ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 169 No. 15
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2025
MUF&D hosts 19th annual fashion show, announces new fashion major SYDNEY MULFORD STAFF WRITER The Miami University Fashion and Design (MUF&D) club hosted its 19th annual fashion show, “Mosaic,” on April 26. The show had 1,700 in-person tickets sold, 1,200 viewers on the live stream, 87 models (icons), 20 designers, 104 looks and 21 collections. In addition to the record-number of designers involved in the show this year, a prominent announcement also made its debut: Miami will have its own fashion design program beginning in the fall. Currently, Miami only offers a co-major and minor in fashion. In addition to the new fashion major, College of Creative Arts (CCA) Dean Ryan Fisher announced that there will be a new fashion institute at Miami. The inaugural director of the institute will be announced in the upcoming weeks. MUF&D HOSTED ITS ANNUAL FASHION SHOW, THIS YEAR WITH THE THEME 'MOSAIC.'' PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCH.
THE MIAMI STUDENT Last season, Madilyn Reeves was a freshman on a Miami University softball pitching staff that included fifth-year Ashley Hitchcock and sixthyear Addy Jarvis. This season, she’s Miami’s only returning pitcher. Reeves, now a sophomore, is the anchor of a four-player pitching staff that includes Shelbie Krieger, a true freshman, Léa Chevrier, a junior transfer from Florida Southwestern State College and Alex Caouette, a sophomore transfer from Western Michigan University. “I knew I was going to be someone that the other pitchers could really lean on if they needed help or anything,” Reeves said. “I think just the
In this issue
experience is different from last year because I had other people with more experience at this level.” Reeves ranks second in the nation this season in games started (31) and has pitched more than 200 innings for Miami this season. Her 173 strikeouts tie for 18th in the nation with Mississippi State University’s Raelin Chaffin. “[Reeves] has done great,” head coach Mandy Gardner-Colegate said. “She's kind of been our leader in the bullpen just from a sense of knowing the standard that was set here, and obviously knowing our conference.” But she isn’t the only RedHawk pitcher who’s been highly present in the circle. Chevrier and Krieger have seen 26 and 13 appearances, respectively, this season. “I think we're all getting to the point where we're all kind of level and
doing the same thing, all working towards the same stuff,” Reeves said. “I think [the new pitchers] have done a really good job of adjusting just to a new place and getting to know their routines.” Chevrier’s transition from junior college to Division I initially presented a challenge, but she said she has settled in well at Miami. “For me, it was kind of difficult at the beginning, just because the level of play is different,” Chevrier said. “But right now, I feel like I'm in a good space.” Alongside a largely new pitching staff is an entirely new coaching staff led by Gardner-Colegate. Pitching is an area of expertise for Gardner-Colegate, who pitched at both the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland and was the pitching
coach at the University of Iowa for two seasons. Despite the individualized nature of the position, she emphasizes a group mindset for the RedHawks, frequently reminding her athletes that they win and lose as a team. She also highlighted the importance of preventing the mound from feeling too quiet. “Pitching is hard,” Gardner-Colegate said. “I mean, [the pitchers] already feel like they're on an island, but if it's also silent, then that's really tough. Having that ability to know that their teammates are behind them, whether it's the infielders, outfielders or even the people in the dugout, it’s just so important to have that support.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
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From power strips and printers, to toasters and tablets: What should you do with your e-waste during move-out?
RETIRING PROFESSORS
‘Working with students and working with ideas’: a 36-year-long career in academia comes to a close
EDITOR AT LARGE
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
“Trying to bridge that gap”: How Miami University students are helping improve mental health on campus - page 5
WORKERS SORT THROUGH WASTE DURING ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLE DAY. PHOTO BY ANN HAAS.
