Home About Articles Contact

My Recent Work

The Lantern •

Suzanne Kiggin appointed to Ohio State Board of Trustees

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed Suzanne Kiggin to serve on the Ohio State board of trustees following her husband Michael Kiggin’s resignation in late November.

Her role began on Dec. 19, and Kiggin will serve until May 13, 2030, according to the governor’s office.

There was no reason given at the Dec. 4 meeting when John Zeiger, chair for the board of trustees, announced Michael Kiggin’s resignation.

“Throughout his six years of service, Michael has been a thoughtful presence, lending hi...
The Lantern •

Wexner, Epstein relationship went past 2007, email shows

In newly released Epstein documents, an email shows that Les Wexner, chairman of the Wexner Medical Center Board and founder of L Brands, communicated with Jeffery Epstein in 2008, despite Wexner’s estate previously claiming their relationship ended in 2007.

Epstein, a convicted child sex offender who died by suicide in 2019, was previously Wexner’s financial advisor beginning in the late 1980s, which Wexner said ended in 2007.

In the email, sent Jun. 26, 2008, Wexner sent Epstein an email whi...
The Lantern •

New AI tool claims it can bypass university’s proctor systems, accurately answer questions on its own

As finals week is ending, an artificial-intelligence application claims it can bypass proctored exams and have answers to quizzes, tests and exams for over 800 courses at Ohio State.

The app, BlackTom AI, can go unnoticed during proctored exams to answer multiple-choice questions and write answers for the test taker, according to Tom, the website’s chat bot. The application offers a subscription fee for different levels of service, from free to $200 a month.

The app was developed in 2022 in Si...
The Lantern •

Ohio State to cut eight majors and merge others in Senate Bill 1 compliance

Ohio State is cutting eight majors and has proposed combining 20 others to comply with Senate Bill 1.

Integrated mathematics and English, medieval and renaissance studies, music theory and musicology are among the deactivated programs, according to a Board of Trustees meeting document.

Also called SB 1 when it was passed by the Ohio legislature, the law banned diversity, equity and inclusion measures, as well as faculty striking, per prior to Lantern reporting. The legislation also requires pr...
The Lantern •

Ohio Nurses Association lists demands for the Wexner Medical Center after nurse assault

At the steps of Rhodes Hall Wednesday night, an Ohio nurses union demanded the hospital to strengthen protections for staff  in light of its response after a physical altercation between a postpartum nurse and father over a week ago.

The Ohio State University Nurses Organization held a rally of about 40 nurses, faculty and supporters at the park outside the main entrance of the hall, urged the Wexner Medical Center to retract a public statement describing the incident, called for the resignatio...
The Lantern •

Uncensored America comes to Ohio State, spreads anti-semitic, sexist rhetoric

Anti-semitism, controversial statements about women and debates on the Israel-Gaza conflict filled the Browning Amphitheater during an Uncensored America event on Wednesday.

Over 200 people, mostly men, gathered to hear Myron Gaines, a co-host of the controversial “Fresh & Fit” podcast and a speaker on Uncensored America, a nonprofit that is self-described as fighting for free speech, as he visits colleges on his Toxic Masculinity Tour.

Gaines sat under a tent with a table that had a sign read...
The Lantern •

Townhall owner Bobby George pleads guilty in strangulation charge

The owner of Columbus restaurants Townhall and Mandrake Rooftop, Robert “Bobby” George, has pleaded guilty in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Monday to a strangulation charge.

Common Pleas Court Judge Joy Kennedy sentenced George to five years of probation.

George was originally charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, four counts of kidnapping, a count of rape and two counts of strangulation in 2024, per prior Lantern reporting.

He was charged on one count of attempted str...
The Lantern •

One dead after University District stabbing

One man was pronounced deceased after a stabbing Sunday morning in University District.

Officers with the Columbus Division of Police received a report of a stabbing at 1:48 a.m. at the 1700 block of North High Street, according to police.

