Just read a story from the Eugene newspaper about the MAJOR party problems they are having in Eugene. It's not new, just at an all time high level. I love the Oregon Duck football team, but as I have said a million times, I wish I could pick up Autzen and move it to Keizer, Oregon! I hate Eugene and this article adds to my dislike!
The dozens of people, many of them under-aged, who walk the west and south university neighborhoods each night with open containers of alcohol are hardly an unfamiliar sight to Eugene police Lt. Angie San Miguel.
But even San Miguel, who’s in charge of the night shift Wednesday through Saturday, says she has been surprised by what she’s seen this fall.
“Honestly, I’d say in all my 18 years as a police officer here, the amount of people this year out and about drinking in public and displaying disorderly behavior is the worst I’ve seen,” she said.
The rough outline of where many central parties occur, San Miguel said, is between 13th and 17th avenues between Hilyard and High streets. More specifically, San Miguel said, police have had multiple problems on 14th Avenue from Patterson to Ferry streets, and from 15th and 16th avenues and Hilyard Street.
University of Oregon sophomore Kristina Lekas said she chose her Patterson Street apartment because of the area’s reputation for being a party hot spot. The 20-year-old said she and her three roommates have a party at least once a week.
It’s a good thing she likes to party, she said, because she’d be miserable otherwise.
“It would be impossible to sleep on the weekends if I wanted to,” she said. “Anyone who wants to go to sleep before 4 a.m.: Don’t live here.”
But Lekas said she and her friends are fine with the amount of partying that goes on. The same holds true for the west university neighborhood in general, she says, because it’s a college neighborhood.
“I’ve never seen someone over 25 here,” she said.
Lekas also said she sees at least one arrest outside her apartment every week.
The most common citations issued in the university neighborhoods are for minor in possession of alcohol and carrying an open container, San Miguel said.
Between Sept. 24 — the Thursday before fall classes began at the UO — and Nov. 19, officers issued 180 citations for minor in possession of alcohol — 27 in the south university neighborhood and 153 in the west university neighborhood, according to police department data.
During the same time period, police issued 141 open container citations, with four in the south university neighborhood and 137 in the west university neighborhood. Additionally, police arrested 13 people in the west university neighborhood in connection with open container offenses.
When intoxication levels go up, so does disorderly behavior, San Miguel said.
On weekends, San Miguel said, it’s not uncommon for officers to have a half-dozen party calls waiting for responses.
Police received about 125 noise complaints in the university neighborhoods from the start of school until Nov. 19, issued 26 citations for noise — 13 in each university neighborhood — and arrested one individual in connection with a noise violation.
“We get so busy with other parties and priority calls on the weekends that we can’t respond to half of the noise complaints we receive in a timely manner,” San Miguel said.
In the south university area, it’s mostly homeowners who make the noise complaints, but in the west university area, homeowners and students alike make the calls, San Miguel said. Police typically don’t break up parties unless they receive a complaint, she said.
“If we see a party with lots of people in the front yard, we’ll make contact,” she said. “But if a party is not bothering anyone, we typically don’t care.”
The most effective way to patrol the university neighborhoods is with officers on bikes, San Miguel said.
Generally, students are cooperative with police. “Some slam doors and don’t let us in,” she said. “But that rarely happens.”
Tommy DeVoe, a 20-year-old university junior and advertising major, said he sees numerous fights every week at his Patterson Street apartment. From what he’s seen, police seem to handle the hectic environment well.
“The police do a good job at it,” he said. “We’ve had no complaints here, and my friends have had no trouble. They do a good job for having a couple thousand college kids around.”
— Rebecca Woolington
What is the matter? We have ANOTHER generation lost in the things of this world. What SEEM like the pleasures of this world are foolishness. These will only leave horrible scars that will stay with these kids all of their lives.I know, I have them and ONLY because Christ has freed me from the bondage of guilt am I able to sleep at night. The scars though, are still there. They will be until He appears or I go to be with Him! Praise the Lord!
