Letter to the Editor: 2/27/13

To the editor,

I wanted to briefly comment on the editorial you published last Wednesday regarding Downtown development. I was pleased with its summary of previous development strategies (notably Mayor Murphy’s attempt to create a retail district) and its description of the current growth of residential development in Downtown. However, your opinion staff noted, in line with conventional wisdom, that the Downtown entertainment options are outside the price range for students. This is true with many of downtown Pittsburgh’s amenities, but not with all of them. Furthermore, there is a real effort by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to alter both the perception and reality in order to draw more students.

Student Government Board, as well as the broader Pittsburgh Student Government Council, made up of the student body leaders from universities across the city, recently met with a representative of the Downtown Partnership to discuss this very issue. They are eager for ideas on how to improve this perception and are eager to share those Downtown destinations that are within the price range of students; many options are no more expensive than a typical meal at the popular Forbes and Murray avenues intersection.

In short, I am glad to see these issues being discussed. PSGC is working with the Downtown Partnership to create exactly what the article notes as lacking: a clear plan for increased student integration. We are always looking for feedback and insight into how this can be possible.

Robert Beecher

Student Government Board Governmental Relations Committee Chairman

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences