The News Record 09.19.13

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VOL. CXXXIII ISSUE I • FREE-ADDITIONAL COPIES $1

THE NEWS RECORD THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI’S INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN NEWS ORGANIZATION / THURSDAY, SEPT. 19, 2013

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FORMER FRENCH STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL TALKS HEATED TOPIC

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OPINION: OFFICIALS SHOULD DO MORE TO ENSURE SAFETY

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RAND PAUL

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Lewd, racist sketch circulates in A&S college Leaders targeted in derogatory cartoon displayed on campus earlier in week, Jackson responds ALEXIS O’BRIEN CHIEF REPORTER

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Dean Ronald Jackson responded to a racist cartoon displayed on campus.

CRIME BLOTTER 9/12 Arrests made in aggravated robbery on Ravine Street and West Clifton Avenue Police have arrested three suspects involved in robberies in the 2300 block of Ravine Street and the 2000 block of West Clifton Avenue. While responding to a robbery on Ravine Street at 9:34 p.m. responding officers came across the suspects attempting a robbery at 2099 W. Clifton Ave. Police arrested the suspects and learned at all three suspects were involved in the robbery on Ravine Street. The suspects are Mister Kendall, 20, Rickisha Foggie, 20, and Kayla Kreiger, 18. 9/16 Robbery on Jefferson Avenue Police are investigating a robbery that took place in the 3200 block of Jefferson Avenue around 11 p.m. Two suspects robbed the victim at gunpoint and punched her. 9/17 Arrest made in connection with Stratford Avenue robbery Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a second robbery that occurred less than three hours after a robbery on Jefferson Avenue. A suspect grabbed money from the victims hand and attempted to punch him in the 2300 block of Stratford Avenue around 1:30 a.m. It’s not clear if the suspect was involved in the robbery on Jefferson Avenue. 9/18 Armed suspect possibly in uptown area A suspect involved in a Wednesday morning robbery may be armed and in the area surrounding the University of Cincinnati. The suspect stole a 9mm handgun and is considered to be armed and dangerous. The suspects name is Chris Smith, 19. Police are warning people to not approach him. Crime Stoppers If anyone has information about these, or any other crimes, please call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040. Crime Stoppers offers rewards for information leading to the arrests. FOLLOW US @NEWSRECORD_UC ON TWITTER FOR BREAKING CRIME INFO

Ronald Jackson, the University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences dean, and Carol Tonge, A&S Recruitment and Retention Initiatives assistant dean, were derogatorily depicted in a cartoon posted around campus and circulated among faculty members in an email this week. “When we see cartoon images, caricatures or any discourse for that matter that is designed to demean, dismiss, or devalue difference, we all ought to be outraged,” Jackson told The News Record in a statement. “No single individual ought to stand alone in a just community.” The detailed sketch depicted Jackson and Tonge as the

king and queen of A&S, and suggested Tonge’s recent appointment represented racial bias in the college when hiring new administrators. “We’re not really sure where it came from or who put it out there, but it’s something that’s not acceptable at all,” said student body president Joe Blizzard. Copies of the cartoon were posted in campus buildings sometime on Monday night and were removed by Tuesday morning. “This isn’t just about principle and the UC community. It’s personal. It’s about our office,” said A&S Assistant Dean Tara Warden in an email to staff members. “I am hurt for my colleague and friend [Carol Tonge] with whom I’ve worked for 10 years, amazed at her strength and resilience, grateful for her continued dedication to continue the fight,” she said. Of the 444 total A&S faculty members, which includes professors, associate professors, assistant professors and SEE DEAN PG 2

RESURRECTING SHORT VINE

MADISON SCHMIDT PHOTO EDITOR

The new Flats on Vine development in one of the newest buildings erected on the re-surging Short Vine located several blocks east of the University of Cincinnati main campus.

Street east of campus to see eateries, public parking, student housing soon BRIAN SHUPE STAFF REPORTER

