Students cooperate, but still can't party

By Kelsey Thomas, Staff Writer

Senior Chris Roberts thought he had followed all the rules.

He called Public Safety to register his party. He gave each of his neighbors his number to call if any problems arose. And when Saturday night rolled around, he strictly turned away minors from his door.

And yet, at 10:30 p.m. on his 22nd birthday, Roberts found himself standing in his yard telling celebrators they couldn't come in because his party had already been shut down by Public Safety.

"I work hard all week so during the weekends I can let loose and have a good time," Chris said. "But P-Safe was shutting us down."

This situation is a familiar one for many UP upperclassmen who are living in the residential neighborhood surrounding campus. While students just want to have a good time, many of the surrounding neighbors frequently call in noise complaints to Public Safety. When even a gathering of 40 students over 21 get "busted," however, some students find themselves wondering if there is such a thing as a legal party at all.

Senior Jana Peters said that although she thinks Public Safety is doing their job, having parties continually shut down is frustrating.

"Sometimes I think they handle it a little too aggressively," Peters said.

However, Director of Public Safety Gerald Gregg said students need to remember that they do not sit around thinking "okay lets go find a party and end it."

"I can't emphasis this enough," Gregg said. "We're [at a party] because someone brought a problem to our attention."

Problems with Neighbors

Gregg says if the party has gotten loud enough that neighbors are calling in to complain then it is time for the party to end.

Some students have attempted to communicate with their neighbors to solve disagreements or problems directly, but are often frustrated by a lack of response.

Senior Fiona Thornhill says her neighbors are unwilling to communicate with her and her housemates about problems before directly calling in a noise complaint to Public Safety.

"When we know that we're having a bigger party we leave a note on their [neighbors] doorstep letting them know we're having a party and to please call us if there are any problems before they go to the police," Thornhill said. "They have never called us."

Roberts has also been unsuccessful in his attempt to cooperate with neighbors.

"We attempted transparency with the neighbors and it failed," Roberts said. "Every time we see them we get the stink eye."

Roberts and Thornhill both say that if their neighbors would communicate with them directly, they would be happy to quiet down and work things out. Instead, Public Safety is put in the role as acting as liaison between UP students and the surrounding community.

"We just want everyone to have fun and be polite and respectful of others," Gregg said.

Neighborhood resident Shona Lepis said she desires the same thing from students living on her street: respect.

"It's a family neighborhood and I think some students forget that," Lepis said. "Just be respectful. Use your best judgment and don't throw a rager."

Lepis has a 21-month-old child and said the noise of students coming to and from parties in addition to the parties themselves can keep her child from falling asleep.

North Portland resident Kathy O'Brien also said students traveling between parties creates a major noise disturbance.

"When you leave, please keep it quiet instead of yelling and hollering back and forth," O'Brien said.

Although students have left their number with her in the past, Lepis said calling Public Safety is the most affective way to restore peace.

"I'm not about to get in a discussion with some drunk kid about how they're being too loud," Lepis said. "I would like to just say 'hey, can you be respectful' but that hasn't really worked in the past."

Public Safety Guidelines

Gregg said students can take several measures to keep their party safe and considerate of their neighbors.

He encourages students to call Public Safety ahead of time to register their party, which just entails telling them the date and address of the party and the expected number of people.

"That way, if 40 uninvited people show up in your front yard, [Public Safety] can send an officer over to explain to those folks that they need to leave," Gregg said.

He also says students need to realize that many of their neighbors keep very different hours so they need to be respectful and quiet both at the party and in transit between parties. Lastly, students need to clean up messes left behind from their revelry.

"If you break your bottle, someone could get hurt and cut themselves," Gregg said. "That's just not cool."

Sargent Michael Kranyak adds that if Public Safety does show up at the party, things will go smoother if the home renter is respectful.

"If they're non - compliant and just slamming doors in our face it escalates the situation," Kranyak said.

Following the Rules

Like Roberts, however, some students find that following public safety's suggestions does not guarantee a successful night because parties intended to be small gatherings of legal students are often crashed by hordes of minors.

"When you live close to campus and it's really easy for anyone to just walk up it gets really difficult to kick minors out," Roberts said.

Gregg says that although it can feel harsh to turn classmates away, that is part of being an adult.

"They don't have to open their door and let a rager happen," Gregg said.

Once a party gets out of control, many students, such as Thronhill, agree that Public Safety is obligated to shut it down. But Roberts said that from his experience, a party is just as likely to get shut down if it is registered with public safety.

"The only thing it does is put you on their good side to begin with," Roberts said. "But it's pretty easy to get on their bad side."

Peters also says that registering her parties does not make much of a difference.

"They're a little bit calmer about it," Peters said. "But In my experience as soon as it gets out of control they treat it the same way."

To avoid getting shut down, Thornhill said to keep attendance limited and make expectations clear.

"Let your friends know that it's not a party that you want to get out of control," Thornhill said.

Peters said it's nearly impossible to pull off.

"The only way I feel allowed to throw a party is if there are under 15 people there and there isn't any excessive noise," Peter said.

Roberts finds both his neighbors and Public Safety's definitions of excessive noise nearly impossible to adhere to. Once when sitting on the porch drinking a beer with six guys of legal age, he received a call from Public Safety saying they had received noise complaints and it was time to move it inside.

According to Public Safety, however, keeping quiet past 10 p.m. is not only a request of North Portland residents but is also the law. The Portland Police Bureau website states that the nighttime permissible noise level in Portland is sound pressure level 60, which is equivalent to an ordinary conversation at 3 feet but less than the interior of a department store, which is sound pressure level 70.

Basically, for a University of Portland student to have a legal party they would have to strictly turn away minors and keep the party quieter than a department store.

Gregg offers an alternative check for students: "When planning a Halloween party, imagine if your parents or grandparents lived next door."