Chancellor addresses shootings, campus safety

Unamused

07/11/2009 01:30:18 PM

Ballard is a smiling Jack-a@#. I guess it would be easy for him to smile with two guards at the base of his driveway to protect his sleep from students making noise. I wonder,now that shots have been fired (yet again) is he gonna have a platoon of E.C.U. cops assigned to protect his smiling a@# from animals with firearms? we should all be so lucky.....

kl

07/10/2009 11:11:54 PM

Dr. Ballard needs to get his head out of the sand if he really believes what he is saying. The Chief, City Manager and Mayor all want the public to believe crime isn't any higher. Bullcrap. Just ask the officers of the GPD and also look at their stats.

ecuprincess

07/10/2009 10:04:52 PM

Concerned, how about you rephrase your comment stating "Once again blacks think they didn’t do anything wrong and anyone that speaks out against them are racists and need to be silenced." Not all black people are in that category. Perhaps you should change it to "NAACP" and the SCLC. And yes, I am black.

UGLT

07/10/2009 01:25:55 PM

ECU and Steve Ballard hold the hammer on GPD. If smiling Steve (his chosen picture didn't seem very sad about the murders) Ballard made it known that ECU was seriously hold GPD to stop violence downtown it would happen.Saying it's not crime doesn't change what it it. Mayor Dunn never takes any action and neither does Wayne Bowers.

UGLT

07/10/2009 01:16:36 PM

Why do our leaders keep saying we are in a safe environment? If Steve Ballard would do something rather than explaining why murder in downtown Greenville was more or less inevitable bring your kids on down it's great then maybe it would be!DO SOMETHING!1

.........

07/10/2009 10:29:18 AM

GPD has noting to do with what happens on campus,if he does why do u need campus police

et

07/10/2009 06:31:59 AM

e.c.u needs a spiritual awakening,instead of these spirits keeping everyonelse awake!

To: to Observer

07/09/2009 06:29:14 PM

It is possible that it no longer takes place. However it was regular event 4 nights / week during 2007-2008.

TO; Observer

07/09/2009 02:41:28 PM

Actually, I have never ever seen that and been by there many times.

Observer

07/07/2009 07:45:13 PM

The only thing Steve Ballard cares about is keeping the street in front of his house quiet. Anyone ever notice the ECU cops being paid to sit in his driveway and tell people to be quiet when they are walking by his house late at night? What a joke.

uiou

07/04/2009 08:52:05 PM

this newspapper blows

to Will

07/04/2009 03:41:43 PM

The Daily Reflector is being nice by letting us post here.

They are not limiting your 1st amendment rights- they are actually helping you. If the DR wanted to shut down all comments they could. They are a private business and can do what they want.

Jess

07/04/2009 01:09:41 PM

Although ECU has enacted many new safety precausions, maybe emergency buttons inside buildings, like bathrooms, should be contemplated. Since there was a sexual assault in Austin building recently, this seems like a good idea.

Will

07/04/2009 12:33:28 AM

I guess the DR would rather have people go to WITN...

Will

07/04/2009 12:32:28 AM

Wow. Does the Daily Reflector understand the 1st Amendment? WITN has over 700 comments on these stories - that's around 700 people or more reading their site and having a debate about the issues surrounding the violence in our town. Isn't that part of the story in a way? Why censor the people in this matter? Its the only forum we have to discuss issues and maybe get our voices heard.

concerned

07/03/2009 11:09:16 PM

I want everyone to know that apparently because the SCLC was offended by people criticizing blacks they have pressured the reflector to close the comments section on just about every other link on their page to this story excluding this one.

Once again blacks think they didn’t do anything wrong and anyone that speaks out against them are racists and need to be silenced. Reflector please turn the comments back on on all your articles.

ECU Student

07/03/2009 07:30:05 PM

Our leaders know we go downtown but with the exception of a few good people who care about students, very few will tell people how it really is. Something should be done about that.

More Police

07/03/2009 07:28:23 PM

ECU are scared to death of the local SCLC and NAACP. Hiring policies reflect that BIG TIME. So, would Ballard say something to GPD Chief, NO. Would he say something to guy who supervises his PD, NO.

