Throw a party -- but don't get busted

The smell of beer, liquor and cigarettes, the blurred vision and the sight of flashing blue and red lights through the window is a scene all too familiar to many college students. It's the scene of cops busting a party. The Princeton Review may have given IU its new national reputation as the No. 1 party school, but that doesn't mean students can party all year long and not worry about getting busted. \nAccording to seniors Kevin Sayler and Rebecca Marsh, a good party has a lot of people, a keg and good music. Ironically, Lt. Tom Miles of Indiana State Police Excise District 5 says those are the exact same things that attract the police.\n"Parties get busted a lot just from someone on patrol driving by," Miles says. "The long lines and people holding empty cups are sure signs that something is going on."\nLoud noise is a key signal to police that a rambunctious party may be going on. So while it may seem cool to turn the volume up to 80 decibels, it won't seem so cool when the fines come due. Marsh learned that lesson the hard way at Little 500 this past year.\n"We had a band playing in our garage," Marsh says. "The cops came because of the noise ordinance. Things had gotten really loud."\nDespite the risk, Marsh says music is crucial to throwing a good party.\n"Hip hop is usually pretty popular at parties, but get me drunk and I'll dance to Britney Spears," Marsh says.\nEven if the music volume is kept to a minimum, it's also important to know how many people are at the party. While to potential party promoters it might seem like a good idea to invite all their closest friends and all of their closest friends, the more invites, the higher the probability of the cops showing up. \n"We send the word out about our parties to friends and people we have classes with," Sayler says. "We never want things to get overcrowded, though."\nJill Coleman, a junior, says guests overflowing into the lawn is a big mistake. People outside, beer in hand, she says, will attract the cops more than anything.\n"I've been at a party that was busted before, and the reason the cops came is because of everyone standing around drinking in the yard," Coleman says.\nThose in charge of a party should take care to know everyone in attendance. An unknown partier could be an undercover officer. Miles says the State Police sometimes send undercover agents to scout out any illegal activity. If the agent spots underage drinkers inside, it gives cops the go-ahead to investigate and question people leaving or entering the party.\nBesides good music and a nice crowd of people, most college parties have one major thing in common: alcohol. Be it beer or Everclear, it's no secret that some students go to parties just for the intoxication factor. So while anyone over the age of 21 can legally consume those beverages, everyone has a reason to worry when the cops show up.\n"Supplying to a minor is a class C misdemeanor," Miles says. "That's a $500 fine and up to six months in jail."\nWhile checking IDs at the door might seem like an inconvenience and might keep out those young, eager freshman, avoiding the consequences may outweigh whatever benefits of allowing minors into a party.\nAs if music volume, potential underage consumers and crowd capacity weren't enough for party-throwers to worry about, the Indiana state legislature is discussing the possibility of a keg-tracking and registration policy. Keg buyers in a few months might have to report exactly where the keg is going to be. Marsh supports this proposal. \n"We had a keg stolen from our house at one of our parties last year," she says. "In that sense, it's a good idea to have a tracking policy."\nMarsh adds that those over 21 buying a keg shouldn't have anything to worry about. She says that the registration and tracking is only bad for underage drinkers if it leads the police to the party they are at.\nMiles says it's not difficult to have a party that won't get busted.\n"Just keep away underage drinkers," Miles says. "It's not hard to do, and for any party held someplace other than your home, you need a permit to have alcohol. Those have to be signed by us, so we know about those parties ahead of time. Those parties really try and shy away from having people under 21"