The Lantern - April 18 2017

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

AGING SCIENTISTS

CRIME MAP

P2

A study by OSU economists examines the implications of the aging population of researchers.

P3

Get a roundup of crime on and around campus.

ART SHOW

P4

A showcase at the Urban Arts Space will feature the work of graduating seniors from the BFA program.

WIDE RECEIVERS

P8

After struggling last season, OSU wide receivers showed signs of improvement in the spring game.

The student voice of the Ohio State University

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

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Year 137, Issue No. 25

Could graduating seniors get into OSU today?

ANALYSIS

Prayer spaces Analysis of admission data shows increasing selectivity vary across ABBY VESOULIS the Big Ten Patricia Boyer Miller Editor ADRIEN LAC Oller Reporter lac.3@osu.edu

vesoulis.3@osu.edu

Matt Gaines, a senior at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, wanted to pursue an electrical engineering degree at Ohio State.

After scoring a 34 on the ACT and earning a 3.58 unweighted GPA, he thought his chances of admission were pretty high.

Instead, he was put on a waitlist for admittance to OSU’s incoming 2017 freshman class. He said he now feels the system is flawed.

“I had no concerns of not getting into Ohio State. Maybe MIT, but not Ohio State,” Gaines said.

“I know people who got in with a 27 ACT and a lower GPA than me.”

Data obtained through a public records request shows more and more accepted and enrolled students are achieving higher test scores and graduating at the top of their respective high school classes. OSU seniors preparing for commencement in a few weeks might wonder if they would have gotten into the university if they applied today, rather than four years ago.

MASON SWIRES | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

A graduating student sits in the bleachers of Ohio Stadium with his decorated cap, awaiting the beginning of 2016 Spring Commencement.

According to a Lantern analysis, that answer isn’t “No.” But it’s not a firm “Yes” either.

Adding to the uncertainty of admission are applicants’ climbing test scores, a decreasing reliance by high schools on traditional class ranking systems, an exorbitant increase in applicants to OSU,

and trends along gender lines in admissions cycles.

David Straka, a graduating fifth-year in political science and a National Buckeye Scholarship recipient, got a 28 on his ACT. He said he does not know if he would have been accepted under the same scrutiny by which the

incoming freshmen class is being judged.

“I don’t think I would be as confident in applying, knowing the data and knowing how increasingly difficult it is to get into this university,” he said. “I don’t know that I could have any bit of confiADMISSIONS CONTINUES ON 2

J.D. Vance talks Ohio opioid epidemic OWEN DAUGHERTY Lantern reporter daugherty.260@osu.edu At first glance, J.D. Vance looks more like a polished startup investor than the self-proclaimed “hillbilly” the title of his book would lead one to believe. But Vance — an Ohio State alumnus who graduated 2009 and studied political science and philosophy — said he never forgot his roots and proudly embraces his rural, southern Ohio upbringing.

Vance also said in a recently published editorial in the New York Times he has decided to trade in his Bay Area abode and make the move back to Columbus with his wife, Usha. He recently spoke to The Lantern about his next moves. Vance has made clear his intentions behind the move back to Ohio — to help tackle the

state’s opioid epidemic.

Vance turned his childhood — which included a drug-addicted mother, absent father and eventual upbringing by his grandmother he affectionately referred to as mamaw — into a rise to corporate success and a best-selling book, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis.”

While the book chronicles his rough upbringing, it also gives insight into the struggle of working-class rural America. With the summer release of the book coinciding with the whirlwind election season, his depiction of Appalachia took on a greater level of salience.

Vance said the success of his book has surprised even himself.

“Without the book, no one would probably be listening to what I’m saying,” Vance said with a laugh.

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J.D. Vance signs his book, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis.”

The author’s first undertaking Middletown, Ohio, Vance said he sat on best-seller lists for weeks didn’t always see college as a posand sold more than half a million sibility. copies, according to his publishAfter leaving the Marine Corps er’s website. This week, it was an- at 23 years old, Vance said he saw nounced that the book would get a OSU as a place that felt like home. movie deal.

“OSU was a very critical part J.D. VANCE CONTINUES ON 4 Growing up in working-class

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There are no religious references, symbols or icons, nothing to show a preference toward any particular religion in Ohio State’s Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Room — and that’s by design.

The space, located on the third floor of the Ohio Union, is meant to be available to any student of any faith who wants to peacefully pray or meditate.

The space, built as part of the new Ohio Union in 2010, offers two ablution rooms for religious washing — practiced by some Muslims — and two meditation rooms. There’s also a meeting space that can be reserved by any student organization, including nonreligious ones.

A review of Big Ten universities shows that most set aside at least one room for prayer, and OSU is among the best equipped.

Many university officials mentioned the space in the Union in the aftermath of the Nov. 28 knife attack on campus and in response to a previous Lantern interview with the attacker, who mentioned he didn’t know where on campus he could pray, having just transferred from Columbus State University at the time of the story.

Cheryl Achterberg, dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology, decided to create a new meditation and reflection space in Arps Hall in the aftermath of the attack.

“A space like this was an unmet need,” Achterberg said. “I realized that this is something that we could take the initiative on and make a difference”.

Though the Union room is the main space dedicated to meditation, records show more often than not, it’s being used for non-religious purposes. In fact, nonreligious student organizations use it more than 80 percent of the time that it’s reserved.

Religious organizations have raised concerns about how difficult booking the space can be.

PRAYER SPACES CONTINUES ON 3

CAMPUS

2 | Tuesday, April 18, 2017

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STUDY

Economists worried about aging population of researchers SHERIDAN HENDRIX Senior Lantern reporter hendrix.87@osu.edu The average age of scientists and engineers is rapidly increasing — and will continue to do so — according to a recent study by economists at Ohio State.

Economists David Blau and Bruce Weinberg found that between 1993 and 2010, the average age of employed scientists was 45.1 to 48.6. And that number is expected to grow, estimating an increase by another 2.3 years in the near future.

