THE NEWS RECORD
132 YEARS IN PRINT VOL. CXXXII ISSUE LVVVII
MONDAY | OCTOBER 8 | 2012
UC LOVES KEEPING ITS LUCY THE BELL special section | 3
sports | 6
Occupy Cincinnati marks anniversary
March in Lyttle Park brings out 19 protestors one year after movement founded BENJAMIN GOLDSCHMIDT | CHIEF REPORTER Occupy Cincinnati celebrated its one-year anniversary by marching from Lyttle Park to Washington Park in protest of large corporations Saturday.
TYLER BELL | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
ONE YEAR LATER Members of Occupy Cincinnati marched from Lytle Park to Washington Park protesting against corporate and political corruption in downtown Cincinnati Saturday.
Nineteen people gathered at Lytle Park to begin the celebratory demonstration, holding signs saying, “Occupy Cincinnati: one year, we’re still here.” While corporate and political corruption was the center of the protest, many protesters were there for different reasons. “Well, for myself — and everybody is bringing different issues to the table — I don’t feel like with this two-party system we really have a choice,” said James Thorpe of Covington. “Occupy brought together people from the economic activists, political activists, ecological activists all under one banner,” said Les Courtney of Alexandria, Ky. “That way all the different motivations of people were able to actually unify to a united front.” All 19 of the protesters were involved in the activist movement one year ago, and for many it was a reunion of the people they worked with, and even got arrested with, said Rigel Behrens of Cincinnati. “For me, it’s kind of like a reunion, and it’s wonderful to see all of the people that we spent a lot of time working with,” Behrens said. “It’s quieter; it’s not so photogenic. But a lot of these folks have been working on voter registration, they’ve been working on supporting the Anna Louise Inn, they’ve been working on labor rights.” Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati
Homeless Coalition, led the charge with a megaphone, chanting, “This is what democracy sounds like.” Throughout the city, the group stopped at various businesses while Spring gave a history of the political dealings of private industries. During the march to Washington Park, one protestor was issued a citation for being on the street after a Cincinnati police officer warned the group to stay on the sidewalk. Courtney, the protester who got the citation, said it wasn’t a fair citation. “Technically as the cop asked me to leave the road, I got out of the road,” Courtney said. “Unfortunately for him it wasn’t as fast as he liked me to get out of the road, so as a result it took six police officers to write one citation.” The protesters made a stop at Piatt Park, where they used chalk to draw anarchy symbols on the sculpture of James A. Garfield. At Washington Park, Spring questioned the renovations made to the park and accused the city of forcing changes on a community that didn’t want the renovations. “It obviously looks good, but what you might not know is that it took $48 million for it to look this good,” Spring said. “Despite the fact that the neighborhood came out in mass and said we’d like to keep our pool, our kids use it, we’d like to keep our school, our kids use it, we’d like to keep our basketball court, they said no. We’re going to spend $48 million but we can’t afford to keep those things.”
Cincinnati ranked top destination MAX MOLLERAN | CONTRIBUTOR
The American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) ranked Cincinnati a top-20 college destination in its recent report of mid-sized metropolitan cities. The institute determined its rankings by looking at data in three areas — academic environment, quality of life and professional opportunities — and then made four lists based on the size of the area, said Steven Cunningham, director of research and education for AIER. Cincinnati ranked No. 17 in the College Destinations Index, behind cities such as Pittsburgh (No.4), Columbus (No.11) and Cleveland (No.12), but ahead of Indianapolis (No. 19) and Louisville (No. 20). “[The] idea is that most indexes are about the colleges themselves,” Cunningham said. “We were interested in doing exactly the same thing. In our discussion, we started to think about what the location of the school and its metropolitan areas would enhance or detract from the college experience.” The numbers used were the most recent available in each area, Cunningham said. Crime and population were not factored in the report. City officials are trying to make Cincinnati a better destination by investing in growing businesses, more uptown housing, improved transportation and greater entertainment options, said Meg Olberding, director of communications for the city manager’s office. “[We are] working on the city as a whole to make it more welcoming and an easier place to live and work,” Olberding said. Cincinnati has the potential to move up the list, said David Edelman, a professor in the SEE CINCINNATI | 2
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LIBERTY FOR ALL Gary Johnson and fellow Libertarians came to the University of Cincinnati to speak about election issues Friday.
UNCONVENTIONAL CANDIDATE
Libertarian presidential candidate promotes platform to campus BENJAMIN GOLDSCHMIDT | CHIEF REPORTER
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson made a campaign stop at the University of Cincinnati Friday. Johnson, a former Republican Gov. of New Mexico, warned against voting for either Republicans or the Democrats this election — mocking the rhetoric that this is the most important election of our time — and described both parties as leading the country down a similar path. “We’re going to find ourselves with a heightened police state,” Johnson said. “We’re going to find ourselves in a continued state of military intervention and we’re going to find ourselves continuing to borrow and spend money in a way that is absolutely not sustainable.” Johnson spent a most of his speech addressing the flaws of a two-party political system, and reiterated multiple times the similarities between both parties. The National Review Online rated Johnson as the best job creator of any of the candidates — with an 11.6 percent jobgrowth rate during his tenure in New Mexico. In response, Johnson reiterated his belief that the private sector creates jobs. “ [I] did not create a single job as governor of New Mexico,” he said. “I appointed all the boards and commissions. I controlled all the rules and regulations, and I want to tell you rules and regulations got better on a daily basis — with just a basis on common sense.” Johnson’s philosophy of job creation is rooted in a faith in the private sector, and his method of enforcing rules and regulations keep private business at ease because they have certainty, he said. Johnson criticized the unsustainable
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nature of the country’s current economic policies — a charge he faulted to both Democrats and Republicans. “The biggest threat to our national security is the fact that we borrow and print money to the tune of 43 cents out of every dollar we spend,” Johnson said. On foreign policy, Johnson said both Republicans and Democrats have different rhetoric, but act the same in office — claiming President Obama has been as militaristic as any president. America has a lot of enemies, mostly because of our military interventions, Johnson said. “When the drone flies overhead and hits the target, it doesn’t just hit the target,” he said. “It kills a lot of innocent people and as a result of that, friends, family, business associates, they vow revenge against the United States.” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a “report card” that awarded Johnson with the most “liberty torches” of any presidential candidate this election. The liberty torches were based on candidates’ track record with issues of civil liberties, he said. Jordan Page, a singer and songwriter who has played at more than 50 political rallies kicked off the event by playing a handful of “protest” songs, as he called them. Guest speakers included Jim Berns, the libertarian candidate for Ohio’s first congressional district, and Rob Ryan, state representative for the 28th district of Ohio. “It’s very important to raise awareness about the Libertarian platform,” Ryan said. In the back of the Great Hall in the Tangeman University Center, seven booths were set up where attendees could register
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TYLER BELL | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
MEETING JOHNSON Supporters filled Great Hall to support Gary Johnson, who stressed the similarities between the Democrat and Republican executive actions. to vote, sign petitions and talk to Libertarian candidates. Students signed petitions for the legalization of marijuana, and read pamphlets on strategies to spread the libertarian message. “The turnout could have been a little better, but the energy during the speech and everything was really good I felt,” said Brendan Carr, a third-year architecture student. Approximately 150 people gathered in TUC to hear Johnson speak. Johnson advocated spreading the libertarian message, and addressed the importance of voting for the candidate you believe in, regardless of their chances. “So here we arrive now at an election with this whole notion of wasted votes,” Johnson said. “What is more of a wasted vote than voting for somebody that you don’t believe in?”
See if you or anyone you know made it into our Homecoming 2012 photo gallery.