There is no solution to the current problems plaguing the U's greeks and their neighbors, and there never will be, according to a top U official.
"This is a situation which will never go away, but it's one we're going to try and keep under control," said Barbara Snyder, vice president for student affairs.
For the last 15 years, U officials have been front and center in the ongoing drama that has played out between greeks and their neighbors.
In 1987, Salt Lake City officials passed an ordinance that established rules for both sides— including the creation of a 24-hour hotline, wired directly to the Salt Lake City Police Department—that enabled neighbors to report any complaint.
"The students and the U have made a good-faith effort, and it's unfortunate that things are the way they are now," Snyder said.
For neighbors, the biggest issue continues to be early morning and late night noise which emanates from the 12 fraternity and sorority houses that make up Greek Row.
Stayner Landward, dean of students, says some of the neighborhood complaints are unreasonable.
Neighbors have continually petitioned U administrators and city officials to limit any noise at all after 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnights on Fridays and Saturdays. That noise includes incidental sounds like the opening and closing of car doors to passing exchanges on sidewalks in front of fraternity or sorority houses.
"The U is not in a position to violate students' civil rights in an effort to accommodate neighbors in the Greek Row area…nor do we support students violating the neighbors' civil rights or any city, state or federal laws," Landward said.
As long as U officials continue to pick and choose which parts of the agreement to enforce, it will be impossible for a fully-working agreement to emerge.
Lawyer and U graduate Ben Wilson says both sides needs to recognize the interests of the other.
"It's a shortcoming of the neighbors if they can't work with the young people living next to them.…You always do your best to convey a good impression to the neighbors, but there's always going to be a few bad apples. Those two percent shouldn't represent the other 98 percent," Wilson said.
While a student at the U, Wilson was also a member of fraternity Beta Theta Pi. He says while both sides struggle to see the other's point of view, both will remain at a deadlock as long as the bickering continues.
"If parties can come to the table and come up with an agreement that can be settled out of court, then that avenue should be pursued because the courts can't babysit," he said.
It seems increasingly fruitless for the two sides to gather in the hopes of forging an agreement, as many neighbors associate the behavior of the majority of greeks with the actions of the minority.
In a further effort to spur harmonious relations between the groups, neighbors and greeks sat down last fall to draft a meditation proposal.
The agreement established a channel of communication between greeks and neighbors and also stated all incoming greeks must complete a sensitivity training course.
Most important to neighbors is the agreement's promise to provide additional weekend police patrols, paid for by U administrators and greeks.
However, greek adviser Lori McDonald said the mediation agreement was not a contract and has been misread by certain neighbors.
"This is a document for discussion…the goal of it is to continue communication and spur innovation between the parties," McDonald said.
The non-binding agreement only set both parties back, as neither greeks nor neighbors are contractually obligated to uphold the guidelines agreed upon last autumn. Both entities only need to do as much or as little as they want without fear of any legal repercussions.
The agreement also laid out plans for a monthly neighborhood newsletter, to be produced and written by non-greek neighbors. The first of those newsletters has yet to be published.
It's preposterous for neighbors to complain about the U greeks' lack of cooperation when they themselves have yet to honor their part of the agreement.
The reasons for this may have to do with a lack of community organization, says Noel DeNevers, a Federal Heights neighbor and Neighborhood Relations Committee representative.
"The neighbors are not an organized group…when we're not mad about something, we go our separate ways and don't talk a lot," he said.
Neighbor Robert Bliss, who lives next to the Pi Kappa Alpha house, thinks the only feasible solution to the problem is for the greek system to completely evaporate from the U. As long as neighbors hold such strong resentment toward the situation, nothing will ever change.
The Neighborhood Relations Committee, formed to streamline communication between the two entities, is composed of U, city, greek and neighborhood officials along with law enforcement officers.
McDonald says the committee's full potential has yet to be maximized.
"The Neighborhood Relations Committee is an important tool that can be used by greek officers and neighbors. The mediation agreement is just as complex as the current noise issue itself," she said.
For Beverly Nelson, a resident of the Federal Heights community and an outspoken participant in the mediation agreements since last fall, the major problem between the Neighborhood Relations Committee and non-member neighbors is a lack of communication.
Nelson is also quick to point fingers, blaming the U for not resolving the issue.
"Lori [McDonald] has told me she simply does not have the staff or budget to implement the agreement, and it would be a tragedy if all our hard work fell apart because of that," Nelson said.
However, Snyder may be right. With no solution on the horizon and no end in sight., both sides are faced with continuous dialogue over a divisive issue.
"There are so many more levels to this than the ones that are apparent on the surface. The noise thing is just the most recent complaint," McDonald said.
However, the issue at the heart of the matter right now is how far U administrators are willing to go to appease non-greek neighbors.
The tenuous tightrope between lawful enforcement and the violation of students' civil rights is something U officials are very much aware of.
"We have to be very careful to provide due process to our students any time a complaint arises…We cannot prohibit free speech. It's something we all hold dear as educators and as individuals," McDonald said.
Nelson says the issue can only be resolved if two things happen.
First, Nelson says, the city needs to implement the specifics of the mediation agreement. Second, Nelson said the city needs to enforce the noise ordinance laid out back in 1987.
According to that document, all noise must cease at 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on the weekends.
"We don't expect all the lights to go out at 11 or 12, we just expect the noise to be cut down," Nelson said.
There's no way a solution can be found until both sides open a constant dialogue with each other.
"I don't know if there's an exact answer…it has to be tiring when your neighbors change each year," McDonald said. "The only solution to this problem is continuous communication and compromise."
abenson@chronicle.utah.edu
