Having just read Jake Henzel’s column in the O’Collegian about how Stillwater does not compare to Oklahoma City or Tulsa in entertainment venues for students, and having heard the same “Stillwater has nothing to do” complaints for several years I just had to take the time to stick up for Stillwater.
Because students choose to come to Stillwater, I am making the assumption that at some time during their application process, they take the time to research something about the town where they are going to spend four years of their lives.
During that research, they would have found that Stillwater is a moderate-sized town about 60 or 70 miles from two large metropolitan areas.
We do not have large malls or “major centers of entertainment” because our population size would not financially support it.
They do not build malls so that young people have a place to hang out at; they build them so that large numbers of people come to them and spend a lot of money, usually at high end stores.
I can drive an hour to either Tulsa or OKC and shop at a variety of malls. I can then return home leaving behind me the traffic, noise, congestion and crime.
I live in Stillwater because I do not want to live in OKC, Dallas, Tulsa or any other large city that I have had the pleasure of experiencing.
In the past, we have had several arcades in town; they went broke. In this age of XBox and PlayStations, people, as a rule, do not go into arcades and spend large amounts of money playing games they can play at home.
The reason the Starlight Lounge games are outdated and broken down is because they never generated the revenue to replace them. Private businesses do not stay in business out of good will, they have to make money, and the same goes for eateries.
In a market-driven society, the taste and spending habits of residents support Stillwater eateries.
Over the years, I have seen dozens of good eating establishments go out of business for lack of customers.
As for things to do? Here is a short list: running or biking the miles of single track that runs around Lake McMurtry and Boomer Lake, building 6-foot sand castles on the Cimarron River.
Fishing in numerous area lakes, playing cards with friends at the Aspen or Third Place, gun shooting at the Stillwater Gun Club. Walking any street in the city without being worried about a drive-by shooting, taking in any of the art, theatre or music OSU sponsors or local productions.
Taking in a baseball game at OSU or watching any of the league games going on in town, gathering with friends for cookouts and playing music on the lawn or city park, Frisbee golf, playing golf, any and all of which can be found within a 30-minute drive from the city center.
Granted, some of these events cost some money, but what do you do in the mall? Yes, it is true Stillwater does not compare to OKC or Tulsa.
I for one am glad it does not.
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