Staff Editorial: Good community relations work both ways

When it comes to impressing its neighbors, St. Joe's may be fighting an uphill battle.

Over the course of the conflict with Lower Merion residents surrounding the improvements to Maguire Campus, the university has been accused of accepting "80 percent of its applicants" because it's "big on sports," suggesting that the quality of the students is below par. In various other outlets, notably community blogs, criticisms directed at the university have similarly implied that Saint Joseph's students are not respected in Lower Merion because of the potential nuisances they could be to quiet neighborhoods. Merion residents' stipulation that no residence halls be constructed on Maguire Campus suggests similar misgivings about St. Joe's students' behavior.

Zoning and publicity battles aside, the university's struggles with community relations exist on both sides of City Avenue. This past week, the Philadelphia Daily News published a letter to the editor titled "My 3 a.m. nightmare of St. Joe's students." The letter, written by Wynnefield resident and Penn grad, Daina A. Richie, bemoaned the hell-raising behaviors of students in the Wynnefield neighborhood.

According to Richie, an average night in her neighborhood includes "loud banging on the door at 3 a.m. Amplified music at all times. Random sexual encounters at all hours. Women's laughter and arguing. Drunken rants. Screeching cars all day and night."

While Richie is correct in asserting that her neighborhood's environment is different than others' due to the presence of college students, she doesn't acknowledge a benefit that shared community with the university can provide: college students provide immense economic benefits to local housing markets, businesses, and non-profit organizations. In addition, Richie's description of St. Joe's students as particularly drunken or obnoxious when compared to other universities ignores the obvious fact that college students everywhere (even beloved Ivy Leaguers) drink. A lot.

Students' proclivity toward drinking doesn't excuse them from disruptive or inappropriate behavior, and they remain first in line for maintaining a good image of the university. But holding expectations that any neighborhood adjacent to a college will be just as quiet as another is unrealistic.

Assuming that the drinking habits of students will not change anytime soon, residents like Richie should focus less on making blanket statements about the behavior of all St. Joe's students and more on solutions to build community. Attributing every noise violation to the college population is counterproductive, irrational, and unfair.

Richie's letter demanded a response from the university, particularly from the Department of Public Safety. "Where is my pamphlet from St. Joseph's on how to manage an encounter with their students? Where is the 800 number to report a disturbance?" Richie asks, complaining that security officers care more about their students' safety than their impact on the neighbors.

As for Public Safety, its primary responsibility, according to its Web site, is "maintaining the highest level of security possible on the University's campus and within the University's facilities." They are not a police force that regulates off-campus students.

It's also not the university's responsibility to hand out pamphlets to students' neighbors. The very idea of an administrative intervention on behalf of students goes against the point of a college education-namely, for students to learn to live as intelligent and autonomous individuals. If Richie is seeking advice on how to deal with her young neighbors, she may want to seek it from the individuals who actually rent the properties.

In her letter, Richie stated, "City cops ride hard on black kids sitting on their doorsteps. But where are the policing forces for the students of dear old St. Joe's?"

Off-campus incidents are addressed only by the local police; therefore, the persistence of late night incidents rests more on the actions of local law enforcement than the university itself.

Community members like Richie, are failing to live up to the expectations of productive behavior which they request of St. Joe's students. Rather than discussing concerns with college-aged neighbors, residents like Richie often resort to calling "authorities," or writing letters to local newspapers. This line of communication misses a key component of the issue: students themselves.

By demanding respect through passive-aggressive means like calling the cops and writing angry emails, many residents miss out on the opportunity to have effective conversations with members of the St. Joe's community that are-literally-next door.

The Hawk Staff