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Cassie Fait

AfterTASTE: Miller's Chicken remains a classic Athens eatery

By CASSIE FAIT | Feb. 10, 2015

Miller’s Chicken might be an old favorite for Athens natives, but it’s a newfound favorite for me. I wish I discovered this restaurant earlier in my college career. But, as my last semester draws closer to an end, I am at loss as to where I am going to fulfill my fried chicken craving.Miller’s Chicken is the ultimate comfort food joint. When my stress level threatens to boil over, I crave this delicious place. There are no instances that come to mind where I actually enjoyed fried chicken before I tried Miller’s. However, their cooks changed my opinion wholeheartedly.Each piece of fried chicken glory is deep fried to absolute perfection. The golden breading ratio to the meat balances for a taste explosion. Let’s just say, there was very little left on my plate by the end of the meal.The fried chicken is their specialty, and customers keep going back for that exact reason. Miller’s Chicken receives rave reviews on Yelp, Tripadvisor and other sites for the consistent quality of their food.The place isn’t limited to just fried chicken. The jalapeno poppers come straight out of the fryer and onto the plate. Food is served quickly and piping hot to each customer. While the food might not be highly nutritious, the grub is certainly worth every bite.Fried chicken seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth for many restaurants — that is, until it becomes “trendy” again. Besides being paired with chicken and waffles, the deep fried quality usually isn’t there. Instead, the chef prepares the chicken in a breaded and baked manner.Part of the the draw to the restaurant is the management behind the scenes. The restaurant has been owned by the same family for generations. Today, three generations still work in the kitchen.The down-home style attracts customers to Miller’s Chicken, which has been a staple in Athens for decades. Despite the ever changing nearby college population, Miller’s Chicken still grabs the attention of students. I imagine it will continue to do so for many more decades to come.Cassie Fait is a senior studying journalism and women’s, gender and sexuality studies. Email her at cf301411@ohio.edu.

Lean in Further

Lean In Further: Journalism trends on campus are problematic

By Jessica Ensley | Feb. 9, 2015

When I came to Ohio University and was accepted into the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism — one of the top journalism programs in the country — I expected excellence out of not just the professors, but also the students. Although there are some outstanding people within the program, I’ve noticed many problems throughout my time here.Recently, I have been annoyed at The Post. That annoyance primarily stems from asking only white students if they feel safe on campus and writing an article about the problems of victim blaming while actually victim blaming themselves. The article quoted a source who has no authority to give advice on how to prevent getting raped. These problems of not properly representing students are pervasive.But the most frustrating moment I experienced with The Post came last semester when I was writing about Student Senate President Megan Marzec. On her Facebook page, she posted screenshots of the harassing emails that included the names of the men who sent them. In my column, I quoted the harassers. While The Post could legally publish the names, the executive editors didn’t feel comfortable doing so unless I contacted the harassers beforehand. It’s important to keep in mind that four out of the five top editors at The Post are male, a trend that exists in mainstream journalism as well. As a woman, I did not feel comfortable reaching out to men who had already sent these angry emails to Marzec. If they chose to contact me, had their names been published, then at least it would be public knowledge that they are harassers.Marzec is free to be in the public and receive threats, yet these harassers are free to hide. Journalism is not supposed to help silence those already marginalized. I feel the editors should have allowed me to run the names or at least offered to contact these harassing men for me. As a new columnist to The Post, I wasn’t sure that I could come to the editors with my concerns at the time.There have been other sources of racism and sexism within journalism on campus too. In several of my journalism classes, which are predominately made up of white students, I have heard students say things that are incredibly problematic — from victim blaming, to sympathizing with rapists, to even stating that white men are the new minority in America.I have had two male professors in the Scripps program spew sexist commentary as well. One professor said that women talk behind each other’s back more than men do — a stereotype used to pit women against one another. The professor then asked us to prove him wrong. I wanted to say that he was being misogynistic but held my tongue since he had power over my grade. the other professor called an unfounded rape case on Court Street “not true” and took the stance of a victim blamer. This is the same professor that would later edit a story of mine and tell me I should interview survivors of sexual assault who were sober at the time of their attack. Apparently the survivors I interviewed who were intoxicated at the time weren’t sympathetic to the reader. As a senior in my final semester, I won’t have to worry about having those sexist professors again.It is not good teaching when you tell female students they are gossipy and then expect them to counter your point when you hold the power in that situation. It is not good journalism to only walk up and down Baker to get opinions from white students and call that “Streetview.” It is not good journalism to write a story about how students don’t feel safe on campus and quote students who tell them how to avoid being raped.It is important for us journalists to constantly critique ourselves and our work and seek out critiques from other students, professors, reporters and editors. We need to be watchdogs and call each other out when we witness anything sexist, racist, transphobic, etc. That is one of the reasons I write this column. Journalism needs to be more than just slapping together quotes. Instead it should be about thinking critically about whom you’re interviewing and why you’re writing a certain story.Journalists should be the voice of the people, not the force that silences them.Jessica Ensley is a senior studying journalism and an active member of F--kRapeCulture. Email her at je726810@ohio.edu.

