Thursday January 5, 2012 year: 132 No. 3
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern lantern
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Matta never at a loss
The OSU men’s basketball team’s loss to Indiana fueled its efforts in their win against Nebraska Tuesday.
Courtesy of MCT
sports
Rick Santorum
Romney beats out Santorum, Paul in Iowa SARAH STEMEN AND THOMAS BRADLEY Oller reporter and Campus editor stemen.66@osu.edu and bradley.321@osu.edu
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Mitt Romney officially won the Iowa aucuses by the slimmest of margins Wednesday morning, beating candidate Rick Santorum by a mere eight votes. This marked the closest result in the history of Republican presidential primaries and caucuses, according to multiple media sources. Both Romney and Santorum took about 25 percent of the votes in the caucuses, and Ron Paul, who finished in third, took about 21 percent of the vote. Jack Wright, a political science professor at Ohio
Face the music
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The Columbus Symphony Orchestra will hold its first 2012 program Friday and Saturday at the Ohio Theater.
campus
Propane spill caused fire on Lane
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State, said the Iowa Caucus is a poor indication of who will win the Republican nomination. “Iowa caucuses have a tendency of last minute surges and Santorum certainly fits that mold,” Wright said. While Romney, Santorum and Paul finished ahead of the other hopeful Republican candidates, the results in Iowa might have affected other candidates just as much. Nathaniel Swigger, a professor of political science at OSU, said the burst from Santorum is what has basically pushed Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry out of the race, and what could soon drive Newt Gingrich out. “It’s entirely possible that Santorum plays a role in the next few contests similar to Mike Huckabee in 2008,” Swigger said. “In the end he probably doesn’t
win the nomination, but he could certainly make things difficult for Romney, especially if he can pull off wins in South Carolina and Florida.” Wednesday, Bachmann officially announced that she was suspending her presidential campaign. Elliot Slotnick, a professor of political science at OSU, said that after the results were announced in Iowa, this was to be expected. “I wasn’t surprised when she dropped out,” Slotnick said. “All her eggs were in one basket and that basket was Iowa, so when she didn’t win, it was sort of a given.” Slotnick said Bachmann expected to do well in Iowa and was looking to the caucus to carry the rest of her campaign.
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2 OSU students dead from NJ car accident CHELSEA SPEARS AND CHELSEA CASTLE Lantern reporter and Managing editor spears.116@osu.edu “I literally saw Ricky probably less than a week ago in my apartment, and now he is not here anymore,” said Chelsey Kovach, a fifth-year in strategic communication and women’s studies. “(He) was like the nicest guy ever, I don’t think anyone would have a bad thing to say about Ricky.” Ricky, a 21-year old Ohio State student whose given name is Ka-Hei Fok, was pronounced dead at the scene of a car accident Monday in Clinton Township, N.J. A second OSU student involved in the accident, 20-year-old Ho Kai Jeffrey Au Yeung, died around 6 p.m. Tuesday, said N.J. State Trooper Christopher Kay. Javaune Adams-Gaston, vice president for student life, released a statement Wednesday on behalf of the university. “The entire Ohio State community is deeply saddened by the recent passing of two of our students, as well as the injuries to three other,” Adams-Gaston wrote. “We extend our deepest sympathy to their families and friends during this difficult time. The accident’s impact is far-reaching,
and the university has many resources to support all students as well as families that have been directly affected.” Au Yeung was life-flighted to the Robert Woods Johnson Hospital in New Jersey. where he died one day after sustaining life threatening head injuries from the accident. Fok was not wearing a seatbelt, Kay said. Three other international OSU undergraduate students were also involved in the accident. Two females are listed in stable condition at local hospitals and the driver has been released from medical care. Both 19-year-old Xinyue Zhang from mainland China and 20-year-old Hennis Han Ling Tung from Malaysia are in stable condition. One is located at the Robert Woods Johnson Hospital and the other is staying at the Morristown Memorial Hospital.
Kovach is best friends and roommates with Ling Tung, who sustained a broken arm and head injuries from the accident. “(The doctors) said she’s probably not going to remember the accident at all,” Kovach said. “So she probably doesn’t even know what happened at this point.” The driver, 19-year-old Ho Wo Tam, was released from the hospital the day after the accident. He was listed in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries. All three male passengers were from Hong Kong, China, Kay said. Police suspect fatigue as the cause of the crash. Investigators believe the driver fell asleep around 4 p.m. on Interstate 78, where the 2012 Chevy Equinox was found crashed into a cluster of trees near the Pennsylvania border in Hunterdon County, N.J. The students were traveling back to Ohio for school after celebrating New Year’s Eve in New York City, Kovach said. The families of the involved passengers have been notified of the accident and police are still investigating the details of the crash. “I can’t believe it happened,” Kovach said. “I guess it just makes you realize how short life really is.”
Ohio budget may face cuts from Issue 2
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SARAH STEMEN Oller reporter bradley.321@osu.edu
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Medicaid and education programs are in danger of facing cuts in order for Ohio to balance its budget after the rejection of statewide Issue 2, one Ohio State professor said. Because of budgetary limitations, Ohio government will now have to look to other programs and places to save money, because Gov. John Kasich was unable to pass the legislation known as Issue 2. Issue 2 was intended to alter public employees’ right to collectively bargain for wages and benefits so the government could effectively balance its budget. After Issue 2 was voted against in the November election, Kasich said the result was an indication that the voice of the people had been heard. “It is clear the people have spoken,” Kasich said in November. “I have heard their voices, I understand their decision, and frankly, I respect what people have to say.”
David Stebenne, OSU professor of law and history, told The Lantern that now Ohio’s Medicaid budget might face cuts. “The groups that don’t tend to have political power tend to be the poor and the programs that service them, unfortunately,” Stebenne said. “So the Medicaid budget is most likely going to shrink.” He said the problem with cutting Medicaid is that it is the single biggest thing in the state budget to be cut and is primarily a long-term care program. “In other words, it is a service for a lot of elderly individuals who are unable to pay for nursing home fees,” Stebenne said. “So it will be interesting to see if that gets cut, will these individuals need in-home care with a relative, or what will happen to them?” Stebenne said the Ohio legislature will not be able to do anything drastic concerning public employees, so other programs might experience the downfall. “If the government goes for public employees again, it will be a much more gradual, realistic approach,” Stebenne said.
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Courtesy of MCT
Gov. John Kasich reacts to the failure of Issue 2 at the Ohio Statehouse on Nov. 8, 2011.
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