Town vs. Gown get complex when "town realizes that "gown" has disposable funds for recreation.
Ball State University student organizations must combine forces with downtown Muncie to draw more students away from campus, members of the Mayor’s Commission for Ball State Student Relations said Friday.
“Our goal is to try to encourage people to go downtown, and we specifically do that by doing cooperative advertising, cooperative efforts with the merchants,” Brian Lough, director of downtown development, said. “We want to bring people in to special events to expose them to what’s there.”
Occasionally moving Ball State’s Late Nite events from the L.A. Pittenger Student Center to a downtown location could help bridge the gap between students and the city — especially because Late Nite attracts at least 1,000 students each weekend, said senior Matthew Mattmiller, who represents Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. A building such as Center Stage, 306 S. Walnut St., would serve as a great location, Lough said.
“If downtown would be willing to give some space ... have it at a location where you want to target students,” Mattmiller said. Commission members said they would have to speak with Late Nite executives to see if the idea could be pursued
(Translation: "How many wild fraternity parties will the townspeople put up with"?)
And my favorite quote, which just speaks volumes:
The main problem with attracting students to the city is that many students are not even aware that downtown Muncie exists, [SGA President Steve] Geraci said. SGA will consider sending mass e-mails to alert students of relevant downtown events, as well as information about new businesses and promotions, he said.
