Police prepare for hectic weekend

Commencement weekend at IU brings together the high spirits of graduates with a temporary invasion of students' friends and relatives. But for police officers, this match is not always a positive, as graduation can sometimes deliver officers with a full weekend of parties and parking tickets.\nGraduation almost inevitably leads to celebration as parties begin to pop up around campus during the weekend. \nBut Capt. Joe Qualters of the Bloomington Police Department said, depending on the weather, the party scene is usually "hit or miss."\n"If everything is perfect, then we'll have a pretty busy weekend," Qualters said. "But if the weather isn't great, you tend to see less of a social atmosphere around town."\nSgt. Don Schmuhl of the IU Police Department said in addition to the graduation parties, officers usually see a slight increase in alcohol arrests and vandalism. Schmuhl attributed the increase in these crimes to end-of-the-year celebrations students partake in after finals week. \nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said more often than not, the parties during commencement weekend create little trouble for the police. Generally, he said, the parties are between close friends and family members and rarely cause much disturbance.\nWhile the party scene is usually dependent on the weather, a huge increase in traffic during graduation weekend always arrives, come rain or shine. \nQualters said the large number of visitors who are unfamiliar with the city streets often lead to an increase in traffic accidents. And when coupled with the large amount of students who are driving home for the summer, Qualters said the traffic congestion becomes even worse.\nEven though the mass of visitors can create traffic problems, Doug Porter, manager of IU Parking Operations, said parking is generally not a major concern during commencement weekend. \nPorter said since most of the students on campus have gone home before Saturday, a lot of parking space is made available for the visitors. The majority of the parking problems occur during graduation as the lot outside Assembly Hall tends to fill up quickly, he said. \nMinger said that while parking does not become a major issue of concern for IUPD during the weekend, officers will frequently monitor fire lanes and other illegal parking zones to make sure no one has parked illegally. \nDespite the increased activity over the weekend, Qualters said BPD does not make any significant changes to their scheduling. During commencement weekend, BPD does not cancel days off or increase the amount of officers on duty. IUPD, however, utilizes all of its officers during the ceremonies Saturday. \nSchmuhl said the majority of the officers work at Assembly Hall directing traffic and providing assistance to members in attendance. \nIn trying to make the weekend run as smoothly as possible and enjoyable for everyone, Qualters and Schmuhl agreed that partygoers should keep in mind those people around them while they are having a good time. \nQualters said when police arrive at a party, they are almost always responding to noise or some other complaint that was filed by a neighbor. He suggested that students who have parties keep everyone inside and hold the volume to a minimum. \n"Some students feel this is a good time to have one last blast without running into any trouble," Qualters said. "But a memorable moment for some individuals might lead to some damage or arrests. Just keep the party down and under control, and the weekend will be a lot better for everyone"