Grant Stover

Nurturing OUr Nature: Environmental decisions require transparency

By Grant Stover | Feb. 8, 2015

If poverty is the cause of environmental degradation, what is the cause of poverty and how do we fight it? The United States is less than 5 percent of the earth's population, and we use about 25 percent of the earth’s fossil fuel resources, according to the Worldwatch Institute. This consumption is directly related to the affluence of the U.S., but I don’t think it’s a question of how wealthy our country is, but how that wealth is distributed.

Lights Camera Ashton

Lights, Camera, Ashton: Things to keep in mind when making a 48-hour movie

By Will Ashton | Feb. 4, 2015

For the first, and only, time in my college years, I participated in the 48-hour film shootout last weekend.The final project, “Rejected,” was one I co-wrote, co-directed, shot, produced, starred in and did a variety of other jobs (including make-up) alongside my friends Matt Serafini, Dan Telek and Jameson Lintelman. We had a real loose group, where positions shifted and the only thing permanent was our desire to make as good a film as we could. To my surprise, we actually got it done on time and it’s on the web now. For all you wishing to make fun of my lack of acting chops, enjoy.If you didn’t see it during Sunday’s line-up, your brain is not failing you. Even though we made it in time, we didn’t have enough media majors in our group to qualify for the competition.  We still pieced together a product. Our film centered on a man who, because of an unknown and uninvited friend, couldn’t get into an annual party, despite everyone from the main character’s roommate — played by yours truly — to Jesus Christ being in attendance.As you can tell, it was semi-autobiographical.Anyway, even if we weren’t officially in the contest, I took away some important and valuable lessons about not just two-day filmmaking, but short film crafting as well. I’d like to take this moment to give you up-and-coming filmmakers some free knowledge as you gear up for next year’s contest.1. Make an outline, not a screenplayWhen you’re under a deadline as tight as this one, the best advice you should know is to make a general outline of what your characters say and do beforehand, and then go with what you, your actors and sometimes your crew members have in mind on set. Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely know where your story is heading before cameras roll — unless, perhaps, you’re in the experimental route — but don’t set yourself back a couple hours forcing yourself to have a good, hard script at hand. If you can pound out a script in a few hours time, great, but filming and editing are what you should focus on primarily during this time period.2. Don’t be afraid to let your actors experimentDon’t be afraid to trust your actors. They, like you, are creative and inspired people, and they probably have some great ideas. I know some of our best lines came from the actors’ improvisations on the spot in our feature. But even if you don’t like something they say, you can always do another take or — better yet —  edit the line out. As far as I’m concerned, however, the funniest line in our project came from our actor, Abdalah, who said something off-script that kept me laughing long after cut was yelled. I wish I could say that line made it into the final film, but you know how faulty sound equipment can be.3. Have fun with itSome people produce great little films in 48-hours, but don’t let their success get to you or your crew’s heads. Your number one priority should be to have fun. It doesn’t really matter if you make a good movie or not. If you had fun making it, then you succeeded. You might not get the glory or acclaimation from your friends, but at least you got to make something you can look back and laugh about with your buddies in due time. Even if your product was exceptional, it would suck if you didn’t enjoy yourself.As cliché as these might seem, they’re important to remember. So with that, I congratulate the winners and hope everyone working in next year’s shoot enjoys themselves. I won’t be able to enjoy them then, but I will at least get the satisfaction of knowing the joy of filmmaking lives on in OU.Will Ashton is a senior studying journalism and a staff writer for TheCelebrityCafe.com. Email him at wa054010@ohio.edu or find him on Twitter @thewillofash.

