The Lantern – Dec. 3, 2019

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The student voice of the Ohio State University

Year 139, Issue No. 54

Toddlers and textbooks

Navigating college as a single parent MAEVE WALSH Patricia B. Miller Special Projects Editor walsh.607@osu.edu

E

ssays and exams make up a tiny fraction of Naomi Lindsay’s stressors at Ohio State.

She also has to make sure the Spiderman costume, canisters of Play-Doh and Buzz Lightyear action figures are cleaned up from her living room floor.

Lindsay, a second-year in social work, returns to her two-bedroom apartment every day after picking up her 5-year-old son, Dominic, from school at the Columbus Bilingual Academy.

After cooking dinner, giving Dominic a bath, reading bedtime stories and tucking him into bed, Lindsay is finally ready to start her pile of homework that is due the next day. If she’s lucky, she goes to bed by 1 a.m.

She wakes up grudgingly, five hours later, at 6 a.m., drives Dominic to school and starts her day jam-packed with classes. Then it repeats.

“It’s stressful as a student-parent; it’s a lot of stress,” Lindsay said. “You have to handle five classes of homework, and then my son’s in kindergarten. So by the time I get him from school,

we get home, you have to do his homework with him, you wanna spend time with your child. So then you’re pushing your stuff back.”

Although it’s easy to feel alone as a single student-parent in a sea of 66,000 college students, Lindsay has company.

Approximately 1 in 5 undergraduate college students nationwide are parents, according to Molly Peirano, the deputy Title IX coordinator for the Office of Institutional Equity at Ohio State.

That’s about 22 percent of the undergraduate population in the U.S. — or more than 4 million people — according to an April 2019 report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

A little more than 40 percent of student-parents attend community colleges.

The exact number of student-parents at Ohio State, however, isn’t clear. University officials suspect it’s far more than the 300 students who reported a dependent on financial aid forms.

They think the low number is largely due to the perception that comes with reporting oneself as a

AMAL SAEED | PHOTO EDITOR

Naomi Lindsay, a second-year in social work, reads a story to her 5-year-old son, Dominic, in front of their Christmas tree. Lindsay is a single mother working on getting her undergraduate degree from Ohio State.

student-parent.

As Lindsay illustrates, the college life of a student-parent is far from easy. Access to affordable housing, cost of child care and transportation are just a few of the many challenges they face.

There’s also the stigmatization — a feeling that they don’t belong at Ohio State because they don’t fit the typical description of a college student.

All of these obstacles lead to a significant discrepancy between those with and without children when it comes to graduating. Nationwide, the six-year graduation rate for student-parents is about 33 percent, which is roughly half that of students without children, Peirano said.

To combat the barriers faced

CASEY CASCALDO | MANAGING EDITOR FOR MULTIMEDIA

Nahla Walker, a second-year in exploration, plays with her 9-month-old son, Carson, outside the ACCESS office building at 84 N. 17th Ave. Discovering she was pregnant just after her high school graduation, Walker was unsure if she could still attend Ohio State.

by the student-parent population, Ohio State offers a support program called A Comprehensive College Experience for Single-Parent Students. Created in 1989 under the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, it provides single student-parents with services and accommodations, ACCESS Director Traci Lewis said.

The program hosts events every Tuesday night and support groups throughout the week to provide single student-parents help and understanding about academic resources, financial literacy, programs geared toward their kids and more.

“That’s the purpose of ACCESS, and that’s how we try to help them make it through the university, by giving them the support and the encouragement and the empowerment that they need to know, ‘Hey, I belong here,’” Lewis said.

Lindsay and Nahla Walker, a second-year in exploration, are among the approximately 50 single parents who participate in the program. Discovering she was pregnant shortly after graduating high school, Walker was unsure if she could attend Ohio State.

“My family, my friends were kind of doubting me, thinking I was going to stay home,” Walker said. “But I didn’t really have to because I found out about ACCESS.” Her 9-month-old son, Carson, sports a contagious grin and enormous blue eyes. Despite his adorable demeanor and the support she receives from ACCESS, Walker said balancing school and parenting is a handful.

“I don’t really give myself enough time for self care. I’m constantly spending time with my

son as much as possible because I feel like he’s already in day care most of the day anyway,” Walker said. “So when I can spend time with him, I really set aside that time, sometimes neglecting my homework and responsibilities as a student.”

“Stares and whispers” Although the more tangible obstacles, like housing, child care and transportation, are evident in the lives of student-parents at Ohio State, the stigma and judgment they face from peers and professors for being pregnant or parenting on a college campus is sometimes even more impactful.

Jillian Deas, a graduate student in educational policy and graduate assistant for ACCESS, said her journey with pregnancy and parenting her 2-year-old son, Jahlil, often feels isolating.

“You feel alone, and it becomes very depressing, builds anxiety,” Deas said. “It adds another barrier that’s more psychological than anything else.”

Deas said that after becoming pregnant during her third year at Ohio State, navigating her way around the campus community felt lonely because professors and academic advisers don’t always accommodate the needs of student-parents.

“They might say, ‘You know what, our program’s really hard.

Maybe you should try this one.’

Or, ‘That’s a big change. Maybe this program isn’t for you,’” Deas said.

Although Deas stuck with her program during undergrad, she said many student-parents do change course when confronted with similar comments from their PARENTS CONTINUES ON 2

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PARENTS FROM 1

professors and advisers.

The rights of pregnant and parenting students are protected under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1982 — a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational settings — but Peirano said many students and even some faculty and staff are unaware that the protections from sex discrimination also extend to the student-parent population.

