By Katie Ball

Residents of Mission Hill are looking to hold area colleges financially responsible for the damage done to their property, officials said.

In a meeting held Oct. 27, the Mission Hill Problem Property Task Force (MHPPTF) proposed a fund in which Northeastern, along with Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), and three other colleges would pay a stipend each year of $5,000 collectively to be used as restitution to residents of the Mission Hill area whose property was damaged or vandalized – with the assumption that it was caused by college students, although no official plan has been implimented.

The restitution committee, which was created to look over property damage claims and to allot money from this fund, is made up of a few Mission Hill residents and a representative from Wentworth. The other colleges which pay into this fund, including Northeastern, are not represented. Some colleges have signed paperwork to approve this fund, but Northeastern has not.

“It seems right that [Mission Hill residents] should be able to make that complaint,” middler developmental psychology major Sequan Creech said. “It’s definitely an issue that needs to be solved somehow, but us not having a representative, that’s definitely not fair … I respect their care for their community, but as long as we don’t have a representative, it’s not fair.”

Former City Councilor and Vice President of City and Community Affairs for Northeastern John Tobin said the initial proposal makes the assumption that college students are solely responsible for any property damage done, therefore the colleges would only take care of the problem monetarily, which is something he disagrees with. The proposal also includes a stipulation that would have these colleges replenish the fund if it ever dropped below $2,500 during that year.

“It’s definitely one of those gray areas, but I’m not sure if it’s really that fair to all of the kids at the schools,” freshman bio-chemistry major Kelly Burgess said. “It’s definitely more of if your property is damaged, that person that damaged your property should be the one paying for it.”

Tobin told City Councilor Michael Ross he would not sign anything that assumes students as the culprits of vandalism and other property damage.

In an attempt to compromise with Northeastern, Ross proposed a pilot program in which no papers will be signed and the fund will not be referred to as a restitution fund, simply a fund without replenishment that the schools will pay into for one year.

Tobin said he requested the word “student” be taken off the document entirely in an effort to relieve blame from college students, but when Ross brought it up in the Oct. 27 MHPPTF meeting, the request was denied. Ross was unable to be reached for comment.

“I see things far greater … that students do on their own that contribute to the livelihood of the city,” Tobin said on Northeastern student’s community service efforts. “I will not and cannot authorize a payment into something that says it’s student vandalism.”

There is no settled fund yet or even a pilot program as these issues are still being discussed between MHPPTF and the schools involved. In response to this development, Tobin looks at the situation with an optimistic view.

“Not having anything signed was a step in the right direction,” he said. “Not having a replenishment was a step in the right direction. Having it as a one year pilot program we’ll revisit was a step in the right direction.”

As Northeastern does hold a large percentage of the population of college students in this area, Northeastern is expected to provide 40 percent of the overall fund; around $1,800 to $2,000 a year. According to Tobin, this money would come out of the annual budget for City and Community Affairs and would not affect other departments’ budgets.

“I don’t know if that’s the best use of our money,” freshman chemistry major Hope Ianiri said. “I feel like that’s kind of what [home] insurance is there for.”