The victim, who was later identified as 21-year-old Robert Russell, was found with stab wounds and taken to a local hospital. He was pronounced dead at 2;17 a.m., according to reports from NBC4.

Russell was not an Ohio State student.

CPD detectives said th...
The Lantern •

TownHall owner Bobby George facing charge on attempted strangulation

The owner of Columbus restaurants TownHall and Mandrake Rooftop, Robert “Bobby” George was charged in Cleveland Monday with attempted strangulation.

George was originally charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, four counts of kidnapping, a count of rape and two counts of strangulation in 2024, per prior Lantern reporting. Attempted strangulation falls under a charge of a fifth-degree felony, which carries a maximum potential sentence of a year in prison.

George has been free after a...
The Lantern •

Letter from the Editor: Stop censoring student media’s free speech

This past year, we have seen very concerning incidents on different college campuses where a student newspaper has had their free speech curtailed or outright violated.

In September 2024, Penn State University removed The Daily Collegian’s 35 newsstands and papers from on-campus locations without notifying the newspaper’s staff. The university said it was because of the ads that ran at the top of the newsstands (some for Kamala Harris advertisements and others with voter registration ads) and t...
The Lantern •

One in critical condition following shooting in University District

One victim is left in critical condition following a shooting in the University District on Oct. 20, according to the Columbus Division of Police.

Police responded at 9:31 p.m. to the report of a shooting in the 1800 block of N. 4th Street, where an adult victim had a gunshot wound to the upper body, according to the police report.

According to reports from 10TV, a dispatcher said one person was shot while they were inside of a U-Haul truck outside of Fourth Street Taproom & Kitchen.

The vict...
The Lantern •

E. Gordon Gee writes op-ed setting three measures for American universities to follow to deliver a historical, civic education

Gordon Gee, former two-time Ohio State president and current consultant, called for American universities to set a clear education mission following three particular measures in an opinion article released Monday on Fox News.

In an essay that starts with lauding the ceasefire in Gaza, Gee goes on to call for American universities to equally fight for academic responsibility as it has for academic freedom, to train its students to be “proud, committed, informed and industrious citizens” and for...
The Lantern •

GrubHub down during system outage, in-person ordering available

The GrubHub app is currently down for on-campus orders for the foreseeable future due to an outage.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) suffered a widespread systemwide outage Monday morning, according to the Associated Press. The outage also has rendered CarmenCanvas, Ohio State’s online learning system inoperable since late morning today.

Students cannot access the GrubHub mobile app to place pick-up or delivery orders, order robot delivery or order a reusable box at Traditions locations, according to...
The Lantern •

Columbus police release bodycam footage of officer-involved shooting Sunday

Columbus police have released the bodycam footage from the fatal officer-involved shooting in University District this past Sunday.

The footage, on ABC6, shows an officer approaching the man, later identified as Ta’Shawn Davis, 18.

“Get your hands up or I’m going to shoot you,” the officer said before Davis started to run away. The officer then pursues Davis and reports on the footage that Davis has a “33,” referencing a handgun.

The footage shows Davis run into the outside stair area of 1444...
The Lantern •

Columbus police identify man killed by an officer this Sunday

The Columbus Police Department have identified the man who was shot and killed by an officer that was responding to a robbery on Oct. 12 in University District.

The victim, 18-year-old Ta’Shawn Davis, was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 3:56 a.m. on Sunday, Columbus police said.

Davis has no affiliation with Ohio State, Ben Johnson, university spokesperson, confirmed.

Columbus police have not identified the officer who is responsible for shooting Davis, referencing Mars...
The Lantern •

Campus Roundup: Career Fair Edition

Career fairs are a great way for students to meet potential employers, make professional connections and explore different industries. With the Autumn semester in full-swing, career fairs are following suit, connecting recruiters to current students and alumni.

Here are the rest of the career fairs for the semester.

