Act would give tax exemption for contributions made to not-for-profit student housingBECKY BUTTS ONLINE EDITOR

The University of Cincinnati Undergraduate Student Government voted to actively support an initiative Wednesday that it hopes will make nonprofi t student housing cheaper and safer.

The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act, introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2013, amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable contributions toward not-for-profi t student housing.

These contributions would facilitate better and safer conditions for student housing, including fraternities and sororities, by encouraging more funds directed at infrastructure improvements and the installation of fi re-safety equipment.

Gage Woolley, UC inter-fraternity council president, will travel to Washington, D.C April 27 to lobby with Congress in support of the act.

“It’s one of the most cost-effective solutions to housing

affordability and crisis that enjoys a strong measure of bipartisan support,” Woolley said.

The act personally affects Woolley due to his involvement in Greek life and his friendship with four University of Michigan students hospitalized after a fi re at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house earlier this month.

“This is something I have to do because it’s in the best interest of our students,” Woolley said.

Woolley sought the support of student government with help from Rudy Saunders, student government internal holdover senator.

Saunders is also involved with Greek life and recalls times when fi nding funds has been diffi cult. He said alumni are prone to donate to national organizations because they are tax deductible instead of local chapters — a trend he hopes the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act will reverse.

“It really makes it so that improvements can be made in these houses to create better places for students to be and to live,” Saunders said.

The bill passed with a 24-0 vote in the student senate. SG will show support for the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act by asking the Ohio Congressional Delegation to sponsor it.

College of Law dean announces end of tenure, after decade of transformationKATIE COBURN STAFF REPORTER

After a transformative decade of serving as dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Louis Bilionis is stepping down from the top leadership position, but he’s leaving the college in a better place.

“I’ve just long felt that strong institutions, like ours, are better for turning over leadership sooner rather than later,” Bilionis said. “It’s not about me. I think I am having an important and valuable mark on the school that will continue even when I’m not dean.”

Bilionis, who is currently serving his second fi ve-year term as dean, assumed the top leadership role in 2005.

Former member of the dean search committee who recruited Bilionis to UC and current law professor at Pepperdine University, Paul Caron, said Bilionis is leaving the College of Law well positioned for the future.

“Lou made everyone around him — faculty, staff, students, alumni — better,” Caron said.

During Bilionis’s tenure, the college’s reputation has grown; even expanding on a global level with a masters degree program for foreign-trained lawyers, and the college’s internationally recognized Ohio Innocence Project, which works to liberate wrongfully convicted individual.

The college has enhanced its experiential and practical learning opportunities through the creation of new centers, clinics and course offerings, as well as expanded certifi cate offerings for undergraduate students.

The college has also focused on tuition affordability for students by maintaining a strong scholarship program.

The college’s library is stronger and well positioned for growth as a 21st-century library.

While the college has grown increasingly disciplinary, the faculty has expanded its capacity to be a very scholarly and accomplished unit to better prepare students for the real world of professional practice, Bilionis said.

Not only did the college become a more intellectually vibrant, stimulating and rigorous place during Bilionis’ tenure, it also became more collegial and supportive, said Chris Bryant, UC law professor.

“These things happened because of the tone Lou set,” Bryant said. “By example and encouragement Lou helped to create a culture wherein we can respectfully challenge one another without attacking one another. That culture is conducive to fl ourishing as a teacher and a scholar.”

Bilionis plans on returning as a full-time professor after returning from a sabbatical once his current term ends June 30, 2015.

“It’s just for the good of the institution,” Bilionis said. “I think change is good. We’re in a position where this would be a really good time to do it.”

Whoever the next dean is, he or she will hopefully continue the initiatives that Bilionis instituted and strengthen during his tenure, said Kevin Flynn, adjunct law professor and city councilman who still works as a real estate attorney.

“He’s going to be missed,” Flynn said.While recognizing these are challenging

times for the legal profession, Bilionis said he is excited to see the college grow stronger beyond his fi nal term as dean.

“It’s a great city and a great law school, and they belong together,” he said. “This process is going to give people more confi dence that we’ll grow stronger in the future.”

RYAN HOFFMAN NEWS EDITOR

As offi cials at the University of Cincinnati work to fi nish the Creating Our Third Century initiative, students and faculty are questioning how the goals outlined in the university’s newest strategic plan will be achieved.

President Santa Ono and Provost Beverly Davenport did their best Monday to answer those questions at an open forum in Tangeman University Center.

“It’s very important that we pinpoint what’s on people’s minds,” Davenport said.

For many, the forum was their fi rst opportunity to not only provide input, but ask questions, which ranged from how the university would improve leadership in graduate studies to how the university would increase faculty support in an era of tight budgets.

“I feel good about the plan now,” said Terry Kershaw, Africana Studies department head. “I feel like I’m a part of the thinking. Things are happening and we’ve seized the momentum that’s been building here.”

Kershaw was specifi cally interested in how the university planned on investing in faulty and students, while keeping diversity in mind.

Third Century looks to build on diversity and other initiatives outlined in the UC2019 Academic Master Plan, which details a series of well-defi ned action steps with $10 million annually toward its progress.

However, Third Century aims to address student and faculty needs, whereas previous plans focused more on brick and mortar aspects, Ono said.

The plan also seeks to fi nd how those funds can be most effectively distributed to meet the working list of goals and initiatives over the next 15 years.

Anna Dannell, a graduate chemistry student, came to ask about how Third Century would support graduate student teaching.

Davenport told Dannell, who is a member of the Graduate Association for Teaching Enhancement, that she would meet directly with her to see how the university can help meet some of the needs highlighted by GATE.

But administrators couldn’t answer where the money would actually come from for the initiative.

“We’re working through that process so

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Student recounts reported assault involving group of teenagers

SG backs congressional act allowing cheaper, safer nonprofit housing

Fifth-year student tried to intervene in weekend assault, ended up becoming one of four victimsRYAN HOFFMAN NEWS EDITOR

When University of Cincinnati student Trent Amstutz saw a group of teenagers confront another student Saturday night he felt compelled to intervene. But instead of preventing a fi ght, the would-be-good Samaritan got a black eye, a bloodied face and a trip to the hospital.

Amstutz, a fi fth-year chemical engineering student, was one of four UC students reportedly assaulted by a group of 10 teenagers over the weekend. No property was taken in the incident, which Amstutz estimates lasted roughly 30 seconds.

The incident is still under investigation, and UC police aren’t at liberty to release details regarding the case, said Jeff Corcoran, interim UC police chief.

Amstutz said by talking about the incident, he hopes the university might take meaningful action and be more proactive in preventing crime, which he concedes would take a larger investment than ones the university has made in the recent past.

Amstutz was walking home with his fi ancee from an off-campus event around midnight Saturday, he said. After being dropped off around the engineering building, the two started heading east. When they reached the Clifton Avenue, Clifton Court intersection, Amstutz said he

noticed a group of teenagers heckling two people — both of whom are UC students — while they were crossing Clifton Avenue. After yelling something at the group of teenagers, the two students took off toward campus down Clifton Court.

