"If you don't like my dog shitting on your lawn, then move your college."

[DetlefK]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/22/1852178/-White-guy-says-historically-black-school-should-move-if-they-don-t-want-campus-used-as-dog-park?utm_campaign=trending

Howard University is a historically black college and university (HBCU)—one of 107 in the country. And, as shown in an interview that has gone viral on Twitter, a white resident close to the university thinks it should just “move” if students aren’t thrilled about having white, wealthy neighbors use their campus as a dog walk. How did we get here?

First of all: It goes without saying that Howard is an established presence in D.C., and has been there long, long before residents of the rapidly gentrifying surrounding neighborhoods, including Bloomingdale, LeDroit Park, and Park View.

“You know this is a university. You know this is a historically black university. And you feel so entitled that you’re just going to walk your dog there?” Briana Littlejohn, a graduating senior at Howard, explained to DCist in an interview.

“Entitled” is the perfect word here. And a white resident who agreed to be interviewed on the subject seems to have no idea what “entitlement” means.

“They’re in part of D.C. so they have to work within D.C.,” Sean Grubbs-Robishaw, a white Bloomingdale resident told local Fox affiliate in an interview that has since boggled minds on social media with its incredible lack of introspection. “If they don’t want to be within D.C., then move the campus.”

[mr_lebowski]

1. Is the problem with people walking their dogs on campus, or about not cleaning up afterward?

Untoward comments about moving the campus aside, I don't think it'd be particularly 'right' to tell people they can't walk their dogs on campus ... as long as they're not allowing their pets to ... uh ... litter.

And a 'dog walk' is different than a 'dog park'. Are people letting their dogs run off-leash as well? Can't imagine even students there are allowed to do that.

[hlthe2b]

2. That was my question.. If they disallow dogs (other than service dogs) do they have signs posted?

Many campuses have beautiful spaces and greenbelts that border neighborhoods. I used to routinely see people with their dogs out walking in urban universities like Emory in Atlanta, of course, CU in Boulder, CSU in Fort Collins and even the urban DU campus in Denver. While of course, they enforced the owner "clean-up" policies that would be expected anywhere else, I've never seen this come up. Frankly, it surprises me.

That said, the guy does act like an entitled "a'hole" and I have no doubt there may be much more left "unsaid" on the issue.

[SunSeeker]

6. Dogs leave poop and pee on the grass.

You can't pick up pee. And poop often smears on the grass, even when you pick it up. It's nasty and unsanitary. That's why dogs are not allowed in many parks, soccer/football and lawn areas. Fecal residue is left on the grass even by owners who pick up after their dogs.

[FoxNewsSucks]

15. How do those places keep out

birds that shit/pee on the grass or fixtures? What about squirrels, rabbits, mice, snakes and other wild animals that empty their bladders and bowels there? Who picks that up?

The problem is asshole entitled owners.

[SunSeeker]

20. Birds tend to poop where they roost--trees, not lawns. Same with squirrels.

I can't recall ever stepping on squirrel poop.

[llmart]

23. Oh really? Tell that to the geese.

[SunSeeker]

24. Geese don't congregate and poop on urban lawns like this college. nt

[llmart]

29. I beg to differ with you.

I worked at a university for years and every spring they had to hire a guy with a border collie to keep the dozens of geese off the lawns. I watched it out my office window every single year.

[SunSeeker]

31. Oh come on, geese poop at Howard is not a problem, it's dogs.

And their disrespectful owners.

The fact that geese may alight on some large lawns, particularly with nearby ponds, is not relevant to this discussion. Howard is a small college in a tight urban environment. Geese would not go there.

And what is your point anyway? If the occasional wayward geese let loose on a lawn, then that gives license to the neighborhood to use the lawn as a permanent toilet for their dogs?

As the article explains, these are hallowed grounds to these students. They don't want dogs walking on it, smearing it with shit and soaking it in piss. The students say they themselves avoid walking on the lawns and stay on the paths out of respect. It's their college. We should respect their wishes.

Why is this such a controversial concept?

