The renovations of Marcum Conference Center and the Miami Inn are only two of the changes to be made to the living arrangements on campus, but they are going to alter the landscape of upperclass living significantly. The Miami Inn will be renovated into a residence hall most likely for upperclass students and Marcum Conference Center will add more beds to accommodate visitors to the campus. After the renovations, 100 beds will be available to upperclass students at the Miami Inn. The combined total number of rooms supplied by both locations will have been reduced from approximately 94 to 55 due to the combining of small spaces into suites.
According to officials, only operating one hotel facility will lower annual operating costs because there will be less transportation of products between the two locations. Plans to complete the Marcum Conference Center and Miami Inn refurbishments are set for fall 2012.
The editorial board of The Miami Student believes these renovations are going to benefit students. By updating student living and preparing for future housing needs, the university is keeping the focus on undergraduates. Housing is a major concern for prospective students, and by showing a commitment to ensuring student comfort Miami is increasing its competitiveness.
The board considers the changes beneficial, but feels there must continue to be planning involved in the renovation process of both Marcum and the Miami Inn. The number of beds in both locations must reflect class trends and the number of requests for lodging from visitors. Officials must take demand for rooms into account when undertaking a project such as this one. Preparation and forward thinking is necessary to make certain the university remains viable and able to accommodate students for future years.
Qur'an embodies American values
We wish to assert our firm belief in the sanctity of all expressions of faith and spiritual yearning. To embrace religious diversity, not merely tolerate it, is to honor a most cherished tradition that so animated the founders of America that they enshrined it in our Constitution.
The moral truths in the Qur'an strikingly resemble those to be found in Jewish and Christian scripture. Moreover, the power and beauty of the Qur'an's language offer a richness that complements all spiritual traditions.
Therefore, reading and honoring the Qur'an is to affirm one of America's most sacred values.
Normally, I think getting offended by a joke is flat-out stupid, and it may be hypocritical of me to say this, but I was offended by the Columbia section of the article "Broaden your study abroad experience." Specifically, the part where students "learn how to be a successful drug dealer, drug addict or family member affected by a drug addiction." Since this apparently is what Miamians find facetious, I've got a story that should inundate all who read it with laughter. Every word of this story is true.
Let's start with my father. He at one time held down a decent job as a construction worker, until an unfortunate accident resulted in the severance of his Achilles tendon and put him out of a job. My mother was working as a nurse and my family was happy. Since my dad had nothing better to do, he discovered the world of the Internet. He became involved with eBay and ran a semi-successful business buying and re-selling pottery. That too went south, and my family started on an economic decline.
Of course, as any reasonable man would, my father resorted to stealing groceries and, at his low point, Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards (to later be resold on eBay). He was caught multiple times and has spent time in prison ... but I digress. To get to the interesting part, I'll summarize. My dad ended up spending massive amounts of time on the Internet, primarily porn-related, and became mean, bitter and lazy. This essentially left my mother to raise me, a fresh teenager, and my brother, a young and impressionable emotional wreck. Her doctor prescribed her Xanax to help her cope, and that transformed my mom ever so subtlety into a drug addict.
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My mom, over the years since my dad was first caught shoplifting, had kicked my dad out three times, but each time felt enough compassion and had a need for someone to at least be at the house while my brother and I were there. I hated my father to the point of getting in multiple fistfights with him, but I was more concerned for my mother than anything. Things started to become clear to me about the summer after my sophomore year. I stumbled across my mom, the one person I looked up in my life, and found her crying, shaking uncontrollably and muttering incoherently. I stayed with her, and I deciphered enough of her babble to conclude that she was out of her medicine and that she was at a point where she couldn't function without it.
To avoid long-windedness, I will skip ahead roughly six or seven months to Feb. 28, 2009. My mom's new boyfriend, who had been a godsend for my family, had helped her on the path to a new life. She had quit smoking and was ready to admit herself into rehab. She was likely to lose her job, a burden that she carries today, but knew what needed to be done. About a week into rehab, my brother, her boyfriend and I went to visit her.
The men and women were separated, so the people I saw were primarily women. It shocked me at how many young, pretty women had fallen prey to drugs — be it alcohol, cocaine or prescriptions to name a few. I had never been happier to see my mom, but as the emotional rock I am and have to be, I held it in when I first saw her. We went to some classes where I learned about what addiction really is: a disease. There's a reason some people can go out and drink the nights away and have no desire to do it all the time, and yet some people stay sober for years and have it all taken back by just one dose of sleeping medication (a personal account a family member of one of the patients told at a group session). It's ingrained in your genes — some people are lucky enough to not bear that burden, but, as my mother does and why I likely do, her family had a history, mainly of alcoholism. Alcoholism = drug addiction.
Later in the day, we had a group session with the family members and patients. I don't remember specifics, but I remember that the patient and each individual family member or visitor had to get in the middle of the circle, hold hands and the visitor had to tell the patient how their addiction had affected them and some other things. I saw grown, badass-looking men brought to tears, and the raw emotion in the room was something I hadn't experienced before in my life. I saw how this disease tore families apart, and yet I saw how willing these people were to help their loved ones change. It opened my eyes, it made a change in me and it's something I'll never forget. And then, suddenly, it was my turn.
My mom was already sitting in the middle of the circle, box of tissues at her side. I slowly walked over, sat in the chair opposite hers and held her hands. I then looked her in the eyes, began to speak, but nothing but an ocean of tears came out. I was overwhelmed by how much this had affected me. I love(d) my mom more than words can describe, and I couldn't have been prouder of her for molding me into the person I am today, for staying as strong as she could despite my father's tyranny and for making the effort to change her life, accept the consequences and try to start new. I have never ever cried nearly as much or as hard as I did that day.
My mother has been drug-free for over a year. She goes to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and resists the temptations that so many choose to indulge in. She and her boyfriend have also been together roughly a year and a half, and I couldn't be more thankful for him (although I will admit, we often don't see eye to eye.) I just figured it must be tough coming up with the comedic genius on page seven, so I wanted to lighten the mood by giving you a deeper meaning to one of your jokes.
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