Thursday, February 18, 2021
Year 141, Issue No. 2
GRADUATE & CAREER EDITION
Pandemic unemployment looms over graduation job searches PAIGE CIRTWILL Lantern Reporter cirtwill.1@osu.edu
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ith commencement on the horizon, soon-to-be Ohio State graduates are staring down a less-than-ideal job market due to the pandemic.
The unemployment rate for young adults between 15- to 24-year-olds was 12.5 percent in December 2020, more than four percent higher than the 8.4 percent rate from December 2019, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. That figure spells trouble for college students and recent graduates, who will be entering job and internship markets
ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bruce Weinberg, professor of economics at Ohio State, said in an email. But when young people have experienced poor labor market outcomes, having more education was an advantage, Weinberg said. Among 2020 Ohio State
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Campus v
GAP YEAR
Students consider gap year before grad school amid COVID-19 ON PAGE 7
How to disclose disabilities to a potential employer Mariyam Muhammad Lantern Reporter muhammad.129@osu.edu
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nterviewing for jobs and internships is already an anxiety-ridden process, but there can be an added level of stress when worrying about how and when to disclose a disability to a potential employer. Experts say it’s essential for students to understand how, why, when and when not to tell employers about a disability. Kari Grafton is a vocational rehabilitation counselor at the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency and has worked with students at Ohio State since 2019 at Student Life Disability Services. Grafton shared a video from the Office of Career Management at Ohio State that detailed three steps for individuals considering disclosing a disability.
Do I need to disclose a disability? The first step is to determine the individual’s need for disclosure — they may not need to disclose if they can navigate the hiring process and perform duties without accommodations. However, telling an employer about a disability may be helpful in the event accommodations are unable to be made to meet equal employment access standards. When should I disclose a disability?
The second step is choosing when to disclose it. Depending on the individual’s needs, they may feel comfortable confiding before or during an interview or when receiving an offer. Disclosing is a personal choice, so an individual should
weigh the pros and cons to decide what is comfortable for them. How should I disclose a disability? The third and final step is how the individual will share the disability with the employer. Typically, it would be disclosed to those involved in the interview or application process. A disclosure script is recommended and should include a brief description of the individual’s disability, emphasis on job-related skills, any limitations that would interfere with job performance and suggestions for accommodations. Grafton said in general, a good rule of thumb is if an individual needs accommodations for the position, it’s essential to ask at the end of the interview about
the culture regarding people with disabilities and if the employer can accommodate them. If an individual doesn’t need an accommodation for their disability and their performance won’t be negatively impacted, then it doesn’t have to be disclosed, Grafton said. “You should request an accommodation when you know there’s a workplace barrier preventing you, due to your disability, from competing for a job, gaining equal access to the benefit of employment,” Grafton said. “It’s better to request one before your job performance suffers.” Barbara Harvey, a career coach at the Center of Professional Success at Ohio State, said it is important for those who do not have disabilities to be conscious of this process as well. “Whether someone has a disability or not, it’s important to be aware of the things
people don’t say out loud, and it’s important to be sensitive to that,” Harvey said. “As opposed to assuming that everyone is ‘normal’ and can do everything in the same capacity because people don’t disclose.” Harvey said the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency helps people with physical, intellectual, mental health and sensory disabilities to get a job or keep the job they have now. The agency can help someone with a disability access what type of work is right for them, what is less stressful and can be managed carefully, and jobs that will allow them to work despite their disabilities. More information on disability disclosure to a potential employer can be found on Ohio State’s Student Life Disability Services website.
