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THE NEWS RECORD / UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI THURSDAY, JAN. 12, 2016
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College athletes not receiving their value
UC athletes may not be getting the scholarships they count on MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV | TASS | ABACA PRESS | TNS
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a reception at the State Kremlin Palace on December 28, 2016, in Moscow.
Students react to Russian hacking TIM GOLDENBERG | CONTRIBUTOR
With the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump drawing closer, recent briefs from the intelligence community to government officials reported that the Russian Federation was directly involved in influencing the results of the U.S. Presidential Election. While the Obama administration already rolled out an initial set of retaliatory sanctions in response to the report, President-elect Trump’s response has been more doubtful. Congressmen on both sides of the isle, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have called for a bipartisan probe into the situation. Trump repeatedly expressed doubt on the conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime was involved in the U.S. election. This tone, however, changed at his first press conference since Election Day. “As far as hacking, I think it was Russia,” he said. Concern in the University of Cincinnati student community, though, was still evident. Third-year international affairs student Chris Strohofer drew his own conclusion about the conflict. “The FBI report seems to be another drop in the bucket of a dozen or more intelligence agencies that have concluded Russia was behind the DNC hacks. The fact that Donald Trump has finally admitted Russia was probably involved kind of removes all the doubt from my mind,” Strohofer said. In his press conference, Trump claimed that the U.S. government was incredibly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. “Out of a list of 17, in terms of industries, it’s the worst. It’s No. 17 in terms of protection,” he said. While that claim itself is unsubstantiated, there was still concern from students about American cyber security moving forward. “This only highlights a weakness in our cyber security that now needs to be fixed and modified so it can’t happen again,” said second-year English student Ryan Clady. Second-year computer science student Ellana Sell saw the situation as an important opportunity to realize the importance of computer science and cyber security. An opportunity for increased education may hold the key to combating cyber security risks. “Federal grants need to help universities pay computer science professors more because they have a much higher monetary incentive to work in the corporate world instead of teaching the next cyber generation of programmers,” said Sell. In regards to potential effects on the incoming administration, there was significant doubt from students. “Trump’s rhetoric towards Putin has consisted of only admirability. Even after our current president took action to impose sanctions on Russia in response to the hacking, he decided to compliment Putin for not responding to them. It is clear our presidentelect considers Putin as an ally, even though it should be obvious now to all Americans that he is, in many ways, an adversary,” said fourth-year political science and history student Niel Skalican.
FILE ART
DAVID WYSONG | SPORTS EDITOR
Many college athletes are awarded athletic scholarships from the schools they choose to attend. However, due to restrictions from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), athletes may not be receiving an amount equaling their value to the school. While Division I college football teams can award 85 scholarships to their players, men’s baseball has a limit of 11.7, according to the 2015-16 NCAA Division I Manual. The University of Cincinnati men’s baseball team has 37 roster spots, meaning the players have the scholarships divided among them. Coaches can divide athletic scholarships any way they choose, possibly leaving some players
without any financial assistance to claim. In addition, despite football teams having 85 total scholarships to award, some athletes still go without as it is considered a head count sport, meaning that since they are awarded 85 scholarships per year, they are only allowed to have 85 scholarship athletes. UC football has 109 total athletes on their roster. Other head count sports at Cincinnati include volleyball, tennis and men’s and women’s basketball. Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, says that universities would offer more scholarships to their players if it were not for an illegal price-fixing scheme controlled by the NCAA. The NCAA was found guilty of illegally price fixing scholarships in 2014
during the O’Bannon vs NCAA case. “What if all the oil companies got together and decided to start price fixing the price of gasoline, and they said tomorrow we now have to spend at least $10 a gallon for gas?” said Huma. “Well, guess what, we would be spending $10 a gallon for gas, that’s why there are anti-trust laws to protect American citizens from illegal price fixing. And college athletes have those same rights, and O’Bannon proved it, they just have to be assertive.” The NCAA is not the only one to blame in regards to the scholarship cap. Schools could also change the rules to help more athletes financially. “The schools themselves are collectively enforcing an illegal price-fixing scheme,” said Huma. “Every school, they vote on these rules and they say that ‘We don’t want to give
full scholarships in every sport.’” Despite their cap on scholarships, schools do not have to use every scholarship at their disposal. At UC, some coaches use all their scholarships, but most of them do not. “Usually, every sport has at least one scholarship open,” said UC’s Director of Compliance Lindsay Jaffe. Universities receive more media attention from sports than academics, according to Huma, who shared that while many athletes do not receive the benefits of a full scholarship, they are widely used for publicity by the universities. “If you only have a 25 percent tuition, that means you’re paying the school 75 percent. They are making money off of you. In addition to your use as an advertising arm of the school, you’re actually
paying as well,” said Huma. The lack of financial stability can hurt athletes, as many do not have time for part-time jobs in addition to classes and the hours they put into their given sport. Student athletes may spend more than 40 hours a week practicing, according to a lawsuit against the University of North Carolina. Huma said that athletes give many hours to their team without receiving compensation for it. “There are still a lot of short falls where you are not receiving year-round benefits,” said Huma. “Yet, they are being required to work out year-round and participate year-round. They pretend summer workouts are voluntary, but they’re anything but.” However, Alex Pfeiffer, an offensive lineman for the SEE SCHOLARSHIP PG 4
Rob Richardson announces bid for Mayor of Cincinnati JUSTIN REUTTER | NEWS EDITOR
JEAN PLEITEZ | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rob Richardson speaks about his time at UC, and how he is going to change Cincinnati if he becomes mayor. Monday, January 10, 2017.
