November 17, 2003

A meeting of the Town & Gown Committee took place on Monday, November 17, 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, Gerald Conway, Cynthia Cummings, Carl Luft, James Neal, Marilyn Prime, Ron Smith, and Larry Thornton.

Guests included: Council Members David Athey and Frank Osborne; university officials Lou Hirsh, Director, UD Admissions and Professor April Veness; and Newark residents.

1. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 15 2003 MINUTES

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

2. REPORT ON ADMISSIONS, 2003

Lou Hirsh, Director of Admissions, provided a report on the 2203 admissions at UD. He explained the application process and advised that approximately 130,000 students nationwide have some interest in the UD. Last year, about 22,000 students submitted applications for freshmen admission. In mid-March students were notified of acceptance (early decision applicants were notified in the fall). Applications came from every state in the union, from several dozen foreign countries, and 3,000 different high schools were represented. Admission was offered to approximately 38% of the non-residents and 94% of the DE residents who applied. Only about 8% of the colleges in the United States are able to admit less than half of their applicant pool.

In May, the university had an entering freshmen class of 3,450 plus just under 600 transfer students. Over 2,000 applications were received for transfers. Those applications are usually broadly based and include students from many different institutions.

Mr. Hirsh thought that the changing shape of the class deserved more emphasis. For example, because UD admits only about 38% of non-resident applicants, the university is in a position to make choices that go beyond just looking at a GPA and an SAT scores. The vast majority of students who apply have the academic ability to succeed. He explained how the university makes their choices. If a student is from Delaware, and is academically qualified, the student is accepted. Of the 22,000 applications, over 19,000 were from out-of-state and that is where the shaping has to take place. The university is extremely selective with those students and it looks beyond the GPA and SAT scores. UD looks at the out of classroom accomplishments, special talents, leadership experience, significant community service, significant experience in the arts (music, visual arts), and athletics.

Over the past couple of years the student body has become progressively stronger and has been more inclined to be active in a variety of areas. Mr. Hirsh felt that was shaping the university in interesting ways and has had an impact on the community. This year 90% of last year’s freshmen returned as sophomores, which is well above the natural average for retention. UD is also seeing significant improvement in graduation rates. He credited that to changing the shape of the student body.

Ms. Odell noted that people always think Delawareans are loosing out to the terrific out-of-state students. Mr. Hirsh advised that they were able to offer admission on the Newark campus to roughly 73% of the Delawareans who applied and completed their applications. They were able to offer admission to the parallel program (next fall the program will be called the associate arts program) to another 21% of the Delawareans who applied. That meant 94% were accepted to the university.

The total number for the freshmen class on the Newark campus was 3,450. This year there was a better yield rate among Delawareans (70% offered admission accepted compared to 66% last year). The university also had the highest number of out-of-state applicants.

There are 1,350 freshmen from Delaware. Mr. Hirsh noted that all qualified Delawareans are accepted but there are not enough Delawareans to fill the university, a consequence of being a small state.

Mr. Hirsh was asked if the university were able to accommodate all of the freshmen on campus. He answered yes. This year they had some tripling in the dorms, but not as much as in past years. At the beginning of the semester there were 300-400 students in triples. Next year’s target, set by the Provost, is 3,300 freshmen which should help reduce the number of triples.

This year’s freshmen class has 43% men (up 2%). Nationwide, there are more women in college. In high school, women produce the more consistent records; however, men outperform the women on the SAT’s. The SAT’s continue to climb on the average.

Mr. Hirsh concluded by discussing the method used to compare grades from one school with another. He explained that this year there were 3,000 high schools that produced an applicant pool and about 100 different grading systems across the country. Every school that sends a transcript also sends a school profile, which provides information including percentages of students heading to a four-year college, a two-year college, and students not college bound. They also give overall averages on standardized tests for their students, what percentage sit for AP exams, etc. The schools that supply the majority of applicants are those that the university is familiar with because UD has admitted students from those schools, and it is known how they perform at the UD. The Admissions office also have a sense of what an honors course might mean at one high school versus another high school. Using all of that information, they try to control the differences in the school. They look at a student against the backdrop of the student’s high school and to some extent the student’s environment to determine if the student has made the most of what was available, taken the toughest courses the student could find and made the most out of it.

