Monday November 25, 2013 year: 133 No. 111
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Fences, wristbands to restrict Mirror Lake jumpers LiZ YOUNG Campus editor young.1693@osu.edu Ohio State students will likely suit up for the Mirror Lake jump as they do every year: a variety of swim trunks, T-shirts, duct-taped flip flops and body paint. But this year all students attending in any capacity will have to sport the same accessory – a red wristband. And instead of running to the lake from any and all directions, students will have to file in through one opening in a wall of chain-link fences. OSU officials announced Sunday there would be increased safety and security efforts for the Mirror Lake jump Tuesday night. That enforcement will play out in the form of chain-link fences around the Mirror Lake area and a requirement for students to wear a wristband for admission to the event. Jumping in Mirror Lake before the OSU football game against the University of Michigan is a university tradition. Tuesday’s weather forecast for the jump predicts a high of 36 degrees and a low of 24, with a 30 percent chance of snow, according to the Weather Channel. The event has never been sanctioned by the university, something OSU Student Life Vice President Javaune Adams-Gaston said isn’t going to change. “It’s not a university-sanctioned event,” she told The Lantern in a Sunday interview. “We really aren’t focused on the sanctioning versus the not sanctioning, it’s really about how can we help our students be safe as possible.” Adams-Gaston’s weekly message from Student Life Sunday detailed the measures OSU will be taking to implement the changes, including limiting the area to one entrance point with multiple exits and requiring students who are participating or just watching to wear wristbands. The wristbands are being given out at the Ohio Union through Tuesday at midnight, and students must present a BuckID to receive one. There are as many wristbands as there are students, Adams-Gaston said.
Ritika Shah / Asst. photo editor
Fences were installed around the Mirror Lake area over the weekend. there will be one entrance and multiple exits for students participating in or watching the Mirror Lake jump Nov. 26. There are 57,466 people enrolled at the OSU-Columbus campus for Fall Semester 2013, according to the OSU Statistical Summary. The wristbands can also give students access to free food at the Beat Michigan festival Tuesday on the South Oval, which is set to have activities including a zip line, pumpkin smashing and an interactive graffiti mural. Adams-Gaston’s message said while free food will be available to the first 4,000 attendees, students will need wristbands to get the food. She said students were consulted during the process of deciding how to handle this year’s jump. “We have students generally and we have student leaders and we consult with them and they give us their input and we appreciate it,” she said, adding that she is unconcerned about negative student reactions. “I have great faith in our students, I know that change is difficult and people have the right to have views about that change, but I also know that our student population is one that is spirited and not disruptive.” OSU Undergraduate Student Government
the OSU Office of Student Life released this map showing where students can enter and exit for the jump. President Taylor Stepp said Sunday he does not support the new plan. “Personally, I think that as a result of the precautions they’re taking, this could in fact create a more unsafe environment for the night,” said Stepp, a fourth-year in public affairs. “(The event is) chaos. People are jumping into a freezing cold lake for goodness sake, but there have not been widespread injuries … We have the potential for more heinous injuries and more widespread injuries.” He said as of Sunday afternoon, the feedback had largely been negative. “I haven’t seen a single positive comment about the changes,” said Stepp, who has jumped in Mirror Lake and plans to do so again this year. “I can tell you that this (change) is not something (USG
members) support, we made that very clear to the administration.” University Police Chief Paul Denton said the wristbands are intended to provide an extra safety measure. “The wristband is a method to make sure that our students, who are our priority, have access to this event, a safety method so to speak,” Denton told The Lantern Sunday. “This is a student-centered event.” Adams-Gaston said it will largely be Student Life employees checking wristbands for admittance. The death of a former OSU student earlier this semester had prompted conversation about how to handle the annual event. Tushar Shriram Kabre, age 28, died Sept. 19 at the
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Buckeyes set record with 23 straight wins
kaiLY CUNNiNGhaM / Multimedia editor
Coach Urban Meyer and the Buckeye football team run onto the field after halftime during a game against indiana Nov. 23 at Ohio Stadium. OSU won, 42-14.
