Monday March 8, 2010 year: 130 No. 75 the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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‘Millionaire’ prof gets $15,000
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student voice
The hubbub about ‘alleged’
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thelantern OSU may change crime alerts COLLIN BINKLEY Managing editor binkley.44@osu.edu When violent crimes are reported on campus, police are required by federal law to notify the public. But ofÿcers from Ohio State University Police are worried that few people are getting the message.
For the last four years, the Department of Public Safety at OSU has used an “opt-in” system in which crime alerts are sent only to those who have subscribed to receive the alerts via e-mail. But on a campus with more than 50,000 students, only 2,633 people receive these e-mails. “I would expect more people to be registered users,” said OSU Police Chief Paul Denton.
In the wake of three crime alerts reported in the last week, Denton has received numerous calls from people asking why the alerts aren’t sent to everyone at the university. The answer, Denton said, is that the opt-in system is simply what people wanted when the crime notiÿcation
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Second sexual assault reported on campus RICK SCHANZ Lantern reporter schanz.5@osu.edu An Ohio State student told OSU Police Thursday that three men sexually assaulted her in her dorm room in Morrill Tower on Feb. 27. The assault is not related to the alleged rape outside McPherson Lab last week, police said. The student accepted a ride back to campus from a social
event and was escorted to her room by three males sometime after midnight, police said. At some point the student lost consciousness. OSU Police Chief Paul Denton said investigators did not know why she passed out. Later in the day on Feb. 27, the student’s roommate reported that cameras and a laptop had been stolen from her room. However, the woman who says she had been assaulted in that room did not report the attack until Thursday.
Crime Alert System Ohio State’s crime alert system sends e-mails only to those who sign up online. Amid three alerts issued in the last week, the crime alerts Web page has received an unusually high number of hits. First five days of March: 5,404 All of February: 7,512 All of January: 5,617 More than 600 people subscribed to the crime alerts after Javaune Adams-Gaston, vice president for Student Life, sent a campus-wide e-mail addressing the crimes. “The most important thing you can do to protect yourself is to stay alert and trust your instincts,” she wrote. “If you must be out alone after dark, please use the Student Escort Service, which can be reached at (614) 292-3322.”
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YOU’VE GOTTA FIGHT OSU President E. Gordon Gee and Ohio Union Director Tracy Stuck duked it out in an arm wrestling match Friday at the RPAC to determine who would receive a painting that once adorned the old Union, but until recently was featured in Gee’s home. After each won a match, the contest went to a tie-breaker — which ended in a tie. In the end, Gee relinquished the painting, which will hang in the new Union.
JOE PODELCO / Lantern photographer
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They are the champions
With 1.9 seconds on the clock, Buckeye Jantel Lavender made two free throws to win the Big Ten title 66-64
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Student effort to bring Ron Paul pays off RYAN BOOK Lantern reporter book.15@osu.edu Republican congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul is speaking at the Newport Music Hall tonight and that’s quite a coup for one student organization. Young Americans for Liberty President David Grabaskas, a doctoral student in nuclear engineering, said the event represents a victory for the group. “It’s a lot of work, putting on an event like this,” he said. “As a Ron Paul supporter though, this is really a great thing to work for.” The doors will open at 6 p.m. and Paul is expected to take the stage at 8:15. Grabaskas expects a large crowd, and admission will be free. Young Americans for Liberty grew out of a student group that supported Paul during the 2008 presidential election. During Paul’s candidacy, the group established chapters at more than 500 colleges and high schools. Afterward, the group decided to back away from supporting a single candidate, opting instead to promote issues.
“Our main goal isn’t technically to support Ron Paul,” Grabaskas said. “We call ourselves non-partisan, non-proÿt issue advocacy.” Regardless of partisanship, Paul still stands as an ideal candidate for the group. Grabaskas said he began following Paul after becoming interested in ÿnancial RON PAUL issues. “I started looking into the Federal Reserve and central banking,” he said. “Ron Paul was the only person really talking about the Federal Reserve.” He and a friend started the Ohio State chapter of Young Americans for Liberty last year and he says it now has between 130 and 140 members. In December, Grabaskas and fellow group members drafted a proposal that was sent to the national board, which detailed possible dates and venues. The group found out only a few weeks ago that their bid had been accepted. Jeff Frazee, the group’s national executive
director, said in an e-mail that OSU won because it had a “well-organized chapter” and it was the largest university with a chapter. Although Paul has not made clear any intentions of running for president again, Ohio is one of the nation’s most important election states because of its high Electoral College vote total. Grabasky said the event is completely run by his group and that no university funding was used. Political groups and other sponsors provided funds by buying table space at the event. Paul will not receive any compensation, as sitting congressmen cannot legally do so. Foxnews.com personality Andrew “Judge” Napolitano will broadcast his show “Freedom Watch” from the Newport prior to Paul’s appearance, also without compensation. Young Americans for Liberty members aren’t the only ones taking Paul seriously, however. Evidence shows that Paul’s support is much stronger among college students than with other demographics. Paul recently won the presidential
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Barbie Tootle surprised with room in her honor in new Union RICHARD OVIATT Lantern reporter oviatt.3@osu.edu
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The third ° oor of the new Ohio Union contains eight rooms named in honor of eight individuals and organizations. Donations toward the naming of the rooms totaled more than $800,000. More than half of that came from a $500,000 donation by the John R. and Margrite Davis Foundation toward the “Interfaith Prayer and Re° ection Room.” Neither John or Margrite, both now deceased, had any afÿliation with Ohio State. But the foundation has made a habit of donating to universities, including the University of Michigan and the University of Kentucky. It was Deborah Cunningham, a program coordinator within the OSU Ofÿce of Student Life and board member of the Davis Foundation, who ÿrst suggested the Ohio Union as a possible donation recipient. “It was important for us to support a space on campus where students of all beliefs could go and re° ect,” Cunningham said. “We wanted to create a warm, peaceful place that was non-denominational, that all students could access despite personal beliefs. We worked with the
campus Interfaith Association to design the space so that it would be welcoming to all students and guests.” One room that is certainly named for someone afÿliated with OSU is the Barbie Tootle room. Tootle ÿrst became involved in OSU’s student organizations as a freshman in 1961. She went on to be the coordinator for greek affairs from 1974 to 1985, and in 1985 joined the Ofÿce of the President, eventually retiring in 1999. The room was named to honor her via a $75,000 donation from former fraternity and sorority leaders that she worked with. BARBIE TOOTLE The room was revealed to Tootle in July of 2007 during a surprise party organized by her husband and friends, including Tracy Stuck, the director of the Ohio Union. “To say I was ° abbergasted is an understatement,” Tootle said. “As a member of the Ohio Union Council, I had been working with Tracy’s team a long time on
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