Hey Joe,
My name is Melissa, I'm originally from New York but I'm in my third year at Salisbury University. I'm contacting you because Im starting a new student organization on campus called Students for Safer Community (SSC). Basically I started this group because I've had a lot of money stolen out of my house and I've had many more friends robbed or held up or injured by locals in the past few years, and then recently something happened that pushed me over the edge.
My boyfriend (Stephen) is stationed in Iraq for a year and he came home for his two week leave on December 2nd. I picked him up from the airport and brought him back to Salisbury and later that night he went out to Monkey Barrell with his friends. Around the time that it closes he was standing outside waiting to be picked up when he heard a girl screaming around the side of the building. When he went to check it out someone hit him in the face from behind with some object probably a crowbar or bat and then continued to attack him while he was on the ground. The owner of the bar and bouncers came out and they jumped into a car and drove away. Stephen had bruised ribs, a severly broken nose, had to get 15 stitches in his forehead and eyebrow. They didn't steal his wallet they just attacked him no reason.
SO I took it upon myself to raise hell. I made a speech at the next University Forum that made the president look pretty bad..it basically said that I felt I had been lied to when promised safety at this school, and had I known the level of crime I never would have come here. However the crime is a problem OFF campus not on, so there is only so much she can do. Dr. Dudley-Eschbach put this little councel of the University VP, Dean, and Chief of Police and together we have been meeting with the chief of police to express our concerns because there is a general feeling that exists among students that we are not treated fairly by the community, especially the police. Our university is the economy of this city it would be a depressed area without the school. Although many of us were not raised here, we live here most of the year and consider ourselves citizens with the same rights as everyone else.
On the student group level I will be working to bring awareness to students on how to protect themselves and things they should know and watch out for. I will also be trying to raise their level of political awareness and involvement. I want to work with the community because I know although students are easy targets we are not the only victims. The biggest challenge I think we face is the police. They don't give a shit about us. I was called in to talk to Detective Sargeant Kaiser and I thought it would be about what happened to Stephen but all he did was take a picture of me and interogate me about being underage in the bar (which I was not). All they do is give out noise/alcohol citations while in other places students are being robbed. One time my friend came home from a night out and some locals tried to fight him and his friends. He ran inside to call the police, the operator hung up on him, and his roomate was shot in the stomache. Things like this happen ALL the time to us. It just goes unreported."
Thanks so much,
Melissa
Deal Melissa,
You just reached thousands of people with your message and I know to some local politicians, this means the world to them. SU Students MUST be recognized as well as RESPECTED, not jailed because they were too loud. Granted, there are a lot of problem Students. However, the City wants taxpayers to believe they're are much more bad Students than there are good because they only hear of you when something bad happens.
I hope this message reaches out to the audience you're looking for and changes are made right away. Communication is what is necessary and you're doing a wonderful job by reaching out. Keep me posted. I'd love to know how successful you are and or if your attempts fail. If the people you want to reach out to don't listen, bring it back to me and we'll expose it and those people will become accountable.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
30 comments:
What a bullshit story!!! No One gets respect just because they demand it, it must be earned. When 12 to 20 students walk down the middle of the street at 1 and 2 a.m. laughing and talking loud they are asking for trouble. Poor Melissa sounds innocent, but you know damn well she was in the bar. As for SU's contribution to the community, aside from landlords and beer sales their economy is worthless to the average citizen. If the college wants to move...move. You won't be missed by the locals.
"Melissa":
You said:
"Our university is the economy of this city it would be a depressed area without the school."
If you are an "econ" major, you should switch fields. Sure, SU is a very significant factor, and without it the town would be somewhat smaller. But the area would not be "depressed." In case you haven't noticed, there is a lot more here than SU, including agribusiness and other commerce.
And there's not much chance of SU pulling up stakes now, dearie.
Melissa,You have begun an enormous task. Your first steps are in the right direction.Campus Police Chief,Retired Md. State Police Col.should be able to assist you if he is not afraid of losing his nest egg job.Your contact with the Spd Chief and his staff was meaningless and you will not get any help from them. I suggest to gather your supporters together and visit the Salis. City Counsel and demand positive response. GOOD LUCK
If SU is the economy of the city tell my why every business here continues to thrive during the summer? The arguement that SU drives the local economy is really annoying.Rt.13 retail, PRMC, Perdue,etc., they are the entities that truly add to the economy. Good luck with getting any results from your Tapir loving president--she is a joke and disgrace, her own son a perfect example.
