College Town News

Plan may pave way for street's future
News - 11 Nov 2006
...DURHAM, NC - "Everything we thought about doing was to improve Ninth Street as that great living room for the community," said lead planner Steve Gaddis. "I don't expect to see the east side of Ninth Street change very much."

The group of 14 planners and UNC-Chapel Hill students logged more than 420 hours drawing up "form-based" zoning restrictions (i.e., restrictions on building size and appearance) to help Ninth Street retain its flavor. Some merchants fear the pressure of development will change the appearance of Ninth Street and drive off locally owned businesses due to high rents...

Creative madness
It's lurking in dusty corners of abandoned warehouses, burgeoning in basements and spilling onto Main Street. It's ... Creative madness
Register - 11 Nov 2006
...AMES, IA - "There's like a billion ideas going on in here. It gets a little nutty," said Aitchison, one of about 30 artists who make up Creative Artists' Studios of Ames, or CASA. It's a nonprofit group that has flourished since its creation almost seven years ago.

"We started it on Jan. 1, 2000, the first day of the new millennium - kind of poetic, huh?" said Dot Prater, a graphic artist and former art teacher who curates CASA's gallery.

The idea for CASA came about when a group of local pottery students grew tired of constantly moving their supplies. They wanted a place where they could make messes and leave them, without worrying about taking up too much space in the garage or cleaning the basement before the in-laws came to visit...

For Georgetown 'Apostles,' A Rowhouse Rebellion
Religious Immunity to Zoning Laws Cited
Post - 11 Nov 2006
...GEORGETOWN, DC - On one side of the battle: nine best buds at Georgetown University who hung a skull-and-crossbones flag outside their home and a porn star poster inside. On the other: their neighbors, who accuse the students of running a scam to keep their partying friends together...

This is where your classic town-gown dispute gets weird. The $2.4 million house that J. Brian O'Neill Sr. bought for his son is allowed only six unrelated residents under zoning laws. But if it's a residence for a "religious community," the number jumps to 15.

The solution? The Apostles of O'Neill. That's the name the young men used Oct. 2 when they filed paperwork to incorporate as a nonprofit religious organization. In an e-mail statement, the group says that it has donated to charities and that its mission is "to be active and positive members of our community."..

Shop owners support dorm: Petition seeks OK for Suffolk
Herald - 11 Nov2006
...BOSTON, MA - Some longtime Beacon Hill shop owners are lining up behind a controversial proposal by Suffolk University to build a new, 22-story dormitory in the historic neighborhood.
The dorm tower plan, which will house more than 500 students, has sparked opposition on Beacon Hill, with angry residents warning the dorm complex will simply fuel already serious problems with late-night student partying...

The support comes after Suffolk University agreed to let students use their electronic meal cards at neighborhood dining establishments, which were off-limits before.

Suffolk also agreed to pull the plug on a plan to open a competing cafe in the new tower...

Palmer has his eyes on derby upset
Evening News - 10 Nov 2006
...CAMBRIDGE, UK - TOWN meet Gown in one of the most eagerly anticipated derby matches of recent years with the prospects too close to call.

Although they lost twice to City in pre-season games, the university have grown in both fitness and form over recent weeks to such an extent that they recently topped the table. But equally they have shown frailties when losing games they should have won.

City have a similar history, storming to the top of the table before falling away with a succession of defeats that prompted a rethink of tactics and a more cautious approach to matches...

My mother, Mary, and I have been going to Mansfield University together for the past two years.

“Going to college on the same campus as my daughter is interesting, to say the least,” my mom said.

Not only is it difficult being at the same university as my mom, but sometimes I even have the same classes with her...

Take a stand
Flat Hat - 10 Nov 2006
...WILLIAMSBURG, VA - If the city repealed the three-person rule, a few positive things would happen. First, the students currently in violation could stop living in fear of eviction. Second, more students could actually afford to live off campus, and costs would come down for students who already live off campus. Finally, there would be a third result, one that I feel would be quite beneficial for everyone: town-gown relations would improve greatly. As the three-person rule is the biggest stumbling block to students having respect for city government, many students would drop their vehement objections to Williamsburg policy and we could see much more cooperation. I can see nothing more beneficial to town-gown relations than repealing this rule...

GameDay Crew Pleased With Stadium View
Morning News - 10 Nov 2006
...FAYETTEVILLE, AR — “Yeah, this is a good view,” ESPN Gameday spokesman Mike Humes said Friday morning as he looked in at Reynolds Razorback Stadium from the GameDay set that was nearing completion in the Broyles Center parking lot affectionately known as “The Pit.”..

Already, the ESPN crew seemed to like Fayetteville. Down the street from the GameDay set, tents were filled with students awaiting the best ticket locations for today’s 6 p.m. Tennessee-Arkansas game. Horn-honking near the GameDay set was constant throughout the morning, as drivers responded to two students holding a sign that read, “Honk if you love the Hogs.”..

Quiet Cheney makes some noise
Housing developments, EWU projects, new businesses spur growth
Journal - 10 Nov 2006
...CHENEY, WA - Cheney community leaders say they want more retail businesses downtown, where tenant activity has picked up.

Community leaders in the small, quiet college town of Cheney say that the city has been humming with development activity in recent years, and they’re seeking ways to encourage that growth for the future.

The West Plains city has been experiencing a growth spurt, with housing developments rising on its north side, big construction projects dotting Eastern Washington University’s campus, and new businesses opening in and near downtown. The city’s full-time population grew by roughly 17 percent, to more than 10,000, between 2000 and 2005...

