Dear Editor,
I am writing to you out of concern for the need to clean up downtown Macon and restore some of its buildings. Downtown Macon is a frequently visited area that has potential to be a beautiful town. Many buildings and streets, however, are either dilapidated or scattered with trash. The streets of Macon desperately need to be cleaned. Many yards are overgrown and vacant lots are generally poorly maintained, if maintained at all. Streets that have a large amount of potholes need repaving. Downtown Macon is frequented by many Mercerians and members of the community who would enjoy seeing a refurbished and rejuvenated town.
Upon visiting downtown Macon you will instantly see the debris that litters the streets, but also realize that there is room for improvement in many aspects. For a place that many people call home, there seems to be a lack of care as to how the town looks. Overgrown lots line the streets where failed businesses and homes once were. A major problem is the lack of pride taken for where people live and spend their time. It is unpleasant to walk around and see a disregard for not only personal property but also communal property. Macon Telegraph writer Mike Stucka supports this theory in an article where he describes the recent influx and governmental support of local advocacy groups to help clean the city.
Some buildings need to be rebuilt or reclaimed, because there are many vacant lots that could house new businesses. This could start a movement in the city to where residents would want to keep it clean. Macon has the potential to be a very vibrant community that people want to visit and are also proud to call home.
There are many possible remedies to the problem of developing and cleaning up Macon. One of the best ways would be to establish volunteer groups to clean up the streets. The local government has already started to help fix the pothole problem by creating an application for your phone where you can give the location of potholes so they can be fixed. Also, violations and incentives can be great instruments to help with the building problem as well as creating new business. By giving violations to the property owners, there is a possibility that it will encourage property lot clean up. If the violations do not work, then incentives to new businesses could be implemented to help promote the establishment of new stores.
Dear Editor,
I am writing to you in regards to the requirement for Mercer students to live on campus. While this is financially beneficial to the university and convenient to the students, it is not necessarily the best thing for the student looking for the complete college experience. It is important to get the experience of living on campus during freshman and sophomore years, but requiring students to live on campus for three years is not logical. As you progress in your studies and end your college career, you are preparing to enter the workforce. For many, this means owning your own apartment. Requiring students to live on campus for three years may take away potential learning experiences and situations. The experience of living off campus provides students with insight into real world scenarios and helps reiterate the importance of responsibility.
One main factor in my lack of support for requiring on campus for three years is the freedom that you lose. While living in campus housing, you are still subjected to fire drills and hall meetings. Tasks such as hall meetings are often monotonous and unnecessary. By living off campus, you can spend the time you would be in the meetings being more productive. Living off campus can be a great preparation tool for many students who wish to experience what it is like to have their own house or apartment. By living off campus you have the ability to choose who your roommates will be, where you will stay, and your overall satisfaction and college life experience. The ability to have your own house with people of your choosing can increase predictability and satisfaction. The predictability of your residency is because you are knowledgeable of the situation you are getting into. Some complaints that students living on campus have are the slow Wi-Fi and the feeling of having little privacy because of random room checks. Living off campus can eliminate problems such as these.
General housekeeping tasks and life lessons can be learned while living off campus. These lessons will help prepare you for the obstacles you will face when you are through with college and living on your own. In an article, Jonathan Waldman said that living off campus “offers independence, responsibility, and a chance to put effort into fixing up your own place”. With the increase of students arriving to Mercer each year, allowing students to live off campus may be beneficial for not only the students, but also Mercer. With students living off campus there will not be as great of a need to increase on-campus housing options.
By having the opportunity to live off campus for two years you will learn how to be more responsible and respectful to your neighbors. The added responsibility required for living off campus will help personal development as you transition out of college. I believe students are capable and ready for this experience and freedom as early as junior year. When living off campus, your enjoyment is at your own discretion. You are open to explore the entire community, not just the pod community that is Mercer. This is vital in student’s personal developmental and can help form new views on community and people in a way that living on campus cannot.
