This article from the St. Catharines Standard

Brock students trying to cook up better relations with neighbours


Posted By KARENA WALTER STANDARD STAFF

Posted 3 days ago

Brock students hope more longtime residents attend their next community barbecue after an inaugural meet-the neighbours event Tuesday.
The free community barbecue in Montebello Park brought together students, firefighters, politicians and other invitees, but failed to attract many neighbourhood residents.
"Based on this we'll probably re-evaluate and see how we can get the message out by Thursday," said Rob Lanteigne, referring to a second community barbecue in Thorold.
Hosted by the Brock University Students' Union, the Montebello Park event was the first of three barbecues this year to build positive neighbourhood relationships.
Lanteigne, the students' union vice-president of university affairs, said the new initiative was a success, bringing together students with other sectors of the community.
St. Catharines firefighters helped flip and dish out burgers with students while others mingled in the crowd.
"It's a good initiative to bring students together with their community," Lanteigne said. "Start the year off in a positive light."
The idea is to get university students to meet their neighbours before problems arise.
Last week, for the second year, 15 teams of students paired with community leaders went door to door in student- heavy areas handing out kits on how to be good neighbours and roommates. They also asked longtime residents to go to their student neighbours with concerns before calling the police.
While the community hears reports about student noise and parties, Lanteigne said those complaints are disproportionate to the number of students living off-campus.
The students' union has 16,000 students under its wing and only 2,300 live in on-campus residences, he said.
Third-year student Andrew Natale attended the barbecue and said students causing problems give everyone a bad reputation.
"It's a very small percentage, but that's the percentage you hear about."
There's so much more to students, he said.
Community barbecues send a positive message from students, said city councillor Andrew Gill, who sits on the student housing liaison committee.
Gill said the student and city relationship is two-fold.
The city welcomes students with open arms into the community, he said, but there are problems in the south end of St. Catharines that will not be tolerated.
"Students are a great benefit to our city but I do have longtime residents affected by student housing and we have to find that balance," Gill said.
Students' union president Jody Thomas, who campaigned with the idea to hold the relationship-building events, said the barbecue was also about trying to create a community atmosphere for students.
He hoped students and residents would get to know who's on their own streets.
It's an effort supported by Mayor Brian McMullan, who said students may be more inclined to live in the city after graduation if they put down some roots.
"We also want them to consider St. Catharines-Niagara as a place to stay," McMullan said, adding he hoped the community barbecues would become annual events.