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Green Beer Day forum dispels rumors, promotes student-safety

By Mariah Schlossman, The Miami Student

On Thursday, March 12, Miami's Associated Student Government (ASG) paired up with the Miami University Police Department (MUPD) and Oxford Police Department (OPD) to hold this year's Green Beer Day Forum.

The annual event aims to help students be safe, smart and informed on Green Beer Day.

"There are a lot of rumors that go around about Green Beer Day, what could get you in trouble and what could not, and this is a way for students to hear the real word," said Kevin Krumpak, secretary for Off-Campus Affairs of ASG.

The importance of this event goes far beyond the relaying of facts to students and provides them with the necessary contextual information to be safe and stay out of trouble, Krumpak said.

This year's event went a step further by adding an additional aspect to the discussion. Representatives from the Office of Student Wellness, HAWKS Peer Health Educators and Bacchus, a collegiate peer education group that addresses campus health and safety issues, spoke about how students can stay healthy and safe this Thursday.

HAWKS and the Office of Student Wellness provided "Safe and Smart Bags" to the first 50 students that arrived to the event. These bags contained garbage bags for trash to avoid littering, a water bottle for hydration, condoms and pretzels and trail mix for nutrition throughout the day.

These bags reiterated the sentiments of HAWKS and the Office of Student Wellness, making the point that everyone on Green Beer Day should avoid engaging in increased risk behavior.

"The choice to drink is yours, but practicing moderation is healthy, and every decision made on that day and every day should be smart and safe," said senior and HAWKS representative Lydia Dysart.

Green Beer Day is a Miami tradition that dates back to 1952, but with the tradition of drinking green beer in the early morning hours, there is also the tradition of potential mishaps on and off campus.

The forum focused on the logical decisions that should be made rather than following what others think is the norm.

"There is this cultural notion surrounding the holiday that you get up early and party all day long, but that tends to lead to overconsumption, which in turn leads to poor decision making," Ben Spilman, lieutenant of the MUPD said. "This is when you get in trouble and potentially commit other crimes that attract the attention of the police. If you want to participate, you need to be responsible and not over consume."

One of the most common misconceptions about Green Beer Day among students is that by going Uptown with a green tongue individuals will automatically be questioned by the authorities.

One student addressed the panel of MUPD and OPD officers with this question and received an immediate response from MUPD Sergeant Susan Tobergte, "Well, how old is your tongue?"

The same laws apply to drinking underage on Green Beer Day as they do on any day, said OPD Sargent Jon Varley. If an individual's tongue is green, you appear to be underage and intoxicated, the police have probable cause to approach and question that individual, according to the panel.

Another topic that was of interest to students was the topic of drinking on private and public property, and the legality behind both of those.

"The sidewalk is usually about the limit," Varley said. "When you step onto that sidewalk and off of someone's property is when you become fair game."

The most common complaints OPD receives on Green Beer Day stem from noise and litter.

"These give us legal justification to go onto that property and the house and individuals on that property become fair game at this point," Varley said.

The number of students that get arrested on Green Beer Day fluctuates with no rhyme or reason, according to the OPD.

"There are some years when we have a lot of arrests and other years where we don't have many at all," Varley said.

The main point that the panel intended to get across to students was that when they do something illegal on Green Beer Day, it is still illegal. Underage drinking, walking around with an open container and extreme public intoxication are still matters that are to be taken seriously on Green Beer Day. The crime and arrest rates on this day are also just like that of any other.

"There isn't much of a correlation between crime and Green Beer Day," Spilman said. "The correlation that exists is between alcohol and crime, which does not seem to increase significantly on that day."

Every year, MUPD prepares for additional activity on campus, but there are no extraordinary staffing changes.

"The activity is pretty miniscule on campus on that day, but those of us who aren't normally dressed in uniform will be in case additional manpower is needed on Green Beer Day," Spilman said.

The majority of the complaints that the MUPD receives on Green Beer Day consist of faculty members reporting intoxicated and disruptive students. According to Spilman, they won't tolerate the intoxication of their students in a public setting, which is when the MUPD intervenes.

"This is our way of helping students to have a positive and not a negative experience on Green Beer Day," Krumpak said. "As representatives of the students we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help them."