Wednesday February 17, 2010 year: 130 No. 65 the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern
inside 'Gestures (inclusive)' exhibit reaching out in Hopkins Hall on page 8 'Shutter Island' set to open in theaters this weekend on page 10
'Drums Downtown VII' at the Palace Theatre on page 7
17 February 2010
btw Your weekly dose of entertainment
campus
Story behind O-H-I-O photos
2A
sports
JOE PODELCO / Lantern photographer
Taking advantage of a rare snow day at OSU, four student took to the “slopes” around Mirror Lake. Jonathan Harmon, a fourth-year in electrical and computer engineering major, sleds down a hill on the northeast side of Mirror Lake while his friends (from left to right), Brandon Bowditch, a third year in aerospace engineering, Todd Sleucher, a third year in mechanical engineering, and Jeremy Sharp, a fourth year in mechanical engineering, watch. “Its a nice day to have a break, come out and enjoy the weather,” Harmon said. “Yeah, I’m sick of being stuck in labs all day,” Sharp added.
The fun is over
After fourth snow day in a decade, and record-breaking month, OSU resumes class KEVIN SANCHEZ Lantern reporter sanchez.825@osu.edu After days of relentless snowfall, Ohio State canceled classes Tuesday because officials determined that conditions on and near campus were unsafe. Despite more snowfall Tuesday, OSU will resume classes today. However, parking for students will be tough today, the university said in an e-mail Tuesday. Lack of pavement lines, snow mounds and icy conditions will complicate driving and parking.
Highest Columbus snowfalls This winter is proving to be one of Columbus’s snowiest. Here are the top seven snowfalls by season, in inches.
OSU Emergency Management urges anyone having problems on campus today to contact the university’s service center at 292-HELP or service2facilities@ osu.edu. It has been an exceptionally snowy winter in Columbus. The 9.7 inches of snow that fell on Monday set a record for Feb. 15 snowfall in Columbus, shattering the previous record of 3.1 inches set in 2003. Through Tuesday afternoon, Columbus has recorded its second-highest monthly snowfall, with 25.4 inches so far in February, said Brian Coniglio, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
continued as Snow on 3A
67.8” 54.1” 53.9” 50.6” 46.6” 45.3” 45.2” (so far)
1909—1910
1977—1978
1995—1996
2002—2003
1966—1967
2007—2008
2009—2010
OSU settles in contaminated water case
Swing, batter, batter
Buckeye baseball kicks off its season Friday in a tourney in Jacksonville, Fla., facing three foes this weekend
campus
Student’s site gives mobile bus info
6A
weather high 29 low 26
Ohio Stadium
The Oval
Doan Hall
W. 12th Ave.
W. 12th Ave.
W. 10th Ave. . Medical Ctr. Dr
continued as Doan on 3A
W. 10th Ave. W. 9th Ave.
Police arrest student linked to series of Morrill Tower thefts MICHELLE SULLIVAN Campus editor sullivan.423@osu.edu An Ohio State student has been charged with one count of burglary and is a suspect in several others after a series of thefts and burglaries in Morrill Tower. Brandon Monroe, 21, was arrested Feb. 3 by University Police and incarcerated in the Franklin County Jail for a burglary that occurred on Jan. 29. In that case, a 32-inch flat-screen TV, an Xbox 360 and a video game
were stolen from a Morrill Tower dorm room, according to a press release from OSU Police. Since September 2009, there have been 22 reported cases of burglary or theft, said Deputy Chief of Police Richard Mormon. The total value of stolen property is more than $10,000. “The liaison officer assigned to Morrill began noticing a trend,” Mormon said. He said they began piecing clues together and eventually identified Monroe as a suspect in the crimes. “There was enough probable cause to charge him with the one burglary,” he said.
Monroe was detained but has since posted bail. Officers searched Monroe’s residence on Jasonway Avenue on the city’s North Side and recovered more than $2,000 worth of property from six of the Morrill Tower burglaries. “We know he was selling some of the property on Craigslist,” Mormon said. He also said they believe Monroe sold stolen books to campusarea bookstores. “There is still property we want to recover,” Mormon said. Mormon said the police are uncertain how Monroe gained access to the dorm rooms. He said it is likely
Monroe followed residents in through the main lobby. “He actually lived in Morrill last year, so he knows his way around,” Mormon said. Once inside the building, Monroe could have easily gained access to common areas left unlocked by residents, Mormon said. Mormon said he urges students to keep their dorm rooms locked and valuable property secured. He also said to refrain from letting unknown people into residence halls. As far as the police know, Monroe was working alone. The case is still under investigation.
Alumna says she has easy solution to debt: Join a credit union
snow showers
TH FR SA SU
Ohio State paid a $1.2 million settlement last week to the wife of a man who died from Legionnaires’ disease after drinking contaminated water in a building at the OSU Medical Center. David Morris was an outpatient on the ninth floor of Doan Hall in 2006, where he received a blood transfusion as part of his leukemia treatment. He drank water that came from a faucet contaminated with the bacteria. He was diagnosed with the disease less than a week later.
Five months after that, in April 2007, Morris died of Legionnaires’ disease. OSU acknowledged that the water was contaminated and that no one at Doan Hall warned patients 315 not to drink water from the faucets. “A variety of extraordinary safety measures have been implemented … including restrictions on the use of tap water for drinking purposes in areas with high-risk patients,” said David Crawford, a representative for the Medical Center, in an e-mail. “Legionella bacteria is a common risk in most older buildings with extensive plumbing systems, however,
Neil Ave.
1B
RICHARD OVIATT Lantern reporter oviatt.3@osu.edu
Cannon Dr.
Woody Hayes Dr.
DANIELLE HARTMAN Lantern reporter hartman.271@osu.edu
30/24 flurries 29/20 partly cloudy 31/19 snow showers 30/17 partly cloudy www.weather.com
With rising interest rates, it’s not uncommon for American credit card holders to quickly accumulate debts they can’t afford. For those who find themselves buried in debt, an Ohio State alumna can help. Jamie Chase, a 1999 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communication, is a co-inventor of American Debt Relief Challenge, a program that has saved Americans a total of $20 million, Chase said. The ADR Challenge has accomplished these savings by simply transferring consumer debt from banks to credit unions.
Chase said a typical interest rate at a bank is 18 to 20 percent, while a credit union averages 6 to 12 percent. Credit unions can charge less interest because they are nonprofit. “Banks exist to make a profit,” Chase said. “Credit unions are more like libraries; they only exist to serve.” JAMIE CHASE She said credit unions are guided by a board of directors, all of whom are members of the community. “This means they are more willing to help people in the community whose house[s] might be facing
foreclosure, for example,” Chase said. “They only exist to make life better, and a lot of people don’t know that. Why would I choose to use a bank when a credit union does the same stuff?” In addition to her work in the U.S., Chase has gone overseas to explore the benefits of credit unions. In 2006, she went on a goodwill mission to Mali, West Africa. There she found credit unions improving the quality of life for young girls who would otherwise be forced to beg and sell their bodies to survive on their own. Chase said the girls were taken off the street and sent to attend the Here Je Development Center in
continued as Chase on 3A 1A