Big mixed-use project planned in Cheney
Development headed by former NFL player to include 1,300 housing units on 255 acres
Journal of Business - 10 Nov 2006
...CHENEY, WA - As part of the first phase of the project, a mixture of roughly 80 townhouses and cottages would be built on the property that runs just east of the railroad tracks, he says. Those dwellings would range in size from 1,000 square feet of floor space to 1,500 square feet, he says.

East of those homes, a complex would be built with roughly 48,000 square feet of floor space for offices and a community educational center. South of that complex, roughly 220 units targeted at Eastern Washington University students would be constructed in multifamily housing. Currently, about 20 percent of EWU’s students live on campus, and Emtman says he hopes the new housing would result in more students living in Cheney, rather than in surrounding communities. He also hopes to attract tenants to the office park that would employ those students.

“You’ve got to sell what you have, and our best resource is EWU,” Emtman says. “If more students could work here, they’d live here, too.”

The first phase also is to include non-apartment style, non-student multifamily structures with a total of 70 units and roughly 150 single-family homes, varying in size, he says. All of those units would be intended for permanent residents, rather than students. A wetland lies at the center of the planned first phase of the development, and Emtman says he’s working with Bend, Ore.-based GeoEngineers Inc.’s office here to improve and expand that into a park covering 10 acres...

Regents discuss turning U land into new community
The recommendations are based on principles the board decided on in February.
Minnesota Daily - 10 Nov 2006
...MINNEAPOLIS, MN - University officials discussed a plan Thursday to create a place for 20,000 to 30,000 people to live in Rosemount.

Part of the University-owned 12-square mile area - UMore Park - would be a livable community in 20 to 30 years.

Charles Muscoplat, vice president for statewide strategic resource development, presented the plan Thursday to the University Board of Regents and said Regents would discuss the plans over the next few months...

"We would lease them to college kids and use the profit to purchase more homes," Wu said.

Being a homeowner is what led Wu to the idea that landed him the spot in Business Week's entrepreneurial edition.

His idea was to create a Web site that would be user-friendly for college students looking for homes and apartments to rent.

The Web site, www.livebycampus.com, lists properties near popular college campuses. Wu also lists how close to campus the properties are and the amenities that surround the property.

"We noticed that properties near campus had a high turnover rate, and we saw a need for advertising towards this market," he said. "We also knew through experience that college students don't have a lot of experience with renting, so we wanted to put together a platform to help students search for housing."...

A deeper look at the tight Senate races
Tribune - 10 Nov 2006
...MISSOULA, MT - One interesting thing about Tester was his ability to really excite young voters. He lives out there, where the nearest town has about 800 people in it. So here's a rural guy with a flattop haircut who is not only appealing to but exciting the young liberals in Missoula. It's a college town, and Tester took it by a huge margin. It's arguable that Missoula swayed the race for him, because he got probably 3- to 4,000 more votes out of Missoula than people expected him to get, and that was essentially the margin of the race. So I think Tester's ability to excite young voters and at the same time appeal to older conservative voters in rural areas -- as much as a Democrat can in Montana -- really was important in the race for him...

They still didn't think it would be a lifelong occupation. "We thought we'd do it for a couple of years. We didn't see ourselves as getting into business or a career," Greenfield said.

Their community involvement started with showing outdoor movies and "little festivals," Greenfield said. But, "As the business grew, we became much more conscious of the role of business in society."

In 1985, they started the Ben & Jerry's Foundation, which received 7.5 percent of the profits for charity. "Even giving that high of a percentage, we got so many requests, we realized we could never give away enough money."...

Miami Students Design Clothes Pro-"Bono"
Miami University students aid a foreign country's economy through T-shirt sales
Miami Student - 10 Nov 2006
...OXFORD, OH - Who knew that a job selling T-shirts through a business fraternity could land a gig with Bono?

Eight weeks ago Mitchelides, a senior at Miami University, was talking to a friend outside the entrepreneurship office about his former job at a T-shirt company, when instructor of entrepreneurship Brett Smith overheard him. Smith quickly called Mitchelides into his office where he pitched an idea that would not only change Mitchelides' life, but thousands of people's across the world...

PLAN TO IMPROVE TOWN AND GOWN RELATIONS
THE University of St Andrews Students' Association has outlined a plan to improve the relationship between students and local residents.
Fife Today - 10 Nov 2006
...ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND - Students' Association president, Tom D'Ardenne, told members of St Andrews Community Council that the plan to be put into action next March would hopefully improve relations between ''town and gown.''
"The Students' Association is currently writing its long-term plan and we would like to be a useful part of the town, which is something, perhaps, that we aren't doing enough of at the moment," he said.

Lighting a candle for off-campus houses
Goshen College Record - 10 Nov 2006
...GOSHEN, IN - In 2004, the college administration decided to prevent students from living off campus. The clause was grandfathered in, meaning that next year’s senior class will be the first one affected by the policy. With few exceptions, after this year, all of the off-campus houses—a very important part of Goshen’s student culture—will be gone.

There is a strong distinction between commuting and living in an off-campus house. Many students who are classified as commuters live at home, while these off-campus houses function much like the small group houses owned by the college. A group of students lives in a house, usually one that has low-rent and is close to campus. These houses are still very different from college-owned houses, which are considered to be “on campus” and are governed by college rules even though they are separated geographically...

Balance needed on partying issues
Old Gold & Black - 11 Nov 2006
...WAKE FOREST, NC - This new approach constitutes the throwing down of the proverbial gauntlet. Not that we expect irate students to rise up in arms, but rather to simply leave. The university campus used to constitute a safe haven, a shelter from the dangers of the outside world.

When considering the implications of a mass migration towards off-campus parties, several disconcerting scenarios come to mind. These involve students wandering inebriated back from city venues, presenting themselves as easy targets for theft and rape. If this is the outcome of a university crackdown, then we argue that it is not the optimal solution...

