OU/Miami Rivalry...

...if you are liberal with words enough to call it a rivalry. Our inferiors in Athens seem to care a lot more about the so-called rivalry, while we generally just ignore them. Probably for the best that they stay away. We don't want any of their infectious diseases.


OU's lame attempt at a slam on my beloved University, written by the ENTIRE EDITORIAL BOARD of their paper. Clearly, it takes that many OU students to create enough brain power to write such an article:

Miami University sucks. That isn't a statement of opinion - that is a scientific fact.

Take Oxford, Ohio, the earthly site of that university. Oxford sucks. You know what's a fun thing to do in Oxford? Leave. We don't want there to be any mistake that we're insulting the town, so let's be honest about what we're looking at here: eight dozen brick buildings in the middle of a cornfield. From there, the Miami equation is simple enough. Pull 15,000 teenagers out of their local Sunglass Hut, toss in a porn shop a few miles down the road and call it a day. The result is the kind of thing you wouldn't want your mother to see because it's just too dirty. Something like the hellish product of a one-night stand between Old MacDonald and Paris Hilton.

Want to get acquainted with the Miami Boy Experience? Throw on some Brooks Brothers and your upside-down visor and get ready to keg-stand for the next three hours straight. By midnight you'll be ready to stumble out, maybe crash your Escalade into a drainage ditch and possibly even take a swing at a cop.

And sorry, boys. We know you're at least making an attempt to appear presentable, but Neutrogena was never meant to be used by men, no matter what you heard during The O.C. commercial breaks. Ask an OU man - he doesn't even know what conditioner is.

Then there are the legendary Miami girls. We could rag on them easily enough, but we won't. Those girls already have it hard enough, what with Miami boys chasing them, and books not making sense to them.

Even Miami's student groups suck. Such as the Miami University Radical Student Alliance. Upon hearing the name, you might imagine this is something awesome, like an alliance of students who drink liquor and swordfight on skateboards. You'd be wrong. This is just Miami's "Students for A Democratic Society" group. Yeah - we know even ascot-wearing dandies want to feel edgy once in a while, but what's with the name? This group is about as radical as spending spring break in your family's stable, slowly brushing knots out of a horse's mane while you deliberate whether or not your body might be the Wonderland John Mayer is crooning about through your iPod headphones.

Of course, if you go to Miami, this is probably a deeply familiar scenario.

Looking back into Miami's history is an uncomfortable experience. It's like looking through your neighbor's family photo album and learning that his great grandfather was - literally - a Nazi. It's no secret Miami's founders originally called themselves the Redskins, and even drew up a tasteless, feather-headed American Indian stereotype for a mascot. It wasn't until nearly two decades of thinly-veiled racism had elapsed that somebody finally called them out on it.

They eventually settled on "RedHawk," which, it turns out, isn't even a real animal. It's easy to imagine they arrived at the name by asking third graders to write down their favorite animal and color and then drew words out of a hat.The whole thing actually came about because they needed to find a new way to use hats that wouldn't muss their perfectly tousled hair.

Anyway, do they really think they can get off the hook that easily? Who do they think they are, the PC police?

If there's one thing Miami got right, it's Green Beer Day. If they want to dress in OU colors and vomit into "uptown" urinals at 5:30 in the morning, who are we to stop them? We can't help it if everyone's catching green fever. Green Beer Day is like the college equivalent of a 24-hour, beer-induced Freudian slip, and the message is clear: OU rules. Miami sucks.


First of all, try reading this out loud. The wording makes me cringe. Wah wah wah. You "suck". Give me a break. We're aware of the preppy Miami stereotype. Be original, for god's sake...

The best are the comments, which can be read below the article, and are basically an assortment of embarassment and apologies to Miami for the imbiciles who wrote this.

