1.31.12

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Tuesday January 31, 2012 year: 132 No. 16

the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern ‘Suspicious’ arson leaves students in cold

sports

AYAN SHEIKH Lantern reporter sheikh.51@osu.edu

1B

More of Meyer’s men

The Lantern continues its series of profiles about the new coaching staff with a look at Ed Warinner.

[ a+e ]

“One second I’m comfortable in bed, and the next second I’m running out of the house in the freezing cold, running for my life,” recalls Mohamed Soltan. Soltan, a sixth-year in economics at Ohio State, and his roommate Ahmed Mahmoud, a third-year in finance, were victims of arson in their Hilliard home on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The FBI, along with the Hilliard Division of Police, have yet to identify the culprit of the arson that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. On Jan. 16, Norwich Township Fire Department responded to a 911 call made by Soltan at about 5:30 a.m. Mahmoud, the first of the two to discover the fire, said although he did hear what he described as a “loud banging noise,” it was not until the smoke detectors went off that he realized the house was on fire. “I immediately ran into Mohamed’s room and woke him up. That’s when we realized the situation and what’s going on, and we got out of the house,” Mahmoud said. “At first, I figured it was Mohamed moving around. I was laying in bed and all of a sudden the smoke detectors went off.” Soltan said he was in a deep sleep, and it wasn’t until Mahmoud woke him up that he became aware of his surroundings. “I’m a very heavy sleeper, and I remember

continued as Smoke on 3A

AYAN SHEIKH / Lantern reporter

The home of Mohamed Soltan and Ahmed Mahmoud was set on fire on the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Soltan said the crime was hate oriented.

Intramurals to kick off online registration SARAH STEMEN Lantern reporter stemen.66@osu.edu

4A

24 hours of Bill Murray

In celebration of Thursday’s holiday, Gateway Film Center will be hosting a “Groundhog Day” movie marathon.

campus

OSU appoints new medical trustee

2A

The days of standing in the cold with your friends at 5 a.m. on the first day of the quarter to sign up for an intramural team are almost over. Intramural sports registration will be done online starting in September, said Don Stenta, director of Recreational Sports. Stenta told The Lantern that due to the long registration line and chaos, Rec Sports created a “Ticketmaster-like” program for students to sign up for the intramural sports team of his or her choice, Stenta said. “We used to just tell people intramural sign-ups start at 7 a.m. and we’d show up and there would be lines of students all over the place,” Stenta said. “People would be sitting on the floor waiting and it was a mess.” The online registration will give students a five-minute time slot that they can log-in and add the names of teammates and pay for the team. “There won’t be any kind of in-line process,” Stenta said. “We wanted to increase customer satisfaction, and I believe this is the way to do it.” Bonnie Mitchell, intramural sports

THOMAS BRADLEY / Campus editor

Don Stenta, director of Recreation Sports, said the registration process for intramurals will all be online starting Autumn Semester 2012. coordinator, said the reasoning for the switch was to keep up with technology and to eliminate the long lines. “This creates a system where students can pick out what sport they want to play, where they want to play it, what time of the day they want to play it and they can pick out a team, all from home,” Mitchell said. Mitchell said no official statement has been made about the switch

yet, though she said students have voiced they want an online system. “Students were arriving very early to sign up and the system was inefficient,” she said. Brandon Edwards, chair of the Recreational Sports committee representing the Undergraduate Student Government, said the switch is a great move for students. “We’re giving students a lot more opportunities to participate in our

programming,” Edwards said. “They don’t have to deal with the hassle and pain of registering.” Nate Brown, a second-year in sport and leisure studies, said an online registration system would be convenient for him and other intramural players. “It’s always been a pain trying to work around classes and workouts to go sign in,” Brown said. “Online would make it so much quicker and easier.” Stenta said the department will try piloting for spring and summer, but the program will officially begin Autumn Semester. “We decided to make it in sync with the semester conversion,” Stenta said. “That way we wouldn’t have to try out two different programs and we only had to make one.” Recreational Sports already has tried to make the signing-up process better for students, Stenta said. “We rearranged our space and staff to accommodate the student interest,” he said. “We provided refreshments, we’d play music and provide seating for the line.” Edwards said students have given very positive feedback on the changes. “This is a great example of Dr. Stenta and his team being receptive to our student voice,” Edwards said. “We are thankful for that.”

OSU No. 13 in Peace Corps volunteers BRIN KERKHOFF Lantern reporter kerkhoff.2@osu.edu

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weather high 58 low 49 mostly sunny

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55/39

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few showers

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mostly sunny

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cloudy Courtesy of the Peace Corps

www.weather.com

Judith Bustos, a graduate of OSU, works in Paraguay as part of her service with the Peace Corps.

Ohio State has 71 alumni serving as volunteers in the Peace Corps, which is ranked No. 13 of any university in the U.S., according to representatives from the Peace Corps. OSU is also ranked No. 10 for an all-time producer of alumni volunteers in the program at 1,613. “OSU’s leadership has given substantial attention and support to promoting international outreach and global citizenship among the student body, so Peace Corps is highlighted as a natural extension for many after graduation,” said Christine Torres, public affairs specialists for the Midwest region of the Peace Corps. Former President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961 and since then, more than 20,000 Americans have served in 139 host countries. The purpose of Peace Corps is to “promote world peace and friendship and a better understanding between Americans and people of other countries,” according to its mission statement. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Being a volunteer is a 27-month commitment and applicants are encouraged to apply for service one year in advance to their targeted departure date. The Peace Corps is in need of applicants with backgrounds in agriculture, environment, education, teaching English as a second language and French language skills. Sandra Goolsby, a fourth-year in psychology and sociology, said she hopes to hear she has been accepted after a recent interview.

“I desire to do something unique, to leave behind change bigger than myself, to see more of the world and to learn first-hand about another culture,” Goolsby said. Although volunteers for the Peace Corps work on various projects, some aspiring volunteers have specific goals in mind. “Africa is my preferential placement. I have been volunteering with an AIDS clinic in Clintonville and having studied French both in high school and here at OSU, my recruiter said that I would likely raise AIDS awareness in Africa,” Goolsby said. As some current students work toward joining the Peace Corps, some alumni are already making a difference. Judith Bustos, 26, of Bridgeton, N.J., is an OSU alumna who is serving in Paraguay as an education volunteer. Bustos graduated in 2008 with a degree in environmental science and landscape. “As a volunteer in education and youth development, I work with primary and secondary grade teachers, students and principals to strengthen basic reading, writing and math skills. I also work with students to improve their life skills and community service by working and empowering youth,” Bustos said. Bustos had her own inspirations for joining the Peace Corps, but said OSU helped prepare her for her service. “OSU helped me adapt to people of different backgrounds such as ethnicities, religions, race and forms of thought because OSU is so diverse, especially the professors,” Bustos said. OSU has also helped alumni prepare for the Peace Corps with programs offered on and off campus.

continued as Alumni on 3A 1A


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