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Clay Hinderliter; Town and gown divide?
ed komenda
Issue date: 10/21/09 Section: News
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The university is simply the biggest economic driver we have here in the area. We appreciate that on many levels. Especially me, as a merchant, also on the city council.
There's not a town and gown divide. We have sometimes a difference of opinions on how to solve problems. When you have more than two people, you usually have more than two opinions, and I think that's what we're facing, here. It's like a marriage.
Issues
It's extraordinary, and I'm talking about a minority of the students, but sometimes we get students here, who leave home for the first time, and they're turned loose, and they think this is College Town USA. It's my hometown, and I've lived in the northwest quadrant. And when I bought my house in 1982, when you would walk around my block, there were 20 owner-occupied houses and six rentals. Today, it's exactly opposite. It's 20 rentals and six owner-occupied houses. In 27 years, the dynamics of that neighborhood has changed. I would also say the conduct of students from 27 years ago to today has significantly changed.
This school year there's a house on my block. I had gone home, it was a Friday evening. I had gone home a little early, my wife was home. I was preparing supper for her. It was six o'clock or so or six-thirty and all of a sudden it felt as though somebody turned the music to mach warp 10. I stepped outside and looked and went to a house on Wheeler Street. It was so loud that when I'd beat on the door, no one could hear me, so I went around the front door, ran across two young men and a lady, and said 'could you turn down the music?' and one of the young men went to turn down the music.
So I introduced myself and essentially had the same conversation I told you I had with other students there, and the young man who I was talking to said 'well, if you have a problem with us, I'd prefer if you'd come to me first.' I said, 'that's what I'm doing right now.'
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 22
Dave Huber
posted 10/21/09 @ 1:18 PM CST
The town wouldn't exist if not for the university so shut up and put up old man. You aren't king you're a hillbilly living in a college town so get over it or move out. (Continued…)
Michelle Olson
posted 10/21/09 @ 3:35 PM CST
This is not only a Macomb issue, but a National issue. Somewhere along the line we have have lost our moral compass as well as teaching our youth respect and boundaries. (Continued…)
Macomb Resident Since 1967
posted 10/21/09 @ 3:50 PM CST
I have lived in Macomb since 1967. So I have been around this town for 42 years. I am a graduate of WESTERN. GOOOO Leathernecks!!
Clay Hinderliter does not speak for me. (Continued…)
Lindsey Vehlewald
posted 10/21/09 @ 4:02 PM CST
Just because you do not agree with someone's solution to an obvious problem is no reason to attack the person himself. If you were to bother to think logically, you would see some merit of Mr. (Continued…)
Dave Dorsett
posted 10/21/09 @ 10:15 PM CST
This town did exist and would continue to exist, albet in a much different form, without the university. That being said, there is no reason to believe we'll need to find out either way for some time. (Continued…)
Melissa
posted 10/22/09 @ 12:11 AM CST
If the worst offenses are by a small % of students, I think strict enforcement & penalties are a good approach for both the student & resident populations. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 10/22/09 @ 1:29 PM CST
I think, besides the bars, the first interaction that students have with residents is their landlords. This can be very frustrating when your landlord, no matter how well you take care of the house, won't help you when something goes wrong or it takes over a week, or in many cases longer than that to fix anything. (Continued…)
AJD
posted 10/22/09 @ 1:43 PM CST
The last poster has hit on something I've been talking about for awhile. This city needs some sort of "board" to deal with relations between landlords and tenants or to deal with complaints about particular student tenants in the neighborhoods. (Continued…)
Dave Dorsett
posted 10/22/09 @ 6:36 PM CST
While I agree there is a need for bringing landlords into the equation, that's far easier said than done. As it is there is supposed to be a yearly meeting between the city, the Student Tenant Union (STU) and representatives of the Macomb Landlord's Association (MLA) to address amny of these issues. (Continued…)
Dave Dorsett
posted 10/23/09 @ 11:21 AM CST
Just for the record, a question is not technically a rebuttal.
Personal observation over more years than I care to address and the opinions of the city's Community Development staff as well as local police AND some landlords. (Continued…)
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