Updated August 24, 2022
UB remains strongly committed to working with students, neighborhood residents and law enforcement to promote good citizenship and improve quality of life in the University Heights neighborhoods.
Working alongside community partners, UB is continually developing new approaches, and assessing current ones, to encourage proper behavior in the neighborhood. We believe the best way to achieve this goal is through a combination of efforts involving the university, Buffalo Police and the community.
UB’s efforts include educating students on proper behavior and what’s expected of them under UB’s student code of conduct, and facilitating an educational student conduct process for those who violate UB's student code of conduct or break the law.
Student Life offers a series of events and activities to welcome new and returning students with a full-slate of campus-based social and developmental programs: buffalo.edu/studentlife/opening. Additionally, the City of Buffalo deters large house party gatherings with consequences for violating noise ordinances; hosts of large house parties in Buffalo may be subject to a fine of $1,500.
”UB’s efforts include:
Continued emphasis on law enforcement and student conduct
Through ongoing discussions, the university, the Buffalo Police Department and neighborhood residents have agreed that one of the most effective ways to instill proper behavior and good citizenship is to maintain a very visible law enforcement presence in the University Heights neighborhood and at university bus stops during the start of the academic year.
Buffalo Police, aided by University Police, will be especially active during the first weekends of the fall semester, arresting students who break the law and utilizing the campus student conduct process for instances when a student may violate the university’s student code of conduct.
Experience has shown that when active law enforcement and student conduct measures are undertaken during the first month of the fall semester, most students quickly learn that violating UB's student code of conduct or breaking the law will not be tolerated and the consequences can be significant.
Alternative entertainment options for students
The university has also developed evening and weekend on-campus programming for students, which includes movies and game nights in the Student Union.
Communication, education and community service
At orientation in July, first-year students participate in mandatory programming about proper student conduct and community expectations on and off campus. Staff from the Dean of Students Office present an “Our UB Community” session focused on smart decision making, healthy choices, and the rules and regulations of the university. During this session, students are advised that they put their relationship with the university at risk by breaking the law or violating UB’s student code of conduct.
During the fall semester, the university will continue to raise awareness about proper student behavior by placing ads in the UB student newspaper, engaging students through social media, meeting with student leaders and holding discussions in residence halls.
Promoting and reinforcing good community citizenship
The University Heights Quality of Life Task Force meets quarterly to discuss collaborative efforts in the neighborhood. Task force members include representatives from UB Student Government, Community Relations, Student Conduct and Advocacy and the Dean of Students Office. The group also includes Amherst, University and Buffalo Police, Amherst Fire Department, Erie County Health Department, State Liquor Authority, Permits & Inspection, and area business and community leaders.
As part of UB’s annual “Operation Doorhanger,” at the beginning of the fall semester, the university mails postcards to about 2,600 apartments/houses in University Heights providing neighborhood residents with resources and information about whom to contact to discuss concerns or opportunities related to UB students.
Off-campus law and safety enforcement
UB and the City of Buffalo have a memorandum of understanding in place that enables University Police and the Buffalo Police Department to request assistance from one another when required in the University Heights neighborhood.
Long-term stabilization of the neighborhood
Launched in 2015, the UB H.O.M.E. (Home Ownership Made Easy) program provides incentives for UB faculty and staff to buy homes in University Heights and other neighborhoods near the UB South Campus. Qualified UB employees are eligible for a combination of interest-free deferred and forgivable loans that can be used to help cover down payments and closing costs, or for interest rate reduction.
The program is designed to encourage home ownership and is a long-term approach to help support stabilization and revitalization in and around UB’s South Campus.
The University Heights neighborhood, which borders UB’s South Campus in Buffalo, is home to many families, many of whom are UB employees, as well as students who rent apartments in the neighborhood. Like most urban communities that border a college campus, this neighborhood is not immune to crime and safety issues, but it is generally a safe place to live. Safety and crime in the neighborhood has been proactively addressed in a number of ways over the last few years by UB, the City of Buffalo and neighborhood residents.
UB takes very seriously any criminal activity perpetrated against or by students, which is why UB and its community partners continue to take steps to make this neighborhood safer. UB’s Student Conduct and Advocacy office has developed a low-tolerance policy for students whose behavior disrupts the University Heights community and results in a student conduct violation.
UB’s annual on-campus crime statistics are consistently very low and, in fact, UB's crime rate is significantly down from years ago. UB’s University Police department is state-accredited and is one of the best campus police departments in the state. University Police consists of highly trained professionals who provide around-the-clock service to the university community.
Over the past several years, UB has invested more than $5 million in security enhancements on its campuses, including new lighting, security cameras and emergency Blue Light phones. The university also has purchased security cameras in the Heights.
The law allows UB Police to patrol the campus and streets that directly border the campus, but the law limits their authority outside these strict boundaries. UB police officers are, however, authorized to assist Amherst and Buffalo officers during patrols, arrests and investigations, and they often do. To make UB Police even more available to assist in peak times during the semester, the university added additional officers to the 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. patrol on UB’s campuses. This staffing upgrade was made in response to feedback from residents of the Heights and the campus community who requested additional evening patrols.
Improving the quality of life and relationships in the neighborhood is a priority of UB’s community outreach. Working with community leaders and neighborhood residents, UB has implemented several initiatives that are having a positive effect on the neighborhood and its relationship with the university. These include:
When student behavior violates the law, it is our expectation that students will face the consequences of their behavior through enforcement of applicable laws and the university’s student conduct process.
Buffalo police department share all reports involving students with UB’s University police which review and forward to UB's office of Student Conduct and Advocacy for evaluation for potential university student code of conduct violations.
Should a student’s action be ruled as violating the conduct code, student conduct action from the office of Student Conduct and Advocacy can range from mandated drug and alcohol classes and community service hours, to long-term suspension and expulsion.
Students that violate UB's student code of conduct in the University Heights neighborhood may be sanctioned to complete their community service hours at 'clean-ups' in the University Heights neighborhood.
Members of the Community
If you have additional questions, please contact:
Office of Community Relations
124 Parker Hall
University at Buffalo, South Campus
Buffalo, NY 14214-8009
716-829-3099
communityrelations@buffalo.edu
