It’s that time again. The traditional Boulevard tailgatingfestivities will begin tomorrow where you can find students,faculty and alumni barbequing, drinking and hopefully heading tothe game.
But before you get too excited, be aware that the SMU PoliceDepartment and the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission will beclosely monitoring the consumption of alcohol duringtailgating.
“The police department will be more aggressively enforcingTABC laws,” SMU Police Maj. Rick Shafer said.
While nobody will argue the laws, some students feel thattailgating has become stricter since they have been at SMU.
“It seemed like tailgating used to be something thatbrought the community together but now it seems like SMU is tryingto leave people out,” senior finance major Blake Cantrellsaid.
Cantrell believes it is one of the only traditions that SMU haswhere a lot of the community comes out to show some SMU spirit.
As a first-year student, Cantrell did not feel much enforcementof alcohol laws by SMU police. But in the past year, he haswitnessed several people receive
Minor in Possession citations.
“The TABC works closely with all police departments inenforcing the laws. We will do inspections all over the city and wecould come to SMU at any time,” a TABC agent said.
In past years there have not been many instances reported;however, the numbers have grown each year. Therefore, the SMUpolice want to maintain a safe campus for everyone. In regard toalcohol, the SMU Student Handbook states, “All members of theUniversity community should at all times be cognizant of and complywith state and local liquor laws.”
Students are given the handbook upon entering SMU but somestudents become confused or chose not to acknowledge it when itcomes to tailgating. But the policies still stand.
“Anyone who is under 21 years old should not bedrinking,” said SMU Police Sgt. Christine Rodriguez said.
If you are under 21 years old and drinking, and/or publiclyintoxicated you may be issued a citation to appear in court for aclass C misdemeanor crime carrying up to a $500 fine. You can alsoreceive a citation for having possession of an alcoholic drink evenif you are not drinking it.
If you are over 21 years old, drink responsibly and do notdistribute any beverages to minors or you will be cited for”furnishing” and be taken to jail for a class Amisdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail and/or a $4000fine.
In addition, any organization participating in furnishing tominors will also be sighted and fined.
Although some may sense a change in enforcement, the excitingatmosphere of the Boulevard will remain.