The relationship between Elon University and the town of Elon has been strained for many years, according to the town of Elon Police Chief Kelly Blackwelder; Blackwelder said this is due to a difference in priorities and a lack of communication. Thus, she said her main goals as police chief are to further the neighborhood coalition and attend more student-run events. These goals have helped to begin to improve the relationship between the town and the university, yet Blackwelder would still consider this to be a work in progress.

“We’ve tried to shift gears and bring those together that want to,” Blackwelder said. “Instead of talking about change, actually identify what needs to change.” 

Neighborhood Coalition

The neighborhood coalition combines the police department, students, full-time residents, landlords and university officials. This coalition is a committee that meets and has met for the last 10 or 12 years according to Blackwelder. Yet, as a part of her new goals Blackwelder has restructured this group within the last year to be more action-based. Instead of being a place for residents to air resentment, these meetings, which occur on a monthly basis, now have become more about giving Elon students and full-time residents a place to be heard — as well as  a place for town officials to grow their perspective.

“When you've had an issue going on in town for 16-17 years…a year's worth of monthly meetings probably isn't going to have a tremendous impact. But I can see people's attitudes and the way they're approaching this committee changing,” Blackwelder said.

According to Blackwelder,  there are generally two or three consistent students who attend meetings and represent Elon students. She said this has led to a greater understanding of students’ priorities and hopes this will lead to even more students feeling like they are a part of the Elon community, which is the key to helping relations between the town and students. 

“Getting the students who are here part-time, and may not be permanent residents, getting them to feel a sense of pride in their community and a sense of belonging to the community,” Blackwelder said.

While Blackwelder feels the newly revamped neighborhood coalition is helping improve relations between the town and the university of Elon, having more opportunities for dialogue between the town and the police is something that resident adviser and School of Communications Senator Nadine Jose said she feels is missing.

Jose said she hopes to see more opportunities for students to meet with the town of Elon police outside of something like a weekly town hall meeting, which many Elon students would not have time to attend.

“I feel like there are a lot of impassioned people and there are a lot of people who care about this, but I think oftentimes it's the same people talking to the town of Elon police and campus police,” Jose said.

On-campus events, presence

In an effort to make sure that students' first interactions with the Elon police is not confrontational, the Elon police has started going to student organizations events with the purpose of being a friendly face, according to Blackwelder.

Nyah Britt, the vice president of community outreach and activism for the Black Student Union, has worked this year to build relations between students of color and campus police. Part of building this community has included Elon University Police Chief Joseph LeMire attending BSU events.

“We had a police panel and it was an opportunity to ask campus police, ‘what are their goals on campus?’” Britt said. “Just to show that they’re willing to have those conversations and that they’re listening.” 

Britt has also been working with LeMire and other members of the town of Elon police to create more events, such as Coffee With A Cop and working with the town of Elon police to allow students to see police officers before something goes wrong.

The idea of an increased police presence at Elon is something that the town of Elon police are working to do, according to Blackwelder. However, Jose said she has mixed feelings about this.

According to Jose, an issue with increasing the town of Elon police presence is that while it could lead some to feeling more acclimated with the police, it can also make others feel immediately uncomfortable.

“I don't really think campus police needs to, especially if they're just talking about presence, come into offices with guns like that. If you're walking into LaRose Commons at like nine in the morning with guns on your holster, it just scares me personally,” Jose said.

Betsy Polk, director of Jewish life and acting associate chaplain, talked about how Hillel has maintained a good relationship with campus police. She said Hillel has a good relationship with campus police and that their presence has been appreciated.

According to Polk, LeMire in particular has been helpful in supporting Elon’s Jewish students. This support was particularly helpful after the recent hostage crisis situation in Texas, with four congregants taken from Beth Israel synagogue and released after an all-day standoff. Polk said he sent out a letter to families showing his support and he also has offered to drive-by and support Hillel and Jewish families however he can.

“The recent event certainly made us, as we already are, all more aware of the need for security and safety…I will say that I reached out to Chief LeMire and he was very responsive,” Polk said.

Polk also talked about the police presence at Hillel and how despite having a positive relationship with Chief LeMire, she is aware not all students share the same feeling towards police in general. In response, she feels having students build relationships with the police department is the best course of action, allowing students to have interactions with the police outside of a negative context.

“I’m not going to minimize the experience that I know some students have had or the feelings that they have,” Polk said. “We're fortunate to have a police chief who I think is sensitive to those issues as well.”

While two of Blackwelder’s main goals are developing the neighborhood coalition and increasing police presence on Elon’s campus, she said that she is open to and enjoys suggestions from students on what else the police can focus on.

“If there's something that the student body would like to see in their town police department — programs or interactions — reach out and let us know,” Blackwelder said. ”We're open to trying to build relationships in any way we can.”

The best way Blackwelder can be reached is kblackwelder@elon.gov or 336-584-1301.