March 22, 2013

Page 1

Friday March 22, 2013 year: 133 No. 40

the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern USG in violation of transparency bylaws

sports

caroline keyes Lantern reporter keyes.64@osu.edu

1B

Revamping the D-line

The OSU football team needs to replace 4 starters on the defensive line.

[ a+e ]

The Undergraduate Student Government is in violation of its bylaws concerning the public and accurate display of certain legislation, reports, agendas and minutes on its website. Article V of the USG bylaws describes record keeping policies, outlining 15 separate provisions that must be displayed on the USG website for public access. Currently missing, not filed correctly, or not updated on the website are Senate agendas and minutes, voting and attendance records, constituency reports, executive reports and executive cabinet meeting minutes. “Our bylaws are flawed,” said USG President Taylor Stepp, a third-year in public affairs. “The very first thing on my legislative agenda is going to be reforming the transparency and accountability measures that we have.” Referring to the missing documents not featured on the website, Stepp said he has direct control of the executive reports and that all legislation falls under the jurisdiction

Buckeyes prepare for NCAA tournament OSU sophomore forward Sam Thompson dribbles the ball during an open practice Thursday at UD Arena. OSU plays Iona Friday at 7:15 p.m.

of the Speaker of the Senate. But he said changes need to be made to improve USG’s accountability. “We need to have someone whose job is designated to put these things online, because frankly it fell through the cracks,” Stepp said. “There were supposed to be people managing the website, but those things just didn’t get done.” Stepp said he takes responsibility for all of the executive reports not being displayed online, but added that the USG bylaws concerning these reports are often too vague. “I could technically write a fun fact of the week, call it an executive report, put my name on it, post it online, and it gives students no idea what I’m actually doing,” Stepp said. “The first thing we want to do is clarify exactly what an executive report is and when they have to be put online.” Jonathan Elder, a third-year in economics and finance and current Speaker of the Senate, said in an email that the outdated records on the website were a “clerical error on the Senate side” and “as Speaker, I fully accept responsibility for this.” However he said that all Senate records

andrew holleran / Photo editor

continued as USG on 4A

Motorcycle team races to get ahead brent hankins Lantern reporter hankins.116@osu.edu

5A

Destroying ‘our only home’

Renowned scientist Jane Goodall is scheduled to speak at OSU Monday at 7:30 p.m.

campus

Criminal has taste for ribs

4A

weather high 43 low 28 mostly sunny

SA 47/33 mostly sunny SU 36/33 showers M 38/31 snow showers T 36/29 cloudy www.weather.com

brent hankins / Lantern reporter

OSU student Aaron Bonnell-Kangas, a 4th-year in electrical and computer engineering and a member of Buckeye Current, holds the front fairing in the position it will be mounted on the bike.

Student bitten by shark, asked to keep quiet hailey fairchild Lantern reporter fairchild.84@osu.edu One Ohio State student’s visit to Belize over spring break ended with a shark bite, but she said some people are trying to get her to stay quiet. Monika Wanis, a fourth-year in anthropology and psychology, said a shark bit her on her toe during a trip to Belize with Buck-I-Serv to give out shoes with an organization called One World Running. She’s recovering from the incident, but she said she believes officials from Buck-I-Serv are more concerned with protecting their name and reputation than they are about her well-being. “In the email that they sent me, basically the first sentence said, ‘How are you feeling, I hope you got medical care,’ and then the remainder of the email said, ‘I hope you consider posting positive things on Facebook about One World Running and Buck-I-Serv because they do not want bad publicity and press.’ I didn’t put anything negative about Buck-I-Serv or One World Running on Facebook because it’s not their fault,” Wanis said. “I just want people to realize that they’re not out to make sure that I’m safe, they’re out to make sure that their name doesn’t get a bad rep.” The bite took place on a snorkeling excursion. Wanis had geared up and boarded one of the two boats taking the group out for snorkeling on an island called Caye Caulker. The group was heading out to a part of the Caribbean Sea with stingrays and nurse sharks.

Prior to getting into the water, Wanis said the instructors threw buckets of fish into the water because nurse sharks eat shrimp and fish. Wanis and another one of her classmates then asked the instructor if anyone had ever been injured on this type of snorkeling excursion before and he assured them that they had not. After Wanis had been in the water for about two minutes, she said she asked the instructor if she could touch any of the sharks or stingrays. “He said, ‘Yeah absolutely, they don’t harm you,’ and then went to go get me a stingray,” Wanis said. “When he was lifting up the stingray, I felt the shark bite me.” Wanis immediately swam to the instructor and said she had been bitten; she said he then pushed her toward the boat yelling to her to get out of the water. Another instructor lifted her up to the boat and they immediately headed back to shore. The shark had bitten a toe on her right foot. One of Wanis’ advisers on the trip wrapped her toe in a towel to prevent more bleeding. However, there was still one problem when they got back to land. “When we got back to shore there was a guy there that said there was no nurse, and then the instructor told me there was no hospital or doctors on the island,” Wanis said. One of the advisers on the trip ran to get another adviser who had been a nurse for 30 years from One World Running, who was also on a mission trip there, while Wanis stayed back on the boat with the instructor.

A team of Ohio State engineering students are building an electric motorcycle — to the tune of about $55,000 — with the hopes of becoming the fastest collegiate electric motorcycle team at the Isle of Man TT Zero race. To accomplish this feat, their motorcycle will have to maintain an average track speed of 100 mph as it races on the Isle of Man, said Nathan Lord, the electrical team lead and a third-year in electrical and computer engineering. The Isle of Man TT Zero is held in the city of Douglas on the Isle

continued as Motorcycle on 3A

Fatal crash driver identified, survivor making recovery kristen mitchell and Ally Marotti Campus editor and editor-in-chief mitchell.935@osu.edu marotti.5@osu.edu Lauren Kane, one of the survivors of the car accident in Ebro, Fla., that killed two Ohio State students, has had a rougher ending to spring break than most, but it’s almost time for her to come home. “She’s doing pretty well,” said Roslyn Kane, Lauren Kane’s mom. “She’s got some pain and all.” Roslyn Kane was with her daughter at Bay Medical Center in Panama City, Fla., in her room Thursday night when The Lantern talked to her. “She’s had her share of everything, but she’s having bad headaches,” Roslyn Kane said. But once the headaches die down, she said, her daughter is coming home. Lauren Kane, a fourth-year in biology, was one of four passengers that crashed Saturday on the way home from spring break in Panama City. OSU students Courtney Miller and Brittney Gallagher died at the scene. According to the Associated Press, Miller was driving the car when it drifted into oncoming traffic and collided with a pickup truck. The Florida Highway Patrol originally reported Gallagher as the driver when really she was the front seat passenger. Another OSU student, Diana Mitchell, was taken to the hospital in critical condition after the crash. The Plain Dealer reported that Mitchell was discharged Monday afternoon from Bay Medical Center. OSU President E. Gordon Gee said from his Facebook account Sunday night that he was “so very saddened to learn of the tragic car accident in Florida this weekend. My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and loved ones of all those involved.” The driver of the pickup truck and all passengers were taken to the hospital, according to the AP report. Authorities said alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

continued as Shark on 2A

1A


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.