Letter: UConn-Related Parties Increasing in Mansfield's Neighborhoods

To the Editor,

I appreciated the Patch article about the party at 200A Spring Hill Rd. This is indicative of the increasing number of parties in our neighborhoods in Mansfield. It happens every weekend, and also weeknights. It destabilizes our neighborhoods. The house at 200A Spring Hill Rd has a rental permit and is one of hundreds of such houses.

There is widespread distribution of UConn student parties in Mansfield. The parties are often held in secluded houses down long, dark driveways or on remote, isolated roads. There is no supervision at these houses, no resident assistants like in the dorms. This is disturbing given the safety issues for female students.

The second article in the newsletter below is by The Bonistall Foundation. Lindsey M. Bonistall, was murdered in an off-campus apartment complex at the University of Delaware. For students living ON campus 85% of the victimizations occur OFF campus. The number of off-campus violent victimizations of college students was 14 times greater than the number of on-campus victimizations. When a college student living on campus is victimized, 85% of the time that incident occurs not on campus, but rather, off campus. Clearly, it is much safer for students to live ON campus with the guidance of university personnel to help them overcome often extreme peer pressure to join in risky activities such as binge drinking.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Weekly-Snapshot--May-18--2016.html?soid=1117796635558&aid=zeMxvdZ_nQk

Over the last 20 years, undergraduate enrollment at University of Connecticut has increased 66 percent, but virtually no new on-campus housing has been built. As a result, many students are forced to live off campus. This puts students at greater risk of sexual assault.

Three days after moving to Mansfield in 2011, freshman Silvana Moccia, was raped in an off-campus house. Silvana was one of the victims who brought the Title IX action against UConn in 2013. She was a young athlete, recruited by the University to play hockey. Three days in Mansfield and her life was forever changed. How awful to know something like that happened in our town. There are more off-campus rentals receiving permits every week. Now over 435 houses. Many of these are satellite party houses for fraternities operating in violation of zoning ordinances.

The Clery Act requires all institutions of higher education receiving federal aid to report crime on their campuses. BUT, rapes and other crimes in off-campus houses and apartment complexes are not reportable under the Clery Act. Parents who are comparing statistics to choose the safest school do not see the statistics for rape off campus. Nearly 50% of all UConn students now live off campus. Mansfield -- host town to University of Connecticut -- needs to require the University to provide affordable on-campus housing for all its students.

Forcing 50 percent of the UConn student body to live off campus not only impacts the quality of life for permanent residents in our neighborhoods, but it is also a disservice to the students themselves because it puts them in more dangerous situations.

Rebecca Shafer
Mansfield Neighborhood Preservation Group

Photo Credit: Patch file