The framers of the U.S. Constitution did not lay out a right to party, according to Judge William E. Smith, of the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island. Judge Smith ruled on Friday that the town of Narragansett, R.I., could continue to put bright yellow stickers on houses whose residents are deemed too raucous. The town began labeling residences in 2007 in an effort to crack down on partying college students who rent houses there, reports The Providence Journal. Oral arguments in the case were held at the Roger Williams University School of Law, where Judge Smith is an adjunct professor, the paper reported.
- 1255 Twenty-Third St, N.W.
- Washington, D.C. 20037
- Copyright © 2013 The Chronicle of Higher Education
Maybe the Beastie Bopys were right?Apparently, you’ve got to FIGHT for your RIGHT …to PARTY!
I wanted to do that first! Don’t step out of this house if that’s the clothes you’re gonna wearI’ll kick you out of my home if you don’t cut that hairYour mom busted in and said, “What’s that noise?”Aw, mom you’re just jealous it’s the Beastie Boys!
Wait. Don’t the bright yellow stickers just advertise where the raucous parties are and thereby invite the especially raucous attendees? Is there something else involved?
Yes, there’s this, from the linked article: “Its residents face a $100 penalty if they remove the sticker before the end of the school year, and fines increase for repeat offenses. The property owners, too, are subject to fines, ramping up the pressure to make tenants behave.”The sticker looks like a citation, too. It’s title is “NOTICE OF PUBLIC NUISANCE.”
Wait: should they do it Beastie Boys style and fight for their right to party?Or should they do it Public Enemy style and PARTY for their RIGHT to FIGHT?Either way, Bring tha Noise. Or get the $%^@ Outta Dodge?…That’s right y’all, El Comando, he’s in demand-o…
Anyone here ever read the Scarlet Letter?
I believe the point is to indicate those locations where the residents and their friends have exceeded their rights and trangressed on those of their neighbors. They still have the right to party, just not to the point (or noise level) of trampling on the rights of their neighbors.
I believe most cities have the authority to evict tenants who repeatedly violate noise ordinances, thus ruffling the feathers of their neighbors. I’ve seen it done. One homeowner painted purple polka dots on his house in protest because his felt the city was unfairly picking on his tenants – in fact he should have been doing a better job picking his tenants since they were clearly bothering the neighbors. Evidently the next ones who moved in were not a problem, but their house sure had an interesting paint job for a while.
Evicting lots of folks would seem a little draconian, but if they would go after one or two, I bet things would settle down.
Having been one of those who was raucous I must confess to mixed feelings, if not metaphors on this matter. But I know that when people around party houses complain, quite often it is way past what anyone should be asked to tolerate. It’s one thing to have a few weekend parties that last from Friday to Sunday. It’s another to do it every night. And houses around the party house have to deal with a lot of other stuff. Frozen barf is a big one. Students in some areas love to barf in mailboxes, through letter slots, or on windshield wipers. Properly executed, this turns the target into a nasty mass that must be chipped off. Drunk coeds laughing hysterically, pee around the area, carrying on like baboons marking territory, flashing crotch. Drunk students poop in gardens, in parks, sometimes wind up in unlocked cars, passed out. Beer bottles sometimes get thrown. Brawls happen. Students stumble into the wrong apartment, drunk and have sex with someone not their girlfriend or boyfriend. I must confess to mixed feelings about it all. On the one hand, there is this rite of passage, exploring primate behaviors from our evolutionary past when we had far less brain. Is that wrong? Is it bad? People certainly have fun at it. Is it necessary? Is it useful? It may be. But townies have a right to sleep, be functional at their jobs, and not have poop on their lawn or barf in their mailbox.