4legs – Trinity and YOU! » Student Assaulted on Allen Place

Student Assaulted on Allen Place

Submitted by Jake Pullis on Sunday, 4 March 201266 Comments

Since my last article dealt with unwarranted emails to the student body, I thought it would be fitting to follow up on that theme, given the ongoing situation this weekend. I was woken up this morning (Sunday, March 4) to the sound of my smartphone’s email notification chime. I’m sure many of you were in a similar situation. It is never a good Sunday when the first words entering your mind are “what happened,” whether to yourself or a fellow student. And, while the thought of a student being beaten by several people is certainly terrifying, Jorge Lugo’s email to the student body and staff left me content that necessary action was being taken.

I have been extremely critical of campus-wide emails sent by members of Trinity’s administration, both with my peers and in my writing. I have found a great many of these emails to be pedantic and self-serving, with no real message other than “Trinity is great, keep giving us your money.” This morning’s email, however, was exactly what it should have been. It was concise, free of racially-charged identifiers, and careful to include all the pertinent information regarding what the school is doing. Especially in light of recent campus safety emails which have “identified” perpetrators based on perceived ethnicity and place of origin (whether it be Hartford, Trinity, or elsewhere), I found this email to be more than adequate. It was sensitive to the situation while at the same time keeping in mind that Trinity students are concerned about safety on campus.

Now, with this in mind, I would like to address the email sent out at approximately 1:34 (and, apparently, again at 1:50. I received the email twice) this afternoon. A self-reported friend of the victim, using a list of student emails which I can only assume is comprehensive (and, based on the language used in the email, probably should not have included any staff members) used the opportunity to rant at the apparent lax nature of campus security, while simultaneously instigating unfound hatred toward the Hartford community. The student writes, “This individual, a close friend, was mercilessly beaten up by six Hartford locals who pulled up in a car… “Unclear” whether or not this was Trinity students!?!!?”

If it is true what the student writes, that the victim in question was beaten “to within an inch of his life,” there is certainly cause for alarm. I certainly don’t feel safe on Trinity’s campus when a fellow student is sent to the hospital. Here’s the thing though: I feel far safer in Hartford than I do on campus. In the year-and-a-half that I have attended Trinity, I have only ever felt threatened by fellow students, and usually on nights where Vernon Street is full of parties. What’s more, the student’s use of the phrase “Hartford locals” gives me reason to believe this response was little more than a terrified outburst of angry energy. While few could blame the writer for being enraged by the assault of his friend, there is no excuse for this pejorative demeanor. And yes, I do believe that the term “Hartford locals” has devolved into nothing more than a racially-charged slur. The hatred on Trinity’s campus toward our greater community, many of whom are Hispanic, makes for a great deal of confusion as to why many of these students still attend Trinity. Trinity considers building a wall around campus; it puts people out of their homes and continues a sort of Manifest Destiny expansionism in Hartford, and people wonder why Hartford dislikes us. Our own student body is fragmented by the racist tendencies of those students who would see in every dark-skinned student a potential attacker.

At the time being, there is no way to know who the attackers were in last night’s incident. There is no way to know whether they were “Hartford locals,” Trinity students, or random passers-by. To claim otherwise is not only ignorant, it is dangerous. If more incidents such as this (and I mean the email response by the student, not the attack) occur, it could very well be that Trinity needs a wall, not only to protect its students who will be so bitterly hated by a community Trinity has shunned for years, but also to protect those very people Trinity students hate.

My thoughts, as well I’m sure as all the thoughts of the 4Legs community, go out to last night’s assault victim. I wish you a speedy recovery free of fear of your community.

Concerned Student
Yea cause Trinity really needs to crack down on all those students who roll around at 3am in dark cars with tinted windows looking for random kids to arbitrarily tune up…
“hartford local” is not a pejorative term, thats just what people say because “hartfordian” sounds weird
describing criminals and vandals according to their ethnicity is not at all inappropriate; thats exactly the way police handle their own reports
Trinity has not “shunned” the Hartford community, just look at the learning corridor on broad street – millions of dollars in donations from the Trinity community; Hartford would be even shittier without the economic boost it receives from the college and its students
get over yourself. drop the whole “lets all be politically correct” schtick, its getting really old

Someone with half a brain
Someone with dark skin is identified as what? Hispanic, Mexican, Brazilian, Southern European, Black, African American, Nigerian, Filipino, mixed descent? ESPECIALLY at 3AM?
Police include in their reports other information as well, and put down an assumed ethnicity.
How can you truly identify an ethnicity? You can’t. You can say that a person was of dark coloring or pale. This isn’t “politically correct schtick.” It’s common sense.
Donating money isn’t nearly the same as being involved in the community. When is the last time you were off campus and interacted with a local? Economic boost, yeah right. Trinity doesn’t pay taxes because it’s a NPO. You know why locals have access to the Library? Because the government helps fund our library if it’s open to the public.
Finally, have you had racial slurs spit out at you? I have. I’m not even a minority. Who said these to me? Drunk fraternity brothers. So, yes, I believe that a Trinity student has as much motive to rape me as well as kill me.

AConcernedStudent
Rape is a different issue entirely. In case you haven’t noticed, these past few months, these weren’t rapes that were reported. They were muggings and assualts. I’m sorry that you take the drunk ramblings of a 21 year old as a serious death threat. I’m not saying it’s right. It’s very rude, and I’m sorry that someone said that to you. But please stop being over dramatic. If you honestly believe some of the students at this school are capable of murder, then what are you still doing here.

