UA News

About 500 UA students and employees worked to clean up seven campus-area neighborhoods in the spring.

Relationships between University of Arizona students and their nonstudent neighbors aren't always easy. In an effort to improve them, a team of UA students and employees recently took to the streets to clean up seven neighborhoods near campus.

Leaders of the project were honored at last week's Tucson City Council meeting with certificates of appreciation for their hard work weeding, picking up trash and cleaning up campus-area yards in need of attention.

"Too often neighbors see the negative impacts of students living in the neighborhoods, and this is a real positive way of giving back," said Sarah Evans, neighborhood relations coordinator in the UA's Office of Community Relations, and one of the leaders honored by the city.

This is the second year the Office of Community Relations has teamed up with the Mortar Board Senior Honorary to host the cleanup event. About 500 volunteers worked in the Rincon Heights, Pie Allen, North University, Feldman's, Jefferson Park, El Cortez and Northwest neighborhoods on March 28.

Recognized for their efforts at the May 19 City Council meeting were Evans; Jaime Gutierrez, associate vice president for community relations; Johanne Jensen, Mortar Board adviser; and students Stephanie Nguyen and Nicole McManaman, cleanup crew co-chairs. Representatives from the seven neighborhoods also were recognized.

Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup and council members Nina Trasoff, of Ward 6, and Karen Ulich, of Ward 3, presented the awards. Wards 6 and 3 are located in the campus area.

For neighbors who've had issues with students' trash or noise levels, the annual spring cleanup project allows them to see their young neighbors in a new way, Evans said.

"This was an amazing experience for me," said crew leader McManaman, a recent UA graduate. "We got to see the connection between the neighborhood members and the students because the neighbors came out to help us clean. I think it's important that the students give back to the neighborhood they live in to help unify the community."

Volunteers – which included UA students, employees, University Medical Center staff and neighborhood residents – cleaned up public areas in the neighborhoods and worked in one to three private yards in each. They focused specifically on homes of elderly neighbors unable to do yard work themselves, Evans said.

Volunteers also distributed 5,000 "Be a Good Neighbor" door hangers to area homes, listing information including UA and Tucson neighborhood resources and warnings about underage drinking and red tags, which are police citations issued to residents for violations such as excessive noise.

Student leaders for next year's cleanup project have already been selected, and planning for the 2010 event will begin in the fall.