Students: The Other Perspective

Students, some people hear that word and they just cringe.  Many
people when they hear this word they immediately think of Fanshawe
College and UWO students who are once again "taking over" The City as
they do each and every year for 8 months or so.  In the past weeks
there have been more articles in the local news about students and the
problems they bring with them, and like every other year the stories
will continue until the students leave.

We hear about the ignorant students, the loud  and destructive
students, the students that love to party, the students that love to
cause a public disturbance, we hear about the negative aspects of city
life that  we hear about these day after day.  But have we ever stopped
to think about the positive things that students bring to The City,
most of us I take it have never thought of these things and I thought
it were about time that we began to.  By no means is this an exhausted
list of the positives that students bring to London, it is only a
beginning.

Charity work

The
charity work that students contribute to London's social well being is
phenomenal.  Most people will mention Shinerama at the beginning of the
school year that involves students but beyond that most people are hard
pressed to name any other charities or organizations that benefit from
student presence.  Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Community Living London,
Participation House are just a few of the organizations that benefit
greatly.  The local school boards (TVDSB, Catholic and others) all
benefit from students volunteering to help in any number of ways.

Although
beyond Shinerama and United Way events, the presence of students in
charitable organizations may not be known, not because the students
aren’t there, because believe me they are, but because students aren’t
always looking for the recognition but rather they are just looking to
help out.

Bus service

No
matter what your standpoint and opinion are about the LTC and the
service it provides you have to admit that without the student presence
in town the service would be lacking.  Students not only help to keep
the cost of bus fair down (passes, tickets and coin) they allow London
to have the number of buses that it does as well as the service
coverage and service frequency.  Without students tuition (portion of)
subsidizing the public transit system in London, the service that we
are currently receiving would be no-where near as good as it is.

(there
is a large % of students that choose not to use the LTC and the pass
they pay for [no opt out option], this in turn is essentially free
revenue for the LTC translating into more money for more services.)

Economic Input

Students
pour tons of money into the local economy here in London and without
the students and their money London would not have many of the services
and shops currently available to every consumer.  Students allow many
restaurants to stay open, students ensure that the commercial services
in malls and in the downtown are able to sustain business.  The
services that students need allow for thousands of people in London to
be employed, not only those at Fanshawe and Western but throughout the
city.  Businesses locate in London because there is a large student
population and many would not locate otherwise, this in turn provides
the rest of the population access to the same businesses and services.

Students do not only bring their money (or parents money) with them but they bring business and services as well.

Social Characteristics

Social
Characteristics are perhaps one of the most important things that
students being to The City, but one of the most overlooked.  The
student population (and young professional population, of whom were
students some short time ago) not only bring new ideas to London but
they ensure that the population in The City does not remain stagnant,
that it continues to have a youthful characteristic to it.  Without the
students London could be labeled as a retirement comment that is slowly
on the decline, with limited grow, limited income and limited financial
input into the local economy.  Students help to balance out the
demographics, not only in London but in any city with major educational
institutions.

Skilled workforce

Students
are the future of London.  Not only are they providing the local
economy with skilled workers (ok, many are leaving but this is another
issue altogether) but they are providing The City with tax dollars that
end up paying for services for those in their aging years.  Students
provide a new outlook on The City and Life, not a better outlook but a
new and refreshed one.  Students are the ones that in 10 years will be
given the task of looking after the aging population, providing
services to The City and who will be eventually running the cities.

Students provide a vast number of things to London, presently and in the future.

By no means am I trying to defend students as a whole, some students are better/worse than others.

Students may cause disturbances, students may be ignorant, students may throw loud and annoying parties, other students may get arrested for one thing or another and students may be the worst thing to happen to this city.

I think what we need to do as society is to start having a different
perspective on issues such as students and those of the like.  How
would we react to these vary comments and allegations if we replaced
the word students with other words.

Natives may cause disturbances, Blacks may be ignorant, Whites may throw loud and annoying parties, Christians may get arrested for one thing or another and Canadians may be the worst thing to happen to this city.

A little hard to swallow perhaps?  My point exactly.

My guess is that people would not be to fond of the above statements
and there would be a much larger uproar.  Is it really that fair to
pick on students?  I admit there are problem students out there, but the majority are not.

With that said, how about we try to look at both the positives and
negatives that the varying people of London bring to the city and stop
stereotyping them into specific groups using them as scapegoats for
larger issues tha may exist.