The Lantern - February 1 2018 by The Lantern

The student voice of the Ohio State University

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Year 138, Issue No. 7

GUIDE

Thursday, February 1, 2018

‘A lot of change in the last 20 years’

PHOTOS BY JACK WESTERHEIDE | PHOTO EDITOR

LANTERN ILLUSTRATION BY JL LACAR | MANAGING EDITOR FOR DESIGN

Students now calling Weinland Park home

The small pocket of housing surrounding the namesake elementary school southeast of Ohio State’s campus has always been an outlier in relation to the rest of the University District. While students inhabit virtually every corner of the University District, Weinland Park was not emphasized as a spot for students, said Erin Prosser, the director of community development for Campus Partners, WEINLAND PARK CONTINUES ON 9

SEARCH CONTINUES ON 6

JACK WESTERHEIDE | PHOTO EDITOR

MATT DORSEY Engagement Editor dorsey.215@osu.edu When Ohio State’s Campus Partners collaborated with the City of Columbus to revitalize

the Weinland Park neighborhood in the early 2000s, it began a process of making the area more desirable to live for everyone, including students. Now, the neighborhood, once thought of as forgotten by the city, is “getting better,” according to a 2016 survey by Ohio State’s Kirwan Institute. In fact, 32 percent more residents believe this to be true than did six years before.

JACOB MYERS Managing Editor for Content myers.1669@osu.edu The off-campus housing leasing period is often one of the last things students want to think about during Autumn Semester; they just moved in to their newest residence and immediately have to begin making plans for next school year, or risk the options for off-campus housing being limited. That’s what happened to Katherine Weddell, a third-year in marketing who was scrambling to find a residence for the 2018-19 school year when she returned to campus after winter break. With her two current roommates graduating, classwork piling up and deciding to search for housing by herself strictly online, she had to resort to her business fraternity group chat of 150 members to finally find a vacancy. She signed the lease for it two weeks ago. “It was more procrastination than anything else,” she said. Weddell’s situation represents a question many students at Ohio State looking for off-campus housing are forced to answer each year: when to start looking. Much of the search depends on preferences in price, amenities and location, but understanding the Ohio State off-campus housing market is difficult for those who haven’t had experience searching. Kyle Weddington, a fourth-year

An aerial view of Weinland Park Elementary School located in the heart of the neighborhood southeast of Ohio State’s campus and north of downtown. OWEN DAUGHERTY Assistant Campus Editor daugherty.260@osu.edu

Finding an off-campus home: now or never

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2 | The Lantern | Thursday, February 1, 2018

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STAYING PUT

University District has more residents than just students. KEVIN STANKIEWICZ Editor-in-Chief stankiewicz.16@osu.edu For most students, their four — or so — years living in the University District flies by. One year (or two) in the dorms; maybe a year in an apartment before moving into a house. If you’re lucky and find a place you enjoy, you might stay there for a second year. Or perhaps you will find a better spot,

one less decayed with roommates who take out the trash and leave their dirty dishes in the sink for no more than two days. Your time is filled with class and more class; work and more work; parties and trips to bars, and more parties and more trips to bars. Then you (hopefully) graduate, and it’s over. You move out of the University District. If you stay in Columbus, perhaps you go to Clintonville, Grandview or a nearby

KEVIN STANKIEWICZ | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Pasquale Grado has lived in the University District for more than four decades. He has lived at his current home on West Duncan Street since 1997.

suburb. That’s not the trajectory every current University District resident takes or has taken, though. Not Ed and Dianne Efsic. Not Pasquale Grado, and many others. Grado and the Efsics are what you’d call long-term University District residents, not students who call the neighborhood home temporarily. For Grado, it hasn’t been four years — try more than four decades. For the Efsics, it’s been almost the same, only

KEVIN STANKIEWICZ | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Dianne and Ed Efsic have owned their house on Indianola Avenue since 1967. While the neighborhood has changed, they have stayed.

