PLYMOUTH, N.H.-Effective immediately, the Plymouth State College Campus Police will be extending its jurisdiction to include areas surrounding off-campus housing. In a response to the College Community Council meeting held Monday, September 30, where town residents voiced complaints about some PSC students, President Wharton and other college administrators have begun combating the alleged behavioral problems, starting with increased patrolling of Campus Police.
“We recognize there are behavioral issues affecting the welfare and safety of both residents and students living in, and adjacent to, the off campus housing areas,” says President Donald P. Wharton. “We have been working with landlords to address many of these issues, and they have been very helpful. We also recognize the current problem requires and expanded effort on the part of both Campus and Plymouth Police. To that end, I am requesting increased visibility and enforcement in the areas of concern.”
The extra police presence, Wharton hopes, will affect immediate change in the off campus areas where misconduct has been reported. Though complaints have come from several Plymouth residents, most of the concern has focussed around the Boyd path, which provides access between Pleasant Street and the campus. As of October 1 access to the path has been limited to students to deter any behavioral problems that may arise after hours- the time when most of the complaints appear to be centered around. Students and other pedestrians may now only use the path between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on weekdays only. Since the restriction of hours Campus Police has arrested seven people for trespassing, only two of which are PSC students. The college is also in discussion with the residents of 10 and 12 Pleasant Street concerning behavior on the path and the gate behind those properties, an active thruway to the campus for the past ten years.
The town and campus are not facing new problems. There has always been animosity between the two, but Wharton hopes for a coming together on such serious issues. “The most important thing right now is for the town and the College to engage in a dialogue focused on finding solutions that will enhance our sense of community and mutual respect,” says Wharton. He believes that the town and College have built a stronger relationship than ever before in the past three to four years and this is merely “a step back.”
Most of the recent discussion regarding this issue arose at the College Community Council, CCC, a group whose purpose it is to help to deal with problems between the town and campus. Some speculation has risen about the lack of student representation at the meeting. Some members of the College have not discredited accusations that some of the people in attendance at the CCC meeting had organized an abundance of upset town residents and members of the local media in order to complain about the problems and increase awareness of it without student representation. “There was obviously an organized effort to have people come to the council,” says Wharton. “There wasn’t a prior dialogue with the College about the subject of the meeting. In fairness the College Community Council exists as a forum for people to come and say, ‘this is a problem.'”
In order to ensure that students will be present at the upcoming CCC meetings the President has put together a task force of student leaders to be a voice of the students. “Students have to participate in the creation of solution, and that is why I’m in the process of appointing a special student task force,” Wharton says. “Just as the residents of Plymouth are directly impacted by these issues, so are the students and it is important that they have representation in the ongoing discussion.”
Wharton later went on to say, “students are the key to this. They are going to have the ideas that will help. They will be the ones to say, ‘hey, let’s take a look at this. How can we stop this?’ I think we need to gather students together just for this specific purpose.”
Despite all that has happened and the negative press that has come from this meeting President Wharton remains proud of the students at PSC. “I’m proud of the 101 great things I see PSC students do every day, and I don’t like to see them put down for one or two bad things.”
The next meeting of the CCC is October 29 at 7 p.m. The task force will be formed and will have had an organizing meeting prior to that date.