Ohio college town caught up in flap after president abandons bat-infested house for suburbs

Bats are the talk of one Ohio college town after an infestation of the winged vermin drove the university president and his wife out of their on-campus home last month.

Ohio University President Roderick McDavis moved off campus to a posh suburban rental a few weeks ago after his wife had a surprise encounter with a bat that resulted in a fall and a broken ankle.

Now university officials are talking about spending $1.2 million to buy the new house and mothballing the old one.

Many are seeing that as a waste of precious higher-education dollars done without input from the community and the university's 20,000 students. Several hundred students turned out for a rally this week to protest the move.