20 students referred to U. Court
Twenty students were referred to Student Judicial Programs Sunday after Rice University Police officers were called to Sid Richardson College on a noise complaint.
Lieutenant Phil Hassell said a Sid Richardson student sent in the complaint. When officers arrived at the college, there were people on the balcony, and the door to the room was open.
“When [officers] looked in, it was clear that there was a bunch of underage people there,” Hassell said.
Sid Chief Justice John Horstman said there is no universal policy for noise complaints, but Sid students are encouraged to contact the Sid court before calling RUPD.
Horstman, a senior, said he was not contacted until after the police arrived.
The party’s host, who requested to remain anonymous, said guests were hanging out in the floor’s elevator lobby, but the room door was closed.
“The officers told the people who were outside to go inside and made them open the door,” he said.
The host said he was disappointed with the way RUPD handled the situation because he felt the students at the party were being respectful to Rice’s alcohol policy.
“I looked at the Student Code of Conduct again because I thought our party was private,” he said. “On the other hand, I know that the way the Alcohol Policy is written, anything that’s in the spirit of a public party needs to follow certain rules. The way it’s written is pretty ambiguous, so that I feel like anytime the RUPD needs to they can construe a party as a public party.”
While RUPD distinguishes between the two types of gatherings, once officers are asked to respond to a call, they are obligated to enforce the law, Hassell said.
“We don’t go looking for private parties,” Hassell said. “As long as they stay inside and don’t get any major complaints, we are going to leave them alone. Once it goes outside and becomes obvious, we have a duty to respond.”
Assistant Dean of Student Judicial Programs Don Ostdiek said the referrals do not reflect a changing enforcement of the Alcohol Policy. While RUPD handled the complaint correctly, Sid should have addressed the complaint first, he said. Ostdiek said he is exploring the possibility of turning the case over from University Court to a college court.
In general, Ostdiek said he prefers to keep such issues within the colleges.
While he understands there may be cases where the extent of the complaint or an inability to find the chief justice requires a call to RUPD, Ostdiek said the colleges should educate students about what to do when they have noise complaints.
Other news stories
- Autry to undergo major renovations
- Clinton expounds global issues
- Martel College forms committee to select new resident associate
- Vision Weekend to host 100 minority prospective students
- VP to focus on accreditation
Sports
- Almond scores 35 in Owls' fifth straight home victory
- Baseball splits first two games
- Daniels returns to win 5,000 meters easily
- Football announces 22 new recruits
- Men's tennis, ranked 30th, defeats No. 32 Minnesota
- Women suffer consecutive close losses in Oklahoma
- Women's basketball falls to Tulane, ends 4-1 homestand
- Zukoski notches first collegiate win at UH
Arts & Entertainment
- Because I Said So needs Moore comedy, romance
- Empty space inspires art in Pfaff's...all of the above
- Farnsworth fills with African-American wave
- Memorial master shares influences, perspectives on art, architecture
- Monologues showcases female sexuality
- Phoenix Wright wins