Monday, February 22, 2010
Trouble on 22nd Street
Tech students partying has hit a new low point this past Saturday night. Residents in the 3200 block of 22nd Street have been plagued by loud parties all year. But on Saturday night some drunk girl crossed the line. The following email was send out by Sherry Grusendorf.
My name is Sherry Grusendorf. My husband, James, and I have lived at 3207 22nd Street in Tech Terrace for 23 years. I am 62 years old with two grown children and five grandchildren. My husband has been a business owner in Lubbock for over 30 years and I recently retired after 23 years as church secretary at Saint Elizabeth's Catholic Church. Ours was a lovely, quite neighborhood until 3 years ago when a group of 4 members of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity moved into a home across the street. The home was purchased by out-of-town parents of one of the students. At first the parties were mostly tolerable. But in the past 2 years they have increased in numbers and abuse of the neighborhood. We have called the police many, many times and have had zoning out because none of the four young men living in the residence are related. Nothing has worked.
Last night was the absolute worst evening you could imagine. About 7 p.m. the cars and trucks started arriving (no party busses this time), blocking drives, tossing beer cans and bottles into yards and driveways, young men and women were urinating in neighbors yards, vomiting, cursing. At one point there was at least 100 to 150 students in the front yard, in the home and in the back yard and at least 50 vehicles lined our street for more than three blocks. The police were called by more than one neighbor at 9:30 p.m. due to the noise and unruly behavior. At 10:00 p.m. I found a young lady 18-20 years of age laying in my front yard, drunk. When I bent down to inquire if she needed help, I was attacked by another broken-beer-bottle welding young lady. She grabbed me around the neck, threw me to the ground and began to kick me. All I could do was scream at the top of my lungs and try to keep her away. I have a lacerated thumb from the broken bottle and visible marks on my throat where she grabbed me. Remember I am not a teenager anymore. Thankfully another neighbor heard my screams and along with two young men attending "party" ran to my aid and pulled her off me. I was a little shaken up and bloody but otherwise unharmed. Again the police were called by my neighbors and myself. I filled out an assault report and will press charges against the young lady. She has not been arrested, but, the police have her car description and license plate number.
I am asking what else can be done to stop this miserable atmosphere in our neighborhood. The police that responded were very courteous, but, advised us to "Just stay inside when they have a party." I will not be held hostage in my own home 2 or 3 nights each week while some spoiled brats from Texas Tech have an all-out brawl two doors down. After each party many neighbors spend their mornings cleaning up the trash, broken bottles, and vomit from our yards. We are sick of this. Do we need to hire a lawyer to get the codes enforced? Does some bystander or child have to be sent to hospital (I was almost there) by these Frat boy's or their guest's before something is done? What can we do as homeowners to see that the laws and codes now on the books at City Hall are taken seriously. Todd Klein is our Councilman for this area, but, has yet to respond to any of our requests concerning this Party House. What other steps can we take? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I never thought I would ever consider moving from our home in Tech Terrace, but, I'm getting to the point where this is may be a very real possibility. Other neighbors are considering the same thing. And when I move, it will be out of the city of Lubbock. Idalou and Wolfforth never seem to have the problems with "Illegal Fraternity Party House's."
Sincerely yours,
Sherry Grusendorf
3207 22nd Street
Local news also picked up this story
http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=12021124
video ... http://www.kcbd.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=4563043&h1=Residents%20of%20Tech%20Terrace%20draw%20the%20line%20after%20party%20turns%20violent&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=138000&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=28581649
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Wow... Sherry, I am so sorry this has happened. As a UNIT citizen, faculty member at TTU, and one who appreciates both the good and the bad that the students bring to our neighborhood, this is appalling and unacceptable. I want you to know that there are a few of us at Tech who are working with the Tech Student Government as well as the Associate Deans in charge of student affairs to come up with a long-term, positive plan that facilitates responsible student behavior and out-of-town homeownership in the UNIT.
ReplyDeleteI am angry, frustrated and empathetic with your situation.
Best wishes and stay hopeful.
Aaron Yoshinobu
3008 32nd St.
