Wednesday November 16, 2011 year: 132 No. 39
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern
Columbus crime has increased, police say
sports
SARAH STEMEN Oller reporter stemen.66@osu.edu
Fickell’s forum
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OSU football coach Luke Fickell addressed Penn State, player injuries and more at this week’s press conference.
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Ohio State released a Timely Warning on Tuesday night informing students of the fifth robbery in the campus area in just over two weeks. According to the warning, a male student had his possessions forcibly removed from him by two males who implied they had a gun. The suspects were described as African-American under the age of 20. The suspects were approximately 6-feet tall, thin build. The incident occurred at 1501 Neil Avenue. With the recent string of robberies near Ohio State’s campus, one Sergeant from the Columbus Police Department’s Investigative Robberies Unit said there has been an increase in criminal activity within the last 30 days in Columbus. Due to the recent series of robberies that have occurred in the campus area, many OSU students and faculty have been left to wonder whether crime has increased or if the new Crime Alerts system is causing the OSU community to be hypersensitive to crime. Sergeant Shaun Laird of CPD’s Investigative Robberies Unit told The Lantern crime numbers have, in fact, increased.
Caffeine not always safest fix
“Though I don’t have an exact number for you, we have had more reports than normal for this time of the year,” Laird said. “There has been more activity in the past 30 days.” Laird also said CPD does not believe the string of crimes is due to gang activity.
“We have had more reports than normal for this time of the year … There has been more activity in the past 30 days.” Sergeant Shaun Laird CPD’s Investigative Robberies Unit “We have no information that any of these crimes has to do with gangs, though we are still investigating these,” he said. “The physical description of the suspects is different, some are with a weapon and others are without.” He said they are investigating each crime independently right now. “Sometimes we see some similarities between one or two of them. However, we don’t believe they are all interrelated at this time and we will examine each one separately,” Laird said. Deputy Chief of OSU police, Richard Morman, said due to the location of the robberies, the
department does not have specific numbers for anything other than what occurs on campus. “That vicinity is all the Columbus Police Department’s area,” Morman said. “However, we have done a joint force with them, where an OSU officer teams up with a CPD officer.” Morman also said their department has nothing to do with the investigation of the robberies. “Of course we are aware of the crimes, and we are teaming up with the CPD to increase awareness of crime behind High Street,” Morman said. Another attack and robbery happened Sunday morning. OSU student Aaron Peacock was beaten and robbed of his wallet, cell-phone and keys around 3:45 a.m. on 18th Avenue between Summit Street and Fourth Street. Though the attackers were not armed in this case, they have been in previous cases. On Nov. 5, a female reported being approached and shown a black handgun, after being told to hand over her money, according to the Crime Alert released by the university. In all, OSU Police have issued five Timely Warnings for robberies occurring near campus in a little more than two weeks. Laird said the arrests CPD has made serve as another piece of evidence the crimes are not related. “In the last month, we’ve had three arrests in the
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GETTING CRAFTY Led by the offense and defense of Aaron Craft (4), the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Florida Gators, 81-74, Nov. 15, 2011 at the Schottenstein Center.
KAITLYN LYLE Lantern reporter lyle.42@osu.edu
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Getting slim with Simmons
Fitness fanatic Richard Simmons is scheduled to visit the OSU campus at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
campus
New AC for medical center
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student voice
With finals week less than three weeks away, many students may find themselves indulging in caffeine to pull all-nighters to study. But an extreme increase in caffeine consumption can have negative side effects. Allison Gering, a fifth-year in middle childhood education, is no stranger to all-night studying for exams, having done so multiple times during her five years at Ohio State. She said she drinks four cups of coffee a day, and increases her caffeine intake during exam week to get more work done. Gering said she isn’t fazed by caffeine’s side effects. “I mean, it’s distracting, but you don’t sleep, so that’s good,” Gering said. But added energy with less sleep is not the only result of increasing one’s caffeine dosage. Including insomnia, too much caffeine can lead to side effects like irritability, nausea, increased nervousness, muscle tremors and increased heartbeat, said Angela Blackstone, a registered dietician at the Center for Wellness and Prevention at OSU. “Also, caffeine does act as a diuretic … so make sure that you’re drinking plenty of water in addition to any caffeinated beverages that you drink,” Blackstone said. Blackstone, who completed her education at OSU’s School of Allied Medicine and Dietetics, has been at the university for 13 years. Of course, these side effects are largely dependent on a person’s tolerance for caffeine, the amount of it being consumed and the concentration of the substance in each form.
