ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 165 No. 12
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2025
Student body president and vice president candidates debate before election
Men’s basketball looks to continue historic 202425 campaign at MAC tournament KETHAN BABU SPORTS EDITOR
ident have the right to speak on behalf of [our] constituents.” Martin answered the question by referring to his and Osteboe’s outof-office hours, one of their key campaign initiatives. “When it comes to something like this … we want to make sure we have the student body behind us,” Martin said. “We want to make sure we are getting every opinion possible … we’ll be doing that through our out-of-office hours. Everyone within the student body should have a voice and a say in what our stances are.”
The Miami University men’s and women’s basketball teams combined for 42 wins during the 2024-25 regular season, setting a record for the program. Starting on March 13, the men’s team will have a chance to take its first postseason wins under thirdyear head coach Travis Steele. The men’s team (23-8, 14-4 in conference play) enters Rocket Mortgage Arena for its first game of the tournament against the No. 7 Eastern Michigan University Eagles (16-15, 9-9 in conference play). The RedHawks wrapped up a historic 2024-25 campaign with their 15th-straight home win on March 7 against the Ball State University Cardinals, setting a program record for consecutive home wins. Under Steele, Miami had its best regular-season record since 199899, when the RedHawks finished 24-8 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. “It’s Christmas for any basketball fans or players or coaches,” Steele said. “I told our guys that we put ourselves in a good position, now we got to take advantage of the advantage that we’ve created.” The RedHawks enter the postseason boasting eight players who average at least six points per game. Junior guard Peter Suder and redshirt sophomore wing Kam Craft lead the way averaging 13.3 and 13.2 points, respectively.
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GRACIE GRADY ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT HER PLATFORM IN ARMSTRONG STUDENT CENTER ON MARCH 11. PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCH
ANNA REIER ASST. CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR The candidates for Associated Student Government president and vice president debated key campus issues, including the arena project on Cook Field and the potential impacts of Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1), in the Fritz Pavillion in Armstrong Student Center on March 11. On the ballot is Daniel Martin, running for president alongside Kirsten Osteboe, and Gracie Grady, running for president alongside Nya Hodge.
In this issue
Grady, a junior political science major and American studies minor, said she is running because she doesn’t want “fake promises and surface-level claims.” “Students want commitment,” she said. “They want leaders to stay committed to the cause of bettering the university … even when it’s hard or unpopular.” The candidates first discussed their slogans. Grady, and her running mate Hodge, a junior creative writing and history double major, are running on the platform of “Committed to Miami, Committed to You,” while Martin, a junior diplomacy and global politics major, and Osteboe, a
Senate Bill 1 disrupts Miami’s academics and culture KETHAN BABU SPORTS EDITOR
GREENHAWKS
Miami strives to fit new arena in 2040 neutrality goals, details yet to be confirmed - page 14
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
International Women’s Day panelists offer inspiring advice - page 5
Miami University’s academics may be changed after Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1) goes through the Ohio House of Representatives. The bill was approved by the Ohio Senate last month, and awaits approval from the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee before it’s sent to the Ohio House of Representatives floor for a vote. Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino introduced S.B. 1 as the “Enact Advance Ohio Higher Education Act” to the Senate on Jan. 29. The bill covers a wide range of topics, such as prohibiting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at universities and forbidding discussions in classrooms about “controversial topics.” Cirino previously presented Senate Bill 83 (S.B. 83), the “Enact Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act,” to the Senate on March 13,
Hey, President Trump and Elon Musk, hands off my pediatric cancer funding OLIVIA PATEL PRESENTES HER PLATFORM TO MIAMI STUDENT MEMBERS. PHOTO BY SHANNON MAHONEY
PARKER GREEN ASST. CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR
SPORTS
Ella Scally jumps to new heights with multitude of new accolades - page 6
2023. The bill passed the Senate before stalling in the House at the start of 2024. Despite the modifications to S.B. 83, Cirino reintroduced S.B. 1 as the base version of the bill. For Kevin Reuning, an associate professor of political science at Miami, he said S.B. 1 went further than the original bill. “S.B. 83 was amended down a fair amount,” Reuning said, “and then S.B. 1 came in as sort of the original version of S.B. 83 with some other stuff added in.” The Inter-University Council of Ohio, which includes all 14 public universities in Ohio, responded to S.B. 83 on May 18, 2023 with a letter praising certain aspects of the bill, such as supporting the “free exchange of ideas and debate” in classrooms, but also raising concerns about the vagueness of the bill and the prohibition of DEI training. “DEI is for students with disabilities, veterans with PTSD, minority
