Wal-Mart employees come and go through the swinging doors of the break room. Some take a quick smoke break; others eat their lunch. All rest up before heading back to stationery, electronics and the pharmacy.
After a quick puff of her Marlboro Menthol, Karen Neal says she avoids the Duck Pond and McKinley Avenue until May when Ball State lets out. She doesn't appreciate the flowerpots that go missing from her Godman Avenue porch every fall. Nor does she appreciate the students -- not all, she says -- who don't respect the community that she, her husband Barney and her three grown children have called home for almost 50 years, she says.
The Students Speak survey of 151 students found that more than half considered themselves to be in a higher socioeconomic class than Muncie residents -- a sentiment researchers say is common in university towns. And in the Wal-Mart break room, Neal and her coworkers say they understand the importance of Ball State students to Muncie. But, she says, she wishes they were more accepting of her hometown. She and other Muncie residents want students to take the time to understand a little more about Muncie instead of writing it off as a town that's not good enough for them.
In college towns across the country, many students are on financial aid, buy bargain-priced food, live in inexpensive houses or apartments and work minimum-wage jobs. Yet, because of what sociologists call anticipatory socialization, they tend to identify with the group they hope to join after college -- not the one that represents their current lifestyle.
"It's probably not even a conscious thought process, students just don't want to be put in the same social category as the working-class Muncie residents," Melinda Messineo, assistant professor of sociology, said. "It's a distancing technique that college students use because they see themselves achieving much more than the working class."
Many students' parents might not even be in the social class students identify themselves with, Messineo said.
"Yet, it seems some walk around with an elitist attitude and a sense of entitlement because they attend college," she said.
Back at the Wal-Mart break room, Judy Thrine agrees.
"They think, 'I'm in college and I'm smarter than the world,'" Thrine said.
Thrine has worked at Wal-Mart for 13 years and manages the pharmacy. She said she has worked with many Ball State students and appreciates and enjoys them.
Students don't understand that some people -- like her -- choose not to attend college, she said, and the working people of Muncie take pride in their jobs and their town.
"The fact that I work at Wal-Mart is not because I need money," Neal said. "It's because I enjoy people and I like my Wal-Mart family."
If Neal could create any change, she would ask Ball State students to get more involved in Muncie so they can understand it and appreciate the city and its residents.
Understanding Muncie means understanding its roots as a working-class town whose residents remember a time when the economy depended on manufacturing jobs, Neal said.
"Muncie's a working town," Neal said. "It's not like Indy, which has so much culture."
Some members of the community say students don't care enough to get to know the Muncie community. Others say students' lack of interest is not surprising because many students are attached to their hometowns or are from larger cities like Indianapolis or Fort Wayne.
Most students have no ties, connections or roots in Muncie. It's merely a town where they will spend a few years while getting an education, Mesinneo said.
"They don't have to like it here -- but it sure would be nice if they did," said Rhonda Case, a Wal-Mart employee of 17 years. "It would probably make their college career easier on them if they could appreciate Muncie."
Overall, Muncie residents seem to appreciate the business college students bring and the jobs Ball State provides for the community. Others say they are so used to the presence of students they hardly notice or pay attention anymore. Even Neal said she has enjoyed working with some students at Wal-Mart. She appreciates anyone as long as they respect her residence.
"I don't mean to be negative," Neal said. "I really don't have a problem with Ball State students."
She just wishes they would take a little more time to understand her community -- and leave her flowerpots alone.
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