A partnership opportunity that can't be missed

Post-secondary education is one of London’s greatest strengths. Western University and Fanshawe College are major employers in our city and students contribute millions more to the local economy through spending on rent, food, entertainment, and all the other necessities of life. In many ways, we tend to undervalue the part they play now and could play in the future. I believe there are three ways we can strengthen the partnership with Western and Fanshawe to make London better for everyone.

First, I have already discussed in Metro News London how the city could be looking to local experts at our post-secondary schools to carry out research and find innovative solutions to city issues. Occasionally when the city needs to test the feasibility of an idea, or wants to know what other cities are doing on the same issue, it relies on expensive outside consultants to produce a report. One example is the London’s Transportation Master Plan, produced by a Toronto consultant group.

Sometimes we do need expertise beyond what’s available on city staff. Why not partner with our world-class university and college to do this kind of work where possible? We can invite students and researchers to focus on practical ideas and solutions for our city. Imagine the top minds living in our city investigating how we can improve industry, environment, and citizen engagement in London, and how city government can make a difference in those areas.

Secondly, I recently blogged about the need to foster entrepreneurship in our city as a way to boost economic growth. I mentioned the roles the that local agencies have to play in this area, and Western and Fanshawe are key pieces of the puzzle. We can look at the kind of talent our schools are producing and gear short-term subsidies to start-up businesses in those fields.

We need to make it easier to start and maintain a small business in London for everybody, not just grads; however, this is one way to keep some of our top talent at home. I've seen this kind of approach do great things in Waterloo Region, where I lived as a student at the University of Waterloo. The area has a thriving tech sector because of talent produced at its universities.

Recently, the province announced funding for Campus-Linked Accelerators, to build on innovation and entrepreneurial programs at Southwestern Ontario's colleges and universities. This includes Western's Entrepreneurship, Engagement, Economic Development (E3), which will act as “a hub for educational, community, and private-sector partners and the foundation for nurturing a vibrant on-campus ecosystem of entrepreneurship”. It’s great news, so we must ensure that the city is at the table to build strong links between Western innovation and entrepreneurship and the rest of our city.

The third way London can do a better job of collaborating with our schools has to do with integrating them into city life. We need to treat students as fellow Londoners and help them to see themselves that way.

Recently, two of my opponents called for Western’s Homecoming celebrations to be cancelled. While I absolutely sympathize with the frustrations of Broughdale residents, this is the wrong approach. Rather than shutting down the celebration, I’d like to see the city get involved in planning it, and not just in terms of law enforcement. 

What if Homecoming took over Victoria Park for the weekend, or a few blocks of commercial area were closed to traffic for the celebration? Alcohol consumption could be contained and monitored. It would also encourage more long-term Londoners to come out and join the celebration, and bring their positive influence. It would mean be a boost for nearby businesses too. If we look at Homecoming like another city festival, we can plan the kind of celebration everyone will be proud of.

Helping Fanshawe bring more students downtown, to study in the Kingsmill’s building, is also a step in the right direction when it comes to integrating them into city life. These students will be working and learning where so many other Londoners also work. More interaction will lead to better relationships.

Western and Fanshawe are huge advantages to have in London. Let's start treating students like fellow citizens with something to contribute rather than just a problem to be managed.

City Council made the right decision on Fanshawe

Earlier today, I submitted a letter to the editor at The London Free Press and London Community News regarding the decision on Tuesday, September 2nd made by our city council to support partial funding for Fanshawe College's expansion into the former Kingsmills building downtown.  I'd like to hear your thoughts on this decision as well!

Congratulations to the current City Council on their decision to invest in London’s core and the future of our city. While there are several steps still left, Tuesday’s vote to approve funds that will help bring Fanshawe College to the Kingsmill’s building is an important one. 

Over the past several months, I have spoken with many Ward 6 residents at their doors. In the past few weeks, this topic has come up more than any other. Some asked for news of the vote when I knocked on their doors Tuesday evening. 

Overwhelmingly, the residents I’ve spoken to see this investment as one that will support a healthy downtown core, and with it, a healthy city. 