Mark Gottschlich

Everyday Wellness: Get off your bum and enjoy a heightened quality of life

By Mark Gottschlich | Feb. 1, 2015

One of the fundamental principles by which I live is to live in moderation. This principle’s personal meaning evolved as I aged. During my teen years, it meant trying to find the proper balance between studying and hanging out with friends. Over the next decade, the theme of living in moderation advanced to encompass many aspects of my life — including school, work, nutrition, sleep, exercise, Court Street adventures, etc. What I have found is when I am successful at living in moderation; I am more healthy and happy. On the occasions when I may cross the boundary and test the extremes, it usually has negative effects on my mind and body.This is relevant to “Everyday Wellness” readers because I recently became aware that there was a glaring aspect of my life that was not in balance and needed to be addressed because such excessiveness results in negative consequences to healthy living. I am referring to the inordinate amount of sitting that you and I do on a daily basis.We all do it and few do anything to stop it. All of this sitting — be it in a car seat, at a desk, couch or dinner table — adds up and likely even surpasses the amount of time you lay down to sleep on a given day. I am sure we would all get a glare of disapproval and astonishment from our ancestors who were on their feet all day from working hard labor.The fact is that this sedentary behavior is unhealthy. The worst part is, our bodies try to alert us of the damage we are acquiring by way of subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle twinges of discomfort in our necks and backs, but we largely ignore these aches and pains and attribute them to unavoidable life stressors. To give an analogy, Mama Bear’s porridge is way too hot and yet we continue to sit back (literally) and burn our tongues. The damage is not only reflected in our poor postures but sitting can also negatively impact proper circulation and metabolic functioning, increasing the risk for many diseases including obesity, heart disease and diabetes.I am not saying that sitting is bad and will eventually kill you, but instead, I want to address yet another one of life’s many things that is best enjoyed in moderation. While trying to reduce one’s daily sitting might sound more daunting of a task than even adding healthy vegetables and fruits to your diet, I think you will find there are small adjustments you can make that are easy and sustainable. My advice: let the porridge cool for a couple minutes, or at least sip it slowly.While obviously setting aside time to work out or go for a jog are good options, even easier things could be standing up and walking around the room when you are on the phone. Other ideas include standing up every 30 minutes and taking a quick break to do some non-strenuous lunges, squats or even some light stretching. After incorporating these ideas or your own personal ideas, start charting how much less time you are sitting, and every month or so see if you can “one-up” yourself and go for an extra 10 minutes of standing the next month.The impact of standing and leisurely movement can be profound. For starters, you'll burn more calories, which might lead to weight loss and increased energy. And who knows, maybe after a year or so you will be so focused on seeking a new personal best standing time that you might invest in a standing workstation for your computer. Or even better, your own personal office treadmill! So, take a stand to sitting and decide for yourself if you want to live healthier by standing more.Mark Gottschlich is a second year medical student at the Ohio University Heritage College of Medicine and a monthly columnist at The Post. Have questions about health and wellness? Email him at gg617012@ohio.edu; call your physician if you feel excessively tired throughout the day.

Sophie Kruse - Gamer Girl

Gamer Girl: For gamers, PlayStation Now is a must

By Sophie Kruse | Feb. 1, 2015

Once again, I’m really excited for something launched by PlayStation. This time? It’s a video game streaming and rental service.PlayStation Now launched on Jan. 13 and acts like a Netflix for games. From two different plans, you can either rent or stream games and play them right from your PlayStation devices.There are two types of subscriptions on this service. The game streaming subscription, which costs $19.99 a month, gives you access to more than 100 games on your console. The titles range from The Last of Us to Guacamelee!The rental option is a little different. More than 200 games are available for a variety of periods. Rentals cost about $1 a week, but you can cut it down and rent games for a few hours at a time as well. For devoted gamers, one week can be more than enough time to beat a quick campaign game or a few hours is enough to decide if you like the gameplay well enough to purchase the full version.My initial worry was how it saved your game process, but all of your gameplay is saved right to the cloud. You could rent it again later to continue or purchase it in the future and start right where you left off. You also keep all your trophies even if you stop being a subscriber to the service.Currently, all the games are for PS3 but are compatible on other devices. From what I understand, more games will begin rolling out once time goes on. From what I noticed in the catalog, there’s a good variety of longer campaign games to shorter puzzle or quick games. It’s a good variety and seems to be able to suit most players.I think this is a great idea for next-gen consoles. The rental option is especially interesting for others on budgets with the games or for those that simply don’t want to dish out the big bucks to be able to play.I always wanted a service like this when I first got into video games in high school. I wanted to play a ton of different games, but I couldn’t afford to shell out $60 for the newest titles. I remember checking games out at Family Video and paying the $5 to $10 rental fee. It still cost a lot of money when it came down to it but was far cheaper than the tag price.People always suggested GameFly to me when I’d tell them about the dilemma. While I think it is a good service for some, I didn’t want to pay a minimum of $17 a month for games I might not have the time to finish.PlayStation Now is also good for those with minimal patience when it comes to getting games, like me. I couldn’t handle waiting a few days for them to come in the mail. While there will still obviously be load times and wait times, it seems to be a bit better when it’s on the screen in front of you.Sophie Kruse is a junior studying journalism. Have you tried PlayStation Now? Email her at sk139011@ohio.edu or find her on Twitter at @kruseco. 

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