MULTIMEDIA

New day off for students next fall

Fresh off spring break, Ohio University students received news they’ll get another — albeit shorter — reprieve from classes midway through next Fall Semester.

Bobcats to open at home against Thundering Herd

Although bad weather is expected throughout the day, Ohio is set to open its home campaign at Bob Wren Stadium on Wednesday in a game against non-conference rival Marshall after spending three consecutive weeks playing on the road.The Bobcats, which have 16 freshmen on the roster, are excited to finally play at home in a familiar setting instead of dealing with the ongoing travel on the road. “We’re glad to be at home and get a chance to get into a rhythm,” coach Rob Smith said. “When you’re on the road so much it can be a challenge sometimes to find a good rhythm.”Ohio only faces Marshall twice, but similar to the rivalries in other sports, the Bobcats aren’t too fond of the Thundering Herd.“We only play them twice a year, but we still don’t really like them,” junior outfielder Tyler Wells said. “Coach Smith hates playing them and always wants to win.”Marshall started its season by winning three of its first five games, before dropping the next six contests. The Thundering Herd picked up its play last weekend as it took two out of three games in the Conference USA opening series, which was its first conference opening series victory since 2009.Marshall junior pitcher Matt Margaritonda earned the school’s fourth Conference USA pitcher of the week award after throwing a complete game, including a career-high 11 strikeouts in their 5-2 victory against East Carolina on Sunday.The Bobcats are coming off a four-game series against Longwood in which Ohio dropped three games after recording inconsistent performances. The Lancers outscored the Bobcats 14-12, but won a pair of games by at least three runs.Ohio has been outscored 83-50 this season and the Bobcat pitching staff boasts an ERA of 5.38.Smith said sophomore pitcher Jake Miller will get the start against Marshall, despite surrendering six runs on seven hits in one inning of work in Ohio’s first game against Longwood on Saturday. The team plans to use other pitchers against Marshall as well.“The Ohio-Marshall rivalry is a very good one in all sports and we’re no different,” Smith said. “We know that when they come to town we’re going to have to play really well in order to beat them and we’re looking forward to that challenge.”ab109410@ohiou.edu@Alex_Busch91

Letter: Reporters' values are inconsistent in America

Last April, in a letter to The Post, I voiced my disagreement with a self-serving WOUB-TV commentary by Dr. Thomas Hodson, then the interim director of OU’s Center for Public Media.  In his commentary, he had praised “fairness” and “understanding,” which, according to him, characterized the work done by the Public Media Center’s graduates in almost every one of the media markets. Contrary to Dr. Hodson’s observation, I pointed out that in my travels across the nation, reporters that I have read/seen/listened to, for the most part, seemed to have no awareness of any value system beyond that of their high school peers. In the Feb. 26 Post Streetview, several Ohio University students were asked, “How do you stay up-to-date on the news?”  One respondent, a senior journalism major, answered, “I don’t usually pick up the newspaper, but I occasionally read stories from The Post’s Twitter account.” Case closed! Eliot Kalman graduated from Ohio University in 1976.