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UNEMPLOYMENT FROM 1 graduates, 62.8 percent had to restart or change their job search after the pandemic hit, 31.1 percent lost a previously held job, and 19.4 percent lost a job offer, Scott Kustis, director of industry connections with the Arts and Sciences Center for Career and Professional Success at Ohio State, said. Additionally, many people who lost their jobs last year are returning to the same employers, which could make it difficult for recent graduates with less experience vying for those positions, Weinberg
said. Students not graduating in 2021 could be harmed by the loss of internships, according to a report from Glassdoor, a job search website. The report states that more than half of the internship listings on the website disappeared in the spring of 2020. Kustis said this is because some organizations and companies couldn’t shift their program online fast enough. “Instead of creating a bad experience for an intern or full-time hire, they just kind of
pulled back,” Kustis said. Now that companies have had a full year to transition to virtual activity, internship opportunities should return, Kustis said. Weinberg said recent graduates also have the advantage of higher education, which has protected their employment more than those working in industries harder hit by the pandemic — such as the service and travel industries, which are less popular among college graduates — because of the ability of those positions
to transition to remote work. Less than one percent of 2019’s college graduates wanted to go into the “service sector,” according to a study co-authored by Matthew Mayhew, a professor of educational administration at Ohio State. The same study also reported that 31 percent of 2019 graduates were planning on entering more than one career field, hoping to increase their chances of getting a job. As vaccine distribution increases, Kustis said students
shouldn’t be discouraged by the job market. “We’ve been talking with employers and they say that their intention is not to hold it against students that maybe didn’t have the opportunity to do the perfect internship,” Kustis said. “What they are looking for are students who made the most of a bad situation.”
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ACADEMIA
Grad School fast-track: Combined degree at Ohio State OWEN MILNES Campus Producer milnes.12@osu.edu Originally published Feb. 19, 2020 Ohio State has a solution for students who are interested in graduate school but hesitant to sit in a classroom for any longer than they already have. Undergraduate students are eligible to apply for combined programs once they complete 90 hours of undergraduate coursework and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5, Samuel Jordan, registration services director and college secretary for the Ohio State Graduate School, said in an email. But there’s a catch — students will pay the higher graduate school tuition and fees instead of undergraduate prices beginning their first semester of the combined program. Ten colleges and schools at
Ohio State offer combined programs for students to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees simultaneously: agriculture, arts and sciences, business, education and human ecology, engineering, environment and natural resources, health and rehabilitation sciences, nursing, public affairs and public health, according to the Ohio State graduate school website. “Once a student is admitted to [a] combined degree program, they are able to double count courses toward the completion of both degrees,” Jordan said. “While each college determines their own limit on the number of combined credit hours that they will count, the range is typically between six and 15 credit hours.” When a student begins the combined program, they are charged graduate-level fees that cover the cost of both degrees, Jordan said. According to Ohio State’s student financial aid website, current
AMAL SAEED | LANTERN FILE PHOTO
Fisher College of Business has a combined program for a Bachelor of Science in business administration and a Master of Accounting.
tuition and fees for incoming undergraduate students is $11,518 per year for in-state residents, and out-of-state residents pay $33,502 per year. Incoming in-state graduate students pay $12,424, and incoming out-of-state graduate students pay $37,140 per year. Even if a student is registered as an undergraduate for courses that can count toward both de-
grees, they will be charged graduate-level tuition and fees instead of undergraduate tuition and fees, Nikki Strader, manager and academic adviser in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, said in an email. “For most students, there are no drawbacks beyond the extra cost, which is usually made up with the increased salaries master’s degree
holders tend to make,” Strader said. One benefit of the program includes shortening the time a master’s degree takes due to the undergraduate and graduate overlap, Dan Kieffer, assistant director of specialized graduate recruiting and admissions at Fisher College of Business, said in an email. “It can also lead to beginning
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“For most students, there are no drawbacks beyond the extra cost, which is usually made up with the increased salaries master’s degree holders tend to make.” — Nikki Strader, manager and academic adviser in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Thursday, February 18, 2020 | The Lantern | 5
your career sooner than other students,” Kieffer said. For example, Strader said the combined bachelor’s and master’s in computer science and engineering allows for students to finish their graduate degree a semester or two ahead of time. The program allows students to have a total of 12 hours of approved coursework for both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Similar to computer science and engineering, Fisher students are able to complete the college’s program within four years, Kieffer said. “These students receive two separate diplomas. The fourth
year in the program is spent exclusively as a graduate student,” Kieffer said. The college has seen increased interest in its combined program for a Bachelor of Science in business administration and a Master of Accounting in recent years, but Kieffer said 10 to 20 students is typical for the program. To apply for a combined program in Fisher or the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, students must submit a full graduate school application, including GRE graduate school entry exam scores and other materials by the required deadline, Strader and Kieffer said.