Police

07/03/2009 07:26:46 PM

The ECUPD report to the guy who is in charge of student affairs. The ECU Chief bungled WVU, messed up on snow ball and walks out on interviews. The guy who runs Student Affairs is just as bad.

PD

07/03/2009 03:00:12 PM

Bailey didn't fix the problem and her only accomplishment was to add another layer of hold time to the process. For this sort of success, we (the taxpayers of NC) pay her over $150K per year

PD

07/03/2009 02:52:17 PM

I totally agree. Financial Aid has been a disaster at ECU for as long as I can remember. They're as likely as not to mess up your aid, assuming they process it at all, and calling them results in being on hold forever.

PD

07/03/2009 02:51:58 PM

Ballard's answer was to hire Judi Bailey to fix the problem. Her solution? To install a call center staffed by people who can not do anything to fix your aid and for which you must still spend an hour on hold to talk to. Once you speak to them and find they can't fix your problem, they transfer you to financial aid and you get put on hold, AGAIN, forever.

DW

07/03/2009 02:37:15 PM

None of them felt they were even obligated to respond to, much less address, my issue. A single phone call to Erskine Bowles, however, and they couldn't deal with my problem quickly enough. Ballard is the problem at ECU, not the solution to it, and he needs to go.

DW

07/03/2009 02:36:46 PM

Ballard was brought here to build up athletics. Those of us with brains knew this when he came and know it now. His administration has been a textbook example of imperious implementation of change and lack of accountability to the university community. I personally had an issue which I emailed most of the hierarchy he's installed, and him personally about, on multiple occasions.

DW

07/03/2009 02:35:51 PM

Chief Anderson's policies have largely CREATED or EXACERBATED the problems in Greenville. His appointment was a political move intended to get the black leaders to shut up and stop complaining, and we've gotten exactly what we paid for in that deal. He never should have been hired, this community policing garbage never should have been implemented, and they both need to go, yesterday if possible.

Cutty

07/03/2009 09:33:57 AM

I hope that Mr. Ballard's public comments are just the opposite when he gets behind closed doors with the police chief and the city officials. The university needs to really pressure these folks to get their heads out of the sand and take some more proactive measures to keep the campus and downtown area completely safe.

mel123

07/03/2009 07:57:19 AM

ECU will fall by the wayside if this area is not cleaned up. My child graduated this year and when asked over the last 3 years by friends and family if they should send their child here I tell them to read the DR online. No one has opted to send their children here. It is not safe anywhere in GV after dark. Something has to be done.

ECU Mom

07/02/2009 08:58:03 PM

I'm an alumni of ECU and was so proud thay my daughter chose ECU as well. However, I doubt seriously if I will encourage my other child to attend. Most of the students go downtown so therefore it still GREATLY affects ECU. Come on Ballard put some pressure where it's due. Parents are going to think twice before sending their kids to ECU if the GPD doesn't gain contol of the crime that city has!! And everyone knows Greenville isn't anything without ECU!!!

TimothyLeary

07/02/2009 08:51:19 PM

Funny, this comes from the man that fired one of Greenville's native sons and sharpest attorneys, Mr. Ben Irons. Also, isn't this the same city that is ramping up serious code violation patrols (seriously, it is HUGE) at the same time it can't find the perpetrator of this crime? Talk about a city that should have bigger fish to fry, but then, we're in an economic downturn, and the city finds that the code tickets can muster up some income...

Ballard not to blame

07/02/2009 07:31:20 PM

But his Chief (one who walked out on TV interview about Tazer because he did not know answer and who was in charge at WVU game) and GPD Chief are incompetent and worse. You need an overhaul Ballard, same goes for City Mayor Dunn.

