Stadium hosts 15,000 who care

By Jo McCulty More than 15,000 central Ohioans attended the "Show You Care"Telethon and Rally at Ohio Stadium on Sept. 15, which filled the north curve of the Horseshoe with thousands of American flags waved by those seeking to mourn the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The event was sponsored by Ohio State, the American Red Cross and the Dispatch family of companies.

Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, Columbus Dispatch Chairman, CEO and Publisher John F. Wolfe and President Brit Kirwan sing along with the crowd. Musical selections included the National Anthem, "God Bless America"and "America the Beautiful." By Jo McCulty

Contributions reached nearly $700,000 that day to assist victims and their families, and continue to pour in. In addition, Ohio State students' white ribbon campaign had raised an estimated $13,000 as of Sept. 24.   By Kevin Fitzsimons

OSU employees, students called to active duty are covered by law, University policies

Faculty and staff who are called to active duty during the current national emergency are eligible for military leave, pay, continued health coverage and reemployment rights in accordance with state and federal law. Highlights of the Ohio State policy follow:

1. Faculty and staff who are members of the National Guard and the Reserves are entitled to 31 calendar days (or 176 hours) of military leave with pay in any calendar year.

2. If individuals are called to duty beyond 31 days, the University will provide a monthly pay differential equal to the difference between the individual's current gross salary and the military pay and allowance, or $500, whichever is less.

3. Affected faculty and staff, and/or any covered dependents are entitled to continued medical, dental and vision insurance coverage. The University and the individual continue to pay the same costs for coverage as if the individual were not on leave. Coverage is provided for the entire period of the call-up.

4. The thrust of the University's policy is to return individuals to reemployment in a position with like seniority, status and pay, including all benefits in which the service person had been a participant or would have participated in if he or she had remained employed.

5. Some students are also members of the National Guard and Reserves and are subject to the call-up as well. Deans, department chairs and faculty should exercise reasonable flexibility in class attendance policies for those students called to active duty.

To ask questions about this policy, or for advice on this matter, please contact Bill Hospodar, director of Veteran Affairs in the Office of Human Resources, at 292-7047 or hospodar.3@osu.edu.

The University community has been encouraged by President Brit Kirwan and Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray to support faculty, staff and students who may be affected.

University Relations staff member witnesses New York events

'I liked New York quite a bit. And now, I like it even more'

Josh Alexander thought a small earthquake may have struck New York on the morning of Sept. 11. A vacationer in the city, at a Holiday Inn near Wall Street, Alexander, in a dreamy state, opted to continue sleeping in to catch up after a lot of time on the road the previous day. Whatever the tremor was, he thought, it must have been small.

When Alexander and his wife, Allison, finally woke up to a hotel alarm at 10 a.m., their first inclination was to look out their second-story window.

"I saw what looked like fog,"said Alexander, systems support specialist for University Relations at Ohio State. "It also looked like it had snowed, but I knew it hadn't. It smelled like something É artificial. I didn't know what to think. I thought a building was on fire, and this was the material used to put out the fire."

The television revealed that indeed, there was a fire -- at the World Trade Center just a few blocks away.

Even before they could absorb the magnitude of the event, the Alexanders decided to leave the hotel based on some key words they heard from TV commentators: "terrorist attack."

"We took a camera, Allison's purse and the clothes on our back. We knew we wouldn't come back for the day,"Alexander said. "Outside, there was a lot of talk about leaving. People were heading toward the Brooklyn Bridge."

When they were a few blocks from the hotel, they heard a rumble, "like a plane,"indicating that the second of the twin towers was collapsing. "We still didn't really know what had gone on,"Alexander said. "We saw a 15- to 20-story-high plume of smoke that traveled toward us, but it had thinned by the time it reached us. We had no idea the buildings had been flattened."

A stop at a Burger King later in the day detailed more of the horror of the story in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. The Alexanders continued north on foot, heading to Central Park -- a place that seemed safe.

Alexander estimates that he and his wife walked six miles that day, including their return south to try to get to their hotel. Miraculously, they were allowed back in and spent the night there -- without electricity. Their journey continued to Boston by train the next day. Alexander returned to New York on Sept. 21 to retrieve the couple's car.

Though the car sat in the hotel garage for 13 nights, the Holiday Inn charged Alexander its standard $25 per day charge for only the first night -- Sept. 10. "They've been extremely nice,"Alexander said. Similarly, people in the street on the day of the attack showed him a side of the city he hadn't necessarily expected.

"When we were all escaping the area, I thought people might be rude or pushy. Instead, everyone was calm, helpful and courteous."

This was Alexander's second trip to New York, but it won't be his last. Those people, more than the attack, left a lasting impression.

"I knew after our 1998 trip that I liked New York quite a bit," said Alexander, who grew up in Mansfield. "And now, I like it even more."

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