University of Sussex, by Staff Writers

The National Association for Student Residential Accom- modation held their annual conference in Brighton (9-11 April) and members of the University Housing Services teams were asked to run an ideas workshop-focusing on engaging with local communities-to share ideas and best practice. The conference, attended by 600 uni-versity housing professionals from the UK, North America and Europe, is the largest such gathering and includes members from CEOs to front-line officers. Housing Services ran a workshop to show-case their community engagement work along with out-comes, including a community ambassador project contacting 7,000 house-holds annually, an Information Centre on the Lewes Road and the new Street-Wise street marshaling scheme where mix-gendered pairs of professionals provide friendly support to local residence traveling around the city at night. 

The Diamondback, by Yelin Jung

The bike-share program, launched May 2016 through a partnership between the City of College Park, the Uni-versity of Maryland and bike company Zagster, provided more than 21,000 trips in its first 11 months, according to recently released city data. "This was even above and beyond the optimistic expectation we had for it," said Jon Terbush, Zagster's communication manager. Given the high level of ridership, mBike will add 18 bikes and two stations in May, Terbush said. The program, which now operates 137 bikes on 14 on-and off-campus bike stations, has 261 active members, according to the city data. City and campus officials  are impressed with how much people enjoy the program. Bike-sharing is an emerging trend throughout the country, especially in urban areas like Washington and New York, said Eric Olson, executive director of the College Park City-University Partnership. 

Mustang News, by Austin Linthicum

Three months into her term, San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon works to strengthen the city's relationship with Cal Poly students. Fighting for students' best inter-ests on the city council and mending the relationship between school and city is at the top of her priority list. "Cal Poly students are such a huge part of the city and our economy," Harmon said. "I am really trying to heal the 'town and gown' relationship and make it less 'us vs. them." At the end of winter quarter, Harmon spoke to students in professor Steven Stern's Governmental and Social Influences on Business class. Stern, an adjunct law professor, wanted to give students a chance to ask the mayor questions and humanize local government. Harmon took questions on policies ranging from legalized marijuana in the city, student housing, the recently repealed rental housing inspection program ands safety enhancement zones.      

Financial Post, by Liam Casey

Two Canadian universities have been chosen to partici-pate in a North American competition to develop a self-driving car in three years. The University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo will compete against each other and six American schools with the goal of auto-nomous driving in an urban setting by 2020. General Motors and SAE International have launched the compe-tition designed for undergraduate students that they've dubbed the "Auto-Drive Challenge." Tim Barfoot, an engineering professor with the University of Toronto who is overseeing his school's team, said student demand is intense just days after last week's announcement that the university had been accepted as a competitor. "There's something about turning a robot into a vehicle that really captures people's imaginations," Barefoot said, adding 250 students have expressed interests in joining the team.  

Manufacturers and business leaders from round the world and across the U.S. wrapped up the 2017 Global Manufacturing Summit at Pittsburg State University with a tour of the Kansas Polymer Research Center. Kansas Secretary of Commerce Antonio Soave said he hopes they take with them a new appreciation of the resources and opportunities available in Southeast Kansas. The summit, hosted by PSU and the Kansas Department of Commerce, attracted attendees from Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the U.S., Soave said. Speakers at the summit came from major manufacturers from the Great Lakes to the East Coast and the Southeast U.S. Soave said the Department of Commerce created a campaign, "Made in Kansas, the Heart of America," to embrace and promote manufacturing in the state. Soave said it's impor-tant to tell the story of the manufacturing that already exists in Kansas. 

An official in Amherst estimates the Massachusetts college town will have to hire two additional police officers and four emergency medical responders to prepare for the opening of retail marijuana stores. The town's economic development chief, Geoff Kravitz, estimates implementing the recreational marijuana law will cost about $550,000 annually. Select Board member Andrew Steinberg said Amherst faces unique health and safety concerns because a large part of the population is close to the legal age for mari-juana consumption. "Over 30 percent of our population is under the age of 20, and more than 65 percent of the population is under the age of 25," said Steinberg during recent testimony to the legislature's Joint Committee on Marijuana Policy. The voter-approved law set 21 as the legal age for marijuana possession. Retail marijuana stores can open after July 1 2018. 

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