Student
Since you only replied to the last paragraph of that post, I suppose it is the only problem you take issue with? Let me explain then.
First of all, rapes that weren’t reported doesn’t mean that rapes don’t happen. Approximately 80-85% of rapes aren’t reported. Secondly, the number of muggings and assaults has decreased over the years. I cannot stress this enough – we live in a city. In ANY city, violence happens.
Thirdly, I’m not taking “…the drunk ramblings of a 21 year old as a serious death threat.”
I’m saying that if a student is capable of rape, what makes them any LESS capable of murder? EVERY single person is capable of murder.
Finally, I must say that I am offended by your last comments. Not only is it “rude,” it is ignorant, disrespectful, and says more about the character of the students and student body than any “reputation,” as so often has been brought up, has. I am in no way being over dramatic. Until it happens to you, then please do not comment on my “drama,” and I won’t comment on your ignorance.

AConcernedStudent
Ok. The last time I was off campus and interacted with a local was when I was a member of the Rising Stars Tutoring program that helps kids in the magnet school across the way.
Secondly, I would not expect the school to send out an email revealing the rape of a student. That is highly personal information. I realize that rape happens. My point was that the assualts and muggings were coming from the surrounding community. The rapes that occur on campus are probably done more frequently by the students. Which makes it a different issue. Should it be addressed? Absolutely. But we aren’t talking about the social problems of trinity. We are talking about our relationship with the outside community.
And I would have to disagree that most people would murder someone in cold blood. In dire circumstances, out of self defense, maybe. But not in a “beat you within an inch of your life” sort of way.
And don’t think that I have never been called a slur before. Slut and bitch are two that come to mind. They may not be racial, but they certainly are sexist.
That being said, I was rude about someone calling you a slur, and I’m sorry. It is wrong, and whoever did it should be punished, but once again, that is a social policy issue, not a community issue. And when I said you were being overdramatic, I meant you were being dramatic about the ability of trinity students to murder other people. Because I still believe that that was a claim made out of anger, not what you truly believe a student is capable of.
AConcernedStudent
Also, I would like to point out, that like how in every city violence occurs, in every college, rape occurs. That doesn’t mean nothing should be done to try to improve it.

Concerned Student
my apologies, I’ll stick to
referring to people in your prescribed way from now on. have you met my
very darkly colored friend John and my light-to-medium yellow skinned
friend David?
trinity students don’t arbitrarily assault people.
end of story. thats why its appropriate to say chris kenny was assaulted
by hartford locals. sorry, i mean “residents of the general
geographical area surrounding Trinity”
a white kid is a white
kid, a black kid is a black kid, a hispanic kid is a hispanic kid, an
asian kid is an asian kid. doesn’t need to be any clearer. 6 thugs who
beat an innocent kid into a pulp don’t fucking deserve any political
correctness, especially not your special, contrived brand of it
a
lot of the anger you perceive coming from your peers is a result of the
following facts. Hartford is a dangerous city and Trinity’s
neighborhood is especially bad. the safety and security of Trinity
students is an absolute necessity. a harmonious and diverse social
scene on campus, absent elitism and “drunk fraternity brothers” spitting
racial slurs, is not a necessity – it is an ideal. only once Trinity
has adequately provided a safe environment for its students should it
begin reevaluating and appropriating resources towards a new social
policy.

student b
Let me address your post line by line…
“my apologies, I’ll stick to referring to people in your prescribed way from now on. have you met myvery darkly colored friend John and my light-to-medium yellow skinned friend David?”
I didn’t know you introduced your friends by color, let alone race. I’m really glad that I don’t know you because none of my friends are so… ridiculous.
“trinity students don’t arbitrarily assault people. end of story. thats why its appropriate to say chris kenny was assaulted by hartford locals. sorry, i mean “residents of the general geographical area surrounding Trinity”"
How do you know that? There have been rapes and knifings on campus by Trinity students. Can you actually verify that no student is capable of murder?
“a white kid is a white kid, a black kid is a black kid, a hispanic kid is a hispanic kid, an asian kid is an asian kid. doesn’t need to be any clearer. 6 thugs who beat an innocent kid into a pulp don’t fucking deserve any political correctness, especially not your special, contrived brand of it”
Oh how I hate this. You’re an idiot. Plain and simple. Do you know how many countries there are? How many possible origins people can come from? How often they look alike? How often mixed race children are born? How often people are INCORRECTLY identified as one race because of close-minded bigots like you? I’ll copy a part of my previous post for your reference: “How can you truly identify an ethnicity? You can’t. You can say that a person was of dark coloring or pale. This isn’t “politically correct schtick.” It’s common sense.” It’s people like you who make me sick that I go to Trinity. Not all white people are pale and have blue eyes.
“a lot of the anger you perceive coming from your peers is a result of the following facts. Hartford is a dangerous city and Trinity’s neighborhood is especially bad. the safety and security of Trinity students is an absolute necessity. a harmonious and diverse social scene on campus, absent elitism and “drunk fraternity brothers” spitting racial slurs, is not a necessity – it is an ideal. only once Trinity has adequately provided a safe environment for its students should it begin reevaluating and appropriating resources towards a new social policy.”
You’re assuming that racial slurs aren’t as dangerous as physical beatings? Have you ever seen someone drunk enough to chase after you because what you looked like displeased him? I have. On campus. It’s all a matter of safety. Racial slurs are what lead to the Holocaust in case you forgot. Not only do they exist on campus by Trinity students to Trinity students, they exist off campus, when Trinity students attack the locals and stereotype them.

Pingback: Allen Place Incident | Writing the Public Sphere
Anonymous
“Concerned Student” sounds like the type of person who makes me hate being a minority at Trinity College. People are so blind to racism. Tell me, what does a Hispanic look like? Skin tones range, and when police use it they use it in conjunction with eye color, skin tone, height, weight, and any other identifying marks. You would never see a police report that only says “Hispanic male”. Stop with the racism, its getting old.

Jakepullis
Thank you for your response. I appreciate the comment.

