D.C. needs to clarify how the city’s new noise law will be executed and why it was created, a coalition of D.C. university student government presidents wrote in a letter to Mayor Vincent Gray on Feb. 24.
D.C. Student Alliance members say they are concerned with the severity of the punishments and the vagueness of the term “unreasonable noise.”
They also requested a meeting with Gray and his staff to further discuss the issue.
The D.C. Student Alliance brings student governments of D.C. universities together to share ideas, collaborate on events and represent student interests in the District.
The D.C. noise law, enacted Feb. 1, bans “unreasonably loud noise between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. that is likely to annoy or disturb one or more persons in their residences.”
It does not define “unreasonably loud.”
Violators can face up to a $500 fine or 90 days in jail.
D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers must witness disorderly conduct offenses, including the noise law, to make an arrest or seek a warrant, according to an MPD directive. Officers should attempt to resolve the situation before making an arrest.
The noise, however, does not need to be heard to be unlawful — it only needs to be likely to annoy or disturb people in their residences.
Many, including AU’s Public Safety Chief Michael McNair, consider the new regulations to be aimed more at Georgetown neighborhoods, where students leave local bars, hang out in the streets and return to their houses throughout the area.
Chair of the D.C. Student Alliance and University of the District of Columbia Student
Government President Ben Marcus said the noise law’s penalty doesn’t match the crime. He also said the law could be applied inconsistently and in a biased way if it is left up to police discretion.
If the D.C. Student Alliance does not hear from the mayor’s office in the next week or two, the group’s next actions will be more “visible,” Marcus said.
AU Student Government President Nate Bronstein said the alliance would look for support from businesses that may be affected by the law and from the consortium of D.C. universities.
Bronstein and D.C. Student Alliance Executive Director Andy MacCracken, last year’s SG president, said the coalition is considering collaborating on a petition against the noise ordinance, launched by the college student advocacy organization D.C. Students Speak.
“It’s one thing to have a letter signed by student presidents,” Bronstein said. “It’s another to have a petition.”
MacCracken and Marcus both stressed the noise ordinance is a chance to start a broader conversation on how students interact with the city.
“The city needs to look at this as an opportunity to work with students, to be involved in conversations that have a direct effect on their lives,” Marcus said. “We’re trying to build a relationship with the city where they see students as stakeholders in the city and not a transitional group that comes and goes every four years.”
Other college towns, such as Gainesville, Fla., where the University of Florida is located, have more detailed noise ordinances, Marcus said.
The Gainesville ordinance states why the law is necessary and includes definitions of noise, reasonable time and sound level, among others.
The law permits different decibel limits depending on the time of day and the duration of the sound. Noise is measured with a sound level meter.
University of Florida fraternities and sororities can also obtain five noise exemption permits: one each for the last Saturday of fall and spring rush, for the university homecoming and for two optional dates, according to Gainesville’s noise ordinance.
landerson@theeagleonline.com