Weinberg said the motivation for this study was an interest in innovation and how it’s related to age, specifically considering at what point in people’s careers they are most innovative.

“The innovative workforce is getting older, and there’s the potential that as the workforce gets older for that to adversely affect the productivity and innovative output of the research community,” Weinberg said.

Some researchers have wondered whether the age of older scientists affects their work, given they might not be as creative or productive as they were at the beginning of their careers, and that older scientists might be keeping their younger peers out of the field, according to a news release for the study.

Using data from the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients and the U.S.

Census, Blau and Weinberg used the information of 73,000 scientists aged 76 or younger, looking at age, field of degree, occupation, job tenure, employment history and sector of employment.

This increase in the age of the scientific workforce can be mostly attributed to the aging baby boomer population, but also the end of legally mandated retirement for university professors, which occurred in 1994 after a change in state law.

According to the study, 18 percent of scientists were aged 55 and older in 1993, but that number almost doubled to 33 percent in 2010. In comparison, the number of all workers 55 and older increased from 15 to 23 percent during the same time period.

Blau and Weinberg’s data show an increase in the age of scientists in almost all fields, even in fields like computer and information science, which has historically been made up of a much younger workforce. The study showed that the average age of computer scientists is actually increasing much quicker than other fields.

At public universities such as OSU, Blau said that while there’s been a large increase in the hiring of associate and clinical faculty members, whose main job is only to teach, there hasn’t been a big increase in the number of tenure-track faculty who are hired with a research focus.

“The connection between that and the aging of the scientific

COURTESY OF TNS

A new study from OSU economists shows the average age of researchers has risen. workforce is not necessarily oneto-one, but it does kind of raise the question of whether a scientific workforce is being replenished enough, at least at Ohio State,” Blau said.

Although their study might eventually point to more direct implications for the scientific research community, Weinberg and Blau say those possibilities have yet to be proven.

Weinberg said that while their research does not specifically show how many younger scientists were barred from getting jobs

because of older scientists still working, he does see the graying workforce as a potential factor hindering young scientists as they attempt to launch their careers.

“This aging has made it harder for young researchers to establish their own independent careers,” Weinberg said. “We haven’t been able to say for Ohio State, or even for the workforce as a whole, what the implications are in any specific way, but we do have a general sense that there would be likely more opportunities if there hadn’t been as much aging.”

Despite these potential implications, Weinberg said he believes this study should not keep young scientists from pursuing careers.

“A research career is incredibly gratifying and I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from (taking on a research career),” Weinberg said. “I would certainly say that people should get information about what these careers look like and make informed decisions.”

ADMISSIONS FROM 1

dence in getting in.”

Climbing scores In 2006, 5,507 freshmen who went on to be enrolled at OSU submitted the ACT as application materials. Less than one in five of those students who submitted the ACT scored between a 30 and a 36.

Fast forward to last year, nearly half of the 6,635 admitted freshmen who submitted their ACT results to OSU posted scores in that range.

Nearly two-thirds of enrolled OSU freshmen who submitted the ACT scored in the 24-29 range in 2006. Less than half – 45 percent of enrolled freshmen submitting the test – scored in that range last year.

A 24 on the ACT is a better score than 74 percent of test takers, according to the American College Testing service, the nonprofit that administers the ACT. The national average is a 20.

Only 6 percent of enrolled freshmen who took the ACT scored below 24 in 2016, whereas 18 percent were in that test score range 10 years ago.

Current students find an advantage

OSU’s admissions standards are undoubtedly becoming more difficult, and while that might hurt prospective students who are not good test-takers, it makes gradu-

ACT scores and OSU admissions over time Data compiled by The Lantern

70 60 50

40

30

30-36 24-29 <24

ACT score

20 10

2016

2006

ROBERT SCARPINITO | MANAGING EDITOR FOR DESIGN

ates from OSU more attractive to potential employers.

Straka, who said he might not have gotten in with his 28, said he believes an OSU degree gave him a competitive edge in the job market — especially among Midwestern employers. Straka said he thinks the school’s rising admissions profile helped him get a position working for U.S. Sen. Todd Young, of Indiana, after graduation.

Keith Gehres — director of outreach and recruitment Undergraduate Admissions, University Orientation and First Year Experience — said a test score below recent averages does not automatically disqualify someone from being admitted.

“We are not reviewing students based on an academic index,” he said. “Not every great student is going to excel on a standardized test. Just not like every great stu-

dent may have had the resources to succeed in their high-school experience the same way as somebody else. That is why it is so important we engage in holistic review.”

Open enrollment Tom Woodford, the college counselor for the local Hilliard Darby and Hilliard Davidson high schools, said the quest for most colleges has gotten significantly more competitive throughout his career.

“Ohio State, today, is not the Ohio State your parents got into, and Ohio State — in terms of admission — is not the same Ohio State that (the class of 2017) got into,” Woodford said.

Before the mid-1990s, OSU was an open-enrollment university.

Such institutions use noncompetitive and nonselective admissions processes, granting spots to students with high school diplomas or GED certificates, as long as spots are available.

Gehres said OSU did not accept every student prior to the end of open-enrollment in the ’90s, though it did not qualify admissions based on academic performance.

“It really was a first-come, firstserve process. In the mid-’90s is when we started that incremental shift and growth around a selective or competitive admissions process,” he said.

GPA and high-school ranking Test scores are not the only rising benchmark making gaining admission to OSU so difficult.

Of the high schools that report rankings of their graduates, nearly two-thirds of those high school graduates enrolled at OSU were in the top 10 percent of their classes in 2016. In 2011, 55 percent were in that group, and, in 2006, it was ADMISSIONS CONTINUES ON 5

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PRAYER SPACES FROM 1

Big Ten University Rutgers University Northwestern University Penn State Ohio State University of Minnesota University of Iowa University of Michigan University of Wisconsin Michigan State University of Illinois University of Nebraska Purdue University Indiana University University of Maryland

No Room

One Room

Several Rooms

Indiana University did not respond to requests for data.

