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quidditchgrrlAnother bout of complaining, this time about OSU and Campus Partners, who have been trying unsuccessfully to McDonaldize the campus area over the last 8 or so years.
-rant-
Here's the latest article about the South Campus area and the riots that have plagued the OSU area for the past 5 years.
Let's see...Campus Partners has successfully turned the South Campus area into a ghost town. The old bars (there are now only 2 bars in the area who allow underage students into their establishments, all far from the freshman dorms on the south side) have been closed and torn down, leaving large tracts of mangy dirt and trash along High Street. CP would like to see stores like The Gap and restaurants like Max and Erma's build here, in an area where there is little to no interest in such things and crime is rampant. Instead of trying to create a community atmosphere (such as bringing a grocery store to the 11th Avenue lot and offering low-interest loans for small businesses), CP wants to create a place for alumni to gather before and after games, and for suburbanites to see as they visit the campus. "See, honey, it's not so bad, they even have a Starbucks! This will be a great place for Johnny!"
The number and intensity of the riots have increased due to a number of factors. First, there is no place for underaged kids to drink in a safe, controlled atmosphere. Bars help control the amount of booze one can consume for the simple reason that you have to find someone to buy it for you if you're underage, and/or wait in line to get the stuff. There are things to do at a bar - dance, play pool, body shots, what have you - and they are relatively safe places to be, with security personnel on staff. It's a controlled atmosphere, for all its flaws. So, take away the bars, the dancing, the bouncers and what do you have? A kegger - some random apartment where there's tons of booze and no bartender. Dozens of people standing around outside drinking massive amounts of alcohol. There is no age limit (most of the old bars had an age limit of 18 through 30) and no way to tell who's a student and who's not. And when you have ten or fifteen of these parties per block, trouble is bound to happen.
Second, the troublemakers themselves are not OSU students. Michigan weekend, there were 57 arrests and out of the bunch, one enrolled student. Teenagers from the suburbs come in droves to the campus area to party - these jokers, who kicked in the door of a campus bookstore - were suburban high school students down on campus lookin' for a good time. It's not their neighborhood; too bad it was all caught on tape!
The media has created many of the spectacles as well. The area north of campus is home to many older students and faculty. Until April 29, 2001, when the news media reported on a party they dubbed "Norwichfest", what was typically a calm evening spent hanging out with friends turned into a nightmare of police in riot gear shooting at non-rioting partygoers. One girl was shot in the face with a 'knee-knocker' bullet when she tried to re-enter her apartment - from the roof. She eventually won a $900,000 settlement from the Columbus Police Department. She was disfigured and blinded in one eye; an international business major, she may have to give up her dream of becoming a diplomat in South America. And where were the reporters? Hiding out behind buildings to catch an 'eyewitness' account of the 'riot', in clear violation of the officers' megaphoned voices.
All of this to please some stuffed-shirts. It's been almost 8 years since CP has taken over, and there has been no development in the area they reclaimed. No big corporate congomerate wants to build in what looks like (and according to the local news media, is) a war zone.
-/rant-
Glad I got that off of my chest. I'm not bitter, though. Not at all.
-rant-
Here's the latest article about the South Campus area and the riots that have plagued the OSU area for the past 5 years.
Let's see...Campus Partners has successfully turned the South Campus area into a ghost town. The old bars (there are now only 2 bars in the area who allow underage students into their establishments, all far from the freshman dorms on the south side) have been closed and torn down, leaving large tracts of mangy dirt and trash along High Street. CP would like to see stores like The Gap and restaurants like Max and Erma's build here, in an area where there is little to no interest in such things and crime is rampant. Instead of trying to create a community atmosphere (such as bringing a grocery store to the 11th Avenue lot and offering low-interest loans for small businesses), CP wants to create a place for alumni to gather before and after games, and for suburbanites to see as they visit the campus. "See, honey, it's not so bad, they even have a Starbucks! This will be a great place for Johnny!"
The number and intensity of the riots have increased due to a number of factors. First, there is no place for underaged kids to drink in a safe, controlled atmosphere. Bars help control the amount of booze one can consume for the simple reason that you have to find someone to buy it for you if you're underage, and/or wait in line to get the stuff. There are things to do at a bar - dance, play pool, body shots, what have you - and they are relatively safe places to be, with security personnel on staff. It's a controlled atmosphere, for all its flaws. So, take away the bars, the dancing, the bouncers and what do you have? A kegger - some random apartment where there's tons of booze and no bartender. Dozens of people standing around outside drinking massive amounts of alcohol. There is no age limit (most of the old bars had an age limit of 18 through 30) and no way to tell who's a student and who's not. And when you have ten or fifteen of these parties per block, trouble is bound to happen.
Second, the troublemakers themselves are not OSU students. Michigan weekend, there were 57 arrests and out of the bunch, one enrolled student. Teenagers from the suburbs come in droves to the campus area to party - these jokers, who kicked in the door of a campus bookstore - were suburban high school students down on campus lookin' for a good time. It's not their neighborhood; too bad it was all caught on tape!
The media has created many of the spectacles as well. The area north of campus is home to many older students and faculty. Until April 29, 2001, when the news media reported on a party they dubbed "Norwichfest", what was typically a calm evening spent hanging out with friends turned into a nightmare of police in riot gear shooting at non-rioting partygoers. One girl was shot in the face with a 'knee-knocker' bullet when she tried to re-enter her apartment - from the roof. She eventually won a $900,000 settlement from the Columbus Police Department. She was disfigured and blinded in one eye; an international business major, she may have to give up her dream of becoming a diplomat in South America. And where were the reporters? Hiding out behind buildings to catch an 'eyewitness' account of the 'riot', in clear violation of the officers' megaphoned voices.
All of this to please some stuffed-shirts. It's been almost 8 years since CP has taken over, and there has been no development in the area they reclaimed. No big corporate congomerate wants to build in what looks like (and according to the local news media, is) a war zone.
-/rant-
Glad I got that off of my chest. I'm not bitter, though. Not at all.
