Tailgating will be restricted to five hours before game time and two hours after, and drinking games of all kinds will be prohibited on campus, according to regulations released by university officials Monday.
But some members of the MSU Board of Trustees said they are upset they didn't get a chance to discuss the decisions and that the regulations should not be enforced without their endorsement.
"When Munn was closed from alcohol, the board didn't weigh in on that much," Trustee Colleen McNamara said of the 1998 alcohol ban on the popular tailgating field.
"Those of us who were around then decided that as a board we have to be aware of what changes to tailgating might be and agree to them," she said.
"We have no idea what discussion went into (the regulations) and until we have a chance to hear what the recommendations were, they're not going into effect."
Trustee Joel Ferguson said he agrees that any changes made must first go before the board for approval.
But MSU spokesman Terry Denbow said the two changes are a "pilot program" that will be evaluated and revised after this football season. The new guidelines will be effective immediately, Denbow said.
"These guidelines will not interfere with the spirit of tailgating and the game experience of people," he said. "These are to protect and assure the pageantry, color and hospitality of the MSU tailgating experience."
If problem behavior is not corrected, the university will look at imposing harsher restrictions, he said.
"Anybody who tries to beat this system is going to get everyone in trouble," Denbow said.
"We want to demonstrate that with these few minor changes, reform can take place."
Pamphlets informing tailgaters of the changes will be distributed on Saturday in campus parking lots.
MSU's third home football game against Illinois is scheduled for a noon kickoff. With the new guidelines in effect, all campus parking lots will open for tailgating at 7 a.m. and close two hours after the game is over.
As for the ban on drinking games, Denbow said any paraphernalia that leads to binge drinking will be prohibited. This includes beer bongs, roulette wheels, boards or tables to set-up a table-top tennis game called "beer pong" and any other accessories for drinking games.
To enforce the regulations, police and parking attendants will be on the lookout for fans playing drinking games. Violators will be warned first, if they are caught a second time the property will be confiscated and a third infraction will result in police involvement.
The regulations come after university officials met with students, staff and community members the past two weeks to discuss the problems involved with tailgating. It is unclear who was involved in the final decision on Monday.
"There was general consensus over these two issues," Denbow said of the rules.
"It was something people thought would be effective and send a signal to those who are creating the problems involving tailgating."
But ASMSU Student Assembly Chairperson Andrew Schepers denied that ASMSU agreed to the restrictions passed.
"Students don't know how serious this is," Schepers said. "Students got burned today."
He said ASMSU's main concerns were ignored and he wanted to see more discussion on drinking games before this restriction was enacted.
ASMSU drafted tailgating recommendations last week that included a ban on glass containers, an increase on garbage and bathroom facilities, and better defined emergency routes.
None of these are included in Monday's restrictions.
"What (Denbow) thought was (an) agreement was not to us," he said.
"Students consented to try something to see what happens on a trial program - something for a trial basis.
"This is our sticking point, and we understand we have to find common ground, but this is not common ground to come to."
Schepers also said he is wary that the pilot program might turn into policy too soon for students.
"We'll jump up and down and scream and dance, but when it comes down to it, they make the final decisions," he said.
There also is general disagreement between board members over whether the regulations are set in stone or not. Trustee Dorothy Gonzales, who was involved in the university meetings last month, said she agreed with the changes, but the board will continue to review the issues involved with tailgating and may later pass its own regulations.
"If I had my way, there wouldn't be any drinking on campus - period," Gonzales said.
"It would be just terrible if this kind of behavior continued. I think there have to be some policies in place if individuals on campus don't know how to conduct themselves."
The meetings that Gonzales and others were a part of were necessary after university officials became increasingly concerned over tailgating problems, including the amount of alcohol consumption and the number of police incidences, university officials said.
An alleged rape reported at the Wilson tennis courts before the Sept. 18 game versus the University of Notre Dame also was cited as a reason for change.
Denbow said a ban was necessary because drinking games contribute to binge drinking, excessive alcohol use and create a list of health problems.
"There's a safety problem for those who are partaking in the games and those who aren't," Denbow said. "From what I have heard, these games are just a ticking time bomb related to death."
He said something needs to be done in order to put the focus of tailgating on the football team rather than alcohol.
"If the only reason you come to tailgate is to binge drink and get wasted, you should stay home," Denbow said. "These are reasoned and reasonable responses to the problems with tailgating and they're not too dramatic."
But as the board discusses the issue, students who could be most impacted by the potential changes are reacting to the change.
Accounting senior Kurtis Peters said he thinks the new guidelines could relieve some of the tailgating problems.
"It will change some things that I do while tailgating," Peters said.
"But I think it gives people the freedom to hang out with each other and have a good time while solving the problems that come when people get uncontrollably drunk."
Political theory and constitutional democracy junior Chris Brigman said he disagrees.
"What are they doing here, trying to turn tailgating into a wine and cheese party?" he said about the drinking game restrictions, adding he doesn't think the ban will cut down on excessive alcohol use.
"It seems like they're taking away what people enjoy about tailgating. I doubt we're all going to go out there and stand around - I'd just as soon tailgate in my front yard."
Jaclyn Roeschke can be reached at roeschk1@msu.edu.
Scott Cendrowski can be reached at cendrow3@msu.edu.
