In a Sept. 11 editorial entitled “Keep Riverside in mind,” the Editorial Board stated, “At best, students ignore the large community next door; at worst, they hurl cheap, sneering nicknames.” While we agree with your later sentiment that “Riverside Plaza’s legacy and ties to the University could be celebrated, not shrugged off,” we disagree that students ignore the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

The Cedar-Humphrey Action for Neighborhood Collaborative Engagement, or CHANCE, is a student-led program operated through the University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrative Leadership. It exists to strengthen the interdependent relationship between Cedar-Riverside residents and business owners and the University. Since its inception in 2006, CHANCE has developed strong relationships with the University’s Cedar-Riverside neighbors and works in a variety of ways to encourage student involvement in the neighborhood, including  after-school tutoring and planning neighborhood events. CHANCE members also sponsor an East African Neighbors series, participate in Conversation Circles, volunteer in Cedar-Riverside, host monthly meetings in the neighborhood, lead tours of the West Bank and support the neighborhood’s businesses through the Neighborhood Business Fellows program.

We invite all students to be involved with CHANCE. Cedar-Riverside is a vibrant and exciting neighborhood, and as University students, we are part of it