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ZACH VARDA Campus Editor varda.6@osu.edu When news broke of the alleged sexual abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss in April, there was no indication of the countless stories that would follow. As students enjoyed their summer vacations, the Ohio State administration responded to headlines beginning with the Strauss allegations, which would come to entangle a prominent politician. Then a unit to help sexual assault survivors was closed, followed by sexual abuse allegations against a former diving club coach. And, finally, the firing of an assistant football coach and uncertainty surrounding head coach Urban Meyer. Strauss allegations The story that eventually enveloped the majority of the summer began on April 5 with a press release from the university. The statement said Ohio State would be conducting an investigation into the allegations against Strauss and provided directions on how to report sexual assault at Ohio State. On May 3 the university in-
formed the public that the investigation had identified athletes in eight different Ohio State sports who had been allegedly sexually abused by Strauss, but did not identify the number of athletes affected. From then until July, the Strauss news grew with various wrestlers sharing their stories. It later came to light that Strauss ran a private clinic off-campus to which university athletes were regularly referred. But in July, the story took another twist. Five wrestlers alleged that Jim Jordan, a former assistant wrestling coach and now member of the House of Representatives, knew about the alleged abuse. The allegations about Jordan garnered national headlines as he became a favorite to become the next speaker of the House, with politicians on all levels and both sides of the aisle weighing in, including President Donald Trump. But as political headlines dominated the national coverage of the story, the investigation into Strauss’ actions continued in the background. Multiple lawsuits were filed against Ohio State, one wrestler sought a settlement,
more than 100 alleging assault were interviewed, and the Department of Education announced an investigation on Aug. 16 into how allegations against Strauss were handled by Ohio State The announcement showed that the story continues to evolve and has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Sexual Civility and Empowerment unit dissolved Having had its activities suspended since February amid review, Ohio State announced on June 19 that SCE would be shut down for good. The report from that review, which Ohio State received on May 28, found SCE had failed to properly document and report information regarding some sexual assault complaints made by students. In addition, public records showed complaints that outlined a pattern of bullying, preferential treatment and lying by those in leadership positions. In the statement closing SCE, the university announced it had secured the services of a leading law firm to help create an SCE replacement as well as to conduct a top-down review of Ohio State’s
compliance with federal laws. Speaking in general terms to The Lantern, Matthew Mitten, a professor of law and the executive director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School, said Ohio State is likely “reviewing the whole procedure.” “They’re asking Ohio State, ‘What are you doing to make sure that all your employees, administrators and everyone is aware of exactly what Title IX requires?’” he said. Mitten said that review of reporting measures and an internal hearing procedure for Title IX violations are likely to be reviewed, and that compliance is extremely important. “The consequences of not ensuring the university is complying with Title IX is there can be civil litigation,” he said. “Individual students can bring suit against the university and if they can prove intentional discrimination they can recover damages for an intentional violation, they can recover attorney fees and the court can order certain things to ensure compliance with Title IX.” Ohio State said in a statement an SCE replacement service STORY CONTINUES ON 3
The student voice of the Ohio State University
Year 138, Issue No. 28
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR EDWARD SUTELAN Editor-In-Chief sutelan.1@osu.edu
Something hasn’t felt quite right these past couple days. Walking around Ohio State just before the start of the fall semester, I couldn’t help but think of this as the beginning of the end. I’ve spent the past three years of my life at this university, and now, as a senior, I’m looking ahead to life after graduation. Which is weird. People have always said college moves fast. How fast could it really go by? Apparently, very fast. It feels like just yesterday I was a nervous freshman walking into The Lantern newsroom asking how I could cover baseball and now I’ve got just one year left at this paper. This campus has been home to me for three years. Each semester, I’ve been able to look ahead a year and know exactly where I will be. A year from now, who knows where I’ll be. But that’s not important to think about right now. The best advice I can give to any student here — freshman or senior — is to make the most of every day in between now and then. Try something new. Not a football fan? Spend a Saturday in Block O. Never written a story before? Come pitch an idea to The Lantern. For however much time you have left, The Lantern will be your go-to source for information at Ohio State. As you will see in these pages, we’ve got you covered on anything from new buildings opening up, the upcoming slate of concerts and the latest on Buckeye football. You can find our print copies in boxes all around campus and can always read the latest on thelantern.com or on our mobile app. If there’s something you think we should be covering, feel free to let me know at sutelan.1@osu.edu. Your time at Ohio State goes by faster than you might think. We’re glad you’ll be spending some of it with us.
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