A friend called the other morning, and she was fit to be tied.

Someone during the night had ravaged West Cedar Street, ripping out plants, pulling down window boxes and tipping over a couple of trees at Rouvalis. Drunk. Probably several guys. Students, she imagined.

She’s probably right about the drunk guys. But students? Maybe, but more likely it is the young “professionals”. It’s a matter of numbers. Compared to a decade and more ago, Beacon Hill just doesn’t have the numbers of students it used to.

The evidence is pretty clear. The census shows that the largest age group on the Hill is between 22 and 35 years old. Census figures and real estate people verify that the overwhelming number of folks who rent apartments are in that age group, with the student population declining every year. One broker said that this year he showed no apartments to any students.

Suffolk University said that the population of its students living in private housing (apartments, in other words) on Beacon Hill is down 11 percent this year, from 303 to 273, a trend that has occurred for several years. Presumably a few BU students live around here too, but the point is that the number is small and keeps decreasing.  The colleges and universities have taken Mayor Menino’s instructions to heart and built dormitories, which is where most parents would prefer to have their college-age kids housed. Suffolk has worked with the civic association to introduce students to Beacon Hill and the behavior that is expected of them.

About 4,200 housing units—or two-thirds of all the housing, including condos and single-family houses— on the Hill are either rented or available for rent, according to census figures. If you were in town for the piles on the sidewalks around September 1, you know that many of these units turn over at that time, and that many are occupied by that 22-to-35 year old age group.

The young people who move in         are building their careers. They are spending time with friends. They are looking for mates. They’re not much interested in the health and happiness of the neighborhood, since their vague plan is most likely to move on at some point.

And that’s where the problems arise. They pay little attention to trash regulations. They don’t participate in neighborhood events. They stay up late. They throw loud parties. They look at the rest of us as old fogies.

But we can out-fox them. Bake cookies and take a plate over to your young neighbors to welcome them to the neighborhood. Present them with your name and phone number and offer to help them if they need it. Get their names and write them down so you’ll remember them. Lurk outside their doorways when they are likely to be going to work so you can greet them. Sympathize with them when their car is towed out of the way of the street sweeper.

Throw a big block-party with name tags and good food, and print out the trash and recycling regulations from the Beacon Hill Civic Association’s web site (www.bhcivic.org) to remind your young neighbors that you care about things like that.

Invite the newcomers to the neighborhood’s block party at the intersection of Charles and Mt. Vernon street on September 20 from 1 – 4 pm, and tell them that they should also look for announcements in the Beacon Hill Times about the Holiday Stroll that takes place on Charles Street in December.

Kill ‘em with kindness and attention. Fuss over them.

They’ll realize you are paying attention, and that may make them better monitor their behavior. And who knows, you might actually grow to like them.

Sometimes if you’re lucky, you’ll realize that they have learned to care just as much about the neighborhood as you do.