Amstutz said he couldn’t make out what the student said. Corcoran said he couldn’t comment on the exchange or if alcohol was involved. The teenagers caught one of the students on Clifton Court and started pushing him around. That’s when Amstutz said he turned around to intervene.

“I ran over and I think I said ‘What the f***, what the f***’ and they pushed me to the ground and started beating me for about 30 seconds,” Amstutz said.

Amstutz was fully aware that he could be injured if he intervened, but he felt compelled to try and break up the fi ght. When the group of teenagers ran off, the other UC student who managed to get away returned and called the police, who were on the scene about fi ve minutes later, Amstutz said.

Amstutz was the only victim taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, but his fi ancee was struck in the back of the head and pushed to the ground, he said.

Amstutz said the incident hasn’t really changed his perspective on the area, although his fi ancee and some of his friends still a little “shook up.”

“I think some of the people I’ve talked to, when they see that it’s up close and personal to them, not even themselves but somebody they know or somebody close to them, I think they take it more to heart,” Amstutz said.

THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI’S INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN NEWS ORGANIZATION / THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2014

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHERLouis Bilionis, dean of the College of Law, decided not to renew his contract for dean. After his tenure ends in June 2015, Bilionis plans on returning as a full-time faculty member.

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHERGage Woolley, inter-fraternity council president, speaks about improving not-for-profi t, o� -campus housing at the weekly senate meeting Wednesday.

PROVIDEDUC student Trent Amstutz tried to intervene in an assault involving 10 teenagers and a student, and ended up being one of the victims Saturday.

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COMING TO LIFE

I can’t give a dollar amount,” Ono said. “But it’s going to be much bigger than the previous investment.”

UC completed its eight-year, $1 billion “Proudly Cincinnati” campaign — a feat only 1 percent of American universities have accomplished — in February 2013.

The plan will partially rely on fundraising efforts to help fund

scholarships and support for faculty and research. Other funding sources could come from regional and statewide partnerships, as well as enrollment growth, bringing in more tuition dollars.

Nancy Herbert, a College of Law alumna, asked the president about how Third Century would impact the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute — a program that allows older citizens, typically

retirees, the opportunity to continue their education. Herbert, a UC donor, said the program could help the university reach more potential donors by exposing more people to the university.

“We’re important because most of us are retired and college educated, so it’s a potential source of money,” Herbert said.

While Ono did not have specific answers for all the questions posed, he said

overall he was pleased with the input and attendance.

“We don’t want it to be a plan drafted by administrators,” Ono said. “We want every faculty member and student to have the ability to provide feedback so it reflects the entire university.”

Ono intends to present the completed plan in April at the annual “State of the University Address.”

Congress growing frustrated with lack of progress in oil-transportation rail reformMCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

The chief of a federal agency tasked with improving the safety of crude oil shipments by rail declined Wednesday to give lawmakers a date for new tank car rules that railroads and safety officials have sought for years.

Cynthia Quarterman, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, also testified the tank car fixes weren’t “a silver bullet,” and were only “one piece of the mitigative puzzle” in making crude oil transportation safer.

The rail industry petitioned the agency three years ago for a rule on tank cars, but the process didn’t begin until this past September and could take at least another year to finish. Lawmakers expressed their frustration at the delay and the uncertainty it creates.

“Set a deadline,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.In addition to the safety of crude oil shipments on

railroads, the hearing in the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees railroads also examined recent commuter rail accidents and the problems the industry is facing meeting a December 2015 deadline to install a collision avoidance system.

Federal regulators and industry officials told lawmakers that the railroad industry will not be able to meet the deadline to install the system, called Positive Train Control. Congress required the system in 2008 after 25 people died in a head-on collision between a commuter train and a freight train in Southern California.

Lawmakers mainly focused on a series of derailments of crude oil trains since last summer.

The deaths of 47 people in Quebec last summer amplified years of warnings from the National Transportation Safety Board that general service tank cars were not well-suited to carry flammable materials because of their tendency to puncture in derailments.

Subsequent derailments in Alabama and North Dakota further cast doubt on the cars.

“Quite simply,” testified NTSB member Robert Sumwalt, “their continued use poses an unacceptable public risk.”

The head of the railroad industry’s principal advocacy group told lawmakers that rail companies agreed with the NTSB. The Association of American Railroads didn’t wait for regulators to make a move before requiring higher tank car standards on their own.

“There is some concern and doubt as to whether we can move crude safely,” said Edward Hamberger, the group’s president and CEO. “The answer to that is ‘yes.’ “

However, the timing of those improvements coincided with dramatic growth in oil production in North Dakota’s Bakken region.

“Five years ago, no one would have predicted it,” said Jack Gerard, the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute.

But the lack of pipeline capacity put much of the crude in trains, largely of the older, less-protected DOT-111A type tank cars.

Hamberger said the industry favored that such

“legacy” cars be phased out of crude oil transportation or be retrofitted with better safety protections. New cars, he said, should be built with thicker shells, thermal insulation, stronger housings for valves and outlets, and steel plates at the vulnerable heads _ the ends of each car.

For the most part, railroads don’t own the tank cars in which crude is shipped. But last week, BNSF Railway, the nation’s leading hauler of crude oil in trains, ordered 5,000 new, better protected tank cars. At an estimated $150,000 each, the railroad would need to spend $750 million on the order.

“BNSF is stepping forward and putting their money where their mouth is,” Hamberger said.

A BNSF train hauling Bakken crude derailed near Casselton, N.D., in December, igniting an enormous fire and spilling more than 475,000 gallons of crude. No one was injured.

Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, said the railroad’s purchase “shows the private sector can do the right thing.”

But BNSF is acting before it even knows what standards will be required for tank cars.

DeFazio accused regulators of “20 years of inaction” for failing to heed the NTSB recommendations.

House lawmakers first heard from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who will lead a Senate hearing next week on rail safety. Two commuter rail accidents occurred last year in his home state.

North Dakota’s sole House member, Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer, said the Casselton derailment was a “stark reminder of our new reality,” and said neither his state’s citizens, nor the oil business that’s lifting the state’s economy, should have to wait longer for new tank cars.

“No one in the supply chain benefits from accidents,” he said. “A train derailment costs everybody.”

Some of the first people in harm’s way in a derailment are the train crews. John Tolman, vice president and legislative representative for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, a railroad labor union, said no train should be operated with fewer than two people. The train that derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July had a sole operator.

“You don’t get on a commercial airline with a single person up there,” Tolman testified.

The increase in flammable cargoes moving by rail also poses new challenges for emergency planning and response.

Hamberger said his group is helping train firefighters at its testing facility in Pueblo, Colo. Last week, the Department of Transportation announced that the industry would pay $5 million to train 1,500 first responders.

