Claflin University's request to close Goff Avenue from Magnolia to Clark is in the hands of the mayor and city council. The leaders will, on behalf of the citizens, cast a vote to grant or deny the request.
The city leaders answer to the citizens and are required to make educated, informed decisions that serve and benefit the citizenry. Heavy decisions that can potentially make or break our city rest in the council's capable hands.
The citizens wish to comment on what has been gleaned from The Times and Democrat, which is pro-closure, and William Green, a staunch advocate and supporter for leaving Goff Avenue open for vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
The citizens are aware that the mayor and council positions are part-time. The city Leaders rely on the administrative employees and the department heads to direct the work and assure that all employees possess the skills and training to efficiently perform the duties of every job description. The relationship between these two entities must always be transparent, with one objective to deliver quality city services to the public, always putting the citizens first.
People are also reading…
The citizens need the mayor and city council to share the objective information that has been collectively gathered by the administrative staff relative to closure. The citizens can see no direct or indirect benefit to the citizens for granting Claflin’s request to close any part of Goff Avenue.
Today the answer from the citizens is unequivocally “NO” to closing any streets or roads within the city limits regardless of location. It is an infringement on all of the citizens' right to free access.
Granting this request would open the floodgates to future requests to close streets based on personal likes, dislikes, paranoia, imaginings and idiosyncrasies. The city leaders can’t make it up as they go along and grant wishes based on who is asking. Their true loyalty is to the health and well-being of the city and its citizens.
Orangeburg City Council has delayed a final vote on a proposal to transfer ownership of Goff Avenue between Magnolia and Clark streets to Claf…
The streets are owned by the city and should always remain under the control of the municipality. The municipality must be the only entity authorized to shut down a city street. The municipality must never put itself in the position of having to ask a citizen, an institution or business to unlock a gate [that the council prematurely allowed] to answer a call to the fire department to put out a raging fire! Time is of the essence and the potential loss of human life is imminent! The fire chief’s report will explain the danger of closing streets and denying access to first responders. An impact study must be performed to provide a clear understanding of the city’s potential liability.
The streets and roads were laid out by learned men to allow easy access from one side of the city to the other. There is a network of straight lines and curves that lay out the masterwork of vital street and road connections of the city. Thanks and compliments go to the founding fathers and early settlers. The state owns, controls and maintains some of the major streets/roads located within the city.
Orangeburg City Council must be able to foresee the accidents and liability that are waiting to happen when the universities are cluttering the city's streets with obstructions/fences in the road. The convenience of an overhead walkway has been provided to access campus-owned properties across the street. These structures in the middle of the street are a nightmare day or night for the citizens. Perhaps the chief of police can provide a report informing the council of the danger this non-conforming maze in the middle of the street can be for any law enforcement officer approaching a suspect while driving.
Still, regardless of how the citizens are impacted, the requests keep on coming. Now, Claflin University’s President Dwaun Warmack wants to close a portion of Goff Avenue. Warmack believes that closing the road will dispel all of his fears and rescue him, his family, the faculty and the students from a crime-ridden neighborhood and give them peace of mind.
Orangeburg City Council is delaying plans to turn over a portion of Goff Avenue to Claflin University while city officials study how private property owners will be affected.
Warmack reported hearing gunshots and a scuffle was cited. The citizens are deeply sorry that the Warmacks are afraid and do not feel safe in the stately home that the institution provides for his and his family's comfort.
The Claflin president is telling the citizens via the mayor and council that the city’s police department is incapable of providing the level of services necessary to protect the institution's inhabitants. The citizens are paying the city police employees to protect all citizens. Claflin is within the jurisdiction of local law enforcement.
Nevertheless, Warmack is sounding the alarm loud and clear and put the council on notice that the Orangeburg police department does not consist of Orangeburg’s finest and the citizens have a false sense of security.
Gone are the days when Claflin and South Carolina State University were nestled in small, clean, bustling, progressive neighborhoods where both open campuses were spilling into the communities coexisting and thriving in the same space in peace and harmony. Both universities sat stately on a hill that begged to be recognized and adored!
The present-day campuses look like big correctional institutions with fences and gates installed and designed to keep people out! This unwelcoming and almost intimidating look can be seen almost surrounding both properties. The students will need lots of perks to have the desire to be locked up in this seemingly prison-like environment. It doesn’t look safe! It looks scary!
The citizens have seen no evidence that Warmack’s campus security has been working with the Department of Public Safety to find ways to deter crime in the area to assure that all of the residents are safe. Warmack has not expressed any concern for his neighbors other than his fear of them and the need to secure the perimeter.
In his haste to get what he wants, Warmack is painting all of our citizens living in the area with the same negative brush. Claflin’s president has disrespected our city and its citizens, calling them criminals unfit to share space with the university.
How dare he come to the council with his hat in his hand to ask for a favor. It is in poor taste and bad manners to be condescending while making a request for assistance. As the university's representative, he shows a real lack of respect and gratitude to a city and its citizens who have historically always been welcoming and hospitable to the university. Everyone must come correct and give respect!
