From his rickety porch on Woodmere Avenue just south of Grand River Avenue, Chris Lincoln can see the entire block, with its patchy lawns and glass shards gleaming in the street.

In the heart of the Cedar Village area, the block has seen its share of weekend bashes, and the journalism and Spanish senior is quick to point out he's hosted a few.

"It's always entertaining," he said.

But in living on the student-occupied block, Lincoln and his neighbors have come to a common understanding.

"It's sort of an unspoken policy that no one calls on each other," he said.

That policy is failing.

Although Lincoln has never faced a penalty for his parties, students at other residence around him haven't fared as well.

In 2004 and 2005, those living on the party-prone block received 24 noise and unlawful party citations, including 16 at Woodmere apartments, 139 Woodmere Ave., and four at the Delta Chi Fraternity, 101 Woodmere Ave., which is located across the street from Lincoln's rental house.

Among all blocks in East Lansing, the 100 block of Woodmere Avenue received the second-most citations in the two-year span.

Lincoln said he's "heard rumors" of a student on a nearby block often calling the police to report noise in the area, adding that he's "never heard of any mystery cops coming in here without hearing complaints."

The situation on Woodmere Avenue is not uncommon.

In a State News analysis of various noise and party violations from 2004 and 2005 — including 1,025 noise, 41 unlawful party and two nuisance party violations — student neighborhoods were saturated with violations, while areas with more permanent residents had less concentrated problems.

The most ticketed areas were student apartment complexes such as The Landings at Chandler Crossings, (formerly Melrose Apartments), 16789 Chandler Road; Waters Edge, 1050 Waters Edge Drive; and Woodmere apartments, just down the street from Lincoln.

The Cedar Village area — where rental houses on Woodmere Avenue and River and Cedar streets are flanked by apartment complexes — is the home to several of the noisiest streets.

"You have to remember that people are out here to party," Lincoln said.

And because the population of the houses and apartments is nearly all students, it's likely most complaints are coming from other students.

Patrolling the midnight shift

The 100 and 200 blocks of Milford Street had 26 violations from 2004 to 2005. M.A.C. Avenue, where the streets are lined with sororities and fraternities, had 23 violations. The 100 blocks of Gunson Street and Durand Street were also two of the noisiest.

In addition, East Grand River Avenue, with Capitol Villa, Riverside and other apartments, had 62 violations.

To East Lansing police Officers Tom Wachowski and Jeff Thomas, it's common knowledge that a lot of the noise complaints come from students, even though tension between permanent residents and students continues to grow, they said.

Wachowski and Thomas gave out 309 noise tickets combined in the past two years, more than any other officers. They mostly work the midnight weekend shifts and handle many of the noise complaints.

There will be a spike in the number of complaints this weekend as some students celebrate the end of classes, while others study for final exams, Wachowski said.

"This is the time of year where we'll see even roommates calling on roommates," Wachowski said.

Wachowski and Thomas both said they rarely just stop at parties unless they've become a visible problem, such as when people climb on roofs or partyers throw glass bottles into the street.

Police said they don't have time on busy Friday and Saturday nights to look for noisy parties.

Most of the noise citations are given out after someone calls police with a complaint. There were more than 1,600 complaints in both 2004 and 2005 — three times more than the number of citations handed out.

Once they get to the property, if partyers are cooperative, Wachowski said police try to find a resident to take responsibility.

"We understand this is a college town," Thomas said. "We try to give them a break, rather than trying to arrest people. We're really there to fix the noise issue."

Thomas said instead of giving out MIPs or other tickets that could affect people's records or put points on their driver's licenses, he chooses to give out the noise tickets, which carry only fines.

When it comes to noise violations, police have two options. A misdemeanor offense, with a minimum $250 fine for a first infraction, is only given in residential neighborhoods from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. A lesser civil infraction is given by police at all other times and outside of residential areas.

Thomas said they've seen hundreds scatter from parties even before they've said anything to partygoers. It's a sign that underage drinking or other infractions might be present at the party, he said.

Police advise that cooperating can help. Not answering the door can cause police to have to take greater measures to quell the noise.

Partyers plead down citations

Human biology sophomore Jimmy Leland said he tried to be cooperative when the police showed up at his impromptu party in October — it probably didn't help that it was a Monday and Leland was smothered in mud.

"We decided to dig a mud pit and have mud wrestling," Leland said. "We've thrown some pretty ridiculous parties."

Leland received a noise violation and an MIP, but it didn't slow down him and his three roommates.

Since then, a visit from the East Lansing police has become a staple during weekend parties at their house on the 200 block of Milford Street.

"That night, we were like 'no more parties,''' said roommate and human biology junior Ben Bauer. "But then I think we had a huge party the next weekend."

Bauer, Leland and roommate Brad Dunkel, a supply chain management junior, said they are surrounded by other student renters, except for one nearby permanent resident, who they suspect called the police the night they were ticketed.