Pasquale Grado “Where am I?” Pasquale Grado asked as he sat with a friend in a car, passing the rural landscape on their way from the Columbus airport to Ohio State’s campus. It was early in the summer of 1966, and Grado had come to Ohio State for his freshman orientation. Columbus wasn’t quite the shiny, up-and-coming city it is now — the LeVeque Tower was its only real skyscraper — which caught the Brooklyn, New York, native oﬀ guard. But when Grado moved to the University District, it started to feel a little more like home. Since the start of fall quarter in 1966, it has been just that. No matter where his exact residence, the University District has continued to draw Grado in, and he’s spent years working to help it flourish. Grado now lives on W. Duncan Street, just north of Hudson Street, and has since 1997. Before that, he hopped around the city for a little more than two years. Before that, he lived for nearly 24 years at 1764 N. High St., in a third-floor apartment in the brick buildings between Apollo’s and Bullwinkles. It was dorm living before that, two years in East Baker Hall and three in Steeb — before it merged with Smith residence hall. What Grado loved was that “you never had to leave High Street for anything,”

THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY The Lantern is a student publication which is part of the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. It publishes issues Tuesday and Thursday, and online editions every day. The Lantern’s daily operations are funded through advertising and its academic pursuits are supported by the School of Communication. Some of the advertising is sold by students. The School of Communication is committed to the highest professional standards for the newspaper in order to guarantee the fullest educational benefits from The Lantern experience.

The Efsics

which was “the way I grew up and what was ingrained in me as a child” in his old neighborhood in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. You could walk to buy groceries, clothes and home improvement items. There were families with kids who walked to school. It didn’t feel like an area of town reserved only for college students. Indeed, the area’s fabric has since changed, but in that time, Grado has been involved with organizations that sought to keep the neighborhood prosperous, or to redevelop it into the kind of place he fell in love with. From co-founding the University Community Business Association to serving as a representative on the University Area Commission to holding a seat on the University Area Review Board, Grado has spent decades working on improving the neighborhood. He also taught architecture at Ohio State for 15 years. That service includes work on the recent Campus Partners redevelopment projects, which Grado thinks will help bring back people of all ages and make the district “like a real town” again. “My nature is service,” he said. “I feel like that’s why I was put on the earth — to serve my community.”

Editor in Chief Kevin Stankiewicz Managing Editor for Content Jacob Myers Managing Editor for Design JL Lacar Copy Chief Rachel Bules Campus Editor Summer Cartwright Assistant Campus Editor Owen Daugherty Sports Editor Colin Hass-Hill Assistant Sports Editor Edward Sutelan Arts&Life Editor Ghezal Barghouty Assistant Arts&Life Editor Sara Stacy Photo Editor Jack Westerheide Assistant Photo Editor Ris Twigg Design Editor Chandler Gerstenslager Multimedia Editor Hailey Stangebye Social Media Editor Nick Clarkson Engagement Editor Matt Dorsey Oller Reporter Sheridan Hendrix Miller Projects Reporter Erin Gottsacker

there was a dozen-year hiatus while Ed Efsic worked in Houston and New Jersey. The point is, the University District is home to more than just students, even if constant construction near High Street and house parties on Indianola Avenue brand the area as “student housing.” So in this Spring Housing edition, The Lantern wanted to tell some of their stories — why they came and why they’ve stayed.

Ed and Dianne Efsic are comfortable. And — in their minds — when you’re comfortable, why leave? The Efsics moved to the University District in 1967 from Champaign, Illinois, when Ed was hired by Battelle to work as an engineer. They looked at places closer to Battelle, but settled on a home on Indianola Avenue, near the top of Frambes Avenue and overlooking Iuka Ravine. With the exception of a dozen-year hiatus in Houston and New Jersey, they’ve been there ever since. While they were gone, their children lived in the home, then after a short period of vacancy, they rented it out. “When we came back in 1995, [the area] was completely diﬀerent,” Ed said. “The character of the neighborhood has changed substantially … but it’s still good.” The nearby homes had previously been occupied by university employees, with Frambes Avenue in particular housing mostly professors. When they returned, landlords had begun to acquire the properties. The children walking to the elementary school on East 16th Avenue were no longer occupying the sidewalks, though Dianne said she’s seen a few start to return. Despite the changes around it, what made their home a good fit in 1967 makes

