Summer is the perfect time to catch up on books that appear on no syllabi, and actually to enjoy them. But don't be alarmed ' any of these books would complement the homework routine nicely.Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Athens City Council adopted a controversial ordinance yesterday authorizing a three-year agreement with the AFL-CIO and a local union to give union members an annual pay raise of 4 percent. Councilman Jim Sands, D-at large, said the agreement was a standard contract with the AFL-CIO and the local American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, which has fewer than 50 members. However, it caused a stir among council members because of a wording change to the original proposal. Through the contract, union members would have the opportunity to contribute to the union's political action committee through a voluntary payroll deduction.Some elected officials were upset that the word voluntary was added as an amendment to the ordinance. Sands, councilwoman Carol Patterson. D-at large, and mayor Ric Abel said they were not opposed to the idea of the voluntary deduction but disagreed with the fact that City Council renegotiated an agreement that a negotiation committee already had addressed. This is one of the dumbest pieces of legislation I've ever heard
As the Ohio football team gained a lead over Tennessee-Martin during Saturday's home opener, coach Frank Solich seized the opportunity to give all of his quarterbacks some playing time. Returning starter Austen Everson struggled early on but became more effective running the option in the game's later quarters, finishing the day 8-for-17 with 49 yards in the air. Everson also rushed for a touchdown but wound up with negative yardage on the ground. I need to work on executing
The FDA recently approved over-the-counter sales of Plan B, commonly known as the morning-after pill
The scoring came early but not often for Ohio in its 1-0 victory over visiting Robert Morris yesterday. Ohio (1-2) took the lead for good when forward Lindsey Price sailed a high, arching corner kick that Rachael Goulding headed into the back of the net just 1:35 into the match. The assist was a small change of pace for Price, who was the squad's leading goal scorer in 2005.I always look for Rachael because she's the tallest
Once upon a time, college students registered for classes in person, waiting anxiously in line as full courses were crossed off bulletin boards, forcing them to frantically rearrange their schedules before they reached the front of the line. Then came the telephone age, with programs like Ohio University's TRIPS, which made the process easier, and continued even through the dawn of the Internet age that led to easier online registration.But times change. OU recently let go of a vestige of the past by retiring TRIPS on Sept. 2, another example of OU's continuing efforts to simplify services so that students can complete their educational errands with the click of a mouse. TRIPS, which had outlived its necessity, was certainly ready for its quiet death. Being computer savvy is a necessary skill for today's OU students, who no longer receive their much-dreaded tuition bills from the mailman and can now check their complicated DARS online. All students should be capable of operating Web registration. But while the movement towards technologically centered services is appealing to those who are used to shopping online while listening to iPods and instant messaging friends, such progress is only as valuable as its convenience, reliability and security. The outbreak of security breaches last year, which OU has taken steps to repair, show that campus computers are far from infallible and need oversight to ensure they are protected from hackers. The university's efforts to save students time and money by becoming more Internet-friendly deserve applause ' as long as online services receive the necessary upkeep, so they do not become more troublesome than the in-person registration of previous generations.
Following the Ohio volleyball team's nine consecutive wins en route to a three-match sweep of the Mizuno Wildcat Classic last weekend, two of its members were named to the Classic's All-Tournament Team.Outside hitter Stephanie Blackburn and middle blocker Melissa Griffin were recognized for their efforts in a successful weekend for the Bobcats. Both averaged 4.11 kills per game over the two-day tournament. They played strongly and consistently
On the night of my high school graduation, June 3, 2004, I was riding in my former boyfriend's car when a drunken driver hit us from the side. He was driving 65 mph in a 25 mph zone. At the time, his blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. He appeared to have dozed off at the wheel while attempting to return home from a party. This calls to mind the case of the Ohio University football coach Frank Solich. The Welcome Back edition of The Post prominently features an article detailing the University's football coach's recent run in with local law enforcement. From what I gather, the evidence shows that Solich was indeed driving while intoxicated. The fact that Solich was not fired by Ohio University and President Roderick McDavis is absolutely unacceptable to me. I was nearly killed by a drunken driver two years ago and I still suffer painful physical after-effects because of the injuries I received. If it is a part of the president's mission to combat risky alcohol-related behavior on campus through late-night university sponsored activities and making completion of the alcohol.edu course mandatory, then examples should be made of authority figures like Solich who have clearly violated university policy and state law by driving drunk. As a victim of DUI, I would like to see both Solich and Ohio University apologize for this behavior. Solich should not appeal his DUI conviction. The coach should consider himself lucky that he was arrested before he could injure or kill an innocent person whose only mistake was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He should accept the punishment that the state of Ohio sees fit to give him and then issue a public apology for his behavior. This would mean a great deal to students like me who have had the misfortune of being victimized by drunken drivers by proving that the university do intend to curb alcohol abuse on campus.Mazy Hayes is a junior art history major.