AConcernedStudent
Because they agree with you

Student
He’s replied to practically everyone else on here. Why wouldn’t he reply to someone who isn’t violently attacking him?

AConcernedStudent
I was referring to the fact that he thanked the person for the comment.
And I would argue that you, Mr. Half a Brain have been making some of the most violent attacks on this page.
Gus
I don’t think “Mr.Half a Brain” made violent attacks. He or she was simply refuting the arguments brought up. Although you may not like opinions that are not the same as yours, he or she made logical arguments. What violent comment has he or she made? Get a grip on yourself man.
Gus
And he thanked him for responding. So what? Should he not thank someone for commenting because they agree with him? That makes no sense.

student
Yes! We DO have smart people at our school!

Boris Yeltsin
While the language of the email was unwarranted, the report by campus security was too vague and should recognize that the student was so beat up that he needed to be hospitalized. That’s an important piece of information!! The description of the attackers is also important: six people could mean anything, but six tall/short white/hispanic/black tells someone a lot more information. Keep it to the facts, but don’t omit them.

Jakepullis
The report that Campus Safety sent out included all the information that they had and were at liberty to give out to the student body at the time. Sometimes the privacy of the victims supersedes Campo’s ability to give out information.
In regards to the race issue, there are a lot of factors. Skin color is such a variable that it often acts to obfuscate the real purpose of description. “Hispanic,” for example, describes a range of skin colors from as white as me (mostly Irish descent) to potentially as dark as someone who could be identified as an African American. I have a classmate who is Indian, but many mistake him for Hispanic. While skin coloration can be a useful tool, it should be just that, a coloration, not an ethnic modifier.

a parent
STOP! You all are missing the point, worrying about what to “call” slugs who beat people up in the middle of the night. The point is that students are not safe. How can we make them more safe?

Jakepullis
Since you post as “a parent,” I don’t know how much you know about the situation. At the time being, we have not identified the culprits. Conflicting reports of the victim and a witness lead the administration not to know for sure this wasn’t a Trinity student. What I am asking for is a calm response. I want people not to blame Hartford before we know anything for sure.
Your assertion assumes we know who did it. We do not. To use what have become racially-charged language, as several students have, in relation to the attack, is ridiculous not only because we don’t know who did it but because it assumes Hartford is the problem.

JakePullisIsAnIdiot
You act as if people are reaching for their pitchforks and torches. That is simply not the case. When you say we should have a calm reaction, I agree that we shouldn’t spew hate towards the community. However, we should be outraged that the security infrastructure was not in place to even begin to prevent this. This particular incident would have been prevented if the school had listened to the many students, parents, and alumni that asked the administration to close off the streets surrounding the campus. As a previous poster mentioned, those living on those streets that are not trinity students or faculty would likely welcome the added security. If there was a checkpoint set up a car filled with 6 individuals would not have been able to enter campus so easily, and just as importantly flee so freely that there was no chance for police to catch them.
So yes we need to be careful not to alienate the surrounding community. But more importantly we need to ensure that our administration - the leaders of OUR community – make sure something like this never happens again.
As other commenters have said, you do not have close to all the facts, neither do most of us. So perhaps reserve your high horse judgements on other people’s rhetoric until you understand the severity of this situation and the ridiculous lack of response from the school (2 emails from Jorge Lugo – whoever that really is). Where is the letter from Jimmy Jones? Dean Alford? Or ANYONE else with real power in the administration.
Listen Jake Pullis, and anyone who agrees with you, A Trinity student was beaten nearly to death by 6 people ON CAMPUS and the only school response was a 4 line summary and then a second longer, more detailed account (spurred on by the very same student email you condemned).
Not only that but there appear to be no leads because of the glaring inadequacy of Trinity’s campus safety’s ability to protect this campus.
With so many issues at play here, how do you choose the term “Hartford Locals” to take issue with?
Jakepullis
Since it has no relevance to the conversation, I’ll ignore the attack on my character that is your posting name.
After having attended today’s Campus Climate Committee meeting, I can report that 1. the initial email sent out was not authorized by campus safety (that means Mr. Lugo’s email address was not used by himself), 2. Both Dean Alford and Jorge Lugo have been scrambling since they were made aware of the incident, and 3. As of now, nobody has the information necessary to give much more information than has currently been made available.
The point of my article was not to make a judgment about the ability of Campus Safety. Whatever problems I have with them were inconsequential to my writing. The point of what I was writing was, as you say, to act as though people were reaching for their torches and pitchforks. Several people in attendance at the meeting today called for armed guards at every street corner, and claimed that we could be confident that it was “Hartford locals” who committed the crime. On the news interview conducted today, a Trinity student claimed that we needed Campus Safety to protect us in case “locals decide to attack a student.”
This is why my article is about the term. We’ve heard from the people who make complaints about Campus Safety. We will continue to hear from them for quite some time. And in a lot of ways I agree with them. But I don’t think the term is appropriate. That’s why I’m writing.

guest
You are missing the point of this article.

Lily Lanahan
“Jorge Lugo’s email to the student body and staff left me content that necessary action was being taken.”You are incredibly naive if you believe Campus Safety is doing their job adequately. I am glad that Lugo’s email left you “content,” but I’m pretty sure the rest of us realize that Campo does not prevent these incidents and apparently does not know how to respond to them either.”Sometimes the privacy of the victims supersedes Campo’s ability to give out information.”Campo considered the victim’s privacy to SUCH an extent that they failed to contact the victim’s family AT ALL. The mother was notified the next day by the victim HIMSELF. Why do we fill out emergency contact information at all??? Do not assume that the necessary action was taken when Campo didn’t even take the information of the ONE witness in the car who saved the victim’s life. The issue at hand is NOT about the language used in a student’s emotional response to this situation. It is pretty safe to say that our primary concern should be the safety of every student at our college.

