If you think that UR has a “lack” of connection with the community, you suck at being a student here. The CT just printed a poll saying that UR is one of the most helpful universities to its community in the country. What’s even better is the amount of concern the student body has for its employees. When one of the workers in the Pit was killed a few years ago, there was a frat-led fundraiser for her family members. We have plenty of opportunities to get off campus to volunteer and support the local community. The bus schedules, which have significantly improved since my freshman year, offer a convenient, free and safe way to get out into the city.

SA clubs also have many ways to get off campus and reach out to the community. For example, Women’s Caucus does a few off-campus community service projects each semester along with a number of fundraisers and awareness campaigns. Pride Network is affiliated with the GAGV, which runs many educational programs and reaches out to college communities all around the city of Rochester. And, most obviously, we have an outing club that goes camping and hiking and an urban exploring club that goes out exploring old, abandoned parts of the city. If you can’t find these things, all I have to say to you EPIC fail. Get your ass off the couch.

I agree that UR is one of the most highly involved universities concerning their community. UR supports and sponsors many events and provides students with the tools necessary to arrange community service activities. Wilson Commons is constantly bustling with fundraising tables and there are countless committees one can join to get involved in a specific cause. As a sophomore, I joined the D’lion Organization and later joined their community service board. I have also been given the opportunity to participate in an enriching internship at The Arc of Monroe County (right off of Mt. Hope, on Elmwood Ave) working with people who have disabilities. UR is the largest single employer in the city of Rochester. You can read more about UR initiatives to connect the campus with the community here: http://www.rochester.edu/aboutus/connections/development.html.

 

Yes, there are a handful of people who do work around the community but, at the same time, I think there is a dramatic disconnect between our campus and the community. I do not think that we are to blame for this. I think we are simply victims of circumstance, so to speak. The geography of our campus is entirely exclusive and not at all conducive to pointing out the difficulties of the world around us. Being nuzzled in between a cemetery and the med center makes it very easy to live only at UR and ignore the disparity that surrounds us. I am not saying that nobody on campus cares, but I am saying that it is very easy not to care if you so choose to do so.

By and large the University does make a good effort to ensure its members have opportunities to be involved in the Rochester community. Many student groups have philanthropic goals and yearly, if not more often, excursions and fundraisers to help a chosen organization, cause or community site. Be the Change Day involves people campus-wide to help a chosen organization. For instance, this year, a school was visited where students were involved in fun activities and campus improvements were made. The Public Market, the South Wedge Market and the Farmers’ Market just across the foot bridge all draw UR students weekly to their abundance of fresh produce and other edibles. By offering many programs that provide life skills training and meals for children as well as monetary incentives for parents, the Mount Hope Family Center supplies the Rochester community research participation opportunities that are mutually beneficial for research progress and families. The Mount Hope Family Center also provides students with research positions and the chance to work with children in the context of psychology research and intervention. Openings also abound at the Strong Medical Center for students and community members to volunteer in various capacities. The University is not lacking in providing ways for students to get involved with the community at large. What is needed, though, is more awareness — these great chances for volunteerism and connection with Rochester are simply not advertised enough. For instance, had I been aware of the Mount Hope Family Center during my freshman year, I would have most likely been involved there much earlier than this past summer. One way to overcome this lack of awareness is to make a point of introducing freshman to the many wonderful options available for them to explore, experience and to volunteer in the city of Rochester.

The University of Rochester is a long-standing contributor to the community. The University and the associated medical center (as a side note, Strong Health is actually now in control of both Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital) provide the greatest single source for jobs in Rochester. We are also associated with such community resources as the Memorial Art Gallery (which we control) and the Mt. Hope Family Center (which we work with). However, despite all that we provide in employment, the interactions do not extend to the student population. We as undergraduates in particular, tend to only venture into the areas immediately accessible via shuttles (i.e. East End, South Wedge, 19th Ward) rather than explore what Rochester truly has to offer. In short, we’re lazy. Yes, many volunteer for community service or work in organizations, but how much of this is actually integrated into Rochester as a city? Our interactions are either superficial, social or woefully narrow. It’s less of a solid connection and more of a fraying rope. Certainly we should be more involved in the city, but is it an obligation? Not exactly. Universities can and do exist entirely separately from nearby communities. Some, like the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, or Harvard, MIT and BU are inescapably intertwined with the community, but that’s because the histories are intertwined and the undergraduate and graduate bodies venture frequently and extensively into the greater city. Rochester owes a lot to the University’s benefactors, but not necessarily to the University itself and we only owe gracious coexistence. However, we should still become part of the city as it enriches our experience both as academics and as individuals. Much of the disconnect is due to our own lack of concern as well as the lack of information available and the encouragement to use it. If UR is to truly become a part of the greater community, we need to make the connection both physically and mentally, which takes better awareness efforts, better transportation (above what is currently offered) and better cooperation.