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Balling on a budget: The ultimate guide to a spring break staycation in Ohio

Many might have high hopes of soaking up the sun or exploring the mountains for spring break, but sometimes, wallets can’t meet those dreams.

For Ohio college students looking to enjoy spring break on a budget, places like Hocking County, Dayton, Cincinnati and Cleveland offer a variety of destinations and attractions for the ultimate staycation — one of which being Hocking Hills — Matt MacLaren, Ohio State alum and director of TourismOhio, said.

“It’s become one of Ohio’s most well-known area
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Jones Tower residents have experienced water issues, left temporarily without water Feb. 13

Students residing in Jones Tower who have dealt with water issues in the fall might have felt deja vu after waking up with no water earlier this month.

Jones Tower residents found themselves the morning of Feb. 13 without water when showers and sinks were not functioning for around three hours without any notice from Ohio State. This outage follows other problems continually experienced by students, including scalding or cold temperatures and leaks.

Sia Sindhwani, a first-year in data analytic
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Coffee community: How Black Kahawa Coffee is uniting the people of Columbus

For many sleep-deprived college students, coffee is bliss, but where that cup of coffee comes from is often forgotten.

Columbus-based Black Kahawa Coffee hopes to advocate coffee as a means of bringing people together, company founder Douglas Buckley said. Black Kahawa Coffee, an importer and roaster of coffee from East Africa, was first established in 2019, Buckley said after he returned home from his 11-year stay in Tanzania.

“We should say ‘Wow, coffee’s from Africa, that’s amazing, this co
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‘Men on Boats’ highlights underrepresented voices, reframes history in upcoming production

Despite its name, Ohio State’s production of “Men on Boats” will be told through a unique lens, without cisgender men in its cast.

The team behind the Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts production, “Men on Boats,” explores those themes through the ensemble comedy show, Hailee Franklin, second-year in theatre and music and actor in “Men on Boats,” said. Through its commentary on themes like manifest destiny and colonization, Franklin said the play reframes a story about white men to fea
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The method to the madness: What goes on behind the scenes of Newport Music Hall

Whether it’s rappers like Yeat or acclaimed indie rock bands like The Shins, live music finds an audience on college campuses — and Newport Music Hall is no exception. But, few audience members are aware of what occurs before showtime.

Artists don’t just appear on the Newport stage with all of the necessary equipment for their set and a sold out show — months of preparation and hundreds of people are required to make just one concert run smoothly, Roger Phelps, general manager of Newport Music
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Even villains can dance: Off The Lake Productions prepares for quickly approaching Fall Cabaret

Off The Lake Productions’ upcoming Fall Cabaret provides an opportunity to delve into a philosophical analysis of morality this weekend through mediums of song and dance.

Christine Monsour, a fourth-year in psychology and theater and co-director of this year’s Fall Cabaret, said this year’s event is hero and villain themed. Entitled “Heroism, Villainy, and Everything in Between,” the cabaret will continue the yearly Off The Lake tradition in which the student-run, service-based theater organiza
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The ‘GLOwing’ future of the Girls’ Lifting Organization: Making on-campus gyms feel safer for female students

At a Big Ten school like Ohio State, the opportunities for exercise and gym attendance seem endless, but a disproportionate number of female students attend these facilities to work out. The Girls’ Lifting Organization hopes to change that.

Within only one month of being an active and official on-campus organization, the Girls’ Lifting Organization has already accumulated over 250 members and made strides towards making on-campus gyms more female-populated, Linzy Malcolm, a third-year in molecu
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Local business The Plant Gays aims to start its own Green(ery) Revolution

For those of us who may feel outside of the proud plant parent community or have a knack for plant-picking, The Plant Gays might be able to help out.

The local plant shop, located at 212 Kelton Ave. in the East Market, is run by two recent Ohio State graduates, known as The Plant Gays. The couple advertises a variety of plant-related services, from repotting plants to in-home consultations.

