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College Town Life | Featured College Towns | College Town Issues | |
11-17 Fresno
State student-athletes mentor kids City leaders on Friday unveiled the El Dorado Neighborhood Center, complete with a computer lab and library, west of the university on Barstow Avenue. The Fresno State Athletic Department also announced that college students will coach children from nearby impoverished neighborhoods in various activities and academics ... Look,
just grow up and kick out the kids Having enjoyed a free university education, I genuinely feel sorry for young graduates starting life with a pound-shaped ball and chain around their ankles while trying to afford ludicrously overpriced housing. But who makes them so obsessed with scrambling on to the property ladder? Could it be those thousands of middle-class parents who not only nag their children about being left behind in the property boom from age 18 but actually buy nice properties for them to live in as university students à la Cherie Blair? Don’t they see that the whole point of being a student is to exist like a pig in filth so that you are motivated for ever more to get off your backside and never live that way again? ... Economy
League’s new director wants group to advocate for policies The study found that the tax-exempt institutions place significant burdens on public resources such as police and firefighting, and exert downward pressure on property values. The study suggested a variety of means to bring more revenue to college towns to compensate. Lock Haven and Bloomsburg were two of the five towns studied ... SIUE
gets more than 6,000 applicants ... the expansion in university housing has been a factor in attracting more traditional students, ages 19 to 24 ... An
Honest Conversation About Alcohol His comments didn’t surprise college presidents, many of whom boast about dry campuses or dry Greek systems that don’t actually exist. But the prevailing attitude among college leaders about McCardell and his column was: “Easy for him to say now that he’s retired — and he may well be right, but it’s not like he could ever do something about this.” McCardell is about to try ... Boulder
renters pay the big bucks The annual Coldwell Banker College Home Price Comparison Index, which measures the average cost of a 2,000 square foot home, named Boulder as having the eighth most expensive housing costs of 119 Division 1-A colleges. Students hoping to find affordable housing will also fight zoning restrictions and a growing landlord-friendly market. "In general, Boulder is an expensive place to live, and in comparison to other college towns, is very expensive. I mean, just in comparison to Ft. Collins, it is almost night and day," said Hugh Boles with the off-campus student services office ... Woodlark
Buys Apts to Spur Student Housing He says the former owner’s lender had a restriction that only 10% of the property could be rented to students. “When you dig in a little further, you find that comparable student housing properties are getting a premium to the rent they were getting at Forest Oaks,” O’Brien says. “We figure, on a transitional basis, that we’ll rent more to students, and try to bring our rents up to the line fetched at other properties. Even if we don’t, it’s a 94% occupied property, and very well managed by the Sterling Group.” Rent at the complex is between $600 and $830 per month ... Managing
the housing boom If all goes as planned, once opened this would be the third such large off-campus housing development to pop up in span of five years, totaling almost 700 apartments and nearly 2,300 beds. Others include American Campus Communities' University Village at Sweet Home and their proposed Willow Ridge-area complex. According to President John B. Simpson, by 2020 UB will have grown by 10,000 students, and yet there is presently nowhere to house such a large number of new pupils. In fact, we have trouble finding rooms and beds for the population we have now ... Store
leaves locals hungry By next Friday, the store will be closed, leaving Kent without a supermarket. The closest one will be Acme on state Route 59 in Franklin Township ... "The recent announcement of the closing of the Giant Eagle store on South Water and the previous closing of Tops is just unacceptable to our area residents, especially the aged and disabled residents of Tower 43," ... 12
