Party Crackdown Begins At WSU

PULLMAN - A Washington State University ban on alcohol has forced many student parties off-campus, where landlords are enforcing leases that limit noise and the number of people allowed in apartments.

Having a party-free campus isn't the answer to controlling student drinking, said Greg Patrek, the owner of two duplexes he rents mainly to college students.

"All it did was force everyone to drink off campus, and the university doesn't have any jurisdiction there," Patrek said. "I don't think it decreased consumption at all."

When most parties were in fraternities and sororities, guest lists and basement party rooms kept them contained and allowed a measure of control, police Sgt. Chris Tennant said.

"Some of the problems we're facing with the (off-campus) parties is that there's no structural limitations to the parties and no control over who shows up," Tennant said.

Take the 2,000 people who attended a courtyard party at the 334-unit Campus Commons North and South complex the first weekend of the school year.

After several hundreds of dollars worth of damage, apartment managers fined the tenants they thought were responsible, applied lease provisions that allow no more than eight people in an apartment and set quiet hours, said Lenae Martin, community director for the off-campus complex.

"We have a very specific lease that has a very specific nuisance clause," Martin said. "That includes having too many people over and violations of quiet hours. It's a $200 fine."

The money is deducted from the tenant's damage deposit.

"We had a tree that was torn down from people swinging on it and a stairwell railing that was kicked off," Martin said. "We had to replace that one at 1 a.m."