May 2, 2011

Page 1

Monday May 2, 2011 year: 131 No. 61 the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern Ohio blasts new alcoholic drink

sports

KAYLA STRAYER Lantern reporter strayer.74@osu.edu

Sticking to sports

1B

Former Buckeye Kurt Coleman wants to try his part in sports commentary if there is no NFL season.

Lawmakers around the country are blasting a new, controversial alcoholic beverage that hit stores in April. On Thursday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, along with at least 15 other states’ attorneys general, urged Pabst Brewing Company to change the formula and marketing strategy of Blast, an alcoholic drink produced under the Colt 45 label. “The marketing is to a young audience and potentially to those who aren’t even of age, and the formulation is basically like drinking four beers at once,” said Lisa Hackley, DeWine’s spokeswoman. Just like Four Loko, Blast is 12 percent alcohol by volume and is sold in 23.5-ounce cans. Its four flavors are blueberry pomegranate, strawberry lemonade, grape and raspberry watermelon. The alcohol content and the marketing are the major concerns with the drink, Hackley said. But rapper Snoop Dogg endorses Blast. “They have a hip hop spokesperson. It’s brightly colored. Clearly, they’re targeting a younger demographic,” Hackley said. Snoop Dogg’s representatives did not return comment. Pabst spokesman Sean Fitzgerald said only Pabst executives could comment on the drink “since this is a business situation.” “That’s marketing for you,” said Musie Woldeab, a third-year in computer and information science. Woldeab said he doesn’t think anyone over the age of 25 will drink it. Pabst representatives, however, do not see a problem with their marketing, chief marketing officer for Pabst Jon Sayer said in an email. He said the company is targeting only those over the age of 21.

TYLER JOSWICK / Asst. photo editor

Cans of Blast sit ready for purchase at Rick’s Beverage Center at 2945 Olentangy River Road in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday evening.

continued as Blast on 3A

arts & life

Ohio State NFL draft picks Cameron Heyward Pittsburgh Steelers

Chimdi Chekwa

Jermale Hines

Brian Rolle

Ross Homan

Oakland Raiders

St. Louis Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

Minnesota Vikings

Fourth round No. 113 pick

Fifth round No. 158 pick

Sixth round No. 193 pick

Sixth round No. 200 pick

Joining former Buckeye Will Allen

No former Buckeyes currently play for Oakland.

Joining former Buckeye James Laurinitis

Joining former Buckeye Kurt Coleman

Joining former Buckeye Antoine Winfield

campus

OSU holds Arbor Day party

2A

weather

DANIELLE HIXENBAUGH Lantern reporter hixenbaugh.9@osu.edu Six-one hundredths of an inch might not mean much to many people, but for those in Columbus, it means a new April rainfall record. The previous record dates back to April 1893, when 7.08 inches of precipitation was recorded, according to the National Weather Service’s website. The record was broken this April with 7.14 inches of precipitation recorded. “A lot of storms in the southeastern area ride the jet stream that rises north right into the Ohio Valley,” said Mike Kurz, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio. However, the rain did more than set a record. “We have been getting reports of ponding of water in fields, roadways being closed and rivers running high because of the rain,” Kurz said. Campus was also affected by the high amounts of precipitation. “After a storm or bad weather, we go around

Rain, rain go away New precipitation record: 7.14 inches (2011) Previous precipitation record: 7.08 inches (1893) The average monthly precipitation for April: 3.5 inches Amount of days it rained last month: 23 days Three of the top five monthly rainfall amounts have occurred in the last 15 Aprils.

15 years of April showers

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

1996

1999

2002

2005

Year

2008

2011

CHRIS POCHE / Lantern designer

continued as Rain on 3A

USG president-elect eager to get to work

high 56 low 48

AMANDA CAHOON Lantern reporter cahoon.6@osu.edu

rain

T W R F

See 1B for more

April showers bring record April rainfall Columbus’ average precipitation (in.)

2A

Linebacker

Buckeyes win drum contest

Linebacker

First round No. 31 pick

The Wexner Center hosted its “Off the Grid” fundraiser Saturday to benefit the Center’s youth programming.

campus

Defensive back

Party for youth programs

Defensive back

Defensive lineman

5A

KARISSA LAM / Lantern designer

49/41 rain 55/41 few showers 62/50 t-showers 64/52 few showers

www.weather.com

Nick Messenger and Emily DeDonato were unofficially inaugurated as the 44th Undergraduate Student Government president and vice president, respectively. The ceremony took place Sunday afternoon with friends, family and USG members in the Interfaith Room in the Ohio Union. Messenger, a second-year in economics and political science and DeDonato, a second-year in biology, ran a campaign with the slogan “Together Students Can,” and said they’re excited to get to work on their platform initiatives. Since being elected to represent USG two weeks

ago, DeDonato said she and Messenger have been meeting with administrators and going through their platform. “The biggest thing we’re working on right now is ‘MySwitch,’” Messenger said. “We’ve had three to four meetings with administrators talking about it.” “MySwitch” is a website Messenger and DeDonato intend to create that would help students prepare for the quarter-to-semester switch by allowing them to enter their year and major to find out which classes they need in order to graduate on time, Messenger said. Messenger and DeDonato said they hope to continue a platform initiative from the 2010-2011 USG president and vice president, Micah Kamrass and Brad Pyle, respectively, to increase USG’s visibility on campus.

“The last thing we want to see is USG go back to being its own organization and not doing as much outreach,” Messenger said. The new USG president and vice president said they will be out in public talking to students at least once a week. Messenger said it could be on the Oval or at the RPAC. “One of the best things Brad and I did for USG was encourage the organization to get out and listen to students and to hear the students needs,” Kamrass said. “I think that’s something that would pay off very much for them to continue.” Messenger and DeDonato were the fourth-highest recipients of total votes since USG began in 1967, receiving 3,899 votes and 51.4 percent of the votes.

continued as USG on 3A 1A


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May 2, 2011 by The Lantern - Issuu