Off-campus studens discuss neighborhood safety issues
By Ame Phitwong & Caitlin Moran
A week and a half after his neighbor allegedly set part of his house on fire, senior Rob Vandermeulen said his perspective of the neighborhood remains the same.
"We live in North Portland after all," Vandermeulen said.
Vandermeulen's neighbor, Robert Austin, was arrested on Sept. 15 under suspicion of arson. Vandermeulen and his three housemates hosted a social gathering the previous night at the house they rent at North Willamette Boulevard and North Saratoga Street.
Austin entered the house uninvited, according to the students, and later punched two guests before being taken to Detox by Portland Police. Early the next morning, Austin returned and allegedly lit the side of the house on fire. The blaze was quickly extinguished, and Austin was taken into custody. No one was injured.
While most UP students never experience the kind of violence Vandermeulen experienced, the transition from living in residence halls to a off-campus rentals can sometimes bring a range of problems, including neighbor confrontations and petty crime. And although incidents of arson are rare in North Portland, many students say they have experienced other crime-related incidents.
Seniors Ilsa Lundgren, Jaime Hedlund and Sheena Harkness rent a house on North Portsmouth Avenue that was burglarized during last year's Christmas Break. Earlier last year the students also had two bikes stolen off their porch.
Since the break in, Lundgren, Hedlund and Harkness have made an extra effort to lock their doors and secure their belongings.
They say the experience made them more aware of their surroundings.
"It's not as safe a neighborhood as it feels like it is," Lundgren said.
The North Portland Stereotype
Although North Portland is often portrayed as a hot spot for crime, most off-campus students say they feel safe in the neighborhood.
Senior Mark Peters, who currently lives on North McKenna Avenue, said he and his housemates have had two bikes stolen at a previous residence, but overall he is comfortable in North Portland.
"I feel right at home in this place," Peters said.
Crime statistics suggest that the neighborhood adjacent to UP, University Park, is one of the safest in North Portland.
University Park has experienced 30.9 crimes per 1,000 residents so far this year, according to the Portland Police Bureau. The data include numbers for murder, rape/sodomy, assault, burglary, arson, theft and other crimes.
In comparison, North Portland as a whole and the city of Portland as a whole have experienced 55.7 and 53.2 crimes per 1,000 residents, respectively. In Arbor Lodge, the neighborhood where the fire took place, 69.2 crimes per 1,000 residents have been reported so far this year.
Neighborhood Dynamics
Lundgren, Harkness and Hedlund say interacting with neighbors is one way for off-campus students to stay safe. Since the break in, the students have made an extra effort to ingratiate themselves to the folks living beside them, and recommend that others do the same.
"Make friends with your neighbors," Hedlund said. "They can watch over your house while you're away."
Jim Kuffner, assistant vice president of Human Resource and Administration, echoes Hedlund's sentiments.
Kuffner, who also acts as UP's liaison to the University Park Neighborhood Association (UPNA), said the university and North Portland residents are getting along well.
"The relationship between UP and the UPNA has never been better the last four to five years," he said. "It's excellent."
But the relationship hasn't always been so rosy, Kuffner said.
About ten years ago, a small group of neighbors objected to the changes and expansions occurring at UP.
"The first major flare was the building of the Chiles Center," he said. "They didn't want to see the university grow."
And around that same time Kuffner said there were more conflicts between students and neighbors, too.
"There was a 'you don't like us and we don't like you' attitude,' " he said.
These days, Kuffner lives about a mile from campus and said he can empathize with residents and their apprehension about living near students. He's had his own experience with unruly and loud students.
"Neighbors have real concerns. There was a time when some students, who were out of control, used to live next door (to me). I got so frustrated I wanted to move out and sell my house," Kuffner said.
But in the last five years, UP has changed its strategy, reaching out to neighbors and creating a better rapport with them by providing student residents extra guidance, inviting local residents to UP events and increasing Public Safety's presence in the area.
Every year, the university sends out an information packet to neighborhood residents, informing them about when classes resume and whether they can anticipate UP students moving in to their neighborhoods. The packet encourages residents to introduce themselves to students and to create friendly ties. Also included in the information packet is the phone number for Public Safety and other contact information residents may need should they have any concerns about UP or its students.
"We send a packet to students about their rights and responsibilities as well. It tells them to be considerate of their neighbors' yards and (everyone's) right to have a peaceful neighborhood," Kuffner said.
Shirley Richards has lived on North Fiske Avenue for 45 years and has seen many changes.
"I think the university is a great place; I think the students are great kids," she said.
Richards said she has had good and bad experiences, but mostly good.
"Years ago, we had one bunch that we had to call the cops on multiple times," Richards said. "They were partying so loud. That was the only time."
Richards has not experienced any problems this year, and she recommends if students want to get along with their neighbors they should be considerate about noise levels at night and pick up any litter that may end up in nearby yards.
Sometimes, though, being a considerate neighbor isn't enough to avert trouble.
Vandermeulen said he and his housemates informed neighbors that they were planning to have guests over before their gathering that ended so badly. He believes he and his housemates took all the appropriate steps to ensure everyone was safe.
"I don't know if there's anything we really could have done about this," Vandermeulen said.