JEAN PLEITEZ | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rob Richardson speaks about the issues that Cincinnati is experiencing that are not being dealt with properly. He believes he can help change that if he becomes mayor of the city. Monday, January 9, 2017.
Former University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees Chairman Rob Richardson recently announced a run for mayor. Richardson is a graduate of UC, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 2002 and his Juris Doctor degree from UC as well in 2005. While a student at UC, he established the first college chapter of the NAACP in the Cincinnati Tri-State area and was elected student body president in the spring of 2001. Having served on the Board of Trustees since 2008 and as chairman for one year, Richardson was present on the board when Ray Tensing shot and killed Sam Dubose during a traffic stop in July 2015, and was chairman during the Ray Tensing trial. After Dubose’s death, the university made drastic changes to its policing practices, including hiring an independent monitor and training UC cops to ensure the tragedy does not happen again, according to Richardson. “All you can do is be transparent and open,” said Richardson. “We did our best to make sure our voices were heard.” The university is currently being investigated for allegations of a sexually hostile environment. University records reveal more than 400 Title IX complaints were filed in 2015, according to a recent article in The Enquirer. Only four individuals were found responsible and disciplined for committing physical abuse or harm, which is the charge that sexual assault would fall under. The Title IX complaints include incidents that are sexual in nature and non-sexual. There were more than 260 of those cases in 2016 up to Sept. 20, and none of the accused parties were found responsible, according to the documents. “We are working to make sure we get that right, and I believe it is important for students to continue advocating change,” said Richardson. Students for Survivors, a student group dedicated to supporting survivors of sexual assault, was launched during the time Richardson was acting chairman. When the group went before
THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
administrators, including Richardson, they were largely ignored, according to Grace Cunningham, co-founder of Students for Survivors. “UC has currently failed survivors, and has done little to nothing to make sure that this campus is a safe space for survivors to learn, grow, live and thrive,” said Cunningham in a statement on the group’s website. The main planks of Richardson’s platform are innovation and Inclusion. “A few years ago, the valedictorian from Hughes High School could not make it into main campus. This is when I realized there was a problem,” said Richardson. To counter this, Richardson helped create the UC Scholars Academy bridge program with Hughes STEM High School, which focuses on college readiness and leadership development for students “with the drive and potential, but lacking opportunity,” according to Richardson. Similarly, Cincinnati’s heroin problem must also be addressed with innovation. Richardson believes that a heroin crisis correlates to lack of opportunities and jobs. A Richardson regime would address the root of the problem by providing access to jobs and opportunities, said Richardson. The current Cincinnati government “majors in minor arguments,” according to Richardson. One example of this is over the expansion of the streetcar to uptown. “The Streetcar is here to stay,” said Richardson. The better question is how to get the most out of the situation. Coordinating with regional institutions to create a comprehensive transportation plan falls under Richardson’s proposals. While a possible streetcar expansion is a controversial topic in Cincinnati, the streetcar is a minor argument, according to Richardson. “Our bus system is wholly inefficient. It is not about just the streetcar, it is about a larger vision.” Richardson believes he should be elected because he believes he has a vision for Cincinnati, “not just the next political argument.” This profile is part one of three on the candidates of the 2017 Cincinnati mayoral race.
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