Published: August 25, 2007 09:02 pm         

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORAL: ‘College town’ comes to life

New semester reminds us of education’s impact

There is always something in the air in Terre Haute this time of year. And it has nothing to do with the occasional odor that wafts in the late-summer breeze on the city’s southwest side.

It is during late August and early September that downtown traffic — both pedestrian and vehicular — picks up noticeably. The faces you see on the street are often fresh young faces, sometimes with quizzical looks as they try to figure out what’s what in their new, temporary home.

The fall semester is officially under way at Indiana State University adjacent to downtown Terre Haute. On the west side of the county, classes will begin Tuesday at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. At Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology east of the city, students will begin arriving later this week.

What these three institutions of higher learning have in common is that most of their new students this fall will come from places other than Terre Haute and Vigo County. In fact, they have arrived from all over the world.

It is no secret that the presence of these institutions has a profound impact on our community. Not only do they bring the annual infusion of hope and anticipation from the students who choose to pursue an educational degree here, they provide thousands of residents with employment, not to mention careers.

Each of our four-year undergraduate schools is different and offers unique educational opportunities to students. St. Mary-of-the-Woods is a women’s liberal arts college that is known for its outstanding equine studies program. Rose-Hulman is second to none in the area of undergraduate engineering degrees. ISU, as a larger state school, offers an array of course programs. One of its most popular is criminology.

While Terre Haute has never been a prototypical “college town” like Bloomington or West Lafayette, college life and community life do mix in many ways. The higher education community makes Terre Haute a better place by enhancing its culture in many ways.

There are those among us who think the “college influence” has too much impact on the city, and that the impact is not always positive. They think the colleges, especially ISU, run the town by sometimes acting like bullies to get what they want.

It is an absurd argument, of course. In ISU’s case, what is good for the university is almost always good for the community. Likewise Rose-Hulman and The Woods. All are linked with the community’s fortunes.

Terre Haute and Vigo County are more vibrant because of the colleges that reside here. They provide a greater quality of life that the rest of us should eagerly embrace.

We extend a warm welcome to students and faculty on their return to local campuses and wish them well during the new school year. We value what they bring to the community, and hope they find great value in their college experience here.