By Michael GrassDaily Staff Reporter
In a second weekend of campus party raids, Ann Arbor Police Department officers delivered 58 minor in possession of alcohol citations Friday at a Phi Kappa Psi fraternity party and two house parties.
As part of an undercover operation, AAPD officers handed out nine citations at the Phi Kappa Psi party, six of which were MIP citations, AAPD Sgt. Myron Blackwell said. They delivered seven citations at a house party at 1120 Oakland St. and 48 MIP citations at a house party at 426 Hill St. Citations were given for false identification, supplying alcohol to minors and hosting the party, Blackwell said. AAPD did not conduct undercover operations on Saturday night.
Phi Kappa Psi is the fourth fraternity targeted by AAPD officials in the past two weeks. In a similar operation, AAPD raided parties at Sigma Nu, Beta Theta Pi, Theta Chi and a house party on Nov. 6, issuing 75 citations.
These recent busts have forced fraternities to more strictly enforce the Greek system's rules about serving alcohol and monitoring entrances at parties.
"We could see from observation the fraternities caught on quickly," Blackwell said.
Interfraternity Council President Bradley Holcman, a Kinesieology senior, said the raids have sparked reform in the Greek community.
"People are changing, but unfortunately this group did not change," Holcman said of Phi Kappa Psi.
Holcman said four parties were registered with IFC on Friday and nine Saturday. Fraternities enforced strict admission policies, including guest lists and checking students' identification.
"They were checking IDs and taking enforcement actions," Blackwell said.
Holcman said most of the fraternities and sororities realize they have to follow IFC's party guidelines. IFC prohibits hard liquor, glass containers and common sources of alcohol. Registered parties must post taxi information and monitor entrance and exit points.
"By showing that we can do things right, we are being more responsible," Holcman said. "Internally, things are changing."
Many students attribute changes in the campus party scene directly to recent raids on fraternities and campus house parties.
LSA senior Brian Kowaleskey, a member of Sigma Phi fraternity, said his house canceled an open party Friday night after discussing the implications with members of another fraternity.
"We were planning to have an open party, but another frat said please don't have anything because it might affect how the University views us," Kowalesky said.
Blackwell said he noticed an overall decrease in the number of parties on campus this weekend.
"A lot of younger students are afraid of being caught by the police, so they're drinking less," said Aime Yang, an LSA sophomore. "People are being a little more secretive."
"People are definitely more aware of the situation," LSA sophomore Gina LeClaire said. "With all the busting going around, there's less drinking at parties."
Art first-year student Dave Peabody said he planned to attend a party with friends Saturday night, but didn't want to drink there.
But other students said the threat of citations won't curb campus partying.
"I don't think it will affect anything; it's not solving the problem at the core," said Amy Booher, an LSA sophomore. "People will start drinking at other places where stings don't come."
"Friends tell me they're going to drink one way or the other," LSA junior James Christie said. "It's a part of college life."
Some fraternities said the AAPD raids haven't changed the way they host parties.
"We haven't done much of anything because we feel that we are a responsible house on campus," said Delta Kappa Epsilon President Justin McCabe, an Engineering senior.
For the past two weekends, AAPD used underage volunteers to patrol fraternity and house parties. The volunteers, first used in the Nov. 6 raids, were served alcohol. Undercover officers who witnessed this then delivered the citations and shut down the parties.
Individuals given MIP citations, a misdemeanor charge, have to appear in court and could receive up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.
But Holcman said the numbers of registered parties are normal for this time of year.
"The way to get through these raids is not to have parties, but to be smarter about them," Holcman said.
Fraternities tend to host more parties during home football games, Holcman said. Although next week's Michigan-Ohio State game is away in Columbus, he expects fraternities will host more parties to celebrate the rivalry.
SUBHEAD: Drinking at bars
Although The Brown Jug employees expected fewer minors would attempt to drink at the establishment this weekend, they caught a record number of people with fake IDs on Friday.
"On Friday we caught 11 fake IDs. It was mainly Wisconsin people trying to get away with a Michigan ID," said Abid Khan, manager at The Brown Jug.
Employees caught two people using fake identification at The Brown Jug on Saturday.
Brock Sprowl, assistant manager at Good Time Charley's on South University Avenue, said the AAPD crackdown on underage drinking is an important step in making students aware of alcohol consumption.
"If nobody is going to be there monitoring, I'm glad that cops are busting them," Sprowl said. "I hope it makes people realize that they have to become more responsible."
Sprowl compared the accountability of a bar manager to that of fraternities.
"We allow people in here to drink and we assume all of that responsibility, so why shouldn't they?" Sprowl asked.
SUBHEAD: Some liquor stores see increases in sales
Some party store employees attributed low sales this weekend to the recent raids.
"There's been barely any kegs sold this weekend," said In & Out employee Lindsay Tyler, an Art sophomore. "Compared to other weekends, there's been almost none."
Tyler found this behavior abnormal because this weekend marked the end of midterms for many students.
"The amount of drinking goes way down when people have tests," Tyler said. "The weekend after it usually goes up as stress relief, but this weekend, it's down."
Chuck Haas, owner of Maize and Brew, said big police busts rarely change sales.
"My liquor sales are what they have always been," Haas said.
Engineering junior Cory Vander Jagt, an employee at Village Corner, said he also did not notice a significant change in sales.
"It's about the same as last week," Vander Jagt said.
But Village Corner employee Gina Chopp, an LSA sophomore, said she saw an increase.
"Tonight's been really busy, more than last week," Chopp said.
SUBHEAD STYLE: Motivation for raids
AAPD officers say they've always conducted weekend party patrols. But the recent visits to fraternity parties have taken some students by surprise, causing them to question the justification for the recent raids.
"It's really unnecessary for police to start doing this," LSA first-year student Elise Zipkin said. "College is college."
"Police officers overstep their boundaries and infringe on students' rights at their pleasure," LSA junior Todd Johnson said. "They go places where they shouldn't be."
Some students said they feel officers are giving out more MIP citations because of the recent deaths of a Michigan State University student and LSA first-year student Courtney Cantor, who died Oct. 16 after falling from her sixth-floor Mary Markley Residence Hall window.
Cantor, who drank at a Phi Delta Theta fraternity party, had a blood alcohol level of 0.059, Washtenaw County Chief Medical Examiner Bader Cassin said. Cantor's blood alcohol level was below 0.08, which is considered impaired under Michigan driving standards.
Cantor's death is still under investigation by the Department of Public Safety and the role of alcohol in her death has not yet been concluded.
In his weekly column published in The Detroit News on Oct. 25, Courtney's father George Cantor said he did not want his daughter to be turned into the "poster child for underage drinking."
LSA sophomore Amy Anderson agreed Courtney Cantor's death has sparked a crackdown on alcohol.
"Because of what happened to Courtney Cantor, the police don't know what to do," Anderson said. "So they're giving out MIPs to people. But this hasn't affected drinking before."
- Daily Staff Reporters Nikita Easley, Nick Falzone, Jewel Gopwani, Asma Rafeeq and Jaimie Winkler contributed to this report
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