Residents say students cause problems in neighborhoods - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

Some Richmond homeowners say VCU students can wreak havoc on their usually quiet neighborhoods. Residents in the Randolph community aren't necessarily welcoming back the college-aged kids with open arms.

As another weekend is starting, police are now not only asking college kids to party responsibly, but also respectfully. This, after the return of students has caused some strife in Randolph.

In this area neighbors check in on each other. Many have owned the houses for decades but in recent years the longtime residents have some new neighbors. Starting in August, VCU students move in. The neighborhood is close to campus and four or five students can live in one house.

"They're kids and they're living away from parents," one neighbor, who didn't want to reveal her identity, said. "They're loose, wild and enjoying life at this point and I can understand that. We've all been there. But the problem is that they're not respectful."

She explains although the semester has just started, already there have been problems from parties.

"It was frightening because there were so many," she described. "They get out of control. They were going between the houses. They were sitting on our porches, on our steps, on our grass. Of course, they're noisy. They leave trash. There was not a parking space on this street."

Richmond Police Officer Hawkins Kuper says they work to find some sort of peaceful coexistence. The "Nuisance Party or Problem House" program is a way for police to target homes with ongoing issues.

"We'll let VCU use its ethics review board, call students in, speak to them," he explained. "We'll work with the property management company or with the homeowners themselves and see if we can find some sort of resolution."

It could even escalate to criminal charges but Kuper added most of the time the problems are handled before rising to that level.

Neighbors say they've seen the NPH program work but at this point, they are so frustrated, they're thinking about moving and giving up their investment in home ownership.

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