WORDS: Brent Rosen
Collegiates of Montgomery, where are you? I realize this is coming out over Christmas Break, so maybe you are already home. But that does not explain where you are the other 11 months out of the year. I live in Cloverdale-Idlewild, and I can count the number of Huntingdon students I have seen with only my hands and feet. Alright, maybe that’s a bit hyperbolic. But I can certainly count the number of Huntingdon students I’ve seen NOT playing either football or lacrosse on both hands and feet.
Thing is, Huntingdon is not the only offender here. Alabama State has 12,000+ students, Troy in Montgomery has another 3,000+, AUM 5,000+ and Faulkner adds another 3,500. All told, if you add everyone up, there are almost 25,000 students attending schools in Montgomery. Let that sink in for a second before I start offering you comparisons. Ok: University of Alabama - Birmingham -- 17,575 students; Auburn University: 25,469 students; University of Tennessee 27,523 students. I’ve been to Auburn. I’ve been to Knoxville, and I’ve driven through UAB’s campus, and I have to tell you, I’ve never wondered if those colleges actually had students. So again, collegiates of Montgomery, where are you?
Colleges should be the ultimate economic development generators. First, they bring a bunch of young people to town. Young people, even those with student loans, don’t have the responsibilities of older people. This means you normally see college bars near college campuses, many of which overflow with the young and irresponsible. While those students make noise, trash, and headaches for the neighborhood, they also bring money. Money to spend at retail stores, at restaurants, at coffee shops, at grocery stores and at bookstores; money that flows across the whole economy of a city.
Then, once the rowdy is educated out of them, college students become the next generation of skilled workers. The people who become accountants, government workers, teachers, business owners, lawyers, computer programmers, entrepreneurs: the sort of young professionals you can build an entire city around. If those graduates went to school in your town, you have a better than even chance of retaining them, especially if they found their college experience enjoyable.
So, the question remains: where are all the collegiates? How can there be nothing next to Troy downtown? That entire corridor should be full of places to eat and drink, places where college students can unwind after a long day of classes, even if home isn’t downtown. Why have I never seen a Huntingdon student at Leroy or on a date at any of the Midtown restaurants? (I know you aren’t supposed to drink, but college is when you are supposed to break the rules y’all). I taught a class at Jones School of Law, and I know some of my students used to hang out at Jim & Nick’s, but most of the places on the Atlanta Highway are full of septuagenarians. Where do you Faulkner people go when you head off campus?
ASU, you can have a bit more of a pass, as your neighbors have historically felt like the less they saw of you the better, but I’ve been on your campus, seen what’s going on there, and it’s amazing. Forget about all the controversy, your school is impressive. Be proud and start showing off the quality of your facilities and your students. AUM I know the least about, and your location doesn’t really lend itself to much interaction with the community, but still -- you’ve got 4,000 undergrads over there and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone in an AUM T-shirt.
You look at college towns, places like Oxford, Mississippi, Lexington Kentucky, Auburn or Tuscaloosa, and you see young people running around, enjoying life, doing young people things. Montgomery has just as many students, but none of the youth culture. So collegiates of Montgomery, it’s up to you. If you want more activity in your neighborhoods, go out and support it. Demand more and you can have it. It will make college more fun for you, and Montgomery better for the rest of us.
Also, if any of you collegiates are looking for internships, email a resume and some writing samples to editor@madepaper.com.