Oct. 10, 2016

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Clifton pet parade

Saturday’s pet parade let Clifton residents meet some of their furry neighbors

Bearcat football

UC’s recent losses make it seem like the football program is moving backwards

THE NEWS RECORD / UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI NEWSRECORD.ORG

MONDAY, OCT. 10, 2016

Celebrating Clifton’s eccentric music ISABELLA JANSEN | STAFF REPORTER

AARON DORSTEN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Lagniappe highlights the diversity of Clifton’s music scene with Cajun tunes at CliftonFest, Saturday, Oct. 8 2016.

The Clifton neighborhood is home to a variety of individuals stemming from a very diverse background and culture. On Friday and Saturday, the community celebrated its diversity through Clifton Fest, a family-friendly event that brings together many genres of music on Ludlow Avenue. “We do our best to represent a wide variety of genres, and all different styles of music,” said Liz Wu, the woman behind booking the bands for the festival. Genres included jazz, Brazilian, Cajun, MiddleEastern fusion, funk styles

and many more. The festivities kicked off Friday night on Clifton Plaza with wine tasting and jazz music that featured Rags to Riches — a rag-time band — and Jump n’ Jive, a 17-piece swing band. On Saturday, the bands performed on stage near the intersection of Ludlow and Middleton until 11 p.m. Phil DeGreg and Trio Brasileiro, Lagniappe, Soul Refugees, Rumbon, Keshvar Project and The Almighty Get Down all performed. Each band represented a different genre of music, and performed for an hour and a half. There was something for everyone to enjoy. The band, Soul

Refugees, a soul and rhythm-and-blues group has a band member that is actually a resident of the Clifton neighborhood. Wu described the Clifton music scene as being “extremely eclectic.” “Clifton is a neighborhood where all different backgrounds come together and the music represents that,” said Wu. Between all of the performances on Saturday, there were many forms of entertainment on Clifton Plaza. Saturday’s events started at 9 a.m. with a 5-km run that began at Trailside Nature Center in Burnet Woods. The Fest also included a pet parade that

ended on the main stage at Ludlow with judging of best costumes. There was also a Kids Zone that included an inflatable slide, carnival games, balloon art and live performances that included puppets and magicians. If all of this wasn’t enough, Ludlow was closed to traffic allowing vendors and booths to fill up the street. There was even activities with storefront businesses and local restaurant specials. The entire event was free and open to the public, welcoming all ages to come and celebrate art, culture and the diverse Clifton community.

Huggins not in favor of Big 12 Ex UC basketball coach gives input on the big move DAVID WYSONG | SPORTS EDITOR

Many experts have given their input on the possible expansion of the Big 12 Conference; now it has reached one of the most successful basketball coaches that have ever donned the Bearcat red and black ― Bob Huggins. One of the most substantial reasons for the conference to expand is to enhance the football landscape. In order to add a football conference championship game, the Big 12 needs 12 teams ―as they currently only have 10. Adding a championship game helps their chances of putting one of their teams in the four spots of the College Football Playoff. But increasing to 12 could hurt the conference’s basketball league, according to Huggins. Right now, Big 12 basketball teams play each other twice a year, once at each school’s home court, but that would no longer be possible if the conference was to expand. “If they joined the league, I don’t think it would be guaranteed that we would come back [to Cincinnati] once

a year. That happens now because there’s 10 teams and it’s a round robin, if you add a couple teams then you can no longer play round robin,” Huggins said

in an interview with The News Record. Due to the chance of the conference

no longer having a round-robin setup during league play, Huggins is not in favor of expansion. “I kind of like the league the way it is,” Huggins said. “We have really the only true champion, the true league champion. You look at the [Southeastern Conference], the [Atlantic Coast Conference], they don’t play some teams. A lot of it has to do with who you play at home, as opposed to who you play on the road. With us it’s that we play everybody twice.” Huggins, now currently the head coach of West Virginia University, coached the Bearcat basketball team from 1989-2005, posting a record of 398 wins and 128 losses. He took the school to one Final Four, three Elite Eights and four trips to the Sweet 16. Huggins also led the 1999-00 Bearcat team to a 29-4 record, where they were ranked No. 1 in the country for 12 weeks of the season. The team ultimately fell in the second round of the NCAA tournament after their leading scorer, and No. 1 pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, Kenyon Martin broke his leg in the conference tournament.

