Friday November 18, 2011 year: 132 No. 41
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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Oh, how the mighty have fallen Pat bREnnan Sports editor brennan.164@osu.edu
Lantern file photo
Former ohio state football coach jim tressel and former Penn state football coach joe Paterno shake hands after osU’s 38-14 victory over PsU on nov. 13, 2010.
A year ago, fans would have scoffed at the thought of an Ohio State versus Penn State football game without Jim Tressel and Joe Paterno. To suggest that both now-former coaches would have been forced from their posts in shame would have been laughable. This is the reality the Buckeyes, the Nittany Lions and their fans face as the respective football programs prepare for the first meeting without both coaches participating in 10 years. Tressel, who compiled a 94-21 record at OSU, saw his tenure at the university end when he was forced to resign on May 30 for failing to report NCAA infractions by his players and knowingly fielding a team with ineligible players during the 2010 season, which was later vacated. In December, it was revealed that six OSU football players sold team memorabilia in exchange for improper benefits in the form of tattoos. Happy Valley was rocked by its own football program’s misdeeds in the last two weeks. Former PSU defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was charged with sexually abusing children, according to a release from Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly’s office. PSU’s president for finance and business Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley were also charged with perjury and failure to report child abuse. Former university President Graham Spanier resigned in the wake of the charges being made public and Paterno,
NCAA Division I’s all-time wins leader and the head coach of PSU football for 46 years, was fired. On the night the PSU Board of Trustees announced Spanier’s resignation and Paterno’s firing, a faction of students rioted in State College, Pa., flipping a TV news truck on College Avenue and harassing police and members of the media. Kickoff for Saturday’s game is hours away, and two former coaches that combined for 503 total wins at OSU and PSU will not play any part in the contest. At a Tuesday press conference, firstyear OSU coach Luke Fickell said and interim PSU coach Tom Bradley would be more concerned with the players that suit up for Saturday’s competition. “Those are two people (Tressel and Paterno) that won’t be here,” Fickell said. “So, we probably focus on the things we have and not the things we’ve lost.” Rich Scarcella is a writer for the Reading Eagle newspaper in Reading, Pa., and is the longest-tenured PSU football beat writer in the country. Scarcella said the Nittany Lions’ 17-14 home loss to Nebraska Saturday — the team’s first game without Paterno on the coaching staff since 1949 — was emotional and moving. “I think the people who planned (the game) for Penn State did a really nice job of remembering (Sandusky’s alleged) victims and making it as solemn a football game as you can have,” Scarcella said. Scarcella said the Nittany Lions’ first game without Paterno was historically significant to the PSU community, but added that he understood how this
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Gee forms committee after string of robberies near OSU DaniEllE Hyams Senior Lantern reporter hyams.2@osu.edu In what is seemingly becoming a frequent happening in the campus area, two more Ohio State students were robbed at gunpoint Wednesday evening. President E. Gordon Gee issued a plan-of-action Thursday to combat the recent string of robberies in the area. “I have convened a small team of senior University leaders — from Student Life, Public Safety, and other areas — to provide recommendations for a comprehensive program that will help to ensure our students’ safety,” Gee wrote in an email to the university community. Gee said safety of every student is a priority of the university. Two students, however, had both their lives and property put in danger Wednesday evening. Amy Macynski, a third-year in journalism, and Helena Demacopoulos, a second-year in marketing were in Demacopoulos’ car in the parking lot of
who brandished a gun and an apartment at the corner demanded money. of Woodruff and Waldeck “Helena (Demacopoulos) Avenues at 7 p.m. WednesA man stuck a gun in my car and I were the first girls to day, when two African-Ameriand pointed it at my friend … He get robbed, so I think the can males approached the turned and stuck the gun to my criminals are getting cocky,” vehicle. head … The last thing he said Macynski said. “I was typing an address was ‘If you call anybody, I’ll Macynski said she thinks into the GPS and my door f--king kill you.’ the robbers saw her leave her opened and a man stuck a house, and she will no longer gun in my car and pointed it Amy Macynski be staying there. at my friend and said ‘Give third-year in journalism “Because the guys know me everything you have,’ and where I live, until they are then he turned and stuck the caught I am staying with my