The Buckeyes and the university area
Fall quarter at OSU is about to start, and we've already seen two home football games. Like myself, many long-time area residents have something of a 'love-hate' relationship with the university football team. While we recognize the huge economic benefits that are received by the neighborhoods near the university, they come at a substantial social cost. Traffic, noise, garbage, vandalism, and other nuisances combine to almost literally cripple our neighborhoods for the entirety of game days. Traffic along Summit Street in front of my house was at a stand still for hours after the Miami University game had ended. Garbage in the streets remained uncollected for several days afterward. Students' parties lasted well into early Sunday morning, making sleep difficult for those who live in areas with significant student populations.
This is something with which we must contend for eight weekends every year.
Let me be clear - I understand that OSU's football program isn't going away, and it's popularity isn't going to abate, either. There's nothing that university-area residents can do to affect that, and we realize it completely. The issues here are largely those of frustration and disassociation from the public consciousness, almost to the point of anomie.
For many people whose association with the university is limited mainly to attending football games, the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the university are anonymous; they are little more than parking lots with some houses and apartment buildings mixed in. The idea that these neighborhoods might have actual residents, aside from college students and the poor, does not seem to be countenanced by the tens of thousands who descend on us several times each season. Conversations with neighbors and other area residents have shown me that I am not alone in the feeling that, for OSU football fans who drive in to watch the games, the university area is treated like a combination garbage bin and parking lot.
Perhaps I am exaggerating.
This is something with which we must contend for eight weekends every year.
Let me be clear - I understand that OSU's football program isn't going away, and it's popularity isn't going to abate, either. There's nothing that university-area residents can do to affect that, and we realize it completely. The issues here are largely those of frustration and disassociation from the public consciousness, almost to the point of anomie.
For many people whose association with the university is limited mainly to attending football games, the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the university are anonymous; they are little more than parking lots with some houses and apartment buildings mixed in. The idea that these neighborhoods might have actual residents, aside from college students and the poor, does not seem to be countenanced by the tens of thousands who descend on us several times each season. Conversations with neighbors and other area residents have shown me that I am not alone in the feeling that, for OSU football fans who drive in to watch the games, the university area is treated like a combination garbage bin and parking lot.
Perhaps I am exaggerating.
posted by Jim @ 10:46 AM
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