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St. Cloud prepares for worst
SCSU student Cal Decorah lives on 13th Avenue and Ninth Street, a few blocks outside of what is considered the Southside college neighborhood. An outsider would probably confuse his house with a regular family residence. The lawn is well kept, the house doesn't need a paint job and it is actually clean inside.
A month ago he and his roommates invited around 35 people over. Later that night, six squad cars surrounded his house. The residence received a noise complaint and every minor was ticketed for underage consumption.
Decorah is wary now: "We just don't have people over. If we do we could get in trouble," he said.
However, he had another run-in with the SCPD last weekend and it wasn't for hosting a party.
"There were six of us sitting on the deck," he said. This time, four squad cars arrived
"They assumed there was a party," Decorah said. "Some of the cops were being disrespectful; one guy said it was the fifth time he was here and I had never seen him before."
After the police searched the house and found no one, his five friends left. Three of them walked a block away to go home. Before going inside, the three stood on his lawn and smoked a cigarette. The officers followed them and told them to go inside because they were being too loud.
"I definitely take precautions now and watch over my back," Decorah said.
He probably doesn't realize that those words may be the best advice he could give to someone for homecoming this weekend.
Code of Conduct:
SCSU has its eyes on students. E-mails were dispersed to the entire student body informing of a plan to enforce the Student Code of Conduct. The code is applicable off-campus.
According to the e-mail, some violations of the code include: hosting a house party, sale or provision of alcohol to a minor and a large gathering that disturbs the peace of off-campus neighborhoods.
Students who break the code can face probation, suspension and even expulsion.
"Please understand that we can sanction people," said BernaDette Wilson, Associate Vice President of Student life and Development. "Some people could be suspended or expelled."
Violation of the code will result in an investigation.
"We do not assume a person is responsible for a violation, we have to investigate first," Wilson said. "We do have an obligation to protect the university."
Mostly nonstudent Southside residents have been pushing for SCSU to enforce the code. Jerry Middelstadt, owner of a bed and breakfast on Sixth Avenue, is one. As a member of the Neighborhood University Community Council, he has pushed for more police involvement in the Southside, enforcement of the code of conduct, increased parking fines and elimination of party houses.
"The university is quick to step up and try to cater to what the community needs," said Cory Lawrence, president of Student Government. "The students are being treated as if they are not members of the community."
The Southside is changing. The community is becoming flooded with more and more college students and fewer permanent residents, Lawrence said.
"Things will never go back to the way they were," he said.
Enforcement of the code of conduct off-campus is drastic, he said.
"From a student perspective, I think it is unfair that you can be punished off-campus," Lawrence said. "How am I supposed to tell my fellow students this is a just thing to do?"
Despite attempts to represent the student community and perspective, administration and councils have rejected his opinion.
"They are not listening to what we are saying," he said. "They are raising the tension level between the students and the community."
Police Involvement:
The Southside neighborhood will be invaded by a plethora of police this weekend. At least 60 officers will be patrolling the neighborhood. Their main goal is to target alcohol violations.
"I feel we are prepared, I don't think there will be any major incidences," said Dennis Ballantine, St. Cloud Police Chief. "We are out to try to ensure safety first and that homecoming fun stays within the realm of reasonableness."
Second-year SCSU student Brelyn Kritz said she noticed a lot of people getting open bottle citations for accidentally stepping on the sidewalk during move-in day.
She hopes the same actions won't occur this homecoming weekend.
"I had three friends get arrested because they stepped on the sidewalk with an open bottle," she said. "I don't think it is fair."
The police insist that they only target unruly students.
"The SCPD doesn't do anything covert, if anything we are overt," Ballantine said. "Anything we do is based on a complaint we receive, it is ludicrous to think we are hiding in the bushes."
SCSU student Jason Morgan lives in the Southside neighborhood and disagrees.
"At a house party, a van would stop and slowly drive by and a few minutes later come back," he said. "It looked suspicious."
After watching for a while he saw cops pile out of the van and give an open bottle violation to an unsuspecting person across the street.
"They look for trouble more than anything," Morgan said.
Officers will be driving in unmarked cars and some may be out of uniform during homecoming. During the past few weekends, police have been cruising in large undercover vans. Misdemeanor violators are handcuffed, placed in the van and then given a citation.
Extra Public Safety officers will also be on duty.
"Public Safety has always had extra staff on-hand," said Director of Public Safety, Miles Heckendorn.
Students can commit actions while drunk that they may later regret Heckendorn said. He warns students to remain smart and careful.
"There are things you could do to not become certified in Minnesota for nursing, law and teaching," he said.
On campus
Extra security precautions will also take place in the residence halls. Twenty-four hour security will begin at 5 p.m. Friday and end at 6 a.m. Sunday. Entrances to the halls will be locked throughout the weekend.
All RA staff are also designated to be on-call for both Friday and Saturday nights.
However, resident hall security has lessened a little over the last two years. Tight security drove students away from the campus, said Jennifer Sell Matzke, assistant director of residential life.
"A lot of students in the past indicated that they left over the weekend," she said. "We don't do it to scare students or make them feel unwelcome at home."
Stearns dorm resident Ashley Blasak said she might leave SCSU this weekend.
"I'll go home to drink or go somewhere else," she said. "They are driving people away from homecoming."
Letters sent home
Notices for alleged breach of the code of conduct were sent to students who were given citations and arrests on move-in day. The letters were sent to permanent addresses where students' families usually reside. They also contained an "urgent" message on the envelope. The same scenario is likely for homecoming.
"In fact, I can say in meetings administrators have said that they are sending letters home marked urgent. And (they have said), 'What parent wouldn't open the letter marked urgent?'" Lawrence said.
This isn't the first time SCSU has sent letters to students' permanent addresses. While at a St. Cloud party in 2000, fifth-year student Jon Kerrigan was given an underage consumption ticket. The police gave every minor a ticket at a party he described as "the bust of the year."
His parents were unhappy. In response, they phoned SCSU explaining that Kerrigan was an adult, paid his own tuition and lived on his own.
"It was a huge insult to them that the university treated me like a child," he said. "Supposedly we were beyond graduation from high school. How am I supposed to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood if they are sending stuff home to my parents?"
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