Wednesday May 4, 2011 year: 131 No. 63 the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern Veterans welcome news with open arms
sports
STEPHEN BOND Lantern reporter bond.198@osu.edu
Set to play
7A
The third-seeded OSU men’s volleyball team faces Penn State in the NCAA Championship semifinals Thursday.
arts & life
Making music
8A
The Gregory Brothers, known for Internet videos which auto-tune the news, performed at the Ohio Union Monday.
online
Gee gives faculty address online
Two OSU students die in accident weather high 57 low 41 showers
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65/51 mostly sunny 60/48 few showers 60/54 showers 67/54 partly cloudy www.weather.com
Ohio State student veterans and active service members said they felt joy and a sense of relief upon hearing that Osama bin Laden had been killed when the news broke on Sunday. President Barack Obama announced Sunday night that U.S. special operations forces killed bin Laden during an operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan. “At ÿrst, I was in disbelief, my throat dropped, it was unbelievable,” said Colin Busse, a former sergeant in the Army and a ÿrst-year in pre-special education. “It almost brought tears to my eyes, it was that happy.” Busse spent time deployed in Afghanistan and currently resides in university housing provided for combat veterans. He said he ignored the ÿrst text message he received telling him to turn on the news and went back to sleep. When he received a second message
saying bin Laden was dead, he quickly got up and joined his fellow veterans to watch the news. “I had two buddies killed when I was in Afghanistan, so it was just crazy,” Busse said. “I was just so happy and relieved that they got him.” Brian Stewart, a former infantryman in the Army and a third-year at Moritz College of Law this quarter, told of a similar reaction to the news. “It was kind of a wave of emotion, really,” Stewart said. “It feels like relief, it feels like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders that I think we’ve all just sort of gotten used to carrying around.” Stewart was a senior in high school when the 9/11 attacks occurred. He came to OSU, but enlisted for active duty in the Army during Spring Quarter of his ÿrst year. After spending 2005 deployed in Iraq, Stewart returned to OSU with the veteran education beneÿts of the GI Bill. After graduating from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2007, he used the rest of his beneÿts to attend law school. “Without 9/11, without Osama bin Laden, my life could’ve been very, very different, I might not have
gone into military,” Stewart said. “It feels like there’s closure.” After the news of bin Laden’s death broke on Sunday, thousands of people gathered to celebrate outside the White House and at Ground Zero and thousands of OSU students gathered at Mirror Lake. Wally Dolinski, a National Guard member and a third-year in special education, took part in the festivities at Mirror Lake after receiving a text from a friend. “I’ll tell you, the coolest chill I’ve ever gotten down my spine was when we were all in a big circle and I had my ° ag right in the middle,” Dolinski said. “It was the ° ag that ° ew over my house on 9/11 and I was waving it, and they started singing the national anthem and ‘God Bless America.’” Dolinski said a good friend of his was killed serving in Afghanistan, and that Sunday’s celebration was the best feeling in the world on one of the greatest nights of his life. “It was like, for the ÿrst time, we weren’t
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Bin Laden era came ‘full circle’ ERIC TAYLOR Lantern reporter taylor.1805@osu.edu With the celebrations after Osama bin Laden’s death was announced, many are asking why the collegeaged generation was so enthusiastic over bin Laden’s death. Social psychology professor Robert Arkin said it is hard to assess the youth reaction right now in regards to similar events in the past and an occurrence like 9/11 has not happened since World War II. Arkin teaches a course on the psychology of personal security, which incorporates discussion on responses to terrorism. Arkin said his own life has provided some insight to this generation’s reaction. “I have sons that are in college, so I know what they grew up in after 9/11,” Arkin said. “It has pervaded their lives since age 10. Their whole lives, they have grown up in the threat of terrorism.” The general exuberance can be explained psychologically, Arkin said. He compared the satisfaction of bin Laden’s death to when victims’ relatives can watch the execution of the murderer. “It would seem odd that the victim’s family would want to do that,” Arkin said. “But it brings tremendous relief to make some sense of the
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All photos courtesy of MCT
Adults in their 20s and 30s gather at the White House in Washington, D.C., (top and right) and at Ground Zero in New York City (left) as President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden Sunday night.
High gas prices drive some to ride bikes GORDON GANTT Lantern reporter gantt.26@osu.edu It’s not easy to walk into Revolution Cycles in the Short North neighborhood of Columbus these days. The custom bike shop and Segway dealership is packed with bikes, and it isn’t just because spring is in the air. Gas prices are on track to set records this year and continue to rise. After news of Osama bin Laden’s death on Sunday, gas stations near Ohio State raised prices for regular unleaded by about 5 cents to about $4.20 per gallon. These high fuel prices have some OSU students thinking of trading four wheels for two. “Every time the media reports on fuel prices going up, we see a spike in business,” said Jared Cavalier, owner of Revolution Cycles. Besides selling and ÿxing bikes, the shop is the only independent Segway dealer in the state of Ohio. Segways are two-wheeled electric vehicles that the rider stands on and controls by shifting his or her weight. “We’re selling as many (Segways) now, if not more, as when they ÿrst came out,” Cavalier said. But bicycles are still the most popular means of transportation at Revolution Cycles. Cavalier said his shop is full of bikes in for a tune-up. “A lot of them are bikes that have been in the garage for a couple years,” Cavalier said. “We’re getting a lot of people who forgot they had bikes.” With many analysts predicting that gas prices could reach $5 per gallon by this summer, a lot more forgotten bikes might soon get some use. “Oh god, this is terrible,” said Sarah Cheah, a second-year in pre-design, as she ÿlled up her fourdoor Honda Civic on Saturday. It now costs Cheah nearly $50 to ÿll up her compact car. The impact on her budget has her considering alternatives.
GORDON GANTT / Lantern reporter
Gas prices at the Shell gas station at the corner of Lane Avenue and High Street reached $4.15 on Saturday. “I’m thinking of getting a hybrid or a scooter,” Cheah said. Wade Killough of Columbus Cycles said a lot of people are thinking like Cheah. Located on King Avenue in Grandview, the business sells both gas-powered scooters and motorcycles and sales are rising with fuel prices. “We typically sell 14 units a month, but there are days now when we‘re selling four a day,” Killough said. Riders are attracted by the fun and fuel economy of the scooters, some of which get between 85 and
110 miles per gallon and can be ÿlled with gas for less than $10, Killough said. But not everyone is racing to get a bicycle or scooter. Aaron Kersjes, a second-year in aviation, said prices are pretty ridiculous right now, but he isn’t feeling the pinch. “Right now my girlfriend pays for my gas, because I pick her up from work,” Kersjes said as he
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