At Connecticut College, some students take classes for which they must complete community service in New London as a requirement. Students can also work in the New London area through Community Partnerships for work-study or to volunteer in the more traditional sense. However, I personally feel that Conn lacks an infrastructure that encourages involvement in New London. Obviously, there are individuals who make an effort to be engaged. But as whole, I do not believe campus culture promotes relationships between the college and community, and we are not doing enough to share our resources with New London.
A token class that does facilitate a deeper connection between students and New London is Sustainable Food Systems. The course is meant “to give students a background in the main food systems issues in the United States,” said Professor Rachel Black, who promotes “look[ing] for local case studies so [students] can apply textbook learning and see what’s happening in the community.” Due to monetary support from the Holleran Center—a selective academic center which partly focuses on community collaboration—Black brings in local speakers, takes her students into the community, and assigns work that encourages her students to go into New London. Grace Berman ’18, a student in the course, said that she has not taken many other classes at Conn that encouraged her to take more interest in New London, except for her anthropology of migration class. The class, she said, “had kind of a partnership with IASC, Immigration Advocacy and Support Center. We did research for them and interviewed immigrants about their experience in New London.”
Despite the positive example that Black’s course provides, how often do most Conn students go into New London, make an effort to learn more about the community, or try to make a connection between themselves and community members and organizations? In my experience as a first-year, there is not much of a student drive to go into New London to socialize, to volunteer, or to explore the downtown area. I personally do not have any classes that require community work through Community Partnerships, bring in speakers, or relate our classes to New London.
Despite the fact that some departments and professors try to encourage and at times require student involvement with the New London community, the school itself does not seem to be doing enough to create a deeper connection between students and New London.
The College’s geographical location is a physical representation of the divide between Conn and New London’s community. Unlike some college towns, New London’s downtown area is not easily accessible by foot or by bike because the Mohegan Parkway is so dangerous to pedestrians. This infrastructure makes it especially difficult for first-years to begin exploring New London and build relationships early on, as we are not allowed to have cars on campus yet.
Additionally, when students do venture into New London, it can feel like there are a limited number of businesses that cater to student interest, as they do not usually have steady student consumer base. A possible reason why businesses in New London do not depend heavily on students is because the Conn community has a reputation in some New London circles as only taking advantage of downtown bars and nightlife; this image was further solidified when multiple underaged Conn students were caught drinking in local bars. Due to the separation between Conn students and New London residents, it becomes difficult to build real relationships. If there were more of a connection between the two, perhaps there would be more New London businesses that aligned with college students’ interests. This could create a positive atmosphere that would encourage Conn students to spend more time downtown.
Berman provides recommendations on how the student body may develop greater connections with the New London community. Berman said, “I think spending more time in New London and supporting local businesses can be a place to start making more connections and making it better for other people in the city.” As students who are learning about solving large social problems in the classroom, we could not only bring revenue to support local businesses and work to improve the economy, but also gain experience through learning more about local issues and working to solve them. The lack of urgency regarding the New London community from students as a whole is hypocritical, especially if we claim to be socially aware and politically active in the classroom.
New London and the Conn community differ socioeconomically. Whereas the estimated median home value in New London stands at $184,000, median income per household is less than $37,000. While the population of New London is comprised of slightly more black and hispanic residents than white, Conn’s 2017 IPEDS Fall Enrollment Survey shows that only 20% of Connecticut College students are “U.S. students of color,” a group which includes those who are “American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races.” Many Conn students come from wealthy homes, attended private boarding schools, and/or lived near highly populated cities like New York and Boston, which have a plethora of businesses and events. In 2017, only 17% of Connecticut College students received a Pell grant, an aid gift given to students with exceptional need which does not need to be repaid.
New London, at least in the past, has shared their resources with Conn. New London Hall was built from money provided by the New London community—workers donated one day’s wages in order to have the academic building put up. Not only is there a lack of student involvement with New London, but I do not feel like the administration does enough to share our resources with the surrounding community, which is economically depressed. There are many structural barriers that keep New London from improving, including the high taxes that make it harder for new small businesses to begin and stay open. As a private institution, we not only have the resources to bring in speakers and host events, but also have a lot of influence over the students and faculty. Therefore, it would be easy for the school to promote more events that would connect students to the New London community and give incentives to students to support local businesses, like partnering with popular dining destinations to accept Camel Cash.
Beginning with supporting local businesses, and hosting more community events, Conn could create a stronger bond between students and the community. As students, it is important for us to give back to New London. “In lots of classes we talk about [social justice issues] and bring it up but we don’t actually do anything,” said Berman. The least we can do is spend more time in New London, learn about a city with a complicated social and economic history and try to find solutions for what Professor Black calls “wicked problems, those that aren’t easily solved or have many answers.” Instead of complaining about the lack of opportunities in the area or about New London’s demographics, we should put time into expressing our gratitude to the city and apply the theories learned in class to New London and the greater community.
