Thursday October 14, 2010 year: 130 No. 135 the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern Will Obama’s talk tip the polls?
sports
AleX HAmPel Lantern reporter hampel.11@osu.edu
1B
madness in madison
Ohio State heads to a crazed environment at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., to face the Badgers
arts & life
President Barack Obama and the first lady are scheduled to appear on the Oval to energize young voters Sunday, but some political experts doubt their efforts will swing next month’s elections. “I don’t think he will be tremendously successful,” said Robert Kaufman, a public policy professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. “His numbers are bad — look at job numbers, debt and the U.S. is on the verge of a major tax increase.” The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in September, and the national debt has swelled to $44,082 per person, according to the most recent federal data. With all of the negative attention Obama has been getting, it might be difficult for him to be an asset to Democratic candidates. “He believes he still is an asset to the Democratic candidates, but with everyone’s anger toward health care and the economy, he isn’t really (an asset) anymore,” Kaufman said. Still, Obama’s appeal to college-aged voters might help him gain support for
5A
“
Robert Kaufman professor of public policy Pepperdine University
Democrats in the upcoming election despite the state of the economy. Ohio is a pivotal state in the Nov. 2 election, and Republican candidates are leading in polls for most major offices, including the Senate and Ohio governor. The state’s unemployment rate is 10.1 percent, another reason why the president wants to rally young people here, Kaufman said. “A college campus is going to be a positive venue for him, and … his overall strategy is to minimize the Republican seats in the November elections,” he said. It will benefit Obama’s agenda for the country if he helps Democrats get elected
kelsey buller Oller Projects reporter buller.10@osu.edu
Go ‘like’ The Lantern on Facebook! online
Check out thelantern.com tomorrow for exclusive Friday stories! campus
weather high 65 low 41 wind
F SA SU M
64/41 a.m. showers 65/43 sunny 71/47 mostly sunny 71/48 partly cloudy
www.weather.com
”
Get in line. That’s what thousands of campus visitors will hear on Sunday when they try to get onto the Oval to see President Barack Obama rally to keep Democrats in power in the state and in Washington. Although planners call the rally a public event — it won’t require a ticket — police barricades will seal the Oval from the public unless they line up at the public entrance between the William Oxley Thompson Library and Mirror Lake. And with a growing list of big-name appearances, including a recently announced opening performance by John Legend, organizers warn that the line could get long — really long. “There was a line a mile long at Wisconsin,” said Micah Kamrass, president of Undergraduate Student Government at Ohio State, referring to Obama’s visit to the University of Wisconsin in late September. That rally, the largest rally featuring Obama since his election, drew 26,500 people and a 1.1-mile line, according to police at the University of Wisconsin. But if the leader of OSU’s College Democrats gets his way, Ohio will beat that record on Sunday, a day after the Buckeyes face Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. “It would be really nice to beat them twice in one weekend,” said Matt Caffey, whose organization lobbied to bring Obama to campus. His advice for students is to line up early and be ready for
continued as Rally on 3A
First lady’s fashion to face scrutiny
Matt Groening will speak at the Wexner Center on Saturday as part of the 2010 Festival of Cartoon Art.
2A
COlliN biNkley Editor-in-chief binkley.44@osu.edu
continued as Obama on 3A
‘The simpsons’ creator
Update on garage hole repairs
Obama crowd to face long lines, tight security
“He believes he still is an asset to the Democratic candidates, but with everyone’s anger toward health care and the economy, he isn’t really (an asset) anymore.”
