Town vs. Gown

Ivy League schools examine their relationships with their surrounding communities Town-gown relations draw discussion at campuses across the Ivy League, but students and faculty at each institution give their schools mixed grades. Some schools -- such as Dartmouth College and Harvard and Yale universities -- are forced to interact with their surrounding communities. Dartmouth junior Charlie Davant, managing editor of The Dartmouth, said the college is inseparable from Hanover, N.H., since it accounts for half of the town's size and population. He noted that Dartmouth and the surrounding community "walk on eggshells around each other." "The people in Hanover are mostly professors, but the people in the surrounding area resent the college because of the condescending attitude of many Dartmouth students," he said. Harvard junior Alan Leo, assistant managing editor of The Harvard Crimson, said Harvard students love the surrounding Cambridge, Mass., area because it is a "real college town" which caters to them. He explained that the lines between Harvard and Cambridge are blurred, because the students are a big part of the community, just outside of Boston. Yale junior Chi Tschang, who heads the Dwight Hall organization for community service, said Yale students must interact with the surrounding community because the university is centrally located in New Haven, Conn. But he added that there is still a sense of exclusiveness within the school. "Yale is like an island of wealth in a sea of poverty," he said. "It is like a fortress right there in the middle of the city, but the people know it is not their territory." Brown and Princeton, by contrast, have little interaction with the communities around them. Brown is somewhat isolated from Providence, R.I., because it is situated on a hill in a corner of the city and is not a part of the downtown area, according to Brown junior Alyssa Litoff, executive editor of the Brown Daily Herald. "There is lots to do in Providence, and some people take advantage of this more than others," she said. "[But] on the whole, Brown is pretty insulated and most people believe there should be more interaction with the community." Princeton junior Massie Ritch, managing editor of the Daily Princetonian, said Princeton, N.J., has the look of a college town, but is not really friendly to students. "The town really doesn't cater to students," Ritch said. "It's fun when your parents visit, but otherwise it's mostly for the people who live there." He said there is little interaction between the university and the surrounding community because students live on campus while many professors commute from New York or Pennsylvania -- preventing either group from spending much time outside the campus. But Ritch noted that students and local residents do interact at an annual event called Communiversity, which includes a street festival and crafts fair. Such a lack of interaction differentiates Princeton and Brown from Penn, which sees a sizable percentage of its students and faculty choosing to live off campus each year. Often the largest private employers and property owners in their communities, many Ivy League schools also face the resentment of local residents. Columbia Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Larry Dais said the school's real estate holdings and expansion plans have created tension between the university and its neighborhood in New York City. He explained that many Morningside Heights community members want the area to be classified as a historical neighborhood, which would severely restrict the university's development of its property. "Some community members want to determine for Columbia what it can and can't do, and the university wants to decide this for itself," he said. But Dais said relations between the two groups have improved recently, noting that community members influenced the school's decision to limit a new dormitory to 14 stories, instead of the 19 floors originally planned. Henrik Dullea, Cornell's vice president for university relations, described the university's relationship with Ithaca, N.Y., as complex. "The relationship is good overall, but it has had its ups and downs, he explained. "Cornell is the largest employer and dominant economic force in Ithaca, and when you're in that position, everyone focuses on you." He noted that Cornell recently entered into a 13-year agreement with Ithaca under which the university will increase its voluntary donations to the city. Cornell junior Hilary Krieger, editor-in-chief of the Cornell Daily Sun, said relations with Ithaca have improved since a new mayor was elected. "The new mayor is a Cornell alumnus and he is much more sympathetic toward the university," Krieger said. But Dullea said some people in the community still resent Cornell. "When small cities are under the tremendous financial pressure of federal and state funding crunches, local public officials resent tax-exempt institutions," he said. "Some people believe Cornell could and should do much more," he added. "But I don't think it is Cornell's responsibility to eliminate poverty in the county." Princeton Director of Community and State Affairs Pam Hersh said many of the university's problems with the surrounding town stem from its tax exempt status. "The town as a whole profits from our presence, but there will always be some resentment that Princeton owns most of the tax exempt property in the area," she said. She noted that Princeton chooses to pay taxes on all of its graduate student and faculty housing, although it could claim tax exempt status for the properties. "We feel we make a tremendous economic contribution through our substantial monetary gifts and indirectly through our presence as a major employer," she said. Yale junior Jake Sullivan, editor-in-chief of the Yale Daily News, said the university has a "love/hate relationship" with the city of New Haven. "Yale provides a substantial portion of the jobs, is the largest property owner and keeps the city afloat economically," he explained. "But people argue that Yale doesn't do enough for the city, that the workers are not being treated well, and that the university exploits casual labor." But Yale Assistant Secretary Mike Morand said Yale President Richard Levin has made community relations a priority of his administration. Morand added that under Levin, the university significantly increased the amount of resources it gives New Haven and created a framework for a partnership with the city based on continued economic development. And he noted that the university has a program of financial incentives to encourage any level of Yale employee -- from custodian to full professor -- to purchase homes in New Haven. More than 250 employees have bought homes under the plan. While all the Ivy League institutions have an umbrella organization for community service -- similar to Penn's Kite and Key Society -- their outreach targets different areas, with students at Yale and Cornell choosing to volunteer in their immediate surroundings. Morand said that Yale's Dwight Hall -- the university's umbrella volunteer organization -- is the largest in the nation, and most Yale students participate in community service. He added that many Yale students choose to tutor in local public schools because they are close to campus and underfunded. "The volunteers are wonderful ambassadors for Yale," he said. "But while the broader community appreciates their outreach, it is still the effort of students and not the administration." And Sullivan questioned whether community service helps relations with New Haven. "Volunteering is great, but I don't think it erases the doubts many people in the community have about Yale students," he said. "There seems to be a lingering feeling that Yale students are just coming down from high for a little while to help out and then reascending to their comfortable lives." Krieger said a large percentage of Cornell students participate in community service through the Public Service Center and noted that much of this service takes place in the community immediately surrounding Cornell. But students at Brown, Columbia and Harvard often leave their immediate surroundings to volunteer in more impoverished communities. Litoff said that many Brown students participate in community outreach through the Swearer Center, but noted that this doesn't affect relations with the relatively affluent area surrounding the university because most students volunteer in the poorer areas of Providence. Many Harvard students participate in community service through the Phillips Brooks House Association, but Leo noted that many go into the housing projects of downtown Boston to volunteer because Cambridge is a relatively affluent area with good schools. Columbia senior Hans Chen said a large percentage of Columbia students participate in community service through the Community Impact umbrella organization, but much of their volunteering takes place in the more depressed areas of Harlem. "The fact that students volunteer doesn't matter to community members who are upset about Columbia's real estate dealings," he said. Most Harvard students also participate in community service through the Phillips Brooks House Association, but Leo noted that many go into the projects of downtown Boston to volunteer because Cambridge is a relatively affluent area with good schools.