For one Ohio State student, the aftermath of the trip of a lifetime just keeps getting worse.
OSU's office of Student Judicial Affairs issued sanctions Feb. 1 against Anthony Florig for his actions during the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz. Florig, a senior in marketing communications, violated the student code of conduct after he snuck into the game along with former OSU student Will Manzeo and OSU senior Dave Skutnik.
Florig is to pay the BCS the face-value ticket price of $185 and serve 30 hours of community restitution at the Schottenstein Center. He is also on conduct probation.
"It's absurd," Florig said of the sanctions. "It makes me question their motives. They're not going to profit off of this. I don't understand why they feel the need to act so harshly."
Florig plans to appeal the sanctions sometime this week. The grounds of his appeal are that the punishment is "grossly disproportionate" of the crime committed.
"These punishments don't make sense," Florig said. "We didn't do anything that should prompt restitution to the community. We didn't harm the community in any way... It's not like I stole admission. I went in, there (were) already open seats. The BCS profited off of us being in that game."
USG Vice President Kate Christobek agrees with him.
"I still think that the punishment that he may be given is not equitable to what he did," she said.
The Web site of the Office of Student Judicial Affairs states that, "an educational and holistic approach to discipline is employed whenever possible." Florig contends that the university is hampering his education with the sanctions by taking away from his study time and "food money."
He also said he would have gladly bought a ticket at face value if one had been available to him.
About 1,600 of the 73,000 tickets to the game were made available to OSU students. The right to purchase tickets was awarded through a lottery.
The Office of Student Affairs could not comment on the sanctions because of federal restrictions.
USG plans to take a closer look at the issue, not only because of its relevance now but because of the precedent it sets. Christobek said USG agrees that a fair punishment should be given out, but thinks that, "Out of all the things that are committed around the university, it doesn't seem like what Anthony did is that extreme."
If his appeal is unsuccessful, Florig said he plans to ask the public for donations to help him pay the $185 to the BCS. As of Sunday afternoon, he had collected $27, mostly from friends. He added that he is thinking of donating anything he might receive beyond the $185 to an undetermined charitable cause.
Despite everything, when asked whether he was glad he made the trip, Florig replied, "Oh, god yeah."
Florig, along with Manzeo, Skutnik and The Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter John Campanelli left Columbus on Jan. 2 on a road trip. Campanelli documented their exploits for The Plain Dealer. Over the ensuing several days, Florig and his companions spent time in Las Vegas, were on "The Price is Right," and went to the BCS National Championship Game. Skutnik had won the right to purchase a ticket through the lottery.
The trip didn't go quite as planned however, as the trio failed to win money in Vegas, couldn't become contestants on the game show and ultimately had to watch the Buckeyes lose. In a statement to the media, Florig somewhat jokingly stated that watching the football game was "punishment enough."
The Office of Student Judicial Affairs has also requested a hearing with Skutnik for his role in helping Florig and Manzeo sneak in, though nothing has been scheduled as of Monday night.
Josh Lehman can be reached at joshua.lehman@gmail.com.
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