'Something we're obligated to do'

By Rachel Schwartz

Santa Clara police don't want to break up your party.

That's what local authorities and university administrators told students last Thursday at an Associated Students-sponsored forum designed to help students have fun responsibly.

"We would rather not enforce parties, but it is something we're obligated to do," Sgt. Gabrielle Seagrave said.

Officials suggested ways that students could have fun, but avoid first-response violations surrounding noise complaints -- known informally among students as "48s" -- and curb underage drinking in the community.

Santa Clara police are usually dispatched to a party following a noise complaint from a neighbor. Although students might encourage their neighbors to call them before the police, Seagrave reminded students that their neighbors have been dealing with partying students for years and might not have patience to deal with drunken revelers.

The police will also stop a party if they see people leaving private property while still carrying alcohol, or if they find underage partiers consuming alcohol.

"Most of the time we're just trying to tell you to quiet down your party," Seagrave said.

Seagrave and Officer Tyson Green stressed the importance of having students manage their own parties. Posting a person at the door to regulate people coming and going, warning neighbors about planned festivities, refusing to serve alcohol to underage attendees, and asking people to leave quietly are all ways to prevent the police from having to show up or shut down a party.

Junior Eric Eklund attended the forum in hopes of gaining a better understanding of when and why police break up parties. "I have lots of parties at my house so I want to make things as good as possible with the police," he said.

Eklund said that he and his housemates, who live in the 600 block of Lafayette Street, have taken measures like sound-proofing their walls and blacking out their windows to make their house party-friendly and to keep police from breaking up their parties.

But it's not only Santa Clara students who cause problems, one official said. Greg Saldivar, Santa Clara County Superior Court commissioner, warned students of the dangers of non-students crashing nearby parties.

"They come to your parties, drink your beer, flirt with your women and get in fights," Saldivar said. "They're not nice people."

Saldivar reiterated that police show up to ensure safety, and that students should not be afraid to make a call if they see something that does not seem quite right.

"As long as there's nothing really bad going on, they're just going to shut the party down, not arrest everyone," Saldivar said.

Green, a Santa Clara alumnus, said students should know that officers understand what it is like to be in college and that most officers have an empathetic ear.

Although there has been a slight increase in the numbers of first-response citations issued this school year, Santa Clara students are partying about as hard as they always have, Seagrave said.

The Associated Students Current University Issues Committee sponsored the forum. Sen. Austin Woody said that dialogue between students and police is positive.

"It gives students the tools to be better neighbors and students," he said.

Matthew Duncan, associate dean for student life, acknowledged that partying is part of the college experience. He said that there has been a number of "close calls" -- referring to students who almost required emergency medical attention -- this year but hopes that students will heed the information provided during the forum and reduce what he called "high-risk" alcohol usage.

At least 22 students in the past year have required transport to the hospital due to alcohol poisoning, and at least 48 have been examined by Emergency Medical Services for an alcohol-related injury.