“A lot of folks don’t know that because some of the laws that people typically talk about are the employee-related pregnancy laws,” Peirano said.

Due to this common misconception, Peirano said the Office of Institutional Equity is working with faculty to raise awareness on student-parents’ rights and has incorporated language into some Ohio State policies, including the excused absence policy, to more explicitly encompass pregnant and parenting students as a protected class.

Peirano said the Office of Institutional Equity most commonly assists student-parents with “interim measures,” or academic accommodations, that are sought as a result of a variety of pregnancy-related medical reasons — morning sickness, miscarriages, abortion, giving birth or recovering from a C-section. ”We have to be really thoughtful and be good partners with faculty and instructors to make sure that students are still learning what they’re supposed to be learning and can take care of themselves,” Peirano said.

Because student-parents must still achieve the “fundamental learning objectives” of a class, Peirano said there is not a specific model when it comes to Title IX accommodations, so assisting pregnant and parenting students largely happens on a case-by-case basis.

“It’s not like a one size fits all; every person has different needs and has different courses,” Peirano said. “If you’re in a traditional lecture-style class, that accommodation is going to be very different than a lab where you’re doing dissections.”

During her pregnancy, Deas found it frustrating that some professors seemed apathetic toward her needs and failed to make an effort to help her succeed in class.

“I would have professors who were like, ‘Oh, you’re pregnant?

Is that why you were always tired in class last semester?’ And I’m like, ‘You know, yes, maybe you would have known that if you asked and didn’t assume,’” Deas said.

Not only does Deas feel isolated at times by faculty members, but the stigma she faces from her

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Once she was further along in her pregnancy, Walker, at one point, felt as though she was at risk for homelessness due to the Ohio State housing policy that barred her from having a child in Baker Hall. However, thanks to help from Title IX and ACCESS, she was able to secure housing in ACCESS apartments.

peers can be even more intimidating.

When she was in the third trimester of her pregnancy, Deas said fitting into the traditional lecture-style seats was nearly impossible, and more often than not, she had to ask her peers to move so she could find a seat.

“I had to beg other students, ‘Hey, can I sit here?’ because students are just gonna run in and put their bag at a table, and I’m like, ‘Hey, can your bag not have a seat today?’” Deas said.

Jennifer Wojdacz, director of education for Planned Parenthood Ohio, said the stigma surrounding student-parents often comes from the underlying notion that sexual activity is shameful or unhealthy, which alters the perceptions of people who decide to continue their pregnancy.

“Instead of looking at young parents as somebody that we should be investing support in so that they are able and empowered to engage in parenting and raise their kids in a loving and stable way, people feel like it’s the punishment for them deciding to have sex in the first place,” Wojdacz said.

After Lindsay became pregnant, she said she felt ashamed at first.

“When I found out I was pregnant, I was scared. I was 16,” Lindsay said. “You kinda feel — this sounds weird — you feel ashamed at first because you’re pregnant, and everyone else has a normal life.”

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Due to the occasional issues with scheduling at Dominic’s school or with baby sitters, Lindsay said there have been days when she had to bring him to class with her.

Lindsay said that when she’s with Dominic — especially on campus — stares and whispers are a common occurrence.

“I think people are used to traditional college students at OSU, so when you see someone with a kid, they just, like, you get looks,” Lindsay said.

Cost of child care almost as expensive as the apBecause of the rising costs of proximately $11,000 in-state tuichild care, many pregnant and tion for the 2018-19 school year parenting students choose not at Ohio State, according to a Janto go to college at all or end up uary 2019 report from Child Care dropping out before obtaining a Aware of America. degree.

“Finances get tricky when “When I was researching the you’re a full-time student, so I statistics about single parents in just try to save money and live off school or single parents in gener- that money,” Lindsay said. “But al, it was discouraging to see that by the time you get done with the only typical way that an indi- your bills, it gets tricky.” vidual was able to finish school The Institute for Women’s Polwas to quit school,” Walker said. icy Research found that during The number of student-parents the 2015-16 school year, debt enrolled in college in the U.S. de- among student-parents was about clined about 20 percent between 2.5 times higher than debt among 2011-12 and 2015-16 school students without children. years, whereas the percentage Yolanda Zepeda, assistant vice of total undergraduate college provost for the Office of Diversity students in the U.S. only saw a and Inclusion, said it’s important 6 percent decline, according to to acknowledge the seemingly the Institute “ i nv i s i b l e ” for Wompopulation of en’s Policy student-parResearch reents at Ohio port.

State in order “If day “My family, my friends to combat care wasn’t were kind of doubting the financial an option, I’d me, thinking I was going insecurities probably be a they face. stay-at-home to stay home. But I didn’t “For a mom,” Walk- really have to because number of er said. the famiI found out about According lies that we to the non- ACCESS.” served in the profit Child past, they are WALKER Care Aware NAHLA coming from Second-year in exploration of America, sometimes the average multiple cost of child generations care per year of poverty,” in at least Zepeda said.

30 states exceeds the cost of in- “And when they get the degree, state tuition at public colleges, they can change the trajectory not deterring many pregnant and only for themselves, but for their parenting students from pursuing children in the generations to folhigher education. low.”

In Ohio, the average annual To combat the cost of child cost of full-time child care for an care, the U.S. Department of Edinfant is about $10,000, which is PARENTS CONTINUES ON 3

AMAL SAEED | PHOTO EDITOR

Naomi Lindsay’s 5-year-old son, Dominic, shows off his Spiderman mask before getting lost in other toys.

