According to Chief of Campus Police John Carter, campus police issued an announcement shortly after 12:30 a.m. warning that the party would be shut down if alcohol continued to be brought within the party's monitored perimeter.
According to Carter, "there had been no improvement" by 1 a.m., so the music stopped and the event cleared. It took about 45 minutes to shut down the party.
In part, the destruction of a police cruiser's windshield motivated the decision to shut down the event.
"A person intentionally struck the windshield of the cruiser and then ran away. The windshield is fully spidered and will have to be replaced," Carter said. "Given that campus police has only two marked cruisers and this car had to be taken out of service, this type of vandalism seriously reduced … our ability to respond to emergencies and provide general safety services, such as safe rides."
According to Dean of Students Ben Lieber, there is a belief that the vandalism was alcohol related. Nevertheless, the College is not yet considering a stricter alcohol policy.
"There has been no discussion of a new alcohol policy, but it bears watching," Lieber said. "It does raise the question of our ability to control outdoor events."
Carter noted that not everyone at the party was at fault for the event's early end.
"Individuals are responsible for their own actions, and many have been identified," Carter said. "We never paint an entire group with such a broad brush. However, the actions of many ... ruined the event for those who just wished to enjoy the music, dancing and fun."
"The best possible way of dealing with [individual acts of vandalism] is catching and punishing the people responsible," Lieber added.
But the destruction of the windshield was not the sole reason campus police decided to shut the event down. According to Carter, many students were disrespectful and abusive toward student security workers.
"In discussions with the lead security staff, I heard accounts of behavior that was absolutely unacceptable," Carter said. "The only way to maintain a party system that does not include a police presence is to have students and guests comply with student security directions."
All in all, Lieber said, the luau was "a bad start to the year."