In recent meetings with the Metropolitan Police Department, Georgetown residents have pushed for a crackdown on housing code violations, which they hope will curtail the number of overcrowded student houses, trash problems and noise disturbances in the community.

Bill Starrels, a commissioner on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, became involved in the issue when he investigated such a group house after receiving a number of complaints.

He called the residence, which houses eight students, a “poster child” for what could go wrong with over occupancy.

“You can’t blame a student for wanting to live in a great neighborhood, but it comes to a point where you have to wonder why [they would] overload,” he said. “Money is great but at a point [overcrowding] will degrade the quality of life.”

Police at a Partnerships for Problem Solving last month asked residents to identify any “problem houses” that were exhibiting unruly behavior so that they could be monitored in the future. Residents identified six student houses.

Paul Pace (COL ’04) was disappointed to learn through newspaper reports rather than neighbors or police that his residence was considered one of these “problem houses.”

“That we’re still being targeted is beyond me, and that we’re being targeted without our knowledge is even more mind-blowing,” he said.

But bringing complaints to students is not as easy as it seems says Citizens Association of Georgetown leader Ray Kukulski.

“You talk to student residents during the afternoon, they’re very reasonable,” he said. “But at two o’clock in the morning they’re different people. It’s a `Jekyll and Hyde’ situation.”

Mike Glick (COL ’05), sole student commissioner on the ANC, believes that the only way to remedy the situation is through continued education. He urged police officers to sit down with students on a weekday afternoon and discuss the problems.

“Tell the students of the complaints they’ve been receiving, steps they need to take to rectify the situation, but be respectful about it,” Glick said. “If problems persist, then you can go back on a weekend evening, but there’s no need for us to stalk out these houses.”

According to Matthew Ingham (COL ’04), co-chair of Campaign Georgetown, residents need to establish a rapport with students with students if they want change.

“In many of the conflict cases we are familiar with, students were simply not aware of the extent to which their actions affected neighbors’ quality of life, and these students were eminently reasonable once the concerns were made clear;” Ingham said.

Both Kukulski and Starrels believe that landlords have the ultimate responsibility in ensuring that their residents are not living in unsafe conditions. Starrels said students are put in a situation where they can easily be taken advantage of by landlords because the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs does not have enough inspectors to deal with the problem.

To remedy the situation, community leaders have urged the university to release the addresses of off-campus students to city agencies so that overcrowded houses can be identified.

The university so far has refused.

“Georgetown has a strong policy aimed at protecting students’ privacy and thus we do not release a list of student houses because doing so would constitute a violation of students’ privacy rights,” Scott Minto (SFS ’02), coordinator of Off-Campus Student Life, said.

Minto also said that the university is currently committed to working with city agencies and residents “genuinely concerned” about the safety of student neighbors on legitimate issues in a way that will protect students’ privacy rights.

Glick appreciates the university’s stance on this issue.

“I have faith in my fellow students to live in environments they think are appropriate – they don’t need DCRA telling them what’s good and bad,” he said.

Kukulski, however, believes that releasing this information will be beneficial for all involved, especially students living in unsafe conditions.

“All we ask is that you tell the housing authority whether six or more students are living at a house,” he said. “What’s the privacy issue? We’re not asking for names. We’re concerned. Who’s looking out for the students? Certainly not the university.”

But to many students living off campus, this is a privacy issue. Pace believes that the university should take every step necessary to make sure that student addresses are not released. He emphasized the need for dialogue between the groups.

“I would urge residents to take matters in to their own hands and talk to their student neighbors,” Pace said.

Police have proposed forming a task force of city agencies to address the problems created by “problem houses.” Ingham believes that this is a step in the wrong direction.

“In the few cases in which these means are exhausted by the reticence of either party, the next best step would be making use of SNAP [Student Neighborhood Assistance Program] and similar organizations created specifically for the purpose of addressing chronically poor neighbor-student relations,” he said.

“If the number of offending student houses is as few as both Campaign Georgetown claims and most residents admit, it seems rather unlikely that an entire task force needs to be established for the purposes of a few interventions.”

Kukulski acknowledged that problems are caused by a very small percentage of off-campus students. He urged students to put peer pressure on those that are engaging in unruly behavior and come to community meetings to learn about the issues.

Starrels agrees with this assessment. He considers the majority living off campus “fine students.”

“One thing we want to do going forward is set up a weekly meeting with students,” he said. “It’s important that everyone be inclusive throughout this process.”