There has been an ongo­ing dis­cus­sion, I’m sure for as long as Big Rapids and Ferris have been around, as to the role each plays in the other’s existence.

On the page oppo­site this one you’ll see two let­ters to the edi­tor regard­ing recent sto­ries that ran in the Torch. Some may choose to share their thoughts online as well. The fas­ci­nat­ing thing is how dif­fer­ent the per­spec­tives can be between mem­bers of the com­mu­nity and mem­bers of the stu­dent body who call this city home nine months of the year.

A game of tit-for-tat isn’t a solu­tion to the ques­tion of what Big Rapids is and what it has done for the stu­dents of Ferris. Just as voic­ing bore­dom or effort doesn’t make the difference.

This is a place where tran­si­tions occur, debt is incurred and mem­o­ries are made. This is a place of learn­ing in and out of the class­room and famil­iar­ity with one­self is just as impor­tant as famil­iar­ity with one’s textbooks.

For some, they’ll look back on this place, this city, and remem­ber fondly the times here. Others, not so much.

So, it seems like now is a good time to get the con­ver­sa­tion going. I encour­age all par­ties, stu­dents and locals, busi­ness own­ers and Ferris fac­ulty to share their thoughts civilly on this topic and how to con­tinue to improve the rela­tion­ship between the town and the stu­dents, on the Torch Web site, www​.fsu​torch​.com.

We all have a stake in this city and this uni­ver­sity and should be part of the con­ver­saton. n