The Campus is always full of flyers, ads and promotion people, all asking students to get involved, be a part of something. Yet one im- portant and extensive community growth and improvement project has gone largely unnoticed on campus. The work of the Fair- mount/Indigo Line Collaborative and Coali- tion (F.I.L.C.C), made up of four Community Development Corporations (CDC’s) and vari- ous community advocacy groups, the FTA and MBTA, has acquired funding for four new sta- tion stops along the Fairmount/Indigo line. By employing strategies such as Transit Ori- ented Development and working very closely with community leaders the F.I.L.C.C has vastly improved the areas surrounding the new stops. They have been able to replace fore- closed homes with affordable housing and job opportunities. The continued success of the project hinges on two things, community involvement and education. “A Green Solution To Community Problems”, an event presented by the Fair- mount/Indigo Student Initiative on Wednes- day October 27th, highlighted the importance of student involvement. “The people of the community have to push for change,” said Professor Tony Van Der Meer, opened his speech with a forceful mes- sage. “If you think things are bad now sit back and watch how bad it gets”. Every speaker of the day stressed on the same point. In general, the message of the event was the entire community -from kids to parents to students- have to work collectively for change. UMass Boston and the surrounding neigh- borhood the campus will be positively affect- ed by the expansion of the Fairmount/Indigo. The new stops provided rapid transit and more affordable access to UMass Boston cam- pus. It also uses green energy, which benefits everyone. Beyond that the surrounding areas are vastly improved by the new stops. Afford- able housing and the promise of jobs will lead to safer streets and safer schools, which means more children will have a chance at a college education. Financially these improvements lead to higher property values and greater rev- enue and a healthier state in general. Massive waves of improvement can be generated if the members of the community most directly af- fected work to make the change. Students in attendance seemed floored by the projects efforts. An impressive amount of money has been raised a slide show presenta- tion illustrated the work that has already been accomplished. Before and after photos of the project showed completely renewed streets and homes. The speakers emphasized on the community outreach and understanding. Jeanne Dubois, Executive Director of the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, talked about respecting community wishes. “We got neighborhood groups together and basically asked them what they wanted, we didn’t just contract out the land to developers and let them do whatever they wanted.” By listening to the community they gave the people of the neighborhood control and power to better their environment.

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Dr. Donna Haig Friedman, director of the Center for Social Policy John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies and Pamela and Latoya Bush from the Four Corners Action Coalition.