Tailgate policy won't be enforced

Half an hour into Saturday's football game, while some students moved off the lawns and into the stands, many stayed behind to continue drinking and throwing beanbags. Many did not have tickets, but despite the new athletics department policy, which prohibits those without tickets to tailgate 10 minutes after kickoff, no one was ejected for defiance of the rule. \nAccording to IU Police Department records, about eight people were arrested during tailgating activities, mostly for underage drinking or disorderly conduct. Of those people still outside the stadium before halftime, few had negative comments about the police presence. Some didn't notice a presence at all. \nSenior Abby Sheets and her friends said they hadn't had problems with the police. The only situations where the police intervened involved public urination or underage persons who, upon spotting police, would drop their beer and make a quick escape. \n"People that are peeing or ditch their beer and run, those are the ones who get caught," she said. \nFanisha Thae and Christy Hartman, Purdue students in town visiting friends, said they were unaware of the tailgating policy. Thae said she thought an officer responded rudely when she asked where she could park, but that was the only encounter she had with the police.\n"For the most part, they walked up and down (the lawns)," Hartman said. \nJunior Ryan Richeson had been part of a large crowd huddled around a yellow Humvee broadcasting the Notre Dame and IU games. He said he only noticed the police when they had to break up a fight. \n"They were being reasonable," he said. "They weren't being out of hand." \nThe athletics department has stated that the policy was established both as a means to get people into the stadium, and to create an environment where unruly fan behavior could be kept to a safe minimum. \nTim Fitzpatrick, associate athletics director, issued a statement to clear up any confusion about the policy and the motives behind it. \n"We see the tailgating environment as part of the game experience," Fitzgerald said in the statement, "the key being not to separate the game from that experience. This is a great football team with a chance to have a very nice year, put IU football back on the map, and in order to do that, we need every warm body that we can find in our stadium rooting for our team and that's what we're trying to get to." \nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger stressed that the police officers have not changed their behavior since the policy. IUPD looks for people who are breaking the law or creating an unsafe situation for themselves or others and are not patrolling the grounds trying to arrest people, Minger said.\n"We're a kinder, gentler police department," Minger said. "We really are nice, that's the shocker to people, because they perceive that we're not going to be." \nBoth Minger and Pete Rhoda, director of athletics media relations, had only good things to say about the number of people in the stands, attributing the success to head coach Terry Hoeppner. Minger said he was amazed at how Hoeppner managed to ignite the community's enthusiasm for the team. He said after it was clear IU might have a chance to win against Kentucky, he noticed an "exodus" of people leaving the lawn to get to the stadium, where they could see the game firsthand.\nRhoda agreed that Hoeppner and the team have struck a resounding chord with the community. \n"It's been outstanding all the way around," he said. "He's created an energy here at just the perfect time"