Burlington recovers from Saint Patricks Day

The weather is not the only thing that shocked Burlington neighborhoods last week. Saturday, in particular, was full of summer excitement as students came out to backyards, porches and even the streets in celebration of Saint Patricks Day.

Temperatures reached in the 80s in the past week. For some students, spring can be one of the best times of the year. For Burlington residents, however, it can be one of the worst, according to police records, which show increased noise violations and drinking tickets during these months.

Hundreds of students gathered in backyards, on porches, and even some in the streets to celebrate the Irish holiday, which Burlington residents have deemed one of the worst Saint Patricks Days in recent years, according to multiple Front Porch Forum posts. Front Porch Forum is a free online service whose mission is to help communities become better connected through posts that recognize community issues or just want to spread word about upcoming events. Besides talk of how rowdy students got on Saturday, members of the website use it to create awareness about other issues and even propose solutions.

Community meetings are held in multiple wards to address the on-going conflict between students and neighbors regarding noise and general neighborly responsibilities. Of course, for many students who celebrated the holiday on Saturday neighborly respect and responsibility was non apparent.

The Burlington community has always had to deal with certain holidays where students tend to get a little out of control, Saint Patricks Day being one of the worst. The warm weather and the fact that the holiday was over the weekend this year only contributed to the debauchery that took place, said Julian Golfarini, SGA President.

Debauchery downtown, you can change that culture a little bit, but trying to stop people from drinking on Saint Patricks Day, in my opinion, is a cultural thing, if you go to any college campus in America you will find people drinking on Saint Patricks Day, said Golfarini.

Drinking holidays however do not spark the concerns that many Burlington residents have regarding young people, but the ever-continuing cycle of new students moving downtown and the ways in which these new students contribute to the community. Once people start drinking; things can get out of hand quickly and there is a liability both to the leaseholds and the landlords. Overall, I think respect is key...respect your privilege to live off campus, respect the laws re: noise and fireworks, respect your neighbors, respect your home, respect yourself not to get wasted and put yourself at risk said Ann Lang, a Burlington resident.

Gail Shampnois, a member of the Department of Student and Community Relations and leader of the Community Coalition, believes that students have the power to get involved and better their communities. Shampnois, along with the SGA, set up a cleaning crew of students that went out on Sunday following Saint Patricks Day, to help clean up some of the destruction. Broken glass from car windows and beer bottles covered streets and sidewalks. Beer cans and other trash was spewed around town. The group of students that helped out was about 30-40, said Golfarini.

What Shampnois and Golfarini agree on is that students need to play a more responsible role in their communities. Its getting all the partners to the table to create social capital said Shampnois, students, residents, landlords, and the police department, all need to come together in order to make a difference.

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Burlington recovers from Saint Patricks Day