CCSGA hosted a forum on Wednesday afternoon in the WES Room to address the problems students have encountered with off-campus parties. The meeting was intended to brainstorm solutions to facilitate cooperation between CC students, the CSPD, campus safety, and non-CC residents.
An email sent out an hour before the 4 p.m. start announced the poorly attended forum, which did not achieve a solution to the problem. Three of the five students at the forum were on CCSGA council; CCSGA President Isaac Green led the discussion with Vice-President for Outreach, Allison Weibel.
This year has seen high numbers of policemen at parties, with many parties being shut down sometimes as early as 10 p.m., as Green noted. The question of where to put the blame has vexed students since New Student Orientation. The group discussed various party houses, including “The Twamp” and “The Wastement.”
The conversation addressed ways in which student-parties can avoid CSPD intervention and non-CC neighbor consternation. The group did not come to a solution but discussed various possible changes.
“I don’t blame Jill,” said a junior who wished to remain anonymous. He feels the same way many students do: that the administration is not requesting stricter enforcement at parties, but instead, disgruntled neighbors are calling the police.
The neighbor-to-police phone call bypasses campus safety, which, some believe, is a “buffer between us and the police,” said the anonymous junior.
Emily Spiegel, Vice-President for Student Concerns defended the CSPD. “Campus safety follows CSPD procedures… [they] are working together,” Spiegel said.
Green said that the problem could be summarized by a combination of “More… officers on duty during high-incident nights… There’s an obvious push and pull of students who want to party and families who want to go to bed.”
“There’s something deeper we can do [than simply urge campus security to buffer the CSPD],” Green said. Weibel urged the two students in attendance to suggest possible solutions.
“Maybe… we ask the neighbors for a grace period during Blocks 1 and 8,” said the junior, who compared the ornery neighbors to the man who builds a house at the end of an airport runway and complains about noise.
Weibel emphasized the usefulness of reporting parties. “I know it feels like telling mommy and daddy, but reporting parties enables campus safety to come first,” Weibel said. Weibel also broached training for living off campus and throwing parties.
“People are not finding the trainings valuable,” said Spiegel, however.
Weibel suggested other changes: holding the off-campus training in August or holding campus safety accountable.
“I wonder if there’s a way to zone parties,” said Green. The group then discussed the possibility of a color-coded map that would specify which houses are party houses.
“If you live on Cache or Uintah, you acknowledge that you can’t throw parties after a certain time… If you want to consistently throw parties you have to live [elsewhere],” said Green. “We definitely could take the data about noise complaints and make a map… what houses are neighbors and what houses are CC students.”
The group at first considered the map idea, but then discussed its possible pitfalls: “There would be competition over houses if we did the color-coded thing,” said Weibel.
The meeting ended with a brief discussion of ways in which the CCSGA can better communicate with students.
Brian LeMeur
Guest Writer
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