Can students and their neighbours ever be friends?

THE new academic year brings with it a sense of dread for many of the residents living close to universities. Parties with loud music, drunkenness on the streets, interfering with parked cars, public urination and other forms of unacceptable behaviour are par for the course.

But this year a couple of initiatives have been introduced to try and control the unruly elements of the student population. Last week, during Freshers’ Week, a new CCTV scheme was introduced in Cork. This joint initiative by UCC, the gardaí and Cork City Council, has seen the installation of three cameras near Brookfield, at the junction of Gaol Walk and Highfield Avenue, and at the junction of Donovan’s Road and College Road. The cameras are being monitored by gardaí at Anglesea Street station.

Chairperson of Highfield West and Magazine Road Residents’ Association, David O’Donovan, says: “It will be interesting to see what impact the CCTV cameras will have. The concern is that students will get wise to it and will move up to the Bandon Road area.” Also, Magazine Road, which is the scene of much of the antisocial behaviour, is not covered by the cameras.