Now that U Square @ the Loop is complete on Calhoun Street, Short Vine is next in line for a multi-million dollar makeover. Corryville’s business district is amidst a great transformation that will bring new eateries, student housing and additional parking to the area around campus, making UC an even more desirable location for current and potential students. Aside from the vast selection of restaurants on Short Vine, Uptown Rental Properties is in the middle of a project designed to build housing for approximately 1,000 students. The development, called Views on Vine, will

bring 280 more public parking spaces to the area, said Dan Schimberg, president and CEO of Uptown Rental Properties. The project will likely be completed by summer 2015. “Short Vine has the best highway access of any of the business districts that surround the University of Cincinnati.” Schimberg said. “We feel strongly that Short Vine will be the go-to entertainment district around UC, and we also feel that Short Vine will be much more sustainable.” Additionally, Kroger and Walgreen’s will be torn down and completely redeveloped by the end of 2014, Schimberg said. The area is attracting some of Cincinnati’s most popular restaurants, including Taste of Belgium, which will be opening another one of its bistros on Short Vine. The Over-the-Rhine eatery has garnished a lot of praise for their

delectable twist on classic Belgian food. Taste of Belgium owner, Jean-Francois Flechet, said he chose this area because of its close proximity to a young, collegiate crowd. “I think Short Vine has gained enough momentum to be the next [downtown] Vine Street,” Flechet said. The new eatery will feature over twenty beers on draft, primarily focused on Belgian-style brews. Other notable features include a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, an outdoor patio and a respectable wine selection. Fans of the Over-the-Rhine restaurant can still look forward to the trusty waffle and chicken combo to be served just off campus by mid-October. Business owners already on Short Vine aren’t scared of the new competition. SEE SHORT VINE PG 2

Data-driven police work promising, crime against students down UC, Cincinnati police predict crime using database, see optimistic, short-term results in problem areas BEN GOLDSCHMIDT NEWS EDITOR

The results are in, and data shows the University of Cincinnati’s latest efforts to curb off-campus crime are working. At the President’s Safety Committee meeting UC public safety presented its data-driven efforts to ramp up patrols on areas dense in crime against students. By compiling data from the UC Police Department and Cincinnati Police Department, police are able to predict when and where crimes will take place and concentrate their patrols in

those areas. Warner Street is a hub of crime near campus, and as a result UCPD and CPD increased patrols in August. Only four students were victims of crime in the Clifton Uptown Fairview neighborhood after increased patrols were implemented. “It wouldn’t be uncommon for three or four students to be robbed in one night in that area,” said Cincinnati district five police officer Paul Neudigate. “So only having four crimes [against students] in the span of 28 days is superb.” More information is needed to quantify how the datadriven patrols are affecting crime in the area, said Robin Engel, director of the Institute of Crime Science. Some committee members expressed concern that concentrating

patrols will simply push crime to areas outside of the police’s focus areas. “We are seeing a slight push outside those areas, but it’s too early to see whether or not those are isolated incidents,” Engel said. “Ultimately, the patrols are working.” Interim UC Police Chief Jeff Corcoran said he’s received a lot of positive feedback from students noticing patrols in their area. “About 99 percent of the input we get are complaints. People are motivated to complain, they’re not always motivated to point out when something is good, so when we get positive feedback we must be doing something right,” Corcoran said. The next step – and most difficult – is addressing the SEE CRIME PG 2

Students win big in sustainability competition, come home with $40,000 Winning idea creates cheap biodiesel fuel using substances usually found in landfills NATALIE COLEMAN CONTRIBUTOR

PROVIDED

University of Cincinnati students Ronald Gillespie, Ethan Jacobs and Oingshi Tu and others accept the Odebrecht Award for Sustainable Development at a national conference Sept. 9.

Three University of Cincinnati students were recently recognized at a national competition for their efforts to change the future of sustainable energy. Lindner College of Business students Ronald Gillespie and Ethan Jacobs and College of Engineering and Applied Science student Qingshi Tu brought their project — a startup company called Effuelent — to the Odebrecht Award for Sustainable Development competition Sept. 9, clinching the top prize and $40,000. “I see this becoming one of the largest and most successful technologies that UC has brought to commercialization,” Gillespie said. Using technology developed by UC professor Mingming Lu, Effuelent extracts feedstock, which is fat, oil, and grease from wastewater

CHIEF.NEWSRECORD@GMAIL.COM / 513.556.5908

— substances normally sent to landfills — and produces a low-cost biodiesel fuel. The idea for Effuelent began in 2010 when UC’s biodiesel research group was exploring alternate, sustainable feedstock. In 2012, Jacobs and Gillespie joined forces with Tu and called the idea Effuelent, and started promoting the startup in contests and competitions. The group created a rough business plan and presentation under the guidance of Charles Matthews, executive director of management in LCB, then pitched the idea in January for the first time to judges and investors at the Ohio Clean Energy Challenge. They won first place at the Innovation Quest Elevator Pitch Competition in March, as well as $5,000 from a Venture Labs E-Team Workshop in Cambridge, Mass. “One year ago, I wouldn’t have said that an entrepreneurial venture was in my short term plan, but ask me now, and I’d tell you it’s what I SEE SUSTAINABLE PG 2


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