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Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - Page 6 COMMENTARY Staff Campus Safety should be more lenient Editors-In-Chief It is no secret that WMC students more small doses offun we received would some- comes in (e.ka. the Westminster police), they Edward K. Schultheis '03 often than not go to off-campus parties in how counteract the drabness we feel on a step out of their buddy role and into their Matthew E. Hurff '03 the surrounding Westminster community. constant basis. reprimanding characters. With that in mind, the majority of us are even Okay, in all fairness, Campus Safety is Netto sound like a broken record, be- News Editor aware of the fact that our Campus Safety just doing their job, right? Well, sometimes cause I'm certain the same argument has LeRoy McDuffie '05 officers are going to those locations and it is difficult to detennine where the lines of been proposed over and over again, but come breaking up the fun. The question is, are friendship are drawn and where they are on guys cut us some slack! This is Assistant News Editor they helping us out or simply traveling out- crossed. . Westminster, Maryland. Our options are few Stacey Myers '02 side of their jurisdiction? Iknow I speak on behalf of several of us and far between in this small college cen- My response to this new reason for col- when I say that we feel a close bond with tered in the boonies of America. lege students to rebel is that just maybe the some of our officers; they are there to con- Features Editor Underage drinking is a guarantee on any Jessica Watson '05 officers, with the best of intentions, are step- college campus, whether you like it or not. ping outside their boundaries. Take into per- spective the underlying issue, which is that At least if we are going to engage in this type Commentary Editor especially for the 21-and-over crowd, their of activity, we are going to do it in an en- you come But when Erin Romanski '04 partying options are pretty limited. closed environment. the stereo goes past the the minute running As a member of a Greek organization, r eighth decibel level, you force us to look Assistant Commentary Editor can safely assure you that it does not take elsewhere for entertainment. Donna Hurd '03 long for a resident assistant to come.In and On a final note, I would just like to reit- bust a perfectly contained party. However, erate for those non-barbarians who do not Sports Editor for the sloppy drunks that ruin it for the rest derive pleasure from vandalizing private Greg Lederer '03 of us, all I have to say is, I guess you got property, starting fights, and generally add- what you deserved. ing a lot of unnecessary commotion to the Assistant Sports Editor All right. back to the issue at hand. We lives of Westminster citizens, you may as Chris Taugher '02 as students of a small, private liberal arts well. college knew from the moment we took the I in no way condone violence, but I also Senior Writer two minute campus tour that this was no- know that the words "Campus Safety" im- Michael Jenkinson '02 where near a happening atmosphere every ply a much smaller vicinity than that of day of the week. Carroll County. We must have overlooked Moreover, we expected that the popula- Erin A. Romanski that we are. Advertising Manager tion of students would drop significantly that being the slovenly alcoholics Jeff Grever '02 during the weekends at this "suitcase school." Yet, I Suppose we hoped that the Distribution Manager Beth Rudolph '04 Staff Writers AHa Abrecht Lauren Banaszewski '03 .,11 tafil DelJafranzia '03 , "I'Felicia'Donelson '05 Staci George '03 Colby Goodrum '03 Marcus Helton '02 , Jessica Jones '02 .Chris Seibert Steve Sharkey '02 Tammi Siater '04 Michael Vyskocil '05 Heather Weisse '04 Michael Wiles '03 Steve Zamagais '02 Adviser Terry Dalton Last semester Campus Safety officers are more than generous when it comes to stu- began patrolling with the Westminster po- dent write-ups. lice. I know that many students are upset respectful students are attending the same I understand that this is a small college with this action, but face it, the reason they institution that we have been trying, espe- and with nothing much happening on cam- are there is our own fault. cially as of late, to strengthen. pus we look elsewhere for fun, however, we Many nights I have seen students stum- Now Iknow that this is not all of us, and are the ones overstepping the boundaries. bling up and down Pennsylvania Ave., it is horrible that we all have to pay for oth- Students expect too much from Campus screaming at the top of their lungs, kicking ers actions, but life isn't fair. If you are up- Safety sometimes. Also, it is fine to go off beer bottles, and generally having no respect set about it, don't take it out on Campus campus just don't trash our community and for the citizens of Westminster who live Safety. Go to those who you know are the there wouldn't be a problem. If we didn't cause of the problem and let them know how have problems, Campus Safety wouldn't you feel. - need to be [here, and so on. Get the point. Believe me, Campus Safety officers are So stop blaming Campus Safety and hat- not thrilled that they must take on this new ing them for your peers' actions. Blame the role in the City of Westminster. Don't for- right group and go to the direct source of the get that they have no choice. The city po- problem. It takes a lot of energy to hate lice have asked for their help and therefore someone or something, so wouldn't it just as an act of good faith in order to keep the be easier for both parties to come [0 some positive relationship we have with our sur- sort of a compromise? rounding community, they must react. Don't vandalize property and get so We also must remember that this isn't sloppy drunk that you don't realize what you Mail to: their idea of a good time. It is true that many are doing and then the community will stop The Phoenix students have wonderful bonds with certain complaining [0 the cops. Campus Safety will WMC~2CoJJege Hill Campus Safety officers. Do you think that then no longer have to do these patrols and Westminster,MD21157 they really want to get these students in all those involved would be content. (410)751-8600 trouble? Of course not. This is their job What about this is so hard to understand? FAX, (410) 857-2729 and the law and it doesn't matter how much I was under the impression that I wasn't in E-Mail: phoenix@wmdc.edu they may like you as a person, they must middle school anymore. How about you? Donna Hurd obey their superiors. They can only bend -Donna Hurd is a junior English the rules so far and I think that many of them major.