“I can send you 1,500 tomorrow,” said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.

An increasing number of crude oil trains are passing through his district to refineries in northwest Washington.

Divisions in Ukrainian opposition poses problems; Russia orders military testsMCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Hoping to reach a consensus that would heal some of Ukraine’s wounds, the country’s acting president on Tuesday delayed the seating of an interim government for at least two days, even as opposition colleagues appealed to the Hague criminal tribunal to put fugitive ex-President Viktor Yanukovich on trial for crimes against humanity.

Reports of mounting discord among ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine and gunshot wounds suffered by a top aide to Yanukovich further heightened a sense that threats to Ukraine’s stability abound as politicians jockey ahead of a May 25 presidential election.

A multiparty transitional leadership had been expected to be announced Tuesday. But acting President Olexander Turchynov told lawmakers that it would take until at least Thursday to get consensus on a Cabinet that would have the trust of the entire nation.

Visiting diplomats of the European Union urged those steering Ukraine through its current power vacuum to include deputies of Yanukovich’s Party of Regions, which has been decimated by defections to the opposition and lawmakers retreating to home territory for fear of retribution at the hands of their Western-leaning adversaries.

“It needs to be inclusive,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said of the elusive Cabinet in comments to reporters after two days of talks in Kiev.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin assembled his national security team for a Kremlin caucus on the turmoil

in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that Moscow has dominated for centuries. Russia-24 television showed the top advisers gathering but gave no details about their deliberations.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said during a Moscow news conference that Russia would refrain from interfering in Ukraine’s domestic crisis and expected other countries to do likewise.

Ukraine’s industries and economy are dependent on components and trade with Russian companies, and Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet is based in the port of Sevastopol, now part of Ukraine. Most of the eastern half of Ukraine had voted for Yanukovich and supported his decision late last year to continue strengthening ties with Russia rather than entering into an EU association agreement.

Though Russian officials have made disparaging remarks about those now running Ukraine’s government, Putin has said little about how he expects the power struggle and fight over Ukraine’s future to play out.

Lavrov seemed to be conveying a Kremlin message that it was taking a hands-off approach while watching to see what leadership emerges from talks underway in Kiev.

“We have confirmed our principled position to not interfere in Ukraine’s internal affairs and expect all (foreign powers) to follow a similar logic,” Lavrov said.

Little was immediately clear about the circumstances in which Yanukovich’s former chief of staff, Andriy Klyuyev, was wounded on Monday. Klyuyev’s spokesman, Artem Petrenko, said Klyuyev had resigned his post with Yanukovich and was driving to Kiev when he was shot.

“He was not hiding but on the contrary he

was returning to Kiev because he is innocent of the crimes attributed now to Yanukovich and other state officials,” Petrenko said.

Political analysts worry that an atmosphere of revenge is developing as opposition forces that suffered under Yanukovich’s corrupt and repressive regime hunt those responsible for the deadly culmination of a three-month confrontation over whether to stay economically aligned with Moscow or turn toward the EU.

“With the post-Soviet statehood of Ukraine all but collapsed, people driven by vengeance don’t want to wait for the state to re-emerge from the ruins to bring the former officials to justice,” said Vadim Karasyov, head of the Institute of Global Strategies in Kiev. “Summary trials are taking place in the street, and the situation has the potential to aggravate until a compromise is found between the new authorities and the people.”

The parliament passed a measure Tuesday seeking trial by the International Criminal Court of those suspected of ordering the use of force against demonstrators, the UNIAN news agency reported. At least 82 died last week when police and security forces used clubs, stun guns, tear gas and snipers against protesters. Besides Yanukovich, the appeal named former Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka and former Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko.

Tuesday saw the start of campaigning for the presidential election. Opposition leader and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko and the pro-Russian governor of the eastern Ukrainian industrial region of Kharkiv, Mikhail Dobkin, announced that they would run. Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yanukovich’s longtime rival who was released from prison Saturday, is also known to be contemplating a run.

2 / NEWSTHURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

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Regulators fail to set date for new rail tank safety rule

No consensus reached by interim government in Ukraine

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PROVIDEDRailroad tank cars carrying ethanol are stored in a Norfolk Southern rail yard in Alexandria, Va., surrounded by homes, schools and businesses. The most common type of tank car used to transport flammable ethanol and crude oil has a long history of punctures and ruptures in derailments. Recent fires and explosions in Quebec, Alabama and North Dakota have prompted a new review of the cars’ safety.

AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN

The Texas ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, a federal judge in San Antonio ruled Wednesday.

U.S. Judge Orlando Garcia issued an injunction barring Texas from enforcing a law and constitutional amendment that prohibit same-sex couples from marrying and ban the state from recognizing same-sex marriages that were legally performed in other states.

There will be no rush to the altar in Texas, however. Garcia stayed his ruling, delaying its implementation while Texas officials appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Texas ban on same sex marriages unconstitutional

Rare Books Library home to three Qurans worn around necks of soldiers as they went into battleLYDIA WEIGEL CONTRIBUTOR

A rare book small enough to fit into a locket intrigued a room full of listeners in the Archives and Rare Books Library Wednesday afternoon.

This installment of the University of Cincinnati Library Lecture Series discussed the David Bryce Quran, a piece of Islamic text that was carried by Muslim soldiers during World War I.

Bryce published the Quran in large quantities before the war for soldiers to wear around their necks as they went into battle. Each was placed in a locket with a magnifier on the front.

The Archives and Rare Books Library has three miniature Qurans printed by Bryce in their collection. The most expensive and rare Quran features a brass locket and text printed in gold ink.

Kevin Grace, head of the Archives and Rare Books Library, led the lecture. Grace purchased the rare book from Bromer Booksellers as soon as he saw it, he said, putting UC ahead of other libraries that wanted the book.

Out of all of the treasures that the Archives and Rare Books Library has to offer, the Quran tells one of the most engaging stories, Grace said.

“It has such an interesting story behind it,” he said. “There’s a real human element.”

The David Bryce Quran is an important piece of Islamic culture students in the U.S. gained a higher interest in after Sept. 11.

“We need to understand the cross-culture between us and the Islamic world,” Grace said. “We need to continuously learn about we have here.”

The Preservation Services staff created a special case for the rare Quran to avoid damage. The Book and Paper Conservation Lab in Langsam Library takes care of rare books for University Libraries and the public libraries of Cincinnati.

Holly Prochaska, head of Preservation Services, said that the UC Library Lecture Series is a “great opportunity to see books that the lab sees but the public doesn’t.”

Preservation Services lab conservatory Ashleigh Schieszer is one of the few individuals who had the opportunity to examine the Quran in the lab; she found the lecture particularly engaging because of this experience, she said.

The Archives and Rare Books Library is full of many

hidden treasures that few students know about, and the lecture series enables students to be introduced to some of its secrets, Grace said.

