The Elm Student Newspaper
Questionable PS Behavior Exposed
Volume 80, Issue 25
May 1, 2009
By Kim Friel
Student Life Editor
Public Safety and the Chestertown Police Department do a lot for our campus and our community, especially, just recently, on the day of War on the Shore. They are here to protect us and to enforce laws and regulations. But what about when it comes to one another? Does a Chestertown Police officer enforce regulations on a WC Public Safety officer or vice versa? I would have thought so but instead of enforcing, they encourage.
Last Saturday night, the night of War on the Shore, I was awakened by the siren of a police car and thought some idiot was about to get busted for something so I quickly jumped out of bed and peeked through the window.
There was no idiot, just two policemen conversing with two public safety officers. Some time had gone by and I turned my head because I heard something else, and when I turned back around I saw someone walking slowly, observing his surroundings around the Western Shore parking lot, and posting up in between two cars to do his thing.
I was wondering what the heck he was thinking of doing with two cops and two public safety officers right there. But I was wrong. It was one cop and two public safety officers. Yup, that’s right, the man performing public urination was a Chestertown Police Officer. When he was done he said something along the lines of, “It’s going to suck for whoever gets into that car. They’re going to step in a puddle! Haha!”
While one of our noble, respectable Public Safety officers cracked a joke right back saying, “You should’ve gone over there by that white car.”
I can’t even imagine how many citations are given out weekly to students who urinate in public, and end up having to pay a $40 fine as well as being reported to student affairs and, if an athlete, to their coach.
I’m not writing this to have the student body riot and start using the great outdoors as a restroom, but I don’t understand how Public Safety can justify their hypocritical act.