Drunkenness, profanity, nudity, littering, throwing objects at floats will be prohibited

Every year, students attend Homecoming festivities expecting to find free food, parade floats carrying screaming students and, almost always, alcohol.

But students who plan on heading to the UA Mall for Saturday's events can also expect to find the enforcement of countless rules, many regarding alcohol, trash and behavior.

The Homecoming code of conduct is in effect again this year, regulating the drinking, profanity, trash and content of every student group who participates in the parade or tent activities.

If the code isn't enough to control students, officers from the University of Arizona Police Department will be watching for underage drinking and ensuring the safety of every student, faculty member and alumnus who comes to the events, UAPD Cmdr. Brian Seastone said.

Staff at the Alumni Association, members of the student alumni association and students from the Bobcats Senior Honorary will be on the lookout for students or student groups that break any of the homecoming codes of conduct.

The codes regulate parade floats by prohibiting alcohol, intoxicated people and any inappropriate profanity or nudity. Throwing anything from or onto the homecoming floats is also a violation

The code prohibits disorderly conduct at the Homecoming tents, excessive trash and violating any of the rules concerning the distribution of alcoholic beverages.

If the code of conduct is broken, the group that the student who broke the rule belongs to may be asked not to participate in Homecoming next year. This can include being excluded from parade entry, having a tent on the Mall or having alcohol at the tent for the following year.

The alumni association's staff, which includes 35 people, plans to pull individuals from the parade or tent activities if their behavior violates the code, said Angie Ballard, program coordinator for the Alumni Association.

"If the code of conduct is broken, individuals pulled may visit the dean's office, the code of conduct board or the Greek judiciary council depending (on the situation)," Ballard said.

Certain violations are worse than others, Ballard said. Someone throwing candy from a float is not as bad as showing up for the parade drunk, she said.

There are student groups not returning this year because of violations made last year, however none of the past problems were major violations, Ballard said.

The alumni association does not expect any big problems this year, she said.

UAPD will not be enforcing the Homecoming code of conduct, but will be looking for violations of federal law, Seastone said. Federal law violations include underage drinking and other alcohol-related incidents.

"If people are (drinking) underage we'll deal with that," Seastone said. "It is a tailgating area and we won't necessarily ask everyone with bracelets for identification."

Most often, students that get in trouble for underage drinking are originally approached for other reasons, Seastone said.

"Homecoming is a traditionally very festive day with relatively few problems," he said. "Safety will be our biggest concern."

Seastone said there are a number of officers assigned to various places on the Mall, but he wouldn't say how many.

"A high visibility of officers is a deterrent to crime," he said.

Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol, or GAMMA, will also step up checks during Homecoming, said Josh Surridge, interfraternity public relations spokesman.

Drinking on the Mall is governed by university policy, Surridge said. GAMMA will be on the Mall to ensure student safety and control parties happening at fraternities, Surridge said.

UAPD will also help direct traffic to the 7,000 parking spaces available to the public and not controlled by the UA, said Dick Strayer, program coordinator for parking and transportation services.

Most parking lots on campus are reserved for intercollegiate parking permits, Strayer said. The key to finding parking is to come early and be prepared to walk, he said.

Homecoming tailgating festivities begin at 1 p.m. on the Mall and the parade begins at 2:30 p.m. East Second Street from North Mountain Avenue to North Campbell Avenue and East First Street through campus will be closed from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for the parade, Ballard said.