When former Ohio Governor John Kasich took office in 2011, he went on to become the most pro-life governor in state history. Nearly one decade later, Ohio — and the entire country — faces a crossroads on what the future of abortion will look like. An enormous, heart-shaped balloon sat outside the Ohio statehouse in the summer of 2012, urging passersby …

City Council committee members discussed the Baileys bike trail, an ODOT grant, and various appropriations at its meeting Monday. Athens City Council committee members discussed the planned Baileys bike trail and its proposed council of governments at its meeting Monday night. The Baileys Mountain Bike Trail System would be around 88 miles long and cost around $10 million to build. …

Student Senate tickets have their budgets regulated every step of the way, from flyers to tabling snacks. This is how Forward Ohio collected and used their budget this year. As the race for Student Senate draws to a close, so does the financial record for this year’s race. But records of campaign donations and expenditures show more than a bottom …

Here’s how the Judicial Panel will run the Student Senate elections next week. Student Senate will hold its annual election for the student body to select who will represent them next year on April 2. This will be a single ticket election, with every candidate except one being part of the Forward ticket. One independent candidate is contesting the election …

Suspected Car Attacker James Alex Fields Jr. plead guilty to 29 counts of hate crimes. James Alex Fields Jr., suspected of killing one and injuring many, plead guilty to 29 federal hate crimes, including the death of Heather Heyer, and the injuring of dozens of others. Fields allegedly drove his car through a crowd of counter-protestors in Charlottesville on Aug. …

Planned Parenthood will lose their state funding and some federal funding before the end of April, after an appeals court ruled an Ohio law could be enforced. Planned Parenthood will no longer receive state funding after an appeals court upheld an Ohio law that restricts state and federal funding for abortion providers. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of …

Despite an uncontested ticket for president, vice president and treasurer, Forward Ohio U hopes to raise campus awareness of Student Senate. When Student Senate voting opens this year, students will only have one option for who they want to lead the highest offices: Forward Ohio U, the ticket led by Lydia Ramlo, Alicia Lundy-Morse, and Jayden McAdams. All of Forward’s …

Student Senate discussed their relationship with Graduate Student Senate and passed multiple resolutions at their meeting Wednesday. Student Senate failed to enact a resolution that, if passed, would have officially separated Student Senate from Graduate Student Senate. Resolution 1819-103, subtitled “a resolution to change the constituency of Student Senate,” would change Student Senate’s constituency to represent only undergraduate students. Currently, …

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine released the proposed executive budget for the fiscal year of 2020-2021. The proposed budget is described as structurally balanced and void of any tax increases according to a news release from the governor’s office. Some of the priorities the governor mentioned in his State of the State address are highlighted in the budget. Increase in education …

Five governing bodies represent Ohio University. Here’s what they do and how they do it. Ohio University has five governing bodies, each representing a different portion of the student body: Student Senate, Graduate Student Senate, Faculty Senate, Administrative Senate, and Classified Senate. Each Senate acts on its own accord with its own constitution and constituents, but how do they interact …

Mike DeWine talked infrastructure, education, childcare and water quality at the annual State of the State Address. Changes in higher education Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said that “we are going to embark on the most aggressive worker development and worker retraining in the history of the state of Ohio.” His plan involves bolstering support for tech schools and community colleges, …

Arian Smedley served on the Athens city council in 2017 by appointment, but she lost her campaign to keep her seat later that year. Now, she is running for a different position within the council. Arian Smedley hopes to get back on the Athens City Council by running in the only contested city council race of the May primary election. …

While Ohio continues to work towards statewide awareness of human trafficking, reporting rates remain high. Thursday marks the 10th annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day at the Ohio statehouse. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Ohio has had the fourth-highest rate of human trafficking since 2016, when the trafficking rates in Ohio increased sharply and passed New York. However, while …

Opinion writer Maddie Kramer argues that while Bernie Sanders has some great ideas, his divisiveness endangers Democrat’s hopes of winning the presidency, and he should step aside in favor of a young, fresh challenger. Sen. Bernie Sanders made waves in 2016, shaking up the Democrat party with ideas of socialism and a very progressive platform. The independent from Vermont announced …

The president of the Culinary Services Union held a presentation with Student Senate to highlight student workers’ concerns as employees of Culinary Services. The president of the Culinary Services Union met with Student Senate on Wednesday to discuss student workers’ concerns that they are being exploited by Culinary Services. Dillon Barnhouse, president of the Culinary Services Union, said it is …

The Counter is a weekly column featuring multiple writers who are presented with a set of questions to respond with their personal opinion. All writers are Ohio University students whose views do not necessarily reflect those of The New Political. This week, theopinion team is looking at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal to combat climate change, dubbed the “Green New Deal.” …

John Carey just started his new position as director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia, and he is already diving into new projects. John Carey, the former mayor of Wellston and chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, was appointed on Feb. 1 as the new director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia (GOA). In the last five days, he …

