University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

The Office of Office-Campus Student Services, in conjunction with the Office of Community Relations, sponsored the inaugural Neighbors Day Block Party and Safety Fair on the lawn along Main Street on the South Campus. Photo: NANCY J. PARISI

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By JULIE WESOLOWSKI

Published: September 9, 2009

This school year those looking for the stereotypical scenes of college students behaving badly might have to rent a copy of “Animal House.” That’s because UB’s Office of Off-Campus Student Services is helping to make Buffalo’s University Heights neighborhood a more serene and safer place to live.

Created about a year ago, the office already is having a big impact on the neighborhood. According to Dan Ryan, director of off-campus student services, before the office was created, the university responded to activities related to students living in University Heights in an ad-hoc fashion. Now, Ryan, along with full-time staff member Mary Clare Fahey and a graduate assistant, have created a coordinated approach to the issues that arise when students move off campus.

The office, located in 112 Allen Hall, South Campus, counsels students who are thinking of moving off campus and works closely with many of the University Heights neighborhood groups and businesses that interact with students. With a significant number of students living in the area, Ryan says most are a benefit to the neighborhood. “They provide a diversity and vibrancy, and shop in the local stores,” he says.

But, Ryan adds, some students are living in an unsupervised environment for the first time, and with their newfound freedom comes responsibility they aren’t ready to accept. Ryan’s office works to help educate them and give them a better understanding of how their behavior impacts the neighborhood. Ryan says residents are encouraged to contact his office with any concerns they may have that relate to students and his office will respond.

Acting on calls or tips from concerned neighbors, Ryan and Fahey reach out to students prior to off-campus student events or parties, and give them tips on how to keep parties from getting out of control, as well as inform them of the ramifications of not following UB’s Student Rules and Regulations. Of the 45 different off-campus events that the office was notified about last year, 44 took place without any calls to the police or complaints by neighbors. Ryan says students either cancelled the parties or kept them under control.

In the past, students were sanctioned for bad behavior with mandatory community service or suspension, but this year, Off-Campus Student Services is adding another layer of enforcement: Students who violate the Student Rules and Regulations must also attend an information session with university police, Buffalo police and neighborhood residents.

This past weekend, the office coordinated the first-ever UB Neighbor’s Day Block Party and Safety Fair. The event was a way for students and longtime neighbors to meet each other, and also encouraged UB students to get involved with neighborhood block clubs.

In conjunction with the Office of Student Life, Off-Campus Student Services is helping to expand late-night programming in University Heights by offering alternatives to house parties. One such alternative is “Midnight Movie Madness,” to be offered by the Amherst Theatre on Saturday evenings this fall. The first 200 UB students will receive free admission.