Guest speaker describes various forms of cultural dance during interactive Black History Month event EMILY BEGLEY COLLEGE LIFE EDITOR

Skillful feet kept time with the bravado drawls of drums Tuesday during a final installment of educational lunches provided during Black History Month at the African American Cultural & Resource Center.

Throughout the month of February, the AACRC has hosted four installations of Lunch & Learn events, all focusing on art within the black community.

The goal of the lunches was to take one hour out of the day in which the University of Cincinnati community could learn aspects in terms of black history, said Ewaniki Moore-Hawkins, AACRC director.

The events focused on a different topic each week, including fine art, theater and literature, music and dance.

“We just wanted to highlight all of those genres,” Moore-Hawkins said.

Tuesday’s lunch featured the Bi-Okoto Cultural Institute, which strives to promote cultural awareness by using traditional arts as an educational tool.

Discussions facilitated by guest speaker Akilah Stinson focused on the origins of dance and the ways in

which different styles relate to present times.The majority of dance forms discussed stemmed

from Nigeria and other western African countries, said Moore-Hawkins and Eric Watford, program coordinator.

Many dances were traditionally used to illustrate stories, such as young women experiencing rights of passage.

Others spoke of courtship and the relationship between the old and the young.

“There was a lot of talk about respect of your elders and how that has kind of been lost in the community,” Moore-Hawkins said.

The lunch was interactive, encouraging the more than 20 students in attendance to become involved in the event.

Audience members had the opportunity to test out dances themselves; fourth-year political science student Chris Watkins was one volunteer who demonstrated the Utamdi dance of flirtation with Stinson.

AACRC faculty members expressed satisfaction regarding the events and the opportunities they presented.

“We are happy about the support that we received, not only from students, faculty staff, but we also had a lot of community participation as well,” Moore-Hawkins said.

3 / COLLEGE LIFE THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

Ball-Nogues Studio co-founder divulges process behind creating piecesA.J. KMETZ STAFF REPORTER

When a visionary artist took the stage Monday at the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning, the importance of the production process became as beautiful and effective as the artwork itself.

Benjamin Ball, co-founder of Ball-Nogues Studio, is an architectural and fabrication artist based in Los Angeles. His studio’s work often takes a critical look at the creative and fabrication processes, and intends to create “environments that enhance sensation, generate spectacle and invite physical engagement,” he said in his lecture in the Kaplan Auditorium.

As he opened his presentation, Ball mentioned how honored he was to be asked to speak at DAAP. The DAAP building, he said, was a hot topic of conversation and photography during its construction while he attended the Southern California Institute of Architecture.

After graduating, Ball took his skills to Hollywood, where he worked as a set designer for music videos, commercials and films. One of his major projects included work on the “Matrix” series. Outside of set design, his commission

included medical structures, residential commissions, event design and even work at the Disney Concert Hall.

Ball currently works alongside Buenos Aires-native Gaston Nogues in his studio collaboration; Ball specializes in the planning side of the art, while Nogues is more involved in the actual production.

The studio’s focus is more in the process of creating art rather than in the art itself. For him, it would seem that the real art lay in the fabrication, while the piece was just a byproduct of the art.

“We’re trying to imagine the factory before we even start thinking of the product,” he said.

That’s not to say that the products aren’t incredible; many of Ball-Nogues’ pieces are as large and complex as the process of creating them. One of the studio’s earlier pieces, “Maximilian’s Schell,” a large golden vortex made of hundreds of individual pieces, was created as an experiment in violating the idea of surface.

“Air Garden” is an enormous hanging work in the Los Angeles International Airport. Ball discussed its conception in detail and presented pictures of the studio’s crew creating thousands of individual, uniquely colored chains in the workshop and piecing together the multi-storied work in the airport. Upon its completion in 2013, “Air Garden” resembled a cloud or a colorful mist

reflecting and enhancing the light in the space.

Ball told the audience about his studio’s efforts to make temporary pieces that could be reused and repurposed after their display times were over. One such project, “Table Cloth,” hung from a wall and extended across the floor of a UCLA performance space. The piece was made up of small tables that could be taken home by visitors upon the work’s completion. Another recyclable work, “Built to Wear,” was made up of hundreds of American Apparel T-shirts which could be plucked from the ceiling by visitors.

But not all of Ball’s work is on an industrial scale.

Sarah Vaz, a third-year masters student of architecture, was most impressed by the studio’s experimental work with molded paper pulp. She said that the material is “wet and gross,” but Ball-Nogues created interesting artwork out of it, using mannequins and balloons as molding tools and lighting the inside of the dried product to create a glowing, bubbly piece.

Joyce Hanlon and Jillian Blakey, fourth-year architecture students, were inspired by Ball’s out-of-the-box thinking and the studio’s experimental approach to planning and fabricating artwork, and said Ball’s lecture was inspiring and enlightening, revealing that sometimes the true art of a piece lies in its creation.

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER The David Bryce miniature Quran was the focal point of Wednesday’s University of Cincin-nati Library Lecture series.

Artist illustrates beauty of production

Painting event provides canvas for discussion

Lecture examines rare book carried during World War I

Students step into lunch installment analyzing history of dance

CASSANDRA MERINO STAFF REPORTER

An evening of painting drew women of all ethnicities to the African American Cultural & Resource Center Monday, facilitating discussions on black history while attendees sipped Shirley Temples.

Sisters Impacting Sisters, an AACRC initiative aiming to bridge gaps between students, faculty, staff and the community, hosted their first Sip & Paint program as part of the University of Cincinnati’s Black History Month events.

Tamar Kinebrew, program coordinator for SIS and AACRC; and Ewaniki Moore-Hawkins, AACRC director, wanted to bring the Sip & Paint experience to UC.

“We wanted to do something different,” Kinebrew said. “We knew that no one else had done it before on campus, and we thought it would be good to incorporate with our Black History Month celebration.”

The main goal for this event was to get women together to have conversations and get to know one another, Kinebrew said.

She also wanted the event to serve as an opportunity for staff members to form relationships with students.

“I don’t get to meet a lot of undergraduate students in my role, so the few that I meet are in psychology, but I don’t get to meet a lot of other undergraduate students,” said Kathy Burlew, psychology faculty member.

Saliim Lattimore, a second-year fine arts student, traced drawings that provided a starting point for paintings during the event.

Keneisha Brightwell, a first-year fine arts student, and Sosha Collins, a first-year fashion design student, assisted attendees with their paintings.

Participants painted portraits of a female dancer wearing a dress and headpiece; they worked on the pieces, elaborate and colorful, while nursing non-alcoholic “mocktails.”

Sonya Sorrells, a third-year business economy and marketing student, said the program helped her relax from schoolwork and brought out her creativity.

Moore-Hawkins wanted the event to show students how black culture has been influential on the history of art.

“A lot of times, when people think black history, they think about the civil rights movement, but there’s so much more,” Moore-Hawkins said. “I just really wanted to expose our impact as a people in terms of the arts, all genres.”

