Posted on 07/18/2005 12:10:25 AM PDT by BurbankKarl
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- An Ivy League student who championed social justice and aid for underserved communities was shot and killed early Sunday across the street from a University of California, Berkeley, dormitory, police said.
Dartmouth student Meleia Willis-Starbuck, 19, was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. from a single gunshot wound, police and coroner's officials said.
"A kid comes out here to do good and they are shot - this is terrible," said Lauren Schwartz, a Dartmouth graduate who was set to mentor Willis-Starbuck this summer.
Police said Willis-Starbuck, who grew up in Berkeley and was spending the summer in an apartment near campus, was walking with friends on College Avenue around 1:45 a.m. when another group of people began to argue with them.
The argument seemed to be resolved, but shortly after, a man exited a car and fired several shots at Willis-Starbuck and her friends before driving off, said police.
"It's too early to say if the incidents are related," said Berkeley police spokesman Joe Okies. "That's something we're looking into."
A group of Willis-Starbuck's friends gathered Sunday at the intersection where she was shot. They left votive candles, tissue boxes, flowers and written notes on a tree, including one that said: "Meleia you will live on through us all."
"Whatever you needed, Meleia would do it," said Deborah Ortiz, 20, who knew Willis-Starbuck for six years. "She had her goals and she went for it and she had fun doing it."
Willis-Starbuck, a graduate of Berkeley High School, had just finished her second year at Dartmouth, where she was pursuing degrees in sociology and African-American studies. She spent her high school years volunteering at a homeless program and also worked with disadvantaged youth, according to Dartmouth Partners in Community Service, a campus organization.
"She was extremely intelligent and vivacious, a real decent human being who loved to help people," said former Berkeley High counselor Irma Parker.
At Dartmouth, Willis-Starbuck was involved in the African-American Society, the Dartmouth Alliance for Children of Color and the Dartmouth College Greens.
She was spending her summer working at a woman's drop-in help center in Berkeley.
In an essay submitted as part of the application for the internship, Willis-Starbuck wrote that it is important for college students to give back to their communities. Part of the essay was published online.
"Students frequently travel abroad to do volunteer work," she wrote. "However, it is important to remember that there are so many people that are in need of basic resources in our own communities. Whether it is education, health, shelter, etc., that is lacking, Americans must be ready and willing to aid these citizens."
Police are looking for the gunman.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Berkeley Police Department's homicide department at (510) 981-5741.
but but but but guns are banned in SF and highly restricted in CA! How can this be? This must be a lie perpetrated by Karl Rove and the right wing press!
And if you can't just feel the sarcasm dripping off that, I have oceanfront property in Nebraska that I'd like to sell you.
Seems she was an indymedia contributor in HS!
[snicker[
It a fact that naivety gets folks killed.
The naievty of the left that got this girl killed in Berkely is the same naievty that endangers us all when these folks get near power.
A group of about seven young men walked by Willis-Starbuck and her friends, said they were Cal students, and asked the women to party with them. When rebuffed, they called the women "bitches" and an argument between the men and women ensued, Youngblood said.
The word offended the women, and they explained to the men why it was hurtful, she said. Willis-Starbuck asked the men whether they would call their mothers such a name, Youngblood said. The men then apologized. The argument appeared to be over and the women had crossed the street in front of Willis-Starbuck's apartment when a car drove up Dwight Way. From approximately half a block away, a man got out and fired several rounds toward the women as they were getting into a friend's parked Ford Explorer.
Willis-Starbuck was the last one outside the car, where she was still talking with some of the men.
"We heard three shots, and I yelled 'Everybody get down!' " Youngblood said.
Wonder if it was the Cal shooting team
Sad. I pray that her family finds peace in all of this. May the Lord help them.
Very sad. Some people have no respect for human life.
In recognizing that her death is horrible I still couldn't help but notice that an Ivy League student about to enter her third year still needed mentoring. It seems to indicate that this young woman is (was) one of a large percentage of African-American affirmative action students that were put in a college above their academic abilities and then need mentoring just keep up.
The lefty politicos in the Bay Area will exploit this tragedy in an attempt to ban handguns.
Handguns for the public anyway.
Their bodyguards will of course be exempt.
Originally from Berkeley, California, Meleia is a member of the Class of 2007 and is a double major in Sociology and African American Studies. Throughout high school and college, she has demonstrated a profound concern for others' needs and social justice. In high school, she volunteered at a shelter's feeding program for the homeless; Meleia also worked at a local center for disadvantaged youths for many years. Much of this dedication to service stems from her high school visit to Cuba, where she witnessed state-sponsored healthcare and educational programs. For Meleia, this evoked questions of social justice and equality, equal opportunities for education, and government responsibilities to citizens. At Dartmouth, Meleia has continued her activism in these areas. She is involved in the African-American Society, the Dartmouth Alliance for Children of Color and the Dartmouth College Greens.
Meleia's attention to societal issues drew her to the Women's Daytime Drop-In Center. As an intern, Meleia will interact and socialize with adult and child clients, to assess and meet their needs for educational, health, and professional information and referrals. She will be involved in the nutrition and preventative health program, by participating in HIV prevention groups, nutrition discussions, and exercise programs.
******
MAKING CONTACT
a weekly international radio program
October 30, 2002
"A Set-up for Failure: Racial Inequality in Education"
Featuring: Gary Orfield, Jeannie Oaks, Tammy Johnson,
Bill Pratt and Ken Garcia-Gonzales, Meleia
Willis-Starbuck, Patrick Suppes, John Lee Johnson and
Herb Stevens, Gladys Hunt and Sascha Meinrath.
Liberal darwin award poetic justice? They want power and get surprized when the thugs and terrorists they help seize it from them.
KPFA Pacifica Radio from Berkeley carries the show.
At 1:45am on Sunday morning the world is not a safe place.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.