Thursday August 29, 2013 year: 133 No. 67
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern
North Campus renovations break ground
sports
Logan Hickman Lantern reporter hickman.201@osu.edu
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Kenny G at the helm
Senior backup quarterback Kenny Guiton was named a captain, and he’s happy to be a leader.
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Glitter on the floor
Ke$ha took over the LC with glitter cannons and overthe-top antics Tuesday night.
campus
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Sullivant Hall almost set
The building has been under construction since Autumn 2011 and is set to partially open soon.
Leaders of Ohio State broke ground at Scott Lawn Wednesday in a ceremony to begin the North Residential District Transformation, which OSU Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Schottenstein called “the most ambitious and the most transformative housing initiative in the history of Ohio State.” The North Residential District Transformation project is a $370 million renovation to North Campus that aims to enhance OSU’s Second-year Transformational Experience Program by adding 3,200 additional beds through the construction of 11 new buildings. The project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2016. “Without a doubt, the STEP program and the North Residential District will transform the student experience at this university for better and different ways than ever before,” said interim OSU President Joseph Alutto at the groundbreaking ceremony. The North Campus project is the “facility component” to OSU’s STEP, OSU Administration and Planning spokeswoman Lindsay Komlanc said in an email. “The project will allow us to fully implement this experience (STEP) throughout our residential communities, while advancing the One Ohio State Framework Plan, which is the university’s long-range planning tool for our physical environment,” Komlanc said. Jay Kasey, senior vice president for administration and planning, said the new residence halls will be essential for implementing the STEP program effectively because of the additional space they will provide. “The buildings, on the ground floors, are all spaces that will be necessary to use the STEP program,” Kasey said. “There are small rooms for faculty to mentor students in, there are larger rooms for small groups to work in together and there’s larger spaces for big assemblies.” The North Residential District Transformation project’s 3,200 new beds will replace 675 beds currently in buildings recommended for demolition,
Andrea henderson / Asst. multimedia editor
Senior OSU officials dig at the groundbreaking ceremony for the North Residential District Transformation Aug. 28 at Scott Lawn. The project is a $370 million renovation to North Campus.
President of the Residence Halls Advisory Council according to the North Residential District Plan on the and second-year in human development and family OSU What’s Growing On website. science Elizabeth Callow, who is also a STEP particiBuildings recommended for demolition include pant, said the construction of new accommodations Scott, Nosker, Blackburn and Haverfield Houses as well for STEP students will be beneficial to both students’ as North, Royer and Raney Commons. personal growth and the Kasey said he does not growth of the university. know when these buildings “The added spaces on will be demolished at this ...the most ambitious and the most campus for students to point in the project phasing. transformative housing initiative in the live is something that will The project will also history of Ohio State. provide them the ability to provide one- and two-story make additional opportuniadditions to Drackett, Robert Schottenstein ties in their second years,” Jones and Taylor Towers, Board of Trustees Chairman Callow said. “Through which will help better use having second-year basement spaces and students on campus they will be able to provide mentorimprove Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility. In addition to new residence buildings and renovaship and leadership to their peers and underclassmen in tions, the North Residential Transformation will bring two environments that are really conducive to studying.” new dining facilities, a new fitness center, a retail pavilion First-year in art and Taylor Tower resident Jenny at Lane Avenue and High Street and new outdoor recreChen said renovations to existing North Campus dorms ational spaces to North Campus, according to an Office and the construction of new ones will be proactive of Student Life and Facilities Operations and Development handout from the ceremony. continued as North on 3A
BOT to vote on A&F Emergency Department Liz Young Campus editor young.1693@osu.edu The Ohio State Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on the naming of a new Wexner Medical Center Emergency Department, the official instatement of the Presidential Search Committee and the construction of several buildings during its meeting Thursday and Friday at the Longaberger Alumni House. Official instatement of the Presidential Search Committee The Board is set to vote officially on the establishment and appointment of the Presidential Search Committee Friday. It is also expected to approve the hiring of a search firm, R. William Funk and Associates, to aid in the process. The Presidential Search Committee has had two meetings since its first on July 19. It will be hosting a symposium on the University Presidency Friday at 1 p.m. at the Ohio Union, featuring several current and former university presidents who will participate in a discussion about the state of the modern university presidency. The contract with R. William Funk and Associates and the details of the costs of the symposium were not yet available as of Wednesday afternoon,
OSU spokesman Gary Lewis said in an email. The Abercrombie and Fitch Emergency Department The new emergency department of the Wexner Medical Center will be located at 460 W. 10th Ave. and may be named the Abercrombie and Fitch Emergency Department, pending a vote by the Board Friday. The new ER will be a 24/7 facility for the OSU Hospital, the James Cancer Hospital, the Solove Research Institute, the Ross Heart Hospital, the Harding Psychiatric Hospital and the Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital, according to the Board meeting schedule.