Kinebrew and Moore-Hawkins have been pleased with the turnout of UC’s Black History Month events.

“We hope that someone learned something and that they have a heightened appreciation for the arts from the programs we had,” Moore-Hawkins said. “A lot of the things we have done have been light and leads to people getting to know each other naturally.”

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Guest speaker Akilah Stinson and volunteer Chris Watkins, a fourth-year political science student, demonstrate the Utamdi dance of flirtation during Tuesday’s installment of Lunch & Learn. The lunch was an interactive Black History Month event.

PHIL DIDION PHOTO EDITOR Benjamin Ball, co-founder of Ball-Nogues Studio, speaks at the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning Monday about his artwork and the process of creating it.

Undergraduate opera tells harrowing tale of teenage rebellionPHIL DIDION PHOTO EDITOR

Last weekend, the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music performed Maurice Ravel’s “L’enfant et les Sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties,” as part of their undergrad opera series.

Ravel’s second opera, which translated is titled “The Child and the Spells: A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts,” focused around the story of a young boy who, after being scolded by his mother, throws a temper tantrum and trashes his room.

Soon after, the objects in his room and the plants and animals outside come to life to torment him for the damage he has caused them.

Boasting a wonderful cast adorned in colorful costumes placed on an evolving and eclectic set, the CCM undergrad opera program brought this story, and just about everything else, to life in a fun and entertaining way.

Accompanied by CCM musicians and performed in the Cohen Family Studio Theater, the tone was set by Ravel’s music and the studio’s eerie lighting as furniture, clocks, and even homework grew arms, legs and voices, singing and screaming at the boy, cursing his evil and bratty ways.

This opera was made through a collaborative effort between CCM and UC’s Design, Art, Architecture and Planning school.

After submissions were sent in and selected, DAAP student Katie Iles was chosen to aid with costume and set design as part of a DAAP Co-Op. The result was fantastic.

The opera is aesthetically and emotionally riveting.

Victor Hugo’s classic tale adds on to legendary theatre season MEGAN WESTHEIDER STAFF REPORTER

The fifth selection ready to hit the stage from the College-Conservatory of Music’s Mainstage Series is “Les Miserables,” one of the most well-known musicals of all time.

The musical is based off of the 1862 novel written by Victor Hugo.

“Les Miserables” was first translated into English in 1985, when it was shown at the Barbican Theater in London.

“Les Miserables” is the longest running musical in the world, from more than 48,000 professional performances that have reached more than 60 million people worldwide.

These numbers have boomed since the film adaptation that was released in 2012 directed by Tom Hooper.

Revolutionary 19th century France is

the setting of the story. The story then focuses on Jean Valjean,

a man sentenced to 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister’s son. He gets out of prison and over the course of the next eight years, he reforms himself and his image in a new city.

But he is continually chased by police inspector Javert, until they are both swept into the middle of a student revolution in Paris.

To involve more students into the musical, the lead roles of Valjean and Javert have been double casted, so more students will be able to extend their skills as they work at these deeply developed roles.

There is not only the pressure of the audience but the expectations from performing a musical that has been around for more than 25 years.

CCM has spent their Mainstage Series this year doing other classics such as “The Crucible” and “Singing in the Rain’,” so it comes as no surprise that they are

taking on “Les Miserables” to add to their famous stage productions.

CCM’s “Les Miserables” run from Feb. 27 to March 9 in the Patricia Corbett Theater.

Thirteen shows will be performed during the run, which will make the musical CCM’s most performed show of their entire 2013-14 series.

4 / ARTS THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

‘Les Miserables’ at CCM for two weekends

Foreign film able to portray everyday life of average woman as character piece for American women

MONROE TROMBLY STAFF REPORTERS

A woman sits at a bar, overseeing the throngs of people dancing on the floor while she sips a drink, cigarette in hand.

This woman seems subdued, pensive almost. It doesn’t look like she’s the kind of middle-aged woman to strike the dance floor as her counterparts would.

Her gaze passes over the club that seems to be for older contemporaries probing the night for excitement.

Her passiveness is short-lived. She hits the dance floor in a fury of passion and

excitement, it’s clear she thrives in not being the center of attention.

She is an incredibly sensory-dominant woman, who loves every aspect of life as it comes.

This is Gloria (Paulina Garcia) a divorced, Chilean mom of two, who holds a desk job and attends yoga sessions, but isn’t content spending her nights home

alone. She catches the gaze of a similarly aged man and they

soon spend more time together on a regular basis. If this were an American movie, the central theme or

focus of problem would be the fact that Gloria is still single, alone and unmarried.

Her life would mostly be portrayed as incomplete, forlorn and crisis-driven.

Too many times American movies dealing with aging divorcees make their protagonists focus too much on the unmarried aspect of an elderly life and not all the other things that come with it such as humor, wisdom and humility.

The children in “Gloria” do not hound their mother as they would in Hollywood as to whether she’s found a match or not, and Gloria is content already with the pace at which she’s living.

She of course realizes that time is running out, but Gloria isn’t driving herself up a wall to find another partner.

She’s passionate and happy to be alive at the speed she takes it.

The only shortcoming of “Gloria” is that for all of her

passive happiness, it doesn’t always translate well on to the screen. Gloria, a very internal person, has lots of moments of exuberation and outward elation, but at times it’s difficult to read exactly what she’s thinking.

Perhaps that’s where the humor comes from, not knowing exactly what she’s thinking of doing next, mostly on the spur of the moment.

The film doesn’t try to explain itself; “Gloria” let’s the viewer explore Gloria’s life at their own pace, and while there’s not much dialogue, the actions and plot do more than speak for themselves.

“Gloria,” is in some ways an extreme character study, but it’s refreshing in the way there aren’t any cataclysmic or jarring plot devices used to illicit dramatic emotion from the viewer.

This film is the everyday, normal life of Gloria, a woman who paintballs her ex-lover, smokes joints to end the day and leads a comfortable existence.

The plot is certainly predictable, but there’s a charm that sticks with viewers after the credits roll.

The charm will stay with viewers even after they leave. The film is kind of like coffee.

The more it’s ingested the better it starts to taste.

PHIL DIDION PHOTO EDITOR Performers dressed like animals attack the lead character. Katie Iles took a minimalistic approach to the costuming that works well for the opera. The masks make the performers look like creepy animal ghouls.

PHIL DIDION PHOTO EDITOR

PROVIDED

Simple life of ‘Gloria’ still fascinates audiences

Colleges combine to mount Opera

JAKE GRIECO ARTS EDITOR

The Oscars are Sunday and there is a huge mystery as to who Ellen DeGeneres, this year’s host, will hand the little gold man.

As every year of the Oscar ceremony, there are films that will win and films that should win.

The films that will win are rarely the films that should win. Here are some predictions for Sunday.

