Representatives from both the IU Student Association and the Bloomington Police Department met Wednesday to discuss the issues raised by IUSA in a letter they mailed to BPD in early September.\nJudd Arnold, IUSA vice president of administration, said the meeting improved relations between IUSA and BPD, and hoped the two organizations would work together to better inform students about the expectations of the BPD and the city of Bloomington regarding public intoxication.\n"It was a positive meeting," said Arnold, a junior. "We didn't agree on everything, but we're working toward a common goal and that's a good thing."\nIUSA's letter called the police department's tactics on alcohol arrests "unfair" and felt police were "fueling an adversarial relationship with students."\nThe letter also accused BPD of increasing its scrutiny of parties and arresting people walking home from the bars intoxicated.\nBut BPD Sgt. William Parker said in an interview Sept. 3 that his department doesn't have enough officers to wait around on IU students walking back drunk from bars.\nBoth IUSA president Bill Gray and IUSA treasurer Blair Greenberg accepted invitations from the BPD to do a "ride-along" with the officers, Arnold said.\n"This was a great first step in building a lasting, working relationship with the BPD and IU students," Arnold said. "We disagree on many specifics, but all agree that safety is the most important issue."\nArnold said he and the rest of the IUSA officials planned to come up with an objective list of what BPD officers look for when they make an arrest for public intoxication.\n"We tried to get the message across that students are scared to walk home," he said. "(BPD) gave us arrest figures, but we think arrest statistics are irrelevant -- the issue is that people are scared."
Staff reporter Corinne Reynolds contributed to this story.