Sam Burck
Can we please not make this about race?!?!?!?!
The person who wrote that email was clearly extremely emotional. Their friend was almost killed, and probably would have been dead had a car not come up and honked at the assailants.
They were angry because they felt that the email sent out by the administration belittled the extent to which the student was harmed.
Two broken eye sockets and a broken jaw… I think that some people need to understand how serious that is. The amount of blunt force trauma to the head that the victim received is enough to make somebody turn into a half brain-dead incoherent blabbering vegetable, not to mention dead. Beatings like this also often lead to death when blood clots, formed previously due to internal bleeding, break lose and clog portions of the circulatory system. Severe beatings of this type are extremely serious, one could easily compare their severity to that of gunshot wounds.
So, would everybody please forget the race crap for a moment? Who cares if the victims friend said a dirty word or two? This should be a community in mourning, not a community debating racial issues.

Jakepullis
Sam,
When I wrote this article, I felt that I made sure to be sensitive to the severity of the situation. As I said, the incident is both tragic and terrifying, and I am just as concerned as my fellow peers. That said, I think that it is times such as these when we must be especially careful to maintain a careful demeanor.
If we are to take a lesson from the United States in the last decade or so, it should be that reactionary policies are often doomed to fail. This is because people act emotional toward tragic events, instead of acting rationally. So while yes, I can understand the student’s outrage and clear desire to see something more done for his friend, his use of a “dirty word or two,” as you put it, should be under more scrutiny than in everyday circumstances. We are judged by our actions not in our best but in our worst times.
In regards to the emails sent out:
Campus Safety, as well as the larger administration, has been working with the Campus Climate Committee and the Campus Climate Incident Response Team in the past few months in an attempt to alleviate students’ concerns regarding security emails. In the past we have received a great many number of emails which have included not only factually incorrect, but racially biased and/or unnecessary information. The email that was sent out by Jorge Lugo on Sunday morning may not have addressed the severity of the injuries, but it gave all the information Campus Safety had at the time that it could report. In that sense, the email was sufficient.
The community should be talking, but it should not lower itself.

Sam Burck
I appreciate your input, and all of the points you bring up are valid.
With that, I will have to disagree about watching our actions. If we all had the impulse control and the ability to think straight when our best friends are victims of crimes such as that which occurred, than I would agree with you. To add to the sense of anger, the students sending these emails felt as though campus safety was minimizing the severity of the event. Doing so belittled the extent to which the victim was harmed, which I think is reasonable to get upset over.
Impulse control is nice when it’s an option, however I don’t think it is reasonable to expect everybody to hold it together when these type of things happen to people we care about. Friends of the victim also clearly felt that the administration stepped on their toes. I think we need to let this go, and wish the best for this poor kid.

Concerned Parent and Graduate
Trinity graduate, resident of Hartford suburb, and parent of a current Trinity student here.
You are off base about the relationship between Trinity and the City of Hartford. “Hartford” hates Trinity? Trinity has transformed the surrounding neighborhood for the better with the schools in the Learning Corridor, the Boys and Girls Club, and the community ice rink. Many Hartford students have graduated from Trinity. Trinity generously supports local charities and causes. Camps for local children thrive in the summer.Trinity spurs economic development and aesthetic improvement in the local neighborhood. Trinity professors give freely of their time and talents to help the local community. Trinity is a complete “plus” for Hartford and any thinking resident of the city knows and appreciates that. Trinity IS a good neighbor.
In contrast, Hartford is increasing a “minus” for Trinity. The cultural advantages and the internship opportunities can only go so far in selling parents and students on attending Trinity rather than similar liberal arts colleges. I often worry about my child’s safety at Trinity and ponder solutions.
As someone who drives in the Trinity neighborhood frequently, I say the college has done almost nothing to use school’s geographic footprint to structure safety. One exception is the closing of Vernon St. as a through street (which it was during my days at Trinity). Summit St. should be closed to through traffic with a car entrance (with a security guard) on Trinity Terrace. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to drive along Summit other than to attend to business at the college. Through traffic can be routed on Zion. Crescent St. should be closed to local traffic as well. Trinity owns all the real estate there and there is no business or any other reason for those unconnected to the college to drive through that area.The houses on Allen Place are all owned by Trinity and Allen should be made one way with no outlet like Vernon. This would greatly decrease the ability of criminals to drive around and terrorize and vandalize.. Afflect St., which intersects Allen, should be a cul-de-sac. All points of entry to campus that are needed should have a gate and security. This is what Providence College does. Boston College also has areas cars must pass through security to enter. I have found neither campus feels “oppressive” in any way.
If Trinity could leverage its good relationship with the city to structure the traffic flow around campus it would be such a safety advantage. Foot traffic could be guided by strategetic use of decorative fencing so that the campus was accessible, but points of entry minimized and security concentrated in those area. People should be free to come to games, attend Cinestudio or lectures, etc. but should expect to drive through a security point to enter.
Trinity also needs an underground parking garage. How about in the Crescent area? Imagine how car-related crimes of opportunity would decrease.
My concerns and solutions have nothing to do with “race” or hated of “locals.” I hope students will brainstorm and come up with real, concrete security solutions because they are the most knowledgeable about how they use campus and its physical footprint.
And one last point. If you think strategic use of grilled decorative fencing is “offensive” to the local community, I hope you will first start a campaign to take down the barbed wire that separates Ferris from the houses on Crescent. Now that’s offensive, hideous, and, I might add, utterly useless. And it has been there for years.
Please Trinity and students, take a good look around you and come up with ideas!