First off, and most tragically, Joaquin Pheonix is not even nominated for Best Actor. He has a history with the Academy and he is constantly slighting them and they do the same to him. It’s an unfortunate situation when one of the best-living American actors is never honored with an Oscar. He has been in multiple roles that truly deserve recognition on a grand scale and “Her” is definitely one of them.

The buzz around the Oscars is that this will finally be Leonardo DiCaprio’s year. Popular opinion is that DiCaprio should have a shelf full of Oscars by now.

This is just not true. DiCaprio is a great actor and has been in plenty of high-grossing films, but it isn’t all the surprising that he hasn’t won an Oscar. His role as Jordan Belfort in “Wolf of Wall Street” is not going to win him that highly coveted Best Actor trophy because the film is far too raunchy for the Academy to reward.

This year Best Actor is going to Matthew McConaughey.

His role in “Dallas Buyers Club” is the best role of his career. Also, the Academy gets hot and bothered when an actor loses weight for their role. Best Supporting Actor will go to McConaughey’s co-star Jared Leto.

Leto plays a transgender with AIDs, which is role that is practically begging for an Oscar. If McConaughey wins Best Actor it will be one of the few times the recipient that should win actually did win.

One of the most frustrating categories in the Oscar race is Best Director.

Last year, Ang Lee took home the little man for “Life of Pi,” and it was revolting. Adaptation is its own art form, but Lee was competing against directors like Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino, whose films both started as a blank piece of paper. This year, Spike Jonze deserves to win Best Director.

It’s not going to happen, unfortunately. In fact, “Her” will be completely overlooked.

If anything, Jonze might take home Best Original Screenplay. The person who is going to take home Best Director this year will be Alfonso Cuarón for “Gravity.” The Academy loves pretty pictures — like Lee’s “Life of Pi” — and they love to reward them. They won’t give it Best Picture, but they will acknowledge Cuarón’s computer skills.

The only category that people will be talking about Monday morning is Best Picture.

This is an easiest one to predict and the answer has been locked down for months.

Be ready to see “12 Years a Slave” take home the golden man for Best Picture. This film has everything the Academy could ever want. Historical significance, big name actors and a happy ending — even though the actual story of Solomon Northup doesn’t end as nicely.

There really is no way to predict what’s going to win, so the best way to take in the Oscars is with a case of beer and friends who reinforce your opinions.

Oscar predictions that likely won’t come true

PROVIDED

Details of projects, initiatives to be released in AprilJOE BLIZZARD & JACKLYN HYDE

As student government elections wrap up tomorrow afternoon, we wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for allowing us to serve the UC student body for the past year.

We have thoroughly enjoyed it, and we hope that you have, too. But more importantly, we hope that we have made your school year a better one.

With the help of all of our fellow student government members, we have worked to enhance all aspects of your student experience. There will be a full write-up listing the details of each student government project and initiative from this past year in the second annual Student Government Annual Report, which will be released in April, but before then we wanted to take a few moments to refl ect on the impact that student government has made this year.

Safety has been a big topic of conversation all across campus this year and student government remained fully committed to increasing the resources available to students in any way that we could.

Together with UCPD, Cincinnati Police, and the university administration, we were able to revamp the NightRide program, extend BTS hours, hold the fi rst-ever Safe Student Housing Fair, and launch the Be Smart Be Safe campaign.

We are committed to continuing our work on increasing the safety of our campus. Currently we are working to bring a mobile safety app to campus so that students can report suspicious activity and track reportable offenses in real time. We can assure you that student government is continuously committed to making our campus, our home away from home, as safe

as possible for students.Student government has also worked

hard to represent students in matters of local and national importance in the political spectrum.

Most recently, the student voice was heard in response to the City of Cincinnati’s proposed parking plan and increased hours around campus were removed from the plan.

Additionally, student government has advocated for tax credits for students in STEM disciplines, student trustee voting rights, and increased state funding for co-op and internship programs.

On-campus, student government has supported many of the signature events including Welcome Weekend, UC Day at the Zoo, Project Unbreakable, the Sigma Sigma Carnival, Relay for Life and Black Girls Rock, among many others. It is our belief that the support of these events enhances

the student experience and brings our community closer.

As the school year winds to a close, we would like to thank each and every one of you for helping mold UC into the vibrant community it is today.

To the graduating seniors, thank you for your support of UC over the years. We hope that you will always call UC home. And to everyone with time at UC ahead of you, don’t forget to enjoy it.

Never again will you have this unique opportunity to engage in such a diverse community with your peers, so get involved, try something new and make the most of your time here at UC.

Thank you all for allowing us to serve you this past year, it has been an absolute blast. We hope that student government has made you proud and has made your UC experience an even better one. Go Bearcats!

5 / OPINION THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

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Student proposes ways to make campus, surrounding areas saferTRENT AMSTUTZ OPINION LETTER

Dear President Santa Ono,This past weekend, my fi ancé and

I were on our way home from an engineering banquet at the Newport Aquarium. While walking home from the middle of campus, crossing Clifton Avenue at Clifton Court I saw two University of Cincinnati students get chased the other way across Clifton Avenue onto campus by a crowd of roughly 10 African-American teenagers who seemed to be young high-school students.

They surrounded one of the individuals and started pushing him around. Having read enough Greg Hand emails, I knew that they weren’t going to leave him alone. I jumped in and tried to separate everyone and in the process was brutally assaulted, kicked to the ground and beaten by more people than I can count while repeatedly told that I “f***ed with the wrong n****rs.” The entire event lasted no more than 30 seconds, and the group of attackers quickly dispersed.

I’m doing well now, which I credit to all of the exceptional police offi cers, fi remen and medical professionals that were involved from that point forward, but I’d like to raise a number of questions about safety here at UC.

First, the closest blue safety phone was at least 250 feet from the incident, so that was of no help to us. No security cameras were pointed near the incident. Cincinnati has a curfew law that prohibits people under 18 from being out past midnight, but it is not well enforced. The police took fi ve minutes to respond, so we are obviously not well protected by their current level of staffi ng either.

To all current and potential UC students: Do not be delusional enough to think the police or university will be able to protect you if something similar happens.

I possess a concealed carry permit that allows me to carry my fi rearm many places in Ohio, but not on a university campus. I’m trained to discharge this fi rearm when there is a danger to the life of myself or my loved ones. If the university isn’t going to protect me, then shouldn’t I be given the ability to provide protection for myself? In its motherly attempts to protect us by limiting weapons on campus, the university is making us targets.

Some people say that these perpetrators around campus act irrationally, but I give them more credit than that. They know that by targeting students, it is guaranteed that we won’t have any means to defend ourselves. To me, the choice is clear for the administration. Either provide the safety services that students need or give us the means to do it ourselves.

I know that we are a long way from legalizing concealed carry on campus, so I’d like people to talk more about how the university can better protect us. Proactively police and enforce the curfew law that already exists. Add more cameras around campus so criminals can be caught. Add more offi cers, some of whom are plain clothed. Create outreach programs at the local high schools to infl uence those troubled students. Put real money behind these efforts, not just enough to make a headline.

