Ben-Gurion, a university afloat in its home city Haaretz October 25, 2007 By Kobi Ben Simhon There are no empty tables at the Little India restaurant on Ringlebaum Street in Be'er Sheva. The afternoon is almost over and a handful of students are sitting on rugs and colorful cushions while proprietor Hanoch Stamker takes two platters to table 6. "I feed around 250 students here every day," says Stamker proudly, as he returns to a huge pan of stir-fried vegetables in orange chili sauce. "My restaurant has been open for a year and a half. My clientele also includes people from communities near Be'er Sheva, such as Lehavim and Meitar, but without the students, I would not be able to stay open." The students at Ben Gurion University of the Negev do not sustain only Little India, but rather the whole city. They are the symbol of the capital of the Negev and the oxygen supply for this socioeconomically depressed city. Be'er Sheva, which aspires to become the bustling metropolis of the South, is suffering from severe environmental neglect and is tottering. Be'er Sheva has its brief moments of glory, and the students account for most of them. For one reason or another, however, they do not remain. "The students here create a social network," says Ido Tadmor, chair of the advocacy department in the Students' Union. "Some parts of the city are almost completely students, mostly near the university. A very special experience has developed here. Life here is very comfortable. There are no sky-high rents like in Tel Aviv. A three-room apartment rents for about $400 a month." "Student life here," continues Tadmor, "is a combination of the continuation of lighthearted mood from the post-army trip and extraordinary involvement in social organizations." Indeed, while strolling through university's impersonal hallways, Tadmor enthusiastically rattles off the various organizations active on campus. He speaks of the Green Movement, which is involved in matters concerning the Ramat Hovav national hazardous waste disposal site; Tzach, which deals with workers' rights; about students who volunteer with at-risk youth and with MASLAN, the Hotline for Victims of Rape, Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence, to mention just a few of the dozens of organizations with active representation on campus. "There are dozens of students in each of these organizations," says Tadmor, "and students volunteer even without being asked, like the help the students gave to the refugees from Sudan." It seems Be'er Sheva's socioeconomic weakness and distance from the center of the country are what actually causes the student community to be so well-formed compared to other campuses. This is especially evident in the night life. Oded Arazi, a third year student, is a disc jockey in the Manga pub, located near the university. "The student parties in Be'er Sheva are something awesome," says Arazi, a smile lighting up his face. "There are wild parties with 1,200 students every week. In Tel Aviv, people are swallowed up by all the pubs, but here, everyone knows everyone else. "Be'er Sheva is a way station for the 22-30 age group, before real life starts, so people here let themselves unwind and go wild. The night life here is almost like in the American movies I've seen - the ones about 18-year-olds at college. You can really see the change between the summer, when the students are on vacation, and the beginning of the fall semester. Without the students, Be'er Sheva is greyer, in the summer it's very slow here." Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt, the rector of Ben Gurion University, concurs with Arazi. Sitting in his spacious office, he describes the loose relationship between the city and the university. The campus, he explains, is what attracts the students and fulfills all their needs. "About 17,000 students attend classes at the university," says Weinblatt, "and at least 14,000 of them live in Be'er Sheva. This is a significant number for the city. A large proportion of Be'er Sheva's 200,000 residents are here thanks to the university. Without the university, Be'er Sheva would be quite small. The students are an important component of the community." Weinblatt stresses the importance of the academic community's contribution to the city, adding that he believes that the students could contribute much more. "The university is an enclave," continues Weinblatt, "and its interaction with the community in Be'er Sheva is not very deep." Weinblatt regrets that whole sections of the city are inhabited only by students, explaining that the disadvantage in this is the character of the students' consumption of culture. "It is most unfortunate that the students have not become culture consumers in the city, but rather culture consumers of the university. They go to movies on campus, but will not go to the mall to see a movie, and do not visit the theater. I feel this is a major missed opportunity, because despite this, the students have fun here, enjoying social experiences that students elsewhere in the country do not have. Many of the students would be happy to stay in Be'er Sheva, but there are not enough jobs here. The problem is that the market forces create the jobs, which is both good and not so good."