Progress Report

Pass

Ohio University will be raising tuition and fees another 6 percent. OU will add more faculty and possibly give existing faculty a raise. More students will get the benefit of air conditioning as well. With the possibility of a raise for faculty, more experienced professors might come to OU.

Fail

After days of violence in Cincinnati, the mayor declared a state of emergency, put in effect a city-wide curfew, and asked Gov. Bob Taft to send in the state Highway Patrol. Rioters have taken to the streets, causing damage to area businesses after a 19-year-old unarmed black man was shot and killed by Cincinnati police. People have the right to protest but this kind of rioting accomplishes nothing. It takes the focus away from the issue and puts it on the damage and violence. City officials also fail for not trying to fix the problem before it reached this extreme.

Homework

The committee searching for the best candidates to replace Sharon Brehm as university provost need to look for candidates who are willing and capable to promote diversity. The university has been trying to promote a diverse atmosphere for a few years and it should not stop now.

Pass

The city is looking to expand East State Street to five lanes. Traffic on the street is bad and with the addition of Wal-Mart, it could get worse. Athens is headed in the right direction in its plan to expand the street before traffic creates a major problem. But we have a couple suggestions to help get the work done. First, try to do the majority of the work in the summer when fewer people and cars are out on the streets. And second, parts of East State Street have a wonderful residential feel with houses and landscaping full of character - try to maintain that feeling and people's property.