Our response:

To the Ohio University Post's Editorial Board:

I write in response to your Feb. 25 editorial ("We do it better: As OU's biggest rivalry heats up, Miami is still anything but cool"), which haphazardly assailed Miami University. Our student paper's editorial board refused to pen a response, the reasoning being something about having class and a shred of decency. It's sad the only program worth attending at OU (didn't get into Miami?!) can only produce a muddled, unfunny challenge to our university's prestige. As a favor, I will demonstrate how it's done properly:

My cheating ex-girlfriend attends OU. We broke up because she is stupid and ugly. I only call her cheating because she is a student in the engineering department. For her term paper she even copied former graduate students' misspellings.

I recently ran into an old high school friend, who went to OU, at the local Bath and Body Works, where he works. I pretended to be interested as he explained why OU's girls' volleyball team is better than Miami's. "We're rivals, you know?" No, I didn't. The average Miami student thinks our rivals are the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Notre Dame University, Ohio State University again and then OU, in that order. You can be our rival when you get a hockey team. Maybe if your university's president had turned down that bonus…

I often hear from my cousin that the Halloween party in Athens is "off the hook." I asked her how many friends she invites into town to share in the festivities. "Just one. The university only gives me one guest wristband!" Nothing says wild and crazy like letting your administration put attendance quotas on your parties.

In your article, you mention Green Beer Day as a Miami student's day to wear green and pretend we go to OU. Okay I'll bite. We imagine you do start most weekdays with copious amounts of alcohol in an effort to numb the pain of living in Appalachia. Hooray for vomiting into urinals! The janitor at Skipper's confirmed this is indeed an OU tradition (class of '86 BTW). Oh, and speaking of accomplished OU alumni, those two guys who made Enzyte, the penis enhancement pill that was really just a placebo-they were Bobcats.

Finally, in response to your article's mention of our university's old mascot: Yes, the name Redskins is belittling and politically incorrect. So we changed our name, and we currently work with the Miami tribe to restore their language, display their artwork and offer scholarships for their young people. How fortunate Native Americans never inhabited the area around Athens, Ohio, knowing the land would some day be needed for an average academic institution serving middle-class, stoned, suburban underachievers.

Do I even need to touch on average SAT scores?

Take a shower to wash this one off. It would be your first in a few days.

SLAM.

My favorite comment on our page:

"Personally, I'd pay the OU article zero attention. When I was at Miami, OU was simply a giant party that happened to have a school attached to it. We'd roadtrip to Athens a couple times a year and pillage their women, who had much looser moral standards than their Miami counterpart. OU...not to be taken seriously."

Finally, I'd like to quote an anecdote from Phillip R. Shriver's "Miami University: A Personal History":

...in 1931 Jean West, a student from a farm in Scioto County, Ohio was denied further attendance at Miami because she failed to make sufficient progress toward a degree. Jean West did not accept her dismissal from Miami, and, with the encouragement and support of her father, she brought suit against the University...in the opinion of her father, testifying before the Court of Common Pleas in Butler County, if her daughter didn't have the smarts to graduate, it was up to Miami to see that she got the smarts and graduated. The university's case was that it had done its best to educate her, but Jean would have to do the rest for herself.

In the Appellate Court, the argument of Miami University was upheald, and Jean west was not allowed to return as a student. She promptly applied to Ohio University and was accepted, thereby elevating, as one wag suggested, the academic standards of both institutions simultaneously.

Miami > OU. It's a historical fact.

tomfoolery

I generally use my blog to broadcast my silliness and other such ridiculous thoughts, stories, and adventures. Nisha, on the other hand, is the epitome of someone who uses her blog to share her beautiful and intelligent words and thoughts. And she's gone far with it! She's taken it to the level of having her own ".com", which to me, is the indication of success in our wonderful world(wideweb). She's literally become my online idol. I get excited when I find out my friends read my blog. She basically has celebrities following her every word.

I met Nisha through AIESEC, and we became closer as we both took on a great amount of responsibility within the organization. There are few friends I have who have watched me grow and experienced the changes I have gone through over the last few years. I feel I have done the same with her. One of AIESEC's statements is that it turns regular college students into change agents and leaders. Nisha is a perfect example.

Before you start thinking we're having a love affair (or are we? ANSWER: No. I'm very committed to my "wife" Ilana, another amazing AIESECer I admire, though she's been in Spain and away from me for over a year), I'd like to share the point of this tell-all infatuation post.