Santa, I know that only the people involved are personally responsible for these tragedies. However, if you and your administration continue to do nothing or make only symbolic gestures then eventually you become guilty by inaction. Until this problem is resolved, I cannot earnestly call UC the #HottestCollegeinAmerica.

Athletics director praises student bodyMike Bohn inspired by energy levels, excitement of Bearcat fansMIKE BOHN ATHLETICS DIRECTOR

Bearcat student body, Wow, thank you for showing your true

Bearcat spirit. In my brief time at Cincinnati, I’ve

been so impressed and inspired with the passion, energy and support you provide for your fellow Bearcat student-athletes.

Your excitement levels have been off the charts and you have made a difference in our home court advantage. Many people including President Santa Ono

have informed me that you truly are the best student section in the nation and we want you to know that your efforts do not go unnoticed.

You are the heartbeat of the university and possess the power to create a competitive environment that demonstrates all that is great about UC.

You are contagious to the rest of the

crowd to ensure the atmosphere is electric and fun to be part of.

I’m looking forward to seeing you inside Fifth Third Arena for our fi nal men’s basketball home game against Memphis Thursday, March 6 at 7 p.m.

Coach Cronin and the team will be providing 100 pizzas for you prior to tip-off so make sure to get there early to enjoy in the pregame festivities.

Please make time to come and support the Women’s Basketball team in their fi nal home game of the season against Louisville at 2 p.m. inside Fifth Third Arena Saturday.

Thank you for making a difference. Go Bearcats!

Student government reflects on yearAssault victim speaks out

“Coach Cronin and the team will be providing 100 pizzas for [fans] prior to tip-off.”

FILE ARTHyde and Blizzard, along with student government members are committed to continuing work to improve safety.

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6 / SPORTSTHURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

AAC title pursuit starts at UConn for UCBearcats look to rebound from Louisville loss, fight for conference crownJOSHUA MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

Saturday at Fifth Third Arena, the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team was one shot away from almost assuredly securing its first regular season conference championship since winning the Conference USA title in 2004.

Unfortunately for head coach Mick Cronin and crew, Russ Smith’s fade-away jumper over Titus Rubles with 2.2 seconds remaining means that Louisville and UC are tied for first place in the American Athletic Conference with four and three conference games left to play, respectively.

Neither squad has an easy road to a conference crown.

No. 7 Louisville (23-4, 12-2 AAC) should have a fairly easy time Thursday against Temple, before closing out its schedule against the third, fourth and fifth ranked teams in the AAC.

The Cardinals have to travel to No. 21 Memphis and No. 23 Southern Methodist in a four-day span from March 1-5 before playing the UConn Huskies at home March 8 in their final regular-season game.

With Louisville playing three games in a one-week span against three teams that are locks to make the NCAA Tournament, many believe that UC (24-4, 13-2 AAC) has the

better chance of running the table.UC’s remaining games are at UConn

Saturday, against No. 21 Memphis March 6 and at Rutgers March 8.

Perhaps the most daunting task in front of Cronin is getting his team past Saturday’s heartbreaking defeat.

“I had some guys that were still in tears after my press conference Saturday,” Cronin said Monday during his weekly radio show at the original Montgomery Inn. “I’ve got to get them over that. Right now we’ve just got to focus on getting better and focusing on Saturday. Saturday at noon is all that matters.”

After shooting just 26 percent as a team against Louisville, the Bearcats must prepare to face a very different style of defensive team in UConn.

“UConn defensively is a big help team; they’re what we would call in basketball a gap team. [UConn head coach Kevin Ollie] is trying to keep his key guys out of foul trouble. His backcourt guys, he can’t have them putting a lot of pressure on the ball, so they try to stop you before you get near the paint.”

As perhaps UC’s second best player off the dribble, behind leading scorer Sean Kilpatrick, the Bearcats will need production — most notably, production in the paint — from sophomore Shaq Thomas.

For UC to win the AAC, or any tournament game in March, Thomas can’t go scoreless like he did against Louisville. Although much of that was the result of a wrist injury he suffered at the end of the first

half, Thomas hadn’t made any impact prior to the injury, either.

“Well his wrist is getting better from when he got undercut,” Cronin said. “That obviously affected him the rest of the game, but he worked out today and had a good workout. With Shaq it’s a daily thing of how to get better. Today he watched every single time that he’s driven to the basket this year. So he can watch and we can add up how many times he scored, got fouled, or came up empty.”

After Kilpatrick was somewhat forced into taking 26 shots to carry the Bearcats against Louisville, it’s more apparent than ever that they need Thomas to evolve into the “12-to-15 point guy” that Cronin referenced after UC defeated Houston, 73-62, Feb. 15. According to Cronin, he needs to do so by getting to the free-throw line.

Defensively, the Bearcats will look to emulate the performance from their 63-58 victory against UConn Feb. 6, in which they held the Huskies 16 points below their season average of 74.9 points per game, a feat easier said than done when playing against a team led by Shabazz Napier.

Napier, the second leading scorer in the AAC behind only Kilpatrick, averages 17.9 points per game and has the ability to make shots regardless of how well he’s defended.

In their previous matchup, Kilpatrick out-dueled Napier, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in one of the defining games of his career. Saturday, the Bearcats will need him to play very much the same.

EMILY WITT STAFF REPORTER

The University of Cincinnati baseball team will have two more chances to take down a major conference team this weekend, this time against former UC athletic director Whit Babcock’s new school, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The Bearcats travel to Blacksburg, Va. for the Virginia Tech Tournament, which will take place Friday through Sunday. The Bearcats will play four games, two against UMass-Lowell and two against Virginia Tech.

The UMass-Lowell Riverhawks currently have a record of 2-1, after taking down Rider University 2-1 Monday.

Ian Strom, freshman right fielder for the Riverhawks, was awarded the American East Baseball Rookie of the Week for his performance in Wilson, N.C. Strom batted .455 (5-for-11) with four RBIs and one run scored as the River Hawks took two of three games in Wilson, N. C. He’s one of the best players in the country, but with UMass-Lowell new to major completion, there’s very little known about the program.

“UMass-Lowell is brand new, Division 1,” said head coach Ty Neal. “I’m not sure what to expect with them.”

The ACC’s Virginia Tech Hokies are currently 3-2 overall, after toppling Radford University 6-1 Tuesday. UC fell to Radford 6-5 Saturday.

“The better opponent on paper and conference-wise is going to be Virginia Tech,” Neal said. “The neat part about it is that it’s an ACC program, and it’s good for us to compete with ACC programs, even on the road. They’ve been a really offensive club the past few years. I’m expecting a very good challenge for us. It’s a quality club, but I still feel like if we take care of our business, then I think we have a really good chance.”

The Bearcats enter the series with an overall 2-3 record, including a victory against another ACC opponent, Wake Forrest. After a series of ninth-inning comebacks, Neal plans to put a stronger emphasis on solid at-bats from the first pitch.