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it a good fit in 2018: it’s close to what Ed and Dianne need. Then, it was close to Battelle, so close Ed thought he could ride his bike to work — though he never did. Now, even if there’s more noise, Ed said “the things senior citizens need are close,” like high-quality medical care at Ohio State and Ohio Health hospitals. “We could walk to the movies if we wanted to,” Dianne said. “And [UDF] is down the corner if you run out of milk.” Ed and Dianne remain active in the community. On Wednesdays, Dianne, a skilled artist, teaches painting and drawing at the Martin Janis Community Senior Center. She also serves as the executive director of Northwood ARTSpace, a nonprofit gallery located at 2231 N. High St. With the most recent changes underway, Ed and Dianne worry that the new, highrise buildings might turn High Street into a “tunnel.” But they also know, perhaps better than most, that nothing remains the same, so they welcome some of the new development. So, for now at least, there’s no reason to leave. “I like my house. I know how many steps to come down,” Dianne said. “This is where I’m content,” Ed added. “Everything is comfortable here.”

Letters to the Editor To submit a letter to the editor, either mail or email your letter. Please put your name, address, phone number and email address on the letter. If the editor decides to publish it, he or she will contact you to confirm your identity. Email letters to: stankiewicz.16@osu.edu Mail letters to: The Lantern Letters to the Editor Journalism Building 242 W. 18th Ave. Columbus, OH 43210

Corrections The Lantern corrects any significant error brought to the attention of the staff. If you think a correction is needed, please email lanternnewsroom@gmail.com

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Thursday, February 1, 2018 | The Lantern | 3

Renovated church becomes home for Ohio State students

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KAYLIN HYNES Senior Lantern reporter hynes.39@osu.edu

Speak Chinese is plus,

A Google search for 30 E. Norwich Ave. will take you to St. Juniper’s Temple, a tall brick church complete with a bell tower, stained-glass windows and a large arched wood door. But don’t expect to see church pews when you walk in. The 2,366 square-foot church sanctuary now houses four Ohio State students after a renovation by Buckeye Real Estate. The same grand entrance still acts as a front door that opens into a large breezeway and expands into a sizable room with tall, vaulted ceilings. In the center of the room is a full kitchen with appliances and a bar-style counter.

“When you renovate a [100]-and-something yearold church it has some different twists, and that was exciting for all of us.” Bob Mickley Buckeye Real Estate property manager

Danny Collins, a fifth-year in aviation, has lived in the house since August and said there are many reasons why he likes living in the old church. “Space,” Collins said, “and the wow factor when someone comes in for the first time. They’re just blown away by it. It’s a cool conversation starter.” With the substantial space, the roommates have been able to furnish the house with five couches, multiple tables, a Christmas tree — which sits beside a stainedglass window and has yet to be taken down — and a pool table that Collins said was left behind by the previous renters. The house has no traditional upstairs but there is a staircase on each side of the main room that lead to two bedrooms. One bedroom used to be a way to get into the bell tower but has now been boarded up to prevent people from going up. With all the floorspace in the main room, Collins and his roommates use different methods to get around the house — his choice being a scooter. “[St. Juniper’s Temple] still exists on Google so you can review our home,” said Will Mather, Collins’ roommate and a fourth-year in environmental science. “There are reviews on there from a couple months ago.” The house currently has five stars. Collins and his roommates live in the former sanctuary but there also is an addition to the church that has five separate, renovated units. Bob Mickley, the property manager at Buckeye Real Estate, said the company bought the building from St. Juniper’s

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St. Juniper’s Temple on 30 E. Norwich Ave. Temple when it relocated. He said the renovations took around a year to complete because of its distinct design. “When you renovate a [100]-and-something year-old church it has some diﬀerent twists, and that was exciting for all of us,” Mickley said. The floor plan was created by Wayne Garland, the president of Buckeye Real Estate, and his recently deceased friend and architect, Mickley said. “We are very proud of that job,” he said. “We tore down a very ugly ‘60s-style addition on the north side and added parking ... and were able to create nice and unique units inside of it.” Julie Hutchinson, Buckeye Real Estate’s leasing manager, said the company has not had to find new lessees for the property since the church was first put on the market in 2013. “We have not yet had to rent it because the residents who originally moved in there when it was first finished have renewed and changed roommates year after year,” Hutchinson said. The four-bedroom and three-and-a-halfbath home is currently listed at $3,000 per month on the Buckeye Real Estate website. However, the group has already re-signed the lease for next year. Collins, who calls his house “the bestkept secret on campus,” said even after he graduates, he would like to continue living there. “It’s amazing,” Collins said. “You wake up in the morning and you open your door and it’s just like ‘Oh my God, I do live here.’”

