Columbus’ unfortunate nickname “Cowtown” notwithstanding, our home town is actually a pretty decent place to go to school.

Of course it’s not as glamorous as New York City or Los Angeles, but cut it some slack – we’re smack dab in the middle of Ohio. You can’t afford to have high expectations.

Columbus is home not only to the second largest university in the nation, but several other smaller colleges and universities, which means students will find numerous businesses aimed directly toward them – coffee shops, trendy shopping and a great used music selection, to name a few.

The city’s most outstanding aspect is its relatively high-class arts scene. Even if most central Ohioans don’t appreciate it, the Short North galleries, the Columbus Museum of Art and the Wexner Center for the Arts offer art “snobs” a huge array of options.

Gallery Hop nights are a taste of the quintessential Columbus scene. Every month, all sorts of dressed-up people overflow onto High Street amidst great, affordable art, diverse food choices and soothing outdoor music.

Gallery Hop is a low-pressure opportunity for Midwesterners to pretend like they’re classy when they’re really just trying to blend into the crowd. No one is asking for an intense conversation on the merits of abstract impressionism, just for some simple art appreciation.

Another great thing about Columbus is it’s difficult to stereotype as a conservative or liberal town. Cincinnati is well-known and laughably right-leaning, while Cleveland almost always votes Democratic. Columbus gets to comfortably straddle the fence.

The high concentration of academia offer plenty of young, passionate liberals while suburbia is home to an older, more staid crowd.

Also, Columbus is home to one of the largest population of gays and lesbians in the nation, and its mostly open and accepting population distinguish it as one of the best place in America for gays and lesbians to live. That’s pretty damn cool.

Lastly, “Family Ties.” Enough said.

Shelley Davis is a junior in journalism and The Lantern arts editor. She’s pretty sure she’ll be hightailing it out of Columbus after she graduates, but she is determined to enjoy it while she’s here. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].

I travel a lot. And for good reason. I don’t want my friends to realize how boring the city I live in is.

Columbus has plenty of places to shop, see music, watch sports and observe art. There’s a fair amount of quaint festivals. The city has a decent nightlife, and sits in a nice location only a three hour or less car trip from five major cities (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh).

But Columbus has nothing that makes it unique. What Columbus has, every other major city has or, at least, an acceptable substitute. Unless you live out in the middle of nowhere, a trip to Columbus isn’t likely to be any more exciting than Anydecentsizedcity, USA.

There’s no great natural phenomenon, no towering monument and no attraction that makes potential tourists say: “Hey, I want to go to Columbus.”

Yeah, there’s the Statehouse. But there’s a Statehouse in all 50 states. I’ve seen at least three of them, and they were all about the same.

The replica of the Santa Maria? Well, that’s nice, I suppose. But I don’t think it’s going to draw anyone who lives further than 20 miles outside the city.

The first Wendy’s restaurant? I’ll admit double stacks are tasty, but the tiny Wendy’s museum doesn’t make it much different from its 6,000 other locations.

Even though Columbus sits in a convenient spot, it’s not a place filled with natural wonders. The land is as flat as a note sung by David Hasselholf. The weather is wretched, except for in the spring, when it’s only terrible. As a matter of fact, there’s not even a decent body of water. At least Cleveland has a lake for goodness’ sake.

Another problem is the city’s name. For out-of-state travelers, there’s the trouble of figuring out which Columbus to go to. A misguided soul could end up in Nebraska or Mississippi if they’re not careful. I shudder to think.

Part of the problem with the name isn’t just one of repetition. I know the city is named after everyone’s favorite white male imperialist oppressor. But warm it up, Chris, because boring names equal bored tourists.

Columbus is a decent place to live, but I certainly wouldn’t want to vacation here.

Jason Mann is a senior in journalism. He suggests renaming Columbus to Kathmandu, Ohio. And if he ever gets out of here, he’s going to Kathmandu. Reach him at [email protected].