Monday April 21, 2014 year: 134 No. 58
www.thelantern.com @TheLantern weather high 77 low 57 cloudy
thelantern the student voice of The Ohio State University
Tennis takes B1G win
8A
Karmin takes Ohio
5A
Gee exit to save $4M
2A
$1M in administrators’ travels includes private jets, luxury hotels Sexual harassment KAYLA BYLER Managing editor of design byler.18@osu.edu
Former President E. Gordon Gee
Five-star hotels and private jets – some Ohio State senior administrators are traveling in style on the university’s dime. Some travel is necessary. Everything, including universities, is moving toward a globalized model. However, some think this move could represent a shift in universities’ core priorities, especially in a time where budgets are tight and tuition is rising. Some officials’ trips show a discrepancy in their intended purposes. One trip taken by two of OSU’s senior administrators was supposed to be a compliance review of the university’s Global Gateway Offices, but an itinerary indicates that a majority of the 10-day venture might have been spent building relations and seeking potential donors with about 6 ½ hours spent at the Gateway offices. The Lantern obtained reports outlining the travel expenses and schedules for 24 of OSU’s senior administrators. These records detail hundreds of trips taken by these individuals, totaling upwards of $1.1 million in university-paid expenses in the past two years, the majority of which was spent by then-President E. Gordon Gee. OSU doesn’t specifically budget travel for certain people or groups. Instead, individuals manage their own travel and it is budgeted to their department, Lauren Lubow, director of OSU’s Public Records Office, said in an emailed statement. The records also don’t document all expenses related to a certain trip. These reports “are not all-inclusive … the reports also do not necessarily reflect credit card expenditures linked to a particular trip,” she said. They also do not include some payments made in advance. Lubow explained that the automated system OSU uses for tracking employees’ travels documents expenses in this way. The Lantern requested the travel budgets and other records including salaries and performance reviews Jan. 23, and the request was filled March 24.
Records detailing the travel of then-President E. Gordon Gee show more than $1 million in travel expenses from July 2011 to July 2013. Some of that amount represents expenses for other people who might have shared flights or transportation with Gee, and Lubow said the President’s Office is
reimbursed for all or part of expenses if the other travelers or the primary business purpose of the trip involves another department. A large portion of these expenses, $332,169, went to NetJets, a private business jet rental company Gee used. NetJet expenses are shown for domestic destinations such as San Francisco, New York, and Ft. Myers, Fla., in addition to in-state locations like Port Clinton, Cincinnati and Cleveland. OSU policy encourages employees to use certain travel carriers when possible, OSU spokesman Gary Lewis said in an email. OSU receives discounts from American Airlines, Delta and United. Travel Solutions and Travel Designers, both based in Columbus, are “the university’s designated travel agencies,” according to the Office of the Controller website. “These airlines are encouraged when practical, because university business travelers can realize negotiated discounts on published airfare when tickets are issued directly with one of the university’s partners,” Lewis said. Gee’s other expenses are in relation to international destinations, including several trips to Europe totaling $61,257 and Sao Paulo for $60,710. However, the director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity said the cost of
international travel by top university officials might be too much. “There’s excessive amount of international travel probably going on. Universities are trying desperately to set up overseas programs,” said Richard Vedder, an economist and director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and professor at Ohio University. “We should have an international dimension but it’s one of proportionality. Is it really necessary for us to be pushing the OSU brand name all over the world?” he added. OSU has Global Gateway offices in China and India and is working to establish one in Sao Paulo, set to open this year. “The Brazil Gateway will help the university explore partnerships with universities in Brazil through its Academic Partnership Program, designed to increase collaboration on a global level, connect students and faculty with researchers in Brazil and further facilitate global advancements on the world’s most pressing issues,” according to the Office of International Affairs website. Gee retired from his role as president July 1, days after controversial comments he made at a Dec. 5, 2012, OSU Athletic Council meeting came under public scrutiny. Joseph Alutto assumed the presidency after Gee’s retirement.
$
$
$ $
Interim President Joseph Alutto
Alutto seems to take a bit of a slower pace than Gee when it comes to travel. Records for Alutto show he took at least 19 trips since he assumed the interim presidency. During the same time the previous year, Gee took 25 trips. The cost related to the trips Alutto took during fiscal year 2014 was not included in the records provided to The Lantern. While serving as executive vice president and provost, Alutto made at least 15 trips, which totaled $6,185.
continued as Travels on 4A
complaints top Ohio State reports SAM HARRINGTON Senior Lantern reporter harrington.227@osu.edu
Of 141 harassment and discrimination reports filed with Ohio State from 2011-13, roughly 62 percent involved a sexual harassment complaint. But that might not represent the extent of the instances, as one local lawyer said he’s sure there are more cases that went unreported. In 2013, there were 52 reports of alleged workplace harassment and discrimination filed with OSU Office of Human Resources, according to university data. The yearly number of reports, as compared to previous years, has increased: there were 47 reports in 2012 and 42 reports in 2011. This data represents complaints filed by any of OSU’s 43,630 employees and is not representative of Wexner Medical Center employees, as the Medical Center conducts its own harassment investigations. Reports were investigated and determined to have either been a false allegation, to have determined inappropriate behavior occurred, to have sufficient evidence to indicate a violation of university policy, sufficient evidence to indicate that no university policy violation had occurred or insufficient evidence to indicate a violation of university policy. Of the 141 reports filed over 2011-13, 78 were found to have insufficient evidence, making up 55.3 percent of outcomes. While the year-to-year number of reports fluctuated, sexual harassment was consistently the most common complaint reported. OSU’s Office of Human Resources policy defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other physical or verbal conduct of a sexual nature” when it meets certain criteria. University spokesman Gary Lewis said the university is dedicated to investigating discrimination and harassment reports. “The Ohio State University is committed to conducting complete and thorough investigations after receiving complaints which involve any type of harassment. This commitment is both a moral imperative consistent with an intellectual community that celebrates individual differences and diversity, as well as a matter of law,” Lewis said in an email. Sharon Cason-Adams, lead litigator at Columbus-based Adams, Liming & Hockenberry LLC,
continued as Complaints on 3A
Report of armed OSU-area landlords aim to work with tenants robbery leaves some concerned KATHLEEN MARTINI Oller reporter martini.35@osu.edu
LOGAN HICKMAN Senior Lantern reporter hickman.201@ osu.edu
When I got the safety notice ... I was kind of freaking out because I could have just as easily had class at that time.
