Thursday November 21, 2013 year: 133 No. 109
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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KATHLEEN MARTINI Lantern reporter martini.35@osu.edu
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Amir the center of focus
OSU junior center Amir Williams had a big game Wednesday, scoring a career-high 16 points against American.
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Despite the additional eyes on the Ohio State Marching Band this year with its viral performances, the director said the way the band handles media attention is standing strong as is. “Maybe this year, I put a little more emphasis on it, because there was more visibility around the band, around the (football) team,” said Jon Waters, director of the OSU Marching Band, which is sometimes referred to as ‘The Best Damn Band in the Land.’ The policy was introduced between four and five years ago, Waters said. Members “found to be representing the band inappropriately in a public or private form … will be subject to the disciplinary action at the discretion of the directing staff. Students may not engage in a media interview with regard to the band without the permission of the director,” according to the band’s policy. That rule came about after the emergence of social media sites like Facebook, Waters said. “Any band policy that we have developed over the years has been as a result of something, some incident, some thought that ‘Oh gosh, we should do this differently. We should do this better,’” he said. One student was suspended and had his scholarship revoked because he spoke to a news outlet during the spring without permission. He has recently returned to the band. “I think (what the student said) came out wrong in the media. So
SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
The OSU Marching Band performs during halftime at an OSU football game against Illinois Nov. 16. OSU won, 60-35. we did have a student who made a comment to, I think it was an online blog, in the spring that came to my attention,” Waters said. “Nothing necessarily out of the ordinary this year, other than the heightened awareness of the band.” The student involved declined to comment. Punishments for noncompliance with band regulations range from small tasks, like cleaning the band hall after practice, to dismissal from the program, Waters said. “Not every case is going to be black and white,” he added. “There are shades of gray.” The band’s video game halftime
show, performed during the OSU football team’s 2012 game against Nebraska, had nearly 16 million views as of Wednesday evening on a video uploaded by user HandMRowGoBucks. This year, a BuckeyeTV video of the Michael Jackson tribute during the Iowa halftime show Oct. 19 has attracted nearly 9 million views, and a YouTube video uploaded by user osumbvideo of the Hollywood Blockbuster show during the Penn State halftime show Oct. 26 had about 14 million views as of Wednesday evening. Waters said there’s an “increasing need” for students to be trained in dealing with the media. “It’s amazing how one thing, just
South Oval fences to come down before Tuesday
one thing, can turn into a negative thing. And, too, it’s amazing how one thing can turn into a very positive thing, but you have to manage all of those things,” he said. With the influx of recent attention, the band has turned to OSU’s media and public relations team for assistance in handling media requests, Waters said in an email. “Although we have received a tremendous amount of national attention from media outlets, our focus continues to be placed upon providing creative and innovative presentations for our fans,” Waters said. “The media relations team continues to aid us in providing a method which will ensure efficiency, captures all of the media requests while enabling us to continue to focus on our objectives as the Ohio State University Marching Band.” For some new band members, the experience of watching the band’s performances go viral has been a wild ride. “Being a freshman at OSU, it’s honestly been amazing being in that transition from high school to that first year of college,” said Viet Nguyen, a first-year in exploration and member of the band who plays the mellophone. “It’s been overwhelming for me.” On the other side of the coin, some band veterans said they’re used to media attention, but not to the extent they’ve been experiencing lately. “It’s been really exciting to see the fans gets really excited about a show that we think is a good show,” said Joshua Senn, a fifth-year in music
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OSU defeats American University
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Junior forward Sam Thompson (12) dunks the ball in a game against American University Nov. 20. OSU won, 63-52.
Floored by comedy
‘Pitch Perfect’s’ Skylar Astin talked about his new TV show, ‘Ground Floor.’
campus SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
South Oval’s fences are set to be taken down before Nov. 26, according to an OSU Administration and Planning spokeswoman. MJ DORONY For The Lantern dorony.4@osu.edu
2A Arrests, rape reported on campus Outstanding warrants, attempted bike theft led to arrests on campus, and a rape was reported at the Med Center.
The South Oval is set to lose its fences before Tuesday, but some students still said they were led to believe it would be open sooner. The area was closed in November 2010 because of the installation of geothermal wells that aim to improve the heating and cooling systems of South Campus residence halls. Though the initial targeted completion date was September 2012, problems with the drilling method in relation to the South
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PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED SOME MATERIAL MAY BE INAPPROPIRATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13
There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence.
R
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RESTRICTED UNDER 17 REQUIRES ACCOMPANYING PARENT OR ADULT GUARDIAN
An R-rated motion picture might include adult themes such as persistent violence so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously.
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The amount of gun violence in PG-13-rated films has increased dramatically in the past three decades, and is now more common than in R-rated films. The amount of gun violence in popular PG-13-rated films released since 1985 has more than tripled. That amount exceeded the gun violence in top-grossing R-rated films in 2012.
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SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
Study: 3x more gun violence in PG-13 movies than R PG-13
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Oval geologic condition delayed the project end date by more than a year. Chesapeake Geosystems, Inc., the company initially under contract for the renovation, was released from its obligations because of its ineffective methods, according to The Lantern archives. The project originally cost $10.3 million and was expected to pay for itself in about 10 years, but the budget jumped to $12 million because of the delays and was completed by Bergerson-Caswell. Lindsay Komlanc, OSU spokeswoman for Administration and Planning, said in an email Monday the fences surrounding the South Oval are expected to be removed soon.
source: study conducted by Annenberg Public Policy Center at the UniversityKAYLA of Pennsylvania. BYLER / Managing KAYLA editor ofBYLER design/ Managing editor of design
BRIAN DOAK Lantern reporter doak.22@osu.edu Ohio State students taking a trip to the movies might be surprised to learn that the PG-13-rated option likely has more gun violence than the R, according to a recent study. A study released by a team of researchers that included an Ohio State professor found the amount of gun violence in PG-13-rated films has increased dramatically in the past three decades, and is now more common than in R-rated films. Brad Bushman of OSU’s School of Communication contributed to the study “Gun Violence Trends in Movies,” which was published recently in partnership with the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The study concluded the amount of gun violence in popular PG-13-rated films released since 1985, the first full year of the PG-13 rating, has more than tripled. That amount exceeded the gun
violence in top-grossing R-rated films in 2012. The study also found that the overall rate of violence in the highest grossing movies has more than doubled since 1950. Bushman became involved in the study after publishing a paper on the weapons effect, which claims the presence of weapons might be enough to lead to an increase in aggressive behaviors in a person. “We wanted to find out if films today contained more weapons,” Bushman said. Because of the increasing popularity of PG-13 films aimed at younger viewers, these viewers are exposed to more violence in the film’s scripts, according to the study. “Gun Violence Trends in Movies” looked at 945 films released between 1950 and 2012 drawn from the top-30 highest grossing films of each year, and then half of those top 30 movies were selected at random.
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