USG Seeks Retraction for Inaccurate Lantern Story
USG PRESIDENT PETER KOLTAK AND VICE PRESIDENT AMANDA GRAVER CALL FOR RETRACTION OF INACCURATE LANTERN STORY ON STUDENT ACTIVITY FEE
On April 9th, 2009 The Lantern ran an article about Ohio State's Student Activity Fee titled “Activity fee increase raises questions”. The statistics and comparisons presented in this article were inaccurate and presented readers with an unfair and biased account. In addition, the author omitted pertinent facts regarding the background of the activity fee proposal. Because of the article's inaccuracies, it is critical that the editors of The Lantern retract the story and issue a public apology to readers.
The Lantern's coverage insinuated that the proposed raise in the activity fee was suggested solely by the Undergraduate Student Government. The proposal was actually made by an ad hoc committee's assessment of the distribution and amount of the fee. The committee consisted of 13 members, including representatives of the three student governments, the Council on Student Affairs, the faculty, and Ohio Union staff. Members met for a total of 60 hours over three months and recommended that the fee be raised $10 per quarter. The proposal to increase this fee was not exclusively recommended by USG nor was the first mention of it made in January of winter quarter.
The author's decision to compare Ohio State to North Carolina State and the University of Wisconsin was clearly meant to reinforce a preconceived tone for the article. The subtitle of the article, “USG wants to raise fee, but similar schools get by with smaller amounts” and the inclusion of the enrollment numbers of both NC State and Wisconsin would indicate that Ohio State is comparable. However, since Ohio State ranks first in enrollment in the United States for the 2008/2009 academic school year, universities more accurately comparable to Ohio State would be Arizona State and the University of Florida, second and third respectively. The University of Wisconsin ranks 12, while the NC State does not even rank in the top 15. Wisconsin's total enrollment is less than that of Ohio State by more than 10,000 students.
The graphic accompanying the article implies that the stated fees are for equivalent enrollment periods. However, the table compares fees for one semester (15 weeks) at both the University of Wisconsin and NC State to three quarters (30 weeks) at Ohio State. The amounts listed in the boxes for Wisconsin and NC State should be doubled to be comparable to the Ohio State fee amount. If calculated correctly, Ohio State students pay significantly less than students at either Wisconsin or NC State. This information was obtained by speaking with customer service representatives from the cashier's office of both schools. Additionally, the base rate for total general fees for students at Ohio State is $696 annually, not $669.
After adjusting for equivalency and including the correct number for Ohio State, students at Ohio State pay $347 less than students at NC State and $194.08 less than students at Wisconsin annually. That is a complete contradiction to the facts presented by The Lantern.
The article also claims that “The 45 percent [of the fee] not used by OUAB is given to Undergraduate Student Government, Explore Columbus and the Alternative Breaks program.” This is partially correct, but it fails to mention that parts of that 45% of the fee are also distributed to IPC, CGS, the SOURCE, and directly to student organizations. If the fee increases, signature events, which include the involvement fair, Beat Michigan activities, and the homecoming parade, will also receive a portion of the fee.
Because of these abundant inaccuracies and lack of research, it is imperative that The Lantern retract the story and issue an apology. It violates both the educational mission of the university and the trust that any media should hold with its readers. Not correcting the misinformation presented would critically damage the reputation and credibility of both The Lantern and Ohio State's journalism program.
To verify these statistics, please visit:
http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/cashier/tuition/explanation.asp
http://registrar.wisc.edu/students/fees_tuition/Seg_Fees_UGRD_1092-1094.pdf