My approach has been and still is as recent as Wednesday, Feb. 17th, is to approach the party whether it is in the yard, on their rooftops or inside and begin raising holy hell! I start picking up trash and thowing it in the back of their pick-ups. By trash I mean 'empties" i.e., beer cans, liquor bottles. If is is Whataburger, Taco Villa, Burger King, etc. I take the left over food and smash it all over their car windows! I retaliate in full force! I have also called the police and sometimes they want to haul me to jail! The minute I begin hearing car doors slamming and voices in the night I call the police immediately and shut it DOWN! I also look on LCAD and find the owners/parents and sometimes they care and sometime they don't. When they don't care, I handle it my way! I may end up being the one taken to jail, but I get complete satisfaction from doing it my way! After so many attempts to party and they get shut down they do give up! I have also tried pleading with the students about not wanting my four children to wake -up and see all the "empties" outside in our yard and streets! I have pleaded that my kids have been woken up in the middle of the night and scared because of the students urinating by the windows of their bedrooms. Also, having been awakened by the heaving noises of the drunken vomiting in the middle of the street, or in our yard or even a car will stop dead in the middle of the street, open their car door and heave! If the party is inside I walk right in and start my freak show! I know my way is not everyone's way so I write this to tell you that I am here to be your freak show no matter what time of night or that I am willing to form a vigilante group! I am here to to TAKE BACK OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, get rid of the idiots and retain our property values! Sincerely, Christy Hogan 797-1984
ReplyDeleteDoesn't everyone think it's about time for a BIG "Town Hall Meeting" regarding this Party Animal issue and to include permanent residents of the UNIT, TTU Dean of Students, TTU Student Government President, Fraternity Council President (since most of the trouble involves FRAT members), someone from the TTU Chancellor's office, City Council members and someone from the Mayor's office, and the Police Commissioner (and God Bless the Party Patrol guys!!), and all appropriate news media including the Toreador? When I was an undergrad at Tech, we had a council made up of students, faculty, and administration personnel that acted as a review body for student infractions that reflected back on the university, AND it had the power to dismiss students from the university if the infraction was sufficiently obnoxious or repetitive. Perhaps TTU needs to reinstitute this!
ReplyDeleteIt may take a concentrated effort to 'fix' this problem, but I would like to see us put in that effort since the apparent alternative is a large group of Viligante Grannies in our nightshirts to be out roaming the streets to combat the very real menace of the "Frat Gangs". Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?...But, look what happened to Mrs. Grusendorf in her own front yard! Cheers to all, /Dr. Fleming, 2900 block of 21st Street
Then lets get your effort moving, Dr. Fleming! It will take a collaborated effort by many! I have been fighting my battles solo and have seem to have maintained some peace within my block and 1/2. We may not be the best of friends, but there seems to be some mutual respect (college kids and my family). I am all about having a good time, without harming the peace and other's property! I am here to help in any way!
ReplyDeletePlease know that I will always be a vigilante first for my family and my home! Also, I am not a Granny, but I welcome all who want to stand up and fight for our neighborhood and our property values! That includes Grannies in their nightshirts!! BRING IT!!
I am so sorry that this happened and I can only imagine how frightening this experience was for Mrs. Grusendorf. These actions clearly crossed the line from annoying/frustrating to dangerous/ threatening. However, when we do get together to explore any and all solutions, please, please do not paint all students with the same brush. I understand that the problems are usually from non-owner occupied residences or parent-purchased homes. However, many of us are married students that own our homes in Tech Terrace(husband is a PhD student) and we both work for Tech. We spend lots of time in our yard and on our house. Let's not alienate our student owners or our responsible renters because we will all need to work together to preserve the special qualities of Tech Terrace.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Cloninger
3308 21st
If 2 years of police reports, zoning notification, etc. aren't any help then all that's left is Christy's vigilantes.
ReplyDeleteGo Christy!!
Tv-radio hoopla now will give rest for 2 or 3 months - then it will be back to partying big time.
This fraternity must have bigger connections than UNIT has. We're trumped and helpless.
I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Fleming. Certainly this neighborhood can regain our quiet, peace-loving neighborhood. Stephanie, I understand your concerns as well. I have an apartment that is attached to my house and try to screen carefully those who I rent to, so that I am not contributing to the problem. Not really hard as students who want to study, work and fit into the neighborhood are more likely to rent a place that is attached to the landlord's house. However, I live next door to and a block from two out-of-town owners who will rent to "whoever" and the partying goes on and on. My new Sunday past-time is picking up beer cans and other trash from my yard.
ReplyDeleteThis was, by all accounts, a horrific incident. It is also a damming indicament on those responsible for code and ordanace enforcement that such an incident had to occur before action is being considered. That being said, comments on the Monday evening news were not encouraging. Revisiting and strengthening the code all point towards authorities who wish to be seen to be doing something rather than actively doing anything. The city codes and ordanances are not the problem; it is enforcement of existing code that has fallen short of what residents may expect. Furthermore, being selective over which zoning codes to enforce (e.g. no more than 2 non-familial residents per house, which featured heavily) will not solve the problem. The number of people living in a house has no bearing on how many people can attend a party in the house. An integrated and complete enforcement of code covering single-family dwellings, noise, littering, public intoxication, public indecency etc is required. If successful, there is no reason to doubt that Tech Terrace will remain one of the best and most eclectic places to live in Lubbock, and continue to attract residents from all walks of life; I hope that this will include students.
