Written by 10:15 pm Editorials, New London • 4 Comments

On How We Interact with New London

A couple of recent events have made me reconsider Connecticut College’s relationship with New London. The first was during freshman orientation, which, for the first time, included a community service day. The class of 2016 was divided into groups and sent to placement sites anywhere from the homeless shelter to Fiddleheads Food Co-Op. Before setting out on their beautification missions, Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio spoke to the assembly about the importance of giving back to our adopted community. I was impressed with the mayor’s speech, and began to regret my low level of involvement in New London over the past three years.

A few weeks later, when I found out Mayor Finizio was due to speak at SGA’s weekly meeting, I eagerly attended, hoping to record some of the same inspiring words for the Voice. It took me a while to get my bearings as he launched into a very different refrain containing words like “financial mismanagement,” “referendum” and “bankruptcy.” In this speech, the mayor campaigned for Conn students to vote in a referendum to pass his budget proposal, the major tenet of which was a 7.5% tax increase.

After his speech, I asked him the wrong question. I asked if it was ethical for students to vote for a tax that we wouldn’t benefit from. I should have asked if it was ethical for students to vote for a tax that we will never actually pay for. The difference is monumental.

He explained that we would indeed benefit from the tax increase. The increase would keep Exchange, Tiki and Muddy Waters open. The increase would ensure that we have adequate fire and police forces to intervene on campus when necessary. The increase would beautify Hodges Square. In terms of students’ commercial interests, the tax could only improve our experience in New London.

However, in terms of the human impact, something Mayor Finizio not surprisingly neglected to mention in his speech to SGA, a tax hike could be crushing. Students who didn’t look beyond the mayor’s speech may not have had the full picture, a problem highlighted in the news article published in this issue.

Furthermore, in explaining why students should be interested in this referendum, Mayor Finizio implied that our engagement with New London is and should be about the businesses downtown, instead of the people we live among. He’s absolutely right – our relationship with New London as it stands right now is reliant on a small handful of popular businesses, but it shouldn’t be just about that.

I believe that Conn students voting in New London in this particular case is unethical for one reason only: we are not only imposing hardship on New London residents by voting ‘yes’, but we are freeriding off of a tax increase that neither we nor our school would pay.

As if the “privileged kids on the hill” stereotype needed any more ammunition, this debate is only weakening our relationship with the people of the city. I am by no means discouraging voting in New London. However, we as students need to be judicious as we select the issues to weigh in on. And when we do cast ballots, it must be with full understanding of the issues and their implications; this is the golden rule of civic responsibility.

Let’s face it: the difference between Connecticut College and the New London community is stark. We need more initiative to better integrate “the hill” with the downtown. Remember that it was the New London community who first provided financial assistance to found our college. We are fortunate to have a beautiful campus and a competitive education; we have to share the wealth. It is our responsibility to cultivate relationships with the people of the community through productive avenues, like community service. The freshman community service day was a great success, and should be replicated for all four class-years. Furthermore, clubs and organizations should plan retreat days in the city. Getting involved in New London shouldn’t just be about voting in a referendum when the mayor asks us to, but involvement should be a habit integrated into the everyday life and culture of Connecticut College.

-Meredith

Editor in Chief

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