10-9-98

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OHIO STATE TO HOST FESTIVAL OF CARTOON ART--Oct. 9-10. Some of the nation’s most talented cartoonists will join with researchers to explore cartoons as an art form at the 1998 Festival of Cartoon Art today and Saturday (10/9-10) at Ohio State’s Ohio Union Conference Theatre, 1739 N. High St. The festival, hosted by the university’s Cartoon Research Library, is focusing on the theme “The Art of Cartooning: Its History, Current Status and Future Prospects.” Admission to the Festival of Cartoon Art Forum is by pre-registration. The cost is $75 for regular admission and $15 for students and senior citizens. Attendance at the final banquet, at 7 p.m. Saturday, is an additional $20 per person.
CONTACT: Lucy Shelton Caswell or Erin Shipley, Cartoon Research Library, 292-0538.

HISPANIC LANGUAGES SYMPOSIUM--Oct. 9-11. Ohio State’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese will host the Second Hispanic Linguistics Symposium / Segundo Simposio de Linguistica Hispanica, Friday-Sunday (10/9-11) at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road. The symposium will cover topics in all areas of Hispanic linguistics, including language acquisition, historical, sociolinguistics, phonology/ morphology, syntax/semantics and pragmatics. The program starts today (10/9) through 7 p.m. with papers on language acquisition, sociolinguistics and pragmatics. The presentations on Saturday (10/10) are from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and deal with phonology and syntax. On Sunday (10/11) from 8:30 am to 1 p.m., the sessions will examine papers on semantics and history. Registration is free for students, $30 for others, and can be done on-site or by calling 292-4958.
CONTACT: Fernando Martinez-Gil, assistant professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, 292-4958.

TECHNOLOGY EXPO FEATURES ‘TOOLS OF TOMORROW’--Oct. 14. Ohio State will host its fourth annual Technology Expo for students, faculty and staff from its Columbus and regional campuses from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday (10/14) in the Ohio Union Ballrooms, 1739 N. High St. Using a trade fair model of exhibits and demonstrations, Tech Expo ’98 offers a hands-on introduction to the latest technologies -- computer hardware and software, Internet and communication services, and color presentation graphics -- available at Ohio State for research, learning and business operations. Admission is free for the event, which last year drew thousands from the university community. Media who would like to cover opening ceremony remarks by Board of Trustees Chair Ted Celeste, Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Edward Ray and other university officials should contact Deborah Gill at Reprographics and Printing Services, 292-9901, or Egondu Onyejekwe at University Technology Services, 292-5901, in advance. The ceremony program will feature videotaped remarks by President William E. Kirwan. Reporters, videographers and photographers also are welcome at any time during the daylong demonstration event.
CONTACT: Deborah Gill, 292-9901, or Egondu Onyejekwe, 292-5901.

HOMECOMING WEEK--Oct. 14-17. Show me the Buckeyes is the theme for 1998 homecoming activities. Diversity, volunteer service and community building will be the focus of activities. Events include:
Wednesday (10/14)--A shed-building project on the Oval for Habitat for Humanity from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., where students will build nine storage sheds that will be placed at Habitat for Humanity homes. At 6:30 p.m., students will challenge administrators on their trivia knowledge at Vice President for Student and Urban/Community Affairs David Williams II’s Quiz Bowl Challenge at the Ohio Union Conference Theatre, 1739 N. High St.
Thursday (10/15)--Students, faculty and staff will participate in a Celebration of Students from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Ohio Union Ballrooms. At 7:30 p.m., a Buckeye Blast and pep rally will be held at St. John Arena, featuring nationally known comedian Sinbad. Tickets are $5 for students and $12 for all others and are available at the Office of Student Activities or the St. John Arena ticket office.
Friday (10/16)--The Celebration of Students continues with an administrative, faculty and student leadership event from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Raney Commons, 47 Curl Drive. A Cultural Extravaganza will be held on the Oval with performances at Browning Amphitheatre, along with a Study Abroad fair at Oxley Hall, 1712 Neil Ave., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A homecoming court reunion banquet will be held at the Buckeye Hall of Fame from 6:30 p.m. to midnight, celebrating the homecoming courts of 1948, ’58, ’68, ’78, ’88 and ’98.
Saturday (10/17)--The traditional homecoming parade, featuring floats, the homecoming court and some 80 other entries, will begin at 9 a.m. at 17th and Neil avenues. President William E. Kirwan and his wife, Patty Kirwan, will be the grand marshals. They will lead the parade east on 17th Avenue, south on High Street, and west on 12th Avenue to end at 12th and Neil avenues. The homecoming game pits the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Minnesota Gophers, with kickoff at 12:10 p.m.
CONTACT: Tracy Stuck, director of student activities, 292-8763.

OSU CELEBRATES FIRST ANNUAL EARTH SCIENCE WEEK--OCT. 14-16. The Ohio State University Department of Geological Sciences is celebrating the first annual Earth Science Week through a series of museum tours and open house events Wednesday-Friday (10/14-16). On Wednesday (10/14), the Orton Geology Museum, 155 S. Oval Mall, will have an open house and tours from 2:30-5 p.m. Weather permitting, a tour of the geology in and around Orton Hall and the OSU Oval will take place at 4 p.m. Information about the Byrd Polar Research Center will also be available. On Thursday (10/15) an open house and tour will be held at 3:15 p.m. in Mendenhall Laboratory, 125 S. Oval Mall. Dale Gnidovec, geological sciences curator, will host “Introduction to Fossils and Dinosaurs” at 4 p.m. On Friday (10/16) the Orton Museum and museum store will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. for visitors wishing to stop by and see the museum.
CONTACT: Melissa L. Weber, College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 292-2254.

RALPH NADER TO SPEAK AT ERGONOMICS OPEN HOUSE--Oct. 16. The Institute for Ergonomics will hold an open house Oct. 16 beginning at 11 a.m. in 140 Baker Systems, 1971 Neil Ave. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader will give a free, public presentation on “Human-Centered Design and Ergonomics” at 1:30 p.m. in Independence Hall, 1923 Neil Ave. The institute consolidates efforts of faculty who are working to find safer, productive ways for people to work.
CONTACT: Katie Stevenson, program assistant, Institute for Ergonomics, 292-4565.

NEW PAVILION TO AID WILDLIFE OBSERVATION AT OHIO STATE WETLAND PARK--Oct. 16. Visitors to The Ohio State University Olentangy River Wetland Research Park, 352 Dodridge Rd., will soon get a better look at the wildlife living there thanks to a new two-story observation tower that will be completed next summer. Ground-breaking ceremonies and an open house will be held Friday (10/16) from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Phase 1 of the site development, featuring two 2.5-acre deep-water marshes and a river water delivery system, was completed in 1994. Phases 2 and 3, involving construction of additional wetlands and a research and education building, are under way.
CONTACT: Kyle Sharp, associate editor, Communications and Technology News and Media Relations, 292-2011.

NOTE: Ohio State University offices will be open and classes will be in session on Monday, Oct. 12. The university observes the Columbus Day holiday on Nov. 27 this year, the day after Thanksgiving.

The person listed as the contact for each item will have the best information about the story. Feel free to call on our news services staff for assistance with these or other Ohio State news stories--Ruth Gerstner, 292-8424; Tracy Turner, 688-3682; and Emily Caldwell, 292-8309.
**Compiled by Tracy Turner, University Communications, (Turner.44@osu.edu).