Monday April 26, 2010 year: 130 No. 96 the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com arts & life
Comedian offering free albums
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student voice
Don’t use dogs to get dates
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sports
thelantern Hot dog vendors sue OSU Workers who operate Boss Doggs stands say pay deducted for breaks they didn’t take RACHEL JACKLIN Lantern reporter jacklin.5@osu.edu Former and current employees of Boss Doggs hot dog stands have sued Ohio State, claiming the university deducted pay from their checks for breaks they never took. Dylan Pierce, Gary Thomas and Matthew Nord claim that OSU did not properly compensate them for their ÿve-day-aweek, eight-and-a-half-hour shifts. Starting in March 2007, OSU automatically deducted a half hour a day from their paychecks for break time. However, the vendors said they never left their stands except to use the restroom. Now they are seeking back wages, attorney’s fees, prejudgment interest and damages of two times the minimum wages denied to them. The attorney for the men, Edward R. Forman, said the exact amount they are asking for is uncertain because a three-year statute of limitations applies to the lawsuit, which was ÿled April 12. “About $50 a week for the last several years would be accurate,” Forman said. “Around what they would have made had a break not been taken out.”
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Boss Doggs
Streetcart to courtroom
2004 March 2004 Matthew Nord began selling hot dogs on campus as an employee of Boss Doggs, an independent company.
2007
March 2007 OSU purchased Boss Doggs. Gary Thomas began working a second Boss Doggs stand. OSU began automatically deducting hour breaks from paychecks and employees began to complain to their managers.
2008 April 2008 Dylan Pierce begins working a third Boss Doggs stand.
2009 December 2009 A Union grievance was filed on their behalf but there has been no resolution.
April 2010 Lawsuit was filed against Ohio State University.
2010
Fall of 2009 Nord, Thomas and Pierce renew their complaints to new management. Soon thereafter, two stands were closed and Nord and Pierce were transferred to other OSU positions. The University Hall stand is now the only stand on campus.
JOE PODELCO / Lantern photographer
Alex Wilhelm, a first-year in mechanical engineering, orders food from Gary Thomas, employed by OSU as a Boss Doggs hot dog stand vendor. “I come here a couple times a week,” Wilhelm said. “It’s good stuff.” MOLLY GRAY / Lantern designer
Dairy farm cutting breeds to save money BRICE YOST Lantern reporter yost.97@osu.edu
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Spring Game: Gray wins
A late touchdown catch by Taurian Washington propelled Gray over Scarlet 17-14 in the annual Spring Game.
thelantern.com
Video: walk for Spielman on campus
JOE PODELCO / Lantern photographer
Holstein dairy cow #222 from OSU’s Waterman Dairy Farm licks his nose. Holstein dairy cows average 1,500 pounds.
Students will not be seeing spots for much longer at Ohio State’s Waterman Dairy Farm. The farm, which houses both the larger Holstein dairy cows, spotted black and white, and the smaller, brown Jersey dairy cows, has begun the transition to an all-Jersey dairy cow farm. The discussion to have OSU’s Waterman Dairy Farm become a Jersey farm started in June 2009 and has elicited mixed reactions. “The Holsteins leaving OSU Waterman Dairy Farm is sad in some ways but makes complete sense for the current situation being faced by the farm,” said Jason Hartschuh, the vice president of OSU’s Buckeye Dairy Club. Holsteins have always been part of the farm, just as farming has always been a part of OSU, which was originally named the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The opportunity to research Holsteins, the most popular breed of dairy cow, will no longer exist for those at OSU’s main
campus. However, the OSU Agricultural Technology Institute at Wooster does have a herd of Holsteins, Harschuh said in an e-mail. The size difference and food consumption of each breed weighed heavily on the decision to become a Jersey farm. On average, a Holstein weighs 1,500 pounds, and the average Jersey weighs 900 pounds. Usually, dairy cows eat 4 percent of their body weight a day, which makes it more affordable to feed and keep Jerseys, said Reagan Bluel, a manager of the farm. To cut costs, the Holsteins are being sold to the state prison system. “There are very few dairy farms that are in expansion mode right now, and the prison system is,” Bluel said. The farm had been looking for buyers, and the prison system was the only organization that offered to purchase all the Holsteins. The state prison system paid a competitive market price for the 157 Holsteins, Bluel said. The competitive market price
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Study: High allergen levels a result of warm, dry April
weather high 55 low 43
BRICE YOST Lantern reporter yost.97@osu.edu
showers
TU 61/38 partly cloudy WE 63/44 sunny TH 72/57 partly cloudy FR 74/60 partly cloudy www.weather.com
With fewer April showers, trees and ° owers brought a more potent allergy season. “It’s kind of like a perfect storm in terms of pollen,” said Charity Fox, an allergist at the Ohio State Medical Center. The increase in pollen comes from the warm, dry April. Rainy springs wash pollen from the air and cause plants to release less pollen. In years past, wild violets along campus paths have waited until April 8 or April 10 to weed their way out of the ground. This year, the early ones were out in time for April Fools’ Day. This year’s allergy season is part of a trend of spring arriving sooner, causing trees and ° owers to bloom and come out a week to 10 days earlier. “We’ve seen a shift to longer growing seasons, which means more pollen,” Fox said. “There’s a whole host of factors that make us feel worse,” she said. One main factor was climate change. Climate change has led to longer and more intense allergy seasons, according to an OSU study on climate change and allergies from September 2008.
Air pollution ampliÿes allergies. Carbon dioxide is great for plants but bad for people. Warm air and carbon dioxide help plants, such as ragweed, grow faster. Pollution makes people’s airways more responsive to pollen, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Faster growing plants and longer growing seasons lead to more pollen, creating a vicious cycle. Allergens, things triggering allergic responses, are a case of mistaken identity. The body creates antibodies, which usually kill parasites, to ÿght harmless things, such as dust and pollen. This process leads to allergic reactions that often mimic cold symptoms, Fox said. “When the antibody attaches to the pollen grain, the whole rest of the system goes. The antibodies hear ‘let’s roll,’ and you get all of the response you would get if you were defending against a cold virus,” she said. Spring’s tree pollen was high, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology website, which gives day-to-day pollen reports. Mulberry, oak and willow trees were the top three culprits. The website gives tips to help cope with allergy season. After going for a jog or hanging out at the Oval, taking a shower can wash off pollen and ÿght allergies.
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