Developers eye Princess Anne 'gateway'
Daily Times - 10 Nov 2006
...PRINCESS ANNE, MD - Applebee's, Bob's Big Boy and Dunkin' Donut were recognized brand names dropped by prospective land buyers who told members of the town Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday they were anxious to create a commercial community that would locate a restaurant, a bank and a hotel on Princess Anne's northern edge, a vacant strip identified by one official as "the gateway to town."

John Ent, a Princess Anne realtor, said he is in negotiation with a development group that wants to transform the 4-acre "bald field" at the corner of northbound Route 13 and UMES Boulevard into a retail center that would benefit both residents and students at the nearby University of Maryland Eastern Shore...

Council tables beer pong ban
Outdoor drinking games ordinance will not be considered until Dec. 5 meeting.
Oxford Press - 10 Nov 2006
...OXFORD, OH - There was standing room only at Oxford Courthouse Chamber Tuesday evening, even with more than 20 people seated on the floor.

More than 100 Miami students and Oxford citizens gathered at the City Council meeting to give input on the proposed ordinance banning outdoor drinking games, input that will have to wait for another day.

The Council tabled consideration of the ordinance until their Dec. 5 meeting, honoring a request of the Miami Student-Community Relations Committee that more time was needed for community and student input...

Cynthia Pfeifer Joins Place Properties as Chief Investment Officer
PRNewswire - 9 Nov 2006
...USA - Place Properties announced that Cynthia Pfeifer will be their first Chief InvestmentOfficer. [Pfeifer] will oversee the Place Properties' development teams in Atlanta and Dallas and her responsibilities include site selection, development and project performance for all new student and military housing deals across the nation.

Announced 6 weeks ago, Place Properties closed on a private placement fund for $205 million focused on student housing. [Pfeifer] will also evaluate each proposed student housing deal to ensure that it meets the requirements
set forth by the Fund...

Universities' key role in helping small businesses
Western Mail - 9 Nov 2006
...WALES - WELSH universities play a vital role in the economic well-being of Wales and the UK, but it's often the case that this is taken for granted, and sometimes not even recognised.

According to the most recent report by Universities UK, published in May of this year, higher education institutions are worth a staggering £45bn to the UK economy...

Out of the classroom and into the fire
Bowdoin Orient - 9 Nov 2006
...BRUNSWICK, ME - In any 90-minute class block, at least one student will usually leave the room at some point. The reasons are various and often mundane: A student might be going to use the bathroom; he might be going to blow his nose; he might be going to check his email.

When sophomore Ian Yaffe gets up and hurries out of class, he might be going to fight a fire...

Opera’s new diva: College Park
Squonk explores city in new show commissioned by the university
Gaxette - 9 Oct 2006
...COLLEGE PARK, MD - Like any city, College Park has its downside, but today and Friday, residents, students and anyone intrigued by Maryland’s college town can get a taste of its history, quirkiness and grandeur in ‘‘College Park: The Opera,” at the university’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center...

Neighbors just want to be in the know
SUMMARY: This time, the University of Montana should be transparent about plans for South Campus.
Missoulian - 9 Nov 2006
...MISSOULA, MT - If the Highlands purchase is intended as a way to “replace” the University Golf Course, then UM needs to say that right off. If it would open the door to another subdivision proposal or more dormitories or academic buildings at the South Campus site, then UM needs to say that as well.

Show the neighborhood - indeed, show all of Missoula - the plan. Or the proposed plan. Let people get involved early. Listen to what they say and take the community's wishes into account.

Missoula loves its hometown university and the students who live and work here during their college years. We welcome them to our neighborhoods, and for the most part live well together.

Prop. 207 may snag neighborhood plans
Star - 9 Nov 2006
...TUCSON, AZ - The goal of the group since it began meeting in April has been to devise a zoning change that would prohibit the building of "mini-dorms" in the residential area north of the University of Arizona.

Tuesday's passage of Proposition 207, which orders compensation for any land-use plan that reduces the value of property anywhere in Arizona, could make such a zoning change expensive and politically impossible, planners and government lawyers say...

Balancing freedom and responsibility
Our expectation is that students will use common sense, respect one another and their neighbors and act responsibly.
Minnesota Daily - 9 Nov 2006
...MINNEAPOLIS, MN - The number of students choosing to live near campus is increasing and this is good news for the University. It was only 15 years ago that most University students considered themselves commuters; today, less than a third consider themselves commuters. Not having to commute allows students to spend more time in academic and cocurricular activities that can significantly enhance the learning experience.

The increase in rental properties and decrease in owner-occupied housing, however, place new strains on our neighborhoods and threaten to substantially change these communities. The increase in crime and the problems with "party houses" reflect these changes...

City Hall shenanigans
Diamondback - 9 Nov 2006
...COLLEGE PARK, MD - It has developed a threefold strategy to achieve this goal and manipulate the city housing market. These policies, combined with the increasing demand students have for housing near the campus, translate into the desperate housing crunch we face today. This means high rents now and even higher rents in the near future.

Last year the council enacted its "rent stabilization ordinance," capping single-family house rents at 1 percent of a building's assessed value. Students were quick to realize this policy did nothing to address the real reason for the high cost of renting in College Park - sheer lack of housing. The city's vacancy rate stands at an amazingly low 2.8 percent, and students have shown that they are willing to pay a premium to live near the campus in what basically amounts to slum housing. Indeed, the rent stabilization ordinance explicitly states the council's goal of "reducing the number of single-family homes that are rental properties," in order to "stabilize neighborhoods." One might logically conclude that, after taking action removing students from neighborhoods, the council would do everything it could to facilitate more student towers like the University View.

