May 17, 2011

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Tuesday May 17, 2011 year: 131 No. 70 the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern Out of jail, not yet out of trouble

sports

OSU could suspend, expel students charged with assault at Woodfest ’11 LAUREN HALLOW Senior Lantern reporter hallow.1@osu.edu

Earning his spot

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The College Football Hall of Fame’s newest class will include OSU Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George.

arts & life

Soup of the day

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Bowling for Soup recently released its 11th album and will perform at The Basement tonight at 6 p.m.

campus

Holocaust survivor to speak Facebook

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Go ‘like’ The Lantern on Facebook! weather high 56 low 53 showers

W R F SA

65/55 t-showers 69/56 showers 74/58 partly cloudy 78/62 partly cloudy

www.weather.com

The two Ohio State students arrested at Woodfest ’11 for allegedly assaulting a police ofÿcer could face suspension or expulsion, based on the Code of Student Conduct and actions taken by the university in past similar situations. Two OSU students, Matthew Coleman, 19, and Brian Witt, 21, and one other man, Michael Shivak, 21, were charged with assaulting a police ofÿcer Sunday after ofÿcers from the Columbus Police Department used pepper spray to attempt to break up Woodfest, a block party on East Woodruff Avenue on Saturday that drew more than 1,000 students. Judge Paul Herbert set the bail for the three suspects at $25,000 each. Coleman and Witt posted bond Monday morning, according to court documents. As of 9 p.m. Monday, Shivak had not posted bail.

Coleman and Witt did not immediately return The Lantern’s emails. Andrea Goldblum, director of Student Judicial Affairs, stressed that each case is considered on an individual level and could not comment on whether her ofÿce will be taking action against Coleman or Witt. Goldblum said typically in instances involving allegations of assault, the Ofÿce of Judicial Affairs becomes involved. “We take violence very seriously,” Goldblum said. Goldblum wasn’t working for Student Judicial Affairs in 2001 and 2002 when disorderly behavior occurred on Chittenden Avenue during Chittfest, a block party similar in size to Woodfest. However, she said in cases where the student was involved in assault or another form of dangerous activity, they were “typically suspended from the university.” According to its website, Student Judicial Affairs starts investigating cases after someone ÿles a report of an incident or a violation of the Code of Student Conduct. Anyone can ÿle reports, including

students, University Housing and the Columbus Police Department. Once a report is ÿled, the Ofÿce of Student Judicial Affairs investigates the allegations and then invites the accused to a preliminary conference where they learn about the charges made against them and then are allowed to make a statement regarding their alleged involvement. From there, Student Judicial Affairs issues sanctions if they believe the student violated the code and if the student disagrees, he can request a hearing. In cases where the student is “considered a danger,” Goldblum said they can issue an interim suspension before the hearings start, where the student is “temporarily and immediately” removed from campus, pending the outcome of the disciplinary process. Possible sanctions can include anything from an ofÿcial reprimand to expulsion from the university.

continued as Suspension on 3A

Students feel the effects of pepper spray BRITTANY SCHOCK Lantern reporter schock.13@osu.edu Many Ohio State students who were present at the block party on East Woodruff Avenue Saturday night had their ÿrst experiences with pepper spray, a defensive spray agent derived from hot cayenne peppers. And as some of them told The Lantern, it was not pleasant. According to the report from the Columbus Police Department, ofÿcers encountered a large crowd on East Woodruff Avenue and saw several house parties with more than 1,000 people blocking the street. Police responded to the situation and cleared out the area with the use of pepper spray. Matthew Coleman, a 19-year-old majoring in biology, Brian Witt, a 21-year-old majoring in civil engineering, and Michael Shivak, 21, were arrested for assault on a police ofÿcer following the party, which was known as Woodfest ‘11. According to court documents, Coleman and Witt posted bonds Monday morning. As of 9 p.m. Monday, Shivak had not posted bail. Judge Paul Herbert set the bail for the three suspects at $25,000 each. Dr. Mary Kiacz, medical director of the Wilce Student Health Center, said contact with pepper spray has sustained effects, including extremely irritated eyes, causing tearing and pain. Pepper spray also “causes the skin to burn where it has contact,” Kiacz said. John Bieterman, a fourth-year in accounting, said he was sitting on his friend’s porch at 41 Woodruff Ave. when a police ofÿcer walked up to the porch, ordered them to get into the house and started spraying the porch with pepper spray. “I was the closest one, so I think he started with me and then made a back-and-forth motion with his hand and hit the rest of the porch,” he said. “I got it directly in both eyes, some in my mouth and a little bit on the rest of my face and my forearms.” Bieterman said he started feeling the effects

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Pepper spray has multiple physical effects Eyes: tearing, burning and involuntary closing; eyes will be bloodshot for up to an hour.

Central nervous system: headache, dizziness and extreme general discomfort

Throat: swelling of throat lining restricts airway causing uncontrollable gasping and gagging sensation

Nose: discharge, burning, irritation Mouth: accelerated saliva secretion Exposed skin: burning and stinging feeling on surface nerve endings Chest: tight upper respiratory system and irrepressible coughing Pain and irritation should cease after 15 minutes of flushing with cool water.

Recommended practices if you encounter pepper spray: • • • •

Avoid panic Do not rub face Expose to fresh air/breeze Remove contact lenses if worn

• •

Clean affected area with non-oil or cold cream based soap Flush exposed skin and eyes with cool water Source: University of California Police Dept.

KARISSA LAM / Design editor

Did police follow procedure in using pepper spray at Woodfest ’11?

See the story on 2A

Groups look to cook up new BBQ record DAVID GERAD Lantern reporter gerad.2@osu.edu The Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, Buckeyes Give Back and the Buckeye BBQ Qlub are attempting once again to put on the World’s Longest Barbecue. The World’s Longest Barbecue kicked off at noon Monday in the South Wexner Plaza and will be running 24 hours a day until noon on May 23. Though the students running the event plan to break the record for the world’s longest barbecue, it is not registered with the Guinness Book of World Records. “Rather than take the $8,000 to bring them out here to make it ofÿcial, we’d rather donate that money to the cancer research,” said Ben Wallace, president of OSU BBQ and Buckeyes Give Back. “Last time I checked, the record was four days. Our barbecue will last for seven.” This is the fourth time the three groups have jointly hosted days-long barbecues, said Jon Fish, an event organizer and a third-year in ÿnance and economics. They put on four-day-long barbecues the past two falls and a seven-day barbecue last spring. The barbecue will beneÿt the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Center, as well as

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DAVID GERAD / Lantern reporter

Jason Kahn, right, a 1st-year in exploration, passes a hotdog to David Singer, left, a 3rd-year in environmental science, on Monday during the kickoff of the World’s Longest Barbeque sponsored by Buckeyes Give Back, the Buckeye BBQ Qlub and the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. The barbecue kicked off at noon Monday and will run 24 hours a day through noon May 23.

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