International Town & Gown Association 
College Town Newsletter

October 13, 2016
Welcome to Dateline, a weekly newsletter
highlighting college town news around the world
In This Issue
Marymount California Wheels Out Car Incentive
Inside Higher Ed, by Rick Seltzer
Marymount California University has rolled out an auto-mobile incentive in a drive to entice students to grad-uate in four years. The private Catholic university has a new program starting this fall for freshmen that dangles the keys to Mini Coopers. Freshmen can purchase a car from an area dealer at a discounted price under a new program called My Marymount Mini. The students will be responsible for making four years of car payments. But if they graduate in four years, the university will make their fifth and final year of payments, worth up to $5,000. "Our students will commute to and from our campuses, drive to their internships, and explore the abundance of beauty, culture and fun that Southern California has to offer," said Marymount President Lucas Lamadrid, who is credited with program idea, in a statement. The dealer-ship involved wants 100 freshman to sign up this year.     
CLARAl Lab Signals New Collaboration Among Institutions and Communities 
Saint Mary's University, by Staff Writers
Communities addressing social and economic challenges across Nova Scotia now have access to the Change Lab Action Research Initiative (CLARI) a cross-pro vince, multi-post-secondary education partnership offering a network of academic experts, research resources, collaboration spaces and communications technology. A $1.1 million investment from Labour and Advanced Education over two years has been dedicated to building the CLARI hub at Saint Mary's University and creating the partnership, which includes: Cape Breton University, St. Francis Xavier University, Mount Saint Vincent Univer-sity, Acadia University, University Sainte-Anne and Nova Scotia Community College. Through CLARI, partners can assist communities in all parts of the province while providing enhanced learning opportunities for students.
UNM Students Raise Awareness for Sexual Assault
UNM Newsroom, by Staff Writers
LoboRESPECT and the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity set up thousands of plastic Solo cups in Smith Plaza to start a conversation about sexual assault on college cam-puses. Student group Revoking Silence also joined the cause. The Solo cups represented students at UNM that could experience sexual violence in their lifetime. While the plastic Solo cups are commonly associated with alcohol consumption, Lobo-RESPECT wanted to send a stronger message to students. 90 percent of college rapes occur when alcohol is involved. A total of 4,129 cups lay on the ground. There were 3,760 red cups to represent the 1 in 4 female Lobos that risk being affected by sexual violence in their lifetime. The remaining 369 blue plastic cups represent the 1 in 33 male students who will experience some form of sexual assault. To learn more about the LoboRESPECT Student Advocacy Group campaign, click here
Potential Ordinance Change to Allow Only Four Unrelated People to Live Together
New Britain Herald, by Robert Storace
Central Connecticut State University students who live off campus could be affected by the city's ordinance related to the "definition of a family." The Common Council is expected to consider changing the ordinance mandating the number of unrelated people that can live together in a single-family house from five to four. CCSU students were mixed on the possible ordinance change, meaning it would be against city laws for five unrelated people to live in a single-family house. Sergio Lupo, director of licenses, permits and inspections for the city, said the zoning enforcement officer will respond to complaints that are "driven either from residents themselves who are put in an overcrowded situation or from neighbors."  While most people comply with the orders of the zoning officer, "we could refer the matter to New Britain Superior Court or Housing Court" for those who don't comply. 
DeKalb Looks at Revising City Marijuana Code
Daily Chronicle, by Rhonda Gillespie
Alderman reached a consensus Monday that the city's cannabis possession ordinance needs to be revised, but how much different it looks compared with the new state law and in other college towns remains to be seen. "What was once considered a crime, not only has now become very socially acceptable, but the realization of the cost in enforcing the prohibition are costing us a significant amount of money-even at the local level," 1st Ward Alderman Dave Jacobson said. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law a bill that makes possessing less than 10 grams of cannabus a civil penalty punishable by a fine of up to $200. "While there is a change in the state law, the state law also expressly recognizes that municipalities may choose to regulate this in a fashion different from the state," city attorney Dean Frieders said. 
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