While students patrol Main Street looking for the next party to crash this weekend, officers from the Mount Pleasant Police Department and Central Michigan University Police Department will be on patrol for the type of problematic behavior these parties often inspire. MPPD Public Information Officer David VanDyke anticipates a "quiet" Welcome Weekend similar to last year, citing the "strong stance" the City of Mount Pleasant has taken when it comes to enforcing ordinances.

"The enforcement action that we've been taking (on Main and University streets) over the last couple of years has been a little more intense," VanDyke said. "(The parties) have shown signs of it not being quite as chaotic."

Last year, the MPPD recorded eight arrests or citations for disorderly conduct, 40 for minor in possession, 12 for hosting or attending a nuisance party, 64 for open intoxicants, six for operating under the influence and three for violation of controlled substances.

All of the these statistics are drastic decreases from the previous year, with most violations occurring at half the rate as in 2016. There were a total of 441 calls for service to the MPPD during Welcome Weekend in 2017, down from 653 in 2016.

VanDyke admits that it can be hard for partying students to know when they are violating one or more city ordinances, due to the broad scope of what the ordinances cover. MIPs, public intoxication, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct all fall under the ordinance regulating "nuisance gatherings," VanDyke said.

"When students are in that area having a good time, they don't look at the big picture of things, like the neighborhoods that are one block over that have small kids or people who have to get up for work in the morning," VanDyke said. "It's really disruptive for those people, and I think students have a hard time realizing how much (partying) impacts those outside areas and the people that aren't CMU students, or aren't in that 'party mood.' That's generally where the majority of the complaints we receive are going to originate."

VanDyke said the best advice he could give students planning to attend parties this weekend is to have proper photo identification on them at all times.

"If you don't have picture ID, you're more apt to have to be taken into custody if (officers) can't verify your identity," VanDyke said. "Even if you're not planning on getting into trouble, if you do end up in a situation where you're going to receive a citation, having that picture ID is probably going to be the difference between getting a citation and being released, or having to go to the jail and be processed through the correctional system."

VanDyke also advises those hosting parties to pay special attention to who comes in and out of their gathering.

"We do have a lot of thefts that occur at this time of year, where people outside of the (Mount Pleasant) area come in for the sole purpose of stealing items, such as cell phones, laptops, money and the occasional vehicle," VanDyke said.

This focus on the potential for people outside of Mount Pleasant to infiltrate student gatherings reflects the views of city governance as a whole, as stated in a memo sent to the MPPD from City Manager Nancy Ridley.

"The goal of our enforcement effort is to gain compliance in the neighborhoods, to address the 'quality of life' issues affecting the residence and to make the large event (Welcome Weekend) less attractive to individuals who do not have any association with the community, other than to come to Mount Pleasant, party, and disturb the residence," the memo stated.

The MPPD is aided in its weekend enforcement by officers from other police forces, including the Michigan State Police, Isabella County Sheriff's Department and the CMUPD.

On Aug. 25-27 last year, the CMUPD recorded 17 citations or arrests for minor in possession, five for disorderly conduct, one for operating while intoxicated and two for violation of controlled substances. CMUPD also received 105 calls for service that weekend, and three ambulance calls for high intoxication.

Lt. Larry Klaus of the CMUPD credits the lower number of arrests and citations by CMUPD compared to MPPD to the difference in jurisdiction, as much of the "action" during Welcome Weekend occurs on Main Street. and University Avenue.

"(The numbers) are lower because of the jurisdictional differences in what we're policing," Klaus said. "Our (jurisdiction) is just our 480-acre campus. When you get north of Bellows (Street), that's the City of Mount Pleasant -- (MPPD) is policing a whole student neighborhood north of our campus, where they have the larger police presence."