Imagine you're standing outside an apartment complex housing mostly off-campus students, and you see a group of approximately 25 townies charge and attack any one standing outside.  You should probably visualize the picture above, but times 20, and with more intrinsic-energy-producing fireballs.  But seriously, this occurred last weekend at LaFayette apartments, and witnesses say the group of townies was mostly 16-year-old black boys.   A handful of Notre Dame kids were assaulted before students took cover inside apartments.  

Rumors suspect that this was a part of a local gang initiation, but it's difficult to know for sure. However, it is obvious that the tenuous relationship between Notre Dame students and local residents is getting worse without any signs of improvement.  Unfortunately, I don't think there is any chance that similar types of conflicts can be avoided because the hatred of ND students stands on a deep-seeded prejudice toward the privileged members of a higher social class.  There's just no changing the fact that some groups of local residents simply look at members of ND as rich, white, conservative pricks.

To quote an Alumni who wrote in the Observer (on a different subject), hopefully the image of Notre Dame doesn't further change "to be a great place to be from, but not a good place to be."