RE: What a bullshit story!!! No One gets respect just because they demand it, it must be earned. When 12 to 20 students walk down the middle of the street at 1 and 2 a.m. laughing and talking loud they are asking for trouble. Poor Melissa sounds innocent, but you know damn well she was in the bar. As for SU's contribution to the community, aside from landlords and beer sales their economy is worthless to the average citizen. If the college wants to move...move. You won't be missed by the locals
This is not about students being out of control, it is about students who are victims, as any non SU Student who are victims of crimes who are vocing their concerns. I share the same concerns; I was mugged at gun point and subsequently offenders were also charged with murder along with armed robbery. I also had my house broken into over spring break my Jr. year. I also was next door to a shooting where an individual walked out of the next door apartment and shot up a car causing the bullets to enter the neighbors house. Thats 3 crimes, two violent with guns, that I was a victim of these crimes in 2 and a half year span!
So please do not strawman or make ad hominem attacks on the students or in this case Melisa on this issue. They are trying to protect themselves and improve their living conditions which are everyone's conditions.
The economic argument is the same which is made and refuted. Both sides imo needs to abstain from that argument as well. This is a matter of community saftey and well being for all.
Safety is a concern for everyone in the community. I hope that Melissa will add an item to her list...preventing driving while drunk. There is a report of a party last week (reportedly students from teh university) where police responded and allowed visibly impaired drivers to get into their cars and drive away. That is unsafe for everyone, inlcuding sober innocent people who may be walking or driving along our streets.
The university doesn't pay taxes on the property they own. The apartments that were developed and celebrated as a public-private partnership pay only a portion of the taxes that would otherwise be due, yet they contribute to the increasing enrollment of the university. No matter where you fall in the debate over what students bring to the local economy, it is clear that there is a mis-match between the services required for protection and public safety for a large influx of people and revenue into the city's general fund to cover the cost.
Meliss said that the SU students are being robbed or held up or injured by locals. I assume that the precious SU students ar not robbing or holding up locals?
Re: "As for SU's contribution to the community, aside from landlords and beer sales their economy is worthless to the average citizen."
Yeah, no college students buy clothes, food, electricity, cable tv and internet, furniture, electronics... How many local businesses offer a college student discount?
If you live within a mile or two of a university, there will be college students, and they're probably going to have parties. Thats the way it is around every university I've ever seen. Common sense?
The only thing the local police care about when it comes to students is arresting the ones that are drinking underage. I grew up in the area and went to SU. I find it appalling how much blame gets put on the students, they become scapegoats for everything. I didn't realize how perfect everyone was that went to a school other than Salisbury.
Crime is a problem in Salisbury, much more so than the students. How many students are committing violent crimes, or any crimes other than underage drinking. The muggings, shootings, graffiti downtown, burglaries (auto, home, and business), not done by SU students. The students are the victims of most of these crimes. They are the easiest targets. It's also easiest for the community to write them off and ignore.
It doesn't effect you personally so who cares, right? They must be lying anyway because I live in a part of the city where crime doesn't happen that often. I don't know anybody that has had their house broken into or been mugged, but I've heard stories of pesky college parties. Listen to yourselves and then check salisburypd.com, census.gov, and casesearch.courts.state.md.us. Bad stuff happens too often in Salisbury, especially for its size.
When crimes are committed against students some of you look the other way and say they must have deserved it. How would you have felt if these things happened to you or your children? You'd be setting up meetings with the police and local government too.
Re: "I assume that the precious SU students ar not robbing or holding up locals?"
Are you kidding? Most of the people doing this probably never even graduated high school. SU is a very good institution, and if they were involved in these type of actions, they wouldn't make it to college. A friend of mine was jumped and had his jaw broken by multiple males in their early twenties. Someone got their license plate number and it turns out they were locals from pocomoke. They have no future, no desire to succeed in their lives, and would never make it in college.
