While underage drinking has been a perennial problem on campus, USM Police recently increased their efforts to curb drinking with liquor patrols and undercover details on the Gorham campus.
“We have been actively involved in extra details on liquor enforcement,” said Lieutenant Ronald Saindon. “It’s something we do periodically throughout the semester.”
He said the extra attention includes having more undercover police officers patrolling the Gorham campus.
Craig Hutchinson, Vice President of Student and University Life, said that the USM Police have also been patrolling jointly with the Gorham Police Department as part of the effort.
“It’s not in response to any particular event, occurrence, or incident,” Hutchinson said, adding that they increase patrols on a “cyclical” basis.
USM Police issued eight summons for alcohol possesion and transportation by minors last weekend in Gorham, including five stemming from an incident in Hastings Hall. Lt. Saindon said that those numbers are “not all that unusual,” but could have been a result of the added attention police placed on preventing underage drinking.
“[The] beginning of any semester is when we pay attention to [underage drinking] from an enforcement and prevention standpoint,” said Hutchinson. He said it’s usually during the first couple weeks.
Elliott Albert, a 21 year-old junior business major lives in Robie Andrews, a “wet” dorm on campus. “I don’t think the undercover cops are fooling anyone. They’re 35 year-old dudes dressed up as 20 year-olds,” he said. Albert said he thinks that the “school should teach safety instead of trying to control other people’s actions.”
Hutchinson said that the goal of the increased attention is not necessarily to catch people doing something wrong. The focus is more on raising awareness of the problem, he said.