The More Things Change.....
The Alumni
One Arkansas State Alumni from the 1990s that I interviewed said that Arkansas State University used to be known as “briefcase college” meaning that most people chose not to stay in Jonesboro during the weekend or they didn’t live in Jonesboro at all and commuted to college. I decided to base this project around the question if Jonesboro could still be considered a "briefcase college" and if not what has changed? Frequent answers that proves the “brief case college” theory right has many chose to not spend their free time in Jonesboro and would go to Memphis, St Louis, and even has far away as Fayetteville. Out of the Alumni surveyed 35% said they chose to go home on the weekends. A lot of the answers by the Alumni regarding the places they went show the passage of time. For instance many people cited Jubilation and the Electric Cowboy, both clubs, has a frequent hangout spot. Another popular hangout spot was the now defunct Indian Mall However to the dismay of the Alumni fond memories all three is now closed down. Another frequent answer proves the “brief case college” theory right has many chose to not spend their free time in Jonesboro and would go to Memphis, St Louis, and even has far away as Fayetteville. Another important thing that links college students is their fondness of going out to eat. The Alumni cited Munchies, 501 Steak house, and “any pizza place” has their favorite eateries. Here is a map that highlights the Alumnis favorite places to spend there free time
Current Students
After surveying current Arkansas State students it is clear that Arkansas State can lose the unofficial title of "briefcase college." The wide and varying answers of those surveyed shows the rapid growth of Jonesboro and the business that come with it. While the Alumni kept to themselves and there friends apartments during their free time, current Arkansas State students are scattered all throughout when they have free time. Downtown Jonesboro is immensely popular with current Arkansas State students. Downtown locations frequently cited are Skinny Js, Brickhouse Bar & Grill, and Cregeens. The love that current students have for food is also on display in the surveys, so many restaurants were listed it was to narrow down the most popular. The most frequently cited were Papitos, Jtown's grill, and wide variations of Chinese and pizza places. The biggest difference that can be highlighted between current students and alumni is technology. In this survey many current students reported that they spent there free time just simply watching Netflix or browsing on there phone or the internet. Here is a map that highlights the varying places that current students spend there free time