Growing up in a college town can provide a wealth of educational and recreational opportunities for locals and introduce young people to the value of a college education. In Burlington, VT community members are surrounded by students from the University of Vermont, St. Michael’s College, Champlain College and Burlington College. Natives of Burlington attend at Fletcher Allen- Vermont’s University Hospital for medical needs, downtown entrepreneurs cater to the college crowd by providing student discounts throughout the city and students and residents join together in a number of community celebrations from Mardi Gras to the Burlington Jazz Festival to the Festival of Fools.
If you have ever lived in a college town it is easy to imagine streets overrun by intoxicated youth, loudly claiming their independence from their parents and defying the binds that restricted them as high school students. In Burlington at night, lines of costumed twenty-somethings wait outside of every bar, while bouncers stand guard ensuring that no cutters will send their establishment over capacity. Brawling young men in sports bars disrupt many a weekend night, vandalism, belligerence and drama ensue all over the place. Sunday morning, students stumble out of their homes, reeking of last night’s booze, stale cigarettes and morning breath, and cram into Kountry Kart Deli for that always dependable and always delicious Rise and Shiner breakfast sandwich.
These images may represent some aspects of living in a college town, but college students in Burlington do offer services to the community that might not occur otherwise. Champlain College prides itself in offering a “Community Service and Civic Engagement Program” where it teaches students the value of getting involved with their community; the University of Vermont has a course of study focused solely on local and regional economy, designed to consider ways in which “the university [might] change its employment and purchasing to further benefit the residents of lower income areas of Burlington.” Most notably, St. Michaels’ College, located just outside of Burlington in Colchester, has been selected for the 2010 Community Engagement Classification by the Carnegie Foundation for their commitment to supporting their local community and performing volunteer work throughout Chittenden County.
Green Mountain College in Poultney offers a small town perspective on how college students can immerse themselves in the community. The town's small size allows for consistent daily interaction between GMC's 800 students and Poultney's townspeople in stores, restaurants and at town events. On April 19, more than 100 GMC students assisted preparations for the Poultney Earth Fair at Poultney High School by making peace flags for the community garden and setting up stations to inform students about local food, the environment and ways of being sustainable. This fourth annual event is a testament to a growing relationship between townsfolk and the college.
Utilizing the education of college students in Vermont towns can only enhance the quality of life and opportunity for those outside of the higher education realm as well as diversify the knowledge base of Vermont’s citizens. Humans are pack animals and while we have designed very individual lifestyles for ourselves, joining in community activities facilitated by educational institutions that have the financial means to organize exciting events can dramatically improve the way that we function as a whole and will ultimately create inspiring leaders in the cause for sustainable and mutually supportive communities.
Discover ways that you can engage with Burlington colleges and the community by checking out the following websites.:
Burlington College Community Calendar
http://www.meetup.com/Burlington-College-Community-Calendar/
Champlain College- Calendar of Events:
http://www.champlain.edu/tagged-content-index.html?cat=144
Champlain College- Community Initiatives
http://www.champlain.edu/Community-Service-and-Civic-Engagement-Program/Community-Initiatives.html
UVM Campus Events Calendar (Note: Not all of these activities are open to the public)
http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=R25&custom=campus&SM=eventssub.html
UVM Office of Student and Community Relations (in conjunction with Champlain College): http://www.uvm.edu/~ofscr/community/UVM%20OSCR%20Initiatives%20in%20Neighborhoods%20Fall%202010.pdf
Sources:
“Carnegie Selects Colleges and Universities for 2010 Community Engagement Classification.” The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. January 2011. Accessed on April 20, 2011. http://carnegiefoundation.org/newsroom/press-releases/carnegie-selects-colleges-and-universities-2010-community-engagement-classification
“Center for Intercultural Learning & Community Engagement.” University of St. Thomas. 2011. Photo Accessed on April 16, 2011. http://www.stthomas.edu/cilce/
“Community Service and Civic Engagement Program.” Center for Service and Civic Engagement. Champlain College. 2011. Accessed on April 20, 2011. http://www.champlain.edu/community-service-and-civic-engagement-program.html
Suarez, Lucia. “Community celebrates local food”. Rutland Herald. Wednesday April 20, 2011.
“Saint Michael’s selected by Carnegie Foundation for the 2010 Community Engagement Classification”. News Archives. St. Michael’s College. 2011. Accessed on April 20, 2011.http://www.smcvt.edu/admission/news/news_story.asp?iNewsID=1518&strBack=%2Fnews%2FDefault.asp
“UVM and the Local/Regional Economy (Community Development & Applied Economics 295). Campus Compact National Office. Campus Compact. 2011. Accessed on April 20, 2011. http://www.compact.org/syllabi/economics/uvm-and-the-localregional-economy-community-development-applied-economics-295/4009/
“Welcome”. Green Mountain College. 2010. Accessed on April 20, 2011. http://greenmtn.edu/why_gmc.aspx
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