MANSFIELD — The Ohio State University at Mansfield reported a 20 percent increase in its overall minority student population last fall.
That number, along with the general student population, is expected to rise come September thanks to additional housing options for students.
The largest spike represented the African-American population with a 26-percent increase, according to the university’s 2015 enrollment report.
Lima’s campus saw an eight-percent increase in the same category. All other campuses, Columbus included, did not experience increases over five percent. Marion reported a 35-percent decrease in African-American students.
In autumn 2014, OSU-M’s African-American population was 100 and in 2015 that number jumped to 126. Other spikes occurred with the Hispanic and the two or more races categories.
Of the six campuses, OSU-M experienced the highest percentage change in the total minority students census and ranks third in terms of diversity.
Renee Thompson, OSU-M Director of Diversity and Inclusion, said the spikes in racial and ethnic diversity can be attributed to a welcoming campus and the construction of Buckeye Village, an independent housing unit completed in August 2014.
“We’re becoming more residential and Buckeye Village has allowed us to bring more students. Many have taken advantage of it,” Thompson said.
She added that most of the students living in Buckeye Village hail from Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown and Toledo.
Thompson’s primary focus is to work with OSU-M students of different backgrounds to promote academic success.
“I want every student here to feel like he or she can succeed regardless of what background, regardless of what challenges they may have had in life,” she said.
She cited the university’s definition of diversity and inclusion, which states: “We define ‘diversity and inclusion’ broadly.”
“When you read the definitions you might start to think, well, we’re all diverse. That’s the point. Two people can be very different. So we really try to exemplify that here,” Thompson said.
She said the diversity is displayed in the number of student organizations that exist.
According to OSU-M’s website, there are 23 student organizations. They run the gamut, ranging from a Christian group (Awakening) to an LGTBQ group (Out Loud) and an international club.
Chief of Student Life Donna Hight echoed Thompson’s comments regarding the array of student organizations available. She added, however, that OSU-M’s recruiting territory is located in Ohio’s northeast — which has given the regional campus a unique opportunity to draw from those urban, minority-heavy areas.
“They’re also saving a lot of money by coming here. They get the same high-quality education for about a third of the amount that it takes to go to Columbus,” Hight said.
Despite the money-saving perks, Hight agreed that Buckeye Village plays a significant role in recruiting new and additional students.
“Buckeye Village is a huge help … we were losing students because there was no place for them to live,” she said.
Molyet Apartment Complex, an OSU affiliated housing unit located on the western side of campus, provides beds for 197 students, including six resident advisors and one resident manager.
According to Hight, Molyet has reached full capacity for the 2016-17 school year and has a waiting list.
Buckeye Village can house 277 students this year and has reached half its capacity so far. A third building was recently completed, adding 83 additional living units. The housing complex also completed construction of a basketball court recently.
The new housing option is available to North Central State College students, too. However, Director of Marketing and Public Relations Keith Stoner said over 90 percent of the school’s students are commuters, online students or still in high school.
“A whole third of our students are in College Credit Plus,” Stoner said.
Last school year’s head count was around 3,500 — 1,000 of them were high school students enrolled in the CCP program.
“So those guys are likely living with their parents and not there (Buckeye Village),” Stoner added.
Growing pains
But with the campus’s growth in population due to additional housing options comes with growing pains, Hight said.
“Additional housing means we have around 500 people on or near our campus at all times,” Hight said. “We need to make sure we provide them things to do during the evening, we have to keep those students occupied.”
Ontario Police Department records show 63 calls from Buckeye Village for offenses ranging from noise complaints to assaults and drug use from August 2014 to May 2015. Four of those calls resulted in arrests related to either drug offenses, assaults or trespassing.
For the next school year, OPD responded to 43 calls for similar offenses.
Ontario’s Fire Department responded to 22 calls in the 2015-16 school year to Buckeye Village.
Buckeye Village is a privately owned building complex, managed by BET Investments, a real estate agency based in Horsham, Pennsylvania but with an office in Columbus.
Since it is privately owned, OSU-M and NCSC does not maintain security, said Campus Police Jeff Hoffer. Instead, Hoffer keeps a record of all calls OPD and other law enforcement agencies respond to.
Molyet Apartment Complex did not report as much action.
According to campus police reports, police responded to eight total calls during the 2014-15 school year for sexual battery, menacing by stalking, criminal damaging and harassment.
The Mansfield Fire Department responded to one call at the Molyet Apartment Complex in the 2014-15 school year and one call in the 2015-16 school year.
Campus district talks still looming
Conversations about constructing a campus district was first reported in September 2014. The conversations started because of an expressed desire to “bring the campus out of the woods” to cater to the growing student population.
The campus district would reportedly contain retail shops, restaurants and apartments.
Ontario Mayor Randy Hutchinson was reported earlier in July saying the campus district plans are still in discussion. However, actual construction cannot begin until the cities of Ontario and Mansfield agree on a contract that outlines sewage plans.
“We’re very excited to see our student body get more diverse,” Hight said. “It makes the academic environment more enriching — the more diverse, the more you can learn from one another.”
While campus faculty celebrates the growing student population, Thompson recognizes the challenges.
“Mansfield’s ‘urban’ is very different from Cleveland’s ‘urban.’ And because of where Buckeye Village is, that’s Ontario. And Ontario … they don’t have huge diversity as it relates to race and ethnicity,” Thompson said.
“One of the things we want to do is make sure our students feel welcomed. Not just on campus, but welcome to be part of the larger community of Ontario and Mansfield,” she added, referencing her support of implementing a campus district.