ECUAlumnus

07/02/2009 07:20:03 PM

I just want to point out that this statement from Dr. Ballard was distributed a full 48 hours following this tragedy. Also, FYI, the lovely Campus Safety Report he references/posted only includes 2005-2007. The 2008 and 2009 data is not included. Way to be on top of it, Steve.

shut up and act

07/02/2009 06:28:04 PM

i find it funny how there are so many comments on how fed up people are yet it is done over the faceless internet. if you are a citizen of greenville and are truly fed up then act. band together and march on city hall. naacp and other groups have no problem doing that, why do oridinary people? if you dont have the guts to do that then i suggest you shut up and either deal with it or move. im no fan either but it will take more than just one person to stand up!

SO SAD

07/02/2009 04:36:11 PM

NO ONE CAN FULLY CONTROL WHAT GOES ON IN THIS CITY OR ANY OTHER CITY SO U NEED TO STOP POINTING FINGERS HE IS NOT THE ONE TO BLAME.IT IS A TRAGEDY THIS HAS HAPPENED BUT THE BLAME SHOULD NOT BE PLACED ON THE CHIEF.

Bartender

07/02/2009 04:03:13 PM

Noone is blaming ECU, we are blaming the new Police chief.

I was there before him, and I was there after him.

Guess what, it has gotten 10x worse with him since he took over. IVE SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYES !

Yankee Snob

07/02/2009 03:32:48 PM

bizkit...thanks...I strive to be condescending...glad you noticed.
I was referring to the idiot comments...not the story...and for the record, I'm no fan of the chief nor his goober department.

Biscuit

07/02/2009 03:12:35 PM

Hey Yankee Snob, I didn't see any comments saying that Ballard hasn't contributed to ECU. I just think he's misinformed by his underlings. It's not Chief Anderson's fault those two young kids are dead, but his poor policies contribute to the crime in Greenville. By the way, I'll say this for you, you chose your screen name well. You come across even more condescending than most yankee snobs do.

William

07/02/2009 02:26:13 PM

As an ECU grad and a current resident of Greenville and a teacher at local public school, I have seen the gang problem just get worse since 2002, not better. The last two years have seen an incredible increase of violence from my vantage point as a teacher. Sorry Chancellor, but I don't see how Chief Anderson has made progress against gang violence; I have seen quite the opposite.

Like you know

07/02/2009 02:24:27 PM

Wasn't a girl raped right on campus last week in the Austin Building bathroom? How safe can downtown be if this is happening a few feet away from the center of campus?

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/49241097.html

Yankee Snob

07/02/2009 01:39:01 PM

Only the uninformed or the patently hateful would not see the immense contribution of Steve Ballard to ECU and the entire area. To associate him to this tragedy shows an ignorance and ugliness that is so indicative of the small thinking so prevalent on these bully ridden forums...I suppose its to be expected in this thankless town.

These are the FACTS

07/02/2009 01:26:38 PM

Fact: GPD's anti-crime efforts were MUCH more effective under Simmonowich. Anderson has figuratively castrated the anti-gang units. His no chase policy is a good example of his philosophy. It DOESN'T WORK and people are dying. And the ECUPD and GPD have had a very close working relationship going back to the 1980's. Ballard tell your underlings to stop lying to you.

Fed up ECU Grad...

07/02/2009 01:23:21 PM

who doesn't buy the company line. I lived in Greenville for 15 years, and have recently moved away primarliy due to the racial tension and overall lack of city leadership in dealing with school and social issues. Sorry, but it will be a cold day in hades before I let my children go to school in Greenville, unless something changes.

Disagree 100%

07/02/2009 12:45:01 PM

Ballard, you are so full of sh*t. Things have progressively gotten worse sense his arrival to GPD. Quit kissing arse and start demanding a change in the way this city is ran. Otherwise, you will start losing donors like me and future students. If you think the town is heading in the right direction, then maybe its time to get rid of you as well.

cj

07/02/2009 12:39:41 PM

ballard is such a douchebag. only seems worried about orientation and people seeking to pursue their education elsewhere. NEWSFLASH: better clean up this place if you want students and especially parents to keep sending their children(money) here to the hood.

Biscuit

07/02/2009 12:27:24 PM

I wonder if there are any stats on the number of students, both on and off campus, that have been assaulted, robbed, shot, or murdered over the last five years. It may be no different than any other college town, but it's still scary to me.