Town and gown
During the Middle Ages, students admitted to European universities often held minor clerical status and donned garb similar to that worn by the clergy.
The idea of a school of higher learning as a distinct and autonomous institution within an urban setting dates back to the Academy founded by Plato c. 387 BC.
The schools' existence required a permanent population and an infrastructure that included a vibrant marketplace and system of governance, but their dependence on the host towns was limited.
Many university students were foreigners with exotic manners and dress who spoke and wrote Latin, the lingua franca of medieval higher education in Western Europe.
By the Papal bull Parens scientiarum ("Father of the Sciences"[1]) (1231), the charter of the University of Paris, Pope Gregory IX authorised the masters, in the event of an outrage committed by anyone upon a scholar and not redressed within fifteen days, to suspend their lectures.
Pope Nicholas IV in 1288 threatened to disrupt the studium at Padua unless the municipal authorities repealed within fifteen days ordinances they had framed against scholars.
[2] Conflict was inevitable in the medieval university towns, where two separately governed bodies with different priorities and loyalties shared the same restricted space.
An argument in a tavern – a familiar scenario – escalated into a protracted two-day battle in which local citizens armed with bows attacked the academic village, killing and maiming scores of scholars.
The rioters were severely punished, and thenceforth, the mayor and bailiffs had to attend a Mass for the souls of the dead every St. Scholastica's Day thereafter and to swear an annual oath to observe the university's privileges.
From then on, whether under king or revolutionary government, dictator or Parliament, European universities would customarily be ruled by the central authority – although the degree of control varied widely over time and place.
Following the upheavals of the High Middle Ages, relations between the European universities and the host towns evolved toward a pattern of mutual support.
Cities, on some occasions, took over payment of salaries and provided loans, while regulating the book trade, lodgings, and the various other services students required.
[5] Another brief chronicle of incidents involving Yale College students and residents of New Haven, Connecticut, illustrates the continuing strain upon town–gown relations.
In 1753, President Thomas Clap began holding separate Sunday worship services for students in the college instead of at First Church, because he felt that the minister, Joseph Noyes, was theologically suspect.
Things were relatively quiet until 1919, when returning local servicemen, angry over perceived insults from Yale students, attacked the Old Campus.
[6][page needed] A wave of student unrest took place in North America and Europe during the 1960s, from Paris to Mexico City to California.
The US student movement was ostensibly about demands for more freedom and a share in decision making on campus, but it was stoked by two broader issues – civil rights for African Americans and protest of the Vietnam War.
[citation needed] Cities and their universities evolved from the integrated residential patterns of the High Middle Ages to a more distinct partition.
The growth of these knowledge economies, and additional upwardly mobile residents, may increase the competition for community space or drive up land costs.
These factors create continuing tensions between town and gown, but in some scenarios, the university and the local community work together in revitalisation projects.
In cities where a significant number of students live off campus, university police may be allowed to patrol these neighbourhoods to provide an extra measure of security.
Meanwhile, civil libertarians argue that school officials should only call on local law enforcement to intervene when it is necessary to protect the safety of people on campus.
As tax-exempt institutions, universities have had no legal obligation to contribute to the coffers of city government, but some do make payments in lieu of taxes based on negotiated agreements (as is the case in Boston).
Some private institutions, such as the University of Phoenix, rely less on geographical presence, enrolling students in a broad range of online degree programs.
Other courses may comprise part-time or night classes for working professionals or intensive training taking place over a group of weekends or months.
[19] However, such views are currently dismissed to a greater or lesser extent by leading universities, who admit the importance of technology and the diminution in town/gown rivalries but stress the continuing value of traditional learning and teaching methods.
These agglomerations in metropolitan areas leads to what experts call knowledge spillovers, which is simply defined as the exchange of ideas among individuals.
These benefits, however, often came come with their costs as a high number of students, faculty, and resources needed to support universities can put a strain on local governments.
[25] Tensions in the 21st century have been raised by the expansion of universities, leading to "studentification" of cities as locals are displaced by students and single family homes are converted into houses in multiple occupation.
This can lead to rising property prices, making housing unaffordable for locals, closure of schools and other services, and increases in disruptive behaviour.
