Critics of the food and facilities management company, Sodexo, Inc., said they hope the recent decision of Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., to end its food services contract with the company will pressure Ohio State to do the same.

“We’re naturally disappointed that Western Washington University decided to go with another company,” said Monica Zimmer, public relations director for Sodexo.

Sodexo, Inc., provided food services for WWU for the past 50 years but lost its contract with the university last Tuesday. Sodexo has taken criticism for alleged violations of workers‘ rights.

United Students Against Sweatshops has been one of the chief critics of Sodexo. The student organization supports a variety of workers’ rights issues but has been particularly vocal about Sodexo because it holds contracts with universities around the country, including OSU.

“It is important to remember that the university is not directly involved in this matter,” OSU spokesman Jim Lynch said in a May 18 email to The Lantern regarding the complaints against Sodexo. “We continue to maintain that every employer is entitled to its own views on unionization and employee relations, just as every employee is entitled to vote on representation; we should not infringe on the rights of either party.”

Ryan Marchese, a fourth-year in international studies and president of USAS at OSU, said the university is trying to change the subject by making the issue about unionization.

“Every time we ask our administration about the issues we’re hearing about on our own campus — issues like racism, sexism, sexual harassment — they try and change the topic to unions and elections,” Marchese said. “Those are not the issues students are concerned about. We’re concerned about racism, sexism and sexual harassment”

The National Labor Relations Board is pursuing charges against Sodexo for anti-union activity.

USAS has accused the company, which employs 120,000 in the U.S., of creating a racist and sexist work environment and paying full-time employees so little they are forced to go on food stamps.

OSU has tried to wash its hands of the alleged problems, Marchese said. He contends that OSU has benefited from Sodexo’s abuses.

“The facts are there are 130 workers on our campus bringing in $10 million every year and half of that gets kicked back to Ohio State,” Marchese said. “So, I think it’s ridiculous for the university to say these workers aren’t our problem when they’re making them $5 million every year.”

OSU’s contract with Sodexo, which was signed in February 1998 and continues through July 2013, does include a stipulation that a commission rate of 46.5 percent of all gross concession sales be paid to OSU. The contract also includes a clause which affirms neither party will discriminate because of race or gender.

The press release from WWU did not say that alleged workers’ rights violations played a role in its decision to end its contract with Sodexo, but the decision came only four days after 60 students and USAS members staged a sit-in at University of Washington president Phyllis Wise’s office. Twenty-seven people were arrested during the incident.

“Decisions to change service providers vary with each client, and that’s the way it goes,” Zimmer said.

Zimmer said Sodexo was involved in several sustainability efforts at WWU, supported the Bellingham food bank and led a Stop Hunger effort around the country, but Marchese said these are just more attempts to change the conversation.

“It’s great that Sodexo does charity work. On our own campus, organizations are able to raise money through Sodexo by cleaning up the Schottenstein Center after events,” Marchese said. “But that certainly doesn’t make up for the fact that workers in the same building are complaining of racism, sexism and sexual harassment.”

The USAS chapter at OSU is planning to hold a rally at the Wexner Center Plaza today at 2 p.m. to help publicize their efforts to oust Sodexo. Marchese said he expects a crowd of between 60 and 120 people to attend.

“I think that not only does our university have a responsibility to see that workers on our campus are treated well and respected,” Marchese said. “As students, we have a responsibility to see that workers on our campus are treated well and respected.”

Earlier this month, the University repurchased all of the $500 million of debt it issued during the financial crisis, a tangible display of Duke’s increased confidence in its finances.

The May 5 move demonstrates that liquidity, or the ability to turn investments into cash quickly, is no longer as pressing a concern for Duke as it was at the height of the economic downturn in 2008. The University issued bonds in Jan. 2009 to ensure that it would not have to sell damaged, hard-to-move assets to cover its operating expenses like the payroll, said Executive Vice President Tallman Trask.

The University used $90 million of the funds raised from issuing the bonds to cover its operating expenses for the first quarter of 2010, Trask said. Typically, Duke uses a payout from its endowment to cover part of those expenses, but the economic climate made it difficult to sell investments to raise the money.

