After loading three kegs into the back of a police vehicle in September 2003, Steve Hines, Adam Wells and Eddie Vargas were left with a sinking feeling of uncertainty - and instant stardom.
"It was one of our first parties," Hines said. "We didn't know the severity of it."
The three MSU students became the first to be ticketed under East Lansing's new party-noise ordinance. Today, they still cannot grasp how their party differed from others that took place before or after the city elevated the punishment.
One year after East Lansing revised its noise policy, officials report a dropping decibel level and more orderly gatherings.
But some students, including the Milford Street trio, maintain that the policy change was unnecessary and actually has made the party scene more dangerous.
City officials last year approved a punishment of three days in jail and a $500 fine for a misdemeanor, and a $1,000 fine for a civil infraction if two or more party indicators are present.
Indicators include an entrance fee, live entertainment, kegs, amplified sound or more than one person per 20 square feet.
Four parties were cited under the new policy in the fall and one was cited in the spring, East Lansing police Capt. Juli Liebler said.
"We noticed a significant decrease in the size and number of parties we had after the first citations were issued," Liebler said.
The revamped policy was intended to target larger parties that require more police resources and where more problems occur, she said.
As word spread of the first violation, Hines said their names were plastered in a number of publications and their street was infiltrated by TV crews who held live broadcasts on a neighbor's lawn.
The three minors peeked out of the windows as their house became the center of attention.
"It made us feel like criminals," Hines said.
For a month leading up to their October court date, the party hosts were left to mull over their actions and await their fate.
"The hardest part about it was explaining it to our parents," said Wells, whose mother didn't speak to him for more than a week.
The case was the first of its kind, which made the outcome even more unpredictable. The students sought help from undergraduate student government ASMSU's legal services, but the advisers were unsure how to handle the new ordinance, Wells said.
"Up to that day, we were all dreading the worst," he said.
The students escaped jail time, but were given the civil infraction. A $1,000 fine, plus $500 in minor in possession charges, was split between the home's residents.
The party hosts said they hoped the noise violations would be a catalyst for student involvement in local government, as people such as economics senior Mike Kotick collected about 1,700 signatures in opposition of the ordinance.
But because few violations were handed out since the introduction of the policy, the issue has gradually fizzled out of public concern.
Many students returned to their parties within a month, but the environment was altered, Wells said.
"The lifestyle of parties changed," he said. "They just sent everyone underground."
Instead of gathering on lawns, partygoers now cram into the houses in fear that they might be cited, which could cause a number of safety hazards, Hines said.
However, city officials said they feel the policy has been effective in controlling "problem parties" and that the level of noise has dropped significantly, Deputy City Manager Jean Golden said.
"We've put people on notice that this is a city of many different kinds of people trying to live together peacefully, and we have to have some rules and regulations to make that possible," she said.
"The goal here is to try and change the culture so that everyone is respectful of each other's rights."
Journalism senior Jill Siemianowski, who is a member of the Community Relations Coalition, said students are beginning to realize that they are moving into someone's backyard.
"People are starting to be more responsible about having a party," she said. "The amount of money that is involved with it as a penalty really scares people.
"The last thing you want to worry about when starting a new school year is getting in trouble with the law."
Wells said he hopes the bridge between students and permanent residents will someday be restored.
But students will find a way to party regardless of the punishment, he said.
"I guess that's what makes it such a fun place to live," he said.
Claire Cummings can be reached at cummin94@msu.edu.
