The increase in underage drinking citations shows that the East Lansing police are doing their job and enforcing laws rather than allowing East Lansing residents to run wild. The law sets the legal drinking age at 21, and the police have every right to enforce it with minor in possession tickets.

East Lansing police have tallied 800 underage drinking citations so far, with three months still left in the year. Last year's total was only 686.

As East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said, "If you're going to violate the law, you should be prepared for consequences."

Students shouldn't be caught off guard by the police crackdown on underage drinking, but take this opportunity to act with caution and take responsibility for their actions.

Police and city officials see enforcement as a way of changing behavior, and it is apparent that the particular behavior they are targeting is underage drinking.

As long as police are set on this target, students simply should be careful of what they do.

East Lansing police and city officials have fairly executed their judgment on the underage drinking citations, but the enforcement and legislation related to party noise still needs to be reconsidered. There have been more noise violations cited this year than last year's total of 558, including the 11 citations under the new party-noise ordinance.

The party-noise ordinance is an infringement on the lifestyles of students because it poses harsh penalties such as jail time that usually are associated with more serious crimes.

No person should have to sit in a jail cell because their stereo was up a notch too high.

Having to serve jail time for noise is not an answer to student behavior.

While students should be cited for underage drinking, a collective resolution including the views of all East Lansing residents is necessary to properly address noise in the city.