The buzz at the SMU vs. OSU pre-game tailgating on Saturday wasthat the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission was undercover andready to give out Minor in Possession citations to anyone caughtdrinking underage.
Junior corporate communications and public affairs majorStephanie Blackburn, who is under 21 years old, said it concernedher that TABC could possibly be undercover.
“It made me worried because I know how much trouble youcan get in if you’re caught drinking and you’re not21,” Blackburn said.
SMU Police Chief Michael Snellgrove didn’t think thatforewarning students that the TABC could be at the game was theprimary reason students refrained from drinking or gettingdrunk.
“I think it was because we emphasized to many studentorganizations, including sororities and fraternities, that underagedrinking would not be tolerated,” Snellgrove said.
Many students on the Boulevard thought SMU called in the TABCbecause they were concerned about underage drinking and alcoholparaphernalia leftover from tailgating in previous years.
However, Snellgrove said TABC indicated to the university theymight be out there, and they had jurisdiction to enforce the law;however, SMU PD did not know if they would be out there forcertain.
“SMU did not say ‘Hey, we need TABC outhere,'” Snellgrove said. “We have our ownenforcement. We’ll just put more officers out there if wethink there’s a problem.”
Snellgrove also said there is not a difference between officersfrom the TABC and SMU PD. They both give the same tickets and canshow up at any time to enforce the laws.
Whether knowing about the TABC’s presence or that SMU PDemphasized they would enforce the law actually kept underagestudents from drinking is uncertain, but the consensus from moststudents on Saturday was that it made them think twice about doingit.
Police reports indicated that it did. “The Boulevard wasvery successful. To my knowledge, we didn’t have anyonearrested or even given a ticket,” Snellgrove said.
“We encourage students to come out to the Boulevard andenjoy themselves,” he said, “but realize they have tofollow the rules of the law.”
