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Campus-Community Connections
The official newsletter of the International Town & Gown Association™ October 26, 2020
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City Council Discusses Small Business Advisory Board
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College Station, TX: College Station business leaders will soon have a new opportunity to connect with one another and make their needs known to city staff members. At Thursday’s city council meeting, elected officials discussed potentially starting a small business advisory board, but they ultimately decided that regular informal gatherings of the business community led by staff would be most beneficial for the time being. The discussions likely will be formatted similarly to the Building and Development Breakfasts that the city’s Planning and Development Services have hosted monthly, Economic Development Manager Aubrey Nettles explained after the meeting. These meetings, she said, usually involve staff bringing forward topics relevant to the development community for a collaborative conversation. The Eagle
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Big Ten Mayors Discuss COVID Concerns
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The Big Ten says it’s ready to play some football this weekend, but the mayors of the college towns where these teams are based have “humbly” asked the conference to address their Covid-19 concerns before kickoff. “We know the history of football games within our cities,” the mayors wrote in an open letter this week to the Big Ten Conference, which actually has 14 universities and includes storied college football programs like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin. “They generate a lot of activity, social gatherings and consumption of alcohol. These activities within our communities have also been associated with an increased spread of Covid-19.” NBC News
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Meet ITGA Board Member Courtney Kienow
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Courtney Kienow, Director of Community Relations, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Returning to her role as secretary of the ITGA board, Courtney Kienow says she knows of no organization quite like the International Town & Gown Association. She calls it “a collaborative and innovative group of professionals from municipalities and colleges that are enthusiastic about sharing successes and challenges in a way that has enormous benefit.” As director of community relations in the office of the president at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Courtney advances the university’s interests in the community and ensures that Cal Poly is responsive, in turn, to community needs. She wants ITGA this year to focus on members’ challenges related to COVID-19 and to ensure that the organization provides “unique value as cities and colleges face an ever-evolving landscape,” including financial hardships. Courtney uses her experience as a journalist, her Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Cal Poly, and her marketing and government relations background to help ITGA “bridge town-and-gown relationships” and promote dialogue around the challenges and tensions that inevitably arise between campus and community.
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COVID-19 and Town-Gown Relations
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ITGA Connects Webinar Series: ITGA’s 2020 Data Digest focused on the intersections of COVID-19 and town-gown relations. To explore these intersections, ITGA hosted a first set of focus groups in May 2020 and a second set of focus groups in September 2020. Participants were ITGA members who reflected a diverse array of higher education institutions and communities. This webinar will explore data and key learnings from the September 2020 focus groups with topics including pandemic-related policy enforcement, economic development, and spring semester planning. Additionally, this webinar will also be a time for discussion and idea sharing as ITGA reflects together on some of the toughest challenges COVID-19 has brought to town-gown communities. To register, click here. Registration closes eob Tuesday, Oct. 27.
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COVID-19: Not a Normal Year for Students
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United Kingdom: Students phoned during coronavirus contact tracing are sometimes "in bits" and suffering “meltdown” due to the conditions in university halls, a worker for NHS Test and Trace has revealed. On Wednesday an experienced mental health professional who has worked as a contact tracer revealed how he was having to provide “de facto counselling sessions” to struggling young people. The anonymous contact tracer told the BBC’s Today programme: “I’ve spoken to many students now from many universities, often freshers, who are distressed and upset obviously because they’re not getting their normal experience. The lack of support had resulted in some students engaging in “risky behaviour”, such as returning home to their parents. “On several occasions I’ve come across students who’ve done that thinking they’re well, they’ve arrived home to find out that one of their bubble has tested positive and have then gone on to infect their families. inews.co.uk
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Ohio State Fans Celebrated Despite Empty Stadium
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Columbus, OH: The first football game day of the year was far from traditional. The season started late, there were no fans allowed in the stadium, and restaurants and bars offered limited seating and required social distancing. Still, that didn't stop people from celebrating. Ohio State administrators and officials had asked students to avoid large gatherings and parties because of the potential for spreading the coronavirus among the student population. As an alternative, the university was trying to bring game day to students, said Jen Pelletier, associate director of Student Life. The Ohio State Marching Band, a traditional staple of any Ohio State game, split into three small groups Saturday and went to different areas of campus and off-campus housing to perform for students. The Columbus Dispatch
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Welcome New and Renewing Members
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City of Martin, TN; Dartmouth College & Hanover, NH; Georgetown University, DC; Prairie View A&M University, TX; Tulane University, LA
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A growing and impressive group of professionals from campus communities continue to network and share strategies for improving town-gown relations. Join us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
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