| Author | Message | ||
     Washashore Citizen Username: Washashore Post Number: 190 Registered: 4-2003 |
I agree with Brett Weir. Why can't residents use the rec facilities, for example? The racquet ball courts? The exercise equipment and gym? The swimming pool? When I have been there through an invitation of a freind who worked for SHU, these facilities were ALWAYS underutilized by students and staff. South African author Nadine Gordimer spoke there several years ago. Who knew? | ||
| Michael S. Koenemund Citizen Username: Kb1ckf_981 Post Number: 44 Registered: 12-2003 |
Just to comment an a statement by BMO "Finally every time the SO Rescue Squad comes to campus for an alcohol related incident - students are charged a $250 fee. A donation of $3000 has been given to the SO Rescue Squad over the past two years" The $3000 recieved from Seton Hall over the last 2 years was never presented as proceeds from this fee or surcharge, aside from that if each student involved in an alcohol related incident requiring the SO Rescue Squad to be called was charged, then they are way behind in forwarding those fees / surcharges to the SO Rescue Squad, The Squad has responded to many, many more than 12 calls involving intoxicated shu students on campus in the last two years. The SO Rescue Squad survives solely on the donations it receives throughout the year. | ||
| doublea Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 912 Registered: 3-2003 |
BMO - I assume you're the student who organized the "get out the vote" campaign on campus and the student who has the weblog? It does sound as if you plan to run for BOT - is this correct? My wife is a school pyschologist. She received her graduate degree from SHU. A few months ago she attended a talk given by a guest speaker about a subject that she was very interested in. She came home and told me it was excellent. She also told me that she said to one of the SHU people that SHU contacts her a zillion times during the year asking for contributions (and she does contribute) but they never contact her about things she might be interested in (she heard about the talk from a colleague.) In the year after the Seton Hall fire, the Village of South Orange had to puchase a fire truck primarily to take care its responsibility to handle fires at SHU. This was part of the reason for the tax increase to the residents that year. SHU did not offer to contribute anything toward this. I have a house near Monmouth University and I'm petty much aware of what is happening there (both on campus and off, which I might address later). Monmouth University has contributed $250,000 to its hometown of West Long Branch for the purchase of a fire truck. This is in addition to the annual contibution of approximately $150,000 which it makes. Monmouth University also has its own police force, and does not have to rely on the West Long Branch police force. MU has agreed to pay the overtime of the Long Branch police department (not the West Long Branch) for the task force which Long Branch has organized to patrol the off-campus rental houses in the Elberon section of Long Branch. (As I said above, I'll try to address the steps Long Branch has taken to alleviate the off-campus rental problem in another post). | ||
| Michael S. Koenemund Citizen Username: Kb1ckf_981 Post Number: 45 Registered: 12-2003 |
Doublea, The South Orange Fire Force has not had a new piece of apparatus in a long time. | ||
| doublea Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 914 Registered: 3-2003 |
Michael - I stand corrected. I thought I remembered when the budget was being discussed that a new fire truck was given as one of the reasons for the increase. I did have a question about that since it would be a capital item. Once again, I was mistaken. (Would be nice if SHU contributed to a new piece of equipment if the Fire Dept. ever gets it  ) | ||
| Just The Aunt Supporter Username: Auntof13 Post Number: 590 Registered: 1-2004  |
Michael- Why doesn't teh squad BILL the students? A few weeks ago our family called the squad for one of my nine year old nephews. My sister received two bills. One from the squad and one from the medics. | ||
| bets Supporter Username: Bets Post Number: 1002 Registered: 6-2001  |
The South Orange Fire Force needs a new fire truck, though. | ||
| Michael S. Koenemund Citizen Username: Kb1ckf_981 Post Number: 46 Registered: 12-2003 |
doublea & Just the Aunt, Doublea - I believe that a new piece of fire apparatus was just approved recently (not sure on that though) Aunt - You did not recieve a bill from the South Orange Rescue Squad, For over 50 years we have never nor do we currently ever plan on billing, the bills you recieved may have been from paramedics(if they responded) and if it was during the day time hours there is a paid ambulance service MONOC(Formerly EMTAC)Ambulance that covers South Orange from 6:30 am - 6:30 pm due to a lack of daytime volunteers. | ||
