VOL. CXXXVII ISSUE XVIV • FREE-ADDITIONAL COPIES $1
THE NEWS RECORD THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI’S INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN NEWS ORGANIZATION / MONDAY, NOV. 25, 2013
UC OUTLAST HOUSTON IN ERROR-FILLED MUD BOWL
BEARCATS SURVIVE
UC BESTS COHEN BROTHERS BUCKEYES
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, EARLY LOOK REVEALS THIN PLOT LINE
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DRAG RACE DAZZLES
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NightRide program expands, addresses inefficiency concerns More vans, employees, technology improve night-time transportation ALEXIS O’BRIEN NEWS EDITOR
PROVIDED UC’s NightRide program is adding three new vans to its fleet and hiring 30 new student employees to improve services.
UC economics study: Cincinnati Metro system most effective
University of Cincinnati NightRide passengers will notice increased van accessibility and shorter wait times beginning in January, after many students have experienced an incompetent safety ride system. “We’re going to be much more efficient in what we do with what we have,” said James Vestring, NightRide coordinator and UC police officer. UC is in the process of expanding its point-to-point, free night hours shuttle service provided to the campus community
to include three additional minivans, improved technology and 30 new employees. As the service currently operates, NightRide operators miss about two-thirds of calls from students requesting pickup from a location on or around campus and drop off within a one-mile-radius of the university. Students are also experiencing long wait times. “Either they don’t answer or it’s an hour to an hour-and-a-half wait,” said Jacklyn Hyde, student body vice president. Bob Ambach, vice president for administration and finance, said during peak hours on Thursday through Saturday nights, NightRide operators receive 100 plus calls per hour and operate a failed system of taking those calls and then calling the van SEE NIGHTRIDE PG 2
TRAGEDY STRIKES Fire leaves UC basketball player’s family homeless
JAMIE MAIER STAFF REPORTER
A study conducted by the University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center found Cincinnati’s Metro bus system is most effective when compared to its peer cities. “The UC Economic Center study highlighted our strength in operational efficiency,” said Metro CEO Terry Garcia Crews. “We’re proud to be good stewards of the tax dollars entrusted to us.” The study compared Cincinnati to 11 of its peer cities — including Indianapolis; Louisville, Ky.; Columbus, Ohio; Cleveland and St. Louis — as defined by Agenda 360, an organization part of the region chamber action plan to transform Cincinnati, and Vision 2015, a Northern Kentucky community improvement organization. The study ranked Metro at the top when compared to other bus-only cities and the middle of the pack with cities that utilize both buses and either light rail or subway systems, said Michael Jones, director of research at the Economics Center. “Cincinnati does very well when you just look at bus rider cities,” Jones said. The study looked at Metro’s performance level in multiple categories — operational efficiency, service level and fiscal impact. With bus-only cities — Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, Ky., and Raleigh, N.C. — Metro ranked top in operational efficiency and service provided and fifth in the amount of local and state public funding it receives for its operations. “Metro riders pay a larger percentage compared to other cities,” Jones said. Because Metro receives the majority of its operational cost funding from riders’ fares, less tax dollars support the system, increasing its efficiency when compared to peer cities, Jones said. When looking at service level, the study analyzed factors such as number of trips and passenger miles, Metro ranked seventh overall, implying that while the system is efficient, it is underutilized by the city, Jones said. As a result of the study and their own research in 2012, Metro will continue to role out its go*Forward transit plan, which includes short-term improvement for 2013 and its long-term vision. Like its peer cities, Metro is implementing Bus Rapid Transit as a new mode option. BRT involves limited stops at set platforms, time of arrival signs and dedicated lanes. Cincinnati is also exploring commuter light and heavy rail and the streetcar as other mass transit options. Metro also plans to expand its service level with new cross-town, neighborhood circulators, and connector routes and on-call small bus services. The services will all be connected through new transit SEE METRO PG 2
PHIL DIDION PHOTO EDITOR UC basketball player Jeremiah Davis III’s home in Muncie, Ind. was severally damaged in an electrical fire Tuesday night. Insurance officials have told the family it could take six months to make the house habitable. No one was injured in the fire that left debris and a strong odor throughout the house. UC is currently looking into ways it can aide the family.
