There are very few complaints filed with the town regarding the actions of Dartmouth students, and Hanover does not maintain a special file for complaints against the College.
"If there are a dozen serious complaints to the police or to the zoning department in a term, that's what we would consider to be a crazy term," Griffin said.
The vast majority of complaints concern students who live off campus. Complaints include inadequate maintenance of rental properties, improper trash disposal and health violations as a result of overcrowding. Police also regularly receive calls about student parties, although complaints are rarely filed with the town as a result, Griffin said.
"The police get called all the time about parties, but it's not by the hundreds," Griffin said. "It's not a chronic problem."
The majority of cases that the Hanover Police Department responds to involve alcohol, according to police press logs.
Other universities face strained relationships with their surrounding communities. Just across the state in Durham, N.H., the home of UNH, residents are not as cordial with those affiliated with the university, Griffin said. She said she believes the College enjoys a better relationship with Hanover because many residents are in some degree affiliated with the school.
"People are pretty tolerant so long as they aren't woken up by a loud party at two in the morning," Griffin said.
Other institutions, such as Harvard and Duke University, have less positive relationships with the cities where they are located, according to reports in their school newspapers.
Last September, the Cambridge Police Department began a series of crackdowns on parties held at finals clubs, leading students to worry about restraints on the social scene, The Harvard Crimson reported.
Students at Duke have had a tense relationship with members of the surrounding community, especially following the rape accusations leveled at lacrosse players in 2006, according to The Chronicle, Duke's student-run newspaper.
Similarly, the relationship between Stanford University students and local police has become tense in recent years due to police crackdowns on underage drinking.
Yale's relationship with the city of New Haven, Conn. has been more complicated. In the past, the president of the university did not even live in New Haven, but the university has recently attempted to improve its relationship with the city. Yale donated money to help renovate New Haven buildings, and, in 2010, Yale created the New Haven Promise to pay tuition for local high school students who attend college or university in Connecticut, The New York Times reported.
Hanover residents, in contrast, enjoy having the College nearby.
Many residents appreciate the employment opportunities at Dartmouth, said Julia Coffin, a nurse at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Without the College's proximity, she would not hold her current position.
Shannon Campbell, a nurse at DHMC, said she likes to take advantage of entertainment options at the Hopkins Center because it can be difficult to find other cultural opportunities nearby.
Resident Cathy McGee said that she and her husband frequently attend events at the Hop.
"Dartmouth is where we get our entertainment," she said. "There is a great theater with amazing programs."
But Coffin said, there is only one problem with living in Hanover.
"My only complaint is that sometimes I get mistaken for a college student," Coffin said. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's actually kind of nice."