The people of Ward 6 know better than almost any others in London about the contribution our post-secondary schools make to the city. Many work, teach, or study at Western University, or work at businesses that serve Western students. 

Growth at Fanshawe College is good news, and the eight councillors who supported it are right to do so. As part of the next council, I plan to increase collaboration with Western and Fanshawe and continue supporting our core. 

Mike Bloxam

Candidate for Ward 6

Starving students

The term "starving student" gets thrown around rather carelessly.  This colloquialism refers to the mounds of money required by post-secondary students to pay for tuition, books, and housing, in many cases leaving little left over for food or entertainment (Heaven forbid).

Sure, certain students in university or college have access to government assistance (OSAP), scholarships, bursaries, and other loans/grants; however, for those who don't qualify—sometimes for a ridiculous reason as their parents' income registered as "too high", even when a student chooses to or must pay his or her own way—many sacrifice their health and end up on a diet of ramen and Kraft Dinner.  While fine in moderation, these pre-packaged foods hardly give the required nutrients to sustain a learning mind and a weary body.  Some say a part-time job solves the income issue, but time between lectures, projects, and studying often does not present itself, not to mention the difficulty of finding a job while the city sits at 7.5% unemployment rate (as of November).

What options do these lower-income students have?  Some will establish a food budget and consume enough to keep energized.  Some may just go hungry and get by one one meal a day.  Others make the trip to the south end of London and make use of the services provided by the London Food Bank.

Photo courtesy of the London Food Bank

In the late 1990s, the University of Western Ontario and the London Food Bank discussed how to address students in need.  The idea of having a food bank on campus didn't proceed for fear of hungry students feeling ashamed to be seen by their colleagues using such a service.  Instead, the Food Bank opened its doors on Saturdays for two hours dedicated to serve students.  The Food Bank's location far enough away from campus (on King Street beside Kellogg's at the time and now on Leathorne Street) allowed the anonymity that students likely would not get on campus.

In my years of volunteering on Saturday mornings (since 1999), the demand for student support has grown alarmingly.  We see students from Fanshawe College, Western University, multiple private colleges, and newer Canadians enrolled in courses for English as a second language.  Some of them have insufficient funds from OSAP, some have part-time jobs, some have children, but the vast majority are single and have no income.  In a food bank that sees approximately 3600 families (of all sizes from one person and up) visit per month, we occasionally serve 20+ students on a Saturday morning, many of them repeat clients.  While that doesn't sound like many people, we used to only have two to five at most from 2004 until around mid-2011.  Many more make the trek during the weekday public hours for their emergency hamper that lasts four to five days.

We need a better loan program in this province, one that takes into account students supporting themselves through school, and also factors in the exorbitant price of books and rent, while allowing for a healthy, solid diet to fit into their budget.

The next time you hear someone say "starving student", or find yourself about to use the phrase, think about the gravity of the words:  the students truly starving may not take it lightly.

Campus cacaphony

This 'blog has been rather quiet of late, but the meeting at City Hall last week was anything but.

Last Wednesday, the Town and Gown Committee held a public participation meeting in the Council Chambers at City Hall.  Slated for three hours, the meeting bled over another 30 minutes past ten o'clock, with the public gallery dangerously close to capacity.

The crowd consisted of a roughly equal mix of residents living near the campusses of Western University and Fanshawe College, and students attending these two post-secondary institutions.  Conversations between these two groups took place as seven o'clock neared: an exchange of ideas that seemed cordial.

Before the public participation section of the night, Orest Katolyk (formerly called the manager of by-law enforcement, but now with the new title that committee chair and Ward 7 Councillor Matt Brown succeeded in remembering) gave an overview of how Project LEARN came about.  The Great Near-Campus Neighbourhood Strategy of 2008 identified three "customers" for the by-law enforcers: complainants (want immediate action); alleged violators (don't want to be bothered); and the general public ("silent majority").  2009 introduced a new noise by-law and a limit of five bedrooms in a unit.  Good baseline information on near-campus housing.

