Thursday September 5, 2013 year: 133 No. 71
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
www.thelantern.com
thelantern Oversight causes now-resolved USG issue
sports
LIZ YOUNG Campus editor young.1693@osu.edu
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Checking in on the opponent
Despite coming off a loss last weekend, San Diego State is looking to play a ‘competitive’ game against OSU.
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Some Ohio State Undergraduate Student Government members recently faced a brief claiming they had been appointed unconstitutionally. Though the case was dropped and the matter was settled, there is a chance it could reappear. The brief, which was filed with the judicial panel of USG, alleged USG senior staff and executive directors had not been appointed by constitutional means because they were not approved by the Oversight Committee, said USG Chief Justice Tyler Byrum, a fourth-year in engineering physics. “A brief was filed last week saying there was an alleged constitutional violation with the processing of appointees in the General Assembly,” Byrum said. “It alleged that they weren’t sent through the Oversight Committee, which … was an addition that just got put in.” One of the Oversight Committee’s basic purposes is to make sure the candidates are “good, active candidates,” Byrum said. The Oversight Committee was created in the USG Constitution amended in March. The matter was settled outside of an official court decision over the weekend and the appointees will be sent back through the Oversight Committee, Byrum said, but if the terms of the settlement aren’t met, the brief may reappear. However, he said he doesn’t see that happening. “I don’t expect it to be refiled, I’d be surprised,” Byrum said. “It’s not an egregious error … It was just
It’s a lot like semesters. It’s taken us a while to get used to semesters and it’s going to take us a while to get used to the new constitution. Josh Ahart USG vice president and a fourth-year in public affairs something that happened by mistake and it’s getting fixed.” There are eight people on the senior staff and 11 executive directors, all of whom were allegedly not approved in the constitutional manner required. USG President Taylor Stepp, a fourth-year in public affairs, emphasized the issue was “not directed at those individuals” but at the matter in which they were appointed. Senior staff and executive director appointments are submitted by the USG president, Stepp, to the General Assembly for approval. The Oversight Committee is supposed to approve the appointments before the General Assembly officially does. The chair of the Oversight Committee and USG parliamentarian, third-year in political science Erik Leiden, said Friday the committee has three responsibilities — approving the executive board appointments and the director appointments, as well as a third role related to approving new constitutional amendments and bylaws. The senior staff, Leiden said, was appointed in the spring and the directors were appointed in the fall.
He said there was “a lot of discussion” but it was mostly generally accepted in the spring that the process USG had followed was acceptable, so the second time the directors’ appointments went through in the same manner. Josh Ahart, USG vice president and a fourth-year in public affairs, is the speaker of the USG General Assembly. He said although he did not have an “active or large role” in the case, he believes it was just an issue with adjusting to the new constitution. “This (case) ended up being one of those small hiccups in the road,” Ahart said. “Everyone is happy now with the outcome … It was honestly just a procedural issue and it was one of those things where it just, it happened but it’s been taken care of.” He compared USG adapting to its new constitution to OSU getting accustomed to its new academic schedule. “It’s a lot like semesters. It’s taken us a while to get used to semesters and it’s going to take us a while to get used to the new constitution,” Ahart said. “We’re working hard to correct these issues and to make sure they don’t happen again.” Stepp said he wasn’t involved in the case’s handling because it was a General Assembly issue, but like Ahart said, the problem had to do with getting used to the new constitution, and he wasn’t concerned when he heard about the case. “I was immediately just like, ‘OK, this is just another instance where we’ve got some procedural issues we’ve got to get resolved,’” Stepp said. “I wasn’t alarmed.”
Law thought to affect suicide prevention at OSU NICK ROLL Lantern reporter roll.66@osu.edu
Local lyrical love
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The Floorwalkers is a local band that has frequently been named the best in Columbus by ‘(614) Magazine’ readers.
campus
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Michigan causes a stir
In its halftime show last week, the University of Michigan’s band mocked OSU by making an ‘OHNO’ formation.
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As the first academic year of a suicide prevention law’s implementation begins, some members of the Ohio State community are wondering if the changes being made in many of Ohio’s public schools will help OSU students in the long-run. Sixteen years after Clark Flatt lost his 16-year-old son, Jason, to suicide, the Jason Foundation, a mental health advocacy group founded in Jason’s namesake, has succeeded in implementing the Jason Flatt Act in Ohio and 11 other states across the United States. The Jason Flatt Act, specifically dedicated in Ohio for Joseph Anielski, requires that high school staff and teachers be trained for suicide prevention so they can see the signs of suicidal behavior in teens and know how to reach out. The law was brought to Ohio by state representative Marlene Anielski, Joseph’s mother, after Joseph committed suicide in 2010. Gov. John Kasich signed the law in December, and this school year is the first year of its implementation in Ohio public schools, as well as charter schools and science, technology, engineering and math schools.
Though the law does not directly affect or implement any requirements on universities in Ohio, members of OSU’s Suicide Prevention Program believe the law will bring positive change. “Suicide awareness training is straightforward and simple, but it really can save lives,” program manager Wendy Winger said.
Others said the training is a lifesaving skill. “It’s like teaching someone psychological CPR — anyone can learn,” said Darcy Granello, the suicide prevention program’s principal investigator. Winger and Granello agreed that while the Jason Flatt Act doesn’t directly affect university policy, it will
help with student mental health in the long run. With the legislation, more students who would have previously not been reached out to by teachers at their high school will come to OSU after already receiving help. “A great thing (the Jason Flatt Act) can do is raise awareness of mental health issues,” Granello said. “We want to see the stigmas surrounding mental health disappear so that people treat mental diseases like any other bodily disease.” The bill did not come without opposition. Flatt, who founded the Jason Foundation, said the idea for requiring suicide training in teacher in-services was not initially well received, but, “seeing almost 25 percent of the states having passed the Jason Flatt Act, and seeing the results it has had, is heart-lifting.” Clark credits OSU President Emeritus E. Gordon Gee, a board member of the Jason Foundation, for getting the act passed in Ohio. “He wasn’t calling in favors,” Flatt said. “But he was helping people genuinely understand how important this legislation is.” Gee joined the board of the Jason Foundation when it first formed, when Gee was chancellor of Vanderbilt
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OSU ranked in top 25 LGBT-friendly campuses ALEXA CARSON Lantern reporter carson.239@osu.edu Though Ohio State was recently named one of the top 25 Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgenderfriendly colleges and universities of 2013, some at OSU feel there is still room for improvement. The nonprofit organization Campus Pride, which aims to help the LGBT community and its allies by working with schools and promoting programs and services that make college life safer for and more inclusive of LGBT students, released the ranking based off of its LGBT-Friendly Campus Pride Index, the assessment of the 380 participating schools’ LGBT policies, programs and services. The index scores are based off an online selfassessment made by a campus official, usually someone who represents the on-campus LGBT community. Chris Bellman, the leader of the student organization Fine By Me, one of the largest LGBT ally student organizations on campus, said he is impressed OSU was the only public school in Ohio to make the list. “I think it’s really cool to see the third largest university in the nation leading the charge of equality and options and caring about LGBT students,” said Bellman, a third-year in electrical and computer engineering. Although proud of the ranking, Bellman said there should be more efforts to promote awareness of LGBT issues to those outside the community, and there should be more housing options for LGBT students. To be ranked in the top 25, a school had to earn five stars in the overall, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression categories and meet
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SHELBY LUM / Photo editor
Participants walk in the Pride Parade, part of the Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival, June 22 on High Street. OSU was recently named one of the top 25 LGBT-friendly US colleges.
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