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Grad school gap years offer break amid COVID-19 uncertainty BELLA CZAJKOWSKI Patricia B. Miller Special Projects Reporter czajkowski.8@osu.edu Originally published Sept. 28, 2020
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he already difficult decision of enrolling in graduate or professional school after completing an undergraduate degree is only made more hard in the face of the ongoing pandemic. Upcoming graduates originally planning to transition straight into graduate or professional school may consider taking a year off, whether to work, study abroad or simply take a break before returning to school, due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. Julie Brim, director of admissions at the Ohio State College of Medicine, said she encourages students not to be afraid of taking a gap year before medical school and that it won’t hurt a student’s admissions chances. “Take a good, long look at your application. And if you think you’ll benefit from having some extra time, then absolutely, there’s nothing wrong with it,” Brim said. Brim said even before COVID-19, taking a gap year was not all that uncommon; only about 60 percent of applicants immediately go to medical school after undergraduate school. She said medical schools like to see students pursue health-related activities such as
volunteering or research during a gap year. “We like to see them continuing to pursue those activities that are important to have in your med school application,” Brim said. Brim said whenever a student does decide to apply, the medical school will take the circumstances of COVID-19 into account. She said she understands that some health-related opportunities, such as volunteering, are still unavailable due to the pandemic. “We’re looking for quality, not quantity,” Brim said. “We’ve just tried to remain really flexible.” In order to enter medical school immediately after graduation without taking a gap year, students need to apply after their third year as undergraduates. Aarshvi Bhatt, a third-year in health sciences, decided to take a gap year before going to medical school. She said she still needs additional research and volunteer hours to apply, which she couldn’t complete during summer 2020 like she originally planned due to COVID-19. Bhatt said the continued uncertainty around the pandemic makes her unsure when she will be able to get back into a research lab or secure a volunteer position. Taking a gap year puts less pressure on her to get all the requirements done in time to apply to medical school in the spring, she said. “Even if I applied at the end of this year, there’s still so much unsure, like when there will be a vaccine,” Bhatt said. For students applying to different
kinds of post-undergraduate schools, the impact a gap year will have on students’ chances is similarly low. Bryanna Stigger, outreach program coordinator for the College of Social Work, said taking a gap year due to COVID-19 will not hurt a student’s admissions chances into the master’s program later on. She said historically, even before the pandemic, many students choose to take a break between undergraduate and graduate school. “It’s really about evaluating your personal preferences and your goals,” Stigger said. If students are looking to pursue graduate school immediately after graduation, Stigger said the College of Social Work allows them to choose between in-person and virtual instruction. Even the field-placement component of the curriculum can be offered in a virtual format. “Our program has already been an established online program, so it has been kind of attractive for lots of folks
specifically in COVID,” Stigger said. Stigger and Brim do not expect COVID-19 will decrease applications to the College of Medicine or College of Social Work professional or graduate programs. In fact, Brim said that the College of Medicine saw an increase in applications this cycle. She said she expects that when students were sent home in March due to COVID-19, they were likely able to spend more time on their medical school applications. “Normally, they’d be at school trying to juggle school and getting ready to apply for medical school,” Brim said. Stigger said ultimately, the College of Social Work wants students to prioritize their health and wellness in whichever decision they make regarding graduate school, even if that means taking some time off before enrolling. “That gives people time to rest and relax, rejuvenate after completing an undergraduate degree,” Stigger said.
