I think oftentimes we forget (I know I have) that we are not just students of Wesleyan University, but also residents of Middletown, Connecticut. As members of these communities, we have rights and responsibilities. We have a right to access all the resources these communities have to offer, we should expect to live in relative safety while we are here, we have the right to be treated fairly by all forms of authority. We should expect all members of the community to treat us with respect. I believe it is entirely reasonable to have a large celebration on Fountain, especially at the end of the school year. But we are privileged, not entitled, to have these types of events. If Wesleyan or non-Wesleyan folks are being kept up by a party (and I don’t know if there were noise complaints last night), it is only fair that the noise stop. All members of the community should expect the Wesleyan student body to treat them with respect. We have a responsibility to be fair in our dealings with other community members, we have a responsibility to respect the resources this community offers us and we have a responsibility to help make this community better and stronger. The responsibility to keep the peace and protect the well-being of every community member does not lie solely with the police. I think we saw last night what happens when we do not embrace those responsibilities.
While throwing bottles at police cars was clearly unjustifiable, and while no one should expect to go to work some evening and be verbally abused I do not think the use of violence was necessary or justified last night. But I will leave criticizing the police to others, because I am more interested in identifying how we can fulfill our responsibilities to this community, regardless of police action. When the police can see no other solution to a problem but violence, or even if they arrive on our campus spoiling for a fight, we can still take care of our community.
We can keep bottles out of the hands of friends we know get belligerent when drunk. We can remain calm; we can stop ourselves from baiting the police. And we can choose to leave the party. I am not encouraging people to give in to authority—our first responsibility is to protect our own rights. But when authority fails to take care of a community, we have the power and the responsibility to try to succeed where authority fails. That means we share in some of the blame for violence on campus, and for the disrespect that goes both ways between Wesleyan and Middletown. I am not trying to chastise, I am trying to own up to my own responsibilities; I am trying to figure out how to create change. I have loved being a part of the Middletown-Wesleyan community, I am proud to be a member of this community and I am so grateful for all the times this community has welcomed me. I will miss it.
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