[llmart]

33. I was only responding to your assertion that birds only poop in trees.

I haven't weighed in on the dog issue because quite frankly I don't have all the facts. But being an avid dog person myself who has been involved in training guide dogs for the blind for years and years, I do think that there are way too many dog owners who are extremely inconsiderate.

[SunSeeker]

36. I said "birds tend to poop where they roost." And that is correct.

Geese don't roost in trees, they poop where they hang out near ponds, etc. My statement needed no correction.

But I wholeheartedly agree with you that there are way too many dog owners who are extremely inconsiderate.

[mr_lebowski]

18. So do lots of wild animals and they definitely don't clean up the poop

Just sayin' ...

[SunSeeker]

19. Not on urban lawns. nt

[TeamPooka]

43. wild animals don't have a human who is supposed to pick up the excrement their pet leaves behind.

If someone doesn't want to pick up after their pet then fuck them.
and if they can't respect other's property then we don't have to respect theirs.
Many people may want their pets to shit on Mr. Sean Grubbs-Robishaw lawn now.
I hope he gets all he deserves.

[mr_lebowski]

44. The comment I replied to was about how you can't really pick up

after your pet entirely even if you try.

Hence my comment.

A little 'fecal bacteria' remaining in the environment after one DOES clean up after Rover ... isn't going to cause problems unless maybe if there's 100's of dogs in the same smallish area all the time.

If you have a backyard and a dog ... you're living right next to that same bacteria every day.

[TeamPooka]

46. Rain, sprinklers etc take care of some of that and the minute rest is absorbed into the earth.

[Blue_true]

40. I am pretty much where you are on this.

My university was a magnet for community activity, including people using the ample sidewalks to walk their dogs. In my mind it is a non issue if people are sure to clean up thoroughly after their pets and treat students with respect. Unfortunately, in densely populated urban areas, spaces that have a good deal of peaceful open space become a magnet for walkers and their
dogs. The man at the end of the article saying that a university that has been there well before his grandfather was born should move, is an example of a tone deaf fool.

I think the situation can be turned into a positive, the university meets with surrounding residents about rules for walking their dogs on campus, and local community organizations promote and fundraise for the university.

[Celerity]

3. Sean Grubbs-Robishaw, lol

[SunSeeker]

5. ...

[2naSalit]

4. It's the campus of a private university not a public park.

And I have no doubt that there is a problem with the entitled... they rarely clean up after their pets.

[hlthe2b]

7. And they have every right to disallow dogs if they choose, but they need to offically do so if

that is their intent. Heaven knows I don't want to defend the jackass, but even private universities typically afford public access as a shared accommodation to neighborhoods they adjoin in urban areas--particularly since taxpayer dollars are typically afforded for traffic control, road construction, etc. I've never seen a private college or university that is totally restrictive of public access, unless, it is part of a military installation or a prison. Of course, they can restrict access to both people AND pets, but... make the policy official if so. Signage???

[JustAnotherGen]

8. What if it was Harvard?

Yale? Princeton?


This guy doesn't pay tuition.


The University shouldn't have to waste time on an entitled snot when their chief focus needs to be on educating and guiding tomorrow's leaders.

If the guy needs a safe space to walk his dog - then he can go back to his gentrified neighborhood and tip off barbecue Becky when a Howard student stands on the sidewalk.

I mean after all - it's what his kind does when WE step over the line.

Right now he's triggering a situation / confrontation at a HBCU where a black body is going to get shot.

Note - UNCF donator since February 2004.
Note - Helped low income black families make alternative arrangements for their children last August in advance of those foaming at the mouth racists rally. It fizzled - but we were prepared to ensure they didn't pull a South Carolina at Orangeburg - i.e. Come onto campus and lynch black children.
Note - 8 of 10 siblings in my dad's generation attend an HBCU.
Note - they had to go there in the 40's, 50's and 60's because the White folk across America didn't want to rub shoulders.
Note - 2 of my cousins went there.
Note - 3 of my generation have children there - TODAY.

This arrogant uppity snot needs to be looked into to understand why he thinks his dog is equal to those three innocents.

