MSA responds to nuisance ordinance
Published Nov. 10, 2006
After the Columbia City Council passed a nuisance ordinance Monday, members of the Missouri Students Association addressed student concerns at a senate meeting Wednesday.
The ordinance, which passed 6-0, defines nuisance parties as social gatherings of 10 or more people where any of 16 prohibited activities occur. These activities include underage drinking, drug use, fighting, public urination, blocking traffic, a noise violation and littering.
"This is a college town," MSA member TJ McKenna said. "They're taking away what we can and can't do."
MSA Senate Speaker Davie Holt said his organization plans to follow up in talks regarding the ordinance with the City Council and Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe.
Hoppe represents a large population of the students who live on East Campus, but she voted for an ordinance that will have "a huge negative effect on students," McKenna said.
An amendment had been passed to raise the number of people defining a nuisance party from 10 to 15. Later, Hoppe proposed an amendment to bring the number back down to 10. That amendment also passed.
Hoppe was unavailable for comment.
After Hoppe was elected in April, she said she would invite anyone to contact her with any issues.
Holt said Hoppe hasn't come to MSA about the issue; the organization has to go to her.
"The whole City Council has not engaged students," Holt said. "It would be nice to just to be heard and for them to contact students on issues that concern us."
Holt and McKenna both expressed problems with the council's handling of the ordinance.
"I honestly believe they had their minds made up before any (students) talked to the council," McKenna said.
Holt said Hoppe directly deferred to the task force to make decisions. The task force drafted the ordinance and heard Holt speak during the drafting process.
"They were definitely not listening to students," Holt said. "The task force did not welcome my input at all."
Holt said Hoppe was initially trying to address student concerns but "put up no fight later."
Though MSA is strongly opposed to the ordinance, Mayor Darwin Hindman said it wouldn't have an effect on most students.
"The MSA may be hearing from a certain amount of the student population," Hindman said. "But if they did an actual survey, they probably wouldn't get a big result of students opposed to the ordinance."
Hindman said that most students are "very thoughtful, respectful" people, and the ordinance wouldn't be a problem for them.
Hindman said the council isn't ruling out the right of people to have parties, but it is saying the parties need to be toned down.
"Students are going to have to respect people's rights," Hindman said.
Hindman said it wasn't fair to the neighbors to have loud noise late at night. He also said the ordinance will improve the opportunities for enforcement by the police department.
"We don't really need legislation when we could just use better enforcement," Columbia resident James Harrington said at the council meeting Monday.
The Columbia Police Department was unavailable to comment on its plans for enforcing the ordinance.
At the council meeting, Hoppe suggested that statistics be kept on the enforcement of the ordinance so the effectiveness could be revisited.
The ordinance will be enacted Aug. 1, 2007. Holt said MSA would stay engaged in city politics.
"I hope we can get them to at least listen to us," Holt said.