Police Chief Brad Duncan presented next, saying that "we are back at the same point as in 2005" when Project Speakeasy (predecessor to LEARN) came into effect to combat the increase in noise complaints with a balance of enforcement and education.  2009 introduced more strict enforcement after violence on Thurman Circle; then we have 2012 and the famous St. Patrick's Day riot on Fleming Drive, which gave way to a zero-tolerance policy.  Police felt that after six years, the message that students need to consider their neighbours and the community at large was not being received, acknowledged, or respected.  He admitted this short-term solution can not solve the issue.

For 2013, Chief Duncan noted that police issued warnings at Hallowe'en and this was successful; however, the Broughdale area continues to pose the largest problem, highlighted by a spontaneous party during Western's homecoming celebrations.

I counted 31 speakers in total, with 13 being students of either Western of Fanshawe.  Below lists some of the highlights noted by these people - the entire record should become available from the Town and Gown committee on their next agenda.

• Garbage, vandalism, urination on homes, "student Hell" from September to May
• Police use negative reinforcement and unjustly charge for noise complaints
• "95%" improvement since zero-tolerance implemented; used to the peace and quiet
• Students make up "10% of the population" and "need a place to release the pressure of growing up": special zone for parties? These students are "under the most pressure in history"
• It takes a village to raise a child; respect begets respect
• Collection of personal information was a bad move, but police had "honourable intentions"; 2% are trouble-makers, 8% watch (and join if no authority corrects them), and 90% are behaving
• Forget about the riot: "get over it"; police intimidate with "harassment" and go "fishing" for students, who are just like other residents (pay taxes, shop, etc.) and are Canadian citizens
• Can the students' councils and administrations help students fit into neighbourhoods?
• Noise issues disrupt sleep and cause health issues and shouldn't be disrupted living in own home; need "neighbourhood captains" to act as student leaders
• Likes the energy brought by students, but the riot was just a matter of time
• Students feel the "rules don't apply" and want "special treatment": if they acted as adults, there would be no problems with police
• Students hosting a charity party fined for noise as a "nuisance party" at discretion of officer; zero tolerance doesn't work
• Negative reinforcement not a good way to learn; only one out of five neighbours complained about a party
• Concerned for safety when walking at night downtown
• Make more neighbourhoods in the city more accessible to students; reduce pressure on near-campus areas
• "Reluctant and somewhat fearful" to give his opinion (retaliation by police)
• LEARN is working; "two groups missing" from conversation are landlords (to communicate information to students) and real-estate agents (need to stop pricing houses in near-campus areas as businesses, and need to give maintenance and by-law information to would-be landlords)
• "What's wrong with having a couch on your front lawn?"
• Police asked to smell the contents of a water bottle, and when accidentally dropped was issued a littering ticket
• Students contribute to the economy; zero tolerance is "too strict"
• Considers himself a London resident, but LEARN makes him feel like a "second-class citizen" and not like "an individual": this does not encourage interaction
• LEARN creates divide between students, citizens, and police
• Police can now use stung guns: are there "de-escalation routines"?
• Students have "a right" to live in neighbourhoods; need "environment of respect" since zero tolerance fosters hostility
• At the "tipping point" of too much student housing; feels "invaded" by realtors "speculating": need pre-emptive law enforcement and more transparent information on who owns a property
• Support for LEARN and residential homeowners
• Students asking police not to enforce law; "vast amount" of housing is illegal
• Need "community of caring, not blame"; tell students how to party "safely"
• LEARN "failed because we failed as a community"
• Lives in "ghetto" and has dealt with student issues for 30 years; at least 70% student concentration
• "No political cache" with students, so supporting LEARN is "politically expedient"

Living in Blackfriars, which is considered a "near-campus neighbourhood", we actually enjoy a good balance of students, long-term residents, and new families.  It's a balance that should perhaps prevail across the board.

In closing the public participation portion of the meeting, committee members had their chance to speak.  Another meeting, with public input hopefully on the table, should occur in the next couple of months.  Let's hope the points gathered will give both sides something to think about, and the "chasm" (as Mayor Joe Fontana put it) can be bridged happily.