Data from the University of Maryland was not included in this story.

ROBERT SCARPINITO | MANAGING EDITOR FOR DESIGN

That’s the case for Susannah Sagan, associate executive director at OSU Hillel, an off-campus Jewish Community Center geared toward university students.

“We used to use the (Union) prayer room for accommodation, but we don’t use it anymore, because it’s hard to book and because it’s so far in the way back, students got lost trying to find it,” Sagan said.

Religious room, secular use According to OSU records, between January and March the room was was booked by the Undergraduate Student Government, esports and various Greek Life organizations. The rest of the time, the main space of the room was occupied mostly by the Muslim Students’ Association and occasionally by New Life and H2O Church, two Christian organizations.

The fact that there is an association meeting in the room doesn’t prevent students from accessing the individual prayer spaces and ablution rooms — connected to the Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Room, but with separate entrances. However, it does put into question the real purpose of the room.

USG passed a resolution on Feb. 8 in support of recommending to the university that use of the space be more strictly defined.

“Let it Further Be Resolved that the Ohio Union should reconsider its policy regarding the usage of the Interfaith and Prayer Room (sic), keeping the space for prayer and religious purposes only,” the resolution read.

David Isaacs, spokesman for the Office of Student Life, said OSU works to accommodate religious groups.

“The room is available to religious groups who would like to reserve it, and we work with students organizations all the time to meet their needs,” Issacs said.

Phil Foell, director of strategic events at International Friendships, a Christian group with 400 student members, also questioned the usage of the room.

“Every time we try to book the Interfaith room, it’s not available,” Foell said.

“In general, it’s very difficult to find spaces on campus, now 80 percent of our activities are off campus because of the lack of space. It doesn’t seem like a priority

THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY The Lantern is a student publication which is part of the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. It publishes issues Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and online editions every day. The Lantern’s daily operations are funded through advertising and its academic pursuits are supported by the School of Communication. Advertising in the paper is sold largely by student account executives.

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of Ohio State University to provide more space for association.”

Isaacs said he did not know whether Student Life plans to open new meditation spaces on campus any time soon.

Historic backlash against prayer rooms For some secularist groups, the creation of prayer spaces on public university campuses undermines their interpretation of the separation of church and state.

“I use these spaces, and I’d like to say that we are so blessed that the Union has given us that space ... When we think of interfaith or meditation room, it’s a space for anyone to sit back, chill and have that quiet time.”

Yussef Saeed Co-outreach chair, Muslim Student Association

In 2016, at the University of Iowa, two prayer rooms were created at the initiative of Muslim students. This decision was contested by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a non-profit organization not affiliated with the university that promotes the separation of church and state. The University of Iowa, as a public institution, had “unconstitutionally entangled itself with religion,” Patrick Elliott, FFRF attorney, said at the time in a letter to the university’s president.

Separation of church and state laws prevent public universities from creating spaces specifically for the practicing of one religion exclusively. University of Iowa’s Muslim Students’ Association argued that the two prayer rooms were not a violation of the First Amendment because the spaces were non denominational, and not restricted to Muslim prayer.

Across the Big Ten Records requests sent to all of the Big Ten schools show that religious accommodations vary among schools.

Among Big Ten universities, OSU

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Equipped for Muslim Prayer

is one of four that has several rooms for students to meditate, with at least one equipped for Muslim prayers through ablution rooms. This puts OSU in the top third of the Big Ten universities surveyed in that regard. Indiana University did not respond to requests for data, and the University of Maryland was not included in this survey.

Penn State, Rutgers University and Northwestern University provide the most extensive accommodation for the practice of religion among all the Big Ten universities.

Penn State has a whole spiritual center, the largest of its kind in the country.

“Most of the prayer rooms we have have no form of religious icons, but we also have three which have a permanent slant,” said Robert Smith, director of the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development at Penn State. “Yet as a public university, we cannot rent a space for one religion specifically. So we have one room with Christian iconography, one with a Torah kept in it and one equipped for Muslim ablution and angled accordingly to the Muslim requirement — but anybody can rent this room.”

Unlike OSU, Northwestern and Penn State both feature — currently or to be established in the coming months — prayer rooms equipped for Muslim prayer in dorms, and both universities have prayer rooms located at multiple locations on campus.

Rutgers also has several prayer rooms across campus, and representatives said the university relies on a number of affiliated congregations near campus to provide spaces for students as well.

The University of Michigan has 12 reflection rooms on its Ann Arbor campus.

The rooms are simply furnished and they do not have ablution equipment.

The University of Iowa has a nondenominational chapel, the Danforth Chapel, adjacent to the Iowa Memorial Union.

The chapel is open for quiet reflection and is the space for prayer and meditation in the Iowa Memorial Union.

The University of Minnesota has several meditation rooms with no religious affiliation. It is the university’s policy that

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Campus area crime map: April 10 - 16

MITCH HOOPER | ENGAGEMENT EDITOR

MATT DORSEY Lantern reporter dorsey.215@osu.edu A rape reportedly occurred at an off-campus location on April 3 and was reported to the Columbus Division of Police on Wednesday at 4:22 p.m. (Not pictured on map.)

1. An assault was reported to CPD on North High Street near

East 17th Avenue at 2:30 a.m. on Friday.

2. A motor vehicle was reportedly stolen at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday from a residence on East 11th Avenue near Indianola Avenue.

3. A motor vehicle was reportedly stolen at 10 p.m. on Thursday on North Fourth Street near East 11th Avenue.

4. A motor vehicle was reportedly stolen at 10 p.m. Friday on

Chittenden Avenue near North High Street.

5. A man not affiliated with the university was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia at the James Cancer Hospital at the Wexner Medical Center at about midnight on Saturday.

