Welcome Week arrests total 60, down fom 2004

IU Police Department reports show Welcome Week arrests decreased slightly from last year. \nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said officers made 60 arrests from Wednesday to Sunday, down from last year's 79, but still more than the 2003 total of 35. Each year, underage drinking -- formally called "illegal possession of alcohol" -- has made up the bulk of these numbers. \nDean of Students Richard McKaig said with 38,000 students flooding the campus, many are connecting with old friends or making new ones, and some social occasions will get wild. \n"We know that every year with the beginning of school, students have free time on their hands, and some make bad judgments," McKaig said.\nSeveral factors can affect the number of arrests police make in an evening, Minger said. Even so, that number does not accurately depict the true situations under which arrests occurred, Minger said. \n"People will always try to analyze those things. They limits themselves by saying there was more drinking or less drinking," he said.\nAlso, the number of arrests can be swayed if several officers are predisposed with another case, which is what happened this week. \nStarting at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, at least five IUPD officers were tangled up in a stolen property case for more than three hours. Police searched parking lots for vandalized vehicles, contacted people who had reported missing property and tracked down a stolen jeep, according the IUPD reports. \nAdditionally, just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday, two IUPD officers spent four hours at Bloomington Hospital, trying to identify four women admitted for alcohol poisoning. As the women slowly gained consciousness, officers interviewed them to determine if they had been drugged or sexually assaulted and tried to construct timelines for each woman's evening.\nOfficer Andy Stephenson, who has been with IUPD for nine years, worked nights during Welcome Week. He said this weekend began quieter than most, possibly because students were more discreet with their behavior than in the past. \n"Individuals who are arrested are generally those who have drawn the attention of police upon themselves," Stephenson said. "Overdose, damaging property, excessive noise, fighting and public nudity are a few examples of how these individuals come to our attention."\nFrom her five years of experience with IUPD, Officer Jennifer Buttice said this year was "pretty normal." She described typical Welcome Week behavior: "Plenty of illegal consumption arrests. Some freshmen have never drank before, so they are not used to the effects of alcohol. They overdo it and end up passing out all over campus in random places." \nOfficer Sam Shahrani is a live-in officer in McNutt Quad. Many of the dorms have two live-in officers who are students and recent graduates of IU's cadet program. Shahrani said everything has been fairly calm from what he's seen and described the residence hall atmosphere as fun. \n"They've been going out and socializing -- whatever that entails," Shahrani said. "People have seemed to be adjusting pretty well."\nStephenson said the number of arrests reflects the type of people who come to IU. \n"The number of arrests are few when compared to the large number of students who have come to town," Stephenson said. "This reflects the quality of the students that IU attracts, and the excellent job done by IU officials, particularly the residence halls staff, in assimilating students to their new \nenvironment"