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Thursday, February 1, 2018 | The Lantern | 5

“I just renewed for my 4th year here at UV! I love all of the improvements being done to make the community more Eco-friendly and updated. Great place to live!” -Nicole A.

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A 4-year live-in requirement will benefit students, improve campus life RICKY MULVEY Lantern columnist mulvey.17@osu.edu SETH SHANLEY Lantern columnist shanley.15@osu.edu Ricky Mulvey and Seth Shanley are members of the Buckeye Standup Comedy Club and joke-loving columnists for The Lantern. Mulvey is a fourth-year in finance and Shanley is a second-year in journalism. Ohio State students lived in a dark era several years ago, when they were required to live on campus for just one year. Luckily, Ohio State got with the times and now forces students to live on campus for two years through its signature program STEP — the Second-year Transformational Experience Program. STEP is a good start, but it does not go far enough. Students should live on campus for all four years. The reasoning for STEP is that students who live on campus are more likely to participate in on-campus activities than students who live oﬀ campus. Living on campus for an “extra year allow(s) for an even richer experience.” If Ohio State were serious about its logic, it would recognize the necessity of a four-year dorm requirement for all students. This new rule will do for on-campus involvement what the end of World War II did for the United States’ population. Looks like we’re going to need more on-campus activities for all these involved students! More students in dorms means more

LANTERN ILLUSTRATION BY JL LACAR | MANAGING EDITOR FOR DESIGN

The monorail will plunge through Ohio Stadium, but don’t worry Buckeye fans, the football team will only need to play at MAPFRE Stadium for one, two or three seasons. residence-hall memories, more chances to bond and more connections. Move over “quads” and welcome in “hexas.” Imagine the fun of six people in a space designed for four. Remember when all the grandparents shared a bed at the beginning of “Willy Wonka?” They had fun. A hexa is your golden ticket to an unforgettable college experience. Ignore the cost. This is intimacy. Making kids live in dorms for four years also will alleviate Ohio State’s problem of house parties, likely lowering the crime rate. If you don’t want students to live on campus for four years, then you don’t care about the community. Currently, most second-year students are

punished by the university if they decide to sin by living oﬀ campus. Ohio State stabs their wallet until it bleeds out a noncompliance fee of $6,498 for the year. This is a positive way to encourage on-campus involvement, but it does not go far enough. If someone doesn’t want to live on campus, they must have something wrong in the head. We did calculations, overestimating the cost of living oﬀ campus, and found it’s still about $1,200 cheaper per year than living in the dorms, but if students are too poor to live on campus for four years, they don’t have to go to Ohio State. The four-year live-in requirement will stop irresponsible choices. No college freshman is equipped to decide if they want to live on campus for another school year

after living with a roommate and a resident adviser for nine months. That’s not enough time to give on-campus living a chance. Those freshman need another three years, at least, to see if campus living is the right fit. In our opinion, the real reason Ohio State makes students live in dorms for two years is to repay the folks who loaned the cash to build the new residence halls. That’s why students are forced instead of encouraged to live in dorms for an extra year. The real reason students need to live on-campus even longer is so there is a steady stream of cash flow to fund projects like an 11-story hotel on High Street with a rooftop view of Thompson Library, a renovation to Ohio Stadium’s luxury boxes, or … now hear us out … a bonafide, electrified six-car monorail! Running north, south, east, and west, the Ohio State Monorail would be the most amazing transportational wonder schools across the Big Ten conference have ever seen. The Ohio State Monorail will encompass campus with stops at the Schottenstein Center, Ohio Stadium, the Ohio Union, East 17th Ave and Summit Street, and Lane Avenue and North High Street. Students who live in dorms for four years will count themselves lucky that their efforts created something so splendid. We have the vision. We just need your money. More details will come when we release our full platform to take over the Undergraduate Student Government presidency. This article does not necessarily reflect the views of The Lantern. The views expressed are solely that of the columnists.

