There is always something in the air in Terre Haute this time of year. And it has nothing to do with the occasional odor that wafts in the late-summer breeze on the city’s southwest side.
It is during late August and early September that downtown traffic — both pedestrian and vehicular — picks up noticeably. The faces you see on the street are often fresh young faces, sometimes with quizzical looks as they try to figure out what’s what in their new, temporary home.
The fall semester is officially under way at Indiana State University adjacent to downtown Terre Haute. On the west side of the county, classes will begin Tuesday at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. At Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology east of the city, students will begin arriving later this week.
What these three institutions of higher learning have in common is that most of their new students this fall will come from places other than Terre Haute and Vigo County. In fact, they have arrived from all over the world.
It is no secret that the presence of these institutions has a profound impact on our community. Not only do they bring the annual infusion of hope and anticipation from the students who choose to pursue an educational degree here, they provide thousands of residents with employment, not to mention careers.
Each of our four-year undergraduate schools is different and offers unique educational opportunities to students. St. Mary-of-the-Woods is a women’s liberal arts college that is known for its outstanding equine studies program. Rose-Hulman is second to none in the area of undergraduate engineering degrees. ISU, as a larger state school, offers an array of course programs. One of its most popular is criminology.
While Terre Haute has never been a prototypical “college town” like Bloomington or West Lafayette, college life and community life do mix in many ways. The higher education community makes Terre Haute a better place by enhancing its culture in many ways.
There are those among us who think the “college influence” has too much impact on the city, and that the impact is not always positive. They think the colleges, especially ISU, run the town by sometimes acting like bullies to get what they want.
It is an absurd argument, of course. In ISU’s case, what is good for the university is almost always good for the community. Likewise Rose-Hulman and The Woods. All are linked with the community’s fortunes.
Terre Haute and Vigo County are more vibrant because of the colleges that reside here. They provide a greater quality of life that the rest of us should eagerly embrace.
We extend a warm welcome to students and faculty on their return to local campuses and wish them well during the new school year. We value what they bring to the community, and hope they find great value in their college experience here.
Editorials
Related Photos
Discussion
TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORAL: ‘College town’ comes to life
New semester reminds us of education’s impact
- Editorials
-
-
EDITORIAL: Drug-testing bill lacks fairness and decency
The current session of the Indiana Legislature has produced plenty of initiatives that play well to the majority party’s base.
-
EDITORIAL: Keep religion out of science class
An uncertain fate remains for an Indiana Senate bill that would, if it were to become law, allow public schools to teach creationism and other origin-of-life theories in their classes. But this fight may have already been grounded.
-
EDITORIAL: Delivering on infrastructure
With national, state and local economies showing distinct signs of recovery from the Great Recession of 2008, it is good to hear Mayor Duke Bennett sounding optimistic about Terre Haute and its immediate future.
-
EDITORIAL: Volunteer ‘army’ serving the needs of children
You know, of course, that casa means house. But do you also know that its all-capitals cousin, CASA, means home?
-
EDITORIAL: Big dreams do come true
Consider this Super Bowl Sunday to be proof that anything is possible.
-
EDITORIAL: Big ‘kick’ from a native son
Every player in Sunday’s Super Bowl is from somewhere. But not every player remembers where he’s from and reaches out to consistently help those back home. Not like Steve Weatherford. Make that not like Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford.
-
EDITORIAL: Smoking ban good enough
When it comes to getting things done in the Indiana General Assembly, progress is often measured in baby steps. Indeed, it can take years to achieve even meager accomplishments.
-
EDITORIAL: United Way’s strong reputation helps sustain community trust
It would be foolish in any community to take “positives” for granted, but it’s easy to understand how a casual observer would assume that United Way of the Wabash Valley will always come through with flying colors.
-
EDITORIAL: Nothing sexy about human trafficking
When kickoff comes at the 2012 Super Bowl, expectations will be high for a fun, competitive, fanatical contest between the two survivors of the NFL’s regular season.
-
EDITORIAL: The law’s good ‘Shepard’
Under the radar and against the backdrop of the fractious right-to-work battle going on in Indianapolis, one of state’s leading public servants delivered his valedictory in typical understated, even quiet, style two weeks ago. And before Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard slips away into retirement, his work needs to be acknowledged and praised.
-
EDITORIAL: Cops at risk
Indiana lawmakers are playing with a loaded gun in a bill that passed the Indiana Senate Monday, 45-5.
