Trash and the 'drunk tank'

While many of you spent Sunday recovering from the weekend, some of your unlucky peers spent the day picking up trash. These unfortunate individuals received drinking tickets and were forced to come up with $327 within 48 hours if they didn't want to go to jail.\nAs I was reviewing yesterday's IUPD Blotter, my favorite part of the IDS, I recognized a few names, including some of my good friends who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. I decided to get the full story about how they received drinking tickets.\nLast Friday night Sandy* drank a beer after the women's race. Her team placed well and although she is 20, she assumed one beer wouldn't hurt. Her friend drove home, but before they reached the driveway an Indiana State Trooper stopped them. Sandy blew a .02 Blood Alcohol Content level. The officer told her to go to court Sunday morning but he failed to mention that she needed to bring $327 with her. When she arrived at court, the clerk kindly informed her that if she couldn't pay the fine she would spend the night in jail. Luckily, she could use her credit card, but she still spent the rest of the afternoon picking up trash and attending an alcohol class.\nI don't understand the significance of making 100 students pick up trash. Although this form of community service may benefit the environment, it is a waste of time for 100 people to be collecting napkins simultaneously. These students aren't learning anything. A better form of community service would be making these students volunteer at a soup kitchen or a nursing home. At a soup kitchen, they could learn the importance of helping the less fortunate. At a nursing home, they could learn the value of respecting their elders.\nI also do not understand making a young woman who consumed one beer attend an alcohol class. She is not an alcoholic; she doesn't have problems with substance abuse. She simply made a minor mistake that is now costing her the money she was saving for college tuition. Sandy didn't have to spend the night in jail, but some of her peers weren't so fortunate.\nOn Saturday afternoon Katie* drank four beers and a few shots of vodka. She decided to leave the men's race early because she was feeling ill. She took off for her residence on foot, but before she made it home, an undercover officer stopped her. He was driving a Jeep Wrangler and was dressed in an ordinary black polo shirt with a star on the sleeve. He asked her if she had consumed alcohol. And before she knew it, she was in handcuffs being escorted to the Monroe County Jail. \nShe spent 12 hours in the "drunk tank." The conditions of the small room were unbearable. Katie joined 11 people on the cement floor for the remainder of the evening. The room was covered in vomit and urine, and she was not given any food or water. I could understand these conditions if Katie committed a serious crime, but she is a 20-year-old who drank too much. And if the point of the drunk tank is to give people time to sober up, at least give them some water. \nAccording to the IUPD Blotter, in three days, the IUPD arrested 37 people for alcohol-related incidents. Because of the $327 fine, 37 drunk college kids were essentially worth $12,099. It seems like a pretty high price to pay for court costs and a pointless alcohol class. \n* Names of students were changed due to pending court dates