Billy said:
"Someone got their license plate number and it turns out they were locals from pocomoke."
Pocomoke is another town in a different County. Not Local!!!!
I did a little research... Salisbury had .04648 violent crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, assault) per resident in 2006. Baltimore county (where I'm from) is .00719. That means Salisbury has 6.46 times higher violent crime per resident than a county that boarders one of the most dangerous big cities in America.
Something else I find interesting is there is a local group that works "under the radar" in Salisbury to help fix some of its problems. Its mainly comprised of local business owners and upper managers. I was told of this group by the wife of one of its members months ago, but I forget what they're called. One of the main problems they're trying to fix is when students graduate from local high schools and go to colleges elsewhere, (usually across the bay) they don't come back here after graduation. This is also why most of the students at SU leave after graduation, at least once they've decided they want to start a real career. The reason for this is not the college students who have parties. It's the disproportionate crime rates, the lack of decent job opportunities for college graduates, and the overall well being of the entire community. I wouldn't consider Salisbury a "nice" place to live at all, and I certainly would not want to raise my children here. I went to a public high school and we never had any gangs. In my 3 1/2 years there, (I finished early) I never heard of anyone bringing a gun to school, much less a knife. There are no subsidized neighborhoods around there, there's VERY little crime, and if you compare the registered sex offenders list to here, you'd be appalled. I understand where I come from is not as densely populated as here, but put into proportion, Salisbury is a much worse place. Back home, even in the surrounding areas that are as heavily populated as Salisbury, there simply aren't the problems that there are here. If the city of Salisbury ever wants to improve, they need to cut crime drastically, clean up the neighborhoods, and give college graduates a reason to be here. You would be lucky to have more SU graduates stick around. Until then, complain about college students all you want, but realize they're not the real problem in this city.
Re: "Pocomoke is another town in a different County. Not Local!!!!"
Its the same mentality as the people causing these crimes that are from here, thats just the only example I know of that happened to a friend, besides what has happened to Nick Loffer. Beyond that, they are still coming HERE and causing these crimes. By locals from pocomoke, I meant they will probably live there for the rest of their lives because they have no future, no ambitions, and aren't the college students!!!
Melissa forgot to mention that her boyfriend was back behind the building with a case of beer and the attacker appeared from behind the dumpster and sucker punched her boyfriend..... I was there that night.....
I live right near the campus, and I have to agree with the SU students on this one--there is an alarming increase in crime, and students are often the victims. Non-students are also affected, as the predators targetting students will take any opportunity that arises to rob or burglarize. I am as irritated as anyone by loud, drunk, students (probably more so than most because they wake me up and leave beer cans in my yard), but even drunk students do not deserve to be robbed, mugged, and otherwise violated. Someone is going to get killed, it is only a matter of time. We need to dramatically increase police patrols around the campus and up Smith Street in particular. Students also need to be smart--don't walk home alone at 2 am on Smith Street! Watch out for each other! The thugs are traveling in groups of 4-5 guys, often armed. You do not stand a chance even if there are 3-4 of you. You SU haters out there need to acknowledge that the university does an enormous amount of good for the community, too. To the students reading this: you do need to earn respect (one guy pointed that out above), and one way to do this is to respect the community around you (quit puking on my lawn for starters), be nice to your neighbors, especially older people. To the community members reading this: come on by the university and watch a play, go to a lecture, visit the library, or go to a lacrosse game (most events are free). You'll find that the students, faculty, staff, and administration of this university are overwhelmingly good people and are doing some amazing things. Now everyone kiss and make up. The real bad guys are the thugs.
Final Frontier
http://www.city-data.com/city/Salisbury-Maryland.html
Someone should highlight the crime rating our city has vs the natioinal average. National average = 282.2
Salisbury = 1089.8
Even Los Angeles was in the 300's
This is UNACCEPTABLE!!