[hlthe2b]

14. Read my detailed post 2 and 7 again. Same applies

Emory is but one example of a very pricey private university. Why would Harvard not likewise be expected to be treated similarly? Really....., Geebus. Talk about entitled... they can surely set their policies however they wish but in so doing they have the responsibility of making it clear via signage or whatever measures needed to inform visitors.

Again, most private urban universities hold a cooperative relationship with the surrounding cities and neighborhoods who typically aid (using taxpayer money) in construction/maintenance of major road thoroughfares and cooperate with traffic and law enforcement with their own private staff. To suggest they are, like a military installation or a secured prison or corporate-espionage-concerned industrial-facility CLOSED to the public is nuts--whether it is Harvard or Yale or Podunk Tech. They can surely set their policies, but it is their responsibility to inform the public of those policies. To suggest otherwise is the ultimate in "entitled monied assumptions" to me.

The guy was being a jackass as would anyone who would dare take a dog anywhere without strict attention to removing their solid waste. That goes without saying.

[malaise]

11. It's the campus of a private university not a public park.

But but but - it's the campus of a BLACK university so they and their dogs are ENTITLED to do what they want.

[2naSalit]

32. That would be

the default excuse, whether they admit it or not. That IS the issue. But those of us who rely of public services are also called "entitled" but if we did that, you can guess what would happen if it were Harvard or such. Shit, in England, you can't even walk on the grass on many campuses like King's which has amazingly beautiful greens, because you can't walk on them, you must remain on the paved wlakways and that's all there is to it, but they do have signs.

[malaise]

34. I was known for telling students and others to get off the grass

[JustAnotherGen]

9. The arrogance

He can take his ass back to his safe space and invite the racist rally to his neighborhood this year.

[IronLionZion]

10. A lot of pet owners don't clean up after their pets

and clearly didn't think it through when they got a pet for the first time. So we see it in the walkway right in front of my building (concrete, easy to pick up the poop or wash off the pee), stairwells, elevators, roof deck, even the flower gardens with big signs saying no pets. It's very unpleasant to ride in an elevator with dog pee or poop. There are pet friendly parks and plenty of taxpayer funded bags for pet owners to use.

But some folks do have a lot of yuppie entitlement, since it's not necessarily just whites. Dogs are not just furry friends to play with when you get home. Many dogs are lonely and frustrated during the day when their human is not around and need to go really bad by evening. Accidents happen. The pet's human should clean it up. It's a bit entitled to expect someone else to do it, even if there are paid cleaning staff. The paid staff are Latino or black, so then you get into some economic entitlement since the yuppies have good office jobs that pay more money.

[RT Atlanta]

12. people must clean up after their pets

it's so irresponsible of the people to let their dogs shit all over the place without clean up. Dont have a fucking dog if you cant/wont clean up after it.

my favorite (sarcasm!) is the folks who will bag their dog's shit - presumably to be tossed in a trash can - and then leave the bagged shit beside the sidewalk, trail etc. for the shit-fairy to toss in the trashcan for them. Assholes....

[2naSalit]

35. They do that on trails in the National Forests and in National Parks as well

so there's that blast of blatant disrespect and willful ignorance too.

[RT Atlanta]

41. it kills me too because I literally clean up their dogs' shit

See those bags of shit in plenty of parks - sometimes within eyesight of trashcans.

I will haul shit bags out to the closest trash at trail heads in the Chattahoochee NPS system here in ATL.

Many of those same asshole dog owners disregard the 'pets must be leashed at all times' signs that are at every trail head the second the owners clear the parking lot. I have had more than one shouting match with those scofflaws as well about their unleashed dogs.

[2naSalit]

47. In the NP

where I worked, they didn't care if you were a uniformed Ranger, they would argue that they could bring their dog on a trail. They also don't think about the diseases they leave behind in their shit but they also provoke attack from the other wildlife. from bears and wolves and eagles to elk and whatever wild thing that eats meat will come and try to kill that dog, even if it's in your pocket. And there's no way you could run fast enough to avoid being harmed. And then, if they live, they sue the park and the Ranger who just told them to go back to their car with the dog.

