Hi, although I rather remain anonymous I am currently a junior studying at the University of Delaware.

On Tuesday night, right after the first day of classes, a currently unnamed freshman was struck and killed by a speeding motorcyclist (who was evading a speeding ticket) when crossing a street near campus. Four others were injured when the motorcyclist jumped off of the bike, and the motorcycle kept going into the side walk. Out of the four others injured, one was hospitalized (along with the motorcyclist).

This tragedy occurred on West Main Street, east of College Avenue, near Trabant Student Center and Deer Park Tavern. There were many witnesses, a majority of those young students, who will be traumatized by the events for the rest of their lives. 

This incident, while also being unimaginably tragic, is not isolated. In the middle of last September, Daniel Bacsik, a freshman engineering major at the university, was riding his bicycle when he was fatally struck by a vehicle at the intersection of South College Avenue and West Delaware Avenue.

The past few years, the campus community has experienced a numerous amount of tragedies. My freshman year three students died during our spring semester alone. I think that we should explore arranging a memorial for the victim as well as all other students who have lost their lives during their time at UD. They were all people who had a significant impact on campus and had people that loved and cared for them deeply. It is important that we continue to honor our fellow students, even in death.

Many students do not and have not felt safe on campus for a multitude of reasons. However, we believe that it is the responsibility of the City of Newark and the University of Delaware to ensure safety for all students. After all, the university students help the city’s local economy and put it on the map. The city should protect students and our opinions should reflect in how the city operates. The city even tried to implement a tax on students last year, because we are so ingrained into the Newark community. We should be respected and treated as such going forward.

Meanwhile, the university continues to increase the amount of students they accept each year, only further contributing to the high amounts of pedestrian traffic all around campus. This is especially true when school is in session. As most of you may know, during the highest pedestrian spikes on school days, there is a crossing guard on Academy Street. This is a genuinely helpful service offered to pedestrians that consequently encourages drivers to obey traffic laws. It is for that reason why I would implore the city to consider placing multiple crossing guards on Main Street when there are spikes in pedestrian traffic, specifically in hot spots for those places. Adding speed bumps and elevated cross walks on Main Street would also be another way to enforce speeding regulations, and should be heavily considered.

The University should also consider improving their bus system and add more available transportation, not take it away. The new app they made is deplorable. The university actually ended up taking away two bus loops. Adding more loops and additional buses would ensure that students not only make it to class on time (especially in classes near South College), but also ensure the safety of students. I believe the university should implement a 24/7 bus loop, similar to Rutger’s. That would eliminate drunk driving and pedestrian traffic at night; especially during the weekends when many students are going to the frats and bars.

Not to mention, it is also very important that traffic lights remain visible to all drivers as well as pedestrians. The traffic light near where the most recent incident occurred is only viewable from certain angels. It works like a privacy screen for your phone, the light is only visible when you look at it from specific directions. This can lead to extremely dangerous situations for both drivers and pedestrians and should be taken seriously.

Additionally, I would insist that the city, the UDPD and Newark PD “stay vigilant” when it comes to witnessing serious traffic violations. Speeding on Main Street is extremely common. Let’s focus less on giving parking tickets to students trying to go to class. Instead, let’s put our energy into legitimately protecting those students, while fostering a safe environment for them to flourish.

I would like this to be a collaborative petition, as I believe we can come up with more solutions if the conversation continues. So, as the conversation develops and new solutions are discovered, I am willing to update this petition. Soon, however, I plan on presenting this to the Newark City Council, so please sign and spread this thing around! We can make change, but we have to work together!

I would also like to add that my thoughts are with the family of the victim and all others affected at this time. My intentions are not to make a spectacle of this situation, but to ensure that another preventable tragedy does not occur again. Our community has been through so much loss in the past few years, it’s time to come together.