Is Temple going too far with new weekend nightlife crackdown?

A few days ago, lost in the media whirlwind that was Bernie Sanders, Temple President Neil Theobald sent out an e-mail to students informing us of coming changes to our beloved off-campus partying atmosphere. In the e-mail was a link to a press release put out by the university listing five changes they’re making to ramp up monitoring and punishment of off-campus parties.

The list of changes, for the most part, seems to make a lot of sense. For instance: “Members of a community support team who, working closely with Temple’s Department of Campus Safety, will walk the neighborhoods and work with students to be sure these gatherings are under control and students are safe.” That, along with some new alcohol education programs, seems like a win-win for both students who like to go out and the university. Steps like these aim to make everyone a little bit safer, and that’s something we should all be on board with.

Now, one of the reasons Theobald gave in the release outlining these changes was: “We [Temple] cannot condone disrespectful and disruptive behavior by a relatively small number of students, nor can we ignore an increase in the number of students hospitalized and injured during events involving alcohol.”

Great, I like the sound of everything in here so far.

I mean, we do have to admit that sometimes, here at Temple, the parties do get a little out of hand. We occasionally (and very boisterously) spill out of houses and onto the streets – streets we share with other members of the North Philadelphia community. I’d be lying if I said I had never been apart of a “gathering” like this, but at the same time I recognize that it’s definitely not right. We should respect our neighbors and chill out a bit to ensure that our parties don’t turn into meaningless riots. So, yes, Temple making changes to more closely monitor these types of situations sounds like a step in the right direction. But, it’s the other changes listed in the release that make me think they actually went a step too far.

The other bullet points Theobald mentions include some pretty steep increases of fines for people who get caught partying, as well as increased efforts to catch the people throwing parties. The release mentions how, previously, the Student Conduct Code mostly focused on disciplining individuals who were caught drinking, and says that now people who throw parties can be charged with the same fines. And, not only will the people throwing the party get charged, but so will anyone living at the house. 

The release specifically states: “Any resident (i.e., anyone who lives at the residence or whose name is on the lease) of a house where a party is being hosted may be charged with a violation of the Student Conduct Code regardless of whether or not they were at the party. Fines may be as high as $1,500 per resident of the party house, and the university will decide if suspension or expulsion is warranted.”

Let’s do a little visualization exercise to better wrap our heads around this. Close your eyes and picture this:

Your roomies decide to throw a little party next Friday. Nothing too major, just a few friends coming by to have some drinks and hang out. You’re cool with it, but you have a test on Monday so you decide to stay in your room and study. But then, each one of those “few friends” tells a few of their friends, and then they all tell people, and the next thing you know there’s 100 heads in your living room dancing to the “Middle School Throwbacks” playlist on Spotify. It’s getting pretty loud, and all of a sudden one of these new Community Support Teams” starts knocking on the door. 

Okay, visualization time over. In this case, it’s pretty logical to see that you were just being the good, studious child that mom and dad raised, right? No reason for you to get in trouble. But, according to these new rules, a situation like this could result in you making a little “donation” to Temple that’s more than what your parents pay for their mortgage. Oh, and did I mention you could get suspended or expelled?

The wording is a little ambiguous as to whether these fines would be mandatory or on a case-by-case basis, though the rhetoric of these rules isn’t really the concern. What this is saying is that Temple now has the power to dole out this punishment, and that’s not okay.

Overall, 90 percent of these changes should be welcomed with open arms. All of it is essentially just common sense steps to help increase safety for students and quality of life for our neighbors, things which everyone should want. All of it, that is, except for these new fines which could really screw up some people’s lives for no reason.

We all know that partying has always been a staple in Temple University student life, as it is at almost any university, and these changes don’t necessarily mean we need to change that entirely. I hope the outcome these changes will bring is just a little more focus on safety and respect while partying, not an overhauled atmosphere in which kids are reluctant to go out for fear of getting caught and forced to pay outrageous fines. Only time will tell, but for now I urge all of you to give the press release a quick read, stay informed, and come to your own conclusions about these new rules.