A Northwestern faculty member is leaving the university because he believes administrators cannot control student misbehavior, Ald. Judy Fiske (1st) said Monday night, reading a letter from the longtime resident at a City Council meeting.
Fiske said the letter, which is addressed to University President Morton Schapiro, was mailed to her. The faculty member wishes to remain anonymous, she said.
The faculty member plans to sell his home after 18 years of living near campus in the 1st Ward, according to Fiske’s reading of the letter. He wrote he could no longer tolerate excessive trash and property damage from students, especially after this year’s Dillo Day. He said a new shuttle stop near his house has also been disruptive.
NU added a stop this quarter near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Sheridan Road. The idea received nearly 100 likes on an Associated Student Government website that lets students share their suggestions for improving campus life.
“My perception is there’s a culture of tolerance or perhaps indifference on the institution’s part that students will be students,” Fiske said the faculty member wrote to Schapiro. “I hold you and your office accountable for this sort of behavior.”
In response to the letter, Fiske recommended city staff require homeowner consent when bus stops are placed within 20 feet of residences.
University spokesman Al Cubbage said Schapiro has seen the letter.
“We’re sorry to hear that the neighbor feels our students’ behavior has been troublesome, as we always want to be good neighbors,” Cubbage wrote in an email to The Daily. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Patrick Svitek contributed reporting.
— Edward Cox
