Tag: opinion

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Off-Campus life in Cincinnati

I recently stumbled on a Columbus, Ohio site called Easy Columbus that compiles all the things going on “off-campus” that college students might want to do. It is a very well-done site and easy to navigate. Users can search by day or event, and it even includes information about how to save money.

I did a little digging and found that there are 16 colleges and universities within 20 miles of downtown Columbus. Combined, these schools enroll a little over 73,000 undergraduate students at any given time. Comparatively, there are 22 colleges and universities within 20 miles of downtown Cincinnati, but only about 46,000 enrolled undergraduate students. Someone can make the claim that I should have counted grad students. Maybe. Go ahead and count them up and let me know what you find. (Source for the Undergrads)

Maybe we already have something like this here in Cincinnati. If so, please post a link in the comments section. But if we don’t have this yet, we really should. Having a consolidated place for young adults to turn when they are looking for something fun and inexpensive to do seems like it would encourage them to break the monotony of the house party and bar scene.

I admit – I have a hidden agenda here. By encouraging students to get off campus and experience the amazing things this city has to offer, hopefully they will be more likely to stay here after graduation. When I was at Xavier, so many of my friends came here for the education, and then bolted as soon as they had their diploma in hand. Our colleges and universities draw some of the best and brightest students to Cincinnati, and we as a city need to do everything in our power to keep that talent here. When they leave, they take with them their good ideas on how to better the city. How can we encourage those not from here to stay here?

Image Credit: Xavier University Academic Mall by Zach Casto
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The ILOVECINCINNATI Conundrum

Suddenly a lot of cars around town drive by with stickers that say ILOVECINCINNATI on them and I wondered where they came from. Today, I found the answer out by asking someone who had one. So, I’m not going to share the answer here (it’s easily found out by asking a few questions) but the conversation that followed sparked some thoughts that are definitely appropriate in this forum.

If you are reading this, you likely care deeply about Cincinnati, and also genuinely believe that with some hard work, dedication, and an updated way of thinking it can be a much better place to live. I, too, am of that thinking, but sadly I would think that we are in the minority, especially when you start to read the comments on other media outlets around town.

So, my question is why? Why is it that many other cities around this country, some of which we aspire to be like and even others, that we don’t have a much greater sense of civic pride than we do? When I stopped and thought about it, it made even less sense. Isn’t Cincinnati mostly made up of people that grew up in the area, and if so shouldn’t it hold true that our civic pride should at least match that exhibited in other cities mentioned on this blog and elsewhere?

I’ve noodled this around all night and have come up with three ideas:

  1. Our Region Breeds Separation – Between different suburbs, counties, cities, and even states that make up the region we actually only identify ourselves as Cincinnatians by our mailing addresses envelopes and when we are out of town.
  2. A Unified Stance – While we’re never going to reach a point where every citizen agrees on priorities, we are set up in such a way that our “leaders” fight amongst each other more than they work together. One could argue that competition is good, but to me, a unified stance is better.
  3. Lack of That Signature “Thing” – Be it an industry that our city was founded on, a specific food that is actually eaten outside our region, or something similar. We don’t all have that one positive thing we can each identify with, and just as importantly, the nation identifies us with.

I put this out there less for my voice to be heard but more to spark conversation. So what have I missed and why is it that you have the pride you do in Cincinnati?

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Bearcat Football readies for 2009 season

The Bearcats will take the football field for their 2009 season opener against Southeast Missouri State in about two months. The football program is coming off of one of the best year’s in its long history when it won the Big East Championship and earned a bid in the 75th FedEx Orange Bowl.

At the same time the program set several attendance records and recorded eight of the top-12 crowds in Nippert Stadium’s 85 year history. This success at the box office has continued as the program has sold out nearly half of the stadium to season ticket holders, and for the third consecutive year, sold out the Bearcat Lair section behind the north end zone.

There have been some other moves since the Bearcats walked off the field at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Florida earlier this year. The most notable of which is the new contract for Brian Kelly which will extend Kelly’s contract one year and guarantee him nearly $1.5 million in salary until 2013 according to ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett.

In addition to adding in more money for assistant coaches, at Kelly’s request, the contract also eliminates the requirement for the University of Cincinnati to build a new practice facility for the program by 2010. The reason is, of course, financially driven as UC is short on the total amount needing to build the new practice facility that would include an full-size indoor field and a half size field along Jefferson Avenue uptown.

Proposed practice facility along Jefferson Avenue on the University of Cincinnati’s main campus

This move seems to buy the university some time as it tries to raise money to build the new facility. From the beginning many thought it was a rushed time line to have the facility built by 2010, but had the contract stipulation not been in place then the UC football program would probably not be this far.

The continued success and growth of the program depends upon keeping quality coaches and trainers around. UC needs to make a concerted effort to keep these talented individuals here so that they can keep attracting the talent that makes UC as Bowl Championship Series (BCS) contender year in and year out. If the new facility does not get built and Kelly gets an opportunity to bolt, then the program will be branded as a stepping stone program for some time to come. It’s up to the University of Cincinnati to decide from here how it wants to play this one.

Couple bonus pics from my trip to Miami for the 75th Orange Bowl where the University of Cincinnati lost to Virginia Tech
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Riddle me this…

Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but in general, conservatives want smaller government and less spending, right? So why do they tend to live in sprawl areas?

When they are first built, new suburbs cost the taxpayer money to generate the infrastructure to live there (spending), and in many places, especially here in the Cincinnati region, each new suburb has its own local government, police, fire, etc. (more people on the bureaucratic government’s payroll).

Conservatives: why not practice what you preach by living in areas that do not necessitate wasteful spending and bloated government? Discuss.

Photo Courtesy of USDA-NRCS

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Cincinnati’s Purple People Bridge: Past & Present

Cincinnati’s second oldest existing span across the might Ohio River was built in 1872 and was known as the Newport and Cincinnati Bridge. The river span was Cincinnati’s first railroad bridge, and eventually was retrofitted to also accommodate streetcars, pedestrians and automobiles.

The bridge was later renamed the L&N Bridge for the Louisville and Nashville railroad that used the span. The bridge was closed down to both trains and automobiles and was eventually rehabed in 2003 into the “Purple People Bridge” named for its prominent purple color and pedestrianized span across the Ohio River.

The bridge quickly became a local landmark and a spot for art installations, shows and other family-friendly events. At its pinnacle, the bridge became the spot for the Purple People Bridge Climb (video) which was the first of its kind in North America and allowed for people to climb the bridge’s superstructure and walk across the span.

The bridge climb attraction shut down one year after opening, and the group managing the bridge experienced some financial setbacks and have since tried to reorganize themselves and figure out what to do with the historic landmark.

So what’s to come for the Purple People Bridge? What do you use it for, or do you use the bridge at all? Below is a collection of seven photographs I took from the Purple People Bridge. The main pedestrian span was blocked off as crews were deconstructing an art installation that was on the bridge. Joggers, families and leisurely walkers were using the span during that time.