Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Culture


CULTURE

A comprehensive quarantine streaming guide — Part two

I took some time out of my very busy schedule (of WebExing into classes for two hours a week and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my time) to compile all of the quality films streaming on Amazon Prime, HBO Go, Hulu and Netflix right now. The Student will be releasing my recommendations in weekly installments until the end of the semester. This week, we have true-crime documentaries, fun documentaries and dramas for you.


CULTURE

New kids on the block, theatre style

Producing theater is no cheap or easy feat, but that didn’t stop five Miami University students from teaming up last fall to launch a new theater company in Oxford. New Wave Theatre Company is an entirely student-run theatrical production group adjacent to Miami. Established in the fall of 2019, the group's mission is to produce a series of student-written and student-produced shows each year, with the goal of championing new works and new voices among the Miami community. 


CULTURE

Revisiting Club Penguin: a virtual world virtually unchanged

  It’s a Saturday, early evening, and if not for social distancing and the events of the past few weeks, many people would be enjoying parties at their respective colleges or towns.  But because that’s not within the realm of possibility right now, people will take the next best thing.  Cue Club Penguin Rewritten, a replication of a childhood classic, which comfortingly enough, looks just like it did when we left it back in 2010. 


CULTURE

The silver lining of remote living

 In the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, many are left wondering what’s going to happen next. However, some in the Oxford community have decided to take a different route. Spreading smiles instead of germs, Miami University students are using this pandemic as an opportunity to be creative and look into different hobbies for the remainder of the remote semester. 


CULTURE

Notes of nostalgia: From campus to quarantine

When I came to college, I thought I was an adult.  I thought, as most of us probably did, I had it all figured out. Though I was only 17, I was on my own, free from my parents’ roof.  I lived in Hepburn Hall during my first year, and while it was nice, I longed for the day I’d be able to live off campus, avoiding sticky dining hall tables and crowded dorms with communal bathrooms.


Recently elected city councilperson Amber Franklin has led the charge to add a social worker to OPD.
CULTURE

OPD on GBD: policing a ghost town

Even before the stay-at-home order, on GBD last week, uptown was quiet. There were no lines stretching out of Brick Street Bar & Grill. There were no queues spilling out of Bagel & Deli. There were parking spots available. Sidewalks were nearly empty.


CULTURE

It's a beautiful bidet in the neighborhood

The bathrooms of college students can be downright gross.  Toothpaste lines the bowl of the sink, the trashcan overflows and the toilet paper roll is notoriously empty. But, at the very least, Miami University sophomore Seif Boulos can fix that last problem.


CULTURE

Silence on the sidewalk

Some stories delve deeply into the lives of their subjects. Others seek to capture the human condition in just a few words. Modeled after journalist Brady Dennis’ 300 word stories that explore the unfiltered intimacy of the everyday, these pieces offer a glimpse into the untold experiences of college life. 


CULTURE

‘Heavy metal will never die’: Community for Miami metalheads

  In a classroom on the second floor of Upham Hall sit 10 students. They drum their fingers on desks, bob their heads and tap their feet while the song “Heading Out to the Highway” by Judas Priest plays. Instead of the regular sounds of muted lectures and shuffling students, the raw chords of the song reverberate throughout Upham’s hallways. At the front of the room, the music video dances across the whiteboard.  This is what a meeting looks like for Miami’s heavy metal club known as the Newly Woken Organization Based on Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). The name is a nod to certain metal subgenres like NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal).


CULTURE

Notes of Nostalgia: a different kind of commencement

  I’ve always loved a ritual. Proms, bat mitzvahs, confirmations, swearing-in ceremonies, quinceañeras, masses, weddings, funerals. And graduations.  Rituals help us take what is ordinary, what is necessary, and transform it into an event. A moment that helps us step out of our everyday selves to recognize that the momentous has happened. Now, it looks like the chance to pause and feel how momentous graduating is might be taken away.


CULTURE

Notes of nostalgia: the times are a-changing, but that’s okay

  Going off to college, my soon-to-be roommate was texting me, excitedly talking about future plans and how she couldn’t wait to get to Miami. It seemed like all my friends from home were the same way, counting down the days until they would leave for school.  I was the complete opposite. I was terrified to leave the only place I had ever known to move 300 miles away and live with complete strangers. When my parents left me, I cried the entire walk from their car back to my dorm, before wiping my eyes and trying to pull myself together as I met the people I would be living with for the next year.


CULTURE

Mutts can go a little nuts, as a treat

After a brief introduction, four dogs ran out onstage to blaring rock music, taking their places on four wooden crates in a line upstage.  Dog-loving families had packed the seats of Hall Auditorium to see Mutts Gone Nuts, a traveling comedy dog show, at 7:30 p.m. last Friday. Founder Scott Houghton entered in a red velvet blazer, introducing the dogs to the audience. Their lead trainer, Samantha Valle, stood behind the mutts, directing the tricks and sneaking them treats from her pocket.


CULTURE

Theatre production to build community around women, politics and soccer

 “The Wolves,” a one-act play by Sarah DeLappe, follows a girls indoor soccer team as they warm up before their game each week. The nine girls slide tackle big political questions and social topics with the energy and awareness of high school students. The cast consists of ten women: nine teammates identified by their jersey numbers and a soccer mom played by professor and Chair of Theatre department Julia Guichard.  


Tucson snips and socializes giving his clients a unique haircutting experience.
CULTURE

Barber in the bricks

  Tucson DeShon drapes a white apron across a boy sitting in a dorm room desk chair.  “What are we looking for today?” he asks.  DeShon, a sophomore marketing major, started cutting hair during his junior year of high school. He’s a triplet, and one of his brothers, Turner, was tired of going to a barber to get his haircut.


Amidst the numerous GBD apparel accounts, these two do their best to stand out from the crowd.
CULTURE

Sky of blue, sea of Green (Beer Day shirts)

Starting in the wee hours of March 19, Miami University students across Oxford will begin celebrating Green Beer Day (GBD), a “holiday” where students dress up in green clothing or wear shirts sporting pop culture references related in some way to drinking beer colored a ghastly shade of green. 


While Robert isn't competitive, he isn't shy either. He's happy to share his music with whoever will listen.
CULTURE

Oxford’s piano man: a legacy of loving music

Sunlight beams in through the large windows at the front of the living room as Robert Schonlau sits before the gleaming ivory keys. His face, reflected in the glossy black finish above the ivories, is contemplative and serene as he adjusts the large-rimmed glasses on his face.  Back straight and feet reaching for the pedals, the 16-year-old pianist sets his fingers to the smooth keys. 


Incoming littles experience a week of mystery before their bigs are finally revealed.
CULTURE

Sista Sista!: The journey of finding your ‘big

  Every year, a new wave of first-year students are invited into the realm of sisterhood. Through the four seemingly never-ending rounds of sorority rush, girls search for a place to call home. But this search does not end when they receive their bid.  Through lunch and study dates, a week full of being spoiled with surprise gifts and the final big reveal, sorority pledges go on the search to find the person to guide them on this new journey of sisterhood. 


CULTURE

Ringing in the New Year at Miami’s own Shinnenkai Festival

The warm scent of chicken, dumplings and other homemade cuisine hung over the crowd of students packed into the Armstrong Student Center’s Fritz Pavilion. The aroma wound its way through the numerous booths set up throughout the room, wrapping itself around brightly colored paper decorations and ornate ceremonial garb. 

Miami Student Newsletter

Receive the Miami Student direct to your inbox!