"Having so many young people means there are lots of young people things to do--clubs in Central Square, lots of cheap restaurants that serve good food," she says. "That really adds a lot to the liveliness of the community."

"Some of my best friends are Harvard students," Davis adds. "I think that's the case for most of us."

Many Harvard alums like Davis fall in love with the city and decide to live in Cambridge after they graduate, whether they were natives or not.

But outside of business transactions, most Cantabrigians have little opportunity to interact with actual Harvard students. CityStep and Phillips Brooks House Association programs like Harvard CHANCE, a tutoring program at local schools, offer some of the only opportunities for Harvard students to meet actual residents. But even community service only goes so far.

"In isolated instances I would interact with Harvard students--when I played Cambridge youth soccer, my coach was from Harvard," Highsmith says. "And there were random conferences I went to in high school, but I generally felt pretty separate."

Nonetheless, as a local resident, "I want to see students volunteering in the community, helping out with schools, with kids and sports," Davis says. "I'm always appreciative when I hear about that happening."

Highsmith agrees that tutoring and coaching programs are valuable ways for students to interact with the community. Students should try to help with "something they're interested in, and something they're good at," he says.