Thursday March 31, 2011 year: 131 No. 44 the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com sports
thelantern OSU’s secret order unearthed Ohio State’s secret society, the Scarlet Order, no longer a gray area LAUREN HALLOW AND JESSICA SHAMBAUGH Senior Lantern reporter and copy chief hallow.1@osu.edu and shambaugh.14@osu.edu
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Yale has Skull and Bones. Cornell has Quill and Dagger. Even “that school up north” has one. So, for being such a historic university, where’s Ohio State’s secret society? “This question has come up before, and we have never been able to find anything on secret societies at OSU,” said Tamar Chute, interim university archivist. “That doesn’t mean they’ve never existed; it just means we have no evidence.” The Lantern has unearthed proof that such a society does exist, and has been around for nearly 20 years. Tucked away in the catering supply room of the Ohio Union basement lies a small space with blood-red walls, a skeleton in the corner, randomly-placed stones and a floor littered with votive candles. From the outside, it’s Room 121A, one of the Union’s many storage closets. Inside, a hand-painted crest on
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Preparing for the next level
Former Buckeye Cameron Heyward worked out in front of scouts Wednesday in preparation for the NFL Draft.
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Cirque and the Symphony
Cirque de la Symphonie will team up with the Columbus Symphony, combining acrobatics and live orchestra music.
Ramona Reyes’ passion for creating change started when she was a Buckeye and still drives her in multiple leadership positions within the Columbus community. Reyes, a human resources specialist at Nationwide, is an attentive aunt, a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the vice president of the Board of Education for Columbus City Schools. “I like to talk; I like to create change;
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MOLLY GRAY / Managing editor for design All photos courtesy of sources
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I like to share the experiences and the challenges I’ve had,” said Reyes, 41. “I like to learn from other people.” Senate Bill 5 and the notorious state budget cuts have kept Reyes busy with her obligation to the Board of Education. In an interview proceeding the release of Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal and the passing of Senate Bill 5, she said the bill would affect them and they are working to face changes and budget cuts. “The whole state is going to experience some changes,” Reyes said
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Ohio Union turns into commercial space JENELLE COOPER Lantern reporter cooper.1995@osu.edu Camera crews and students gathered in the Ohio Union to display their talent and film a commercial for WBNS-10TV on Wednesday. The commercial is part of 10TV’s “Next 10” multimedia campaign designed to promote central Ohio, said Dave Plantz, a producer for 10TV and the commercial’s director. The idea to include students in the commercial was related to the commercial’s theme of growth in Columbus and central Ohio, Plantz said. He wanted to include the students because they make up a large part of Columbus’ population. Plantz said he was looking for students who had a passion or talent that could be performed in front of a camera. Plantz, a 2001 Ohio State graduate and co-founder of Buckeye TV, sought student involvement in the commercial through student organizations such as Ohio Union Television. Allie Feinstein, a fourth-year in
marketing and member of Ohio Union Television, said Plantz contacted her to recruit students for the commercial. A group of 15 students gathered in the Union to take part in the commercial and to display their talents. In addition to multiple group shots, each student had a chance to perform individually in front of the camera. Talents showcased in the commercial included beat boxing, extreme martial arts and dancing. Zach Gray, a third-year and the vice president of Ohio Union Television, said he planned to “dougie dance” in front of the camera. Navy Weatherly, a first-year in pre-journalism, showed off her beat boxing skills while other students backed her up on a rendition of “Hang On Sloopy.” Weatherly, who has been beat boxing since she was in sixth grade and is the secretary for the OSU Freestyle, Rap and Beat Boxing Club, said she participated in the commercial as another way to get involved. “I don’t get nervous because I’ve done it for so long,” Weatherly said.
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KAYLA BYLER / Lantern photographer
Students pose for WBNS-TV’s “Next 10” promotion in the Ohio Union on Wednesday.
OSU’s new dining deal could be a steal
cloudy CASEY HANSMAN Lantern reporter hansman.4@osu.edu
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‘I was sworn to an oath of secrecy’ According to the crest, the society was established in 1992, the same year university President E. Gordon Gee started his first term at OSU. However, he said he’s never heard of the Order. “I was not aware that we had a secret society,” Gee told The Lantern. That’s because members were told to keep things quiet. “I was sworn to an oath of secrecy,” said Peter Osborne, a 1994 OSU graduate and former member of the Order, “but I’m probably breaking that right now.” Osborne said he “can’t remember” what the group did. Ohio Union Director Tracy Stuck said she had an idea. “They do nice things. … They’re a do-good society,” Stuck said. “From what I understand, I think it started off that way.” Stuck said that although the Order is not a “registered group,” the
Filling in the blanks on Board of Education VP, OSU graduate JESSICA SHAMBAUGH Copy chief shambaugh.14@osu.edu
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the wall indicates that this room belongs to the “Scarlet Order,” OSU’s first confirmed secret society.
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An egg is an egg and milk is milk, whether an Ohio State student or a prisoner is consuming it. The University Residences and Dining Services at OSU received a proposal from Ohio correctional facilities to discuss preliminary thoughts about creating buying groups for food commodities. Although prisons would be ordering from the same buyers, students will not have to worry about eating the same quality of food as someone who has been incarcerated.
“There is no way I would allow the quality of food served to decrease for any reason. I hold myself personally accountable,” said Mark Newton, the executive chef of OSU’s University Residences and Dining Services. “The only combined purchases would be commodities such as milk or eggs. No matter what, a chicken still lays the egg, the only difference is the quantity that you buy.” Zia Ahmed, the senior director of OSU’s University Residences and Dining Services, said even if a group purchasing organization, or GPO, does form, the result will be a greater buying power. The parties involved in the GPO would not have to order the same products to receive discounts. Newton said the primary reason for these
preliminary talks is to continue producing the highest quality of food, without raising prices for students, by creating GPOs. “It is becoming a challenge to keep cost in control. … Since 2008, wholesale prices raised about 2 to 3 percent each year, so it is more expensive for us,” Newton said. “The quality of the food here is good, but the prices are ridiculous,” said Stephanie Enarusai, a fourth-year in biology. Enarusai said she had to give up her meal plan because prices were getting too high. “Here at Mirror Lake (Creamery and Grill), you
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