It's just not the same.
Walking around campus on the morning of a game day, there is now an air of relative calm. People are quieter and more restrained; gone are the beer bong tables, "drinko" games and the wild fervor for Spartan football.
The tailgating restrictions passed by the MSU Board of Trustees have made a mark, but despite the dampened spirit of tailgating, it's hard to contend that it's a bad one.
An environmental journalism class' analysis of the before-and-after effects of the new tailgating restrictions - which limit tailgating hours and outlaw drinking games - have found they had a positive affect on the amount of trash being left on MSU's campus.
Among the most striking statistics gathered was an almost 100-hour reduction in the number of man hours needed to clean up tailgating waste and the cutback of five people to help in the process.
If you've ever walked around campus after the game you'd know it's a can collector's paradise, littered with crushed and discarded beer cans. About 400 cubic yards of trash are collected on average per game.
Even more significant is the dramatic reduction in the number of arrests the East Lansing Police Department is reporting, which also fell by about 100. The number of people incapacitated plummeted from 77 to two. It's probably harder to pass out if you can't ingest an entire beer within just a few gulps from a beer bong. Among the numerous alcohol consumers, the average blood alcohol level plummeted from .149 to .089.
Perhaps the abatement in drinking is keeping people's minds clear enough to remember to pick up their trash before they leave. Among the most frequently found types of trash were souvenir cups, cardboard trays and plastic water bottles. It's uncivilized that these things weren't making it into waste bins in the first place.
With all these statistics, it's hard to argue with the MSU Board of Trustees' imposition of the restrictions. The actual, physical campus is better off with less tailgating.
Still, you can't help but feel the intensity of our celebrations has changed. The tailgating experience might seem just plain boring now, compared to the unruly celebrations that used to ensue at the rock and the tennis courts.
If it's faded from memory, let's not forget that outlandish style of partying was blamed for an alleged rape during the Sept. 18 game against Notre Dame. No matter how fun the chaotic nature of celebrations, MSU students seem to always have a way of taking it too far with rapes, riots and - less atrocious, yet still significant - trash.
As we come upon the next step in alcohol-related statutes - the proposition of banning open alcohol on campus, except for tailgating and other special events - it's not hard to see where the board will probably lean on this issue. The statistics gathered from the student body and police have only shown a positive effect on celebration at MSU from earlier restrictions.
Just as we've lost our all-agricultural curricula to become a modern university of specialized disciplines, it might be about time we make efforts to ditch the party school image and opt for something a little more becoming. Perhaps, a great place to earn an education?
