‘Bittersweet’: The hardships of Black students at Miami University
By Layla Norris | YesterdayOn Wednesday, April 29, people gathered in a Shideler Hall lecture room to watch “Bittersweet: Black College Life at a Predominately White Institution.”
On Wednesday, April 29, people gathered in a Shideler Hall lecture room to watch “Bittersweet: Black College Life at a Predominately White Institution.”
As the panelists for Up & Up Oxford’s DJ competition met in February to listen to sets submitted by students hoping to open for popular EDM duo Shipwrek. The panelists expected to listen to energetic tracks that amplify rooms and invigorate crowds. They didn’t expect to hear the blasting horns of the FOX NFL theme.For Andrew Solomon, a sophomore business analytics major, that’s the purpose of being a DJ — picking the right track at the right time, even the unexpected.
Stage Left, a theater organization on campus fully led by Miami University students, presents a musical every semester. This spring, they performed “Be More Chill” over the weekend of April 24-26.“Be More Chill” follows the life of a teenager, Jeremy Here: A social outcast who has one friend, an estranged relationship with his father and an enormous crush on a girl who barely knows he exists. More than anything, he desires to be cool.
Sticky fingers, paper clippings and ink smears are the fundamentals of zines. While this may sound juvenile, this accessible entrance to a nuanced community is a huge part of the appeal. Anyone can do it, any time.Stefanie Hilles, a librarian at the Art and Architecture Library, defined zines as “self-published, kind of anti-establishment, underground little magazines that, in a lot of ways, are done for the love of the game instead of profit.”
“The World is to Dig” is the 24th studio album by TMBG, proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the band still has it in them to produce quality music.The title is a reference to Ruth Krauss’ children’s book “A Hole is to Dig,” which the band previously posed with for a promotional shoot about 35 years ago.
It was a bright and sunny day for artists to play music, sell paint, draw portraits and share free pizza and cookies. Student organizations such as the Associated Student Government and the Miami University Center for Career Exploration and Success had tables filled with markers and crafts to create art at the annual Sparkfest celebration.
Before the MCU took off, the Sam Raimi “Spider-Man” trilogy was the peak of superhero movies. Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker was the first live-action version of the superhero and the introduction to Spider-Man and Marvel in general for kids growing up in the 2000s.Those movies kick-started my obsession that still lingers today.
Recently, I’ve picked up the hobby of collecting physical media.
Miami University’s Vision Dance Company (VDC) is a student-led organization on campus bringing dancers together to choreograph and perform. Established in 2001, they are “Miami’s most versatile dance organization.”On April 10 and 11, they performed their 2026 show, V2K — their own take on Y2K — celebrating the organization’s 25th anniversary.
Director Kristoffer Borgli did not miss when he titled this movie “The Drama” — because there is certainly drama.From the beginning, you can tell something is off. While it did not convey typical aspects of horror or suspense, things felt weird. The initial scene depicts a seemingly adorable meet-cute between Charlie (Robert Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya).
Growing up, my family had a near-nightly tradition. After dinner and showers, we would gather around the TV in the family room and watch my mom’s favorite music videos from days past.It was a family-wide event, with my siblings and I taking turns choosing the next mini-movie, analyzing the story it told and copying dance moves we saw onscreen.The general quality of music videos has decreased dramatically in recent years. It went from being an art form where the artist could convey the meaning behind their music, to nothing more than a five-second silent snippet that plays on repeat while you listen to the track on Spotify.
Kevin Chamberlin began his career on the stage of a community theater in South Jersey. Now, roughly 50 years later, Chamberlin has performed numerous times on Broadway, appeared alongside Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” and has become a childhood icon for his role in the Disney Channel show “Jessie.”Chamberlin visited as part of Miami University’s lecture series Monday, April 6.
Over spring break, I convinced a friend to tag along for a “Ready or Not 2” screening. I knew nothing about the movie — I still haven’t even seen the first one — but the trailers interested me, and I was due for a trip to the theater.The audience filled less than half of our showing, which I simultaneously questioned and celebrated. The movie itself lived up to my expectations, but as we walked out of AMC, I thought back to the theater experiences I had growing up.
I’ve been listening to Snail Mail since 2022, so the wait for Lindsey Jordan’s newest album, “Ricochet,” was a long one. My first experience with her music was on my 16th birthday, and my dad decided to take a risk and buy me a vinyl of an album I had never heard before.
A fandom, for those who don’t know, is “a group of fans of someone or something, especially very enthusiastic ones,” according to the Cambridge Dictionary.Fandom culture is not just a modern spectacle. In fact, according to Fanlore, “the practice of making fanzines originated in science fiction fandom in the 1930s, when they were called fanmags.”
From cable television to YouTube Shorts, late-night shows have touched audiences everywhere.When you hear “late-night show,” a few names probably come to mind: Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, James Corden or any Saturday Night Live cast member from 1975 to now.However, while these names are household staples, people are watching them less and less. According to rating reports, total viewership has declined by three percent since 2024. The number of viewers ages 18 to 49 has decreased by 16%.
But just because you might get hives every time you see a novel longer than 400 pages doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy thought-provoking literature. Here are five book recommendations, each under 250 pages, that will keep you entertained and engaged while helping you stay on track with your reading goal.
At the end of January, London-based singer-songwriter Raye announced the release of her second album, “This Music May Contain Hope,” and I have been eagerly awaiting its arrival ever since. Within a few minutes of its release on March 27, I sat down and listened to what would become one of the best albums I have heard in the past year.
Friend of a Friend (FOF) began just as the name suggests — friends of friends joining together to jam some tunes.
One thing about me, I love movies where women are covered in blood. “Ready or Not: Here I Come” may be the most bloody film I’ve ever seen, and it has Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton, so what more could you want?