DailyTarheel.com, by Staff Writers
This holiday season, North Carolina officials resolved to increase efforts combating drunken driving. The N.C. Dept. of Transportation launched its "Booze It & Lose It" campaign with the Governor's Highway Safety program to reduce drunken driving in December.  During Dec. 11 and Jan. 3, there were 35 DWI charges in Orange County, two of which were underage individuals like a former UNC student who is charged with driving the wrong way on an interstate and killing three people in a head-on collision in July. Dealing with underage drinking on college campuses poses an additional challenge because of the use of fake IDs said Sgt. Mike Mineer of Chapel Hill Police Department's Patrol Division. He said the Chapel Hill Police Dept is assisting bars in checking people's identification to ensure they are not underage, though officers might not check IDs at the door and instead re-examine IDs inside establishments.

EdR, a leader in the ownership, development and man- agement of quality collegiate housing, announced two off-campus, joint venture developments scheduled to open in summer 2017. EdR finalized a joint-venture agreement with RISE: A Real Estate Company to develop, construct and manage a mixed-use student community pedestrian to the MSU campus. Michigan State's full-time enrollment has consistently grown since 2012. Current enrollment is more than 50,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. EdR also recently closed on financing and finalized development agreements with Carson Properties for a $29.6 million, purpose-built, student housing community one block from the Texas State University campus in San Marcos, Texas. With a 2014-15 enrollment of more than 38,000, it is the largest university in the Texas State University System. 

They joke about their unlikely partnership-a lawyer and a cop. But since September, Eric Beal, the lawyer, and William Laramee the cop have been out on the streets meeting with students, talking to long-time residents and coordinating meetings with landlords to address chronic issues such as noise. Laramee, who has been an officer with the Amherst police dept. for 20 yrs., was named the newly developed neighborhood liaison officer in September.  Beal became the new UMass neighborhood liaison in August. The creation of the position was created following recommendations in the Davis Report. Edward Davis, the former Boston police Commissioner, was hired to review the Blarney Blowout in 2014 and how both town and UMass police and UMass responded to the event. The goal is get "people to adhere to good behavior so students are knowledgeable about not getting into trouble."

Inside Higher Ed, by Scott Jaschik

On the days  that big-time college football teams play, the campus and local police departments of institutions playing see a notable increase in reports of rapes of college-age women, a national study has found. The study, released in December by the National Bureau of Economic Research (abstract available here) analyzed data reported by campus and local agencies to the Na- tional Incident Based Reporting System, through which the U.S. Justice Department collects and analyzes crime reports. The analysis found a 28 percent increase in rape by college-age women on days on which Division I-A football teams played. The theory of the researchers is that various partying behaviors take place on football game days. The authors write, "...by documenting how specific contexts modify the effects of football games, ...our results can inform awareness and prevention efforts."

The Gazette, by Kaitlin Durbin
Days after a Colorado College student was hit and dragged nearly 40 feet while trying to cross Cascade Avenue, a spokeswoman said Colorado Springs is working on a project to improve the safety of people crossing the road. Details were not released Thursday, though city spokeswoman Kim Melchor said the public can soon expect to hear more about the project. City and college officials had been discussing ways to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists traveling through campus long before the crash. The student was dragged and pinned under the vehicle, Colorado Springs police said. Emergency responders freed her by using bricks to prop up the vehicle. The woman suffered a broken collarbone and a lacerated liver but was expected to survive, police said. Students have been hit crossing both streets. Last school year, four students were injured crossing the streets.

Featured Author Series

What if you had a marriage that was arranged by others, which could not be ended, but that you had to make work regardless of how you felt about your partner? That, in a nutshell, is the relationship between a college campus and the community that surrounds it. Using the metaphor of marriage, ITGA member Steve Gavazzi's new book, The Optimal Town-Gown Marriage: Taking Campus-Community Outreach and Engagement to the Next Level, provides insights into town-gown relationships. A town-gown typology is presented along with case examples that flesh out four distinct relationship types. The confidential thoughts and reflections of university presidents and city administrators are reported, as well as a full interview conducted with E. Gordon Gee, arguably the most well-known university president in the nation. All of this is pulled together in the book's presentation of The Ten Commandments of Town Gown Relationships. To learn more about the book, or to place an order, visit the ITGA website.

A growing and impressive group of professionals from campus communities across the globe continue to network and share strategies for improving town and gown relations. Join us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
The ITGA strengthens town and gown partnerships by providing a network of professionals and resources, identifying and sharing leading practices, innovative solutions and professional development opportunities for municipal and university communities.