Sense of community grows in off-campus neighborhoods
Maura Kelly
Notre Dame senior
There is more to living off-campus than having "freedom" to do what you wish away from parietals and rectors. Notre Dame students living off-campus in the Northeast Neighborhood (the area directly south of campus that includes Lafayette Square and most off-campus houses) should recognize how fortunate they are to live in such an active and richly diverse neighborhood.
Much attention has been drawn to the unfortunate incident that occurred last Saturday when three students were robbed near a Corby Street party. While that incident was a very serious one that needs to be brought to the attention of all students for safety concerns, I hope that it doesn't overshadow all of the positive things that are taking place in that area as well. For example, last Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m., community and University organizations co-hosted a block party for Notre Dame and Saint Mary's students living in the neighborhood and permanent residents in the area.
The block party was the end result of several discussions between neighbors and students concerned with their strained relationship. On Saturday, about 50 students and 100 neighbors (including children) came together for an informal barbecue in order to meet one another and discuss the importance of a unified community. Information on recycling, South Bend city code, volunteer opportunities and community-oriented policing was available to everyone who attended.
At the block party, Luella Webster, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, spoke about the importance of building community in the area. She wanted students to know that the neighbors in the area want to work together to cut down crime and create a healthy place to live for all. Addressing everyone gathered at the barbecue, she said, "Students should feel comfortable going to their neighbors and asking them to watch their home while they are away on break, and we (neighbors) should be able to do that with students as well."
The Northeast Neighborhood is one of the most economically and racially diverse neighborhoods in South Bend. More than 40 percent of the population is African-American. Unemployment rates for the area are slightly higher than the average for South Bend; median income levels and high school graduation rates are slightly lower. Running the risk of sounding presumptuous, I will guess that the average Notre Dame student did not grow up in a neighborhood with much resemblance to this one.
On Friday, The Observer editorial headline stated, "Life outside the bubble draws students into danger." The author of the article states "there is little practical reason for students to move off campus." I think that the mere experience of living "outside the bubble" in a community in which not everyone looks the same or comes from the same economic and educational background is a very valuable one for students.
Notre Dame values community. Scott Kachmarik, associate director of Residence Life and Housing, was quoted in last Friday's Observer as saying, "The movement of seniors off campus hurts the sense of community on campus. We lose some valued community members." Instead of lamenting the loss of those community members on campus, we should encourage them to become valuable leaders and active community members in the new, diverse community of which, by virtue of their moving off campus into a residential area, they have now become a part of. The Robinson Community Learning Center and the Northeast Neighborhood Center are great resources for students looking to get involved in the area.
I do agree with the last line of last Friday's editorial: "Life is different outside the bubble." In realizing this, I hope students do not make the mistake of trying to extend "the Notre Dame bubble" to their homes off-campus. To all students living off campus, I urge: Please, meet your neighbors. Learn their names and take time to get to know them; you'd be surprise at what you might discover. Most students, including myself, appreciate and value the sense of community we are blessed to share here at Notre Dame. Extending that sense of community into the Northeast Neighborhood between students living off campus and the permanent residents there would be beneficial to all.
Maura Kelly
Notre Dame senior
off-campus
Aug. 31
All Viewpoint Stories for Tuesday, September 3, 2002
