Some 2,000 Ohio State students, faculty and staff gathered in the rain Saturday morning to clean up the campus area.High on Pride volunteers picked up litter, removed trash, collected recyclable items and swept neighborhoods around campus. OSU sponsored the event along with Ohio State University Hospitals, Huntington Bank, Long’s Bookstore, Donatos Pizza and Papa John’s Pizza. They provided volunteers with T-shirts, food, gloves, bags and ponchos. The City of Columbus and the Keep Columbus Beautiful Office promoted the event. “This is our way of getting students acclimated into the community,” said Tina Love, chairwoman of the University Cleanup Committee. High on Pride is a biannual event aimed at cleaning up the campus area. Last year, volunteers removed more than 350 tons of trash, said Love. The cleanup area covers 67 miles of roadway, 267 city blocks and more than 33 miles of sidewalks. It covers the area north to Blake Avenue, south to Ninth Avenue, east to the Conrail tracks and west to North High Street. “High Street, Pearl Alley and areas near Ninth Avenue seem to collect the most trash,” said Love. “It’s amazing what you find in the streets,” said Pamela Clark, staff member for university purchasing and storage. Clark said she and other employees from her office volunteered for last year’s cleanup and collected a lot of beer bottles from bushes. Tom Hindes, a volunteer, said volunteers in his group have seen underwear lying in High Street. Like many of the volunteers, Hindes thinks being a part of the cleanup committee has been a fun experience. “I have met a lot of different people and we are all united for one cause,” said Bryan Harris, a volunteer. “We would like to be the role model for the university and hope people will be mindful of their environment.”This year’s cleanup effort coincided with OSU Parents’ Weekend. Love said more than 90 parents volunteered. A celebration was held immediately following the event, with pizza and soft drinks from area vendors.