The Lantern – Nov. 14, 2019

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TUESDAY

THURSDAY

Thursday, November 14, 2019

DIABETES

COLUMBUS’ OWN

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Wexner Medical Center staff discuss diabetes prevention and maintenance.

FOOTBALL

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Wasp Factory develops one-of-akind sound to embrace the band’s originality.

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Ohio State football is not taking Rutgers lightly Saturday.

CHUGUNOV

THE LANTERN thelantern.com

@TheLantern

@thelanternosu

NOVA NO CHALLENGE

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Chris Chugunov looks forward to extra game time in front of familiar faces against Rutgers.

The student voice of the Ohio State University

Year 139, Issue No. 50

Ohio State’s general counsel leaving for Georgetown

AMAL SAEED | PHOTO EDITOR

No. 16 Ohio State defeats No. 10 Villanova 76-51 For game coverage, see pg. 6 and thelantern.com

Gov. DeWine calls for hazing crackdown JOE MATTS Lantern reporter matts.2@osu.edu In 2017, Ohio State temporarily suspended all its fraternities amidst allegations involving hazing. In October, Ohio University did the same. Now, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has called on lawmakers to introduce stricter punishments for hazing. DeWine said the state should make hazing at least a fourth-degree felony in a Columbus Dispatch interview Nov. 10. Ohio’s current criminal hazing statute, written in 1983, sets the punishment at a fourth-degree misdemeanor, Daniel Tierney, DeWine’s press secretary, said. “This type of behavior, hazing activities, are disgusting and shouldn’t have any place in the collegiate experience,” Tierney said. According to the Ohio State Code of Student Conduct, hazing is “doing, requiring or encouraging any act, whether or not the act is voluntarily agreed upon, in conjunction with initiation or continued membership or participation in any group that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm or humiliation. Such acts may include, but are not limited to, use of alcohol, creation of excessive fatigue, and paddling, punching or kicking in any form.” The code of conduct includes noninitiation hazing in its definition and failure to report a hazing incident as a violation.

CASEY CASCALDO | MANAGING EDITOR FOR MULTIMEDIA

Following hazing incidents at Ohio University, Gov. Mike DeWine is calling for harsher hazing punishments in Ohio.

The maximum punishment for a hazing charge under Ohio’s current law is 30 days in jail and a $250 charge, according to criminaldefenselawyer.com. A fourth-degree felony would impose a maximum sentence of 18 months and a $5,000 charge. Tierney also said that although stricter laws could discourage people from reporting hazing, DeWine thinks Ohio should include a safe-harbor rule to protect bystanders and witnesses who call emergency services. “Any time someone is not getting oxygen to the brain, time is critical. These types of things have been common in some of these hazing incidents that have made national news,” Tierney said. “What you don’t want to do is, by strengthening the statute,

discourage people from getting help for someone who is being injured.”

“We believe every student has the right to learn and thrive in a safe and healthy campus environment.” TODD SHELTON North American Interfraternity Conference chief communication officer

The Dispatch interview with DeWine took place after the pa-

per published an investigative report on the death of Collin Wiant, a pledge at the Epsilon chapter of Sigma Pi at Ohio University. Wiant was an 18-year-old pledge of Sigma Pi and died Nov. 12, 2018, after collapsing on the floor of an unofficial, off-campus fraternity house, according to Dispatch reporting. “The Dispatch, to their credit, and the Wiant family, to their credit, have used this tragedy to shine a light on some of the limitations in the statute,” Tierney said. Tierney said the governor thinks Ohio law’s current definition of hazing is too narrow, only applying to an initiation process, and hazing can happen in organizations without a formal initiation HAZING CONTINUES ON 2

COURTESY OF OHIO STATE

Christopher Culley is leaving the university for a job at Georgetown University.

SAM RAUDINS Campus Editor raudins.3@osu.edu Ohio State’s general counsel, who oversees the university’s major litigation — including lawsuits regarding abuse by former university physician Richard Strauss — is leaving Ohio State. Christopher Culley, who serves as senior adviser to the president and senior vice president and general counsel in the Office of Legal Affairs, accepted a position at Georgetown University as the vice president for enterprise initiatives, according to an Oct. 9 email from University President Michael V. Drake to members of his cabinet. Culley’s last day is Nov. 15, according to the email. Culley did not respond to requests for comment. Culley’s departure comes amidst at least 14 Strauss-related lawsuits that have been filed against the university. Mediation between the plaintiffs and the university is ongoing Strauss was the team doctor for 17 men’s varsity sports and a physician at the Student Wellness Center at Ohio State from 1978 to ’98, during which he abused at least 177 students and student-athletes, according to a report released in May, following an investigation conducted by Perkins Coie, LLP. The investigation also found that Ohio State failed to act on Strauss’ abuse at the time. Strauss died by suicide in 2005. Culley joined the university in 1998 as deputy general counsel and has served as general counsel since 2004, the email states. According to the Office of Legal Affairs’ website, Culley’s respon-

CULLEY CONTINUES ON 2


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