Resident assistants at Ohio University will receive an additional $500-a-year discount on their staff room rate, raising total compensation to at least $4,827 for the first year.
Six Mid-American Conference football teams opened their seasons against Big Ten schools, and now all of those teams are 0-1.Winning by an average of nearly 24 points, the Big Ten asserted its dominance over the MAC and squashed any upset hopes for the smaller programs. The smallest margin of victory for the Big Ten teams was 18 points.While Kent State lost by the largest margin ' 44-0 to Minnesota ' Northern Illinois struggled on a bigger stage, No. 1 Ohio State. The Huskies were no match for the Buckeye starters and gave up four touchdowns in the first 16 minutes of play.We've played in games like this before and went in and
While he studied at Ohio University in the early 1990s, James Filiaggi was known as a local boxing champion ' Fooge
Officer Nathan Van Oort of the Ohio University Police Department, who was struck by lightning June 22, is continuing physical therapy to recover from muscle tissue damage and brain injuries. OUPD Officer Steve Noftz, who visits Van Oort often, said he is doing well in rehabilitation and that the staff caring for him is phenomenal. He's exactly the Nate we all know and love more often than not
The crisp fall breeze that arrived early in Athens this season has us thinking about change. Whether it's your freshman or senior year, this will surely be a different and exciting one. In anticipation of the new year, The Post has a new look. We hope this updated design makes the paper both easier to read and easier on the eye. The front page includes a listing of the stories you'll find inside the paper, and watch for an expanded sports section on Friday. The Life & Culture section will still appear on Thursdays but will now be called The Verve
From the national war on drugs to Ohio University's new alcohol policies, those in charge have entirely missed the point.The government of a truly free society has no authority to regulate what substances people can put in their bodies. This truth is overlooked by nearly all Americans, who continue to blindly accept our government's paternalism. Paternalism, to put it simply, is the tendency of those in power to play nanny. This is the greatest country on Earth, but our drug and alcohol laws are among the few serious flaws on an otherwise beautiful tapestry. For our government to show us the respect we deserve as adults, recreational drugs should be legalized, and 18 should again become the legal drinking age. An addendum is needed before I continue this counter-culture argument that is so vulnerable to misinterpretation. There is no living creature more despicable than the user, whose sole aspiration in life is to smoke, guzzle, snort or shoot away reality. Addicts are the ultimate bottom feeders of our society ' hedonists surrendering their souls to a substance. By no means is their pathetic lifestyle morally acceptable. However, in a true democracy, it would not be illegal.Substance abuse is a victimless crime. In living out such a destructive lifestyle, the user is harming no one but himself. Despite this, the vital resources of our law enforcement, prisons and justice system are misused in punishing these victimless criminals. And while our government is busy slapping the hands of harmless addicts, the true criminals should rejoice. Murderers, rapists and other barbarians are returned to public life for good behavior or given early parole in the spirit of tolerance
With more and more students preferring to use the Web to schedule classes, the Ohio University Registrar's office decided it was time to send TRIPS packing.TRIPS, Touch-tone Registration and Information Processing System, allowed students to register for classes, hear their schedule and retrieve their grades and GPA over the phone.Sparse usage contributed to the decision, which will save the university about $10,000 each year.We really started paying attention to the statistics over the past academic year
Broney's Alumni Grill has filed a zoning appeal to use parking several blocks from the restaurant instead of replacing its outdoor patio with parking spaces required by city code. John Wharton, who owns the restaurant property at 7 W. Carpenter St., has filed an appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals requesting permission for the establishment to offer either leased parking within 250 ft. of the premises or to offer its customers more distant parking already owned by Wharton, parking more than 250 ft. away, said his attorney, Chris Gerig.Wharton was found guilty in Athens County Municipal Court of a misdemeanor code violation this summer because of the restaurant's patio, or beer garden, which obstructs five parking spaces the property needs to comply with zoning laws.He was fined $400 and Broney's is not allowed to sell alcohol in the beer garden until it consents to the court order.
