A partnership among Purdue, the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette, the Lafayette and Tippecanoe school corporations, Tippecanoe County and the Purdue Re-search Foundation will allow for a cost-effective expan-sion of the campus and community wireless system and sets the stage for even larger things in the future. The project, Greater Lafayette Outdoor Wireless, establishes a framework for building a wireless umbrella over the whole community with a variety of potential applications in operating the cities and promoting economic development. For now, it is a rare collaboration among a major university and its municipal, county and K-12 school neighbors in which "town and gown" are working together to extend the campus wireless network further into the community, while at the same time affording the cities and their residents, and the schools expanded wireless service.    

KBTX-TV, by Kathleen Witte

As college towns grow beyond their hosted universities, and as universities grow larger within their host cities, municipalities and institutes of higher education are having to learn how to work together to foster smart growth. South by Southwest featured a panel entitled "A New Era for College Towns," highlighted the work that the University of Maryland and its host city College Park, Maryland, have done to make both more attractive options for stu-dents and potential residents alike. Ken Ulman, president of Margrace Strategies, was hired by the university to head these efforts. "At the University of Maryland, we are really focused on being a catalysts for the economy. We want lots of companies to be started out of the university enterprise and we want them to grow and thrive locally in our community," Ulman said. It is really about that strategic thoughtful approach. 

Montreal Gazette, by Staff Writers

A Quebec student organization is hoping to cut down on the number of sexual assault and harassment cases that happen in bars surrounding universities. The group  Alliance de santé étudiante du Québec (ASEQ) is hoping to have 40 to 50 bars sign up for a new program that would establish a protocol within bars allowing people to communicate with bartenders using a coded language when they feel threatened or uncomfortable. The initiative was launched Sunday morning with the support of Higher Education Minister Helene  David. Two bars have already signed up. "I'm pretty convinced all university campus bars will agree to the project for one simple reason: They all want the same thing, the security of their clients," said ASEQ vice-president Patrice Allard. The initiative is a variation of the "Angel Shots" approach that is already in the US and "Ask Angela" campaign in the UK. 

IFP, by Randy Richmond

Shout it from the rooftops. Actually, don't. Shout this from the ground instead: London is cracking down on rooftop parties. Or, as some students apparently call it, brewfing, sitting on a roof and drinking beer. Faced with too many inebriated students climbing to the rooftops to party during Homecoming and other celebrations, city hall is set to pass a bylaw making the practice illegal. "It is a matter of protecting people from themselves," Ward 6 Coun. Phil Squire said. "Generally, I don't like to tel people what to do, but in this case it was getting out of hand. It was a party on the roof." The target isn't the occasional individual heading to the rooftops for, as the Drifters sang in the 1960s, "a little paradise that's trouble proof." Instead, the focus is the kind of activity police and bylaw officers have seen in recent years. In areas near the university, officers witnessed 15 rooftop parties. 

Georgia Southern University, by Staff Writers

Senior art students put their capstone projects together to create the exhibition "Gown to Town: Visual Art Mapping in the 'Boro," for display at the Averitt Center for the Arts and the Roxie Remley Center for Fine Arts. "When we started this project in 2016, we discovered the enormous emphasis put on steering students into the downtown area with projects like Blue Mile and City Campus. This made me curious about which elements of the city draw students naturally," said Elsie Hill, assistant professor in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art. Capstone students were asked to design visual art projects that reflected their viewpoint of Statesboro, based on local traits such as history,  geography, personal experience and emotional growth. Story mapping essentially included layers of geographic data that use GIS technology and visual arts to tell stories.

The Review, by Jessica Leibman

Partying and bar-hopping typically characterize St. Patrick's Day in college towns, but an alcohol-free event sponsored by the University of Delaware gave students an alternative way to celebrate the holiday. Shamrock-fest took place on Saturday, the day most students celebrate St. Paddy's Day. The university wanted to offer students a safe alternative to partying through multiple activities and aid students who were going out by offering free food. Shamrockfest was crested in 2014, making this the fourth year, after the Division of Student Life began targeting days considered "high risk" on campus for programming. Logan Penna, who is a member of the Student Wellenss & Health Promotion staff, was the chair of the event committee. He looked to make Shamrockfest a collaborative event with many depart-ments in order to promote the event to as many people as possible.

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The ITGA strengthens town and gown partnerships by providing a network of professionals and resources, identifying and sharing leading practices, innovative solutions and professional development opportunities for municipal and university communities.