CODY COUSINO / Photo editor
OSU WINS, 81-74
THE BIG THREE
Check out the recap of the OSUFlorida game at the Schottenstein center. OSU beat Florida, 81-74.
Check out a story online about OSU’s “Big Three,” William Buford, Aaron Craft and Jared Sullinger.
STORY ON PAGE 8A
STORY ON THELANTERN.COM/SPORTS
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Crime needs ‘Be loud, proud, respectful’ against PSU cleaned up weather
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high 51 low 35 am showers
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MARY POSANI Lantern reporter posani.3@osu.edu
Undergraduate Student Government, Block “O” and Ohio State Sportsmanship Council are asking students and Buckeye fans to be respectful to Penn State football players and visitors this Saturday when the Buckeyes host the Nittany Lions in Ohio Stadium. Last week, news broke about PSU retired defensive coach Jerry Sandusky alledgedly sexually abusing children in his home and in PSU football facilities. Despite informing former athletic director Tim Curley, former head coach Joe Paterno was fired for not telling proper authorities of his knowledge of the abuse, according to multiple media reports. This Saturday, PSU will travel to the ‘Shoe for its first road game since Paterno was fired. “Obviously with the events that occurred at Penn State University last week, we thought it was important that we try and share with our fans this reality that we face by hosting Penn State this weekend,” said athletic director Gene Smith during Tuesday’s weekly football
press conference. “We are asking all of our Buckeye fans to continue to show sportsmanship and class this weekend as we welcome our visitors from Penn State.” The athletic department, along with USG, Block “O” and OSSC are introducing the “Be loud, be proud, and be respectful” campaign this week to encourage students to treat PSU fans with respect. “I want to reassure you that Ohio State is home to the best fans in the land and, as students, we will separate what will happen on the football field from the transgressions and actions of individuals,” said USG President Nick Messenger at the press conference. “Penn State students love their school just as much as we love ours. It is important to remember the victims of this tragedy, but it is also important to remember that our visitors are not people whom we should direct our anger.” As part of the initiative, USG, Block “O” and OSSC are also asking students to change their profile pictures on Facebook and Twitter this week to a logo honoring the victims. The logo will feature a blue ribbon, the color for child abuse, on top of an outline of the state of Ohio.
Courtesy of USG
USG, Block ‘O’ and the OSU Sportsmanship Council are encouraging people to change this logo to their profile picture. “It is important that we remember this is bigger than football. And we want to be loud, be proud, and be respectful to our visitors this weekend,” said Jared Kamrass, senior counselor to the president in USG. “We respect and acknowledge the rivalry with Penn State and that it is always competitive. As students we should act in a way that Ohio State stands for.” Messenger said he expects students to cheer loudly as usual,
but to be respectful to PSU fans and players. “We want (students) to do what they always do. Don’t chant things that are disrespectful to the situation, don’t harass other Penn State fans, or give them a hard time about what’s happening at their university,” Messenger said. “You can still root for our team to beat their team without being disrespectful to the situation.” Tim Collins, president of Block “O,” said he expects students to be respectful and perform business as usual for Saturday’s game. “Sportsmanship is something that happens 365 days a year and shouldn’t be left off for one game,” Collins said. “This is something that is not to be brought up. It is not to be used as ammo, and we are to cheer on the Buckeyes.” USG, OSSC and Block “O” also created a video, featuring student athletes asking their fellow students to cheer and be respectful. OSSC ambassadors will also be visiting PSU tailgaters and members from PRIDE, PSU’s student sportsmanship organization, welcoming them to OSU. “We certainly appreciate the
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