ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 170 No. 4
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2025
Last meals, fine dining, opening new restaurants: What makes Q&A with Antonia Lofaso Miami PARKER GREEN ASST. CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR
THE MIAMI STUDENT SAT DOWN WITH CELEBRITY CHEF ANTONIA LAFOSO. PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCH
Antonia Lofaso, a competition-winning celebrity chef, restaurateur, author and single mom, visited Miami University as part of the lecture series on Sept. 29. The Miami Student had the chance to talk with her about last meals, diversity in food and her creative process. Questions and answers have been edited for concision and clarity. What would be your last meal? It’s a classic “ice-breaker” question, but when the person you’re speaking to is a chef, nothing food-related is ever simple. “It’s not just a dish; it’s a whole meal, just so we’re clear,” Lofaso said. “I’m Italian, so for me, Italian food is just it. I would love to start with some prosciutto, burrata, melon, a lot of bread, some fresh ricotta cheese — just a ton of antipasti. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
New bus routes, Amtrak train station comes to Oxford
PARKER GREEN
ASST. CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EDITOR
ABE HAYGOOD
THE MIAMI STUDENT For students and residents who use public transportation, getting around Oxford has gotten new updates. Among these additions is the continuation of an Amtrak station project in Oxford and the beginning of operations on Butler County Regional Transit Authority’s (BCRTA) new bus routes this semester, overhauling several old lines and adding new stops. New bus routes Changes in BRCTA include revamped O routes that run bidirectionally, separate routes for the pre-
In this issue
viously connected Walmart to Kroger line and new stops at Level 27 and The Annex. Anna West, a junior individualized studies and religion double major, said these new routes make it more convenient to get to her off-campus housing. “Last year, they didn't have stops by my apartment complex,” West said. “Now that they have every bus stop by me, other than one, it's pretty easy for me to get everywhere.” Others, like Ella Fretchling, a sophomore English major, said the new routes are confusing for those used to the old ones. “Last year was easier for me to use,” Fretchling said. “I feel like it’s gotten more complicated. I used U3 every single time last year, and now
it’s like I don’t know what bus I’m taking, and you have to get off at this stop to get to this place and they’re all different.” Students can find bus routes near them by downloading the Transit app, which tells them the approximate distance of stops, departure times and length of routes. By signing in with a Miami ID, the app automatically brings you to Oxford. After the initial learning curve, West said the Transit app was “pretty easy to use.” However, the Transit app can’t account for situations like late buses, a frequent issue for bus riders. James Nippa, a junior electrical engineering major, said that his biggest concern with BRCTA is just that.
“Sometimes they’ll come on time, sometimes they don’t, and you just have to wait,” Nippa said. West has run into similar problems. She said she’s waited 15-2o minutes for a bus to arrive before, and sometimes they never show up. “There have been times when the bus has just been canceled and I've had to walk to class, and I was late,” West said. “They can be a little bit off on their Transit times.” New Amtrak Station Beyond busing, Oxford will soon be home to an Amtrak train station, as part of the Cardinal Line. This line includes stops in New York City, Washington D.C. and Chicago.
