keeping a close eye on any updates and air quality. But at that time, the Palisades Fire was still small, the skies were blue outside and besides the more than 60 mph winds, everything seemed normal. Throughout Monday night and into the next day, things only got worse as winds carried burning embers across the city. Eventually, our little apartment complex was surURXQGHG E\ WKUHH ¿UHV WKH 3DOLVDGHV Fire in the West, the Eaton Fire in the East and the Hurst Fire in the North. By Tuesday, the program was at a standstill. People across the city ZHUH FDOOLQJ R̆ ZRUN LQ FDVH WKH\ had to evacuate quickly, and the Miami alums we planned to meet canceled for the same reason.
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Review and preview: Start to finish of the 2024-25 men’s basketball season OPINION
As professors are required to teach more classes next semester, IDFXOW\ OLNH 'DYLG 3U\WKHUFK D SURfessor of geography, are wondering how they will maintain the same level of rigor in their teaching. Prytherch said faculty members are drawn to Miami because of its emphasis on undergraduate education. He is worried that the new requirements will be detrimental to those students. “There are fewer and fewer faculty members who are being asked to teach more and more sections,” Prytherch said. “Naturally, it’s hard to maintain the quality.” Some professors are already preparing to cut back on the material they teach. Adding even a single class to a professor’s workload results in hours of planning, preparation and grading. Professors like Lewis Magruder in the theater department said time constraints will be a real concern. “I just have to narrow down what I teach,” Magruder said. “I can’t spend as much time with grading.”