Ohio State News Tips 11/22/13

Ohio State celebrates "Beat Michigan Week" – through Nov. 30. Beat Michigan Week celebrates the spirit of the Buckeyes and the rivalry between The Ohio State University and The University of Michigan. Here are some of the top events for media to cover as part of "Beat Michigan Week:"
•Beat Michigan Cycle Relay: Students will “ride” the distance to Ann Arbor in a relay on stationary cycles from 12:30 - 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24, in the Tom W. Davis Gym at the Recreational and Physical Activities Center, 337 W. 17th Ave. Best coverage time is around 1 p.m. The event also celebrates the 100th anniversary of Recreational Sports at Ohio State, the first school in the nation to begin such a program.
•Blood Battle: Since 1982 students, faculty and fans of the two schools have battled to take top honors in giving blood. The Blood battle has grown into one of the largest blood competitions in the country with more than 2,400 donations given on each campus every year. Last year, Ohio State won the battle breaking a four year Michigan winning streak. The Blood Battle is supported on campus by Ohio State’s American Red Cross Club.
•Battle Against Hunger: Canned good donations are being accepted around campus, in addition to planned special events. The student organization "Pay it Forward" is collaborating with other groups to raise awareness about hunger and food scarcity, and to collect more goods than a similar effort at the University of Michigan.
CONTACT: Dave Isaacs, Office of Student Life, Isaacs.84@osu.edu, 614-292-8424. SEE: http://beatmichigan.osu.edu/.

Ohio State helps the Browns go Green – Nov. 24. The Cleveland Browns want to become a more sustainable organization. Ohio State University, which knows a thing or two about both sustainability and football, is lending a hand.
Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences has joined the NFL team and industry partners in an effort to turn food waste generated at Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium into renewable energy and organic fertilizer.
The project will kick off Sunday, Nov. 24, at the Browns’ home game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The goal is to divert 3.5 tons of food waste per game from going to the landfill. This waste will be mixed with dairy manure and processed in an anaerobic digester, which produces biogas and nutrient-rich fertilizer. The biogas will be used to generate electricity, while the fertilizer will go to area farms to help replace chemical fertilizers.
Project partners include Dairy Management Inc., InSinkERator and quasar energy group. A Cleveland-based renewable energy company, quasar operates several anaerobic digesters in Ohio (including one on Ohio State’s Wooster campus) and collaborates with Ohio State renewable energy researchers to develop new and improved ways to turn waste into green products.
To schedule interviews with Bruce McPheron, dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, CONTACT Mauricio Espinoza, 330-621-6541 (mobile) or espinoza.15@osu.edu.

Ohio State holds one of the largest Thanksgiving dinners on a college campus – Nov. 28. One of the largest Thanksgiving Day dinners on a college campus will be hosted by Ohio State University on Thursday, Nov. 28 at the Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St. The annual event will be held for an estimated 1,600 guests – students, faculty and staff, along with their families – who are unable to travel to their own 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.

Ohio State to co-host annual Statewide Tribute to Rosa Parks – Dec. 5 – 6. Ohio State University, the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) and Rosa Parks Day Founder, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, will present Ohio’s ninth annual Statewide Tribute to Rosa Parks, “The Power of One,” on Dec. 5-6. On Dec. 5 at COSI, WOSU-TV will record “Conversations,” a panel discussion on “The Voting Rights Act…Then and Now,” featuring Joe Madison, national civil rights and political activist, and talk show host for Sirius XM Radio, Inc.; The Honorable Nina Turner, Ohio Senator, 25th SD; and Professor Daniel P. Tokaji, an authority on election and voting rights law at The Ohio State University. The panel discussion, which starts at 7:30 p.m., will be preceded by a Community Leaders Reception, which starts at 6 p.m.
The annual Children’s Assembly on Dec. 6 will welcome more than 500 schoolchildren to the Capitol Theatre at 11 a.m. Ohio was the first state to designate Dec. 1 as Rosa Parks Day to honor her life and legacy as the Mother of the Modern Civil Rights Movement. CONTACT: Ben Lewis, 614-247-7100; lewis.485@osu.edu. SEE: http://outreach.osu.edu/rp2013.

The person listed as the CONTACT will have the most current information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story: Jane Carroll, 614-292-5220 or carroll.296@osu.edu; Liz Cook, 614-292-7276 or cook.17@osu.edu; Gary Lewis, 614-292-2048 or lewis.330@osu.edu; or Amy Murray, 614-292-8385 or murray-goedde.1@osu.edu.