Lantern 05.04.10

Page 1

Wednesday May 5, 2010 year: 130 No. 102 the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com ELECTION RESULTS as of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday

STATE ISSUE 1: THIRD FRONTIER Yes: 122,841 No: 50,626

thelantern OSU: No charges Lantern photographer won’t face criminal trespass, will still be reviewed by university

STATE ISSUE 2: CASINO RICK SCHANZ Campus Editor schanz.5@osu.edu

Yes: 145,985 No: 32,329

Read about Issue 1 on 3A

sports

Top prospect awaiting call-up

1B

arts & life

Ohio State will not press criminal trespass charges against Lantern photographer Alex Kotran, according to a university statement. Early Tuesday evening, Vernon Baisden, OSU assistant vice president and director of public safety, issued an e-mail statement that said the “university does not believe that the situation warrants the ÿling of criminal charges.” OSU Police still plan to meet with Kotran. Baisden and the police said they hope to make the “meeting a learning experience and help him (Kotran) understand why his actions put him in harm’s way and caused danger to others,” the statement said. Kotran said he was relieved after reading the statement but realized he is not out of the woods yet. “I’m glad they dropped the clearly absurd charge, but I am still concerned with the actions being taken by the Judiciary Committee,” he said. Although Kotran does not face criminal

Media groups offer legal support to photographer JACK MOORE Lantern reporter moore.1732@osu.edu

charges, the statement said the OSU Ofÿce of Student Life, which houses a student judiciary committee, will review the photographer’s actions. Because the Ofÿce of Student Life has the ability to expel a student, Kotran plans to retain a lawyer for the duration of the committee review, he said. Collin Binkley, The Lantern’s editor-inchief, echoed Kotran’s sentiments. “We at The Lantern applaud the university for making the wise decision not to press charges against Kotran, but he isn’t clear yet,” Binkley said. “We still want to make sure he doesn’t get punished by the university’s Judicial Affairs Ofÿce.” Late Tuesday evening, Kotran’s parents received a call from Martha Garland, vice president of the Ofÿce of Student Life. Kotran said that during the call, Garland apologized numerous times for “the whole situation.” He said she acknowledged that he was being a good journalist and should not have been singled out among other photographers and bystanders. OSU’s statement was sent to The Columbus Dispatch, but not to The Lantern or Kotran.

Alex Kotran, The Lantern photographer who was detained and handcuffed by Ohio State police while photographing two escaped cows, said he will still retain a lawyer even after an OSU ofÿcial announced that he will not be charged, and that he has a number of options available to him. Kotran has been scrambling to ÿnd legal counsel, and a number of organizations have offered help. Even after ÿnding out that he will not be charged, Kotran will still retain a lawyer to deal with a review of his actions by the Ofÿce of Student Life’s Judiciary Committee. OSU police still plan to meet with him. Kotran met with two attorneys yesterday at a time when many students were meeting with professors to discuss midterm exams. Because the charges that until late yesterday were pending against Kotran were for a criminal offense, Lantern adviser Tom O’Hara was adamant that he needed a criminal attorney to advise him. He also said there are “very important First Amendment and journalistic issues at stake here.” “I would imagine that part of his defense would be that he was doing journalism,” O’Hara said Tuesday morning. “He was out there as a Lantern photographer recording a very signiÿcant news event. That’s his obligation to do that.” One of the lawyers Kotran met with is a local criminal defense attorney recommended by a law professor in the Moritz College of Law. The other specializes in First Amendment and media rights cases.

continued as Kotran on 3A

‘It was war on campus. And war is hell’ The Lantern looks back 40 years to a spring of student riot and protest LAUREN HALLOW Lantern reporter hallow.1@osu.edu

6A

Feed Ohio’s Future

Five campus organizations will collaborate to bring the Feed Ohio’s Future benefit concert to the Union Thursday.

campus

Gee’s address to faculty

3A

weather

continued as 40 on 2A

On April 30, 1970, having been elected on a promise to end the con˜ ict in Vietnam, President Richard Nixon announced to the American people a plan to expand military operations into neighboring Cambodia.

t-storms

72/52 sunny 81/48 t-storms 55/39 few showers 60/42 mostly sunny www.weather.com

Photo courtesy of The University Archives

Top: Police throw canisters of tear gas at a mob of students on Neil Avenue. Bottom: Students rallying on the Oval faced armed members of the National Guard.

Photos courtesy of Forrest Brandt

1970 protests erupted across Ohio, became deadly at Kent KYLE KNOX Lantern reporter knox.154@osu.edu

high 82 low 54

TH FR SA SU

It might be tough to imagine a spring day on the Oval as anything but picturesque. But 40 years ago today, Ohio State’s Oval wasn’t a place for sunbathers, morning joggers or students taking their dogs for a walk. Instead, two armies occupied it: The Ohio National Guard armed with loaded ri˜ es and students armed with angry words and a few stones. Forty years ago at Kent State University, four students and nine others were wounded in a clash between protesters and the Ohio National Guard. Here at OSU, similar conditions resulted in violence, but no deaths. In the spring of 1970, women were demanding equal rights, blacks were pressing for equal representation, and young people were calling for an end to the Vietnam War. Put these issues on a college campus and combine them with an overwhelmed OSU administration, confused by the wants of a younger generation, and you’ve got yourself a riot. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the riots and rallies

Many protests erupted on campuses across the state, including Kent State University in northeast Ohio. The evening of May 1, a crowd of 120 students protested in the streets of downtown Kent, throwing beer bottles and damaging storefronts. The following morning, Kent Mayor Leroy Satrom declared a state of emergency and requested assistance from Gov. James Rhodes.

Ohio National Guard troops were dispatched and arrived that evening to ÿnd the campus Reserve Ofÿcer Training Corps building on ÿre. As ÿreÿghters attempted to extinguish the ˜ ames, protesters threw rocks and cut ÿre hoses. The city spent the next day under 24-hour curfew. Helicopters could be heard overhead, tanks were spotted on campus, and troops were posted on the streets.

On May 4, National Guard troops were ordered to disperse a demonstration of about 2,000 protestors and students in the area. The exact course of events remains disputed, but at 12:24 p.m., National Guard troops ÿred on the students, killing four and wounding nine. Kent State commemorated the 40th anniversary of the shootings May 4.

Students, alumni reach agreement on ticket reallocation JACK MOORE Lantern reporter moore.1732@osu.edu The Athletic Council voted last night to approve a proposal for how football tickets should be allocated after the university switches to semesters in 2012. But it wasn’t the proposal recommended by the

chair of the Finance and Facilities subcommittee at the April meeting, which was expected to be voted on last night. Instead, after several parliamentary maneuvers, the full council voted to accept an amended compromise plan proposed by the alumni representatives. Some members of the council were surprised that there were multiple proposals. Terry Miller, a

faculty member, said he thought that there would only be the proposal recommended by Karen Mancl, the chair of the subcommittee. Instead there were four. The alumni plan was proposed at Monday’s subcommittee meeting, said Holly Cush, an alumni representative. She said it was a way to increase

continued as Tickets on 3A 1A


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