What is a Town and Gown Rivalry?
A town and gown rivalry is a situation in which an academic institution has an acrimonious relationship with the town which surrounds it. Town and gown rivalries have existed ever since formal institutions of higher education were formed, and they continue to be a very serious issue in some communities. Many universities and college towns have recognized that relations between academics and ordinary citizens are sometimes strained, and have worked together to reduce the amount of town and gown rivalry in their communities. The term “town and gown” dates to the 1800s. In England and many parts of Europe, college students wore distinctive gowns during their periods of study by tradition, making them very visible figures in the towns they lived in. People began to use “gown” as shorthand to refer to college students and academia by extension, and “town and gown” was not far behind. The gown itself was often a source of bitterness, since academic gowns were clearly impractical for manual l
