Admittedly, 2011 wasn’t a good year for London.
Time and time again, the Forest City made national headlines for what seemed increasingly controversial matters:
- Police tasered a high school student, allegedly with no warning, as he was walking away from a fight;
- To the dismay of many – and to Rush Limbaugh’s liking – the city’s newly established minor league baseball team was named the London Rippers;
- A banana was thrown at Wayne Simmonds, a black player for the Philadelphia Flyers, during a John Labatt Centre fall exhibition game against the Detroit Red Wings. And while a judge, this year, ruled the incident was not racially motivated, it drew significant attention and criticism, nationwide.
And that list – of what some might term the city’s 2011 blunders – is, by no means, complete.
Bundle these embarrassments with London’s high unemployment rate, its aging population and its arguably socio-politically conservative image, it’s no wonder post-secondary students flee post graduation. Touts of this being a City of Opportunity have come in the footsteps of city hall’s perpetual concerns over London’s poor graduate retention-rate.
So, what needs to happen in London to make it a city of equal opportunity for all? What can the city do to encourage Western University graduates to live, work and play in the city once they finish their studies?
Western News hand-picked 11 knowledgeable and engaged individuals in the Western community and asked just that. In their responses, you’ll find lessons and answers for community organizations, businesses and city hall desperately seeking both.
Among the individuals interviewed were:
- Jeff Preston, a PhD candidate in Media Studies who ran for London city council;
- Clara Madrenas, a fourth-year student in the Media and Public Interest program at Western. Madrenas grew up in London and is active in both communities. Last year, she wrote London Ontario: Another Great City!, a song she posted on YouTube, highlighting the city’s faults and urging fellow Londoners to work toward eliciting change in the city in order to generate some municipal pride;
- Rachel Macaulay, a fourth-year English student from London who stumbled upon a door-opening internship with Enterprise;
- Pat Searle, vice-president (university affairs), University Students’ Council (USC);
- John Pollock, director of BizInc, a business incubator for entrepreneurial upstarts on campus;
- Danish Ajmeri, an HBA student at the Richard Ivey School of Business, the youngest person to attend the recent annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland;
- Sajjad Haiderali, co-founder of PalmPass, an e-commerce public transit ticketing app, studying software engineering at Western;
- John Doerksen, vice-provost (academic programs and students);
- Lesley Mounteer, associate director (external services) in the Faculty of Engineering
- Greg Colgan, a journalism student at Western
- Jeff Watson, employer relationship developer with the Student Success Centre
Here’s their collective advice to the city:
TELL YOUR STORY. Do a better job of telling the city’s story. London’s image is not flattering, especially to young people. Most see it as a conservative, sometimes regressive, city whose officials kick protesters out of public spaces, where jobs are often on the cutting board and where only families, established professionals and the elderly can thrive. London needs better spokespersons to highlight the good the city has to offer – such as entrepreneurial upstarts, social enterprises, the city’s (growing) art scene and its non-profit organizations – all of which students would be inclined to get involved with.
OPEN THE DOOR. Provide opportunities for students to get involved. Students need opportunities to live outside campus and Richmond Row and the city can make sure they are there while the students are still studying. Students are already involved on campus and may not be aware of how they can extend their involvement beyond the Richmond Gates. Pairing what campus groups do with municipal organizations and generating more awareness of the opportunities to connect will encourage students and eliminate the pejorative party image the rest of the city associates with students.
BRIBE ‘EM. (SORT OF). Provide incentives for students to get involved. Exchanging scholarships, bursaries and credit toward coursework in exchange for volunteer involvement could positively influence students. Who could turn down money toward a costly tuition bill every September and January?
REACH OUT. Actively engage students with city hall via something like a youth engagement committee. Officials should invite students to sit on this committee in order to tap their education, experience and opinions. There are a select few students sitting on committees now and city hall has had some vaguely defined efforts to engage the student population but there needs to be a greater effort to reach out and more attention to the student voice.
GIVE ‘EM A TASTE. Find ways to provide co-ops and internships to students. Showcasing some of London’s workforce and getting students involved will encourage them to live and work in the city.
VALUE NEW SKILLSETS. Recognize students’ philanthropic and innovative efforts and give them a chance by offering employment opportunities, even if it means creating new positions, to accommodate previously fringe skills and experience students have to offer. Students are typically seen as progressive thinkers with a desire to better their communities and their skills and opinions could benefit most local businesses. For example, students are well-versed in new technologies and social media – a skillset that can be a useful marketing tool to just about any enterprise.