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PARENTS FROM 2

ucation enacted the Child Care Means Parents in School program in 1998 under the Higher Education Act. The program provides federal funds to some colleges and universities to help low-income student-parents pay for child care, according to an August 2019 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Ohio State was first allocated CCAMPIS funds in 2018, totaling about $1.4 million, which assists about 45 low-income families with funding that makes child care “as close as possible to free,” Zepeda said.

Lewis said to qualify for CCAMPIS funding, a person must be eligible for a Pell Grant, enrolled full-time at a Columbus university and send their child to a nationally accredited child care program.

Although Congress has designated more funds to the CCAMPIS program throughout the years — from $15 million to $50 million in 2018 — the funds are provided to about 300 colleges and universities across the country, according to Inside Higher AMAL SAEED | PHOTO EDITOR Ed. The Institute for Women’s Dominic admires his Marvel superhero poster in his room.

Lindsay said one of the most rewarding Policy Research estimates that parts about being his mom is watching him grow from an infant to a child with his own personality. the funds help about 11,000 student-parents, which is only about 1 percent of the student-parent say said taking night classes is said this presents challenges with provides her with the support that population that could be eligible sometimes her only option due to transportation and makes it diffi- she often struggles to find at Ohio for CCAMPIS funds. a lack of class offerings in her so- cult for student parents to return State.

Lewis said she hopes Ohio State cial work major, which makes it to their apartments between class“Scholar House is just a great can establish a drop-in day care challenging to coordinate where es or work. place for us to breathe,” Lindsay center on campus to make child Dominic can stay after he gets out Walker, who lived in Baker said. “You have a safe place for care facilities more affordable and of school.

Hall East during the first semester you and your child; you have peoaccessible for student-parents.

“What makes me nervous is of her freshman year, said she had ple who want to see you succeed; In the immediate on-campus now in the fall next year, I’ll to move out of the dorm shortly you have people around you who area, there are two Ohio State probably have night classes, but before winter break as she neared are going through the same strugchild care centers, the Ackerman that gets a little tricky because the her February due date. gles as you, so you’re not alone.”

Road and Buckeye Village facil- day cares that are open at night Because of problems that arose ities, she said. However, the wait sometimes aren’t the best,” Lind- with signing a lease off campus lists for both locations are lengthy, say said. before winter break, Walker said and they only accept children unOne semester, Lindsay had she contacted the Title IX office, STAY CONNECTED WITH der the age of 5, eliminating op- no choice but to push her major which later referred her to ACTHE LANTERN tions for student parents who have and consequently her graduation CESS, to help her secure a roof school-aged children. date back because she was unable over her head.

Although there is another Ohio to enroll in a major requirement “I’m sure all [ACCESS particLewis said that in the future, State facility — the Schoenbaum class that ran until 8:30 p.m. ipants] can attest to this — we’ve she hopes ACCESS works with Family Center — that provides “We have a bedtime; we have been in situations where we’re at the university to set aside an unchild care for school-aged chil- things we have to do. I can’t risk for homelessness, at least I derused dorm to house single pardren, accessibility may be diffi- send him to a baby sitter at 8:30 was,” Walker said. “They basical- ents. cult because it is located farther [p.m.],” Lindsay said. ly said that I had to move out of “I have this vision in my head off campus near Summit Street the dorm, and I didn’t really have where Lincoln Tower, Morrill and Seventh Avenue, Lewis said. Home is where the housing is any place to go. So basically, if I Tower, that area will be great [for She said she hopes there will Ohio State’s housing policy wouldn’t have found ACCESS, I student-parents] because it’s on eventually be on-campus drop-in bars student-parents from living would’ve had to go back to Can- campus, but it’s not necessarily care. in residence ton.” on campus,” Lewis said. “It will “We have halls on camTo address the need for ade- be a great place for families beit at the pus with their quate housing, ACCESS has a cause it doesn’t have all of that RPAC for c h i l d r e n , partnership with Columbus Met- stuff that goes on in your dorms folks that “When I found out I was so access ropolitan Housing Authority and that are more centrally located on want to go pregnant, I was scared. to safe and Community Properties of Ohio campus.” over and a f f o r d a b l e that provides student-parents with There was outrage from many work out,” I was 16. You kinda feel housing of- 38 two- and three-bedroom apart- students with children when Ohio Lewis said. — this sounds weird — ten becomes ments located above or near the State announced its decision on “Why can’t you feel ashamed at first a significant ACCESS office, Lewis said.

Oct. 28 to close Buckeye Village, we have it obstacle for Located at 84 N. 17th Ave., a housing complex on Olentangy for on cam- because you’re pregnant, single par- about a 20-minute drive from River Road, where many stupus for folks and everyone else has a ents, Lindsay campus, apartment dwellers can dent-parents live, and replace it who want to normal life.” said. use ACCESS resources, which with athletic facilities. study or need Alt hough include a kitchen, lounge area, Currently, there are 89 occuto study or NAOMI LINDSAY there are children’s playroom, computer pied units in Buckeye Village, need to go to Second-year in social work some avail- lab and exercise machines. according to previous Lantern class?” able off-camAccording to Community reporting. Its location near camLindsay pus loca- Properties of Ohio’s website, ten- pus and proximity to the Buckeye said having tions, living ants pay rent based on 30 percent Village child care center makes it a drop-in day near frater- of their adjusted annual income. a convenient place for many famcare center would be helpful, es- nity row, where the almost daily Residents must fall under 50 per- ilies. pecially for emergency situations, spectacle of empty beer cans is cent of the area’s median income Although the university is in when she needs to take Dominic inevitable, may not be the most of $24,739, according to the U.S. the process of negotiating a lease to class with her. nurturing environment for a child, Census Bureau in 2017. agreement for current Buckeye ACCESS participants also Lindsay said.

