Tuesday November 8, 2011 year: 132 No. 34
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern Issues at hand
sports
Ohioans will cast their votes on debated statewide issues in today’s election
Issue #1
Sarah Stemen and Erika Dejolsvay-brooks Oller reporter and Lantern reporter stemen.66@osu.edu and dejolsvay-brooks.4@osu.edu
Tournament time
1B
The OSU women’s soccer team was selected to play in the 2011 NCAA women’s soccer tournament.
[ a+e ]
One-man show
4A
Keller Williams, a one-man band, is scheduled to perform at Newport Music Hall Friday at 8 p.m.
campus
Ohioans will hit the polls on Tuesday to vote on three statewide issues, one of them is Issue 2, which will decide the fate of Senate Bill 5. Issue 2 will ask voters to accept or reject new union rules signed by Gov. John Kasich, known as SB 5. SB 5 prevents government employees, along with teachers, nurses and firefighters from collective bargaining for anything except wages. If voters choose to pass Issue 2, mandatory health care and pension minimums will be set up, as well as bans on public worker strikes, and it will prohibit seniority-based promotions. Paul Beck, an Ohio State professor in the political sciences department, said Issue 2 will greatly affect funding as well. “Proponents would say the reason Senate Bill 5 was formed is because the government became too generous,” Beck said. “Due to the public influence of unions and labor groups along with public officials being too generous, the government had to make a drastic change.” David Stebenne, associate professor of history and law, said the idea is that the cost of employing people in the public sector is much higher than it is in the private sector, so cuts have to be made. “It’s not so much that the straight salary is higher, but the benefits packages,” he said. “Being that the government is so strapped at this time, they had to make some sort of drastic decisions.” Abigail Robertson, a fourth-year in English, said she worries about the impact Issue 2 will have on students. “I believe that Senate Bill 5 should be overturned because it affects Ohio State, it affects the students,” Robertson said. “My boyfriend is in education and it’s a big deal for him.” Jonathan Bosold, a first-year in pharmacy, agreed. “I know that Issue 2 is a big thing that affects a lot of government employees, teachers, firefighters, policemen and I personally I voted no on that,” Bosold said. Stebenne compared Issue 2 to something OSU students know and love: football. “It’s kind of like Ohio lawmakers decided to go for the long pass at the end of the fourth quarter,” he
Courtesy of MCT
Gov. John Kasich supports Issue 2, a bill that limits collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Opponents say: the system works fine, retired judges can be recalled to service by the Supreme Court, the current age prevents an entrenched judiciary
Proponents say: the maximum age that a person can be elected or appointed judge should be increased
Issue #2 Would set up mandatory health care and pension minimums, as well as bans on public worker strikes, and it will prohibit seniority-based promotions of unionized government employees.
joe podelco / Lantern photographer
A rally against Senate Bill 5 on the lawn of the Ohio Statehouse on April 10, 2011. said. “Now if that doesn’t work, which chances are that it won’t, they’ll go for what Woody Hayes would say ‘three yards and a cloud of dust.’” He said this means that Ohio lawmakers decided to put the more drastic option on the ballot for voters. He said if this is rejected, they will find more of a gradual way to drawback benefits for public employees. “The polls are saying 60-40 that it will be rejected,” he said. “So if that happens, I guess we’ll see how big proponents of the bill like Kasich and other Republicans will react. I think they’ll find a way to get with Democrats and compromise on something more moderate.” Stebenne said the way voters fall may have something to do with President Barack Obama’s re-election status.
continued as Status on 3A
Opponents say: Senate Bill 5 is unfair to government employees and takes away their rights as employees to collective bargain some say their safety is compromised due to the limit of equipment want to overturn SB5
Proponents say: public officials need to draw the line somewhere with union and labor groups - with the budget problems, they need to put a cap on limit public employee collective bargaining want to keep SB5
Issue #3 Would preserve the right for Ohioans to choose their own health care and health care coverage. Opponents say: President Barack Obama’s national health care plan should be followed in Ohio - health care will be more secure because working families will not be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition.
Proponents say: Ohio should make a constitutional amendment to appeal President Barack Obama’s national health care plan - Ohioans should preserve their rights to choose their doctor and health insurance.
COTA buses to roll out new BuckID policy Stephanie Kariuki Lantern reporter kariuki.2@osu.edu
2A
Sweater-vest down to rest?
Central Ohio Transit Authority buses will require Ohio State students to swipe their BuckIDs in order to ride on COTA buses beginning Jan. 1, 2012. All OSU students are required to pay a $9 quarterly fee to ride COTA buses, and with the new policy, only people paying the fee will be able to ride on COTA busses. Beth Berkemer, COTA spokeswoman, said the main reason for this change is to track who is riding the buses. “It’s to see how many OSU students are actually using the service that we provide them,” Berkemer said. Currently, OSU students are allowed to ride on the COTA buses by showing their BuckIDs to the bus driver. With the switch, swiping the ID to verify student enrollment will be required. Corey Engelken, a fourth-year in engineering, said the switch to having students swipe their IDs is much easier on the drivers and riders.
continued as COTA on 3A
Lantern file photo
Riders take COTA’s night owl bus 21 south to the Arena District on Friday, Oct. 1, 2010. Starting Jan. 1, 2012, students will be required to swipe their BuckIDs to ride COTA buses.
Why is OSU hot and cold?
We analyze how the football team, both on and off the field, affects sales of OSU apparel on campus.
weather
kaitlyn lyle Lantern reporter lyle.42@osu.edu
high 70 low 48 mostly sunny
W 64/36 TH 49/31 F 46/36 SA 55/45
Would increase the maximum age a person may be elected as a judge, eliminate the authority of the general assembly and of the governor to appoint a supreme court to cases.
pm showers mostly sunny partly cloudy mostly sunny www.weather.com
kaitlyn lyle / Lantern reporter
A thermostat in a classroom in Campbell Hall shows the room temperature at the target 70 degree mark.
Making her way to teach her undergraduate Spanish class on campus, Whitney Chappell doesn’t know what to expect from the condition of her classroom. No, the classroom isn’t in need of repair, nor is it missing crucial aspects needed to teach her class. Chappell, a graduate teaching associate, said the temperature in the room has become an issue. In her class, Chappell said the hot temperatures have become a running joke with the students. “We’re always joking about how it’s so cold outside but it’s too hot in here,” Chappell said. During Fall Quarter at Ohio State, the heating kicks on when the outside temperature drops below 55 degrees and shuts off when it’s above 60 degrees, Kelly Bloomfield, director of building automation, said in an email. Officially there are no temperature requirements for classrooms. However, OSU sets target classroom temperatures for each season. In winter, the goal is 68 degrees to 70 degrees,
a little cooler to conserve energy. In summer, the temperatures can rise to 76 degrees, said Ross Parkman, senior director of utilities for Facilities Operations and Development. “The shoulder seasons are the toughest for us — fall and spring — where you can go from freezing in the morning to 60 degrees in the afternoon,” Parkman said. Shoulder seasons refer to the time between the extremes of each season. The average classroom temperature is 70.35 degrees, about the target 70-degree mark for fall. “This building isn’t so bad, because we have the maintenance (personnel) here,” said Kibrome Teklemichael, who works in the Science and Engineering Library, which is set at a target 70 degrees. But Teklemichael, who graduated in summer with a degree in chemical engineering, said that during his undergraduate years at OSU, there were times when classroom temperatures were uncomfortable. As a student, he spent most of his time in laboratory buildings, which “were really burning” hot at times, he said. Temperature control is based on a thermostat
continued as Temperature on 3A 1A