Police were out in force as Ball State University students returned for another year, and officers on the lookout for alcohol violations found plenty to keep them busy.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Rod Russell said during opening weekend in Delaware County, 50 people were arrested for minor consumption of alcohol, 20 were for driving while intoxicated and 17 were for public intoxication.
Gene Burton, director of public safety at Ball State, said the number of arrests were lower than last year, though he wasn't able to specify how much.
The general age of those arrested over the weekend was between 18 and 23, which means that a percentage of those were underage.
Sophomore telecommunications major Caroline Farby said she thought the police were being reasonable while breaking up a party she was passing by.
"I was walking past a party that was getting busted, and the cops let everyone leave without punishment as long as they weren't driving," she said. "I find that to be a pretty reasonable solution."
Burton said the most important step for patrolling opening weekend was to partner with four other agencies.
The law enforcement agencies that worked with the campus police department were the Muncie Police Department, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, the Indiana State Excise Police and the Indiana State Police.
According to the campus police department's Web site, there were 143 arrests on-campus for liquor law violations in 2007, which was the most recent year that data was available. That was more than double the previous year, when 70 liquor-related arrests were recorded.
Campus liquor violations also resulted in 728 disciplinary actions or judicial references in 2007, according to records. That was up considerably from 2006, when 429 were recorded.
Campus officials discourage alcohol consumption, urging students to consider participating in alcohol-free events.
"Although you may think that drinking lots of alcohol is part of the college experience, most Ball State students don't drink to excess at parties," a statement from Student Affairs says.
The same statement reports that about two-thirds of Ball State students consume zero to four drinks while partying, and 62 percent drink two times a month or less.
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