Tuesday May 29, 2012 year: 132 No. 76
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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thelantern $1.1B Med Center on time, faces changes
sports
Sarah Stemen Oller reporter stemen.66@osu.edu
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Big Ten departure
After the OSU baseball team lost against Purdue Friday, the Boilermakers ultimately won the Big Ten title.
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Although the largest project Ohio State has ever taken under its belt still has two more years of construction before its planned completion date, officials say the $1.1 billion Wexner Medical Center expansion is on time and on budget. But there are changes on the horizon for the expansion. Jay Kasey, project manager for the Medical Center expansion, known as ProjectONE, said there will also be more changes brought to the board in June, including guaranteed maximum prices. “As part of construction reform, we will have guaranteed maximum prices (GMPs) that we will accept from the contractor that will show us that the budget is being met,” Kasey said. “Once we accept those GMPs, it will be the contractor’s responsibility to stay on budget.” Once that change is made, Kasey said, the risk will be transferred from the university to the contractor. According to the medical center website, the construction contractor is Turner and Lend Lease, two contracting companies that joined together for this project and are based in Columbus. Kasey said the university is still set to take possession of the addition between May 2014 and September 2014 and is on track to stay on its $1.1 billion budget, funded by a federal grant. Kasey said the reason for the quoted five-month time frame is because the different floors and parts
Thomas Bradley / Campus editor
The Wexner Medical Center at OSU is undergoing a major renovation. With an expected completion date about 2 years away, there are changes on the horizon for the project. The photo pictured above was taken March 11. of the building will begin to be completed in May 2014 and will be finished in September 2014. “It’s very good news for us,” Kasey said. “We are planning on taking an updated report to the Board of Directors in June. And that report will show that we are on budget and on time.” The addition is the single largest construction and expansion project in the history of the university. The 21-floor building will be new home to the Arthur
G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, as well as the Critical Care Center. The final three beams were put into place on May 21. They were signed by Ohio’s first lady, Karen Kasich, as well as hundreds of other Medical Center friends, donors and staff. President E. Gordon Gee told The Lantern that
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Buchanan, Rola make history, win NCAA Justine Boggs Lantern reporter boggs.1047@osu.edu
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Return of the “Workaholics”
The third season of Comedy Central’s TV show, “Workaholics,” will premiere at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
campus
Two members of the Ohio State men’s tennis team have made history by winning three major doubles championships in one year. Senior Chase Buchanan and sophomore Blaz Rola won the 2012 NCAA Doubles Championship title, beating the unseeded Texas Tech senior pairing of Raony Carvalho and senior Gonzalo Escobar, 7-6(4), 6-3. Buchanan and Rola became the first pair in NCAA history to win the D’Novo/ ITA All-America Championships, USTA/ ITA National Indoor Championships and NCAA Championships. “It’s the most amazing feeling in the world — for me and for Ohio State,” Buchanan said. “You couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s very special and I feel very blessed to be in this position after four years.” OSU’s No. 1-seeded pair went 36-4 this season and 14-0 during their three championship runs. Buchanan and Rola both said the key was to relax and have fun.
Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
Chase Buchanan (left) and Blaz Rola (right) celebrate their NCAA Doubles Championship win in men’s tennis. The 2 Buckeyes defeated the doubles team from Texas Tech.
we’re actually on our way to the airport,” Rola said. “My girlfriend from Europe is in town waiting for me and I have two weeks of school work to get caught up on, but after that, there will be time to celebrate.” Buchanan and Rola were down a break in the first set, 3-1, but took a 5-4 lead before a rain delay moved the match indoors. The Buckeyes took control with a 7-4 tiebreaker and that momentum carried into the second set, where they closed out the win, 6-3. “At the end I was a little nervous,” Buchanan said. “It was hard to stay calm, but I think we did a good job of that and enjoyed each other and the stage.” Buchanan, an Ohio native, is sixth in OSU history with 112 career doubles victories. He also owns the OSU single-season doubles record with 44 doubles wins this season. Buchanan said he credited coach Ty Tucker with giving him the necessary confidence to win in the tournament. “We do so many different things every day on how we can get better
Honors students build robots Obama, Romney about equal in economy polls
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W 79/52 TH 74/60 F 69/52 SA 68/56
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Lindsey Barrett Lantern reporter barrett.684@osu.edu President Barack Obama and Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney are tied in the polls in what many consider the top issue in the 2012 presidential election: the economy. According to a survey by The Washington Post and ABC News, 49 percent of voters would support Obama, and 46 percent would vote for Romney. The voters indicated no preference for the candidate who would best handle the economy. On this issue the candidates were tied at 47 percent of registered voters. Herb Weisberg, a political science professor at Ohio State whose research focuses on U.S. presidential elections, Congress and voting behavior, said it’s clear that the economy is on everyone’s mind for the 2012 election. He said a number of factors could help set the candidates apart on this issue. Weisberg said the unemployment rate closer to election time could help
“Before the (National Championship), we were talking about enjoying the time we have together as our last doubles match we will ever play together in college,” Buchanan said. “We just wanted to have fun
and not worry about winning or losing.” Rola said he and Buchanan didn’t get to savor the victory immediately following the win. “There wasn’t much celebrating,
or hurt Obama’s campaign. He also said Romney’s experience at Bain Capital “works both ways.” Romney will argue that the investment firm he co-founded created jobs, while Obama will argue that it both created jobs and took them away. Drew Stroemple, president of OSU’s College Republicans and a second-year in political science and economics, said Romney’s experience at Bain could help him win the election. “Economy is going to be the focus of the election, and that’s the area Romney is most experienced in,” Stroemple said. “People are going to want someone who has experience in the private sector.” The survey also revealed that 30 percent of Americans polled said they are worse off financially than when Obama took office in 2009. Obama’s overall job performance approval rate in the survey was 47 percent approval, with 49 percent disapproval. The poll published the data with a 3.5 percent margin of error. Weisberg cautioned against reading too much into job performance ratings
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obama, Romney tied for economic trust According to recent polls, 52 percent of Americans reported the economy as the main issue of the 2012 presidential election. Here is a demographic breakdown of Americans’ preliminary support:
Preliminary standings for the 2012 election
Q
Obama
Romney
49
46
When it comes to the economy, who do americans trust more? Registered Voters
47 46 46 47 43 48
47 Male
48
Female
46
Ages 18-39
47
Some College College Grad source: ABC News Poll
49 49
ChRiSToPheR BRaUn / Lantern designer
Present coupon to server prior to ordering. Offer valid at 2159 N. High St. One discount per coupon per table, per visit. Not valid with any other offer, discount or coupon. No cash value
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