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Thursday March 8, 2012 year: 132 No. 38

the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern Gee: Greek life up 73 percent, should be more

sports

THAILYR SCRIVNER Senior Lantern reporter scrivner.2@osu.edu

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Get the ball rolling

The Big Ten Tournament kicks off Friday when the OSU men’s basketball team takes on either Purdue or Nebraska.

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Since the beginning of President E. Gordon Gee’s second term as university president, Ohio State Greek life has seen a 73 percent increase in members as of 2011, and Gee said he would like to see those numbers increase even more. Gee has heavily expressed his dedication to the advancement of sorority and fraternity life because of the involvement opportunities it provides, said Sharrell Hassell-Goodman, assistant director to sorority and fraternity life. “Every time I see President Gee he says, ‘How are numbers looking?’” she said. During the 2007-08 academic year, Gee’s first year of his current term, there were 2,073 members of Greek life as of Spring Quarter 2008, according to sorority and fraternity life data. As of Spring Quarter 2011, there were 3,584 members. Costs to join a Greek organization can vary, depending on the amount of members, type of organization and type of events the chapter holds said Janelle Becker, a third-year in materials science and engineering and recruitment guide for Panhellenic Association (PHA) for Winter Quarter. She said costs for members of a PHA chapter average about $500 per quarter. PHA is the governing council of the 16 national social sororities at OSU. The Interfraternity Council

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JEFF TYNDALL / Lantern photographer

President E. Gordon Gee said he wants to expand the Greek system at OSU. Pictured above is a sorority house on 15th Avenue, Alpha Omicron Pi.

Urban Meyer apologizes to Scarlet and Gay PAT BRENNAN Sports editor brennan.164@osu.edu

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The Lantern spoke to stars of Disney’s “John Carter,” set to premieres Friday in 3-D, IMAX 3-D and normal theaters.

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Disney on Mars

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Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer has apologized to an LGBT group for a team rule forcing players to wear lavender shirts for “loafing” during practice. After being alerted to the lavender shirt rule, Scarlet and Gay, an OSU alumni society, issued a letter to Meyer on Feb. 29 informing the Buckeyes’ coach that it was disappointed in the team’s choice of color. “It’s more about us standing up for a social justice issue,” Scarlet and Gay President Tim Valentine told The Lantern Wednesday. Meyer apologized in a letter dated March 1 addressed to Valentine and Garett Heysel, vice president of Scarlet and Gay and assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the purple mesh pullovers,” the letter read. “The use of purple was never intended to be used to offend anyone, but since it has, we have taken steps to change the color. “Please accept our sincere apologies. We have core values of respect and honor within our program, and these are two principles that are central to my personal life, my coaching and to Ohio State and its athletics programs. Bias has absolutely no role in how we think or operate.”

CHRISTOPHER SCHWARTZ / Managing editor

During a Feb. 15 press conference, OSU football strength coach Mickey Marotti described a new statistic kept during conditioning drills called “loafs.” A loaf is credited to a player during a moment of deceleration during a drill, Marotti said. When a second loaf is credited to a player, they’re given a lavender shirt that must be worn around the training facility. Later in the press conference, redshirt junior

linebacker Etienne Sabino said no player wants to have to a lavender jersey. “You don’t want to wear those shirts at all,” Sabino said. “Just loafing in general, you don’t want to get those. The lavender (shirt) is definitely motivation not to get any loafs.” In a Wednesday email to The Lantern, OSU athletics spokesman Jerry Emig said the football team changed the color of the mesh shirts they use. He later said he was not sure what color the new shirts were. Valentine told The Lantern Wednesday the Scarlet and Gay board of governors decided it would take action because of the color lavender’s significance to the gay community. “Lavender is associated as a feminine color, so it deals with masculinity,” Valentine said. “It would appear, if (lavender) was the color (of the mesh shirts), that the coaching team is trying to say, ‘If you are loafing, if you are not performing up to par then you are performing in a feminine way, and so we are going to label you with a color that makes you non-masculine.” The decision to address the matter with Meyer wasn’t based on a desire for political correctness, though. The color lavender has been associated with gays throughout history and even the word

Study links alcohol, news, crime High bets placed on casino opportunities

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weather high 57 low 35 rain/ wind

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BRIN KERKHOFF Lantern reporter kerkhoff.2@osu.edu Penn National Gaming will open a casino in Columbus within the year. Because of its proximity to campus it could be a student’s next job or lead to a lifelong economic nightmare. Penn National will open its first Ohio casino in Toledo this spring and its second on the Westside of Columbus this fall. The casino is located about 25 minutes from main campus and thus might be an attraction for students 21 and older. While the casino could be alluring to students, it could be dangerous for some. “College students have twice the risk as the general population for developing a gambling problem,” said Lou Weigele, gambling counselor for the National Council on Problem Gambling. Part of this is due to the risky behaviors college students are

generally involved in and the glamour attached to the high-rolling lifestyle, Weigele said. “There are two types of problem gamblers, action and escape,” Weigele said. “Action gamblers are looking for excitement and usually play table games and escape gamblers are looking for the numbing effect and usually play the slots,” he said. Despite the risks of problem gambling, Blaine McKinney, a fourthyear in psychology, said she thinks the new casino will be beneficial to the city and the OSU community. “(The casino will) bring more business to the surrounding areas and help stimulate the economy in Columbus,” McKinney said. Hollywood Casino Columbus will feature up to 3,000 slot machines, 70 table games, a steakhouse, buffet, sports bar and cocktail lounge, according to its website. Male college students are at a greater risk than females due to their competitive nature, Weigele said. Weigele said gambling can also be new to students who are recently of

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JEFF TYNDALL / Lantern photographer

Penn National Gaming is opening a casino on the Westside of Columbus later in the year and many OSU students could be affected in different ways. age and it is important to pay attention to its individual affects. While a gambling addiction is a possibility, the state has prepared for it. Bob Tenenbaum, spokesperson for Penn National, said $12 million a year from tax revenue will go toward research and treatment of problem

gambling. Aside from any potential addiction problems the casino might cause, many are excited about the opportunities it could create. “The casino is an opportunity to

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