The New Hampshire

Issue date: 11/7/06 Section: Commentary

What a mess this CampCo situation is. The university and the town are presented with a situation where the co-owner of a main street establishment forced his way into a female's house and then tried to touch her while she slept. That is pretty bad for a town that most would say is as safe as it gets. Just wait, though -- it gets even better. The accused, Harry Gill, was drinking prior to the incident and tried to be such a good Samaritan to the community that he went out of his way to hold a drinking party in his store after it closed. What in the world is a storeowner in Durham thinking when he holds a drinking party inside the store after it closes? Does this arrest mean that other business owners in Durham are capable of committing such a serious crime as Gill? The answer is probably not, because most of the business owners in Durham have been in the town and hold respectable records that stray far from such outrageous incidents as holding drinking parties on store property. That's a good thing to know because the last thing this town or school needs is a rash of local business using their business for anything but business.

Aside from the CampCo incident, the school on the whole looks to be functioning well. This is a byproduct of the current administration, which has worked out nicely with the new addition of Interim President J. Bonnie Newman. This newspaper's editorial staff had a chance to sit down with Newman and her cabinet to discuss issues around campus. It can be assured that Newman and her staff are working to do everything they can to help with the recent cries of racism on campus, as well as looking forward into the future to help the university achieve its long-term goals. It is understandable when students direct their criticism toward the administration, but it is not always understandable when that criticism is not justified. The true work on this campus needs to start with each individual student's actions when it comes to combating racism, and that means helping to spread tolerance throughout campus and the town as well. If every UNH student went out of his way to be more welcoming to those minorities who call UNH home, the campus would be a lot better off. A school community thrives when all hands are deck ready to take on any challenges that come their way. Sometimes, there is feeling on campus that all hands are not on deck and that is just flat out unacceptable.

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