The hosts claim they threw a typical weekend house party, mirroring the gatherings that began taking place in these East Lansing neighborhoods long ago.

About 200 college students roamed around at about midnight on Sept. 5 at their plot on Milford Street as kegs dripped and noisy partygoers packed in and outside of their two-story beige house.

And like many parties here, police paid a visit. But the visit by the East Lansing police was unlike any other.

The party's hosts - Steve Hines, Eddie Vargas and Adam Wells, all 20-year-old MSU students - received the first recently stiffened misdemeanor party noise citations. Each citation is punishable with a $500 fine and three days in jail.

The increased penalties, city officials say, were a response to complaints from residents tired of the incessant party noise that disrupts neighborhoods on weekends.

"When he said noise violation, all I could think of was going to jail," said Vargas, a finance junior from Mundelein, Ill. "That's all that went through my head."

The students read about East Lansing City Council's decision three days earlier on the new party-noise policy with increased fines and added jail time. The hosts held a party a week earlier but weren't cited under the city's policy that calls for fines.

East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said officials have gradually increased fines and penalties for hosts of unruly parties in hopes of turning down the volume in the city for years.

After noise problems soared last fall, officials felt a serious change to the city's policy was necessary.

"All of this stuff has been out there being enforced and it hasn't seemed to make a dent," Meadows said. "By kicking it up to some jail time, I think that sends a message that you have to think about this."

During the first weekend of the new ordinance, four people were cited with misdemeanor noise offenses and six others were issued party noise civil infractions that called for $1,000 fines.

"Our initial reaction was that this is the end of partying in East Lansing," Wells said, a political science and international relations junior from Kalamazoo. "Throwing a party for a few hours in East Lansing is not worth three days in jail."

Hines, Vargas and Wells pleaded innocent at 54-B District Court on Thursday. They were released on a $500 bond and scheduled to appear at court again on Oct. 7. The Milford Street hosts also received minor in possession citations.

"The punishment exceeds the crime," said Hines, a general business administration junior from Cadillac. "They want to send the message that they aren't playing around anymore."

Meadows, though, said simple partying won't land a student in jail.

Under the new policy, party noise is defined as a large gathering that has at least two party indicators such as live entertainment, loud music, kegs, entrance fees and more than one person per 20 square feet of living space.

"You are not going to jail because you have a party," he said. "You are going to jail because two of those four or five things have come in to play when you have a loud party. Not every loud party fits into this thing."

During the first three weekends of the school year, East Lansing police cited nearly 300 people for various party and drinking violations, mostly punishable by fines.

Police, though, have characterized behavior this fall as "typical" of the first weekends of the school year when students tend to party more because of home football games and warm weather.

East Lansing police Capt. Juli Liebler said "nuisance parties" have been illegal in the city for several years and the new policy is meant to offer another tool to help officers in policing large gatherings.

"It is nothing that is totally new to the city of East Lansing," Liebler said, adding that officers were briefed on the changes to the ordinance.

The Milford Street students contend that there wasn't enough warning before the new policy began and that officers have too much discretion in determining who is cited and the severity of the party.

They, too, were surprised that three hosts of the same party could be cited.

Officials say the policy was months in the making and that student leaders were consulted before the final vote.

"The purpose of this new ordinance is to discourage these large parties and so, as long as there continues to be large parties, there will continue to be noise citations," Liebler said. "This is just the latest attempt to try and solve this problem."

Before this year, Hines, Vargas and Wells said they had looked forward to throwing their own parties once they moved to an off-campus home.

"We didn't anticipate it to be like that," said Vargas, who called the citation a "rude awakening."

After last weekend's events, the students said the consequences issued a "sobering" blow to their vision of off-campus life.

"I don't think many people on campus realize the severity of this," Wells said.

The fact that most MSU students do not vote in city elections is troubling to the Milford Street residents, who say students need to play a larger role in setting local policy.

"Without government representation," Wells said, "you are left living in a city that really doesn't represent you."

Compromising with permanent residents, they say, could make for a safer environment for everyone.

"There are a lot of dangers involved in partying," Hines said. "But most partying is innocent. Most is just students having a good time."

Liebler said the city isn't concerned with controlled partying, rather, it is the gatherings that lead to fights, sexual assaults and disruptive noise that are most troubling.

"What we are looking for is for people to celebrate responsibly," she said. "There is nothing that says you can't have a good time, but you can't expect other people that live next to you or residents in the community to suffer as a result of that."

For now, Hines, Vargas and Wells say they are putting the parties on hold while they await their day in court.

The students, who say they maintain 'A' or 'B' averages in class, are concerned about the implications of having a misdemeanor penalty on their records.

They also are reflecting on their place in the city's ongoing struggle to accommodate permanent and student residents.

"This could conceivably change the atmosphere in East Lansing," Hines said.

Steve Eder can be reached at ederstev@msu.edu.