Academic Settings

Town and gown. That is what they call the relationship between college and community in towns across America. But in Southern California, there is not just one college in the urban landscape but scores of them of various sizes. And here, as in other areas, the relationship can range from love to hate. Communities like students’ spending power but often frown on youthful rowdiness. Here are overviews from three Orange County campuses:

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The campus is surrounded by hills, a marsh, housing developments and a toll road.

For carless UC Irvine students, the options are to stay on campus or trek across the street to shop, eat and otherwise let their hair down at University Center and Campus Plaza.

Although UCI is experiencing the highest student enrollment since 1986, with 19,285 students and a record-breaking freshman class of 3,700, most businesses have not seen much revenue change.

“We had to cut our advertisement from the school’s newspaper because we were spending a high amount of money for the same result,” said Nikki, a makeup artist at Interfashion Hair Design. “We try to get the discounts to students because they have a limited budget, but they only account for 5% of our business.”

The shopping areas do try to entice students, but most just don’t seem to find the centers appealing.

“This is not a college town, and they certainly don’t cater to the students,” said Lindsay Marienthal, an 18-year-old psychology major at UCI. “I’ve been living here all my life and I’ve seen stores come and go in a matter of six months.”

Students also said that the shutdown of the Metropolis club and Dublin’s Irish Pub, a popular hangout, drained the last bit of interest in the place.

But the centers’ marketers say they try their best to attract students.

“We see the shopping center as an extension of the university,” said Karen Fetzer, marketing director at Madison Marquette, “because 80% of the merchants depend on UCI’s students and staff.”

Fetzer said she regularly met with UCI’s Associated Students to discuss students’ needs and preferences. But she must find a balance between students, staff, working commuters and residents.

University Center recently opened the Zen Den study center, a cozy area aimed at students, Fetzer said. She is hopeful that students will hang out there and start seeing it as “their area.”

At Marianne’s Estate Jewelry, owner Al Friedman knew from the beginning that students were not going to make up the majority of his business.

“It’s simply the nature of my business,” Friedman said. “It does not cater to people under the age of 21.” But, he said, a significant share of business comes from the staff and faculty at UCI.

“The university has helped in terms of the adult population,” Friedman said.

Nicole Coast, a manager at the Haircut Store, said that 75% to 80% of the store’s business comes from students.

“The center should do more for them,” Coast said. “There’s not much for students to do after hours. A lot are disappointed because it’s not like a Westwood. It’s kind of sad because everyone wants to remember their college experience as fun.”

Marti Bass, a resident advisor at Middle Earth, UCI’s on-campus housing, said that if students really want to do something, they should make more of an effort.

“The school offers a lot of opportunities,” Bass said. “You have to take it upon yourself to be involved. If you are looking for a party school, you’ll be disappointed.”

Until something takes, the campus still empties at night and over the weekends.

“More people leave on the weekends because it’s a commuter school,” Marienthal said. “There’s nothing to encourage them to stay here. There’s no clubs or things to do. I suggest students come with a car. The bus system is poor. We basically got a library instead of a football team.”