Wednesday November 20, 2013 year: 133 No. 108
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern OSU officials in talks about Mirror Lake jump
sports
Liz Young Campus editor young.1693@osu.edu
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Bucks prepare for Eagles’ flight
OSU is set to face the American Eagles Wednesday, a team whose offensive style has caused problems for the Buckeyes.
campus
After the death of a former Ohio State student earlier this semester, some OSU officials are keeping mum about whether there will be additional enforcements in place at the Mirror Lake jump next week. Tushar Shriram Kabre, age 28, died Sept. 19 at the Wexner Medical Center after being pulled from Mirror Lake Aug. 18 and placed in the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition. His cause of death was near drowning, but his manner of death is undetermined, Franklin County Coroner Jan Gorniak said. OSU Administration and Planning spokeswoman Lindsay Komlanc said in an August email Kabre “received a master’s of science in chemistry degree in Autumn 2011” but he was not currently enrolled at the university. About two months later, OSU officials have not said how they plan to handle enforcement at the Mirror Lake jump this year. Jumping in Mirror Lake before the OSU football game against the University of Michigan is a university tradition, but it is not a university-sanctioned event. The Mirror Lake jump is set for Tuesday this year. Despite the lack of university endorsement, there is typically an increased police presence in the area and lights are set up to illuminate the lake. Last year, representatives from University Police, Columbus Division of Police, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Columbus Division of Fire, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and MedCorp Mobile Medical Services were present at the jump. OSU Student Life spokesman Dave Isaacs said, though, the university’s treatment of this year’s jump is still not nailed down. “Any time such a tragic incident occurs, it will
Daniel Chi / For The Lantern
OSU students jump into Mirror Lake Nov. 20, 2012 as part of a Beat Michigan week tradition. This year’s jump is scheduled to take place Nov. 26. prompt renewed consideration of how we can best ensure safety and security. University leaders have been in conversation about how we can best ensure any activities, informal or organized, around Mirror Lake are as safe as possible,” Isaacs said Tuesday. He would not provide further comment about whether this year’s handling of the event will be any different than in years past.
Taco time with Aaron Craft Aaron Craft and his roommates speak with students at Craft Roomies Taco Night at the Schottenstein Center Tuesday night.
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University Police Chief Paul Denton said Tuesday, however, the OSU Department of Public Safety’s efforts will likely be the same. “In terms of our security efforts, we’ve always maintained a good security effort for (the Mirror Lake jump). There’s nothing we would do (any) different
Charlie Bear closed because of safety and security issues Shelby Lum Photo editor lum.13@osu.edu Some doors have slammed shut for good at the Gateway, and despite what owners say, safety might have been the biggest issue. “There had been several safety issues and security instances over the course of the last couple of years that we had tried to address with Charlie Bear, and certainly their inability to work with us in trying to address those led us to some of our decision,” said Amanda Hoffsis, president of Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment. Since the beginning of the summer, at least three businesses in the South Campus Gateway have closed — Kildare’s Irish Pub, Charlie Bear: Land of Dance and Gooeyz, with the latter two announcing their leaves via social media. Charlie Bear revealed via Twitter and Facebook Oct. 24 it was moving to a new location at 2885 Olentangy River Road, formerly Cadillac Boo’s, which is owned by the same people as Charlie Bear. A new location might not have been the only motivation for the three-mile shift off campus though. Campus Partners is a private nonprofit corporation that works on community planning in the Ohio State campus area
Gaming for a grade
OSU researchers were granted about $250K to continue work on a video game learning program.
arts
Satisfaction for a sweet tooth
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student voice
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I would say no, that they had not complied with (requests to stop safety problems) because obviously, we arrested underaged people. SuAnn Cook Agent-in-charge at the Ohio Department of Public Safety alongside the university and the city of Columbus. South Campus Gateway LLC is a subtenant of Campus Partners. Hoffsis said, though, the problems had to do with the state government. “Our only issues were events that the Ohio Department of Public Safety suggested we ramp down,” she said. SuAnn Cook, agent-in-charge at the Ohio Department of Public Safety, confirmed there were safety issues, with three formal complaints made at the Charlie Bear location in the Gateway. “All three of our investigations were closed (due) to either via an arrest or via a citation, so I would say no, that they had not complied with (requests to stop safety problems) because obviously, we arrested underaged people,” Cook said.
Ohio State fails to protect Affordability the hot issue at USG address students
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Kelly Roderick / For The Lantern
weather
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Daniel Bendtsen Lantern reporter bendtsen.1@osu.edu
Ohio State student leaders are working on making an OSU education more affordable. OSU Undergraduate Student Government President Taylor Stepp and Vice President Josh Ahart spoke openly to their organization in the annual address. In his speech, Stepp said he plans to spend much of his final term lobbying OSU to improve access and affordability, calling student debt the “greatest problem in higher education of the 21st century.” “The day where a student can finance his or her way through college is long gone, and now students and families are taking out crippling loans,” said Stepp, a fourth-year in public affairs. His speech was the first announcement of the findings of the Commission to Rethink Access, a USG committee formed in mid-October to address concerns about rising tuition and student debt. Stepp said OSU needs to develop a long-term plan to address the cost of
college and he plans to work with the administration to develop ways to make students more financially literate, with a better understanding of debt and how to pay it off. Tuition for the 2013-14 academic year is about $10,000 for Ohio residents and roughly $25,700 for nonresidents. Stepp also said the university needs to increase need-based aid for middle class students. USG has held preliminary conversations in recent months about its affordability policies with Executive Vice President and Provost Joseph Steinmetz, as well as several university vice presidents, to discuss ways of implementing USG’s recommendations, said Michael Ringle, a fourth-year in political science who sits on the Commission to Rethink Access. Brett Bejcek, a first-year in actuarial science, said he appreciates the concern about rising tuition, but thinks it’s part of the cost of a good education. “You get what you pay for. Obviously a community college isn’t going to have as good of education as Ohio State, but it’s cheaper,” he said. Bejcek said, however, OSU should
Shelby Lum / Photo editor
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USG President Taylor Stepp gives a State of the University address Nov. 19 at the Ohio Union.
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