Ohio ends season of rebuilding

The painful, rebuilding year is over for Ohio.And though first-year coach Bob Boldon didn’t lead the Bobcats to the Promised Land, he put them on a road to recovery.In a frustrated season full of growing pains, Ohio finished with a 9-21 record, which shows improvement in comparison with the team’s worst year in program history last season, when the Bobcats went 6-23.There were also plenty of mood swings for the young, largely inexperienced squad.After two seniors weren’t medically cleared to play, junior guard Mariah Byard became leader of the Bobcats’ three sophomores and seven freshmen.Following a 78-62 loss to Bowling Green midway through Mid-American Conference play, Boldon said he had been impressed with his team, which had to learn a new system with new coaches with the majority of the roster new players.“I’m thrilled with our freshman class,” he said. “I think they’re all doing a great job. Our goal is to be good in three years. We’d like it to be sooner than that, but we’re in a process that can be uncomfortable at times.”If Boldon was uncomfortable in early February, then he must have been in a living nightmare by March.After dropping numerous winnable games, including a loss to Miami in the regular season finale, he belittled everything the team had worked for throughout the season and said the Bobcats were “not a good basketball team.”But there were bright spots in a year overshadowed by a ten-game losing streak and just one win in the final 15 games.Though they did not win the games, they gained experience in a pair of losses to Top Ten opponents, and the Bobcats began MAC play by winning three of their first four contests.In an announcement by the MAC on Monday, sophomore guard Kiyanna Black received honorable mention All-MAC honors, while freshman guard Quiera Lampkins earned All-MAC freshman squad honors.In addition to postseason accolades, redshirt sophomore guard Kat Yelle played her first full season for the Bobcats after injuries plagued her in both 2011-12 and 2012-13 and will return with experience.Whether improvements are apparent, Boldon said in every interview (except after Miami’s game) that the Bobcats were maturing and moving in the right direction, as the team will not lose any players next year.And Boldon knows a thing or two about improvement. Before taking over at Ohio, he transformed the Youngstown State he inherited from a 0-30 team to a 23-10 squad in 2012-13.Boldon said he expects a competitive team will come in three years, and he’s done it before.gh181212@ohiou.edu@CharlieHatch_

Letter: Ohioans should do their research before voting

As Ohioans begin gearing up for the 2014 election, many are weighing their options for both viable Democratic and Republican candidates who are running for and seeking re-election. While much of the attention and spotlight will be focused on the Kasich and Fitzgerald gubernatorial election, another key Ohio position is up for re-election: the seat for Ohio’s secretary of state, which is currently held by Jon Husted. But many talking heads and large media outlets will try to persuade you that Husted does not deserve to get re-elected. I find it odd that all of these big talking heads, from states like New York and Massachusetts (which do not have early voting), are criticizing Ohio’s 29 days of early voting. Perhaps these hypocrites could address their own states’ voting opportunities before rushing to explain how bad Husted is doing, especially since he is the first secretary of state to mail absentee ballot applications to every registered Ohio voter. Before making your decisions for which candidate you will vote for, go beyond the talking heads and do some independent research. You may be surprised at what you find.Aaron Dauterman is a sophomore studying communication.

’Cats head north for ‘war’ against RedHawks

Ohio has swept the Battle of the Bricks so far this season, defeating Miami in both Athens and Oxford.Now the Bobcats look to continue this season’s dominance of the RedHawks in Cleveland, as the teams will take the court for the third time in a second-round Mid-American Conference Tournament game Wednesday.Wins didn’t come easy for Ohio in the teams’ previous two meetings. The Bobcats climbed back from a 16-point second half deficit to defeat the RedHawks at home in their first game on Feb. 8, and needed overtime to squeeze out an 82-76 win last Saturday.Taking down Miami a third time will come down to matching its intensity, Ohio coach Jim Christian said.“It’s going to be a war out there,” he said. “If we meet them at their competition level, then it’s going to be one heck of a game. If we don’t, then we’re going to be in trouble because we know how they’re going to play.”Part of meeting Miami at its “competition level” will come down to playing smart basketball and avoiding the turnovers that often plague the Bobcats, who have averaged 14.1 giveaways in their seven MAC losses.Miami is a team that feasts on swiping the ball from its opposition, leading the conference with 8.8 steals per game and ranking second in the MAC with an average of 14.8 turnovers forced. And in last Saturday’s game, the RedHawks forced 19 Bobcats giveaways.Ohio freshman forward Antonio Campbell said he and the rest of his teammates need to play intelligently if they want to move past the RedHawks for the third time this season.“I’m sure it’s not going to be easy,” Campbell said. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to try to double in the post again. I’ve just got to be smart and make the right plays out of the double.”Campbell has been one of the Bobcats’ key contributors of late, taking the starting job from junior forward Maurice Ndour, whose season-long back problems have recently flared up and forced him to play fewer minutes when coming off the bench.In the three games Campbell has started in place of Ndour, he’s shot 15 of 20 from the field, averaging 12 points and four rebounds.“The thing that he’s done better than anything is he’s able to play through his mistakes now,” Christian said. “In the beginning of the year when you’re a freshman, the weight of the world kind of goes on your shoulder, and now he’s able to play through it.”Ohio will need players such as Campbell to continue their better-than-average play in order to pull off the task of winning four games in the next four days. But despite the daunting slate ahead, Christian is just focused on beating Miami again.“It’s conference tournament time,” he said. “Is it going to get up another notch? It’s going to be hard to because I think both teams played unbelievably hard on Saturday.”ch203310@ohiou.edu@c_hoppens