Note: Crimes featured on this map do not represent the full extent of criminal activity in the campus area.

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J.D. VANCE FROM 1

in giving me a lot of the opportunities that I’ve had since then,” Vance said. “I knew that I wanted to go to law school, but I didn’t really quite know what that required, and it was OSU’s resources that helped me figure that out ... it was little things like that where the university really did help me chart my path and figure out what I wanted to do.”

After graduating, Vance attended Yale Law School and now works for Mithril Capital Management, a Silicon Valley investment firm.

“My No. 1 goal is that I would like to see fewer people getting addicted to and dying from opiates,” Vance said. “This is not a one- or two-year project. This is going to be a long-term thing … I see in five years looking back, are fewer people dying from it? Are fewer people getting addicted to this stuff?”

Through his recently founded nonprofit organization, Our Ohio Renewal, Vance said he hopes he can make a long-term impact on his home state. He has teamed up with Jai Chabria, a top strategist for Gov. John Kasich’s 2016 presidential campaign and lead organizer for the Republican National Convention recently held in Cleveland, to spread the message across Ohio.

“It’s not just Columbus, it’s not just rural Appalachia, it’s the whole state,” Vance said. “The thing that motivates me and motivates the nonprofit is that the issues I’m worried about and wrote about are pretty broadly shared among a wide population in the state.”

According to the most recent data from the CDC, analyzed by

the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Vance is right. Ohio has the most deaths related to heroin — roughly one in nine across the country took place in the state, even though it has less than five percent of the nation’s total population. Ohio also holds another distinction — one in 14 deaths from synthetic opioids, most notably fentanyl, occur in the Buckeye State.

Additionally, Ohio’s opioid-related deaths have increased every year this decade.

While Vance acknowledged there is no quick fix, he saidlooks to government at all levels to help implement change.

“It’s part of the solution, absolutely,” he said, referring to the political sphere. “We have to have better and smarter policy. But I also don’t think it’s gonna be a purely legislative or policy-based set of solutions … it also has to involve community members, churches, individuals. I don’t think there is a single switch that the government can flip that can make this problem better, but I certainly think they can be a part of the solution.”

Vance added that he’s not just parachuting in to try to save the region but instead sees himself as an insider, as someone who comes from the area and understands the plights.

“I’m not somebody who’s coming to these problems, because maybe I have a good heart or good intentions but I don’t really know them up close and personal,” Vance said. “I am coming at them from a very intense level of personal knowledge and familiarity with the problem.”

PRAYER SPACES FROM 3

every association has equal access to these spaces.

The University of Wisconsin and Michigan State University have one room specifically designated for quiet reflection and religious organizations also operate in privately owned buildings on or near campus.

The University of Illinois, the University of Nebraska and Purdue University do not have dedicated spaces on campus for meditation purposes. Representatives from the schools said they work on a case-by-case basis to accommodate the requests of religious associations.

Initiatives for more accommodation While there have not been any university-level initiatives to create more prayer spaces on campus, there have been several independent initiatives.

In addition to meditation space created recently in Arps Hall by the College of Education and Human Ecology, students can go to Atwell Hall Room 191 at the Wexner Medical Center. The space isn’t equipped with ablution rooms, but it provides spaces for prayer.

Though he was unaware these rooms existed, Isaacs praised them and the initiative of the people who created them.

“It’s wonderful,” Isaacs said.

“Student Life doesn’t control all the buildings on campus, so we

LANTERN FILE PHOTO

Then-USG President Taylor Stepp addresses students at a USG meeting in 2013 in the Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Room. don’t have a role in what goes on in the academic buildings.”

These efforts also mean a lot to Yussef Saeed, co-outreach chair for the Muslim Student Association.

“I use these spaces, and I’d like to say that we are so blessed that the Union has given us that space,” Saeed said. “When we think of interfaith or meditation room, it’s a space for anyone to sit back, chill and have that quiet time.”

Amber Hussain, co-outreach chair for the Muslim Students’ Association, a second-year in Neuroscience, said she wants to keep

pushing for more of these spaces not for just current students, but for future generations as well.

“We have a good amount of prayer rooms,” Hussain said. “But we have a goal that we want to reach eventually — we want every building to have some kind of space, so students have a place to go, be alone and reflect. I think there (is) a lot of usefulness in having a room in one of the higher traffic areas, such as Thompson (Library) or the RPAC.”

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Accommodation for religious holidays Every Big Ten university, including OSU, functions with the same policy when it comes to religious holidays that are not also academic holidays. If there is a conflict between an academic commitment and a religious holiday, it is up to the student to negotiate with the professor, who ultimately has the responsibility to decide whether to grant an absence.

“But there is, among the professors, students and colleagues, an important unawareness of the various religious holidays,” said Phill Foell, director of strategic events at International Friendship, a Christian group. “I’ve heard various stories where a student claims that they had a religious holiday, while it was not the case. That puts a lot of burden on a professor.”

In order to help the professors determine the legitimacy of the students’ claims, the University of Michigan and Penn State hold an extensive calendar of religious holidays. This resource is available for professors to consult.

For more stories like this, follow us on Twitter! @TheLantern

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ADMISSIONS FROM 2

43 percent.

But the trend for OSU applicants to be highly ranked has effects on high schools’ decisions.

Due to the increasing expectations of state universities that their students be at the top of their academic classes, fewer high schools are continuing to rank their students by GPA, according to admissions data.

While a student might have impressive test scores, such as Gaines, the senior at Walnut Hills, those who go to more rigorous secondary schools often fall outside of the top 10 or even top 25 percent GPA of their classes.

Nearly three-quarters of enrolled, incoming first-years’ high schools submitted class rank in 2006. In 2011, 65 percent did.

Last year, less than half of enrolled first-years’ high schools ranked their students at all.

Woodford said ranking students can sometimes hurt them, though both high schools in his district still do it.