Lindsay said that living in the Village residents to move to Unireceive priority scheduling for The housing that is suitable for apartments, collectively called versity Village apartments about classes to accommodate their families, however, is often locat- Columbus Scholar House, sur- half a mile down the road, Deas hectic routines. However, Lind- ed farther from campus. Lindsay rounded by other single parents said the announcement from the

university makes her and other student-parents feel invisible.

“It doesn’t send a good message that you want families here,” Deas said.

With recently appointed Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers assuming the position Jan. 6 at Ohio State, Zepeda said she hopes the Office of Diversity and Inclusion can collaborate with her to speak about other options for single-parent and family housing that is closer to campus.

“The center of the dorm life, that’s not, you can’t have children,” Zepeda said. “But maybe there are some spaces, maybe there’s a space somewhere else on campus where we can make some housing available for families.”

Despite the greater probability that student-parents can stay enrolled in college thanks to the apartments available to ACCESS participants, housing — especially the location — still presents a challenge for student-parents at Ohio State.

“It takes me sometimes 30 minutes to get to OSU because the traffic is so bad here,” Lindsay said. “So by the time I get [Dominic] to school, me back to OSU, it’s like 30 minutes. I gotta go park in the Carmack lot, then I gotta wait for the bus. And if I barely missed the bus, you gotta wait 10 to 15 minutes for the next one.”

Parking on Ohio State’s campus is another challenge, Walker said. Because of her class rank as a second-year, she was not permitted to park in the C-parking lot, which is adjacent to a child care center.

“I think it’s kind of irritating that the students who are not parents, the access to the parking that is right outside the Ackerman Child Care Center, they have access to that when me, a parent myself, I don’t have access to that,” Walker said.

Looking forward Overall, Deas said she hopes Ohio State can become a more family-friendly campus in the near future to support her own needs as a student, as well as Jahlil’s needs as a developing toddler.

“When you deal with anybody from a marginalized or minoritized group, there’s a lot of baggage that comes with,” Deas said. “So being ready and being equipped to handle that stuff that comes, it’s part of being a landgrant institution.”

Making friends and dating are also challenges, Lindsay said, especially when she lives far from PARENTS CONTINUES ON 6

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M.O.E. SCHOLARS Student working to spark interest in the medical field through program for black youth. | ON PAGE 5

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Jake Boyer searches for his voice on stage NICHOLAS YOUNGBLOOD Arts&Life Editor youngblood.27@osu.edu

S

from the artist in favor of the project at hand is a philosophy that runs deep in Boyer’s artistry.

Boyer said his music is an amalgam of planned chords and improvisation, especially in his lyrics. He has trouble writing lyrics that stick and said he prefers to draw his words from the here and now.

Boyer’s free-flowing songs match the open chords and soaring vocals of his pseudo-compositions. His music is a catharsis for him — a kind of therapy he said can make him feel naked on stage.

“I use music, I think, to feel better,” Boyer said. “I want to say these things that I feel like I can’t say, or I’m scared to say, or I don’t know how to say in a context, so I’m just gonna make a context and then say them in that context.”

Boyer’s reserved, unassuming demeanor melts away during per-

OLIVER BOCH | ARTS&LIFE DIRECTOR

Jake Boyer performs for Columbus’ Own Nov. 15.

formances that are equal parts explosive and soothing, but always deeply emotional. His raw, dynamic delivery belies a musician who said he isn’t entirely comfortable playing for an audience.

“I just get nervous in front of crowds,” Boyer said. “Not because I think they’re not gonna like it, but because I know its hard for me to stick to something.”

This performance anxiety is coupled with a fear of compromise. Boyer said he worries his music will become something else in order to please the crowd.

As such, his performance for Columbus’ Own is only his second in over four years. The first took place in late October at Kafe Kerouac, a campus mainstay for small-time musicians. He said he plans to start playing more open mics at local venues like The Shrunken Head.

Despite his apprehension for playing on stage, Boyer has been playing to himself for years. He said he picked up guitar in middle school, combining his adolescent

Scan for video performance

ome musicians live for the rush of a sold-out crowd and an audience cheering their name.

Guitarist and singer Jake Boyer is most comfortable when nobody is watching.

Boyer, a local singer-songwriter, said he hates the label but struggles to qualify his style otherwise. He said he doesn’t disparage those who know who they are and what their niche is, but he has immense respect for musicians who float freely across genres, something evident in his personal style.

“I don’t want a brand that I have that I write from,” Boyer said. “I want to do projects with people that are more about coming together and creating something that’s its own album, its own EP, its own work of art, rather than it just being about the artist.”

The desire to draw focus away

“I think piecing together all of the things you love about every single piece of music you listen to is how you make your own music.

Especially for someone like me, who, I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure out what my voice is.”

Jake Boyer Guitarist and singer

love of alternative pop and Christian music with the broad, classic influences of his beloved guitar teacher. Boyer said his teacher exposed him to everything from Bob Seger to The Faces to Pink Floyd.

Boyer said he now listens to a wide variety of music and takes heavy influence in his playing from English singer-songwriter Ben Howard and American indie-folk group Fleet Foxes, but he tries to learn from everything he hears.

“I think piecing together all of the things you love about every single piece of music you listen to is how you make your own music,” Boyer said. “Especially for someone like me, who, I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure out what my voice is.”

Jack Long, Lantern TV special projects director, and Oliver Boch, Lantern TV arts and life director, also contributed to this story.

New evolution for Pokemon GO club AARON LIEN For the Lantern lien.47@osu.edu Catching every Pokemon isn’t the only goal for the Ohio State Pokemon GO Association.

