Stop OSU from purchasing property in Poindexter Village

Dear Administrative Body of The Ohio State University

We, as active and informed students, faculty and staff of The Ohio State University write to you to you to express our concern with OSU's recent expansion and development projects.

We write to you because we stand against oppression in all forms, which includes but is not limited to racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, and imperialism. We view our stance against oppression as crucial to building a more just and equitable future for all participants in our global and local society.

We find it critical that the timeline of OSU's expansion and development has broader impacts on the welfare of Columbus residents outside of those directly affiliated with the University. We are concerned with the impacts of OSU’s vision to "acquire and rehabilitate" property, and we fear that the current plans to expand OSU's Medical Center under ProjectOne will adversely affect the historically marginalized communities of the Near East Side.

We, as students and members of The Ohio State community, recognize that we are intrinsically connected with the broader Columbus community. Thus, we find it impossible to be neutral regarding Mayor Coleman and Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority's five year plan to demolish half of the city's public housing stock. The biggest community slated for demolition is historic Poindexter Village, which sits adjacent to OSU Medical Center East.

With the waitlist for Section 8 housing overflowing at nearly 10,000 families, CMHA's solution to the loss of Poindexter and other public housing projects is not a solution at all. Many residents will not even qualify for section 8 vouchers. Even those who do will be made worse off; section 8 housing is only temporary, whereas public housing is long term. Further, recent experience in Cincinnati showed that, after the demolition of public housing, citizens who were given section 8 vouchers were unable to keep their vouchers for various reasons. Thousands ended up homeless as a result.

To prevent such drastic measures, we, the undersigned, call on OSU to dismiss any pending or future plans to purchase property in what is now Poindexter village. Our University Hospital system must not implicate itself in CMHA's careless treatment of so many lives. We expect that in its tradition of dignity, it will take the liberty to consider our concerns and take action immediately.

We do not wish to seem adverse to the development of the institution. However, there are many ways in which the lot of our friends in Poindexter might be improved, just as there are many ways that OSU can work harder to be a better neighbor. None of this, however, can come without taking the input of our most marginalized neighbors under careful advisement. We believe that revitalization should come from empowering those who live within a community to better their own lives.