Collegetown residents planned for Senior Week and other events that come with the beginning of summer at a meeting of the Collegetown Neighborhood Council in Sheldon Court yesterday.
The meeting — involving about 20 students, residents, and University and city officials — prepared for Senior Week, when students traditionally celebrate their graduation the week before commencement.
In addition to participating in events organized by the University, seniors often organize parties in Collegetown, creating noisy disturbances.
In order to minimize the number of problems, “officers are going to tour the area, and if we see many kegs, then we know [a party] is going to happen that night,” Police Chief Richard Basile said.
“We might go in to talk to them … [and inform them that] they can only have alcohol from the sidewalk to the house,” he added.
Basile said that the police department will monitor Collegetown the same way as they did last year, noting that the number of arrests during last year’s Senior Week decreased dramatically from previous years.
“The students have been very cooperative, and the noise complaints were handled immediately,” Basile said.
Other plans to promote the peace and safety of Collegetown residents involve trips and events organized by the University.
“Ticket sales have been going very well [for Senior Week events],” said Lorraine Medeiros ’01, Senior Week chairperson.
“The first night will be craziest — if we control the first night, then we set the tone for the rest of the week,” she said.
Non-student residents of Collegetown agree that the area is noisy during Senior Week.
“Students are pretty loud for one week, but they’re pretty quiet the rest of the year,” said Paul Glover, who claims to be the “last townie on College Ave.”
The residents were, however, grateful — in the meantime — for the springtime Collegetown Cleanup.
“We picked up about 150 bags of trash,” said Jason Conn ’03, vice president of the Intra-Fraternity Council. “We can definitely see some differences, because some alleys were completely cleaned out.”
As the of the academic year also marks the exodus of students and the large amount of trash they leave behind, Glover proposed the Student Recycling Project, in which goods in decent condition are re-used by local residents.
“This tonnage will go directly to landfills, while thousands of lower-income Ithacans struggle to purchase these same goods,” Glover said.
Glover encouraged the council to support his efforts by providing transportation and storage space for the supplies in hopes of starting the project this year.
Archived article by Peter Lin