ESTABLISHED 1826 — OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES
Volume 152 No. 12
Miami university — Oxford, Ohio
FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2024
Miami’s Ecology Research Center flaunts natural beauty alongside learning
‘In a bit of a rut right now’: Students struggle to find computer science jobs SHR-HUA MOORE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
PH.D. CANDIDATE EMILY GALLOWAY GAZES OVER THE RESTORED PRAIRIE WHERE SHE CONDUCTS HER RESEARCH ON PRAIRIE DIVERSITY. PHOTO BY SAM NORTON
SAM NORTON GREENHAWKS EDITOR A lone bald eagle soars out of trees against a deep gray sky, high above a restored prairie full of legumes and big bluestem. A vintage but functional weather station creaks nearby, and in the distance, a red barn sits on the edge of a large grassy field dotted with vegetation plots. Miami’s Ecology Research Center (ERC) is alive with natural systems and scientific wonder.
Located five minutes north of campus along Somerville Road, this 170-acre field station was founded in 1969 to research the natural world. The diverse parcel of land includes agricultural fields, prairies, old and newgrowth forests, and dozens of acres of grassy fields that have been manipulated to allow for extensive field research. The ERC does not stick to one area of research but rather allows students and professors the opportunity to conduct many different types of studies. Dozens of water tanks dot the western side of the
field station, while hundreds of individual research plots ranging from low-growing herbs and legumes to closed habitats housing prairie voles are scattered around the central field. “We have so many different things going on that we can offer,” said Jeremy Fruth, who has been the manager of the ERC for the last 10 years. “You know, we're going to go grab some tadpoles out of a pool today, or we're going to collect some insects that we're going to do some further research back in the lab on or we're going to go explore some honey bees.”
Everything from agricultural research to weather monitoring can be found among the woods and prairies, and Fruth believes the ERC’s large size and diverse landscape contribute to the diversity of activity. Each year, the ERC houses research projects for more than 30 graduate students, while many more undergraduate students get to experience field research as assistants or as part of the many classes that utilize the space, such as BIO 433 Field Ecology. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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Men’s swim and dive claim MAC title for the fourth year in a row
In this issue
Kasey Turman elected Editorin-Chief of The Miami Student
HAYLEY LUBY THE MIAMI STUDENT
CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
‘Without community, you’re missing something’: How one Miami student is using social media and art to build a community - page 5
The Miami University RedHawks men’s swimming and diving team has claimed the Mid-American Conference title for the 2023-24 season. This is the team’s fourth consecutive year winning the title. The team, led by head coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron, 2024 Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, secured its win last weekend in Carbondale, Illinois, with a combined 724 points. The championships kicked off March 6, beginning with two program record-setting performances from the swimmers. During the first event, Owen Blazer, Adrian Dulay, Henju Duvenhage and Jack Herczeg, finished first overall in the 200 med-
OXFORD
City staff prepares to approach Miami with solutions to the fire department’s financial deficit
CHLOE MCKINNEY
ley, for the program’s record time of 1:25.72. The second event saw Uroš Djokovic, Ian Kmiliauskis, Bryce
DEVIN ANKENEY OPINION EDITOR
Darty season is upon us: Three going-out trends that Miami students are on top of
tinyurl.com/rccamevents
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Menchhofer and Allen Cotton finish the 800 freestyle relay in 6:26.53. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Bradley Whitford talks politics, brings laughs to Miami’s lecture series
STYLE
ECLIPSE AT THE ART MUSEUM
light while delving deep into his view of the current political landscape. “It’s easier to be cynical now more than ever,” Whitford said. “That’s exactly what the forces of repression want us to feel: that your vote doesn’t matter, that your participation doesn’t matter. The moment you abandon the political process, you sentence yourself to a gulag dictated by the people who do participate. Despite some darker moments as Whitford talked about political affairs, he spent most of his time remembering “The West Wing,” which he jokingly described as “soothing, progressive porn,” its unexpected influence and how he made it big.
ASST. CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EDITOR In just over a year, Kasey Turman, a junior journalism and political science major, went from being a new writer to the next Editor-in-Chief of The Miami Student. Turman brought several ideas for change during the candidate forum this past Sunday, including revamping the audio editor position and taking time to attend different section meetings. “I want to go every so often to a lot of types of meetings,” Turnman said, “meet new people and … just be interactive with everyone at the paper.” Turman ran uncontested and won in a vote of confidence over no confidence. He looks forward to taking on this new role and continuing in the footsteps of those before him. “I’m excited for the next year,” Turman said, “to continue all of the great things The Miami Student has done while extending into the future and seeing what is possible for us.” Turman made his first appearance in the newsroom as a sophomore in January 2023 at what he thought was a Campus & Community (C&C) section meeting. Imagine his surprise when he found himself at an Entertainment meeting instead.
MIAMI MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING TEAM EARNED ITS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MAC TITLE. PHOTO BY LEXIE CUNNINGHAM
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In high school, many students were told that becoming a computer science major was a path that guaranteed a six-figure salary straight out of undergrad. Computer science was seen as a field with explosive job growth — the perfect blend of job security and benefits. For Bricen Raynold, a senior computer science major at Miami University, that path is looking more like a pipe dream. “I’ve put in between 45 and 60 applications so far, somewhere in that range,” Raynold said. “I’ve only had two serious inquiries and a couple of coding assessments.” Coding assessments are meant to serve as pre-interview challenges that evaluate an applicant’s coding skills with increasingly more difficult tests as the application process moves forward. Raynold said that so far he has only gotten generic assessments and hasn’t advanced to further stages of the application process. Bill Hutson, another senior majoring in computer science, applied to 50 jobs this spring and has also only gotten two interviews. He said the struggle to find a job isn’t unique to him or Raynold. “I know that there’s a lot of people who have submitted hundreds, literally hundreds of job applications to different companies,” Hutson said. “And yet, they’re receiving very few responses and fewer interviews. So, a common trend that we see is that we often get ghosted.” Hutson said the struggles in finding a job could stem from the big tech layoffs that have happened
BRADLEY WHITFORD SPEAKS AT MIAMI'S LECTURE SERIES. PHOTO BY SARAH FROSCHSMITH
Bradley Whitford, star of the hit drama “The West Wing,” and for his role in Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” brought the house down with laughter in Miami University’s first lecture series event of the spring semester. Opening with a big, “What’s up, Miami?”, the Emmy-award-winning actor known for his role as Josh Lyman kept the atmosphere
THU, APRIL 4 | 4-5:15 PM
FRI, APRIL 5 | 2 PM
MON, APRIL 8 | 1-5 PM
Jerry Riesenberg + Stephen Alexander
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY FILM VIEWING
A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE PARKS
THE IMMINENT SOLAR ECLIPSE Lecture in partnership with the Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR). In person and online, register at: https://cvent.me/oL2lZy.ogram.
Join us for a viewing of 2001: A Space Odyssey in the Art Museum auditorium to celebrate the eclipse!
Eclipse viewing party with glasses and treats at the Sculpture Park (totality at 3:08 PM). Sculpture Park tour 2 PM.