Friday, September 7, 2007
Willy Panning won’t stop drinking at tailgates despite added enforcement from Lawrence police on game days. He feels safe as long as he stays in the front yard.
“I’m usually in the heart of the party or at least try to be,” said Panning, Minneapolis junior. “I figure they have some dumb freshman to pick on anyway.”
KU Public Safety Office officers Alissa Counley and Jeff Neavitt patrol Campanile hill before Saturday's game against Central Michigan University.
Students such as Panning face greater risk at tailgates because the Lawrence Police Department plans to step up enforcement near Memorial Stadium on game days in an effort to reduce underage drinking. The police also want to stop public consumption and people playing host to parties for minors where alcohol is served.
The extra enforcement plan is contingent on getting enough officers and volunteers to help the Lawrence Police. Last Saturday, Sergeant Paul Fellers said, there weren’t enough volunteers for the enforcement. Sergeant Dan Ward said the high attendance at the football games made enforcement difficult and expensive. He didn’t say whether the police would be able to increase enforcement tomorrow but said they would team up with the Regional Prevention Center of East Central Kansas and Alcoholic Beverage Control Agents to get more manpower.
Ward said police were targeting underage drinkers to prevent problems. Lawrence Police said in a statement that according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 5,000 people younger than 21 die each year from alcohol-related incidents. That includes car accidents, homicides, suicides and other injuries.
Minor in Possession — Minors caught in possession of an alcoholic beverage face a fine ranging from $300 to $500. A judge also could sentence a minor to no more than 30 days in jail.
Hosting Minors — If someone receives an M.I.P. on another person’s property, the owner could be punished for playing host to a minor if he or she is younger than 21. Punishment is a minimum $1,000 fine.
Public Consumption — No one, no matter the age, can consume alcohol on streets, city parking lots, sidewalks, alleys, roads or highways. Fines for this offense range from $50 to $200.
— Lawrence city codes
Another part of the enforcement plan is educating people about a new law for hosting parties with underage drinkers. Ward said that as of July anyone younger than 21 who plays host to a party is responsible for any minor in possession of alcohol on their property. Before July, that law applied only to minors under 18. If a minor is ticketed with alcohol possession, the host is subject to arrest and a minimum fine of $1,000.
Police also want to prevent people from consuming alcohol in public. City laws state no one, no matter the age, can possess or drink alcohol on sidewalks or in city parking lots, streets or alleys. According to the KU athletics Web site, the University allows for tailgating in several campus lots including 10 lots near Memorial Stadium. People 21 or older can drink on private property.
Like Panning, other tailgaters said they weren’t too worried about extra enforcement. Panning said he would continue attending tailgates for the rest of the season.
“It’s not going to affect me,” Panning said. “I’m one of 30,000 — I figure my odds are pretty good.”
— Edited by Amelia Freidline
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Comments
Police deter underage drinking
After perusing the UDK, perhaps the police' time would be better spent deterring the crime on the east side of campus than hunting down underage drinkers on game day, and targeting people who dare to step on a sidewalk or alley with a beer. As an alum, I am tired of watching the bicycle brigade looking for the least confrontational looking kids to ticket, and am also tired of having to worry about whether I am standing too close to "city property" where I could accidentally step across that line and commit what seems to be equal to a federal offense. The city of Lawrence needs to have the police back off if they want to be a "real" football town.
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