Opinion writer Charlotte Caldwell argues the 2019 State of the Union Address, delivered by President Donald Trump, did more harm than good for the President and his party. President Trump’s State of the Union speech this past week had a goal of achieving bipartisan support and unity ahead of the next government shutdown, but many thought the third-longest State of the …

Ohio University graduate and 23-year-old Sam Miller has announced her plans to replace Kent Butler’s seat for the Athens City Council. Recent Ohio University graduate Sam Miller is running to represent the First Ward, which is comprised of the western side of the city, on the Athens City Council. Miller’s campaign logo features a modified version Rosie the Riveter, with Miller’s …

The LGBT Center had to temporarily move locations Wednesday after an outbreak of bedbugs. The office space of the LGBT Center in the Baker University Center is currently closed due to bedbugs. Ohio University Environmental Health and Safety received reports of bedbugs in the center on Wednesday. EHS later confirmed the bedbugs’ presence. University Spokesperson Daniel Pittman said the bedbugs …

Welcome to The New Political’s new opinion series, The Counter. Here, two opinion writers are presented with a set of question prompts and asked to give their personal take. All writers are Ohio University students whose views do not reflect those of The New Political and are independent from its editorial team. Freshman Charlotte Caldwell, a journalism major, and sophomore …

The Board of Trustees approved a Student Senate constitutional amendment, giving them more authority. Here’s how Graduate Student Senate responded. Graduate Student Senate (GSS) enacted a resolution Tuesday to reassert their independence from Student Senate. The Board of Trustees approved a Student Senate resolution allowing the senate to change its constitution without approval from the Ohio University Board of Trustees …

The two student trustees spoke before Student Senate. But what do the student trustees do? Student trustees, whose job is to attend board of trustees meetings and speak on behalf of students, spoke before Student Senate on Wednesday to ask for suggestions for their upcoming meeting with the Ohio University Board of Trustees. Student Trustees Faith Voinovich and Austin McClain …

Opinion writer Stephen Sponhour warns Twitter users to be cautious about interacting with potential bot accounts. In 2010, internet trolling was just annoying. In 2018, it’s a threat to our political system. Russia’s social media misinformation campaign during the 2016 election is widely documented, but the continued use of these propaganda tactics in the years after the election has made …

Episodes 3 examines the candidates running for Auditor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, and Attorney General in the 2018 election.

Episode two gives voters insight on how to register to vote and the option of absentee voting.

Vote Ohio is a weekly series about what you need to know before voting this November. The first video goes over state positions that are being voted on and what makes them important.  

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper came to campus on the second day of classes to encourage involvement in politics, to denounce Trump and to express need for congressional redistricting. Ohio’s Democratic Party Chairman is not a fan of President Trump. “If you’re in Ohio and you’re a Democrat, you’re pretty disappointed that Trump won this state by eight points,” …

Ohio’s 70th governor will inherit a widespread drug epidemic, an enlarged Rainy Day Fund and an increased spotlight in the aftermath of current Gov. John Kasich’s failed 2016 presidential run. More than a year still remains until the Nov. 2018 gubernatorial election, but eight candidates for the governorship have emerged as the Democratic and Republican forerunners. Let’s break down where …

Athens has some new competition for a couple of City Council seats. A majority of the competitors are Democrats, with only one Republican vying for a spot. Sarah Grace Grace is one of three candidates running for an at-large seat on the council. She is an OU alumna, local small-business owner and a former candidate for Ohio’s 94th District seat. …

As the semester wraps up, so do the activities of student organizations. Student Senate celebrated its turnover of power and awarded honors to outstanding Senate members during its last meeting of the year. It was not all fun and games, however, as one of the first orders of business was to call an executive session to discuss a “personnel matter.” …

In August 2016, a thread popped up on a forum from a user with a grainy black and white avatar. “C-Bus in the house!” The post goes on to describe various city attractions. The user lists off parks and university centers to hang out and recruit members. They also mention a good target for activism: The Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial. …

Rep. Jay Edwards, R-94th District, visited the Ohio University College Democrats to introduce himself and speak about issues and bills currently in legislature. Edwards said the opioid crisis is a crucial matter for Athens. He discussed in detail a new bill created to resolve the crisis, and commented about how doctors should be held accountable for the amount of opioids …

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted met with OU College Republicans yesterday in the basement of Red Brick to discuss his experiences in life and in office, as well as what he might do if he decides to pursue a gubernatorial campaign. Although Husted said he wouldn’t make the decision on whether to run for governor for several more weeks, …

In case you haven’t heard, last week President Donald Trump bombarded a Syrian airbase with 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles after it appeared the Syrian government used chemical weapons on civilians. Naturally, this has ignited some comments from Ohio’s politicians. Assad regime committed war crimes that can not be tolerated. U.S. response was appropriate and necessary. #SyriaStrikes — John Kasich (@JohnKasich) …