That, unfortunately, is not the case. There are three major projects being planned: The 17-story Northgate Condos next to the University View, the 7-story Mosaic at Turtle Creek behind Hillel and the 9-story building slated for construction on the present-day City Hall site. The council requires developers of these projects to include covenants in deeds that prohibit most of the units from becoming rentals. This policy abandons the free market and pursues a blind and unsubstantiated whim that these sites are somehow amenable to non-student residents. College Park developers cringe at these sorts of exactions, as do the banks that finance their projects...

Brighton and Manchester top places to be a student
24dash - 9 Nov 2006
...UK - Accommodation for Students, the UK's No 1 student accommodation website, has just released new data identifying the best places to be a student, based on nearly 32,000 student reviews from 78 university towns.

Equal first with a score of 62% are Brighton and Manchester in England, and Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee in Scotland. Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Cardiff, Swansea, Exeter, Plymouth, Belfast, Oxford and Southampton are among the second tier that scored 60%...

S.U. can build townhouses if they pay taxes, Shippensburg Township says
Sentinel - 9 Nov 2006
...SHIPPENSBURG, PA - If the Shippensburg University Foundation completes a plan to build a 21-unit off-campus townhouse complex, Shippensburg Township authorities want the property to remain in the taxable column.

Supervisors Saturday granted a conditional-use request for the project with the demand that it remain on the tax roll...

College students shell out cash for the pampered life
Tribune - 9 Nov 2006
...CHICAGO, IL - It's not just young professionals who are shelling out cash for convenience. College students (read: their parents) are also paying to live the cushy life.

The cramped, dingy dorms of yore are increasingly being replaced by upscale student housing boasting amenities you might find at a luxury high rise...

Buyers market might benefit students
Minnesota Daily - 9 Nov 2006
...MINNEAPOLIs, MN - High rent near the University drove finance and entrepreneurial management junior Alex Ablamunets to take out loans and make a joint purchase of a Riverview Tower condominium on the West Bank in September 2005.

Ablamunets and his roommate were able to get low financing, making his $450 monthly payments comparable to average rent...

"Students can get financing. We had barely any income to show and they still financed us at a low rate," Ablamunets said...

Amanda Dennis: Oxford will always feel like home
Oxford Press- 8 Nov 2006
...OXFORD, OH - Half way into my third year of school here, I've realized that Oxford is the college town I was looking for all along. I just couldn't pinpoint it at the time. My opinion of Oxford has surely changed, and the town continues to impress me more with every year that I spend here.

I like being able to walk Uptown to get my bottomless cup of coffee at Kofenya, where the mugs are homemade and the regular bunch is always studying or talking with friends. I like catching $5.50 movies at the Princess, a real treasure as far as modern cinemas go. I love to wake up early and go to the farmer's market Uptown on Saturday mornings to marvel at the fresh vegetables and crafts displayed by local vendors. And most of all, I love that as the years go by, I have slowly started to recognize nonstudents when I walk up High Street...

Is downtown life too quiet for students?
Republic - 8 Nov 2006
...PHOENIX, AZ - Heather Gibson says that when a homeless man gave her "high fives" as she walked to classes she knew she had little to fear as a university student in downtown Phoenix.

Gibson, 19, of Tolleson, is one of about 2,700 Arizona State University students who are the guinea pigs in the multi-million dollar experiment of placing a campus in the heart of Phoenix.

Now, three months after school began, students say the new campus is a safe and convenient place to go to class, but it certainly isn't social-life central...

Pedaling around town isn't so bad after all
Bee - 8 Nov 2006
...DAVIS, CA - Before moving to Fresno in 1998, I lived in Davis, a college town about 15 miles west of Sacramento.

Besides being home to a University of California campus, Davis owns the distinction as the most bicycle-friendly community in the United States.

In Davis, the bike lanes on many streets are as wide as the car lanes. Major intersections have bike-only light designators. Dedicated bike tunnels and overpasses are numerous, and residential areas are connected with more than 50 miles of bike- and pedestrian-only paths called greenbelts.

Cycling is so much a part of Davis that city officials adopted a 1890s-style highwheeler as its official logo...

Walter Seward keeps his enthusiasm for Rutgers at age 110
USA Today - 8 Nov 2006
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — To say Walter Seward is the oldest college football fan in the country isn't a stretch. After all, he is 110. To say it took Rutgers 110 years to give this Class of 1917 alumnus something to cheer about isn't much of an overstatement, either....

Permitting failure
WE SAY: Restricting grad students is a poor solution to IU's parking problems
IDSnews - 8 Nov 2006
...BLOOMINGTON, IN - This is a shortsighted and poorly conceived solution. The housing market in Bloomington makes it such that many faculty, staff and students live far from campus and simply must drive to school. Those same people will still have to drive to campus if parking permits are further restricted, but they might have to choose between a headache of a commute and coughing up more cash...

Graduate students are required to bear much of the teaching load. They are asked to teach classes and grade many assignments in addition to doing their research. To make it extremely inconvenient for them to even get to work is hardly the thanks they deserve for their toil...

A Resurgence in Cleveland
New York Times - 8 Nov 2006
...CLEVELAND, OH — Nottingham Spirk, an industrial design firm, was founded in 1972 by two recent graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Art, in an area known as University Circle. The young designers set up shop just off campus and proceeded to build a multimillion-dollar company.

Having outgrown their old space but reluctant to leave the area, the two men, John Nottingham and John Spirk, bought a historic church and invested $10 million to convert it into both an industrial design studio and a prototype manufacturing center. They moved in last year, keeping 70 high-wage, high-skill jobs in the area.

Columbia officials approve crackdown on off-campus parties
News-Leader - 8 Nov 2006
...COLUMBIA, MO — Tired of off-campus parties that are anything but fun for nearby homeowners, elected leaders in this college town on Monday unanimously approved new laws cracking down on nuisance party hosts and their landlords.

