Story Ideas for Media 11/18/16

Calendar note: The Ohio State University will observe Thanksgiving and Columbus Day on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 24 and 25. There will be no classes and offices will be closed.

Hundreds of students to code, program and invent at 24-hour hackathon – Nov. 19 – 20.More than 700 students from Ohio State and other universities will compete at the fourth 24-hour HackOHI/O 2016 on Nov. 19 and 20 at the Ohio Union Archie Griffin Ballroom, 1739 N. High St.
Hackathons are extended computer coding sessions where students collaborate to create a new app, website or software that solves a problem or may meet a need in the marketplace.
After 24 hours of “hacking,” the teams at OHI/O will present their ideas to fellow students, faculty and tech company representatives. Teams will be judged on categories including technical difficulty, creativity, usefulness and presentation.
SEE: www.hack.osu.edu. CONTACTS: Matt Schutte, director of communications, College of Engineering,614-247-6445 (office) or 614-905-0166 (mobile), schutte.9@osu.edu; faculty media contact: Arnab Nandi, arnab@arnab.org, student media contact: Dalton Flanagan, flanagan.166@osu.edu.

An Evening with J.D. Vance – Nov. 21. An Evening with J.D. Vance, Ohio State alumnus and author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, begins at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, in the Ohio Union Performance Hall, 1739 North High St.
The conversation with Vance will be led by Richard Herrmann, professor and chair of political science. The event has reached seating capacity.
The event is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and Ohio State’s Democracy Studies Program. SEE: http://artsandsciences.osu.edu/news-events/events/evening-jd-vance.

Ohio State holds one of the largest Thanksgiving dinners on a college campus – Nov. 24. One of the largest Thanksgiving Day dinners on a college campus will be hosted by The Ohio State University on Thursday, Nov. 24, at the Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St. The annual event will be held for an estimated 1,800 guests – students, faculty and staff, along with their families – who are unable to travel to their homes for the holiday. Seatings are at 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner will include 650 pounds of turkey, 30 gallons of gravy, 432 pounds each of green beans and corn, 320 pounds of corn bread and 2,000 slices of pie. Close to 200 volunteers from throughout the university community will assist in serving the traditional turkey dinner. CONTACT: Maureen Miller, miller.4468@osu.edu or (614) 307-0062.

Exhibit travels to Ohio State to commemorate fallen soldiers – Nov. 26.Eyes of Freedom, a nationally traveling military tribute, will visit Ohio State’s Remembrance Park next to the ROTC building on Saturday, Nov. 26, from 8 a.m. until the end of the Ohio State/Michigan game. The memorial depicts, in life-size portraits, the fallen of Columbus based Lima Company Marines and honors “ALL Who Answer Our Nation’s Call.” Twenty-three members of Lima Company died in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. For more information contact Steffon Corna of student organization Vets4Vets at Corna.16@osu.edu.

The Other Football Competition: Zero Waste at Ohio Stadium – Nov. 26. While the teams battle it out on the field during the Ohio State/Michigan football game, Ohio State fans will be working toward another championship in the stands: Zero Waste Champions.
Zero waste refers to diverting 90 percent or more of disposed materials away from the landfill by recycling, repurposing and composting. For four years in a row, Ohio State has ranked first in the Big Ten Conference, setting a new standard for collegiate stadium recycling.
Ohio Stadium is the largest stadium in the country to continuously achieve zero waste status. Ohio State began its zero waste effort during football games in 2011, and since the 2013 football season, has achieved zero waste in Ohio Stadium by diverting on average more than 90 percent of the waste collected following football games.
Results for the 2016 football season have averaged 95 percent waste diversion for the six home games held so far. Nearly 80 tons of recycling and compost materials have been produced this season, with only four tons of trash being sent to landfills. On average, more than one ton of pre-consumer food scraps are sent to Price Farm Organics in Delaware, Ohio for composting following each game. And Ohio Stadium is seeing higher recycling numbers this year than in previous years; more than one ton of aluminum has been collected for recycling after each game. CONTACTS: Tony Gillund, gillund.2@osu.edu, Gina Langen, langen.2@osu.edu. SEE: https://fod.osu.edu/sites/default/files/zerowaste_process_brochure.pdf.