By next fall, students could face a hefty fine for playing flip cup in their front yards.

But they might not be facing jail time.

Tonight, the East Lansing City Council will consider revisions to the city's party noise ordinance that would eliminate the possibility of sending offenders to jail, but add outdoor drinking games to a list of activities that could lead to a fine.

East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said the revised law could give officers on patrol a reason to investigate parties if they notice outdoor drinking games are being played.

"An officer can stop and enforce the noise ordinance without a complaint," Wibert said.

The current law went into effect in 2003 and allows East Lansing residents to be ticketed for parties in which two or more indicators are present. The five indicators are a common source of alcohol, a live band, a charge to gain entrance or to drink, any amplified sound directed outside the building and having more than one person for every 20 square feet of habitable space on the premises.

The tickets can carry a penalty of three days in jail or a $1,000 fine.

Under the revised law, jail time would be replaced with 72 hours of community service.

East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh said it's not the city's intent to ban drinking games outright nor to discourage students from tailgating before football games.

"We're trying to deal with the issue of noise, not what people are doing in their free time," Singh said. "It's not an issue of whether people want to play drinking games."

One revision to the law would require a crowd of at least 50 people for the party noise penalties to apply.

East Lansing's University Student Commission recommended the party noise penalties only apply from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. — but that recommendation hasn't been addressed in the draft of the law.

Singh said he thought the recommendation of the time constraint was a "good compromise," and he'll explore the possibility of adding that provision to the law.

Shawn Penrice, a supply chain management senior, said he'd be more receptive to the proposed law if it only applied during hours when people are normally sleeping — although he called the drinking games restrictions "absurd."

"We're all adults, I don't think City Council should be telling us what we can do on our property," Penrice said.

Singh said he'd like to settle the issue as soon as possible.

"I'd rather get it done now so when we're starting up in the fall everyone knows what the rules of engagement are," he said.

But Steve Japinga, a political science and pre-law junior and chairman of the student commission, said it would be a mistake for council to make a decision on the issue during the summer without first hearing more input from students.

Singh said he hopes to schedule a public hearing on the matter for the council's April 18 meeting — the last chance to do so while classes are still in session at MSU.

The student commission will discuss the noise ordinance at its meeting today, and Japinga said he plans to attend City Council's work session afterward.

"It's very important for students to make it to this work session," he said.