The 86 Club Coffee Bar displays tattoo artistry JEN HAM | STAFF REPORTER

Peeking out from under the rolled sleeves of a weathered flannel is arguably the world’s most functional portfolio. Tattoo artist Jaimie C. Filer wears his heart, or rather his artwork, on his sleeve. From 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, the 86 Club Coffee Bar and Concert Venue hosted their October art feature. Since 2008, Filer and Anthony Mansfield, or just Tank as he is more commonly known, have perused Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati breweries, cafes and art galleries creating live art, motivated by their backdrops and day’s experience. “We are like a two-man band,” said Tank. The two-man band disclosed their humble beginnings to The News Record while they collaboratively worked on an octopus wrapping its arms around a coffee cup in hues of felt-tipped markers. Filer began dabbling in the arts at a young age when his father, an artist himself, discovered that handing his son paper and a pen was a good distraction from his enthusiastic love of kicking things. Tank also got into art at a young age. “I am an only child so I had to entertain myself,” he said. “My grandparents owned a company that dealt in fire trucks and their office

was attached to the back of their house and they would have papers that someone would mess up on with the copier and so they would throw it out but if there was a blank space on the back they would give it to me and I would draw on it.” Filer describes his current style as more tattoo-y, even with pieces that are not explicitly tattoos, while Tank creates more illustrative work, paying homage to the ink pen. Both artists shared their experience with how art extends beyond its medium. “If you get a big tattoo you’re going to hang out with that person a lot. This weekend, I’m going Saturday night to hang

out with two of my clients that I only met through tattooing them. I formed that friendship from spending hours tattooing this couple,” said Filer. Filer went on to say that the first person he ever tattooed was his mixedmartial-arts instructor. Tank shared that he has gotten multiple tattoos by Filer including his favorite Homer tattoo, along with his apple and paintbrush tattoos. As an art teacher for several years, Tank viewed art as a way of engaging young adults, building a connection with them and helping influence them to be good people. For the rest of October, Filer’s pieces will grace

the walls of the 86 Club, showcasing his play with pop culture and traditional Japanese tattoo technique. “Cincinnati has a lot of really killer artists but not a lot of places to show stuff,” said Tank. Filer and Tank agree that getting work shown is a combination of traveling venues and talking with other artists. “The 86 Club saw a Cincinnati piece I did online and they contacted me about hanging my stuff here,” said Filer. Now with social media the whole world can view any given art piece, but there is still no denying that showcasing pieces live offers a more intimate connection.

JEAN PLEITEZ | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Jaimie Filer shares artistic background and inspirations with viewers at the 86 Club Coffee Bar, Thursday, October 6, 2016.

ALEXANDRA TAYLOR | PHOTO EDITOR

Danny O’Conner discusses Next Lives Here Summit coming to campus Oct. 20.

Next Lives Here to

be hosted at UC JUSTIN REUTTER | SENIOR REPORTER

The University of Cincinnati will host the Cincinnati Next Lives Here Summit — a showcase of startups, innovators and experts in the community — on Oct. 20 at 12-6 p.m. The one-day event will start with a food truck festival on McMicken Commons followed by presentations from speakers on partnerships, innovations and “what it means to be a disruptor,” according to the event page NextLivesHere.com. Disruptors affect change by thinking outside the box, according to Wyzerr CEO Natasia Malaihollo. “A disruptor to me is someone that changes behavior by introducing a new methodology, idea, process or technology that makes things much easier or cheaper for everyone,” Malaihollo said. “Disruptors are almost always breaking some kind of rule or rigid standard, but they move mankind forward by doing so.” Malaihollo will be a speaker at the event along with other startup founders such as Dotloop CEO Austin Allison and LISNR CEO Rodney Williams. UC officials like Interim President Beverly Davenport and other figures from the community will also speak at the event. The day will include a competition called “idea pitch,” where 12 UC student teams “test their brainchild against some of the best and brightest in the industry” according to the website. The top three teams will move on to the “final pitch,” where they will work to solve a real world problem. Danny O’Connor, the media communications lead for the conference, said he hopes students take away a need for connection

THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

and collaboration. “There is already an incredible amount of innovation in different silos throughout campus,” said O’Connor. “If we bring people together from around Cincinnati, we could create the next big thing.” Likewise, Williams said that he would like to see Cincinnati become the most diverse, inclusive and viable city to start a company in the Midwest. “We have a lot of untapped marketing and branding talent here,” said Williams. “We have lots energetic talent coming from our local universities. We also have some of the best regional food in America.” Cincinnati can play a role in terms of innovation in startups on a global level, according to Williams. “We’re getting there, but we can always move more quickly,” he said. Specific innovations in the region might include the expansion of UberEats, according to Malaihollo. “It’s super convenient for startup founders who can’t really just leave the office to travel across town to get something to eat.” On campus, UC could create innovation centers or spaces for people to work and collaborate. Some Ivy League schools already use these, according to O’Connor. “We are certainly moving in that direction already, but we need to really take a look at what that will actually look like,” said O’Connor. Partners of Next Lives Here include big names such as Macy’s and Procter & Gamble Co., as well as a number of startups like the aforementioned Wyzerr and LISNR. O’Connor hopes the Next Lives Here Summit will become an inaugural event.

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