It's Friday night, and I'm sitting in my bedroom catching up on Russian History reading, when suddenly my walls begin to shake.
My three-foot stack of Mountain Dew cans crashes loudly to the floor as my ceiling tiles bounce to the rhythm of the music pouring down from above.
Boom. BOOM! Boom boom. BOOM! CRASH!
One of the loose ceiling tiles hits the floor, shattering on impact.
No, it's not an earthquake, and I don't live on a military testing range.
My upstairs neighbors are just having a weekend party, and I'm dealing with the resulting noise pollution.
Too bad I'm not the vindictive type, or I could use this incident as grounds to support the latest proposal from Muncie's Campus Community Coalition.
According to an Aug. 31 Daily News article, Mayor Dan Canan says that student parking and noise violations are our biggest problems. He supports a policy the coalition introduced to City Council that, if passed, would declare repeated party offenders as "No Party Houses," which would mean $250 fines for any future noise violations.
But there are doubters in the ranks. Charles Leonard, vice president of the Muncie City Council, says that we should just enforce the noise ordinance that is already on the books. Student Government Association President Steve Geraci has agreed, saying we don't need a new law just because Muncie fears college students.
I think both of them are missing the real point.
I have to wonder, is campus partying in family neighborhoods really such a big deal? Or is everyone, like me, angrier that the evil noise violators are playing lousy music?
I think it's the latter. I've found myself, in instances of auditory distress, cursing the "redneck neighbors upstairs" for forcing me to listen to Kenny Chesney as I study or to hear a raucous chorus of "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" as I'm trying to shower. But really, would I be so cranky about the whole situation if they were playing music I enjoyed? I think not.
I also feel this could apply to other situations in the community. If a single neighborhood home is rented by college students, nestled in a community of family homes, it's not too hard to believe that the house blasting heavy metal music on Friday night is going to be more hated than the house playing Fleetwood Mac and Billy Joel.
So, perhaps we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe another noise ordinance isn't the answer.
Perhaps the next time our neighbors start assailing us with music better fit for a dumpster than a self-respecting student's stereo, we shouldn't immediately call the cops to file a noise complaint.
No, we should march upstairs with reckless abandon and insist they listen to some better music.
"Go ahead," I'll say. "Turn this up all the way; no one's going to mind. Now the party's really starting!"
If everyone can find music that sounds good when played loud, there won't be anyone to complain about the Jonathan Sanders noise.
But don't take my word for it - I may have taken a few too many ceiling tiles to the head.
Write to Jonathan at
jonathansanders@justice.com
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