Edit desk: Lehigh doesn’t comprise Bethlehem

As I was driving through campus this week, my friend mentioned how annoying it must be to the residents of Bethlehem to see entitled Lehigh students speeding through the city in their luxury cars. Later, as I drove through campus, I noticed that many of the cars on campus were newer models and high end brands. But as I left campus, there were significantly more older models and significantly less luxury vehicles. I knew that Lehigh and Bethlehem were different, but I had never considered what those differences may be or how they impacted the community.

With a quick web search, I found that the estimated median household income in Bethlehem in 2013 was $46,292, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. In comparison, the cost to attend Lehigh for one year is $58,510. That is $12,218 more than the median household income for the city in which the school is located. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau lists 19.7 percent of the Bethlehem population living below the poverty level. This simple statistic forced me to become much more aware of the divide between Lehigh students and Bethlehem residents. We live in the same city, and yet often we don’t recognize that life outside of campus is a completely different world.

According to the Lehigh at a Glance website, the racial makeup of Lehigh is about 68 percent white, 8 percent Hispanic, 7 percent Asian and 3 percent Black. The population of Bethlehem is 65.4 percent White, 24.4 percent Hispanic, 6.9 percent Black and 2.9 percent Asian, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Although the racial makeup of the two populations is in many ways similar, the difference is enough to cultivate a different culture.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that only 26.5 percent of those over the age of 25 in Bethlehem have a bachelor’s degree or higher. In contrast, every student at Lehigh is attempting to obtain their bachelor’s degree or higher, and U.S. News & World Reports said 73 percent of students at Lehigh obtain that degree in four years.

These statistics provide a brief introduction to the differences in the lives between those living on campus and those outside of campus. The information I discovered shows that Bethlehem is a diverse city, perhaps better categorized as having two populations rather than one. The idea of two separate populations, I think, can be described by the neighborhoods directly off-campus.

Lehigh students often live off-campus senior year. Interspersed with the Lehigh seniors are Bethlehem families. The median resident age in Bethlehem is 37-years-old. The age of students on campus is between 18 and 22, a significantly younger population. While some Lehigh students are walking down East Fifth Street and Hillside Avenue, hoping for a night of drunken debauchery, other residents are trying to put their children to sleep, finish work or simply relax. Before the conversation about cars, I had never thought much about the Bethlehem residents’ opinions of Lehigh students. However, I imagine the loud music, constant sirens and speeding cars are not a particularly peaceful environment to come home to, nor do they endear Bethlehem residents to Lehigh students.

I am sure I am not alone in forgetting that people other than students live on these streets. It is normal in college to get caught up in life on campus and neglect the world outside of school. It is easy to dismiss everything that does not directly impact your life. College students are busy, and sometimes selfish, because right now, our lives revolve around ourselves.

All we can do is remember that we are not the only citizens of Bethlehem, and respect the non-Lehigh population just as much as we respect the Lehigh one.