Once again, on Saturday, Oct. 10, innocent civilians, law enforcement officers and first responders were put in mortal danger due to events stemming directly from homecoming at Delaware State University. Today, a family is making funeral arrangements for their child, and several others are hospitalized with gunshot wounds. In addition, several businesses lost income because they closed early due to the very real fear of violence near their establishments. Some families had to cut short time at all the parks in Kent County due to the threat of park takeovers, which often involve violence, as well as leave the parks in such horrible shape that several days are often required to clean up afterward.
Meanwhile, the only answer from the university is, “It’s off-campus, so we have no control over what happens,” and “It’s out-of-town troublemakers, not our students.” It is 100% its responsibility because all this stems from its event.
The people of Delaware deserve better than having to close their businesses, cut short their enjoyment outdoors and fear for their lives just by driving or shopping in certain areas. I implore you to bring this to the legislative floor, to come to some sort of an agreement with the university to stop this from happening.
Maybe a statewide law enforcement task force, similar to what used to be done for the NASCAR races, needs to be used. Maybe the National Guard needs to be activated to assist. Maybe the university should just cancel this event. I am not sure what exactly needs to be done, but this type of behavior and incidents such as these need to be stopped before more people are killed. I also know that the university needs to substantially contribute financially to whatever effort is put in place.
Chuck Mankin
Smyrna
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
