Student-partiers cited
By Dan Friend
Managing Editor
Indiana State Excise Police cited forty-three University of Indianapolis students under the suspicion of alcohol violations in connection with a house party in the early morning hours of Dec. 1 in the University Heights neighborhood.
According to the excise police incident report, Excise Officer Randy Weitzel was driving past the house located at 1601 E. Edwards Ave. shortly after midnight in an unmarked police car when he saw a young man leave the front door of the house carrying a “beer bong” and a line of people gathered at the back door. Six excise officers and the University of Indianapolis Police Department were informed of the potential “underage drinking party” and arrived at the house shortly after the notification.
The report states that University of Indianapolis Police Officer Wright and Excise Officer Joseph Fults approached the back door of the house, where a young man was leaving. They identified themselves as police officers and told the man to stop, but he reentered the house. The officers followed him into the residence, where they found more than sixty individuals.
The officers on the scene administered portable breath tests and issued citations under the suspicion of minor consumption and, in the case of four renters of the house, under the suspicion of furnishing alcohol to minors.
According to University of Indianapolis Chief of Police Keith Smith, when UIndy police arrive at the scene of a house party, their common practice is to ask the residents of the house to get the situation under control and arrange safe transport for people to get home. He said disciplinary measures normally are handled within the university’s disciplinary system. However, because Indiana State Excise Police officers were present, Smith said that it was important that the excise police stay consistent with policies that have been enforced this year at schools such as Indiana University, University of Notre Dame and Ball State University.
“The State Excise Police are not part of the university,” Smith said. “They can’t work within the system like we [UIndy police] can.”
Smith said that the size of the gathering was comparable to many that have occurred in the University Heights neighborhood in recent years. He also said that the frequency of incidents in the area has increased in the past four to six years.
Now that citations with mandatory court dates have been issued by the state, a question exists about whether the university will handle the cases, said Kory Vitangeli, dean of students. The university’s diversion program allows a student who is ticketed in any type of alcohol violation in Marion County to have their cases handled by university sanctions, instead of going to court, she said. As of The Reflector press time, no announcement had been made about whether the cases would be handed over to the university.
One or more members of six UIndy athletic teams were cited during the incident, including student-athletes from the baseball, cheerleading, football, softball, volleyball and women’s soccer teams. According to Dr. Sue Willey, director of athletics, when an athlete violates team rules, the coach of each team submits recommendations for the necessary punishments, and that some of athletes involved could possibly lose scholarship money and playing time and do community service because of the incident.
The house is owned by former UIndy men’s basketball coach Todd Sturgeon. The four renters of the house present during the alleged incident are members of the UIndy baseball team. Head baseball coach Gary Vaught and the residents of the house declined to comment on the situation.
