Photo by Shira Saperstein
Burleith Citizens Association President Lenore Rubino recently sent out an e-mail to the Burleith listserv with a two-pronged solution for noise violations and general student misconduct: submitting complaints about student residents to a new BCA-run database and calling 911 to report loud parties.
Rubino advised residents to send a message to a BCA e-mail account when they have issues with their student neighbors, reporting the basics of the complaint and the “address, time, [and] description of noise.” The notices will be compiled in a “historical database” kept by BCA. The BCA will also send a list of all complaints to the University on a monthly basis, according to Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Aaron Golds (COL ’11).
Golds said that West Georgetown residents have used a system like this for awhile, but he does not believe that releasing this information to the University will bring any significant results.
“The best way for neighbors to resolve these issues is to talk to the students themselves and use the University resources, such as SNAP, that are dedicated to improving the quality of life of the neighborhood,” Golds said.
Rubino first advises residents to call 911 in addition to calling Georgetown’s Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP). While SNAP will provide a report to the office of Off Campus Student Life the Monday following the incident, a police citation could lead to an actual arrest, or a 61-D citation, which is a fine that counts as an arrest on the violator’s criminal record.
Rubino, the BCA, and the Citizens Association of Georgetown did not respond to inquiries by the Voice.
Most residents, however, are unaware of BCA’s new database, and said they are divided on whether calling 911 for noisy parties is a good idea.
Kevin Koski, a six-year Burleith resident, was surprised at Rubino’s advice to call 911. He said emergency services are not the right avenue to address noise violations.
“Being in my early thirties and being able to remember my twenties, I’m not casting a stone,” Koski said.
At the same time, he notes that creating a historical database may be a good idea if the complaints recorded were “tenant based and not property based, because the turnover is usually one or two years.”
Earlier in the year, neighbors called the police about a party at his residence.
“We haven’t had a party since,” Koski said. “[But] the neighbors called us before talking to the police.”
Across the street, a resident who wished to remain anonymous described the students as having “self-focused” attitudes and said she thought the BCA database was a “good idea”
“Calling the police is the best option in this case,” she said. “I have children and [the students] make a lot of noise after 10 p.m.”
She said she has called the police on two occasions, but she has never had contact with any of the students, or given them warnings before calling the police.