9 | Thursday, February 18, 2021
Arts&&Life Arts
SIXFOURTEEN
Local clothing company aims to bring Columbus community closer together ON PAGE 11
SOCIAL MEDIA
Audio-chat app Clubhouse chooses dialogue over text MAISIE FITZMAURICE Lantern Reporter fitzmaurice.12@osu.edu
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indsay Lohan, Mark Zuckerberg, 21 Savage and Ohio State students have all collided on the new rapidly growing social networking app, Clubhouse. Instead of text posts or photos, Clubhouse brings a new twist to social media with interaction through audio clips and invites required to join the app. Many young adults have been flocking to the app, and Ohio State students are no exception. Ernest Moore, a fourth-year in biology, said the app allows users to discuss and collaborate on a broad range of topics, such as economics, sports, music, technology and even dating. The app offers spaces for people with all types of motives, including networking with professionals, learning new things, debating or simply hanging out with friends. “It’s pretty much anything you can imagine that you can talk about; people are making rooms for them,” Moore said. The app’s main feature –– audio-only chat rooms that can be set to either public or private –– is composed of moderators and listeners. Moderators can chime in to speak at any moment, but others in the chat room have to be given permission by the moderators to speak. There is no video element to the chat rooms, only user voices
and profile pictures. Clubhouse creators Paul Davison and Rohan Seth said instead of typing out a post and hitting send, users are engaged in a dialogue. “The intonation, inflection and emotion conveyed through voice allow you to pick up on nuance and form uniquely human connections with others. You can still challenge each other and have tough conversations — but with voice there is often an ability to build more empathy,” Davison and Seth said on their website. The audio-only app launched in the spring of 2020 and has since grown from about 1,500 users in May 2020 to an estimated six million users this month, according to a report from tech analyst Vajresh Balaji. The user base has grown significantly in the last month as celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Drake and Tiffany Haddish have appeared in chat rooms on the app. “The cool thing about it is you have all these celebrities on here, like any other app, but you might have the ability to speak to them, more so than if you were in any other app,” Moore said. Kayla Malcolm, a fourth-year in communications, said she believes users may feel more comfortable with the audioonly format of Clubhouse, compared to video-formatted apps. “I know a lot of students who may have CLUBHOUSE CONTINUES ON 10
CHRISTIAN HARSA | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Clubhouse, a new invite-only social networking app, allows users to connect exclusively through audio clips.
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CLUBHOUSE FROM 9
Zoom classes, they don’t want to turn their cameras on,” Malcolm said. “And I know people who personally dread meetings because they don’t want their camera on.” Bryce Newsome, a second-year in public affairs, said without posting visual media besides a profile picture, he thinks that a lot of pressure is taken off users. “I just noticed how much confidence people could get from just being able to speak and use their knowledge, rather than have to worry about their image and other things you have to worry about with other social media platforms,” Newsome said. Because the app isn’t fully developed and the creators wanted to increase the user base slowly, they implemented a waitlist that can only be bypassed by receiving an invite from another user, according to a post on the company’s website. The allure of the private app has allowed for Clubhouse invites to be sold on websites such as Reddit and eBay for anywhere between $30 to $200. In a message shown to new users when they open the app, Davison and Seth said
they plan on eventually launching the app publicly, but Malcolm said she believes the exclusivity has added to the app’s success. “I think it definitely has more of the ability to be sustained and grow if they kept it to be an app that was exclusive,” Malcolm said. “But I think the more popular it becomes, I feel like those who have been on the app since its early development could kind of grow tired of the app, because it won’t have the same features as it had.” Only time will tell whether the app will rise to the popularity of huge social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat, but Newsome said he thinks ultimately the 18- to 30-year-old age group will decide its fate. “The young generation often pushes culture, which pushes trends,” Newsome said. “I think that also diversity pushes trends. When you have people with diverse mindsets, diverse backgrounds coming together on an app, especially the younger generation, you’ll have a transaction that will allow the app to grow and keep on getting popular.”
