Volume 120 Issue 6 Friday, October 9, 2015
Marijuana ballot issue is up for debate in Ohio
News
Barrett Fitzgerald Orbit Media Reporter
WMCO Disc Jockeys broadcast a live remote in the Bottom of the Center on College Radio Day.
Arts & Entertainment
Christine Holmes/ Black & Magenta Lucas Lloyd is the First Year Class President in Senate.
Class of 2019 elects officers Rachel Schlarb Orbit Media Reporter
The SEOSO concert will be on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in Brown Chapel.
SPORTS
Running back Melvin Smith and the Muskies take on Heidelberg on Oct. 10 at home.
First year class officers have all been formally inducted into Student Senate for the 2015-2016 academic year. First Year Class President, Lucas Lloyd, is part of Student Senate because he thinks he was in the right place at the right time. “I originally didn’t want to [join Senate],” said Lloyd. “I never planned on joining Senate, I was walking out on the Quad and saw that the Senate booth was up and they asked me to join.” Lloyd and his first year peers voted for their class officers through OrgSync on Sept. 17-18. “People voted for me [as president] and I’m sitting here now,” said Lloyd. According to Lloyd, he has a good personality for being an elected class officer. “I am a very social person and I talk to a lot of people, so I knew a lot of people,” said Lloyd. “I tried
Ohio is presenting a bill that would legalize marijuana in the next election. With the recent marijuana law changes in the country, many people are taking stronger sides on the debate of whether or not Ohio should be on the list of states that allow their citizens to use the drug. Chair of the Sociology Department, Steven McGuire, understands the reasons of why people support the legalization of marijuana. “I think a lot of people who support the initiatives don’t necessarily use [marijuana] themselves,” said McGuire. “They see reasons why there might be [a need for] legalization.” The ballot this November will contain Issue 3, the marijuana to get as many people to vote for me as possible. I figured I had a good chance.” Lloyd said that he sees himself as a leader and was always involved in different activities throughout his life. “I have always been involved in a lot of community things,” said Lloyd. “I was the President of Leaders Club, [and I was in] community service organizations, so I have a background of being a leader in some clubs.” So far, Lloyd has enjoyed his time on Senate. “I think it’s great,” said Lloyd. “I like representing people and I try to make this community better as whole.” Lloyd plans on staying involved and encourages other students to join Student Senate as well.
legalization bill. This bill allows 21-year-olds to possess marijuana. It also includes a medicinal marijuana option to those who are eligible to get a medical marijuana card. Issue 2 on the ballot refers to the locations the marijuana would be grown and cultivated. It was written to grant only 10 state licensed facilities the ability to grow and extract the marijuana for sale. If passed, Issue 2 would make Issue 3, the marijuana legalization law, invalid due to the way it is worded. David Tabachnick, Associate Professor of Sociology, believes the wording of the bill is poorly written. “This particular anti monopoly bill is a bad one for the way it was written,” said Tabachnick. The general principle of avoiding monopolies is a good one, unless
you can argue there is a public necessity [for] a monopoly,” said Tabachnick. Whether the use of marijuana should be legalized has been a heated debate ever since it first became legalized in other states. The various degrees of legalization have also been contested. The debate between recreational purposes and medicinal purposes has also been talked about, but the ballot does not make a distinction between the two arguments. Lucas Lloyd, First Year Class President, said he doesn’t think it will be easy to pass this bill. “I do not believe this issue will pass in the next election,” said Lloyd. “I think that this will be an issue for the next five to ten years.” The 2015 election in Ohio will be on Nov. 3. If passed, Ohio would be the first state east of the Mississippi River to legalize marijuana.
Karysa Kent Orbit Media Reporter
Clogging is a new class being offered on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the New Concord Elementary School gymnasium. Previously, they were planning to use an area near the New Concord Area Pool for the Bark Park, but they’re now looking to relocate it to near The Crumb and Cup Alley Café. NCAARD Program Director, Judy Beetem, said that there are pros and cons to the new location. “It’s smaller and it’s level,” said Beetem. “It wouldn’t take a whole lot of work, just put a fence up and run some water and [it’s] right by the coffee shop. So [it’s possible] you can go and get some coffee while your dog is playing. NCAARD.org has more information on all of their programming.
NCAARD gearing up for October The New Concord Area Arts and Recreation District, NCAARD, is working on the Bark Park opening and several classes that will be offered this October. An adult writers’ circle, and guitar, clogging, and cooking classes are being taught. The writers’ circle will be on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and will be located in the NCAARD Conference Room. The guitar classes will be offered on Mondays from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in New Concord Elementary School. The cooking class will be held on Oct.14 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. in the East Muskingum Middle School life skills classroom.