Some students at Youngstown State University are set in their ways of leaving the university as soon as classes end. Students walk past student organizations, outreach groups and others who are trying to make YSU a better campus.
Unfortunately, that mindset is a microcosm of the personality of Youngstown’s residents. For years, Youngstown residents have been fleeing the city and moving out of the area. This could be for a number of reasons, like job loss and crime.
Every year, more and more people pack up and relocate instead of trying to improve the community they were born and raised in, leaving the problems that plagued Youngstown to the dwindling number that stay. As a result, the attempts to change become more difficult due to lack of support.
Local groups are actively trying to make a difference, but in the end change can’t occur in the Youngstown area if the whole community doesn’t actively try to better the city. The majority of the population needs to be involved in the movement to take back the community.
On Saturday, a community conversation was held in Cushwa Hall to discuss how to improve areas of concern in Youngstown. Topics such as improving safety, increasing jobs, health and education were discussed.
According to the Vindicator, only two dozen people attended the event.
The city is slowly improving and the pitfalls of Youngstown aren’t nearly as dire as they were 20 years ago, but the problems still remain. If our generation steps up and works to solve the problems this city has, then maybe the next generation won’t be as desperate to graduate from the university and move away.
While some YSU students go straight home after class, other students decide to stay and make a positive impact on their environment, not unlike the community groups in the city.
But in the end, the changes needed in any environment will never develop if the majority continues to be passive. That applies whether it’s here on campus or out in the real world.