“This had served its purpose—I was no longer worried about the liquidity issue,” Trask said. “I’m confident now that if we had to go to the market now to get money, we could do that.”

Borrowing the $500 million did not cost the University anything because Duke invested the remaining $410 million it did not use for operating expenses in low-risk corporate securities, which earned more than enough to cover the 4.7 percent annual interest on the bonds, Trask said.

The University made $6.7 million on the transaction, even after paying a premium of $56.2 million to investors for the right to buy back the bonds early before they expired in 2014 and 2019, he said. Duke also avoided $120 million in interest payments it would otherwise have had to make on the money between now and 2019.

Trask said the bonds gave the University access to money for expenses if the need arose. He added that repurchasing the debt early relieved Duke from having to hope that the returns on the corporate securities continued to pay for the interest.

Although administrators noted that it was fortunate the transaction paid for itself, the issuing of bonds was never a money-making venture. Tim Walsh, who became vice president for finance in April after serving five months in the position on an interim basis, was involved in the discussions concerning the repurchase of the bonds. He noted that the move was purely a “defensive maneuver.”

Duke is a nonprofit institution and therefore it has access to nontaxable bonds, which allows borrowing at a low interest rate. In return for these terms, however, the University is prohibited from borrowing funds with the intent to invest them for a profit, Walsh said. In this case, the University chose to issue taxable bonds as any corporation would, a move more appropriate for this “liquidity backdrop,” he said.

“Tax exempt organizations can get into trouble if they try to profit from something like this, and that was not our intention at all,” Walsh said. “We should not take advantage of our preferred access to the debt market to make money. In fact, we don’t even want to risk the perception that we had taken advantage of our status to make a profit, even though these were taxable bonds.”

The conversation about whether to buy back the debt began in the Fall, Walsh said. Given the current economic conditions in which interest rates on new debt are very low, it no longer made sense to keep the debt, he added.

Similar to the college student who makes prompt credit card payments to build credit, the move also shows Duke’s ability to repay its debt. Moving forward, Duke is more attractive to potential bondholders because it performed well, Trask said.

In order to avoid conflicts of interest in such a large financial deal, Trask noted that Duke officials close to the decision-making process were careful to keep the transaction’s timing confidential. Only the members of the Board of Trustees immediately involved in the decision—Susan Stalnecker, Trinity ’73, and Bruce Karsh, Trinity ’77—were aware of the timing, he said.

“To my knowledge, no Trustees had any financial interest in this transaction,” Trask said, adding that though the bonds are publicly traded securities, any Trustee with a financial stake in the deal would be required to report it. “I can assure you that with the exception of [Karsh and Stalnecker]—who I know had no interest—the other Trustees didn’t know the timing, didn’t know the details. We were very careful on that.”

Between December 2008 and November 2009, at least 15 universities, including six Ivy League Schools, issued $7.2 billion of taxable bonds, Bloomberg reported. Harvard University announced in April that it will repurchase $300 million of the $1.5 billion of taxable bonds it issued during the downturn, but Trask noted that Duke is the first university to buy back its debt from the financial crisis, as Harvard will repurchase its bonds June 2.

“It strengthens us to have less debt, and I think it sends an important message that we were able to pay it off,” Trask said.

With so many of the relief efforts putting citizens in the center of the devastation from the recent tornados in the state, many volunteers haven’t gotten a chance to clear their minds about what happened on April 27. However, upcoming concerts are going to give Alabama residents a few nights to enjoy themselves again while still helping the cause.

Celebrities and local bands alike are putting together benefit shows in order to raise money for the ongoing relief efforts in the communities affected by the tornados. The Crimson White has a run down of who will be holding these shows and where to buy tickets.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift will open her last rehearsal for her Speak Now tour to her fans on May 21 at 6:00 p.m. The rehearsal will be held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. According to her website Swift, who has never opened a rehearsal to anyone, felt that she needed to do whatever she could to help the victims.

