"Hello. Won't you be my neighbor?"
Mr. Rogers' magic words may have been the perfect question for preschoolers, but residents of Durham Park, an area just off East Campus, are asking Duke students, "Do I want you for my neighbor?"
At the Durham Park Neighborhood Association meeting Tuesday night, community members, student residents and Durham police gathered in search of common ground and ways to improve communication and cooperation.
Residents from 202 Watts Street came to express their regret for the events that occurred at and around their house two weekends ago, but also to contextualize their situation within the transitioning Duke party scene.
Students said that the loss of Main West Campus as a social epicenter for greek life resulted in large and uncontrollable crowds.
"Kids don't have a choice for recreation," said senior Michael Rechnitz, a 202 Watts resident, adding that activities sponsored by the Duke administration were not realistic social alternatives. "What 18-year-old wants to go to a non-alcoholic talent show?"
Although some neighbors empathized with students on this point, others felt that Duke had a responsibility to discourage underage drinking and could not be expected to facilitate large parties on campus.
"It's not Duke's job to provide social life for the students. Their job is to provide an education," said Trinity Parks resident Kathy Friedl.
Under-aged drinking was a sticking point for many at the meeting. Residents could not agree on an acceptable level of enforcement. Carding at off-campus houses--either by a resident of the house or an off-duty police officer--was dismissed as impractical.
Neighbors, however, expressed a desire to have on-duty police officers card students carrying alcohol when in the streets. Many were frustrated that citations were not issued two weekends ago.
"We did not ignore [the disruptive students]," said Durham Police Captain Ed Sarvis, referring to large parties the first weekend of school. "We tried to use more of a soft-handed approach.... Our big concern that night was [preventing] violent crimes."
The effort to bridge the gap between students and neighbors has been ongoing. The Trinity Park Neighborhood Association hosts an annual student welcome picnic, but members said that student participation has steadily declined over the past few years. The association responded favorably to the idea of collaborating with students to make sure off-campus students' voices were heard at Duke.
Solutions discussed included plans to direct parking for parties to the nearby parking lots, integrating off-campus students into the neighborhood associations and exchanging phone numbers to facilitate direct communication. Attendees plan to research what other colleges and communities in similar situations have done.
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