Thursday April 10, 2014 year: 134 No. 53
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thelantern the student voice of The Ohio State University
Meyer talks Spring Game
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Coffee Brunch brews in C-Bus
Changes to China program
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Bill could raise Ohio minimum wage by 27% MATT HOMAN Lantern reporter homan.94@osu.edu
Sexual imposition, graffiti reported at OSU KAYLA BYLER Managing editor of design byler.18@osu.edu A male staff member reported a sexual imposition on behalf of a third party at a North Campus dorm. The incident allegedly occurred Sunday in the early morning hours and was reported Tuesday. The student involved in the incident told the staff member who reported it that he or she wished to remain anonymous. “The reporting person stated that the victim was inappropriately touched by an individual that had been invited into the victim’s dorm room,” Ohio State Chief of Police Paul Denton said in an email Wednesday. “All parties have been identified by residence staff and the matter was referred to Student Conduct … There is no serious or continuing threat to students and employees.” A male staff member reported graffiti containing ethnic intimidation on Smith-Steeb Hall April 2. The graffiti occurred sometime on the night of April 1 into the morning of April 2. Investigation into the event is pending, according to a University Police report. Denton said he could not provide specifics on the nature of the graffiti because the investigation is ongoing. “Generally the graffiti can be described as a single sentence that, depending on one’s interpretation, was biased toward several racial, religious and ethnic groups,” he said. There were 20 total thefts reported this week on OSU’s campus from April 2 to Wednesday. A male staff member reported theft from Sloopy’s Diner in the Ohio Union after eight people walked out on a check totaling $105.57 Sunday at about noon. A male student reported misuse of credit cards and theft Friday at the Adventure Recreation Center. Related stolen property included a Samsung cellphone, a phone battery, several credit cards and a bag containing a wallet. Some of the property was recovered and investigation into the event is pending, according to a University Police report.
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Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives recently introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage of Ohio workers by more than $2 per hour, a change one Ohio State student leader said could decrease student job opportunities. Ohio House Bill 502, introduced by State Reps. Mike Foley, D-Cleveland, and Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 from $7.95, a 27 percent increase. The bill would also increase the minimum hourly wage of workers who earn tips to $5.05, up from the current $3.98. The bill was introduced March 25 and assigned to the Commerce, Labor and Technology Committee where it is currently under review. If signed into law, the legislation would take effect Jan. 1. Democratic lawmakers said the proposal would benefit all Ohioans. They hope to put more spending power into the hands of minimum wage workers and provide a chance for struggling families to rise above the poverty line. According to the Ohio House minority caucus’ blog, the proposal would add $2.1 billion to Ohio’s economy and create an estimated 6,000 new jobs. “This is money that will go directly back into our economy, not in some offshore account or overseas investment,” Hagan said in a statement in the post. “Instead of being pushed into public assistance lines, Ohioans who play by the rules deserve a shot at making it in an economy that rewards hard work.” Some OSU students, however, said the wage increase could have the opposite effect on job creation. “That $2.1 billion is coming from the pockets of those who have hiring capability. Unemployment is still incredibly high, and policies that hinder job creation are not a good solution,” Miranda Onnen, communications director for College Republicans and a thirdyear in economics and political science, said in an email. Onnen also said she believes current businesses offering minimum wage jobs won’t be able to afford to keep on the same number
RITIKA SHAH / Asst. photo editor
A student-employee prepares a sandwich at North Commons. OSU employees who make minimum wage could get a raise if legislation to increase the minimum wage passes in Ohio. of workers at the increased cost, or won’t be able to afford new hires. Representatives from OSU College Democrats did not respond to emails requesting comment. According to “Forbes,” a 10.6 percent national minimum wage increase passed by Congress in 2009 resulted in a loss of nearly 600,000 jobs for teenagers over the following six months, but the economy also grew by nearly 4 percent. President Barack Obama urged Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour from $7.25 during his State of the Union address Jan. 28. “This will help families. It will give businesses customers with more money to spend. It doesn’t involve any new bureaucratic program,” Obama said in the address. “Give America a raise.” Fan Yang, a third year in accounting who
makes $8 an hour as an office assistant for the Fisher College of Business — a position he has held since February — said the increased minimum wage in Ohio would be a good thing. “Who doesn’t want a better rate?” Yang said. He said he works an average of 10.5 hours a week and he earns roughly $84 a week before taxes. With the minimum wage proposed by the legislation, that amount could rise to about $106 per week. Other OSU student-employees agreed with Yang. “That would be great to have that big of an increase,” said Meghan Dannemiller, a second-year in English who works at the Terra Byte Cafe, where she makes $7.95 per hour. “It would definitely be a big bonus for everyone if it goes through.” Andrew Todd-Smith contributed to this article.
