THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWS ORGANIZATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI | WWW.NEWSRECORD.ORG
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131 YEARS IN PRINT VOL. CXXXI ISSUE X
MONDAY | OCTOBER 24 | 2011
SOUTHGATE’S COLLAROS MISFIT MOSH IN THE CLUTCH sports | 6
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Iraq war ends, troops coming home SCOTT WINFIELD | NEWS EDITOR
EAMON QUEENEY | PHOTO EDITOR
IRAQI CONFLICT CONCLUDES President Barack Obama announced an end to the War in Iraq Friday.
With the exception of 160 servicemen, all American soldiers will return to their families in the United States by the end of 2011 — a promise made by President Barack Obama Friday. Obama announced an official end — as promised during his 2007 campaign — to the United States’s conflict with the nation of Iraq. Obama also said all troops will return to the United States by the end of 2011, assuring the American people that the U.S. military would remain an elite force and suggesting a continuation in aiding the Iraqi people. The announcement comes one day after Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi was reportedly killed in the crossfire of a Libyan uprising.
Obama outlined his commitment to keeping the promise he made during his presidential campaign. “I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end — for the sake of our national security and to strengthen American leadership around the world,” Obama said. “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over. As Commander-in-Chief, ensuring the success of this strategy has been one of my highest national security priorities.” Obama cited a rapid decline in the United States occupation of Iraq since his inauguration. “When I took office, roughly 180,000 troops were deployed in both these wars,” Obama said, “and by the end of this year, that number will be cut in half. Make no mistake: It will continue to go down.”
Since former President George W. Bush declared war on Iraq in 2003, more than 4,000 American soldiers have lost their lives, and the United States has spent an estimated $3.2 trillion to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study by Brown University. “The tide of war is receding,” Obama said. “The drawdown in Iraq allowed us to refocus our fight against al-Qaida and achieve major victories against its leadership — including Osama bin Laden.” Obama ordered the assassination of bin Laden at an Abbottabad, Pakistan compound May 1. The United States will also continue to maintain its reputation as one of the world’s dominant military powers, Obama said. SEE IRAQ | 5
SG talks scholars, semesters
Research reveals tax option
With midterms rolling in, the University of Cincinnati Student Government took into consideration opportunities that can ease other stresses of student life. SG recognized the occasional anxiety and ignorance about the upcoming semester conversion. On Nov. 7, an adviser questionand-answer session will take place on McMicken Commons. Student Government is pushing students to utilize the 15 advisers who will be present to answer questions about the change to semesters, said Student Body Vice President Michael Linger. “Nov. 7 was chosen because it’s the 50th anniversary of the day that the board of trustees voted to switch from semesters to quarters. So, 50 years later, we’re going back to semesters,” said Joe Blizzard, Chair of the Academic Issues Committee. The event runs from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. SG also questioned whether students were taking advantage of resources international funds, new Office of Nationally Competitive Awards. In a report by Student Body President Alan Hagerty, he urged students to look into the millions of dollars worth of international grants and scholarships available to students who desire to study abroad. “I went to Santiago, Chile, this past summer, “Hagerty said. “I had a great experience and got a decent scholarship for that.” Scholarships and grants can be awarded for students with a specific ethnicity, academic major, language interest or interest in a particular region. The International Committee encourages students to research which financial benefits they can receive for travel arrangements. The awards promoted by University of Cincinnati aren’t limited to international funding. The new Office of Nationally Competitive Awards was developed in April to aid gifted students in earning prestigious awards.
