"I've found that you can't afford to hold stereotypes with anyone. Everyone is different," says Acting Captain Charles Schwab, a 24-year veteran of the Harvard University Police Department.

Looks can be deceiving, he says: One of the most notorious thieves he knew stole with impunity from dorms, never questioned because he wore a three-piece suit. By contrast, a Harvard psychology professor he knows has long hair, a beard and a leather jacket, and drives a motorcycle around.

For many residents, however, there is no opportunity to challenge their views about students. And so the two groups continue their separate lives.

"I think Harvard students tend to look at Cambridge like it's there for them, or more specifically, like Harvard Square is theirs…but that's not the case," said Christiaan H. Highsmith '03, who grew up in Cambridge and graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. "When I was in high school I'd come hang out in Harvard Square, but I was pretty oblivious to Harvard students. Harvard Square was my Cambridge too."

Harvard is one of three colleges in Cambridge, but Davis says the city isn't defined by students.

"We're not a college town," she says. "We have a lot of colleges and a lot of college students, but I wouldn't say we're a college town. I would define a college town as one where there are as many or more students as there are permanent residents."

Cambridge houses 25,000 college students, which puts a lot of pressure on living space, Davis says. But that number is only about a quarter of the total population.

Nonetheless, she says, students do contribute to the city's culture.