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Cut to the next morning- neighbors waking up to yards covered in a thin layer of beer cans- no grass or snow in sight, just shiny aluminum. Not exactly the scene that most working adults want to wake up to.

In one college neighborhood, though, simple communication between neighbors and students is curbing some of the problems.

Bob Kaufer and his young family live two blocks west of the university. Kaufer and his family moved to the area 14 years ago after Kaufer graduated from Hamline’s School of Law.

“We like living in a college neighborhood because it brings in certain elements and some people would say it’s a bad element, but I would disagree with that. It’s a good element; these are people that have goals and objectives, [students] are trying to better themselves,” Kaufer said.

This August, Hamline students moved in across the street a few houses down from Kaufer. Kaufer explained that the students and a neighbor directly next door to the students’ house got off on the wrong foot thanks to a couple of late-night parties and because the neighbor’s bedroom was directly adjacent to the students’ house.

“There were some later night disturbances, but there’s never been a case where at three in the afternoon they’re wheeling in 15 kegs,” Kaufer said.

Kaufer’s wife works for a neighborhood coalition in Minneapolis, where she sometimes deals with student housing issues. Drawing on those experiences, Kaufer decided to contact the Hamline/Midway Coalition to get a dialogue going between the neighbors and the students, instead of going directly to the university. This dialogue included Director of Residential Life Patti Klein, Linda Winsor, who is a representative from the Hamline/Midway coalition, the students from the house, and their landlord.

Hamline, unlike some colleges, does not have a collaboration with the local police when it comes to neighborhood disturbances. Instead, most complaints from neighbors in the community are directed toward University Relations or, in some cases, the dean’s office. Klein says complaints are directed to her. She speaks with the neighbors and pins down exactly what the problem is, and then tries to track down which students live in the particular “problem house.”

This can be difficult sometimes because Hamline does not have a system for keeping track of where off-campus students live. When the students are located, Klein passes the neighbors’ concerns on to the students. Klein, though, points out that there is often more than one side to complaints.

“Sometimes the students are blamed for something that wasn’t in their control, or sometimes the students truly are being disrespectful of neighbors. Typically a conversation [between students and neighbors] does something,” Klein said.

Klein added that simply knowing neighbors' concerns solves the problem. But of course this is not always the case. Recently, Hamline has been working with the Hamline/Midway Coalition to have all parties sit down together and have facilitated discussions.

“One of the true successes is when students and neighbors actually sit down face to face and recognize each other as people and it isn’t about one being out against the other, it’s about how do we live in community in this neighborhood,” Klein said. “I think it creates a level of respect for each other that they’re finally able to hear each other in regards to the concerns.”

Klein added, that although there have been some problems with Hamline students in the neighborhood, they are rather infrequent.

Linda Winsor is one of Hamline/Midway Coalition’s representatives who has been part of the facilitated discussions. Winsor says that most complaints are about livability issuesčnoise late at night, not keeping up the outside of the property, neglecting trash left outside after parties. Over-occupancy is also a concern after students lost their lives in fires at the University of Minnesota in recent years.

St. Paul has a city ordinance that limits occupancy in a rental unit to four non-related people. Winsor says that landlords will often explain this to potential renters, but then tell the potential renters that they will allow more than four roommates if the four roommates who sign the lease take responsibility.

Legally, the landlord can be reported to the city, but the landlord can evict the tenants because over-occupancy usually violates the lease. Winsor suggests reading the lease very carefully before signing it, and remembering that what might sound like a good deal can often get tenants into a lot of trouble.

Winsor also believes that some neighbor conflicts arise out differences between the lifestyles of working families and college students.

“College students are waking up as most people are going to bed. I think that there is a lack of understanding of schedules," Winsor said. "Students don’t realize the neighbors are waking up at 8 a.m. to go to work. One neighbor even mentioned that he hadn’t thought that ‘When I’m slamming my door I’m waking [the students] up.'"

Winsor hopes that through these facilitated discussions, students and neighbors will not only solve their current disputes but also create a greater sense of community. Winsor uses the example of students out and about on the streets after dark. Neighborhood members are told to report any suspicious happenings to the police, which would include people wandering the street late at night. Winsor says that if students and neighbors know each other, a sense of security is created, and genuinely suspicious behavior can be reported.

Having knowledge of how these facilitated discussions work, Kaufer decided he would act as a neighborhood representative and speak with his student neighbors.

During tone such discussion Kaufer offered to act as the go-between for the neighborhood. When a neighbor has a problem with a student house, they will call Kaufer. Kaufer has contact information for the students, so he will call the students and explain the neighbor’s concerns.

Kaufer added that the discussion, also touched on what it meant to be a member of the neighborhood. He explained that the neighborhood expects its members to shovel the sidewalks in front of their houses, and to keep the houses in decent shape. But he added that the students need not feel alone in the neighborhood.

“As long as students give us contact info, there can be benefits for them. Over Christmas break, we’ll look after their house. We also told them they are responsible for shoveling their property, but if there is a big snow fall I have a big new snow blower that can solve that in a minute,” Kaufer said. “We’d love for the students to be involved in the community, and we want to be involved with them. Two of the guys across the street play hockey; now that I know someone on the team, I might go see a game.”

Kaufer, Winsor and Klein all suggest that to prevent neighbor trouble students should simply meet their neighbors and share contact information.

“I’d suggest students reach out to the neighbors to see what you can do for them and communicate with them,” Kaufer said. “I think we can create a pretty strong community for everybody, making living off campus a good experience for all students.”

Kaufer added that everyone in the neighborhood knows what it’s like to be a college aged person, and they know this includes partying.

“One other thing too, we’re not saying don’t party, hey, you get done with finals, have a party, but let us know. Just because it’s ten o’clock doesn’t mean shut the party down, make sure everyone is quiet and in the house, and once when you get ‘em in the house, have fun!” Kaufer said.