Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

Photo courtesy of here.

Miami University’s Center for Community Engagement’s Residency Program in Over-The-Rhine continues to be an exemplary model that integrates community engagement and active citizenship. Students are transformed by this program in powerful and long-lasting ways. As students live in the “school of social life” they experience the spectrum of “community service” from charity to social change. They come to see their privilege as a barrier that must be overcome in order to open their hearts and minds to the experiences swirling around them. They learn the skills to analyze current reality, welcome complexity, and to engage in productive conversations, all of which are vital to a theory of citizenship that fronts the questions, citizenship for what? Whose interests matter? And what value-laden theories of society do forms of community engagement presuppose?

This year eleven students immersed their academics in the full experience to live and work in Over-the-Rhine. Five were architecture/interior design majors and the others came from business, teacher education, family studies and social work, and interdisciplinary studies.

As I did last year, I asked the students to reflect upon their experiences in Over-the-Rhine in light of the course readings. I wanted to know how the reading material came to explain their experiences, if it did at all. Again the responses were powerful. What follows are excerpts from those final papers.

--Thomas Dutton, Director

Curt Sparks

Wow! My whole Over-the-Rhine experience was not at all what I expected. When I first heard about the Over-the-Rhine Residency Program, my attention was drawn to the design-build aspect of the experience. I thought that I was coming down here to get some practical experience learning how my designs would become reality. I knew that the apartment we were working on was somehow connected to a non-profit agency that was working with low-income people in the neighborhood. This looked like a win-win situation for everyone involved. I would get experience, the non-profit would get free design work and free labor, an Over-the-Rhine resident would get a cool place to live, and I would get my “thematic sequence” knocked out in one semester! I had no idea what I was in for.

I probably should have investigated the Thematic Sequence courses before signing up for them, but if I had I may have changed my mind. You see, these courses are much more than history courses. You don’t simply learn about the subjects by reading books and having classroom discussion. You are forced to interact with the community and learn through first-hand experiences. You are forced to look beyond the surface of the issues that face the urban poor in America. You are forced to delve into the underlying factors that shape today’s urban culture. As you do this you want to get involved. Once you are involved, you begin to question everything you thought you already knew about life. This is what I was not prepared for.

I am not your average college student. I am in my mid 30’s. I’m married and have a teen-age daughter. At this point in my life, my belief system was pretty well set.

I’m not going to tell you that all of my beliefs have changed. I am not going to tell you that I am now 100% politically correct. I will tell you that this semester has caused me to look at many issues from a different perspective. It has caused me to realize that my point of view was formed by my experiences and my life circumstances.

My time in OTR has given me a brief glimpse into the daily lives of people whose circumstances and environment are much more foreign than I would have ever imagined. Low-income, urban America is much different than the America I thought I knew. I have seen how little value we place on poor people. I have learned that racism still lives. I have seen how public policy (billed as helping people) can cause more harm than good. I’ve learned that I didn’t know the whole story.

I started by saying that I should have investigated the classes here better before I signed up for this program. I’m glad I didn’t. If you would have told me four months ago that I would write a paper such as this, I would have laughed at you. I would have told you that this was a bunch of “bleeding-heart, liberal, hippy shit.” Throughout the semester I, in fact, often thought that. I would have not knowingly and voluntarily set myself up to deal with all this hippy crap. Had I known what I was getting into, I would not have signed up for what has turned out to be the most meaningful time I have spent in school. My eyes have been opened to new perspectives on life. I have been given knowledge that can help me to become a better designer. I have been given knowledge that can help me become a better person. But as some hippy once told me, knowledge alone means nothing. I am now challenged to couple my knowledge with action. I am challenged to incorporate my new awareness into what I do in my everyday life.

Throughout my college career, I’ve had many classes that once they were over, I forgot about them. This semester does not fall into that category. The things I have learned here will be a part my future designs, my future career choices, my future life. I’ve learned more than I thought possible in one semester. 

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