You asked and we answered.
About 50 students attended a roundtable discussion to decide what could be done with the Village to entice student business.
Also in attendance was a former lessor of a building owned by Myles Ogea. He and a friend tried to use the forum as a way to air grievances about how Whitney Stump, former manager of Mo's Tavern was treated.
Stump and his friend caused a disturbance by repeatedly ranting about "chump fishing," and they were asked to leave the premises by the forum's organizers. After loitering in the parking lot, the police arrived and asked the pair to leave the premises and Stump's tagalong was found with a with concealed weapon and a permit for the weapon.
That wasn't the smartest or most effective way for these two men to let themselves be heard, but the students who attended seemed to have the right idea.
Seeking student opinions about what to put in the Village is likely the best way to try and get businesses to stay in the few block area for more than a year. After all, it's our Village.
We've sipped spiced chai on cool autumn nights at mt cup and reveled in the jazz music that fills MoTini's on Thursday nights. We've danced at Dill Street Bar and Grill and we've screamed in triumph as we've watched our favorite football teams score on the TV screens at Scotty's Brewhouse.
We've been loyal patrons to your establishments thus far, but now we want to add a little spice to our Village.
A laser tag arcade, organic food store, hookah bar and ice cream shop were among the suggestions students brought to the meeting.
The conversation that stemmed from the suggestions was also productive and brought up logical points, such as how would the Village/Ball State University relationship be affected by a hookah bar when the campus just went smoke free?
Those who attended offered valuable input as to the future of the Village and its potential.
While we appreciate the opportunity to voice our ideas, this should not be a one-time only offer and we hope the suggestions are taken to heart.
In as few as five years students have seen anything from a Buffalo Wild Wings to The Collegian, a bar that barely blipped on the radar, pass through the Village. Even the Discount Den closed, which had been a Village staple for more than 30 years.
We know you can't always rely on students being able to spend their money willy nilly. But the odds of us spending are a whole lot higher if we're interested in what's going on at the establishment.
And what better way to find businesses we will like than by continuing to ask us what we want?
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