Monday February 24, 2014 year: 134 No. 28
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thelantern the student voice of The Ohio State University
Matta talks ‘heart’ of team
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OSU athletics self-reports 24 violations
Lee Daniels visits campus
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Pomerene to see changes
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Some question safety after reported rape in dorm LIZ YOUNG Campus editor young.1693@osu.edu
The Ohio State athletic department self-reported 24 minor violations in the second half of 2013.
KAYLA BYLER / Managing editor of design “Our whole thing is if we have 10 (violations), I’d have a problem. I mean, I really would because people are going to make mistakes. And that means if I only have 10 out of 350 employees (and) 1,000 athletes – something’s not right.”
ERIC SEGER Sports editor seger.25@osu.edu The Ohio State athletic department self-reported 24 minor violations in the second half of 2013, including nine for “impermissible” phone calls, text messages and emails to prospective student-athletes, as well as three violations for various involvement in conditioning and summer camp activities. The figures are a result of an open records request submitted Thursday by The Lantern and released Friday by the OSU public records office. None of the violations are considered major, but the report included 19 violations that included “prospective student-athletes.” The last 2013 violation was reported Nov. 6. In each case, the school proposed its own corrective action to either the Big Ten or NCAA, who accepted the proposals but at times, offered further recommendations to each sport. Common resolutions include issuing a letter of education to the respective coaching staff and restraining them from contacting the prospective student-athletes for a period of time, usually two weeks. The football program, however, was only restricted to one week of no contact for impermissible phone calls. OSU athletic director and Vice President Gene Smith said the school typically has “about 40” selfreported secondary violations annually during an interview with The Lantern May 15, 2012. “On an annual basis, we have about 40 (violations),” Smith said. “It ranges in that area we’re sitting at. In that 40 range is where we always hang.
Football Reported June 27 The Compliance Office determined there to be seven impermissible phone calls to prospective student-athletes and/or their parents after an April 2013 review of phone records between Aug. 1, 2012, and March 1, 2013. The report states they were the result of inadvertent “pocket dials.” Reported Nov. 4 A member of the coaching staff was reported to have used a smokeless tobacco product during a game, violating NCAA bylaws. Men’s Volleyball Reported July 15 Coach Pete Hanson sent letters to two prospective student-athletes in March 2013 that promised them athletically related financial aid. At the time each athlete received said letter, they had not yet reached their senior years in high school. Women’s Volleyball Reported July 15 Coach Geoff Carlston made an impermissible telephone call to a prospective student-athlete who was a sophomore in high school on Oct. 8, 2012. On April 24, an assistant coach replied to an email from a prospective student-athlete who was a sophomore in high school.
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Some students at Ohio State are questioning their safety after a reported rape was marked as a “continuing threat” by University Police. Recent information about a rape, which happened between 2:15 and 2:40 a.m. Jan. 25 in a South Campus residence hall, and the suspect — who reportedly returned to the residence hall since the incident — caused police officers to believe there is a “continuing threat,” a University Police public safety notice issued Friday said. The suspect was described by witnesses as a black man with a “wide” build, between 18 and 20 years old and standing between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall. He has short, black hair and a lighter, pockmarked complexion with scars “over most of his face,” including a possible scar over an eyebrow, and he was last seen wearing a Cincinnati Bengals sweatshirt, according to the notice. It is unknown whether the suspect is an OSU affiliate, University Police Chief Paul Denton said Friday. While the suspect’s return to the residence hall was not last week, Denton said the forensics reports from the initial incident came back last week and partly led to the decision to release a public safety notice. The suspect “was attempting to contact the victim when he returned,” Denton said in an email Sunday. There were no new developments in the case over the weekend, he added. The case is being actively investigated as part of “a wide-ranging and in-depth criminal investigation,” the notice said. Nicole Moore, a first-year in linguistics who lives in Baker Hall East, said the public safety notice “surprised” her. “I feel pretty uncomfortable actually,” she said Sunday. “This is the first day I’ve gone by myself to go do something (since the notice was sent), and I feel like it’s kinda weird that it’s so late that we’ve been notified.” The notice was sent about 27 days after the rape reportedly occurred. Moore said she’s seen a slight change in behavior around her residence hall since the notice was sent to students Friday. “I noticed a lot more people are kind of staying in their rooms, and my roommate and I are locking our
LIZ YOUNG / Campus editor
Signs are posted at residence hall entrances advising students to follow building access policies. door constantly, like even if we go to the bathroom,” Moore said. Javaune Adams-Gaston, vice president for Student Life, issued a statement to the OSU community about the incident in her weekly online column Sunday. “I hope you have seen and read the public safety notice that was issued on Friday … While incidents of crime on our campus are unwanted and unfortunate, you should know that the university is steadfastly dedicated to the safety of our campus community,” the column read. “The intent of public safety notices is not put undue stress on the community. However, they help underscore the importance of being cautious, aware and committed to contributing to the safety of Ohio State and our surrounding communities.” Adams-Gaston also included a list of safety tips, like reporting anyone “who has not followed security protocol when entering a residence hall,” locking all doors and windows regardless of where a student lives and not allowing others to enter residence halls without showing an ID. Moore said she witnesses people letting others into residence halls frequently. “There’s always kind of people standing around outside and you think you’re being nice by letting them in,” she said. “You feel really weird if you just leave them there.” Other students who live on South Campus said they see it often as well. “I see it happen a lot actually. I try not to do it. If I
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Policy change Support available for students with eating disorders allows grads to work longer ALEX DRUMMER Lantern reporter drummer.18@osu.edu
