The start of a new decade brought with it some of Ohio State’s biggest headlines in recent history, ranging from our beloved Buckeyes defeating the Oregon Ducks in the 2010 Rose Bowl to unruly cows causing major problems for a Lantern photographer to a workplace shooting on campus. There was a fair share of triumph and tragedy — a testament to the ups and downs of each year at OSU.
OSU wins Rose Bowl
2010 kicked off with the Buckeyes prevailing over the Oregon Ducks Jan. 1 in a Rose Bowl showdown in Pasadena, Calif. This 26-17 victory made for the first postseason win since OSU’s takedown of Notre Dame in 2006 at the Fiesta Bowl.
Sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor was named the Rose Bowl’s Offensive Player of the Game, and the Buckeyes returned to Columbus with a winning start to the new year.
Campus shooting
A few months after OSU celebrated the Rose Bowl win, campus mourned the loss of two university employees in a shooting March 9.
After being notified that the university would no longer employ him, maintenance worker Nathaniel Brown, 51, entered the Maintenance Building at 2000 Tuttle Park Place at 3:30 a.m. and opened fire on his bosses Larry Wallington, 48, and Henry Butler, 60, before turning the handgun on himself.
Both Brown and Wallington died, and Butler survived.
Later that evening, a small group of students gathered outside the building to host a vigil for the victims, and an even larger group held another vigil March 11.
In the wake of the shooting, a Board of Trustees subcommittee discussed the issue of gaps in background checks, as Brown’s criminal history was never uncovered before the shooting. In the late ‘70s, he spent five years in prison for receiving stolen property.
Several months later, the incident still haunts the department of Facilities Operations and Development, as an employee was sent home during the first week of May for threatening a co-worker and referencing the shooting by claiming he was going to “pull a Nate.”
http://www.thelantern.com/campus/background-check-missed-shooter-s-criminal-past-1.1263738
Evan Turner
On April 7, OSU mourned the symbolic loss of junior Evan Turner as he announced that he would forgo his senior season on the basketball team to enter the June NBA draft. The Chicago native made this decision after a personal debate, saying it was “the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
Turner has been the golden boy on the Buckeye team, averaging 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6 assists per game in his third season at OSU. During his time here, he has led the team to the Sweet 16 and earned Big Ten and National Player of the Year honors as well as the Naismith College Player of the Year award.
Although his departure deprives the Buckeyes of their leader, Turner said the program is left in “great hands.”
Cows and Kotran
Later in April, two cows escaped from their handlers en route to OSU’s Veterinary Hospital, and what could have remained a comical mishap turned into a legal nightmare for a Lantern photographer, Alex Kotran.
While campus police attempted to wrangle the unruly cattle April 21 by firing tranquilizing shots, they also tried to wrangle in Kotran, who was out taking pictures of the chaos for The Lantern. Police and other university employees told Kotran to move and stop taking photos, saying they were looking out for his safety.
Although Kotran, a first-year in business and political science, complied by moving to several different locations, he continued to shoot photographs. Officer William Linton cuffed and detained Kotran, who would later find out that OSU would not press charges against him.
But the saga did not end there.
The Lantern Publications Committee volleyed back and forth between commending and supporting the student photographer throughout his possible legal battle.
In an April 29 meeting, the committee commended Kotran for his journalistic vigor and initiative but later retracted the commendation because of invalid voting. Editor-in-Chief Collin Binkley was part of the vote, which, according to the committee’s chair Felecia Ross, was in error because student members cannot vote.
The Lantern editorial staff, however, commended Kotran’s actions and said they were baffled by accusations that his press pass was fraudulent — a major source of contention between The Lantern staff, Campus Police and the Publications Committee.
Kotran will not face criminal charges but awaits possible actions taken by OSU’s Judiciary Committee.
