May 9, 2011

Page 1

Monday May 9, 2011 year: 131 No. 65 the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern Death brings new life to Islam

sports

GoRDoN GANTT Lantern reporter gantt.26@osu.edu

1B

Unchartered territory

Investigations of car deals add to trouble for OSU football as the program moves closer to a ‘death sentence.’

arts & life

For some of Ohio State’s Muslim students, Osama bin Laden was more than a terrorist. The leader of al-Qaida was also a thief, who stole their religion’s identity. Since September 2001, Muslims around the country have struggled with the misperceptions of Islam propagated by a small, but highly visible group of radicals that the Saudi-born bin Laden led. But a week after his death, Muslim students at OSU said they are hopeful that his demise will bring about a new era for Islam. “What really drew me to Islam was 9/11,” said Meredith Spano, a second-year in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies. Spano converted to Islam only a year ago, but said the events of nearly a decade ago sparked her interest in the faith. “It left me wondering, what is this thing that drove people to commit such horrible acts?” Spano said. “But I came to learn it’s so much more than that.” Spano said it was after years of learning about Islam through her own research and talking with Muslims that she finally decided to convert. Spano was raised by Catholic parents and grew up in that church. “It was hard in the beginning,” Spano said of her conversion. “But it’s gotten easier with time. I mean,

Students must be informed to be heard on SB 5, other issues

I think that Muslim-Americans are immensely glad just like other Americans, not just because of the fear of terror, but also the symbol he represents. We finally have freedom from the boogie man that we’ve feared for the last decade. Shammas Malik second-year Muslim student in political science and international studies

we live in a world where you can be whatever you want, ideally.” The 9/11 attacks brought a great deal of attention to Islam, particularly from non-Muslims like Spano. Unlike Spano, however, many people made assumptions about the faith and reacted violently toward the religion. “I knew some people who were shot at,” said Shammas Malik, a second-year Muslim student studying political science and international studies. Malik said he has never personally been assaulted or discriminated against, but he knew growing up that his faith was not universally respected.

“I think people think of Muslims as these stereotypical, hard-line fanatics,” Malik said. “I mean, Islam is so diverse. This one man does not represent us.” Malik said the death of bin Laden is made even more meaningful for Muslims because of his distortion of their faith. “I think that Muslims more than anyone feel the impact of this,” Malik said. “Because they know what it is like to have their religion hijacked by a mad man.” Despite the negative impact bin Laden had on Islam, Maria Ahmad, a fourth-year in political science and president of the Muslim Student’s association, said she is unhappy with the way the U.S. chose to dispose of his body. “As an American I’m really happy that there is one less terrorist in the world,” Ahmad said. “But he claimed to be Muslim and he should have had the Muslim ritual burial.” The U.S. government said it made an effort to care for bin Laden’s body in accordance with Muslim tradition, but many believe the disposal of his body at sea was not the appropriate choice. Malik, Spano and Ahmad agreed that this was not the traditional burial. “Maybe it was just a miscommunication,” Spano said. “But I hope that they tried to make the effort.” Spano was happy with the president’s decision not to release photos of bin Laden’s corpse,

continued as Religion on 3A

National champs Redshirt senior steven Kehoe holds the 2011 men’s volleyball National Championship trophy after the team was welcomed home sunday. The Buckeyes defeated UC santa Barbara in the fi nals saturday, 3-2.

CAiTliN Hill Lantern reporter hill.855@osu.edu

Hats off

6A

Kate Middleton and royal wedding guests have inspired local hat boutique Over My Head to sell similar styles.

campus

Arboretum hosted plant sale

2A

arts & life

Local teens jam for Japan

6A

weather high 73 low 55 partly cloudy

T W R F

75/59 scattered t-storms 77/62 mostly cloudy 84/62 isolated t-storms 75/56 showers

www.weather.com

As new voting legislation moves through the Ohio government, many students might not realize that the voting requirements could become more stringent. Many students living in the university district move locations from year to year, and some do not realize that this could effect when, where and how they vote. “Students are transient. This is a big issue,” said Jacob Foskuhl, associate director of OSU Votes and a third-year in public affairs and Russian. Foskuhl said one of the biggest issues is getting students to understand that they have to re-register. “Some people may think they are already registered because they filled out a registration in 2008 in the dorms, but they may have since moved,” Foskuhl said. “We need them to realize that in order for them (to) vote at the polls, they need to register at their current address.” Petitions are being circulated for Senate Bill 5, which Gov. John Kasich signed at the end of March, limiting the collective bargaining rights of about 360,000 public employees. The petitions have until June 30 to collect about 231,150 signatures. For students’ signatures to be counted in the SB5 petition, they must be registered at the address that they mark on the petition. Joey Longley, the campus region leader for SB5 petition-gathering and a second-year in economics and political science, said volunteers will be working closely with OSU Votes to educate students on how to get registered. “We really want to focus on getting this issue

continued as Voting on 3A

Joe PoDelCo / Photo editor

Site ministers to those seeking ordination eMil Y TARA Lantern reporter tara.3@osu.edu

Students take advantage of online monastery

Want to get married? There are at least 150 students ordained on campus through the Universal Life Church Monastery who could perform the ceremony. The Universal Life Church Monastery is a non-profit organization that provides a free online ordination service. Nationwide, the ULC has ordained about 500,000 people since the mid-2000s and ordained about 4,000 people last week alone, said Andy Fulton, a ULC intern working in public relations and marketing. Anyone over the age of 18 can be ordained, Fulton said. To Tony Boris, a second-year in international studies and security intelligence, getting his ordination began as a joke. “My roommate and I were sitting and joking about things and decided to do it,” said Boris, who received his online ordination in the middle of Winter Quarter. Boris said he and his roommate thought it would be funny if one of them married someone to someone else. Boris said he is a religious person. “If I feel like something bad is going to happen, I do pray. I am praying about retaliations on the U.S. now,” Boris said. He said he attends a Byzantine Catholic church at home. “They (the church) would probably find it a little offensive,” Boris said. “They may get used to it.” He said the Catholic Church wants you to go through the seminary to be ordained. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus was not available for comment. “I don’t think they’d be mad, at least not my priest because we’re close,” Boris

continued as Ministry on 3A

The Universal Life Church Monastery is a non-profit organization that provides a free online ordination service. According to its website, those who become ordained through the Universal Life Church Monastery can perform weddings, baptisms, funerals and even exorcisms, regardless of religious or spiritual denomination. Becoming ordained through ULC does not religiously bind a person, but gives them the legal status to perform the aforementioned ceremonies.

• At least 150 OSU students are ordained. • About 500,000 people have been ordained by ULC nationally since the mid-2000s. • 4,000 people were ordained by ULC nationally last week. Source: Universal Life Church Monastery

MOLLY GRAY / Managing editor for design

1A


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
May 9, 2011 by The Lantern - Issuu