On any given weekend night, Thayer Street transforms into a gathering space for Rhode Islanders. Motorcycles roar past tricked-out cars, and music spills out onto the sidewalk outside a new food spot. Families line up for late-night falafel from East Side Pockets, kids chase each other between tables at Chinatown and high schoolers crowd around pizza boxes at Antonio’s. Local celebrities like Tropicana Danny often make an appearance, turning a simple night into an exciting scene. It’s noisy, yes — but it’s also joyful, communal and uniquely Rhode Island.
In their piece, the editorial page board advocates for a Brown-led installation of noise cameras to address student frustration toward the rowdy gatherings on Thayer. While casual annoyance with motorcycle revving is valid, surveillance technology threatens a culture that has developed outside of our campus — one that Brown students don’t have the right to dissipate. If Brown pushes for noise enforcement on Thayer, we will be spearheading a rash and oversimplified measure that fails to address the complex dynamic between College Hill and the city of Providence.
Thayer is a cornerstone of College Hill; it’s a social hub that supports small businesses and hosts Rhode Islanders from around the state. For many, it is not just the street next to campus, it is a destination and a source of community. Despite our proximity, Thayer does not belong to Brown. Participating in urban life means being excited about sharing our home, and dealing with noise disturbances is part of that.
Yes, the noise can be disruptive, and students who live in nearby dorms are entitled to good-quality sleep. But the natural evolution of neighborhood culture is not ours to police, and imposing harsh noise control measures relegates Providence residents by treating them as disruptors of our campus. In many ways, Providence residents have to tolerate annoyances that Brown students bring, but we do not expect, and should not accept, retaliation against the student population.
These communities gather on Thayer for the same reasons we do: to eat, to connect and to enjoy themselves. Informal meeting spots are vital to any city’s social fabric, and many of Providence’s have been destroyed by University expansion. If we push away those who bring life to Thayer, we widen the gap between Brown and its host city while threatening the local businesses that rely on their patronage.
The student experience should involve engaging with the city that we live in. One of Brown’s most valuable attributes is its integration into the spaces around it, and students should relish our access to a dynamic neighborhood and city, not try to homogenize it based on our personal preferences. Providence’s diverse landscape remains accessible to us, and we owe Thayer’s patrons the same courtesy.
Dissenting Opinions: When The Herald’s editorial page board disagrees on a staff editorial, members have the opportunity to publish a dissent to explain why they did not sign on. Editorials — and dissents, if any — are written by members of The Herald’s editorial page board, which is separate from those of The Herald’s newsroom and the 135th Editorial Board, which leads the paper.
CJ Lair is an opinions editor at The Brown Daily Herald. He is from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and plans to study Political Science at Brown. This is his second year writing for a publication, and is especially interested in political developments and their impacts on the Brown community.
