After living in their Third Ward home for more than nine years, Tom and Anne Utschig have a lot of positive memories to reflect on.

But they’ll never forget one night during spring finals week last year when they were awakened at 2 a.m. to the sound of their gate being ripped out of the ground. The gate was part of the historic fence that surrounded the Eau Claire Courthouse in 1876. The Utschigs said they believe the group of people were students.

The Utschigs were among 10 Third Ward residents who met at a special committee meeting last week of the Third Ward Neighborhood Association to communicate with the university through a liaison about problems they have with students.

But this incident of vandalism is not new to the Utschigs. A man, believed to be a student, once tried to pull out their neighbor’s sprinkler head and yelled vulgarities at the neighbor when she asked him to stop.

Vandalism and disturbing behavior are two issues the university liaison committee outlined as topics it wants to discuss with the university.

“There are so many good students out there who make good neighbors,” resident Barbara Charlson said. “But it’s the minority of bad ones that make it hard for our neighborhood.”

Vice Chancellor Andrew Soll has spoke with the committee members and said he sees the liaison as a way for there to be dialog between the university and those who have issues with students.

The plan is to appoint a university official to serve as a liaison and also incorporate a student liaison as well, Soll said.

Resident Beth Sherwood also agreed that students, for the most part, do make good neighbors. But she said it seems they need help in learning their responsibilities as neighbors.

“We’re here to help them become better neighbors,” Sherwood said.

Instead of reciting the residents horror stories about their student neighbors, members of the committee focused on what they can do to make conditions with the students in their neighborhood better.

“We realize vandalism and drinking are not going to go away completely,” Stan Carpenter said. “But we can lessen it a little.”

Although it wants to involve the university, the committee also discussed plans for what it can do to make its neighborhood better for everyone – students and non-student residents alike.

One item the neighborhood association brainstormed was going door-to-door introducing themselves at the beginning of the school year so students get to know their neighbors.

“Having a face to go with a house might make them more considerate,” said Anne Utschig, an English professor at the university.

The group also discussed measures to help students feel more like a member of the Third Ward community, such as personally inviting students to the neighborhood picnic.

“Let’s remember that most students are really terrific and we have to embrace that,” Charlson said to the group.

Most likely, the way the university could help is to find ways to make it attractive to students to become part of the community they live in, Soll said.

“You’re more likely to respect something and take care of it if you feel like you are a part of it.” he said.

Carpenter said the group should be proactive in a positive way so they could affect change.

“We’re not anti-student,” he said. “And that’s not how we want to come across.”