students and students who are new Americans who may need extra help due to language or cultural barriers,” the letter stated. “DEI helps more students achieve the American dream of success via a college education.” The timeline for S.B. 83 spanned 10 months, from its introduction in the Senate on March 14, 2023, to its stopping point in the House on Jan. 3, 2024, when three Senate Republicans voted against the bill. However, Ohio Senators passed S.B. 1 on Feb. 12, three weeks after its introduction. S.B. 1 mandates universities to allow students to “reach their own conclusions about all controversial beliefs or policies.” The bill defines “controversial beliefs” as any topic that can be considered politically controversial, citing climate policies, immigration and abortion as examples. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Olivia Patel elected editor-in-chief of The Miami Student
OPINION
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junior diplomacy and global politics major and French and economics minor, focused their campaign on the slogan “Your Voice, Our Mission.” During the Q&A portion of the debate, the candidates were asked if they thought student body presidents and vice presidents should respond to controversial issues, including state legislation. “First, I’d like to say that the things inside of S.B. 1 should not be considered inherently controversial,” Hodge said. “Diversity, equity and inclusion are what make this school great. Gracie and I believe that the student body president and vice pres-
In an uncontested election, Managing Editor Olivia (Livi) Patel, a junior journalism and political science major, was elected editor-in-chief on Sunday, March 9. Patel stressed her resume and experience during her campaign speech, highlighting her roles as managing editor, assistant campus and community editor and her various journalistic internships.
She also unveiled her goals for the future of The Miami Student (TMS). “I [want] to increase our viewership by reaching students better,” Patel said. “I think the landscape of journalism has changed, and The Miami Student must change with it.” Other goals of hers include expanding TMS’s presence on social media platforms, implementing more rigorous fact-checking and reworking some sections’ internal structure. Overall, Patel intends to maintain the standard set by editor-in-chiefs before her. “I’m excited to just continue the values we have here,” Patel said. “We have a tradition of excellence … and I want to continue that.” Kasey Turman, the outgoing editor-in-chief, said he is optimistic about Patel’s ascension. “I think [Patel] will do a really good job,” Turman said. “I think she has good plans that will provide the paper with a good opportunity to be very successful in the next year.” But Turman isn’t the only one who worked closely with Patel.
Fred Reeder Jr., a journalism professor and faculty advisor to TMS, met with Patel weekly as part of her role as managing editor. Additionally, she served as an undergraduate assistant in his Intro to Journalism class. “[Patel’s] a splendid student journalist,” Reeder said. “She’s a thoughtful student and no-nonsense leader.” He said he’s also appreciative of Patel’s choice for managing editor, Anna Reier. Reier would take on a more “administrative role,” a departure from the current editorial-focused position. “That’s a great decision,” Reeder said. “We need [TMS] leaders to be in constant communication with our writers, editors, graphics … we need someone who can just help our student journalists.” Patel and Reier began their tenure on March 12.
New Mexican restaurant, Calendula, offers an upscale — yet bland — dining experience SYDNEY MULFORD
THE MIAMI STUDENT A few weeks ago, everyone started talking about Calendula, the newest restaurant in Uptown Oxford. Being new to campus, I had friends telling me this was a huge deal. After a busy week of events, I headed to Calendula on a Friday evening and was met with an hour to an hour-and-a-half wait. It seemed the rest of Oxford was as excited to try the newest restaurant in town as I was. Unfortunately, I was too hungry to wait and went elsewhere for dinner. The next day, my friend and I went back to Calendula for lunch. We were met with a much more relaxed and casual atmosphere and, luckily, a lot more open tables. The service was great — all the waiters and hosts approached me with a friendly smile and kind words. When we started reading the menus, we found them short, but they still had a reasonable variety. While I did not order from the drinks menu as I am underage, I thought it was adorable because it had different cocktails drawn throughout. If I was 21, this alone could have persuaded me to order something. The food arrived quickly, only 10-15 minutes after we ordered. I ordered El Verde: chicken, corn, tomatoes and cilantro on a corn tortilla. I received two tacos on a well-presented plate. The presentation made it feel more upscale — something I think Calendula was aiming for. When I dug in, the tortilla tasted really dry and chewy, which did not complement the rest of the taco well. However, I did enjoy the crunch and freshness of the tomatoes, corn and cilantro on top. But even with all the decorative toppings, they could not hide the fact the taco did not have a lot of flavor. When I did get a hint of flavor, it was really good — just not very noticeable.
greenpt@miamioh.edu CONTINUED ON PAGE 8