“If a student has a 4.3 (weighted) GPA and they are ranked 48th, some universities might look at that a little differently and have to look deeper into the curriculum in the school profile,” Woodford said.

He said his district continues to rank students because it allows prospective universities to see how students might do among other high-achieving classmates.

Gehres said students whose high schools do not use traditional class-ranking systems are neither

advantaged nor disadvantaged in the application process, but that they still consider the ranking process to be a valuable tool for considering applicants.

For students whose respective high schools do not submit ranks, Gehres said OSU can make estimates, and use other relevant data.

“High schools provide tremendous information when they send us their profiles,” Gehres said.

“Whether it’s a grade distribution, or average GPA, or deciles, quartiles, quintiles — whatever system they use — we are able to use that information to understand that a student would be estimated to be in the top 10 percent of their class, even if they don’t tell us the student is 20/200.”

More and more applications Test scores and class rankings of prospective students have dramatically improved over the last decade, but OSU’s Columbus campus acceptance rate has remained relatively stable, hovering around 50 to 60 percent between 2012 and 2016.

What is changing is the number of students who are applying. In 2006, 18,286 students applied to the Columbus campus. This year, there were more than 52,000 applicants, Gehres said. Since the pool of applicants is getting much larger, the admissions department can be more particular with who ultimately gets a spot.

Woodford, the high school counselor dealing primarily with college admissions processes, said the implementation of the

Common Application is a major factor behind the flood of applicants. OSU began using it in spring 2013.

Between 2013 and 2015 alone, there was a 28 percent increase in applicants.

“As soon as Ohio State made the transition to the Common Application, they started seeing a spike in applicants,” Woodford said. “That’s why they are getting 50,000 applications (to review) now. It’s easy for students who are applying to Ivy League schools to also apply to Ohio State.”

Gender gap Among traditional academic factors, things like personality qualities, geographic residence and racial status are also considered.

“When we go back to the diversity of our incoming class, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and all of those different pieces — that’s a layer (to consider) as well,” Gehres said. “Not that we are basing decisions on that, but we want to make sure it is reflective of the type of student body we would expect to enroll.”

Though the total proportion of enrolled male and female students at OSU is almost equal, in seven of the past 11 years of available data, more men have applied to OSU, but more women have been admitted.

In fact, 2012 is the only year in which OSU accepted a larger percentage of men than it did women.

In 2015, 47 percent of male applicants were accepted, and 52

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Freshmen move into residence halls before the start of the Fall 2016 semester. percent of female applicants were admitted that same year. In 2016, 12,620 women were accepted, while 11,645 men were admitted.

Gehres said that the patterns seen between gender and education is an issue that the U.S., as a whole, continues to grapple with.

“In the application process, I’ve seen analysis on female high school students who mature earlier and have more time to prepare for that college process,” Gehres said. “But there is not a simple answer (as to why this trend is occurring).”

Over the course of the past decade, each incoming freshmen class has surpassed its predecessor in terms of academic merit and other positive factors, Gehres said, though he noted that this trend is likely to plateau.

While nearly half of all incoming freshmen who submit ACT scores are placing themselves in the highest score range, and well

over half of those who have available class rankings are within the top decile, there is limited remaining room to improve.

For Gaines, the high school senior from Cincinnati who always wanted to be a Buckeye, there is still hope.

If he makes it off the waitlist by June, he will be sporting scarlet and gray in the fall. If not, Gaines will still be studying engineering — except it will be at Case Western Reserve University.

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6 | Tuesday, April 18, 2017

ARTS&LIFE

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MY FATHERS’ CLOSET Karen McClintock’s new book examines the life of her father, an OSU administrator, who spent much of his life in the closet. | ON PAGE 8

Department of Art BFA seniors showcase final projects each state and created a face mold for 30 family members. She said she wanted to see what specific facial features could be passed down genetically.

“I just wanted to compare the faces of my family members and see what features are similar or different,” Haase said. “It’s easier to see similarities if you look at it to a larger scale.”

The exhibition will be held at the Urban Arts Space in downtown Columbus. Admission to the show is free.

“By this stage, you have developed your own personal style. The BFA show is our opportunity to exhibit what we have arrived at after four years.”

Zoe-Beth Brake Graduating senior, BFA in painting and drawing

EBO AMISSAH-AGGREY Lantern reporter amissah-aggrey.1@osu.edu The Department of Art’s Bachelor of Fine Arts seniors have one final event before graduation.

The department’s senior projects exhibition, which opens Tuesday and runs through May 6, will feature a wide range of art pieces and media.

“There is no criteria,” said Zoe-Beth Brake, a senior graduating with a BFA in painting and drawing. “By this stage, you have developed your own personal style.

The BFA show is our opportunity to exhibit what we have arrived at after four years.”

Brake, who has four paintings and three drawings on display in the exhibition, has been working on her pieces this whole semester and originally planned to only submit paintings.

“The painting side is more about my

COURTESY OF ZOE-BETH BRAKE

Deptartment of Art BFA senior projects are on display at the Urban Arts Space. imagination and creative side, rather than something that is more concrete,” Brake said.

With the added drawings encouraged by a professor, Brake chose to explore her New Zealand heritage.

“The drawing side is more about an expression as me as a person and my heritage, ancestors and life from New Zealand,” Brake said. “To do this, I photographed people that represented this, and drew them

in pen.”

Emma Haase, a BFA student who specializes in glass, will also be keeping it in the family by showcasing a glass piece that centers around 30 of her family members and their facial features.

For over a week in the summer, Haase traveled around the country and visited family members in Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan. With the help of a research grant, she was able to go to

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Student DJ makes gigs from top to bottom

COURTESY OF CHAD DOLANV

Maxx Crowder will perform at Skully’s Music Diner on April 19.

EMMA STEELE Lantern reporter steele.849@osu.edu When Maxx Crowder first dove into the music scene in high school, it wasn’t a conscious choice as much as a product of his surroundings. The third-year in art from Akron, Ohio, said he was bored, angsty and in need of a creative outlet.

