Tuesday February 26, 2013 year: 133 No. 29
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thelantern USG task force late with housing report
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MICHAEL BURWELL Senior Lantern reporter burwell.37@osu.edu
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Crafty contributions
Junior guard Aaron Craft scored 21 points in OSU’s 68-60 win against MSU Sunday.
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The Undergraduate Student Government’s Off-Campus Development Task Force, created to address problems in the off-campus community, is more than three weeks late in releasing the comprehensive report of its findings. In a Nov. 29 Lantern article, task force leader and former USG President Nick Messenger said he planned to issue the report by Feb. 1, but the comprehensive report has yet to be published. USG President Taylor Stepp said task force members decided to delay the report because of an “abnormally low response rate” from emails sent out to a random number of students. The report has also been delayed due to a restructure of the strategy for the project to highlight areas of excellence, then focus on what to improve, said Celia Wright, a task force member and secondyear in exploration. She said the change in strategy took place around the middle of January. Stepp said USG has reached out to parents and prominent landlords in the area, who have been cooperative for the most part. However he said he is “really upset” about the low response rate from students. Stepp said he was told the findings should be released in “about a week-and-a-half or so.” The task force focused on deteriorating conditions of houses, rent issues, problems with
Lantern file photo
USG’s Off-Campus Development Task Force has yet to release findings due to lack of response. landlords, lighting issues and pedestrian traffic safety. When the report is released, “student development goals” will be created to address any off-campus problems, Stepp said in a Dec. 4 Lantern article. Some students, like Ryan Glinn, a fourth-year in strategic communication, were unsure what to think of the delay. “Are they going to be able to implement it and
make it effective? That’s the trick, and what you’re seeing now is they’re late with their task force report already so that’s not a good start,” Glinn said. Glinn said students, as well as landlords, need to do their part to keep housing conditions nice. “It’s tough when you have different landlords in different areas, and then you have properties with six guys or six girls living in (them), and part of the responsibility is on us as students to take care of the property while we’re renting it,” Glinn said. “On the other hand, I think the landlords could do a little bit more as well.” Others felt the task force will help future students down the road. “I think it’s about taking it one step at a time and hopefully improving it for kids who go here in 10 years,” said Doug Rosenthal, a fourth-year in criminology and political science. “It’s not going to happen this year, it’s not going to happen next year, but if you make the effort now, year by year it will get better and better.” Rosenthal said he has experienced problems with the physical condition of his house on 17th Avenue, such as issues with electrical wiring and said “it just looks like they haven’t remodeled it in about 50 years.” However, he said he is glad steps are being taken to improve the off-campus area. “In general, college housing is obviously lower quality,” Rosenthal said. “But I think it’s about time they look into it and start at least trying to improve stuff.”
Commencement Controversy
Grad tickets already being sold online
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VP candidate promises ‘big things’
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CAROLINE KEYES Lantern reporter keyes.64@osu.edu
How much would you pay for commencement tickets?
Some Ohio State students are reaching for their wallets before their diplomas as they finalize their commencement plans, but the university might be changing its limited ticket policy after backlash from graduating students. Graduating from college is a momentous occasion for many, but some students have felt pressured to place a monetary value on this milestone. OSU announced graduates will only be able to receive four tickets for the May 5 ceremony in Ohio Stadium where President Barack Obama is expected to speak. “For me, it’s pretty upsetting because I have five direct family members,” said Stephen Pearson, a fourth-year in biology. Pearson said he needs to get more tickets for the ceremony, and that since it was announced last Wednesday that Obama will be speaking, he has already witnessed an online market develop for commencement tickets. “I’ve already seen people selling tickets on Facebook, and I’ve had friends tell me that they are only having two relatives go so they can sell their tickets and make money,” Pearson said. “Someone even texted me and said he was selling two tickets for $1,000 a piece if I wanted to buy them.” Craigslist had one posting that offered to sell tickets for $100 each Monday evening, and other postings by buyers and sellers stated the ticket price could be determined by negotiation. Students posting in the Class of 2013 Facebook page were asking for others to message them privately if they had any extra tickets to sell. It is illegal in Ohio for private citizens to scalp or
Some sudents are selling tickets to Spring Commencement for as much as $500 a piece. OSU spokeswoman Gayle Saunders said the university does not condone buying and selling tickets to graduation. Ticket distribution will likely begin in April and if there are extra tickets, a method for additional distribution will be determined. Seating is limited due to “security measures, stadium refurbishing projects and a greater number of graduates than ever before,” according to the OSU commencement website.