-
TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Helping your community, a few mouse clicks at a time
When you type WabashValleyGives.org into your web browser, hundreds of opportunities to help your local community will open on the screen before you.
-
EDITORIAL: Raves around the town
To begin the week, we are raving about these recent pieces of local news:
-
EDITORIAL: Let Hoosiers have a say on right-to-work bill
Indiana legislators, both Republican and Democrat, may claim to know the will of the people on right-to-work.
-
EDITORIAL: Thin ice winter’s deadly scourge
Six-year-old Trevor Wayne Young of Nashville, Ind., and 50-year-old Allen D. Johnson of Galva, Ill., probably had little in common — except the way they died.
-
EDITORIAL: Meeting needs at St. Ann's
The caliber of a community often is revealed by its efforts to help its least fortunate citizens.
-
EDITORIAL: A sweet deal for Amazon.com
That loud lip-smack on the cheek you heard echoing from Indianapolis last week was the sound of Gov. Mitch Daniels kissing off on what amounts to another sweetheart deal between Indiana and Amazon.com, the online retailing giant.
-
EDITORIAL: A new era for growth
The promised announcement of a major new industry for the former Pfizer property in southern Vigo County turned out to be well worth the wait.
-
EDITORIAL: Transparency a worthy goal
Do taxpayers have the right to know specific details of contracts between elected school boards and superintendents they hire to run their operations?
-
EDITORIAL: Shakir Bell’s success gives boost to Sycamore football
Hope inspires progress. It’s the fuel for a better future.
-
EDITORIAL: Inspiration for the future
Hope inspires progress. It’s the fuel for a better future.
-
EDITORIAL: Put teeth in public access laws
Indiana’s laws governing public access, as good as they are, lack something important — teeth. There are no significant consequences for agencies or employees who intentionally violate them.
-
EDITORIAL: Time for teamwork in Sullivan
The beginning of a new mayoral term in any community is — or should be — a time when the talk of the town is rife with ideas, improvements and changes.
-
EDITORIAL: Lawmakers should leave IHSAA, high school basketball alone
In an idyllic world, Indiana could restore its fabled single-class high school basketball state tournament, and thousands of fans would pour into gymnasiums from Angola to Corydon in hopes of witnessing another “Milan Miracle” year after year after year.
-
EDITORIAL: ‘Anthem’ proposal way off key
Remember Faith Hill’s impassioned rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl in 2000?
-
EDITORIAL: Back from the access brink
It took almost a week, but Gov. Daniels finally stepped up and did the right thing on Wednesday, rescinding new rules aimed at restricting the number of people allowed in the Statehouse during this session of the General Assembly.
-
EDITORIAL: Poor decision by local Dems
By a little after 4 this afternoon, Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett will have been sworn in for a second term and City Councilman-elect Robert All will have taken the oath of office for the first time.
-
EDITORIAL: Be it resolved …
Resolutions for 2012 are top-of-mind today.
-
EDITORIAL: Another slice of Classic history
Baseball is the so-called American pastime, but to Hoosiers and to our Illinois neighbors, it’s basketball that gets a community’s blood pumping. And no form of roundball does that any more intimately than high school basketball, whether boys or girls. College hoops is great, but nothing quite beats the packed, overheated confines of a high school gym when a tight game turns on every possession, every shot, every rebound, every pass, every defensive position. The sing-song of cheerleaders, the shrillness of a ref’s whistle, the squeak of gym shoes on hardwood, the shouted instructions from the benches, the aroma of popcorn — those form a Midwestern tableau unlike any other.
-
EDITORIAL: A strategy for growth
There are many ways to market an area in order to spur economic growth. Some may work better than others, but there is no perfect approach. The essential thing is to have a strategy and to implement it.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
EDITORIAL: Drug-testing bill lacks fairness and decency
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Coroner: Houston Autopsy Results Weeks Away
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Severe Cold Wreaks Havoc in China
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Fuel Removal Under Way on Capsized Italian Ship
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Turkey's first face transplant
Adele's revealing "60 Minutes" interview
Obama Unveils $3.8 Trillion Budget
Bobby Brown on Houston's Death
Exclusive Video: Bobbi Kristina Leaving Hospital
Lusetich: AT&T Recap
'Bachelor' Free Falls into the Ocean
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
Grammys 2012: Highlights
2.12: Pebble Beach Pro-Am -- Phil Mickelson
2012 Grammys: Rihanna
2012 Grammys: Taylor Swift
Exclusive Video - Whitney's Bodybag
FUEL TV: Punk Payback Gym tips
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