The ordinances include tougher punishments for loud or rowdy social gatherings of 10 or more people and define 16 nuisance activities, from drug dealing and prostitution to littering and blocking traffic.

Violations can result in fines ranging from $500 to $4,000. In the case of repeated nuisance parties, the city could close the property for up to one year, the Columbia Missourian reported today...

Building on Faith
A West Philly landmark will become student housing.
Philadelphia Weekly - 8 Nov 2006
...PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Divine Tracy Hotel, a West Philly landmark that was run for more than half a century by Father Divine’s eccentric International Peace Mission Movement, has been sold to Trammell Crow real estate development company, and is now being overhauled to serve as dormitory-style apartments beginning next fall...

City's bars, nightclubs now closed to minors
Preliminary results show voters backed the new ordinance.
News-Leader - 8 Nov 2006
...SPRINGFIELD, MO - College students and other young adults in Springfield will have fewer options for entertainment this weekend.

A proposal to ban anyone younger than 21 from local bars and nightclubs passed Tuesday, according to preliminary results released by the Greene County Clerk's office. It takes effect immediately...

Head to Head
Spectator- 8 Nov 2006
...HAMILTON, ON - McMaster University and its students used to enjoy a special place in the hearts of many people in Westdale, but lately many residents of that neighbourhood believe the McMaster campus is absolutely drenched and pickled in beer, liquor and wine -- and student behaviour in Westdale reflects that.

McMaster's campuswide liquor licence capacity is 4,634 licensed seats -- among the largest non-stadium licence capacities in Canada. A bar is open somewhere on campus most of the time. There is room for one of every five students to drink in a licensed campus location...

College Town Welcomes Penn College Student to Leadership Role
College Town initiative connects students to surrounding community.
PC Today - 7 Nov 2006
...WILLIAMSPORT, PA - Penn College freshman Diego Silva, an Information Technology student from Springfield, Va., has been named co-chair of the student subcommittee of the College Town Committee. Also serving as co-chair is Jennifer Mazaika, a junior from Lycoming College.
The committee, which is part of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, includes local government and business leaders, as well as student and staff representatives from Penn College, Lycoming College and Newport Business Institute, who work together to promote local activities and events that connect students to the community...

Nuisance law takes aim at loud parties
Property owners can be fined $4,000.
Tribune - 7 Nov 2006
...COLUMBIA, MO - The law, which passed unanimously last night, outlaws large parties where property damage, fighting, littering, indecent exposure or illegal drug sales occur. Landlords can be prosecuted if police determine there are three nuisance parties on the property within a year.

The party ordinance says violations also can result in revocation of a landlord’s license to rent property in the city and lead to fines of as much as $4,000. A provision that said landlords could be jailed for violations was struck from the law yesterday...

Groups seek to clear up questions on voter rights
The Dartmouth - 7 Nov 2006
...HANOVER, NH - A number of College organizations are working to encourage students to cast their votes this Election Day, whether it be with an absentee ballot or at the polls, using their controversial domicile status.

Although the New Hampshire legislature introduced a bill last year that would bar college students from claiming domicile, the governor, partially in response to a student backlash, vetoed it...

Leases may ban election signs
While governments by law cannot ban or remove political signs, the owners of the property can.
Roanoke.com - 7 Nov 2006
...BLACKSBURG, VA - It isn't until election season that some people realize they've signed away some of their free-speech rights.

These are people who rent houses or apartments or who have bought property in a community governed by a homeowners association, and who -- whether they knew it or not at the time -- put their name on agreements that limit political expression.

Moriah O'Brien was frustrated to find out recently that the owners of the town house she rents in Blacksburg's Maple Ridge community could keep her from posting election signs.

The Virginia Tech junior asked permission to post signs for Democratic candidates in her windows and was told she couldn't. Manager Candy Lane confirmed Friday that Maple Ridge leases ban residents from displaying posters, flags and election signs in windows or on the grounds...

Join the community and 'eat out' on campus
Hearld-Leader - 7 Nov 2006
...COLUMBIA, KY - For several decades, folks in this Adair County seat headed for the Circle R restaurant when they went out to eat, because it was about all the town of 4,200 had to offer.

There are a few more choices today, and diners favor newer spots such as Betty's OK Country Cooking, the Red Barn Barbecue and Catfish Plus, and there are now the fast-food chains.

But Columbia's real community center can be found at lunch on weekdays and Sundays after church, when a host of diners make the trek "up the hill" to Lindsey Wilson College, where a school-owned-and-operated dining hall welcomes customers with open arms.

"I think this is the place," said Sheila Bryant, a Columbia pharmacist, who had the Sunday meal last week with her husband, children and grandchildren. "In the last 10 years, this has been a huge asset to our community."...

UCSB Urges Tent City To Vacate
Demonstrators Leave For Parents’ Weekend, Plan To Continue Legal Fight
Daily Nexus - 7 Nov 2006
...SANTA BARBARA, CA - Pledging to continue their crusade for the evicted tenants of the Cedarwood Apartments and for an increase in university service workers’ wages, Tent City protesters packed up their possessions Friday, ending their 16-day campout in front of Storke Tower.

The activists said the university placed pressure on them to leave the premises, despite the fact that neither issue was resolved to their satisfaction: The Cedarwood tenants settled with the property’s new owner in court last week on what supporters said were unfair terms, while UCSB service workers have yet to receive a wage increase they claim they are owed. Regardless, the protesters swore on Friday to continue pursuing the causes...

Education Realty's FFO, revenues grow
Business Journal - 7 Nov 2006
...USA - Education Realty Trust had a 23.5 percent increase in funds from operations for the third quarter 2006 to $400,000.

