College Town Action Plan: faculty speak up

By Jonathan McFadden

When professor Lane Lovegrove was an undergraduate at Winthrop, businesses like Mother Earth, a vegetarian diner, were in close proximity to campus and easily accessible for students. That was 10 years ago.

Mother Earth, like many other eating establishments that have set up shop across from Winthrop’s campus, no longer serve the campus community.

Members of the College Town Action Plan Working Group met to gain input from Winthrop faculty, staff and retirees in the community on how to make Rock Hill into more of a college town just before spring break.

Lovegrove, director of the Social Behavior Research Lab, was among those who attended and said that Rock Hill lacks a “cool factor.”

This is due to the lack of affordable entertainment within a close proximity to campus and the absence of convenient transportation in Rock Hill for college students.

Infrastructure was a popular theme in discussion among several faculty and staff members during the meeting.

Antje Mays, the head of monographic acquisitions in Dacus Library, said that she thinks Rock Hill’s transportation has a serious deficiency.

“Rock Hill is not very pedestrian oriented,” Mays said.

Heavy traffic on popular streets such as Cherry Road can make it difficult for students and faculty who live near campus to walk around the city.

Mays suggested that Rock Hill implement some kind of transportation system, like a train or trolley, which would transport students and faculty from campus to downtown.

“Rock Hill has a car-based way of doing everything and we have to get out of this,” Mays said. Joshua Bistromowitz, assistant director of recruitment, added that if a train schedule were published, students and faculty could adjust their schedules to catch the train on time and be taken to their desired destinations.

Other ideas included dividing streets into lanes for cars and lanes for bikes and building an overpass leading from Thomson to the other side of the street so students would not have to compete with cars to cross Cherry Road.

Still, the lack of entertainment and popular franchises surrounding Winthrop, such as vintage stores, coffee shops and inexpensive restaurants, presented a problem.

Dean of Students Bethany Marlowe said that for students who are moving off-campus, there are no apartments near the university that offer any interesting amenities.

The apartments that attract students are on the other side of town near Manchester, Marlowe said.

Assistant to the President for Public Affairs Rebecca Masters said that some students do not like going to clubs like Scandals and The Money because they are looking for a more upscale, urban vibe.

Businesses need to recognize the academic environment in Rock Hill and make preparation during the summer when students are on break, Masters said.

The reason that some businesses have failed to attract Winthrop students or don't last long is because of poor business models that don't include enough seating or parking, said Amy Hayes, garden coordinator for Slow Food Charlotte Food for Thought and wife of Winthrop psychology professor Matthew Hayes.

Other problems for businesses include distance from campus, lack of community support and lack of support for the university, she said.

The College Town Action Plan Working Group will meet again on March 25 for the last session of phase one of the public outreach sessions. The meeting will take place at the Palmetto Room, adjacent to the Old Bistro.