Northeast Ohio Students Appear in Pinup Calendars Featuring OSU Students

Buckeyes Bare a Bit

NATURE REIGNS supreme in the calendar section of an Ohio State University bookstore in Columbus.

There's birds, and then there's bods.

Nestled next to the Audubon calendars at Long's Bookstore, are 1991 Women of the Scarlet & Gray and its companion publication, 1991 Men of the Scarlet & Gray.

The calendars-the ones with the bods, not the birds-are slick, full-color publications featuring mainly Ohio State students, one for each month of the year. The calendars hit bookstores throughout the state about three weeks ago, said the publisher, Akron native Sean Ashford.

For three years, Ashford, 23, has taken time off from his studies to produce the calendar. He started the business after the former calendar producers graduated, he said. This year, the calendars include three students from Summit and Stark counties.

The calendars consist of a comely man or woman who poses amid backdrops that range from the lush-palm fronds and oranges-to the utilitarian-a house under construction. All models are clothed, more or less.

The women's calendar comes with a bonus pullout poster. It has a marching band theme, complete with a sousaphone.

Ashford says he doubled production of his calendars to 10,000 of each version this year. The marketing major said he makes enough money to finance his education, although he declined to reveal earnings.

"It's an interesting business that allows me to make a moderate income," Ashford said.

Area students say they were asked to consider posing for the calendars.

Canton native Danielle Shinaberry, 19, featured in the poster, said she was approached by one of the calendar photographers as she was walking down the street in Columbus after her daily 12-mile run.

Maria Sokol of Akron said she was returning a book at Long's when she was encouraged to away Tom Gairing, a Junior from Wadsworth, said his friends gave him the idea.

Most of the photographs were taken in St. Petersburg, Fla., on a weeklong trip last summer, Ashford said.

Gairing called the assignment-his first foray into modeling-"exceptionally fun."

The real estate and finance major believes the experience could set him apart from other aspiring job seekers.

"If they (an interviewer) ask me if I've done something unique, I'll tell them. It's something that makes me more memorable," he said.

Ms. Shinaberry, 19, a broadcast journalism major, said she'd do it again.

Not so Ms. Sokol. The sophomore, who posed for the back cover shot submerged in lily pond, said, "Once is enough."

All three say their parents supported their participation.

"Dad has been selling some of the calendars," Ms. Shinaberry said

Robert Long said sales are brisk at his store, with women's versions selling faster than men's.

But that doesn't mean the females don't look.

"A lot of the women come in and look, but don't buy," he said.

"We purposely keep some open, so the others won't get trashed."

Ohio State has officially disassociated itself from the calendars. As for area universities, administrators at the University of Akron and Kent State University say they haven't had to take a stand-no zesty Zips or fulsome Flashes have adorned calendars this year.

"I hope it's never an issue," said Robert Dubick, Akron U dean of students.

No one has lodged a complaint with the Ohio State women's center, said Director Cynthia Harris, who as of Monday afternoon had not heard of the publication.

Although the calendar's cover says "Featuring Students of the Ohio State University," four women are not students. Ashford denied a story published recently in the university's student newspaper, the Lantern, in which one of Ashford's models said that there weren't enough female Ohio State students interested in being in the calendar.

"Five hundred girls applied. We picked the best people. You don't have to have a student ID," he said.

All of the participants did pay $340 - which went for helping with production costs, Ashford said.

Part of that money went toward paying for lodging and transportation - by car - for the Florida photo sessions.

In return, the models got a minimum of 73 calendars at a wholesale price, which they then sell at retail. They can recoup their expenses and earn extra money if they sell more than 43, according to sales program literature.

Is pushing pages of pulchritude tough?

"They're very easy to sell," Ms. Shinaberry said.

"It's kind of fun," Ms. Sokol said.

The calendars are available for $7.95 at Waldenbooks at Rolling Acres and Chapel Hill malls in Akron.