UAPD to dancers: The beat stops here

Charles C. Labenz Arizona Daily Wildcat The UA funded school dance "Study Break" hosted by UA residence halls and ASUA was forced to shut down early by university police for noise pollution. Frederic Simon, one of the three disc jockeys, plays a record at last year's "Study Break" on the UA Mall, which was not broken up by police.

Drawn by three disc jockeys spinning techno music, about 300 students had gathered on the UA Mall when University of Arizona Police Department officers arrived at 10:45 p.m. and cut off the music because the dance had received too many complaints, said Jason Hand, the party's organizer.

The event, sponsored by Graham-Greenlee Residence Hall and funded by 13 residence halls and Associated Students of the University of Arizona, started about 8 p.m. and was scheduled to continue until midnight. Hand said the party cost about $2,500.

"It was drug-free and alcohol-free," Hand said. "It was a free party open to anybody who wanted to show up."

Co-organizer Josh Hoover, a computer engineering junior who spun music he described as "happy hard-core," said the crowd was well-behaved and the only problem at the dance was the police pulling the plug.

"People were really starting to show up and everybody seemed to be having a great time," Hoover said.

"I don't know why they (the police) had it out for us, we were really compliant with what they told us to do," he said.

Cmdr. Brian Seastone of UAPD acknowledged police responded to the party, but could not provide any details or information about complaints because he hadn't received the police report.

The patrolling officer who closed the dance, Cpl. Juan Alvarez, was off-duty yesterday and unavailable for comment.

Arizona state law prohibits disorderly conduct, which is defined as conduct disturbing to any reasonable and prudent person, Seastone said.

Fine arts senior Frederic Simon, who was spinning records when the party was shut down, said the police action was unfair. As a UA sponsored event, it should be treated like Spring Fling and football games, which are not closed when neighbors complain, he said.

Hand had received complaints from the operations manager of the Student Union and a warning from UAPD, but was cooperative and turned down the volume three times, he said.

Initially, high volume and bass shook windows in the Student Union, but Hand said he worked with the operations manager and turned down the sound until it couldn't be heard inside the building.

"I was very cooperative with him and worked to accommodate his complaint, but I saw him about a half-hour later and he said he had called the police," Hand said.

The operations manager on duty Friday night could not be reached for comment and Student Union officials were not familiar with the incident.

When UAPD officers arrived about 9 p.m., they said they had received several anonymous complaints and threatened to close the party if they got more, Hand said.

Hand and two friends working security for the party went to the end of the Mall near Campbell Avenue to monitor the sound, he said.

Using two-way radios, Hand said they communicated with the sound engineer to turn down the volume until it could not be heard in the Sam Hughes neighborhood.

"I wanted to make absolutely sure that we were not going to get shut down," he said.

Education sophomore Dan Lacapa, who was on the security team for the dance, went to Campbell Avenue to monitor the noise at about 9:30 p.m., he said. Though he could not hear rave music, he visited several houses on Third Street near Campbell to see whether residents were bothered by any noise.

"I talked to five couples, and they all said they could not hear the music at all," Lacapa said.

UA police arrived for a second time and ordered the music to be turned off, Hand said.

Hoover said the police said the people could remain on the Mall, but without music there was no use.

"The people said, 'That sucks,' and then they left," he said.

"The police said we must have turned up the volume, but I was responsible for the sound and it didn't go up at all," Hoover said.