6 | The Lantern | Thursday, February 1, 2018

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through Autumn Semester, which is about the time the second wave of midterms begins. But most of the work to find a place to live for a school year — which doesn’t

SEARCH FROM 1

in economics, was looking for an eight- to 10-person house for the 2017-18 school year. Based on his past experiences, he decided to jump on the issue early, in September, well-before the major landlords of campus-area properties began their leasing season. “The first time I was apartment-hunting, I didn’t start until the second semester of my sophomore year,” Weddington said. “We didn’t have very many places to choose from.” He began the search by calling real estate companies that owned properties in the campus area and asked for properties that fit the preferences of his party. They viewed two houses a week later and signed a lease that same day. “I knew houses like that would be in high demand,” he said. “There was kind of a fire under

“I guess just keep your options open and start really early so that you can be picky when you start early.” PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JACK WESTERHEIDE | PHOTO EDITOR

Ohio State’s off-campus housing website can be an informative first step in the housing search. us to get working on this. It was kind of a collective action. The guys that couldn’t pay, they were covered by another guy just briefly until they could get the money in.” The oﬀ-campus housing market

isn’t kind to Ohio State students’ schedules. Most of the leasing seasons for companies that own properties in the immediate oﬀ-campus area begin in October or the beginning of November. At that time, students are halfway

Kyle Weddington Fourth-year in economics

begin for at least another eight months, has to be done during that period — or else students are might face limited options. “I think [beginning to look in] August is a bit aggressive,” Weddell said. “I’d probably say October, November,which is still

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ridiculously early.” However, Weddell said that timeline might change a bit. With the university adding in luxury, furnished apartments like the Wellington, the Griff and others, the more sought-after residences could be off the market even sooner. “I looked at the rates [of the Wellington] and it’s like $1,300 per month and that’s just not affordable for a college student,” she said. “So I think as they continue to build these high-rise luxury apartments, off-campus housing that is affordable, like houses and smaller apartment buildings, will be snatched up quicker.” When both were asked where students should begin their housing search, they said the first steps are establishing who you are living with and laying out all roommates’ preferences. In Weddington’s situation, there were going to be some compromises met with 10 people, but he said starting with a collective price point was a positive step before the stress of finding a place began. Weddell said a few things she looks at other than price include location and researching the landlords. “Some of them have some awful reviews out there, so having a terrible landlord was not something I wanted to deal with,” Weddell said. Ohio State also offers an off-campus search tool available on the Office of Student Life website under off-campus and commuter students services. Narrowing the search in the beginning can solve a lot of the problems Weddington and Weddell faced. Weddington even suggested calling landlords to know what units are available because he found that some realtors did not update their websites consistently. “I guess just keep your options open and start really early so that you can be picky,” he said.

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Thursday, February 1, 2018 | The Lantern | 7

The dos and don’ts of meal prepping ALYSSIA GRAVES Assistant Sports Director graves.338@osu.edu It can be diﬃcult for college students to find a way to eat three well-balanced meals each day while trying to juggle school and stay within a budget. Meal prep is a great and healthy practice students can do to alleviate stress about cooking every night or spending a lot of money on fast food. The meals can easily consist of something from every food group to complete a wholesome meal. DOS Create a shopping list The most important thing to prep in a cost-eﬃcient way is to plan out meals before going to the grocery store so that you don’t overspend. There is a misconception that eating healthy can be expensive, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Coupon Looking for coupons or using a store-rewards card is essential and can help with costs. Buying store-brand food is also cheaper than buying name-brand, and they typically taste the same. Think whole grain Good grain options include rice and pasta. They cook in less than 20 minutes and are versatile. A box of rice or pasta is less than $1.50 and will last more than a week.

