AMHERST — A program in which University of Massachusetts students can voluntarily register their off-campus parties has cut down on the number of police calls and seemingly improved neighborhood relations, according to town and university officials.
In the pilot semester for Party Smart, launched by the Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking, both UMass officials and Amherst Police say that with 169 student-registered parties, with none requiring a response from police, the program was a success.
“We have seen a reduction in both the complaints made for noise and the number of police responders necessary to address those complaints,” said Amherst Police Capt. Jennifer Gundersen, who serves as co-chairwoman of the coalition’s municipal strategies committee.
Modeled after programs in place at Colorado State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, Party Smart is designed to reduce noise complaints and increase student responsibility, with those registering parties required to visit the Off-Campus Student Center at the Student Union. There, they get peer-to-peer training in being hosts at gatherings and tips on being good neighbors.
This seems to be happening. Of the parties registered, just 13, or 7.7 percent, required a follow-up phone call from an Amherst emergency dispatcher alerting the hosts that if the gathering was not quieted down or dispersed within 20 minutes, officers would be dispatched.
UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski said collaboration between the town and UMass is key.
“Everybody recognizes that if we can work together we can solve some of these concerns,” Blaguszewski said.
But he said students are also to be complimented for keeping their parties from growing, and for socializing in ways that don’t impact the larger community.
While noise complaints in Amherst overall went down by 12 percent from fall 2015, Gundersen said the bigger drop was in total office responses. With at least two officers needed for each response, and more officers often called to provide backup, the department saw a one quarter drop in officer time spent on parties last fall.
“The Party Smart program allows our officers to respond to more serious offenses and gives students the opportunity to self-monitor and take responsibility for their parties,” Gundersen said.
She also credited sector officers with increasing outreach to student community members that supplements the educational component of the Party Smart registration.
The program had minimal costs, with just material to promote to students, said Tony Maroulis, director of external relations.
Sally Linowski, associate dean for off-campus student life and community education, said in a statement that students believe in the program, with 90 percent who participate say they would register again and recommend to fellow students.
“Peer education is a major component of the success of the program thus far,” Linowski said. “We are very pleased, and look forward to refining and potentially expanding the availability of the program in the future.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
