September 8, 2006 Source: :
http://www.therecord.com/links/links_060908101716.html Laurier social work students praise location in heart of the city Laurier social work students praise location in heart of the city
Friday September 8, 2006
BARBARA AGGERHOLM
RECORD STAFF KITCHENER -- Social work students poured into downtown Kitchener's first university campus yesterday, celebrating their new link with the community. Wilfrid Laurier University's new campus, in the former St. Jerome's high school on Duke Street, is the first jewel in the city of Kitchener's grand plan to revitalize the downtown with a "knowledge cluster." A University of Waterloo health sciences campus is to follow next year. Yesterday, graduate students at the Lyle S. Hallman faculty of social work toured the renovated building and the surrounding community. Masters of social work students Maike Zinabou, Michelle Garon and Matt Riehl said it's the right place at the right time. They said they have no patience with anyone who avoids downtown Kitchener. People who give the downtown a detour do so out of ignorance, they said. Downtown Kitchener is as safe as any suburb, the students said. "It is safe to be here and the more people who make it their home, the better," Zinabou said. "It's important people understand that Kitchener's downtown is not a scary place," said Riehl, who is in his second year of the master's of social work program. "It's a perception of the general community. You talk to people who say they don't come to the downtown on the weekend. "But being afraid of the downtown area is in some ways classist," Riehl said. "It's like being scared of poor people and homeless people." The students said they are proud of the historic building -- which was gutted and completely renovated inside -- and they're proud of being downtown. "It's the best thing that ever happened to us," Zinabou said of the move downtown. "We have to be where the people are." "It's sort of like you're on the outside when you're on campus," Garon said. "Now we're more at the heart and part of it, rather than observers from the outside." Kitchener committed $6.5 million to the building's restoration and land acquisition. After sitting empty for more than a decade, the former Catholic high school now boasts shiny wooden banisters, gold tile hallways and light-filled rooms. While students admired the building yesterday, some had a few concerns about parking, and accessing some services and resources from the main campus. But most said they liked the location -- near community groups, agencies and people they're helping. Downtown merchants, meanwhile, posted signs in their windows welcoming them. "We can develop close relationships," said Lesley Cooper, WLU's new social work dean. "We feel very welcome." To encourage neighbours to drop in, the new campus includes a cafe in the historic building and a community room. There will be a political coffee house series to which the public will also be invited, said Ginette Lafreniere, professor of community development and social action. "I'm a part of the community now," Lafreniere said. "We are no longer in academic no-man's-land. We are in the heart of the city." The public is invited to an open house Sept. 28 at 3:45 p.m. for a tour of the renovated building. baggerholm@therecord.com
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