thelantern
Thursday February 20, 2014
the student voice of The Ohio State University
year: 134 No. 27
www.thelantern.com @TheLantern weather high 59 low 38 rain
Braxton wins Silver Football
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C-Bus coffee applauded
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17 thefts on campus
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Coke contract complicates ‘healthy vending’ options Parking to no CAITLIN ESSIG Managing editor for content essig.21@osu.edu Ohio State made a move to “healthy vending” at the start of this year, but students, staff, faculty and visitors can still get their fill of Coca-Cola products from the machines. In the switch, only foods deemed unhealthy were phased out, leaving some to consider what else the university might do for nutrition on campus. As aligned in the university’s 10-year, $32 million contract with Coca-Cola, soft drinks are available to be purchased in at least 438 vending machines across campus, but some experts said these drinks can be detrimental to consumers’ health. “The caloric drinks, aside from providing calories, aren’t really doing anything beneficial for our diets, and are likely doing a detriment to our diet and our health,” said Carolyn Gunther, assistant professor in the Department of Human Sciences in the Human Nutrition program. “Diet soft drinks compared to caloric soft drinks are better when you’re just talking about calories, but there’s nothing really inherently good either about a diet soft drink.” Gunther, whose research at OSU focuses on healthy vending, said although research isn’t definitive yet, the sugar substitutes found in diet soft drinks might also be detrimental to one’s health. University officials have been mum on whether OSU’s contract with Coca-Cola might hinder healthy initiatives on campus. OSU spokesman Gary Lewis spoke for OSU Business Development on the topic. “The university continues to promote and encourage health and wellness in a number of campus initiatives for faculty, staff and students,” he said in an email about whether the availability of Coke products affects people’s ability to be healthy on campus. Gunther said while she thinks OSU is a leader in “improving the diet, physical activity and health of its students,” the university could still do more. “We would be real trailblazers in the field if we removed the sugar-sweetened beverages … It would be radical,” she said. “That’s one opportunity for improvement because there’s so much data indicating that sugar-sweetened beverages, and that includes caloric soft drinks, are detrimental to our health and put us at an increased risk for obesity.”
We would be real trailblazers in the field if we removed the sugarsweetened beverages. Carolyn Gunther Assistant professor in the Department of Human Sciences in the Human Nutrition program
KARLY RATZENBERGER / Design editor OSU chief wellness officer and associate vice president for health promotion Bernadette Melnyk said, however, the university is already taking the necessary steps toward offering more healthy options. “Offering foods and beverages that meet nutrition standards in vending machines is a promising, low-cost approach for helping people to maintain a healthy weight,” Melnyk said via an email from Lewis. “Providing healthy, nutritious and affordable options for faculty, staff, students and visitors is important, so they can be healthy.” According to OSU’s Your Plan For Health website, all university vending machines were to include “products selected for healthy snacking” as of Dec. 31, and while no soft drinks were set to be phased out, the proportion of non-sugar-added beverages was to be “a much higher percentage.” “Coca-Cola is a valued partner in the university’s healthy vending initiative,” Lewis said. “And
Student leaders weigh in on State of the City address
there are more low and no-calorie offerings (that) are now available at the Medical Center. Everywhere on campus where regular beverages are sold, students will also find a low or no-calorie option available. Additionally, providing choices and making information readily available to consumers is always important and allows students to feel good about the decisions they make based on their own circumstances.” He added that Coca-Cola intends to make calories more visible to consumers. “Coca-Cola has rolled out a ‘Calories Count’ Vending Program across the entire campus, providing clear calorie information on vending machines and reminding consumers that all ‘calories count’ in the choices they make,” Lewis said. Some vending machines on campus, however, did not have calories displayed as of Wednesday night, although some without calories posted did sport signs reminding consumers that “calories count” and to “check then choose.” In the university’s contract with Coca-Cola, it is outlined that there must be at least 438 vending machines on campus selling Coke products. However, there is no clause in the contract outlining what the proportion of certain drinks in these machines must be. Interim President Joseph Alutto said he wasn’t sure that the availability of soft drinks would keep anyone from being healthy on campus. “I haven’t seen any evidence that it hinders the process (of being healthy),” he said in an interview with The Lantern Feb 11. “It opens up conversations for us, and it’s one of the things we look at.” However, Sally Kuzemchak, a registered dietitian in the Columbus area, agreed with Gunther that soft drinks’ availability on campus might be detrimental based on the high concentration of sugar and empty calories in some of the drinks. “The body doesn’t register those calories like it does with food,” she said. “So the research is showing you can just drink and your body is not registering ‘I just took in 300 calories,’ and so you’re still hungry. So then it can just lead to a lot of unwanted calories. You have a lot of students on campus trying to watch their weight and be healthy
longer be free at Buckeye Village Some Buckeye Village residents might have to pay more for parking than one month’s rent.
