While parties, noise and belligerent freshmen are almost a norm for college life, they are also a nuisance. Somewhere along the line people forgot that common sense and manners still apply when you attend college, especially if you live amongst non-collegians.

How many times have you been woken up at 2 a.m. because a group of drunks walked past your house screaming bloody murder, or been disturbed by a subwoofer below your room at your house or dorm? Fortunately, most of the time the offenders will turn the music down or go away if confronted.

But sometimes it doesn’t work out that well. Sometimes your neighbors turn out to be rude, obnoxious self-absorbed morons. And sometimes all it takes is a little ticket to shut them up.

First Offense: noise

Fines start at $226

Let’s be honest, we all like to rock out to some loud music from time to time. It can make or break a mood or set the tone for the night’s festivities.

But not everyone parties at the same time. Neighbors may have to wake up early for work the next day or possibly have an exam to prep for. Blasting music when you come home from the bars is a good way to garner some unwanted attention from the wrong people.

Another type of noise violation comes from normal old house parties. Music shaking the gutters of your house is a dead giveaway to what’s going on inside.

On top of this, the threat of the party spilling outside is an even worse way to promote your activities. People laughing and having a good time is cool until it’s three in the morning and your neighbors are trying to sleep.

Your landlord can also get into big trouble and even receive a fine. Keep your parties on the down-low for everyone’s sanity and sleep.

Second Offense: drinking

Fines start at $332

Hosting an illegal tavern (aka, house party) is a risky endeavor for you and your neighbors. Not only are freshmen coming in mobs of 15 to drink from your cheap keg, but when the freshmen (or anyone, for that matter) leave, they cause an even worse problem (see above: noise).

While everyone at the house party may be having a good time, the neighbors who aren’t drinking are watching nervously for signs of the police. Once they come, they know that having parties of their own is harder because your house is now being watched periodically.

As long as you aren’t too crazy, most parties dwindle into the night unnoticed. However, making known the presence of a house party not welcome by neighbors is a good way to get caught and ruin the night for everyone. If one of your house parties is shut down by the police, it can lead to mountains of fines and possibly eviction.

Third Offense: littering

Fines run around $130

While leaving a house party, you grab one last beer and bring it with you. You head outside and see a bike cop patrolling the block, so you chuck the beer to the side only to gain his attention. The cop then proceeds to write you a ticket for littering.

Throwing garbage onto someone else’s property is rude and inconsiderate. It’s even worse when the people who live there throw trash onto their own front yard. Between phonebooks, tipped-over grills, glass bottles and cans, porches and lawns around campus can get pretty disgusting.

Neighbors can easily complain about this and contact your landlord. No one wants the landlord coming over.

After all of these tickets and neighbor’s complaints, all that’s been accomplished is money loss and a loss of trust from possible friends. To fix this, just be a little more courteous, a little cleaner and a little less noisy. It will benefit everyone in the long run.

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