Wednesday April 9, 2014 year: 134 No. 52
www.thelantern.com @TheLantern weather high 59 low 41 mostly sunny
thelantern the student voice of The Ohio State University
Baseball takes another win
6A
‘Tommy’ rock opera in town
5A
Club competes motorcycle
2A
Officials: Blaming CampusParc for parking issues unfair Mumps cases
They swarm around in those cars that look like the ‘Jurassic Park’ jeeps, so if you’re out of place, they’ll get you.
))
“
source: reporting
)
“
))
“
Sometimes there are too many hoops to jump through and rules to abide by just to be able to park.
)
)
)
) )
) )
It’s not hard to find anti-CampusParc rhetoric on the Internet or on campus, but CampusParc representatives said it’s all a matter of misperception. David Teed, CEO of CampusParc, said the negative public perception of CampusParc is based on false assumptions about the terms of the concession agreement. “One of the perceptions … is that CampusParc, or QIC, is a for-profit organization that is somehow going to be gouging the users of the OSU parking system, when neither are we that kind of an organization, nor do we have the rights to affect pricing at all,” Teed said. CampusParc is a private company that manages parking services at Ohio State. The university agreed to a 50-year lease on its parking assets for the upfront price of $483 million. QIC Global Infrastructure, an Australian investment firm, placed the bid and created CampusParc to operate the parking facilities. The deal was finalized and approved by the Board of Trustees in June 2012. The $483 million paid to OSU came from the pool of pension funds which QIC manages, so CampusParc’s monetary goal over the 50 years of the agreement is to make back that money, plus inflation, by 2062 in order to maintain those pensions, Teed said. CampusParc President Sarah Blouch, who led OSU’s Parking & Transportation prior to the CampusParc agreement, said while CampusParc is responsible for maintaining and upgrading university assets, it will get the cash flow that comes from them in return, including the profits from the sale of parking passes and hourly parking fees. The agreement caps the rate increase on parking at 5.5 percent annually for the first 10 years. After 10 years, rates are set to be capped at 4 percent or a rolling five-year average of inflation, whichever is greater. “The university has always set the pricing, continues to set the pricing, and for the next 50 years will set the pricing,” Teed said. Teed said CampusParc does not necessarily want price increases because it is riskier to charge more as a pension manager, but OSU figured price increases into the $483 million contract. David Hoover, spokesman for CampusParc, said the annual price increases for parking permits were more sporadic before the concession agreement, as much as 10 percent. “The benefit now is that the price is
Students voice complaints about CampusParc
“
BRANDON MERRIMAN Lantern reporter merriman.65@osu.edu
MADISON CURTIS / Design editor
pre-established, so it’s not going to be a surprise year after year,” Hoover said. Teed said the pricing of parking fines, which are handed out by CampusParc, is also specified in the agreement, though any money earned from fines goes to OSU. “By excluding the revenue … we’re not going to be wrongly accused of trying to profit from writing citations,” Teed said. Blouch said the net revenue from parking citations is passed on to the university after expenses are deducted. Since there is no profit for CampusParc in enforcing fines, Hoover said issuing citations is a “necessary evil” because it keeps parking spaces open for those who paid for passes. Andrew Smith, a third-year in operations management, said he received a $54 fine recently for using his purchased pass with a car that wasn’t registered to it. “They swarm around in those cars that look like the ‘Jurassic Park’ jeeps, so if you’re out of place, they’ll get you,” Smith said. Smith said he successfully appealed the fine for a reduction and only owed $6.