$685 a month for a 2-bedroom apartment
$620.28 yearly for parking at Buckeye Village, C locations on campus and overnight in Lane and West Lane garages
$545 a month for a 1-bedroom apartment
$402 yearly for parking daily and overnight on West Campus source: reporting
KAYLA BYLER / Managing editor of design
MICHELE THEODORE Copy chief theodore.13@osu.edu Having a car in Buckeye Village might soon cost some residents more than a month of rent, and some Ohio State students and residents of the complex are considering moving because of it. Residents received an email Monday that said parking policies are set to change in the 2014-15 academic year. Buckeye Village residents currently have free parking for residents with one or two vehicles offered as part of their rental rates, according to the University Housing website. The email, however, stated “parking no longer will be included as part of the Buckeye Village housing contract” beginning Aug. 1. Buckeye Village is located across the Olentangy River on Defiance Drive near Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium and features family housing
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LaQuinton Ross not suspended for fight
KARLIE FRANK Lantern reporter frank.259@osu.edu Some Ohio State student leaders said they support several of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman’s newly announced initiatives for the city, including a plan to improve the education system and draw in a national political convention. Coleman addressed the importance of improving Columbus City Schools among other initiatives aimed at “sharing success” in his State of the City address Wednesday evening. “The greatest threat to the success of Columbus is our failure to prepare our children for the future,” Coleman said. Coleman said to address the 34 percent of Columbus City School children that enter kindergarten unprepared, the government is launching a program called “Early Start Columbus.” The city is set to invest $5 million in Early Start Columbus to develop long term pre-kindergarten plans for 4-year-olds to better prepare them for kindergarten and reduce the number of children being held back, Coleman said. Undergraduate Student Government President Taylor Stepp said after the address he was pleased with the announcement of the initiative. “It was interesting to hear the direction Coleman is going with education. I was involved with … a number of initiatives for Columbus City Schools and it’s great to see education is still a priority,” Stepp said. The most expensive initiative announced by Coleman was a $2.5 billion, 30-year program called “Blueprint Columbus.” The program aims to use innovation and sustainability to build parks and green space in Columbus while dealing with sewer issues. “Blueprint will keep storm water from entering sewers in the first place,” Coleman said. “We will convert the eyesore, blighted, vacant and abandoned land into new parks and neighborhoods all across the city of Columbus.” Coleman also announced other initiatives, including one to help solve the problem of filling jobs, not creating them, in Columbus. The City of Columbus is slated to invest $1.5 million in FastPath, a Columbus State Community College program aimed at educating the unemployed in job-related skills and “putting people back to work,” Coleman said. Visit thelantern.com for the rest of this story.
SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
Junior forward LaQuinton Ross (10) is held back by senior guard Aaron Craft (4) during a fight in a game against Northwestern Feb. 20 at the Schottenstein Center. OSU won, 76-60.
ERIC SEGER Sports editor seger.25@osu.edu In college basketball, sometimes getting a victory off the court is as important as getting a win on it. That was the case for the No. 24 Ohio State Buckeyes Wednesday against Northwestern, when the team learned leading scorer junior forward LaQuinton Ross would not be suspended after he was ejected for his involvement in an on-court scuffle in the second half of OSU’s 76-60 win. After a missed shot, Wildcat redshirt-senior
forward Nikola Cerina shoved OSU junior center Amir Williams, causing members from both teams to come to the floor. Ross then shoved Cerina and redshirt-senior forward Drew Crawford, ultimately leading to his ejection. Cerina was also shown the door upon further review by the officials, and he is set to be suspended for Northwestern’s game against Indiana Saturday. Lead official Ray Perone said after the game that because Cerina “took a swing with a closed first or closed hand” at Williams, by rule he must be penalized for committing an act of fighting. “He does not have to make contact — the fact he swings with a closed fist is deemed to
be a fighting act,” Perone said in a released statement after OSU’s win. Perone went on to say since this was the first time Cerina participated in a fight this season, he is only suspended for his team’s next game. After the game, OSU coach Thad Matta said he would be “shocked” if Ross was suspended, but admitted to not having seen everything that happened. “It happened so quick,” Matta said. “I saw the guy shove Amir into the basket support and from there it was sort of melee — not melee, that’s a bad term — but just a little bit unorganized if you will.”
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