On Wednesday, Oct. 13, lights and music filled the College Green as the first ever Campus Safety Community Night began. Various emergency service vehicles lined the pathway between Seegers Union and the Baker Center for the Arts, drawing eyes. What looked like it might have been an emergency response at first glance turned out to be the opposite as festivities filled the lawn beside Victor’s Lament.
A large inflatable obstacle course encouraged students to compete for the fastest time, a long table of free desserts was provided by Dining Services and large speakers loudly played easily recognizable pop hits. Perhaps the most notable attraction was the mechanical bull that even Marti the Mule took a spin on. Cetronia Ambulance Corps, Muhlenberg Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA) buses and Muhlenberg Campus Safety had tables where students could talk with members of these organizations, ask questions or even interact with resuscitation dolls.
“EMS and Campus Safety are two organizations that students should really feel comfortable with,” explained Giulia Gerschel ‘23, secretary and member of the Muhlenberg EMS team. “I think the idea of this event is just to get students to know our campus safety officers and to recognize our faces as EMTs [Emergency Medical Technicians] if they ever need it, and also recognize Allentown Police and Cetronia Corps who come to transport patients so that if you are in a situation when you have to call campus safety or EMS, it’s a little less daunting.”
“EMS and Campus Safety are two organizations that students should really feel comfortable with.”
Giulia Gerschel ’23
Colin Burke ‘24 agreed, stating that he thought this event was important in order to “build stronger ties with our campus safety and other organizations… I think it’s better that we get to see them face to face and develop a personal relationship.”
“It’s important to acknowledge our presence in the larger Allentown community,” added Sarah Teitelbaum ‘22. “I think this event is a great example of that, because we get to interact with so many community leaders who are really just here to support us, even though we’re on the Muhlenberg campus.”
“I think this event is a great example of that, because we get to interact with so many community leaders who are really just here to support us, even though we’re on the Muhlenberg campus.”
Sarah Teitelbaum ‘22
Yet, in the wake of the fun and community building, there lingers a frightening and undeniable fact: there have been more than 40 shootings in Allentown this year alone, two of which have taken place between the time of Campus Safety Community Night and the publication date of this article. What’s more, the Allentown Police Department has faced multiple investigations and lawsuits over the course of the past two years regarding alleged misconduct and cases of police brutality. And in July 2020, mere blocks from Muhlenberg’s campus, a cell phone video captured the moment when an Allentown Police Officer knelt on a man’s neck outside of St. Luke’s Hospital-Sacred Heart on West Chew Street. Just two days after Campus Safety Community Night, on Oct. 15, a shooting took place outside of Leaders of Our Future Learning Center.
“The Allentown Police Department has a designated unit called the Community Outreach Unit. This is a unit with the ability to function with partnering with [sic] community members to work hand in hand with solving issues in the community. Officers in this unit attend and organize events throughout the community. In regards to the obstacle courses and mechanical bull riding, those are activities that bring all factions of together [sic] by simply engaging in conversation and fun behaviors,” responded Allentown Police Captain Kyle Pammer when the Weekly reached out for a statement.
According to Pammer, “Shootings and incidents involving guns are on average with prior years,” and events like Campus Safety Community Night work toward lessening the frequency of such incidents by stressing “crime prevention strategies and programs the department has in place to be able to report crime or suspicious activity anonymously such as Texttip.”
Though Campus Safety Community Night was a lighthearted and successful event, questions linger about much more serious matters. Is community engagement the key to answering the calls to end gun violence and police brutality in Allentown? What else needs to be done?
