Town-gown conflict 2

I read with disquiet Mr and Mrs Beaumont's conflict with Edge Hill College.

The issue of student lifestyle (noise and misbehaviour - appropriately attributed or not) and how it impacts on local residents is faced by all city-centre campuses.

While I would hesitate to claim that we have solved the problem, Times Higher readers may care to know of two local ventures that have helped us move towards addressing these issues. The first is our student union's Silent Students Happy Homes (Sshh) campaign. Sshh encourages students to be more socially responsible and has been adopted by a number of student unions.

The second is our community liaison committee. Members include the local council, the police, the Safer York Partnership, tenants' associations, the student union and the college. The committee has established greater trust between the college and the community.

We would be only too pleased to discuss either of these ventures with other institutions.

Finlay Coupar

Director of student affairs

York St John College