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THE NEWS RECORD NEWSRECORD.ORG
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014
UC receives over a million to grow science and technology careers Greater Cincinnati works to generate high college student interest in STEM CHRISTINA DROBNEY | CONTRIBUTOR
MADISON SCHMIDT| PHOTO EDITOR A grant, given by the National Science will also aid UC in encouraging careers in the medical sciences.
OPINION
Although crime decreases, some still fear Clifton streets
With a $1.2 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation, the University of Cincinnati is working to produce the next generation of talented workers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics — commonly referred to as STEM. In an effort between UC, local high schools and the local information technology industry, a new program called Design-based Information Technologies Learning Experiences (DITLE) is due to launch in September. The program, meant to attract students to focus on IT programs, is expected to reach nearly 5,000 students in a period of three years. Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions and Cardinal Solutions are partners
in the project, a joint effort including many local resources. INTERalliance in Greater Cincinnati and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers are also partnering with UC on the program. The list of local high schools involved includes: Aiken, Hughes STEM, Withrow, Oak Hills, Taft Information Technology and Walnut Hills. “[The program] will promote information technology with secondaryschool students,” said Chengcheng Li, assistant professor of information technology and the project’s principal investigator. “It will prepare educators of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to integrate IT skill into their instruction and expand the infrastructure that supports IT education.” UC plans to use the grant to address the shortage of workers and jobs within the information technology fields in the Greater Cincinnati area. SEE SCIENCE PG 3
SG SNEAK PEAK
NATALIE COLEMAN | NEWS EDITOR
I have an innate fear of the dark, dangerous streets around campus. Never have I been attacked, robbed, or assaulted on these streets. Never have I witnessed a break in or a car window being smashed. Never have I been a victim of these things. And yet, I fear those streets. I avoid them. I take the long way around. I beg my sister to come pick me up from campus—sometimes she does. Last week when she did, she brought our 80-pound Newfoundland with her in the back seat. She said she wanted protection. Even in our cars, we still fear these streets. Sometimes, I make the mistake of telling my father when I walk home alone. I tell him so I can prove to him that I didn’t get robbed. ‘Look dad, it didn’t happen to me! It isn’t as bad as you think!’ One night, maybe I won’t be so lucky. I’m lucky that he cares enough to be angry at me. I don’t blame my dad for getting angry when I tell him I’m walking in Clifton alone at night. I understand the way his heart sinks, imagining his child is wandering the dark streets surrounding campus. His mind must run wild with the possibilities. Some are valid, and some aren’t. In his mind, he’s helpless. He’s terrified that one day I won’t make it back to the apartment. Maybe one day I won’t. I can’t know how I would face a situation where someone walks up to me with a gun and asks for my belongings. I like to think I’d resist— I don’t want to lose the thousands of dollars I walk around with every day: my laptop, my phone, my camera. Almost every student is carrying around the same things at any given moment.
The targets on our backs are there. And no one can change that. Almost every day, we receive the crime alerts from the University of Cincinnati Police Department. Another group of students gets their phones stolen. Another student was robbed of his or her wallet. My immediate thought is to avoid the streets for a few days—maybe weeks. I adapt to the crime happening around campus. I bend my route home to avoid the crimes. Normally I’d walk right down Straight Street and hang a left on Luna Avenue. During the day, it seems fine. The porches have people and hanging flowers. The dogs are resting in the sunlight in their yards. But at night, Straight Street feels like a gauntlet. I have to part-run, part-fall, part-trip down the street until I can power walk the last few feet to my door. My hands are clenched, I’m on high alert, my eyes are pivoting at anything that moves. In this time, a rouge cat on the sidewalk might terrify me. I have not always been this way. I am not naturally a scared person. It’s usually the opposite. For four years, I went to high school downtown at the School for Creative and Performing arts deep in Over-The-Rhine—13th and Sycamore were my usual stemming grounds. This was not a very safe area. In fact, it still isn’t. But for some reason, I wasn’t scared walking those streets. Sometimes even late at night, after a particularly long orchestra concert. I liked walking the streets alone. It was empowering. I lived there. I loved staying late to hang out with my friends in the city. Maybe back then I was ignorant to the crime happening around me that could have easily happened to me. Maybe I was just a naive high school student. Now in Clifton, something has changed in me. The crime alerts remind me of why I should be scared, but these are not an accurate depiction of what is really happening on the streets. But regardless, this is how students react to hearing about crime near them. Our behavior changes, we default to fear. We lock ourselves in our apartments, only leaving for short intervals to pick up a late night snack before we’re back again, hiding in our homes. SEE SAFETY PG 3
MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR Bleuzette Marshall, chief diversity officer, said the results of UC’s first-ever climate assessment will be released at a town hall meeting in mid-October.
