Notre Dame has tried to improve relations between the University and the South Bend community for quite some time now. As crazy as it may sound, the recent problems with the South Bend police may be an opportunity to do just that. As much as we complain amongst ourselves and in The Observer, Notre Dame can't really do anything to change the way that South Bend police have been targeting Notre Dame students. The South Bend community can. If they knew that their tax dollars were being used to break up college parties instead of protecting them from armed robbery, they would probably have some choice words to say about it. If they knew that their law enforcers were patrolling student apartment complexes to bust 20 year olds instead of their neighborhoods to prevent burglaries, there would likely be an uproar.
There may be people who do think that the police are perfectly justified in arresting students for underage drinking, but I'm almost positive that they would agree with me that since there are only a limited number of South Bend police officers and a very high crime rate (twice as many murders, rapes and robberies as the national average) that they should really focus on the more serious crimes that are harming people instead of "fundraising" by citing students or making them post bail. So maybe instead of grumbling amongst ourselves and writing angry Viewpoints we should let the South Bend community really know what's going on. Let's show them the videos of police being aggressive, share the stories of manipulation and exploitation. Let's write to the South Bend Tribune instead of The Observer (maybe I should take my own advice).
For once, the University and the South Bend community can unite under a common goal: we all want the police to protect us, not exploit us.
Shea Streeter
senior
Badin Hall
Sept. 2