Jakepullis
While I’ll admit the ice rink is a nice addition to the city, the Learning Corridor has its own unique set of issues unrelated to the question at large. Instead of fostering private educational growth, Trinity could do well to promote coordination with the Hartford Public School system. However, I disagree with you that Trinity is an all-around good for the city. The quasi-imperialistic tendencies of the school, i.e. buying up Crescent, Allen, etc., is definitely not a positive for the city. In effect what Trinity has been doing on these streets is putting people out of their homes.
Organizations such as Trinity provide for the city in terms of reputation, but not in terms of monetary or security value. Educational institutions most often do not pay taxes on the state or federal level. However, cities like Hartford want schools within their city limits because it adds to secondary spending (e.g. students shopping off campus) and reputation, as stated above. The problem with Trinity is that students are not only discouraged from leaving campus by their peers and the often discriminatory picture painted of Hartford as a dangerous place, but are even often themselves a cause of problems within the city.
What many parents and students seem not to realize is that the overwhelming majority of reported incidents on campus are student-on-student interactions. I’ve walked miles into Hartford after dark, and felt much safer than I do on Vernon Street.
My point in writing this article was not to make a point about the relationship between the campus and the community. When I make the assumption that Hartford hates Trinity, it is based both on the apparent assumption of Trinity students that Hartford hates them, and also on the fact that if I were a Hartford resident, I would probably harbor some resentment toward Trinity. Culturally, over the past several years, the school has become increasingly separated from the greater community, and it seems to have a lot to do with students not wanting to interact with people they see as different. Whether or not Hartford hates Trinity, Trinity has proven in the last several months that it clearly isn’t fond of Hartford.

Concerned Parent and Graduate
    Your assumptions and generalizations about Hartford and town/gown relations are based on maybe three semesters of living on campus, right? Does that even total twelve months?
    I have lived in Hartford and within 5 miles of campus for 37 years and Trinity’s historical record of productive, respectful relations with Hartford is quite clear to those of us with perspective. No one misses the bus depot that was replaced by the Learning Corridor. Further, the Learning Corridor is full of PUBLIC schools of various sorts, all with tremendous reputations. The Hartford school system is thrilled with the involvement of Trinity with the existing science high school, as well with Trinity’s investment in the brand new cooperative efforts at the magnet middle school.
    You are carping about race and cultural imperialism and seem to have no ideas on how Trinity can be made SAFE for its students and staff. I believe there are short AND long term solutions and wish someone at Trinity would come up with concrete, measurable goals and try something new. Controlling vehicular traffic and foot traffic seem like reasonable places to start some new initiatives.
Sadly, your Trinity degree will be cheapened by the loss of reputation these incidents bring.

Someone with half a brain
You’re completely missing the point of his article. Although you wish to discuss safety measures, Jake focuses on the community perspectives. If a typical “Trin kid” sees someone who does NOT look like them, they assume they are locals, and this is not right.
How were the students supposed to know if the assailants are students or locals? HOW? They simply can’t. Their clothing? Their perceived race? The car they drove? All of these are based on stereotypes of both communities.
In response to your argument about Trinity being a “plus,” I suppose you are unaware that the administration cut the funding for community involvement. There is ONE person in charge of it, and he has no direct line to the president. Furthermore, programs such as those that focus on improving the aesthetics of the Hartford community, have been cut. Donating money to the Learning Corridor is not the same as being involved in the community. The Boys and Girls club? Many students who volunteer/work there have told me that they aren’t needed and hardly have an impact. The ice rink? When is the last time you looked at the hours they are open to the public? It’s at random times, besides weekends, that kids don’t have an opportunity to use them as often as you presume.
In regards to the community being a “minus,” then I dare ask, why did you send your child here? I’ve honestly found the community to be enlightening. When is the last time you or your child volunteered off campus and interacted with the locals? The last time I did, I was told a heartbreaking story about a soldier who became homeless because of his PTSD. It’s simply ignorant of you to say that the community has nothing to give. This doesn’t even touch on the advantages that living in a city provides, compared to living in an isolated town.
You also point out the fact that Jake is a sophomore, so he’s only been here for 3.5 semesters. You, however, have lived in the SUBURBS of Hartford. Although you attended (as I assume from what you posted), it was a while ago. Although you live on the suburbs, you do not live on campus. Driving around does not equate to first hand experience. A student who chooses to speak up about what HE experiences has much more insight than a parent who only hears the backlash, who does not walk across campus at night looking like an 18 – 22 year old. His opinion is much more valid than yours.
And let me ask the question on everyone’s mind: Why was this student outside at 3 AM? If you live in a city, you have to practice common safety measures. Standing out on the periphery of a campus in ANY city would result in a not so great response. If you wanted complete and utter safety, live in a school in the suburbs or in an isolated area.
Now, can we please get back to the point of this article? Jake was not proposing safety measures. He even stated that he felt unsafe on campus. Please read his article again if you failed to understand.

