Peace comes out on The Green

The sun was shining and the balloons were flying for "Peace on the Green," a free outdoor concert held on Thursday by PEACE OUTside Campus, the Lindsey Bonistall Foundation.

Lindsey Bonistall was a university student who was murdered in her Towne Court apartment in May 2005.

Many of Bonistall's friends and family were present at the event that took place on the North Green from 4 to 9 p.m. Approximately 15 Resident Student Organizations had tables around The Green, promoting student safety. Peace A Pizza sold food, with all proceeds going to the Lindsey Bonistall Foundation. Several live bands performed, including Pull Out Couch, Fever Dog and Three Legged Fox.

Mark Bonistall, Lindsey's father, said the family catered the event to student taste.

"We wanted to tell people they need to be safe. If that means food and music, so be it," Mr. Bonistall said.

The Lindsey Bonistall Foundation was founded two years ago by university students Jon Little, Christine Bush, Katie Johnson, Nicole Gengaro, Isabel Rivero and Joe Cioffi. Johnson said they were all good friends of Lindsey and lived on the first floor of Dickinson B their freshman year.

The founding members are also all graduating seniors, just as Lindsey would have been, Johnson said. They hope to pass the organization on to younger members like Danny Ahearn.

Ahearn, a sophomore, lives near the Bonistalls in White Plains, N.Y. His older brother was friends with Lindsey in high school and he saw her often.

He said he plans to continue the organization after the founding members leave. He feels it is his responsibility because of his closeness to her.

"Everyone coming in my year heard about it but didn't really know [Lindsey]," Ahearn said. "I knew her. I should be doing this."

Bush, Lindsey's former roommate, said the organization is actively recruiting.

"Everytime we do something, we try to get people to sign up," Bush said.

Kathleen Bonistall, Lindsey's mother, said there are chapters of the foundation at several other universities, including Cornell University, Fairfield University and the University of Kentucky. All were founded by people who knew Lindsey. She hopes the organization will continue to spread to other campuses.

"We are hoping to double that, triple that [involvement]," Mrs. Bonistall said.

Mr. Bonistall said a major accomplishment of the Delaware chapter was the initiation of a program that urges safety inspections for Newark apartment buildings to prevent similar crimes from occurring. The program, called the "Certified Off-Campus Housing Program," checks for features such as locks on doors and windows, exterior and interior lighting and landscaping that could allow a criminal to hide near entrances or windows.

The city has not made these inspections mandatory, however. The only apartment that requested inspection and is currently certified is Towne Court Apartments, the apartment complex where Lindsey was murdered.

Cpl. Scott Simpson of Newark Police said the building department of Newark performs the only required inspections on apartments. They make sure the building meets fire-code standards. There are some safety checks built into the inspection, but not the kind the Bonistalls outlined in their program.

"They are not conducted from a crime-prevention perspective," Simpson said.

Bush said she wished the city would enforce the Certified Off-Campus Housing Program.

"It needs to start with the city," she said.

In addition, individual landlords should take responsbility for the safety of their residents, Bush said.

"I know people who live in houses without deadbolts on the doors," she said.

Towne Court staff had a table at the event to recruit students to live in their apartments.

Manager Kathleen Madden said the Bonistalls came in to inspect the building before giving it their certification.

Some prospective residents still ask her about the murder, but it is getting less common, Madden said.

"I think everyone's excited about the new security features," she said, noting that there is now a chain lock and a deadbolt on each apartment door and a charlie bar on every window and sliding glass door.

Freshman Stephanie D'Apollo attended "Peace on the Green" as a leasing consultant for Towne Court.

Safety is an issue close to her heart because she was attacked in the fall when she went to visit her boyfriend at Wesley College in Dover, D'Apollo said.

She was walking out to the parking lot alone at approximately 1 a.m., she said. She had just opened her car door, when a man pushed her into the driver's seat and got in beside her. He covered her mouth so she could not scream.

D'Apollo said she honked the horn with her hands and her legs. A woman walked by and called out, scaring the attacker. He bit D'Apollo's face and then ran off.

The man was captured and, in addition to her attack, was charged with at least two rapes, she said.

D'Apollo said she did not feel the need to be cautious at the time of the attack. Though it was 1 a.m. and she was walking alone, her car was close to the building, she said.

"Most people think they are safe just walking a few feet," D'Apollo said.

She is a lot more cautious now, she said.

"When it starts to get dark, I don't go anywhere by myself," D'Apollo said.

D'Apollo is going to live in Towne Court apartments in the fall. She said she feels safe because of the precautions the complex has taken.

Freshman Jessica Best said security can be an issue for on-campus residence halls as well as off-campus apartments because students often hold the door open for people they do not know.

"You feel bad. You're not going to say 'Let me see your ID,' " Best said.

With her was senior Nicole Gerber, who said she has learned about security since she came to the university.