“It got to a point where we had the backyard filled, the driveway filled and the garage filled, and we absolutely stopped letting people in,” O’Sullivan said. “I would think it was only because it’s Welcome Week — I definitely wouldn’t plan on doing anything like this during the school year.”

Although the celebrations might be growing, so are the number of alcohol-related citations during Welcome Week.

In 2007, there were 82 alcohol-related incidents on campus. There were 46 in 2004 and 35 in 2003, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said. From 2003 to 2007, that’s an increase of 134 percent.

Both the number of arrests and incidents on campus and in the city still are being compiled for this year’s Welcome Week.

“Students are going to go out and experience being away from home for the first time — it’s natural they’d want to experience what that’s like,” she said. “Students just need to remember if they make the decision to drink, they will have to face the penalty it will bring against them.”

The MSU Board of Trustees implemented a ban on open-alcohol containers on campus in 2005 as the result of some out-of-control tailgating, Trustee Melanie Foster said.

“I think it’s made Welcome Week celebrations more civilized (because) I think it helps curb overindulgence,” she said.

However, East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said he doesn’t think the university’s ban has had much of an effect on the amount of drinking during Welcome Week — East Lansing has had the same ban since the late 1980s.

“People tend to flock to the city during Welcome Week, and it’s usually been (that) we have a crowd over on our side of the street. There’s almost nobody on the other side of the street,” he said, referring to the fact that most students typically stay north of Grand River Avenue.

The number of alcohol-related citations have increased in the city as well. In 2007, there were 205 minor in possession citations and 212 open-alcohol citations, and in 2002 there were 64 and 47 during the respective Welcome Weeks. That’s an increase of 220 percent for minor in possession citations and an increase of 351 percent for open-alcohol citations.

A lot of the problem with Welcome Week is that many participating do not attend MSU, Wibert said.

“We are a destination for everywhere in the state. People tend to flock here,” he said. “People think it’s MSU students that cause problems, (but) over half the time it’s not.”

There were 106 individuals arrested during Welcome Week 2007, and 59 of them were not affiliated with the university.

MSU students appear to be behaving better during Welcome Week than they did a few years ago, said Ted Staton, city manager of East Lansing.

“It seems as if noise is less, and the size of the parties tend to be smaller,” he said. “But some ways it’s worse — there are predators from outside the area that come in and assault the sites.”

The increase in the number of police officers on the street may be what contributes to the increase in alcohol-related citations, Staton said.

“As we have had more and more police officers on the street to help keep peace and protect from predatory behaviors, they’re also more likely to catch more less serious offenses,” he said.

Some choose to opt out of the drunken festivities that many consider an informal holiday. Arts and humanities sophomores Carrie Frazier and Laura Fosmire attended UFEST Friday, an event at the Union that includes live music, activities and giveaways for students.

“For me it’s more fun — at parties you can only do so much,” Fosmire said.

People tend to make too big of a deal about Welcome Week, Frazier said.

“Especially after witnessing Cedar Fest last year, I don’t think it’s as crazy as people make it out to be,” she said. “It’s just kids having a good time before school starts.”