When I think of college towns, I think of my own college in
Vermont, or Cambridge, MA, or even Ithaca, closer to home. I never thought of
Rochester as being a college town, but when you realize that the University of
Rochester is the city’s largest employer (and incredibly, the sixth largest
employer in New York State!), perhaps I need to reconsider…
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| Charlie walking Todd on campus at a break in a Warner School meeting we attended |
Last weekend was “Meliora Weekend,” which appears to be
parents’ and alumni weekend crammed together. It’s such a big affair that they
create a whole website and booklet devoted to the various activities that occur
on their multiple campuses, and tickets to the keynote address (this year by
Doris Kearns Goodwin) and the major entertainer (this year Jason Alexander) can
be rather difficult to score. There is obviously quite an economic impact on
the city, as one would expect in a college town – restaurant reservations are
hard to come by, unless you want to eat at 4:30 or 8:30, and various hotels,
including the Strathallen and several lower-end brands (Radisson, Mariott
Courtyard, Staybridge) were completely sold out. The son of one of Charlie’s U
of R roommates is attending the school, so his parents come visit each year and
stay with us. Last year, we were lucky enough all to get tickets to Demetri
Martin (our were procured by a friend who works at the school, otherwise we
would have been shut out!).
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| "Jason Alexander and His Hair" |
This year, we purchased the Jason Alexander tickets as part
of an “Eastmant Presents” subscription, before we even knew it would be part
of Meliora Weekend, so our tickets were quite a bit better than our visiting
friends’. Jason Alexander gave a wonderful performance, with a mix of comedy
(including embarrassing various front-row audience members) and musical numbers. He is a talented
musician, and he sang a hysterical mad-libs sort of song, with phrases related
to Rochester. He paid homage to the garbage plate, of course, but also gave a
nod to High Falls, which, he rhymed, aren’t so great.
In answer to our houseguests’ query about what to do with
their son Saturday afternoon, I provided them with passes to the Susan B. Anthony House (which they hadn’t heard of) and the George Eastman House, with
recommendations to visit both, if possible. Instead, they chose the Strong
Museum of Play (also a good choice, I just didn’t have any freebies there). It saddens me that just as I didn’t engage with my Vermont community as a student (and
yes, there were things to do, even in that rural countryside!), most U of R
students don’t interact with the Rochester community – they could just as
easily be in Evanston or Pittsburgh, given the bubble they live in. Part of this
probably is due to the campus location, and lack of proximity or transportation
to non-University cultural activities, but I suspect it is mostly due to lack
of student curiosity in their surroundings, and lack of time. I say “sad”
because when they graduate, they likely feel no particular tie to Rochester itself, and no great desire to choose to continue to live and work here. You
would hope that the U of R would do more to connect their students with
culture and opportunities here, to try to retain them post-graduation. The result would not only contribute greatly to the local economy, but increase the probability that the graduates become meaningful donors, since they would then understand the larger context of their
alma mater, and the integral role it plays in our city.
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