The tickets will cost $50 and are available right now through Ticketmaster. Everyone who attends will also get a free shirt. Swift has also opened up a donation page on her website for any fans who are not able to attend but would like to give to the tornado victims.

Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney announced last week that instead of canceling his May 25 show at The Tuscaloosa Amphitheater in light of the recent tornado, he will donate his concert fees to relief efforts. The exact amount that will be donated has not been released yet, but according to The Tuscaloosa News, artists like Chesney often receive six-figure salaries for concerts.

Tickets are still available for the May 25 show that starts at 7:30 p.m for $99. They can be purchased at The Tuscaloosa Amphitheater box office or through ticketmaster.com.

Bama Rising

Country music stars will come together on Tuesday, June 14 at the BJCC Arena to put on a benefit show for Birmingham and all of the surrounding areas affected. All of the proceeds made from the concert will go to The Bama Rising Fund, which was established through the Community Foundation for Greater Birmingham after the tornados hit.

The line up includes some of the biggest names in country music: Alabama, Dierks Bentley, Sheryl Crow, Little Big Town, Darius Rucker and many more. Tickets will range from $25 to $150 and go on sale this Friday, May 20 at 11 a.m. For more information about the line up or where to buy tickets go to bamarising.org.

Roll Tide Relief Benefit

The Roll Tide Relief Benefit started after a group of eight Tuscaloosa residents got together to try and put on a benefit show featuring local artists. The show, which will take place on June 3 from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. will feature more than 50 local bands will play at five locations around Tuscaloosa.

The minimum amount to attend the shows will be $10 but donations will be accepted all night. The line up of where each band will be playing will be announced sometime during the weekend of May 20. For more information visit rtrpromotions.webs.com.

Walking through the Memorial Union Quad Wednesday, it would have been hard to miss Oregon State University’s most recent tribute to a global issue, with 1,100 daisies placed on the grass in front of the MU, representing the lives lost to suicides on college campuses this year.

“The Daisy Project was started in 2007 by a student at Oregon State who had lost a close friend to suicide,” said Amy Wilson, public relations officer of the Active Minds Oregon State Chapter. “She wanted to raise awareness about suicide and make it known how to prevent suicide on college campuses.”

Lying on the grass just before the doors to the MU, were the 1,100 daisies respectively placed to represent the lives that were taken. Along with the flowers were small cards that gave passerby’s shocking, yet very true, information about suicide.

“Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students,” read one of the cards. “Suicides outnumber homicides in the United States by almost 2:1,” read another.

As students walked through the quad, their attention was initially drawn to the immaculate display of flowers. But it was the information on the cards that kept their attention.

“The goal of the project is to raise awareness for suicide prevention and connect people to the counseling center and other resources available to them on campus and in the community,” Wilson said. “The project also provides materials that help inform people of the signs of a struggle, whether it be a friend or themselves.”

Alongside the flowers was an information booth that openly welcomed anyone walking through the quad to stop by or ask questions. Informational pamphlets, brochures, emergency contact numbers and facts about the Active Minds program were all available here.

“We want students to realize that there are resources on campus that can help them get through their struggles and that they aren’t alone,” Wilson said. “Everyone is affected by mental health; it is more than just depression or anxiety, mental health pertains to stress and one’s overall happiness.”

The Daisy Project is exclusive to the Oregon State University campus and is one of many projects that the Oregon State Active Minds Chapter organize in order to spark conversation about mental health and raise awareness among students, as well as the public.

Although the daisies were only found in the quad for one day they are meant to maintain a memory, or 1,100 memories at that.

“We strive to raise awareness without creating more negative connotations about suicide,” Wilson said. “The daisies were chosen because they are a peaceful symbol.”

James Foley (MSJ ’08) has been released from Libyan custody after more than 42 days of captivity.

Foley was originally captured April 5 while covering the Libyan conflict outside the city of Brega by pro-Gadhafi forces. Harvard alum Clare Gillis and Spanish photographer Manu Brabo were also captured with Foley and have also been released according to multiple news reports. A fourth journalist, British freelancer Nigel Chandler has also been released.

