Author: Michael Darling
On Sept. 18, Dean of Students Barbara Avery sent an e-mail out to members of the Oxy student body living off-campus. This e-mail detailed the responsibilities expected of students who don’t live on campus and the various means by which students accused of violating these responsibilities can be punished.
The e-mail also mentioned how the school’s neighbors can report perceived violations. This e-mail was likely meant to serve as a warning and piece of advice to the off-campus community on how to not get on the nerves of the neighbors. That being said, it has instead become another example of Oxy’s distrust in its students.
Dean Avery’s e-mail largely dealt with the manner in which neighbor complaints about the alleged “unsafe or illegal activity involving students attending off campus parties and other activities” would be filed and addressed. Unfortunately, there were no practical solutions offered as to how to prevent complaints from arising.
Instead, the e-mail passive-aggressively instructs students to have fun, but not too much fun. It says, “As a party-planner, it is your responsibility to maintain an atmosphere where guests are having fun,” but goes on to say that if anything goes wrong, students will be held responsible and possibly prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
No offense to Dean Avery, but I almost expected it to end with a salutation of “We are watching you.” One unrealistic expectation the administration has of off-campus residents is that hosts are not only held responsible for those they invited, but they are also responsible for “any unlawful activity that occurs at their party or in the neighborhood as a result of their party and guests – invited or not.” Based on this policy, any number of drunk jerks can show up to a party uninvited, and it will still be the host’s fault if they urinate on the neighbor’s lawn.
But what if you weren’t urinating on a neighbor’s lawn, but innocently enjoying your weekend? The e-mail does not differentiate between students, but assumes all students to be guilty and suspicious. It states that “Anyone – and especially Occidental students – may file an incident report documenting their concern for unsafe behavior occurring off campus.”
There is no specification as to what “unsafe behavior” could refer to, and there is no mention of what will happen if the student is found to be wrongly accused. I know that in the past, there have been neighbors who spent their weekend evenings filming students as they drunkenly stumble to and from off campus parties. Who knows how many videotaped students were up to nothing out of the ordinary. This creates an atmosphere of antagonism among the school, the students and the neighbors.
There needs to be a dialogue between the student and neighborhood communities. The neighbors have a right to their peace and quiet, but if one moves into a college neighborhood, one ought to know that there will be heavy foot traffic and noise on weekends from September to May. Oxy’s been located here for well over a couple of years now, so it’s not like a college suddenly sprung up in the backyard over night. Unless damages, vandalism or anything of the sort occurs to one’s property, complaining about college students in the area is like moving next door to a sewage treatment facility and being upset that your house smells funny.
This combination of suspicious neighbors and unsympathetic administrators creates an environment of fear and guilt for students. The e-mail states that, “Students should consider this letter their courtesy warning since all documented behavior will be put through the conduct process.” Outside of this, the e-mail has no explanation as to what the conduct process will entail.
These vague threats have caused confusion and anger among off-campus students. A few members of Oxy’s Greek Life wanted to respond to the policies but were afraid to speak out for fear of repercussions. Instead of detailing these penalties, this is what the e-mail says: “Off-campus students found responsible for policy violations will be held accountable for their actions through a variety of sanctions, which are repercussions for students to reflect on their behavior.” This circular punishment provides no constructive commentary, only open-ended warnings.
I will offer what this e-mail lacked: some suggestions for how to improve the current state of affairs. First off, if you’re heading to a party late in the evening, try to keep things quiet, avoid going out and shouting at 1 a.m.
On that note, please respect people’s property. A professor of mine once mentioned how he woke up one Saturday morning to find that someone had left a cup of beer on top of his car the night before. Let’s try to keep the party at the party.
Finally, and most importantly, if you’re going to host a party, use diplomacy with the neighbors. This is fairly easy. All one would need to do is visit the neighbors and let them know what your plan is. Just explain that you’re going to have a party from this time to this time, you’ll do your best to keep the event quiet and it should all be good. Leave a contact number that they can reach you at. Most likely they won’t call, but at least they know they have an option and if things do start to get out of hand, they’ll call you and not the police.
Finally, bring some brownies or some other baked goods. Baked goods show you care and everyone at least appreciates a gift.
So, with these and other ideas in mind, we can work together and build a good relationship with the community. Hopefully the administrators will recognize that we are responsible adults and give us the benefit of the doubt instead of presuming us guilty.
Michael Darling is a senior History major. He can be reached at mdarling@oxy.edu.
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