MATT HOMAN Lantern reporter homan.94@osu.edu A revision to the Ohio State Office of Human Resources’ employment policy could give graduating seniors a little more time to earn money while searching for a post-grad job. This year the policy allows student employees who graduate at the end of Spring Semester to continue working in their positions through Aug. 6, the last day of exams for Summer Semester. Previously, that cut-off date was the last day of the month-long May Session, which would have been May 30 this year. According to the Office of Human Resources’ student employment policy, a student employee is defined as “an individual who is enrolled at the university on a full-time or part-time basis, appointed to a position designated as student employment and associated with the university primarily in the pursuit of an academic degree.” The policy states students can work for one “off” academic term when they are not enrolled in each academic year. For many graduating students, that means summer. However, after the switch from quarters to semesters before the 2012-13 academic year and the creation of the Maymester term, graduates were only permitted to work through the duration of Maymester, Kerry Francis, a spokeswoman for the Office of Human Resources, said. Francis said that was a problem. “It was an issue that was noticed during the first summer after the transition. Departments all over campus were letting us know they needed more employees during the summer term,” Francis said. The policy, revised Feb. 1, states “student employees who graduate Spring Semester may retain their student employee status until the last day of final examinations for the Summer Term.” “(The policy change) was a collective agreement, and it ensures we (the university) can meet our business needs,” Francis said. The terms of employment also say student
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“I think you’ll run into this with anyone you talk to who has had an eating disorder: that voice never goes away. There’s always a constant struggle.” Kelsi Schwall, a second-year graduate student in occupational therapy, started her struggle with an eating disorder at about age 16, and though she’s 23, now with her condition under control, she said it’s still not easy. National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is from Feb. 23 to March 1, but for students at Ohio State struggling with eating disorders or counselors helping these students, it’s a year-round issue. Schwall said her busy life in high school and her need for control had a hand in the development of an eating disorder. “I’ve always been a perfectionist, so I think that was a major part of it. I always tried to push myself really hard in school. I was in way too many things,” she said. Schwall said it was six months to a year before she got help, and her mom was the one who made sure she received it. “My mom was probably my biggest supporter through all of it. She knew that there was something wrong, probably just like a mother’s intuition kind of deal,” she said. Schwall said she tried a variety of different treatments for her eating disorder throughout high school and her time as an undergraduate student at OSU, including participating in individualized therapy at OSU’s Younkin Success Center. Holly Davis, a senior staff therapist at Younkin whose focus area is eating disorders, said there are “multiple first steps” a student seeking treatment could take. Davis said individuals on staff take the severity of a student’s concerns, as well as the students’ resources — like their transportation needs and financial status — into consideration when helping assess the best option for each person. Treatments for eating disorders are covered by OSU’s student health insurance, but the cost of treatment varies on a case-by-case basis, said Dave Isaacs, Student Life spokesman. However, features such as 10 free counseling sessions available to students per academic year and unlimited group therapy are in place to make sure students can get help, Davis said. “Ultimately, if a student really needs treatment,
they really need treatment, so on a case-by-case basis, we kind of figure it out (in order) to get that student what they need,” Davis said. One of the services offered at OSU for students seeking help is the Eating Disorder Treatment Team, which is comprised of dietitians, therapists and physicians, Davis said. “The treatment team is really a place for those providers who potentially have students that they share in serving to come together and make sure we’re all on the same page,” Davis said. The Body Image and Health Task Force also works to advocate for positive body image at OSU by holding freshmen seminars on body image and health and speaking to students in student organizations like sororities or athletic teams, said Nancy Rudd, professor in fashion and retail studies and chair of the task force. The task force does outreach all year long but also sponsors the Body Image Bazaar, along with several other departments and organizations, for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Rudd said. This year’s bazaar is slated to take place Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the lower level of the RPAC. Attendees can expect informational tables, brochures, informational DVDs being played on loop and the chance to take assessments to see the state of their body image or evaluate their eating habits, Rudd said. The event has grown over the past 16 years, and last year’s event drew more than 600 people, Rudd said. “It’s very intense visually, a lot information educationally and a lot of opportunities for students and faculty and staff to engage in these selfassessments,” Rudd said. Along with the formal treatment services,
students at OSU who might be struggling with body image, or who simply care about the cause, also have the opportunity to be involved in a student organization, Body Sense, that Schwall started in 2010. “We teach people that being happy and being healthy isn’t about being a certain size,” said Autumn Blatt, a fourth-year in psychology and president of Body Sense. Although some members of Body Sense have struggled with eating disorders and the group provides a safe space to talk about those issues, the organization is meant for all students, Schwall said. “I’ve been trying to recruit people this year by letting them know that sometimes the meetings are just provocative conversations, just kind of criticizing or discussing certain things that are related to (negative body image),” said Zach Thomas, a first-year graduate student in middle childhood education and treasurer of Body Sense. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, about 20 million women and 10 million men in the U.S. suffer from eating disorders at some point in their lives. “I think we live in a world that talks about obesity and weight gain as these horrible, horrible things,” Davis said. “I do wonder how much of that creates fear in people that ‘if I’m not a particular size, bad things will happen or people won’t like me.’” Blatt also said society’s focus on obesity is a problem and added that there is not enough conversation about what weight is too low. “Our society is so geared towards not being overweight, and no one ever gives you a lower
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