Town-College Q&A / GA President Alex Hales
Issue date: 9/21/06 Section: Editorial
S: How important do you think it is for the college to have good relations with the town of Lake Forest?
A: Personally, I think that the college is an asset to the town and the town is an asset to the college. It benefits both parties to have a vested interest in one another.
The college puts on many programs that are open to the town. In a suburban area it's odd to have a nationally ranked small liberal arts college in the middle of your town.
It's an asset to the high school students and faculty to have experts in their given fields living in proximity to them. The college also offers a wide variety of varsity athletic competitions for residents to attend and summer sports camps for children.
The town is an asset to the college because there are plethora of successful people living Lake Forest that could potentially serve as mentors for students. The town is beautiful, which is great for luring prospective students. Plus, it also offers us coffee shops, restaurants, and a nice library.
S: What do you think about the current relations we have with Lake Forest, is it good the way it is already? I don't know if you read the article in last week's issue of the Stentor. Tara Haskins was expressing frustration with the people in Lake Forest. You don't necessarily have to respond to that.
A: I think that I've had similar experiences to Tara, but I've also had a lot of good experiences, especially with the swim club. The swim club rents pool space from the College, but it is an independent organization and one of the best swim clubs in the country.
The swim club lets Lake Forest College swimmers practice with them for free pre and post the NCAA season. Most of the people who swim with the club are residents of Lake Forest. I teach their kids and yes, some of the kids are high-maintenance, but all kids are high maintenance and yes, some of the parents can be demanding, but they are very generous as well. Swim club parents are always interested in my life, ask me how school is going. They are supportive of the College team and buy more than their fair share of raffle tickets from us annually.
A: Personally, I think that the college is an asset to the town and the town is an asset to the college. It benefits both parties to have a vested interest in one another.
The college puts on many programs that are open to the town. In a suburban area it's odd to have a nationally ranked small liberal arts college in the middle of your town.
It's an asset to the high school students and faculty to have experts in their given fields living in proximity to them. The college also offers a wide variety of varsity athletic competitions for residents to attend and summer sports camps for children.
The town is an asset to the college because there are plethora of successful people living Lake Forest that could potentially serve as mentors for students. The town is beautiful, which is great for luring prospective students. Plus, it also offers us coffee shops, restaurants, and a nice library.
S: What do you think about the current relations we have with Lake Forest, is it good the way it is already? I don't know if you read the article in last week's issue of the Stentor. Tara Haskins was expressing frustration with the people in Lake Forest. You don't necessarily have to respond to that.
A: I think that I've had similar experiences to Tara, but I've also had a lot of good experiences, especially with the swim club. The swim club rents pool space from the College, but it is an independent organization and one of the best swim clubs in the country.
The swim club lets Lake Forest College swimmers practice with them for free pre and post the NCAA season. Most of the people who swim with the club are residents of Lake Forest. I teach their kids and yes, some of the kids are high-maintenance, but all kids are high maintenance and yes, some of the parents can be demanding, but they are very generous as well. Swim club parents are always interested in my life, ask me how school is going. They are supportive of the College team and buy more than their fair share of raffle tickets from us annually.