Local government in Orangeburg has established closer ties with Orangeburg’s universities and colleges. Key aspects of cooperation focus on public safety, community engagement and student satisfaction.
The citizens continue to welcome bright minds to our city as visitors seeking a quality education. They choose to come to our humble city to attend institutions of higher learning whose reputations stand for excellence. The citizens know that these wonderful young people will get their quality degrees and leave with their quality education that will benefit other cities and states.
Our children will not benefit from their educations and the graduates' incomes will not fuel the economy in Orangeburg and make life better for its citizens, Yet we take pride in the knowledge that the university’s graduates, upon departure, are equipped and empowered to be a credit to the human race no matter where they choose to live.
Warmack is a president who has made the mistake of not endearing himself to the community and is not seen as a friend because his actions toward them have been unfriendly. Past university presidents understood the importance of the communities that surrounded the HBCUs. Community support was essential to keep the institutions strong.
Warmack stated he was trying to work with the residents and the university was not interested in taking ownership of any Goff Avenue property. But an article in The Times and Democrat on March 30 contradicted that statement and read that Claflin has already unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the property.
The citizens find that using bullying tactics to coerce property owners to sell is unacceptable, as well as, trying to use the mayor and council to retaliate against ALL of the citizens of Orangeburg and especially the residents who live on Goff Avenue between Magnolia and Clark Street. These residents still value their homes even if the university doesn't value them.
Claflin's president is insisting that the community citizens are so dangerous that the only way to bring a sense of safety to the university's inhabitants is to deny access to all of the citizens.
The universities have done very little to add to the growth of the modest small communities that have protected the students for decades. The carnage is left for all to see in the form of vacant, deteriorating homes and structures.
Both universities view this real estate as being ripe for the picking, with presidents at the helm that are devoid of any sentimentality.
The citizens still don’t have enough facts to make an educated and informed decision regarding Goff closure. Our concern is one of due diligence. The city council needs to share the reports from the fire department, the city attorney and the police department regarding the pros and cons of closure and where we stand legally.
All other non-conforming uses permanently constructed in the city streets that are operating illegally must be removed. This proposed closing affects ALL of the citizens who reside within the city limits. The guidance that the council receives from the city’s administrative departments will be invaluable.
The universities have been given permission to build fences, erect gates, build overhead bridges/walkways in the air, and accessways to accommodate the needs of the institutions.
We were reminded that the universities bring in big bucks to the tune of millions of dollars and their importance to the community must be recognized. The citizens also know that the universities receive state and federal funding, as well, which are taxpayer dollars.
The people in leadership positions are trying to take away our civil and human rights. It seems as if the City of Orangeburg and Orangeburg County both seem to be runn like a dictatorship.
It is clear that over the years the nature of the relationship between the community and the universities has changed and community support is no longer wanted or needed. There was a time when Orangeburg's citizens were the university's most beloved and loyal supporters.
The citizens understand that both universities are aggressively marketing their schools and pulling out all of the stops to add perks to draw students and increase enrollment at all costs. We get that!
Warmack would lead the citizens to believe that the citizens will be able to access their small movie theater that is barely large enough for use by the university's students, not to mention the new and improved student center. All of these wonderful amenities were built for the university's students, the faculty, and their families and friends to enjoy. There will be no trickle down to the public The unaffiliated citizens will never benefit from them.
A lot of lip service has been given to citizens over time. The citizens find it interesting that the city and some loyal supporters are still trying to rehabilitate the old bowling alley on Russell Street. The Orangeburg Massacre has been commemorated and memorialized by local historians every year since 1968. Presentations and discussions are held by respected historians and never once have we read or heard any of them mention that the bowling alley was built in the 1970s.
Delano Middleton (Wilkinson High School student) lost his life in 1968, as well, and did not graduate with the class of 1969. This was a great loss to the community. That being said, greed and selfishness reared its ugly head and they still chose to build the bowling alley where it could only be accessed by affiliated people. Have the citizens received an invitation to bowl on campus? The Devil is always in the details! The lesson for the community is "They don’t play fair and they don’t share!” Watch what they do, not what they say!
The citizens respectfully request that the mayor and Orangeburg City Council direct the chief of police to work with President Warmack to develop ways to deter criminal activities in the city. The university will implement crime deterrents as well.
An overcast sky did not dampen the spirits of the throng of students and community members who converged upon Claflin University for the grand opening of its new, 80,000-square-foot student center on Friday.
We are sure that the university will spare no expense to assure the safety of the president, his family and the campus inhabitants. It is expected that the presidential home would have state-of-the-art lighting with cameras all around the dwelling and surrounding property.
It might be interesting to see if retired Claflin President Dr. Henry Tisdale made calls to the campus security office or the local police complaining about being afraid to live in the community and feeling unsafe in the presidential home. The historical record might be of use in determining the level of potential danger to the community.
The citizens would like the mayor and council to work with the university and find ways to improve their circumstances short of closing the street. Sometimes you have to say, NO! It's not personal, it's the business of the citizens.
Support local journalism by becoming a member at www.TheTandD.com. View our latest offer at TheTandD.com/subscribe