THE NEWS RECORD
A temporary compromise in the free speech lawsuit filed against the University of Cincinnati has been reached. The agreement allows the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) to petition in most outdoor open spaces on campus without having to reregister with the university’s scheduling office, said Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, the firm representing YAL. YAL filed the lawsuit and asked for an immediate injunction against UC’s public speech policy after the group’s petitioning efforts were restricted to the free speech zone in McMicken Commons in late February. The recent compromise does not settle the lawsuit. It does, however, allow YAL put their original plan into action to gather signatures for the Ohio Workplace Freedom Amendment ballot initiative. The agreement also allows the group to petition in most outdoor spaces on campus,
Since engineering professor Herman Schneider’s invention of the cooperative learning programs in 1906, the University of Cincinnati has been home to one of the most prolific, successful co-op program in the country. Last year, a total of 4,646 students were placed in a co-op, an experience-building program that has students alternating quarters between taking classes and working in his or her field of study. Last year’s number brought the placement rate to 95.6 percent, a 7.4 percent growth from 2010. The College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning and the College of Engineering and Applied Science require students to take a co-op. The Carl H. Lindner College of Business offers a co-op program, but does not require students to participate. Co-op programs are exclusive to these three colleges, said Kettil Cedercreutz, associate provost and director of professional practices. But that might not be the case for the future. “One of the goals of UC2019 — an initiative to accelerate UC to take place as one of the elite institutions of the country — is to expand the internship program to the point that every UC student can participate in some kind of experiential learning,” Cedercreutz said. More than 1,500 companies employ co-op students at UC, including local powerhouse General Electric Aviation, the top employer of UC co-op students. GE employed 280 students in 2011. “In the 2011 fiscal year, coop students collectively earned $43 million, which averages at $7,800 per co-op term worked,” said M.B. Reilly, assistant director of UC public relations. “Financial considerations also
including the high-traffic areas in front of TUC and on MainStreet. It does not, however, stretch to cover all UC students. “We don’t like that, but it’s a compromise on our part that we are willing to live with for a few months,” Thompson said. Why the group was restricted to the free speech zone are not fully known, but factors regarding scheduling for campus space might have been a contributor, said UC spokesperson Greg Hand. The description of the events UC scheduled for YAL are broad enough to essentially allow the group to petition in the allowed public forums on any given day, Hand said. “It has always been our position that free speech activities are very easily accommodated on campus, and the assertion that it is difficult to schedule activities, we believe, is just not the case,” Hand said. “So we demonstrated this by showing how easy it is to accommodate this activity.”
This is not the first time UC’s free speech policy has been criticized. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) first condemned UC’s free speech policy in 2008 in a letter to then-President Nancy Zimpher, warning that the university’s policy was unconstitutional. A response letter from a legal representative for UC all but dismissed the claims of unconstitutionality, citing case law in defense of UC’s free speech zones. The lawsuit filed by YAL has brought the issue of free speech back to FIRE’s attention. “The fact that it took a federal lawsuit to get UC to open up more of its campus to free speech — even temporarily — is shameful,” said Robert Shibley, senior vice president of FIRE. The hearing for a permanent injunction against UC’s free speech policy is set for May 30 and the judge has guaranteed a final decision by June 15, Thompson said.
