"Do you want to try one on"
Recent recasting in the Department of Theatre has stirred discussion of an elephant in the room: Miami's lack of racial diversity.
Mambo. Cha cha. Quickstep. Foxtrot. All ballroom dances involve a "leader," which is traditionally a man, who directs the "follower," traditionally a woman. To help others learn to dance -- regardless of gender identity -- through the ballroom dance club, first-year Brynne Menkhaus and graduate student Josh Schussler are learning to be both leaders and followers.
On the evening of January 24, days before the majority of students would be flocking back to Miami's campus, freshman Connor Catlett arrived before he even had a dorm to stay in. A transfer student from the University of Georgia, the new RedHawk ended up sleeping on a friend of a friend's couch the night before his freshman transfer orientation.
If one of my neighbors were to have looked out their bedroom window last Saturday morning around 7:15, here's what they would have seen: Me, dressed in sweatpants, a gray fleece and moccasin slippers, sprinting across my lawn and around the block, an empty leash in hand.
This past weekend, the university saw a blur of students and professors rushing back into the Oxford city limits, thus ending their winter vacations and settling back in for a new semester, as is the late January custom at Miami. But for members of the Miami community that traveled for a J-term study away program, this transition was particularly stressful.
"It's still going to be good," I heard a familiar voice say from behind me.
Every end-of-year "best-of" television list you read over the next week or so is going to begin with a disclaimer. It's impossible to narrow it down to just five, or 10, or 25 of the best shows, critics will lament, citing the ever-sprawling world of Peak TV, when it's simply impractical for any one writer to watch enough of the shows out there to produce a fair ranking. Even if I had seen them all, they'll add, there's so much good TV out there these days that I can't possibly make room for all the episodes that deserve a spot on my precious list.
Music has been a part of Brody Flinders' life for as long as he can remember. His mother, grandfather and uncle exposed him to a variety of artists and genres from a young age and he's taken an interest in almost everything over the years.
The stage in Wilks Theater stood empty aside from soft purple and blue lights. A moment later it was bursting with artistic movements, monochromatic costumes and climbing piano music.
High Street in Uptown Oxford houses a wide variety of eating establishments. Chain restaurants like Skyline Chili and Subway share the same bit of road as the local businesses and holes-in-the-wall like Steinkeller and Bruno's Pizza.
Sitting outside of Miami University's King Library after dark on a Friday night, one can see all types of people headed Uptown for the night. However, amid the sea of people making the trek up slant walk, another group emerges. Instead of heading toward Uptown, this group makes a beeline for the library, straight to the back.
This February, Miami University will host the Charter Day Ball, an event that brings the community together every three years to celebrate Miami University's birthday.
I've always struggled to articulate my feelings about Jim Carrey. While I've enjoyed most of his movies -- "Dumb and Dumber," "The Truman Show," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," etc. -- something about him, as an actor, has always rubbed me the wrong way. The zany, over-the-top antics, the obnoxious lilt in his voice as he bellows yet another "Alllrighty then," his borderline insufferable disregard for human decency or restraint -- call me cynical, but it all seems a bit much.
"If you voluntarily or involuntarily vomit, please use the trash cans next to you instead of the table"
The third floor of McGuffey Hall swelled with the scent of local foods and the sounds of live performances, a Capella, drums and dance music .
It wasn't until Nick Klinkenbergh and Nathan Connor had walked all the way through the crisp fall night to the bus stop that they realized they didn't know if the bus was even coming.
It was Thursday. It was dark. I was Uptown, walking alone past a brooding Brick Street and suspicious cars tucked in alleyways. Walking alone at night reminds me of horror stories from family and friends, sexual assault notifications and the statistics that aren't in my favor.