Recent tailgating regulations have caused much debate among students.
"The biggest concern from the greek point of view is that tailgating won't be as fun," IFC president Clint Rissman said. "It's not that greeks think that the new regulations are something negative, it's just something new that everyone is going to have to get used to."
Other members of the greek community are frustrated with what they feel is one more regulation affecting their organization.
"I feel like they have taken away the fun. This was the last thing to hold on to." Alpha Tau Omega member Andy Pollen said. "All the parties are dry and now they're cracking down on this (tailgating)."
Pollen said he realizes the need for the university to regulate tailgating, but he said the time restriction from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. is too extreme.
"I agree things need to be regulated," Pollen said. "But we used to get out there at 8 a.m. and now we can't get out there until 10."
Pollen is not alone in his stance on the time restrictions.
"I think it's ridiculous," regularly-attending tailgater junior Jarrett Feinstein said. "If they make people leave, they will go home and keep drinking."
"The school told the greek community that homecoming was a test," said sophomore Lamda Chi Alpha member Ryan Blake. "People still tailgated and the stands were packed. They had more student support at Homecoming than they had the entire year."
Fiji fraternity member Mike Lang said the point of tailgating was to get psyched up for the game. He added that 95 percent of the FIJI tailgaters do attend the game after tailgating.
Not all students see the changes in tailgating as a negative thing.
"Some students do use it as a reason to party instead of something they do before the game," graduate student Kylee Thomas said. "I heard last time that some 3,000 students were tailgating. Just imagine if we could get that crowd in the stands."
Some greek organizations feel they will be targeted unfairly during tailgating, but they do have concerns about how they will be treated by police.
"We don't feel it's a direct hit on greeks," Lang said. "But we are highly visible during tailgating because we wear our letters and put up our flags."
Lang said he fears police will be more apt to search a larger group of people congregating than the smaller groups who are not identified as campus symbols.
"The police are just doing their job and there shouldn't be underage drinking anyway," Phi Sigma Kappa president Steve Troike said.
"The number one thing to remember is the university wants tailgating to be safe." Lang said. "We just don't approve of how they are choosing to implement the regulations."
The regulations are not only affecting students, but alumni who attend as well.
"They put in their dues," Troike said. "They should be able to sit out in the parking lot wihtout a time limit."
Rissman said he feels that though students do not approve of the regulations, they need to comply.
"The university is working well on this matter with students," Rissman said. "The bottom line is the new regulations are not up for negotiations."
Students debate tailgating issue
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