As students of a large University that sits directly in the middle of a city, we have a very different college experience than students who attend schools like Ohio University or Miami University. At colleges such as these, the city in which the college is located has been built around it and is virtually an extension of the school. This works in favor of the students of the college, as the city is often supportive and even accommodating to them. With friends who attend each of these institutions, I often hear stories about how the students basically run the town because the city is aware that the students are the reason the city can function. While this may not be the ideal situation, at least these cities have a respect for – or even an understanding with – the students. In Morgantown, this often seems to not be the case. Obviously, we are in a different situation at West Virginia University, insofar as the city that the University is located in is much larger and diverse than those mentioned above. The size of our University guarantees that students have a profound effect on the city and its economy. Because of WVU, Morgantown has basically been recession-proof throughout the recent economic downturn. One such attempt by the city was when it tried to establish a fee to enter businesses located in the downtown area of the city last year. This 75 cent fee would have been charged to anyone entering those businesses after 10 p.m. until the early morning hours on weekends. This fee obviously targeted the student population of the city, as the students make up the overwhelming majority of patrons who visit these businesses during that time. Who else goes to Jimmy Johns or D.P. Dough at midnight other than students who have been out at the bars? Fortunately, this fee was voted down because business owners worried that their businesses would suffer with such a fee. Even worse, the city takes an action which will seemingly help students when it only drains from our pockets. The city enacts such policies time and time again, for one reason and one reason only – it can. The majority of students at this University are not aware of their eligibility to vote after establishing residency in Morgantown (this includes dorms), and this is an advantage for the city. College students are also notoriously difficult to organize, which makes it even harder to fight these actions taken by the city. Students are a driving force in the economy of this city and deserve as much respect as any homeowner or any other voter within its limits. Whether or not everyone likes having us around, we are here to stay. Students and the city need to learn to work together, not fight each other.
Despite all of the advantages that students bring to the city, we are often treated as second-class citizens who are targets to be taken advantage of.
Morgantown doesn’t always respect student residents
Published: Thursday, October 8, 2009
Updated: Thursday, October 8, 2009 00:10
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