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Organization aims to make Worcester’s student market more visible
A new citywide student group was recently created by a team of local collegians. Worcester Intercollegiate Government (WIG) is an organization representing students from Worcester’s nine colleges and universities. The group’s goal is to provide a sounding board for private and public sector organizations seeking to tap into Worcester’s large student market.
“With 30,000 students and a permanent population of nearly 176,000 residents, Worcester rivals places like Boston and Cambridge as a college town,” says Patrick Murray ’07, who serves as WIG’s chair.
“The city, through the UniverCity Partnership, has stressed economic development as a top priority—we feel that Worcester’s college students are a critical component to that development,” says Murray. “Making student leaders available to businesses, developers and municipal officials allows for the necessary communication that will help Worcester succeed.”
“Students are interested in being a part of the Worcester community,” he continues, “and this provides them with an outlet.”
According to Murray, WIG was developed to serve the Worcester community, individual colleges and student governments. Its principal goals include: Promoting economic development in the downtown area; formation of a student “think tank”; serving in a student advisory capacity on municipal policy issues; and increasing focus and participation in the Colleges of Worcester Consortium and intercollegiate activities.
The establishment of WIG was the major recommendation of a white paper developed last spring by Murray and another Holy Cross student, Nicholas Buonome ’06, who assessed past strategies for capitalizing on Worcester’s position as a college town. The students convened a committee of representatives from Worcester’s colleges and universities to identify the city’s strengths and shortcomings when it comes to attracting the student market.
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