more face charges in UMass football riot The students face charges that include rioting, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct. To date, UMass has charged 23 people, 22 of them students, with taking part in a riot that erupted on Dec. 15, minutes after Appalachian State defeated the UMass Minutemen in the NCAA Division I Football championship in Chattanooga, Tenn ... The riot involved 2,000 people and resulted in $100,000 in property damage in the Southwest residence hall plaza. The night was marked by fires, looting, destruction of property and physical assaults. Flattened trash cans, chunks of concrete and full beer cans were thrown at UMass, state and Amherst police officers, who wore full riot gear. Police arrested 11 people that night, 10 of whom were students ... New
Off-Campus Affairs office collaborates with Oxford The Office of Off-Campus Affairs is a division of the Office of Student Affairs and a collaboration with the city of Oxford ... Nothing
says love quite like pink beer Four Miami juniors have started what they hope becomes a new tradition in the college town - Pink Beer Day. The idea was inspired by Miami's popular Green Beer Day, which is held every year on the Thursday before the school's spring break in honor of St. Patrick's Day ... City
encourages developers to build student apartments Barrie’s development services committee is recommending the city create a Community Improvement Plan, which requires provincial approval, a plan that’s similar to the one that kick-started investment downtown. The incentive package waives an array of fees, offers grants, and even scales back taxes payable for the first five years of occupancy ... “We can look at the entire neighbourhood area and look for opportunities to partner with the private sector and establish more student housing,” he explained, noting that the city receives no complaints relating to the private, student residences on Bell Farm Road. Those buildings are privately managed ... McCardell
proposes a new legal drinking age President Emeritus John M. McCardell, Jr. is preparing to launch a national campaign for legislation that would effectively lower state minimum drinking age laws to 18 for young adults who passed alcohol education courses. To support the campaign, McCardell and his student research team plan to work under the umbrella of a newly-incorporated not-for-profit organization named Choose Responsibility. The campaign and the new organization come after more than a year of research by McCardell's team, which granted The Campus an interview and preview of their findings just before the Feb break. "We don't want to be a bunch of people beating our spoons on a highchair saying we want beer," said McCardell, who stressed the "commonsense" logic of his group's proposal. Rather than simply lowering the national legal drinking age from 21 to 18, Choose Responsibility advocates that states launch alcohol education programs to teach young adults about responsible purchase, possession and consumption. Upon successful completion of an alcohol safety course, a participant could receive a new license granting them full adult privileges to use alcohol at age 18, according to a draft copy of Choose Responsibility's proposal ... Y.
to restrict singles to a 2-mile block And if Provo City Councilwoman Cindy Clark can help it, the city will restrict all construction of new student apartment complexes to that area — if not even closer to BYU. Clark floated the idea of a city-imposed moratorium on new student apartment complexes during a meeting on Tuesday. She found no allies for an absolute moratorium but unanimous support for the idea of restricting where new complexes can be built ... BUSINESS
VIEW: Students work with city on creative economy UMass
Dartmouth eyed as site of over-55 housing Businesses
in Downtown Blacksburg Struggle Monthly rent in the shopping area where Sole Mate is located ranges from $10 to $17 per square foot per month depending on the age of the lease. “Blacksburg rents are too much, and the property tax that you have to pay in Blacksburg for Montgomery County is a lot higher than any of the surrounding counties too É which is a detriment,” Holiday said ... Blacksburg
bicycle co-op preaches power of the pedal Similar cooperatives have been successful in other college towns, such as Oberlin, Ohio, and Santa Cruz, Calif. According to Messallam, it all began at Oberlin College. They "were kind of the model that inspired others to open," he said. The co-op at Oberlin formed in 1986, and graduates have since gone on to start co-ops in Houston and San Francisco. "As far as bicycles go, students have more of an interest and the time and the energy to engage in working on bicycles," he said. "It's totally volunteer-based and students have that sort of idealism, drive and interest to make bicycles work as far as their benefit to the community at large." ...
Mike Reynolds, a Republican representative from Oklahoma City, recently introduced House Bill 1012 into the state house of representatives. This bill states that no student at an Oklahoma public college would be required to live on-campus if they would rather commute, even during their freshman year. Reynolds said his legislation was written in response to the rising cost of higher education. He believes that reducing housing expenses would help families who are already struggling to pay the other costs associated with going to college ... Ithaca
hosts teachers from around the state for winter festival Planned
Parenthood to leave Oxford According to Planned Parenthood CEO Becki Brenner, Planned Parenthood
will be departing from Oxford because it is unable to compete with Student
Health Services and its lower prices for contraceptives ... Ohio
plays beer pong with our pocketbooks If the law passes to become a statewide tax, the public would be paying to help with the problems at other universities. YSU students who purchase beer should not have to pay for enforcements that our university rarely needs ... Town,
university clash over new education building Currently, according to Spear’s memo, university plans for the structure exceed the maximum floor area by more than 100,000 square feet, exceed the maximum height by 47 feet, is deficient in required open space by more than 15,000 square feet, and encroaches 97 feet into the required 110 foot building setback ... Education
Realty Trust recognized by construction magazine The University of Alabama at Birmingham's Blazer Hall, a $31 million, 753-bed freshman residence that was developed by Allen & O'Hara Development Co., the development subsidiary of Memphis-based REIT Education Realty Trust, has been honored by the regional publication ... Demand
rises to live on campus More students want to live on campus these days, and more schools want them to. The result is a building boom ... A
college grows in Princeton Though a year behind schedule, construction of the elegant college draws nearer to its August comple tion target date and Princeton University officials express satisfaction with progress on the $110 million extravaganza, named after Meg Whitman, eBay CEO and a Princeton alumna ... Commerce
on campus: It's just academic Two and a half years since completion of the first building, UniverCity has more than 1,500 residents and the strategy for the commercial space is showing signs of paying off ... Neighbors
Should Know Risks People who move into Georgetown need to remember that there is a university in their backyard, and that sometimes comes with students who behave in an obnoxious manner. There is an ancient legal phrase often used in real estate transaction disputes: caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”). It is usually invoked when a latent defect appeared in a property. Georgetown University can hardly be seen as a latent defect. Simply put, if the residents want the benefits of living with Georgetown, then one of the costs is living among students, plain and simple ... [CTL Editor's Response: Wow! I've seen arguments similar to Mr. Goodfellow's "For better or worse, Georgetown University and all of its students were around long before any million-dollar townhouses were erected. The town grew up around the university as a support system" appear in many town/gown articles in campus newspapapers from various communities, but this truly is the topper. The argument simply does not reflect the reality of Georgetown's (or Georgetown University') development . Sloppy thinking, or late adolescent consumerist perspective; in either case this argument does not hold water.] Taxing
relationship After a campaign cycle of wide smiles and glad-handing, it's disappointing to see Pea-Melnyk and Barnes represent their district with such little mind on student interests. Pea-Melnyk may have graduated from the College Park City Council to Annapolis, but this particular legislation leads one to wonder if she has taken the city's unfortunate attitude toward the university with her ... SG
petitions against rent hike The increase was announced Jan. 19. SG senators voted unanimously against the measure Jan. 23. They continue to collect signatures in their offices in the Student Union (SU). "There's been more student outcry over this than any other issue, at least during my tenure," said SG Vice President Felicity Lenes, adding senators understood the need for rent increases, but felt 10 percent was too high ... Amherst
landlords talk about rent increase Drafty
dorms irk students Julia Shaw, (freshman-political science) who lives in McKean Hall, said for a few nights, she slept with two sweatshirts and four extra blankets in a dorm room that was colder than the hallway just outside her door ... ... the average age of buildings on campus is 36 years old, and the windows in those older buildings are not as energy efficient ... Housing
could be used to entice UW faculty "Obviously there's a need, and everybody recognizes that," said UW spokesman Norm Arkans. "Affordable housing for faculty and staff is something that we've been thinking about." ... Duke
launches $30 million initiative to support volunteerism Duke's new program, DukeEngage, will provide full funding and faculty and administrative support to all undergraduates who want to stretch beyond the classroom by tackling societal issues at home and abroad, and, in turn, learning from those real-world experiences ... College
towns looking at tax on beer "Being a college town, we have tremendous financial outlays on alcohol-related events, such as house parties that are out of control, littering, Dumpsters and couches set on fire," Kent City Councilman John Kuhar said. State Rep. Kathleen Chandler, D-Kent, is considering introducing a bill that would allow voters to decide on such a sin tax for safety forces in their cities. Officials in other college towns, such as Athens and Oxford, are watching ... Preservation
important to columnist and students, not administration Education
Realty Trust Wins Development Contract At West Chester University Allen & O'Hara Development Company, LLC, the development company subsidiary of EDR, has been chosen to begin the replacement of functionally obsolete dormitories with 3,316 beds of new student housing. The multi-phase, multi-year scope of work is estimated in excess of $250 million. The initial phase includes construction of approximately 1,050 beds, primarily in the form of two-person shared suites and two-person private suites, and is estimated to cost approximately $64 million ... MU
expansion on schedule The approximately $95 million development is being spearheaded by Capstone Management of Birmingham, Ala. Though some details have fluctuated, the plan seems to have remain largely unchanged since it was crafted in the middle of last year ... Votes
key to town's future "There are vibrant college towns, like Burlington, Vt., Madison, Wis., Boulder, Colo., which are better models for what Chapel Hill could become," Cucchiara wrote in an e-mail. "There's a proper middle ground between a withering town and a big city that our town leaders have in mind." Out of scale? But others worry whether the "village" can survive the sort of change in scale that Lot 5 and Greenbridge would entail ... EDITORIAL:
Controlling the culture' The issues are, in fact, organically joined because many of the people in town and on campus at the center of controversy are the same. The issues are broadly defined as excess, accidents, deaths and personal irresponsibility, all fed by ineffective enforcement over a long period, too much tolerance, and the absence of a unified effort ... College,
town take shape in Collier The town is going up around its namesake Ave Maria University in east Collier County. The first new Catholic university in the United States in 40 years, Ave Maria is the creation of Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza and former owner of the Detroit Tigers ... My
Turn | Robert E. Witt The health, safety and vitality of the university campus and the commercial and residential areas adjacent to our campus matter greatly to this administration and to our students and their families, our faculty and staff, our alumni and fans, and the city of Tuscaloosa. That is why we are partnering with the city to undertake major roadway and landscape improvements to Paul W. Bryant Drive, which is a core artery through our university neighborhoods and the campus. That is why we and the city have increased our investment in public safety. That is why our Neighborhood Partnership Committee, comprised of key stakeholders in the community, is working to improve the quality of life in the university neighborhoods. The results are apparent every day as the campus and surrounding vicinity continue to grow at an unprecedented rate ... Frommer's
list of hot places to visit ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: "Recently, Asheville has been drawing literati and celebrities who had gravitated to New Orleans as a hub of culture. With the Blue Ridge Parkway nearby, the area is also great for driving tours and shopping trips" ... PORTLAND, OREGON: "One hour from the Cascade Mountains and one hour from the Pacific coast, Portland serves as a convenient hub for the area's excellent outdoor adventure opportunities -- from summer hiking and mountain biking to winter snowboarding and downhill skiing on Mt. Hood, and kayaking and fishing on the Columbia River" ... PORTLAND, MAINE: "A university town and burgeoning retirement location, Portland has a fantastic mix of culture and education" ... School
costs hit $50,000 at GW Student
housing lures high-density apartments to Provo Stewart, once a Brigham Young University bishop, said he was "appalled" at the "substandard" condition of homes south of 500 North that his student members were living in. He said council members support the onslaught of apartment development north of 500 North, and hope that homes south of that will be renovated. Newer complexes, like the Lanai on 700 North and 900 East, boast private rooms, fitness centers and social areas, a long shot from run-down single family homes. A huge 238-unit complex will be completed by ArrowStar construction by fall 2009 on the property where Joaquin Elementary once stood ... Housing
market breeding rentals "Investors buy with the idea of seeing appreciation," Carr said. "But because of the decrease in prices [they] have decided to rent to anybody they can." ... "I had the house on the market for about two, three months," Snow said. "But because the housing market slowed down so much, it was in my best interest to rent it out for now." Many others in the Idlewild neighborhood have done the same and decided to rent to college students for the school year ... Art
has venue Making
Hartford More Like Muncie So a year ago, they created the promotional group Rock Yer Socks and began hosting rock 'n' roll, punk and indie concerts at two local venues. The business has grown and caught the attention of outsiders. In January, Rock Yer Socks began organizing shows at the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford - and said the goal is to change Greater Hartford's indie music scene ...
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