Newsman Tim Russert Dies Suddenly: Always Said College Years In Cleveland Shaped His Values

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- He was from Buffalo, but his road to success really began in Cleveland. And Tim Russert never forgot the city, nor lessons that "there's a world beyond yourself" to serve learned during his days as a college student in NE Ohio. The NBC news journalist, who collapsed and died on the job Friday, graduated from John Carroll University with a political science degree 1972. He earned a law degree from Cleveland State University in 1976, where President Michael Schwartz mourned his passing: "Tim sought the truth in a straight-talking, no-nonsense manner, and his wit, genial manner and everyman persona endeared him to everyone on campus as well as his legion of television viewers."

Russert long credited the Jesuit campus of John Carroll University in the Cleveland suburb of University Heights with playing a major role in shaping his worldview. The 58-year-old newsman appears on the Website among alums who are the pride of JCU, and he quotes the Gospel of St. Luke, "To those whom much has been given, much is expected. And if there is one lesson that I took from John Carroll, that is it." His son is named Luke.

Cleveland State U's Marketing Slogan: Some Think It Sells Urban Decay

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- Nobody appears to be suggesting something akin to "New York's the Big Apple, Cleveland's a Plum," but a roomful of urban studies cognoscenti at Cleveland State University wondered aloud recently if the school's marketing slogan is too gritty. The campus is in downtown Cleveland. The slogan is "City life is our campus." It was pointed out that phrase lacks any kind of puffery, and might conjure up images of crime, poverty, urban blight and a local public school system that has a reputation as Ohio's basket case.

Melanie Murphy got the story for the Cleveland Stater. She noted the criticism the motto has no punch, or panache, or promotional appeal. There seemed to be sentiment that it worked against the school's image.

"Is this really a positive message? Cleveland is ranked as one of the top cities with high crime rates, and public education is below average. Cleveland has a poor reputation, and so the outward migration continues. Tower City and the Galleria were the places to shop. Things have changed over the past few years. They are losing business."

If any new slogans have been proposed or are floating around, Murphy didn't record their existence. Perhaps the school is satisfied with "City life is our campus." For those who don't know, Cleveland's A Plum was a marketing campaign dreamed up by The Plain Dealer in the 1980s (at least that is what The Daily Bellwether remembers). It appeared around the time Ohio fell into a severe recession and steel plants and other industries were disappearing. There was another slogan, a real meat-and-potatoes phrase from that same era which frequently turned up on sweatshirts -- Cleveland, You Gotta Be Tough.

Ohio Student Journalist Converted: Watches FOX News, Becomes Conservative

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- A staff writer at Cleveland State University's student newspaper, the Cleveland Stater, discloses she abandoned liberalism and became a political conservative after watching FOX News on cable television. Jennifer Spike said she is now a full-blown right winger and does not regret her conversion in the slightest. She finds that being conservative on a college campus can be tough because it is not the prevailing political ideology.

Spike says she sticks up for her new set of political principles, and that the term conservative is viewed with disgust among the vast majority of students. She makes no bones that FOX snared her with a barrage of broadcast reports that came with a political slant. She does not think the media -- right or left -- is interested in balanced stories.

"I always viewed conservatives as stiff, old, rich men stuck in their ways, who didn't care about problems facing the middle class. Then, one evening about a year ago, I happened to switch on the FOX News network, notoriously known for its conservative reputation. As I began to watch I realized something: Maybe these old stiffs really do make sense. I began to do more research, and since then my political views have taken a shift towards the right."

She adds:

"Now I would like to take an opportunity to debunk some common stereotypes when I reveal myself as a right-winger. I am not a product of a white collar family. I'm not a member of the NRA, and I'm not a huge fan of Rush Limbaugh, nor do I support all of the decisions of President Bush. I certainly don't consider myself an expert among political affairs. Actually, I admit I'm a newbie and that I have a lot to learn. But I now know the importance of challenging what professors, society and the media throw at me. Some of it is garbage and some of it is good stuff, but it is up to me to figure that out."

Cleveland State U's Rooftop Windmills: U.S. House Panel OKs Seed Money

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- Cleveland State University scientist Majid Rashidi is closer to obtaining federal financial aid to help develop energy-producing "windspires," four of which may soon be spinning on the rooftops of Northeastern Ohio. The House Appropriations Committee has agreed to authorize putting about $1.1 million of taxpayers' cash into the project, which also has backing from the state.

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Cleveland, announced the influential House panel's decision to support the windspires, which are souped up breeze-powered machines without the huge spinning blades typical of windmills. Rashidi wants to set build test devices to see how effectively they function.

Tubbs Jones said the project is an investment in retooling the state's economy and portrayed it as critical to efforts to get Ohio growing again.