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Deer management programs seek to improve local ecosystem
GREENHAWKS
Kitahkinaani: Our garden and our connection with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
University’s synchronized skating teams so good? PETE HARTLAGE THE MIAMI STUDENT
ELISA ROSENTHAL PHOTO EDITOR
Year in and year out, synchronized skating is consistently one of the top teams in both the country, as well as the world. The RedHawks are currently ranked 20th in the world, according to the International Skating Union World Standings. The program is split into a collegiate team and a senior team. The collegiate team performs against other universities in the country, while the senior team goes off to compete internationally if it places high enough. This past season, the collegiate team won its fourth-straight title at the 2025 national championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The RedHawks have won 23 national titles overall and hold the record for most consecutive national title wins (2005-16) in United States figure skating. The senior team has gone off to compete at the world championship in Finland twice in the past four years. In 2007, it became the first team from the U.S. to medal at the world championships. Miami’s national and global success begs the question: what is it about this program that sets it apart from larger schools? According to junior skater Eleanor Ashdown, who skates for the senior team, Miami’s program is unique because the skaters get to live together in a small town. “We all live in the same town here and live pretty similar lives here in Oxford to each other,” Ashdown said, CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Steinkeller: 25 years of German culture, community AYLA PEDEN ASST. CULTURE EDITOR
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CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
Level 27 removes previously provided transportation due to new management - page 5
DEER POPULATIONS ARE HIGH IN OXFORD, WHERE THEY CAN BE SEEN GRAZING ON LAWNS AND ROAMING THE STREETS IN LARGE GROUPS. PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCH
SARAH KENNEL GREENHAWKS EDITOR OPINION
Innocent until proven guilty: Trump's new guildlines - page 10
SPORTS
Chasing the goal: A midseason review of Miami women’s soccer - page 6
An unexpected part of the Miami University experience are deer. Whether it's seeing a group of them grazing outside a dorm, or stopping on Main Street to let a family cross, most students will encounter deer up-close on more than one occasion during their time at Miami. However, these frequent experiences point to a bigger issue; an environmental crisis in the local ecosystem. According to Miami’s natural areas field manager Nancy Feakes, an overpopulation of deer has led to the decline of local plant species. Among these are buckeye and oak trees that are unable to grow taller and replace older trees due to deer chewing them down. “We’re missing a whole section of the natural environment,” Feakes said.
Assistant city manager Jessica Greene said the City of Oxford has also been aware of the negative impacts deer overpopulation can have on the community. She said this has been seen through evidence of vegetation damage, vehicle collisions and increased fear about tick-borne diseases. “People have come to council to share their concerns,” Greene said. “People have submitted public comments to council. I think it’s happened throughout the past couple years, and it’s risen more and more to the front of mind for city council.” Both Miami and Oxford have attempted to control populations through bow hunting programs in recent years. In each program, selected hunters are assigned parcels of land on which they are allowed to hunt. Retired pastor Sonny Hurd has spent his time in recent years hoping to help maintain Miami’s natural areas through the program. Last year, he hunted with his grandson who brought home a deer. More recently,
Hurd has been working to remove invasive honeysuckle from hunting areas to improve visibility for the upcoming hunting season. “Anything I can do to help, I want to try to do it,” Hurd said. Over 100 potential hunters have applied to be part of Miami’s upcoming fourth year of deer management. Fifty one hunters will be chosen in a lottery selection to facilitate hunting in 17 parcels across Miami’s natural areas. Deer harvests can be used by the hunters, donated through an Ohio program or given to the Myaamia tribe to be used in ceremonies and for making hides. Feakes said so many hunters value the program and want to participate because it provides them with their own hunting space and cuts the expense of obtaining a hunting license. “We have your own little private hunting reserve for that period,” Feakes said. “You’re the only hunter out there. That means a lot to them.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
When Steinkeller first opened in 2000, Jim Kuykendoll was only a junior at Miami University. Now, 25 years later, Kuykendoll and his wife, Jenny Kuykendoll, have been the proud owners of the beloved restaurant for four years, and they aim to bring German culture and great food to Oxford. Before Todd Hollenbaugh – Jim Kuykendoll’s stepfather – opened Steinkeller on High Street, he spent a lot of time overseas in Germany, where he fell in love with Bavarian culture and the Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich. This passion fueled the creation of the Baravian-inspired bier hall. “[Steinkeller was] created as a place for Miami students who study abroad to enjoy the same quality beer they enjoyed overseas,” Jim Kuykendoll said. While many bars in Oxford serve classic American beers like Budweiser, Miller High Life and Coors Light, Steinkeller imports its beer directly from Munich, with one exception being Stiegl, which comes from Austria. The beer is brewed according to Germany’s Reinheitsgebot, otherwise known as the Beer Purity Law. Created in 1516, this law restricts beer to four main ingredients: water, hops, barley and yeast. “I like to think of our beer as ‘real beer’ because it’s authentic, high quality and traditional,” Jim Kuykendoll said. “You’ll know what you’re drinking. It’s very clean ingredients, based on the purity law, and we have one of the widest variety of German import draft beer lineups in the U.S.” However, the beer is not the only thing that makes dining at the restaurant unique. Steinkeller (translated to mean “Stone cellar”) is located under-
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