ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 172 No. 6
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2025
In this issue
Pedestrian accidents remain a persistent issue for Miami students KIERNAN PFENNIG THE MIAMI STUDENT
GREENHAWKS
Soaring opportunities at Hueston Woods - page 12
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
City council has a turnover of 2 members after Nov. 4 election
Despite safety measures, including flashing lights at crosswalks and lane separating barriers, vehicle-pedestrian collisions continue to occur in Oxford. Ainsley McClean, a first-year integrated social studies education major, was hit by a car on Oct. 1 at 8 a.m. while walking to class. “I was [preparing to] cross the street, there was another girl too, and a big group was about to be done crossing,” McClean said, “so we let one car from each direction go. Then the other girl and I started walking across the street, and another car came and hit us.” The accident left McClean with a sprained wrist and several bruises. McClean is just one of many students who have been hit by a car. However, Lt. Adam Price of the Oxford Police Department said the
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number of collisions this year is not unusual. “[Miami University is] a regular college campus, we deal with [collisions] a lot,” Price said. Price said he believes most accidents happen because of distracted or impaired pedestrians or drivers. He also said some pedestrians do not use the flashing lights at crosswalks. Safety features, like the flower boxes that sit in between lanes on East High Street, aim to discourage jaywalking and promote the use of crosswalks. These measures have helped reduce, but not eliminate, collisions. The university has taken steps to help students who get hit by cars, like alerting faculty and offering counseling. They also provide temporary accommodations through the Miller Center for Student Disability Services. “If [students receive] an injury where they're going to the hospital, [the Dean of Students Office] automatically sends a faculty notification
on their behalf,” BaShaun Smith, the dean of students, said. “We don’t tell the faculty any specific detail whatsoever on what’s going on with that student, but we tell them something serious has happened, please be accommodating with missed classes and missed assignments.” In McClean’s situation, both accommodations and counseling resources were offered. Injured students are urged to use the students of concern reporting form or email the Dean of Students Office. “Always make eye contact with drivers when you’re walking, [and] try to have your phones in your pocket,” Smith said. Price echoed that acknowledging the driver is crucial to alerting them to slow down. “Just because you’re in the crosswalk doesn’t mean drivers will stop,” Price said. “It’s a matter of making sure both drivers and pedestrians are always paying attention.”
ALLISON LEE
CULTURE
Chop Bento enters the Oxford food scene - page 8
SPORTS
Recap: Miami football falls to Ohio in 102nd edition of the Battle of the Bricks - page 6
In early October, Miami University announced the launch of the brand new Fashion Institute. The fashion program, which includes a co-major (fashion corporate business, design and entrepreneurship) and a minor, is still fairly new, only being introduced in 2015. Though there are Miami alumni who have pursued fashion as a career, there has not been a fashion networking program in place. Until now. Jamie Schisler graduated from Miami in 1996 and serves as the inaugural director of the Fashion Institute. “We’re here to really help support the fashion students, faculty and organizations through industry connections, offering advice in terms of where the industry is headed,” Schisler said. The Fashion Institute will not change the current fashion program — the requirements and curriculum for all fashion students will remain the same. Much like how Farmer
School of Business students work with companies in their classes, the Fashion Institute aims to do the same. Miami’s fashion program coordinator Natalie Reed has worked closely with Schisler throughout the process of bringing the Fashion Institute to fruition. “The Institute was developed to build industry partnerships and to provide support to our students, faculty and program,” Reed said. “Through our Professional Advisory Committee, we hope to gain current industry insight, as well as internship and employment opportunities.” One unique focus of the Fashion Institute is sustainability, which has been in the spotlight in the fashion world as climate change, upcycling and AI use have been hot topics of debate. “One of the things we are looking at doing is making a take-back program on campus,” Schisler said. “[Through] donating shoes and clothes primarily, how do we create a circular environment? Whether it’s biofuel or fertilizer in terms of circularity, I think with taking fashion
OLIVIA PATEL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
EVELYN DUGAN
THE MIAMI STUDENT
waste, we can close the loop by inverting that into something new.” The Fashion Institute has made it clear that they plan to work directly with and fashion-based student organizations, such as Miami University Fashion & Design (MUF&D) and UP Magazine. Sophomore marketing and fashion design student Tatiana Fecowycz is on the director team for MUF&D. “What’s really exciting is we’re transitioning into this Fashion Institute, which brings us a higher level of credibility and recognition,” Fecowycz said. “It creates a huge platform and expansion, and it shows people that as a fashion organization and program, we’re more than just clothing — it’s initiative, it’s a goal, it’s something that is much larger than ourselves. It’s really rewarding to see the development of the program coming from nothing to this big thing.” However, fashion students who are not directly involved with these organizations will still benefit from the Institute.
With Wednesday, Nov. 5, marking the longest government shutdown in United States history, the effects of the government’s inactivity are being felt nationwide. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits are grinding to a halt, and 12.3% of the country has felt the repercussions of these cuts, according to SNAP data tables. In Ohio, the number of SNAP recipients is nearly identical to the national average — 11.7% of Ohio residents utilized SNAP benefits during fiscal year 2024, which equates to $264 million from the federal government to Ohioans each month. “I think this is going to have a profound effect in Oxford, the same way it’s going to have a profound effect everywhere,” said associate professor of political science Anne Williamson. To soften the blow, a Rhode Island federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to fund the food assistance program before the Nov. 1 expiration date, to which Trump said he would be “honored” to do on Oct. 31. Following the court order, the Trump administration committed to partially funding SNAP with a $4.65 billion payment, according to a top USDA official. However, the use of these funds would be slow, and SNAP recipients would likely not see relief for “a few weeks up to several months,” according to the official. However, in the afternoon on Nov. 4, Trump suggested in a Truth Social post that he would refuse to aid SNAP so long as the government remains shut down.
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pfennikp@miamioh.edu
Miami announces new fashion institute STAFF WRITER
Local farmers, residents feel the blow amidst the halt of SNAP benefits