SOPHIE KWIATKOWSKI STAFF WRITER
Professors should not be able to limit technology use in classes - page 12
SPORTS
Miami baseball’s new mentality has revitalized the program - page 8
Will the Miami I experienced disappear soon? From a senior who still cares SAM NORTON
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OPINION
ANNA REIER MANAGING EDITOR FC Cincinnati CEO Jeff Berding never thought he’d work in sports. Berding, who graduated from Miami in 1991 with majors in political science, diplomacy and foreign affairs and speech communication, dreamt of going to law school and having a career in politics. But, due to a scheduling conflict, Berding missed orientation and wasn’t able to start law school at the University of Cincinnati. So, he drove across town to Xavier University and enrolled in its MBA program. From there, Berding went to work for the Cincinnati Bengals for 20 years. “But, my kids really loved soccer,” he said, “so, I wrote a business plan to create FC Cincinnati.” Berding will be giving this year’s spring commencement address. In addition to founding Cincinnati's third professional sports team, he’s held a variety of different roles throughout the community. In addition to serving as co-chair of the Cincinnati Regional Business Committee, Berding served three terms on the Cincinnati City Council and founded Build Cincinnati, a group that created the charter amendment for evolving Cincinnati’s city government into a stronger mayoral system. “People have introduced me at speaking engagements as Cincinnati’s biggest dreamer,” he said. “The reason that becomes a fun introduction is because not only do I dream it, but I make it happen.
A new rotation: Reeves and newcomers find their roles on the mound
LINDSAY STEVENSON
‘He has a heart for doing good and making the world better:' FC Cincinnati CEO to give spring commencement address
College move-out season is now in session, which means a lot of waste is bound to pile up, especially electronic waste. Students are often unsure of what to do with their old coffee maker that’s been leaking all semester, or their dingy microwave. Instead of throwing these well-loved items away, students can head over to Bath State Bank in West College Corner, Indiana, on Friday, May 16, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for its Electronic Waste Recycle Day. At this event, many forms of electronic waste are eligible for recycling, from power strips and printers to toasters and tablets. E-waste, short for electronic waste, is defined as “any electrical or electronic equipment that’s been discarded.” E-waste’s prevalence has grown, as seen in 2022, when over 62 million tons of e-waste were produced worldwide, with only about a fifth of that waste collected and recycled.
So, what happens to the 80% of e-waste that does not get collected or recycled? “E-waste comes from not only computers, but also the chemicals that are inside those computers,” said Dylan Fall, president of Miami University’s Humanitarian Youth Preparation for Electronics Education organization. “So, when they degrade in landfills, they are very toxic to the environment since they release toxic gases and reduce the quality of the air, making areas surrounding those landfills difficult to live in.” Thinking twice about subjecting e-waste to a dumpster death is what prompted Bath State Bank to begin hosting its Electronic Waste Recycle Day. “We started seeing a mass of computers and televisions dumped on the side of the road in our community, because they had no place to get rid of them,” said Ann Haas, Bath State Bank’s director of marketing. “Because of this, we decided to do a re-
cycling day for Earth Day, and it was very successful.” During its first e-waste recycling initiative in 2016, Bath State Bank recycled 13,850 raw pounds of electronic waste. Due to this success, Bath State Bank has begun to consistently host its Electronic Waste Recycle Day event. “We tend to think that it’s about three years between people getting a new device and then disposing of it, so we host this event every three years,” Haas said. For its most recent Electronic Waste Recycle Day in 2022, Bath State Bank partnered with Cobalt, a certified and family-owned recycling company dedicated to helping local businesses and citizens recycle e-waste effectively. Brittney Gill, director of client relations at Cobalt, spoke to the pertinence of effectively recycling e-waste.
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Since the start of the 2024-25 school year, Miami University has succumbed to substantial, and often controversial, changes. Administration increased faculty workload, a new arena will dominate student gathering spaces and changes to higher education in Ohio will no doubt be felt from Columbus to Oxford. Yet, someone passing through campus would have no clue of the physical and institutional changes that will soon descend upon Miami. As a graduating senior, none of these changes will impact my soon-toend Miami experience. Logically, I shouldn't let all of this noise bother me. I should look forward to grabbing my diploma in a month’s time and moving back home, oblivious to the chaos at an institution I will no longer attend. But I am not oblivious. And despite the seemingly illogical nature of it, I care what Miami will look like when I’m gone. I care deeply. I have not been quiet about this, either. I have reported how the new arena’s environmental impacts were not considered during approval and have penned staff editorials admonishing the administration over its mistreatment of faculty. I am deeply invested in the happenings at Miami because, despite leaving soon, I will always carry Miami with me. It will always show up on my resume and my LinkedIn profile, I will discuss it in job interviews, the red “M” will remain on decorations and clothes I’ve collected and it will always define the past four years of my life. But, as universities love to promote, your time there will also define your future. I don’t want that future to be defined by the growing number of flaws creeping onto our beloved red-brick campus. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2/3