Tuesday May 1, 2012 year: 132 No. 61
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
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CHRIS POCHE / Design editor
The Lantern will have daily coverage this week of “The Avengers,” which is scheduled to hit theaters this Friday.
Memorial match
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The OSU men’s soccer team and the Columbus Crew are set to play in memory of former OSU player, Connor Senn.
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City aims to reel in movie-making money ALEX ANTONETZ Arts editor antonetz.3@osu.edu If the city gets its way, superheroes might be assembling in Columbus sometime in the coming years. Mayor Michael Coleman’s office is working on a proposal to make the City of Columbus more attractive as a shooting location for major feature films. Tyneisha Harden, communications coordinator for Coleman, said the mayor was inspired to spearhead a campaign to make Columbus more competitive when he was presented numbers comparing how much money was spent in Cleveland and Cincinnati on films. “The mayor saw those numbers in comparison to Columbus and was pretty upset about that,” Harden said.
In 2011, about $3.7 million was spent in Central Ohio on film projects. In contrast, about $68 million was spent in Cleveland and Akron and almost $30 million was spent in Cincinnati in 2011, according to the Ohio Film Office. Columbus’ plan, which Harden said is a “fiveyear plan,” is still in its early stages. Budget and other monetary figures are not yet known. The mayor’s office is, however, working with Experience Columbus and the Greater Columbus Film Commission to put together a plan to present to city officials. “Our greatest challenge is coming up with a plan that we can present to the mayor that he feels like he can sell to other people in the city,” Harden said. “Liberal Arts,” which was directed by, written by and starred Columbus native and “How I Met Your Mother Star” Josh Radnor, was shot at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. The film spent about
$750,000 in Central Ohio, said Gail Mezey, film office coordinator for the Office of Strategic Business Investments. The film was released Jan. 22. TV shows such as Lifetime’s “One Born Every Minute” and ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” as well as Safe Auto Group’s commercial campaign, were also filmed in Central Ohio in 2011. On the other hand, a total of 15 projects were filmed in Cleveland and Akron, including “The Avengers,” which spent about an estimated $30 million in Ohio, Mezey said. Joss Whedon, director of “The Avengers,” said in a conference call with The Lantern that he enjoyed filming in Cleveland. “Cleveland had some financial advantages rebate wise, and that’s always a big thing for Marvel,” Whedon said. “And then, they also were very, very
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USG president, VP look back, move on
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Silver screen on campus
Campus MovieFest, a competition for students to create a film in seven days, kicks off Tuesday in the Ohio Union.
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LINDSEY BARRETT Lantern reporter barrett.684@osu.edu Boxes scatter the floor of the Undergraduate Student Government office suite in the Ohio Union as one student body president moves out to make room for another, leaving behind not only what he considers a successful term, but politics altogether. Nick Messenger, a third-year in political science and USG president, will officially step down Wednesday from his one-year term with Emily DeDonato, a third-year in biology, as his vice president. Taylor Stepp and Kevin Arndt will take office as the president and vice president for Ohio State’s first year on semesters. Messenger said he ran for president to help students solve problems they were facing. He said he and DeDonato can leave office knowing “we accomplished what we set out to do.” Messenger said it’s a good year when a USG president and vice president achieve two or three of their platform ideas. From helping students determine how to graduate on time to encouraging green energy initiatives, Messenger and DeDonato said
they accomplished nearly everything for which they campaigned. MySwitch, a website launched last September to help students with the quarter-to-semester conversion, was one of the reasons DeDonato said she and Messenger ran for office. The website they created has been visited more than 52,000 times and will continue to be used after the conversion as an advising tool. Last fall, Messenger and DeDonato invited OSU students to beat Michigan in sustainability efforts in Out-Green the Wolverines. Participating students recycled plastic bags and exchanged inefficient light bulbs for energy efficient ones. Messenger and DeDonato introduced their Buckeye Bookswap program Winter Quarter for students to directly sell textbooks to other students. Out of the 500 books collected, nearly 450 were left unsold, said USG director of academic affairs Sean Fitzpatrick. While Messenger admitted the program would need more marketing in the future, he considers the debut a success. “Students that did use it overwhelmingly said that ‘this saved me $80 or $90
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Report: Employee violates student privacy THOMAS BRADLEY Campus editor bradley.321@osu.edu
Festival funds relief
The seventh annual Japanese Spring Festival was Sunday and raised money for victims of natural disasters in Japan.
weather high 77 low 62 isolated t-storms
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isolated t-storms THOMAS BRADLEY / Campus editor
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THOMAS BRADLEY / Campus editor
Nick Messenger (right), president of Undergraduate Student Government, stands with his vice president Emily DeDonato (left).
An unidentified man was placed on indefinite leave from his job at OSU’s Wexner Medical Center after allegedly videotaping a student in a bathroom in Weigel Hall.
After allegedly videotaping students in a bathroom stall on campus, an Ohio State employee has been placed on indefinite leave, according to a 10TV report. The report said an unidentified man used his cell phone camera in a second-floor restroom of Weigel Hall, part of the School of Music at OSU, to film students in the stall next to him. 10TV reported that the man propped the cell phone up on his ankle and videotaped students in the stall next to him. One student, after realizing the situation, grabbed the phone and reported the activity to OSU Police. The man, a patient care associate in the emergency room employee of OSU’s Wexner Medical Center, was put on leave, but has not been charged by University Police, according to the report. Nic Turner, a second-year in psychology and strategic communication, had class across the street from Weigel Hall, in Hughes Hall. “It’s really weird that he did that, and it’s very unpleasant, I’ll say that. It’s actually pretty f****d up,” Turner said. “I feel a little creeped out about it now.” During interviews with University Police, the man admitted to videotaping another person, in addition to the one who reported him. Because he has not yet been charged, 10TV decided to not release the name of the employee. Questions on the case were directed to Deputy Chief Richard Morman of University Police and David Crawford of the Wexner Medical Center, who were not available for comment Monday night. Turner said he doesn’t feel less safe, but the thought of that happening on campus is “creepy.” “The more people you have in one place, I guess, the more likely that messed up stuff will happen like that,” Turner said. “Still, it doesn’t make it any less creepy.” Continue to check thelantern.com for updates on the story. John Bush contributed to this story.
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