Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
There have been resounding accolades in the Harrisburg community for PennLive’s discussion series on Harrisburg’s downtown development, but there is one criticism we took to heart - -too few young voices. We heard you, and we’re about to address that. PennLive’s “Harrisburg Downtown Development Roundtables” goes back to Harrisburg University (HU) Tuesday for its next forum, and the voices will be decidedly young and incredibly smart. The forum with Harrisburg University students is being sponsored by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities and will be live streamed to PennLive’s social media platforms at 1:30 p.m. Speakers will include HU students who regularly navigate their way through Harrisburg’s downtown. They have to figure out where to shop, find the cheapest and best places to eat, and deal with the transportation and parking nightmare – issues we’ve address in previous discussions. They are all super important to young people who have to watch every dime but want to enjoy urban life. To put it bluntly, it’s hard doing both these days in Harrisburg or anywhere else in the world. Chris Jones, who grew up in Lititz, but has spent the past three years living in the Residencies on Market Street, will tell us how he manages to work and study in Harrisburg. A student advisor at HU, Jones has a lot to share about the difficulty of grocery shopping, the lack of drug stores downtown, and the overall issue of what to do on a Saturday night. It’s the same for Rhys Argust, a freshman forensic biology major at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, who is from Philadelphia. Before enrolling at HU, Argust took dual-enrollment classes at Bucks County Community College during her senior year of high school. Teacher Angela Britcher says Argust is committed to doing her part to make a better world, starting now in Harrisburg. Speakers also will include Jasmine McAliley, a senior at Harrisburg University who majors in Esports Management, Performance, and Production. She is a frequent volunteer for both the program and the Harrisburg University Storm, helping with school-hosted esports events (Harrisburg University Esports Invitational and Pennsylvania Cup) and serving as the main graphic designer for the Harrisburg University Storm. McAliley is a real go-getter, running her own esports organization and tournaments. She provides commentary for events, creates promotional graphics and hosts her own podcast on Sundays. She is the only Black woman in the Esports major program and has played for the Harrisburg University Storm. And Scott Stephens Jr. is a fourth-year HU student from Philadelphia, majoring in Interactive Media. Stephens is a student ambassador, graduate program manager, and security consultant. He has been struck by what he sees as decay in downtown Harrisburg and a decline in the number of both residents and visitors to the city. To be clear, Stephens and the other students are not joining PennLive’s roundtable series to just complain. They have ideas on what to do to revive the city and make it a sizzling place for young adults. Government, business and community leaders would do well to hear what these young people have to say and take note. The city will need to attract these kinds of young adults if it has any chance of stimulating economic development downtown or anywhere in the city. Among the questions the students will address are: What do you consider the top three things impacting the city’s economic development? What specifically do you think the city needs to attract more young adults to live in the City of Harrisburg? When you graduate, are you contemplating taking up residency in the city? What advice would you give to city officials and to community leaders on how to make the city more attractive to young professionals? If you have questions to ask these young adults, send them to letters@pennlive.com. We’ll try to discuss as many as possible during the one-hour roundtable with students at Harrisburg University. Joyce M. Davis is PennLive’s Outreach & Opinion Editor. Follow her on Facebook, Bluesky @joycemdavis.bsky.social, and on Twitter @byjoycedavis.