[Blues Heron]

13. you won't find a less civic minded cohort than the urban dog people

It's a real plague. This latest dog fad has really gone too far. The familiar litany - dogs off leash, barking all day and night, shit bags left all over the place, has become a real problem. Howard should outright ban dogs.

[SunSeeker]

25. I so agree. nt

[NBachers]

28. Yep, I see it all over.

[RT Atlanta]

42. agreed

n/t

[RobinA]

16. Sad

when dog walking becomes a racial issue. Or is turned into a racial issue. Every campus I ever went to/lived near, public or private, was used as a community park by the neighbors. Particularly more urban campuses.

Hell, I remember the bad old days when, on my campus, dogs were actually allowed to play Frisbee on the lawn [gasp] UNLEASHED. I don't know how any of us survived.

I'm only 60 and I never thought I'd say it, because I always wondered how older people became resigned to passing on once they got to an advanced age. But I'm starting to get it. The world just becomes such an unrecognizable place they just don't want to be here anymore.

[SunSeeker]

26. More people, more dogs, tighter spaces mean dog poop and pee is a bigger problem.

The world has changed because there are so many more people on it than when you were a kid.

[MichMan]

17. Nothing in the OP suggests that it has anything to do with not picking up waste.

Last edited Tue Apr 23, 2019, 12:06 PM - Edit history (1)

The people quoted seem to have more of an issue with the people with dogs just being present , instead of any particular behaviors.

I wonder if this is really about the dogs in the first place.

[SunSeeker]

27. No, it's the dogs. Even if you pick up poop, you leave poop residue.

As the article explains, these are hallowed grounds to these students. They don't want dogs walking on it, smearing it with shit and soaking in piss. The students say they themselves avoid walking on the lawns and stay on the paths out of respect. It's their college. We should respect their wishes.

[Paladin]

21. Latest figure for going to Howard University for a year: $43,201.

I think for that amount, Howard students shouldn't have to walk around piles of dog shit on their campus.

And Mr. Grubbs-Robishaw can go fuck himself.

[lunatica]

22. UC Berkeley is a dog friendly campus.

Not only can you walk your dog on campus but it’s also a no leash campus. People always clean up after their dogs. There are doggie do bag dispensers all over the campus. In the decades I worked there I never saw dog poop on the ground.

[SunSeeker]

30. Howard is a much smaller campus in a much tighter urban environment.

Even if don't see dog poop, residue is left on the grass and of course pee soaks in and is never picked up.

As the article explains, these are hallowed grounds to these students. They don't want dogs walking on it, smearing it with shit and soaking it in piss. The students say they themselves avoid walking on the lawns and stay on the paths out of respect. It's their college. We should respect their wishes.

[lunatica]

39. I didn't mean to sound like I was being critical of the college

The grounds in UC Berkeley are kept beautifully too. The OP reminded me of it. i’m Retired and living in New Mexico now, but I really miss the campus.

[struggle4progress]

37. chartered 1867

[struggle4progress]

38. Howard University president statement about dog walking on campus

April 22, 2019
By Najja Parker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

... President Wayne A. I. Frederick said pet owners should not bring their animals to the historically black university’s private areas.

“We recognize that service animals are a necessary aspect of modern-day life and we will accommodate them as needed,” he wrote. “We appreciate pet owners respecting our campus by not bringing pets onto the private areas.”

He said he wants to see the campus “remain pristine and symbolic of all that Howard University represents” ...

https://www.ajc.com/news/world/howard-university-president-issues-statement-about-residents-dog-walking-campus/4bTjSEcQ44PjFmiFYkS68H/

[TeamPooka]

45. Stupid people. There are only two rules to being a good citizen & dog owner in public

Keep your dog on a leash
Pick up their shit.

If you can't handle those two simple rules then fuck you, you shouldn't have a dog.
Period.

And yes, I am a dog owner who lives for my Siberian Husky.
And I follow those two simple rules.

[MichMan]

48. Sounds like they need to post signs around the perimeter prohibiting companion animals from entry

if they feel that strongly about it. They can call 911 on any violators.