Student behavior on Orchard Street warrants Geneseo police response

Geneseo Village Police Chief Eric Osganian has been left frustrated following the first two weeks of the Fall 2022 semester. Student behavior and the conditions of off-campus student housing have warranted a response from village police as litter and noise complaints are becoming more and more common. 

Orchard and Court St. have become frequent sources of complaints from residents of Geneseo. Student housing on these streets have been littered with garbage leftover from parties, and loud music and nuisance complaints have become a problem for village police even during the daytime. 

In an interview with Livingston County News, Osganian said, “Sometimes it feels like we are babysitting people. These complaints used to be mostly at night, but they have now started during the day.”

This type of complaint requires a police response, stretching an already small village police force. According to Osganian, the village police department has reached out to the Geneseo University Police Department (UPD) for help responding to the increased volume in nuisance-related 911 calls. 

“The street was completely filled with students,” he said. “Since we don’t have these issues when the students aren’t here, I am hoping the college can assist us. I would think that the college would want these areas, which are in very close proximity to the college, to look good.” 

Assistance from the college would help village police manage the high volume of calls and allow them to handle other, more important policing business. Osganian said that the frequent calls about Orchard and Court St. are draining police time and resources, taking focus away from other policing initiatives.

On Sept. 9, Geneseo students received an email from Dean of Students Leonard Sancilio reminding students that they are still held to the Geneseo Student Code of Conduct even while living off-campus, and that violations of village ordinances may also incur college conduct action. The email included a list of commonly violated village ordinances, including open container laws, noise ordinances, and the social host law as it applies to underage drinking.

According to Geneseo Director of Media Relations Monique Patenaude, Sancilio is considering several initiatives to get Geneseo students involved in cleaning the area, considering its proximity with the Geneseo campus.  The Office of Fraternal Life and the Office of Student Volunteerism and Community Engagement are considering organizing a weekly volunteer clean-up effort to keep the streets clean and presentable. 

On Sept. 7 a closed-door village meeting including Village Mayor Christopher Ivers, Osganian, and Geneseo President Denise Battles, discussed both the state of Orchard and Court St. and the number of nuisance 911 calls coming from the two streets. No specific action items were decided during the meeting, but Ivers hopes that the cooperation between the village and the college will benefit both. 

In an email statement to the Livingston County News, he said, “We agreed that there is some intersectionality that the college and the village can work together to help build our community and the expectations of those who live in our community. We all want what is best for the community at large.”