For sale signs can be seen all over the streets of Baltimore as homeowners struggle to sell their houses. Photo by Autumn Rose.

Real Estate sales went up in Baltimore last month, but many people trying to sell their homes are still frustrated.

>>Click here to watch a video and hear a story about the challenging real estate market sellers are currently facing.

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What is this page about?

This page was created as a project for my MCOM 258 class at Towson University. For this class we had to create a blog focusing on one “beat.” I chose to focus on things for Towson University students to do in Towson and Baltimore. This page is a culmination of the reporting I have done for my beat throughout the semester.

Why is Baltimore called “Charm City?”

Baltimore was given the nickname “Charm City” in the 1970s when the Baltimore Promotion Council launched a campaign to better the city’s image.

How far away is Baltimore from Towson?

Baltimore is only about 15 minutes away from Towson, 30 minutes at the most if there is a lot of traffic.

How can I get to Baltimore from Towson?

It is very easy to reach Baltimore by car via I-83.

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The only downside to driving into Baltimore is that you have to pay for parking. Parking spots on the road are very hard to come across and parking in a garage can set you back at least $15 for only a couple of hours. If you’re a college student at any of the Baltimore area colleges the best way to get to Baltimore is by using the Baltimore Collegetown Shuttle. You can also take the Light Rail into Baltimore.

How can I find out about things to do in Towson?

The best way to find out about things to do around campus in Towson is to look in The Towerlight, Towson’s student-run newspaper. You can also check out the Campus Activities Board website to find upcoming events on campus. Most events on campus are free or cost under $10.

If you’re looking for things to do off campus check out American Towns and Topix.

How can I find out about things to do in Baltimore?

The Baltimore Collegetown Shuttle’s website is a great resource for student-friendly activities around Baltimore. You can look in the Baltimore Sun, American Towns and Topix for entertainment and events around the city.

FAQ |Map |Nightlife |Suitcase School |Renn Fest |Collegetown |Christmas

Sophomore Pam Manstof wakes up early on the weekends, catches the on-campus shuttle from the University Village to Cook Library and studies biology and anatomy for the first few hours of her day.

There are only 3 other students on the bus with her in the morning. She walks by only a few people on her way from the bus stop to the library. She stops by the Starbucks in the library and gets her usual grande Peppermint White Mocha before migrating to the deserted fourth floor and sitting in her favorite spot.

Manstof is practically alone on a campus that belongs to over 21,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the second-largest public university in Maryland, according to the University website.

It’s not winter break, it’s not summertime and no one ordered any type of evacuation. It’s just the weekend at Towson University, a notorious “suitcase school,” a college where most the students leave for the weekend.

“Campus is so crowded and thriving with students during the week. On a weekday it’s hard to find a good spot in the library, or a table to eat in the Susquehanna.” Manstof said. “But on the weekends it’s a whole different story.”

Junior Jake Testo, a transfer student new to Towson this year, says he has gone home half of the weekends that he has been here.

Towson University Junior Jake Testo packs a bag to go home for the weekend. Towson has the repuation of being a "suitcase school." Photo by Autumn Rose.

“My girlfriend goes to Virginia Tech, so I go visit her a lot. And home is only a 45 minute drive away, so it’s easy to just go home for the weekend.” Testo said. “When I first got here I really struggled to find things to do here during the weekend.”

But Towson’s reputation as a “suitcase school” isn’t keeping Manstof or Testo from branching out and finding things to do in the area. Manstof and other Towson students are trying to change the way people think about Towson.

“There really is a lot to do around Towson. I love going window shopping at places like Ten Car Pile Up on York Road and eating at local restaurants like Pasta Mista.” Manstof said. “And Baltimore is so close by. Recently I’ve been going down to the Inner Harbor a lot and shopping at Urban Outfitters, my favorite store.”

Testo is also trying to branch out off campus. He doesn’t go to many on-campus events because he says he never sees or hears about anything fun going on, but he does try to get out in Towson, despite that fact that he’s not 21 yet.

“All the people that do stay here on weekends are 21 and they go out to bars every night,” Testo said. “I’m not 21, so I can’t go out, but I’ve been trying to meet people in other ways. A couple months ago I started going to Krav Maga [the self-defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces] classes in Owings Mills and I’ve met a lot of cool people there.”

Testo also plans on venturing into Baltimore more next semester, now that he’s more comfortable in Towson.

Manstof believes that as Towson continues to grow its reputation as a “suitcase school” will start to diminish and she is going to try her best to make that happen.

A Monumental Occasion: The annual lighting of Baltimore’s Washington Monument will take place on Thursday, Dec. 3. The festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. and the official ceremony will begin at 7 p.m.

Baltimore County’s annual Christmas tree lighting: Baltimore county’s annual tree lighting took place on Dec. 1 at Olympian Park.

The Fire Museum of Maryland’s Holiday Train Garden: The Fire Museum of Maryland, the third largest fire museum in the world, hosts its annual holiday train garden.

Miracle on 34th Street in Hampden: Every year one block in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore goes all-out with Christmas lights and decorations.

If you’re traveling during this holiday season try to check out one of these tree lighting ceremonies in other cities around the country.

Happy Holidays!

FAQ |Map |Nightlife |Suitcase School |Renn Fest |Collegetown |Christmas

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Towson and Baltimore offer a thriving nightlife for students and residents to take advantage of. Michelle Herndon, a senior at Towson University, works part time so that she can go out and experience the nightlife with her friends.