Photo courtesy of MCT
It isn’t often that first lady Michelle Obama joins her husband on the campaign trail. But as the president mounts a bolstered effort to keep Democrats in power across the country and in Washington, the first lady will join his side Sunday at Ohio State and — inevitably — will spark discussion about what she wears. “The role of the first lady is an important one in looking at the overall image that the present projects,” said Julia Cooper, a lecturer in fashion and retail studies at OSU. “I see fashion from the first lady as a good thing, in that it can spark the conversation on what is acceptable or controversial to the American public.” Since she moved into the White House, the first lady’s fashion style has been praised, criticized and emulated. She has been featured in fashion magazines and recently made Vanity Fair’s “International Best Dressed List” for the fourth time. Though Michelle Obama’s style decisions often garner the attention of the fashion world, they are also thought to have political ramifications. “Style tells us about everyone,” said Kristy Eckert, editor of Capital Style magazine. “I think Michelle Obama has shown with her style that she is well-aware that people expect her to look good and set trends but equally aware that the economy is bad and that she and her family don’t want to seem above everyone else.” At her first rally Wednesday in the run-up to the Nov. 2 election, Michelle Obama donned a hot-pink dress. At a medal of honor ceremony Oct. 6 for a soldier killed in Afghanistan, the first lady wore a conservative, tomato-red dress. But for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala on
Sept. 15, she wore a shimmery gold, form-fitting cocktail dress. “Her (clothing) signals if the event is formal or informal, how to approach them, if it is evening or day, or how accessible they are,” Cooper said. “She helps set the stage, thus she has more freedom to express her style.” John Champlin, an emeritus associate professor of political science at OSU agrees that, from a political standpoint, it can’t hurt the administration to have a smart, independent, stylish first lady. But it isn’t easy to strike that chord in everyone, some say, as the first lady is examined by both everyday Americans and the fashion world. “Michelle’s style leaves an impression, and it’s been a long time since a woman political figure has attracted the attention of a diverse group of people,” said Kinisha Holland, a fourth-year in journalism and an intern for CollegeFashionista.com. “She has brought back the Jackie O ideal that you don’t have to be plain and in the background just because you are married to the president.” The first lady wears designer labels but is best known for dressing in all-American fashions such as Banana Republic, J. Crew and Talbots. “She chooses fairly new and upcoming American designers for some of her clothes and exudes youthfulness, a certain hipness regarding American style,” said Trish Cunningham, associate professor in fashion and retail studies and a fashion historian in the Department of Consumer Sciences at OSU. Even those who aren’t politically savvy are taking notes of the first lady. She has made politics more accessible to those who weren’t interested and gives the American public something to talk about, Eckert said. “I was in J. Crew recently and a woman beside
continued as Michelle on 3A
Gee: OSU research key to state’s vitality DylAN Tussel Lantern reporter tussel.2@osu.edu Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee reaffirmed the importance of higher education and OSU’s dedication to community service in his semi-annual address to the faculty on Wednesday. “The public has questioned the value of higher education,” Gee said to about 150 faculty members in the U.S. Bank Conference Theater in the Ohio Union at 4:30 p.m. “Are we … worth the cost to families paying tuition and to states helping to finance public colleges and universities?” According to the recent College Board study, “College Pays 2010,” the answer is “yes,” Gee said. “Since the onset of the current financial turmoil, the benefits of having a college degree have increased dramatically,” Gee said. “The College Board found that for young adults, ages 20 to 24, unemployment in the fourth quarter of 2009 was 2.6 times higher for high
school graduates than for college graduates.” The difference in earning power between the two groups is also increasing, he said, and the intangible benefits of higher education are incalculable. Gee said he anticipates the financial challenges facing colleges and universities will cause many institutions to become more outcomeoriented and disregard scholarly pursuits and community service. But OSU, he said, will not. OSU fulfills its obligation to secure Ohio’s social and economic vitality through its faculty’s direct engagements, including research, he said. “Those activities must and will continue because they are very much at the core of our responsibilities as a land-grant institution,” Gee said. The university must address both external and internal barriers to continue operating at its current level, he said. External obstacles include the state’s regulations on construction. OSU received permission for
ProjectONE, the $1 billion renovation and expansion of the medical center, to be granted freedom from such regulations, Gee said. “Because of e. Gordon Gee this, we stand to save at the very least 15 percent in total expenditures and will be able to complete the project much more quickly,” he said. Gee said these benefits demonstrate the increased capability of institutions when free from external control. Robert Perry, a professor of physics and former chair of the Faculty Council who attended Gee’s address, said external barriers also make it difficult to get money for research and travel. “Both state and federal regulations that are intended to prevent people from misusing public funds … create unnecessary paperwork,” he said.
“They’ve taken a $10 million problem and turned it into a billion-dollar solution.” Other barriers to university advancement are the university’s inefficient internal operations, Gee said. “Ohio State has more than 35,000 vendor relationships during this past year,” he said. “Negotiating, tracking and managing so many relationships is a significant burden.” Gee compared that number with Ford Motor Co., which has 850 vendor relationships. That would not be feasible for OSU, he said, but the university should aim for fewer than 10,000 such relationships. “We are diverting our human and financial resources away from teaching and learning and like-minded activities that contribute to the future of the university,” Gee said. Despite that, Gee said the university’s From Excellence to Eminence plan is improving the quality of OSU. Other milestones, Gee said, include efforts to internationalize
continued as Gee on 3A 1A