Ohio University College Republicans elected Ryan Evans as its president for the 2017-2018 school year. In Evans’ nomination speech, he spoke about some of the past accomplishments of the past year. His goal is to increase retention rates for the organization and work toward making the organization more prestigious. “From what I learned in the last year being on exec …

Former Obama speechwriter Kevin Samy and filmmaker Chris Roessner presented the Dog Whistle Project. to Ohio University College Democrats Tuesday night. The initiative was created to combat political doublespeak, which the speakers alleged is often used to promote a hidden agenda. Samy and Roessner started the organization partly because of the rise of Milo Yiannopoulos and his speeches to college …

Student Senate elections finished Tuesday, April 4, after a turbulent election cycle, resulting in a majority win by the Green Light ticket. The new executives are Green Light’s Landen Lama as president, Nicole Schneider as vice president and Zachary Woods as treasurer. Going into the 2017-2018 school year, Green Light will occupy 34 of Senate’s 39 seats. Two of these …

State Highway Patrol members barricaded the block surrounding the Sandusky State Theater today so Gov. John Kasich could announce an awardance of $20 million to fight the opioid epidemic through innovation. Kasich, along with the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, drove over two hours from the Ohio Statehouse to Sandusky for the Republican’s second-to-last State of the …

An already unique Student Senate election just become a little more interesting: outsider ticket Fight was disqualified from the election as of 11:50 a.m. today. This decision was a result of Fight failing to submit its financial report on time, shifting its infraction level from a class B to a class A, which results in disqualification. Disqualification in this manner …

Ohio Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, introduced a bill this week aimed at fighting Ohio’s opioid crisis through prescription drug reform. House Bill 167, introduced by Edwards at a Wednesday press conference, would limit the dosage of prescription opioids for acute pain that physicians can prescribe. This would require physicians to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that suggest …

Three tickets are running for Student Senate this year, with vastly different platforms and ideas for the future. Get to know Voice: Presidential candidate: Jordan Kelley is fourth-year B.S.S. student studying student development and has been part of Student Senate for four years a senator, commissioner, vice commissioner and on Student Senate staff. He has been an RA and currently …

Three tickets are running for Student Senate this year, with vastly different platforms and ideas for the future. Get to know Green Light: Presidential candidate: Landen Lama is a political science major and has two years of Student Senate experience as parliamentarian and chief of staff. He is also a Democratic central committee member for Fairfield County, representing the Democratic …

Three tickets are running for Student Senate this year, with vastly different platforms and ideas for the future. Get to know Fight: Presidential candidate: David Parkhill, a junior studying business management, has experience outside of Student Senate, including his time as a member of Lambda Chi Alpha and a year as president of Ohio University College Republicans. He is hoping …

Last March brought snow to Athens, Ohio, but yesterday a different type of white powder blew into the Ohio University airport. JUST IN: Authorities seize large amount of drugs from plane that landed at OU airport. They suspect it’s cocaine – https://t.co/mr7oIoDeWy pic.twitter.com/BXKbvLR7l8 — WTTE FOX 28 (@fox28columbus) March 30, 2017 At around 2:30 p.m., the Department of Homeland Security …

Ohio University Police Chief Andrew Powers asked the Athens City Prosecutor’s office to dismiss the remaining charges related to the Baker Center sit-in on Feb. 1. “Although I still believe the February 1 gathering had become unsafe and that our response was appropriate, I respect the decision of the judge,” Powers said in a press release. Athens Municipal Court Judge …

Walter 235 does not look like an average Ohio University classroom. The U of desks and chairs rises up to create stands for the last debate of the 2017-18 Student Senate elections. Three sets of executive candidates took the floor, answering questions submitted by students and audience members. The debate began calmly, but at times the candidates became heated, while …

Three of Ohio’s most prominent Republicans have weighed in since the American Health Care Act failed to receive enough votes to pass in the House last week. Each of them laid forth a path that demonstrates three different strategies for Republicans moving forward. Ohio governor and former Republican presidential candidate John Kasich suggested President Donald Trump find a group of …

On Monday, Michael Mayberry, an organizer of the Baker Center sit-in, was found not guilty of criminal trespassing. Mayberry is one of 70 individuals whom Athens law enforcement arrested on Feb. 1 at a Baker sit-in protest. He was the first to go to bench trial, which is trial by judge, not jury. In Ohio, criminal trespassing is a fourth-degree …

Five on-campus and two off-campus Student Senate candidates laid out their platforms in the off-campus and residential debate Monday night. None of the candidates present represented the Fight ticket, and both off-campus senators in attendance represented Green Light. The residential senator candidates were asked about diversity, connecting students and what issues they believe are most affecting their constituents. Xan Spalding, …