Student Senate prepares for top university officials

Ohio University administrators and faculty are not the only ones preparing for this week’s OU Board of Trustees meeting.

Pass college, go directly to D-League

The National Basketball Association’s Developmental League, most commonly known as the D-League, is not the most legitimate feeder system into the big leagues. With small-town markets, trivial venues and lack of talent compared to its big brother organizations, it’s no question why not all NBA teams have a D-League affiliate.Last week, Dallas Mavericks owner and notorious loudmouth Mark Cuban took a shot at the NCAA’s role — or lack thereof — in developing student-athletes into NBA prospects. In college basketball, the heralded “one-and-done rule” allows players to leave their respective college programs after one season and enter the NBA Draft.However, Cuban argued the D-League has the potential to grow as a viable alternative to college. “A major college has to pretend that they’re treating them like a student-athlete, and it’s a big lie and we all know it’s a big lie,” Cuban said. And he’s right.First, let’s address the elephant in the room that the D-League is often referred to as a joke. It’s evident in team names like the Bakersfield Jam, which sound more like an artisan brand of marmalade than a basketball team, and with the D-League All-Star Weekend that is paradoxical to players’ developmental status.Yet, it may be in the best interest of the most talented high school players to skip their first year of school and head to places like Sioux Falls, S.D. or Portland (Maine, that is).Cuban claimed college players hardly attend classes and the term “student-athlete” gets thrown around more as a pleasantry in conversation than an actual practice. Students are compensated indirectly at the collegiate level, but cases of impermissible benefits seem to be a growing norm for star athletes.P.J. Hairston, a former North Carolina Tar Heel, was expelled from UNC for accepting illicit benefits, as well as for marijuana possession and reckless driving. Instead of transferring schools or playing professionally in Europe, Hairston turned to the D-League to showcase his talents in hopes of becoming an NBA Draft pick.And the D-League is growing. The New York Knicks are in the process of starting an affiliate, which will add to the existing 17 teams. Yet the growth lies in the ability of the D-League to help young players adjust to life. College may institute a sense of an agenda and help players mature — the D-League is at best a stripped-down version of that.With the NCAA’s dubious policies in place, it may prove easier for the D-League to shift the culture of college basketball and the NBA alike. But it’s essential that one steps forward in looking out for the best interests of its players.  Colin Hanner is a junior studying journalism and is a sports writer for The Post. Do you think players may begin to choose the D-League instead of the NCAA? Let him know @ColinHanner.