The club will be hosting The Ohio State University Timeless Cup Tussle, its first official 1v1 Pokemon GO tournament, at the Ohio Union Sunday. The tournament will have a Swiss-system bracket, by which players with a similar running score face off against each other.

Prizes include a Pokeball waffle maker for first place and Pokemon trading cards for second and third.

Pokemon GO is an augmented reality game that utilizes the GPS and camera on a player’s smartphone. As players walk around, they encounter catchable

Pokemon, with real-world landmarks acting as interactive stops and gyms. The game featured the original 150 Pokemon at launch, but has since expanded to more than 500. Recent updates have made player vs. player gameplay available.

The addition of PvP has made the event possible for the club, which normally meets to challenge gyms or fight rare Pokemon that appear in events called raids, Arick Smith, a second-year in city and regional planning and the club’s president, said. He said the event was inspired by past unofficial tournaments before his club presidency.

Cables connecting players’ phones to a computer screen-display software will allow the matches to be projected, Tom Kregenow, a second-year in aero-

COURTESY OF ALEX DZINGLSKI

Players gather around a landmark on campus to participate in a raid on their phones.

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space engineering and the club’s vice president, said.

“One of the main goals of this tournament was to give more students the exposure to these kinds of tournaments — to show that there’s more than just raids and

“Pokemon GO has always seemed like a casual and cooperative game,” Dang said. “I’m excited to go and learn more about the strategies behind PvP Pokemon GO.” While Smith will be running

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 | The Lantern | 5

community, this game would not be the same, and each year, there are new faces to meet and old and familiar ones to remember.”

For those who want to be the very best on campus, like no one ever was, The Ohio State

“I’m constantly meeting new and amazing people who I am honored to represent here on campus. Without the community, this game would not be the same, and each year, there are new faces to meet and old and familiar ones to remember.”

Arick Smith Second-year in city and regional planning

gym battles and stuff,” Kregenow said. “This entire PvP thing is an entirely other sphere of the game you can spend so much time in.”

Allison Dang, a second-year in biomedical science and club member, said she only plays Pokemon GO occasionally, but she plans on going to the event.

She said she heard about the club through its online Discord server, a gaming-focused chat app.

She doesn’t plan on competing, but she hopes to meet others who will.

the event and unable to play, he said he participates in the game’s monthly community days, in which certain Pokemon appear more often and sometimes come with exclusive moves. The club also meets every Wednesday for “Raid Hour,” when powerful and legendary Pokemon can appear for players to fight and capture as a group.

“I’m constantly meeting new and amazing people who I am honored to represent here on campus,” Smith said. “Without the

University Timeless Cup Tussle tournament will begin at 5 p.m.

Sunday in the Ohio Union Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Room.

Check-in will begin at 4:30 p.m. and continue until the tournament starts. Players can register at silph.gg/t/6fnm.

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The Ohio State Pokemon GO Association advertises its tournament on campus with sidewalk chalk.

Student-run program encourages black youth in medical field MICAHIAH BROWN-DAVIS Lantern reporter brown-davis.3@osu.edu For one student, what started with the loss of a loved one turned into a passion for changing lives.

Maurice Lathan, a fifth-year in health science and biology, decided he wanted to become a doctor after losing his grandmother due to illness. He said he noticed a lack of African Americans in the medical field, which led him to create a program called M.O.E. Scholars — Medicine, Opportunity and Engagement — to expose black youth to the medical field at Columbus Preparatory for Boys.

Lathan said he was one of six students selected in 2018 for the William F. Pickard Scholarship, a program that develops student leaders who have an interest in economic issues affecting African American communities. The program is run by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center and Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center.

After conducting research through the program, Lathan said he found that the lack of African Americans in the medical field increases implicit bias, leading to negative health outcomes and affecting the insurance and medicine given to patients of different races. He said he also found that people want to be treated by people who look like them, and more African American people entering the medical field might increase how many African Americans go in for check-ups.

“M.O.E. Scholars’ purpose is to let the black youth know that black men and women are in the

medical field. We can be lawyers, and we can be doctors. If we get more black doctors, we will have more black doctors help in underserved communities,” Lathan said.

Lathan said he received a grant through the scholarship program to implement M.O.E. Scholars at the Columbus Preparatory for Boys, a school where he has mentored for three years through the Bell National Resource Center.

“My goal in this specific school is to spark an interest at their age to inform them that there are people in this field that look like them. It’s all about inspiring them to be what they want to be,” Lathan said.

Toward the end of November, Lathan said he presented the program to the sixth- through eighthgrade boys and brought a sign-up sheet to gauge interest. This semester, he said he meets with 21 boys every Friday.

“Walking in and seeing all 21 kids excited and ready for the program has been my favorite moment,” Lathan said. “That was affirmation that my program is wanted.”

Lathan said the program will provide a visual representation of what men and women are doing in the medical field, provide information about different options in the field, take them on a tour of Ohio State’s medical campus and

anatomy lab and conduct experiments.

“I think it will benefit the students because in the black community, specifically public schools, they are not given the proper education about specific skills. In their age, they don’t know the different jobs and specialties you can go into,” Lathan said. “Providing them with the resources and education will help them find out what they really want to do.”

Lathan said he has chosen seven African American pre-med Ohio State students, all sophomores and juniors, with whom he has worked closely to mentor the students. He said they were cho-

sen based on their GPA, passions and involvement on campus.

Prosper Ssekayombya, a fourth-year in biology and mentor for M.O.E. Scholars, said he and Lathan became friends as premed students through the BNRC mentoring program.

