With No Students, Small College Town Worries over Future

Many colleges and universities in the United States are in small towns around America. When the coronavirus struck in March, students went home, leaving the towns empty.

So, what will happen to those communities in the near future? The New York town of Ithaca is about to find out.

In Ithaca, most of the 24,000 students at Cornell University and 6,200 from Ithaca College have left. Now, locals who run businesses that depend on students' money are wondering if things will ever return to normal.

"It's going to be hard. I mean, normally we have about seven months that the colleges are here," said Gregar Brous. He runs several restaurants in Ithaca. He has brought about 100 of his usual 330 employees back to work.

Brous added that one of the biggest problems for small businesses is that there are "so many unknowns."

Ithaca College says its students will return to the school in the autumn. But they will do so in October, several weeks later than usual. Cornell – one of America's so-called Ivy¹ League Schools –says it plans to bring students back this fall. But they also will arrive weeks later than usual.

Many people expect that even if students do return, they will mostly stay on campus and not go out to restaurants and bars. Locals also worry that returning students will bring COVID-19 into their community.

Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick said it is possible international travel restrictions² could affect Cornell, since almost 25 percent of the university's students are from other countries.

"If people don't feel comfortable sending their children across the country or across the world back to our campuses, then we'll start to shed jobs," Myrick said.

Cornell students spend an estimated $225 million each year in Ithaca. There are many stores and restaurants on the Ithaca Commons, a shopping area near the campus.

Before coronavirus, "it was so easy to get a job. You couldn't avoid it, they were everywhere," said Matt Stupak. He was a cook, but lost his job when restaurants closed.

Ithaca is still doing well compared to other places in the U.S. The area's April unemployment rate increased to 10 percent, but that is lower than other parts of New York. Cornell University is the area's largest employer, with 10,000 workers. So far, it has not had any job cuts. The university also gave $100,000 to help local businesses.

But in many college towns, the local economy collapsed³ when the students went home.

"Our entire economy left," said Gabrielle Gould. She is executive⁴ director of the Amherst Business Improvement District.

Amherst, a college town in Massachusetts, had to deal with the sudden loss of 35,000 students from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and four other colleges in the area. By May, Amherst had a 32.6 percent unemployment rate, a study by the Pioneer Institute in Massachusetts found.

Even if schools permit students to come back in the fall, no one knows how many will actually choose to return. Some students -- and their parents -- may not want to pay the high cost of tuition⁵ for a less social college experience.

"How worried am I for Ithaca if the future of higher ed(ucation) changes?" Myrick said. "I am worried. I am extremely worried."

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

campus - n. the area around a university or college

shed - v. to lose or to get rid of something

tuition - n. the cost of education

mayor - n. the elected eader of a town or city

shopping - adj. buying things with money for pleasure

1 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

5 tuition   

n.（某一学科的）教学，讲授，指导，学费

参考例句：

• Students can apply for individual tuition.学生可以申请个别指导。
• Is this money enough for the tuition fee?这些钱交学费够吗？