Shameful, yes. This is from 2005-06, which is interesting in terms of the timing of this reporting, given that the perpetrator was fired from OUPD.

So I talked with my parents in Akron (Ellet) today. They are 90 and 85 and they wanted to know "what is going on down at Ohio U?" Their question was in relation to something that they had heard on the radio (remember those?). I explained the whole thing about hazing with special emphasis on the death last year (actually made the point four times). Anyway, we are taking a huge beating right now and no one seems to be at the helm of the ship.

And on the flipside, while watching the Nationals the last 9 nights, I saw this ad for an Ohio college.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/oQW7/ohio-northern-university-the...

I'm not sure I understand. Nobody seems to be at the helm of the ship because of a lawsuit filed based on terrible leadership 20 years ago?

Honestly, this seems like a weird thread to choose to complain about a perceived PR hit due to the hazing suspensions. Then again, I guess I would have expected a whole lot more of the anger towards the University that was so evident in the hazing thread in this one. So what do I know?

Due to being on the receiving end of a lot of questions like the one Alan describes, I've become a bit obsessed with how OU is perceived compared to OSU and other schools in this state. I find it fascinating. As for OSU, in the past few years they suspended all fraternities, fired the band director, had two students murdered, lost an age discrimination law suit, have a horrifying decades long sexual assault scandal.... I mentioned this to a friend from Columbus and he sent me OSU's daily crime log web site. Goodness what a read. So I started an experiment where I asked OSU fans/alums "Jeesh, what's doing on there? It seems to be a mess." They looked at me like I was insane. They would ask what I was talking about. I'd say "well all the scandals and crimes and assaults and etc." And, they looked at me like I was even more insane. Oh well.... It is what it is I guess. I assume the new marketing and enrollment management folks at OU will be flooding the state with a new campaign this year. I sure hope it works. We need some positive mojo.

I mean, I guess it's related? It's related because very broadly it's news and contributes to public perception and it's related because you view both of these incidents as negative press.

But beyond that? These two things are not at all alike. One is something every member of the Ohio University community should be furious about. The other was a temporary suspension of a few campus organizations.

I maintain that it's a very weird reaction to lump these things together and to consider this only from a PR standpoint seems to lack humanity. That the hazing thread includes multiple calls for resignation, insistence that it's a "disgrace" and that the University is in a sad state, but that here some of those same folks are mostly concerned with optics just feels off.