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A cursory glance at The Towerlight's headlines tell the story: November 15: "TU considers downtown housing." February 21: "TU looks downtown for new housing complex." April 11: "Towson requests housing proposals."
Yes, the University is expanding, and yes, it wants to put students in the heart of Towson. TU is seeking proposals from "offerors who will provide housing for the exclusive use of 400-600 students," according to a Request For Proposals that was released earlier this month.
Great idea, right? I'd love to live in downtown Towson. There are plenty of things to do and the food is better than the Glen's. But the neighbors don't want me, or you. Read the other headlines: March 28: "Council opposes Circle housing." April 25: "Local legislators assert dormitory concerns."
Here's what senior vice president and chief fiscal officer David Harnage said in November: "I believe strongly that for a university to be successful it has to be embraced by the community, and it all starts with the university embracing the community."
So let's embrace!
There's only one problem: They hate us. "They" are the loud members of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations, an umbrella group representing 30 neighborhood groups, and 50,000 local residents.
After attending several long, long meetings, I'm comfortable making this statement: They don't want to embrace Towson University.
Why would they?
The residents along Kenilworth Drive constantly complain about students speeding down the street, shacking up illegally next door, and trashing lawns with beer cans.
The residents of condominiums near the Towson Circle are terrified by the prospect of living next to noisy, crunked, out-of-control Tigers. (They don't believe some of us actually study sometimes.)
The residents who live along the edges of campus worry that we're "encroaching" on their communities. (One person told me last month that colleges are land-grabbers.)
Other residents worry about the "party buses" that take students downtown, then drop them off at 2:30 a.m. (Towson's student affairs officials recently met to discuss how to respond to the problem.)
At last week's GTCCA meeting, one resident warned that Towson has a "national reputation as a party school." (Sometimes I wish we did, but we don't.)
Another resident at the meeting said the student housing project would result in "the ruination of Towson." (I'm not making this up.)
It's painfully obvious: We have an image problem.
Admittedly, it's partly our own fault. Towson University hasn't been completely upfront with the community about its intentions to build student housing. Many residents learned about the Request For Proposals only when it appeared in the newspaper.
TU seems to be asserting its right to grow before its responsibility to community, at least in the eyes of our neighbors.
Developing downtown housing will help connect the campus and community, but the lack of definite information from Towson has led residents to assume the worst. They're acting very suspicious of TU's motives. Some community members have asserted that county executive Jim Smith and Heritage Properties helped develop the RFP.
Heritage hopes to develop a $70 million project near the Towson Circle that would include student housing, a large retail venue and a parking garage.
Last week Towson University sponsored a pre-proposal meeting for developers to answer questions about the RFP.
Most of the firms in attendance sent one or two representatives. But Heritage sent four. The Heritage reps didn't ask any questions. But I bet they were taking notes.
The University hasn't met with local residents to discuss the project. (Once they do, later this month, they may not like the outcome.)
At the end of the meeting, Harnage said the University is growing and "housing is critical." Yes, it is critical. That's why the University needs to embrace the community, with actions as well as words. Towson needs more positive headlines and less anger from its neighbors. That won't happen unless we start improving our image.
Brian Stelter is a sophomore mass communication and social sciences major and The Towerlight's editor in chief.
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