Justin LaSelva, Senior Class Representative

Creating a community among students and Middletown residents

Middletown is criticized as being too small, too boring. Many Wesleyan students consider "townies" a nuisance. And crime on campus is becoming a regular occurrence, as muggings and violent assaults happen with alarming frequency. All these issues are interrelated and remediable.

Wesleyan students already participate in volunteer activities and work at businesses around the city. But we need to expand our outreach. It's time we stopped simply dumping millions of dollars into Middletown. We need to balance our funding with a massive increase in community involvement.

Middletown High School

We can create strong bonds between town and gown, increasing mutual respect and cutting down on campus crime at the same time. We can also make Middletown a more beautiful place to live and work, benefitting all.

As your Senior Class Representative, I will:

  • Initiate "Beautify Middletown", regular events where Wesleyan students would work with residents and Middletown students to clean and groom different areas of the city, including parks and the downtown area.
  • Direct the Office of Community Service and Volunteerism to reach out to Middletown businesses, to seek employment opportunities for students.
  • Direct the WSA's Community Outreach Committee to work with city residents and officials to plan regular events that bring together Middletown residents and Wesleyan students.
  • Work with Out House and environmental organizations to plan educational, outdoor recreational activities that bring together Wesleyan faculty and students, with Middletown residents and students.
  • Work with ResLife to strengthen neighborhood bonds between woodframe residents and their Middletown neighbors.
  • Expand outreach for volunteer opportunities in Middletown.
  • Institute, through the Community Outreach Committee, a recognition program for all students who volunteer for at least one hour each week somewhere within Middlesex County.
  • Support the WSA's position against the Armed Forces Reserve Center's placement on environmentally sensitive land in Middletown.

We've worked together to achieve victory. Now, let's work together for change.