Oct. 21 | BIG10 Academic Postdoc Hiring Fair

PhD students and postdocs can attend the BIG10 Academic Postdoc Hiring Fair virtually on Oct. 21 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to conne...
The Lantern •

Ohio State Graduate School relaunches mentoring program, supporting professional and academic development

For graduate students, navigating the changing world of academia while researching, writing a dissertation and working towards a degree can be difficult to face alone.

For Mary Stromberger, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the graduate school, her lack of a personal mentoring experience helped motivate her to relaunch the Ohio State Mentoring Initiative (OSMI) in the graduate school.

Stromberger was a first-generation student at West Chester University. When she decided to atten...
The Lantern •

Faculty survey shows barriers staff face, opportunity for solutions

The results of the Listening Faculty Survey are in—and results show a handful of challenges that staff feel Ohio State should address, including clearer communication with the administration’s plans, engagement between departments and more opportunities for growth in different departments.

Around 52 percent of employees, or 7,673 individuals, responded to the survey from May 1-23, with a 1.5 percent increase from 2024, according to the results. The survey was conducted by Perceptyx, a third-par...
The Lantern •

Strange but true: Homecoming cow and kazoos

The faculty kazoo band

For several years in the mid-1980s, a few dozen otherwise reasonable Ohio State employees showed their school spirit by marching in the Homecoming Parade as members of the Ohio State Faculty/Staff Kazoo Band.

In a 1987 memo to participants from Philip W. Ballinger (who now appears to be a professor emeritus of allied medicine), he stated that it was the third year of the Kazoo Band and that “our fame continues to grow.”

Participants, each of whom received a souvenir t-s...
The Lantern •

What students need to know if the U.S. government goes into shutdown

The prospect of a U.S. government shutdown means not only a halt to nonessential government programs, and a furlough for thousands of federal employees, it could also impact federally funded research at Ohio State.

The government will shut down Oct. 1 at midnight if Congress cannot reach a compromise to continue federal funding before a lapse occurs, according to the Associated Press. This would require government agencies to stop activity until a spending plan is approved..

Currently, Democra...
The Lantern •

Ohio State’s domestic enrollment increases by 1.1 percent, regional campuses expand

Ohio State’s newly released 15th day student enrollment report showcases a 1.1 percent increase in domestic student enrollment for Autumn 2024.

The university’s Columbus campus reports a 0.2 percent decrease in overall enrollment, despite Ohio State’s main and branch campuses having a 0.5 percent enrollment increase when compared to last fall semester. According to the report, there are now 67,255 students enrolled at Ohio State.

Regional campuses have seen an 8.6 percent increase in overall e...
The Lantern •

Ted Carter addresses gun control, Charlie Kirk assassination at State of the University Address

Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. began his second State of the University Address this Wednesday by reflecting on events that have happened throughout the United States this past week.

Carter spoke on the assassination of Charlie Kirk — a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA that was shot and killed Sept. 10 on a Utah college campus — without mentioning his name.

“Events that happened just a week ago on a public university campus were horrific — and it’s not ok...
The Lantern •

ACLU of Ohio files lawsuit against Ohio State, alleging university violation of student’s free speech

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that Ohio State expelled a student for engaging in protected political speech, which violated his First and 14th Amendment rights.

Guy Christensen was a student at Ohio State who completed his first year as an undergraduate in April 2025. However, following posts on his personal social media accounts detailing his opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Ohio State unenrolled Christensen without a hearing, according...
The Lantern •

Ted Carter delivers State of the University Address, aims for Ohio State to become one of the leading land-grant universities

Retaining distinguished faculty, investing resources into colleges, expanding scholarship opportunities and expanding students’ access to internships and careers are among the key points of Ohio State’s 10-year plan.

Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. detailed the university’s plan for its Education for Citizenship 2035 initiative at the State of the University Address on Wednesday, delivered at University Square North.

The Education for Citizenship 2035 initiative has been in the wo...
Load More