Hovering over and outwards from University Hill, an invisible safeguard cradles a radius of 1120 acres against its chest. Reaching across Richmond Street, it draws in Richmond Row, Masonville Place and everything in between. It shelters the surrounding neighborhoods while keeping the rest of London at bay.
It is the Western Bubble and it is the reason we all feel at home in the Western community.
As members of a university praised for its unparalleled campus experience, Western students are reconsidering how beneficial a completely self-reliant institution really is. With an enrollment rate of over 5000 students per year and growing, why then does Western have the worst retention rate among university towns in its region?
The University Student Council is launching the “ReThink Students” campaign that is aimed at gaining student feedback about their experiences as a London resident. “Rethink Students” is tackling this question by rethinking what it means to be a Western student and why this image does not include a great amount of involvement with the City of London.
“I think that 86% of Western students leave London after graduation for a variety of reasons but mainly because they do not feel connected to the city,” explains Monica Kozycz, Municipal Affairs Commissioner on the University Students’ Council and fourth year Political Science student.
“It is also tied to jobs in London. Many Western students find that there are not enough jobs for graduating students so that is certainly a factor as well,” Kozycz continues.
With the second lowest urban unemployment rate in Canada, London does not jump to mind when looking to enter the work force, especially with a thriving neighbour such as Toronto only a short 200 kilometers away.
However, this does not mean that there are zero job opportunities. A forum conducted by “ReThink Students” notes that one of the issues surrounding London jobs lies in a lack of summer internship opportunities from local businesses that are looking to hire Western students after graduation. If businesses give students the opportunity to spend their summers working in London it will provide them with career experience and create a larger young professional scene in the city that is currently lacking.
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The “ReThink Students” forum confirms that transportation is one factor hindering students’ abilities to explore local businesses and cultural hubs outside the Western Bubble. With a London bus system that is over-run with students during the week and inefficiently run by London Transit during the weekends, students find it difficult to navigate around the city without dedicating their entire day to the excursion. What this tells students is that if you are out of a car, you are out of luck.
A method of mobilizing this issue for those who find themselves without wheels is a signal to London’s bike culture. In a medium-sized city, it is realistic to make cycling your primary form of transportation: a student can complete a day of classes and avoid the inevitable traffic delays on Western Road or Oxford Street while enjoying an idyllic view of the Thames River.
But as a city located on Ontario’s Snow Belt, the improvement to and regular maintenance of bike paths during the winter months then comes to the forefront of “ReThink Students’” transportation turmoil.
“While bike paths would alleviate some of the stress on the public transit system, there are also some concerns over bike culture in general among students and the city and the practicality of biking in the winter,” suggests Kozycz.
Cycling during London’s winter months is not for the faint of heart. When temperatures drop to a sub-zero climate and a white blanket layers our city, cycling becomes relatively obsolete unless the municipality can attend to the bike paths on a regular basis.
One way for students to find support with their ever-expanding bike culture is to participate in the London Cultural Prosperity Plan that was launched at the April 3 Cultural Planning Fair. Dialog, a consultant firm that is spearheading the movement, has been working to give voice to cultural vitality, promote economic prosperity, and establish more social equity among Londoners in an environmentally sustainable way. Westerners can take advantage of this cultural makeover to promote cycle-friendly infrastructure, involve Western in a long-term cultural plan and, connect themselves to this city in which we call ourselves a resident.
“Many students have complained that the disconnection they feel towards the city is largely a result of ignorance about London,” Kozycz illuminates.
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Another solution in circulation from the “ReThink Students” forum that can begin on campus is to promote city events to students during their first year Orientation Week.
“Some ideas that have been thrown around include giving bus tours of the city to first years during Orientation Week, giving out a London Handbook to students with information on London hotspots, and more event promotion on the USC website and throughout campus” describes Kozycz, who is hoping to implement these ideas in the upcoming academic year.
Encouraging students to listen to local London happenings at the open of their university experience will prevent the isolation that results from the Western Bubble and bridge a connection with the city that can only broaden over time.
“I think the Western Bubble hurts both the city and students. The image perpetuates the idea that Western students are “just visiting” London and because of this the municipal government and other city stakeholders do not take their concerns seriously,” Kozycz declares.
“At the same time, because students also feel that they are not integrated into the city, they feel less motivated to take an interest in what’s going on in favor of focusing on what’s happening at Western,” USC’s Municipal Affairs Commissioner concludes.
So the task is up to you, students of Western, to vocalize what you want to see from London.
Visit the USC’s website and take the “ReThink Students” poll so that you may better enhance your London experience.