Locals consider college 'vital'
Liz Essley
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News
Eighty-two-year-old Dorothy Proctor said her mother never liked Hillsdale College.
"She came from Chicago, and Hillsdale [College] is so dinky," Proctor said.
Proctor, a retired nurse, lives alone in an apartment on Woodlawn Street and walks through town every Sunday. She views the college differently than her mother did. In 72 years of living in Hillsdale, she said she has never once had a bad experience with Hillsdale College or its students.
"I think the college is really pretty good," Proctor said. "They have added a whole lot to Hillsdale, to tell you the truth."
Proctor isn't the only Hillsdale resident who defies the stereotype of hostile "townie." Though college rumors suggest that residents consider Hillsdale elitist and out-of-touch, many residents see the school as vital to the community's economy and know it by its refusal to accept federal funding.
The owner of downtown tobacco shop David's Dolce Vita thinks most community members have a positive attitude toward the college. David Kamen, 65, said the large amount of business the college brings to the city, especially around events such as Parent Weekend and homecoming, help offset any possible suspicion or distrust of the college.
"The college brings in more revenue than it takes," Kamen said.
The experience of Jannette Smith, 34, confirms this. A two-year resident of Hillsdale and the manager of the P.S. Convenience Store on Carleton Road, she said she doesn't know much about the college, except that it brings her customers.
"We just know we get busier with sporting events," she said.
Smith is not alone in professing ignorance about the college. Ed Towers, 46, whose friend Cindy moved to Hillsdale earlier this month, said he only knows one thing about the college.
"It's expensive to go there because they don't take government grants," he said.
But Towers didn't indicate any resentment toward the school because of this.
"She came from Chicago, and Hillsdale [College] is so dinky," Proctor said.
Proctor, a retired nurse, lives alone in an apartment on Woodlawn Street and walks through town every Sunday. She views the college differently than her mother did. In 72 years of living in Hillsdale, she said she has never once had a bad experience with Hillsdale College or its students.
"I think the college is really pretty good," Proctor said. "They have added a whole lot to Hillsdale, to tell you the truth."
Proctor isn't the only Hillsdale resident who defies the stereotype of hostile "townie." Though college rumors suggest that residents consider Hillsdale elitist and out-of-touch, many residents see the school as vital to the community's economy and know it by its refusal to accept federal funding.
The owner of downtown tobacco shop David's Dolce Vita thinks most community members have a positive attitude toward the college. David Kamen, 65, said the large amount of business the college brings to the city, especially around events such as Parent Weekend and homecoming, help offset any possible suspicion or distrust of the college.
"The college brings in more revenue than it takes," Kamen said.
The experience of Jannette Smith, 34, confirms this. A two-year resident of Hillsdale and the manager of the P.S. Convenience Store on Carleton Road, she said she doesn't know much about the college, except that it brings her customers.
"We just know we get busier with sporting events," she said.
Smith is not alone in professing ignorance about the college. Ed Towers, 46, whose friend Cindy moved to Hillsdale earlier this month, said he only knows one thing about the college.
"It's expensive to go there because they don't take government grants," he said.
But Towers didn't indicate any resentment toward the school because of this.
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