“I started rock ’n’ roll when I was 15, because where I’m from — there’s nothing to do besides drugs, sports or music,” Crowder said. “I didn’t like drugs or sports, so that left me with music.”

On Wednesday, Crowder will put on his first full on production as a DJ and founder of CrossCrowd Productions.

Crowder said he played drums in a few 18.MonkeyLung_Ohio State Univ_2.5col-4c_v1.indd 1

3/27/17 1:33 PM

bands, but when it came time to leave for college, his bandmates went their separate ways and he had to look at other options. He said he wanted to be his own manager and do more than just drum.

Now, Crowder acts as a one-man DJ show, where he typically plays drums while mixing beats. He said this switch to solo music production has been a rewarding challenge.

“I have to be all of the creativity now,” Crowder said. “It’s very open because with electronic production, I can literally do anything I want — rock, R&B, dubstep — I have complete say and it’s great, but it can be exhausting.”

After debuting at Columbus EDM festival Haunted Fest last fall, Crowder said CROWDER CONTINUES ON 7

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Tuesday, April 18, 2017 | The Lantern | 7

Student baking club bakes for a cause MADISON MACEACHEN Lantern reporter maceachen.7@osu.edu Four frustrated freshmen with no kitchen in their dorm and deeply missing homemade baked goods satisfied their cravings with the creation of Buckeyes for Baking.

Now, one year after its creation, more than 20 members gather twice a month to bake a variety of goods.

“We were living in Baker East and kind of upset because there was no kitchen, so we decided, why not just make a club about it,” said Abbie Gohrband, a second-year in food engineering and the club’s founding president.

The organization meets every other Friday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to try out new recipes using the kitchen at the RPAC. During meetings members bake treats and play games when their creation is in the oven, Gohrband said.

“We split up the tasks into smaller groups, and we divide the recipe up, so everyone has a little something to do,” she said.

Most of their recipes come from Pinterest and include seasonal ingredients.

“In the fall we did apple muffins and all kinds of pumpkin dishes,” Gohrband said.

In the first meeting of the month, members enjoy their baked goods themselves, but the batch made during the second meeting is donated to OSU Star House, a Columbus resource center for homeless youth.

“The service aspect, even though it’s not much, you still feel like you’re doing something,” said Jordan Amann, one of the club’s founders and current treasurer.

“Especially in college, it’s hard to be super involved, but with this it’s easy to donate what we make and put a smile on someone else’s face.”

Abbie Gohrband President of Buckeyes for Baking

“Especially in college, it’s hard to be super involved, but with this it’s easy to donate what we make and put a smile on someone else’s face,” Gohrband added.

The only on-campus fundraiser the club has done was a cupcake-decorating station where students could decorate a cupcake after making a donation, but the club’s leadership hopes to add more fundraising events in the future in order to help lower the $25 yearly dues for members, Amann said.

“When it comes to volunteering, we want to go to some soup kitchens and continue to develop the volunteer aspect of the club, so members have the opportunity to do more than dropping off baked goods once a month if they want,” Amann said.

The club is open to anyone who has an interest in baking and accepts new members at any point during the year.

COURTESY OF ABBIE GOHRBAND

Club members working on a recipe at one of the biweekly meetings.

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CROWDER FROM 6

he started to latch onto the idea of making himself into a larger, multidimensional brand, so he started his own company, CrossCrowd Productions.

“CrossCrowd started off as a logo or brand for my music, but it’s become me as an artist as a whole,” Crowder said. “I wanted to seem like a bigger deal than just a DJ so I opened it up, and now I can do everything with it.”

Crowder said that while the focus is primarily still on his own music, CrossCrowd also functions as a promotion company that allows for collaboration between Crowder and other artists.

The company started by creating online visuals, but has also booked tours for small touring artists and done promotional videos for larger acts such as Waka Flocka Flame and Rae Sremmurd, Crowder said.

Crowder’s manager, David Beckham, said he believes determination and attention to detail will take Crowder and CrossCrowd far.

“Maxx’s strongest quality is being able to want to understand and grasp things he doesn’t know yet,” Beckham said. “(He’s driven) to really dig in and study how to make things work even if it’s his first time or just more trials from previous fails.”

Crowder said he desires to have a deeper knowledge of other cultures and bring that through in his music, but he thinks it’s his own belief in himself that truly sets him apart.

“It’s a lot of responsibility, but that creative control is freeing,” Crowder said. “I’m in it 100 percent for the music, and I know I can trust myself.”

CrossCrowd’s production will be Wednesday at Skully’s Music Diner, featuring Lil Squid and Shatter with Crowder headlining. Doors open at 8 p.m. and tickets are $10.

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Memoir tells story of closeted OSU administrator

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COURTESY OF MEREDITH NINI

Karen McClintock, who is a psychologist, author and professor, traces her family history in her new memoir.

SYDNEY BROWN For The Lantern brown.6054@osu.edu If the truth really does set you free, then “My Father’s Closet” will certainly be author Karen McClintock’s road to freedom.

In her newly released memoir, McClintock retraces her childhood and her family’s history in Columbus, Ohio, in order to uncover her father’s secret gay identity.

McClintock is a psychologist, author, professor and consultant specializing in family secrets and shame recovery. After penning three other books about sexual secrets in families, she decided it

was time to tell her story, and to bring her family out of the closet.

She said it was in her women’s writing group that McClintock made the decision to begin “My Father’s Closet.”

“I realized and confessed to them one day that I had been avoiding the book that had the most heart for me,” she said. “And that I probably ought to do that.”

Her book has been five years in the making, but McClintock’s relationship with her family’s secret began long before. After her father’s death, McClintock’s mother told her that while her mother and father had a loving and loyal relationship, her father was gay.

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With this personal confirmation, family memories and artifacts became clues. One major clue was her father’s relationship with Walther, an Ohio State economics professor.

