Living close, looking from afar

Look for the fingerprints to either side of a dedication plate bearing a name. Search for the footprints in the grass that frames a cement walkway.

Members of the John-Witherspoon Community and their ancestors have left an indelible mark on the University campus. The skilled hands of Italian immigrants mostly from the impoverished town of Pettoranello and Abruzzi crafted the stonework for many of the University's buildings, while blacks — also once hired as personal employees by University students — labored tirelessly at laying the landscape that would enhance the grand edifices.

But the John-Witherspoon residents of today — wearing neither construction pants nor gardening boots — have mixed feelings walking through FitzRandolph Gate and onto the campus that they or generations before them helped create.

"You used to be able to walk on the campus and drive your car on the campus, but now I'm afraid to go on the campus," said Albert Hinds, 98, who has lived in the John-Witherspoon community for most of his life.

Vandyke Grant — who works in Jimmy's Barber Shop on John Street, grew up in the John-Witherspoon neighborhood and used to work in Tower Club — said he has noticed a drastic change in the University's outlook.

"Back then [when he worked at Tower]," Grant said, "it looked like people were buying books and gaining knowledge. Back then people were friendly."

"Now they think you come from another planet," he said.

When Grant worked at Tower from 1987-1990 as a high school student, he was given a plaque in honor of his work. But now that most of the people he knew on campus have left, he said he no longer feels part of the University community — and in fact alleges that he has become a victim of prejudice.

One night last October when Grant decided to take a ride around campus on his bike, he said a Public Safety officer detained him for a prolonged period of time, questioned him and even asked him for his signature.

"It was really embarrassing," Grant said. "And I said, 'I'm never coming back here.' " And he hasn't.

Public Safety Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser said proctors must tread a fine line between treating those who come onto campus fairly and providing safety for University students.

"That's a shame that someone feels like he is not welcomed on campus," Weiser said, slowly shaking his head.

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"Someone might not have been tactful in it," Weiser said of Grant's alleged mistreatment by Public Safety. But Weiser said he would rather be overly cautious than let even one suspicious person onto campus.

"So maybe we are doing our job by being that deterrent factor," Weiser said.

He added that Public Safety is one of the most racially heterogeneous departments in the University, encouraging dialogue within the staff about ways to deter racial profiling and discrimination.

But rather than feeling hostility toward the University, many John-Witherspoon residents exhibit a kind of nostalgia. They recall the days when the campus was a place where they played and the University's football team played, in part, for them.

"I have so many fond memories of camping at the University," said Hank Pannell, 61, who has lived in the John-Witherspoon neighborhood all of his life. Pannell recalled pitching tents near the pond that used to exist by the train station.

Hinds said he has, in recent years, begun to feel closed off from the University that once beckoned him with its energetic spirit of welcome.

"The University has become more impersonal than it used to be," Hinds said. "Money is the bottom line for everything nowadays."

"As far as the games," said Hinds, who used to be an avid football fan, "I might like to go to more of them, but it's more expensive now."

Hinds recalled his teenage years when the University used to let the townspeople in for free later in the game once the paying crowd had been seated.

He also remembered with fondness the days when there was substantial interaction between University students and members of the John-Witherspoon community.

"Students used to come down to teach Sunday School," Hinds said. "And they'd invite us to dinner. And we'd do that, and now they don't do that."

But administrators at the University, while dismayed to hear that those living north of Nassau Street feel unwelcome, insist that community outreach and economic contributions to the town and its neighborhoods have remained significant and fairly consistent.

"I haven't seen or sensed any change," President Shapiro said of perceptions held by John-Witherspoon community residents about the University. "I walk on campus all times of day and night and see members of the community."

And with regard to community outreach, Shapiro said he has been doing volunteer work with his wife since becoming University president.

Director of Community and State Affairs Pam Hersh noted the inevitable conflict that arises between a tax-exempt institution and members of its surrounding town.

"No matter what you do," Hersh said, "it's never going to be enough. People donate money to us not to give to the Borough of Princeton. They give us money for the educational mission of this institution." But Hersh emphasized that despite the main goal of the University, it continuously offers monetary gifts to the municipality — gifts that reflect its commitment to the welfare of the outside community.

Along with other contributions, the University has committed more than $250,000 to the public library expansion and given more than $1.2 million in cash and land to affordable housing projects in the the Borough and Township.

Hersh also pointed to the vast array of outreach programs the University and its students extend to the John-Witherspoon community. Hersh's office — which did not exist until several years ago — sponsors a free concert for elementary school children in Princeton, as well as events such as "Communiversity" and "Community Volunteer Day."

Hersh also referred to student outreach programs such as the Student Volunteers Council, Community House and the Community Based Learning Initiative. CBLI integrates community interaction with University coursework.

Community House, founded in 1969 by an interracial group of University students to address the needs of the John-Witherspoon community, continues its commitment to residents of Princeton Borough and Township.

"And there is the Princeton Habitat project," Hersh said, "a fabulous example of University faculty, staff, alumni and student effort to reach into the John-Witherspoon community to make a difference." The group's latest project is the refurbishing of a house at 52 Leigh Ave.

But despite outreach efforts and monetary contributions, many John-Witherspoon residents see positive relations with the University as a thing of the past.

"Everything can be improved," Shapiro said. "There's nothing we can do that can't be improved."

And with members of the John-Witherspoon neighborhood still standing more comfortably outside the University's gates than within, both communities must work together to figure out how.