N.C. State Students Ask For Repeal Of Noise Ordinance

Brent Road used to be the place to be for N.C. State students until police cracked down, but students still party and sometimes neighbors complain.

"I'm the one that's probably always at the parties, so I don't really like it when they get busted," student Heather Leonard said.

Raleigh police use the nuisiance policy ordinance to ticket people at gatherings that get out of hand. Police respond when a neighbor complains or when they see problems themselves.

"Big parties -- if there's alcohol consumed on a public right of way or on a public street, those are violations," said Capt. Dennis Poteat, of the Raleigh Police Department.

However, Pam Gerace of Student Legal Services at N.C. State said police are ticketing students for much less.

"If they're just watching a football game, they're getting a nuisance party. If they're on their back deck smoking, they're getting a nuisance party," she said.

The policy applies to the entire city, but Gerace thinks police are singling students out.

"With the nuisance ordinance policy, it is targeted toward students, period and it's enforced against students, period," she said.

"It's just a fact of life that in this area most of the loud party calls happen in west Raleigh compared to the rest of the city," Poteat said.

Students are compiling complaints now to present to the City Council in an effort to get the policy repealed.

Some non-students who live in the area said the loud parties do not bother them too much. They said they understand since they were students too.

"Living in this part of town close to campus, that's part of the surroundings," homeowner Jay Twisdale said.

A violation of Raleigh's nuisance ordinance is a misdemeanor. On top of that, N.C. State can also punish students if they get a ticket.