photo by ANDREW HOLLERAN / Photo editor resell event tickets, which is often done at a much higher price. Multiple petitions have been circulating online, collecting signatures from people wanting an increase in the number of tickets available. One petition had more than 530 signatures Monday evening. OSU spokeswoman Gayle Saunders said the university does not condone buying and selling tickets to graduation, and that officials are listening to feedback from students and their families and are working to accommodate all graduates’ guests. “We are hopeful changes to our stadium renovation plans and other adjustments will help to address concerns for ticket availability,” Saunders said. Once the university has a good idea of how many students are planning to attend commencement, it may increase the ticket limit. As graduating students scramble to obtain
Neilwood Gables won’t house students next school year SHAY TROTTER Lantern reporter trotter.35@osu.edu An expected $1.25 million renovation of Neilwood Gables’ plumbing system has caused Ohio State to remove the building from the available housing options for the 2013-2014 academic year. “We’ve taken it offline for people to renew and to go there,” said Student Life spokesman Dave Isaacs. “We may be able to use it, but we just can’t guarantee. We can’t accommodate a request now for someone who says they want to live in Neilwood Gables.” Although maintenance has been ongoing for the last few years, Isaacs said the bulk of the 89-year-old building’s original piping still remains. Now there are plans to replace the risers, vertical pipes that run the length of the building, and riser valves of the plumbing system for $1.2 million and $50,000, respectively. The residence hall has also undergone maintenance in other areas, including electrical upgrades in 1998 and 2002 and a fire alarm replacement, Isaacs said. Minor electrical problems will also be addressed when the building is closed. “As those who have or live in old houses know, there is work that constantly needs to be done on old buildings,” Isaacs said. While there is no definitive time span for the renovations, an early completion could mean Neilwood Gables will still be used in some way. “Depending on how the time length of the project goes … we may be able to use (the building) for other ways in the fall,” Isaacs said.
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photo illustration by KAYLA BYLER / Design editor
enough tickets for their families and friends, many have voiced concerns about competing for tickets with younger students interested in seeing Obama speak. Carole McCormick, a fourth-year in biology, said she absolutely thinks younger students will attempt to buy tickets and isn’t happy about it. “It takes away from graduation, and there’s the fact that (underclassmen) won’t even care about the people who actually are graduating,” McCormick said. “Obama has been here like three times in the past year — they couldn’t have seen him any of those other times for free?” Obama kicked off his re-election campaign at the Schottenstein Center on May 5, 2012, and since then has been back to the university twice. In August
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CGS retracts officer change after backlash JOHN WERNECKE Lantern reporter wernecke.5@osu.edu The Council of Graduate Students has reversed its decision to split the vice presidential duties and stipend between two members after receiving backlash for violating its constitutional procedure. The executive committee of the CGS nullified Act 1213, which split vice presidential duties between the CGS secretary and treasurer, at its delegate meeting Friday. Faced with what she called a difficult decision, CGS president Allison Sturm told the delegate body that Act 1213, passed at the previous delegate meeting, was done in conflict with the CGS constitution and was therefore void. Sturm said the committee made its decision in hopes that the organization
could move past the controversy associated with the change. “At this point it’s done,” Sturm said. “We’re all moving on and I think we should remember what we were elected to do. From this point forward, for the month or two we have left, let’s try to remember that and finish strong.” The act, passed after former CGS president Allen Cochran resigned, was in violation of the CGS constitution because it was delivered to the delegates less than 24 hours before being put to vote. CGS physics delegate James McMillan objected to the procedure and distributed his concerns on the leadership change by email to more than 3,500 graduate students. McMillan’s actions brought attention to the issue, but also to him. He was eventually called in for a mandatory meeting with assistant vice president of Student Life, Douglas Koyle, who
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