All mediocre things must come to an end

With the recent news of a Somerville Police Department (SPD) crackdown on nightlife, it seems as though Tufts will join the ranks of universities across the nation that have venomous relations with the local fuzz. While their efforts will likely serve only to move late night carousal elsewhere, Tufts should take the opportunity to critically evaluate the situation and craft real solutions.

Despite their pledge to protect and harass partiers, the SPD cannot change the reality of the situation: students and families do not mix. In fairness to all involved, local residents have a right to expect a tranquil environment every night of the week, and students have a right to be afforded some leeway in their late night activities. It is unreasonable to expect locals to simply put up with obnoxious rowdy students.

Regardless, nobody deserves the boorish attitude employed of late by SPD officers. Officers who are unnecessarily rude and physical betray a lack of professionalism on the force. If a student responds calmly and respectfully to SPD requests, he should be treated similarly.

Tufts can ill afford to stand idle and must work harder to craft both short-term and long-term solutions. Hopefully the spike in complaints will drive home to the administration that restricting on-campus social life merely sends the problem off campus. As this page has argued before, there is a critical need to allow spaces where large numbers of students can socialize on the weekends. If fraternities are not going to be afforded this role -- as President Bacow has indicated -- something must substitute.

Though the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) works closely with the SPD, it should redouble its efforts to act as a mediator. Whatever their foibles, TUPD officers are more likely to care about students. It should work with the SPD to create a list of rules and a protocol for dealing with violations. Ideally, TUPD officers would make the initial contact with residents.

All these solutions, however, still fail to address the underlying problem of Tufts' off-campus residences. The bottom line is students will continue to be students, and locals will continue to complain. It would have behooved neighbors to consider not living a block away from the 151-year-old institution if they dislike students, but they cannot be faulted for demanding city ordnances be enforced.

Tufts must bite the bullet and create a comprehensive long-term plan to concentrate students who live off campus. As it stands, the surroundings and in some cases houses themselves are completely mixed. Tufts should work in concert with Medford and Somerville, landlord associations, residents, local police and any interested party to create policies that encourage students to rent properties in pre-determined areas.

The Office of Off-Campus Housing needs to take a more active role in pairing students and landlords. Ideally, Tufts would work with landlords to designate houses as student or non-student, and the landlords would voluntarily try to rent only to the designee. These schemes would be very long-term in nature, and likely coordinated with construction plans.

Any plan would require city hall and locals to actually work constructively with Tufts, something they have been loathe to do in the past. There are encouraging signs that new Somerville mayor Joe Curtatone will be more cooperative than his predecessors. He needs to be willing to expend political capital to push all parties to participate.

While relations with the SPD have never been great, it is a shame to see things turn so ugly. With more conscience effort on the part of all involved, perhaps this problem will be alleviated and the police can focus their efforts of Somerville's real problems.