I apologize for the delay in publishing The Lighter Side. Last week the incident report system was not working and there was nothing available for me to write about. DOCS has since switched systems and we are back and running.
Where to begin… at approximately 5 a.m. one morning last week, someone shoplifted in Caseys’ Corner. I can only imagine that this individual stole a muffin or a Naked Juice or something. Which brings about few questions: was the vending machine broken? Would $1.25 Nutter Butters not have sufficed? Shouldn’t this person have been in bed?
Another student was caught vandalizing someone’s car in a campus parking lot. I cannot be sure whether this means spray painting, urinating or scraping paint away, but man… waking up to your car being messed with is a pretty awful feeling. I see it a lot here on campus. Oh my gosh, what if we have a serial vandal on campus!? I can only hope this attack was random and not personal…
As with most weeks Campus Safety got a bunch of people with drug possession charges. At least four this week, to be exact. One of these was within a McDaniel-owned house, so… even more brilliant.
Looks like there was a barn-storming night here on campus one day last weekend. Campus Safety documented a three-part charge of possession of alcohol, drunk and disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in the maintenance barn over between the soccer fields and the golf course. Students are really adapting to the heightened security on campus in terms of keeping parties under control. It seems logical, though. If you can’t party in an apartment of dorm room, go out into campus and throw down like Old MacDonald.
Another group of people was reported for having a “verbal disagreement in Rouzer.” Fortunately it did not become violent, but I’d like to take some time to go over a view conflict resolution techniques. According to the University of Notre Dame website, steps you can take to step in and resolve a conflict are:
- Listen, then speak out. Don’t bombard your counterpart with attacks and your own view. Listen!
- Gather the group. Get everyone involved to come together and have a meeting.
- Be impartial. Don’t be quick to pick a side. There are three sides to every story: his side, her side and the truth.
- Don’t postpone conflict resolution. Get it out of the way!
- Promote teamwork. Be encouraging and motivating. Above all else, don’t ever underestimate the power of a cheesy metaphor.
- Broadcast praise. Make what’s happening a model to those around.
We had another slew of cooking fires in apartments. Open a window or something, goodness.
Be smart and safe this weekend, McDaniel. Be just stupid enough to give me more content to write about in the Lighter Side next week, but not so much that anyone gets hurt.