3. NEWARK POLICE REPORT – CONWAY

Chief Conway reported that although Newark police have been busy, crime was down. Part I crimes were down by 4% and Part II crimes were down by 5%. Robberies have increased 10%. There were eight robberies in October, and students were victims in four of those incidents. Handguns were displayed in four incidents and a knife was displayed in one incident. Arrests were made in two of the robberies. Police have found that robberies have been occurring at all different locations. There was also a rise in aggravated assault. Burglaries, auto thefts and arson offenses have declined. Reported rapes this year were six versus 12 last year and most were considered acquaintance rapes.

Simple assaults were down by 17% and crime mischief was down by 12%. Alcohol complaints and arrests were up 43%, and Chief Conway attributed that to the creation of the alcohol unit consisting of three officers. Disorderly premises and noise incidents remained almost the same, and disorderly conduct decreased about 11%.

4. UNIVERSITY POLICE REPORT – THORNTON

Mr. Thornton reported that the university’s Part I crimes were down 39%. Two robberies occurred on campus and three arrests were made in one of those cases. One aggravated assault resulted in an arrest. Burglaries were down substantially, and thefts were down about 33% (with nine arrests in those cases). Alcohol statistics showed a drop in arrests and SJR’s.

Mr. Thornton pointed out that a different level of street crime has been observed UD has four officers working with Newark’s task force and they are preventing more crimes from happening. They continue to meet with some of the apartment complexes to discuss security and adding more lighting, camera systems for their parking lots, increased security, closed circuit tv systems, etc.

Mr. Thornton discussed the escort service offered on campus. So far this semester, over 800 students called for escorts. Public Safety wants students and staff not to walk alone, call for their service, and it will be delivered.

Ms. Odell asked if the fact that so many students had cell phones made them safer. Mr. Thornton explained that in some cases cell phones are a hindrance. For example, it is difficult for a student to be aware of his/her surroundings if they are walking down the street at 2:00 a.m. talking on their cell phone. Several victims of robberies were on their cell phone at the time of the attack. They also had a couple situations where students call home. That parent can’t help their son or daughter. He stressed the importance of being aware of one’s surroundings while walking late at night. He noted that it is difficult when a student is inebriated and/or talking on his/her cell phone.

5. OLD BUSINESS

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

April Veness gave a brief update on her course, Newark –People, Politics & Places, which has an enrollment of 31 students. Students are involved in service learning projects which she outlined as follows:

(1) A project involving African Americans in Pencader One Hundred where the students are partnered with the Iron Hill Museum and the St. John’s AME Church to gather information. This project involves a lot of archival research.

(2) A project on children’s places in Newark where students are compiling the stories of eight children. The Newark Public Library, parents and schools have been helpful in identifying these children.

(3) A project called the student neighbor project. Students living off campus are given the opportunity to act as good neighbors. Ten students are being recruited for this project. The Building Responsibility Coalition, the landlords, the university and the city are assisting with this project.

(4) A project putting pets and senior citizens together, a pet therapy project at the Gardens of White Chapel where the Delaware Humane Associations brings down animals from the Wilmington shelter. A couple of students are also helping with Meals on Wheels and talking with senior citizens in their homes.

Two presentations will take place in December. One will be from the Pencader Historical Association for the Iron Hill Museum. They also hope to have interviewed and talked to the first ten students in their student project.

Professor Veness has asked her students to come up with hard, tangible documents at the end of the course since they won’t be writing reports. Each group will be putting together a poster to demonstrate their projects. A video of the four service learning projects will also be made. Dr. Veness suggested that it would be nice to include their video on the Town & Gown website. She also noted that three of the students, one of the community partners, and a couple faculty members would be reporting on what they have been doing and making a presentation at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers that will be held in Philadelphia in March. She was able to receive money through the university to take this group with her to those meetings where they will be a part of an organized panel session. That meeting brings in about 6,000 people and will provide a good professional opportunity for the students involved in the project.

One of Professor Veness’ students discussed fundraisers she was involved in to raise money for students at a preschool and a private school in South Africa. This year her group would like to expand their efforts to include the community with an art sale, a 5K run, a movie showing, etc. She thought that would be a great opportunity for the students and the community to get together and learn more about each other. She was looking for ideas from the committee and once she has more definite ideas and plans, she would like to come back at a future meeting. Ms. Odell thought this was something that could be put on the new website.

(b) Report on Town Meeting Project

Ron Smith reported that he was doing a lot of research on this project and needed time to do more. This item will be placed on the next agenda.

