“I was puking in the community bathrooms, and next thing I know, the cops were telling me to come out,” he said.

“When I got out, there were three of them waiting for me. They made me blow on the spot then took me down to their car.”

Schmidt’s citation was one of more than 150 given out by the MSU police since Aug. 28, 2011, and one of more than 350 in East Lansing — from both the MSU and East Lansing police departments.

Although the number of MIP citations issued by both departments has declined in recent years, it still is a process hundreds of students deal with on a daily basis.

But, depending on where students receive their citation, the way the charge affects them could differ greatly.

MIP punishments in East Lansing vary greatly from those received on campus.

The MSU and East Lansing police departments operate as separate entities, but share the same court, meaning students can face very different situations depending on which department issued their ticket.

The morning after
The week after Schmidt received his MIP, he went into East Lansing’s 54-B District court for his arraignment and entered a guilty plea.

If the individual is issued the citation on campus, his or her case will go through the Ingham County Prosecutor’s office and will have their charges reduced to a civil infraction after going through a statutory diversion program, which consists of paying about $383 in fines and costs, an alcohol awareness class and three months of probation, East Lansing Assistant City Attorney Dave Meyers said.

If the citation is issued elsewhere in East Lansing, first time offenders have an option of going through the diversion program or going through a deferral program, which involves a $550 fine and alcohol awareness class but no probation, Meyers said.

Because Schmidt was ticketed on campus, he currently is going through the diversion process and as part of his probation he must wake up every morning, call into the probation office by 8 a.m., and on random days, show up to the office and pay $6 to take a Breathalyzer test.

Only a few weeks into the probation, Schmidt said the process already has become discouraging.
“I’m looking forward to the day when this is all behind me,” he said.

“My friends are out drinking while I’m just sitting off in the corner sober, and it makes it even worse thinking about how I have to get up early the next morning to blow.”

Everyone issued a ticket or cited with a crime must be arraigned to have the charges formally brought to their attention, but the ASMSU Legal Services attorneys recommend pleading not guilty so they have a chance of nullifying charges.

ASMSU Legal Services is a group of attorneys provided by MSU’s student government and paid for with student tax dollars collected by ASMSU. All students have access to their legal advice and representation.

Director of Legal Services Andrew Block said 99 percent of the crimes they deal with are alcohol-related, and although there are not many defenses against MIP charges, there are ways to fight them.

Block said the most effective defense is lack of probable cause, such as police officers entering a property without a warrant or permission to enter. However each defense is based on the circumstances of their report.

“The facts of the case usually aren’t that simple,” Block said.

“That’s why you come to the lawyers to help make the legal arguments, and it really does vary case by case.”

For those first-time offenders who don’t have an applicable defense, a plea bargain generally is the next step.

A broken record
One of Schmidt’s main concerns has been finding a job before his probation is completed.

He began applying to several jobs and internships for the upcoming summer right around the time of his MIP, and he is not sure how his probation will affect his standing.

“It just sucks for me because I’m applying for an accounting job right now, and if they see that on my record, then I probably won’t be considered for it,” he said.

A deferral program was developed by East Lansing officials within the past two years because many individuals noticed the MIP charge still showed up on their record after going through the diversion program, Meyers said.

With the deferral program the charge is removed from the individual’s record with no prejudice, meaning as long as he or she is not charged with a misdemeanor or felony within the next 90 days, the charge is replaced with a littering citation.

“The defendants are happy to have an option of removing the charge from their records without going through probation,” he said. “It resolves a number of cases that wouldn’t have been resolved before.”

Only a handful of individuals have elected to take the probation when given the option, Meyers said.

On the decline
Block said the Legal Services office has seen an abnormally high number of MIP cases during the past month, and although he said the large incoming freshman class might have contributed to those numbers, he credits it to increased police work.

“If a certain percentage get MIPs in a class and you increase that class size, you are going to get a higher number (of reports),” Block said.

“I think it also has to do with greater enforcement. I think that there’s been a higher emphasis on (alcohol-related) crimes.”

Johnson said although MIPs are a constant issue on and near college campuses, the trend at MSU during the past several years has seen on a steady decline.

In 2005, the East Lansing Police department issued 1,141 MIPs, more than 200 during Welcome Week alone, while in 2010 they issued 674 during the course of the year with 115 during fall move-in.

Between 2005 and 2010, the number of alcohol violations given out by the MSU Police Department peaked at 745 in 2007 but dropped to a low in 2010 with 496.

Johnson said the East Lansing Police Department hasn’t done anything different in recent years than in years past, and he attributes the change to a cultural shift at MSU and in East Lansing.

“Our saying is that we want to make sure people are paying attention to laws and the students are more educated and law-abiding,” he said. “We try (to) speak positively of the community.”