Boston officials paid a visit to Boston University’s Charles River Campus Monday to encourage students to take advantage of services offered by the City Hall To Go truck.
The truck, part of an initiative created by Boston Mayor Martin Walsh in an effort to bring select city services directly to constituents, was parked at the George Sherman Union plaza for its first ever visit to a college campus.
The large red and blue vehicle, inspired by food trucks and bearing the logo “Convenience, Served Fresh Daily,” featured a whiteboard that showcased responses and suggestions regarding different aspects of Boston. Students were asked to write on Post-it notes for city officials to later read and review.
Program Director Ben Vainer said the truck’s appearance on campus kicked off the City Hall To Go 2.0 initiative, which will focus on students attending colleges in Boston.
“We want to work with students in Boston,” he said.
City Hall To Go 2.0 will build upon the core city services originally offered by the truck by adding interactive techniques to catch students’ attention and show them what the Mayor’s Office can do for them, Vainer said.
“It’s about how can we take different engagement strategies that aren’t necessarily traditionally done by government and use them and bring them out into the neighborhood to engage everybody,” he said.
The Post-its were designed to illustrate to students the connection between their everyday lives and the decisions made by the local government, Vainer said.
“The idea is first they talk about something they do in Boston that they don’t necessarily realize the government has any interaction with,” he said. “After they are thinking a little bit different about how they interact with the city, we get their feedback.”
Allston Brighton Liaison Amy Mahler, from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, said students responded positively to City Hall To Go’s campus debut.
“The amount of people that have given us their thoughts today has been really cool,” Mahler said. “… It’s early in the school year, and getting to people to start thinking about the city is one of the most powerful things we can do as government.”
Ryan Singh, a junior in BU’s College of Arts and Sciences, said he appreciates the Mayor’s Office’s use of City Hall To Go as a way to increase outreach within student communities.
“This reminds people that there is so much more to the city than just the college,” Singh said. “We can always contribute to making the city a better place because you have the power to vote and [voice] your opinion.”
School of Education freshman Colleen Sam said she felt a greater sense of value within the Boston community after attending the event.
“It makes me feel important, I like walking outside into the city of Boston with either my friends or by myself and feeling safe, I feel like I’m part of the community,” she said.
Aneena Patel, a junior in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said City Hall To Go’s visit to BU’s campus encouraged her sense of civic engagement.
“I definitely am thinking about looking more into the upcoming elections,” Patel said. “Maybe I’ll vote and become more involved. It’s great because so many people in Boston are college students, and I don’t think we realize the voice we have.”
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