September 15, 2003

A meeting of the Town & Gown Committee took place on Monday, September 15, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Joan Odell. Members attending were: Carl Anastasia, Calisa Au-Yeung, Gerald Conway, Hal Godwin, Carl Luft, James Neal, Hal Prettyman, Ron Smith, and Larry Thornton.

Guests included: Council Members David Athey and Frank Osborne; university officials: Alex Keen from Student Centers; John Bishop, Associate Vice President Center for Counseling & Student Development; Dave Gregory, Mary Hempel, and Lane McLaughlin, Office of Public Relations; and several Newark residents.

1. APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 11, 2003 MINUTES

There being no additions or corrections to the minutes, they were approved as received.

Ms. Odell noted that there was no quorum at the April 21, 2003 regular meeting. A summary of the discussions was provided to members.

2. INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS

All members were introduced. New members included Calisa Au-Yeung, representing the commuter and off-campus organization (COCO) and Ron Smith, representing a Newark resident. Alex Keen was present to represent Marilyn Prime’s office.

3. NEWARK POLICE REPORT – CONWAY

Chief Conway provided crime investigation statistics from January 1 through September 6, 2003. He reported that Part I crimes, specifically robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and auto thefts had increased. In March, a task force was formed by the university and Newark police departments because of that increase and several arrests were made. The task force did not run through the summer but was restarted last week. Their approach is to be proactive and target certain areas. There have been 49 cases of robberies, and 16 victims were university students. Sixteen of the 49 cases involved handguns, five involved knives, two involved pipes, and in one case a stick was used. In six cases there were threats of a weapon although none was shown. Eighteen of the 49 robberies were cleared, representing a 37% clearance rate, compared to 27% in 2002. The national average for clearances of these kind of cases is 31% for cities the size of Newark.

Burglaries are down and thefts are up. The ‘hot’ item this year has been air bags being removed from cars at the automobile dealers on Cleveland Avenue. They are being sold to junk yards. Mr. Godwin interjected that all of the electrical components in air bags have gold plated connections and he suggested that the gold could be what thieves may be after. Robberies and rapes have decreased.

Part II crimes have mostly decreased. There were 292 assaults compared to 216 this year. The only large increase has been with alcohol arrests, which the Chief credited to the formation of the alcohol unit. There have been 361 alcohol investigations compared to 241 this time last year. Noise and disorderly premise arrests were also down from 384 to 314. The first week of school there were 45 investigations of noise and disorderly premises, resulting in 18 arrests.

Chief Conway thought it was too early to pick the ‘hot spots’ this year; however, they have been kept busy on Cleveland Avenue, Scholar Drive, at the Courtyard on Main Street, and on Wharton Drive.

4. UNIVERSITY POLICE REPORT – THORNTON

Mr. Thornton provided crime statistics from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003.

There were 11 robberies reported on campus that resulted in eight arrests. Eight aggravated assaults were reported that resulted in five arrests. Burglaries were down 23%, from 64 to 49 for the same time period. Motor vehicle thefts remained the same at four complaints. Their overall theft incidents were up about 6%, from 466 cases to 496 cases.

Part II offenses were down about 18%. Alcohol incidents were down from 414 cases to 325. UD police made 158 arrests and 399 referrals were made to the campus judicial system. Those numbers did not include numbers from the residence life staff, which probably had another 400 referrals to the campus judicial system.

Drug investigations were up 17% from 44 to 53 offenses. Most of those cases involved the possession and/or consumption of marijuana. Twenty-four arrests were made and 83 referrals were made to the campus judicial system.

Mr. Thornton noted that UD police continue to work with the Newark police with the robbery task force. They have received good cooperation from Newark and other police agencies with their investigations.

Mr. Thornton explained the student patrol program, which focuses on residential hall areas. Student police aides walk around campus in teams and report on such things as lights being out and doors propped open, and they act as a resource for students traversing campus. In addition to that, student patrols provide escort service on campus. The program has met with a large amount of success and is now funded permanently. Two teams work at night from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., one team handling the north end of the campus, the other team handling the south and east end of the campus. Mr. Thornton noted that the patrols have formed a good association with both the Air Force ROTC and Air Army ROTC. There are about 50 students in this program.

