The September riot ignited more than a few Dumpsters — it uncovered inherent problems in the West University neighborhood, according to city and University officials.
Two community task forces are planning to come up with ways to prevent riots in the immediate future and establish long-term proposals for problems with crime and housing trends in the area. One of the groups will come together Wednesday in the EMU Fir Room for a public meeting.
“This neighborhood has a high transient population and there is virtually no home ownership,” Acting Assistant City Manager Jim Croteau said. “It is mostly students who live there and for only a few years, and there just isn’t a lot of investment in the area.”
The University has been plagued by student rioting for several years. On Halloween in 1996, a crowd of about 200 alleged party-crashers rioted on University Street.The following year, approximately 300 partygoers rioted on the corner of East 17th Avenue and Alder Street, and in 1998, at the same location, 80 to 100 people gathered, uprooting street signs and vandalizing the area.
With the most recent riots drawing in more than a thousand people and resulting in 35 arrests, the West University area has been placed under increased scrutiny.
According to reports from the newest task force made up of University and city officials, the neighborhood has more than 5,200 residents and nearly 3,000 housing units, but has the lowest percentage of owner-occupied housing in the city at less than 2 percent. The city average, on comparison, is 54 percent owner-occupied housing.
University junior and West University resident John Symes said he thinks housing in the area needs to be upgraded, but he does not think that this will necessarily help reduce disturbances.
“I don’t think crimes such as the riots are really related to the neighborhood — it’s related to alcohol,” he said.One of the groups working to prevent future riots will have a task force of 12 to 15 people from neighborhood businesses, residents and possibly representatives from the Eugene Planning Commission, Eugene Police Department and the University.
“I think that the idea is to get all the people interested in the area together, and put our heads together to discuss solutions that have yet to be discovered or strategies that need to be improved,” Croteau said.
Associate Vice President for Institutional Affairs Jan Oliver said the task force will be examining crime statistics, the quality of buildings in the area and requesting public input.
The University’s Campus/Community Relations Task Force, made up of students and local citizens, will be examining more short-term goals for preventing future riots. The group will be having a meeting Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the EMU Fir Room to discuss ways of preventing Halloween riots.
The city manager’s office will also be hosting a discussion of West University Neighborhood disturbances and police response at noon on Thursday at City Hall, located at 777 Pearl Street.
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Police Hope Their Video Tape Will Lead to More Arrests.
View photographs from the riot here.
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