The district 2E Advisory Neighborhood Commission solidified its position paper on acceptable standards for student conduct last night at the last commission meeting before the Nov. 7 elections. In response to a Board of Zoning Adjustment request, this paper will be considered by the BZA concurrent with its review of the 10-year campus plan on which the BZA will vote Nov. 8.

Area universities are required to submit 10-year plans every decade outlining building proposals to local authorities. The Georgetown plan currently under review by the BZA calls for the addition of several new buildings on campus as well as an increase in enrollment.

The ANC’s position paper follows two submissions by other neighborhood organizations such as the Burleith, Foxhall and Georgetown associations, each of which describes appropriate models for student behavior. The two papers submitted prior to the ANC’s contribution were both compiled by district 2E04 Commissioner Barbara Zartman, who represented the neighborhood organizations. These papers were submitted on Oct. 6 and 20.

The ANC paper, authored by district 2E05 Commissioner Matt Payne (COL ’01), called for students to “adhere to the standards established by the community.” This mandate included disposing of trash in accordance with the law. The paper also said that late night street noise as well as “loud, noisy, late-night parties should not occur.”

“The problem comes in when the party is both loud and late,” Payne said. “I think a warning should be given first if a party is too loud, and if they don’t comply, strong disciplinary action should be taken.”

Payne also said that problems occur when legislation targets all students as problems. “A huge majority already follow the rules. We just need to make sure all students do this,” he said.

The ANC paper says Georgetown University is responsible for enforcing adherence to the behavior constraints described in the paper, referring to Georgetown’s role in what the paper described as a “culture of overuse of alcohol.”

The ANC recommended continuing and enhancing Georgetown’s off-campus educational programs and non-alcoholic on-campus activity options. The paper defines the ANC 2E’s role in the student conduct issue as assessing the degree to which its standards are being met by students and the university. Landlords of student-occupied property are also charged with responsibility.

Although the commissioners’ discussion centered around changes to Payne’s draft, many residents present at the meeting aired grievances about both students and the community’s response to the 10-year plan. Most of the ANC discussion focused on the proposal to strike a paragraph of Payne’s draft calling the Oct. 6 submission by area neighborhoods “antagonistic.” Ultimately, the paragraph’s wording was modified to generate “a constructive partnership” between the university and ANC and “reduce adversarial town-gown relations.”

Payne said during the meeting that his choice of words stemmed from the neighborhood paper’s call for release of off-campus students’ addresses and license plate information. Some residents supported Payne’s position, calling the information requests unconstitutional and in violation of students’ rights both as D.C. citizens and as a protected class by the D.C. Human Rights Act. Zartman defended the distinction, saying that releasing the information would not violate student’s privacy.

“You can’t bring this against just students – you have to do it for everyone,” Georgetown resident Joan cGeoff said. “Why should it be just students? They’re a protected class just like religion, class or color.” cGeoff questioned the ANC paper’s reference to “community standards,” saying that she did not see any overall adult adherence to rules about parties, noise or cleanliness.

The ANC voted unanimously to send Payne’s amended draft to the BZA. “I was very happy with tonight,” Payne said. “But I realized that it shouldn’t have been a difficult issue, because it’s something on which everyone can agree.”

Related Links

 Forum Addresses Off-Campus Housing Issues for Students (10/24)

 GUSA V.P. Submits Proposal To Help End GU-Neighbor Relations Problems (10/20)

 Neighbors Seek Disclosure Of GU Student Information (10/17)

 More Neighbor Problems for GU (9/29)

 Meeting Aims To Address Concerns (9/29)

 Neighbors File Suit Over Noise (9/22)