Some students reportedly think that the police are cracking down too harshly, while police officers have found that students have become increasingly disrespectful towards them.
This past Saturday, a party sponsored by campus a cappella group, the Zumbyes, was broken up by Campus Police after 30 minutes. "During their crackdown, the police came with the intent to shut down our party, and not to control the noise," said Peter Harper '05, director of the Zumbyes. "Their presence was not solely in response to a noise complaint, an indication of a change in party policy that we were not aware of."
But the police department denies that they are treating students more harshly than before. According to Chief of Campus Police John Carter, it is the students who have become increasingly hostile. "We have noticed that students have been more argumentative and threatening to police officers lately," said Carter. "While we acknowledge that there are going to be alcohol issues on campus, we become concerned when someone is physically standing in our way or physically pulling alcohol out of our hands."
According to President Tom Gerety, "We do feel that we need to do more. We talk, we educate, we do all that we can. We had a rough fall. The very times when we thought we should be happiest and most jubilant turned out to be the most destructive; and I think it's quite dangerous. Alcohol poisoning takes lives on campuses almost every year ... We are coming very close to a fatal accident."
Still, some students feel that the Campus Police are treating them unfairly. "We were very civil towards the police. Everyone who dealt with them was sober and of age," said Harper. To Harper, the police seemed rude and uncompromising. "My interaction with the police felt like an interrogation. They were more belligerent than they had been in the past and took on a different tone."
The Campus Police department acknowledged that they have been more open about enforcing civility on campus, especially after the vandalism of the Mead Art Museum statues, the two assault and battery cases and a DUI earlier in the year.
According to Associate Dean of Students Francis Tuleja, "This past semester, we have taken an unusually large number of serious disciplinary actions."
Gerety said that students could anticipate amendments to the alcohol policy in the near future. "I think it would not be unrealistic to say that we need some methods of cracking down. We can't be tolerant of uses of hard liquor that endanger the lives of even a couple of freshmen or a couple of students a year," he said, acknowledging a general concern among other campuses about the dangers of hard alcohol use.
"This has been a very active fall for us, culminating with Homecoming weekend, which was just horrific. As soon as the weather warms, we are very fearful that it will be busier than it was in the fall," said Carter.
Yet, some students feel the crackdown has been overly harsh and uncalled for. "The police were simply very rude to us. They somehow found out about our party, came in while we were setting up, and took all our alcohol without explanation. We hadn't even done anything wrong," said Dan Murillo '03, regarding a party he was about to hold in Hamilton. "We tried to cooperate with them, but they just refused to compromise."
However, Harding insists that the police are not cracking down. "There is no 'crackdown' if enforcement level has been consistent for the past three semesters."
What has changed is the composition of the Campus Police department. "Because of several retirements, we have more junior officers who are more enthusiastic about and more trained for enforcing school policies," said Carter.
Not everyone is pleased with the staff changes within the Campus Police. "While I have heard stories about other people getting into fights with the police, I think there are simply too many junior officers on staff now who are just bullies that want to show how great they are," said Murillo.
"The Campus Police are not against partying. Having a dry campus is an impossibility," said Carter. "We don't want to create a police state. We would rather have people just be respectful and civil."
However, as Gerety noted, "The police I think are really eager to find some way to tighten their enforcement of the liquor laws ... hard liquor in particular."
According to Carter, another reason there is a perceived crackdown is because "the great majority of residents on campus are less tolerant of big parties. They are very tired and have been more likely to call and make noise complaints."
One residence counselor (RC) who wished to remain anonymous said that he had not noticed a particularly high level of security. "I haven't noticed the police cracking down any more than they have in the past. In fact, they have seemed to be more lenient, at least in my dorm," he said. "To some degree they have not really cracked down enough. People misread what Campus Police are doing and they overreact to the way they enforce school policy."
The Campus Police emphasized that they want to make sure relations are as amicable as possible. During Interterm, they held a meeting with the RCs to try to mitigate tensions. They also wanted to make sure that students understood that their actions have consequences. "There has always been a certain amount of disrespect towards the police because there has always been a belief at Amherst that people can do whatever they want and not suffer any repercussions," said Harding.
Nevertheless, according to Harding, the Campus Police do not want create controversy. "Most of the people we deal with are nice and reasonable people. We just want them to understand that they must balance their rights with the rights of everyone else," said Harding,
Carter was quick to point out that he was not describing the entire campus as disrespectful. "Out of that 100 people that we see over and over again, there are approximately 19 that come into conflict with the police. A very small group of the students at Amherst actually give us trouble. This past year, that group has just been a little more problematic," he said.
Gerety speculated that student responses to changes in the alcohol policy would be varied. "My prediction is that the student reaction will be supportive by daylight, as it were. But I think that in the heat of real crisis, there will probably be some defiance," he said.