Online sales by Ohioans could be cheating the state out of thousands of retail jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue, according to recent research by University of Cincinnati’s Economic Center. The UC research projects Ohio retail stores would hire 11,000 new employees if the state would adopt a new system requiring sales tax collection by out-of-state online distributors. “If there were a complete uniform tax — a level playing field between online and retail — the state would see $170 million to $220 million in extra revenue,” said Jeff Rexhausen, associate director of research at UC’s Economics Center. Focus On Ohio’s Future — an organization that compiles information relating to Ohio’s retail, wholesale and distribution sectors — paid UC’s Economic Center to examine information already available and apply the information to Ohio, said Rexhausen. The amount paid was not disclosed. “Our group wanted to use a public university in Ohio to conduct our research, UC was chosen because they have recently been producing great research,” said Gordon Gulf, executive vice president of the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants Legal implications could come into play since online commerce between one state and another is unconstitutional, Rexhausen said. the rights to regulate commerce between states are reserved to Congress, according to the Commerce Clause, article one, section eight, clause three of the U.S. Constitution,. Ohioans pay sales tax for store purchases, but often do not pay sales tax when buying goods online, the research showed. “When buying goods online, the tax often is not collected, in which case the amount of the purchaser’s obligation is usually not stated,” as stated in the research. “We took results and looked at the volume of sales and the loss of
KARA DRISCOLL | STAFF REPORTER
SEE SG | 5
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Kasich’s SB 5 rallies support RYAN HOFFMAN | SENIOR REPORTER
“Yes on Issues 2 and 3” was the rallying cry at the Sharonville Convention Center on Saturday where Gov. John Kasich and other Republican city and state officials hosted a rally in support of the two November ballot issues. A crowd of more than 100 erupted into a chant of “Go John Go,” as the governor and Tom Niehaus, president of the Ohio Senate, took the stage. “This is a fairness issue and a jobs issue for this state,” said Kasich as he defended Senate Bill 5 (SB 5). “We’re not asking them to pay some sky high amount we’re just asking them to participate.” Kasich also put a large emphasis on jobs and the methods that he believes will increase jobs in Ohio. “The simple fact of the matter is if our communities cannot stabilize their cost, they will lose jobs and there are no two ways around that,” Kasich said. Other speakers at the rally focused on Issue 3, the constitutional amendment that would allow
ANTHONY OROZCO | NEWS EDITOR
FORECAST
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MARY F. CALVERT | MCT CAMPUS
LIGHTING THE FIRE Gov. John Kasich made a stop in Sharonville, Ohio Saturday to garner backing for SB 5.
Ohioans to opt out of buying health insurance. Mike Wilson, president of the Cincinnati Tea Party, and Dr. Eric Novack, a senior fellow and health care adviser for Americans United, defended the amendment which has been criticized as being sloppily put together. “Who should control your health and health care decisions: you and your family or politicians and there cronies?” Novack asked. Greg Hartman, president of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, received applause when he called President Barack Obama’s health care reform a job killer, claiming that uncertainty about the legislation was preventing companies from hiring more workers. While most of those in attendance clapped and cheered throughout the rally, there were some who were there not just to support, but to learn as well. “I just wanted to learn a little more [about Issue 2] from the governor,” said Terry, a Hamilton County Courthouse employee from Western Hills SEE KASICH | 5
SEE RESEARCH | 5
Police arrest 45 ‘Occupy’ protesters
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LANCE LAMBERT | SENIOR REPORTER
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Downtown Cincinnati was strewn with a slew of arrests this weekend as more than 40 protesters were taken into police custody. A total of 45 Occupy Cincinnati members were arrested in three consecutive nights in a row for trespassing public areas after closing times in Piatt Park and Fountain Square. The Thursday arrests of the recent political movement in Piatt Park proved to be the largest of the three-day detainments. “In all, 23 protesters were arrested [Thursday],” said Kristin Brand, 39, an organizer for Occupy Cincinnati. Though the park officially closed at 10 p.m., police arrived at the park approximately at 11:45 p.m. and did not begin arresting demonstrators until approximately 12:45 a.m., Brand said. After the arrests, the city declared Piatt Park — where the demonstrators had camped for nearly two weeks — closed for cleaning until further notice. Occupy Cincinnati volunteers paid more than $4,200 to bailout those arrested. Some protesters had family and friends bail them
out individually. Bond ranged from $104 to $600, depending on whether those arrested had “unresolved issues” with Hamilton County Courts, Brand said. “The point of this movement is to express our freedom of speech and to peacefully assemble,” Brand said Friday. “The occupation will continue.” City officials responded to the arrests, stating the right to assemble will not be prohibited as long as demonstrators are not breaking curfew laws. “The fact that they were arrested was not to stop their efforts,” said Mayor Mark Mallory in a public statement Friday. That night, a slightly smaller crowd of protesters returned to Piatt Park, reiterating their grievances with the city not providing a 24-hour public area for protesters to express and share their political views. Police arrested 11 protesters who volunteered to be detained, refusing to leave the park after the 10 p.m. curfew. “The situation wasn’t really addressed after the first arrests,” said Greg Zoller, a 21-year-old political science graduate student
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at the University of Cincinnati and one of the 11 members of Occupy Cincinnati who were arrested. “We felt that it was necessary to SEE OCCUPY | 5
ANNA BENTLEY | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
PIATT PARK SHAKEDOWN Police officers guard Piatt Park as Occupy Cincinnati protesters are arrested Thursday.