Students bronze using artificial sunlight

Though the sun is just beginning to show its face, many students have been finding their glow, even in the dead of winter.Indoor tanning is a popular option for those who want to achieve a tan even in sub-zero temperatures. According to a survey by the American Academy of Dermatology, 28 million people tan indoors in the U.S. annually, and in 2010 nearly $2.6 billion was spent on the indoor tanning industry.In Athens’ tanning salons, there are two different kinds of packages to choose from: sessions and minutes.   “We do sessions rather than minutes,” said Olivia Roberts, the manager at Attractions Tanning Salon, 19 N. Court St. “So, you can buy quantities of like a single, three, six, 12 or 20 and we also have what we called an unlimited package, which is 30 days for 30 sessions and after 30 days it will expire.”Unlike Attractions, Outer Glow chooses to do minutes.“We sell our packages by the minute,” said Maria Kamlowsky, who has been the manager at 14 S. Court St. for four years. “(It) is the most flexible options for students because our minutes never expire.”  The difference between sessions and minutes comes down to personal preferences and schedules.“If I had to choose between sessions and minutes I wouldn’t hesitate,” said Lisa Cochran, a junior studying accounting. “I prefer sessions.”Though many students have loans, rent and tuition to pay, they still are the majority that brings in revenue for these salons in Athens.“I would definitely say that it’s probably not them paying for it it’s probably their parents,” Roberts said. “But, I don’t think they really care, maybe they have good jobs, but tanning should be the last thing on their mind when they have student loans to think about.”Others, like Kamlowsky, feel that students tan for a different, less skin-deep, reason.“People tan for a variety of reasons,” she said. “Not just for cosmetic purposes but even to combat things such as seasonal depression during this gloomy time of year.”Some tan to raise their self-esteem and confidence, while others tan just to achieve a certain look.“I go tanning just so I won’t be pale and white,” Cochran said. “Being pale and pasty sucks. When it comes to tanning, it doesn’t really give me confidence, I just like being tan because it reminds me of the beach.”  @annachristine38ag836912@ohio.edu

OIT offers 50GB free online storage

Ohio University students and faculty will soon have more space up in the clouds.Box, an online storage solution, has been recently purchased for all OU students and faculty.Similar to services such as Dropbox or Google Drive, Box allows its users to store documents, images, video and more online. These services provide a place to back up important documents or expand the storage space of one’s computer.Sean O’Malley, communications director for OIT,  announced the service Feb. 12 via a university press release.According to the release, students, faculty and staff will all have access to 50GB of online storage as soon as the license is activated. For larger institutions such as OU, this can take 30-60 days to accomplish. The university spent $340,600 for a three-year license, O’Malley said.The new service has the ability to change how some people accomplish their day-to-day tasks.“I use Dropbox now,” Trent Lindsay, a sophomore studying aviation flight, said. “Since (Box) has an app, I would switch. The 50 gigs is really nice.”Box has integrated collaboration features, meaning people can create documents and then share them with coworkers or classmates so they may see and edit the documents.Professors also have the ability to request assignments through Box. Students could submit homework or projects through the program, where professors could then give comments.Individual users are able to sign up for personal accounts through the Box website, but are only offered 10GB for free. Users who already have personal accounts will not be able to combine these accounts with the coming OU accounts, but they can still keep both accounts.Students also would not be able to have more than 50GB of storage under their university accounts, O’Malley said.O’Malley lead two demos on Box during Fall Semester to show people how to use the service and gauge its popularity among students, faculty and staff.“There’s been a lot of requests coming in, where people were asking ‘what are my options for being able to do secure file storage somewhere other than my hard drive?’” O’Malley said. “We saw the need building, and we tried to address that.” 

Students bronze using artificial sunlight

Though the sun is just beginning to show its face, many students have been finding their glow, even in the dead of winter.

Road changes possible; new building planned

Park Place might see some changes

Men's Basketball: Bobcats shoot their way to Cleveland

From the opening tip to the final horn, there wasn’t a doubt of the end result of Monday’s first-round Mid-American Conference Tournament game.

GSS welcomes commissioner, talks elections

Elliot Long made his first appearance as Graduate Student Senate’s LGBT Affairs Commissioner at Monday’s meeting.

Cartoon: 3/11/2014

Hockey: New head coach finds early success

It is not easy being new to anything, let alone coaching.

Fluff Bakery pitches liquor license plan

At least five liquor licenses have been transferred between establishments in the City of Athens without a fight since 2012.

Players are eager to put the new fieldhouse to use for practices

Building an indoor practice facility was not Ohio football coach Frank Solich’s first priority when he accepted his current position, but it was certainly on his list.

Post Streetview: What was the last song you listened to and where did you hear it?

Groups provide free meals for Athens

On just about any day of the week, one could find Athens community members and students coming together at local philanthropic organizations to provide a free meal to the community.