AConcernedStudent
To someone with, clearly, ONLY half a brain. Are you insinuating that it was OK for that student to be beaten to the point where he needs facial reconstruction surgery because he was outside at 3am? That he some how deserved this? And in case you didn’t notice, the person you are responding to is a GRADUATE of the school.
Furthermore, I would like to point out another dangerous stereotype that seems to arise among certain members of this college. The idea that the majority of the students at this school are so called “Trin kids”, that they are white, ignorant, and care only about getting shit-faced on weekends. I would like to see the evidence, or the studies, or the list of people that you personally know, that you have spoken to for an extended period that are truly like this. You are stereotyping people as you condemn them for stereotyping others.
I am a student at Trinity, and I feel unsafe on this campus. This is not about race. The races of the attackers are not an issue. The fact that they attacked students on this campus is.
I would also like to submit that there is, a good majority of the time, a way to tell whether a person is a member of the trinity community. You can call me racist, insensitive, but it is true. First of all, their age is a BIG factor. Second, their style of dress and speech. Members of this community talk and dress a certain way. Many members of this community are not as educated as Trinity students, and their speech reflects this.
I do not condemn the community for this. I understand that there are multiple factors contributing to the situations of those who live around us. I don’t even dislike the people around us. Most of them, I am sure, are wonderful, considerate people. The problem is the minority that are not. And, quite frankly, I don’t care about Trinity’s reputation within the community. We have left this campus open for years. If we close it off, it is because we have been attacked. I care about the safety of the students. If the community surrounding us cannot understand the closing of the school’s borders for the students OWN SAFETY, then that is not our problem.
Student
I am in NO way saying that he deserved it. I’m asking why he was outside. If anyone lives in a city that surrounds an area that’s not safe, then it wouldn’t make the most sense that you would go outside unless you needed to go somewhere.
Your second paragraph is my point. Stereotypes cannot be used to differentiate Trinity kids from anyone else. How do you know if they are locals?
However, your fourth paragraph counters your own argument. You’re stereotyping the both the Hartford and Trinity community…
“…their style of dress and speech. Members of this community talk and dress a certain way. Many members of this community are not as educated as Trinity students, and their speech reflects this.”
I never specified what a typical “Trin kid” was – you did.
“..they are white, ignorant, and care only about getting shit-faced on weekends.”
Trinity students, in general, fear those they perceive as locals, but there is no definition of a local just as their is no definition of a Trinity student.
In regards to safety issues, they will exist within a city, no matte what, as well as within the student body.
AConcernedStudent
1.) But.. I’m still missing why it matters where he was going, or where he was coming from.
2.) There is a difference between stereotype and statistical fact. It is a fact that most trinity students are more affluent than the members of the surrounding community. Therefore they have different (often better) opportunities than the residents of this city. Their education often suffers as a result.
3.) You used the name “trin-kid” in the first place. Being a student of this campus, I know what the stereotype is. If that wasn’t what you had in mind, how would you describe a “trin kid.” You used the word, and therefore supported the stereotype. I merely defined it more clearly based on my knowledge of the attitudes around this campus.
4.) So, because safety issues are going to always exist, we just shouldn’t do anything about them?
sudent b
-Why shouldn’t it matter? If he was drunk, as is known to happen, then he might have shouted a slur or instigated the offenders. He or his friends may not have been able to accurately identify the offenders. I’m again, not saying he deserved it, so please do not put words in my mouth. I wish him well and he’s in my thoughts. I’m simply asking what reason could he have for such a lapse in judgement.
-What about those students that are not more affluent? With 40% receiving financial aid, they may not be in the majority but they’re pretty close. You are instigating that those who are affluent are different than those who are not, correct? This is what I mean, in regards to your #2 and 3. Although you only mention education here, previously you mentioned speech and clothing. What makes you think that all trinity kids would have the same speech and clothing? This perpetuates the trin-kid stereotype. What makes you think all locals have the same speech and clothing? You say that we’re able to differentiate but we’re not.
-You have to understand that they will exist, first. The fact is that living in the 41st most dangerous city, as someone pointed out in another post, has it’s risks associated with it. There will hardly ever exist a city that ISN’T dangerous. Campus safety is not the best, but they’re not the worst either. Crime rates HAVE been down on campus.
someone who knows the city
”Crime rates HAVE been down on campus.”- Student
Directly from the Hartford Courant article on the assault; “In recent months, statistics show that the Barry Square neighborhood — which includes Trinity’s campus and borders on the Behind the Rocks neighborhood — has seen an uptick in violent crime, defined as murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft. ”
Another direct quote from the article “Though most on- and off-campus crimes have been smash-and-grab car
break-ins, alcohol-related incidents and petty burglaries, 10 robberies
were reported in 2010 as well as six forcible sex offenses, according to
the 2011 Campus Safety Annual Report.”
Do some research please.
Concerned Parent and Graduate
I am fully aware that my post is not completely “responsive” to this article, but I have no other public forum in which to make my points about safety.
I sent my child to Trinity for an excellent education and I am completely satisfied with that aspect of Trinity. You are stereotyping ME and make a lot of assumptions. My child volunteers twice a week in the Learning Corridor and I volunteer in a truancy intervention project in another CT city. My goodness, you are shrill.
student
Wow. You call me shrill for addressing all of the aspects of your post. And you provided me with no response to anything I brought up except for two points, which I will address now.
You are attacking a student right now with your “unresponsive” post. That is why I argued back. Just because you have no other outlet to make your points does not mean that you may do so here. That is not appropriate. You stated earlier that you “ponder” ways that safety can be increased, but that is all any of us will ever do. Ultimately it’s left up to the administration, so why don’t we discuss the other issues that this incident brought up? Coincidentally, Jake did just that.
Secondly, I don’t see the relevance of you volunteering in another CT city. That does not make you understand the city or the school any better, and I was not attacking your character. And let me ask, why does your child continue to volunteer there? Does he/she think he/she benefits? If so, then you’re proving my point – the community betters the students.
Someone with a full brain
You’re arguing that putting up security measures would isolate the campus. This is not true, if you want to go volunteer off campus, flash your ID badge to the person at the gate, and go through, and flash your ID back at the gate when you want to come back onto campus. Hundreds of colleges have this in place, and it does not reduce their relations with the local community. I suppose the community ONLY BENEFITS the students in your mind, but the stark facts and statistics prove otherwise, and extra security measures will only help the students.
Trinity would not become “an isolated town”, go ask someone from BC or Fordham if they feel isolated from the community. A minor inconvenience to you is not worth the safety of the student body as a whole.
This is a public forum, so Concerned Parent is perfectly right in using it to express their opinions.
I also do not care what you say, they have a more relevant and better idea of the city after having lived here for 35+ years, experience is the best teacher.
Did you ever think that when people express their opinions, it puts ideas and pressure on administrates to not simply sit on their asses and discuss ways to improve safety but actually do something productive.
student
I believe I did not argue with putting up security measures. It was not in this thread, so please correct me if I am wrong. I also did not say Trinity would become an isolated town. I said that if a student wanted to avoid all forms of community violence, it would be better for that student to attend a school in an isolated town.
This is NOT a public forum. This is a comment section on an article published by a student. The parent may express their opinions concerning the article but should not attack a student concerning other matters that they take issue with.
The parent also does not have 35+ years of experience living on campus. The parent also does NOT live in the city, but in the suburbs. The parent stated that he/she drives by the school. That is not experience.
I completely understand the importance of expressing opinions, but this is not the place to do so. The parent should email campus safety, attend the forum on Thursday, attend a campus climate meeting, etc.
student
I’d also like to point out that you and concerned parent have only attacked pieces of my argument that are not related to the issues that Jake has brought up.
someone who knows the city
If I started attacking the comments that Jake made in his article, I would no longer be a rational unbiased observer. Instead I would be forced to point out his anti-greek life rhetoric (I have no ties to greek life), and reverse racism with quotes from the article such as “it could very well be that Trinity needs a wall, not only to protect its
students who will be so bitterly hated by a community Trinity has
shunned for years, but also to protect those very people Trinity
students hate.”-Jake Pullis, the child who hates the students who he attends school with.
Instead I will attempt to defend the idea of a forum, the right of people to express their ideas and opinions with the help of logic and fact based research.
student b
Wow. He isn’t showing reverse racism. He’s saying that students are to quick to judge.
Further, this is not a forum. It’s a comment section on an article. Difference? Yes. I’m not against free speech. This simply isn’t the place for the issues being brought up in the article. Of which this is a comments section.