Abercrombie and Fitch, which is based in New Albany, has given more than $10 million to the Medical Center in the last few years and helped establish an Abercrombie and Fitch Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, a position in the College of Medicine. Construction contract approvals Kottman Hall and the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Library and Student Success Center may soon face renovations, pending a Board vote Friday authorizing Administration and Planning to enter into construction contracts. The Kottman Hall renovation has a
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Establishment of an Urban Meyer and Shelly Meyer endowment fund The Urban F. Meyer III and Shelly M. Meyer Endowment Fund for Cancer Research is set to be established Aug. 30, with nearly $279,000 establishing the endowment and $50,000 total to be committed.
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USG unveils 4-part 2013-14 policy agenda Daniel Bendtsen Lantern reporter bendtsen.1@osu.edu
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proposed cost of $13.1 million coming from state appropriations, Facilities Operations and Developments funds and general funds, while the CFAES Library and Student Success Center would cost $5.1 million and would come from general funds. Kottman renovations would involve replacing the windows on three of the floors, renovating the fume hood exhaust and building HVAC systems, roof replacement and creating the ability to provide chilled water to Kottman and Howlett halls and Parker Food Science Building and the Animal Sciences Building. The renovation on the CFAES Library and Student Success Center would create a new entry to the library adjacent to the eastside entry, as well as computer stations, collaborative rooms, a new larger conference space, wireless networking and new interior finishes and furnishings.
Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government is making affordability its priority this academic year, but there are some portions of the initiative that aren’t being released yet because of their controversial nature. USG unveiled its policy agenda for 2013-14 this week, which focuses on four major points, USG President Taylor Stepp told The Lantern Tuesday. “I’m really, really excited about this year’s policy. I think it’s one of the most ambitious we’ve had in a quite a long time and I do believe that we’ll accomplish it all,” Stepp, a fourth-year in public affairs, said. The priority, though, is its Affordability Initiative, which Stepp said is a multifaceted approach to lowering tuition costs and increasing opportunities for financial aid. He declined to discuss most specifics of the initiative because he said there are still some controversial
Daniel Bendtsen / Lantern reporter
USG President Taylor Stepp (left) speaks at a USG General Assembly Meeting Aug. 28 at the Senate Chamber. elements that are not finalized. Stepp added it will be announced soon. Stepp said with the Affordability Initiative, he hopes to take advantage of a section in Gov. John Kasich’s budget that subsidizes universities for the graduation of in-state students. Still, there might be challenges in accomplishing USG’s agenda, particularly in making sure its “approach is communicated appropriately, which is difficult to do in a university that is highly
complex and highly intricate,” Stepp said. Stepp believes most of USG’s goals will unite rather than divide though. “The university is a highly political place, but the things that we are working on right now are things that everyone can get behind, because the university is all about lowering costs,” he said. Stepp said his concern about affordability stems from the current national debate about student loans.
“We are in the midst of a crisis in student debt and student affordability issues,” Stepp said. “We have over a trillion dollars in student debt. As an institution, we have to fix that.” USG Chief Financial Officer Shawn Picha said USG has an estimated budget of $250,000 at the General Assembly meeting Wednesday. The other initiatives USG will be working on include advocating for wider use of digital textbooks, holding landlords accountable and expanding its Buckeye Road Trip program. Stepp said that digital textbooks are “the way of the future” and the current hard-copy textbook system only serves to pay publishers, so USG plans to advocate for faculty to use digital textbooks. Matt Deptola, USG’s senior policy adviser and a fourth-year in public affairs, said he thinks there will likely be some resistance from faculty on the idea of going to fully digital textbooks. Deptola said faculty would likely see the
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