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Lisa Rich/Arizona Daily Wildcat
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Officer Andrew Valenzuela goes over a minor-in-possession citation with a student who was cited for underage drinking Friday night near East First Street and North Highland Avenue. Extra officers were patrolling Friday and Saturday night to enforce underage drinking laws during fraternity bid night and the holiday weekend.
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By Holly Wells
Arizona Daily Wildcat
September 6, 2005
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Labor Day weekend and bid night celebrations collided, bringing parties, police and minor-in-possession citations to campus Friday and Saturday.
An extra police squad was on hand to help keep an eye on campus partygoers, and the fraternities will be footing the bill for the security squad, said UAPD spokesman Sgt. Eugene Mejia.
Mejia said there were about 20 citations given out for underage drinking between Friday night and early Saturday morning.
Exact figures were not yet available because of the holiday yesterday, so Mejia said it was hard to compare the number of citations given out this weekend to citations given out during other weekends.
Mejia said generally bid night parties, which are an accumulation of fraternity rush activities, mean more student citations.
Mejia said campus fraternities have paid to have the extra police squad on duty for security during bid night for several years.
"It's something the department has worked out with them. If they're going to have alcohol and big parties, we don't want that to impact our normal resources," Mejia said.
UAPD officer Andrew Valenzuela, who was patrolling Friday night, said he had issued more underage drinking citations than he would on a normal night.
Valenzuela said along with the bid night celebrations, the Labor Day holiday played a role in the number of citations issued.
Any time there is a big holiday the number of MIPs goes up because students are celebrating, he said.
UAPD officer Sarah Arrasmith, who was also patrolling Friday night, said police give out MIPs to enforce liquor laws.
Arrasmith said there are usually a higher number of citations issued during bid nights.
Valenzuela said police have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to underage drinking.
Underage drinking can lead to other more dangerous activities, Mejia said.