Revenues for the Memphis-based real estate investment trust increased 16.6 percent to $27.8 million during the third quarter 2006, compared to $23.8 million for the third quarter of 2005.

In 2006, occupancy increased to 96.6 percent from 95.9 percent in 2005. Net apartment rent per available bed increased 4.9 percent to $365 for September 2006 compared to $348 for the same period in 2005.

Prime Property Investors, Ltd. Announces Student Housing Property Acquisition at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana
PRNewswire - 7 Nov 2006
...BLOOMINGTON, IN - Prime Property Investors, Ltd. announced the acquisition of two student housing apartment buildings adjacent to the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington. The acquisition of the 72 bed facilities marks Prime's first entry into the Indiana University market. The properties located on Cottage Grove and Eleventh Street are within a short walking distance to the center of campus and are 100 % occupied. Prime plans major property renovations and upgrades to the buildings. The properties will be re-branded University Townhomes I and II.

Prime Property Investors, Ltd. is a rapidly growing investment firm building a national portfolio of student housing properties. The firm has been aggressively expanding and will seek to increase its property holdings at the IU campus...

That's the opinion of some Miami University students, drinkers and nondrinkers alike, when it comes to Oxford City Council's proposed outdoor drinking ban ordinance.

The ordinance, which would prohibit playing drinking games or displaying furniture used for drinking games in public sight, was first introduced by Oxford City Council Oct. 17 and has been the source of controversy ever since. City Council is to vote on the ordinance Tuesday

Tempe officials consider banning EdgeFest
Associated Press - 6 Nov 2006
...TEMPE, AZ - - Officials in the Arizona college city of Tempe are for the first time discussing whether to ban an event from a lakeside park for its rowdiness.

Police say bands screamed vulgar lyrics, concertgoers drank too much and the smell of marijuana was "pervasive" at this year's EdgeFest, an all-day concert held Sept. 30...

City officials have discussed not letting the event return despite its popularity. That would be a first for events at Tempe Beach Park, a sprawling lakeside area just north of Arizona State University.

"We've really never been in this position before," said Travis Dray, deputy director of parks and recreation...

City awash in ideas for ways to brand it
News-Record - 6 Nov 2006
...GREENSBORO, NC - Unlike Oakland, Calif., which native Gertrude Stein once insulted by saying "there's no there there," Greensboro has a "there."

That's the consensus of Action Greensboro, which has been working for months to pinpoint that "there."...

One question Action Greensboro posed was whether Greensboro needs to brand itself the way companies, colleges and products do with logos and slogans.

The answer, says Action Greensboro consultant Dabney Sanders, was an overwhelming yes. Only a few, she says, expressed doubts whether a unified brand message should be conceived in a city that, in the words of one person, "means different things to different people."...

Proof is in the numbers, and at the Missoula Food Bank volunteers have served nearly 1,000 more people than they did a year ago, according to records kept by the nonprofit agency...

On Sunday, the food bank got a huge boost from a handful of community-minded University of Montana students.

The students organized and held a food drive called “Missoula's Food for Families” in the foyer of the Missoula Public Library, where they collected well over 100 pounds of food...

The Sunday food drive was the grand finale of the students' project, many of whom also went door-to-door in the university neighborhood asking for canned goods on Halloween...

Local business stepped in to give the students a hand with Sunday's event by donating impressive items for several raffles the students held as a way to say thanks to all the people who donated food...

Labels are handy, but don't judge too quickly
Roanoke.com - 5 Nov 2006
...BLACKSBURG, VA - Few people know that I have a system to evaluate story ideas and that not infrequently it's possible to determine which are likely to prove most interesting to readers, and to draw the most responses.

In recent days the story of Susan Tate's objections to the manner in which her son Carter's car wound up getting towed from outside his apartment in Blacksburg stood near the top of the list. That's why I wrote about it...

For students, it's all about the economy
Press Herald - 6 Nov 2006
...MAINE - Although presidential elections usually bring the largest surge of voting in Maine's college towns, this year's mid-term elections are generating buzz on the state's campuses.
Some of the most active campaigners in the weeks leading up to Tuesday's election have been college students. They're turning out at debates to hold signs for their favorite candidates. They're spending their weekends distributing leaflets door-to-door. And they're firing off letters to editors to support their causes...

Colorado's campus chaos offers lessons
Gainesville Sun - 6 Nov 2006
...BOULDER, CO - The morning after the 2000 riot, when University of Colorado students set couches on fire and threw bricks through car windows for the seventh time since 1997, Jane Stoyva assessed her neighborhood and decided it was time for a change.

"It was an atmosphere of depression," said Stoyva, who's lived in Boulder's leafy, historic University Hill neighborhood since 1971. "There was a car overturned and trash everywhere. I looked around and thought, 'This is dreadful.' "

That led Stoyva and her neighbors to start the University Hill Neighborhood Association, a group whose name has become synonymous with the drastic changes the University Hill neighborhood has gone through in recent years.

The neighborhood is quieter and more peaceful today, making it and the group that cleaned it up a sort of living laboratory for university cities having problems with town-gown relations in general and homeowner-student renter relations in particular...

Landlords held responsible for tenants generates debate
Gainesville Sun - 6 Nov 2006
...GAINESVILLE, FL - Gainesville officials have conscripted the city's 2,213 landlords to solve the problem of unruly student tenants in family neighborhoods - whether they like it or not.

They came up with the idea three years ago as a way to help a dozen code enforcement officers keep track of 3,730 rental homes.

The city's Landlord License System is a nationally recognized program that gives property owners a choice: rein in their tenants or lose the rental...

Fortune Graduates to Student Mortgages
SourceWire - 6 Nov 2006
...UK - Capital Fortune, the award winning Independent Mortgage Advisers based in London have entered the student market with a bang.