I get made fun of by a lot of my friends for keeping a blog. For having a Twitter. It's difficult to put into words why I want to share my thoughts, feelings, and stories with the world - especially in this day and age, where it's dangerous to put anything online, lest it be found and misconstrued by some future employer. But here I sit in my apartment in Oxford, Ohio, pouring my heart out as quickly as my fingers will type. Truth is, I want to make a difference in the lives of those who read my blog. Ok, that's a little bit of an overshot, but I really do want to.

Back to Nisha. She has given me (and all her other readers) 25 ways to use your blog and social media to create change. Reading this post inspired me to stop posting about jackalopes (ok...maybe I'll still post about jackalopes, but only because they're awesome) and start writing about things that matter - to me, and to other people.

Don't worry readers. You should still expect silliness. It's in my nature.

I just sent in my medical forms for the Peace Corps and should be leaving in July for 2 years of tomfoolery in Sub-Saharan Africa. If internet access is available, I will be blogging about my experience. Before then, I must set some goals for my blog:

1. Find a better forum than Blogspot. No offense, Google - it's easy to use, but I'm looking for a little more class.
2. Make my blog look better! Maybe a picture banner? Suggestions of what to make it of? I'm thinking frolicking jackalopes...
3. Follow some of Nisha's advice on pound out a few of those 25 ways...

Meet Sir Elton Joel. I found him in San Antonio. Unfortunately, he costs $74, so I wasn't able to purchase him. However, if you have some extra cash lying around, and like me a lot, feel free to send him or one of his friends my way.

my bracket

...can be found here!

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/entry?entryID=1377073&sp=true

I have Kansas, Pitt, Syracuse and UConn in the Final 4 with Syracuse winning it all!

Don't make fun of me. I only like basketball one month out of the year. My basic strategy is "I like School A better than School B." But Syracuse is scrappy. I don't think it's completely out of the question for them to win!

Let's see how I do.

bitchroll'd

I woke up at 4:00pm this afternoon, refusing to give in to the realization that the Spring Break of my senior year really is over. After this, there are 8 weeks until graduation. This means only one thing: start kicking the fun into high gear.

This past week was a great way to start. It was a perfect metaphor for a school week. Here's how the vacation with my sister and 4 Delta Delta Delta's went.

Day 1: Regret for not preparing earlier. I spent Saturday with Cami and Andy, working on my submission video for the STA World Travel Internship. Cami's relative expertise at editing videos, combined with my pictures and video, and Andy's Mac laptop led to a pretty stellar submission, if you ask me. I told Jenny I wouldn't be ready to go until 9pm, because we still had a lot of work to do. Apparently she didn't listen, because she kept walking into my apartment to check. Hi. No matter how much you bother me, it's not going to make this go any faster. At 9:15pm sharp, I was ready to go. I loaded up my things, and got into a car with 5 girls who didn't hide the fact that they hated me. After my iPod died, I was left with nothing to do but share my misery with friends via text, and Twitter concerns about the upcoming treacherous week.

Day 2: Realization of the hell that I'm in. We arrived at the condo in Florida, and I started unloading my suitcase in one of the bedrooms. Unfortunately, someone else had other plans. My sister Jenny came into the room, yelling at me for taking one of the beds that she had promised her friends. I didn't see the reasoning, since my own baby pictures were on the walls. Jenny started telling me that neither she, nor any of her friends, wanted me there. That I should stay out of their way. Then I heard her talking to the other girls, telling them what a bitch I am. That they shouldn't listen to anything I say, because I'm fake. I sat there, crying on the phone with Cami, and they plotted how they would make the rest of my week miserable. Never in my life have I heard such manipulation.

After talking to my mom and asking her to book me a flight home at the end of the week so I wouldn't have to drive home with these girls, I cleaned myself off and got dinner at the Fish House. I bought a bottle of wine for the girls on the way home, hoping that might help things. Once I got home and sat down with my book, however, I started feeling sick to my stomach. I spent about an hour in the bathroom before I finally got to bed. What perfect timing.