“I think it’s an important program because if we can inspire an interest in the medical field, it’ll be effective because if they see us at the level we’re in right now, I think it’ll help them be convinced that this is something possible and they have potential to do

“M.O.E. Scholars’ purpose is to let the black youth know that black men and women are in the medical field.

We can be lawyers, and we can be doctors.”

Maurice Lathan Fifth-year in health science and biology

COURTESY OF MAURICE LATHAN

Members of the M.O.E. Scholars program pose with mentors at Columbus City Preparatory School for Boys.

this,” Ssekayombya said.

Lathan said he is currently working on implementing the program in a high school and hopes to expand the program to Ohio State’s campus for college students.

“I want to get scholarships for students that finish the program that will assist the cost of medical school, to give them a little boost after graduate college,” Lathan said. “I’m trying to make this program as big as I can — all through Ohio to help people with their dreams and build the black community up.”

6 | The Lantern | Tuesday, December 3, 2019

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PARENTS FROM 3

campus and can’t exactly hit the someone, but this time, I’m not bars on High Street on a Saturday expecting nothing from nobody night. at OSU any time soon,” Lindsay “You find people who get said. scared that you have a child ...

Even though the obstacles in because they don’t want to com- her path as a student-parent can mit to a child, or they assume that feel insurmountable, Lindsay said they have to be a stepfather auto- the “normal” college experience m a t i c a l ly,” could never Lindsay said. come close “I think it’s to exceeding hard to meet the joy she’s good people experienced at campus as Dominic’s because a lot “I think everything mom. of them are changed when I saw “I think living in the Dominic’s face. I think e ve r y t h i n g dorms, or changed they’re in the everything just came when I saw fraternities.” together. God really D o m i n i c ’s D e s p i t e blessed me with him. face. I think the social e ve r y t h i n g struggles she God really put him in my just came faces, Lind- life at the right time.” toget her,” say said she Lindsay said. tries to look NAOMI LINDSAY “God really on the bright Second-year in social work blessed me side and with him. would much God really rather have put him in a few quality my life at the friends than right time.” those who aren’t truly commitAs Dominic runs around the ted to supporting her journey as a ACCESS office giggling in a student-parent. When it comes to Sheriff Woody costume, Lindsay dating, she said her relationship reminisces about how rewarding with Dominic is much more im- it has been to watch him grow portant than trying to find dates. from an infant to a child with his “I’m single, like Beyoncé, own personality. just single. I gotta be happy, you She said she hopes to instill her know? Eventually I’d like to meet values in Dominic and raise him

CASEY CASCALDO | MANAGING EDITOR FOR MULTIMEDIA

Carson hangs out with his mom in the ACCESS office building’s playroom, complete with yellow walls, alphabet posters and every toy imaginable. Along with the playroom, participants in ACCESS can use the computer lab, exercise machines and kitchen.

to be the best possible version of himself, regardless of the sacrifices she must make along the way.

Deas said she hopes Ohio State will offer more student-parent-oriented programs on campus and eventually establish housing on or closer to campus. Not only would moving housing improve the lives of student-parents, but it would also improve Jahlil’s perception of college.

“When you start having some of these programming things and 1

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MORE ON OUR WEBSITE

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Maeve Walsh produced this story in her role as Patricia B. Miller Special Projects Editor.

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housing on campus, the kids understand, like, ‘Wow, I am living on a college campus,’ and as they get older, dorms don’t seem so new,” Deas said.

For her and Dominic’s future, Lindsay knows that no matter what, there is one constant in her life.

“It’s hard being a single mom and a parent because no matter what happens, I’m always a caregiver. I’m always a mom, no matter what,” Lindsay said. “So the

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67. Get the blue ribbon

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Tuesday, December 3, 2019 | The Lantern | 7

Hero in Training: Landi’s battle with cancer ATHENA MARKOWSKI For The Lantern markowski.19@osu.edu Not everyone gets called a hero by her little sister.

But when Rebecca Landi’s admission into the University of California, Berkeley, was riding on an essay, she decided to write about her older sister Catie.

“When they were little, they were not always on the same page, but the older they get, the closer they become, and their father passing made them very close,” Melissa Landi, Catie and Rebecca’s mother, said. “She wrote about how Catie is her hero because she’s so dedicated and hardworking — she really is our family hero.”

Catie Landi, a trainer for the Ohio State women’s soccer team, has been fighting triple-positive breast cancer since October 2018.

During the past year, she’s undergone six cycles of chemotherapy and one month of radiation.

The rigorous treatment cycle has paid off, as she’s been in remission since April and is taking a new drug in hopes of keeping the cancer away.

“I was scared, but I was just glad that it was me instead of my younger sister or my mom — I’m very close with them,” Catie Landi said.

It isn’t the Landis’ first encounter with health misfortune, as the father of the family, Christopher, died of kidney failure in 2007.

The tragedy made the three women incredibly close, Melissa Landi said. Catie Landi was 13 years old when her father passed and would be diagnosed 11 years later.

“I think I just went through every emotion there was upon her diagnosis,” Melissa Landi said. “The first was probably anger because the poor kid lost her dad when she was 13, and now to be diagnosed with this, it just

COURTESY OF CATIE LANDI

Ohio State women’s soccer athletic trainer Catie Landi is honored at the team’s annual Pink Night Oct. 3, which honors survivors and those currently with breast cancer.

didn’t seem fair. Later, I felt pride because of how strong she was through the whole thing and her positive attitude and never letting it interfere with the other aspects of her life, which gave her so much joy.”

Athletic training was one of those aspects.

Catie Landi first fell in love with training at Sabino High School in Tucson, Arizona, and dreamed of earning a degree in the field — specifically at Ohio State. This summer, she was assigned to train the Buckeye women’s soccer team.

