Delware Arif

This Valentine’s Day has brought some great news to love with an increase of 1.2% in spring enrollment for the SUNY Fredonia campus under the leadership of the current administration. This is indeed very positive news amid the nationwide enrollment crisis, especially for the regional campuses like SUNY Fredonia. SUNY should continue to build momentum on this rising enrollment number. The government, non-government efforts, and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) must support the campus to shine for the sake of local, regional, and statewide economic growth.

The enrollment crisis on college campuses is not something unique, and it has been driven by the demographic cliff in recent history, starting right after the recession in the United States in 2010. The National Center for Education Statistics data shows that male enrollments decreased by 17% and female enrollment decreased by 13% in the last decade in the United States. The situation is much worse in the regional campuses, as flagship universities like the University at Buffalo (UB) got around a 20% increase in student enrollment last fall, and many small regional campuses in New York, such as Wells College, The College of Saint Rose, and Cazenovia College, shut their doors for the students for good.

SUNY Fredonia has a long history of success, and the campus still stands on its proud history and legacy as a center of excellence in education. Specifically, it is known well for its excellent programs in music, theater, business, and communication. I have heard so many great stories about the campus from people I met both in Fredonia and in the Western New York region. Students who have travelled across the state and beyond are proud of the education programs they are in on campus.

SUNY Fredonia has started to celebrate the 200th  anniversary this year, and the campus is proud of notable alumni like Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan and actress Mary McDonnell, famous for the “Dances with Wolves” movie. SUNY has been contributing to the economy of the village of Fredonia as its largest employer and with its nearly 3,000 students. More students on campus means more employment for the local people and more businesses for the village as well as Chautauqua County.

So, the campus needs wholehearted support from local, regional, state, and federal governments to attract students to come to the campus for their education. The village could improve its amenities and make the downtown more vibrant for the college kids. The water has been a problem for the village, and we have received many notices to boil our water since we moved to Fredonia from Alabama in 2024. As the village has a very old water system, it needs to update it with modern and smart technology. The village could work with neighboring villages and towns, for example, Dunkirk, and collaborate in water management. As the campus is not part of the elected government process here, they might not be able to initiate any proposal for water-related issues to the elected representatives. In this scenario, the village leadership should come forward and take the lead to ensure peace of mind for drinking water to the people living in the village, including college kids. One of my friends in Fredonia showed me a graph where the decline of SUNY enrollment started with the first boil water notification in 2010. As a result, the college campus lost almost half of its students from a total enrollment of around 5,000 students in 2010.

You might hear about the “Town and Gown” concept, where a college town could collaborate with the college campus to increase the amenities for the students, faculty, and staff by improving housing facilities and providing a vibrant downtown life, especially to the college kids, many of whom have been living outside their homes for the first time. In the Village of Fredonia, let it begin by ensuring an undisrupted drinking water supply to the campus community. The village leadership could do hundreds of things but let it start with addressing the drinking water issue, a very basic human need. If a single step could help the SUNY to get more students, it might help the village to get more businesses, resulting in more revenue for the village.

SUNY Fredonia has already started to celebrate the 200th anniversary, and the campus is proud of its alumni who are successful in various professions ranging from politics to music. Both the village and SUNY could work together to utilize the influential Freds, including Buffalo Mayor Ryan, to bring the water issue to the attention of local, regional, and national leadership. I strongly believe that the Fredonia residents would love to help the village leadership to improve the amenities and welcome more students to make the village a vibrant and thriving college town just like it used to be before the student enrollment started to decline in 2010.

Dr. Delaware Arif recently moved from Alabama last year and is a Fredonia resident. He can be reached at delawarearif@gmail.com