Urban Meyer stresses ‘4 to 6, A to B’ mindset Men talk mumps
fertility concerns
ERIC SEGER Sports editor seger.25@osu.edu Aside from the shoulder pads and helmets popping against each other, coaches yelling out orders or the shrill of whistles, there’s been one phrase that has echoed throughout the Woody Hayes Athletic Center during Ohio State spring practice. “4 to 6, A to B.” The phrase has seemingly become second nature to the Buckeyes, as coach Urban Meyer works to give his program’s culture a facelift throughout the spring football season. “We have a mantra, we have a culture that I want to make sure we don’t lose,” Meyer said after his team’s first spring practice March 4. “What I’m looking for is simplicity, and 4 to 6 and A to B. If you can’t give us that, then we gotta move on and get another player that will.” The mantra of playing hard for four to six seconds, and rushing hard during a play from one direct point to another, is so important to OSU’s football coach that he mentioned it four times March 4, in what was his first press conference since the Buckeyes’ 40-35 loss to Clemson in the 2014 Discover Orange Bowl Jan. 3. It’s been such a big part of the culture change for OSU so far in 2014 that the words continue to trickle down across the roster and coaching staff. “It’s going to be about 4 to 6, A to B. That’s what we’re going to be about,” assistant head coach and defensive line coach Larry Johnson said March 27 when asked about his unit specifically. “We’re going to work as hard as we can in 4 to 6 seconds, and go from point A to point B as fast as we can.” The coaching staff preaches the phrase in nearly every interview session during spring ball, establishing the assertion time and again. “I know you guys are getting tired of hearing ‘power of the unit’ and ‘4 to 6 seconds,’ but here’s reality: If that’s what is truly important, and it becomes important to our players that 11 guys show up at the ball and it doesn’t matter really which number gets there first … then it’s really, really important,” cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs said to reporters after practice April 3. Meyer said he knew he and his staff had work to do to shore some things up on the team — particularly at defending the pass, as the team gave up an average of 268 yards per game through the air, good for 112th in the country — to even have a
BRANDON MERRIMAN Lantern reporter merriman.65@osu.edu
SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
Coach Urban Meyer stands on the sidelines during a game against San Diego. OSU won, 42-7. chance at success in 2014. And fixing the mistakes that cost them begins with that one simple phrase. “I don’t want a team that’s scared to make mistakes. I don’t want a team that’s thinking,” Meyer said March 4. “I want a team that goes 4 to 6 seconds, and when they put their foot on the ground, it’s A to B, it’s fast and it’s as hard as you go.” Aside from the loss to the Tigers in the Orange Bowl, OSU also fell to Michigan State Dec. 7 in the Big Ten Championship Game, 34-24, crushing the chances it had of competing for the national title. The back-to-back losses are the first for Meyer in his tenure as OSU coach, after ripping off 24 straight wins since arriving in Columbus in 2012. With nearly eight months for that feeling to sit and ruminate in his and his team’s minds before the Buckeyes have another chance to line up against an opponent, it’s clear he wants things to change. “Urban has set the tone very clearly, nothing else matters,” Coombs said. “4 to 6 seconds, point A to point B, all of us doing the same thing, going as hard as we can and the kids have bought into that.
“And they’re not allowed to not buy into it, to be perfectly honest with you. It’s not an option. It is the way it’s going to be.” With the annual Spring Game at Ohio Stadium as the last scheduled, organized practice before fall camp, Meyer stressed the importance of adhering to the play-hard culture. “I want to make sure that culture’s out there,” Meyer said. “There’s never been a team, in 27 years of coaching, that team that didn’t play the hardest, didn’t win the game. Lack of execution and lack of technique — you can overcome that with incredible effort. You can’t overcome lack of effort with great technique. It doesn’t happen. At some point you’ll fail … These kids have heard that nonstop from the coaching staff.” The spring game is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Ohio Stadium. The season opener against Navy is scheduled for Aug. 30 at noon in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium.
Some male students said they are becoming concerned about their future ability to have children because mumps, which can cause infertility in about 10 percent of affected men, continues to spread at Ohio State. As of Wednesday afternoon, 175 mumps cases had been reported in Franklin and Delaware counties, 111 of which were linked to the OSU outbreak, according to a Columbus Public Health press release. Of the total number of cases, 66 were men. There were 12 more total cases and eight more OSU-linked cases reported as of Wednesday than had been reported Tuesday. Dr. Gregory Lowe, an assistant professor in OSU’s Department of Urology, said swelling of the testicles is a common symptom of the mumps for men. “What we see is that for men after puberty (who get mumps), obviously college students and young adults here in Columbus, somewhere around 15, even as high as 25 to 30 percent will develop some sort of (viral) swelling within the testicle, called orchitis,” Lowe said. “It can be on one side most often, or 20 percent of the time on both sides.” Lowe said once students catch mumps, there isn’t much treatment to prevent infection of the testicles. There are treatments, though, including steroids and other techniques, to keep the virus from replicating further. Lowe also said getting the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine helps prevent swelling from happening . “Only about one in five men with mumps will develop swelling in their testicles, and of those men, about half will have their fertility affected,” Lowe said. Lowe said those with swelling in both testicles are at an increased risk, and men who are at risk should consider going to a sperm bank in case they have complications in the future. “That’s something … if they need help with, they can call our office and get set up really easily,” Lowe said. “Even for the guys who do have fertility problems, we have several ways nowadays to help them father a child. Even when
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