CITY ON THE RISE Results from a recent report suggest economic growth within Cincinnati’s manufacturing business is on the up-and-up. The University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center compiled data from local businesses surveyed by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the world’s first supply management institute dedicated to educating through research and surveys. The ISM Report on Business, released March 1, measures the economic growth of different businesses in Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana using the Cincinnati Purchasing Management Index (PMI), an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. By the end of February, the PMI was measured at 51.4, down from 57.5 in January, “representing fragile economic growth in the Cincinnati area,” according to the report. The employment index dropped to 5, and, according to the report, “represents the lowest value the index has achieved since the fall of 2010.” Only 16 percent of the businesses surveyed reported an increase in employment from January, while 74 percent of respondents reported
no increase or decrease in employment rates. “Manufacturing is something that saw a much steeper ride down as a result of the recession, and then had a really nice climb back up,” said Ben Passty of the Economics Center and a research assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati. “Out of the new jobs that have been added since the worst part of the recession, one-fourth of those jobs in Cincinnati were in manufacturing.” The report was multilayered and encompassing, Passty said. “The way we design the report was really to measure all of the processes that go into an economic recovery,” Passty said. “So every economic recovery that we have seen since World War II has been demand driven. Firms will sell additional goods out of their inventories, and inventories will drop enough that they realize they need to start making more. People can only be overworked for so long, so [the companies] need to hire.” The index of inventories of manufactured — but not yet distributed or sold — goods rose from negative 37 to negative 10. “A positive value for this index would indicate lower sales of finished goods postproduction,” according to the report. More than 50 percent of businesses reported no increase or decrease in finished goods,
Both Ohio Gov. Kasich and President Barack Obama received failing grades in public opinion, according to results from the most recent Ohio Poll. The poll of 1,154 adults, conducted by UC’s Institute for Policy Research (IPR), found
but 16 percent said there was an increase. “In 2003, they figured out they could outsource the report, and it would save them time and money,” Passty said. The reports are considered to be leading indicators of economic trends and are valued by different organizations around the world. The Institute for Supply Management has been polling and surveying businesses since the 1920s.
approval ratings for Kasich and Obama below 50 percent. Participants were asked if they approve of Kasich and Obama’s overall job performance, their handling of the economy and the president’s handling of foreign affairs. “The most interesting aspect about this poll is that, A, neither is above 50 percent,” said Eric Rademacher, co-director of the IPR. “And, B, while Ohio recently ‘elected’ a Republican governor and a Democratic president, that doesn’t necessarily mean that either receives universal approval today.” Kasich received a 44-percent approval of his job as governor, while 42 percent disapproved and 14 percent neither approved nor disapproved. Keeping with party lines, 65 percent of Republicans approved of the governor’s performance. Democrats, however, overwhelmingly disapproved of Kasich’s job as governor. Results found 57 percent of Democratic respondents did not approve of the first-term governor. Independent Ohioans approved Kasich’s work in office more than they disapproved,
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In addition to the drama brought on by the dead heat in Ohio’s Republican presidential primaries Tuesday night, local doctor and Army Reserve Lt. Col. Brad Wenstrup added to the political commotion, upsetting incumbent Second Congressional District, Rep. Jean Schmidt. Wenstru topped Schmidt 49 to 43 percent in a district Schmidt has represented since 2005. The district, which has been represented by Republicans since 1982, spreads from the east side of Cincinnati to the west edges of Portsmouth. Wenstrup first ran for political office in a 2009 campaign for Cincinnati mayor, but ultimately lost to current Mayor Mark Mallory. “I am honored that the voters heard our message of change — change that includes strong, ethical leadership, change that also includes reforming government, cutting spending and unleashing small business owners so they can create jobs,” Wenstrup said. Campaign for Primary Accountability — a Texasbased super PAC focused on accountability of incumbents — supported Wenstrup’s campaign and ran numerous ads accusing Schmidt of ethical violations. “[The strategy was] to get [Wenstrup] in front of as many likely voters as possibly,” said Brian Shrive, Wenstrup’s campaign manager. “He gave them his vision and the voters responded.” Campaign for Primary Accountability created a perfect storm as well, Shrive said. Wenstrup’s campaign challenged Schmidt on the grounds of conservative principles and national debt, something Schmidt voted to increase. Clermont Liberty PAC supported Wenstrup’s campaign and helped disperse more than 20,000 newsletters in Clermont County. “So many workers worked hard for him,” said Dory Perkins, a
with results showing 39 percent and 32 percent, respectively. The governor’s approval rating regarding the economy largely paralleled his overall numbers coming in at 43 percent. Obama received slightly better numbers, garnering a 47 percent approval rating of his overall performance. Despite that, Ohioans were also more vocal in their dissatisfaction, responding with a 49 percent disapproval rating. Keeping loyal with party affiliation, 77 percent of Democrats approved of Obama’s performance, while only 13 percent of Republicans approved. Kasich’s numbers regarding his handling of the economy, however, came in with staunchly polarized results: 57 percent of Democrats disapproved of his performance, whereas 61 percent of Republicans approved. Independent Ohioans were somewhat split, with 36 percent approving and 43 percent disapproving.