Though Miami University carries a reputation of being relatively conservative, Oxford has been a small blue bubble in an overwhelmingly red county for the past several elections.
In the face of a pandemic, the Butler County Board of Elections and local political organizations have both been working to allow Oxford residents to vote as safely and efficiently as possible this coming November.
Jennifer Bailer, health commissioner for the Butler County Health District, said Oxford is now averaging 25 new COVID cases a day, a decrease from several hundred a day at the end of August.
Situated along some of Oxford’s most familiar streets such as Vine, High and Main, there resides a rich history of the Black men and women who made their impact on this town more than 100 years ago.
Turning in other students to the Oxford Police Department (OPD) or the university, or “snitching,” is becoming more common around Oxford, with the desire to limit the spread of COVID-19 being a driving factor in many of these situations.
Miami University will return to in-person classes as planned on Sept. 21, wrote President Greg Crawford in a university-wide email, with residence hall move-in beginning next week.
As a result of Miami University’s late July announcement that the first five weeks of instruction would be online, many students — mostly sophomores — chose to be released from their housing and meal contracts and find housing off-campus.
OPD Lieutenant Lara Fening said the department hasn’t issued any gathering ban citations in an effort to let community members become informed of the new regulations before penalizing them. Fening also said that issuing citations is at the officers’ discretion.
As the Talawanda School District (TSD) geared up for a virtual start to the school year on Monday, Aug. 24, students and parents were hopeful for a speedy return to normalcy.
Miami University President Greg Crawford announced that 10 students and two employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the school year. In an email sent to the Miami community on Friday, Aug. 21, Crawford wrote that the positive tests occurred on Miami’s Oxford campus.
Miami University representatives Jayne Brownell and Kimberly Moore spoke to City Council members about the university’s plan for the fall semester during council’s Aug. 18 meeting.
As Miami University students begin their fall semester remotely, with many in off-campus housing, Oxford City Council voted to ban gatherings of more than 10 people at its Aug. 18 meeting. The emergency ordinance will be enforced until Gov. Mike DeWine declares the end of Ohio’s state of emergency.
As U-Haul trucks and a caravan of students begin to make their way into off-campus neighborhoods, uptown businesses anxiously wait for an upswing in sales.
Students have until this Friday, Aug. 21, to decide whether or not they will participate in Miami University’s phased reopening. But for some, the decision isn’t as easy as checking a box on an online form.
Oxford City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to mandate face coverings in public. The ordinance was labeled as an emergency, which puts the mandate in effect as soon as possible. The decision occurred during a virtual special city council meeting.
After being closed for nearly three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Miami University’s on-campus childcare center, Mini University (Mini U), reopened on July 6.
Community members addressed Oxford City Council on measures they want to see implemented in the city to address police brutality and community wellness at council’s most recent meeting.
The new task force is charged with providing “expertise, advice, and insights on DEI efforts across the university and our campuses,” according to its webpage.
During the City Council’s June 2 meeting, many Oxford community members spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Oxford City Council passed a resolution giving $5,000 emergency small business loans to four local businesses at its May 19 meeting.