After an attempted armed robbery led to the issuing of a public safety Grace Zahn notice last week, Second-year in strategic at least one Ohio communications State student said she felt scared by the incident. University Police issued a public safety notice Friday morning about the incident, which according to a police report, allegedly occurred on West 18th Avenue between McPherson and Smith laboratories at about 9:40 p.m. A female OSU student was approached by three men, according to the notice, one of whom pointed a gun at her while another held his hand over her mouth and patted her down. According to the police report, the suspects attempted to steal the student’s cell phone. All three men were described as black men with braided hair, two of whom were about 5 feet 8 inches tall and the other who was about 5 feet 4 inches. All appeared to weigh somewhere between 150 and 180 pounds. Student Life spokesman Dave Isaacs declined to comment on behalf of one of the people listed on the University Police report and referred The Lantern to University Police for further comment. University Police Chief Paul Denton said in an email Sunday there was no new information about the case. Denton said Friday public safety alerts detailing campus crimes aren’t issued frequently. However,
continued as Robbery on 3A
As landlords face complaints of dead rodents in walls and sewage backups at the properties they rent out in the off-campus area, some said they’re working to improve on the service they provide. For Michael Groeniger, property manager at G.A.S. Properties, the secret lies in a more interactive approach. “We’re more hands on. We’re out there a lot,” Groeniger said. “I think our system’s set up pretty solid. When we get a complaint, we’re there that day.” From 2008 through May 2013, G.A.S. Properties had 18 city housing code violations, including a nonworking furnace and dead rodents inside of a wall, according to a City of Columbus Code Enforcement log. The City of Columbus Code Enforcement Division aims to improve quality of life in Columbus areas by implementing and enforcing various city codes, including housing, health and safety codes, according to its website. G.A.S. Properties rents out about 100 units in the campus area and owns all of its properties, Groeniger said. The perception of off-campus housing quality is affected by many things, including the frequent turnover of residents who don’t treat the places as nicely as they would a permanent residence, and older buildings in the campus area, he said. “This isn’t their (students’) home,” he said. “This is where they live for school.” G.A.S. tries to simplify off-campus living for students by quickly returning deposit money, filling work orders quickly and compensating students for inconveniences, such as giving one tenant a month’s rent free when a work order kept her out of her unit for two days, Groeniger said. “We try to make it easier for them and harder on us,” Groeniger said. “That way we can work, and they can just do their school stuff.” Dealing with code violations is a team effort between landlord and tenant, Groeniger said. “We don’t want the city to be against us, so we try to work on it pretty quickly,” he said. “The students usually listen when the city comes around, because they don’t want to be messed with by the
RITIKA SHAH / Asst. photo editor
Some students complain about the quality of off-campus housing but some landlords are working to do more to keep their tenants happy. city, let alone us, so it’s usually a pretty hand-inhand situation. It works out pretty well.” He said the city would typically come around for code violations like graffiti or furniture left on the porch. Other landlords have been working to improve their service as well. Buckeye Real Estate has amassed 112 city code violations from 2008 through February 2014, including a mice problem, a sewage backup in a basement and the lack of a smoke detector in a basement, according to the City of Columbus Code Enforcement log. James Lentz, maintenance coordinator at Buckeye Real Estate, said graffiti, trash and interior furniture on the porch are three of the most common, though there were only two reports of graffiti listed on the Code Enforcement log. Lentz said Buckeye Real Estate tries to prevent city involvement as much as possible. Buckeye Real Estate boasts more than 1,000 units in the university area, Lentz said. He said tailoring procedure to fit a certain demographic is important in the leasing industry. “Everything we do is structured specifically to the specific needs of our tenants, who are majority
students,” he said. “Everything is set up around student life and that culture that Ohio State brings. When you’re really geared towards that, it kind of takes care of itself.” As far as complaints, go, Lentz said Buckeye Real Estate tries to take care of problems quickly. “We try to get it taken care of before the city gets involved,” he said. “We have a crew that spends the majority of each day going from property to property cleaning up.” A firm hand can be necessary in keeping up the quality of homes in the university area, Lentz said. “We like to let the residents know what’s expected of them,” he said. “The more strict you are earlier in the lease term, the less you have to deal with it later on. You set the boundaries.” The houses leased by Buckeye Real Estate are privately owned but managed and rented out by the company, so the policies and prices vary from place to place. Oftentimes a tenant’s way of life affects the quality of the unit, Lentz said. “I think it really has to do more with how people live than with the properties themselves,” he said.
continued as Landlords on 3A 1A