Columbia is already the best. It does not need to be any better." So said Harlem resident Reuben Vargas at the Feb. 15, 2001 Community Board 9 meeting. Vargas was responding to the University's two planned projects: the construction of the school and faculty apartments on 110th Street and the new building for the School of Social Work on 113th Street. What this statement acknowledges is the refusal of the so-called "community" residents of Morningside Heights and its environs to see Columbia University as a community itself, a community that is entitled to growth and development as much as any other.

Typical of residents' response to any construction project in the neighborhood is a resounding and shrill "No." Many complain of the disturbances of a large scale construction projects, such as rodents, noise, and the general sentiment that somehow their lives will be nothing but a series of annoyances if the behemoth that is Columbia is allowed to continue her imperialist crusade to overtake the entire isle of Manhattan. What seems lacking in these discussions is the possibility that these new spaces might add more to the neighborhood than detract from it.

Also typical of residents' responses is the farcical suggestion that everything that Columbia wishes to do must be "contextual." Joyce Hackett, president of the so-called 113th Broadway/Riverside block association, was quoted in the November 21, 2000 issue of the Spectator as saying that her group, "would support a contextual use of the site [the parking lot that could become the site for the Social Work building], such as a residential building."

One must wonder how the parking lot fits into Ms. Hackett's idea of "context," as vehicular traffic from a parking lot is much noisier and much more disturbing than pedestrian traffic. One must also wonder if Ms. Hackett thinks that the mingling of commercial, institutional, and residential space that is typical of Manhattan, a tiny island struggling to contain millions of people, is also out of "context."

The most interesting and perhaps the most absurd of complaints from residents is the insinuation that they somehow woke up one day to find that they shared the neighborhood with one of the world's leading research universities. No doubt Columbia was a quieter place before the campus became residential, and before more students and faculty moved in. But Columbia has been on this site since 1898 and no sense of nostalgia should obscure that simple fact.

Columbia's presence in Morningside Heights does not give it a blank check to do with the neighborhood what it will. The University has a clear responsibility to the members of the community to inform them of its projects and to solicit feedback and discussion. Morningside Heights residents have a responsibility as well, a responsibility to consider carefully and thoroughly the University's plans with an open mind. Columbia has come a long way since the days of Gym Crow and nonexistent communication with her neighbors. Clearly, in including the Community Boards in its discussions, which legally have no authority in the University's plans, Columbia is attempting to strengthen the lines of communication, not to sever them.

Columbia students, especially undergraduates, can confirm how intrinsically physical space is a part of the building of a community; witness how Butler Library became the de facto student center as Lerner was being completed. The students of the School of Social Work, the faculty who will move into the new apartments on 110th Street, and the children who will be educated in the new school, all deserve the same opportunity to build their own communities here. Columbia is not viciously tearing down buildings, though one might think so after listening to local residents.

Rather, Alma Mater is seeking to enrich both her own community, and the community she shares with her neighbors. Unfortunately, these neighbors are unwilling to grant Columbia the same respect and consideration that they so ardently demand. Apparently, some communities are more important than others.