Day 3: Work it I woke up feeling decently on Monday. I walked down to the beach, then walked the 4+ miles down to the pier to rent a bike for the week, so I wouldn't have to worry about being stranded. It took about 2 hours, including breaks for water and beer and oceanside bars. After locking up my bike, I went to the bar where I met some Michigan Staters on Spring Break as well. They were really chill and fun, so we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying dollar drafts. After getting sick to my stomach the night before, my first food of the day was a hamburger at the bar. Bad idea. A few minutes after biking home, I got sick again. I hoped this wouldn't continue as a trend for the week. All in all, though, a pretty good day (excluding whatever was keeping me from eating anything without getting sick). I avoided the girls, met some cool people.

Day 4: Letting up Woke up Tuesday feeling refreshed. The girls asked if I wanted to go to the beach with them, so I did. I lay there for a while, but got bored and asked some guys nearby if they wanted to play soccer. My sister and her friends pointed these guys out earlier as being from Indiana, but they said I shouldn't talk to them because of some reason I didn't really understand that made absolutely no sense. I took this advice with a grain of salt, and went over to say hi. I had a lot of fun kicking the soccer ball around, and after about an hour, got their number and said I'd love to meet up later on. The other girls had said they were going to the pier, so I biked down to meet them.

Once I arrived at the pier (at about the same time as the girls, who were driving), I found myself very hungry and texted Jenny to see if they wanted to meet me at a really great Greek place for some food. She said she would rather not, and that they were going shopping. That left me by myself, yet again. Something I was getting used to. I was disappointed in Jenny's attitude, because I was starting to get along with some of the girls. It seemed like she was pretty dead set on making sure I was alone and away from her friends.

[A little relevant side note: When me and Jenny were little, there were several times I would meet her friends and become better friends with them than she was. I was beginning to see, at the present time in Florida, that she may have been fearing this scenario]

Nevertheless, we went back to the condo, enjoyed some pasta for dinner, and chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. Jenny was eerily silent as I laughed and joked with the rest of her friends.

Day 5: Silent storm Wednesday morning, Jenny and a couple of her friends decided to drive 2 hours to Tampa to go to the aquarium. We had agreed that this was the night we would grill out, and they said they would be back in time to make and have dinner. Charlie, Nicole (the two remaining girls) and I had a really great day, going down to the boardwalk at the end of the island, having lunch and drinks at the pier, and walking along the beach. We found out about a beach party starting at 6, and went back to get ready and wait for the other girls to return. Even though we warned them, they didn't actually make it back until almost 8. I had made some Mac and Cheese as we waited, hoping that would expedite the process. I did everyone's laundry. My mom texted me to ask how things were going, and I said that Jenny was still being pretty bitchy. When Jenny got back, she started yelling at me yet again. How dare I make Jenny's mac and cheese? How dare I text my mom and say that she was still being bitchy? If I was going to say that, then she would work harder at making me miserable. How dare I try to be nice to her friends? I didn't see the point in , so I left immediately to meet the Indiana guys at the Outrigger.

That night ended up being one of my best on the beach. After some drinks at the Outrigger, we continued wandering around and having a lot of fun. It was the first night where I actually felt I could be myself without being judged by my sister. When I got back, I found her on the couch while all her friends were out. According to her, she couldn't go out because I had ruined HER night.

Day 6: Apathy After the drama from the night before, I decided I no longer cared what the others thought. Scott and Doug, friends from Miami, drove up from Naples and we spent the day at the beach building a giant sand Miami "M". I was pretty tired, so I went back to shower, take a short nap, then met the Indiana guys at their place before we went to a bar for my last night at the beach. Not as crazy, at least for me, as the night before, but even sipping on water was fun with these guys.

Day 7: The End I woke up early on Friday, knowing I had a flight at 5:30pm that I'd have to make. I met the Indiana guys out at the beach and threw the football around and swam in the ocean for my remaining hours. I left them at 2 to head back and pack my things so Jenny could drive me to the airport. It was a little tough for me to say goodbye, but since they live in Fort Wayne - less than an hour from Lima - I knew I'd see them again. Without these guys, this week would have been a lot tougher than it was. I knew that Jenny and a couple of her friends' goal was to make my week as miserable as possible. As hard as they tried, though, I will definitely look back on this week fondly, thanks to the Indiana guys.

