Story Ideas for Media 04-07-19

News
Projects on Ohio State’s campus will have an impact on traffic this week
· 12th Avenue. A crane will be positioned on 12th Avenue on Wednesday (7/21) to construct the Biomedical Research Tower. This will completely close 12th to through traffic until Aug. 1.
· Cannon Drive. Cannon is closed to repair the “S” curves between Drake Union and Woody Hayes Drive.
· Millikin Road. A construction crane will close Millikin Road on Tuesday (7/20) and Wednesday (7/21).
· Hospitals Garage. A new 1,000 space, eight-floor garage located at the corner of 10th Avenue and Westpark Street is now open for Medical Center patients and visitors.
· Belmont Avenue. Traffic circulation has reopened between 9th Avenue, 10th Avenue and Belmont Avenue with the exception of 10th between Westpark and the Hospitals Clinic, which remains closed through late July.
· Olentangy River Road. Work on the Woody Hayes Bridge will close Olentangy from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Wednesday (7/21) and Thursday (7/22).

For more information, see: http://www.osu.edu/news/construction_update.php Contact: Amy Murray, University Relations, (614) 292-8385.

Experts
College of Law launches web site that features election law issues – Voter eligibility, campaign practices, redistricting and gerrymandering – those are just a few of the topics covered by Election Law @ Moritz, a comprehensive election law project at Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law. Directed by Professor Edward B. (Ned) Foley, the project has the dual purpose of educating the public on legal issues surrounding elections and assisting the media in covering election law issues with accuracy. Key features of the program are: a web site (http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/), which is an extensive resource on the laws governing federal, state, and local elections and is a complete and easy-to-access resource for Ohio election law; a conference on Sept. 23 to examine voting technology; and open-to-the-public panel discussions on topics such as campaign finance, false campaign ads, and “The Legacy of Election 2000: If the System Fails Again.” The Moritz Law faculty includes a cluster of professors who are nationally recognized experts in the areas of campaign finance regulation, voting rights litigation, the laws concerning voting machine technologies, and other uses of computer technologies in the electoral process. Contact: Edward B. (Ned) Foley, College of Law, (614) 292-4288; or Liz Cutler Gates, College of Law, (614) 292-0283.

Events

Students film ‘Detachment’ on Ohio State’s campus – Through July 24. -- A group of students at Ohio State are making their dream of writing, editing and producing a feature-length film into a reality. The students will be wrapping up the three-week production of the psychological thriller “Detachment” through Saturday (7/24) in various locations on campus. Buckeye Searchlight, created by two Ohio State students as a project of the university’s Film and Video Society, is an independent student film project modeled after HBO’s “Project Green Light.” It started as a local screenwriting competition during Autumn Quarter 2003 in which more than 200 writers entered. A committee of students, faculty members and movie industry professionals selected the winning screenplay. “Detachment” describes the plight of a young woman as she questions the meaning of reality. In group therapy, the main character, Sarah, faces her recurring dreams and is forced to analyze the conclusions. The film is expected to be released in November 2004. Contact: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.

More than 100 Japanese students to take part in 4-H program – July 21-23. -- This week, 100 Japanese students will arrive in Ohio, taking part in a monthlong exchange program organized by Ohio 4-H Youth Development. The participants are part of the Labo International Exchange Foundation, a non-profit Japanese organization similar to 4-H. The Japanese students arrive on Wednesday (7/21) evening, and will stay on campus for an orientation until Friday afternoon. At 3 p.m. on Friday (7/23), 15 of the students will participate in a welcoming ceremony where they will meet their host families and perform a cultural presentation. Some will be in traditional Japanese dress. Several Columbus-area families are hosting students and are available for media interviews. Contact: Martha Filipic, Ohio State University Extension, (614) 292-9833; or Mary Lynn Thalheimer, 4-H International Programs, (614) 292-6941.

New American hero shares his life challenges and successes – July 21. Cedric Jennings, whose story was documented in the best-selling book, “A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League,” will join Ohio State’s Young Scholars at the Samuel DuBois Cook Summer Academy on Wednesday (7/21). Jennings will speak at 1:30 p.m. in McPherson Lab, 140 West 18th Ave. The presentation is free and open to the public but space is limited. This summer, more than 200 high school students from the nine largest urban school districts in Ohio will take part in the Summer Academy, which runs through July 24, as a part of the Young Scholars Program. Contact: Paula Smith, Young Scholars Program, (614) 292-4884.

Symposium to explore inequality, crime and justice – July 22. -- A national symposium at Ohio State on Thursday (7/22) will examine how racial, gender, class and other forms of inequality in the United States are linked to issues concerning crime and justice. The symposium, sponsored by Ohio State’s Department of Sociology and the university’s Criminal Justice Research Center, will feature top faculty from around the country to discuss cutting-edge research on the topic. One of the issues that will be discussed is the political disenfranchisement of felons – a hot topic in light of the controversial 2000 presidential election and the upcoming election this November. The symposium is called “Inequality, Crime and Justice: Challenges and Prospects.” It is designed to be the first in a series of symposia on issues of inequality – a topic in which Ohio State’s Department of Sociology is considered an international leader. For more information, see http://www.sociology.ohio-state.edu/cjrc/seminars.html Contact: Jeff Grabmeier, University Relations, (614) 292-8457.

The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.