Residents discuss start of school year

There was a time when Wilbur welcomed the students back. ""I used to like the students," Frank Wilbur said, "but it's gotten worse. They make noise. They have too much freedom."

It is impossible to live in Oberlin and ignore the College. Students account for one-fifth of the town's population. Wilbur's wife, Betty Wilbur, said, "It's a dead town without them. The college is the town."

Frank Wilbur's first scoutmaster was an Oberlin student. Oberlin students tutored the Wilbur's children, and now a Conservatory student gives their grandchildren cello lessons. But it is also Oberlin students who keep the Wilburs awake at night and dart dangerously in front of their car.

"They still don't know how to cross the street," Frank Wilbur said. "They need a school crossing guard."

Walking or biking, students often manage to get in the way of residents. "We enjoy having the students back," said Oberlin Police Department captain Tom Miller. "Sometimes we have a little trouble getting them to keep their bikes off the sidewalk."

According to Miller, students usually cause trouble with a small `t', "Occasionally there are parties," Miller said, "But there's no increase in crime."

Bill Steel, owner of the Apollo Theater, is happy to see the students again. Along with the problems students bring, they usually bring a lot of cash. Steel said, "We're glad to have the students back. I'm sure all the merchants feel the same."

Steel's wife, Arlene, concurs. "You just have to be careful when you drive," she said.

Despite the annoyances and frustrations that accompany the students arrival on campus, some residents enjoy just sitting back to watch what sometimes seems like a prolonged visit from the circus.

"We like to watch the evolution of the student," Miller said."Watch the change in their hairstyle during the year."

"I can tell you from the past, those students do act a little wierd. I'm defintely against green hair," Frank Wilbur said.

"They have that youthful vigor," Frank Wilbur said. "I guess we're just jealous because we don't have it anymore."