Wednesday February 10, 2010 year: 130 No. 61 the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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at Ohio Theatre on page 15 Sporting is illuminated in
'Hard Targets' exhibit at Wex on page 10
Cleveland rapper throws down beats at Skully's on page 4
10 February 2010
thelantern O-Snow-U PETER KOLTAK AND RICK SCHANZ Lantern reporters koltak.5@osu.edu and schanz.5@osu.edu
Tuesday’s snowstorm caused a blizzard of aggravation, but university ofÿcials said late Tuesday that the Columbus campus should operate as usual today. As heavy snow fell throughout the day, Ohio State deployed a small army of 70 employees to clear the Columbus campus. Some were scheduled to work overtime throughout Tuesday night, while others will come in at 3 a.m. Wednesday and work through the morning, said Wes Shinn, a Facilities Operations and Development spokesman. Snow removal will focus on the Medical Center, the RPAC and the areas around dorms. Transportation and Parking will work to keep parking lots clear and CABS bus services will run as scheduled. Workers “have done a terriÿc job,” said Bob Armstrong, director of Emergency Management. “It’s hard with all the foot trafÿc on campus.” The main campus has closed because of winter storms only six times in the past
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Ohioans buying more liquor than ever BEVAN SCHNECK Lantern reporter schneck.9@osu.edu
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Shooting for a hundred
The men’s tennis team won its 95th straight home match Sunday, beating North Carolina 6-1. Now the team is trying to get that number to three figures.
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Ohioans bought a record amount of alcohol in 2009. Sales reached $734 million for the 10.7 million gallons of spirituous liquor sold. Kamchatka Vodka
400, 787 gallons
Jack Daniel’s Whiskey
345, 757 gallons
Bacardi Superior Light Rum
311, 763 gallons
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
286, 343 gallons
Smirnoff Vodka
278, 951 gallons
Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey
273, 648 gallons
Jägermeister
270, 787 gallons
Absolut Vodka
262, 882 gallons
Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey
244, 127 gallons
Korski Vodka
236, 942 gallons
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Older than 60? Take classes for free through state program SARAH THOMPSON Lantern reporter thompson.1489@osu.edu
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Ohioans have simultaneously set a record and made alcohol makers very happy. Sales reached $734.8 million statewide for spirituous liquor in 2009, according to a release by the state Division of Liquor Control. That’s more money spent than ever before in Ohio — and $15.7 million more than 2008. Spirituous liquors are drinks such as vodka, whiskey and rum, which contain more than 21 percent alcohol by volume. Sales increased by 191,798 gallons from 2008, bringing the total up to 10.7 million gallons sold last year. “Dollar sales have been increasing for several years, mostly due to increases in product prices, consumers buying premium-priced products and a rise in the level of consumption,” said Kimberly Zurz, Ohio director of commerce. However, distributors near campus have not noticed a change. “Things stayed the same,” said Gursev Sidhu, owner of the State Liquor Agency on North High Street. “We didn’t really lose or gain.” The brands that his business sells the most are relatively similar to top sellers at the state level, Sidhu said. For instance, the top-selling brand in Ohio last year, Kamchatka Vodka, also sells well at the State Liquor Agency. “It’s cheaper. That’s why we sell a lot,” Sidhu said. Though Zurz said the record amount spent on spirits in Ohio in 2009 came mostly from higher prices, Sidhu said changing prices have not affected sales for him thanks to actions by the state and individual distributors. “We don’t notice too much jump because they are trying to keep prices low,” Sidhu said. The State Liquor Agency is ÿlled with OSU students on Thursdays and Fridays, he said, but most business comes from other people in the community. John Ashraf, manager of Champs Market at the corner of Eighth and Worthington avenues in the south campus area, estimates that about 90 percent of its customers are OSU students. But his store sells more diluted forms of alcohol — not the spirituous liquor controlled by the state. Matt Mullins, public information ofÿcer for the Division of Liquor Control, said Ohio is a control state, meaning the division is the sole purchaser, distributor and retailer of strong liquor. The division contracts with private businesses to sell the products, Mullins said. “After operating expenses, the revenue derived from the sales is returned to the state,” he said. Andrew Ginnan, a senior in accounting, had little reaction to the ÿgures from the state. He said alcohol consumption by college students hasn’t likely changed. “I don’t think the numbers re° ect an increase in alcohol consumed by students here at Ohio State,” Ginnan said. Instead he said he thinks Ohioans are buying more of the “cheaper” brands. “I think the numbers re° ect the overall ÿnancial troubles our state is facing,” Ginnan said. “Many people are now unable to afford or unwilling to spend the money on the top-shelf liquors they may have previously bought.”
ho l o Top-selling A l c
Laurie Schmidt has seen it all. She’s climbed Kilimanjaro, hitchhiked in Nairobi and survived two types of cancers. She’s also life-long scholar, holding a bachelor’s degree in humanities, amd a master’s degree in social work. She even has more than 33 years of experience as a potter. Three years ago, at age 65, Schmidt took her love of learning to the classroom again through Program 60, a state-mandated Ohio program that allows anyone older than 60 to attend classes for free, but without earning course credit. At Ohio State, classes range from the sciences to literature, but not all classes are offered through the program. Medical classes, piano classes and upper-level aviation classes, among others, are excluded from the program. Students in Program 60 are allowed to take graduate classes if they qualify, said OSU program coordinator Diane Dortmund. There are certain beneÿts that come with taking classes through the program. Students can talk to the instructor about the amount of work and participation they do in the class, and can simply observe if that’s what the instructor arranges, Dortmund said.
From its start in 1975, Program 60 has seen a steady increase in interest. “The number keeps moving up every year,” said Samantha Zaczyk, assistant to Dortmund. “For example, last autumn we had 250 students. This autumn we have 300. We’re putting a lot of outreach out there so we’re getting more people.” Students in the program come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including professionals and those like Schmidt. “It’s so exciting. When I started I was not into the 20th century with [my knowledge of] artists,” Schmidt said. “But my teachers here educated me so well in this art department. They bring books every day and encourage me to go on and study.” It’s also been a good pastime as she’s gotten older. “As you get older, you get weaker and you can’t do what you used to,” Schmidt said. “Now I can sit down and paint if I want.” Schmidt says there are still many things she wants to learn and take advantage of in the program, but that participated in the program to ÿnd what she loved. “I retired at 62 from social work and thought, ‘I am going to work for pleasure,’” Schmidt said. “I wanted to live and I wanted to ÿnd things I loved to do. And I did.” Program 60 receives no funding from OSU and is a required program for all state-funded schools in Ohio. Students must still pay for their own books, parking passes and other course-related materials. To learn more about the program, visit ced.osu.edu.
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