Excessive noise levels from Greek housing have sparked neighbor complaints, and Cal State Long Beach is changing its methods for handling the matter.
University Police and Dean of Students Jeff Klaus said they are fed up with dealing with the frequency of disturbing-the-peace calls, and the complaints have led to an immediate change in how the matter is handled. Repeat offenders may be put on a probationary period for an entire semester, which suspends them from all social activities, and any violation within that period may have the house removed, according to Klaus.
Excessive noise is not a new problem, according to University Police Captain Scott Brown. Neighbors have been complaining for years, and police issuing warnings and citations may soon be a thing of the past due to the frequency of neighbor complaints.
Brown said the first level of enforcing noise complaints is to advise the house to keep the noise to a minimum.
“After multiple calls, the officers have the discretion to cite or even arrest the party host for failure to comply with the law,” Brown said. “People are arrested for hosting loud parties. Party hosts and houses may also be held financially responsible for the costs of having the officers respond to noise level complaints.”
Brown said University Police report all Greek housing related calls to Klaus and the director of Greek affairs. Klaus said he believes the strict measures currently in place send a clear message that rowdy behavior in the neighborhood will no longer be tolerated.
“I had reached out to Greek advisers and told them the [noise levels] had reached a tipping point,” Klaus said. “Some of the things we have done as a university to assist the [Greek] houses are to distribute information cards to neighbors that will give them the contact [information] for the university for complaints.”
Klaus said that he believes community relations between fraternities and their neighbors have been improving.
“Rather than wait for something horrible to happen, we wanted to bring the community together,” Klaus said. “We want to develop a plan that we can successfully address the issues the neighbors are having and to better reflect the values the chapters are supposed to uphold.”
Students involved in Greek affairs, however, said that their neighbors are singling them out.
Tony Salama, of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, said that just because he is in a fraternity does not mean he or his fraternity mates are trying to cause havoc.
“I feel like we are the scapegoat for noise,” Salama said.
Neighbors who live close to Sigma Pi have also expressed their frustration.
Robert Yamasaki, a two-year resident of Long Beach, said he is frustrated with the lack of parking on his street when a party is being held.
“There is never any parking on the street, and it would be nice if they turned the noise down by midnight,” Yamasaki said.
Brett Redmon, a three-year resident of Long Beach, said that he feels like the fraternity makes the effort to reach out to neighbors by leaving a courtesy note of an event, complete with a pack of instant coffee from Starbucks.
“I feel like they are doing their part. There is no trash or mess the next day,” Redmon said. “Half of the time I forget they are there.”
