Browse Exhibits (5 total)

During the very beginning years of the college the school was very involved in the finances of the town, which was also in its infant years. The entire county of El Paso at this time had a population of only 7,949, with 53.2% of those people living in an urban setting (1). The College and its president, Tenney, were focused on building up the college and the city, in terms of land and population. The school created The Colorado College Land Endowment, which was publicized in The Daily Gazette in 1884. In the article the school urges citizens that it is also their responsibility to create a well-endowed college. The article goes on to explain that the school bought up land that it later sold to the Colorado Springs Investment and Improvement Company in order for them to develop the land. Tenney, President of the college, also happened to be a founding member of the company, whose goals included investing in irrigation, cultivation of land, and the erection of buildings in Colorado Springs (Articles of Incorporation of the Colorado Springs Investment and Improvement Company). This was seen as a conflict of interest, and thus Tenney wrote The Basis of Bonds of the Colorado Springs Investment and Improvement Company.

An assessment of Colorado College’s financial situation at the time also shows the money that the school had money tied up not only in construction, which would benefit the community, but also in local bonds, some with The Colorado Springs Investment and Improvement Company.

In the 1870s and 1880’s it is clear that the city is deeply involved in the creation of the town. The President himself is helping, for his own benefit, to build up the city and is a founding member of a company who was shaping the foundation of the town. This seems to be the closest to Gavazzi’s harmonious relationship that the city and the school get. The school is making itself integral to the existence of the city and the school needs the city in order to attract students. At this point the school also was attempting to attract local Colorado students (An Appeal in Behalf of Colorado College), fulfills one of Gavazzi’s local suggestion to create accessible and affordable course work. During this period the college is presenting itself as a essential ally of the community.

Citation: 

(1) Social Explorer Dataset(SE), Census 1880, Digitally transcribed by Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Edited, verified by Michael Haines. Compiled, edited and verified by Social Explorer.

Clear documentation of trouble between Colorado College and Colorado Springs begins in the 1970’s. Colorado College President Lloyd Worner begins to worry about the way that the community views its students when Bill Kilkenny writes to him to say that the college has two images in Colorado Springs, one as a “academically outstanding institution” and the other as “a place for rich, long haired, hippie-looking students”. Worner and Kilkenny then discuss possible events that the school could hold to stop these perceptions, however Kilkenny does suggest that the school will be unable to change some peoples opinions of the school (Kilkenny and Worner RE: The Image of the College Set 1). Kilkenny later meets with local community leaders to ensure that holding events is a good idea for reviving community perceptions of the school (Kilkenny and Worner RE: The Image of the College Set 2). Through these events it seems that the school is attempting assure the community that it is a place of higher education.

During these years the college also has to worry about its dominance as a college in Colorado Springs. In 1976 Colorado Technical College bought a building in Colorado Springs and attempted to move into the area. Colorado College, worried about losing any power it had in Colorado Springs sent a memo to all important alumni, asking them to write to the City Council to block the school from moving. This memo makes clear the ways in which Colorado College viewed itself as an institution in the Community as well as the ways in which it wanted to present itself to the community. The memo wants alumni to mention the benefits that Colorado College provides to the community such as being one of the largest private employers in the city. The college includes a do not mention section in this memo which suggests the importance that the school seems to believe it brought to the community but which it did not want the community to know about such as: the higher quality of education that CC provides, the status that CC’s reputation brings the city and the power that CC has held over the city council in the past (Memo Concerning Colorado Technical College).

During this period Colorado College also published a summary of its economic impacts on Colorado Springs, potentially an attempt to assert their dominance. It is clear that Colorado College still greatly contributes to the Colorado Springs economy (Colorado College Economic Impact).

In the twenty years between this census and the 1950 census the population of El Paso country had boomed from 74,523 (1) to 235,972, meaning Colorado College students and staff made up a much smaller part of the Colorado Springs population. Of the people over the age of 25 in El Paso Country only 16.5% had received 4 years or more of college education meaning that Colorado College students and staff were still among the most educated, however by a smaller amount than during the last census (2).

During this period, it seems that the school has moved into a more traditional relationship with the town. The two groups are not rivals and some townspeople have a generally good view of the college, however there is some tension and dislike between the groups. This could be due to the growth in population, which made the ratio of Colorado College students and faculty to Colorado Springs residents much lower, potentially making misunderstandings between these groups higher. The college does make an attempt towards improving relations with the town during this time, by completing one of Gavazzi’s local suggestions: holding events on campus.

Citations:

• Social Explorer Tables (SE), Census 1950 Census Tract, County, State and US, Digitally transcribed by Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Edited, verified by Michael Haines. Compiled, edited and verified by Social Explorer.
• Social Explorer Tables(SE), Census 1970, Social Explorer & U.S. Census Bureau.

In 2004 Colorado College faced a major crisis in its relationship with Colorado Springs. There was outrage from the community about student behavior during out of control off campus parties (Reconciling Sleep and Fun). Gavazzi suggests disagreement about student behavior at off campus parties is a sign of a poor relationship between a school and its town.

Neighbors called and sent emails to the school and eventually went to the Colorado Springs Gazette about the issue. The school had a carefully built rapport with The Gazette, which actually approached the school before it published an article about the issue. This allowed the school to carefully craft the image that it wanted to project to the town. The school wanted to look proactive in the issue, even though it seems they had already received and done very little about, several complaints from neighbors. After the article came out, administrators were angry about the amount of space that the story got and even wrote to the editor to complain (CC neighbors Story Emails). When a neighbor wrote to the External Relations committee saying that she enjoyed living near CC students an administrator pointed her towards the Gazette, asking her to write to them so that they would publish an article painting the school in a more positive light (Tanya Anderson Community Relations email).

During this time the school produced many flyers that were an attempt to quell anger from the local community. They created the Neighborhood Connection which they handed out to nearby residents. This pamphlet started by listing the actions that the school was taking to control off campus students and then listed all of the resources that it believed local residents should take advantage of at Colorado College, such as free ice skating at Honnen hockey rink. It even gave the residents an academic calendar so that interested parents could know when to hire a CC student as their babysitter.

It’s clear that during this time Colorado College was attempting to create a very careful image with the towns people, but that anger had built up over time. The school had connections with the media in order to mitigate damaging stories about them. When the school did hold an event with neighbors to discuss the problem it was uncomfortable, with both angry student and angry local residents (Reconciling Sleep and Fun). At this point Colorado College seems to be moving towards a conflicted relationship with its direct neighbors, despite a seemingly positive one with the local news outlet. While the school does have events, they are to mitigate issues, and it seems that ll involved parties are somewhat uncomfortable.

By 2000 the county has a population of 516,929, with the majority of people over 25 having some college and 31.8% of people having a bachelors degree or more (1).

Citation:

 Social Explorer Tables(SE), Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau and Social Explorer