She attended every practice, scrimmage and game she was allowed to, on top of attending her own treatments.

“I scheduled my treatments around their practices, so I would have a day of practice and then go to treatment afterward,” Catie Landi said. “[The team] really inspired me to keep my chin up and to always keep fighting for what

I wanted to do. I kept telling myself, ‘Get better so you can help them get better.’”

“[The team] really inspired me to keep my chin up and to always keep fighting for what I wanted to do. I kept telling myself, ‘Get better so you can help them get better.’”

CATIE LANDI Ohio State women’s soccer team athletic trainer

Catie Landi helped multiple athletes during the season, from sophomore forward Kayla Fischer, who had a head injury, to tap-

ing ankles during warmups. Yet no one on the team knew of her illness — they found out on the team’s annual Pink Night, which honors survivors and those currently with breast cancer.

“I just didn’t want to complain because I always thought, ‘Well, maybe someone is going through something worse than me,’ and I didn’t want to take away from what they were doing in practice,” Catie Landi said.

Katie Walker, a certified athletic trainer and head of Catie Landi’s division, was amazed by her perseverance and humility and believes athletic training was a saving grace for Catie.

“I think she had to develop a relationship with them before she could tell them, but if she can help someone else by sharing her story, she wants to do that,” Walker said. “Any time that you’re doing what you enjoy and what you want to do for your life is a good distraction from other things go-

COOPER FROM 8

WESTLUND FROM 8

Cooper said it “means the world” that he was able to step up for his teammates, and none of them were happier to see him do it than Young.

“It means a lot. He always told me he wanted to come back for the big one,” Young said. “He came out here. He played very well. I’m proud of Coop. That’s big bro.”

The sack flashed Cooper’s ability, which could be useful down the stretch, as each subsequent Ohio State game will see heightened stakes. None of Cooper’s replacements have more than two years of experience.

But Cooper already accounted for the potential itch to continue the season after his fourth game.

“Before I made my decision, I made sure that I was satisfied with whether I had a really great game or whether I didn’t, that I’m gonna stay committed to my decision,” he said. “Yeah, it could be enticing. Yeah, I could still come back, but I feel like what’s best for me and also the team and just my family would still be redshirt.”

good friends and they’re all great teammates. We go to battle for each other every night.”

Meyer sees great value in Westlund as a player, too, and believes he brings great value to the squad now that he’s up to speed.

“He’s really, really shifty. He’s quick with his skates, and his stick-handling is really, really good,” Meyer said. “He can make guys miss, makes guys look silly a lot.”

Another element that complements ability with stick and skates is vision on the ice, Westlund said, and it’s an aspect of his skill set that he takes pride in.

Playing tennis and soccer growing up helped him learn how to use his peripherals, surveying an entire field of play. “[It helps for] getting the awareness up of where pucks, in this case, can be or where you want to be to help out your teammates, and where you want to play the puck so your teammates set up well,” Westlund said. “In tennis and soccer, it’s a ball, and it’s bouncing differently, and I think

AMAL SAEED | PHOTO EDITOR

Ohio State senior defensive end Jonathon Cooper (18) attempts to sack Michigan redshirt senior quarterback Shea Patterson (2) during the second half of the game at Michigan Stadium Nov. 30.

Ohio State won 56-27.

ing on.”

Walker also praised Catie Landi for her mature and responsible attitude about her illness.

When Walker was assigned to work with Catie, she said she was immediately struck by her commitment to the position amid her health struggles.

“I was impressed by her forward planning and her ability to continue on with clinicals and school while going through those treatments,” Walker said. “She gained a lot of my respect in that. I just thought it was pretty impressive of how put together she was in her planning and her dedication to the program and to her education and not allowing this disease to inhibit her ability to continue with the program and what she wants to do.”

Even on this difficult journey, Melissa Landi has seen her daughter become stronger from it.

She believes that it has put everything into perspective for not only Catie, but the family.

“It’s just given her a lot of confidence because she feels like, ‘If I can handle this, I can handle anything,’” Melissa Landi said.

“I tell her all the time she’s my hero because of everything she’s been able to accomplish with the hurdles that have been put in her way.”

While the admissions department at Berkeley accepted Rebecca Landi, the crux of her essay remains true — Catie Landi is a hero to her family and many around her.

Melissa Landi and Walker both view Catie as an inspiration and praise her strength and humility during such a challenging time.

“She’s telling people to follow their dreams — she wants to be an athletic trainer and she’s not letting anything get in the way of that,” Walker said.

that’s helped me.”

Owning more points than games is a tremendous way to dance into a season.

“He’s just scratching the surface for what he could be, but he’s electric and his skillset’s as good as anybody’s.”

STEVE ROHLIK Ohio State men’s hockey head coach

Rohlik, however, believes Westlund is just getting started.

“He’s just scratching the surface for what he could be, but he’s electric and his skill set’s as good as anybody’s,” Rohlik said.

“When he puts everything together, you’re gonna see one heck of a hockey player.”

SPORTS

8 | Tuesday, December 3, 2019

WOMEN’S SOCCER

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Women’s soccer athletic trainer perseveres through breast cancer diagnosis. | ON PAGE 7

Cooper’s choice

Senior decides to finish season against Michigan GRIFFIN STROM Sports Editor strom.25@osu.edu Jonathon Cooper had a decision to make.

He’d just made a big one, opting to redshirt his senior season to return for a fifth. But now he’d have to choose when to make his fourth and final appearance in 2019 to avoid forfeiting a 2020 return.

