By Ricky Thompson and Dinah Alobeid
Administrators in the Office of Government Relations and Community Affairs would soon like to see one of their own riding in the back of a police cruiser on Friday nights.
The position of “Community-Student Liaison” was posted on www.BostonWorks.com last month. The part-time position requires the individual to have a bachelor’s degree and between one and two years of experience in community relations. Once hired, the liaison will be riding in a Boston Police Department (BPD) cruiser as it responds to situations in the surrounding neighborhood from 11 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
Part of the liaison’s responsibility includes collecting information in the aftermath of a disruptive party or other criminal scenarios involving university students. The information would then be transferred to the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR), which will reprimand accordingly, said Associate Director of Community Affairs Jeff Doggett.
“It provides a greater insight for the university to see what the issues are on the ground and to better understand what’s going on in that neighborhood,” Doggett said. “In many cases, it’s good to have someone from an eyewitness perspective who was there.”
Doggett said the addition of a liaison to the office is to “proactively help the Boston Police Department,” and is part of the effort that has been strengthened by the university adopting the principles of “Operation Student Shield” to combat negative activity in the surrounding area.
Operation Student Shield was created by BPD Captain William Evans to help curb disruptive student behavior in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood, which is in close proximity to Boston College and Boston University.
The program is designed “from the standpoint that if students are going to be a part of the community, [officials] need to find an outlet to reach out to them so they understand the norms and acceptable practices of a community,” Doggett said.
The program’s strategy is not to arbitrarily incriminate, but rather to encourage students to consider every consequence before making a potentially criminal decision, Doggett said.
Boston University has a community liaison, similar to the one Northeastern is looking to hire, who has been riding with the BPD in the communities surrounding the university for over 15 years, said BU Community Relations Liaison Maureen Kiely.
Director of BU Community Relations Joseph Walsh rides with the police department on a regular basis, Kiely said.
Mission Hill resident Melanie Adams commended Northeastern for getting more involved in the neighborhoods, like BU has done.
She said she thinks the position will benefit the community.
Although Adams had called Boston Police to report a loud party consisting of college-age people just last weekend, she said the search process for a liaison demonstrates the university’s commitment to the surrounding communities.
The community liaison would “probably put a better image on the school in general and show that the school is making an effort,” she said.
Ali Barlow, a fellow Mission Hill resident and Student Government Association vice president for financial affairs, said community outreach through the Office of Government Relations and Community Affairs is necessary in certain areas inhabited by college students.
“The problem is that students don’t experience the chaos of what they are creating first hand,” Barlow said. “They don’t have kids and they don’t have jobs to go to every morning, so they don’t know what kinds of problems they are causing until they experience it themselves.”
Doggett said he has had between 20 and 30 applicants for the position and hopes to hire one in time for the start of the fall semester.
– Staff writer Jennifer Nelson contributed to this report.
