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Tuesday October 16, 2012
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Jerry to spring political insight on OSU Madeline Roth Lantern reporter roth.302@osu.edu
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Jerry Springer is scheduled to come to Ohio State Tuesday, but don’t expect campus to be turned into the trash-talking and chair-flipping antics characterized by “The Jerry Springer Show.” Springer, 68, is slated to speak about voting and politics at an event hosted by OSU College Democrats and the Ohio Democratic Party. The event, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Ohio Union’s Great Hall Meeting Room 1. He last visited OSU in 2007. Though Springer is widely known as the host of “The Jerry Springer Show,” which began airing its 22nd season in September, he said he keeps his television persona separate from his public appearances. “Usually 30 seconds into the talk, people realize I’m not there to talk about (‘The Jerry Springer Show’),” Springer said. “I’m doing it as a citizen. Just like any other citizen, I care about the country.” Springer is no stranger to politics. Following a three-year stint on Cincinnati City Council — he resigned in 1974 after admitting to hiring a prostitute — Springer was the mayor of Cincinnati from 1977-78. The political campaign adviser for Robert Kennedy’s bid for president and graduate in political science from Tulane University also ran for Congress in 1970 and governor of Ohio in 1982. He said he is visiting OSU to encourage students to vote early because of the importance of the upcoming presidential election. “In my lifetime, which is a long time, we’ve never had an election where we’re literally voting on the direction the country takes,” Springer said. “We’ve had important elections … but the lines have now been drawn and this is a war for the middle class.” Springer said college students should be especially concerned with this
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Jerry Springer is scheduled to come to OSU Oct. 16 as part of an event hosted by OSU College Democrats and the Ohio Democratic Party. election because issues such as health insurance, employment and student loans are at stake. “There (are) real choices to be made,” Springer said. “This isn’t rooting for a team — this is what kind of country we’re going to have. “I’ve been lucky in life that there’s not much these candidates will do that will affect my life. I’ve got a job, I’ve got health care. But if I were a student, these things (would be most) important.” Pointing out that no Republican candidate has ever won the presidency
without winning Ohio, Springer also stressed the importance Ohioans will have on the election’s outcome. “With the revival of the auto industry in Ohio, people seem to be pretty happy with the direction we’re going in now,” Springer said. “We have a president who literally saved the auto industry. Clearly we’re on the right track.” Sara Valentine, a third-year in political science and the campaign coordinator for OSU College Democrats, said she hopes students will be encouraged to vote after hearing Springer speak.
“We’ve always been really focused on youth outreach (and) we think Jerry will be able to bond with students on a more personal level than other politicians,” Valentine said. Anya Greenslade, a first-year in pre-industrial design, said she would like to hear Springer speak. “It’d be interesting to see him because he’s kind of off-the-wall,” Greenslade said. “I support the Democrats (and) it’d be cool to say I saw him.” However, Donovan Golich, a thirdyear in history, said he does not plan on attending the event because he questions Springer’s credibility. “Last week they brought Obama. When I saw it was Jerry Springer I was like, ‘Really? Is he the most credible person to talk about politics?’” Golich said. “I thought it was kind of laughable.” Niraj Antani, communication director of College Republicans agreed, saying it was “pretty unbelievable” that the College Democrats were “stooping to the level of bringing Jerry Springer to campus.” “Any person who would pit people against each other and exploit them (like on ‘The Jerry Springer Show’) is someone I would not want to associate with,” Antani said. “If there was a Republican equivalent to Jerry Springer, I would not allow him to come to campus.” Despite his history as a politician, Springer said he does not have plans to run for office again and that, for the time being, he is happy just speaking about politics whenever he can. “I’m probably a little old (to run for office) now,” Springer said. “I won’t say it’s never possible, but it becomes less and less possible. I devote a day or two a week to political stuff. That’s how I can be beneficial. “I’ll only have whatever influence I might have. Good Lord, you’ve got to love the country enough to take 15 minutes a year and go out and vote. It’s critical for you.” Caitlin Essig contributed to this story.
Samantha Brown travels to OSU, channels advice to students
Samantha Brown, a host for the Travel Channel, visited OSU Monday as part of an OUAB-sponsored event held in the Ohio Union’s Performance Hall. Check The Lantern Wednesday for a recap of the event.
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Bruce Vilanch spoke to a group of OSU students Oct. 14 in the Ohio Union’s U.S. Bank Conference Theater.
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Bruce Vilanch returned to his alma mater Sunday and told behind-the-scenes stories of being a writer in Hollywood, divulging tales from his stints of writing for pageants and for award shows such as the Oscars. He didn’t veer from leaving out the dirty details either, mentioning award shows where dresses were ripped backstage, and a time when a Saint Bernard was brought on stage and relieved itself at the feet of Dolly Parton. Vilanch visited Ohio State Sunday night in the Ohio Union’s U.S. Bank Conference Theater as part of an Ohio Union Activities Board-sponsored event. “I’m really glad you all showed up,” Vilanch said. “Because as you know, I have no act. I write everybody else’s act.” Vilanch is a comedy writer, actor and OSU alumnus. He also is a six-time Emmy Award winner. His comedy for the evening focused on the stars he’s worked with through his career. Vilanch seems to take pride in the shows that have flopped throughout his career being that he didn’t veer from gushing about their misfortunes. “The Star Wars Holiday Special” aired in 1978 and was one of the first official “Star Wars” spin-offs ever. Vilanch took part in writing the special, which starred actors and actresses such as Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Bea Arthur. “I sat down with George Lucas and he told me about this extra story that he had written about
the Wookies,” he said. A Wookie is a furry creature from “Star Wars.” Han Solo’s sidekick in the show, Chewbacca, is a Wookie. The storyline of “The Star Wars Holiday Special” follows Chewbacca’s family while he was out defending the universe. “The show was only broadcast once in its entirety but has become infamous for its negative reception,” Vilanch said. Vilanch also told the audience that to get his foot in the door in Hollywood, he first had to grow his reputation by writing for shows in a smaller circuit. He opted to write for pageants and beauty queens. “They all wanted to end world hunger and they all wanted to cure cancer, so I had to think of other things for them to want to cure,” Vilanch said. Vilanch also gave insight on how beauty queens master the technique of a pageant wave. “It goes … light bulb, light bulb, pearls, and they would repeat that over and over for hours,” he said. Vilanch did the pageant wave for the audience. The “light bulb” motion is taking one hand and twisting it as if turning a light bulb from a socket. The motion is repeated with the other hand and then the person would touch her chest lightly as if touching a string of pearls around her neck. Another part of his career involved writing for award shows such as the Oscars and Emmys. “I write a lot of those award shows that you all watch but won’t admit to because it’s a guilty pleasure,” he said. “I’ve written for so many of them that I’ve finally worked down the entire list of award shows and (am) moving on to really obscure ones.”
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