Syracuse University has an opportunity for students to improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods that border the university.

Laura Madelone, director of the Office of Off-Campus Student Services, invited registered student organizations to join the Adopt-a-Street program in January, she said.

Participants will clean up the streets and sidewalks once a month and distribute important information to students and residents living in a two to four-block strip, Madelone said. Students living on blocks not yet adopted will still receive this information from a staff member or the Department of Public Safety.

‘Being an off-campus resident, I hope this will lead to better bonds between neighbors,’ said Liz Klodd, a senior engineering major and participant.

So far, 10 organizations, including the Student Environmental Action Coalition and the Green Campus Initiative, have signed up for the project. Their adopted areas include stretches on Euclid, Ostrom, Sumner and Lancaster avenues, Westcott Street and Walnut Place.

‘I’m excited at the number of organizations that have already shown interest,’ Madelone said.

The program began last Wednesday when three volunteers from the Society of Women Engineers distributed fliers to residents on the 200 to 400 blocks of Euclid Avenue.

The first flier was distributed to students and included safety tips about locking up houses and apartments during spring break. The second was an informational flier about the Adopt-a-Street program, Klodd said.

Klodd is the president of the 60-member group of students from both SU and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. A part of SWE’s mission is a commitment to community service, she said.

Adopt-a-Street participants will also collect trash and litter from the streets and sidewalks once a month. The first scheduled clean-up date is March 26 – after the snow melts, Klodd said.

The program is starting at a time when some members of the university neighborhood are petitioning both the city of Syracuse and SU to provide more on-campus student housing.

Tina Notas, a sophomore environmental studies major at SUNY-ESF and member of both the SEAC and the Green Campus Initiative, distributed the fliers on the 700 and 800 blocks of Lancaster Avenue last Friday.

‘The non-student residents were very hospitable and invited us in,’ Notas said. ‘They gave us a lot of feedback on other ideas, like landscaping, gardening, community get-togethers and block parties.’

Some of the residents made small complaints about students putting their trashcans out early and allowing the wind to knock the cans down and spill onto the street, but now students are taking responsibility for their community, Notas said.

Madelone started planning the Adopt-a-Street program about six months ago, after hearing about the positive response to a similar project at Ohio State University, she said.

While Off-Campus Student Services is now seeking registered student organizations, Madelone said she does not discourage individuals who would like to participate.

Published on March 5, 2006 at 12:00 pm