Paddling with the President's Council!

On Friday, August 24, the Rivers Institute had the great pleasure of
taking the President and members of his council out for their first
ever kayak trip in Dayton! We had scheduled this trip for earlier this
summer, but it was oh so very sadly cancelled. Luckily, we were able
to reschedule the paddle, and it was awesome! I honestly think that
trip was the highlight of my college career! We took the group for a
very short trip from White Water Warehouse down to Riverscape, which
is about a 20 minute trip. Thanks to some strategic planning and
blessings from above, we paddled up to Riverscape just as the
fountains started going off. Several people in the group were really
not too keen on the idea of paddling through the massive fountains
with frigid water coming out, but needless to say, everybody came out
of the fountains soaked. Every person in the group kayaked through the
fountains and loved every minute of it! I have always loved going
through the fountains, but this time it was particularly special
because I took President Curran around every single fountain! Dr.
Curran is such a fun guy, so when I said, "Who wants to round the
bases and go through every fountain?" he responded with, "After you!"
It was seriously awesome. After getting thoroughly soaked, we all
rafted up and discussed the future of the city of Dayton and the
potential for UD to have a river-front campus.

In my years here at UD, we have been dramatically expanding our
campus, so we now have property all the way out to the Great Miami
River. We also own Old River Park, which has a lagoon that was
formerly part of the river. Obviously, the Rivers Institute would love
to have access to the river right from our own campus, but we also
think it would be hugely popular among the students for a variety of
reasons. There are many pieces of this puzzle coming into play, but we
are hoping to make UD a school that prides itself on its connection to
nature, recreation, and most importantly our rivers. While yes we only
took Dr. Curran on a short trip down the river, in that short trip he
saw and experienced what the stewards see and experience every time we
get in a boat. We are fairly confident that he sees the potential UD
has as a river-front campus.

Amy Price
Senior River Steward