REDEFINE WHAT A STUDENT IS. Contrary to popular belief, students aren’t unreliable and they do stick around, given the option. USC clubs and services are a root to get reliable students, who are dedicated and passionate and involved.
COME TOGETHER. There is a partnership between the London Economic Development Corporation and Western now. The two entities are trying to keep the talent in London. The recent student2business networking conference is a great example; students had the opportunity to learn about careers in the London region by attending workshops and mixing with professionals. London needs to tag along on this initiative.
SHOWCASE OPPORTUNITIES. A carefully branded marketing campaign geared directly to students contemplating “Should I stay or should I go?” would be worthwhile. Perhaps some commercials/testimonials showcasing how students used their degree to get into a position locally and the success they’ve seen would trigger ideas for others. Social media campaigns could follow and would go a long way in creating options for students. The city would have to give value proposition about why London is the place for them to stay. Addressing points like its livability, safety, cleanliness, cost-efficiency are all things that make it marketable.
REQUIRE SERVICE. Partner with Western to establish a mandatory volunteer requirement for graduation. It’s a surefire way to get students involved and help them see a side of the city they otherwise might not experience. In the end, it would be a win-win situation for all.
MAKE YOUR NEEDS KNOWN. Volunteer opportunities need more publicity. Businesses and organizations need to reach out to the student body by visiting campus, attending career fairs and advertising in locales/online mediums which students frequent.
ARTS FOR ARTS’ SAKE. Nurture and invest in the arts and culture scene. In this sense, it’s hard for London to compete with the big city lights of Toronto. Working toward a thriving arts community is a big step to attracting and retaining students and youth in general.
PUT MONEY WHERE MOUTH IS. Since officials at city hall are among the most concerned about the retention rate of students, city hall itself should provide incentives to businesses and organizations to reach out to, hire and train graduates. Financial and tax incentives are hard to turn down.
EXPAND THE HIRING SCOPE. Realize while Western has a great reputation for research output, its graduates are just as worthy of attention and definitely worthy of employment. Hiring graduates will strengthen local companies and showcase the talent at the university. It doesn’t help there is still a disconnect between the city, its image and the university. Some think the city is still stuck in a 1950s mentality, seeing itself as a manufacturing centre. The university doesn’t provide line workers, but it could generate an educated local workforce in every other respect.
EMBRACE THE FUTURE. Showcase technological innovations in the area, most of which are coming from, or connected to, the university. Job opportunities for mechanical and civil engineering graduates from Western, though hard to come by, are present, but jobs for software engineering graduates are non-existent. It doesn’t help that Western doesn’t attract a lot of attention from the tech sector and companies outside the city, with companies like Microsoft and RIM visiting the University of Waterloo and attending career fairs. Companies won’t visit a university in a city where they don’t see a big market for their products – another reason London needs to shed its conservative, old-world image.
FIX TRANSIT NOW. The transit system needs a desperate makeover. New graduates don’t just look for job opportunities; they look for a reliable, modern transit system that will get them to work in a timely fashion with as little hassle as possible. Bus routes near campus are often crowded, with students literally left behind because they can’t all squeeze in during peak hours. Even if a graduate was lucky enough to get a good job in London after graduation, the hassles that come with depending on London Transit are plentiful – some routes don’t operate at night, are crowded or inaccessible – and can actually deter the student from accepting the job. The LTC needs more busses and more routes to positively contribute to the quality of life in London.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Stop giving students the stink-eye. No, students don’t stop living at 5 p.m. on Friday, but that doesn’t mean all students are irresponsible, destructive or prone to partying. For those that enjoy the social scene on the weekends, something like the police enforcement of Project L.E.A.R.N. (Liquor Enforcement and Reduction in Noise) at the start and end of the academic year does not make students feel welcome in the community. The initiative’s zero-tolerance policy gives the impression the city does not give a second chance to its youth – a population still in a learning mode.
ERASE TOWN-GOWN LINE. Realize so-called town and gown are not two separate, unrelated entities. If the city can work with Western on more than just all of the above issues, the London community will be better for all. When the city suffers a blow – such as the closing of the Electro-Motive Diesel plant – everyone should feel it because everyone is affected, whether directly or indirectly. Everyone should invest their time and efforts to creating a city every Londoner, regardless of age or occupation, can be proud to call home.