Inside Higher Ed, by Kasia Kovacs

A door in the basement of George Washington Univer-sity's newest residence hall is unremarkable. It has no sign. Inside, it's packed with food. Shelves are stocked with instant oatmeal, boxes of polenta, plastic bags of pasta, salt and pepper. Dairy and produce fill three refrigerators. This isn't technically a store, though, be-cause students don't have to pay for these items. It's a food pantry for hungry students, and it's one of 395 member food banks of the College and University Food Bank Alliance. Four years ago, when the organization began, it had 15 members. The group got a significant jump in membership this time least year, when it hit 300 members. The store held a soft opening Sept 21. Twelve students attended. By the end of October, 267 students were coming to the pantry per day. Like many colleges, GW open- ed its food pantry thanks to a philanthropic donation. 

Cornell Chronicle, by Nancy Doolittle

A downtown-based hospitality employment training program partners with university dining services to teach hospitality skills to local community members. Downstate medical students receive upstate clinical training. A nationally recognized West Hill "village" helps students communicate environmental and sustainability issues. Students translate U.S. norms around cancer care into multiple languages. An Ithaca business consortium works with higher education to help expand Cornell's off-campus presence, while en-hancing the area's economy. These town-gown partnerships were the focus of the sixth annual Cornell Town-Gown (TOGO) Awards ceremony, held Nov. 19. The TOGO awards celebrate the connections between Cornell University and local communities and highlight the achievements of local leaders who have left or are leaving high-profile positions.  

Issues related to college students and alcohol use are hardly new. In fact, in 1335 a fight over the quality of wine served to two Oxford University students escalated into a riot that left over 100 people dead. While we have not had riots related to the quality of a glass of wine in Chapel Hill, our community is affected by high-risk drinking. In 2013, the mayor of Chapel Hill and the Chancellor of UNC came together to address high-risk drinking in our com-munity. Today, that effort exists as a new organization called the Campus & Community Coalition. The Campus & Community Coalition to Address the Negative Impacts of High-Risk Drinking is doing just what its name suggests-working to mitigate the harmful effects of risky alcohol use in our community. To change the culture of high-risk drinking in Chapel Hill our Coalition is using a set of 22 comprehensive strategies. 

The transit pass, which is mandatory for all students except those that live outside the city or within one kilometer of campus, provides unlimited access to the Regina's transit system. It costs $87.60 per semester. The once-controversial program seems to have led to an increase in transit ridership among university students. According to numbers provided by the City of Regina, ridership among students was 94,049 rides between September and Octo-ber of 2015. In 2016, ridership increased to 181,057 rides, representing a 93-percent increase. To meet the expected demand, the City of Regina budgeted the purchase of five buses in 2016, costing $2.75 million.  In March, 54 percent of students voted in favour of the U-Pass. U-Passes are used in several other universities across Canada. At the University of Manitoba, students are charged $260 per year for universal pass to transit. 

The SGA held a Town Hall meeting, giving University of Maryland students an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the future of College Park. As part of the Greater College Park and University District Vision 2020 initiatives, the University of Maryland, the City of College Park, the state of Maryland and Prince George's County are collaborating to transform this city into a top-20 college town by 2020. A.J. Pruitt, the SGA's vice president of stu-dent affairs, asked a variety of questions, specifically concerning the city's lack of coffee shops as well as the expensive rates of student housing.  Eric Olson, executive director of the College Park City-University Partnership, replied by listing upcoming College Parks projects, including a coffee shop and wine bar. In terms of student housing, both Fellows and Olson agreed there needs to be more affordable student housing. 

Daily News, by Erica Balch

Starting this fall, McMaster is offering an Interdiscipli-nary Minor in Community Engagement, while providing them with opportunities to gain hands-on experience working in a community setting. "The minor is intended to help students understand the complexity of working in communities," said Sheila Sammon, director of com-munity engagement who helped develop the minor. The development of the minor stems from the recommendations of the Com-munity Engagement Task Force-formed in response to the Forward with Integrity letter-which emphasizes the importance of integrating the principles of community engagement into McMaster's academic mission. "There is a renewed recognition from our university that McMaster is responsible to our community and that we need to build respectful and trusting relationships with our community partners," says Sammon.   

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The ITGA strengthens town and gown partnerships by providing a network of professionals and resources, identifying and sharing leading practices, innovative solutions and professional development opportunities for municipal and university communities.