FYI
South Bend Tribune
ND students opposing ordinance
Right to assemble in question with proposal for special events.
JAMIE LOO
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND — The University of Notre Dame Student Government Association has been rallying students in opposition to the city's proposed special events legislation, which student leaders say targets students.
The proposed special events and hang-tag lawn parking proposal, which was originally scheduled for public hearings and a vote today, has now been postponed for a special meeting Aug. 20.
Common Council President Timothy Rouse, D-at large, said Friday that he and co-sponsor Al "Buddy" Kirsits, D-at large, decided to continue the bill because it has some loose ends that need to be addressed and council attorney Kathy Cekanski-Farrand has been out of town. Rouse said it's not unusual for an "ordinance of this magnitude" to be continued for special meetings, and for substitute ordinances to also be presented.
Lawn parking during Notre Dame home football games has been debated for years, but it's the addition of special events legislation that has attracted the attention of the Notre Dame SGA.
Part of the proposal calls for properties zoned as "boarding houses" to get a special events permit if a gathering is anticipated to have 25 or more people that have access to alcohol. A "boarding house" is defined as a property in a residentially zoned area that has two or more unrelated people living in it, which covers most student rentals.
The penalty for not obtaining a permit prior to holding the event is $500 for a first offense and $1, 500 for subsequent violations.
"The wording of the ordinance especially with the boarding-house clause is very suspicious," said undergraduate student body president Liz Brown. "Any student that I've talked to feels targeted."
Notre Dame MBA Association President Drew Mitchell, who represents the MBA class of 2008, said students he has talked to feel that the proposal is being "fast-tracked" in the last few weeks of summer, while students have no representation.
"From my perspective, it doesn't bring together the South Bend community and Notre Dame," Mitchell said.
The SGA has been sending e-mails to all students to update them on the proposal. Brown left her internship in Washington, D.C., one day early to drive back to South Bend to meet with students on Friday.
Although the vote has been delayed, she said the SGA is still going to meet with students today for informational purposes. She said she found out about the proposal two weeks ago and has been receiving a lot of feedback from students.
"A lot of the discussion that has taken place has been on Facebook and through e-mails," she said.
Mitchell and Brown said Facebook, the popular college networking site, has a Fight the South Bend Ordinance group, which has more than 2,000 members.
The nature of being in school fosters impromptu gatherings, Mitchell said, which is an important part of student life. He said the proposal restricts the ability of students to gather and may be a violation of their constitutional rights to assemble. The $500 penalty for not having a special event permit is something that both students and city residents can't afford, Mitchell said.
Brown said she is pleased the vote on the proposed ordinance has been delayed so more dialogue can take place between SGA members and the Common Council. She said the SGA and council share the same goal of stopping student disturbances in neighborhoods, but are going about it differently.
"We would prefer to take a more proactive approach to enforce what is currently in place," she said.
Brown is referring to laws such as the disorderly house ordinance, which allows landlords to evict tenants after a first offense.
Student leaders were disappointed when the disorderly house ordinance was passed in the summer of 2005, while most students were gone on summer break. Since then the SGA has formed a community relations committee and has made efforts to foster mutual respect between students and community members.
With the progress that has been made on relationships with the city, Brown said she was surprised things happened the way they did without any student input. She said she hopes the SGA and council can take positive steps to discuss alternatives to deal with student problems in neighborhoods.
:swordfigh: :starwars: 
