This past Saturday, Hamilton students and Clinton community members gathered in the center of town to celebrate the beginning of autumn at the annual Fall Fest. Cider Mill donuts and hot homemade soups were the perfect refreshments to enjoy during the cool fall weather, and a cappella performances and craft-making stations provided enter- tainment for all ages. Events like Fall Fest are not only a chance for students to add variety to their Saturday routines, but also for them to strengthen relations between Hamilton and the community off the Hill. And yes, this relationship needs to be strengthened.

Despite outreach efforts by Hamilton organizations like HAVOC that work to bring students into the College’s surrounding community, a disconnect between students and Clinton residents still persists. There are several sources of this tension, including the behavior of Hamilton students that only venture off the Hill to take advantage of Clinton’s bar scene. Intoxicated Hamilton students crowding the town’s pubs on Friday and Saturday nights do not offer the most virtuous or comprehensive representation of the campus body. For some locals, however, this impression of Hamilton students is the only one that they have ever encountered.

A more fundamental cause to this tension is a lack of interpersonal interactions between students and Clinton residents. It is not that students who choose to frequent the Village Tavern on the weekend intentionally disrespect the people of Clinton. After all, they are just trying to have fun. What is problematic is that these students have not taken the chance to become a part of the community from which they benefit. Events like Fall Fest and the Off the Hill Challenge are an opportunity to do just that. Having conversations with locals and showing face in the community can drastically sway a person’s opinion about the college as a whole, and this is the type of outreach that is necessary to strengthen campus-community relations.