“I’d say (CampusParc employees are) annoying because they take their job so seriously, but (aren’t) unwilling to help you out if you need it,” Smith said. Meghan Wood, a second-year in exploration, said CampusParc is overzealous in enforcing parking policy. “Sometimes there are too many hoops to jump through and rules to abide by just to be able to park,” Wood said. Teed said, though, CampusParc doesn’t control parking policy. “The university controls parking policy, just as it always has,” Teed said. Teed said misconceptions re-emerged when it was announced Buckeye Village’s parking would no longer be free, a decision which CampusParc did not control. “(People) just assume that because parking is being privatized, the private company has control of these things,” Teed said. Buckeye Village residents were told by OSU last month that parking passes would cost $150 for the 2014-15 academic year for lots that were previously
continued as CampusParc on 3A
reach 163, some students unfazed BRANDON MERRIMAN Lantern reporter merriman.65@osu.edu
The number of mumps cases at Ohio State has hit triple digits, but some students said they’re not concerned. As of Tuesday afternoon, 163 cases have been reported in Franklin and Delaware counties, 103 of which are linked to the OSU outbreak, according to a Columbus Public Health release. That’s 10 more total cases and three more OSU-linked cases than what had been reported as of Monday. Of the OSU-linked cases reported as of Tuesday, 80 are students, nine are OSU staff, one is a family member of an OSU community member and 13 are people with community ties to OSU. Of those affected in Franklin and Delaware counties, ages range from 9 months old to 69. Six of those diagnosed were hospitalized. The onset of the first case connected to the Franklin County outbreak was Jan. 7, while the first case connected to OSU was Feb. 10. Hank Rumpke, a second-year in mechanical engineering, said he was worried he caught mumps after spring break. “It turned out it was just strep,” Rumpke said. “I was really freaked out since I was already behind on classes, and I would have had to leave school because I was contagious.” Those infected were advised by Columbus Public Health to stay home for five days after symptoms begin, and anyone who wasn’t vaccinated was encouraged to receive two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to protect themselves. Jose Rodriguez, spokesman for Columbus Public Health, though, said in March those who have received two doses of the MMR vaccine still have a 10 to 20 percent chance of being infected. Some OSU students, though, said they haven’t been taking any precautionary measures. Jacob McCollister, a second-year in economics, said he doesn’t think he’s interacted with anyone who has mumps and isn’t worried. “I don’t interact with many large groups outside of
continued as Mumps on 3A
New cheer Housing standards program making headway housing safety issues coach aims to Off-campus Top 3 issues found by the OSU Off-Campus Housing Excellence Program: grow program 1. Smoke alarms 2. Furnace and water 3. Too many electronics ERIC SEGER Sports editor seger.25@osu.edu
Ben Schreiber’s future vision for the Ohio State spirit program is simple: Head back to square one and move on together in support of the Buckeyes. “My vision for the program is just to start from the ground up,” OSU’s new spirit squad coach said in an interview with The Lantern Tuesday, a day after he was named for the job. “There’s been a lot of talented coaches that have been there previous to me now, and I just want to get to know the individual athletes as we have tryouts this weekend.” Schreiber — who is set to be the next permanent head coach after former cheerleading coach Lenee Buchman was fired Nov. 25 “for cause” after a sexual harassment probe involving former assistant coaches and athletes — is slated to return to his alma mater, where he cheered at OSU from 2004-07. He spent the past five years as the head cheer coach and fitness coordinator at the University of Delaware. “It was definitely bittersweet leaving Delaware, it’s such a very talented program,” Schreiber said. “But I just felt like this was an opportunity that I didn’t want to pass up.” Under Schreiber’s leadership, the Blue Hens secured the 2014 Universal Cheerleaders Association Division I Large Coed National Championship, after the team finished as runners-up each year from 2010-13. “Ben has all the qualities we were looking for in our next head coach,” said Martin Jarmond, OSU executive associate athletics director for administration and the cheer program’s administrator, in an OSU press release Monday. “His experience and success as a head coach and his passion for Ohio State and developing studentathletes holistically make him a perfect fit to lead out spirit program.” Schreiber said he believes his success at Delaware makes him the right man to lead the Buckeyes spirit squad. “I do think I’m the right man for the program, for the fact of my résumé, being already a Division I collegiate coach for five years, winning a national championship
continued as Cheer on 3A
without batteries or
heater closets being used
plugged in per outlet or
with dead batteries.
as storage spaces.