| kriss Citizen Username: Kriss Post Number: 130 Registered: 6-2001 |
My personal experience/thoughts on Seton Hall: 1. Always have been intimidated by the gates around the school and the sentry post on S.O. Ave. Not that welcoming. Would love to be able to stroll through the campus with my kids on a nice day. Never made the walk up there, b/c never felt like we would be welcome. No specific incidents to report, but when you surround yourself with security (which I understand), and don't make an effort to say We Would Love To See You to the community at large, then you get what you get. I don't feel like this is a college town. 2. I had a second child within the past year and was trying to get back to work. I wanted to get a nanny/babysitter in my home a few days a week, a few hours at a time, to get a feel for how in-home daycare would work for me, and to give myself a break, truth be told. I thought that a student, particularly an early education student, would be perfect. I went onto Seton Hall's website and eventually found their Student Employment office, which has a program called Job Location & Development, which exists to match students at SHU who need jobs (but who may not qualify for work-study) with LOCAL employers who are looking for help. What a fantastic idea, I said to myself, as I sent an email stating that I wasn't a local business, but I had the desire to hire an SHU student (and I was right around the corner), and if this wasn't the right place to look for that, might you please direct me to the department that would be able to match me with a willing and qualified student? Or give me an idea of how to reach the same? Hang up signs, take an ad out in the college newspaper, what? I was summarily ignored and never got a call back from that department, or anyone else. Ok, maybe it's not this department's place to find babysitters - the stated objective is to hook up SHU students with local businesses. Ok. But I acknowledged that in my email and asked for a bit of help in reaching the students who would have been possibly interested in my situation. Like, how would I contact someone in the Education Dept? How hard a question is that to answer? I eventually went another route with daycare but I wish I would have been able to employ an SHU student. Before this, I was neutral on SHU - never saw a great benefit to the community but never had the experience of dealing with drunk and/or unruly students, even though I live within a mile of the campus. After this, I am moving into the camp which says "Show Me The Money". What sort of tie do they feel towards this community when they can't even respond to a request that would be win/win for all involved. I just don't get it. Sorry to be so long-winded. I apparently lost my ability to be succinct after having to explain the perils of climbing on the radiator to my toddler fourteen thousand times. Sorry.... | ||
| Just The Aunt Supporter Username: Auntof13 Post Number: 602 Registered: 1-2004 |
Thanks for clearing that up Michael. | ||
| Michael S. Koenemund Citizen Username: Kb1ckf_981 Post Number: 47 Registered: 12-2003 |
The Rescue Squad currently has several SHU students who volunteer and give of their time to the community. The only benefit offered to these students by SHU is that freshman, sophmores and juniors are made eligable to purchase parking permits in order to have a vehicle on campus, normally students are not eligable to do this until they are a senior. But again the student still has to purchase the permit and it is not cheap. | ||
| singlemalt Citizen Username: Singlemalt Post Number: 827 Registered: 12-2001  |
Why build an arena in downtown Newark? As I've stated in the past, we can take the Beifus property and build a basketball arena downtown. 18,000 people coming into downtown South Orange for Seton Hall Basketball, NJ Devil Hockey, Lynard Skynnard Reunion tours, and of course, Disney on Ice.  It may be the jolt of energy the downtown needs. Business at Bunny's would boom. SOPAC can become the ticket office and bookstore. | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 1939 Registered: 5-2001  |
Too funny, Malt. Although, probably just as likely to actually materialize in our lifetimes as the current "plans". | ||
| Old and Gray Citizen Username: Pastmyprime Post Number: 10 Registered: 2-2005 |
Singlemalt, I agree that those schools and others have no problem thriving in real urban environments...All that you mentioned are in major commercial centers...Similar to Jersey City or Newark or even Camden...Not unfortunantly anything like South Orange, Maplewood, Orange, or Newark's Vailsburg...Just because South Orange is urban by census, it still has an overwhelming sense of Mayberry, minuse the occasional carjacking, robbery, and the fact your car might be stolen or loose its headlights. | ||