parents or with a gun to my head,” Macynski said. “He took everyfriend,” she said. “I literally have not gone anywhere, thing and he grabbed the GPS out of my hands as even the bathroom without someone by my side. I well and yelled a couple things but the last thing he can’t be alone.” said was ‘If you call anybody, I’ll f--king kill you.’” Demacopolous, who just returned from an internThis is the second incident in the last three ship in Florida two days ago, said she was aware of weeks where female students have been targeted. the recent string of crimes in the campus area. In the first incident, the victim got away after she “Even though I was away I was hearing about began to scream, according to the police report. these robberies, but I figured if I drove everywhere According to a Timely Warning, which was issued it would be fine, but they actually came into the after the incident, the attempted robbery took place car with guns and took everything so it seems like at 5:15 a.m. Nov. 5 on Norwich Avenue. The victim you’re not safe anywhere,” Demacopoulos said, reported that she was approached by a black male
adding that she is now afraid to be in her own home. Both Demacopoulos and Macynski said they are unsatisfied with the university’s response to the recent crimes. “I know the university has been aware that this is happening, but I’m seeing a lot of patterns here: similar times, similar locations and similar descriptions of suspects,” Demacopoulos said. “With all of this going on, I’m surprised campus hasn’t had more patrol in the area.” Macynski wants to see more response from OSU. “I’m kind of upset with the university,” Macynski said. “I wanted to see myself in a Timely Warning email, but I haven’t gotten one yet. I want people to know I was in a car and I should feel safe in a car. I should feel safe living in my apartment, but I am wary of everybody now. It’s terrible.” According to the OSU Police Department’s Timely Warning policy, these warnings are subject to their discretion. “When the OSU Police Division becomes aware of off-campus crimes investigated by the City of
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OSU to ‘pink out’ Ohio Stadium to tackle breast cancer ERika DEjolsvay-bRooks Lantern reporter dejolsvay-brooks.4@osu.edu On the two-year anniversary of Stefanie Spielman’s death, one group of students at Ohio State are attempting to make a difference by turning the ‘Shoe into a sea of pink. Buckeye nation will welcome Penn State to Columbus on Saturday, and several students have created a movement called Pink Out Penn State. The goal is to honor Spielman, who passed away Nov. 19, 2009, from breast cancer. Jim Ellia came up with the idea after doing something similar at his high school. Ellia called his friends from high school who also attend Ohio State and pitched the idea of pinking out Penn State in honor of Spielman. “We really want to encourage people and show that it’s really easy to make an impact. This will show how simple it is for the average-Joe student to make an impact and make a difference,” said Ellia, a thirdyear in strategic communication. The main goal of the event is to promote a positive message. “This game has a negative connotation tied to it and we just want to hide that. There are so many good people at Penn State and Ohio State and we want to make that the focus of the game,” Ellia said.
Money gained from proceeds of T-shirt sales will be split between the Stefanie Spielman Fund and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Two bars downtown, Mozaik Lounge and The Big Bar & Grill, will also be donating money earned from drinks Friday night and Saturday night after the game. “Stefanie Spielman had an endless amount of ambition to fight that disease and this is a prime example of how 20 or 30 volunteers can make a difference,” Ellia said. Kevin Tucker helped coordinate the event and said there isn’t much time left to get students involved. “We’ve sold out of a majority of our shirts, so right now our goal is to get the word out to students to wear pink to the game,” said Tucker, a third-year in finance. Ellia said the results show how easy it can be for students to make an impact. “This is a perfect example of how putting dedication into doing something more pays off, we have single-handedly proven that we can sell over a 1,000 shirts just by having ambition,” Ellia said. The group expects to raise as much as $3,000 for each charity, they will know the final amount raised Sunday after the game. Becca Thomas, Director of Communication for the Columbus Affiliate of Susan G. Komen, said she is impressed with these efforts. “We’re so impressed with what the Pink out Penn State volunteers have done to engage the Ohio State community in the fight against
Photo illustration by CHRis PoCHE / Design editor
some students at osU have started a campaign to “Pink out Penn state” at the ‘shoe on saturday. breast cancer,” Thomas said. “Their dedication to raising awareness and funds to find an end for this disease is truly commendable and we’re proud to work with them in this fight.”
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