“I think we’re doing a very good job of having great at-bats when we have to, which explains all of our ninth-inning success,” he said. “I’m challenging these guys to do it from the first inning on, that way we maybe put less pressure on ourselves in the ninth.”

Offensively, UC will continue to look to pre-season All-American Ian Happ, who has reached base in each of UC’s first five games and has already racked up a team-high 6 RBIs.

UC opens the series Friday at noon against UMass-Lowell, and the second game will be at 4 p.m. against Virginia Tech.

Projected Starters for UC in the four-game series are Ryan Atkinson, Matt Ring, Mitch Paitshall and Andrew Zellner. Both games against Virginia Tech will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

UC baseball set for Virginia Tech Tournament

LAUREN KREMER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERUC senior Justin Jackson looks to the Bearcat bench during UC’s 58-57 loss to Louisville Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.

UC track teams look to crack top three at AAC championships

Men’s track team set to compete in first indoor championship since 1998JOSHUA MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

Friday in New York City, the University of Cincinnati men’s indoor track team will compete in its first conference championship since 1998, which is the last time it was recognized as a varsity sport at UC.

After the UC men’s cross country team finished second in the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championships in the fall, coach Chris Mack and the track team are looking to establish UC as a force to be reckoned with in their new conference.

“This is our first men’s indoor conference meet since 1998, so that on its own is a statement because in this country right now they are dropping so many men’s programs and Cincinnati is one of the first to really bring it back and to bring back scholarships,” Mack said.

Although the current men’s team still has a disadvantage financially this

season, Mack hopes to build momentum ahead of bringing in a big recruiting class next season.

“As we look to next year with our great recruiting class coming in, this will create a foundation,” Mack said. “If we can finish in the top three this year, I think it’s a pretty big statement that once we get everything going we definitely have a great opportunity to vie for a championship or the runner-up spot.”

Going into the AAC championships, UC has only two athletes ranked first in individual events, but the Bearcats do have athletes expected to place in 13 of the meet’s 17 individual events.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that have been showing great things in practice, which we hope comes to fruition this weekend,” Mack said. “But obviously there’s some expectations for your All-American to go out there and do what he does daily in Josh [Dangel] and hopefully he wins another conference championship for himself and for the team.”

Dangel, who finished seventh at the NCAA outdoor championships in 2013 to earn All-American honors, ranks first in

the pole vault in the AAC. He took first at the Buckeye Tune-up at Ohio State University Feb. 21, with a vault of 17 feet.

While Dangel will be looking for his second individual conference championship, his fellow UC pole-vaulters Nathan Alexander (ninth) and Kyle Kubera (11th) are both within striking distance of scoring positions, which Mack believes could be a huge difference for UC.

Kubera enters the meet projected as the winner of the men’s heptathlon. His current best mark of 4,868 points leads UConn’s Kris Horn (4,831) by 37 points. Kubera is also ranked sixth in the men’s high jump, where UC will look to Jordan Hardiman, who is ranked third with a jump of 6 feet 7.5 inches, for a big performance.

As a team, UC’s goal since the fall has been to finish in the top three in their first AAC championship.

“Our team goals were to place in the top three, score [more than] 100 points and place in 15 of the 17 events,” Mack said. “Currently, if we just took how it is written on paper, we’d finish fourth, score somewhere around 80 points and place in 13 of the 17 events. So we’ve got to step it up a little bit but, some of those guys aren’t even ranked.”

Two events in which the Bearcats could pull off a major-points swing are the 400-meter dash and the long jump, where Mack expects two athletes with no previous marks to have a significant impact.

“I think we’ve got two guys in the [400-meter dash] with Darnell Gilbert and Maurice Norman,” he said. “Maurice has not competed all season because of academic issues but he is a 47-low [runner] in the 400-meter runner so I think between them we have a pretty good chance.”

Norman and Gilbert are both within a half-second of the top-ranked runner, UConn’s Kyle Twombly (47.78 seconds).

Marquise Brookins represents UC’s other unexpected presence, as he hasn’t posted a mark in the long jump for UC yet this winter. However, his jump of 24 feet and 2 inches as an unattached competitor in a meet at the University of Kentucky earlier this season would rank third highest in the AAC heading into the meet.

While the Bearcats will be gunning for a third-place finish, they could make a run at second place, with a strong group performance from their distance runners.

“In the distance events at a conference meet, it’s not all about running fast, it’s about how tactically you’re racing,” Mack said. “Oliver book in the mile has an opportunity to finish better than eighth place where he’s ranked and we’ve got guys in the 3k and the 5k, where if they just set up there race properly they can earn more

points than they would on paper.”For the UC women’s team, the goal is

very much the same: a top-three finish. However, a slew of injuries will likely limit the Bearcats.

“One of our goals was to finish in the top three at the conference level and the way things are playing out I think we’re just maybe a few athletes short of being able to do that,” said UC women’s head coach Susan Seton.

The Bearcats are without Frida Akerstrom, the indoor school record holder in the shot put (50 feet and 7.5 inches), who is redshirting this year due to a technique change and injury problems. And several other UC athletes will be injured, if they compete at all.

“Monica Phillips scored in the weight throw last year, but she had to have hip surgery in the fall, and we’re still on the comeback trail with her and I don’t know if she’ll be ready in time,” Seton said. “Our top-800 runner [Natalia Kuhn] also just found out she had some medical issues and she won’t be able to run the open 800.”

Kuhn’s personal-best time of two minutes and 10 seconds would’ve put her in the running for a top-three finish.

For the Bearcats to have any chance of reaching their third-place goal, Kaitlyn Good, Alyssa McBride, Je’Rica Sanders and Erika Hurd will all have to live up to their rankings of second place or better.

“Kaitlyn Good is ranked first in the pentathlon and she’s had really good training lately and has been able to get some personal records in several events,” Seton said. “With her coming off of foot surgery in the summer, we’re really excited about where she’s at.”

Seton also expects pentathlon newcomer Cameron Gardner, who is currently sitting in sixth place, to have a breakout performance.

After a personal-best jump of 13 feet and 3.5 inches at the Buckeye Tune-up — a top 40 jump in the country so far this season — McBride is expected to finish second in the pole vault, an event in which UC could make a surprise move in the team standings.

“We’re excited for our pole-vaulters,” Seton said. “One of them is a former champion, Sara Rasnick [2012 indoor Big East Champion]. She’s had foot problems too and surgeries, so this is her comeback. She sat out all of last year, but if she’s on she can jump really well. She jumps very well at this venue.”

Erica Hurd (high jump) and Sanders (60-meter hurdles) are also ranked second in their individual events going into the meet.

Events are scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Friday at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York, N.Y.

PROVIDEDUC’s Josh Dangel is the top-rated pole vaulter in the American Athletic Conference heading into the conference championship Saturday in New York, N.Y.