DON’Ts Buy prepackaged Do not buy fruits and vegetables precut and prepackaged. Although you might save time in meal preparation, you end up paying a lot more for a lot less produce. Paying by the ounce or pound will always be the cheapest option, so pick out your own fruits and vegetables. Avoid the freezer The notion that frozen meals are unhealthy is not necessarily true — if you cook them yourself. Buy in bulk, cook what you need for the week and then freeze the rest for later. Go protein-crazy Chicken, sausage, turkey and beef are tempting when they stare you in the face. But cooking four diﬀerent meals with different meat bases is unlikely to work out. Find one or two proteins that work best for you and switch up your meals. College students balance hectic schedules, but taking time to meal prep will save you so much time in the long run. Set out a day where you can spend a couple hours cooking and prepping. Sundays are typically the most feasible because you can plan for the week ahead. Make sure you have enough containers to package your food. A package of reusable containers are less than $5 and are the perfect size for portion control. So stop stressing about all of the money you’re wasting on eating out and get to the grocery store and start meal-prepping.

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ALYSSIA GRAVES | ASSISTANT SPORTS DIRECTOR

A taco bowl (pictured above) is just one option for weekly meal prepping. Ingredients include ground turkey, corn, tomato, onion and cilantro.

ALYSSIA GRAVES | ASSISTANT SPORTS DIRECTOR

A grocery cart full of healthy foods, all for under $55.

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Grilled chicken with green beans over brown rice.

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Thursday, February 1, 2018 | The Lantern | 9

WEINLAND PARK FROM 1

Ohio State’s nonprofit real estate extension. “We wanted the neighborhood to be safer for the whole community, being near Ohio State and being affiliated with Ohio State and the safety of the students,” she said. “I don’t know that the goal has ever been for there to be a significant increase in students living in that community necessarily.” Now, roughly 18 percent of Weinland Park is occupied by Ohio State students, according to the Kirwan survey. “Certainly students feel safer in this area than they did before the investments really went into the community,” Prosser said. “Weinland Park has seen an 80 percent drop in crime. That is not a small thing.” For first-time residents Jamie Annis and Kamryn Queen, the proximity to campus and relatively low rent made them decide it was a good place to live. In fact, Queen, a third-year in environmental policy, already re-signed her lease for next year. Living on Indianola Avenue between East Seventh and East Eighth avenues, Queen said she had heard the negative stigma that used to surround Weinland Park before she decided to move there, but it didn’t scare her off. “I was told that years ago where I live now was a really bad place,” she said. “They started flipping it and making it better so probably still not a lot of students know that. But it probably still has that stigma that it used to be dangerous. Now it definitely feels safe, or as safe as a campus area can be.” For Queen’s roommate Annis, a third-year in Spanish, the experience has been decidedly different, though still positive overall. Annis had her car broken into twice in the six months since she

moved in and said her dad expressed concern over her decision to live in the neighborhood. “I don’t feel safe if I stay here alone, honestly,” she said while her golden retriever, Oliver, sat at her feet. “I feel paranoid all the time. So I’m happy I have [Oliver].” However, respondents to the survey said they felt safer in 2016 than when first asked in 2010, and car break-ins are a common occurrence across the University District. While still part of the Univer-

“I don’t like football, I don’t like beer pong. I actually hate all that, so that’s why I lived away from it.” Matt Adair Co-chair of the Weinland Park Civic Association

sity District, Weinland Park provides an alternative to students uninterested in the predominant culture of the neighborhoods central to campus. “I’m from Columbus and you would have never caught me living between 11th and Northwood or something,” said Matt Adair, co-chair of the Weinland Park Civic Association’s housing committee who has lived in Weinland Park for six years, including while earning his master’s degree from Ohio State. “I don’t like football, I don’t like beer pong. I actually hate all that, so that’s why I lived away from it.” The real-estate and construction boom in the area in the past 10 years has conjured typical buzzwords such as gentrification and development, both direct reflections of the reported $250 million of outside investments the

neighborhood has seen. With new and outside money comes long-time residents’ fear of being forced out, some of whom, like Elizabeth Kloss, a homeowner in Weinland Park for almost 20 years, have seen their neighbors leave. “There has been a lot of change in the last 20 years,” she said. “We’ve gone from having real issues with vacant housing to dealing with density issues and people being displaced. Both good and bad, we have lost a lot of lovely neighbors who have been priced out of the neighborhood.” In an eﬀort to accommodate residents and maintain input while improving the area, the Weinland Park Collaborative was established in 2008, which partnered community leaders and residents with more than a dozen different public and private entities. Matt Hansen, the executive director of the University District Organization, attributed the increased interest in the area to the relatively low price compared to central-campus living, as well as the sense of safety the neighborhood now brings. “You’re seeing investment in the homes in Weinland Park,” Hansen said. “If you’re looking at a student market, some of those have been geared towards those individuals. But we also have a lot of homes that have been renovated and have families in them now. Over a long-term period, the crime has gone down for the area and it seems like it’s a safer, more attractive destination now.” Construction has included renovation to formerly vacant properties within the neighborhood and major developments along the neighborhood’s perimeter — The Highline at Nine and One Pearl Place apartment complexes along North High Street, and the Grant Park housing complex