DaNiEL ROGERS Asst. sports editor rogers.746@osu.edu Paul Brown couldn’t do it. Jim Tressel fell short. Even Woody Hayes would look on in awe. After Saturday’s 42-14 victory against Indiana (4-7, 2-5), coach Urban Meyer and the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0, 7-0) clinched the longest winning streak in program history at 23 games. The previous record was held by Woody Hayes and the 1967-69 team. The last time the Buckeyes lost was Jan. 2, 2012, falling, 24-17, to Florida in the Gator Bowl. Redshirt-senior quarterback Kenny Guiton, who started at quarterback for two of the games during the winning streak this season and was vital against Purdue in 2012, said it’s a big achievement to break the record at a school like OSU. “With the history here, that’s big. We’re forever in history and people will be chasing us,” Guiton said after OSU won against Indiana. “That’s pretty cool … to be able to say I was a part of 23-0, the longest streak at this historic university.” The game against the Hoosiers also clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship game for the Buckeyes, who are set to join the No. 11-ranked Michigan State Spartans (10-1, 7-0) Dec. 7 in Indianapolis. Junior linebacker Ryan Shazier said despite the winning
streak this season, though, it is important to stay focused on each game. “The best way of doing things is just staying focused on what you’re doing and not even thinking about what’s going on in the outside world,” Shazier said. “If somebody’s going to lose, they’re going to lose. If somebody’s going to win, they’re going to win. We’ve just got to keep doing our part.” OSU’s last loss was under current defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell, who served as the OSU interim coach before Meyer came to Columbus. Meyer, who has been at the helm for all 23 wins, said a big part of the streak has been playing hard week in and week out. “It’s consistency. You see it … every once in a while, you take a peek at the scoreboard, you see scores. You go ‘What happened there?’ And for this team to do it 23 times in a row, that’s an incredible testimony, first of all, to the players,” Meyer said Saturday after the win. “I mean, Tuesday’s practices are not a bunch of chocolates around here. Every week, you better show up or you stick out like a sore thumb.” Meyer added that complacency isn’t something he has seen in the locker room from the players or the coaches, even after winning 23 straight games and being part of in the BCS title race. “These are good guys. They listen. And our coaches do a really good job of just (focusing on) the next play, the next down and obviously the next game. So no, I don’t feel it at all,” Meyer said. Starting junior quarterback Braxton Miller had a big day against the Hoosiers, rushing for 144 yards and two touchdowns and adding two more touchdowns through the air to help push OSU to the win. Miller said he wasn’t focused on making it to 23, but instead, just wanted to send the seniors off with a bang. “(We’re) playing pretty good right now. Foot on the pedal. Playing hard each and every down,” Miller said. “Play team ballgame (and) things turn out like this … I saw my man (Kenny Guiton) coming out there for the last time (in a) home game. That’s really what we wanted to do was go out there, score as many points as we could, and I wanted to see my big brother go out there for the last time, see the fans cheer him on.” The Buckeyes also saw an individual milestone met when senior running back Carlos Hyde became the first running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season under Meyer. Hyde said OSU needs to keep improving, though. “I feel like (we’re) playing good. I feel like there’s definitely room for improvement,” Hyde said. “There’s things that we can work on to get better at, so I think we’re playing good right now.”
ShELBY LUM / Photo editor
OSU redshirt-senior running back Jordan hall (left) and coach Urban Meyer sing ‘Carmen Ohio’ after a game against indiana Nov. 23 at Ohio Stadium. OSU won, 42-14. Freshman running back Dontre Wilson, who has only been a part of half of the winning streak in his time at OSU, said the record puts pressure on the team to perform every week. “It’s overwhelming but it’s also a great responsibility,” Wilson said. “Every time you step on the field, you have to live up to expectations and everybody’s expecting you to do a great job and come out with a (win).” Next up, the Buckeyes are scheduled to take on archrival Michigan (7-4, 3-4) in The Game, Saturday at noon in Ann Arbor. Redshirt-senior left tackle Jack Mewhort said 23 straight isn’t enough, and the Buckeyes want to keep winning. “It’s special when we look back and we see that record, to know that we were a part of it will be a really cool feeling,” Mewhort said. “The first thing that comes to a competitor’s mind is that we want to keep going on and we want to win even more games and kind of set a new record for ourselves.”
Photo by kaiLY CUNNiNGhaM / Multimedia editor Photo illustration by kaYLa BYLER / Managing editor of design
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