Has Big Brother Moved Off Campus? An Examination of College Communities' Responses to Unruly Student Behavior

Disruptive not on campus behavior by college learners in recent years has been unrelated to social causes or the public interest. The headstrong behavior following athletic events or spring festivals has been damaging to the communities in which the learners reside and has included rioting, peculiarity destruction, noise, littering, over extension of police resources, and interference with quality of life. While incidents of insubordinate student behavior have occurred in corporation communities, large and small, located over the nation, this article direct the eyes at efforts made by three Pennsylvania communities to bridle the problems. These efforts include passing ordinances requiring reimbursement for police take away froms seeking injunctive relief to command the size and conduct at large parties, and installing public video cameras at learner housing. The article explores the constitutional and public policy puzzles posed by the measures enacted by dint of the communities, and concludes that the measures are either unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny, or may create more dangerous moot points than they were designed to combat.

I. BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM-A BRIEF HISTORY OF pupil UNREST

College scholar unrest is not new in the United States. The guild years historically have been associated with rebellious behavior ranging in intensity from harmless pranks, to defiance of social mores and organized dissent from mainstream political ideology. As early as the mid-1800s, responding to the rigid discipline of the religious/paternalistic community system and amid claims that their "natural rights" were being put downed students at many eastern corporations rioted causing extensive property damage to their campuses.1 single of these riots at the University of Virginia riseed in the death of a professor.2 In the 1960 and 70 the civil rights change and opposition to the Vietnam War flowed in widespread intentional lawbreaking and violence the couple on and off campuses.3 Thousands of criminal cases were brought against learners for protests borne out of their desire for social change.4

While learner unrest is not a new phenomenon, what seems to be novel on college campuses is the amount of purposeles destruction in which pupils are engaged.5 This destruction frequently spills over the gates of the ivy overlayed towers into the communities in which the corporations reside. On March 31, 2001 a fray broke out in West Lafayette, Indiana following Purdue's los to Notre Dame in the NCAA women's basketball championship. scholars broke store windows, damaged cars and stoked fires with piles of furniture.6 That same weekend in guild Park, Maryland, after the University of Maryland (UM) not to be found to Duke in the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, learners rioted, ransacked privately owned domiciles set bonfires which destroyed cable lines and tore down road signs resulting in $500,000 of peculiarity damage.7 The U.M. students' destructive behavior can't be explained by the agency of disappointment at their loss. Their behavior didn't improve the following year when UM won in the Final Four. Following the victory, learners broke windows, vandalized police cars, threw bottle at officers and locate more bonfires.8

College students' destructive acts have not single followed sporting events. Each July the Borough of State corporation Pennsylvania hosts the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. The incident which has been held for 37 years, lasts for 5 days and attracts about 100000 artisans and patrons of the arts.9 For reasons no clearer than "too a great deal of alcohol" and "a good natured celebration make go rounded sour"10 during the festival in 1998 Penn State scholars destroyed parked cars, ripped down way lights and signs, broke windows of businesses, place bonfires, and threw kegs from balconies causing at least $50000 in damages and numerous injuries to police and learners alike." Halloween mischief has evolv into annual hand-to-hand conflicts at many campuses including Ohio University, Kent State and Southern Illinois University (S.I.U.).12 In Carbondale, Illinois, the abode of S.I.U., there is a drawn out history of Halloween violence. Thousands of learners each year would swarm the town's main highway resulting in scores of arrests for characteristic damage, public indecency and reckles management The annual gathering had gotten thus large, destructive and out of hand that from 1995-2001 the University clos the campus for five days around the holiday.13

College and universities have the authority to sanction their learners for these incidents even although they occur off campus. In Kusnir v Leach, a pupil challenged his suspension from Clarion University in Pennsylvania because it was based upon an off campus incident.14 The suspension was issued through a University Conduct Board following a hearing in which evidence was not awayed that the student entered an not upon campus residence uninvited, refused to leave after he was asked, and participated in a brawl where individual of the occupants of the residence was injured.15 The Board conclud that the scholar had violated the University's digest of Conduct and suspended him for sum of two units semesters.16 Summarily dismissing the student's argument that the University had no jurisdiction to discipline him for behavior that occurr not on campus, the Pennsylvania appellate court held that a body has a vital interest in the character of its pupils and may regard off campus behavior as a reflection of a student's fitness to be a member of its scholar body.17