MSU’s police department also has a peace team with the East Lansing police department, which is a collaborative team featuring two officers from MSU and two from East Lansing. These officers work together to track intel in both the on and off-campus areas to prevent crimes before they happen.

“We work to educate our campus and our community on what to do and what not to do and the resources that are available,” Whyte said. 

Officers follow a robust safety and security plan on days that are anticipated to be busier. 

“We may call in additional officers or provide additional patrolling in specific areas, but ultimately, it depends on the event and what intel we’re receiving and how we would respond,” Whyte said. 

In terms of campus life, MSU deputy spokesperson Dan Olsen said the majority of students do the right thing in situations like these.

“Students we know look out for each other,” Olsen said. “During celebrations, nine out of 10 students choose to watch out for their friends during celebratory events and making sure that their friends get home safely."

Student health and wellness data shows that 91% of students say they stick with the same group of friends while they're drinking or celebrating to keep themselves safe, 66% of students disapprove of bragging about being drunk and 94% disapprove of drinking to the point of over-intoxication and passing out.

“From the university's perspective, we put a lot of effort and focus on what we call social norms,” Olsen said. “These are important pieces of information that we do share leading into celebratory types of events to make sure that students know what their fellow Spartans are doing.” 

Olsen said when individuals are acting in a way that puts the public's health and safety at risk, that's when MSU engages with campus and police department partners to make sure safety is brought to those spaces.