Reforming community relations

The presence of a Somerville Police Department representative at the recent Senate meeting may mark a new era in town-gown relations.

A new task force initiative has Somerville police officers patrolling the off-campus regions where many students reside, and it has created new problems between the force and the school.

The next few weekends may see a concerted change in party response protocol. Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Captain Mark Keith said he expects to see a reaction from the new Somerville mayor Joe Curtatone.

"There's a new administration. There's a new alderman. They know that, after spring break, the last five weekends are very active, both on and off campus," he said.

Presently, 71 percent of seniors live on campus compared to the 25 percent that lived on campus five years ago. As a result, more juniors must live in off-campus residences. "Is there a difference in the maturity of one year?" Dean of Students Bruce Reitman asked.

According to Reitman, solving the problematic relations between students and Somerville residents is a complex process. "Hopefully we can have a useful dialogue with how we deal [with the situation]," he said.

In a Daily survey conducted on March 3, students were asked to consider Tufts' relationship with the surrounding community.

Ten percent "strongly agreed" that the University's surrounding community is accommodating, and eight percent strongly disagreed with the statement.

This less-than-perfect relationship may be attributed to the noise violations caused by off-campus parties.

Junior Jordan Edwards, an off-campus resident, is disgusted with the situation. "Somerville gets angry because we're pushed off campus and act like college kids. Tufts has forced this problem on itself by kicking hundreds of juniors off campus and then expecting silence," Edwards said.

"College kids are going to party," he said.

Edwards described the attitude of the Somerville neighborhoods as one of "harassment" toward Tufts students. "The fact that Tufts accepts this additional degree of enforcement is appalling," Edwards said.

Longtime Medford resident and senior Matt Gasbarro felt the negative sentiment from the community may be due to lack of campus publicity.

As a Tufts student, Gasbarro said he knows the University upholds its involvement in the neighboring communities, placing importance on maintaining good relations.

"From the Medford resident perspective, there really is a lack of promotion of all that Tufts does for the community," he said. "Unless residents are directly involved in any of the Tufts initiatives, residents are oblivious to them and the vast resources available to them at Tufts."

TUPD Sergeant Doug Mazzola described the new situation of having both TUPD and Somerville officers respond to off-campus calls as "mutually beneficial on both sides."

Edwards disagreed. "The University puts us in a situation of double jeopardy. Either let Somerville deal with me, or let Tufts. It's ridiculous that I can be fined twice for the same incident."

Reitman defended the extra patrolling from local police. "We're in two cities. The municipalities have the jurisdiction and right to respond to all places. They have to respond more to the buffer zone."

-- Danny Lutz and Daniela Perdomo contributed to this article