Scott Douthat, the sociology professor at Shawnee State, had a class study the town’s problems and propose solutions that required no extra budget. Douthat and colleagues had earlier surveyed residents. What bothered them most “wasn’t crime, it wasn’t drugs, it wasn’t the economy,” Douthat said. “It was the way the city looked.” City officials first ignored the survey. “We don’t need no egghead academics coming in here and telling us how to do our jobs,” said one. But since then, there’d been turnover at city hall. So when Douthat’s students shaped proposals, they were heard. The students
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