Drunken stupors, alcohol-enraged arguments and public urination are just a sample of what area police officers have seen students participate in during the madness of Welcome Weekend.
After nearly four months with a fraction of the population, East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said Welcome Weekend is the busiest week of the year for the department.
"We don't approve vacations for that week," he said. "Especially for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. We have as many officers possible out on the road because of all the extra business those nights."
He said although the majority of problems during Welcome Weekend involve alcohol and noise, this is a prime time for outsiders to prey on students.
"There's definitely a predatory element that comes to East Lansing, especially with the idea of victimizing people who are walking around," Wibert said. "Our most important job is to make sure everyone gets home safe at night."
He said the department has handled a number of assaults and robberies during previous Welcome Weekends in which the culprits had no ties to East Lansing.
"The suspects aren't students, and they're not from East Lansing," he said. "They just come here and look for an easy mark."
East Lansing police Officer Steve Whelan said East Lansing transforms completely.
"The feel of the city is completely different," he said. "All of a sudden we have all these cars in town. It goes from a very quiet place to all of a sudden a very active and busy place with lots of people.
"The whole town changes within those couple of days."
He said during this week, the police's interaction with students increases — sometimes in a positive way, sometimes in a negative way.
"People are excited to be here; they're excited to be in town, especially new people," Whelan said. "Then sometimes the evening is where it gets a little more challenging."
Whelan said many students experiment with underage drinking and are surprised when they wind up in jail.
But Wibert said the department continues to take an active role to keep students out of harm's way during Welcome Week.
"One of the main problems is noise and parties," Wibert said. "With parties that may be too loud, normally officers don't patrol for parties — it's because somebody called and complained. During Welcome Week we take a more proactive approach."
Wibert is the chairperson of a welcome back project for the Community Relations Coalition. Through the project, he hopes to distribute 3,000 welcome packets to returning or new MSU students in East Lansing residential areas. The packets will contain information on noise and party policies, services that are available and other items, he said.
"We have two missions," Wibert said. "One is to keep peace and make sure that it's as quiet as possible for people who are trying to sleep. The other is to protect the people out on the street."
MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor, who is also on the Community Relations Coalition, said MSU's Department of Police and Public Safety officers will be participating in a number of sessions throughout Welcome Week and will be out and about to answer any questions new or returning students might have.
Whelan said there are a couple of pointers students should follow to stay out of trouble with police during Welcome Weekend.
"Don't drink. Don't have open alcohol and walk on the street," Whelan said.
"If you have a party, party with close friends rather than a large party with people you don't know. If all of a sudden there's a crowd of freshmen that walk into your house and you don't know them, you're responsible for this group of people, compared to a house of good friends having fun together."
