Culture

Digging up the truth about Miami’s tunnels

  Buried deep beneath Miami University’s pristine quads and beautiful buildings, a hidden network of tunnels criss-crosses the campus.  Some of these passages, like the one underneath the sidewalk that runs alongside Bell Tower Commons, are visible to students who walk above. However, this tunnel system is far more extensive than what one can see above ground — approximately five miles of tunnels connect the various buildings on the mile square. 

Timothée Chalamet isn’t afraid to play with femininity. Neither should you.

Timothée Chalamet could wear a trashbag and I would still bow down to him, begging Anna Wintour to let him grace the cover of Vogue. So, naturally, when it came time to review the fashion scene at this year’s Academy Awards, I forgot every other A-list star was there because I was so captivated by Chalamet’s Prada tracksuit.The moment he stepped on the carpet, it felt like a resurgence of Old Hollywood glamour came to dazzle the flashing cameras. 

The dirty white sneaker

It isn’t necessarily news that white sneakers are on trend – they have been for years, as far back as 2018, which, in fashion terms, is a long time. Between my first pair of Adidas original Stan Smiths and my next pair of white Nike Air Force Ones, it’s also a trend I have completely embraced. Lately, I have even become interested in purchasing the chunky Filas that seem to garner a lot of negative attention. But something I’ve quietly wondered is why we buy white shoes and wear them when we go out, knowing full well that they'll be trashed by the end of the night?

A seventh-grader’s guide to TikTok

“What are you guys doing?” I called after, laughing as they continuously re-recorded themselves until they were in perfect sync. “You just wouldn’t understand, Ceili,” my brother Liam said. “It’s TikTok.” So, I became determined to understand.

Yeezy seasons change: Streetwear prepares to leave Kanye behind

The SneakGeekz are a small, close-knit community of Miami’s most-intense sneaker and streetwear obsessives. They know their shoes inside and out. And, coincidentally, they know the universe of Kanye West to the same degree. 

Jeans: The comeback kings, even though they never left

Jeans: The layman’s pants. Daisy dukes. Bell bottoms. The Canadian tuxedo. High rise. Acid wash. Boot cut. Ripped. Frayed. Mom. Skinny. Denim. It’s a fabric that’s as versatile as it is constant. You can practically see denim’s decades-long, Rocky-style montage charting its ever-shifting success.  

Cruising through the evolution of Miami’s LGBTQ dating scene

On the third floor of Miami University’s Shriver Center, tucked into a corner office, is the Miller Center for Student Disability Services (SDS). The space is decorated with art from local disabled artists and soft, flowing music fills the room. “Who are you here to see?” asked the woman sitting at the reception desk.  The three of us looked at each other. “We have a meeting with Andy Zeisler,” Tim replied.

From SUNY Geneseo to Miami University: One Rabbit’s Journey 

What’s black and white and bears a small resemblance to a cow? Moo, the aptly-named bunny. Although she has slightly-longer ears and a more impressive vertical leap than her bovine counterparts, the color similarities are striking.  

From New York to Paris, Lexi Scherzinger makes her mark on the fashion world

Senior Lexi Scherzinger’s interest in fashion has literally taken her around the world. In the summer of 2018, she lived in New York City and interned for world-renowned fashion designer Christian Siriano. She then studied in Paris during the fall of 2018, right after she decided to switch majors. Originally a strategic communication major, she decided to change to journalism. She’s known that she wanted to study fashion since her second semester freshman year.

Firing up a new pledge class in Kappa Delta

After two-straight weekends of waking up at 6 a.m. to get ready for a day filled with small talk, Haley Faber couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the end of recruitment with her sorority’s new pledge class. 

When we all fall asleep, where does the ranch dressing go?

The display case offers a wide array of options: French, Italian, Caesar, balsamic and even raspberry vinaigrette. There is one particular dressing, however, that appears to be missing.  At first glance, it feels like a mistake. Perhaps you simply glanced too quickly. Perhaps it’s stuck behind the raspberry vinaigrette packets. But no, as sad as it is to accept, the ranch packets seem to have disappeared from Lux — and this is where our Midwestern mystery begins. 

Sustainability in Greece Over J-Term

For 10 points: who are the hosts of Top Deck Trivia?

  On the first Wednesday of the spring semester, the line to get into Top Deck extended all the way down the stairs.   Inside, the bar was buzzing with people carrying pitchers of beer to their tables and teams trying to find a space to sit — or at this point, stand.  Ben Storsved, who graduated in December, and junior Hunter Wotruba stood in the back corner of the bar, behind a laptop and sound system and under a glowing Chicago Cubs logo sign — one of many neon signs decorating Top Deck’s walls.  As the clock strikes 10 p.m., Ben leans in and speaks warmly into a microphone.  “Hello friends and welcome back to another fantastic week at Top Deck Trivia!”

Maybe it’s okay to forget?

I have to wonder if the writers of “The Office” knew what they were doing when they wrote their series finale. The easy answer here is that they obviously did; Google “the office finale” and you’ll find think piece after think piece about how perfectly NBC’s hit sitcom concluded. My actual question lies within a specific quote. Did the writing team know that “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them” would wind up plaguing yearbooks and Instagram captions for (probably) decades to come? It’s a nice quote, and as someone whose self-admitted tragic flaw is sentimentality, I can see why fans of “The Office” cling to it like a treasured family heirloom.

Oxford Magazine hosts Spring Street Reading

The rain drizzling outside the windows harmonizes with the first few notes of “Piano Man” a student plunks out on the old piano at the front of the room. As another student draws the words “Spring Street Reading '' in bubble letters on a large whiteboard, students and English professors trickle in slowly, helping themselves to the coffee, lemonade and cookies laid out on the back table and settle in to hear their fellow students’ stories.

Notes of Nostalgia

High school dances may be a cesspool of sweat and hooligans, but one dance I went to will always hold a special place in my heart.  When I was a sophomore in high school, my school held a masquerade-themed Winter Formal. Traditionally, it was a girls-ask-guys dance, but I went with a few of my friends. 

Meet, greet and eat at Spring Street Treats

 Across the titular street from the Oxford Fire Department, the lime-green ice cream shop used to be home to a drive-through bank, but now features bright colored walls, shelves full of knick-knacks for sale and quite a few customers who stop by regularly for pints to bring home.  

Sharing the stage leads two Miami students to find their own paths

On Tuesday nights, two very different styles of music can be heard emanating from a basement bar on High Street.  Nestled underground on West High Street is Bar 1868, a laid-back lounge with an atmosphere that makes Brick Street’s bustling dance floor seem all the more hectic. The bar has pool tables, biweekly drag shows and, every Tuesday night, live music performed by Miami University seniors Karen Mayet and Zach Vanderink. 

Misinformation, distrust and fear: Understanding the coronavirus stigma

Li didn’t get to travel back to China over break, but when he started classes this semester, he was asked multiple times where he was from, and whether or not he was from Wuhan (the center of the coronavirus outbreak). But that doesn’t bother him very much.  “I’m scared as well, so I totally understand why they ask that,” Li said.

Friday Foodie Feature: Louisville, a Hidden Gem of Urban Mania

All photos courtesy of Sammy Harris