As a first-year at URochester, I have ventured into the city only once. I was in a desperate situation, having just taken out my braids and needing a silk press. So I took an Uber into downtown Rochester for my thus-far singular venture into Rochester.
One of my highest priorities for a university was that it be in a city. I wanted access to potential jobs or internships. As a Political Science major, half of the job is connections, and I felt a city was the best place to get those. The city of Rochester was described to me as “another Pittsburgh” by my APUSH teacher, and while that made me laugh, I can’t even say if I can disagree or not, because I haven’t had the opportunity to really visit, and I do not wish to pass judgment on a place that I’ve barely explored.
Now that I’ve been here for nearly a semester, I’m unsure if the University actually encourages ventures into the city, which creates a sense of detachment from the city entirely.
With the brief glance I was given, Rochester seems relatively quiet. It’s not anything like Washington D.C., let alone New York City or Chicago. I didn’t see that many people out, although those I did interact with at my appointment were kind.
At the University, I feel quite far removed from Rochester, especially without a car. Ubers are costly, and the shuttles are confusing, irregular, and slow. Without easy casual access to most of the city (for instance, by a short walk, which at URochester only barely even gets you to College Town, let alone the rest of the city), I rarely find myself thinking about going off campus for anything but a major destination — something like a concert or a service that is not available on-campus (like my downtown silk press) — and such destinations themselves usually stack another sizeable charge on top of the taxi that was necessary to get there conveniently. The River Campus, bounded by the Genesee River and Mount Hope Cemetery, is practically an island, and the inconvenience and cost of leaving that island discourages many students from actually exploring the city in which we technically live.
I hope that this university makes greater efforts to deepen ties with the city, especially for first-years. It should not be the case that on-campus students at the University live almost completely isolated, geographically and socially, from the rest of the city. With more convenient connections, a mutually beneficial exchange could be formed between the University, whose students benefit from a wider variety of experiences and connections available in the city at-large than in the controlled environment of a campus, and the city, which benefits economically and socially from student excursions. The shuttles ought to be run significantly more frequently, and with less unexplained delays, to provide reliable and regular convenient travel to most of the major destinations in the city. The University ought to coordinate with the city to make safety and accessibility a priority for the shuttle system — no shuttle stop should be without a bus shelter, and at the bare minimum all stops must be clearly signed and have sidewalks and crosswalks. On campus, the University can do more to promote and provide access to events (for example, Red Wings or Amerks games), and the city should work to tie the River Campus better into its own RTS bus system.
Thinking about this subject has motivated me to find an excuse to leave campus and explore elsewhere. I hope I have encouraged you to do the same!