David Erbe, owner of The Plant Gays, said the idea started as a simple 3D-printing hobby of creating sil
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‘Yer a wizard’: ‘Harry Potter’ influences Columbus culture twenty-five years after release of first book

For decades, “Harry Potter” fans have united over their shared passion for the wizarding world through various clubs and conventions.

Sunday at Skully’s Music-Diner, that congregation took place in the form of Wizard Fest — a recurring party event packed with cosplaying, themed drinks, dancing and more — visiting Columbus for the first time since 2018. Originating in New York in 2017, Wizard Fest provides adults who were children when the “Harry Potter” novels were first published with a space
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Biannual event indicates sneaker culture in Columbus is strong

To some, shoes are an inconsequential addition to everyday attire. However, to the co-owners of Columbus sneaker convention Sneaker Freaks, shoes are more than an accessory.

Sneaker Freaks, a biannual Columbus event, will allow patrons to buy and sell sneakers Dec. 5 from 1-6 p.m. in the Lausche Building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. What started as admiration for NBA players’ sneakers has blossomed into a statewide event that has united the community through a passion for shoes since 2013, Je
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Block O hosts Rivalry Run in anticipation of Michigan game

As the Ohio State football team prepares to take on their biggest rivals — the team up north — the largest student organization at Ohio State is preparing a friendly competition of its own.

The third annual Rivalry Run will offer one- and three-mile races around campus Sunday. Starting at the RPAC Plaza, the event will be put on by Block O, which is the official student section for Ohio State athletics, according to its student organization page. The event first took place in 2019 in partnershi
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Ohio State students search for soulmates through the Marriage Pact

Through 50 questions, Ohio State students were presented with the opportunity to meet their one, “perfect match” last month.

The Marriage Pact began as an economics final project created by two Stanford University students, but it has blossomed into a popular dating questionnaire that claims to match college students with a compatible counterpart on their campus, according to the Marriage Pact website. Many students on campus participated in the Ohio State Marriage Pact during the 2021-22 schoo
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Ohio State student Wyatt Boggs seeks to change pop music industry for the better

Those strolling past the Wexner Center for the Arts, Busch House or Sicilia Pizza may encounter Wyatt Boggs busking on the street.

Boggs, a fourth-year in music and an aspiring pop musician, performs on the streets, or busks, around campus to grow more comfortable with performing live, he said. Boggs said he established his presence as a musician online via Instagram and his own website.

“I’m pretty new to pop music and stuff, and so recently I’ve been just busking outside and kind of getting
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Backburner Sketch Comedy’s season in full swing with preparations for ‘The Addams Family Show’

As spooky season nears, some performing arts organizations on campus are working to ensure Ohio State students are in for a treat — not a trick.

Ohio State’s only sketch comedy group, Backburner Sketch Comedy, announced its upcoming production, “The Addams Family Show,” which will be put on Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. The club plans to integrate its audience into the show with a Halloween costume contest, and the show comes at a welcome time, Keiya Satoh, a fourth-year in environmental engineering and
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Columbus Symphony Orchestra kicks off 70th season

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by featured performer Renée Fleming, hosted its first concert of the 2021-2022 season Saturday.

The concert, held in the Ohio Theatre, marked a big occasion for the orchestra — the first performance of its 70th season, Denise Rehg, executive director of the orchestra, said. She said members of the orchestra prepared tirelessly for this performance and were met with relief from patrons who were once again able to safely see live classical music.

“The
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Off the Lake Productions returns to in-person performances

After nearly two years, live theater is back on campus — and performers are preparing for a season jam-packed with productions.

Ohio State’s only service-based, student-run theater group, Off the Lake Productions, made its 2021 debut with its annual recruitment event, Back to the Lake. Crowds of Ohio State students and staff gathered in the Browning Amphitheater Thursday to watch the group perform a series of musical numbers, recruiting new thespians in the process.

A year ago today, Off the L

About Me

Journalist at The Ohio State University with a firm belief that we all have a story to tell — and a passion for being the mouthpiece through which those stories can be told to the world.