Parent suggests program

A com plete awareness o f the total off-campus situation by bo th N otre Dam e students and adm inistration officials was stressed by South Bend Mayor Roger Parent last night in Moreau Hall at Saint Mary’s as part o f the SMC Political W eek activities. According to Parent, the “ northeast situation,” the phrase used to describe the recent concern of rising off-campus crime, is perceived differently by the students involved, the perm anent residents of the area, and by the N D administration. “W hen the students think about the problem o f the northeast situation,” Parent explained, “ they usually think about it as the crime situation. W hen the perm anent residents think about the situation, they think about it as the student problem (trash, garbage, and noise caused by students)...when N otre Dame thinks about the problem , usually it's silent. That may be the best indicator about what they (the administration) think of the problem. Parent stated that the problem "will only be resolved by all the parties getting together and working it out." Parent, who was a city councilm an for the northeast area o f South Bend for eight years before he was elected mayor, explained that problem s which existed in the area during his term as councilman have stil not been resolved. Parent suggested an “ongoing program ” which involves an organization o f off-campus students, perm anent area residents, and other ND-SMC students meeting to discuss problem s o f offcampus students. Parent stated that neither ND adm inistration or South Bend city officials should be voting m em bers o f the organization. “Students have a right to expect decent and safe housing,,J Parent explained, “and the prime organizations responsible for that are the University o f N otre Dam e and Saint Mary’s College.” Parent expressed concern that “adequate forms o f recreation” should also be provided for ND-SMC students. “ It’s appalling to me that N otre Dam e forbids students from having kegger parties, but looks very lightly on the large parties thrown on the northeast side which create all kinds of problem s for not only the perm anent residents, bu t also students as well," Parent stated. H e explained that although police are “attem pting to pay particular a tten tion to the vulnerability o f students” in the northeast area, many o f the programs are limited by the lack of financial resources, adding that off-campus students m ust be concerned about their own personal welfare. D uring the one-hour presentation, Parent also discussed the frustrations o f students and the general public with governm ent. According to Parent, people are interested in running for office because they are “ frustrated and disappointed” with the “ lack o f power” elected officials possess. Parent noted the difficulty of officials to unite different concerns o f special interest groups, stating that these concerns m ust be “ reflected and catered to .” Parent also expressed the im portance o f a voter’s total accessibility of a political candidiate, stressing that a successful candidiate needs not only intelligence and a desire for hard work, bu t also an understanding o f people’s feelings and emotions. Parent also said that activities such as Political W eek help voters to think about political developm ent and he encouraged students to pursue politics, term ing it an “ im portant and difficult” occupation. In a question and answer period, Parent addressed students’ concerns on several issues.