JACK WESTERHEIDE | PHOTO EDITOR

Students make up 18 percent of Weinland Park residents, according to a 2016 survey done by the Kirwan Institute. along North Grant Avenue. Grant Park has been home to Alvaro Montenegro, an assistant professor of geography, and his wife since 2015. It has been “maybe one of the best living arrangements overall” he has ever had, he said. Ohio State offers a zero-interest forgivable down-payment loan to staff members who buy housing in the University District, which Montenegro took advantage of, though he said it wasn’t the determining factor in he and his wife’s decision to move to the neighborhood. “While [the loan] wasn’t super important, it was a plus,” he said. “I’m very happy to be able to walk to work. I’m a little bit over a mile door-to-door for my office and my home. That’s fantastic. The neighborhood is also close to — I can do a lot of things just walking. It’s not only coming to work. The supermarket is nearby. The Short North is right there. We love it.” As Columbus continues to see an increase in its population,

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Hansen said more people will gravitate to Weinland Park. “Columbus is growing at an astronomical pace compared to the rest of Ohio,” he said. “It’s like 10 to 20,000 people a year, and those people need places to live.” As far as neighborhood growth goes, Adair said he hopes incoming residents, including students, will do their part to keep the neighborhood trending in the right direction. “The reason that owner-occupants fled central campus in the ‘50s and ‘60s was because they didn’t want to live next to students who were being disrespectful, basically, and partying and leaving trash everywhere,” he said. “We’re trying to have a high quality of life in this neighborhood and it seems like the central campus core doesn’t really oﬀer that, so we’d like to somehow preserve that here.”

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10 | The Lantern | Thursday, February 1, 2018

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When it comes to roommates, sometimes less is more — or not

SUMMER CARTWRIGHT | CAMPUS EDITOR

The 10 bedroom house at 1996 Indianola Ave. currently houses 11 people. SUMMER CARTWRIGHT Campus Editor cartwright.117@osu.edu If you told freshman me I would be living with 10 other females — willingly — for two years as a college student, I probably would have laughed in your face, vomited or passed out. Not really, but I most definitely wouldn’t have believed it. But, alas. Here I am, a 22-year-old female living in conditions that I estimate can only be compared to fraternity houses (on clean days). I can’t tell you the last time I’ve seen the bottom of my sink. Is it silver? Black? Does it miss me like I miss it? The two trash cans in the kitchen — yes, there are two; no, two is not enough — are constantly being dumped throughout the day. And by dumped I mean stuﬀed to the brim until melted ice cream drips onto the floor causing one roommate to slip, fall and decide to take out the trash. It might seem a little rough, thinking about the messiness of an 11-person home, but those negatives are almost always clouded with the incredible memories I’ve made with my best friends. (I say ‘almost’ because the thought of our trash mountain is in my head as I write this.) But each night when I come home I see a living room filled with at least six people — sometimes crying from “This Is Us,” sometimes belting “Chunky” by Bruno Mars, and sometimes just sitting there, talking and enjoying the time left at 1996 Indianola Ave. Always having company or having someone to talk with is an incredible gift. And I’ve got 10 of those gifts each day.

That sounded incredibly cheesy, but don’t worry. Those “gifts” will give me crap for it after reading this. In addition to having that constant support, there’s always someone to go to the library with, beg for a ride from or bicker at. When we go out together, it’s in numbers. We look like a herd of lost freshmen — not the Spring Semester freshmen, the Autumn Semester high-school-class-size freshmen, the ones who are on the way to attend their first college party. The herd also can be useful on cleaning days. I think we’ve had one. But the large number of people definitely made it go quick. So, would I recommend the mess, trash mountains and constant noise? Some days, no. Would I recommend the late-night jam sessions, dependable friendships and pack of wolves? Most days, yes. Because at the end of the day, college is about pushing yourself and getting out of your comfort zone. And living with 10 people with diﬀerent backgrounds, cleanliness patterns and views will surely get you there.

