EWING — In the past two weeks, since college students began returning to town, police have responded to at least eight complaints about noise and disorderly behavior, resulting in one arrest and several summonses. Mayor Bert Steinmann said he plans to meet with officials at The College of New Jersey to talk about off-campus behavior.

“It is like a slap in the face to the people who live in the Township of Ewing 12 months out of the year,” Steinmann said. “Generally, they just have a disrespect for the people of the town.”

Steinmann said town officials will not tolerate rowdy behavior that disrupts residents.

"We are going to step up enforcement," Steinmann said. "Whether they like it or they don't like it, that is going to be the reality."

In the initial days of the fall semester, township police received calls from residents reporting a variety of disturbances — including massive groups of disorderly co-eds walking in and out of traffic on Pennington Road.

Neighbors called police Sunday evening to report a makeshift college party at a rental property on Bittersweet Road. Police reports indicate the party was hosted by members of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity of TCNJ. Officers had responded to the same home on Aug. 23 to shut down a party, and on the second occasion, police issued summonses to four tenants.

Police Lt. Edward DeAngelo, who manages community relations and serves as a liaison to college renters for the police department, said that while the number of college-related complaints has remained steady from the same period of time last year, officers have seen an increase in foot traffic along roadways this year.

Officer Lalena Lamson encountered a group walking along Pennington Road on Monday coming from a gathering at a property occupied by college renters in the 1600 block of Pennington Road. More than 100 young men and women poured out of the home when the officers approached, Lamson reported.

The home, Steinmann said, is one of two large rooming homes in the township that have been constructed in recent months, with capacities to host more than a dozen students each. The mayor said even first-time offenses will result in summonses. Students can plead their cases before a judge and be held accountable for their actions, he said.

“I am not saying not to have fun(but to) be responsible in having your fun.”

While not all local college students are troublemakers, Steinmann said, a handful tend to cause problems and give their peers a bad name.

“They just think that college life is nothing but a party,” he said. “It gets out of hand.”

Contact David Karas at dkaras@njtimes.com

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