Schenectady town-gown relations show improvement

After three years of giving tours for Union College, Jaclyn Mandart is familiar with the concerns of prospective students’ parents who have heard about the school’s poor relationship with the city of Schenectady.

“They definitely want to know what is going on off campus,” said Mandart, a tour guide coordinator completing her junior year and a fan of the Schenectady Greenmarket. “It’s definitely one of the big things that gets asked.”

For the most part, though, Mandart and current students feel that those concerns are the product of a bygone though well-publicized past that has been replaced by a less well-known reality. The questions haven’t changed, acknowledged Mandart, “but the answers have changed.”

According to a handful of college students in the know, those answers are the product of grass-roots efforts involving volunteer work by students and economic development in the city. The result is a more cohesive cohabitation, instead of the strained town-gown relations that were documented repeatedly by college review books.

Aleena Paul, a junior and managing editor of the school newspaper, described the antagonism and disdain of the past as a generational thing. “When I came here as a freshman, there were a few seniors who said [Schenectady] was kind of sketchy and that you shouldn’t go out,” Paul recalled.

This recollection was echoed by Ajay Major, a junior and editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, who said he has seen a changing attitude among students about the city during his three years at Union. “It used to be like, ‘You’re going out in Schenectady? Really?’ But now it’s commonplace,” he said.

As a resident adviser in a dormitory, Major said the freshmen he oversees don’t think twice about venturing off campus. “Residents [are] going downtown in droves when the weather [is] nice out,” said Major, who inferred that freshmen are not aware of the old stigma about the city.

The negative perception included the way students viewed residents, whom they called “Schenectadoids.” Today, the word is used sparingly on campus, and the hurtful meaning has essentially disappeared.

“People still use the word, but it has gone much more out of use,” Major said. “The negative connotation has been phased out as the stigma of Schenectady has phased out.”

This evolution has been marked primarily by an increase of things to do in Schenectady, specifically in the downtown area, which had been a ghost town before recent years. Mandart said that in her interactions with alumni, who are returning to the city after a 10- or 15-year absence, they acknowledge a sharp contrast from their school days and declare Schenectady to be unrecognizable. “There’s just so much more going on in town,” she said.

Acting Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy said that the improvements in the downtown area over the past seven years have aided the evolving relationship between students and the city. He contended that the change has included a shift in attitudes on both sides, as the city has become more welcoming and students have become more appreciative of the venues and points of interest that have popped up.

One of the hot spots to which students flock is Bombers Burrito Bar on State Street, which was opened by Union alumnus Matt Baumgartner in 2009. Bombers is cited as a huge hangout for Union students, who like to celebrate their 21st birthday there with an oversized margarita. The establishment is also flush with college-age patrons on nights when it hosts trivia contests or karaoke.

Other popular destinations for Union students include Ambition, Bangkok Bistro, Proctors, the Greenmarket and Movieland. These places attract students by offering promotions with the college, like inviting students to use “Dutchmen Dollars” off campus, or by simply tailoring offerings to appeal to a younger crowd. In some cases, the college is actively promoting off-campus events, evident by the shuttles running into the city.

Even with the specialized attention, most students interviewed don’t feel they stand out from city residents, except for the fact that their attire is often maroon with “Union” written on it.

They’re so comfortable in their surroundings that it is now normal to see packs of students walking about a mile to any of these locations. Union student Major, whose favorite place in the city is Ambition, the cafe on the Jay Street mall, said that students enjoy the chance to leave campus. And once they’ve discovered places and things they like, students say they feel more like members of a community, and they’re more likely to venture farther.

Part of the attraction, Major said, is that students get to feel more like adults when they’re out of the school environment. “It’s a coming of age thing too,” he said. “Being able to walk off-campus makes you feel like a person.”

The integration of Union students into the city has also been a product of numerous goodwill efforts on behalf of such causes as Habitat for Humanity, the Schenectady Free Clinic, the Kenney Community Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the C.O.C.O.A. House and various reading programs.

Bessena Cabe, a sophomore actively involved in different volunteer endeavors, said the Habitat for Humanity program helped him explore the city. He said the different efforts help erode tensions of the past and build new relationships for students of the future.

“A lot of groups on campus are trying to work on integrating into the community,” Cabe said. He also credited the Union-Schenectady Alliance, founded in 2008 to strengthen the bond between the college and the city by erasing misconceptions with events such as “Show Me Schenectady” day.

Phillip Morris, CEO of Proctors, has been involved with the group during its three-year existence. He said the Alliance has helped spread the idea that Schenectady is a “college town.” The result, he said, is that there is more integration between students and downtown.

Morris added that while places students like to go encourage them to come back, there are other places in Schenectady that don’t make any overtures to these potential customers. “Always things to do better,” he said.

Even at night, when Schenectady police sirens are a familiar sound, Union students said they feel comfortable walking downtown or back to campus. “Usually we’re just going down in groups,” Major said. “We always walk in big groups, like when we come back at night.”

Students don’t think these large groups are specific to Schenectady, but rather a product of a city environment. Mandart added that most students want to do things with friends, so it is reasonable that they would walk places together.

The allure of the city is lost on students and prospective students who fail to immerse themselves in the available opportunities, said Mandart. She said it is impossible for anyone to get a handle on the city during a tour, even though her presentations offer personal anecdotes about favorite hot spots.

“Unless they go into town they can’t get a feel for it,” Mandart said. To encourage prospective students and their families to experience the city, tour guides recommend certain destinations, and the admissions staff advertises about 30 different eateries for people to try.

But even with those promotions, Mandart acknowledges that surveys show the city is a major detractor for admissions. “When people decide not to come to Union, that’s what is usually mentioned,” she said.

Part of the negative perception about Schenectady is a result of the route prospective students take to campus, with different opinions being formed depending on whether people travel on Route 7 or I-890.

As evidence of the city’s work left to be done, some students feel uncomfortable going through the old industrial sector, from Erie Boulevard and the river up toward the Freemans Bridge Road bridge. Students who described this as an area to avoid noted that there really isn’t anything to do there and that it is an extended walk from campus.

Union student Cabe summed up the recent progress by highlighting the strength of current relations but conceding that more work can be done.

“There are very good connections between Union and Schenectady, but they’re not always apparent,” he said. “It is something in the works.”

Categories: Uncategorized