During Little 500 festivities in Bloomington two weekends ago, Indiana State Excise Police officers arrested or cited 179 people on 347 different charges, according to an Indiana State Police press release.
We don’t know about you, DePauw, but the Editorial Board would not like to be one of those numbers on our campus this coming weekend.
You’ve heard it too many times to count and may be rolling your eyes as you read this sentence, but we want to take this editorial space to reiterate to our readers that they should take caution this weekend. Public Safety officers do not invite Excise to campus, and they are also not informed when Excise chooses to pay a visit to DePauw. They have a habit of hanging around campus during Little 5 festivities, though, and getting slapped with a citation is a buzzkill if there ever was one.
With that being said, it is important going into this weekend to remember to practice safe drinking if you choose to drink. Water is a must. Get a big McDonald’s breakfast before the day begins, and do your best to pace yourself. In the words of Director of Public Safety Angela Nally, “It’s a marathon and not a sprint.” The more drunk you look, the more likely it is for an Excise cop to approach you.
For this reason, it is important not to carry alcohol around the race, as that will be where Excise is most likely to roam about. This includes red solo cups, so be cautious with where you are consuming alcoholic beverages. Essentially, don’t be stupid.
Another important concept to remember for this weekend is the Lifeline Law. If a friend is in need of hospital care due to intoxication, you may call for help without worry of getting in trouble for public intoxication, underage drinking, etc., so long as you stay with your friend until help arrives and fully cooperate with authorities. While we hope no one has to pay a visit to the hospital this weekend, big weekends such as these increase the likelihood of drinking to dangerous levels, so we want campus to be prepared.
Little 5 is meant to be one of the most fun events at DePauw, but that fun may come at a cost. Let’s try to minimize that cost this weekend and make it an enjoyable time for everyone, shall we?