Students living off campus will soon feel the effects of a revised set of policies and penalties set forth by the University that will tighten restrictions on parties and other potentially disruptive events in the Homewood area.
The changes are many and diverse, but Hopkins officials are standing by them, some of the most dramatic shifts in University policy in recent memory. While some students have called the new policies an invasion of their privacy as off-campus residents, others have expressed willingness to cooperate.
Policy Reorganization
Administrators summarized these additions to the Undergraduate Student Conduct Code at a meeting this Tuesday, calling on students to act with more consideration for Charles Village residents and for their own safety as well.
To this end, the University has also put into effect a new, mandatory event registration process, which school officials claim is intended to keep Hopkins Security aware of parties hosted off campus and to provide assistance to student groups hosting events.
"We added more specific examples of the kind of behaviors that would be sanctioned, and we wanted to give students better information and regularize the set of sanctions for these behaviors so people would know what to expect," said Dean of Undergraduate Education and Vice Provost Paula Burger.
"This was done in the interest of fairness. We wanted [restrictions] to be clear so no one got caught by surprise," she added.
The guidelines for these events as well as those regulating general student behavior have been published in the newest version of the Undergraduate Student Handbook.
The handbook has always expressed that any illegal drug or alcohol use or distribution is punishable by the University, but starting this year a new clause outlines an additional list of banned behaviors.
Clause R, for instance, states that students are to abstain from "[c]onduct that disturbs the peace or impinges on the rights of residents of neighborhoods where students reside." Examples of such behaviors include loud parties or excessive noise, and "shouting or talking that unreasonably disturbs other students or community members."
In order to encourage responsible behavior, former Hopkins Security Officer Carrie Bennett has been enlisted as Student Community Liaison between the undergraduates and Charles Village residents.
Burger differentiated between noise complaints and punishable incidents: "Excessive noise is noise that really disturbs the peace; it's not a bunch of folks watching a game and making a lot of noise when some one scores a goal. But 125 people ignoring [Bennett's] warning to quiet down for the second time and the police are about to be called, that probably is going to get a warning."
Further additions outline policies regarding the general upkeep of one's property, such as the removal of garbage and the appearance of one's lawn.
Three Strikes Policy
Article VII of the Constitution of the Undergraduate Academic Ethics Board, which lays out the penalties for any infringement, has also been revised, further clarifying what students quickly deemed a "three-strike policy." These strikes, described as "levels" by the University, are the sanctions imposed on students caught engaging in improper behavior.
First-time offenders receive a formal warning from the University. In the event of a second incident, the student will incur a fine, have their parents notified, and will be placed on probation, often for a year. A third breach will most likely result in suspension but could lead to expulsion.
Upon hearing of these regulations, some students felt their rights as off-campus residents had been violated.
"What I do off campus has nothing to do with the University, yet my academic standing is in jeopardy," said junior Jon Michaels, president of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.
Still others are unconcerned and even receptive of the new rules. Senior Brian Kinsella, president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, said, "I think [Bennettt] is being very fair and that she has stipulated the schools' expectations for social gatherings. But that's not going to stop us from having social functions."
Isolating the Problem
At Tuesday night's poorly attended meeting for juniors and seniors, during which the administration announced the new rules, Director of Student Involvement Jeffrey Groden-Thomas explained to students, "This is not about seeking out and finding every party."
Burger said, "There are a handful of places that are the source of many, many complaints. The vast majority of where students live, [they interact] peacefully with their neighbors, and they're not the source of any concern."
Burger chaired the Task Force on Neighborhood Relations, which met this summer to address improving the relationship between Hopkins students and Charles Village residents.
Teresa Bruno, a senior who attended meetings of this task force, said, "It ... felt like the neighbors were simply waiting for students to cause problems merely because they were college students, without acknowledging that we are intelligent, responsible people. The school needed to step in to try to close the gap in the community."
Burger's task force worked in conjunction with the Task Force on Alcohol, chaired by Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell, to address the prevalence of alcohol at events, the perceived cause of many incidents.
Jerome Schnydman, executive assistant to President William Brody, who served on both task forces said, "I was a student here and I've been working here for 30 years. In the last couple years it's the worst it's ever been. I think that neighbors -- many who have been here for a long time -- didn't have parties that woke them up at 3 a.m., didn't have students with loud voices waking them up on weekends."
He added, "The complaints [from neighborhood residents] have just soared."
The Task Force on Alcohol found that not only have complaints increased dramatically, but many colleges around the country have subsequently upped their alcohol education programs to address binge drinking. Fifty percent of colleges have invested in marketing campaigns to change the way students perceive their drinking habits. A large number of schools, 81 percent, have a substance abuse official on staff, and 61 percent use a task force to address substance-related issues.
Boswell said, "I think most every institution you talk to will tell you that they are seeing a rise in alcohol use and abuse on their campus. There was general agreement [in the committee] that it was an issue."
Many in the University link alcohol use to noise violations and problematic conduct. Schnydman said, "I think people are drinking much more heavily. It used to be people would drink as part of having fun, and now people are drinking to get drunk as fast as they can ... that causes an opportunity for more inappropriate behavior."
Moving Parties Back onto Campus
Alongside these thorough policy changes are efforts to encourage students to host some of their activities on campus, even if alcohol is involved.
"The last thing we're trying do is kill social life at Johns Hopkins," Burger said.
"I'd be much more comfortable with students having these kinds of events on campus, where they don't disrupt the community, and there's more control of the alcohol level," Boswell added.
Student groups will register their off- or on-campus events in the office of the Director of Student Involvement, specify when and where the occasion will occur, and identify one person who will handle any complaints that come up. Registered groups will also have the option of requesting that security stand at the door to regulate behavior and check IDs if alcohol is involved.
Groden-Thomas explained Tuesday that parties must be registered seven days in advance. The organizers will have to attend a pre-party meeting with him so that they understand how to effectively manage an event, as well as the actions the school will take if there is an incident.
"I firmly believe the school is absolutely willing to help students with their neighborhood problems," Bruno said, "and I encourage all students to again take a proactive role, rather than to wait for a negative situation to occur."
On Tuesday night, students expressed concern over the registration policy, fearing they would be sought out because they were registered. However, Bennett -- citing her "keep it inside" motto -- said that it is her job to work with and warn those hosting parties that might have gotten out of hand, that they are being too loud or that she has received a complaint.
This is done in the interest of not having either Hopkins Security or the Baltimore Police called, she said.
Burger explained that Bennett's position is uniquely beneficial to Hopkins: "We have tied up an extraordinary amount of our security staff with noise complaints. That's not keeping our community more secure."
"Baltimore City [Police] has [been] rumored to give our students one month to quiet down," Associate Dean of Students Dorothy Sheppard said.
Schnydman added, "It is better if we as a university try to control the situation rather than allow the police or the courts of Baltimore City to decide. We're trying to protect our students."
