Thursday November 1, 2012 year: 132 No. 126
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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thelantern Sandy’s destruction alters election plans
sports
Kristen Mitchell Campus editor mitchell.935@osu.edu
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Reformed ‘beach bum’
OSU volleyball coach Geoff Carlston didn’t always plan on pursuing a coaching career.
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The final week leading up to the election hasn’t gone exactly as planned. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney both had to cancel campaign stops this week due to Superstorm Sandy, losing the opportunity to potentially convince just a few more voters in key swing states. Obama canceled events planned for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, including events in Ohio. According to an Obama for America release, Obama’s Wednesday stops were canceled so he could remain in Washington, D.C., to monitor the storm’s progress. Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to make appearances in Wooster, Ohio, and Gambier, Ohio, Tuesday as well as Scranton, Pa., Thursday, and all three events were canceled by the Obama campaign Monday.
where he addressed a crowd on recovery efforts. “We are here for you,” Obama told the New Jersey crowd. “We will follow up to make sure you get the help you need until you rebuild.” As the storm passes, many have returned their thoughts to the election. Ohio State political science professor Paul Beck said, “we have not had a catastrophe of this size this close to the election, at least in recent memory,” but doesn’t think it will change the outcome of the election or have much influence on voter turnout. “I think we probably have enough time,” said Beck in a Wednesday interview. With backup generators and relief efforts, Beck said he thinks the polls should be up and running by Tuesday, and that the damage shouldn’t keep determined voters away. Beck said the East Coast states most affected by the storm normally
Courtsy of MCT
A tattered flag flies above the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and United States Coast Guard building in New York City’s Battery Park on Wednesday. The events were canceled “to ensure that all local law enforcement and emergency management resources can stay focused on ensuring the safety of people who might be impacted by the storm,” according to a campaign release.
Wednesday Obama took a trip to New Jersey where he flew over the shoreline to access damage from the superstorm with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Following his tour, Obama held a press conference
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Tuition could vary based on major in future
Focussing on the foe
Rich Moore’s ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ is slated to hit theaters Friday.
campus
Brown’s daughter campaigns
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Ohio State tuition and fees
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Florida students who major in art might soon start paying more in tuition than students who study mathematics, and Ohio State is paying attention to the proposal. The recommendation to vary tuition depending on major comes from a state task force created by Florida Gov. Rick Scott. If approved by the State University System of Florida Board of Governors, Florida public universities could make majors in science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM majors, more affordable than arts and humanities majors. The purpose would be to help Florida’s job market by encouraging more students to major in degrees the state’s economy needs most. The recommendations propose freezing tuition for STEM majors for the next three years. Majors with lower job prospects in the state, like those in the arts and humanities, would cost more in order to make up the difference. “As with most issues facing institutions of higher education across the nation, we are following with interest the approach that is seemingly growing in popularity across the U.S. that is, using cost of education as a means of engineering student interest in certain majors or areas of study,” said Wayne Carlson, OSU vice provost of undergraduate studies and dean of undergraduate education. Some opponents of the measure propose just the opposite of the task force’s preliminary recommendations, Carlson said, and suggest charging “engineers more than art students, because their potential income is greater,” But Carlson said he does not agree with ending the one-size-fits-all approach to tuition. “I personally see that there is some merit in the use of tuition to motivate certain majors, such as
OSU tuition higher, rising slower than national average 2012-2013
2012-2013
$10,037 * 3.2%
$8,655 4.8%
2011-2012
2011-2012
$9,735 *Official percentage released by the university
$8,256 All numbers represent in-state tuition costs
source: reporting those in STEM fields,” he said. “I’m not personally in favor of the use of differential tuition approaches.” A better idea would be to prepare students from kindergarten and up to succeed in those majors “rather than using financial incentives”, Carlson said. Some students, such as Samantha Feck, a fourth-year in communication, do not support the idea to vary tuition based on degree. “That’s not really fair, especially if you switch majors,” she said. “It’s not fair to say one major is worth more than another.” However, some students such as Shawn Long, a first-year in science and technology exploration, see the benefits from it. “It’s a good idea to me,” he said, but added that he can see the unfairness in raising prices on non-STEM majors. At OSU, the Board of Trustees are the ones who decide on issues related to tuition and fees for students. There is “no similar line of thinking at this point,” Carlson said. “Although our tuition rate across all
Average national tuition
brandon klein Lantern reporter klein.340@osu.edu
CHRISTOPHER BRAUN / Design editor
undergraduate majors is the same, some majors have certain program fees that reflect the cost of teaching in those majors. “There are also course and lab fees, for some courses that have specific material requirements that exceed others. This results in a differential cost for some majors, although in no case is it a dramatic difference.” OSU students from Ohio paid $10,037 in tuition and fees for the 2012-2013 academic year, with out-of-state students paying $25,445, according to an OSU website. Across the nation, the average cost of tuition and fees increased by 4.8 percent to $8,655 in 2012-13 from $8,256 in 2011-12 for in-state students at public four-year colleges and universities, according to a report from College Board. The average cost of tuition and fees also increased for out-of-state students by 4.2 percent to $21,706 in 2012-13 from $20,823 in 2011-12, according to the report.
weather high 48 low 36
Election to decide US future in Middle East
showers
F 48/33 SA 49/38 SU 45/37 M 44/32
Ally Marotti Editor-in-chief marotti.5@osu.edu
sunny mostly cloudy cloudy partly cloudy www.weather.com
This is the final story of an 11-article series leading up to the Nov. 6 presidential election that will break down the issues dominating political debates. Check back Tuesday for our election coverage. Alam Payind, director of Ohio State’s Middle East Studies Center, said what is unfolding in the Middle East is very complicated. “There’s always something going on in the Middle East,” Payind said. “A simplistic approach
from outside isn’t doing justice to the complicated issues in the Middle East.” Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, however, said during the third presidential debate that his strategy concerning the Middle East is “pretty straightforward.” “To go after the bad guys, to make sure we do our very best to interrupt them,” he said Oct. 22. “To kill them, to take them out of the picture.” Romney did say that his strategy was also a little broader, but during the debate, President Barack Obama found some major discrepancies with the way Romney operates. “What we need to do with respect to the Middle East is strong, steady leadership, not wrong and
reckless leadership that is all over the map. And unfortunately, that’s the kind of opinions that (Romney has) offered throughout this campaign, and it is not a recipe for American strength,” Obama said during the Oct. 22 debate. “My first job as commander-in-chief … is to keep the American people safe. And that’s what we’ve done over the last four years.” The Tunisian president of 23 years, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, fled his country in January 2011 after a month of civilian protests. About a month later, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak fled Cairo. Mubarak, who died in June, had ruled Egypt for about 30 years.
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