EDITORIAL: Strong campus, community relationship up to all of us

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Thousands of young people, many of them new to Milledgeville, have converged on the local community as area colleges prepared for another fall semester. This is likely the longest many of them have been away from their hometowns. Many are embarking on an entirely new experience. 

It’s a transition that happens every fall, launching a new version of a co-existence between campus and community. Cultivating that co-existence takes a delicate balance that relies on both sides for engagement. 

There is no doubt that the two need each other. The local colleges add to the life and culture of this community and they also contribute a great deal economically. 

According to a recent report by the University System of Georgia (USG), Georgia College alone created 1,013 jobs on campus for community members and supported another 1,778 jobs off campus through products and services its employees and students purchased.

More than 1,100 employees work at Georgia College alone, adding to the local economy through property taxes, the K-12 school systems, sales tax and local business. That’s not to mention the added impact of Georgia Military College and the Central Georgia Technical College campus. 

Students at the local schools also give back. Just last weekend hundreds of incoming college freshmen gave back by taking part in Georgia College Gives, a volunteer effort that aims to connect new students at Georgia College to the local community. 

There’s still room to grow and strengthen those relationships, however. Maybe that can be done through more engagement with elected officials, more frequent updates at Milledgeville City Council, Baldwin County Commission or board of education work sessions. Or it could be in the form of engagement with student government or greater community involvement to strengthen ties. 

We should look for ways to involve students in the life of the community, such as through service organizations or churches. Support their concerts, productions and activities by attending and making donations. When you meet a working college student in a restaurant or retail store, treat them as your own children or grandchildren. Be interested and understanding.

Around the schools, be careful while driving and courteous when parking. Students, careful driving and courteous parking apply to you, too. Treat the people you meet in the community as your parents or grandparents. If you are working, do your best. Be dependable and thorough. Be thoughtful and understanding.

In a college community, we often hear the negatives — the noise complaints, the parking issues, the list goes on and on. But what we don’t hear often enough are the positives — what our local colleges bring to the community and the lasting impact they make. 

College and community rely on each other so engagement and listening to each other are key. Being receptive to ideas for building stronger relationships is also vital. It may require looking at new options as our world and our community change.

While there will no doubt always be areas that need improving in this relationship, there are also numerous positives. The local colleges bring youthful energy, ambitions and new ideas and viewpoints that contribute to the local community in many ways.

We should make just as much effort in highlighting these aspects as we do in focusing on the negatives.

There are numerous ways for our community and college students to engage positively with one another. All of them require a healthy, even sacrificial mutual love and respect. Whether we have been here for 40 years or a week, we are all part of the same community, one extended family. Let’s treat one another as we want to be treated. Let’s take advantage of this golden opportunity.