‘Good Neighbors’ welcomes ECU students to promote citizenship in university area

You’ll find a few fences in the Tar River University Neighborhood, but residents there believe being good neighbors starts with sharing knowledge and a gift with new residents, especially college students.

About 100 representatives from the City of Greenville, East Carolina University and Tar River University Neighborhood Association participated in the second annual Good Neighborhood Initiative on Friday.

They visited approximately 750 homes, providing a gift bag with helpful information about city ordinances and the neighborhood association, refrigerator magnets and a koozie promoting “Grid Life.”

“It helps us build community,” said Erik Kneubuehl, associate vice chancellor of student affairs, overseeing the student life division.

“It’s important that we understand and that the students understand that TRUNA is made up of faculty, staff, other residents, retired faculty and staff, and also students and other families. It’s not just one type of person who lives in TRUNA,” he said. “Because of that we have an opportunity to build community by welcoming them to the neighborhood, directing them to resources and allowing them to know we’re all in this together.”

The Good Neighbor Initiative started last year as a way for local officials to promote positive living experiences in areas where students and non-students live close to one another. Officials discussed responsible partying, proper trash and recycling protocol, parking and other issues.

Many students need the information because the vast majority grew up in homes where parents did all the work. They then moved into dormitories and management did all the work, said Jon Wacker, a retired ECU music professor who has lived in the TRUNA area for 24 years.

“Those who are living and renting in the TRUNA neighborhood, this is the first time many of them are are living outside someone’s care and they have to learn how to pay the bills, wash the house, clean the yard, put away the trash; they have to live on their own and we’re just kind of helping them out,” Wacker said.

The TRUNA volunteers “humanized” the teams, which also included representatives of the city, university, local law enforcement and the neighborhood, Kneubuel said.

“Instead of walking up with an administrator they might know or might not know, a police officer in a uniform; they are walking up to someone who lives there in the Grid, someone they might see regularly in the Grid,” he said.

Sometimes you can live in a place where you don’t get out and interact with people, he said. This is a chance to meet the people you live with, including other students who live in the neighborhood.

The participation of TRUNA residents last year led to increased interaction between the association and ECU Student Government Association, Kneubuel said. This year the student government will have two representatives on the TRUNA board, he said.

Maury York, president of the neighborhood association, said one of the things he’s excited about this year is promoting the new TRUNA website, which is designed to help students navigate being a good neighbor and staying safe. The site, www.trunagreenvillenc.com, also includes information about city services and where new residents seek help other needs, he said.

Jeremy Locklear, a sophomore biology major, is living off campus for the first time at The District apartment complex. He was visiting a friend at an East Third Street apartment complex Friday afternoon. He liked the idea of community leaders visiting the students.

“I like the area. I didn’t want to live anywhere like downtown, I thought it was too loud, too busy. I like the smaller areas like this. I didn’t want things to be too busy around me,” Locklear said. The information will be useful, he said.

The City of Greenville led this year’s organizing effort.

“We want (the students) to know the community is there to help support them, that they know we hope they have a successful school year and just give some tidbits about how we can all work together to protect the community and protect the livelihood of the community,” Greenville City Manager Michael Cowin said.

“We want to make sure we pull people together, that it’s not the residential residents against the students. They all want the same thing, they want to live in harmony and have happy lifestyles and they can all work together to do so,” he said.