Connecticut House Speaker Brendan Sharkey, who lives within a stone's throw of Quinnipiac University, recently told a neighborhood group that he thinks new leadership is needed at the private Hamden school in order to improve relations with residents.
“I think Hamden residents have just had it," Sharkey said during an interview Tuesday. "They’re tired of the relationship that we have not had with the university that we host here in this town.”
Sharkey, who represents Hamden and the part of the town that includes Quinnipiac in the General Assembly, even said he wants the university's top administrators to remove the university's president, John Lahey.
He said “by going directly to the board of directors, to voice my concerns, frankly I think that’s the way to go.”
The frustrations have been building for decades between the university that attracts students from around the country and around the world, and the quiet neighborhoods that surround it.
Students rent homes in the neighborhood and host parties that neighbors have complained about to Hamden town officials and Hamden police.
Sharkey said Lahey's appearance at an off-campus party in the neighborhood near Quinnipiac that later showed up on YouTube made matters worse for neighbors, with Lahey appearing to condone the behavior of students.
“Here Quinnipiac says things like ‘we care about underage drinking, we care about our impact on the community, we care about Hamden,’ and yet all of their actions speak the opposite" Sharkey said.
Lahey, who's been the President of QU since 1987, later apologized for his actions at the off-campus event.
In a statement, Quinnipiac's Vice President for Public Affairs, Lynn Bushnell wrote, "We understand that there are issues associated with off-campus student housing in private homes that can be disruptive to our good neighbors in the Town of Hamden. There are many aspects of this situation that are frustrating to us as well, and we are in ongoing discussions with Mayor Leng and Council President Pascarella aimed at implementing remedies. We remain committed to that effort."
