Jeb Middlebrook's The Segregated City Tour - Cincinnati Stop Dec 18th!

From Speak Out!:

Jeb Middlebrook kicks off The Segregated City Tour

Few performers dare to openly discuss, let alone plan a tour around, class and race dynamics that play quietly in the background of their nightly sets.  Enter Jeb Middlebrook aka Jus Rhyme, an unabashed hip-hop artist, community organizer, and Ph.D. who was born in the 70s, raised during Reganomics and NAFTA, came-of-age during 9/11 and the War on Terror, and came-into-his-own during the Tea Party and Occupy movements. This Ph.D./MC boasts industry credentials including MTV, NBC, ABC, VH1 and the Associated Press, but for this tour he is going consciously grassroots. With one Black man in the White House, 1 out of every 6 people across race in the Poor House, and 1 out of every 100 people in the Big House, Jus seeks to make sense of our collective struggles and relationships across race and class, through music.  His offering: The Segregated City Tour: 10 Shows. 10 Days. The 10 Most Segregated Cities in the United States.  Watch the tour LIVE! December 8-21, 2011 at:segregatedcity.com TOUR DATES: 12/8 - Los Angeles, CA @ Viento y Agua Coffee House, 7PM (4007 E 4th St, Long Beach, CA 90814) + 12/10 - Milwaukee, WI @ Brewing Grounds for Change, 8PM (2008 North Farwell Avenue) ^ 12/11 - Chicago, IL @ Green Mill Jazz Club, 7PM (4802 North Broadway) + 12/12 - Detroit, MI @ East Bar, 8PM (15045 Mack Ave)+ 12/13 - Cleveland, OH @ Root Cafe, 7PM (15118 Detroit Ave, Lakewood, OH) + 12/14 - Buffalo, NY @ The Tudor Lounge, 9PM (335 Franklin St.)+ 12/15 - New York, NY @ Third Eye (Sol)lation, 7:30PM (1501 Broadway; J-Train - Halsey stop; Brooklyn, NY) 12/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Rotunda, 6PM (4014 Walnut Street) 12/18 - Cincinnati, OH @ Habit's Cafe, 9PM (3036 Maison Rd.) + 12/19 - St. Louis, MO @ Historic Crossroads, 8PM (2201 South 7th St.) + 12/20 - Des Moines, IA @ Billy Joe's Lounge , 8PM (1701 25th St.)+ * 12/21 - Minneapolis, MN @ Palmer's Bar, 5PM (500 Cedar Ave South) * + WITH MAYDA ^ WITH TOUSSAINT MORRISON * BONUS SHOWS

RAPPers at LeaderShape This Week!

The blog will be a little quiet this week not only because of the quieter campus on winter break, but because Rebecca will be joining 55 University Honors Program students at LeaderShape.  Included in these students are two RAPP XXVII members:  Angelo C & Adam V!


LeaderShape's mission is "to transform the world by increasing the number of people who lead with integrity^TM and a healthy disregard for the impossible."  This annual campus-based institute will challenge participants to develop a vision based in their values and identify how to use that to achieve lasting, positive change.


The UC group will be at Higher Ground Conference & Retreat Center this Saturday through Thursday for the institute.  Please wish us well in the six long, intense days of the institute!

MSNBC: UC Mentioned as Among Colleges Whose Fashion-Forward Apparel Is Made in America

From MSNBC via UC News:

UC was mentioned in a national news piece about colleges working with clothing company, School House, which has a commitment to fair-labor practices in producing high-quality apparel that is made in America. 

Date: 12/6/2011 12:00:00 AM
By: M.B. Reilly
Phone: (513) 556-1824

   UC was mentioned in a national news piece about colleges working with clothing company, School House, which has a commitment to fair-labor practices in producing high-quality apparel that is made in America.


Watch the news video. A UC mark is shown at the :05 second point, and UC is mentioned at the 1:32 point.

UC’s Oldest Grad This December Is a Familiar Voice in Cincinnati

From UC News:

UC’s Oldest Grad This December Is a Familiar Voice in Cincinnati

He has led generations of Cincinnatians on a discovery of classical music. At Commencement, Gary Barton takes the first step on the pathway he’s considering for a second career.

