by David MacDonald ‘18
Chances are, that if you have been at this school for very long at all, you have in some way interacted with the Ohio City neighborhood around it. Whether you’re enjoying a treat from Mitchell’s Ice Cream, doing service with an Arrupe program, or even just greeting a resident of the local area; your attending St. Ignatius undoubtedly means being involved with the community that houses it.
St. Ignatius’s relationship with Ohio City has certainly changed since the time the school was built, nearly 130 years ago. In the mid to late 20th century, the relationship wasn’t as cooperative as it is now. “In the past, Ohio City residents had problems with Ignatius’s lack of communication regarding their events and developments in the neighborhood,” says Kerry McCormack. McCormack works as the Director of Community Affairs at Ohio City Incorporated, a community development corporation serving Ohio City.
But currently St. Ignatius is a much more open communicator on things going on at the school. Ms. Metro, Director of Communications at St. Ignatius, tells me that she, along with with Fr. Guaio, Mr. Koch, and Mr. Gill, is active in neighborhood block clubs and meets with businesses to keep the community informed on the school’s activities. McCormack also attested to this better communication.
There is still some friction between the two parties. Everyone knows about the street parking regulations and the new rules about entering the school on Carroll Avenue. McCormack admits that parking is one issue many local residents have with the school. But he emphasizes that these little issues need to be taken in context with the overall good the school does, “With so many people coming into the neighborhood for the school and school activities, there is bound to be some contention with the residents. But people need to look at all the good the school does for the community.”
Right now, both St. Ignatius and Ohio City stand to benefit from each other. The school does a lot of service in the area through the Arrupe Neighborhood Partnership. But also the mass amounts of people coming to the school for various reasons is good for the local businesses. As Mikki Pizzuli of Ohio City Burrito puts it, “St. Ignatius brings in a lot of people who wouldn’t usually come to Ohio City.” And as Ohio City continues to develop; a safer, better neighborhood is provided for the St. Ignatius community.
