Wednesday September 4, 2013 year: 133 No. 70
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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$19M basketball facility installed at the Schott
sports
ERIC SEGER Sports editor seger.25@osu.edu
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Buckeyes rely on backup
OSU football was forced to use backup players due to high temperatures during last Saturday’s game.
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Ohio State men’s basketball coach Thad Matta called the new $19 million basketball facility “something that’s been needed” for his program. The OSU Athletic Department officially opened the new gym at the Schottenstein Center Tuesday, even though it is not fully complete. Construction on the new facility began after the 2011-2012 season and it was built as an extension to the west side of the Schottenstein Center. It was not all that got a facelift, though, as the old practice courts were also replaced, along with the locker rooms. New shot clocks and bleachers were added as well. A lounge area is available for players on both the men’s and women’s squads, complete with a kitchen area and pingpong table. Players and coaches also have access to a team film room, where they have the option of sitting at brand-new desks as they study. Matta said is was “amazing” to see the finished product and thanked OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith and his staff for all that went into the project. “You gotta give Ohio State, Gene (Smith) and his staff and the people that raised the money and the people that designed it tremendous credit because it’s just a magnificent place,” Matta said. “In terms of the locker rooms, to the training room, to the new weight room, this gymnasium is amazing.” Initially, the project was going to cost OSU just $13 million, Smith said. After getting input from the coaches regarding what they wished to see be a part of the new facilities, however, the price tag went up. “It started at $13 (million) and it escalated to $19 (million) once I involved the coaches,” Smith said. “It went up to $19 (million), and it was the right thing to do.” Smith said the improvements would not have been possible had it not been for a series of external donors, many of whom are former players. “We’ve been blessed,” Smith said. “Michael
ERIC SEGER / Sports editor
A new practice court at the Schottenstein Center. The new $19 million OSU basketball facilities were unveiled to the media Sept. 3. Redd stepped up and he helped us in a great way and we’ve had a lot of different donors that stepped up.” Redd, who played for the Buckeyes as a guard from 1997 to 2000, donated more money than any other donor, giving $500,000 toward the project. Matta said having former players get involved once they leave OSU is something that is a focus for him and his staff. “I think that is something that, from the outset, we wanted to try to build here is bring back our former players and getting them involved,” Matta said. “For those guys monetarily to contribute — Michael (Redd) has the largest gift ever given by an Ohio State athlete to the university at a half a million dollars.” Another player who has shown support for OSU is Ohioan and current Miami Heat star forward LeBron James, who has his own locker at the new facility. OSU has worn James’ “L23” logo since 2007, and was the first school to do so. Matta said
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ERIC SEGER / Sports editor
The new men’s locker room at the Schottenstein Center was unveiled to the media Sept. 3.
Crew tickets release causes chaos in Union KARLIE FRANK For The Lantern frank.359@osu.edu
Vintage clothing company
Clothing Underground, opened on North High Street in April, offers back-to-school sales.
campus
Some Ohio State students, many of whom had waited in line for hours for tickets to the USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier, were shut out after dispersal was switched midday Tuesday to a lottery in favor of a first-come-first-served system. Police were called at about 2 p.m. to maintain order after an estimated 200 people lined up for tickets to the sold-out Sept. 10 game at Crew Stadium, an undisclosed number of which were being sold for $25 to students. U.S. Soccer received more than twice as many requests for tickets as could be accommodated in Crew Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 24,000, so a lottery was held for those tickets as well, according to NBC Sports ProSoccerTalk. Although students had been told by D-Tix, the university’s student ticket discount service, staff members they could start lining up at 2 p.m. for a 5 p.m. dispersal, the crowd started to form at 10 a.m. and continued to grow, some students in line said. “We got here at 10:45 and there was nobody else here. They said we got here early and we thought it was first-come-first-serve. And then (in the afternoon) there was a huge mob of people wanting tickets,” said Tim Ianni, a third-year in
political science. Others had a similar experience. “We got here by noon and they told us the line didn’t start until 2 p.m. so we went over to Subway to grab some food and when we got back it was crazy,” said Colin Marth, a secondyear in finance. The sheer mass of the crowd prompted D-Tix to then switch to the lottery system, which would close at 5:30 p.m., said Dave Isaacs, OSU spokesman for Student Life. “There was concern for safety, and it was becoming impossible to tell who was first… It was the best way to accommodate all people interested in the tickets, taking into account both safety and fairness,” Isaacs said. “There was ultimately no danger once the decision to make it a lottery was understood by all.” The OSU Police Division was called in, setting up speakers to communicate directions more clearly and clearing the group of students away from the counter in order to form a coherent line, said Max Taylor, a second-year in aerospace engineering. While the safety issue may have been resolved, not all students are convinced of the “fairness” regarding the change. Taylor said he had arrived at the Union at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, skipping both an engineering and writing class, but was later disappointed with the lottery decision.
2A Buses to reach off-campus area on weekends KARLIE FRANK / For The Lantern
The D-Tix release of US vs. Mexico men’s soccer tickets draws about 200 OSU students on Sept. 3.
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MLK impacts OSU 50 years later OSU students reflect on the legacy and impact of Martin Luther Kind Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.
weather
Some options for students’ rides home on the weekends will continue with an extension of the Ohio State campus bus service’s late-night options.
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DANIEL BENDTSEN Lantern reporter bendtsen.1@osu.edu
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The Campus Area Bus Service East Residential weekend service will continue through at last the end of Spring Semester, Undergraduate Student Government President Taylor Stepp announced at the USG committee meeting Tuesday night. The East Residential route runs buses from campus and circles the off-campus area east of High Street. The route runs as far south as 11th Avenue and as far north as Hudson Street with stops along 4th Street and Summit Street the bus hits every 30 minutes. The extended service is set to run Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday, and Saturday from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. Sunday. The service went through a trial run during Spring Semester
East Residential extended hours of operation:
M-TR
7 a.m. - Midnight
FRI
7 a.m. - 2 a.m.
SAT
8 p.m. - 2 a.m.
The extended route runs as far south as 11th Avenue and as far north as Hudson Street. Routes will go near 4th Street and Summit Street every 30 minutes. Source: Reporting 2013 after Stepp’s administration approached the university with the idea as a way to improve student safety. Stepp said he got the idea from one of his opponents in the 2012 USG election, who had included it in his campaign platform. Once elected, Stepp had meetings with Beth Kelley-Snoke, director of Transportation & Traffic Management,
KAYLA ZAMARY / Design editor Jay Kasey, senior vice president of Administration and Planning and Javaune Adams-Gaston, vice president of Student Life, who were all supportive of the program, he said. Stepp called the program a “tremendous success,” and said Transportation & Traffic Management and Student Safety Service representatives were both pleased with results of the trial period.
“This is going to be a fantastic way to be proactive about safety,” Stepp said. “A lot of what happens with these safety issues at Ohio State comes from students who are walking late on weekends back from parties or wherever they might be coming from. And it’s going to not only provide safety services on the bus but also a route to get home. I think it’s going to deter crime and make our campus safer.” While CABS did previously run buses east of High on weekdays, service on Fridays stopped at midnight and there was no service on Saturday. Stepp said USG provided roughly half the funds to start the service in the spring but said CABS is paying the whole bill this year. USG did not use student funds to pay for the service in the spring, instead using USG-earmarked yields from a Koch Industries endowment, Stepp said. “We predicted students would take advantage of the pilot program
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