I have never heard such stupidity from the locals. I was there that night, I know the owners of the bar, and the guy that got hit is a fraternity brother. This was an out-right attack and it was the 2nd attack towards him that night. The first is when he tried to help a very intoxicated local from getting into a fight and the attackers thought he was antagonizing one of “their own”. The attacker's brother/cousin of this crime is currently in jail because he stabbed a bouncer at this bar (most of the attackers are from Salisbury). If the bar banned the locals, calls for to police would drop dramatically. And lets visit why these crimes are happening, one thought is that there are not enough jobs in Salisbury so they resort to other lifestyles.
To the person who said “we survive all summer without students” that is only a 2 ½ month window, which is not long enough to affect a business and its sales. And the reason you don’t see a decline is because of the tourist coming through Salisbury heading to the beach. They make up the decline in business. See how that works.
I go to SU...how come I never see police up by Rose St. and Booth St.? Yea I actually know where those places are...deserted by police for the much more lucrative parties where fines can be issued with minimal resistance.
The City Charter has a clause to deputize people to act as police officers, and I strongly suggest they do this as crime continues to spiral out of control!
It's all a #'s game:
SU is growing while the city population is shrinking! Soon students will out number the full time residents.
Apparently 53% of students in the public schools receive FARM (Free and Reduced Meals)
Lets face it...people shit all over this pathetic town! The only viable jobs are working in the jails.
Wow, I am amazed and ashamed at your responses to this student reaching out to the community. I know for a fact how students are treated in this town. I also know how long time residents are treated. I believe it is the agenda of those in power to pit the students against the permanent residents. If we're always attacking each other, nothing will change. The students and permanent residents need to understand that this Mayor, 3/5 of the City Council, the Chief of Police and SAPOA all want us to attack each other and ignore what they do to us and this town. Quit playing the roles you were assigned, reach across that isle, help these students with their problems, and they just might be willing to help you with yours. There will be an election soon. Wouldn't it be nice this time if the students didn't fall for the lies of SAPOA and actually assisted the permanent residents in getting rid of this corrupt administration and the money bags behind them?
I have lived in Salisbury almost all my life but left for college. More of my friends then you can even believe have been robbed coming back from different things at night...The crime is out of control but the police aren't doing anything about it... Its not necessarily the officers fault as much as the chief and the city of Salisbury. They are more worried about busting college parties. Yes parties do get out of control and loud but neighbors always have to complain... If the neighbors didn't complain the cops wouldn't come. Talk with your neighbors if they are students most of them don't want any problems. We have parties all the time where I live but we always talk with our neighbors and they never have a problem. If the citizens and students worked together the cops would be able to stay out on the streets and crime could be cut down
SPD seems afraid to go in to certain parts of the city and do their jobs. They take the easy life and go after students to keep their numbers up.
SU students make sure you report these incidents to campus police AND to other local authorities.
Just this week in the city's newspaper there was a claim made that crime is down in the city. Not that many people believe that it's so.
Make sure you report to the campus police as well though, have a paper trail. Hate to say it but you need it. Travel in teams and if you have a cell phone have it in hand if you are walking anywhere.
There is no such thing a 100% secure neighborhood here in "Sleepy Hollow" any longer.
You all can beat this horse to death once again and still nothing will come of it.
Melissa, to you I say, if you've started some sort of group take that group to the city council meetings and be heard. Get your complaints on record. Take your complaints to the only 2 council members that have the backbone to stand up for the citizens of this city. I feel for you all but if you don't get out and make a stand against these injustices they'll just continue and grow.
Melissa, I applaud you in your efforts and I wish you great success. As you have seen from the responses people are fed up on both sides. I was raised in Salisbury a few blocks from the campus, went to SSC for a bit, and then went away to finish school and moved back and later became a police officer for SPD for a couple of years. First off growing up near the campus you could tell when the college students were coming back to town, our porch furniture, plants, signs, and bikes would disappear over night. (Normally after a local house would have a college party). If they were not stolen, we would find them broken, down the street in someone’s yard. Then all the trash, bottles, cans, fast food bags that were thrown in your yard that you spent keeping nice. Year after year after year complaints were made to the college about the problem, if you caught the students in the act, nothing would happen to them from the college level, so after they got a slap on the wrist in court and then another night of drinking, more things would be damaged and this time costing a lot more money to fix.
