ForumEditorial: Welcome back, Bearcats

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As classes begin at Northwest Missouri State University this week, our community feels whole again with the buzz of students back in Maryville.

We welcome new and returning students alike back to their home away from home.

Each summer, we get to imagine what our town would be like without college students becoming a part of our community each fall, and by the end, it always feels like a ghost town.

Although for many the return of students means more traffic and perhaps a few minor inconveniences here and there, each August we’re reminded of the vibrancy Northwest’s students imbue in the fabric of Maryville.

Celebrating with welcoming events like the storefront decorating contest themed around the new and returning Bearcats hosted by the Maryville Downtown Improvement Organization last week, we know we’re not the only ones looking forward to the hum that comes along with the thousands of new neighbors.

As they begin another academic year at Northwest, we encourage those of us who live here year-round to go the extra mile whenever we can to help university students feel like the members of our community that they are for the time they’re here.

They are not just an eager workforce and an influx of customers for businesses in need of employees and patrons alike, but are ambitious, forward-thinking, socially responsible citizens who help to shape our own outlooks in ways that would probably only become evident in their absence.

Welcome back to Maryville, Bearcats.