By Charlotte Lewis
A NUMBER OF incidents of anti-social behaviour against locals and students alike have been reported by University of York students in the Tang Hall area.
On November 25, 2010, students living on Alcuin Avenue in Tang Hall experienced what they could only identify as a “shocking” situation. Confined to their house, they were victims of persistent anti-social behaviour. One resident, Sarah Reed, reported to Vision that she and her housemates watched as “two really young girls, about 11 or 12, jumped on our friend’s car, causing a dent in the roof”.
The students highlighted the fact that none of them had done anything to provoke such behaviour from these two girls and that this was the “third time” they had had trouble with the youths in the area.
Not only did the girls cause damage to the vehicle but they repeatedly threw snow at the house and through the letterbox. At the same time Sarah and her friends could hear the girls shouting abuse. After going outside in an attempt to stop the girls, the students called the police. Police were quick to arrive at the scene and continued to check up on the students for the following few days.
However, on the 4th December the same residents in Alcuin Avenue were once again the victims of anti-social behaviour. Mary Gibbons, a visiting friend, described walking to the house and seeing police everywhere.
Police were on site searching for a man who was seen trespassing but they had no luck. Once inside the house, Gibbons recalled “looking outside the window and seeing a man hiding in the garden.” Police were already at the scene, but residents informed them of the culprit’s whereabouts. He was succesfully caught.
Later that week on Bad Bargain Lane, also in Tang Hall, another conflict broke out between students and local youths. A witness wishing to remain anonymous watched as a group of boys started throwing snow through a student house window. He went on to say that “students appeared to be chasing the chavs down the street”.
The retaliation is a worrying indication that tensions between local youths and students are beginning to escalate in the area. However, it appears that the police are trying their best to control the tensions. The witness told Vision that he saw the police arrive soon after to arrest one of the youths.
YUSU Welfare Officer Laura Borisovaite asserts that “any threats or anti-social behaviour anyone is subjected to should be reported to the North Yorkshire Police, who will be able to deal with it swiftly in order to maintain a good atmosphere in neighbourhoods”.
Borisovaite also shared the following sentiment: “It is important to maintain community feel in the neighbourhood we live in and foster the good relationships we are able to build throughout however long we spend there. Summer term will see an ‘Everybody Needs Good Neighbours’ initiative that will hopefully encourage students across all years to start building links with their current and future neighbours.”
I HATE CHAVS
I’ve seen a dozen plus youths crowd a car and slash tyres here, but they’re like 13 year old , max. The parents are the main fault – the majority dont bother to look after their kids, chuck them out of their house, who are then resorted to hassling people outside the co-op or whatever because they are simply bored. The council needs act.
a lot of them probably have a general distain for students because they make broad generalistations about us (not that this is a good thing, or even accurate) assuming we’re all wealthy, nerds, snobs (this is worsened by people calling them chavs, @josh) so give us hell for it. not that we’re all like this, it’s a tiny minority.
they’ve grown up in an environment where violence and shit behaviour like this is perfectly ok, their parents & older siblings have problem had problems with the police thus to them, there is no shame associated with it so it will not deter them. education (especially further education) is stigmatised and you are seen as a layabout or a pretentious twat for going to uni, or a waste of tax money. so these kids go out into the world, and they take these ‘truths’ handed down by their parent(s) and apply them to the people they encounter. thus i don’t think we should judge these 11 year olds too harshly because they are simply a product of their poisonous environment, unfortunate products who will develop into nasty human beings no doubt, but you can’t blame them when it’s all they’ve ever been told. would you want to grow up in tang hall with perpetually unemployed parents and no real prospects? no, and whilst it’s pitiful & sad, you have to realise they’re going to lash out at those who you perceive to be more advantaged/intelligent than themselves because they are essentially condemned to the same fate as their parents (the stats say something ridiculous like 80% of those raised in council houses then raise their children in council housing, supported by the state/intelligent people from low income housing are 7 times less likely to go into HE than their wealthy peers/etcetc). and when they see those more privileged than them living right on their doorstep, of course they’re going to feel resentment. i’m not justifying it but what can the council do to these children to remove the effects of their upbringing?! if you’re at the point where you’re happily smashing in cars, at such a young age, i think there is very little room for redemption. call it as you see it students, the area’s a hostile shithole and it’s not worth the police’s time (apart from to remove immediate threat, admittedly) or the council’s time to bother with these people.
and all i’m gonna suggest is that students don’t talk to them, or get mad. they’ll only take the piss & keep coming back, it’ll get worse, cos they’ll think you reaction is jokes and continue. good luck to all residents living under such horrible conditions. you can purchase, from maplin and the like, these plug in noise emitters that send off high pitched frequencies only younger children (although there is the problem that as young adults, we could hear it also) can hear to prevent them gathering by your front door. we have one we use for cats & foxes so our rabbit doesn’t get eaten! and i think the university should probably discourage students from moving into this area next year if i’m honest. :/
d, I find it hilarious how hypocritical you are. You say they make “broad generalisations” about students, and bemoan the accuracy of said generalisations. Yet you then go on to make more than a few of them yourself. Quite venomous ones at that, I might add.
“d, I find it hilarious how hypocritical you are. You say they make “broad generalisations” about students, and bemoan the accuracy of said generalisations. Yet you then go on to make more than a few of them yourself. Quite venomous ones at that, I might add.”
i grew up in an area like this, albeit muchhh further south, my generalisations come purely from my observations and experiences living there. there may be a different mentality in the north, in which case my generalisations are unfair and i apologise for them.
However accurate you think they are, a generalisation is a generalisation. It’s only a small minority who act like you describe; you can’t just lump everyone in with the worst offenders. I’m not from the north personally, I just find your accusations somewhat unfair and ignorant.
“…assuming we’re all wealthy, nerds, snobs…”
“not that we’re all like this, it’s a tiny minority.”
Come on. You have to see the hypocrisy there.
Let’s put this into context. This report cites the antisocial behaviour of 2 girls, and a large police response to someone who was seen behaving suspiciously – and was later caught.
There isn’t an area of the city which has not suffered incidents like these at some time or another. Even in Poppleton – which is generally regarded as one of the most desireable areas of the city, groups of street youths have been known to create trouble. Fortunately, the awareness and attendance of police eventually resolves the issue.
In general, those looking for accommodation should be advised to research the local areas they intend to rent. Certainly the area to the southern side of the the park has a very different character from others mentioned and the response of ‘d’ above should be judged for what it is – filled with dangerous generalisations.