Muncie definitely has its ups and downs. Some students would argue its downside begins upon stepping out of Ball State University's borders. Some have explored enough of the city to know it has a lot to offer the college demographic.
Despite the positive aspects of the city — great art scene, a cultural center, a decent downtown — few people truly enjoy Muncie. Not many enjoy weather that travels from one end of the spectrum during agonizingly hot, muggy summers to the other end's frigid, bitter cold winters. The economy has ravaged the area and left it littered with closed factories and unoccupied store fronts and took away a lot of jobs.
Most of us do little more than complain about potholes, nothing to do around town or snow removal. But, while we complain to ourselves or to our friends, we rarely voice our concerns to people who can help change things. Students and other community members have five opportunities to do that this week at Muncie Action Plan meetings.
It would be easy not to care about Muncie as most of us won't end up making it our permanent home. That doesn't mean we can't show up and voice our opinions for the sake of underclassmen, future students and the community in general. If you're an underclassman who doesn't like Muncie, here's your chance to get involved in possibly improving it.
Muncie is, by no means, a college town. It has a medium sized university, but the two are almost completely cut off from each other. This is a chance for members of the Ball State community to work with members of the Muncie community and for the two to thrive. There's no reason the two can't work together more. They don't need to become codependent, but more cooperation could help them.
Cheryl Crowder, director of events for downtown development, said the meetings are for people to voice their needs rather than propose a plan for implementing changes. You don't even need to know anything about how city development works to contribute to the discussion. All you need to do is bring your ideas about what the Muncie needs to be better, not just for you, for the whole city.
Muncie isn't a bad place; it's just going through some tough times, not unlike countless other places throughout the country. It has plenty of potential to be a great city and a great college town. But it needs your help.
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