Disagreement over four alcohol citations issued by the TU Police Department during the Towson/Maryland lacrosse game earlier this month has led to further inspection of the University's stance toward underage alcohol use at athletic events.
On Saturday, March 12, officers issued four citations for underage possession of alcohol in Lot 20. Police also referred one student to Judicial Affairs and conducted 65 alcohol age verifications.
As the students received citations, Student Government Association President Mark Schlosser called Towson University Police Chief Bernie Gerst to complain about the actions of the officers.
In an interview this week, Schlosser said the police were harassing students in the parking lot.
"Students drinking underage isn't something that we should condone, but at the same time we shouldn't be harassing students who are tailgating before the game and aren't out of control," Schlosser said. "Cops should not be harassing students in the parking lots while tailgating. It shouldn't happen."
But it was happening on March 12, Schlosser said.
"The students were being unfairly targeted. I was in the tailgating lot when the students [received citations] and they weren't doing anything wrong," he said.
However, the students in question were under the age of 21 and were in possession of alcohol. Gerst acknowledged University police cannot turn a blind eye to obvious abuse of alcohol by underage students during tailgating.
"We cannot stand by and knowingly watch someone break the law and take no action because we'd be negligent," he said.
According to TUPD statistics, officers conducted 334 age verifications at last fall's football games and only nine citations were issued. Eight citations were issued at the Homecoming game Oct. 9 and one was issued Nov. 13.
"We're not going through and checking every person," Gerst said. "If the officer thinks the person is under the legal drinking age and they have alcohol, they're going to approach the person and ask whether they have ID."
The citations raise a sensitive issue in whether or not officers use discretion when they approach students who are tailgating.
But Gerst said the police department's goal is not to write as many citations as possible.
"Our purpose is to try to prevent and deter underage drinking and binge drinking. We can't just stand by and take a don't-ask, don't-tell approach," he said.
Ignoring underage drinking could have dangerous consequences. On March 12, within hours of the Towson/Maryland lacrosse game, two students were rushed to the hospital because of alcohol. Ambulances were called to campus more than 20 times in 2004 for alcohol poisoning cases, Gerst said.
An obvious tension exists between two goals, and thus two parts of campus: encouraging attendance at athletic events and preventing underage alcohol use.
During the school year, the SGA has worked to increase attendance at campus events.
Two days before the Towson/Maryland game, the SGA sponsored Tiger Spirit Day, an initiative designed to encourage participation and school spirit.
TU President Robert Caret has asked Schlosser and other campus leaders to help boost attendance at athletic events. But Caret said the University has to draw a line.
"Obviously, I do want students to participate in campus activities," he said. "We want to make it as much fun as possible. But we can't condone anyone breaking the law."
Vice President for Student Affairs Deb Moriarty reiterated the message.
"Yes, we want you to come to the game. Yes, we want you to have fun. Yes, we want to allow tailgating responsibly -- but if students are underage [and] drinking illegally, the police pretty much have no choice," she said.
Officers who patrol the tailgating lots try to be "high-visibility," Gerst said.
"We're not putting people out there in plain clothes...It's obvious to everyone what we're doing. We make announcements to everyone in the lot that we are checking for underage alcohol use."
He sought to dissuade those who think tailgating is not subject to the usual restrictions on alcohol use.
"The only difference between tailgating and other events is that it's outside on a parking lot," Gerst said. "The rules are not any different for tailgating than they are any other place on campus any other time of the year."
Schlosser said he respects the TUPD's efforts and believes they do a great job on campus, but he is worried the police actions could deter students from coming back to games later in the season.
At the Maryland game, "some students at the game were saying, 'Why would I want to come to games in the future if I risk getting a citation? Why should I attend these games?'" Schlosser recalled. "If we want students to come back to sporting events, then we can't be harassing them in the parking lot."
Moriarty was blunt about why sports events are automatically equated with tailgating and alcohol abuse: "You can have fun without getting drunk."
At Tuesday's SGA meeting, Schlosser said he hopes to look for a tailgating solution that is "more safe and still fun."
As a result of the March 12 citations, Schlosser, Moriarty and Gerst plan to discuss the citations process and how student leaders could become involved.
"What we hope to talk about is how we can better partner with the police, so the police aren't put in a compromising position, and we can send a positive message as campus leaders about responsible behavior," Moriarty said.
Moriarty said "peer to peer interaction" could be effective in reducing alcohol-related incidents at tailgating.
Campus leaders have suggested several methods of enforcing the law:
- Student Affairs staff monitoring tailgating.
- Age verification as students enter the tailgating lot.
- Roped-off areas for alcohol consumption.
- Armbands distributed to students of age.
"We want students to come out and support the games," Gerst said. "But we also want responsible behavior. We want people to come, have a good time, and go home safe."
That is a notion other campus officials agree with.
"The bottom line is, we're not going to break the law. We don't want to create a police state, either," Caret said. "So what's the balance? Where you enforce the law, but you give maximum flexibility for the students and others to have tailgating and have a good time."
