BSC works to mend rifts in community

In an effort to address student behavior off campus, Buffalo State has formed the Committee on University and Community Relations, allowing members of the community to directly address issues they may be having with Buffalo State students living off of campus.

The committee stems from the College and Community Task Force, which was set up in January 2011. The task force was made up of West Side residents and members of the college campus, said Tim Walsh, Vice President for College Relations.

The task force looked at whether a committee should be formed, said Vice President for Student Affairs Hal Payne.

"We concluded that we would continue to meet as a standing committee on college and community relations," he said.

The collaborative effort looks at fixing issues in the neighborhood surrounding Buffalo State, Payne said.

"What we're doing is working together between residents of the neighborhoods and staff at the college to find common solutions to problems in the neighborhoods," he said.

Most of the problems in the neighborhood stem from noise and keeping the peace, said Laura Rao, coordinator at the Volunteer and Service Learning Center.

"Residents have children and families and nine-to-five jobs, and students' lifestyles are very different," she said. "So, (we get) a lot of complaints around weekend and late night noise in the street and in the neighborhood."

Several steps have been taken to proactively address the problem, Payne said. These include copies of a letter that went out to area landlords in June that was passed out to tenants who go to Buffalo State, informing them of the consequences for disruptive behavior. Other measures involved a door-hanging event, where door hangers were placed on residences around the college, informing residents how to contact the school, should problems arise.

Meetings were also held with off-campus student residents and Greek organizations, informing them of campus expectations and consequences for disruptive behavior, according to a report issued by the committee on Oct. 6.

Consequences for being disruptive in the neighborhood range from warnings to losing status as a student to being arrested, depending on what the student is doing, Payne said.

Not all noise or disruptive behavior in the neighborhood points back to Buffalo State students, Payne said.

"In one case, we actually had an arrest, and it turned out that the student arrested was not a Buffalo State College student," he said. "That's one of the problems of trying to get a handle on disruptions in the neighborhood. Very often, it's not our students."

One of the long-term goals of the committee is to get students involved in the neighborhoods in a positive way, Rao said.

"We've really worked to develop volunteer relationships within the neighborhood," she said. "We work with some of the block clubs for our community service days. That puts students directly in the neighborhood working alongside residents on neighborhood improvement projects. They have the opportunity to have conversations and meet people."

Despite some problems at the beginning of the semester, residents seem to have a positive view of the committee, Rao said.

"I think it was a challenging start to the semester for some of the neighbors in terms of residents, but the things that I have heard is that they appreciate the opportunities to come together with higher-level officials," she said.

Michael Canfield can be reached by email at canfield.record@live.com.