Thursday February 14, 2013 year: 133 No. 23
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
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No challengers: One-sided USG election a rarity
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KRISTEN MITCHELL Campus editor mitchell.935@osu.edu For the first time in almost 50 years, an Undergraduate Student Government presidential candidate is running unopposed. For the first time in about 10 years, Ohio State students are expected to elect a two-term president. USG President Taylor Stepp, a thirdyear in public affairs from Jackson, Ohio, is the only presidential candidate slated to be on the ballot when students can start casting their vote on Feb. 27. That hasn’t occurred since 1966. But 50 years ago when Tim Neustadt ran as the only presidential candidate for Student Senate, which would become USG, things were different. USG was controlled by two political parties, the more conservative Buckeye Political Party and the liberal Student Congress Party, and the election wasn’t really unopposed. In 1966 Neustadt, a junior at the time, wasn’t running against a candidate, he was running against the Free Student FederaKRISTEN MITCHELL / Campus editor tion referendum put forth by the
Brainy basketball
The OSU basketball team faces a cerebral challenge in the Northwestern Wildcats Thursday..
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A Buckeye legend
‘Woody: His Life, Times and Teachings’ is scheduled to be performed Saturday at Capitol Theatre.
Student Congress Party, calling for the abolition of the Senate. Student government was at a crossroads. The polarization of students was a direct reflection of the ongoing war in Vietnam, said Neustadt, now 67 and living in Los Angeles. “The war was very real to the average student,” he said in an interview with The Lantern. “It was the ‘60s, everything was being challenged … it was very alive.” With the threat of being sent to war if men didn’t perform well in school, Neustadt described the vibe on campus as tense at times. “Nobody trusted anybody, nothing was the same as it traditionally was,” he said. “The campus wasn’t all about football and fraternities and dating and getting out in four years and entering the real world.” If you weren’t in school, you were going to the military. You were going to war, he said. According to The Lantern archives, 4,814 votes were cast for the Free Student Federation referendum, but it wasn’t enough to disband Student Senate as the Student Congress Party had wanted. With Neustadt’s presidency secured, student body leadership was on a path for change. More than 10,500 students voted in the 1966 Student Senate election, which, according to a 1966 Lantern article, set a voter
Taylor Stepp, USG president and third-year in public affairs, is
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Woody in bronze Construction workers install an 8-foot statue of former OSU football coach Woody Hayes and plaque outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center Feb. 13.
campus
OSU program grows with male nurses
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DANIEL CHI / Asst. photo editor
Gov. John Kasich (left) and OSU President E. Gordon Gee (right) attend a meeting at the Statehouse on Sept. 11 to discuss a budget plan for higher education with Ohio college and university officials.
Colleges given incentive to increase grads
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DAN HOPE Oller reporter hope.46@osu.edu
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As a result of new measures outlined in the state of Ohio executive budget for fiscal years 2014-2015, the percentage of state funding Ohio State receives each year is subject to change. Ohio Gov. John Kasich released the budget proposal for the final two fiscal years of his term as governor on Feb. 4, a plan which includes adjustments to the State Share of Instruction (SSI) funding formula, which is used to divide the state’s higher education funding among Ohio’s 37 public universities and colleges. Under the new formula, the allocation
of funds at the university level will begin emphasizing degree completion rather than course completion starting in fiscal year 2014. The new SSI formula will award 50 percent of state funds to universities based upon the percentage of students who complete degrees, with 28.2 percent for course completion. Under the current formula, 20 percent of funds are awarded for degree completion and 58.2 are for course completion. Currently, only 26 percent of adults in Ohio have a bachelor’s degree, which is 5 percentage points below the national average. Jeff Robinson, deputy director of communications for the Ohio Board of Regents, said the change in emphasis from
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