As violations involving non-Syracuse University students continue in the East neighborhood, SU is working to track and tackle the number of nuisance reports.

Forty percent of student incidents in the East neighborhood are connected to non-SU students, though student behavior-related issues are down overall, according to a report from University Senate’s Administrative Operations Committee released in February.

The Department of Public Safety began gathering data at the start of the fall semester after noting more non-SU students were involved in nuisance complaints, DPS Chief Tony Callisto said. A nuisance report includes citations for noise, open containers, littering and loud parties. DPS and the Syracuse Police Department respond to the complaints.

Of the 23 incidents reported in February, 10 involved non-SU students, Callisto said, citing February statistics released Tuesday. Four incidents involved Onondaga Community College students, one involved a Le Moyne College student and four involved State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students. One incident also involved a high school student, a category DPS just started tracking, Callisto said.

When he came to campus five years ago, Callisto said non-SU students only caused a few incidents. But as more SU students have moved into recently built apartment complexes, such as Park Point Syracuse and University Village Apartments, additional neighborhood housing space has opened for non-SU students, Callisto said. That has changed the makeup of student renters, he said.

Between August and November 2010, a total of 104 incidents were reported in the East neighborhood. Of those, 62 involved SU students, 20 involved OCC students, 14 involved Le Moyne students and eight involved ESF students, Callisto said.

DPS has reported these incidents to the colleges’ public safety groups and judicial affairs offices, Callisto said. DPS officers continue to keep track of incidents involving non-SU students, although there have been few so far for the spring semester because of the winter weather, Callisto said.

For January, there were three incidents involving SU students, one involving a Le Moyne student and one involving an OCC student, Callisto said.

Darya Rotblat, director of SU’s Office of Off-Campus and Commuter Services, said she does not hear complaints every day about non-SU students, but it comes up a few times a semester. Last week, she dealt with a resident complaining about nearby renters’ noise and trash. Rotblat found Le Moyne students occupied the house.

Rotblat said she did not know why there was an increase in complaints about non-SU students, but she emphasized overall issues were down in the area.

Complaints about non-SU students disturbing neighbors with late-night activities noticeably surfaced in fall 2009. OCC and SU began working together after SU students were blamed for parties held by OCC students during an October 2009 meeting.

Representatives from SU, OCC, ESF and Le Moyne also gathered in February 2010 to discuss ways they could educate students about living off campus. Rotblat has been meeting with the representatives four times a year since then.

There is a need for the institutions to work as a team to deal with complaints and educate students on being better neighbors, Rotblat said. Students have not been involved in the meetings, but Rotblat said students with issues are welcome to speak.

Representatives from other area colleges could not be reached for comment.

Having the interaction among institutions makes it easier to process and respond to complaints, said Kate Hammer, community relations associate in SU’s Office of Government and Community Relations.

Hammer communicates with residents, and Rotblat deals with the student side of complaints. Campus proximity means residents are more likely to think a student goes to SU, Hammer said. Before she investigates a complaint, Hammer said she checks if the resident knows where the student is enrolled.

‘I think there is a misconception that all students in the neighborhood are SU,’ Hammer said.

Harry Lewis, who lives on the 900 block of Lancaster Avenue, said he has made a point of introducing himself to his student neighbors.

Lewis, treasurer of the Southeast University Neighborhood Association, said he enjoys living in the neighborhood, but has experienced problems with students in the past. Last fall he called SPD at 3:30 a.m. about a group of nearly 60 students wandering between houses, he said.

When he and a group of neighbors went out door to door in the fall to inform people about upcoming events on Westcott Street, he found himself talking to mostly ESF students, he said.

There is no way to know where a student goes to school unless the student is asked, he said.

‘It could be OCC or Le Moyne,’ Lewis said. ‘Or who knows — it could be high school students.’

dkmcbrid@syr.edu

Published on March 8, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride