The “loud party ordinance” passed by the city council last week will cost Greek Row, along with all other Salt Lake City residents, $300 per visit from police officers every time they must respond to a noise disturbance. Although the threat of a fine might quiet a rowdy party for a night, it’s not going to fix the underlying problem of the long-lived tense relations between Greek Row and the surrounding Federal Heights neighborhood.
It seems like the new ordinance is a costly solution to a simple problem.
“I think it is erroneous,” said Tim Domian, president of Sigma Nu fraternity. “If you don’t get a warning first, you might not realize that your music is too loud, but you will be given a $300 ticket anyway. It’s a little bit outrageous over noise. If neighbors have a problem, just call or come to the door and ask us to turn it down. We’re not going to be disrespectful about it.”
The U’s Greek Row is unique in that it lies within the jurisdiction of the Salt Lake City Police Department rather than just the U Police Department. Since the fraternity and sorority houses are located in a neighborhood, they must work with the residential community in addition to the campus community, and this has proven to be difficult.
“The situation has escalated so much that a mediator has been appointed to work with the greeks and the Federal Heights Neighborhood Association,” Domian said. “On the same token, this might be necessary because there are so many negative prevailing stereotypes that people have about fraternities and sororities that they are unwilling to work with us themselves.”
Location, location, location. It is a mantra we’ve all heard before when looking for a new place to live. If you were a concerned parent and weren’t impressed with a particular school district, you probably wouldn’t live there. If you couldn’t deal with the blistering heat of St. George, it’s unlikely that you would relocate there for your retirement. If you don’t enjoy hearing occasional loud pop music late into the night, you probably wouldn’t want to live near a major university. Yes, I understand that many people do not have the financial luxury to live anywhere they please, but I doubt that the residents of the affluent Federal Heights area are one of them. If individuals choose to take up residence in a certain location, they must accept the community that comes with it, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for change.
The residents of Federal Heights and the greeks are going to have to get along because expecting all Federal Heights residents to sell their homes isn’t very realistic, and whispering and headphones aren’t going to be the new cool party theme any time soon.
Placing police between residents and fraternities and sororities will only exacerbate the already strained relationship. A simple fix is possible: Create a better communication system in which greeks and neighbors are able to convey their thoughts to one another in a respectful manner.
“I would be more than willing to give any one of the neighbors my phone number to contact me about noise,” Domian said. “I understand why it can be upsetting, but they should call one of the house presidents first instead of going straight to the police.”
alking is the first step on the road to reconciliation, but Federal Heights residents need to come to terms with the fact that a university neighborhood is never going to have the peace and quiet of a sleepy suburb.
