Townsperson physically assaults student
Meg Itoh
Viewpoints Editor
Students received an email from Steven Glick, Director of Security and Protective Services (SPS) on Friday January 27 detailing a confrontation between a student and a driver at the corner of Beall and University.
At approximately 11:00 a.m. traffic was backed up on Beall Avenue and the driver was “shouting and honking his horn in frustration. The student responded to the driver’s anger with a rude gesture, and that’s when the driver got out of his vehicle and initiated a physical confrontation,” said Glick.
The incident escalated and at one point the driver “left his vehicle and spit on the student, grabbed the student, and tried and to take the student’s cell phone,” said Glick. However, the email sent to the student body explained that the student involved was not injured.
Sara Beckstrom ’18 witnessed the event. “I saw a youngish white, bald man get out of his car and walk up to a student who was on the sidewalk at that point,” she said.
Beckstrom explained that the driver appeared to be acting aggressively and yelling at the student, and at one point, the student got his phone out to try to take a picture of the driver’s car. “The driver sort of tried to grab or knock the phone out of the student’s hand. After a few minutes he got back in his car and continued driving,” she said.
This confrontation was the first incident in approximately five years that resulted in a serious physical altercation between a student and a driver. “In the spring of 2012, several local youths were apprehended for using a blow gun to shoot darts from a passing car at pedestrians on Beall Ave. That was the most serious incident prior to this one,” said Glick.
Glick denied that the incident was correlated to tensions between the College community and Wooster residents, heightened through the election and inauguration of Trump. “There were no political, racial or sexual overtones to this incident,” said Glick. “Both parties were white males.”
Beckstrom said it was difficult to determine whether tensions between the College community and Wooster residents had reached new heights. “I have had a couple uncomfortable moments with people from the town long before the election/inauguration. However, I’ve also had lots of positive interactions with the community,” she said.
Harassment issues on Beall have existed before the election and have continued since. “Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if the election increased tensions between the town and the College because I think Wooster is divided very politically, and because the election is causing tensions to run high in general,” said Beckstrom.
The email sent by SPS to the student body also mentioned an incident on the same day at 3:47 p.m., in which someone in a silver Honda Civic threw a snowball at a student near Morgan Hall. According to Glick, the student was hit by the snowball but not injured, and the car was last seen near N. Bever St.
SPS will continue to be aware of Beall Ave. and maintain a presence as much as possible, said Glick. Furthermore, a police report was filed so the Wooster Police Department is aware of this incident and others.
Beckstrom reflected upon the incident with uncertainty. “I wasn’t sure what to do in that situation. I wasn’t sure if I should call security because I wasn’t sure what they could’ve done, since it wasn’t a very long interaction,” she said. “It did make me a little more nervous to cross the street during busy traffic times on Beall.”
If students find themselves in an altercation, Glick recommends that they avoid responding to the verbal harassment. “Ignore it and keep walking. Note the make, color, and if possible, the license plate of the vehicle, and report the incident promptly to SPS,” he said.