Jan. 19, 2012

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Thursday January 19, 2012 year: 132 No. 10

the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern Many up in arms over Gee’s Polish slip-up

sports

Jami JUricH Editor-in-chief jurich.4@osu.edu

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After President E. Gordon Gee compared the task of coordinating 18 Ohio State divisions to that of coordinating the Polish Army last week, many Polish-Americans are up in arms about the comment. During a speech at the Columbus Metropolitan Club on Jan. 11, Gee said, “When we had these 18 colleges all kind of floating around, they were kind of like PT Boats, they were shooting each other. It was kind of like the Polish Army or something. I have no idea what it was.” Gee made the comment during the questionand-answer portion of an event about OSU’s ability to maintain a secure financial foundation and to further the university’s mission as a research

institution. He immediately realized his mistake and, referencing previous slip-ups, said he had done it again and would now have to raise money for the Polish Army. OSU’s Polish Club has had discussions about the comment and has spoken with other local Polish clubs about their reactions to the comments, said Caroline Krakowski, a third-year in psychology and president of OSU’s Polish Club, in an email. She said the club was insulted by the comments. “We are extremely proud of our heritage and of the accomplishments of Polish people throughout history,” Krakowski said in the email. “The comments made by President E. Gorden Gee negatively impacted our mission and were an insult to our nationality.” For some, such as Jerry Wiecek of Chicago, whose father survived the Nazi concentration camp

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cOdY cOUSinO / Photo editor

President e. gordon gee made a comment about the Polish army Jan. 11, that has many upset.

Bringing Zach back

The Lantern takes a closer look at Zach Smith who was named as wide receivers coach for Urban Meyer’s staff.

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Courtesy of the respective websites

(left to right) Wikipedia, O’reilly media, Wordpress, google, green Peace, Plague music, craigslist, namecheap, mozilla Firefox and minecraft all changed online content Jan. 18, in opposition of the Stop Online Piracy act.

cosmic cabaret

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Cabaret performer Dane Terry is scheduled to perform an original piece this weekend at the Garden Theater.

campus

No delay in Geothermal project

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BrandOn rOSin Lantern reporter rosin.7@osu.edu A stark, black W casts a shadow across the English Wikipedia website. “Imagine a world without free knowledge,” the page reads. Wikipedia, Reddit, Rock Paper Shotgun, Craigslist and hundreds of other sites shut down Wednesday in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). “This is an extraordinary action for our community to take,” said Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, in a press release. “And while we regret having to prevent the world from having access to Wikipedia for even a second, we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening

precedent of Internet censorship for the world.” The legislation, that many Ohio lawmakers have concerns about, would allow content holders and the Department of Justice to require websites, search engines and ad agencies to blacklist websites associated with piracy or linking to pirated content. This includes links and content made by users. According to AmericanCensorship. org, “A few infringing links are enough to block a site full of legal material, and sites become liable for userposted content” under SOPA/PIPA. Many other websites, including Google.com and Wired.com, blacked out their content or logos in solidarity. These sites include links to pages with more information on the legislation, along with forms to contact senators and representatives. David Howcroft, a graduate student in linguistics and member of

Ohio for Internet Freedom, described the bill as “anti-competitive” and said it has “a chilling effect on web entrepreneurship in general.” Putting such limitations on content, and pressure for websites to police that content, creates a turbulent climate for new companies, Howcroft said. “It really discourages innovation online,” said Logan Frederick, a fourth-year in computer science and economics. Because the language of the bill is so vague, Frederick said it can be interpreted in any way the government or corporations want. The fear is that this censorship will provide yet another barrier to entry for new websites and internet companies. The legislation does not delete pirated content, but instead forces U.S. sites and search engines to omit links to “rogue websites” containing pirated material.

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“Any site that has comments, a forum, video streaming, user content in any form, is in real danger of being destroyed by SOPA and PIPA,” read the front page of “Rock, Paper, Shotgun,” a popular video game blog. “YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter … The Internet, as this wonderful, extraordinary, free and beautiful thing, would be broken forever.” Under SOPA and PIPA, websites are fully responsible for community content. A few links to infringing YouTube videos in your website’s comment section could be enough for legal attention, critics worry. Their goal is to protect content holders, but the bills aren’t beneficial to artists, said Andy Anderson, a fourth-year in theater. “One of the biggest struggles anyone in my field deals with is

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Semester switch prompts some to scurry THaiLYr ScriVner Senior Lantern reporter scrivner.2@osu.edu

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Sites black out in protest of SOPA, PIPA

Spring graduation numbers are expected to rise because of students wanting to avoid the switch from quarters to semesters. Ohio State will switch to semesters starting Summer 2012, and the idea of the switch has caused many students to push for earlier graduation. “It’s a concern because we want to make sure there’s enough classes for students to finish,” said John Wanzer, assistant provost in the Office of Undergraduate Education. Students are attempting to bypass any changes made under the semester system. “Because the whole system is switching, I just felt that something might not go right with the way my grades would transfer,” said Andrew Zuk, a third-year in theater. “I didn’t know for sure but just the thought of switching to semesters and whatnot just didn’t sit well with me, so I took the initiative of graduating early.”

Zuk has been taking 20 hours or more each quarter since his first year at OSU, when OSU announced it would be shifting from quarters to semesters in 2012. Zuk said a few of his friends have classes that will

not transfer to semester credits. He said he’s also heard some people are excited to start and end at the same time as most schools on a semester schedule. Kara Lapso, a third-year in international studies, also decided to graduate a full year early. “The more I got those emails from the graduation office saying you have to check with this office, the more I thought I just didn’t want to do it,” Lapso said. “They look so complicated and I don’t really want to be here for this.” Lapso said she took 20 hours or more each quarter to stay on track. She said her major’s coursework allowed her to be able to take more hours than average. This could potentially lead to an increase in the number of graduates this spring, said Brad Myers, the University registrar. Myers said this is the expectation because of feedback from institutions who have made the transition. This includes universities like Toledo and Minnesota.

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