Northwestern students will soon see extra patrol cars and police officers patrolling their neighborhoods Friday and Saturday nights.
Party patrols, a joint effort between the University Police and the Evanston Police Department, will start up again Oct. 8. Officers on the party patrol will be responding specifically to noise complaints and other such calls.
“I definitely don’t want them stopping by,” said Ashish Singal, a McCormick junior who lives off-campus. “We had a party last weekend.”
Singal said two of his friends had parties broken up during New Student Week, but he doesn’t think the parties caused enough trouble to warrant police response.
“I think the police response is disproportionate to the amount of parties,” he said.
He said students may be more cautious before letting strangers into their parties if the party patrol officers start handing out tickets. Still, Singal said he thinks the cops should have different priorities.
“I think they have real problems to deal with, like people getting robbed,” he said.
But Cmdr. Joseph Bellino of the Evanston Police Department said the targeted patrols are needed.
“We have these details in place because this is a problem that we incur frequently,” Bellino said. “This is a way to respond to that problem and still have resources on the street for other calls.”
Bellino said students who throw disruptive parties may be cited for noise violations or for providing alcohol to minors.
“We hope that we can encourage those people involved in these activities to be more considerate of their surroundings and their neighborhoods,” he added
In addition, if the police are called to the same property multiple times, the property may also be cited as a nuisance location, Bellino said.
“We want students to enjoy themselves and enjoy their college life and recreation, but in a way that doesn’t encroach on someone else’s ability to have a quiet night or peaceful sleep,” Bellino said.
NU’s Office of Student Affairs has given about two information sessions each year for the past three years for students who wish to live off campus. Besides giving general legal information about living off campus, school officials also reiterate the need for NU students to be considerate of their Evanston neighbors.
Cate Whitcomb, assistant to NU’s vice president for student affairs, said she has fielded calls from upset Evanston residents who feel traumatized and threatened by inebriated NU students.
Two weeks ago, she spoke with a resident complaining about a mattress in the middle of the street.
But students can take simple steps do their part to prevent neighborhood tensions, Whitcomb said.
“Go over and introduce yourself to your neighbors,” Whitcomb said. “A lot of neighbors will just call the police, but if you’ve gone over there and gotten acquainted … then if they’re having a problem and you’re too noisy, they’ll call you first before they call the police and get you in trouble.”
Communication junior Ben Weeks said he doesn’t think the party patrols will change student behavior off campus unless the cops really crack down.
“Most of the people who live off campus are looking to become a little more liberated in their partying habits,” Weeks said.
Weeks advised students to use common sense when hosting a party and not to advertise their parties everywhere.
“As a student, at the moment, (party patrols are) kind of a drag,” he said. “But when I get older I’ll probably look back and say they weren’t such a bad idea.”
Reach Yuxing Zheng at [email protected].
