How to be a good neighbor

Living off campus for the first time can be a very daunting undertaking for a college student. Learning how to be a good neighbor, however, is one of the most important facets of being an off-campus college student, said Judy Robinson, assistant dean in the Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD).

Robinson said she recognizes that learning how to be a good neighbor can be challenging for some students living off campus. In addition to making the sometimes difficult adjustment to off-campus living, some Boston College students who reside off campus also struggle with the feeling of being disconnected from the rest of the University.

"Most students know whether or not they have three or four years of housing upon being accepted to the school. Those with only three sometimes feel disconnected from everyone else - like they're being 'kicked off' campus," Robinson said. "We want off-campus students to feel like they're still a part of the University because they are connected to each other and to the neighborhood."

Robinson said that her job, and the job of the ODSD, is to support students and inform them of their rights. Part of providing support for off-campus students includes teaching them how to live in the community. "Now that they're living in the community, the students are bound to all city ordinances - they report to the Boston Police. It's important that they become more responsible," Robinson said.

Part of students knowing how to live in the community is understanding how to be a good neighbor. "I don't think some students understand the level of responsibility that comes along with living off campus. We try to inform them and prepare them for living off campus. It's new and exciting and we want to get them ready for it," Robinson said.

Robinson said that for the most part, off-campus student life is fairly positive, with only a small number of complaints that mainly stem from students living in their community and not understanding their neighbors' lifestyles. "Some of the complaints are quite reasonable and others are complaints concerned with the welfare of the students," Robinson said.

Michelle Cauchi, CSOM'10, said she believes that BC students living off campus are good members of the community. "I feel that BC students are respectable, at least compared to students from other colleges anyway," Cauchi said.

Contributing to the positive perception of off-campus BC students are programs sponsored by the school. Members of the BC community have created a number of these programs for off-campus students to help them both feel connected to the University and contribute to the welfare of the neighborhood. The BC Eagle ambassadors program, started by the Off-Campus Council and supported by the ODSD, is one way off-campus dwellers have tried to be a positive part of their communities. The goal of the program is to promote a safer, more collaborative community in the off-campus neighborhoods.

Other programs and organizations devoted to neighborhood-student relations include the Off-Campus Council and Friday Night Heights. The Off-Campus Council's main goals are community building, informing off-campus students of their rights, and supporting them if they have issues. Friday Night Heights is a workshop geared toward educating students about their civic responsibilities, preventing problematic behaviors off-campus, and helping students become good neighbors.

Additionally, the Off-Campus Services department of the Office of Residential Life and the Office of Governmental Community Affairs are both on-campus resources to which off-campus students can turn for advice.

For students living off campus who want to be good neighbors, Cauchi offered a word of advice: "You just have to be respectful."