Community chips in

As the Cross-Campus Team (CCT) discusses ways to enhance the college experience for students, Georgia College & State University and the city of Milledgeville look to each other to create events and activities that students and residents will enjoy.

A survey of more than 200 GC&SU students offered broad suggestions of ways to keep them on campus over the weekend. Many students commented on changes the campus could make; however, several also noted changes in the community that would entice them to stay.

“A lot more things to do in the community would make people stay here. I think that a lot of people get bored with all of the same old things in town,” said junior Jason Hand.

“I would be willing to stay on campus on weekends if there were more things to do. I’m from the city where there is always something going on. Maybe if Milledgeville were more developed, then I would consider it,” said junior Nikeyta Thomas.

Some student suggestions included:

“Better paying jobs around town,” said sophomore Elisa Zarate.

“Decent places to eat and places to hang out,” said senior Amanda Parmley.

“A better mix of restaurants and bars; I get sick of going to the same ones,” said junior Thomas Hemmestad.

“A better night life like Athens,” said junior Tara Maddox.

“Concerts – live music,” said sophomore Melinda Marzicola.

“More activities within Milledgeville itself. Students will probably not stay for campus activities,” said junior Christy Gore.

“A better movie theatre,” said senior Shannon Kitchens.

“A better mall or better eating places,” said junior Rachael Sosebee.

Tara Peters, president and CEO of the Milledgeville/Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged the entertainment limitations of the area.

“I grew up here myself, and it seemed to me that there was never enough to do here,” said Peters. “I’ve got two teenagers now, and there’s nothing for them to do.”

Peters said getting new businesses to come into Milledgeville has not been easy.

“That has always been a problem,” she said. “We have been working hard to get something like a conference center here where events could be booked. I think the Baldwin County Board of Education building the new stadium will be a tremendous help because then we will be able to have outdoor concerts and things. I would like to see if there is something we could do, not specifically for entertainment, but for different types of retail stores, because a lot of (students) leave town to shop. We need a larger variety of stores that are geared not only toward college students, but also toward our own Baldwin County Youth.”
Students agree that there is not a great deal of entertainment in Milledgeville.

“I would be interested in staying at GC&SU on the weekends if there was a huge mall, so that I can shop during the days and attend some entertainment in the evenings, such as theater events or music concerts,” said sophomore Asya Krastera.

“I stay here most of the time, but I would stay here more if there were more things to do like better bars, more places to shop and if other people stayed here,” said senior Julia Jordan.

Heather Holder, executive director of Milledgeville Main Street Downtown Development Authority, said there are events in Milledgeville students may be overlooking.

“Almost every month there is an open-air market-type festival where people of all ages can shop,” said Holder. “There is jewelry and different kinds of handmade pottery and things that really would appeal to everybody. Every year we have Fest of Ville, which is our big arts and crafts festival right there at Georgia College. That was a big success this year. Capital City books bands every weekend. Buffington’s has even had bands from other countries in addition to local talent. There are two new restaurants, Loco’s and Mellow Mushroom, in the planning
stages.”

Several students said more bands on the weekend would be key in getting them to stay.

“I would like more restaurants to host live bands,” said sophomore Imran Khan.

“I like to go home, but if there’s a band my friends and I want to see, I’ll stick around for that sometimes,” said sophomore Leslie Lyon.

As more of a student demand arises, local restaurants and bars are meeting that demand with increased live entertainment downtown.

Buffington’s has been featuring live music on Saturday nights for quite a while now, and according to co-owner Charles Cruey, attendance has
steadily risen at the events.

“I see a lot of people that look forward to the events,” said Cruey.

Buffington’s features live music every Saturday night and has hosted popular bands like Davis Street and Dancin Grannies, as well as The Police Cover Band from Italy. Almost every genre of music can be heard including heavy metal, college rock, rockabilly, jazz/funk, rock, R&B groove and alternative.

Students may also have something to look forward to on Friday nights soon at Buffington’s as plans are in the works to bring acoustic acts in on Friday nights. Cruey said he is starting to see “quite a few regulars” as the music becomes more mainstream.

Capital City Pizza also offers live music on the weekends. Second manager Nicklas Garcia said he sees probably 70 percent more students than anyone else at Capital City.

“If a band really is good, they can pack this place out,” said Garcia.

Bands are featured on most Friday nights at Capital City. Upcoming events include The Wayne Mills Band Dec. 6 and the return of the popular Laney Strickland Jan. 10. Capital City will also host David Alan Coe on Saturday, Jan. 18.

Amici Caf? has also gotten into the act. Though they feature live music every Thursday night, they also often provide entertainment on Saturday nights.

“We try to book on Saturdays when we think college students will be in town,” said manager Jodi Vandemark.

Many students seem to enjoy the entertainment being provided for them.

“Capital City had some pretty decent bands sometimes, and we are getting some new restaurants in the downtown area. Those should help out a little bit when it comes to people wanting things to do,” said freshman Brad Mason.

Many students said they simply don’t know where to go for entertainment on the weekends.

“I think that there is plenty to do here on the weekends, I just don’t think that every one knows about them. I think that better
communication about the events would help out a lot,” said freshman Brandy Kennedy.

“I think often with events that are going on in the community, it’s hard to reach the students,” said Holder. “I know more and more businesses are using the Colonnade as a way of advertising, but they could focus on ways to (better reach students). Businesses are most definitely making their decisions with that demographic in mind.”

Some local businesses offer specials particularly on the weekends to lure student business. Baldwin Bowling Center Inc. is currently featuring a special for college students until January. Students can bowl for $2.50 a game on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Manager John Ashworth said he hopes the special will bring more college students in.

“I don’t see nearly as many (college students) as I would like to,” said Ashworth.

Though many students complain that several places close down on the weekends, there are several popular hangouts that do remain open. Toodle Rehberg, owner of SoulShine Coffee Shop, said the new coffee shop is open on Saturdays, and most of her customers are students.

“Probably at least 80 percent of our clientele is students,” she said.

Peters sees GC&SU as an important resource to draw events into the area.

“The community relies more and more on Georgia College with (events like) the jazz festival and BAVA,” she said. “There just need to be more of them. I know Georgia College has had bigger bands like Hootie and the Blowfish several years ago at the Centennial Center. Those are always very successful.”

“I just think that students should get more involved in the community and make the effort to stay in town on the weekends,” said senior Nicole Walker Holder.

Peters said the Chamber of Commerce and the Development Authority would be eager to discuss with the CCT and students ways to plan events and lure businesses that would appeal to GC&SU students.

“I’m sure with the excellent resources we have in town, if we were to form some kind of committee or focus group, we could sure come up with some great ideas,” said Peters. “What I would like to see that might be even more helpful would be to get some Georgia College students involved with Forward Baldwin. Most of the people who are in Forward Baldwin are business owners in their thirties or older and we never have any youth representation. I would love to have some students involved because you’ve got community leaders there who could brainstorm with them.”

“We’re willing to assist in any way we can,” said Holder. “If there was a better mechanism for us to share information a little bit quicker that would be great. If there was a way we could have a bulletin board online where we could reach the students, that would be something I would also suggest. Our office is open. (The Downtown Development Authority) is right here downtown and if anyone has a suggestion or something they think we should be focusing on, just give us a call. We’d love to hear any
feedback anyone has.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Dec 6 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry