Want Peace & Quiet? Don’t Move to a College Town

October 15, 2010 3:00 pm     Posted in Reality  Ashley Lee g+ page


By Ashley Lee

Whether you see it in the movies, hear it from your peers or participate in it yourself, it is a generally understood fact that college students like to party. Some adopt the habit during their first Halloween away from home and hold tightly onto it well into their twenties, while others pick it up only between midterm exams. Either way, it happens; it’s been happening and it probably will continue to happen, as long as there are weekend evenings and boring classes and closet doors that prop sideways into perfectly proportioned beer pong tables.

So why were a few neighboring families of Northwestern University so shocked to discover students who “parked themselves on a neighbor’s parkway for a little love fest” or are “hollering about “Bl** J*bs”? Sure, this behavior isn’t acceptable in a world where mothers and fathers and their eight year-old daughters are riding their bicycles to church services on Saturday evenings. But when you’re living in the midst of a university, it should be almost be expected that this will happen.

There is a reason why the surrounding areas of universities are called “college towns”, because the towns cater to the needs of the college kids, almost as if it were an extension of the university itself. Twenty-four hour coffee shops, fast food restaurants open late, local bars with affordable cover charges, and hundreds of apartments and houses that collect the overflow of students who move off-campus. When a college student is away from home, tight on rent and possibly without a car for the year, there is only a limited amount of places one can live. So sorry family who moved down the street from the stadium. You’re probably going to hear a little noise on the weekends.

Yet I’m sure there are countless communities sprouting into socially acceptable suburbs, each lined with white picket fences perfect for protecting the precious youth from these disrespectful drinkers. Hint: they aren’t located in the college towns surrounding universities, especially ones that have been charging tuition to students since 1851.

To the respectful residents of current college towns, the students don’t mean any harm. You must remember what college was like: the high stress, the low budget, the stiff competition and the hard substances. Now, multiply that memory by ten, and you have the modern mindset of today’s college students, and post-grads as well. After all, that’s the comparison that our parents have told us all about.

P.S. The stated fact that “the issues of NOISE, TRASH, and CONDUCT” are noted as the university’s greatest challenges should shine a light on how lucky Northwestern is.

9 Comments on "Want Peace & Quiet? Don’t Move to a College Town"

  1. Allison K says:
    Fri, 15th Oct 201011:11 am 

    Here's a question for this completely oblivious author…have you ever BEEN to Evanston, IL?

    It's not a college town, it does not need Northwestern to survive or flourish, and these students live in a neighborhood, not on campus. it's not like Michigan State in East Lansing where the surround area of the campus is filled with college housing with a few families living there, it's primarily families.

    Great job on doing research.

  2. Brandon@stingycampus says:
    Fri, 15th Oct 201012:17 pm 

    This is something that royally pisses me off. It's like people who move next to train tracks and get a discounted price because of it, then complain the train is too loud. Houses near collegesnare higher in value because it's near a college. It's a tradeoff. Higher price, deal with college students. Just goes to show people's stupidity.

  3. Vicki says:
    Fri, 15th Oct 20101:39 pm 

    I would like to point out, though, that some people might actually need to live near the college, such as the professors who teach there and the university staff. For colleges in more rural areas, they don't necessarily have much of a choice in where they can live – they pretty much have to live in town or have a really long commute. Just because the students are there for four years doesn't give them free reign of the entire town and allow them to do absolutely anything they want. I get that partying in college is important, but there are such things as respect and common courtesy.

  4. Bee says:
    Fri, 15th Oct 20108:48 pm 

    @Vicki: Evanston isn't rural–there are plenty of places to live that'll get you to campus quickly if you have a car (Skokie, Wilmette, Lincolnwood, Park Ridge…)

    @Allsion: I have a friend who lives in Evanston, and she has to make a 20 minute drive to get to campus. There are places to live in Evanston that people can live without ever having to see a college kid.

    Bottom line: if you live near a college campus, PREPARE YOURSELF for college parties. I don't see how that's so difficult. If you can't handle it, then obviously that isn't the place for you.

    Also, they should be thankful that it's just Northwestern–the parties here are hardly worth moaning about.

  5. Katie says:
    Wed, 20th Oct 201010:25 pm 

    Evanston's exactly a college town, and Northwestern's not exactly a "party" school. Evanston is not tiny, and definitely not a middle of nowhere college town. Chicago is a 20 minute train ride away. Quite a lot of people live in Evanston, and anyone who's complaining probably just doesn't like college age people.

  6. Katie says:
    Wed, 20th Oct 201010:25 pm 

    Evanston'snot exactly a college town, and Northwestern's not exactly a "party" school. Evanston is not tiny, and definitely not a middle of nowhere college town. Chicago is a 20 minute train ride away. Quite a lot of people live in Evanston, and anyone who's complaining probably just doesn't like college age people.

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