Wednesday February 19, 2014 year: 134 No. 26
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CFO to move into new role, Wex Med CEO to step down
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Geoff Chatas, OSU CFO and senior vice president of business and finance, is set to move into the role of senior vice president for optimization and integration and Medical Center chief transformation officer.
LIZ YOUNG Campus editor young.1693@osu.edu Ohio State is set to see three major staffing changes within the year, as the university chief financial officer, the OSU Wexner Medical Center chief executive officer and the vice president for business and finance operations step into new roles. Dr. Steven Gabbe, Medical Center CEO, is set to step down in December or “sooner if a successor is appointed before that time,” OSU Interim President Joseph Alutto announced in an email to faculty and staff Tuesday. Gabbe is slated to remain a senior vice president through June 2015 and will then return to the faculty, Alutto’s email said.
continued as New Role on 3A
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OSU attempting to crack down on food thefts Timeline: Food theft reported at the Union Market
KARLIE FRANK Lantern reporter frank.359@osu.edu After multiple thefts at Ohio State dining facilities were reported over the last academic year, a Student Life spokesman said measures are being taken to prevent more of such incidents from happening. University Police has arrested at least six people for theft of food at Ohio Union’s Union Market since the beginning of the academic year, according to police records. The value of the food and beverages customers attempted to steal in these cases totaled more than $40, according to University Police reports. Theft can take several forms, said Dave Isaacs, spokesman for Student Life. “Someone may be actively putting food in their pockets and trying to steal it, but we also have a great many cases where someone will be standing in line and eating something that they don’t wind up paying for,” Isaacs said. The type of food stolen varies too, Isaacs said. “The vast majority are smaller items, in price and size — the sort of thing you can eat while in line, can easily conceal or walk out with without anyone noticing,” Isaacs said. When staff members catch customers eating or attempting to conceal food they have not paid for, they are instructed to confront the customer, Isaacs said. “We approach the person. Many times if a staff member points out, ‘Excuse me, but are you going to pay for that?’ and the student says, ‘Yes I will, no problem,’ they pay and all is well,” Isaacs said. However, further measures need to be taken in some cases, Isaacs said. “There are other instances where people are repeat offenders, or make an obvious effort to conceal that they’ve taken something. We’ve involved OSU Police and Student Conduct on these cases,” Isaacs said. According to the OSU Code of Student Conduct, any student found to have engaged or attempted to engage in theft is subject to disciplinary action by the university. Kelsey Reiner, a second-year in English and
Sept. 10, 2013 A female OSU student and male not affiliated with OSU were arrested for stealing food totaling $24 from the Union
Jan. 29, 2014 A male student was arrested for stealing a large pretzel and two drinks from the Union
Jan. 9, 2014 A male student was arrested for stealing food from the Union
Feb. 11, 2014 A 27-year-old man was arrested for stealing a carton of milk at the Union
Jan. 30, 2014 A man not affiliated with OSU was arrested for stealing food totaling $9.25 from the Union MADISON CURTIS / Design editor
source: University Police reports employee at the Union Market, has noticed some items are more likely to be stolen, noting that pretzels are a common target for thieves. “The biggest problem we have here is people eating the (soft) pretzels, or something else like that that doesn’t have a sticker that they can just eat while they’re in line and then crumble the trash up and put in their pockets,” Reiner said, though she added she’s never personally dealt with someone stealing. A “large pretzel” was among the items stolen in two instances at the Union Market this year, according to University Police records. Reiner said those pretzels cost $2.50. Issues arise with salads sometimes as well, Reiner said. “People eat off of their salads and since those are weighed for cost, that affects the price,” Reiner said. Isaacs said it is hard to pinpoint exact figures on how much food is stolen and the resulting effect on prices. “There just isn’t the kind of tracking that’s going to let us say (those numbers) … But any time you have theft, your customers wind up ultimately paying for that. That’s true in food service, retail operation and any kind of business. Ultimately, costs get passed to consumers,” Isaacs said. Isaacs said students aren’t the only perpetrators of food theft, as people unaffiliated with OSU steal as well. Three of the at least six people arrested this year for stealing or attempting to steal food at Union
Market were not affiliated with the university, according to University Police records. Increased security measures have been taken to reduce theft, Isaacs said. “For the most part we use building security and where there are particular problems, we have assigned Student Life members to be especially on the lookout,” Isaacs said. Isaacs said new theft prevention initiatives are in the works. “We have a program, Student Ambassadors. This is still in the developmental stage, so we haven’t actively moved this forward, but these would be students whose focus would be customer service and customer care (in the dining facilities) … They could be helpful in being vigilant with theft,” Isaacs said. Jovana Vladicic, a first-year in biology, said she doesn’t understand why other students would steal. “It seems kind of dumb. If you have blocks with the meal plan, you don’t need to steal food,” Vladicic said. A meal plan with 350 blocks and $150 BuckID cash costs $1,875 per semester, while a plan with 450 blocks and $150 BuckID cash costs $2,275. Vladicic said while she has never seen someone stealing, she could easily see it happening in the Union Market. She said it’s “smart” the entrance is a one-way in Marketplace on South Campus, which is set up similarly to Union Market, so students cannot exit the food area without passing cashiers.