It was also noted that university police officers attend Newark’s roll calls three times a week, at which time they review crimes that have occurred on campus.

5. OLD BUSINESS

(a) Update on Town & Gown Web Site

Mary Hempel presented the web site, which was designed by Lane McLaughlin, Art Director in the Office of Public Relations. David Gregory, Campus IT Associate, who was also involved with setting up the web site also attended the meeting and assisted with a power point presentation. The web site is on the university server and can be accessed at www.udel.edu/towngown/. Ms. Hempel worked with the City Manager, Carl Luft, his secretary Marta Pacheco, and Joan Odell in collecting information for the web site. Input was also received from the Downtown Newark Partnership, university representatives in Student Life and the Building Responsibility Coalition, and the university and city police departments.

The web site is considered a work in progress. Ms. Hempel suggested that members look at the site and provide any suggestions or ideas to Ms. Odell or Mr. Luft. Wherever possible, links are provided to existing sites so that updating the information won’t be a problem.

(b) Report on April Veness Class Project

A few students from Professor Veness’s class attended the meeting and briefly discussed their project for this semester. Their class is referred to as Newark Politics, Places and People. Projects include working with 10-year old residents of the community; the Iron Hill Museum; the African American community; the local landlords; and the humane society. Professor Veness will be invited to the next meeting to provide an update on her class.

(c) Town Meeting

Ms. Odell said it was her understanding that new member, Ron Smith, was interested in taking this on and organizing a town meeting for 200-32004. Mr. Godwin noted that the T&G committee has held public hearings in the Council Chamber on occasion if there was an issue they felt they needed to hear from the public. He further explained that the committee’s mission is to advise Council. He noted that Council receives and reads their minutes from each meeting. Sometimes the issues discussed at this level become Council’s issues, which may eventually require some action by Council. When the committee was created in 1987, its purpose was to give Council an insight into the relationship between the university and the city. Mr. Godwin believed the committee has been successful in doing that.

Ms. Odell added that a good example of the interaction between the university and the city is the interaction between the two police departments. Another example is the university’s government relations person, Rick Armitage, who has a lot of contact with city officials about city/university issues. Mr. Armitage provides a report at each Council meeting on university issues. Also, an annual presentation is made at a Council meeting on university building projects.

Mr. Godwin said that over the last decade the relationship and harmony between the university and the city has improved each year. The university has been more sensitive to the city and vice a versa.

Mr. Smith thought a town meeting could be an annual or bi-annual event. He also thought something on a smaller scale than the town meeting hosted by Professor Veness was a possibility. He will research this further and report at the next meeting.

6. NEW BUSINESS

Ms. Odell distributed articles on the new citizenship exam required by the university and introduced John Bishop who went into more detail on the new exam.

Dr. Bishop explained that in order to get access to the computing resources, for several years new students had to take a quiz about responsible computing. That has been expanded to include the “citizenship exam.” A pool of questions was developed that cover: academic honesty, classroom behavior, residence halls, alcohol, living in Newark, and health and safety. Every new student is given an individualized exam of 18 items selected out of a pool of 50. It is a pass/fail exam and students must get all 18 items correct, or it has to be retaken. Unlike an orientation program or written materials, the students can’t ignore this exam because it must be taken before they gain access to the computing resources. The exercise itself makes the point to the students that it is important for them to learn what the expectations are of their new environment. The university wants students to know what kinds of behaviors are expected on campus and to understand when they come to campus they also become a part of the City of Newark.

Dr. Bishop thought the importance of the test was the fact that the university was directing students to pay attention and think about citizenship when they arrive on campus. He thought the goal was simply to have this in place, and they have elevated the citizenship expectation to this level. He reiterated that students must pass the exam before they get a computer account.

Mr. Godwin thought this was another example of the university responding voluntarily to input from the city. The city has asked that good citizenship and good neighbor awareness be incorporated into the curriculum. This exam is proof that the Town & Gown committee works, and the university is sensitive to the needs of the city. Mr. Godwin thought the university deserved a standing ovation for this effort.

