That's the question. I think it does (since it is a college town), but I think it could be more integrated, and more culturally enriched for the students (as well as being better for the townspeople as well).
To get you thinking, this article just appeared in the DS:
The college atmosphere of our city
By: Martin Rottler
Posted: 9/28/07
Recently, a few members of Student Government met with members of the City Council to discuss items of interest to UND students and the city of Grand Forks. One of the meeting's closing comments was from Hal Gershman, who "heard there are many students who love the University of North Dakota but don't like Grand Forks." This was a somewhat poignant observation that is closer to the truth than most non-UND related residents of the city think. I'm glad to hear that he is open to thoughts and ideas about how to make the working and living relationship between the students and residents work better, as there is quite a bit the city and students can be doing to bridge the gap.
One of the biggest complaints many college students have about the city is something that is largely beyond the control of city leaders: a lack of a central social area with things for college students to do. In other cities big and small there is an easily accessible (to students) area that has bars, restaurants, and shops geared towards students and the larger university community. The development on the Bronson property near the REA seemed to try with proposals for housing geared for students with entertainment and dining options geared toward the same audience. Downtown has many dining and entertainment options, but for many there are no viable transportation options. The Cab Crawler service, although helpful, can be time consuming and is not efficient for carrying students to or from downtown. If a group of students who are "of-age" and live near the university or on the south end want to enjoy a night on the town, their options for transportation are limited. If the Council and Student Government worked together to provide alternative transportation, many of our complaints of having "nothing to do" would be partly assuaged, especially since there will soon be even more all-ages entertainment options (the new movie theatre) in the downtown area.
There are things that go on in this city that don't make sense to people like me at all. One of the biggest things that make me go "huh?" is the fact that City Council elections are held separate from all other elections in the middle of the summer. This practically guarantees, whether intentional or not, that the minimum number of UND students will be able to voice their opinion in an election that is important for the community. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that this might be intentional, but I'm sure there was a reason for it at some point. Moving the election to fall in-line with state and national elections would no doubt increase voter turnout. I've voted in City Council elections once since I got here, and that was after going through a long-winded absentee balloting process. If the date can't be moved, the city government should at least work to publicize and ease the process for students to get ballots to vote in absentia.
A topic of contention often heard amongst my peers is treatment by the Grand Forks Police Department. I tend to take student complaints about situations involving the GFPD and UPD with a large grain of salt. 18-22 year-olds (myself included) often love to play the "victim" card, even if they might be breaking the law. Any "social gathering" could be misconstrued as a "wild party" by unknowing neighbors who then call the police. When they come, according to some people, they are obviously the bad guys regardless of the fact that the students were being a nuisance. Every police officer I've come across in this city has been polite, professional, and helpful. The situation regarding relationships between students and residents in neighborhoods surrounding the University is something that requires outreach from both sides. Students need to make sure they get to know their neighbors and open the lines of communication in case there is an issue. Residents need to do the same thing and be open to the fact that we are students and might have a different lifestyle then they are accustomed to.
Grand Forks is a unique city with many positive offerings. In my fourth year of time here at school, I'm glad that members of the greater community are working towards building a positive relationship with the 12,000+ students that attend UND. It can only get better from here.
© Copyright 2007 Dakota Student
Here is what I have to say about it:
There is a problem of having "little to do" as a student, but only if you make it one. Downtown is two miles from campus--which can be easily walked until late October when it gets chillier. Having a responsible person to be DD is also an option.
We don't want to talk about those things, because they make life hard. I definitely agree. I've said before that UND needs to decide whether they want to integrate with Grand Forks or distance themselves from it. If the former, the landowners near UND need to be worked with directly and convinced that they could make money off of developing their property into restaurants. If the latter, then it falls to UND to provide help for students who wish to do something other than study. Note that this doesn't necessarily include another drinking establishment on campus. I think that Night Life at UND has been very successful, and I hear that it's very fun.
If you want change, remember to contact your Student Senate member! This is how things get changed. It's a slow process, but if we use the Student Senate, it will become more powerful. Whining to your buddies that you can't go to the bar every night doesn't change anything--discussing more taxis with your senator might. Don't forget--if the Senate puts something into place, USE IT, or it will go away. This IS your money they are dealing with, but if you ignore what they do and continue to drive drunk or just whine, they'll get rid of the program. Cost/benefit people!
There are a lot of things to do in this town, if you know where to look. For many of you, you already know where the bars are, and the problem is responsible transportation (apparently because none of your friends can be truested to be sober enough to drive). If it's something else (live music, theatre, alternative entertainments), there are a few places to look:
-Campus Dakota, which has a weekly calendar of music, theatre, meetings and other things for students to do.
www.campusdakota.com-Culturepulse, which has the same but for greater Grand Forks, and includes art showings and dance performances. culturepulse.org
-Still Fighting It, a blog by a local musician who posts the weekly musical events. mattfacingsouth.blogspot.com
If you want to take the Grand Forks city government to task for having City Council elections in June, let's do it. Let's find out the procedure for getting this changed, let's find an already sympathetic city council member to back us, and let's change things. Whining about it is not going to help. If enough students think this is important, it will get done. If you want to talk more about this, contact me at
[email protected]