by Tori Metzger
The results of Tuesday’s annual city elections have provided Bexley residents and Capital students with fresh city council members and hopefully a fresh outlook on Capital’s requests for school improvements.
Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler ran unopposed, but there has been heated competition between five candidates for three open city council seats. Congratulations to Lori Feibel, Deneese Owen, and Richard Sharp for being elected as Bexley City Council.
This election, especially, was an important one for Capital student, as each city council candidate has a different outlook on the continuous unrest between Bexley and the university.
Several residents and city representatives believe that Capital has not done due diligence to ensure peace and understanding between both parties.
“Residents are the number one stakeholders in the city,” Mayor Ben Kessler said at a recent meeting among Bexley residents and candidates.
The students of Capital University, many of whom are residents of Bexley, have the duty to vote in every election in order to make their voices heard by the community. Concerned students mean nothing to the city if they don’t make a stand for themselves.
The election has come and gone, and even if students did not vote, they still have the opportunity to be aware and engaged. What do the election results mean for Capital students?
Deneese Owen, the only democrat on council, has been researching similar colleges with similar problems as Capital in order to help her make valid and intelligent decisions when dealing with requests from the university.
Lori Feibel believes that “Bexley and Capital should do more than just co-exist,” as she stated at a recent South Bexley Neighborhood meeting, insisting that Capital must sit down with Bexley residents to work out agreements between the two.
Richard Sharp seems to be more problematic for Capital, as he claimed, “I’m here as a Bexley resident, not a council member,” at a recent meeting in Bexley.
Sharp has been known to criticize Capital for its traditional activities surrounding football games, specifically tailgaiting. Instead of tailgaiting in the S lot near Bernlohr Stadium, Sharp suggests Capital relocate its tailgaiting activities to the parking lot behind Public Safety. This criticism may be because Sharp is the only council member from South Bexley.
Capital professor Dr. Suzanne Marilley, who lives on Pleasant Ridge, argues that it may be more dangerous for students and parents to pregame farther away from the stadium because a large group of people will have to travel across a busy College Avenue, while intoxicated, to get to the game.
“In order to exert influence in Bexley, students must be registered to vote here,” Marilley said. “Voting is real power in local elections across the board. Real decisions that effect our day to day lives get made in local elections. If students don’t vote, what ground do they have to complain about parking problems? Now that all employees at Capital pay an income tax to Bexley, it’s taxation without representation.”
It may be too late to vote this year, but it’s never too late to be informed and involved in the community and its relations with Capital.
tmetzger@capital.ed
