November 16, 2010

Dear City Councilors,

On behalf of the entire Holy Cross Community of faculty, staff, and students, I thank you for recognizing the progress made over the past year in improving communication and addressing neighborhood concerns about the off-campus behavior of some Holy Cross students.

I want to assure you that concerns have been heard and the College takes them very seriously. There have been some setbacks, but we are addressing them with both immediate actions and sustainable change.

In cooperation with Worcester Police, the College has already taken steps to control student behavior in the neighborhood and we have begun work on a more comprehensive plan to advance relationships of consistent and mutual respect in the College Hill neighborhood. We remain committed to following up on every incident of off-campus misbehavior and applying appropriate sanctions.

Our goal is to implement additional practical and enforceable changes to how we respond to behavior that disrupts the College Hill neighborhood.

While these changes will take some time to develop and implement, we look forward to sharing the results of our collective efforts with you.

As President of the College of the Holy Cross, I take responsibility for and will lead these efforts; but the enforceablility and good working relationships required for real progress is dependent on the continued involvement of the reliable and accountable expertise of leaders throughout the College. To that end, I am joined by Timothy R. Austin, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean; Michael Lochhead, Vice President for Administration and Finance; Jacqueline D. Peterson, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students; Paul Irish, Assistant to the Dean of Students and Director of the Office of Student Conduct; Robert Hart, Director of Public Safety; Ketherine Robertson, Special Assistant for Community Relations; and others throughout my administration.

The success of this effort relies on the College, City officials, Worcester Police, neighbors and students working together in mutually respectful and collaborative ways. We have indeed made progress in addresssing quality-of-life issues for our closest neighbors, and we look forward to building on what has been accomplished.

Very truly yours,

Michael C. McFarland, S.J.
President [College of the Holy Cross]