Anonymous
Obviously you are white because I myself have spoken to minorities in Hartford and they hate Trinity

Anonymous
and it is because they believe Trinity students hate them.

student
Trinity does not own Cresent St. so Trinity can’t close it off.
Alwayssunnyinusa
Brilliant ideas!

Trinity Student
“Crescent St. should be closed to local traffic as well. Trinity owns all the real estate there and there is no business or any other reason for those unconnected to the college to drive through that area. The houses on Allen Place are all owned by Trinity and Allen should be made one way with no outlet like Vernon.”
This is false. There is an old greek woman who lives on Crescent Street who is the owner of Park St. restaurant Broasterant. Likewise, not all of the houses on Allen Place are owned by the college.
On an entirely different vein, I do feel that IN THIS CASE making the assumption that the attackers were residents of Frog Hollow and not six 18-22 year old Trinity students is a reasonable assumption to make. Do you, Jake Pullis, sincerely believe that six of your Trinity peers would be capable of an assault that breaks both the victims eye sockets and shatters his jaw? Come on.
Do I think one Trinity student could mug/rape/knife another? Sure. But an all-out I’m-going-to-kill-you beat down by 6 Trins?? Highly unlikely.

Jakepullis
What I mean to make clear in my writing is that it is entirely impossible to know at this point in the investigation. If a Trinity student could rape another, I see no reason to believe one couldn’t kill another. In addition, I think labeling any outsider as a “Frog Hollow” resident is ignorant, to say the least. Our community should be our ally, not someone we distrust.

Trinity Student
Wow. How are we allowed to refer to residents of Hartford then?? I merely labeled the neighborhood in which the assault took place. But I’ll add “resident of Frog Hollow” to my rolodex of racial slurs, along with, apparently, “Hartford local”. Thank you Mr. Semantics. People at Trinity shouldn’t even be allowed to address the Hartford community actually, because if it comes out of a Trinity student’s mouth than it must inherently be a derogatory slur, right?
“If a Trinity student could rape another, I see no reason to believe one* couldn’t kill another.”
*SIX.
“Our community should be our ally, not someone we distrust.”
Start there and try to trust your college community then, because clearly you don’t.

Concerned Parent and Graduate
I do hate to be wrong on my facts. Let’s assume you are right and one elderly resident lives on Crescent and a few houses on Allen are not Trinity owned. They probably will be acquired soon and it hardly changes my ideas at all. I would think any neighbors would be thrilled with safer streets. Controlling car traffic, traffic flow, and foot traffic should still be possible. Think outside the box. Focus on safety and forget all this talk about how to describe what are clearly criminals who opportunistically prey upon Trinity students.
Student
Why should we trust our college community anymore than the Hartford community? Why?

AConcernedStudent
Maybe they could be our ally if they didn’t mug and assualt us.

Francis M.
Everyone is getting so distracted with all this fear-mongering and paranoia (on both sides of the “fence”), that we’re forgetting the most obvious solution to every perspective’s problem: we need to build a literal bubble. Think about it…a less extreme version of Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” defense system. Controlled points of entry/exit, simulated climate so that it’s always nice out(in), hidden cameras all over the place. We can call it “The Trinity Show,” or something. We should try our best to make sure that the material we make the bubble out of doesn’t create too strong a glare: lest we accidentally blind the surrounding “locals” of our community. Come on guys, let’s not use this dark time to fight amongst ourselves, let’s look ahead to the Bubble Bash of the future.

Heroes for America
I completely agree! I was thinking along the lines of tunnels but a bubble would make much more sense! You could even put solar panels on the outside of the bubble so that we could be an energy producing campus and then sell back extra energy to the city. You should join my new campaign. It’s currently called “Tunneling to a brighter tomorrow”. It is an initiative to create a network of tunnels so that we won’t even have to go outside and that way we would never feel scared in the open because we’d always be indoors.

AConcernedStudent
I would also like to point out to Jake Pullis, who feels safe in Hartford, but not on his own college campus, that Hartford is listed as number 41 on a list of the most dangerous places to live in America based on crime rates. I hate to think were else you feel safe.

studentattrin
… Trinity is IN Hartford.

