2008 Woodie Awards
Senate addresses Town Council at meeting
Justin Oswald
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: News
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The ordinance sets guidelines for the labeling of a "party house" and the accompanying orange sticker posted on the door and fines for party hosts. The ordinance and its September revisions that increased fines have brought fire from the Student Senate, which earlier this month unanimously passed a resolution condemning the policy.
Yesterday, senate President Neil Leston said he is seeking equal treatment for students and year-round residents.
"I am not putting my name out to defend misbehaving students," Leston said. "We're looking for a reasonable community standard."
Leston is seeking respect for students from community leaders. In the past, senators have expressed their disquietude with Town Council President T. Brian Handrigan's comments that questioned the standing of the senate to oppose a town ordinance.
"It is the opinion of some that this is not our town," Leston told the council. "[But] our presence can be felt here tonight."
Student Senate External Affairs Chairman Thomas Ahrens was the only other student to speak during open forum before Handrigan ended the forum.
Ahrens said he feels he has a fair perspective on the issue because of his Rhode Island residency and various connections to people in Narragansett. And he questioned the policy that leaves what some consider wide latitude for police to decide which houses receive stickers.
"There are too many gray areas," Ahrens said of the ordinance.
Another concern senators have is the vulnerability of tenants to be fined if another person litters, urinates, or is too loud on their property.
Ahrens made an analogy to people urinating in bar parking lots, and that bar owners are not fined for their guests' conduct.
After open forum, Narragansett Police officer Michael Gamma disputed Ahrens' concern of the "gray areas," or susceptibility to officer discretion when issuing an orange sticker. Community policing officers meet each Monday with Chief Joseph Little to review reports and decide which houses warrant orange stickers.
Narragansett Police Sgt. Mark Allsup and Gamma both said that the subjectivity in these ordinances protects students from overly strict and objective limits.
"Discretion totally works in the students' favor," Allsup said.
If more specific limits were put into effect, officers would follow the objectiveness of these limits instead of looking at the bigger picture, Allsup said.
For example, Allsup said if there was a limit of 10 cars parked outside a house, and there were 11 cars, but the house was not disturbing the peace, officers would still be forced to cite the people in the house.
And residents also threw their support behind the ordinance that some say has helped deter rowdiness.
"This ordinance is going to root out the worst offenders," said Steven Ferrandi, president of the Eastward Look Neighborhood Association.
Ferrandi was one of four residents to speak at open forum about the ordinance.
"Stay the course," Ferrandi told the Town Council and police department. "You're doing the right thing and it's working."
Ferrandi said there should be other places for students to party besides within the Narragansett community.
"[URI] should have a place on campus where someone who is 21 can have a drink," Ferrandi said.
In 1995, the university banned alcohol from all campus events and started an active campaign to reduce alcohol consumption.
But other residents were supportive of the students' presence and their involvement in the democratic system.
"We must be very careful to generalize behavior to a general group," Narragansett business owner Bob Trager said.
Joan Garceau, a Narragansett resident for 20 years, was in "complete agreement" with Trager.
"It is nice to see the students come out and fight for their rights," Garceau said. "That sticker does not belong there."