“I know that also before my father died, he went through a really intimate period of grief when a ‘friend’ of his died suddenly in a small plane crash,” McClintock said. “I only had a first name for this friend whom my father went to New York with every year. And I knew that they traveled together. But when he died the extent of my father’s grief was very telling.”

A journal from 1939 serves as another one of the biggest clues to her father’s sexuality. It indicates that he may have known as early as the age of 19 that he was gay.

McClintock found the journal in what she thought was a box of old art supplies of her father’s after a lighting contractor told her, her ceiling was sagging from there having too much weight in the attic.

This evidence combined with her mother’s confirmation, her father’s friendship with Walther, and McClintock’s personal research has helped her paint this portrait of her father’s gay identity.

McClintock’s family history, both closeted and open, is intertwined with OSU’s. In addition to the deep ties her family has to the area, the book contains passages taking place at Columbus events, such as Upper Arlington’s Fourth of July parade and her father’s time locked in his office at OSU during Vietnam War protests in 1970. The book’s connection to OSU is part of what drew Tony Sanfilippo, Ohio State University Press director, to the story.

“I acquired this book for the Press and I think what drew me to the manuscript the most was its unflinching portrayal of what life was like for a closeted man here at OSU in the second half of the 20th century,” he

Tuesday, April 18, 2017 | The Lantern | 9

said in an email. “I’m sure we are all aware that historically the LGBTQ community was given little choice but to lie about their identity, and to have a sensitive and well-written account of what specifically that meant here at OSU and in Columbus, and not just what it meant to that individual but also to his family, seemed essential to document and share.”

McClintock said she is most excited about the opportunity to talk with people who have stories similar to her own.

“So that’s the kind of reason I’m going to take a month off and talk to people and do lectures and teaching. I want to be listening to those stories.” she said. “I want the book to really help other families who are still in the midst of the shame and the social stigma that these families suffer in America.”

McClintock will kick off a string of workshops and events in the area for her book with a reading and book signing this Tuesday at Barnes & Noble at 1598 N. High St.

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WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Assistant coach Jill Byers joins professional staff JAMES KING III Lantern reporter king.2239@osu.edu When the Ohio State women’s lacrosse team’s season concludes on Saturday, assistant coach Jill Byers will start her second season in the United Women’s Lacrosse League (UWLX). Byers was hired for the same role with the Long Island Sound in the middle of last week, OSU announced.

The move will not affect her status with the Buckeyes, as Long Island’s season runs from May 27 through Aug. 2. This is just the second season for the growing UWLX — which currently has four teams — giving Byers an opportunity to help grow the sport on a national level.

“I’m pumped. I’m so excited,” Byers said. “I’m blessed that (OSU coach Alexis Venechanos) is letting me do this … To be able to see the game at a different perspective and work with a bunch of great lacrosse minds within the staff and also kids that I’m coaching is going to be awesome to bring that back and have a wealth of new ideas.”

Byers will be coaching under Syracuse University coach Regy Thorpe and alongside Caitlin Defliese, who is also on staff at Syracuse. Byers and Defliese coached together when they were a part

“I’m pumped. I’m so excited. I’m blessed that (coach Venechanos) is letting me do this ...”

Jill Byers Assistant Coach, Long Island Sound of the United Women’s Lacrosse League

COURTESY OF WALT MIDDLETON

OSU assistant coach Jill Byers during the Buckeyes’ game against the University of Cincinnati in The Horseshoe on Feb. 19. of a 17-win Stony Brook team in 2014 that made a run into the NCAA tournament.

“I think it is a bunch of really cool people that are going to be involved at the helm,” Byers said.

“But then, also, the caliber of athlete that we get to work with is just

OFFENSE FROM 12

ceiving corps has its base to build on, the rest of the offseason up until Aug. 31 in Bloomington, Indiana, will be dedicated to continuing to return to the electrifying offense OSU had in 2014, when the Buckeyes averaged nearly 250 yards per game through the air.

Barrett said now that the receivers have displayed their potential, it’s time for he and the receivers to polish the details.

“I remember, for example, me and Noah (Brown) last year, we worked on back-shoulder fades all the time,” he said. “And then it came up in the game several times whether it be Oklahoma or it came up against Wisconsin (in) overtime. So those are the little things that you work on. Red-zone timing, because that’s when you really have time for that, but also too, that’s the little details that you need, especially in the red-zone area.”

Dixon finally had his breakout game after missing nearly the entirety of the past three seasons, so his confidence in the wide receivers being showstoppers in 2017 might seem a bit skewed. However, Meyer will be looking closely at the unit to make that leap before August.

“I think the unit, Zone 6, we can make a big impact,” Dixon said.

“Right now, we just know we have to enhance everything because we felt like this spring, we’ve done so good. What we do, we just have to enhance it and keep going and get better.”

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inspiring and so exciting.”

Most of the games in the league coincide with many recruiting stops for high school players, which gives young athletes a chance to see the game at a professional level.

“Jill (Byers) is always trying to

expand her horizon and learn new things,” Venechanos said. “She is such a student of the game. She’s watching different sports, and the reason why I say that is because she is always trying to make herself a better coach.”

The UWLX is headquartered in

New England and has four franchises that are based in Baltimore, Boston, Long Island and Philadelphia. The Long Island Sound won the inaugural championship over the Boston Storm last year.

Byers said her new team looks to continue to build on what they’ve already started.

“There’s only four teams right now,” Byers said. “But I hope it expands — it would be great for the sport. The games are going to be at these recruiting venues so to have little girls be able to go watch people play every single weekend at the highest level is just really inspiring.”

For now, Byers and the Buckeyes have one regular season game remaining against Johns Hopkins on Saturday at 10:45 a.m. in Columbus.

Honorary coaches

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Former OSU assistant coach and Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz takes the field during the 2017 spring game at Ohio Stadium.

