Story Ideas for Media 8-29-05
News
RPAC opens to campus community.
The Department of Recreational Sports officially opened today (8/29) Phase II of the Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC) to Ohio State faculty, staff and students. The completed portion of the facility (Rec Main) will provide state-of-the art services, facilities and equipment, which include 25,000 square feet of fitness space, two, four-court gyms, 10 racquetball courts, a four-lane indoor jogging track, a demonstration kitchen and child care services, and also will house the Student Wellness Center.
The RPAC project is being conducted in four steps. The first phase, the Adventure Recreation Center, opened in January and in conjunction with the Outdoor Adventure Center opened in September 2004. The third stage, a five-pool aquatics center, will open autumn quarter (Sept. 21) in addition to a cafè and juice bar. The fourth portion, to be built on the site of Larkins Hall, currently undergoing demolition, will house the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services (PAES). It is scheduled to open in 2007.
Patrons must have a current recreational sports membership to use the activity portion of the RPAC. The facility will be open 365 days a year. The hours of operation during the quarter break are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
CONTACT: Erik Riha, Recreational Sports, (614) 688-4185 or Liz Cook, Media Relations, (614) 292-7276.
Research
Oral meds good for controlling Type II diabetes in children.
Oral medications may control symptoms of Type II diabetes in children just as well as insulin injections, a new study reports. According to the medical records of 26 children diagnosed with the disease, oral medications reduced levels of a compound in the blood called hemoglobin A1C by an average of 2 percentage points. A 2-percentage-point reduction is enough to decrease serious health risks and symptoms associated with Type II diabetes, said Milap Nahata, the study's principal investigator and a professor of pharmacy and pediatrics at Ohio State University
CONTACT: Holly Wagner, Research Communications, at (614) 292-8310 or Wagner.235@osu.edu SEE:
