Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 62

CONVERSATIONS
for construction, renovation, and
maintenance; responses to student
concerns that may impact local
residents; and any relevant hot topics in
village council.

Pierson: There is a prominent family
neighborhood between campus and
the Delmar Loop. It's a popular spot for
food and drinks, and student noise is
often a topic of concern. There is also
concern about student safety and the
fact that the student population turns
over every year or two. As such, each
year there seem to be new or different
issues related to student behavior in the
neighborhood, requiring educational
efforts every year.
The residential life office manages
housing off campus, and our most
recent project, The Lofts, is right on the
Delmar Loop. When first developing
the concept, the university worked
closely with the Special Business
District in the city to explore the impact
of this development.
Talking Stick: As with any relationship,
there is going to be some give-andtake. What are some examples of
concessions that your campus has had
to make recently? How about ones that
the city made?

Frost: Tensions with local residents
came to a head last year, with residents
feeling that the university was doing
nothing to address anti-social behavior.
I talked to our vice-chancellor's
(president equivalent) chief of staff,
who has since added me to the
biannual meeting of university senior
staff and the town's elected councilors.
I have now attended three of these
meetings and have made personal
connections with the councilors, who
advocate strongly on behalf of their
constituents.
As a result, we have agreed to set
up and host a residents' association for
the four areas of town in which we have
large populations of student residents.
We now meet four times a year to listen
to concerns and suggestions and try to
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TALKING STICK

come up with positive steps. Ultimately,
this is a good practice for us, as it has
won us some credibility and good will,
but it is quite wearying to sit at those
meetings and get yelled at for what our
students (or really anyone aged in their
early twenties) have done.

Pierson: In another municipality,
where the majority of our housing is
located, we have ongoing discussions
with city officials about each and every
construction project we have (and there
have been many over the last 15 years).
We have an agreement with the city to
not house more than a certain number
of students, which is something we
have negotiated with them over the
years as our student population grows.

Leonard: Neither party has made many
concessions, but rather we acknowledge
the importance of the relationship and
nurture it by working through issues
and concerns in a collaborative fashion.
The new residential village shares both
city and county property, and we were
asked to build enough campus parking
spaces to accommodate the number
of bed spaces created. Although the
number of parking spaces [they asked
for] was more than needed, the request
was accommodated. Changes in law
enforcement leadership, continued
efforts on behalf of student affairs
to garner positive relationships, and
regular meetings to discuss concerns
and what's working well have been
fruitful for both parties.

Lubin: The campus is not required to
participate financially in the University
Business District assessment. In order
to reinforce the university's eager
participation in the common goals
for the district, it does participate
financially. The university often
compromises on development desires
based on community input.
The district partnership allows the
city departments to work together with
the university and the citizens of the
district at a common table. This is huge
and allows for common understanding
and compromise toward common
values and goals.

Fox: As with most college towns, there
are occasional concerns pertaining
to village ordinances such as noise
and parking issues. We work through
those together. As our students live on
campus all four years, there are very
few in-town residential concerns. We
host informational meetings at the
start of the year for students to learn
about village ordinances and meet
local leaders. Our students living in
residence halls close to village residents
host barbeque gatherings with
neighbors at the start of each year.
We are in the midst of creating a
vision for evolving our fine arts quad,
and, because it is on one of the main
streets in town, we have been actively
engaged with neighbors, village
leadership, and review boards as we
move forward, as is the case with
other such projects. We know that
new facilities will benefit not only the
campus, but also have the potential
to add to the quality of life in the
neighborhood. We want to try to get
things right.

Stockton: There's been good calibration
between the university and city as it
relates to growth. There's been a lot of
give and take on both sides as it relates
to land usage and continued growth.
Talking Stick: Conversely, what are
those subjects or occasions where you
find the most shared value and success
between the town and the gown?

Pierson: In terms of personal
relationships, block parties that are
hosted twice a year in each of our
surrounding neighborhoods bring
students and permanent residents
together to celebrate and get to know
one another. These are initiated and
funded by the university, though there
is strong community involvement in
the planning to make these successful.
Additionally, there have been many
environmental improvements made
to areas off (but near) campus that the
city and the university have partnered
on, so as to enhance the safety and
Talking Stick - July/August 2016

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