Students and townsfolk blend — somewhat

PROVO — Thud.

That's the sound of 55,000 college students descending on Utah Valley as the "BYUVSC" school year gets under way.

Utah Valley State College officially started Wednesday and Brigham Young University begins its new-student orientation today.

For students, that means reunions with old friends, trips to the Cougareat in their newest threads and back-to-school parties.

For local residents, however, it means more traffic, longer lines at local stores and lots of annoyances — like trying to get some sleep while coeds throw a loud back-to-school party next door.

Which begs the question, "Which comes first, the towns or the schools?"

Some say the latter. Some say the former.

"People wouldn't even live here if there wasn't a university," BYU student Ryan McDonald said. "And most of the people that do live here are BYU graduates, so why can't they be sympathetic about something they once experienced? They should be grateful for us because without us they wouldn't have jobs."

While few locals take that position, some residents, like Paul Evans of Provo, recognize that living near a university has some inherent perks and problems.

"We understand the occasional event," Evans said at a recent Provo City Council meeting. "That's part of living near a large university. We're here by choice."

He asked the council to restrict student parking in his neighborhood; and it said yes.

But other valley veterans say BYUVSC students are a nuisance because they're oblivious to to their surroundings.

"I honestly don't think they realize that anyone else inhabits this valley," Orem resident Ty Porter said.

UVSC spokesman Derek Hall said that the college's relationship with its city, Orem, is often strained largely because of the increased traffic that has come with UVSC's fast growth.

But UVSC makes every effort to get public feedback and make subsequent changes, he said.

"Over the years, our relationship (with Orem residents) has been up and down," Hall said. "We try to keep communication open with our neighbors. We try to make sure that they have an access point to talk to our administration."