Our neighborhood is deeply hurt by the violent 3 a.m. attack on our friend who stepped out of his house to ask the neighbors to take their noise and party inside. It could have been any of us, as we have all done the same thing over the years.

The attackers came from a building where a party was being thrown by University of Maine students. Underage drinking and drinking to excess results in otherwise nice people shouting in the middle of the night, cursing, lying in the road drunk, speeding in their cars, vomiting in the public way and many other amazing things we could tell you about.

For the past 20-plus years we neighbors have been asking for landlord accountability, university participation in consequences – especially with athletic teams. We also have asked for stop signs in the cross streets and for our various codes dealing with occupancy numbers, parking spaces, noise control and garbage to be enforced with vigor. The time has come. We want to take back our beautiful neighborhood. We want our neighbor to feel safe and recover well from this serious assault.

Emily Wesson

Orono