Spring Break
UConn: Sustaining Mansfield Since 1881
Our Opinion
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: Commentary
The university houses more students on campus than most colleges its size. But, many major universities are located in cities where there are plenty of apartments and off-campus housing. That is not true in the Mansfield community.
Students who go to UConn and receive low residential lottery numbers are forced to find alternative housing. The number of students becoming homeless in Storrs is directly proportional to the amount of students the university is continuing to enroll.
Mansfield receives all the benefits of being a college town - local businesses thrive during the school year. It takes only a day trip to Mansfield during the summer to realize the impact the university has on the surrounding community. Businesses shorten their hours and sometimes even their menus and the amount of products they keep in stock.
Mansfield residents benefit from the university because of all that comes out of the Storrs campus. There are sporting events, lectures, concerts and comedy shows, as well as state-of-the-art research. It is time that the town gives a little back.
Everyone acknowledges that there is a need for local housing. Keystone Companies, LLC was contacted by former President Philip Austin in 2004. Three years later, now that plans are being drafted and progress that would allow an additional 600 students in Mansfield in the future, the town is trying to step in and take away the possibility.
The Town of Mansfield is happy to collaborate with the university on countless important initiatives. It enjoys the benefits of being located next to a major university, but in this instance does not want to equally share in the responsibility of continuing to keep UConn a viable institution.
Face it, UConn has put Mansfield on the map. 1703 may have been the year of it's incorporation, but 1881 was the year it came alive. Without UConn, business would not be booming, local children would not have the opportunity to take college courses in high school and the amount of available jobs in the area would significantly decrease.
UConn brags about the fact that a large part of the student body is comprised of top-notch students from out-of-state, students who will not attend UConn if they do not find housing in the area. This will stunt the university's progress toward becoming one of the best in the nation.
Both the university and Mansfield communities will suffer if the plans for a housing complex on Hunting Lodge Road are rejected.
Students who go to UConn and receive low residential lottery numbers are forced to find alternative housing. The number of students becoming homeless in Storrs is directly proportional to the amount of students the university is continuing to enroll.
Mansfield receives all the benefits of being a college town - local businesses thrive during the school year. It takes only a day trip to Mansfield during the summer to realize the impact the university has on the surrounding community. Businesses shorten their hours and sometimes even their menus and the amount of products they keep in stock.
Mansfield residents benefit from the university because of all that comes out of the Storrs campus. There are sporting events, lectures, concerts and comedy shows, as well as state-of-the-art research. It is time that the town gives a little back.
Everyone acknowledges that there is a need for local housing. Keystone Companies, LLC was contacted by former President Philip Austin in 2004. Three years later, now that plans are being drafted and progress that would allow an additional 600 students in Mansfield in the future, the town is trying to step in and take away the possibility.
The Town of Mansfield is happy to collaborate with the university on countless important initiatives. It enjoys the benefits of being located next to a major university, but in this instance does not want to equally share in the responsibility of continuing to keep UConn a viable institution.
Face it, UConn has put Mansfield on the map. 1703 may have been the year of it's incorporation, but 1881 was the year it came alive. Without UConn, business would not be booming, local children would not have the opportunity to take college courses in high school and the amount of available jobs in the area would significantly decrease.
UConn brags about the fact that a large part of the student body is comprised of top-notch students from out-of-state, students who will not attend UConn if they do not find housing in the area. This will stunt the university's progress toward becoming one of the best in the nation.
Both the university and Mansfield communities will suffer if the plans for a housing complex on Hunting Lodge Road are rejected.
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