Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
October 3, 2018
After the recent Town and Gown meeting, many New Britain residents have expressed a strong dislike toward Central Connecticut students. They have grown tired of the students’ behavior and some have met their wit’s end. Diane Gil, a local resident on Covington Street, is even ready to part ways with her home.
“I’ve been here for 44 years, and the kids are good for the most part. But they get so violent and inappropriate at these parties,” Gil said. “I just wish they’d buy us out.”
In the past few years, CCSU has made efforts to help residents, like Gil, feel more comfortable in their own neighborhood through the Good Neighbor Campaign.
The CCSU Student Government Association started the Good Neighbor Campaign to help resolve potential conflicts between the university students and its residents.
“It’s not just the partying. Some of the stuff is completely inappropriate [like] urinating on lawns, breaking other people’s property, trashing the streets [and] just being irresponsible,” Chris Theriault, the SGA Public Affairs Committee Chair, said. “And that’s something all adults should be accountable for. Yes, this is a college town and there’s gonna be parties, but they definitely can be more manageable than they have been.”
This past Saturday, the Good Neighbor Campaign, joined by Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Peter Troiano and CCSU Police Lieutenant Chris Cervoni, walked around the surrounding neighborhood of the campus to clean up garbage and speak with residents about their concerns.
“We’re always looking for new, creative ways to address any problems here at the university and we’ve quickly learned a major part is establishing good relationships with the neighbors. Addressing problems rather than avoiding them is the best way to handle any concerns that the neighbors have,” Dr. Troiano said.
The program collaborates with CCSU and the New Britain Police Department to help maintain and resolve potential issues before they may occur.
Both police departments have taken action by taking on extra patrols in the area and visiting off-campus houses before the semester began to communicate and advise them on how to be “good neighbors.”
“Every year, new students are moving into the neighborhood so we have to educate a new group about the importance of living in a community and being a responsible member,” Dr. Troiano stated.
“It’s fun to go out and do this,” Theriault said. “Yeah, you’re going out into the street and picking up garbage and sometimes you talk to people who are not too happy, but you get the occasional few people who say, ‘Thank you, I appreciate this.’ It gives me the motivation to go out and do this again.”
Although the progression is slow, the Good Neighbor Campaign continues to build momentum and make efforts to strengthen the connection for CCSU and New Britain.
“Before, I used to have problems at night cause the kids would be partying too loud. But the police have been stopping them pretty early this year and they are not as much of bother,” another New Britain resident, who asked not to be named, said.
The Good Neighbor Campaign has plans to continue to make strides in hopes that CCSU students and New Britain residents may live in a positive community together.
“I definitely think we, Central students and [the] SGA, have shown how much we care and we want to see changes throughout the neighborhood and something we plan to do pursue multiple times again,” Theriault said.
