ACT Program Earns Honors from International Organization

ACT Ally connects students with the rental housing industry to better prepare them for living off campus.

Achieving Community Together (ACT) San Marcos, the City of San Marcos and Texas State University have been awarded the 2017 Larry Abernathy Award for excellence in town and gown relationships at the International Town and Gown Association (ITGA) annual conference in Eugene, Oregon. 

The award is named in memory of former Clemson Mayor Larry Abernathy and his passion for collaboration between cities, universities, students and permanent residents.

ACT San Marcos began in 2008 as a police problem-solving effort to reduce noise associated with loud parties and out-of-control large gatherings. 

The City and University joined to develop a comprehensive noise response plan with emphasis on education and community influence.  A key foundation was establishing a cooperative relationship with property owners and managers to take follow-up action when police handled a noisy event at an apartment or house. 

Beyond the initial effort, the relationship between the City and University was further strengthened through ACT Ally, a program of ACT and the Department of Housing and Residential Life. 

ACT Ally connects students with the rental housing industry to better prepare them for living off campus.  Living off campus education includes good neighbor practices and hosting a gathering along with handling lease issues, roommate quarrels, landlord disputes and maintenance concerns.

Since 2008, noise complaints have dropped 27.3% in spite of a 34.5% increase overall in police calls for service and a 33.5% increase in student enrollment.

The reduction in noise complaints has been accomplished without the need for writing tickets or making arrests. From 2008 – 2016, citations and arrests have decreased by 73.1%.

Along with a plaque for the City and the University, both received $500 from the Joint City University Advisory Board of the City of Clemson and Clemson University.

Previous awards for ACT San Marcos are the TML Municipal Excellence Award, ACUI Collaborative Program of the Year, and international recognition as a finalist for the Herman Goldstein Problem Oriented Policing Award.