Date: 12/5/2011
By: Dawn Fuller
Phone: (513) 556-1823
Photos By: Lisa Ventre

UC’s oldest graduate at the December Commencement ceremony would no doubt admit that he has a deep appreciation for the classics, as in Bach, Beethoven and Shostakovich. Gary Barton, who’s 65, was an announcer for WGUC Radio for more than 32 years, starting in 1973 when the classical public radio station was still owned by the university. At Commencement on Dec. 10, he’ll achieve his bachelor’s degree in history, and adds that he “wants to come back for more.”

Gary Barton

It was classical music that first drew Barton into broadcasting back when he was a traditional-aged college student. “I loved all kinds of music. My family moved a lot when I was a child, so I always felt that the radio was a friend of mine.”

Eventually, money issues and broadcasting jobs lured him out of college and into radio full time. The job at WGUC brought him to Cincinnati.

In addition, for 25 years, he wrote, produced and announced the WGUC broadcasts of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a connection that led him to his wife, Gwynneth, who was on the orchestra’s business sponsorship committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science as well as a law degree from UC. The couple have been married for 20 years.

As his career came to a close at WGUC, Barton says he saw an opportunity to pursue the dream of achieving a college degree. On this journey, he says he discovered “there are some brilliant people teaching at the university.

“I took a course about the 1960s from UC Professor Mark Lause, and I feel that I made some nice contributions in class!”

He adds that former history professor Thomas Lorman, now a scholar in London, was a great inspiration and supporter.

Barton says he hopes that eventually, he will be the classroom professor. He says he wants to continue pursuing a master’s and PhD in history.

As he considers prepping for the GRE, he says he has applied as a substitute teacher for Cincinnati Waldorf School, recalling that he enjoyed such a job decades ago while substitute teaching in Detroit.

As for being December’s oldest graduate, he says he doesn’t feel “old” at all. “Sometimes, my body distresses me because it won’t do what I want it to do, but really, I don’t feel old.”

As he looks ahead to graduation, he says this milestone in higher education has been a long journey. “It has been a very long road, and I hope the next leg of the journey will be shorter.”

UC Commencement Information

UC Commencement News

Resident Advisor Applications Available Now

From Resident Education and Development:

RA applications are available online now! The deadline for application is January 23rd.

Resident Education and Development describes an RA as: "Resident advisors are campus leaders committed to the welfare of students.  The RAs' primary job is to serve as peer advisors, helping students to become knowledgeable about campus.  They create and implement programs to educate residents and to help build strong community connections within their floors and halls, and they share with residents the responsibility to maintain hall environments conducive to safety, learning, and personal development.


Please visit the Resident Education and Development website for an online application.

Freedom Center Seeking Volunteers - Saturdays Starting Dec. 17th

From Cincinnati Public Allies listserv:

Smiling Faces Needed at the Freedom Center! (beginning December 17!)

Ongoing Opportunity!   Front Door Greeters Needed at the Freedom Center Saturdays - 11:00am - 3:30pm 1 volunteer per Saturday - beginning December 17 !   This fun ongoing opportunity is for the volunteer who loves interacting with the general public, and who has an awesome smile! This task involves, but not limited to: greeting customers and providing strollers and wheelchairs to Freedom Center guests requiring them. This volunteer should be knowledgeable of the general downtown Cincinnati area and to be familiar with Freedom Center exhibits is a plus!     You will have a brief on-the-spot training and free parking is provided.   You may work as many Saturdays as your schedule allows!   To sign up for this opportunity, please send e-mail to Paula Johnson at pjohnson@nurfc.org. In the subject line, type "Greeter".  In the body the e-mail, please indicate what Saturday(s) you would like to help out!   Remember:  In order to volunteer at the Freedom Center, you must have a volunteer application on file with us.    To fill out an online volunteer application, please visit www.freedomcenter.org.   We're looking forward to seeing you here volunteering in the Spirit of Freedom!

RAPPORT Community Service Success!

This past Saturday, December 3rd 2011 some wonderful members of the RAPP and RAPPORT community went to Over the Rhine to volunteer with an organization that works to keep people in affordable, sustainable housing.

RAPP and RAPPORT volunteers in OTR

Over the Rhine Community Housing "is a non-profit organization that works to build and sustain a diverse neighborhood that values and benefits low-income residents."

OTR Community Housing relies on volunteer labor, or "sweat equity" to keep the cost of their rental properties as low as possible. Volunteers do a variety of work ranging from cleaning, trash pick up, landscaping, building maintenance, and more.

If you are interested in volunteering with Over the Rhine Community Housing visit the Volunteer page, or check them out of Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/OTRCH.