By: Valarie June

Valarie June
Sat, 13 Jun 2020 17:28:11 +0000

I'm confused about the definition of "university community" and what that means to some folks. Please bear with me for another history lesson: In 1995 OSU created Campus Partners, a community urban redevelopment plan. Under the guise of Campus Partners, OSU encroached upon the boundaries of nearby neighborhoods around its Columbus campus. The university's boundaries now began north of Lane Avenue to Arcadia, east of High to the railroad tracks, and west of High to Olentangy River Road. Everything within this boundary area was now considered the "university community." CP/OSU did everything they could possibly think of, with the blessing of the City of Columbus, to remove what they considered "undesirable" businesses. Local, long time homeowners in the area faced manipulation tactics to "spruce up" their properties or sell out for "redevelopment purposes." I'm happy to say during that time period most homeowners and neighborhood businesses were able to thwart CP/OSU "initiatives." But like it or not we were now considered a part of the university community. So my questions are: when asking that the university "divest" from Columbus Police is this just for the campus itself? Are the surrounding communities a part of the "university community?" I find it puzzling that OSU faculty now think they have a moral and political obligation to speak for "surrounding communities." They sure weren't around when CP was putting the screws to neighborhood residents and business.