They have teamed up with some of the largest lending names in the industry to offer affordable mortgage deals to the student market allowing them to get a foot onto the property ladder.

Student accommodation in the past has been a lucrative business for landlords but never for students. Whilst University towns across the UK have experienced some of the highest capital growth due to growing student numbers, the standard of some accommodation has caused concern for student leaders...

Election Day merits campus attention
Badger Herald - 6 Nov 2006
...MADISON, WI - For the past few weeks the Vote Coalition has registered over 4,000 students across campus. The coalition consists of ASM, WISPRIG, MCSC, Impact, USSA, United Council, University Housing, the office of Dean of students, Homecoming committee, TAA, Campus women’s center, and Wisconsin BSU.

These registration numbers were totaled after education events at Liz Waters, Ogg, and Witte; the Get the Scoop Event on Bascom Hill; registration of numerous Greek fraternities and sororities; and endless hours of tabling around campus. The coalition and its dedicated volunteers are overly excited as November 7th approaches. They can be seen all over campus asking students to sign pledge cards and notifying them of their polling location. (Polling locations can be found at www.buckyvote.com)...

You've got options: Now get out and vote
Now, more than ever, we have a duty to exercise this most basic right.
Minnesota Daily - 6 Nov 2006
...MINNEAPOLIS, MN - r. Martin Luther King Jr. contended that civic right No. 1 was the right to vote. Now, more than ever, we have a duty to exercise this most basic right.

The issues facing young students are numerous and potentially frightening. Tuition has risen over 50 percent in the last five years at the University. More and more students are unable to pursue their dreams of higher education. Those who make it through college aren't faring better: The average Minnesotan graduates $19,700 in debt. Health care is nearly unattainable for young people, and affordable housing is in short supply. Students shy away from their dream jobs, such as teaching or serving the public sector, because they fear not making ends meet. We are supposed to be the generation of hope and discovery, but we have become the generation of debt and working poverty...

Kenilworth builds new ties to community
UWM housing/art studios project is one of several giving east side a boost
Journal-Sentinel - 6 Nov 2006
...MILWAUKEE, WI - neighborhood concerns about the building becoming a noisy, crowded dorm were eased when UWM officials agreed to restrict the apartments to older students, including senior and junior undergraduates. The redevelopment plan gained Common Council approval in 2005.

The Peck School's plans for public gallery space and performance venues will help integrate the Kenilworth property into the neighborhood, said Randy Bryant, who owns several residential properties on the east side.

He also praised the building's link to a neighborhood bike path and the creation of office space within the building for The Water Tower Landmark Trust, a neighborhood group.

"In my opinion, the entire project is a great success," said Bryant, who helped negotiate the agreement with UWM officials to lease the Kenilworth apartments to older students...

Duke sticks to Central Campus retail figure
Herald-Sun - 6 Nov 2006
...DURHAM, NC - Campus leaders at Duke University are sticking to their insistence that the rezoning of Central Campus allow 50,000 square feet of retail space, but they now say at least 40 percent of that will be transferred from elsewhere on the Duke campus.

The stipulation appeared in the latest list of "committed elements" submitted last week by the university to support its request for a rezoning of the 128-acre Central Campus tract...

Neighbors and merchants have sought a 30,000-square-foot cap on overall retail development, and a per-store limit of 7,500 square feet. They worry that larger allotments will create tax-exempt competition for private-sector retailers on Ninth Street, at Northgate Mall and elsewhere...

Ellensburg development -- in or out?
Herald-Republic - 6 Nov 2006
...ELLENSBURG, WA - Although more people are paying property taxes, it's still not enough to cover all the city's operating costs. City officials believe that more sales and sales tax would cover the difference.

"We have no industry, and the taxation pattern to provide amenities is expensive," Barkley said. "That puts us in a difficult position to keep the tax levy low to provide amenities people want."

Most residents agree that Ellensburg needs more stores, but there's less agreement about how many or where they should be. Some think growth should be in the downtown core. Others say land outside the city's center should be developed...

Safety team begins off-campus inspections
Beacon - 5 Nov 2006
...WILKES-BARRE, PA - Parents face many challenges when it is time to let their offspring leave the nest.

So when parents send their sons and daughters off to college, they have to trust that their children's safety is being addressed. However, as fires at Seton Hall, Bloomsburg, Chapel Hill and other college communities have illustrated, fire can challenge that sense of security.

Locally, in order to ensure a safe environment without stifling students' sense of independence, city and university officials have put together a team to update and examine off campus students' housing safety regulations...

Don't Let Weak Housing Market Drive You to Abandon Your Real Estate Career, Industry Expert Says
RIS Media - 5 Nov 2006
...USA - Career opportunities can also be found in fast-growing niche markets such as development and ownership of green buildings, senior housing, student housing, and health care facilities, and in the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic properties. Nonprofit organizations are looking for people to help build and operate low-income housing, homeless shelters, rehabilitation centers, and other facilities...

Mayor appoints deputy director
Express-Times - 5 Nov 2006
...BETHLEHEM - Rutgers University's executive manager of community projects is coming to work in the economic development office of Bethlehem, home to two universities and a community college...

"Vossough's planning experience and her project management skills will be very instrumental in establishing collaborative relationships geared towards retaining and attracting businesses to the city," Mayor John Callahan said in a news release. "Her experience in town-gown relationships and her governmental and community relationship building experiences will also serve as an asset."..

New Rules of Real Estate: Invest Where the Kids Are
Business 2.0 Magazine - Nov 2006
...USA - One of the many oddities of real estate investing is that the best time to plunge in is usually just when things are starting to go south - meaning now.

No room at the U:Some universities are addig students faster than they are dorms. That's a recipe for strong rental demand.