Despite the citation, the three students are proud of their hard-party living and were delighted to hear their block received the fourth-highest number of citations in 2004-05.

"Yeah!" Dunkel shouted to Leland. "We're No. 4, Jimbo."

When Wachowski and Thomas get to parties, they often see underage drinking, packed rooms, overflowing backyards, loud music and trash on lawns, they said.

Wachowski and Thomas said they usually just give noise citations, even though most parties they visit could also be ticketed as unlawful or nuisance parties.

They rarely give warnings because those don't help the problem, they said. Parties will get loud again after they leave, and Thomas said officers working on busy weekend nights usually don't have time to come back.

"I like to see the party dispersed," Wachowski said. "People that called expect us to do something. If we don't solve the problem while we're there, people are steamy the next morning, and they call the city, and they call the chief wondering why."

The data shows about 90 instances in which an address was given multiple tickets at the same time. In three examples, five tickets were given out at the same place at the same time, most recently at 404 Michigan Ave. early on Sept. 11.

Wachowski said that's usually a last resort as he tries to pick one resident to put in charge. But if the violation is severe or the residents choose to share the responsibility, multiple violations will be given out.

When a person receives a misdemeanor noise citation, the person or the person's lawyer must appear in court for an arraignment. But most citations are knocked down in pretrial conferences, assistant city attorney Tom Yeadon said.

"Most times, we do reduce it to a civil infraction," Yeadon said, "Unless there is some egregious conduct — if the people are uncooperative with the police department or something like that."

Students too noisy for peers

East Lansing police Lt. Kim Johnson said there are no general rules about the number of tickets given at a party, and whether a warning is issued before a citation is up to an officer's individual discretion.

He added that parties could be given multiple tickets based on their "magnitude."

In some cases, members of a band playing at a loud party could each be given a citation, he said.

Johnson said the data, which shows that 79 percent of the tickets are given between midnight and 3 a.m., shows that most members of the community are "extremely tolerant" and willing to let parties happen as long as they don't stretch into the early morning.

Johnson said the data that showed most citations are given in student-dominated areas is "surprising" and challenges his theory that most noise complaints are from the fringes of student areas, where permanent residents and renters must coexist, often butting heads.

Mayor Pro Tem Vic Loomis said he's heard as many concerns about noise from students as he has from permanent residents during his more than four years on City Council.

He said that the tension between permanent residents and students exists, but its level of intensity is exaggerated.

Loomis leases a house to students in the East Village area, and he's had renters who have told him they couldn't wait to move out after long nights of noise.

"There's a very small percentage of people that just don't know how to celebrate responsibly, and it causes concern for everyone else," Loomis said.

Merchandising management junior Emily Coffield said she was surprised to hear a knock on her Woodmere apartment door just after midnight last October —?after all, it was still early for a Saturday night in the Cedar Village area.

Coffield estimated there were about 50 to 75 people and a keg packed into the apartment, which she shares with child development junior Kimberly Storm, the night they both received noise citations.

Police said they had received three complaints about the party, Coffield said. But she wasn't the only one — her neighbors received a pair of citations that semester, and a student down the hall was issued one.

"It's the same person that keeps calling," said Coffield, adding that she's surprised students would call the police on each other instead of asking neighbors to quiet down.

As part of her rental agreement, Coffield and Storm risk being evicted if they get another violation within one year.

"Now, until the 16th of October, we can't have a party or else we'll be living in a box," Coffield said, laughing.

When she turned 21 later in the fall semester, only about 10 people were invited, she said.

"It's kind of ridiculous," she said. "Don't live in Cedar Village if you don't want to have a good time on the weekends.

"It still confuses me."

Cooperate. Some people won't answer their door, but that only causes officers to have to contact housing, seek warrants and arrest the residents. Answer the door and turn down the music, police said.

Be watchful for uninvited guests. They have nothing to lose and will sometimes steal and trash the place. When police arrive, they often give a noise citation and have no suspects the next morning for stolen property reports because residents don't know who was at the party, said East Lansing police Officer Tom Wachowski.

If your party gets out of control, call the police yourself. Wachowski said he rarely gives out a noise citation when residents ask for help.

Those "You must be 21 to drink" signs don't work. If anything, they put residents at a higher risk of being cited for not having a liquor license, Wachowski said.

Registering parties does not protect you from noise citations or allow you extra warnings. Police ask residents to register parties so that police can give them information on safe partying, and so police know who to talk to if there are complaints, police said.

Party violations defined

There are two different citations given out in East Lansing for illegal parties. Here is a rundown of what you could face by hosting a party in the city:

Unlawful party violation: Given to people who knowingly allow a minor to have alcohol or anyone to use controlled substances at their party. The first violation is punishable by up to 30 days in prison and a $500 fine, or both.

Nuisance party violation: Given to people who host parties that become a "nuisance" to the public, which could include illegally selling alcohol or partygoers urinating in public. The penalty can include a fine of up to $500 and court fees, as well as up to 90 days in prison, or both.

Source: City of East Lansing