Foley contacted the GlobalPost soon after his release and said he was “overwhelmed” by the support shown during the course of his detainment.  Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, told the GlobalPost that she was “overjoyed” by the telephone call from her son.

“He told me he was well and looking forward to coming home,” she said. “We are extraordinarily grateful to the many people who have worked on his release and we hope to have him home as soon as possible.”

Gov. Daniels has declared a state of emergency for 34 counties, including Monroe County. Most of the counties are located in the southern portion of the state, where flooding from record spring rain has been particularly severe.

The governor’s office said in a press release that these 34 counties appeared to be the most severely impacted by weather-related damage, but that more could be added to the emergency declaration in the future.

This is one of the steps required for a county or other local government to seek financial assistance. Monroe county declared a state of emergency last week, the first step required to receive state assistance.

For a county to receive emergency federal assistance, the state in which it’s located must declare a state of emergency for the county.

With the first and fourth overall picks in the 2011 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers are closer to fulfilling Dan Gilbert’s prophecy.

The Cavs’ owner predicted that the “Cavaliers will win an NBA Championship before the self-titled (former) king wins one.”

OK, that’s still insane.

They aren’t the Miami Heat, but they are on the right track as they attempt to escape LeBron James’ shadow.

In a small market like Cleveland, no rebuilding process is quick and simple. It may not take very long to get back to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, considering it is the Eastern Conference. The time it will take to get back to a championship level, though, is unpredictable.

It always will take a bold move or two — such as the Mavs trading for Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler — to build a championship-caliber team, but at the core of almost every title team is a superstar it drafted and developed.

The Cavaliers were there at one point. Led by James and, uh, Sasha Pavlovic, they reached the NBA Finals in 2007. That was not a championship-level team — and the San Antonio Spurs proved that to them.

To get back to the Finals, a series of bold moves ended up creating a team that didn’t have the mental toughness to win a title. That mindset was very reflective of its team leader — ironic, in a sense, considering he embraced the title “chosen one.”

Regardless, the upcoming NBA draft signals that it’s time to move on from the past. By the pure luck of ping-pong balls bouncing their way — partially thanks to the Los Angeles Clippers’ eternal incompetence — the Cavaliers have a way to change the direction of the franchise.

Despite James’ spoiled and arrogant attitude, he did create a positive culture around the team. The level of success the team reached during his seven years with it — though title-less — is unparalleled in franchise history.

Not only did he help build a more passionate fan base, but his departure ended up galvanizing Cleveland fans and establishing a deeper connection to the team.

That was most evident at the Cavs-Heat game Dec. 2, when the venomous crowd created a raucous atmosphere eclipsing that of the city’s first NBA Finals game.

Gilbert paraded himself and a slew of other Cleveland “celebrities” out in front of the Quicken Loans Arena crowd in James’ return to Cleveland. Apparently, this was supposed to symbolize just how ingrained the Cavaliers are in the fabric of the city — and it’s true.

The Cavs have done a better job identifying themselves with the city than the Browns or Indians. Of course, without consistent success, fans will start to lose interest in the team.

That’s why striking gold in this year’s NBA lottery is key for the Cavaliers. It offers an opportunity to turn the team around quickly and establish another star to rally around.

This time, hopefully, he won’t be thrust onto an undeserved throne.

WASHINGTON — It began with a game against American International College in early November and carried on to the final game against Butler in April, but the Huskies’ championship season was not finished until they made it to the White House Monday for a ceremony held in their honor by President Barack Obama.

The ceremony was held in the East Room of the White House to honor the Huskies for winning the NCAA men’s basketball championship.

President Obama welcomed the players from UConn but said he personally found the day to be bittersweet.

“On one hand, I get to congratulate a great team and a great coach for winning the national championship,” Obama said. “On the other hand, I am reminded, once again, that my bracket was a bust. I did not pick UConn to win it all, that was a mistake.”

President Obama mentioned that he had UConn going to the Elite Eight, but his bracket was among many others that were incorrect.

“But I was not alone, lets face it, this was a tough year for a lot of brackets because teams like this one shocked the world,” Obama said.

