Move-in week kicks off a frenzied period for freshmen. Between navigating New Student Orientation, bonding with new roommates and accepting the fact that dorm closets are smaller than expected, move-in can, at times, be overwhelming. What may be forgotten amid the frenzy is that the students down the hall are not the only new neighbors.

Every 10 years, universities in the District are required to submit a plan for construction and expansion in the next decade. Unfortunately, Georgetown’s 2010 Campus Plan has rubbed many permanent residents of the Georgetown and Burleith neighborhoods the wrong way and in the past few months, interactions have reached a boiling point. Community leaders have taken issue with several provisions of the plan.

At the top of their list are the proposals to increase graduate student enrollment and to build student housing on a block between 36th and 37th Streets. They have made their views known at community meetings and in local newspapers. One resident even went so far as to establish an ill-fated website chronicling student debauchery at off-campus parties. Legal issues forced him off the Internet, but not before he made a splash in the neighborhood.

The root of the community’s disapproval appears to be disturbances caused during weekends by students living off campus. The Burleith Citizens’ Association has stated that the university does not adequately deal with student noise and alcohol-related problems. While that claim is up for debate, what is clear is that the reputation of Georgetown students among the neighbors has taken a hit.

Whether or not this blame is justified, our good name is not lost forever. While disagreement over the Campus Plan is perhaps a battle better left to the university, students can take steps toward easing neighborhood tensions. Students constantly encounter residents – on the street, in restaurants or while waiting in line for a much-needed Saxby’s latte. A smile or a friendly hello will go a long way to improve the student image.

ore proactive measures are also available for the service-oriented student. For example, freshmen looking to get involved in both the campus and neighborhood life could join the Georgetown Samaritans. Founded last winter as a group focused on improving town-gown relations, the Samaritans made a name for themselves by helping dig the neighborhood out from under several feet of snow last winter.

Of course, some of the best opportunities to build students’ images lie with students living off campus. Between moving in and arguing about who has to assemble the bed frame from Ikea, it wouldn’t hurt to ring the neighbors’ bell to say hi and leave them a phone number before throwing that housewarming party this weekend. It will be much harder for them to call the police on students who have been courteous and considerate.

The university and the neighborhood spent a good part of last year arguing over the 2010 Campus Plan. Unfortunately, many residents are still dissatisfied with the plan after significant concessions by the university. But while things look bleak, students themselves have the greatest potential to change the vexed – and sometimes hostile – attitudes of these residents. The fallout after a campus plan battle is a recurring challenge for the Georgetown community every 10 years. The best thing for all of us to do is try our hardest to resolve our differences and live as good neighbors in peace.