Lunch with the Bonner Scholars at WVWC

I was invited to attend a lunch with several Bonner scholars and WVWC leaders. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss voter registration of students and student city issues. It has been reported in Buckhannon 2015, student exit interviews as well as interviews as far away as Fairmont, that Buckhannon is not student friendly. The students feel singled out by city law enforcement especially when returning from downtown or Fraternity functions late at night. We have become a town with a college and not a college town.

I have asked for additional information that supports these claims and if substantiated I feel we should work toward developing a more student friendly atmosphere. This may take a while because it suggests a law enforcement philosophy change in the way we relate to WVWC students. First and foremost for the safety of the community and the students, laws cannot be compromised and I expect our law enforcement officers to dutifully uphold the law. The philosophy change that might be necessary involves adding mercy and grace to the tools of justice that our officers carry on their belts. I would like to think of our officers as peace officers rather than law enforcement officers. It's a small nuance in definition but I think it has a large impact. When responding to a noise complaint at a fraternity party I would hope the arrival of our city police would have a calming effect as opposed to an inflammatory effect. I have ideas about how this might be accomplished but I want to visit with law enforcement leadership and test my thoughts there. There are always two sides to every story.

The other topic discussed at lunch was student voter registration for municipal elections. It would appear that there are no valid restrictions that prevent WVWC students from registering to vote in Buckhannon. Students from PA, VT, RI and DC may not wish to register locally as their in state scholarships might be in jeopardy. WVWC students live here almost 9 months of the year and I believe they have the right and obligation to express their desires through the ballot box. Students are eligible to register up to 21 days before a city election and may vote absentee as early as 84 days or no later than 6 before an election. Another interesting figure I learned is that there are only 2854 registered voters in the city. I hope all who read this blog take time to register to vote. It is important that your position is counted. As always your comments are appreciated and welcome.