Coming from Colorado Springs, I had little familiarity with Grand Junction and the Western Slope in general before I moved here for college. I heard mixed reviews about the Grand Valley, with some saying it was a pleasant place to live with a great landscape, while others decried it as a far-right cesspool, a “Junk Town”.
However, over the last three years, I have come to love Grand Junction and all of its quirks: the general walkability of it (especially near campus), its vibrant and pedestrian-friendly downtown area and the 10-minute juxtaposition between city life and the natural tranquility of the Colorado National Monument.
Grand Junction is not your traditional college-town with everything geared towards students (like Fort Collins, for example).
Instead, city planners have to pull off a balancing act to make sure they are providing for the needs of a rather diverse demography: around 10,000 college students, 13,000 senior-aged people, 4,000 veterans, a substantial homeless population (estimated to be about 750 people) and 12,500 members under 18 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
With that in mind, I feel like Grand Junction does a good job making students feel like they are a valued part of the community, rather than a begrudged acceptance.
Several businesses offer student discounts, community members work hand-in-hand with students and general Colorado Mesa University (CMU) faculty with events and projects (i.e. the Homecoming Parade celebrated downtown and History Day, where students and community members judge highs chool history exhibits), and the overwhelming support of Maverick athletics.
Do not get me wrong, I still do sometimes get some unwelcoming looks from some of the local population who have lived here their whole lives.
I do understand where some of their apathy towards college students comes from, though. It only takes so many run-ins with obnoxious (usually inebriated) 20-year olds to get sick of them. Not to mention that students’ general leftist political views often clash with the more right-leaning, rural environment.
However, the overall way I have been treated by the general population has been pleasant, whether I am just exploring the city or interviewing locals for articles. Grand Junction also puts up banners of the students on light posts near the campus, which is a small but still thoughtful gesture to make us feel more included.
Students also do their fairshare to give back to the community, like the Colorado River Spring Cleanup that CMU sponsors, or student-teachers entering classrooms and interacting with local kids.
I think the Grand Junction community and the student population both thrive from working with one another in a beneficial relationship. While students do not always feel inherently welcomed or included within the city, the university and Grand Junction do their best to incorporate us into the town.