The biggest difference I saw at another campus was the push for respecting the society, you had one cup that cost $30.00, and if you lost it the replacement was $50.00. You took this cup everywhere, if you left your cup somewhere, you didn’t drink. That is a small example of what that university did to encourage the responsibility of the students in the respecting other peoples property.
Then police work, and realized how much actually happens here, just like the other comment on our crime compared to Baltimore, I looked that up to double check, that is right it looks like we have beat Baltimore in violent crime for several years now. I saw so many thefts, damaging, and disrespect from college students that I can totally understand why the local police do not like dealing with them. The respect needs to start from one side and after a long history still on the same police officers side and having to deal with new students every year, it is going to be harder for the police to take the first step. As other comments said that the police need to be tackling other problems, they do but they were called to a loud party, thefts, and damaged property reports and not able to patrol the other areas because of the time this takes. You were not here we students attacked cops with bottles and damaged cars, setting dumpsters on fire in the Zoo to “have fun”. Knowing the drug and theft problems that college was having on campus and the campus police being discouraged to make arrests due to making the college look bad on paper. People need to learn that there is a consequence to their action.
This problem has so many issues involved, as another person mention that SU pays no taxes to the city to fund the extra police, fire, ems needed to handle the increased needs, plus the lack of crime reduction by the Salisbury police administration, the local schools, the jobs.
I encourage you to do what you can, to reach who you can; you have a huge hill to climb. With that amount ahead, I think it would be a good step to reach people outside of Salisbury to help change this problem. One more thing, the area would survive without SU, yes, some things would change; but it would survive. Good Luck.
Without SU Salisbury would survive? true...
A new annex of Eastern Correctional would rise in its place. The only degree conferred would be a Masters in Coke.
Salisbury is nothing more than a parolee dumping ground. People from the Western shore ship the scum of their communities here...the hope is the Roxarsone Perdue puts down will get them before the full sentence is served.
People in Salisbury are so naieve it's quite hillarious. You all let developers come down here and build whatever they want, the police force of 88 hasn't been increased in 25 years, and you all play the blame everything on students game.
Who wants to stay in a town in the crossroads of the highest cancer rate in the nation, a place where only low service jobs can be attained?
Instead of bitching about $10million the city found, why doesn't that money go to gentrifying downtown, and increase public safety services. How about converting that soon-to-be abandoned firehouse into a restaurant instead of some BS theatre that will eventually be sold when structural issues are discovered.
To all those complaining about the elected officials...actually go out and vote next time the opportunity arises.
I get what she is saying...whether or not its 100% accurate I question.
Students are a PITA, not all, but most! They can be victims and in a college town they are typically the easiest targets.
However, the problem here is not the police! There are a few bad apples, but they are not the problem. The problem in this city is the lack of police! The other issue is lack of community involvement! There are 80 officers. I am originally from a slightly larger city, with a pretty high crime rate. they have over 600 officers! We dont need 600 but we do need more than 80...doubling that as quick as possible and having more community involvement would help!!
That is true about the amount of police, I checked in the 70's they about the same amount per shift. They do have a "special" unit that works that the 70's didn't have but the same answering calls. I challenge all to find out what kind of crime really goes on here and demand changes. I am glad Mike Lewis is doing his part of the county side, now we need to get somebody local that cares to his part in the city. Try driving through the city and counting how many times you see a cop, the times you don't is the times you can get away with anything.
Joe can you do an spot about the crime stats and educate the people here how bad it is.
Also on Stats..in reference to the cancer comment....SU ranks in the highest in STD rate...go figure so high and mighty student doesn't know about condoms
I am an SU grad that now lives and makes my living here in Salisbury. Anyone who posted negative comments about Melissa and students can bite me. I noticed from the first year I was here that the majority of the community completely rejects and hates SU students and the college itself. These people are in need of a good college education if they think the college isnt what makes Salisbury what it is. All you have to do is look at what happens to this city in the summer time when the majority of students either go home or to OC. Everything is running at less than full speed. Businesses would fail left and right without SU, we'd eventually have another abandoned mall, and all that would remain would be a rundown hospital and a heavily-traveled bypass.
