Three St. Thomas-affiliated residences have been charged with violating St. Paul’s social host ordinance since the law went into effect in December. But it is unclear whether the heightened pressure on underage parties is making the surrounding neighborhood a better place.

In anticipation of the end of the school year, the St. Paul Police Department will deploy additional officers to put pressure on students and increase awareness of their effect on the neighborhood, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, public information officer.

Jeff Armstrong, 35, lives on Selby Avenue near the Blue Door Pub. He said students’ respect for the neighborhood “tapers off a bit” as nights go on.

“[Students] seem to just kind of encounter the world without taking other people’s point of view into consideration,” Armstrong said.

When the ordinance passed, the police department went to 20 residences that had multiple “disturbance”-related calls and served them with a notice, Schnell said. Residents were warned that they were put on a zero tolerance list and any future disturbances could lead to a citation.

“Whenever something becomes a pattern, it elevates the frustration level of people,” Schnell said. “We’re trying to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood.”

St. Thomas Neighborhood Liaison John Hershey said the idea behind the social host ordinance isn’t to single out students, but rather to help harbor some responsibility among those who choose to party. Hershey said the law gets at the crux of the problem–people who host disruptive and sometimes illegal gatherings.

“We need to do a better job … if people would be a little more thoughtful, a little more polite it would go a long way,” Hershey said. “Some of it is just downright rude or drunkenness, but there’s some of it that’s just thoughtlessness.”

Hershey, who has been neighborhood liaison for St. Thomas since 1998, lives just six blocks from campus and said St. Thomas students have a tendency to be raucous when given a little bit of freedom.

“After Sept. 1, I don’t like to leave my windows open,” he said. “Something is changing, I don’t know what that is or why that is … I don’t know how to fix it.”

While Hershey and Schnell believe that the law’s intent is directed more toward social responsibility and neighborhood preservation, others said the ordinance only attacks students.

“I don’t think we were targeted unfairly; however, I think we were ticketed unfairly,” said a student recently cited for violating the ordinance.

“Our house has never had a single complaint from a neighbor or the school, never had a visit from the police, or never had a problem with our landlords,” the student said. “Why are we getting ticketed when hundreds of other parties are just given a warning or shut down? This type of treatment only condones running from police and unsafe behavior.”

St. Thomas Assistant Dean of Student Life Jim Sachs said because the ordinance is so young, a great deal of uncertainty still surrounds its effectiveness and what it will do for the relationship between students and the neighborhood.

While Sachs understands that partying, and some of the less favorable activities that accompany it have been and will always be around, he said he hopes the ordinance makes students more aware of their position in the public eye.

“This is a matter of self-preservation,” Sachs said. “You simply are on the radar if you’re living in a house and are a college student.”

That’s been Hershey’s constant message to the 1,500 undergraduate students who live within a six-block radius of St. Thomas and are looking for ways to stay out of trouble. Despite his advice, recent years, this year especially, have been tough on student and community relations.

“This past fall I’ve experienced a dramatic increase in the number of really bitter … acrimonious complaints about students in the neighborhood creating disruptions,” Hershey said.

He also said areas east and north of campus are feeling “particularly beleaguered” right now.

The message Schnell wants to get across to students is that “[St. Thomas] is not separate of the community. It’s within it.”

Ben Katzner can be reached at bekatzner@stthomas.edu.