When some UB students looked outside their South Lake apartments, they saw something they weren’t accustomed to – thousands of students throwing a party in the Lake LaSalle parking lot.
UB Athletics estimates 5,000 students attended the Party at the Point tailgate before last Friday’s nationally televised football game against Baylor. More than 7,000 students attended the game. The tailgate began three hours before kickoff and left the lot filled with garbage, beer cans and red solo cups. University Police is set to increase patrols for this Saturday’s game against Norfolk State.
Tailgating is a tradition almost as old as football itself. Orchard Park, New York lifts its public drinking laws between certain hours for Buffalo Bills games. Ralph Wilson Stadium is nationally known for tailgating environments.
“It’s tailgating, so it’s different … it’s an event in and of itself as an extension of the game,” said Sue Kurowski, Buffalo Assistant Athletic Director of Event/Facility Operations. “It’s more of a game day experience than an every day ‘pull up your car and do what you want to do.’”
UPD’s police report showed 21 calls from near UB Stadium between 6 and 10:30 p.m. last Friday. Of these 21 calls, eight reported disorderly conduct incidents in and outside of the stadium. Other complaints ranged from public unration to students trying to sneak in alcohol to vandalized cars in the parking lot – one student even tried to steal a traffic cone.
There were two reports of “highly intoxicated” fans and at least three others who needed medical attention inside the stadium. But Schoenle said there weren’t any “major incidents.”
Students who ordered a Lake LaSalle parking pass received a list of the tailgate rules as well, according to Kurowski.
Rachel Thoma, a senior biology major who attended the tailgate with a large group of friends, said she had no idea there were any rules handed out.
Glass bottles, drinking games and items such as funnels and kegs are prohibited in the parking lot. All students who are drinking must have a proper ID and be prepared to show proof if asked by a police officer or UB employee, according to the tailgate rulebook.
Students brought their own food and drinks to the Lake LaSalle parking lot before kickoff. UB does not sell alcohol to the general public in or outside of the stadium.
Despite these rules, many students were drinking out of funnels and playing popular drinking games such as flip cup and beer pong while dancing to music played by DJ Anthony of Kiss 98.5.
Although UB Chief of Police Gerald Schoenle said things were “pretty good” at the tailgate and game, he noted there were “some behavior issues [UPD wasn’t] thrilled about.”
“I think it would be fair to say [drinking will be more moderated], there are going to be certainly more staff there,” Schoenle said. “We just want everybody to do things legally and safely and that’s the bottom line.”
Schoenle said checking IDs in the parking lot is a “possibility, depending on the situation.” There have been tailgating incidents in the past in which UPD had to check IDs and moderate drinking, according to Schoenle.
Kurowski said she doesn’t know if anything was put in writing to bypass the open container laws during the tailgate hours, but she worked with UB Assistant Chief of Police Chris Bartolomei on making the official tailgate rules.
UPD enforces the rules but Kurowski said there are other staff members walking around the parking lot and educating students who appear to be acting outside of the rules, like if they are underage or holding a funnel.
Police stood around the parking lot to keep order, but Schoenle admitted there should have been more officers for a crowd of 5,000 students.
“For next game we’ve asked Athletics, and we are going to have more staff ourselves to just make sure that we have adequate staffing,” Schoenle said.
Schoenle said UPD doesn’t expect Saturday’s crowd to be as large as Friday night’s, but the officers will be prepared either way.
There will be additional garbage cans and Port-a-Potties to combat some of the problems that arose Friday.
The University Grounds maintenance is responsible for cleaning up the garbage by 8 a.m. the following morning.
Kurowski said UB consulted with larger universities and other Mid-American Conference schools – along with the Buffalo Bills – before making its tailgating rules.
UPD’s largest concern for the tailgates is that students are behaving in a safe and legal way.
“There is always room for improvement, that’s the way I look at it,” Kurowski said. “It’s never perfect.”
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