The East Lansing and MSU police departments are entering another partnership to improve relations between police and students.
East Lansing police Officer Larry Sparkes and MSU police Officer Andrea Beasinger are setting up an office in the Union to address student concerns.
“We need to be able to communicate back and forth between our departments and the students,” Sparkes said. “I don’t know that we’ve always done a very good job at that, but in the last few years with community policing I think it’s improving.”
The office, located in Room 444 of the Union near the Purdue Room, will open its doors Friday Oct. 20 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Hours will continue to expand as the program evolves.
Students can also leave a note for the officers if they prefer.
Sparkes said the point of the office is to answer questions students may have on anything from how to throw a party that doesn’t break ordinances to voicing concerns they have with the way the departments are run.
“We’re available as a resource to students, and it doesn’t have to be a fraternity or sorority, or in my case, alcohol-related,” Beasinger said. “We’re here for students to stop by whenever they want and just pick our brains.”
In the past, Beasinger worked as part of the Alcohol Action Team with East Lansing police Officer Dan DeKorte. On Nov. 1, 1999 the department created Sparkes’ position of student alliance officer working with the fraternities and sororities as well as other campus groups. It was through both departments’ continual efforts to combine their resources that the new team emerged.
East Lansing police Capt. Juli Liebler said this opportunity allows them to break down barriers between police officers and students while building on new and important relationships between the communities.
“We’re all trying to create a better relationship between us and the students of MSU,” she said. “Students represent a big part of the population here in East Lansing, and it’s important not only that we teach them about proper conduct but also that we listen to their concerns.”
Sparkes and Beasinger are looking forward to working together through educating groups on alcohol and personal safety concerns. The pair have known each other since their days together in the police academy.
“We know each other on a personal level after 15 stressful weeks in the academy, and it makes it so much easier,” Beasinger said.
Sparkes hopes taking his office out of the police station and putting it on the other side of Grand River Avenue will provide a more neutral atmosphere and make students more comfortable to ask questions.
“Our goal is that when students leave in four years they not only have their degree but fond memories of this place,” Sparkes said.