UC community searching for ways to help family displaced by house fire RYAN HOFFMAN NEWS EDITOR
After a destructive fire to his childhood home, University of Cincinnati basketball player Jeremiah Davis III and his family won’t be going home for the holidays. An electrical fire ravaged Davis’ parents’ home in Muncie, Ind. Tuesday night, leaving burnt debris and a strong odor throughout the house, which is uninhabitable. “It’s Thanksgiving you know and I’m just thankful for my family,” Davis III said. “They’re what’s most important. Family is the biggest thing.” His family — father Jeremiah Davis II, mother Maria Davis and his brother Aaron Davis — is currently living in a hotel, but both Davis III and his family are happy nobody was injured in the incident. If family is most important, his teammates and coaches are a close second. He said the support he’s received has been invaluable. “They’ve been very supportive,” Davis said. “They gave me their condolences and have been trying to make me laugh to just get my mind off of that. The coaches have
done a great job. They called my family and made sure everybody was alright.” Currently, the university is analyzing possible ways it could help the Davis family but the process is not easy, said Mick Cronin, men’s basketball head coach. Cronin, who went through a similar process when former UC player Mike Williams’ parents’ house burned down, said the process requires coordination with the NCAA to allow the university to raise funds for the family. “We’re working on it but it’s a process,” Cronin said. “Nothing ever goes quickly with the NCAA.” The Davis family is extremely grateful for the UC community’s support, along with support from community organizations in Muncie. “To me, it’s been very important,” Davis II said. “When you’re going through a traumatic experience, you need that kind of help and kind of guidance, because you’re mind isn’t where it usually is. It was almost crucial that there was people, individuals, that you could lean back on, that help support you, encourage you, those kinds of things. Very, very important.” The fire started in the attic around 11 p.m. Tuesday. Aaron, Davis III’s brother, noticed certain lights and appliances were turning on and off.
“I noticed that some electricity was off and some lights were on and some weren’t and there was a bad smell throughout the house,” Aaron Davis said. Aaron Davis quickly woke up his parents and they called the fire department. Crews had to cut a hole in the roof and the ceiling inside the house during the nearly two-and-a-half hour battle to put out the flames. “It really puts things into perspective,” SEE FIRE PG 2
PHIL DIDION PHOTO EDITOR Jeremiah Davis II assesses the damage in his single story home, which was damaged in a fire Tuesday night.
Political opposites find common ground on social issues, individual freedoms Opposing political players discuss tea party, healthcare; agree on some issues MELANIE TITANIC SCHEFFT STAFF REPORTER
MELANIE TITANIC SCHEFFT STAFF REPORTER TV personality Jerry Springer speaks at UC Thursday.
The University of Cincinnati played host to a rare instance of political agreement between two opposing, local political players Thursday. The discussion focused on the tea party and health care. “First of all, there are a lot of things that the tea party and I agree on,” said Jerry Springer, former Cincinnati Mayor and talk show host. “If you think about it, the basis of the tea party is individual freedom. Just like them, we want to be free, we want to be able to make our own decisions, and on many issues I agree that the government should not be in our bedrooms, telling us who we can sleep with … so there are many things where we do agree.”
George Brunemann, chairman of the Cincinnati Tea Party, said the tea party’s main focus is fiscal issues and individual liberty. “The three main principles of the tea party are fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets,” Brunemann said. “Those are the only things we talk about; they are the only three things we care about. Sticking our noses into social issues is like worrying about the drapes when the house is on fire.” Springer said he never says anything bad about the tea party because he “gets” the tea party. But when it comes to health care, Springer said his views differ from the tea party’s. “Every person, simply by virtue of being a human being should be entitled to eat, entitled to have a doctor treat SEE POLITICS PG 2
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MELANIE TITANIC SCHEFFT STAFF REPORTER Cincinnati tea party chair George Brunemann at UC.