After recent tiffs over building permits and noisy parties strained town-gown relations, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate is taking action to promote harmony between the University and its host communities.
The Senate is working to create a Tufts Community Relations Council, which will gather representatives from Tufts and its surrounding communities in an attempt to head off tensions before they become troublesome.
TCU President Dave Baumwoll developed the idea last summer.
"Every year there seems to be a chronic struggle between Tufts and the communities, Medford and Somerville, in which we reside." Baumwoll said. "The Tufts Community Relations Council [is] a way to pro-actively, rather than reactively, address the issues we have with community relations at Tufts."
Baumwoll said that relations last year were particularly tense due to questions over the jurisdiction of Somerville Police, noise complaints during events like Spring Fling, the proposed construction of the new dorm, and problems with Greek houses holding parties.
"These issues just scratch the surface as to the issues with Community Relations," Baumwoll said.
Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel agreed. "Last spring, we saw particular strains in a few areas and neighbors became very sensitized to students living there," she said. "We had started a dialogue with those neighbors and students, and would like to keep that going in some way."
The new Community Relations Council will be comprised of approximately 13 standing members, including one elected official, one police officer, and one citizen from each town. The Council will also welcome the presidents of local Parent Teacher Associations, three Tufts students, three Tufts administrators and one representative from Tufts Public Safety.
Officer Carrabino from the Somerville Police Department (SPD) spoke to the Senate on Sunday about the increased presence of SPD on and around campus, offering a model for the kind of dialogue to take place through the Council.
Baumwoll said the meeting helped break down many of the barriers between Tufts students and the SPD.
"We were able to engage in a conversation that allowed our opinions to be heard. It also helped us understand where he was coming from," Baumwoll said. "I felt as though this positive interaction needed to be brought to a larger scale."
Once operational, the committee is intended to be a forum to hear student and community members' concerns and
initiatives.
It would provide a venue for initiatives such as Project REPEAL, an effort of the Tufts American Civil Liberties Union and Association of Latin American Students to work towards the repeal of Somerville's recently enacted Anti-Gang Ordinance.
According to Rubel, town-gown relations can be problematic because students are transient, unlike other town residents. "You can begin to see some of the challenges here when you realize that the neighbors pretty much stay the same from year to year, but each fall brings a new group of students. Every academic year, with new students moving off-campus, the composition of the community changes somewhat" Rubel said.
"It is my goal that this committee have an influential position in both Tufts and the local municipalities so that we can use it as a tool by which compromise and satisfy all involved parties," Baumwoll said.
"We need to dispel the 'us' versus 'them' attitude that exists between Tufts and the surrounding communities," he said.
Baumwoll said he hopes the council will begin meeting by next spring semester.<$>