Obama said the team was successful because everyone knew their role, including Shabazz Napier, who “sang and danced and talked his way through an incredible freshman season.”

In keeping with the tradition of the winning team giving the president a jersey bearing their name; Walker presented the president a jersey with the number one and the name B. Obama on the back.

Walker, appearing confident in the face of the president, asked him for his help as well.

“I want to ask you, can you teach me that walk?” Walker said.

President Obama jokingly said, “that’s a special presidential walk.”

Earlier in the ceremony, President Obama suggested that Walker take a look at the Bulls organization following their win over Miami the night before.

Calhoun compared the Huskies to President Obama, both underdogs going in but they had a similar motto of “Yes, we can!”

“And like you Mr. President, yes, we did,” Calhoun said. “We accepted our roles, we accepted who we are and did anything possible to be the best we possibly could become.”

President Obama made few predictions for the future of the team, but noted that there is a lot of freshmen on the team so there is no reason why they couldn’t meet again soon.

The ceremony included many people from the UConn community, who came out to share in this monumental experience. Some guests included the university’s Interim President Philip Austin, the soon to be President Susan Herbst, Dean of the School of Medicine Cato Laurencin and others.

State politicians were also among the crowd, including Sen. Joseph Lieberman, State Rep. Gregg Haddad, and State Sen. Don Williams.

This marked the third title for the Huskies and would mark Jim Calhoun’s third trip to the White House as the coach of a championship winning team.

Calhoun, in his three visits to the White House, has had the opportunity to meet with the past three presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and current President Barack Obama.

Calhoun recently reached another milestone in his illustrious career, May 14 marked 25 years of service as the head coach of the UConn’s men’s basketball team.

The team began their visit to the White House by hitting the president’s court, where they held skill drills with over a dozen students from Eliot-Hine Middle School.

The students were given words of encouragement and advice from the man whose service as coach will be long remembered.

“You’ve got to apply what you do on the court to your life,” Calhoun said.

Assistant Coach Kevin Ollie encouraged the kids to make sure they got an education while they had the opportunity and to know that they can do anything they set their mind to.

“I’m just like you, I had a dream one day,” said Ollie, who continued to say that he went out there and made that dream come true.

Kemba Walker missed the clinic because his travel was delayed.

UConn defeated Butler 53-41 in the final of the NCAA championship back on April 4 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

UConn student athletes are not strangers to the White House, Monday’s visit marked the ninth trip a UConn basketball team has been honored, and the third year in a row following the women’s basketball team’s back-to-back championship in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

The criticisms have snowballed.

Over the past year, since the words “lack of institutional control” and “failure to monitor” became ingrained into the mind of the average college sports fan, the NCAA has been under intense scrutiny. That’s no surprise.

From USC’s two-year bowl ban to Ohio State’s “Tattoo Five” and, most recently, Boise State’s notice of infractions, decisions made by the NCAA have been placed under a microscope, blasted on blogs, message boards and sports talk radio shows.

No matter the outcome, no matter the extent to which the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions went to explain the rationale behind its rendered decision, the number of criticisms has remained inordinate.

The commonly shared belief: Just change something.

Subsequently, in an effort to combat a public relations problem on par with last year’s BP oil spill, the NCAA held an educational enforcement experience last week — a mock investigation with 25 media members in attendance, assuming the roles of investigators and members of the COI in a fictitious case. The event was similar to the annual mock selection show held each February to shed light on how 68 college teams are selected in basketball’s March Madness.

The genesis for the newest project came as a result of a need for transparency, as well as “to educate critics,” according to a press release run on NCAA.org after years in which the enforcement process had become increasingly scrutinized by the public.

“To the extent that we can provide you and your colleagues with better information, we want to do it,” NCAA President Mark Emmert told the ensemble of reporters in attendance.

But underlying its efforts to promote transparency and “enlighten” the public, namely the two dozen sportswriters in attendance, was a tone that appeared all too condescending.

In hosting an event aimed at educating and fostering a better understanding of the enforcement process, Emmert and other NCAA officials appeared to seemingly belittle the criticisms raised over the past year.

