It’s late at night. After a relentlessly long day, the last thing you want is for the house down the street to be blasting music at 3 a.m. Everyone has experienced a similar situation. Too often, however, these situations end with someone calling the police to file a noise complaint. At the University, involving the police in situations in which people or music is too loud can not only frequently lead to unnecessary escalations, but also creates an inefficient outcome for everyone.
Of course, University students have an unwavering obligation to the surrounding community to be respectful and promote an overarching environment of amiability, calm and order. This condition includes keeping noise at reasonable levels, especially at nighttime when the surrounding community definitely goes to bed earlier than the average University student. According to the Charlottesville municipal code, sounds between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. must be below 55 decibels, roughly the same sound level as a restaurant conversation, within the premise of the owner’s property. Between 2010 and 2014, the Charlottesville Emergency Communication Center received an average of 1,525 noise complaints per year. University students should to the best of their abilities follow the laws of the city and respect the noise ordinance. However, in nighttime situations when neighbors are playing music too loudly, we can potentially have a kneejerk reaction to involve the police in a circumstance in which they really shouldn’t play a major part.
When music or party-related noise happens, it’s often interpreted as a personal slight against the affected person. “Of course they’re playing music on tonight, of all nights.” For students with big tests in the morning or residents with early morning jobs, I can sympathize with the urge to lodge a noise complaint with the police to easily remedy the problem. All I’m asking is that we remember that our neighbors are not distant but rather are members of the Charlottesville community. Admittedly, they have failed to follow the accepted noise standards laid out in the city code, and citizens have every right to notify the police. Yet while calling the police may remedy one’s own plight, it creates a host of potential problems for the person against whom the call is made. From misdemeanor charges for noise violations to potential citations of disorderly conduct, underage drinking or possession of alcohol, there are literally hundreds of outcomes that invariably make the recipient of a noise complaint worse off. It seems like every arrest or citation is preceded by an officer responding to a noise complaint and then one thing leading to another. Just last week, police officers responded to a noise complaint at the University of Alabama, leading to shocking videos of officers slamming students on the ground and arresting many more. All in response to a noise complaint? Is the payoff of having a neighbor’s music turned off quickly worth the potential life-damaging effects a charge on a neighbor’s record can have?
For both residents and students near the University, I suggest a simple conversation between neighbors as a solution to the problem. Explaining how much the noise level has affected a neighbor’s life can go miles toward creating an empathetic understanding between neighbors and hopefully lead to a solution which forgoes the unnecessary involvement of police. If we strive to think less as individuals and more as members of a larger, shared community, we can create a much more accepting environment for all. For those who invariably think, “Well, if I ever tried to talk to my neighbor about turning the music down, she wouldn’t listen,” just try. If peaceful discussion fails to yield satisfactory results, then by all means one can exercise her authority to inform the police. Maybe even try leaving a note. A conversation or compromise with a neighbor about music levels gives the same outcome of lower volumes for the noise-affected person without the potential negative consequences that can result from involving the police.
As University students, we must do everything we can to respect the community. Sometimes students or residents do indeed violate the Charlottesville noise ordinance. For those who are negatively affected by overly loud music or noises, I hope you will consider remembering your neighbor’s humanity and confront them about their noise habits. Honest conversation between neighbors mitigates the easy lure of involving police in subsequently inefficient outcomes. Noise complaints are far too often just cop-outs.
Ben Yahnian is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.yahnian@cavalierdaily.com.
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