Watch and listen to the story here>>

Photos by Autumn Rose

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Towson University’s Campus Activities Board uses student fees built into your tuition to bring you free activities and trips every month. Listen to this story about Saturday’s free buss trip to the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Read more…

Towson students get on the Baltimore Collegetown shuttle. The free shuttle runs every day of the week during the academic year. Photo by Autumn Rose

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Two years ago Andrea Hopkins felt trapped and confined in her triple suite in the Glen Towers.

“When I was a freshman, new to Towson, I felt trapped and alone,” Hopkins said. “I was stuck in my tiny dorm room with two girls I had never met and really no way to get off campus and experience Towson and Baltimore.”

Hopkins, like many other freshman and transfer students at Towson, lived on campus with roommates she had never met before. She had to make new friends, learn to balance school and a social life, and deal with homesickness.

She couldn’t just pick up and go to Wal Mart or Target whenever she wanted to like she used to at home. She couldn’t go to Panera Bread to eat a warm, comforting bowl of her favorite broccoli and cheese soup. She couldn’t get into Baltimore to explore the Charm City that she had known as a child and had been so eager to rediscover as a young adult.

Hopkins, like the majority of freshman and sophomores living on campus, didn’t have a car. She was stuck on campus with no way out, until one day she discovered the Baltimore Collegetown shuttle.

The Baltimore Collegetown Network is comprised of the area’s 16 local colleges and universities and serves more than 120,000 college students. The network’s main feature offered to Baltimore’s college students is the Baltimore Collegetown Shuttle, a free shuttle that runs from Goucher College to the Inner Harbor and stops several places in-between.

Riding the shuttle is simple—all you need to do is flash your Towson Onecard and you can hop on for free.

All students, staff and faculty with a valid school identification card from any one of the 16 participating colleges, including Towson University, can ride at no cost. The network, hoping to attract more riders, even allows riders this year to bring up to two guests on the shuttle, free of charge.

According to their website, the Baltimore Collegetown Network works to change perceptions of the city as a college town through cultural offerings and improved transportation services. Ankur Ponda, senior program coordinator of the Baltimore Collegetown Network, said that the shuttle got started over 10 years ago.

“The Collegetown Shuttle got started…when Collegetown received a grant from the Teagle Foundation to do a study to find what held Baltimore back from being perceived as a college town,” Ponda said. “The first concern was safety, and the second transportation.  It was then when colleges decided to pool their resources together and start this shuttle service.”

So far the shuttle has been a huge success, carrying over 72,000 riders around Baltimore each year.

Junior occupational therapy major Shannon Gathman uses the shuttle about three times a month to get to the Inner Harbor, Loyola University, John Hopkins University and the Towson Town Center.

“It is a great way to get to places without having to worry about who will drive, or who will be the designated driver,” Gathman said.

Gathman said that she has always been able to get on the shuttle without any problems, but that it is sometimes late and it is very crowded on weekends.

Senior art history major Taryn Williams saw firsthand how crowded the shuttle can get. The first time Williams tried to use the shuttle, it was full and she couldn’t get on. The next bus didn’t come until an hour and a half later, so Williams was left to drive into Baltimore and pay to park in a garage.

Taryn Williams checks the Collegetown shuttle schedule. Williams was unable to get on the shuttle because it was too crowded. Photo by Autumn Rose

“I was really looking forward to taking it to the Inner Harbor,” Williams said. “I was let down by how crowded it was, so crowded that I wasn’t able to get on.”

Williams, however, remains optimistic.

“I would try to take it again,” she said. “I think it’s an awesome service that should be utilized by more students. Plus, it’s free.”

The shuttle runs every day of the week during the academic year.

“The shuttle doesn’t run year round, it’s strictly for the academic year,” Ponda said. “Honestly, it would be great to have it running around the year, but there isn’t enough a demand for it or financial resources to run it throughout the year.”

Andrea Hopkins, now a junior nursing major, is glad that she discovered the Collegetown Shuttle as a freshman, and hopes that more students will take advantage of its services.

“The shuttle really saved me from dying of boredom as a freshman,” Hopkins said. “If you are a freshman or sophomore and you don’t have a car, you don’t have to feel trapped. Take advantage of free services like the Collegetown shuttle. Get out and explore the city.”

IF you watch HBO’s police drama “The Wire,” you might think that Baltimore is filled with drug dealers and crime ringleaders. But in truth, the city has attracted a different breed of misfits: artists. Lured by cheap rents and warehouse spaces, artists and photographers have flocked there to claim the city as their own. Once rough neighborhoods like Hampden and Highlandtown have been taken over in recent years by studios, galleries and performance spaces. Crab joints and sports bars now share the cobblestone streets with fancy cafes and tapas restaurants. But against this backdrop, there are still the beehive hairdos and wacky museums that give so-called Charm City its nickname.

The article suggests visiting several placing in Baltimore, including the Jones Falls Trail, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Atomic Books, and Brewer’s Art. Kurlantzick aslo suggests a drive to historic Ellicott City to check out it’s unique antiques.

I think that this article is very comprehensive and full of great suggestions for those new to Baltimore. I haven’t even been to all of the places listed in the article, but I look forward to visting them! The writer even went as far as to talk about how to get to Baltimore and where to stay in the city. The only thing that I would add is a section about things to do with children. The article breifly mentions the Inner Harbor and the Aquarium, but I would have talked about the Maryland Science Center, which offers a multitude of fun activities for kids.

Overall this was an excellent article. I definitely reccommend reading it if you are looking to explore Charm City!