Dr. Bishop discussed the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) foundation grant, which the University received in 1996. He began by stating that the local problems were not unique to the University of Delaware or to Newark. Since 1996 work has been underway cooperatively to address some of the issues around binge drinking. The primary approach is to say that as a result of the excessive use of alcohol, there are a lot of problems on campus and in the community. Therefore, UD has focused on not so much the drinking but the consequences of the drinking. They have tried to frame the issue as a public health issue because people seem to be able to understand it when they tell them why they are concerned.

Most of the time when there are problems relating to violence, vandalism and vomit, (known as the 3 v’s) alcohol is a big factor. Students are often victimized by someone else’s use of alcohol—their studies are interrupted, their bathroom is messed up, they may be insulted or humiliated by someone who has had too much to drink, etc. Therefore, for the past seven years, UD has also focused on the secondhand consequences of the drinking.

Each year of the RWJ grant, the Harvard School of Public Health surveys a group of university students. The university has followed those surveys very carefully. The students self-report their drinking behaviors and drinking attitudes. Dr. Bishop believed they have made a real progress. He commented on the city taking some very proactive stances, and pointed out that there has been strong leadership from both the president of the university as well as the mayor, city council, and city officials. The latest results from the Harvard School of Public Health are the most positive survey results he has seen in seven years.

The survey shows there has been a moderation in student drinking. They are drinking less, they are reporting fewer personal problems related to that drinking. Such as not missing classes, not experiencing hangovers, or doing something they would later regret, not arguing with friends or damaging property or getting injured, or drinking alcohol with the express purpose of getting drunk. Students are also reporting the best results seen in terms of how their lives are interrupted by those who are using alcohol to excess. Students are reporting that they have learned some things about alcohol. They really believe the university enforces the policies (81%). They are more aware of the dangers of alcohol overdoses and the risk of long-term addition to alcohol and how to tell when someone has a drinking problem. All of these are real positive indicators.

Dr. Bishop said it is still obvious that there is more to do, and the university looks forward to working cooperatively with the city to address these issues. He thought it might be possible to change a culture if all are willing to be consistent and persistent over a period of time with the messages sent to students. He hoped the newspapers are willing to give this the same kind of attention they give about the university’s reputation as a party school.

Dr. Bishop concluded by saying that there has been a very cooperative stance between the city and the university. He thought the mayor’s alcohol commission helped to bring some good ideas to the table. Another study by the Harvard School of Public Health just released on the way that alcohol is marketed around college campuses. After reading their conclusions and recommendations, Dr. Bishop felt the university and the city had already achieved many of the changes suggested. The city has taken steps to control happy hours, the kind of signs that can be used to market alcohol, and has adopted a .08 bac level. The recent study shows that the city and the university were doing the right thing.

It was noted that the RWJ grant expires in 2005 (a second grant was received), but a lot of the things that have been put into place will continue. The university has created some resources that will stay in existence. The product of the grant will not stop when the grant expires.

7. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON

Mr. Luft nominated Joan Odell and Mr. Godwin seconded that nomination. There being no further nominations, Ms. Odell was unanimously approved to serve as chairperson.

8. SETTING DATE FOR NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held Monday, November 17, 2003 at 7:30 p.m.

9. PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Porach asked about the “three strikes your out program” and asked how many students have one, two or three strikes. This information can be made available through Cynthia Cummings’ office. She will be asked to comment on this at the next meeting. That program began in 1997.

10. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.


Patricia M. Fogg, CMC
Secretary
/pmf

Town & Gown Meeting Agenda

November 17, 2003 — 7:30 p.m.
City Manager's Conference Room

1. Approval of September 15, 2003 Minutes

2. Report on Admissions, 2003 – Lou Hirst, Director, UD Admissions

3. Newark Police Report – Gerald T. Conway, Chief of Police

4. University Police Report – Lawrence Thornton, Director of Public Safety

5. Old Business

(a) Report on Project: Newark, DE—People, Politics & Places – April Veness

(b) Report on Town Meeting Project – Ron Smith

(c) Report on “Three Strikes, You’re Out” Program – Cynthia Cummings

6. New Business

7. Public Comment

8. Setting Date for Next Meeting


If you cannot attend this meeting, please contact Pat Fogg in the City Secretary’s Office at 366-7070