noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646
DURHAM -- The number of Duke University students involved in off-campus incidents dropped significantly last year, and university administrators and neighborhood leaders are hoping that it's the beginning of a trend.
According to statistics compiled by the Duke Office of Student Conduct, the number of students addressed for off-campus issues declined by 18 percent from 169 during the 2007-08 academic year to 139 last year. That included alcohol-related incidents, which decreased from 115 to 84.
There was, however, a big increase in noise complaints involving students, which rose from three cases in 2007-08 to 19 cases in 2008-09, which administrators attributed to increased enforcement by authorities.
"I think concerted efforts, by the Duke police, Alcohol Law Enforcement and the Durham police, are having an impact," said Christine Pesetski, assistant dean for off-campus and mediation services. "I think they are making a difference in the choices that students make off-campus."
But Pesetski stopped short of anointing a new era in student-neighborhood relations.
"I think I need another year before feeling confident in a trend," she said. "But I do think we're headed in the right direction."
So does Christine Westfall, president of the Trinity Heights Neighborhood Association.
"In our neighborhood, things are much better than they were so far this semester," Westfall said. "I think it's too soon to determine whether the neighborhood will be that way for the entire year, but things are just much quieter now. The students seem to be more aware, more considerate."
That new attitude, she said, seems to be the result of "a conscious effort."
"I think Duke has worked to help make students more aware that they are living in residential neighborhoods," Westfall said. "I'm very impressed with the outreach they have done."
But Westfall cautioned that just because her block and area have been quieter, that doesn't mean all the neighborhoods near Duke have seen the same results.
"I have heard of some problems elsewhere," she said. "I have wondered if the students and the houses who have caused trouble around here have just moved to other neighborhoods."
In fact, Christian Ferney of the Tuscaloosa-Lakewood Neighborhood Association, said that area's experience hasn't mirrored that of Trinity Heights.
"The same 'party houses' that have been problems for several years are still populated by students who still throw loud parties," he said. But, Ferney added, "I do think the students in question are more aware of neighborhood antipathy towards bad behavior than they were in the past."
While the number of incidents reported last year was down from the previous year, it was still much higher than the number during the 2006 academic year.
That year, however, was a statistical anomaly, Pesetski said. "The numbers are directly correlated to the reaction to the lacrosse case," she said. "They are skewed. We really have to throw those numbers out."
It was the year after, Pesetski pointed out, when "we really started reaching out to Trinity Park, Trinity Heights, Tuscaloosa-Lakewood and the other neighborhoods right outside campus. We started working together, with the police, with Duke community housing and the neighborhood associations."
A task force to study the issue, comprised of representatives from Duke, the neighborhood associations and city agencies, studied the issues involved. There were "meet-and-greets" with students living in the neighborhoods and outreach to student government.
"It's an incremental process and will take time," Pesetski said. "We're trying to change a culture."
