Coming into The College of Wooster, we were warned of it: students rarely leave campus because everything we need is on campus. This, of course, is not true. The only thing that kept me permanently on campus last year was a lack of a car. This year, however, things have changed. In fact, I have not met anyone without a car that doesnít leave campus at least once a week.
No, the fact that students do not leave is a myth, but there is something far more disheartening lurking around the symbolism of the bubble.
I call it the Iron Curtain of Wooster.
Coming from the college town of Valparaiso, Ind., I was immediately struck by the obvious division between townsfolk and college students. When running around town, some people are honestly shocked when I say hello to them.
And why shouldnít they be? I feel that our reputation around town is less than stellar. The town sees us at our worst: the police blotter, drunk at El Campesino on Wednesday nights, the distant echo of ìSmoke that weed!” at the Blackalicious concert, walking in front of cars on Beall and using flagrant language in public places. We are a victim of our own inability to decide what is appropriate and when.
At the same time, we villanize the town. The word ìtownie” has taken on a sinister meaning, and is said with considerable condescension and scorn. In talk of recent thefts, a ìtownie” is always considered.
I do not know where this animosity originated from, nor do I care. I believe it is time to put aside our neatly structured caste system and work from the beginning. The College is not its own town, and the town of Wooster will be forever linked to a small liberal arts college ó this much is inevitable. But instead of merely tolerating the othersí presence, we should strike down these stereotypes once and for all.
In my hometown, college students are adored ó they are hired at a large range of establishments, live in apartments off campus and interact with the town to form a healthy, united community. This is what our College is sorely lacking.
The solution to this situation is simple, and surprisingly passive ó† change the way you think. If we all stop thinking of the town as people so different from ourselves, we can achieve equality. If we consider that we are all members of the same community, and are respectful in the variety of establishments we frequent, I believe that the townís view of us will improve significantly.
In this way, the Iron Curtain of Wooster will be eliminated. In this way, we can end the pointless conceptual warfare that we are all currently engaged in. In this way, the two separate spheres of College and town can unite into a single community. All we have to do is change the way we think.
Kevin Carpenter is the business manager for the Voice. He can be reached for comment at KCarpenter12@wooster.edu.