AConcernedStudent
But Jake doesn’t feel unsafe because of the city itself. He feels unsafe because of the campus. Why should he feel safe in one but not the other? Is he insinuating that the Trinity college campus is more unsafe than other areas of the city? Because that is blatantly untrue.

someone who knows the city
I would like to start off by clarifying that I do not attend Trinity College, but I do have a loved one who is enrolled, and just so happened to be visiting from my home in Boston, MA. I do know the city of Hartford itself well enough though, having grown up in CT and worked in the city and with many of its “locals”. The stories I heard from them were horrifying. Many preached the importance of staying out of certain neighborhoods, and carrying around “protection” at all times. Two 16 year olds I worked with saw friends deal crack, steal, join gangs, and shoot and be shot by others. The first times I ever visited the campus, a girl I talked to had her car broken into the night before, and I know of two others who have come across the same fate (bearing in mind I know about fifteen students at Trinity, this is shocking). Now, the college that I am enrolled in does not have any of these problems. There were no vicious assaults, few break ins, and students did not feel threatened walking around. This is from an outsiders point of view, but how is it fair to anyone to not feel safe in the environment they are living in. This outcry is not the students being “racist” or “ignorant”, this is the students crying out for something to be done so that they may live in comfort and security. Anyone with “half a brain” would understand that the idea of closing Trinity off from Hartford is not going to destroy links with the community, and is perfectly justified. In fact, I would bet my life savings that many of the local residents would understand completely. No one is saying that there is a problem with every resident of Hartford, but all it takes is a small percentage of bad apples to seriously maim or potentially kill a student. At the same time, no one is saying that this serious crime could not be done by a Trinity student as well, but if closing off the campus reduces the risks considerably then it is worth it.
As a side note, when I tell my parents, both of whom reside in CT and watch the CT news every morning that I am going to visit Trinity, they show real concern for my safety. I am also a male, fairly street smart, and live in a much larger city full time myself (Boston), in which they do not show concern that I run the risk of being seriously hurt. Hartford has a statistical crime problem, and if something can be done to minimize the risks that the students face then it should be done.
Trinity senior
While it seems obvious to me that this discussion should be about safety and not the word choice of our fellow students in a time of emotional despair, I truly don’t understand the emphasis you have placed on the term Hartford local. How is this term racially charged? On any college campus you visit, the majority of the students were not born and raised in the area in which the college is, and thus its residents are referred to as locals. I have seen this on every campus I have visited and this is because THEY ARE LOCALS. To us, who belong to the Trinity community, people that in the vicinity outside of campus are locals. This has nothing to do with race.
The fact that you and others question whether or not the criminals were Trinity students is an indication of the utter lack of trust within the Trinity community. For the administrator’s to make this claim is one thing, as they were acting on the little information they had at this time. But I can’t see a reason to question this issue unless you yourself are trying to be politically correct and make this into an ethnicity issue. This was a crime of opportunity. It very well could have been gang related, as there was a mixture of males and females as is typical of gang behavior. I am not making this claim, but I hope you can think about the severity and swiftness with which this crime occurred and reconsider the possibility it was a group of Trinity kids. I have complete faith that 6 of my classmates would never get in a van and drive around campus until they found what they were looking for: innocent students to brutally beat up with the possible intention of even murder. This was not a precipitated attack on these specific individuals, it was opportunistic and they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you really believe that a group of 6 students could have been seeking to do to other innocent students what this group of terribly vicious individuals did? If nothing else, a group of 6 students would absolutely have a target if this crime was to be committed.
Anonymous
I am in a class where half of the people are minorities involved in
politics. They have seen the fence on Broad St go up, and they were not
happy about it. They have lived in Hartford their whole lives and they
already feel that Trinity has tried to shut them out when Trinity is in
Hartford. People seem to forget that they are still in Hartford when
they are on campus. In terms of calling residents of Hartford “hartford
locals” it IS a slur and offensive because Trinity students have made
it that way. I have heard first hand someone tell a white female that
although she is from Hartford, she is NOT a Hartford local. I know
everyone wants to think about the safety of students, because it is
important that we feel safe on campus. It is just that the tone of the
conversation alienates students on this campus as well as those from the
community who are involved at Trinity.

student
I agree.

guest
Has anyone considered that maybe it was Trinity students who beat Chris Kenny? Obviously the crime on campus makes you think that it was not a member of the Trinity community, and obviously the campus safety measures need to be much much better–but what if this ends up being an incident involving Trinity students on Trinity students? What then? Is it a ”my bad” sorry Hartford and blacks and hispanics for stereotyping you?
Residents in Hartford don’t want to be mugged either, people, no matter who they are, how poor they are, what they do for a living. Trinity students are transplanted into THEIR neighborhood. Most people in Hartford neighborhoods are not out to hurt anyone.
Students need to stop walking around at 2AM drunk or not, with friends or not, in an urban city. That’s stupid. Accountability. No matter who assaulted Kenny, the campus safety response was inadequate, but still walking around in the middle of the night puts you at risk no matter who rushes you–black, white or hispanic.

Trinity student
No, we have not considered that because it is absurd. I don’t think I’m naive in saying that absolutely no one in our trinity community, let alone 6 people in our community, would take part in such a senseless, vicious attack.
”Is it a ”my bad” sorry Hartford and blacks and hispanics for stereotyping you?”NO ONE has said anything about blacks or hispanics. Stop making this about race and ethnicity. Saying that this attack was made by 6 non-Trinity students does not indicate that.
Also, it’s not like Chris Kenny was wandering around. He attempted to make a 20 yard walk home, as many students do who live on allen place…and as pretty much every Trinity/college student in general does between 2-3 on a Saturday night.

Dr Joe
Shame on you to use racism when no mention of race is involved. Does poor mean black. Does studious mean asian. Does upper middle class mean white. Grow up and take some responsibility for yourself!