It came down to Penn State, Michigan or the Big Ten Championship Game.

“I feel like this game would mean more to me and my brothers,” Cooper said. “To end the regular season undefeated. I wanted to make sure that I gave everything I got. Not only is this the rivalry game, but I feel like it’s the last time I really get to play emotionally with my brothers — when it means something.”

The 6-foot-4 defensive end didn’t just play. He started and made a difference against the Wolverines in a 56-27 win, recording three tackles and his first sack of the season.

It wasn’t supposed to take 12 games, though.

Cooper was finally going to get his shot this season after waiting behind a slew of NFL-caliber pass rushers such as Nick Bosa, Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard

on an annually vaunted Buckeye defensive line for years.

Slated to start the season opposite Chase Young, Cooper would’ve reaped the potential benefits of opposing teams’ emphasis on neutralizing his teammate.

“I feel like this game would mean more to me and my brothers to end the regular season undefeated. I wanted to make sure that I gave everything I got.”

JONATHON COOPER Ohio State senior defensive end

He was also named one of seven team captains and chosen as one of three players to represent Ohio State at Big Ten Media Days during the summer.

With just 5.5 career sacks under his belt, there was every in-

dication that Cooper would make quick work of playing catch-up and building his NFL portfolio in 2019.

Rather than appearing in opposing backfields to start the year, though, Cooper turned up in the program’s weekly injury report just a day before the season opener against Florida Atlantic, listed as unavailable.

That’s where he spent most of the year, with an undisclosed ankle injury relegating one of the Buckeyes’ vocal leaders to the sidelines for all but three games before Saturday.

“Every single week, whether I’m playing or not, I’m gonna make sure I give everything to this team,” Cooper said. “Everything that I have whether that’s on the field, off the field.”

Cooper remained active while injured, helping coach the Buckeye defensive line through drills before each game, but it wasn’t the breakthrough role he hoped to have in his final year of college football.

It took until what would have been his final home game Nov. 23 at Ohio Stadium against Penn State for Cooper to officially announce that his Senior Day walk wouldn’t take place until the following year.

Cooper didn’t appear against the Nittany Lions, leaving the

AMAL SAEED | PHOTO EDITOR

Ohio State senior defensive end Jonathon Cooper (18) faces off against Michigan redshirt senior offensive lineman Jon Runyan (75) during the second half of the game at Michigan Stadium Nov. 30. Ohio State won 56-27.

door open for one more performance for the Gahanna, Ohio, native.

With Ohio State’s No. 1 ranking lending credence to national title aspirations, Cooper could’ve waited, but he said a good week in practice aided in his decision.

“I just felt something inside of me that said this should be the one, and I’m very happy I made that decision,” Cooper said.

He said he didn’t play with the expectation of making a big play,

but that’s exactly what he did in the third quarter with Michigan at midfield.

A Wolverine touchdown would’ve put them within two scores, but Cooper blew past a tight end with a blistering first step off the line to get a hand on redshirt senior quarterback Shea Patterson –– enough to drop the Michigan passer and set up a third-and-16 that the team would not convert.

COOPER CONTINUES ON 7

Westlund finds scoring groove ANDY ANDERS Assistant Sports Editor anders.83@osu.edu Gustaf Westlund couldn’t find a rhythm during his freshman season.

Injuries and a transition from the sophomore forward’s home country of Sweden kept him off beat and below his potential for the Ohio State men’s hockey team.

Now, as the Buckeyes need players to dance forward and replace the point-per-game hockey savant known as Mason Jobst, Westlund has waltzed from the gate to the tune of a team-high 14 points in 13 games.

“Coming back to something you’re familiar with, guys you’re familiar with, your friends — when you’re a new guy in a new environment, you’re trying to adjust, you’re trying to get used to it,” Westlund said. “But now you’re coming back to something you’re familiar with, and I think that’s a big part of it.”

Westlund finished the 2018-19 season No. 8 on the team, with 19 points for the Buckeyes. Through a third of the 2019-20 campaign,

he’s already five points away from that total, increasing his goal total from five to eight.

“He’s really, really shifty. He’s quick with his skates, and his stick-handling is really, really good. He can make guys miss, makes guys look silly a lot.”

CARSON MEYER Ohio State senior forward

Injuries held him to 25 contests this past season. Senior forward Carson Meyer, who called Westlund the team’s “most skilled player,” said the difference in Westlund’s ability to avoid injury was palpable after the former United States Hockey League star received private training in Sweden.

Westlund said he sought out somebody he could trust in his

home country.

“You want to have somebody you believe in. When I’m home, it’s hard to work with the guys that are here,” Westlund said.

With Westlund’s health in check, the skill Meyer noted has been on full display. He leads the team in goals, finishing shots at a blistering rate of 22 percent — No. 1 among Buckeyes with at least 10 attempts this season.

Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik said a ramp-up in Westlund’s confidence is the primary prop that helped jump his production from the previous season.

“That’s the key. He’s a hockey player. He loves to play hockey.

He was on the ice all summer, as you can see from his skill set,” Rohlik said. “But to me, it’s all about a confidence level.”

Westlund said his confidence leap has centered around familiarity with the team, with a year of adjustment to Ohio State under his belt.

Meyer was the primary catalyst for his comfort at Ohio State.

“Carson’s always been, since day one, pretty much my best friend,” Westlund said. “We’re all WESTLUND CONTINUES ON 7

CASEY CASCALDO | MANAGING EDITOR FOR MULTIMEDIA

Ohio State then-freshman forward Gustaf Westlund (29) moves the puck down the ice in the second period of the game against UMass Oct. 19, 2018. Ohio State lost 6-3.