Slippery Rock Borough Council President Dave Miller was wrong when he expressed doubt that an incident during Slippery Rock University’s homecoming weekend last month doesn’t rest on the borough.

In fact, the incident does rest on the borough — as well as on the university.

Miller’s opinion smacks of shortsightedness; it also is dangerous from the perspective of borough residents.

Miller made the comment during a council meeting Nov. 1 in response to a statement by borough police officer Jason Bennett, in which Bennett expressed concern for the safety of officers, area residents and SRU students.

Bennett’s concern stemmed from a party held by the university’s Black Action Society, but he didn’t restrict his concerns to that group’s events.

According to Bennett, the party in question “turned into a riot” at approximately 1:35 a.m. Oct. 15, resulting in a response by every borough officer on duty at the time and more than a dozen officers from other departments.

The situation was so tense and consuming, with an estimated 500 to 700 people at the incident, that borough officers were unable to respond to an emergency call at the local Sheetz convenience store.

It was after Bennett asked the council to take steps to help prevent future incidents like the one in question that Miller made his inappropriate assessment of the matter.

“This, obviously, is a university issue,” Miller said.

It is a university issue — a big one — with which SRU must come to grips, but it also is one that both the borough and Slippery Rock Township have legitimate interests in addressing.

Borough residents and their properties should not be at risk because of uncontrolled goings-on at or near the campus. The same is true of the township and its people.

What happened on Oct. 15 must not happen again; at the very least there must be guidelines for reacting swiftly and firmly if such an incident ever again evolves.

At the Nov. 1 meeting, Miller suggested that borough officers approach SRU officers about the problem. Miller noted the good working relationship between the two departments.

But with what happened Oct. 15 still a major topic of concern, the situation requires more than a few police officers sitting down to discuss possible future responses.

There needs to be better guidelines for campus events — traditional events as well as those not so traditional.

Also, as noted by Bennett on Nov. 1, neither borough nor campus officers have been trained in crowd control.

All considered, it would be a positive, generous gesture on SRU’s part to pay for such training, not only for SRU police but also for borough officers.

Slippery Rock Township does not have a police department.

“What will it take to get this under control?” Bennett asked. “It’s just getting ridiculous.”

What first should happen is a unanimous opinion by the council that the situation must involve its input — and a commitment by the university to work with municipal officials in dealing with the issue.

As council president, Miller should take the lead in setting up a framework for dialogue with the university about the problem, not merely throw up his hands and utter “not our problem.”

It is the borough’s problem, as well as the university’s, and it will continue to be.