Monday April 16, 2012 year: 132 No. 52
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern
sports
1B
On the right track
The men’s and women’s track teams won 12 out of 39 events in the Jesse Owens Track Classic this weekend.
[ a+e ]
Amanda Pierce / Lantern reporter
Newly elected USG President Taylor Stepp (right), a 2nd-year in Russian and public affairs, and newly elected USG Vice President Kevin Arndt (left), a 3rd-year in political science and public affairs, work on a chalk drawing while they campaign on the Oval.
Stepp, Arndt win historic USG election John Bush Lantern reporter bush.314@osu.edu Taylor Stepp and Kevin Arndt are Ohio State’s new president and vice president of Undergraduate Student Government. Stepp, a second-year in Russian and public affairs, and Arndt, a third-year in political science and public affairs, received 32.6 percent of the vote
Here and now
5A
Check out our review of the Nickelback concert, where it appeared with Bush, Seether and My Darkest Days.
campus
OSU sues over use of cheer weather
“We want to make this as inclusive of a USG as possible,” Stepp said. Although Stepp and Arndt will not technically become USG president and vice president until after a five-week transitional period ends on April 29, Stepp said their duties begin right away. “I’ve already gotten emails, text messages and calls from administrators,” Stepp said. They chose their senior staff Sunday, and
continued as USG on 3A
Fans given chance to go ‘behind the helmet’ Evan Speyer Lantern reporter speyer.10@osu.edu Ohio State students, staff and Buckeye fans had the rare opportunity to interact with their football team Saturday, as coach Urban Meyer held a two-hour open practice session at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Inclement weather moved the event from Ohio Stadium to the WHAC less than an hour before practice was scheduled to start. Without knowledge of the change, most fans arrived at the ‘Shoe only to have stadium’s ushers direct them to the WHAC. Even with the last-minute change of venue, about 3,100 students and faculty were in attendance. The event was supposed to include an opportunity to tour the locker rooms and press box during the practice session.
Attendees were still given access to Ohio Stadium’s venues, but those who stayed for the entirety of the session at the WHAC were disappointed to be denied access when they returned to the stadium on a shuttle after practice. Despite this setback, many said they still enjoyed the opportunity to see their football team in action. After practice, attendees were able to meet with their favorite players, pose for pictures and ask for autographs. “The players definitely had this untouchable aura before,” said Robert Delaney, a third-year in economics. “It is nice to see the face behind the helmet.” Meyer initiated the event as a way of bridging the gap between the student body and the student-athletes. Meyer said he hopes this event will become an annual tradition.
3A Task force formed in response to hate crimes Caitlin Essig Asst. multimedia editor essig.21@osu.edu
high 74 low 46 t-storms
T 63/42 W 65/47 TH 69/48 F 62/42
in the 2012 USG election that took place Thursday and Friday, according to election data. Coming in second were the duo of Kyle Strickland and Nick Parker, who received 21.9 percent of the vote. The 2012 USG election had the highest voter turnout since 1975, when 8,770 votes cast. This year, 8,653 votes were cast, according to election data. Running on the “Buckeye State of Mind” platform, Stepp and Arndt said they want to bring USG back to the students.
mostly sunny mostly sunny partly cloudy isolated t-storms www.weather.com
University officials said Ohio State is no place for hate, and after acts of vandalism on campus that officials declared as hate crimes, a task force was formed to address the problem. On April 5, “Long Live Zimmerman” was spraypainted on the west wall of Hale Hall, which is home to the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center. Officials said the words refer to George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader who allegedly killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense Feb. 26 in Florida. President E. Gordon Gee and Board of Trustees member Algenon Marbley called for the formation of the task force, which is called No Place For Hate. Javaune Adams-Gaston, vice president of Student Life, heads the task force. No Place for Hate’s goal is to “hear what concerns are to ensure Ohio State is no place for hate, and to come up with potential solutions to present to a diversity workgroup,” Adams-Gaston said.
continued as Football on 3A
Cody Cousino / Photo editor
Ashley Kinkela (front row, center), a 2nd-year in psychology, and Jenna Boris (front row, right), a 2nd-year in nutrition, with OSU football players at an open practice April 14 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Dawn Miles, a Ph.D. candidate in history and a sit-in student advocate member of the task force, said No Place For Hate is student-oriented. “The majority of the task force is students, while there are also staff and faculty on it,” Miles said. “But I think they found the most diverse group of students they could. “The task force is meant Javaune to reflect the needs of the adams-gaston student body and what the students want, while facing the issue of diversity and inclusion on campus and identifying what areas need the most help.” Vijay Gadepally, president of the Council of Graduate Students, said the task force will ensure the OSU community remains intolerant of hate. “One of the important things is to be clear that we are a community that does not tolerate any amount of hatred or discrimination. I think we are a
very inclusive community, and we strongly believe in that,” Gadepally said. No Place For Hate held their first meeting Tuesday with about 25 members, including Marbley, who attended via phone, Adams-Gaston said. “We had good conversation (at the first meeting) about the charge of this community, what our timeline needs to be, and where we are at with diversity and inclusion on campus,” Adams-Gaston said. Miles said diversity education is an important goal of the task force. “We need to make sure everyone is on the same page so we can understand each others’ differences as well as understand what diversity is and not allow our differences to fracture the community,” Miles said. Gadepally outlined some other points he said he would like No Place for Hate to accomplish, including finding innovate ways to face discrimination and advertising the resources already available on campus, such as the Multicultural Center. Adams-Gaston said it is too early to know what
continued as Crime on 3A
1A