In a sense, the premise behind the event suggests that those criticizing the NCAA, compliance and enforcement are uneducated about a process far too complicated for basic understanding.

No doubt, it’s a confusing ordeal, nuanced in several respects from understanding the makeup of the process from the initial investigation to the COI’s eventual decision.

But the complexity does not invalidate the criticisms.

In spite of the intricacies, the procedure is still understandable in layman’s terms, from the fielding of tips, to the fact findings, to the witness interviews, to the meetings with the COI. It’s not a criminal trial, as the NCAA is always quick to point out, but the steps carried out are similar in some respects.

The NCAA has an enforcement staff, composed of 38 employees, charged with the responsibility of conducting the investigation, much like a detective team. If enough information is gathered, schools, as well as coaches, players and others, can be served with a notice of infractions, where they will then be asked to meet with the COI, acting in effect as a jury that eventually determines the fate of the charged school.

Understanding the process is not an impossible task despite the insinuation from Emmert and the NCAA.

In short, the complex nature should not be used as an avenue by the NCAA to shield its self from well deserved criticism. Nobody disputes its nuances.

As outlined before, the real problem lies in the discrepancy in the COI’s decisions, not in a complex process incapable for the average fan and beat writer to grasp.

And that was not explained at the mock session.

No matter how transparent the NCAA hopes enforcement can become, it has still yet to answer how certain decisions are eventually rendered.

“When it came time to dole out the punishments, I found it strange and surprising we weren’t given any official sentencing guidelines or case precedents,” said SI.com writer Stewart Mandel, who was in attendance. “While we were given a list of available penalties (scholarships, postseason ban, etc.), we essentially had carte-blanche power to make up whatever numbers or length we deemed fit based on the severity of the crimes — which in itself is a subjective judgment.”

That has been the main criticism, not how information is gathered.

You can find receipts that prove players received extra benefits. You can uncover recordings or emails demonstrating a coach was fully aware of a certain improprieties.

But determining a fair way to punish schools and rule, violators need some sort of consistency, not just the whim of a COI member, because as we saw with the Reggie Bush, giving a Notre Dame athletic department official free reign to bring out the postseason ban hammer might not be the best idea.

There needs to be some uniformity in the decisions process, and no matter how complex the process is this still needs to change.

Infants may be experiencing sleep difficulties due to marital instability as early as nine months old, according to a new study by an Oregon State University researcher.

“We found that marital instability at nine months old leads to sleep problems at 18 months in infants,” said Anne Mannering, researcher and instructor in the human development and family sciences department at Oregon State.

Mannering explained that even when infants can’t comprehend what is going on, it still influences them on a subconscious level.

Mannering started her research when she was working on a larger project through the Oregon Social Learning Center. This is where Mannering and her collaborators collected research. The study took place over a three-year time period.

The researchers followed more than 350 families starting when their babies were nine months old and continuing until they were 18 months old; a total of nine months.

The goal of the research project was to look at the relationship between marital instability, such as contemplating divorce, and the effects of that instability on children’s sleep. Problems can include falling asleep, staying asleep or frequent night waking.

“We were looking only at adopted families,” Mannering said. “Most studies have looked at biological studies.”

Being one of the first groups to research adopted infants eliminated the role of shared genes between parents and children. The couples were also mostly middle class, white, fairly educated and all had adopted their child within three months of birth.

The findings of marital instability and poor infant sleep remained constant when factoring in birth order, parental anxiety and infant fussiness.

“Stress in the family system in marriage can develop earlier than people think,” Mannering said. “Parents should be aware that marital stress may affect the well-being of their children even in the first year or two of life.”

The study did not find the opposite to be true. Children’s sleep problems did not predict marital instability.

Marital instability was assessed by questions that asked husband and wives individually whether they had considered getting a divorce. The higher the couple scored on the survey, meaning marital instability, the higher the likelihood for the couple to report their children having sleep problems.

This was a national study with contributions from State University, University of New Orleans and Yale Child Study, and the findings of the research will appear in the journal “Child Development.”