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“You can still challenge each other and have tough conversations — but with voice there is often an ability to build more empathy.” — Paul Davison, Clubhouse co-creator
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Sixfourteen builds community through Columbus-inspired fashion CHLOE MCGOWAN Lantern Reporter mcgowan.184@osu.edu
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ith its unique play on words, Sixfourteen captures the heart and soul of Columbus residents in their line of urban streetwear clothing. Sixfourteen, a reference to the Columbus area code 614, is a local lifestyle clothing brand founded by Columbus resident Tony Garber in 2017. The clothing brand strives to provide Ohioans with premium, sustainable clothing and accessories inspired by their own communities, Garber said. The brand’s mission, Garber said, has always been to bring people together, even through something as simple as T-shirts. “We want to represent the city who made us who we are,” Garber said. “We’re actively working with designers and illustrators right here in Columbus on all of our next releases. Each piece should have its own story.” In November 2019, Garber said he brought on lifelong friend Abel Solomon, a fifth-year in marketing, as a co-owner to help run the business and expedite their “worldwide takeover.” “Tony and I have been friends for a while now. He originally came up with the idea, I saw it and I fell in love with it,” Solomon said. “I told him I wanted to get in on it and we started working. We pushed through, got some designs and had our first launch, and now we’re going through another one.” Garber said he’s never worn a piece of clothing that creates so much conversation. He said the reactions he gets are the best part. “The wordplay on the logo is what makes finding us so cool,” Garber said. “I think wearing it, walking around, having people comment and notice it is a special feeling.” The community response to Sixfourteen since its launch has been incredible, Garber and Solomon said. They said their business
is growing every day as they strive to work exclusively with local artists on new designs and are actively planning photo and video shoots for their website and social media accounts. “This is everyone’s project,” Garber said. “All of our friends and family have contributed along the way and our community has given us some incredible ideas.” Although Sixfourteen also designs clothing for other cities in Ohio, Solomon said Columbus is the epicenter of what they do, as it’s the city both Garber and Solomon are from. “We tried to create a community brand,” Solomon said. “We feel that Columbus is an undervalued city. Its name is not really on the map, but it should be because there’s so much opportunity and great things going on here.” Garber said Columbus is unique in that it is an educated, hard-working city full of entrepreneurs and creatives that he is thankful to be a part of. Sixfourteen wants to give back to the community in any way they can as a small, local, e-commerce business, Garber said. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down their business, but they’ve been active with the brand from a distance, he said. Last fall, Sixfourteen sponsored a “Social Distance 5K” to raise money for Columbus charities. Garber said they also participated in a “Voices” pop-up event in Goodale Park, where they raised money to help combat social injustice and police brutality in Columbus. “Once we can build up our voice, generate a little more revenue and have a bigger platform, we want to be able to help out more people and be a part of boosting up the community more,” Solomon said. Garber and Solomon said they have some special events and releases planned for this year, but are currently working on a capsule of graphic tees designed 100 percent by Ohio creatives. Their next release is scheduled for late March.
COURTESY OF TONY GARBER
With its unique play on words, Sixfourteen captures the heart and soul of Columbus residents in their line of urban streetwear clothing.
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Thursday, February 18, 2020 | The Lantern | 13
COURTESY OF NOLAN CLEGG
Ohio State sophomore outfielder Nolan Clegg high-fives a teammate after a game.
Nolan Clegg navigates the Buckeyes outfield, but also the skies above THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
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“There’s really no comparison to being up in a plane, compared to driving a car on the ground,” Clegg said. “It’s really a different feeling when you’re up there by yourself flying around.” -Nolan Clegg
COURTESY OF NOLAN CLEGG
Ohio State sophomore outfielder Nolan Clegg stands on base.
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BRUTUS FROM 16
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LEARN MORE Keith Burkes poses at an event wih Sally Lanyon, who is the creator of Brutus.
COURTESY OF SALLY LANYON
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16 | Thursday, February 18 2020
BASEBALL
Ohio State sophomore outfielder Nolan Clegg has his sights in the sky as he works toward earning his pilot’s license. ON PAGE 13
Ohio State’s first Black Brutus leaves lasting legacy
Keith Burkes posing next to the Brutus costume he wore from 1974-77.
COURTESY OF SALLY LANYON
DANIEL O’LEARY
W BRUTUS CONTINUES ON 15