Robert Barker/University Photography

Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi hands out ice cream during the BEAR Walk Sept. 1.

Robert Barker/University Photography

Cornell Police Chief Kathy Zoner discusses the "Partying Without the Police" initiative with Collegetown residents.

Robert Barker/University Photography

Members of the Cornell Marching Band play on College Avenue during the BEAR Walk.

Collegetown residents, Cornell community members and representatives from Ithaca city departments and agencies gathered at a vibrant, carnival-like setting in the 400 block of College Avenue Sept. 1 for the second annual BEAR (Be Engaged and Responsible) Walk.

The event featured a resource fair, where information ranging from crime prevention to community gardens was exchanged over snow cones, ice cream and musical performances.

Cornell Police Chief Kathy Zoner described the event as an opportunity to “create a positive environment where police are seen as part of the community resources.” Officers and a group of Cornell students from the neighborhood handed out fliers with such titles as “Seven Simple Steps to Become a Better Neighbor” and “Partying Without the Police.”

The overarching goal of many of the agencies involved was proactive prevention. As Lt. Tom Basher of the Ithaca Fire Department explained, “We want to meet people ahead of time, before they’re having the worst day of their life.” Similar sentiments were echoed by Frank Cantone of the Cornell Office of Environmental Health and Safety. “We’re here to raise awareness and preparedness,” he said as a colleague invited fair-goers to play an original campus safety-themed board game.

Local resident and Ithaca College student, Olivia, commented that the BEAR Walk was her first impression of the Cornell community, and that she found it to be “a tightly knit band of students. Everyone wants to come out for the same objective.”

In her remarks, Cornell President Elizabeth Garrett invited the crowd to consider the words of author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ’44: “The most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” She continued, “Whether you live here for a few months or much longer, Collegetown is your community, and your actions are important to the community.”

As a former Collegetown resident and city councilman representing Collegetown, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 acknowledged that the “relationship between you, the college students who live in our city, and those of us who live here year round is not an easy one. … We’re a little like the Odd Couple,” Myrick joked. “One of you is messy, one of you is tidy … one of you stays up late, the other goes to bed early … one of you makes really old movie references, the other of you does not understand those references. ... Like any relationship worth having it takes work. It may not be easy but it is worth it.”

Myrick recalled the historically mutually beneficial relationship between the city of Ithaca and Cornell University. “One hundred years ago, when these streets were not paved … it was students who advocated at City Hall to pave the streets and build sidewalks. Eighty years ago it was Cornell students that were rallying for women’s suffrage. Forty and 50 years ago it was Cornell students that were rallying for civil rights while Ithaca City Hall was struggling to catch up.”

Student Assembly President Juliana Batista ’16 advocated a “perspective shift” among current undergraduate students. “We can’t assume that doing the bare minimum is enough. … We should think of Collegetown as an extension of our campus and an extension of our home,” said Batista, adding that students should offer the same “talents and vibrancy that we devote to Cornell” to the Collegetown neighborhood.

Justin Pascoe ’17 is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.