Wednesday November 6, 2013 year: 133 No. 101
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern Developing STEP a ‘guinea pig process’
sports
MICHELE THEODORE Copy chief theodore.13@osu.edu
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The 1,000 yard seeker
Senior running back Carlos Hyde, who has 701 rushing yards on the season, aims to be Meyer’s first player to hit 1,000.
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Not everyone is sold on the Second-year Transformational Experience Program. STEP is in its first semester at Ohio State and after about 11 weeks, some students, faculty and staff have said the program needs work. “It’s definitely developing,” said Kathleen Harper, a lecturer in the College of Engineering and a STEP faculty member. “Meeting with a group of people … once a week is very different from teaching a class where you get to see the students multiple times a week closer together.” Some students participating agreed with Harper. “I feel like there’s still definitely a lot of room for growth within STEP but I overall enjoy the idea,” said Amanda Stefanik, a second-year in communication and STEP student. The STEP experience is “designed to focus on student success and development,” and allow students “the opportunity to engage in activities that cater to their individual interests and needs,” according to the STEP website. STEP launched as a pilot program for the 2013-14 school year. One
ELIZABETH DICKEY / Lantern photographer
STEP students meet with STEP faculty member Nicole Kraft, an assistant clinical professor in the School of Communication, Oct. 30 at Taylor Tower. thousand second-year students who volunteered for the program are living in residence halls this year and engaging with faculty on a regular basis. Students who complete the pilot program will be eligible to receive a $2,000 fellowship to use toward various educational opportunities. Each student is placed into a small group of about 20 students and one faculty member called a cohort. Five or six cohorts combine to make a
larger group, or a house. At the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, when the $370 million North Residential District Transformation is scheduled to be completed, the requirement for OSU students to live on campus for two years is set to go into effect. Living on campus will then be mandatory, but STEP will remain optional. Program ‘definitely developing’
C-Bus looks to host big-time sports
Stefanik called the program a “guinea pig process.” “There’s been some things I think the faculty is doing extremely well, but there’s also been a feeling of a lack of engagement,” she said. Stefanik said her faculty members have been open to change, but the larger program still needs a larger organization. Miles Reagans, a second-year in mechanical engineering, agreed that STEP has been a learning process. “It’s a good idea and everything, but as of this point, it’s a little unorganized. I don’t think the expectations are clear,” he said. Anna Soter, a professor emerita in the College of Education and Human Ecology and a STEP faculty member, said the fact that there are problems and will be necessary future changes isn’t surprising. “There are a lot of things we’re learning,” she said. “We’re an experimental group. Consequently we’re also … involved in co-creating any adjustments so we’ve got a lot of flexibility and I think it’s actually going surprisingly well given that we have quite a bit of flexibility as faculty.” Harper said the busy schedules of both students and faculty members
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2013 Election Results Columbus Bond Issue: Public Safety Would pay for improving Department of Public Safety and Department of Health infrastructure
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Columbus Bond Issue: Parks and Recreation Would pay for improving Department of Recreation and Parks infrastructure
Catfish on campus
Columbus City Schools: Proposed Independent Auditor Issue 51
Host of the MTV show ‘Catfish: The TV Show’ visited OSU, bringing with him the insight on a cultural phenomenon.
campus
SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
The Greater Columbus Sports Commission is set to host the Association of Chief Executives for Sports’ biennial meeting in June. CAROLINE KEYES Senior Lantern reporter keyes.64@osu.edu
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Fisher lands in top 50
Fisher College of Business’ graduate program was recently ranked No. 36 in the US by Forbes.
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Though Columbus turned down a chance to host the Olympics, the city might soon be a contender for holding other big-time sporting events. The Greater Columbus Sports Commission announced at the end of October it will be hosting the Association of Chief Executives for Sports’ biennial meeting in June — a meeting in which Columbus will be showcased to representatives of sports groups as an attempt to attract national events, teams, athletes and fans.
Stephen Ducoff is the CEO of ACES, which is a trade association based in Colorado comprised of executive directors from all 46 U.S. Olympic Committee National Governing Bodies, including sports like gymnastics, wrestling, track and field and cycling. “Starting about three or four years ago, we became very popular, if you will, in that cities see us as an opportunity to showcase their facilities, their staff, their ability to host events and meetings as well in those cities,” Ducoff said. Ducoff said Linda Logan, the executive director for the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, has been asking ACES to come to Columbus for years.
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Columbus City Schools: Bond Issue and Tax Levy Issue 50 Columbus City Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian Columbus City Council Priscilla R. Tyson Eileen Paley A. Troy Miller source: Franklin County Board of Elections
KAYLA ZAMARY / Design editor
Police officials: Joint jurisdiction making a difference DANIEL BENDTSEN Lantern reporter bendtsen.1@osu.edu Some Ohio State and Columbus officials think several of the past year’s initiatives have improved campus safety. Speaking at an Undergraduate Student Government meeting, Columbus Division of Police Deputy Chief Tom Quinlan said the agreement between University Police and the Columbus Division of Police was an improvement of the system that needs to be continued. University Police Chief Paul Denton and Quinlan came to the USG meeting Tuesday evening to conduct a town hall discussion on campus safety, along with OSU Senior Vice President for Administration and Planning Jay Kasey and Vice President for Student Life Javaune Adams-Gaston. Adams-Gaston praised the police agreement during the talk and said it was the result of “relentless” pressure by USG and other students. “We don’t get it right every day, but every day, it is important to us and we talk all about this or that happening and things we could do differently,” she said. The agreement, signed September 2012, allows University Police to take action against felonies or misdemeanor thefts or violent offenses officers observe off-campus, as long as officers are on campus or traveling to or from campus while they observe the incident. University Police are not allowed to enforce traffic
ETHAN DAY / Lantern photographer
Columbus Division of Police Deputy Chief Tom Quinlan (left), University Police Chief Paul Denton, Senior Vice President for Administration and Planning Jay Kasey and Vice President for Student Life Javaune AdamsGaston speak at the USG Conversation on Safety Nov. 5 at the Ohio Union. violations, except in situations that present a safety concern. That exception has allowed University Police to enforce drunk driving laws in the campus area over the past year. The agreement allows University Police to temporarily bypass the jurisdiction law that limits University Police authority to OSU property. Those laws had made officers’ work more difficult in the past, Denton said. “Is it efficient? No. Is it something that the bad guys know? Absolutely, and they’ll exploit that and oftentimes victimize people because of those legal boundaries that have been set up,” he said. Before the agreement existed, University Police were often powerless bystanders to off-campus
crime, Denton said. “If a crime occurs off-campus, we would have no ability to walk over there and take any action,” he said. “If we saw someone getting beat up or your bike getting stolen, we would literally have to watch it and call our friend at Columbus (Division of Police) to respond to it.” Quinlan explained there are other areas of cooperation that are advanced by the agreement as well. University and Columbus police officers now share resources, including canine units and horsemounted police forces, for major events. Quinlan said he and Denton have also increased
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