A majority of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students live off-campus.

What might be helpful for them in understanding the importance of neighborhood association is the kind of life it brings.

Dan Becic, a senior at UNL who lives at 56th and Holdrege streets, said he has had almost nothing but positive experiences with his neighbors.

"We get to know each other. We go out for a smoke together," he said. "We have an occasional beer party. It's kinda cool. No complaints or hard feelings at all."

However, not every situation is as pleasant.

Tara Belau, a senior, has had some negative experiences with her neighbors at 14th Street and Old Cheney Road.

She said she has had several bad run-ins with her neighbors, the first set of whom left the community abruptly.

"One day they were kicked out of the house by the cops," she said.

Then a new family moved in -- a couple with a child. Belau said she never heard a single nice word from the house. She said she kept hearing the woman yelling at her husband.

"It never feels good to have such people around," Belau said.

Many students prefer to be detached from the neighborhood for their own reasons.

Greg Sullivan, a senior at UNL who lives in 19th Street and Cornhusker Highway said he doesn't interact much with his neighbors because he likes privacy.

Noisy neighbors, he said, can be disruptive.

"It's easy to understand and tolerate certain level of discomfort when people party during weekends," he said. "But when they make a mess during the weekdays or during the days of exams, it's a little harder to bear."

Life becomes more difficult for international students who are married and live with their family. Santosh Sankigatta Devakumar, a graduate student, lives with his wife and Tanvi, his 4-year-old child.

Sankigatta Devakumar said he doesn't have much contact with his neighbors.

"Well, it's we who cause the inconvenience," he said. "We stay at the top floor and the people who live in the lower level should be disturbed by my daughter's activities."