SAN DIEGO — People living in the College Area are bracing for an influx of students and loud parties, as the fall semester is set to begin at San Diego State University.
Neighbors told CBS 8 the university should be responsible for the conduct of its students, even if the parties are held off campus.
“When I went to San Diego State, there were parties. There were not 300 people at a party,” said Susan Hopps-Tatum, who grew up in the College Area.
She knows all too well what happens at the beginning of the college school year.
“Thousands of students walking the streets, very few police officers, no SDSU presence. It's just concerning,” Hopps-Tatum said.
“We have students that are urinating and defecating in the neighbors’ yards. The noise is off the charts. The people are in the streets. There's broken glass. And, SDSU says it's not their jurisdiction,” she said.
Off-campus parties fall under the jurisdiction of the San Diego Police Department, but Hopps-Tatum believes the university needs to take some responsibility.
“Their code of conduct that they have students sign specifically states, surrounding neighborhoods as being part of the area, they need to maintain appropriate code of conduct. And, that's not happening.” Hopps-Tatum said.
“When San Diego State students return to campus, that's like dropping 25,000 young adults into a community, yet the police staffing stays exactly the same,” she said.
Last year, SDPD did increase patrols in the College Area in response to wild parties and underage drinking. Neighbors are hoping for more police support this year, as well.
“Right now, students know that police are outnumbered. It's basically a free for all,” Hopps-Tatum said.
The first day of classes for the fall semester at SDSU is August 22.
CBS 8 reached out to both SDSU and SDPD but neither agency responded to questions about off-campus parties.
A spokesperson for the University Police Department advised that SDPD “has policing authority for the College Area neighborhood.”
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