Campuses

Towson University is trying to reassure its student population and address the concerns of national civil rights groups after a pro-white race student group recently announced it would conduct crime-watching patrols at night. Matthew Heimbach, a Towson senior and founder of the White Student Union, made headlines across the country earlier this week for the patrols, which he said were in response to a spike in black-on-white crime. Heimbach said the patrol members would be unarmed except for flashlights and pepper spray, though he had previously told Towson's student newspaper his members have gotten firearms training.

Barely a week after the group made national news for advocating for racial segregation at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Towson University's White Student Union is again drawing attention for plans to conduct nighttime patrols to watch for crime. Matthew Heimbach, a 21-year-old senior and founder of the group, said his group plans to go out a few nights a week - the men armed with only Maglite flashlights, the women with pepper spray - and will attempt to make a citizen's arrest if they witness a "violent felony.

The long-planned Metro Centre in Owings Mills is set to finally stir to life this week with the opening of Baltimore County's largest library. Officials envision the library branch, to open in a building called the County Campus next to the Owings Mills subway station, as the anchor of a cluster of shops, restaurants and apartments that they have long hoped would form a new center in the northwestern suburb. Also planned for the County Campus are dozens of classrooms and offices for the Community College of Baltimore County.

To be strong, healthy and safe, Baltimore needs leaders who maintain their priorities in challenging circumstances. Last year, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake increased funding for coordinated Out-of-School-Time (OST) programming, which uses public schools as a hub to create "Community Schools" that offer a comprehensive range of services and opportunities to children, youth, families and communities. That was a good first step. As members of the Family League of Baltimore's Community and School Engagement Steering Committee, we now call on the mayor to show leadership by following through on her public commitment to double the funding for an OST and community school strategy, to $10 million.

Several more people fell ill at the Johns Hopkins at Keswick campus this week, following an incident last month in which nearly two dozen employees reported dizziness, nausea and headaches. Officials have tied the previous illnesses to a hot water heater that became contaminated with nitrites when a technician accidentally inserted the chemicals into the drinking water system instead of the heating system. Overexposure to nitrites can cause a range of symptoms that include difficulty breathing.

Officials on Tuesday continued investigating the second round of illnesses in less than a week at a North Baltimore office building but did not quickly find a link between the two bouts. Still, officials overseeing the investigation are confident that the building is safe and have decided it will be open for business on Wednesday. The water heater that was identified as the source of last week's sicknesses — more than 20 people reported headaches, breathing problems and dizziness — was taken offline before the building, part of the Johns Hopkins at Keswick campus, was reopened.

In a recent commentary, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. described several examples of what he saw as over-the-top political correctness on college and university campuses ("Campus liberals run amok," Feb. 24). However, one does not need to resort to such extreme examples. An undercurrent of liberal thought runs through day-to-day life on every public college and university campus. There seem to be at least two reasons for this dreadful problem. First, professors are trained to think through issues, and they are charged with teaching students to do so as well.

A 19-year-old man who was stabbed on the campus of Coppin State University on Wednesday evening is expected to survive his injuries, Baltimore police said. City police responded to a call reporting an assault on the campus about 5 p.m. and found the injured man, who was taken to a hospital. Police did not know whether the man was a student. Campus police officials declined to comment Wednesday night. Police said the man is believed to have gotten into a fight with a suspect before he was stabbed, and the suspect fled before police arrived.

A police recruit wounded in a training exercise can respond through hand signals but remains hospitalized with an unclear path to recovery, said a Baltimore attorney representing the officer. State police identified the injured officer candidate on Wednesday as Raymond Gray, 43, of Baltimore. Gray, who was training to be a University of Maryland campus police officer, was accidentally shot in the head with a live round Feb. 12 during what authorities have described as an unauthorized training exercise using simulated ammunition.

University of Maryland, Eastern Shore officials on Monday said state police are investigating assertions that campus officers took an extended period of time to respond to the fatal stabbing of a student during homecoming weekend. Edmond A. St. Clair, 21, of Severn was stabbed on the Princess Anne campus Saturday night. St. Clair's family has said that it took too long for police to help him and that the assailants lingered at the scene after the stabbing. Campus spokesman Bill Robinson said state police are constructing a timeline.