Chief diversity officer privately previews first-time assesment results to student government KATIE COBURN AND KINSLEY SLIFE
The University of Cincinnati conducted its first-ever climate assessment spring semester. Bleuzette Marshall, chief diversity officer, privately revealed highlights of the assessment’s results during the student government meeting Thursday. The assessment consisted of a customized online survey that looked at diversity and inclusion at UC through multiple lenses, Marshall said. “As a strategy to enhance a culture of inclusion, we conducted a climate assessment to provide a snapshot of the university’s current diversity and inclusion strengths and opportunities for improvement,” Marshall said.“Results of the assessment will serve as a baseline to measure our progress over time.” An invitation to take the assessment was distributed via email to the university community April 17, 2014. Faculty, staff and students were allotted one week to participate in the survey. Shivam Shah, student body vice president, said the survey was a necessary and appropriate step for UC to take toward increasing diversity and inclusion. A company that regularly implements surveys of this kind to universities created the assessment’s questions. UC’s diversity department then modified the questions to fit the
MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR Christina Beer, student government president, discusses the survey’s benefits.
university’s community, Marshall said. The assessment maintained participants’ anonymity — Marshall said she was confident this did not skew results. “This survey was done via third party so it was done without any bias towards what’s been happening here at the university, which is something that I really like,” said Christina Beer, student body president.“It gave us the opportunity to look at ourselves and say, ‘These are some of the opportunities that we can see in need of improvements.’” The university completed the assessment and is currently reviewing its data, Marshall said. Results will be officially released at a university-wide Town Hall that is estimated to take place mid-October. The university will use the assessment’s results to evaluate UC’s diversity and inclusion status and to calculate where to invest resources that would grow the university. Respondent feedback provides identification of necessary practices that will enhance the recruitment, retention and development of diverse talent and create an inclusive environment where everyone can learn, grow and thrive, Marshall said in an email after the student government meeting’s conclusion. “There were a lot of good things that came out of the survey, especially the fact that 95% of students said that they wanted to graduate from the University of Cincinnati,” Beer said.“It shows that we have a lot of pride in our university but that there are still a lot of opportunities for improvement, which there always will be.” Marshall said UC should conduct the climate assessment every two years based on its diversity plan. Marshall also talked about the university’s recent improvement in diversity and inclusion. “With a concerted effort from many individuals across the university, we are moving the dial on our campus-wide diversity and inclusion initiatives,” Marshall said.“From recruitment and retention to promotion and accountability, members of our university are stepping up to make a difference.” Alongside this year’s record enrollment, UC’s retention rates have increased to 87 percent, which Marshall said is a record high and only three percentage points shy of UC’s goal to reach a 90 percent retention rate. “In less than a year, we’ve tripled the number of underrepresented minority faculty members thanks to the Strategic Opportunity Hiring initiative in Provost’s Office,” Marshall said. To ensure that everyone actively participates in building an inclusive environment at UC, President Ono and Provost Davenport incorporated diversity and inclusion into the performance evaluation process for their direct reports, Marshall said. “A lot has happened within a year and can be summed up in one word – progress,” Marshall said.“We can’t rest on our laurels because there is still work to be done, but I’m extremely proud and excited about the progress we’ve made so far.”
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