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

Cynthia Cummings provided an explanation on the “Three Strikes, You’re Out” program. She distributed numbers about basic policy violations at the university. It included the totals from the last academic year, the totals from the summer through November of last year, and the same time period for this year. Alcohol was the most frequently reported university violation. The numbers were a combination provided by the university police, residence life staff, and the Newark Alderman’s Court.

Ms. Cummings explained that disciplinary probation was the lowest level sanction at the university, which was equivalent to one strike. She also noted that there used to be a two-tier system. Freshmen went through with one set of sanctions; upper classmen went through with a different set of sanctions. The difference was that freshmen were allowed three strikes before they were suspended from the residence halls, but they were still allowed to maintain their matriculation at the university if their parents were willing to pay for them to move off campus and continue to pay their room rent. This year anyone with three strikes, in general, would be suspended from the university.

Last year, five students were suspended on one strike. A student could be suspended on one strike if a student assaulted another student, if a student was found guilty of stealing a fair amount from the bookstore, for instance, or from another student, or if a student committed an egregious academic violation, etc.

Last year nine students were suspended after receiving two strikes and that could be a combination of an alcohol violation plus an assault or an alcohol violation plus a theft.

Three strikes was the most common with 10 students suspended last year. Typically the three strikes are straight alcohol violations. After two strikes of alcohol, the parents are contacted and advised that the university believes the student has an alcohol problem. If a student was “getting caught” that frequently, that meant the student’s drinking was out of control much more frequently than that because one didn’t always get caught.

Eight students were suspended after receiving four strikes. A typical situation would be a student goes through his/her freshman year with three strikes, was suspended from the residence halls during the freshman year. During the sophomore year, the student had another violation which brought the suspension on the fourth strike.

A fifth strike could be a variation of things, such as the student was involved in a lot of really low level, obnoxious, but not terrible behavior.

The gender breakdown for suspensions was 34 male, 4 female. The breakdown for class was 12 – freshman; 13 – sophomore; 9 – junior – 2 senior and 2 continuing ed.

Ms. Cummings also explained that suspension from the university was typically for one year, and often it could be for two years. Expulsion was permanent and she believed there was one expulsion last year that involved a sexual assault. She also noted that when a student is suspended from the residence halls, he/she usually left the university because it created an economic hardship on the family. They are required to pay for the on-campus housing for the entire year and also pay for housing off campus.

A resident suggested offering activities (not involving alcohol) for student participation. Ms. Cummings commented that there were many non-alcoholic programs available for students in the evenings and on weekends. However, she believed there were a fair number of students who wanted to drink alcohol and no matter how many alternatives the university provided for them, they would go out and drink. They may attend the program from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. and then drink afterwards, or drink before their programs and attend their programs from 10 p.m. to midnight. She believed it has provided more of an outlet for those students who say the only reason they were drinking was because there was nothing else to do.

Ms. Cummings was asked to explain the alcohol policy on campus. She advised that a student under the age of 21 may not drink anywhere at any time. If a student is 21 or over and living on campus, he/she may drink within the privacy of his/her room even if one of their roommates is under 21. A student under 21 may not allow anyone of any age to drink in their room. .

6. NEW BUSINESS

Al Matlack, a local conservationist and professor of industrial chemistry, suggested that the university and the city could work together to solve the “moving out problem” where students discard many useable items such as furniture, appliances, etc. He commented on the dumpsters the city provides at eight different locations where students can get rid of those kinds of things when they leave campus. He would like the city and the university to work together on coming up with a program where the discarded items are reused.

Mr. Matlack referred to other universities that have been successful at reusing much of the discarded material, while saving money. He provided websites of universities who have implemented successful programs. For example, the University of South Carolina saved $30,000 on moving out day and $8,000 on moving in day. He also discussed the “dump and run” approach used at the University of Michigan, which was essentially a campus-wide yard sale. They were able to cut their waste by 50%.

Mr. Matlack claimed that “Students for the Environment” were investigating the “dump and run” program and other possibilities. Some of their preliminary investigations identified a few problems that included insufficient time between student’s final exams and when they have to be out of their dorms. He felt the school calendar would have to be adjusted to allow a couple of days for exchanges to take place. Also, there is a shortage of space in which to store items from May to September. He suggested the Curtis Paper Mill site for storage or basements and attics of dorms on campus. Another problem he foresaw was that apartments rent to new tenants on June 1, which is only two, or three days after exams are completed. He also noted that local charities were willing to accept salvaged materials.