| singlemalt Citizen Username: Singlemalt Post Number: 828 Registered: 12-2001 |
I can list just as many that are in Mayberry towns as well. There is absoltely no excuse for Seton Hall to be such a bad neighbor. | ||
| Old and Gray Citizen Username: Pastmyprime Post Number: 11 Registered: 2-2005 |
are we talking about their fence or them being a bad nieghbor, becuase I agree they and their students could leave tomorrow and I would feel no lose...I would rather see Pulte develope the campus into a rateable, then deal with the trouble SHU brings to town. I wish I could realize some of the "culture" they bring to town, but screaming idiots at 2am knocking the trash bins over in front of my building just drowns out any good they do for the town. But regarding their fence, this little Mayberry borders Newark who had a car theft epidemic when they built the fence around campus...SHU was a car theive's dollar store in the 80's and 90's, and putting up the fence was the easiest way to keep cars on campus, and is a common practice in parking lot construction. That is why so many office parks, and condominiums, restrict access to their lots to protect their property and clients from crime. | ||
| cmontyburns Citizen Username: Cmontyburns Post Number: 716 Registered: 12-2003  |
Oh fiddlesticks. Seton Hall has 10,000 students. How many do you honestly believe are causing trouble? | ||
| e roberts Citizen Username: Wnwd00 Post Number: 323 Registered: 3-2004 |
enough are causing trouble to tax the limited emergency resources of the south orange police force, fire force and volunteer rescue squad. just a question, how upset would you be if someone in your family was hurt in an accident and the police, fire dept, and rescue squad were all out on assignments at seton hall dealing with false fire alarms and drunk students? its easy to say seton hall and its students do not cause trouble especially if you have never had to wait in an emergency for a response. | ||
| mjc Citizen Username: Mjc Post Number: 307 Registered: 10-2004 |
monty, from my personal experience, I would be with you on this, but if people were noisy and rowdy outside my window at 2 am as described by O&G, it would only take 1 or 2 such students to sour my attitude. Does anyone know if "disturbing the peace" incidents typically (or ever) result in court appearances, fines or any other inconvenience for the perps? | ||
| mtierney Citizen Username: Mtierney Post Number: 776 Registered: 3-2001 |
I'm not electing myself a SHU bandwagon, but really folks, if you are unaware of all the cultural things going on on campus, who's to blame? The university grinds out info and submits it to the local paper and S-L, but you have to read it! For instance, just about every published poet has spoken at the Poetry-in-the-Round lectures over the past 15 years that I'm aware of. Pulitizer prize winning authors show up. Philip Roth celebrated his 60th birthday there - cake and all - along with his wife Claire Bloom and daughter. The concert series features orchestras from all over the world, renowned pianists, and chamber groups. Admission to these events is about the price of a movie! Each October the university hold a free community day with races, food, games, rides, art events, etc. etc. There are art exhibits, international festivals, and many, many other events. The fence was a necessity as was mentioned in other posts - the university has a responsibility for the safety of its students. You would have it no other way if your son or daughter lived on campus. That's the world we live in. Can the university do more? Of course. It might start by posting its events on MOL or starting an email connection with folks who might be interested. SHU could contact (if they don't already) senior groups who might have members who would like to volunteer on campus, audit classes, be mentors, etc. etc. If you miss the 12:30 on Sunday, did you know that there are masses at 6 and 8 p.m. in the beautiful 100+year old chapel on campus? The university's department of Jewish-Christian studies is highly regarded in its work in interfaith relations. Sister Rose Thering's life story was made into a documentary which was nominated for an academy award this year. President Ronald Reagan gave the commencement address on the SHU campus when he was in the White House. Everybody loved the Pirates when the team was great back in '89! South Orange was famous! Ask yourself, would the negative attitude expressed by some be less if the campus were secular? |
