Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Disorderly student behavior persists at Towson U.
By Daniel Gross
The Towerlight, Towson U.
March 25, 2009

Community representatives are seeking recourse against some Towson students’ disorderly behavior in neighborhoods surrounding the university. Campus administrators have enacted several programs, such as the Nuisance Housing Policy, but the problems persist.

Judicial Affairs receives complaints and notifications about Towson students each month from either community members or the Baltimore County Police Department.

Last month, there were eight complaints made, resulting in seven students receiving judicial charges. From August of 2008 through March 6 of this year, there have been 58 complaints filed and 45 judicial charges of off-campus disorderly behavior by students.

Noise violations, public urination, destruction of property and streets overfilled with parked cars are common complaints from residents.

“The first thing that comes to everybody’s mind is the drinking. The alcohol, I think, is the most horrendous,” Karl Pfrommer, information officer for the Towson Area Citizens on Patrol, said. “I don’t think I’m being outrageous, some of this is my personal perception but I’ve been living with it for a while.”

The community row houses were not built to support the population density that the residents are now experiencing, according to Pfrommer.

Greater Towson Council of Community Associations president Ed Kilcullen said that even when BCPD responds to a complaint, it doesn’t solve the problem for the night.

“Police will break up the party, and the kids will be literally standing on Burke Avenue finding another party to go to,” the Towson Manor Village resident said at a GTCCA University Relations Committee meeting on March 6.

BCPD Captain Al Jones said that officers generally issue warnings for the first complaint and come back with a citation if a second complaint occurs.

“Some of the officers have been going to court and have been noticing some of the cases are being thrown out because they were going to issue citations for the first time they responded to the location,” Jones said after the March 6 meeting. “I guess the court is saying that according to the rules we are supposed to issue a warning first and then go to a citation after that.”

Jones said that the police department has seen a 37 percent increase in the number of students being charged, arrested or receiving a citation, in the last year.

“I think this year were going to supersede that number, as well,” Jones said. “We’ve also seen a huge increase with underage drinking and students being charged for that.”

Jana Varwig, associate vice president for student affairs, said the University’s off-campus living policy was created to focus on Towson and the surrounding neighborhoods.

“I think that we’re making progress. When we put this disorderly/disruptive off-campus policy in place it was our thought that most students live well with their neighbors,” Varwig said. “I think that there are some neighborhoods that are very close to Towson that have really felt as though the behavior is really difficult for the survival of the neighborhoods.”

In cases involving disorderly behavior complaints, the University responds using Towson University Police.

In order for the TUPD to take action and pursue an investigation on a student or students’ address, they wait until there has been a second complaint, according to Varwig.

In an instance where students do not receive a police citation and no action is taken, one of the Towson police officers will go to that address and make the students aware of the policy.

Varwig said if BCPD does not take action against the student, the University may or may not hear about the situation.

“Many of our complaints might come directly from neighbors. We instruct them to call the police first and that helps us determine the reality of the complaint,” Varwig said.

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