The Post's executive editors don't think a bat problem can justify relocating Ohio University's president and first lady.
Bats are certainly scary, but why did they convince university officials to find President Roderick McDavis and his wife, Deborah, a new home while they inspected and assessed their Park Place residence?
The university agreed to lease a house 2.8 miles from campus for $1.2 million.
Bats aren’t a $1.2 million problem.
Could they have stayed at the OU Inn for a bit while the university’s in-house bat remover checked out the building?
He’s familiar with the property, according to a previous Post report.
He’s also well-versed in combatting the university’s bat problem.
He typically receives 80 to 100 complaints of bats in university buildings per year.
In fact, a bat colony of 150 to 200 bats once lived in the attic of O’Bleness House, a residence hall on South Green.
Did the university provide those students living there with a $1.2 million new housing solution?
The building the university owns at 29 Park Place will be seemingly empty.
Just what the Athens campus needs — another vacant structure to watch crumble.
Language in the university’s news releases suggests that OU thinks the Park Place property isn’t appropriate for the university’s president to live.
We can’t think of a more appropriate place for a mildly “visible” president to live. It’s on campus, he can walk to work and host students at his home at his leisure.
We don’t see McDavis Uptown frequently. We barely see him on campus. Now, will the only time we see him be glimpses of him driving home on Richland Avenue?
Our takeaway: Students can live in dated residence halls with horrific temperature control and among the various creatures that creep into the dated buildings.
The McDavises cannot.
The difference: we actually pay for our housing.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: editor-in-chief Jim Ryan, managing editor Sara Jerde, opinion editor Xander Zellner and projects editor Allan Smith. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
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