Two assaults against Univeristy students last Saturday morning have led to increased action by both Public Safety and the Middletown Police Department. The incidents have highlighted the sometimes delicate relationship between students and Middletown residents.
“This is not the first time we’ve had incidents like this,” said Director of Public Safety David Meyer.
However, Meyer also admitted that he is “concerned that we’ve had this number [of assaults] in this short amount of time.”
According to Meyer, the first incident, which occurred shortly after midnight on Church Street, was a verbal confrontation between a group of approximately 15 to 20 high school students and a group of Wesleyan students.
Christopher Alvanos ’11 witnessed the altercation.
“[The two groups were] yelling obscenities at each other, and a couple of people from the group of high school students had to hold their friends back,” Alvanos said.
During the second assault, which took place only an hour later in front of the HiRise buildings, “several punches” were thrown by a group of high school students, according to Meyer. Although two Wesleyan students received cuts and bruises, neither wished to receive medical attention.
The two assaults follow less than a month after an assault of a Wesleyan student by two high school-aged boys. The incidents have motivated Meyer and Interim Dean of the College Michael Whaley to confer with the Middletown Police Department about the safety of students on campus.
“This has been an ongoing discussion for us about campus security…[Meyer] is our liaison to the Middletown Police Department, and he has already been working with them on trying to identify the group of folks who were responsible for these incidents,” Whaley said.
Meyer stressed that the University maintains a productive relationship with Middletown Police Chief Lynn Baldoni.
“[Baldoni] is gathering a couple of people to see how they can be of assistance [to us] to come up with a set plan to prevent these incidents in the future,” Whaley said.
According to a Public Safety alert that was sent to the Wesleyan Community on Saturday morning, Middletown Police and Wesleyan Public Safety increased patrols of the campus after the assaults.
Despite these cautionary measures, Meyer claimed that relations between the Middletown community and Wesleyan students should not be considered more strained because of the recent assaults.
“I think for the most part [the relationship] is very positive, and you can’t let a couple of incidents tarnish that,” Meyer said.
While Meyer said that he couldn’t speculate as to why the high school students targeted Wesleyan students in particular, Richard Meyst, a Middletown resident for 22 years, commented on the feelings of resentment that some of the Middletown community has towards Wesleyan students.
“There is arrogance from most Wesleyan students because Wesleyan is considered a ‘rich kid’ school,” he said.
Nevertheless, Meyst encouraged both Middletown residents and Wesleyan students to look beyond their preconceived notions of the other.
“It’s a bad stereotype from both sides… it’s not fair to classify these kids who assaulted the students as ‘townies,’” he said.
Similarly, Meyer feels that passing judgment on the Middletown community based on two isolated assaults is uncalled for.
“A lot of people in Middletown appreciate Wesleyan students,” Meyer said. “I’d hate to label this as a bad town-gown relationship because of a few incidents.”
For now, Meyer urges students to be alert.
“Be aware that these things happen, and be aware of your surroundings,” he said.
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