2008 Woodie Awards
Report calls for big changes
Joint PSUC and city commission aims to fix center city issues
Megan Munroe
Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/20/07 at 6:42 PM EST
Last update: 9/20/07 at 11:38 PM EST
Curbing petty vandalism, rowdiness and noise was seen as the primary concern of these residents.
In response, Ettling said, he and Kasprzak decided to establish the commission to determine reasonable and affordable ways to mitigate the perceived problems.
Kasprzak said he is also taking a closer look at the living conditions of off-campus students and implementing more frequent building inspections - reducing the length of time between inspections from a maximum of three years to just one year.
"There have been three serious fires in the past two years," said Edward Miller, the commission chair and a PSUC chemistry professor. "They really need to be inspected annually."
Kasprzak said he has worked closely with the building inspector and met with a number of landlords who the city views as housing code violators.
"We have stepped up enforcement because students shouldn't be living in some of this off-campus housing - facing some of these things that are not fair to them," he said.
Another Kasprzak priority is the installation of surveillance cameras in the downtown and center city areas, as well as in other areas that have experienced excessive vandalism.
Surveillance cameras on city streets is not a new concept, he said, as surveillance networks have already been adopted by many other cities with or without colleges.
Kasprzak asserted that cameras would not be placed in bars or other establishments, and would be operated by the city police department.
Changes are already underway on campus as well. Several new appointments are in the works, Ettling said.
One is the appointment of a liaison between the campus and the community, to serve as a contact person when someone has a complaint regarding student behavior.
Another is a student health educator that would specialize in drugs and alcohol.
Another change to be carried out sometime in the immediate future is the extension of college jurisdiction. Currently, students who are convicted of a felony off-campus are subject to the student judicial system as well. This policy will soon be extended to students convicted of misdemeanors.
In response, Ettling said, he and Kasprzak decided to establish the commission to determine reasonable and affordable ways to mitigate the perceived problems.
Kasprzak said he is also taking a closer look at the living conditions of off-campus students and implementing more frequent building inspections - reducing the length of time between inspections from a maximum of three years to just one year.
"There have been three serious fires in the past two years," said Edward Miller, the commission chair and a PSUC chemistry professor. "They really need to be inspected annually."
Kasprzak said he has worked closely with the building inspector and met with a number of landlords who the city views as housing code violators.
"We have stepped up enforcement because students shouldn't be living in some of this off-campus housing - facing some of these things that are not fair to them," he said.
Another Kasprzak priority is the installation of surveillance cameras in the downtown and center city areas, as well as in other areas that have experienced excessive vandalism.
Surveillance cameras on city streets is not a new concept, he said, as surveillance networks have already been adopted by many other cities with or without colleges.
Kasprzak asserted that cameras would not be placed in bars or other establishments, and would be operated by the city police department.
Changes are already underway on campus as well. Several new appointments are in the works, Ettling said.
One is the appointment of a liaison between the campus and the community, to serve as a contact person when someone has a complaint regarding student behavior.
Another is a student health educator that would specialize in drugs and alcohol.
Another change to be carried out sometime in the immediate future is the extension of college jurisdiction. Currently, students who are convicted of a felony off-campus are subject to the student judicial system as well. This policy will soon be extended to students convicted of misdemeanors.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
John Doe
posted 9/21/07 @ 2:59 AM EST
I am wondering if there is a relationship between the increased amount of unacceptable behaviors and the relatively recent move to have less classes on Fridays. (Continued…)
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