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SAM HARRIS | SENIOR LANTERN REPORTER

A resident adviser room in Smith-Steeb Hall on South Campus. SAM HARRIS Senior Lantern reporter harris.2373@osu.edu Like most second-years facing the expiration of their two-year live on-campus requirement, last year I found myself scouring housing listings and touring places every weekend. The housing process was a whirlwind. It seemed like every place my intended roommates and I looked at had some minor caveat that we couldn’t agree on, or, even worse, it was oﬀ the market before we had the opportunity to sign. Thus, by November, I found myself submitting an application for a resident adviser position, ending the talks of whether living close to campus was more important than rent prices or whether one bathroom would be enough. Living alone might just be one of the best things that’s ever happened to me — I don’t have to worry about disturbing my roommates if I get up in the middle of the night or leave the television on; I can leave my laundry out if I’m feeling lazy and dishes don’t need to be washed the second I’m done using them; the only guests in my room are people I’ve invited over and presumably don’t mind; noise is limited to the neighbors. My room is a haven that I can come home to and just relax without worrying about other people. That’s not to say I’m entirely antisocial. If I want to see my friends, they’re one phone call away, most of them living nearby. Plus, as an RA, I always have my residents to say hello to or engage in a friendly chat. After all, I attend a university that has

more than 60,000 enrolled students; it’s not like I’m lacking in the social department. There are some days when I imagine what it would look like had my roommates and I found the perfect house. Then I think about how much I enjoy not having to worry about splitting groceries, figuring out bills or arguing over decor, and I appreciate my little sanctuary a bit more. I’ve lived with roommates before, having spent the first two years of career trapped in a shoebox-sized space with another human being less than 6 feet away at all times. If that’s not a true bonding experience then I don’t know what is. I thought that by living alone I might miss that. Then, I take a moment to appreciate the absolute silence and recognize that those days are over for a reason. Solitude is a blessing — the only mess I have to worry about is my own, guests are at my own discretion, and I can wear pajama pants all day long and there isn’t a soul around to judge me for it. If I spend all day eating peanut butter directly from the jar watching “New Girl,” there’s nobody to condescendingly ask how my classes are going and suggest that sweatpants are to be worn in moderation. I love my friends and I loved my roommates of years past, but frankly I wouldn’t trade having my own space for anything. My room is a retreat from the chaos and 10 roommates sounds a bit more like a zoo.

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Housing gamble? Upperclassmen can enter lottery to live in dorms ZACH VARDA Senior Lantern reporter varda.6@osu.edu

RIS TWIGG | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

The amount of space available in dorms — such as in Nosker House pictured above — varies from year to year.

If you’re a second-year not quite ready to leave the dorm life, there’s a solution, but it will require a little luck. For third- and fourth-year students who want to continue living on campus, the Office of Student Life offers a lottery system for available dorm space. Dave Isaacs, spokesperson for the Office of Student Life, said third- and fourth-year students are asked via email to inform the university of their interest in con-

tinuing to live on campus. The amount of space available in dorms varies from year to year, based on factors such as incoming class size and the number of third- and fourth-year students hoping to secure space in a dorm. “Some years we have a great many students interested, other years not as many,” Isaacs said. At this time, Isaacs said each student who entered into the lottery could potentially be accommodated because 600 people have applied for 750 available spaces. The process is designed to be as eﬃcient as possible and keep applicants up-to-date, especially be-

cause there will be years in which not everyone who wants a room will get one. “We try to work through the process as fast as we possibly can so we can let students know so they can make plans for living on campus or oﬀ campus next year,” Isaacs said. Students had until Jan. 31 to let Student Life know of their interest in living in a dorm. By Friday, interested students will be informed of the situation, as in how many rooms are available versus how many students are seeking a room. Student Life hopes to inform

students in a timely manner of the housing outcome in order to give them enough time should they need to find other arrangements. The lottery will be held in early February and afterward students will be informed of their housing situation.