Tigerfest should be canceled.
That's one of 47 ideas recently suggested by the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations to benefit relations between the town of Towson and the University.
The other ideas from the Council also focus on events and activities "that contribute to drinking in surrounding communities."
The GTCCA Community Relations Committee, a subcommittee of the University Relations Committee, produced the list of 47 ideas in October as a response to persistent complaints from residents about Towson students' behavior off campus.
Also included on the list is a recommendation for law enforcement to expand an underage drinking task force and to consistently issue noise citations for loud parties.
They also want Towson to revise the course schedule so that more students will be in class on Friday.
"All of these are realistic things," Towson Manor Village resident and GTCCA committee vice president Ed Kilcullen said. "We have done a lot of research into what other college towns, cities and neighborhoods have in place and now it's just a matter of whether Towson University, Baltimore County and the state of Maryland are going to cooperate, because all of theses items are attainable."
The University Relations Committee subcommittee, of which Kilcullen is a member, does not have University representation.
The University Relations Committee does include both community and University members. According to Kilcullen, the subcommittee was formed because the issues were best discussed without University involvement.
"We're concerned about the impact that Towson University's growth is having on the greater Towson area. It's increasing traffic, crime and other related issues," Kilcullen said. "We have problems with the major influx of students moving into the community and that's only going to get worse as the student population increases and there is no room for them on campus."
This list is broken into three primary subsections: action to be taken by the state, action to be taken by the county and action to be taken by the University.
The shortest portion of the list, state legislation, includes capping University enrollment until at least 40 percent of the student population can live on campus.
At the county level, the committee targets development owners who rent to students. Also, law enforcement officials should increase penalties and enforcement, while Towson bars should more consistently card students according to the release.
The committees' suggested action to be taken by the University is in the form policy changes. The subcommittee calls for a strengthening of the policy on disorderly and disruptive off-campus behavior and requiring periodic audits of students living off-campus. The list asks the University to prohibit parking passes for students who live within a mile of campus.
The University instituted a nuisance housing policy during Fall 2006 that provided community members a method to alert Towson officials of disruptive students off campus.
"Our judicial reach does go beyond borders of campus," Towson vice president for student affairs, Deb Moriarty said. "We are trying to send a message to students that we can't watch every minute, but if we keep getting complaints in specific houses, we will bring in students and possibly administer judicial sanctions."
According to Kilcullen, the steps the University has taken have helped, but there are still issues.
"The current measures are helping, but these are continuing problems," he said. "It's a complaint driven process. There has to be continuing bad behavior before it can be reported to Towson University. It's a reactive process, not a proactive process."
Moriarty, who is a member of the University Relations Committee, said their goal is to educate students of County codes they may or may not be aware of when moving off campus.
"If a landlord is promoting a house and trying to get six roommates to live in it, the burden isn't on the student," she said. "The last thing we want is a student to unknowingly break the code."
She also stated the University's responsibility to monitor off campus students can only be extended so far. According to Moriarty, the County must accept students into the community with a level of University guidance.
Kilcullen disagrees.
"They are Towson University students. They are not the county students," he said. "The students are here because of the University and they would not be living here if they did not go to the University. Towson is generating these students that are living in the community and causing problems and it's not Baltimore County's responsibility to patrol all of their students."
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