Saturday's downtown riot after Penn State's victory over Ohio State "heightens the importance of having an ongoing, open communication link between the town and the students," State College Borough Council President Elizabeth Goreham said Wednesday.
Informal discussions among council members have centered around the idea of a new committee designed to foster increased communication between students and council members since the idea was originally raised by Safeguard Old State Executive Director Chris Morell at a borough council work session Oct. 13.
"It would only make our community better, and it wouldn't take that much work," Morell said then. "Whoever it is, whenever it is, as long as it is."
Since Morell's presentation, council discussions about the idea have largely been centered around the notion of a formal authority, board or commission (ABC) -- a transition spearheaded by council member Theresa Lafer.
"If we had an ABC ... we would have a permanent voice for town-gown relations," Lafer said after the council's Oct. 20 meeting. "My feeling is that it would make [town-gown communication] permanent, legitimate, ongoing."
Morell said an ABC would likely accomplish similar goals to his initial proposal.
"I wouldn't be opposed to it," he said. "There's a definite need for this, and as long as it happens, it will start something better than what we have now."
Though an outlet for town-gown discussion is important, it may not fully address the concerns raised by Saturday's downtown disturbance, Lafer said.
"The problems with this kind of partying gone wild ... That requires a head-on discussion about the nature of community, civility, adult behavior and inappropriate boundary crossing," she said. "The line between having fun and becoming vandals should be clear to anyone smart enough to come to Penn State."
If the ABC option is selected by the borough, the council may include a proposed town-gown relations committee in its budget discussion next month because of the costs associated with establishing new ABCs, Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said.
Currently, members of the council informally meet with organizations like the Interfraternity Council, Off-Campus Student Union and the University Park Undergraduate Association several times a year, Fountaine said.
Fountaine said he is worried any new committee would be a carbon-copy of these existing meetings.
"I think this would end up duplicating what really is already occurring," he said. "The Off-Campus Student Union actually attends council meetings and has ... presentations a couple times a year."
The process of constructing an ABC usually takes between 30 and 60 days, Fountaine said.
Goreham said ad hoc committees or frequent open sessions for discussion are also under consideration by the council.
Goreham also said calculating the financial impact of a new ABC will be crucial as the council negotiates the particulars of the new initiative.
