Campustown revitalization is a tricky subject, and it has been for a long time. Lots of students and patrons of Campustown businesses care about the area’s appearance and having a variety of restaurant and bar options, as well as cultural offerings.

Recently, the Campustown Action Association released a report that identified five goals for making the area look less “tired, run-down and dated” — which it does. If that’s going to change, we have to decide to act on our wants — and then follow through on our decisions — and vote with our wallets and our feet.

Those goals are predicated largely on involving “stakeholders such as Iowa State University, the Government of the Student Body, the city of Ames, Campustown property owners and the South Campus Area Neighborhood.”

While each business or organization with a stake in Campustown’s beauty and offerings should spend its resources to improve it, it is incumbent on the individual members who live and want to participate in Campustown life to improve it.

Even though some kind of coordination of resources or aim is essential — whether it be done by the municipal government, an ad hoc task force of related organizations or an informal coordination by business owners — we cannot deny the power of personality in revitalizing an area. Direction and command by organizations will only go so far. We have to take control of our own destinies rather than merely taking what comes, passively allowing market forces to shape our surroundings.

That may come at an additional cost. In a world where the Internet ensures the possibility of obtaining any new gadget or flashy product we want, easily comparing prices and having it shipped to our doors with unprecedented speed, we have to consider the premium that will — and should — be placed on the kind of interpersonal, community connection that seems to be the object of greatest desire where Campustown is concerned.

In the end, Campustown’s appearance and offerings are a reflection of ourselves, just like any other environment. Businesses eventually respond to what increases or decreases our profit. We need patience and consistency, not an attitude that says, “I won’t be here once these changes happen, so I shouldn’t have to help advance them.”

If the students of Iowa State and the residents and business owners of Ames pursue Campustown revitalization, the area could become part of a diverse, vibrant area for the community. Iowa State already offers many entertainment options, from sporting events to performances at Stephens Auditorium and Fisher Theater to music recitals and shows at the M-Shop. Combined with unique shopping options downtown around Main Street and the eateries and dives of Campustown, Ames as a whole could become an even more appealing place.

It might never compare to Des Moines or the campustowns of larger universities, but it doesn’t need to. Campustown should be right by us and crafted according to our own wants.