So say what you want about the school and students, but Melissa is right. People should embrace the school, not fight its existence. Every college is going to have students who will get loud and cause problems from time to time... its college!!!!! But that school is what will help Salisbury exist in the future. People should want grads to stay and help advance this city, not leave right after graduation because they never felt welcomed by the community.
We all need to take a step back and recognize how much SU means to this city and do our best to make it desirable and safe for the students.
PS... I was robbed at gunpoint in my apartment my sophomore year.
For one, the college students are certainly not the only people in the City of Salisbury who are victimized by some of "the locals" as they have been referred. Not all "locals" rob or steal from the college students. Unfortunately, the college students have negative encounters with the "locals" who are the neighbors who call the police when the parties get out of hand. They also have the terrible encounters where they are victimized by drug addicts, gang members, and those who wish to do harm for whatever reason. There is no excuse for these crimes and no one deserves to be victims of these criminals who should be rotting in prison. Most college students do not get to see the communities beyond Smith St., S. Division St., Onley Rd., Cynthia Pl. and most areas where the college students live off campus. They do not see the numerous area communities filled with commerce, family, friends, and mutual co-exitance.
Another point to be made is that nine times out of ten the Salisbury police respond to college parties because a "local" has called them. The Salisbury Police Department knows it has a serious crime problem. The officers respond to the parties not because they want to but because a resident, whether college student or "local", has asked them to. Most, if not all, officers would rather patrol the areas that are certainly in need. Any college official who told prospective students that Salisbury had little or no crime should be held accountable for any such lie.
As for Melissa, I think it is a valiant and commendable program that she is trying to establish. What sweet Melissa may have failed to mention is that every one involved in the incident, that spawned her actions, was completely drunk and some underage. The Monkey Barrel Bar and Grill (if you can call it that) is a cesspool for underage drinking, assaults, as well as bartenders and bouncers whom lack clear and utter proper judgment. I am sure her boyfriend was a victim, and I am sure he did not need any kind of extra stress during his leave from the military. I commend him for his time in the service and thank him for defending our country.
As for the comments made about the Salisbury Police not doing anything... Sure, not every robbery, burglary, murder, or assault will be solved. However, what about the crimes that are solved, brought before the courts, adjudicated, and restitution served. Numerous hours of sweat and hard work put in. You never hear the college students getting on these kind of sites and thanking the police for solving their burlaries, assaults, robberies and any number of crimes that were solved regardless of the police department ie; Salisbury Police, Maryland State Police, Wicomico County Sheriff's Department, or the Fruitland Police Department.
Instead of launching a full out war against the Salisbury Police Department and writing letters about how bad of a job they are doing take these things into account... The Salisbury community has immensely grown including businesses, housing communities, student and local populations. While everything else has grown the Salisbury Police Department has not. It still has the same number of sworn officers it did two decades ago. Think about the officer who, just a few weeks ago, was chasing a wanted person who had a loaded handgun. The wanted person fought the officer and put the gun to the officer's chest. If it was not for the officer's quick thinking he may not be here today. Why did the officer continue to chase this person even after his life was threatened and clearly in danger? He did this to keep this piece of shit off your ("locals" and college students together) streets. This is just one example of one officer who does care contrary to what some may believe. One could go on and on about the positives that any police officer or department has done. However, the positives never seem as interesting or news invoking as the negatives.
Melissa has had experiences with members of the Salisbury Police Department that she would probably choose not to remember. What she has to remember is that the detective had a job to do. And as for the readers of this, there are two sides to every story and most that have responded to Melissa's letter have caste their judgment without hearing the other side. Her experiences probably include numerous parties ended by the police and maybe even a citation or two.
People know the college is not going anywhere and that the student population is an integral part of the Salisbury community and economy. I am educated. I attended a four year college and received my degree. I walked the walk of a college student. I went to parties that were busted by the police and watched my friends get arrested. Not because of the police, but because my friends acted like assholes. I would like to see some of the college students do the job of the police and see where they stand after two long weeks of night shift.
My final thought is that cooperation between ALL of the good and ethical residents, "locals" and college students, of the Salisbury area and the local law enforcement is crucial. If the bashing continues for both sides nothing will be resolved and the program "Melissa" has given birth to will become nothing more than a good thought and hopeless dream.
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