They sit next to you in class, pass you on the street and might even be your friends. You're all Ball State students, but some students see life through a different lens -- the lens of a Muncie native attending Ball State University.
The Students Speak survey of 151 Ball State students shows they have some negative views about Muncie: Most would not stay in Muncie after graduation, think local residents discriminate against them and consider themselves in a higher social class than most residents. Yet students from Muncie defend their hometown because they think student stereotypes about Muncie are unfair and inaccurate. The Muncie natives are caught in the middle of a debate that can force them to choose between two loyalties. Their hope: through communication more students will get to learn that Muncie is better than most students think.
The dilemma of being caught between two ideological worlds is called cognitive dissonance, said Roger Wojtkiewicz, Department of Sociology chairman and professor.
"There is a general tendency to want to lessen cognitive dissonance," Wojtkiewicz said. "A person experiencing cognitive dissonance must change their beliefs to correspond with their behavior or change their behavior to correspond with their beliefs. However, people don't necessarily choose between two conflicting loyalties because they sometimes compromise."
Junior Amanda Huff, a 21-year-old interior design major who has lived in Muncie for 17 years, found her role as a Muncie defender tested after the shooting death of Karl Harford in March. Huff knew Damien Sanders, one of the men charged in Harford's death, while attending North Side Middle School and Muncie Central High School.
"I get offended when students make fun of Muncie like when, after Harford's murder, I heard students calling the Whitely neighborhood a ghetto," Huff said.
Such stereotypes are not true because every city has bad neighborhoods and Muncie has many educated, financially stable citizens, she said.
Muncie native Graham Watson, a 19-year-old freshman computer science major, feels ties to both Muncie and Ball State.
He often finds himself crediting the city for its underground music scene that he considers strong and worthy of recognition.
Mayor Dan Canan is a Muncie native who attended Ball State University 30 years ago and lived near campus. When Canan was a student, his primary concern was education, he said.
Now that he is mayor, he is concerned with both the university and the town.
"People come here for the university, not the town," Canan said. "I have heard many comments from both sides. My obligation is to bridge the gap, and that is not easy to do," he said.
Students and Muncie natives have different goals, Canan said. The students are concerned with their education and campus life; non-student residents are concerned with working and raising their families, he said.
The city and the faculty have a good relationship but communication between students and the city is not good, he said.
"In nine years I have not seen a student come to my office to talk about issues who wasn't a reporter or someone speaking on behalf of an organization," Canan said. "The problem is that I can't go to 18,000 students personally."
Student government is the best avenue for communication, he said. Canan assures students that the city has nothing to hide and encourages questions and suggestions for change.
"Students don't go to any university to get involved in the city, Canan said. "This has to be true everywhere."
While Canan focuses on a geographic divide, student Watson talks about an age divide.
"Some of the older people in Muncie discriminate against youth in general, so college students are not taken seriously," Watson said. "It is easy for people on the outside to criticize and pin things on BSU. Much of it comes from not knowing any better."
Steve Geraci is a 19-year-old freshman political science major who grew up on Martin Street in Muncie.
Geraci sees himself as a student foremost because status as a Muncie resident took second priority once enrolled at Ball State, he said. However, Geraci still defends his hometown to critics.
He promotes communication between students, residents, administrators and city officials.
"I really see both as the same community," Geraci said. "A lot of students and people in town want to reach an agreement."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
