Albion College leaves the light on for you

“We only have one rule: you have to keep your porch light on.” In the Harrington neighborhood in Albion, Michigan, prospective residents are getting a hell of a deal. Albion College is renovating dilapidated homes and selling them to staff and faculty at half price, explains College President Mauri Ditzler. The only stipulation is the porch light. It’s one part of the college’s extensive plan to help revive the former steel town – and get a few lights back on in a struggling neighborhood next to campus.It seems like a fitting mantra for a town that has been working hard to keep the lights on for decades, after losing one-third of their population when thousands of steel jobs disappeared – shrinking from about 12,500 people in 1960 to around 8,500 today. Residents grappled with declining job prospects, the city struggled to maintain infrastructure and services (with a dwindling tax base), Albion College was facing declining enrollment, and construction had all but stopped.