Inside Higher Ed, by Kevin Kruger

Maclean's, by Jennifer Lewington

Universities have not always been the best of neigh-bours. Community members squabble with the schools over irritants like development plans, rowdy student parties and self-centered research practices. That's beginning to change as universities increasingly turn to local residents and non-profit organizations as allies, not adversaries. "There is a fundamental shift in univer-sities across North American from the ivory tower to the public square," says Diane Kenyon, vice president of university relations for the University of Calgary. Carlton University political scientist Peter Andree is principal investigator of the "Community First SSHRC study. He cites three factors driving the "emerging" movement. One is about researchers being more respectful. Another, he says, is that students want meaningful experiences that contribute to their education. Finally, he points to rising public expectations about "social license" of universities in uncertain times.

Niagara This Week, by Paul Forsyth

Students climbing up on rooftops to drink and party may soon find the long arm of the law tapping them on the shoulder. That's because city council has asked staff to prepare a bylaw to address the phenomenon of university students sitting on roofs and knocking back some cold ones, a trend known as roofing or brewing. Council Terry Ugulini, a member of the city's revived town and gown committee set up to address what residents say are serious problems related to Brock University students partying it up in their neighbourhoods, told fellow council members that Niagara Regional Police brought up the idea of a new brewfing bylaw at a town and gown meeting. The City of St. Catharine is also working on a bylaw to cover roofing, and the City of London, Ont. recently changed its nuisance parties bylaw to include banning roofing. Mayor Ted Luciani said he was already bracing for St. Patricks Day and the off-campus parties that often take place that day. 

Pipe Dream, by Alexandra Hupka

On March 2, mayors Rich David of the city of Bingham-ton, Greg Deemie of Johnson City and John Bertoni of Endicott spoke to students, faculty, local business own-ers and community members about city and college relations. Each mayor focused on a college town theme and discussed how their municipalities could become more welcoming to students and other members of the University community. Deemie said the village is working on projects that will increase public safety, making Johnson City more walkable and bring in more dining and shopping options to the Main Street area. Bertoni discussed the idea of establishing a bus line between Binghamton University and Endicott. David said that construction of a new trail between the University and Downtown Binghamton will begin this spring. In addition, a blue-light safety system will be installed around Binghamton's West Side. 

Inside Higher Ed, by Emily Tate

A new study out of Yale University confirms a notion college and university administrators have held for years, that substance abuse is linked to a decline in student grades, but this study also reveals a number of trends among college students that surprised its au-thors. Researchers at Yale and the Institute of Living in Hartford, Conn., found that students who drank a mod-erate to heavy amount of alcohol actually had a similar grade point average to those who consumed little to no alcohol. However, students who used moderate to heavy alcohol as well as marijuana saw their grades plum-meting. Shashwath Media, first author of the study, said students often enter  college with an exaggerated idea of who is drinking and how much they are drinking, Media said. In reality, many students choose to abstain. 

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