“piggy-backing” multiple extension cords. KELSEY WAGNER / Lantern designer
source: reporting
CAITLIN ESSIG Managing editor for content essig.21@osu.edu In an effort to prioritize student safety, an Ohio State program is inspecting about a dozen off-campus homes a day. The OSU Office of Student Life’s Off-Campus Housing Excellence Program conducts home visits, where representatives from Neighborhood Services and Collaboration and the Columbus Division of Fire visit students’ homes to make sure the properties are up to par. So far, they’ve noticed three common problems in campus homes, involving smoke alarms, furnace closets and electrical outlets. From the time the program was established in November through Jan. 26, two home visits had been conducted. Lately, however, program coordinator Alex Sanchez, who conducts the visits, said the pace has picked up. About 60 home visits had been conducted as of Friday, but that number jumped to 125 by Tuesday, Sanchez said. Students can schedule visits online at times that are most convenient for them on weekdays between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., although most days in April are almost or completely booked, according to the program website. Landlords can also opt-in to the program, which would entail Sanchez and his team visiting all units of the particular landlord or company. Sanchez said the program currently has about 12 companies signed up, including University Manors and Buckeye Real Estate, as well as “a few that are still waiting to submit their paperwork.”
During the visits, Sanchez uses a checklist “developed in collaboration with the Office of Student Life, parents, students and landlords and the Columbus Fire Department” to assess the properties. Following the visits, the information he gathers will be posted on Student Life’s Neighborhood Services and Collaboration website to provide current and future students the information to “make informed decisions about future housing needs,” Sanchez said. Sanchez said he sees three common issues when inspecting students’ off-campus homes. “The top three issues we’re seeing is smoke alarms without batteries, or (with) dead batteries or missing batteries,” Sanchez said. “The landlord has to provide, by law, a (working) smoke alarm for each level including the basement. “Other than smoke alarms we’ve seen, (in) some of the off-campus housing there’s not a lot of storage space, so students might store items in their furnace or water heater closets, which is a big fire hazard … we try to work with the student to move that stuff out of there.” He said the third common problem has to do with students plugging too many electronics into electrical outlets, or “piggy-backing” several extension cords on one another. He said, however, that’s the reason the program exists. “The whole point of the program is to reduce the risk as much as possible,” Sanchez said. Wayne Garland, president and owner of Buckeye Real Estate, said although his company is now signed up for the program, he was initially “very much opposed to it.” “I didn’t really think it would achieve the goals they were trying to establish,” Garland said. “But they were kind enough to meet with me and go over things, and it
got to the point where I thought (the program) would be beneficial to the community, university and students.” He said he was initially turned off by the program because in the past, he has felt his properties were unfairly reviewed when inspectors would indicate ratings on a scale from one to five, with five being the best. “A church we just did on Norwich was brand new everything, sprinklers, all the safety requirements, and did the preliminary assessment and got a 4 or a 4.5 and I just thought, ‘How do you ever achieve a 5?’” Garland said. “My God, these things are beautiful, and they only got a 4.” He said ranking properties on a scale alters the judgment of a property’s actual quality. “The perception is if you see a 2 or a 3, while it may be fine, your immediate perception is it’s a rat hole,” he said. Garland said he wanted the program to stay away from ratings “so you’re just reading through a sheet and checking off whether (the property) has each (requirement).” He said he hasn’t been very involved in the Off-Campus Housing Excellence Program since Sanchez and the fire division representative went into some of his properties, although they have been to a few of the properties in the last week or two. Garland said he hasn’t seen any data from the findings of the visits. “It’s a program that I hope is beneficial for the entire community and we’ll see how it goes,” Garland said. “Hopefully we’re all striving for the same things.” Vice President for Student Life Javaune AdamsGaston featured the program in her weekly column March 30, noting that students moving off campus
continued as Housing on 3A 1A