ReplyDeleteCJH
3000 Block, 26th St.
As one of the people terrorized by last fall's Tour de Tech with rude and nasty students, I too think it is high time the city enforce codes and pass laws to protect its longterm residents. While parties in my immediate neighborhood have been quiet this year, the amount of trash left on the street along Elgin between 28th and 30th (mostly from the party house at 30th and Elgin, as well as the one on Elgin north of 29th Street) is unacceptable, as are people stopping to urinate in my yard. The stretch of 32nd Street between Indiana and Flint is also very bad, which is why some rather nice houses have been for sale on that street for a long time.
ReplyDeleteMore than two unrelated people living in a house is part of the party problem, since most students cannot afford the rent with just two people. Selective enforcement contributes to current problems and creates the conditions for future ones. How many of us have stories about the "quiet" house that suddenly became party hell? I suggest that we 1) levy a special fee on rental houses and that this money be used for enforcement; 2)owners of rental houses be required to register the names of the people living in their houses, and fines be levied against the owners and residents if they break that ordinance.
Here is how I know that the ordinance is broken on my street: The mail carrier accidentally left a "hold mail" card for another address in my mailbox after Christmas. It had four different names on it for a house on my street. The number of cars parked on my street also suggest that there are more people in some of these little houses than is legal.
I cannot help thinking that if TTU administrators and city council members had students drinking on their lawns, urinating on their fences and homes, and trashing the streets in their neighborhoods, something would have been done a LONG time ago.
MCD
3000 block 29th St.
Sherry I want to start by extending my great concern for you and what you went through last weekend. This is totally unacceptable and it makes me sad you are considering leaving the neighborhood. I hope you will give us time to work toward a solution.
ReplyDeleteI also hope the UNIT association will support and lead us forward. I see four ways our organization could help:
1) Form a committee responds to complaints about repeat offenders. Learn every legal angle and use them such as letters out to owners. Work with the police department to delineate when and how they can help.
2) Let us laud the many upstanding student residents and ask them for help. Universities have long known the way to police a dormitory is with responsible student RA’s. Why not use the same idea here and this is where the University can help us.
3) Examine the influence the city housing ordinance (no more than two unrelated people per house) has on this issue. Has this ordinance kept the parties out of Greek Circle and pushed them into neighborhoods all over town?
4) Formally address the fraternity in question and seek sanctions from the national organization.
I am inspired by Christy’s verve and how she isn’t going to take it anymore but aren’t we asking too much of her and others who take the vigilante role? After Sherry was attacked I worry that the outcome could be harmful and Christy has four darling boys to raise.
Let's get our neighborhood organized and stand together so the individual does not stand alone (in PJ’s in the dark). Celeste Yoshinobu 32nd Street
I was frankly surprised that this was Phi Delta Thetas. In my twenty years as a Lecturer at Texas Tech, I had a good impression of them, and most. There was one Frat I considered a continuing criminal enterprise. You should call the national office, and call the local chapter president, and chapter sponsor. Why aren't the names of the Chapter President and and faculty sponsor not listed here? I am certain that Phi Delta Theta is already addressing this issue, and that specific house. I'd bet on it if I was a gambling man.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Hughes
Johnny, that is a great point. We must be careful not to paint with too broad a brush. The parents who own this house (Dont care if it is in the child's name) may not have had any idea of what is going on in this house. They may dole out punishment that pales in comparison to what Codes can. But then again, I could be rong.
ReplyDeleteBurglary in Tech Terrace: How about a new thread. See today's story.
ReplyDeleteIt is time to admit that the police officers on duty do not work. The police department is poorly managed. The burglars in Tech Terrace have full run of the alleys because the policemen will not check them. There used to be 10 or 12 on duty police and sherrif's officers meet together for an hour an a half religious ceremony. You often see officers in coffee shops, two or three for an hour and a half at a time. They rely on their radios. One officer sits near First Baptist and reads paperbacks. They hide their cars near pancake houses. If you would patrol and look down every alley, and check suspictious cars in alleys, it would help. If I was a burglar, I'd check the pancake house, the coffee shops, and when I saw a lot of cars were NOT on patrol, I'd strike then. At one time we got a helicopter, and they looked only for cars in alleys. Police who are riding with their windows up where they cannot hear, or are talking on cells, are who are attending social gatherings or religious gatherings while on duyt are the burglars best friend. People in Tech Terrace need to ask the Chief of Police if he has any authority at all. You could have 1000 cops, and if they are not really engaged in law enforcement, it will not help. The burglars know about the shift change, and where folks go right after a shift change. This burglary rate is not the fault of the individaul police officers. It is a management problem. To protect your home, you must influence the police to protet your alleys in the day time.
JohnnyHughes.com
If a car is in an alley during the day time, we need someone to ask why, and burglars to know someone will ask why they are there. The Lubbock Police simply will not do this. Why can't the Sherrif's office do this? If you put the heat on cars in alleys, the day time burglars that hit Tech Terrace would at least have some opposition. The Sherrif's Department must do this. The police will not.
ReplyDelete