Our campus has a pride issue.
Yes, we all know there is a “socio-economic chasm” between the town of Hillsdale and those who are associated with the college. Robert Ramsey pointed this out in last week’s edition.
But intentional separation from the community because we’re unaccustomed to it is our fault, not theirs. There isn’t a problem with the community of Hillsdale. There’s a problem with our relationship to it.
Hillsdale businesses have tried to mitigate these differences with marketing strategies and business plans that appeal to our often-pretentious, picky college market. Most have difficulty staying afloat, partially because our population turns over every year.
Every year, about 400 people graduate, replaced by new cliques, new preferences, and incredibly varied attitudes. Negative stereotypes are passed down from class to class demanding a change from the community, rather than simply appreciating a town that has existed for years outside of the college.
Recently, Broad Street has appealed to both the city and the college, and that definitely warrants praise.
However, when Ramsey chose to go beyond applauding Broad Street and rudely bashed Pub and Grub, it ruined the credibility of any compliment he offered. The insult was out of context and irrelevant to the evaluation of Broad Street.
Have a drink at Pub and Grub. You’ll find that it’s not a “bastion of the lower elements of society” as Ramsey claimed, but rather a unique pub that gives character to our modest town. “Townies,” as we call them, are some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met.
They’ve captured a culture that most of us probably haven’t given a chance because our noses were too deep into the Constitution or Plato’s “Republic.” Get over yourself and your first-class education. Support our community financially and socially.
You can’t say you lived in Hillsdale, Mich. for four years if you never get off the campus.
