More expensive than a bottle of vodka:
the real cost of partying
Central Michigan University safety and consequences of over partying
By Liz Whittemore
Consistently listed among the top party schools in the nation, Central Michigan University is all fun and solo cups until a law is broken and the police show up.
The crime statistics are indicative of a party culture, but results show that CMU does not hold that number one spot.
The 2013 Clery Report states Central Michigan University reported a total of 481 liquor violations and 119 drug violations.
This is comparable to the University of Michigan which had 16,808 more students enrolled in 2013 than CMU. The university reported 1,502 liquor violations and 318 drug violations during for that year, nearly twice the amount of drug and alcohol violations at CMU.
Top Michigan educational establishments such as Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Central Michigan University, and Wayne State University, were ranked based on total drug and alcohol violations during 2013 based on school enrollment numbers.
CMU ranked third out of these schools 2.3 percent of students having received a violation. MSU ranked first with 6.1 percent of students, then U of M with 4.2 percent, and GVSU and WSU in last with .79 percent and .42 percent in violation of policies.
Bottom line, MSU seems to party harder. But that doesn’t mean CMU in the angel of the institutional group.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that every year roughly 1,825 students ages 18 to 24 die from unintentional, alcohol-related injuries.
CMUPD Sgt. Trent Case said that at CMU, the amount of intoxication is reaching dangerous levels.
“The level of intoxication just seems to be at a greater level than even when I started here almost nine years ago,” Case said. “We’re finding people are getting more intoxicated. That could be a circumstance where we have them transported to the hospital, which happens frequently, especially at special events.”
In a non-scientific, anonymous survey conducted by the JRN 445 Multimedia Capstone class at Central Michigan University, 42 percent of respondents said they believe CMU has a wild party scene, while 46 percent said that it is mild.
Yet in the same survey, nearly 77 percent of students at CMU responded that is it easy for an underage drinker to obtain alcohol in Mount Pleasant.
“My freshman year I was at a huge party and the officer knew all of us were underage,” Leah Grice, 22, a fashion merchandising major said. “They asked us to be careful and gave us cab numbers to call if we wanted to get home and told us to be more discreet when drinking and stay away from large parties.”
CMUPD Lt. Cameron Wassman said depending on what they come across they have the option to either turn the information over to the Office of Student Conduct or go through with criminal charges.
“Somebody’s drunk driving; no questions asked we’re going to arrest them for drunk driving,” Wassman said. “If it’s MIP outside of residence halls, we’re going to write them that MIP ticket. Inside the residence halls, alcohol violations that happen there are primarily handled by hall staff and then referred to the Office of Student Conduct.”
Case said there are violations handled internally the police don’t even see.
“A lot of stuff, especially when it comes to alcohol enforcement, is actually handled through the Residence Life,” Case said. “I think that’s one unique thing we have here on campus, we can work with the conduct office. If it can keep some people out of the criminal justice system, and be handled through this, that’s great.”
Joe Robinson, 21, a business management major at CMU said from what he has seen, police are especially effective during large scale events where there are lots of students.
“They step up their shit up on Welcome Weekend and St. Patrick’s Day and other holidays like that,” Robinson said.
The survey responses on the effectiveness of CMU’s policies on drugs and alcohol indicate that they are not all that great.
More than half, or 56 percent, of respondents said that the policies ranged from somewhat effective, to not effective at all. Only 22 percent of the surveyed students believe that CMU’s policies are certainly effective, with the rest having answered they are unsure.
Case said that enforcement is not so much about the arrests than it is about overall safety.
“A lot of times during tailgate we want to avoid taking people to jail because we want to keep all of our staff at high level at that location to prevent something even bigger to happen,” Case said. “We don’t want to take an MIP to jail, if we don’t have to. We don’t want to take a disorderly to jail, if we don’t have to.”
Costs of violations:
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Open intoxication in a motor vehicle: $200
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Minor in possession (MIP): $300
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Disorderly conduct: $350
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Hosting or attending a nuisance party: $350
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Drunk driving: $1,000
According to the CMUPD, the Office of Student Conduct may also fine students in addition to the costs listed above. These fines also do not include costs of a lawyer, court fines, or any other related charges.
Grice was approached by an officer during Welcome Weekend while carrying an open alcohol bottle.
“I was pretty damn drunk honestly and my roommate and I were walking around with it casually,” Grice said. “He just stopped us and asked us to please dump the rest of it out, I would hate to have to give you two open intoxication violations. He was very kind about it.”
Case said he believes CMU is one of the safer campuses in the state of Michigan.
“Obviously I’m biased because I work here and I work in the law enforcement, it’s not like we are immune from crime, but I think CMU is a really safe campus. We’re really proactive.” Case said.