Buckeyes look to avoid another B1G home loss No violation
found for USG campaign
ERIC SEGER Sports editor seger.25@osu.edu Typically in college basketball, playing at home merits a sigh of relief from players, coaches and fans. But for Ohio State — and the majority of the teams in the Big Ten for that matter — playing at home hasn’t necessarily been a safe zone this season, particularly in recent games. The No. 24 Buckeyes have lost three of six home conference games so far this season, most recently a 70-60 outcome to then-No. 15 Michigan Feb. 11. But in arguably the team’s biggest setback of the year, OSU fell at home in overtime to Penn State Jan. 29, 71-70, a loss that at the time senior guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. called “embarrassing.” On a broader scale, all three Big Ten teams playing host Sunday — then-No. 9 Michigan State, then-No. 15 Michigan and Northwestern — fell, and the continued misfortunes perennial Big Ten powers have had this season begs a question: what’s the reason for all the losses on home court? “I think it’s just circumstance. I don’t know,” OSU coach Thad Matta said Tuesday. “All three home teams lost Sunday. I don’t know exactly what it is and I think it’s just kind of the nature of this league and the nature of college basketball right now.” Matta’s Buckeyes (20-6, 7-6, fifth in Big Ten) are next set to host Northwestern (12-14, 5-8, ninth in the Big Ten), one of the teams that fell at home Sunday. Matta said it’s on him if OSU isn’t able to avoid another embarrassing home defeat like the one to the Nittany Lions last month. “Well, if they’re not (prepared), that’s my fault,” Matta said. “I mean seriously you can’t be — what are we, 12 games into this league? — and not have a pulse of what’s going on. Obviously we’re doing our part in terms of preparation and that sort of thing, but these guys, I know they know what’s at stake here.” OSU slogged its way past Illinois Saturday, defeating the Fighting Illini in Champaign, Ill., 48-39, despite only scoring 20 points in the first half. The big contributors in the second half were OSU’s bench players, who overall outscored Illinois’
LIZ YOUNG Campus editor young.1693@osu.edu
SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
Members of the OSU men’s basketball team huddle during a game against Michigan Feb. 11 at the Schottenstein Center. OSU lost, 70-60.
OSU freshman forward Marc Loving looks to shoot a layup during a game against Michigan Feb. 11 at the Schottenstein Center. OSU lost, 70-60.
17-2. Freshman forward Marc Loving tallied eight points himself, scoring his first points this month. A slump like Loving’s could prove frustrating, but Loving said that wasn’t necessarily the case because of his mindset shooting the ball. “I think every shot I shoot is going to go in. So if I miss one, I think, ‘Oh, the next one’s going to go,’” Loving said Tuesday. “If I miss that one, the next one’s going to go in. Eventually it’s going to go down.”
The road win at Illinois was OSU’s fourth victory in five games, and with four of their remaining five contests against teams in the bottom half of the league, the Buckeyes look to be in good shape to get some momentum going into the postseason. Loving, however, said now is not the time to let thoughts like that get into their heads.
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An Undergraduate Student Government campaign accused of failing to report a campaign expense was found not to have committed a violation. There was a judicial panel hearing Tuesday about the case. The panel — which consists of a clerk of court with eight judges and a chief justice, who are all students — found that USG presidential candidate and current vice president Josh Ahart and his runningmate Jen Tripi had not committed a violation in a case brought against them by three other campaign teams. “The judicial panel has unanimously decided that Josh and Jen were not found in violation of falsifying documents submitted to the judicial panel. Therefore, no penalty has been assessed,” the clerk of court emailed statement, which was obtained by The Lantern Tuesday, said. The email also said the decision could be appealed. The plaintiff brief had alleged the Ahart-Tripi campaign team failed to report the purchase of a domain name “clearly meant to deter an opposing campaign.” The brief was filed by Celia Wright, Leah Lacure, Vytas Aukstuolis, Nicholas Macek, Mohamad Mohamad and Sean Crowe. The domain name in question was “voteceliaandleah.com,” which public record from GoDaddy, a domain and website service, showed was registered to an email address belonging to the Ahart-Tripi campaign manager Tim Lanzendorfer in November.
continued as Campaign on 2A
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