School districts in Athens County either showed improvements during the 2005-2006 school year or kept their rankings from the previous year, according to district report cards released by the Ohio Department of Education. The report card measures the percentage of students performing at and above the proficient level on state achievement tests and the 10th- and 11th-grade Ohio Graduation Tests. The report cards also measure overall performance on a 120-point index, based on student test performance. Districts then are designated excellent, effective, continuous improvement, academic watch or academic emergency rankings.With a three-point index score increase, Athens City School District continued its effective ranking but saw a drop in student scores of between 2 percent and 11 percent in each category on the 10th-grade OGT. Superintendent Carl Martin said the district was doing in-services with teachers and updating its curriculum models to help improve its designation from effective to excellent.This isn't a test where you can just do something small and pass it
Students will come into this year at Ohio University with a heap of national attention on their backs. Long gone are the days when The Princeton Review's party school ranking was among the top concerns of the university's administration. Yet, the continuing negative press on the plagiarized graduate theses and security breaches makes any hint of good press good news for university officials.That's why a big deal is being made that OU dropped four spots on The Princeton Review's party school list. Now, rather than being recognized as the No. 2 party school, OU has the image of being No. 6 in its Best 361 Colleges guidebook. At No. 6, OU is hardly off the charts. When the No. 2 ranking was held over the heads of the university administration, it was written off. Yet, now that it has dropped, the administration seems to be lauding undue praise for cracking down on student partying. Although The Princeton Review's ranking does add to OU's party school image, it is important to remember that these rankings are hardly scientific and should not, whether high or low, be heavily weighted. Of the rankings in the book G
At Saturday's football game against Tennessee-Martin, fans might not have noticed anything different, but after seven years of management by OU dining services, the athletic department has contracted V/Gladieux Enterprises Inc. to handle concessions at football and basketball games.After the athletic department's contract with OU dining services concluded June 30, bidding opened to contract a company that would bring high revenue, reasonable prices and a wide scope of foods and services, said Dan Hauser, associate athletic director for marketing.Three companies, including dining services, submitted bids, and the athletic department chose Toledo-based V/Gladieux Enterprises Inc., which deals primarily with concessions, Hauser said. Owing to V/Gladieux's reputable client list, including an eight-year contract with the University of Michigan and a 17-year contract with Purdue University, positive references and wide scale of menu items, the athletic department decided that V/Gladieux was the best fit.Dining services encouraged the search for new management, said Patti Pennell, director of retail operations for dining services. Although dining services successfully managed concessions during its tenure, the goal is to focus more on serving students in other areas, such as the dining halls, the Oasis and the 10 upcoming dining services operations that will open in the new student center, she said.As a part of their bid, V/Gladieux guaranteed that if they have the same sales volume that concessions had last year, revenue will increase by 260 percent, and the prices will be similar to what they were last year, Hauser said. Because of the niche they have in the market, owing to their concentration on concessions, they can leverage market prices better, he said. V/Gladieux intends to emphasize hawking more this year, where employees carry products to fans, so the fans do not necessarily need to leave their seats to get refreshments, and added additional cash registers to each concession stand to speed up lines, Hauser said.I think our fans are going to come to the game and find more items on the menu than they ever have
Solutions by The State News