These universities have the lowest ratios of ratios of school-owned beds to students, and ideal situation for prospective landlords...

More students living off campus than ever before
Sun - 5 Nov 2006
...GAINESVILLE, FL - Any Gainesville native can tell you that things have changed at the University of Florida in the past 10 years.

The growth of UF is clearly visible in the cramped parking lots, stacked full with scooters. With some 47,000 students on the Gainesville campus, crosswalks at W. University Avenue appear a blur of backpacks, iPods and Hollister-logo T-shirts.

UF is now the fourth-largest university in the nation, and the vast majority of students live somewhere other than campus. Despite enrollment spikes, the percentage of students living on campus hasn't changed much in recent years, and that means more students are living off campus than ever before...

Small UF office strives to train 'great Gator neighbors'
Sun - 5 Nov 2006
...GAINESVILLE, FL - When neighbors balk about University of Florida students blaring loud music until all hours of the night or dumping garbage on their lawns, they sometimes end up face-to-face with Nora Kilroy.

Kilroy, who directs UF's fledgling Office of Off-Campus Life, does not appear to be the crotchety disciplinarian one might expect in such a job. Charged in part with correcting rowdy student behavior, Kilroy has taken the softer approach of a counselor or a peace-broker, rejecting the notion that she should be handing out punishment...

Neighborhoods, city grapple with problems tied to student renters
Sun - 5 Nov 2006
...GAINESVILLE, FL - Charged with quieting Gainesville's streets on most weekend nights, GPD's Party Patrol may be Gainesville's most direct attempt to pacify the neighborhoods surrounding UF. Officers working overtime on Party Patrol respond to between 100 and 300 calls a month.

It's a group and a mission that has gained new importance in recent months as city officials have turned renewed attention on the problems caused by rentals in single-family neighborhoods...

Where’s the fire?
Star - 5 Nov 2006
...USA - Did you know, most college-related fatal fires happen in off-campus housing — where three-quarters of all students live. Common factors include alcohol, smoking materials and disabled smoke alarms.

Make sure your student’s residence has UL-listed fire extinguishers and working smoke alarms. Battery-powered wireless alarms link so that when one sounds, all sound, offering more escape time.

What the minimum wage means to college students
Tribune - 5 Nov 2006
...SALT LAKE CITY, UT - As a sophomore attending Utah State University, I know firsthand about the many expenses students have and the lack of funds to pay for them. According to USU's official tuition and fees statement, the average cost for in-state tuition in 2004 was $1,975 per semester. If you don't take into account additional fees and costs, that adds up to about $15,797 for four years of schooling...

Low wages and high education costs mean that many of us have to take out huge student loans or work multiple jobs. People simply cannot continue to live on $5.15 an hour. We require more than that to survive in today's world...

Winooski roundabout wins praise, some criticism
Burlington Free Press - 5 Nov 2006
...WINOOSKI , VT - The city of Winooski seems finally to be getting comfortable with its big, new roundabout...

"It seems to work as well as any rotary," said Shealy, who is from Massachusetts, where roundabouts are common. The University of Vermont senior lives in Spinner Place, a new student-housing complex in downtown Winooski. ..

Retiree heaven
Banner-Herald - 5 Nov 2006
...ATHENS, GA - The November issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine names Athens as the "Best College Town for Retirees" in the publication's annual Best of Everything listing.

Kiplinger's states, "There are plenty of good candidates, but we choose Athens, Ga. Home to the sprawling University of Georgia, this city of about 100,000 is a nice compromise between urban Atlanta and smaller towns that have less of a cultural scene. The cost of living is below the national average, and prices for modest homes average less than $160,000. Athens boasts award-winning restaurants, a restored downtown, two excellent hospitals and three golf courses. And the university offers free classes to anyone who's over age 62."...

How much green can rich town afford?
Globe - 5 Nov 2006
...WESTON, MA - While other towns are struggling to find ways to build new schools and replace outmoded fire stations, Weston is asking its residents to spend $22.5 million on 62 acres of rolling fields and forest.

And judging by the green signs of support around town and lack of organized resistance, they may well vote "yes" at the polls Tuesday on a ballot question asking for a debt exclusion. That would set the stage for a vote the next night on the purchase itself by a Special Town Meeting.

Harvard University said it would sell the property, known as the Case Estates, to Weston for the same price offered by a developer. Town zoning would allow up to 30 houses on one-acre lots

Trustees approve "lodges" at IU-Southeast
WTHR - 4 Nov 2006
...NEW ALBANY, IN - - Trustees at Indiana University Southeast have approved plans for five "lodges" that would house 404 students.

The housing would be built around a lake on the New Albany campus. Two state agencies still must approve plans for the 20 million dollar project, which Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles says could be completed by fall 2008.

The lodges would be the first on-campus housing at the campus across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky...

Students rate city best place to live in UK
Evening News - 4 Nov 2006
...EDINBURGH, UK - Edinburghis the best place to live in the whole of the UK, according to a poll of students.

Scotland's Capital scored significantly higher than London and Cambridge and narrowly pipped well-known university cities including Belfast, Oxford, Swansea and Cardiff, in the poll of 32,000 students.
Click to learn more...

Students from 78 university towns rated their location across five criteria - going out, shops, transport links, community and facilities...

Student groups work together to make voting easier
NW Arkansas Times - 4 Nov 2006
...FAYETTEVILLE, AR - Campus organizations pulled together this year to offer a program helping students access early voting at the Washington County Courthouse.

The University Programs Campus Daytime Committee, Residents’ Interhall Congress, University Housing, NAACP and Young Democrats joined to bring Democracy on Wheels to the University of Arkansas. The programs offers rides to and from the courthouse in the days before the Tuesday’s general election to encourage students to exercise their voting rights...


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