OSU center in Weinland Park
Day care goes overboard with use of police, some say
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
11/1/07
By Mark Ferenchik
A new day-care center run by Ohio State University has hired uniformed, off-duty Columbus police officers to provide security, but some neighbors think that sends the wrong message about an area trying to shed its image of decay and crime.
The $10 million Schoenbaum Family Center at Weinland Park, 175 E. 7th Ave., opened at the end of August, providing day care and early education for 88 children, from newborns to 5-year-olds. It houses the A. Sophie Rogers Laboratory School, a workshop for OSU students working on early-education and elementary-education degrees.
The center, as well as the new Weinland Park Elementary School next door, are cornerstones of efforts to revitalize the neighborhood between the university’s campus and Downtown. And the officers’ presence — from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily — sends a mixed message, some say.
“The only reason to go through the expense is that there’s some perceived threat. That’s an inaccurate perception. It’s offensive,” said Catherine Girves, director of the University Area Enrichment Association and a University Area commissioner.
Girves said she has talked to Vernon Baisden, OSU’s assistant vice president for public safety. “I told him I don’t think this makes anyone safer,” Girves said.
Robert Caldwell, who leads the Weinland Park Community Civic Association and lives nearby, said he has fought the perception for years that Weinland Park isn’t safe for families.
The OSU program originally was on campus at Campbell Hall off Neil Avenue. Caldwell said he spoke to families concerned about the Weinland Park location when he was part of an advisory group during the center’s planning stage.
He said he tried to dispel poor images and perceptions.
“A lot of people are hard-working folks. We’re changing the neighborhood every day,” Caldwell said.
But the neighborhood has also seen its share of high-profile crime, including four times when someone shot at police between Dec. 30, 2005, and April 10, 2006, and problems involving gangs and drugs. Crime played a role in the university’s decision to hire an officer.
Within a quarter-mile of the center, there were 19 aggravated assaults in 2005 and 24 in 2006, said Rick Amweg, Ohio State’s assistant police chief. Also, thieves hauled away materials from the job site while the center was being built.
Officer Tim Whetstone said he accompanies workers when they take children in strollers for walks around the block.
The police’s daylong presence isn’t permanent, Amweg said. Ohio State is considering other options including hiring private security.
The university spent $9,840.89 between Sept. 28, the first day an officer was stationed at the center, and Friday, Amweg said. That comes out to about $469 a day for those 21 weekdays.
The university isn’t implying that there’s an inherent risk in the neighborhood, but it is trying to be as cautious as possible, said David W. Andrews, dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology.
“We would prefer not to do this long term,” Andrews said.
Caldwell said he plans to write to university officials with his concerns. He suggested as alternatives that a plainclothes officer or a center staff member keep an eye on things.
The center’s director, Michele Sanderson, said the center has a good relationship with the community.
Weinland Park leaders had asked the civilian Community Crime Patrol to serve the community during the day, specifically near the elementary school, but the group’s board of directors denied the request this year.
The patrol’s director, Ellen Moore, said her group didn’t think it should expand without a Columbus police officer specifically dedicated to respond to patrol calls. She said Weinland Park is no more dangerous than Franklinton or other areas it serves.