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Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight was an honorary coach at the 2017 spring game in Ohio Stadium on April 15.

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Tuesday, April 18, 2017 | The Lantern | 11

Former Buckeyes return to their roots

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Former Buckeyes join together to sing ‘Carmen Ohio’ after the spring game on April 15.

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Former Buckeye Eli Apple takes a selfie with a fan after the spring game on April 15.

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Former Buckeyes (from left) Marshon Lattimore, Tyvis Powell and Darron Lee walk across the field during the spring game on April 15.

Former OSU quarterback Cardale Jones signs autographs before the spring game on April 15.

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12 | Tuesday, April 18, 2017

SPORTS

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SPRING GAME Former OSU stars return to Columbus during this weekend’s spring game. | ON PAGE 11

Wide receivers top priority heading to fall camp JACOB MYERS Assistant Sports Editor myers.1669@osu.edu When the wide receivers met with their position coach, Zach Smith, and the rest of the offensive coaching staff in the offseason between the Fiesta Bowl and the start of spring camp, they knew things had to change.

Following Saturday’s spring game where the top five wideouts reeled in 24 catches for 327 yards and four touchdowns, it appears that the unit has been resurrected for the time being.

But it remains a priority for the offense moving into summer workouts and fall camp.

“I saw some guys, some receivers really step up and make some nice plays,” OSU coach Urban Meyer said Saturday postgame.

Redshirt junior Parris Campbell grabbed five receptions for 46 yards in one quarter of play, redshirt sophomore K.J. Hill had six receptions for 62 yards, redshirt junior Terry McLaurin scored twice with 80 yards on four catches, and redshirt junior Johnnie Dixon led the team with six catches for 108 yards and two scores.

OSU’s passing struggles last season were most evident when the lights were brightest, throwing for an average of 112 yards in the

“Now, I think we’re at the point where we have older guys in that room now, just understanding what we’re trying to do offensively.”

J.T. Barrett Redshirt senior quarterback

MASON SWIRES | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

OSU redshirt junior wide receiver Parris Campbell (21) jukes redshirt senior Chris Worley (35) during the 2017 spring game on April 15. final three games. Redshirt senior quarterback J.T. Barrett ranked 55th in passing efficiency in 2016, while the team was 81st in passing yards per game with 213.9.

Barrett said after the spring game that with a group of experienced receivers this coming season, the mindset has changed.

“Now, I think we’re at the point

where we have older guys in that room now just understanding what we’re trying to do offensively,” he said. “I think a lot of times … you’re just like, ‘I have my route,

I see my coverage and then that’s it.’ But now really understanding what we’re trying to do on offense with certain plays and who’s going to get open and be able to help those guys — help each other in that room — not just saying (it’s) just me getting the ball.”

OSU’s new offensive coordinators, Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day, unleashed the passing game in Saturday’s annual Scarlet-Gray spring game. The quarterbacks threw for 654 yards with seven touchdowns to one interception.

While that’s the start the two wanted, the receiving unit had a similarly strong showing in the 2016 annual team scrimmage that didn’t carry over to the real stage and often floundered even more in crucial moments. Now that the reOFFENSE CONTINUES ON 10

Offense in bloom after spring practice ALEXA MAVROGIANIS Photo Editor mavrogianis.1@osu.edu The last time the Ohio State football team touched the field at Ohio Stadium, they were joined by thousands of fans who jumped from their seats in celebration of former H-back Curtis Samuel’s walk-off touchdown in double overtime against the Michigan Wolverines.

Little did players or fans alike know that — thanks to a 31-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Clemson Tigers on Dec. 31 — it would be the last Buckeye touchdown they would see in more than four months.

However, at the 2017 spring game, it took just under four minutes for redshirt senior quarterback J.T. Barrett to find redshirt sophomore tight end A.J. Alexander in the back of the endzone — the first sign of many in the afternoon that offseason changes might be paying dividends for the Scarlet and Gray offense.

Co-offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, who joined the team in the offseason, said the improvements seen in Saturday’s game were a direct result of spring practice.

“We kind of did a lot of things we’ve been practicing,” he said.

“We didn’t necessarily try to hide

things. We didn’t try to throw everything out there. I thought we’d had a solid spring, lot of areas need improving, I just wanted — because we’re playing enough young guys — that when we came into the arena, they didn’t make all the good things I’ve seen in practice bigger than it looks.”

Wilson, formerly the head coach at Indiana, was described

by Barrett as a “competitor” who is “always in attack mode” and has helped the Buckeye offense find its past rhythm.

“I think the thing about the Ohio State offense is we’re always on the attack and at times, I think we got away from that,” Barrett said. “But now, (Wilson’s) main focus is to make sure that we’re always on attack and that we’re beating the guy across from us.”

While in the spring game the “guy across” was a familiar face, both Team Scarlet and Team Gray had success beating their defensive counterparts. Scarlet posted 460 offensive yards while Gray totaled 385. The majority of yardage for both teams came from the passing game, which was a sore spot at times for the 2016 team.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Johnnie Dixon, who was a highlight for Team Scarlet with 108 yards and two touchdowns, described the passing game as “wonderful” and noted that the receiv-

MASON SWIRES | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

OSU redshirt senior quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) scans the field after a snap during the 2017 spring game at Ohio Stadium on April 15. ing group is full of playmakers. “(The offense) feels a lot better,” Dixon said. “We’re doing different things, and we’re attacking situations different. Everything we’re doing is working.”

Barrett said this is the best spring he’s had for accuracy, but was quick to add there is still work to be done to become “compet-

itively excellent.” Those areas, he said, include pass protection, downfield passing and finishing plays.

“We’ve got to come out pushing and striving to make sure that when it comes to game time, everybody is on the same page and we get those three things accomplished,” Barrett said. “I think

we’re on the right path for that, but to say we’re competitively excellent on the game plan? Not yet, but we have time to that we’re not playing the ball.”

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