After Jenny dropped me off at the airport, I could tell this traverse wouldn't be as simple as the 1 1/2 hour layover in Atlanta implied. I couldn't find anyone in Oxford who would be able to pick me up when I arrived in Dayton, so my mom arranged for a shuttle to pick me up and bring me back to Miami. My flight from Ft. Myers was delayed 40 minutes due to apparent bad weather in Atlanta. When I finally arrived in Atlanta, it became clear that I missed my flight. As soon as I had twittered about it, I got in touch with Nate. An hour later, he picked me up and we were headed to the bars to meet up with Tiffany, Charlie, Morgan, Ryan, and Masato. This night rivaled Day 5 in its ridiculousness. We went to a karaoke bar, where I sang Piano Man, and we RickRolled the place. After the requisite Waffle House visit, I got an hour of sleep and Ryan drove me to the airport for the last leg of my journey. At the gate, I found Amy, Hilary, Allison and Ashley, 4 other AOPis on the same flight as me, coming back from their spring break.

That day, I finally told Jenny that I'd had enough. She has spent this entire year using all the tools she has to make my life miserable. Between stealing the car from me, refusing to let me use it when I need it to go to the grocery store, spreading rumors about me to friends of mine who, luckily, know me enough not to care, and this week, I decided it wasn't worth it. She told my mom awful lies about me and turned family against me. She didn't back me up when I went through a hard time last semester. I have hundreds of friends who are better sisters to me than she could ever compare to. Today, I found out that my littlest sister, Emily (16), is planning on being a Math major in college. I'm lucky that I still have a wonderful sister, and tons of friends and other family members who love and support me. I won't miss Jenny one bit.

Day 8: Back to Reality...kinda I arrived back in Oxford with a sense of relief. I was finally home. As I approached my door with my key, I experienced a swell of panic. The key on my AOPi key ring was not that of my apartment door. I used the remaining juice on my laptop to email my landlord from last year, and waited at Good Vibrations, an AOPi house until she called me around 5:30 and said she could let me in. Once I entered my apartment, I realized I hadn't eaten since the afternoon before at the Ft. Myers airport. I made myself a big meal, Andy came over to hang out, and a few hours later, Emily, one of my roommates was back. The Indiana guys, who were driving back, decided to stop at Miami at 5am. It was good to see them, especially after the stressful traveling I experienced. After they left, I went to sleep and woke up at 4pm. And here I am.



As I said earlier, Jenny and some of her friends tried really, really hard to make me miserable. If there's one thing I learned, it's that there are always people trying to get you down in life. It sucks especially when that person is so close to you. I've learned that when someone is that set on getting you down, the only solution is to cut them off. Life - not to mention the last 8 weeks of my semester - is too short to keep that kind of poison around. Luckily, I was able to meet some really cool people in my time of need, and I will look back on SB09 with fondness.

HELP ME GET MY DREAM JOB!

I'm applying for the STA World Travel Internship!
http://www.worldtravelerintern.com/

They're going to choose 2 students to travel around the world and share their experiences through blogging, pictures, and video. They're looking for someone with passion, someone who loves to travel and share their experiences, someone who's outgoing, and active.

So you're asking yourself: How can I help?

You can find my video submission here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfEg8GVMDCY

The more ratings/comments/views my video receives, the better the chances of me winning! Please get on there, comment on it, watch it all you want. Also, TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!

Thanks and love,
Caitie

You have only a week to vote for me so I can make the shortlist (20 people!!) PLEASE SEND THE LINK TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

In a recent US News article, there is discussion of repairing the image of the Republican Party. I say, it's about time - but how exactly do they plan on doing this?

