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, …

A report analyzing Ohio’s bail and pretrial services published last week recommended implementing several measures to improve the fairness and efficiency of Ohio’s various court systems. In line with similar studies across the U.S., the report, published by a special committee of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, found that “those with money, notwithstanding their danger to the community, can purchase …

Athens and campus officials presented arguments against the American Health Care Act at the Athens County Courthouse on Thursday. Keller Blackburn, the Athens County prosecutor, spoke about how he believes the legislation proposed by U.S. House Republicans will be detrimental to Athens residents facing addiction problems. “We can either have productive members of society and recognize that addiction is a disease… or we can defund …

Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor spoke to Ohio University College Republicans about education at her campaign event for Ohio Governor on Thursday. “Coming out of high school, (students) should have the skills they need to take a job that exists in Ohio today, and there are lots of jobs that don’t require college degrees,” Taylor said. She said she wants to …

Remember the American Health Care Act that was supposed to be voted on yesterday, the seventh anniversary of the passage of Obamacare, in the House? It didn’t happen, but maybe Friday. The White House says the vote will be held Friday morning “in the light of day,” according to Axios. But House members aren’t sure when exactly the vote will …

The second Student Senate election debate asked candidates for college senators about the specific actions and innovations for which they would work if elected. The three tickets squared off on the three questions moderators posed:   What’s the biggest issue facing your students in your academic college, and how do you plan on addressing that? Fight’s College of Arts and …

Ohio University College Democrats elected its 2017-18 executive staff at its weekly meeting last night. Ashley Fishwick, a sophomore studying English pre-law, was elected president and Levi Brown, a junior studying political science, was elected to vice president. “I’m honestly just most excited to increase our presence on campus, because I know right now a lot of the rallies that …

The GOP health care bill debate has made its way to the states, and nowhere is this debate more prevalent than in Ohio. Gov. John Kasich penned a letter alongside other governors calling for more flexibility for states. Meanwhile, two Ohio congressmen are among a growing coalition of House Republicans who are dissatisfied with the American Health Care Act. Republican …

Greenlight, Fight, Voice — the three tickets running for Student Senate all met for the first time today at the executive debate. Inclusion of all students and groups on campus dominated a significant part of the rhetoric from all three platforms, as was better communication with administrators. However, the tickets differed on the specifics of how this should be done. …

President Donald Trump presented his budget proposal to Congress this morning. It’s filled with cuts to various different agencies and boosts in areas such as defense spending. This has naturally attracted criticism from both sides of the aisle. Republicans have spoken out against the broad budget cuts, and Democrats have tailored their messaging toward critiquing the administration’s cuts to programs …

Athens City Council debated bike lanes and discussed a Sustainability Action Plan and possible extension of the bike path that follows the Hocking River. East State Street Project brought the heat. East State Street’s layout may be getting a makeover. The plan, developed by members of the Far East Side Neighborhood Association, the City Council Transportation Committee and Public Works …

Monday night’s faculty senate opened with a discussion from Interim President David Descutner on the Ohio University Baker Center sit-in on Feb. 1 and how the university administration may react to spontaneous protests in the future. Descutner noted that just as protests are rarely as simple as a group of students advocating for a cause, how OU administration and police …

Editor’s Note: As of March 13, former Rep. Connie Pillich announced her gubernatorial bid. As this announcement came after publication, her candidacy is not reflected in this article.  Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s term is up in 2018, meaning a new leader will be ushered into the swing state. At the end of February, current Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor announced …

By the numbers: Trump’s approval rating according to 538’s new aggregate: 43.7 percent Rick Perry’s confirmation vote margin: 62-37 All-time DOW high after Trump’s speech: 21,000   Sessions recuses himself but still falls short of Ohio Democrats’ demands Today at a press conference, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he would recuse himself from any investigations into Russian interference in last …

Fifteen of the 70 people arrested during the Feb. 1 Baker Center sit-in entered a plea of no-contest in acceptance of a plea-deal on Thursday morning in Athens Municipal Court. Those who took the deal have a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, a minor misdemeanor. The protesters who took the deal accepted it to finalize court proceedings and shift attention …