By Jon Hiser
With a sudden spike in the number of off-campus party and noise complaints, University of Portland Public Safety plans to escalate enforcement measures as a means to soothe the concerns of University Park residents.
Starting last week, Public Safety officers now disperse student parties on the first provocation rather than hand out an initial warning.
"There's no second chance, we're just shutting them down," said Harold Burke-Sivers, director of Public Safety.
Public Safety received more calls this year than usual regarding student misbehavior off campus.
Since the start of fall semester, residents have made 60 noise and 34 party complaints.
An increase in complaints is common at both the beginning and end of the school year, but the growing numbers reflect a recent trend suggesting a resurgence in complaints, according to Public Safety's Annual 2008 Report.
Off-campus ASUP Senator Micheal Scheepers said the recent crackdown hasn't elicited complaints from his constituency, but added that it has seemed to increase the speed in which Public Safety now responds to calls.
Despite the escalated
response, Public Safety officers will not take action against a party unless they confirm that excessive noise is in fact heard. Burke-Sivers said the University is taking action to communicate with both ASUP and community members to get the word out.
Burke-Sivers attributes the rise to both an influx of new students into off-campus housing and neighbors who neglected to call in complaints back in August.
"They really should've called at the first sign and not wait until the end of the year," Burke-Sivers said. "But now it's like the dike burst, so it seems worse than it is."
Burke-Sivers said the current complaints are directed largely at houses that were either never or rarely a problem in recent years, suggesting that a turnover of new students could likely be to blame.
New students, particularly sophomores, may be unaware of off-campus policy.
University policies and community standards do cover the behavior of students off-campus, but Burke-Sivers said the issue is a matter of making sure students are made aware of it.
"It's not publicized enough off-campus," Burke-Sivers said, noting that a policy can't have a deterrent effect if nobody knows what the rules are.
To fix this problem, starting next year, off-campus students will receive the "Off-Campus Guide to Living."
Four-and-a-half years in the making, the booklet covers general rules and information ranging from health and security to steps on holding a responsible party.
"We hope to educate students, not stop all parties," Burke-Sivers said.
