Wednesday April 3, 2013 year: 133 No. 48
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thelantern Gee’s job the same despite Obama visit
sports
MICHELE THEODORE Lantern reporter theodore.13@osu.edu
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Meyer: Braxton ‘a tough kid’
Despite multiple injury scares, coach Urban Meyer isn’t worried about his starting quarterback.
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ANDREW HOLLERAN / Photo editor
After President Barack Obama spoke at Michigan’s commencement ceremony in 2010, University President E. Gordon Gee encouraged him to come to Ohio State. “I joked with him. I said, ‘Well, Mr. President, you’re going to lose Ohio,’” Gee said in an interview with The Lantern editorial staff on March 25. “’Because you gave the commencement speech at the University of Michigan and I want you to give it here.’” Apparently Obama kept his promise. Obama is slated to give the commencement speech to more than 12,000 graduates on May 5 at Ohio Stadium for the university’s largest graduation in history. Guests are required to have tickets at this year’s ceremony due to the large number of graduates, renovations to Ohio Stadium and extra security measures for the president. “No one goes to anything, a public setting with the president of the United States, without having to have tickets. It’s just what the Secret Service demands,” Gee said. “And they’re going to make all of our graduates go through the wanding and a variety of other things, so I think there will be a little bit more of a delay, but I think it’s great (that) he would come and be our commencement speaker. So I’m very proud of that.” In the past three years, Obama has been to campus five times, including when he kicked off his re-election campaign at the Schottenstein Center on May 5, 2012, exactly one year before he is scheduled to speak at graduation. “He’s been here a lot. I mean, we had more presidential candidate visits than about 30 states last year,” Gee said. From June to the November election, Obama visted Ohio 29 times, according to The Washington Post. Ohio made up roughly 12.7 percent of
President Barack Obama speaks on OSU’s Oval on Oct. 9. Obama is scheduled to speak at Spring Commencement on May 5.
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Some protest gay ban on blood donation SHAY TROTTER Lantern reporter trotter.35@osu.edu
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‘Finding Nemo’ returns
Ellen DeGeneres revealed Pixar will make a sequel to ‘Finding Nemo.’
campus
Oval Beach experience changes
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Blood banks seem to constantly ask people to give blood, but not everyone has an equal opportunity to donate. The Food and Drug Administration currently has forbidden the donation of blood from men who have had sexual contact with another man since 1977, a policy which has sparked peaceful protest among members of the Ohio State and Columbus community. The American Red Cross, Outlook Media, an Ohio GLBT media company, and the OSU Multicultural Center partnered together for the “Brothers in Blood” blood drive on Tuesday, an event that protested the FDA’s policy. Curtis Allen, FDA spokesman, said in an email that the policy that prevents men
who have sex with men (MSM) from donating is centered on the potential health risks for others because gay individuals comprise about 50 percent of all HIV infected persons in the U.S., he said. “The FDA’s MSM deferral policy is based upon identifying and minimizing risk to the blood supply,” Allen said. “The FDA’s blood safety efforts focus on minimizing the risk of transmitting infectious diseases, while maintaining an adequate supply of blood for the nation. The agency welcomes scientific and public input and will continue to re-evaluate donor deferral policies as new data become available to ensure the safety of blood and blood products for patients who need these products.” In June 2010, the Health and Human Service’s Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability met to discuss the policy, Allen said, but it
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Since 1977, the Food and Drug Administration has forbidden men who have had sexual contact with another man from donating blood. According to the Red Cross, 1 pint of donated blood can save up to 3 lives.
Source: reporting KAYLA ZAMARY / Design Editor JACKIE STORER / Managing editor of design
Knox trial a warning for students abroad CAROLINE KEYES Lantern reporter keyes.64@osu.edu The recent decision to retry American student Amanda Knox for the 2007 killing of her roommate might serve as a reminder for some college students about the importance of university study abroad and exchange program safety. Italy’s highest court overturned the acquittals of both Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, her then-boyfriend, for the death of British student Meredith Kercher. The ruling that came March 26 gave rise to the re-emergence of media hype surrounding the prolonged international legal battle and to Knox, now a 25-year-old University of Washington student living in Seattle. Maureen E. Miller, director of communications for the OSU Office of International Affairs, said the department website extensively lists international travel safety tips for students. “Know the local laws. Laws and systems of justice are not universal. You are subject to the laws of the host country while abroad,” the department website said. The Court of Cassation, Italy’s final court of appeal, accepted retrial requests from prosecutors and Kercher’s family last week. Unlike the
Courtesy of MCT
Amanda Knox becomes emotional at a news conference at Sea-Tac International Airport Oct. 4, 2011, in Seattle. Knox was acquitted of murdering her roommate in Italy. United States, Italy does not have “double jeopardy” laws that protect a defendant from being tried twice for the same crime. Knox’ lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova told The New York Times his client was sad when she heard of the retrial. “She believed the nightmare was over,” he said. Liz Thomas, a third-year in marketing who studied abroad in Switzerland
last semester, said besides a few robberies in her dormitory, she felt safe while traveling and living internationally. “I think as long as you keep a level head and don’t put yourself in bad situations, it’s easier to avoid trouble,” Thomas said. “I traveled to Rome by myself once, and I did have that idea in the back of my head … but I felt prepared for what was ahead and had
an understanding of the culture and how to interact.” Knox was convicted in 2009 for Kercher’s murder after the 21-year-old was found dead with stab wounds to her throat in the apartment they shared in Perugia, Italy, where both women were participating in yearlong study abroad programs. After serving four years of her 26-year sentence, Knox was acquitted and returned to America in 2011. Madison Herman, a third-year in English, studied in Ireland and said she felt adequately prepared by OSU to live abroad. “We had a lot of teaching prior to going abroad that went over a lot of things like keeping your cell phone in a different pocket, not walking around at night on the phone — different things like that,” Herman said. “We hung out a lot with the locals and different people, but I never felt like I was in danger or unsafe at any point.” Other safety study abroad tips from the university include blending in with surroundings, meeting friends in public places, adopting an attitude of watchfulness and knowing basic help phrases in the local language. According to several press outlets and Knox’s lawyer, she has no plans to return to Italy for the retrial, which has no official start date yet. If convicted a second time, Italy could seek extradition against Knox.
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