Mr. Matlack commented on the city’s special pick up service and suggested that the materials be left out all day to allow people to go through it before it is picked up. He knew of a town that once a month allowed their citizens to put out at the curb anything they didn’t want and anyone who wanted it was free to take it. He believed there were alternatives the city could consider that would cut their $17,000 cost for providing dumpsters on move-in and move-out day.

Mr. Neal advised Mr. Matlack to review the several proposals he suggested and pick one that he could share with the city and university and see what their reaction is to the cost and benefits. Mr. Matlack said he contacted the Public Works Department at the city and they were supportive of his ideas. The “dump and run” program could be put into action first and most easily. A student who was present said that the “Students for the Environment” are planning next semester to implement on a small scale charity pickups at a couple dorms on campus and at one off-campus dumpster site. Such a project would save the city and the university from taking those items to the landfill. Mr. Luft suggested talking with Carol Houck or Rich Lapointe at the city about the programs. He also explained the dumpster program provided by the city and commented on the problems with private contractors and landlords taking advantage of the dumpsters.

7. PUBLIC COMMENT

(A) David Robertson, a Newark resident, asked if heard correctly the Chief say that alcohol complaints were up 43%. Chief Conway said in 2002 there were 418 alcohol investigations and 598 in 2003. In 2002 there were 838 arrests and in 2003 there were 945 arrests (charge of alcohol).

Mr. Robertson said he didn’t view disorderly conduct as a lesser crime, particularly when there were so many of them and the impact that has on the community.

Chief Conway explained that when he used the term “a lesser crime” that was based on the FBI’s national classification system--Part I and Part II crimes. The Part II crimes were considered lesser crimes as compared to murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The lesser crimes in Newark were often referred to as quality of life crimes. He added that the statistics show there are a lot of incidents involving alcohol and the fact that they committed three officers to do just alcohol type crimes show that they do take Part II very seriously.

(B) Council Member Frank Osborne asked if most of the armed robbery crimes and things of that nature were committed late at night. Chief Conway said the crimes involving students were generally late at night, and involved students walking by themselves. However, there have been purse snatchings in the shopping centers during the dinner hour. For the most part the robberies occur between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Mr. Thornton added that the two robberies on campus occurred between 9 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon. Some of the crimes on the fringe of campus were occurring around 9 p.m. It was also noted that there were a lot of robberies occurring in the county and all across the state.

(C) Jean White, Newark Resident, commented on the difficult problem that occurred at homecoming. Apparently tailgaters left the stadium and went across Rt. 896 to continuing partying at the Chrysler parking lot. That resulted in a lot of fights and it was difficult for the Newark police to control. She understood that it involved a lot of alumni and others and thought it was a good topic for this committee to discuss.

Mr. Thornton explained that there was a change this year for homecoming. The university used to have a Greek field where the Greek organizations were allowed to set up tents and have a tailgate for a certain period before kickoff. When the game begins, the tailgating must cease and that rule has been in effect for about 10 years. The Greeks were allowed to set up their tents at a different location and some of them took advantage of that. The Chrysler Corporation, the bank, and the liquor store sold parking spaces. The individuals who were partying in that area got started early and Mr. Thornton claimed they probably weren’t ever on the university’s property. Towards the end of the game, the Chrysler parking lot was out of control. The university, city and state police had previously met with the Chrysler Corporation and had a strategy in place, but it didn’t work to the best outcome. Everybody has now learned from that experience and next year should be different. The university’s goal is to get everybody in the same frame of mind in that when the game begins, the partying stops, whether it is on campus or across the street. Mr. Thornton said he could almost guarantee that the bank and Chrysler would not have tailgating next year, and he hoped the liquor store wouldn’t have it at homecoming. There were 70 police officers on duty. Chrysler parked 900 cars that day and many of the people did not go into the game.

8. SETTING DATE FOR NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 2004.

9. Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.


Patricia M. Fogg, CMC
Secretary
/pmf


CITY OF NEWARK, DELAWARE
Town & Gown Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 – 7:30 P.M.
City Manager’s Conference Room

1. Approval of November 17, 2003 Minutes

2. Newark Police Report – Conway

3. University Police Report – Thornton

4. Report on Town Meeting Project - Smith

5. Old Business

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.