While it's no revelation that Johns Hopkins wants its
students to shine academically, a new report articulates
how the university would like its students to polish up its
good-neighbor skills as well.
In response to a growing number of concerns about the
relations between the more than 2,000 Hopkins students
living in the neighborhoods surrounding the Homewood campus
and other community residents, a Task Force on Neighborhood
Relations was established at the end of the last academic
year. Paula Burger, dean of undergraduate education,
appointed and chaired the 15-member group that included
various university administrators, students and community
residents, who met on an aggressive schedule throughout the
summer.
The task force reviewed the current state of
student/community relations and found that the most common
resident complaints are excessive noise late at night and
the improper upkeep of some student-occupied housing.
Community residents also expressed concerns about isolated
occurrences of student rowdiness and vandalism, with
alcohol consumption identified as the primary catalyst for
disturbances and other issues.
In response to the findings, the task force's report,
finalized in August and issued last week, includes 21
recommendations that aim to foster better communication
between students and residents and to encourage students to
display the "habits of good citizenship."
Burger said that in the course of its discussions, the
task force agreed on the importance of cultivating better
relations between Johns Hopkins students and community
residents as a matter of mutual self-interest.
"Throughout the course of last year, there were
growing concerns on the tenor of relations between our
students and our neighbors in the community," Burger said.
"These are serious matters. The health of the community
around our campus is important for the health of the
university, and vice versa. We need to be partners in all
of this as our interests are intertwined."
The committee's recommendations, some of which have
already been implemented, include the revision of the Johns
Hopkins Student Conduct Code; new protocols for the
reporting of noise violations; enhancement of education and
outreach initiatives that promote proper behavior; the
creation of a new fraternity alcohol policy, to be
implemented by mid-October; and the development of a series
of programs and events that foster more positive
interaction between Johns Hopkins students and community
members.
The interaction is already under way. President
William R. Brody met with representatives of various
community groups on Sept. 2 to inform them of steps the
university is taking in regard to neighborhood relations
and to solicit from them other ideas for enhancing
relationships between students and community members. In
addition, an inaugural Meet Your Neighbor gathering will be
held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, in the Wyman
Park Dell. Off-campus students and area residents have been
invited to the event that is intended to serve as a fun
icebreaker to kick off the fall term.
Notably, the report also called for the creation of a
student-community liaison and compliance officer, whose job
it will be to proactively monitor neighborhoods where
groups of Johns Hopkins students reside and to intervene
when problem behavior — excessive noise, destruction of
property, etc. — occurs. Caroline "Carrie" Bennett, who for
the past 12 years has worked in the university's Security
Department, was selected for the post and began her work in
the Office of the Dean of Student Life on Aug. 12.
Bennett's chief duties will be to patrol the community
on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings — the predominant
social nights for students. The compliance officer is
empowered to issue citations and will report incidents to
the dean of student life. Bennett will meet with student
residents of houses that are the sources of multiple
complaints to effect strategies to reduce nuisance behavior
and also to develop programs and educational initiatives to
enhance student-neighbor relations.
Bennett, who when not on patrol will hold regular
office hours at Abel Wolman House, located at 3213 N.
Charles St., said that it will be her responsibility to
address issues before they escalate.
"The majority of our students residing in the
community realize that they are not living in a dorm room
and behave accordingly, but there is that small percentage
[of students] who just don't get it," Bennett said.
"[Students] have a right to have a social life, clearly, as
they pay rent and are community members themselves. But on
the other hand, they do not have the right to destroy their
neighbor's property or be extremely loud and disruptive.
So, I'll be out there trying to spot problems before they
become an issue, respond to complaints from students or
community members and take care of it all at the street
level."
The report makes clear that Johns Hopkins students are
not responsible for all the unacceptable behaviors
exhibited in surrounding neighborhoods, and that some of
the complaints are either not well-founded or are the
result of the actions of a very limited few.
Teresa Bruno, who served on the task force as a
student representative and has lived in Charles Village for
a year, said that some community residents are too quick to
blame students and are reluctant to treat them as equals.
Bruno said she hoped that the public outreach and
communication portions of the report could help dispel some
of the negative perception of students and publicize the
positive contributions of Johns Hopkins students in the
community. For example, at any given time during the
academic year, roughly 900 students are involved with a
community-oriented volunteer project in Baltimore, with an
estimated 375 students volunteering in the Homewood
area.
"From my perspective as a student, this task force was
greatly needed as the community is greatly divided between
the neighbors and students," Bruno said. "I believe that
the school needed to step in to try to close the gap in the
community. I was very pleased with the efforts of all those
who participated in the task force. I felt that many
positive ideas were shared, and the school is doing its
best to work toward a better community for everyone
involved."
One recommendation in the report was to conduct a
comprehensive survey to better understand the dimension of
the student/community resident problem. This should be
completed by November.
The report concluded that although the Office of the
Dean of Student Life has strengthened education efforts
significantly and has sanctioned students found to have
violated standards of acceptable behavior off campus, some
community residents remain cynical about the university's
willingness to address these problems.
Burger said the task force's recommendations, in
particular the strengthening of student sanctions, should
be a clear message that Johns Hopkins appreciates area
residents' concerns and does not condone the behavior of a
limited few who unfairly compromise the reputation of
constructive and responsible students, who constitute the
overwhelming majority of Johns Hopkins students.
Specifically, the Johns Hopkins Student Conduct Code
has been strengthened to cite specific examples of
prohibited behavior and to make clearer the range of
sanctions that will be imposed, especially for successive
infractions, such as the distribution or sale of alcohol to
individuals under the legal drinking age. Beginning this
semester, students found in violation of noise or
underage-drinking restrictions for the first time will
receive at minimum a warning. A second violation will
result in, at minimum, university probation, a fine and
parental notification. A third violation will result in, at
minimum, suspension from the university. As is the case
with any violation of the Student Conduct Code, any
egregious violation, even a first offense, can be punished
with sanctions up to and including expulsion.
Dawna Cobb, a community resident who served on the
task force, said that she hopes such measures limit the
occurrences of irresponsible behavior, such as students not
properly disposing of trash or keeping up their
properties.
"I hope that the report's recommendations, if properly
implemented, will change the culture at JHU such that
students know when they move off campus they must fulfill
certain responsibilities," Cobb said.
Burger said that other urban universities share many
of the problems outlined in the report, as well as many of
the frustrations of monitoring and sanctioning the
irresponsible behavior of some students who interfere with
the rights of community residents to enjoy a reasonable
amount of peace and quiet. She said that the efforts to
create additional housing for upperclassmen will help to
address these problems, although the university expects
that some students, especially graduate and professional
students, will continue to make their homes in surrounding
neighborhoods.
In addition to Burger, Boswell, Bruno and Cobb, the
members of the task force were Thomas Calder, director of
athletics and recreational sports; Michael Kelly-Sell,
student; Ron Mullen, the recently retired director of
Security, Parking and Transportation Services; Dennis
O'Shea, executive director of Communications and Public
Affairs; Salem Reiner, director of community affairs for
Homewood; Jerry Schnydman, executive assistant to the
president; Dorothy Sheppard, associate dean of student
life; Edmund Skrodzki, executive director of Campus Safety
and Security; Jennifer Snodgrass, student; John Spurrier,
community representative; Gerard St. Ours, associate
general counsel; and Robert Turning, coordinator of Greek
life.
The full report can be found online at
www.jhu.edu/~news_info/reports/neighbor.html
.