The Lantern 5-3-10

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Monday May 3, 2010 year: 130 No. 100 the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern Vote to decide fate of ‘critical’ program

arts & life

RICHARD OVIATT Lantern reporter oviatt.3@osu.edu

James Cameron

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The Lantern has an exclusive interview with the famed director.

sports

Ohio voters will elect whether to continue the Third Frontier Program on Tuesday. The program has been called “critical” to the state’s future by both Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. Gee and Strickland said they hope voters will pass Issue 1 and continue funding for the Third Frontier Program, a program designed to expand Ohio’s technological research, development and commercialization. The program was started in 2002 by the Taft Administration and was initially given 10 years and $1.4 billion. To date, about $1 billion of that money has been awarded, with $250 million going to the central Ohio

area. Of that, OSU has been awarded $177 million, just more than 70 percent. In an e-mail to OSU students and faculty last week, Gee stressed the importance of Issue 1 to the university system and urged all to vote “yes” on Issue 1 to “assure a vibrant future for Ohio.” In a conference call with The Lantern, Strickland echoed Gee’s thoughts. “We believe it is the most effective economic development and job creation tool available,” Strickland said. “It has proven effectiveness, and it is so important to our university communities.” “One of the major purposes of the Third Frontier is to take university-generated research and to bring that research to a place of commercialization.” State estimates say the program has created 54,983 jobs at an average salary of $65,518. Additionally, they say 637 companies have been attracted or funded through the program, generating $4.8 billion in investment.

According to a study by SRI International, an independent non-proÿt research and development organization headquartered in California, the program has created approximately 48,000 jobs and around $6.6 billion in economic activity to date. SRI International says 9,519 of those jobs were directly created, and the remainder were indirectly created. There is also an internship program, which has provided about 3,000 internships for students. Those who support a “yes” vote on Issue 1 said such ÿgures prove the importance of the program in a state that has lost more than 400,000 jobs in the past three years. If Issue 1 passes, the state will borrow $700 million more to continue funding research and development projects. Critics said the state cannot afford more

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OHIO ‘ZOO’-NION Jack Hanna talks about his parrot, presented by his daughter, Julie Hanna, Saturday evening at the Ohio Union. The event featured about a dozen animals from the Columbus Zoo and was a part of Ohio State’s Sibs Weekend.

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Ace in the hole

Ohio State ace pitcher Alex Wimmers injures hamstring, Bucks drop two of three to Michigan, fall out of first.

student voice

ANDY GOTTESMAN / Lantern photographer

Oval preacher Question of casino location goes to ballot revelation Issue 2: Alternate site for Columbus casino

The original site for a new casino was located in the Arena District in downtown Columbus. Voters will decide Tuesday whether or not to move the site to the former Delphi plant on West Broad Street. Grandview Heights

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Arena District State Route 315

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Festivities of Renaissance Faire

Ohio voters will decide Tuesday the location of the casino coming to Franklin County. Issue 2 is a proposed state constitutional amendment that will determine whether the casino will be built in the Arena District or on Columbus’ far west side. The west-side location is the site of a former General Motors-Delphi auto parts plant. If the amendment passes, Penn National Gaming will build its casino on the 123-acre west side location. If it does not

pass, Penn National will build on 18 acres in the Arena District. Either way, a casino is headed to central Ohio. Voters approved Issue 3 in November, which placed one casino in each of Ohio’s largest four cities: Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo. It also set the location for each of those casinos. In Columbus, a site in the Arena District was selected and bought by Penn National, the publicly traded company responsible for developing and running the casino. Franklin County was the only county to receive a casino in which voters disapproved of the measure. Fifty-eight percent of Franklin County voters voted “no” on

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DANNY PETERSON Lantern reporter peterson.329@osu.edu

W. Broad Street Delphi

2A Panel commends Lantern photographer

MOLLY GRAY / Lantern designer

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Police ask to question Kotran; without OSU legal aid, freshman plans to hire attorney

weather

RACHEL JACKLIN Lantern reporter jacklin.5@osu.edu

high 78 low 55 mostly sunny

TU 61/38 partly cloudy WE 63/44 sunny TH 72/57 partly cloudy FR 74/60 partly cloudy www.weather.com

The Lantern’s Publications Committee passed a resolution Thursday commending Lantern photographer Alex Kotran for his behavior while photographing cows that escaped on campus April 21. But the committee rejected a resolution urging the School of Communication to institute a policy for providing legal assistance for Lantern journalists. Kotran was handcuffed and detained by Campus Police while photographing the cows. Police say the scene was dangerous and that Kotran did not comply with orders to move. He is facing the possibility of criminal trespassing charges. Although the committee rejected the resolution urging legal support for Kotran, it requested more information from the university about OSU’s policy of legal representation for Lantern staff. The Publications Committee, comprised of School of Communication professors Felecia Ross, Michael McCluskey, Erik Nisbet, Thomas Schwartz

and Prabu David, Lantern Editor-in-Chief Collin Binkley and Lantern Adviser Tom O’Hara, met to discuss how The Lantern and university should deal with such incidents in the future. In a 3-2 vote, Binkley, O’Hara and McCluskey favored the proposed resolution to commend ALEX KOTRAN Kotran. Nisbet abstained and Ross and Schwartz voted against it. “Anybody that cares about quality journalism needs to support this,” O’Hara said. “The Lantern is a real newspaper. The staffers are real journalists. This story has gone around the country now.” In a 4-2 vote, the committee rejected the proposed resolution to have the School of Communication provide legal assistance to Lantern journalists. Binkley and O’Hara voted in favor of the resolution.

After much debate about deÿning Lantern staff, policies, guidelines and handbooks, Kotran asked one question that seemed to be at the heart of the meeting. “If I’m charged, will The Lantern support me?” And by support, he is talking about free legal counsel. Schwartz said it would be in Kotran’s best interest to ÿnd a lawyer who specializes in this type of case. But O’Hara wanted better than that; he wanted the School of Communication to provide free legal aid to Kotran. “I think it’s sinful,” O’Hara said, “that a staffer is facing possible criminal charges and he is not being represented.” Police are asking Kotran to come in for questioning Tuesday or Wednesday, but he has yet to obtain a lawyer. “It caught me off guard,” Kotran said Sunday. “I was hoping they’d (OSU) provide me a lawyer and now I’m struggling to ÿnd someone by Wednesday.”

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