Here's what I've been seeing in the news:

1. Head of RNC Michael Steele apologizes to Rush Limbaugh after making the following remark - “Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer,” he said. “Rush Limbaugh, the whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it’s incendiary, yes, it’s ugly.” Limbaugh went on to berate Steele on his radio show, and Steele quickly apologized. It's clear to see who runs the show (pun intended) when it comes to the G.O.P.
2. I didn't catch much of the CPAC on CSPAN over the weekend, but that which I did see made me gag. If these kids are the future of the Republican party, who's going to tell them that the image is changing?

And changing to what, exactly? After the 2006 and 2008 elections, it's clear that the white southern man no longer prevails on the ballot. Even their diverse selection of Jindal, a Governor from Louisiana of Indian descent, has been criticised.

From US News:
"We forgot those core ideals" that had led to success in the past, such as fiscal discipline, shrinking the size of government, and personal responsibility. "We walked away from the trust of the American people," he says. Steele pledged to not back down from confronting Obama and the Democrats on "basic principles."

Honestly, I wish Steele and the G.O.P. good luck in their quest for a new image. If they can find a way to relate to Generation Y - the youth and future of our country and our world, then good for them. I'm not talking about those who are simply Republicans because their parents are. I'm talking about those who think for themselves, and want to see our world as a better place, without looking back to the "good old days". It's time for a new sense of value in that party. As a proponent of bipartisan competition, I'm rooting for you.

The Travel Channel has been frustrating me lately. While I was watching Anthony Bourdain explore Uruguay yesterday, I noticed commercials for two new shows I didn't know about before.

The first is "Bridget's Sexiest Beaches". Bridget, from Girls Next Door and Playboy fame, explores beaches and resorts around the world in attempt to cure her travel needs.

The second is "Dhani Tackles the Globe." In this show, Dhani Jones, an NFL player from the Cincinnati Bengals (EW! FIRST MISTAKE) travels to explore the local sports in different countries. This is a little closer to the mark. At least he's looking into some of the culture.

Anthony Bourdain gets pretty close to feed my needs with his exploration of cuisine in back alleys and other such unexpected places, usually through the eyes of some of the local people.Where are the shows that focus on nomads who travel from hostel to hostel, couch-surfing their way through countries and exploring the culture through the local people?

Alright, alright, I'LL DO IT.

What's the ideal number of friends? According to a recent BBC article, the average number of close friends someone has is 5 (making Friends fairly accurate). The maximum number of close friends most people can handle is 6-12. If one examines wider circles, the count goes up to about 150:

"They usually consist of an inner circle of five "core" people and an additional layer of 10, he says. That makes 15 people - some will probably be family members - who are your central group and then outside that, there's another 35 in the next circle and another 100 on the outside. And that's one person's social world."

At a latest count, I am at 1448 Facebook friends. A little excessive, perhaps, but if you consider the number of AIESEC conferences I've been to (most of whom, admittedly, I became close to during the conference but I regrettably neglected to keep up with after wards), the amount of traveling I've done, and the student organizations I'm in, it makes sense.

In AIESEC Miami, there were about 40 members when I joined sophomore year, dropped to a measly 10 during my junior year, and has since grown to about 65. Considering those who graduated and those who've left the organization, this tends to add up. Alpha Omicron Pi: Joined Spring of sophomore year. A solid 150 members after recruitment every Spring. 150 members have graduated and moved on since I was a pledge, so that adds up to 300 members total. Add in the Water Ski team, College Dems, and it certainly adds up! Not to mention the rest of my friends come from meeting people in classes, in my dorm Freshman and Sophomore year, random encounters at parties, family members, etc. Whew!

Some claim that Facebook has made friendship less meaningful. While this argument has its validity, I tend to disagree. Facebook, along with other networking sites has made it easier to keep in touch with people. How else would I be able to remember who I know in Atlanta, so I can let them know that I'll be driving through on Sunday and want to meet up for breakfast?

I remember thinking freshman year, while I frantically wrote down names of people I was meeting at the earlier social events, "How did people make friends before Facebook?" Obviously the answer is simple: they collected phone numbers instead of stalking once they got home, but now things just seem so much easier.

Thank you technology for making me feel a lot more popular than I probably really am.