A parked TUPD squad car in front of Sophia Gordon Hall on a weekend evening provoked the typical reactions from many Tufts students: The idling car elicited many cut back glances, furrowed brows and a scattering of students reminiscent of the effects of a gust of wind on a freshly raked pile of fallen leaves.
Whatever the motives for these reactions, the icy chill between Tufts students and police is striking. Ultimately, this issue boils down to a problem with perception. Sadly, many Jumbos do not understand there is no police conspiracy to crack down on partying, but instead, there is a clear focus on campus and student safety. By recognizing this truth, students and police can create a lively and safe campus environment.
Just as Lieutenant Domenic Pugliares told the Daily's Marc Raifman in a recent ride-along, TUPD does not shut down parties solely because of underage drinking, but only once two complaints have been lodged from neighbors. Rather than be the resident campus party-poopers, TUPD patrols to ensure campus and student safety. Their main job is not to break up parties or to crack down on any collegiate fun. Rather, they are more concerned with preserving a safe on-campus environment for students to do with whatever they please. The logic here is simple: If students act safely and respectfully, there will be minimal interaction with law enforcement. When that line is crossed, the police feel the need to step in to reestablish it.
Most conflicts with police extend from mistrust and ignorance between students and law enforcement. To TUPD, the question of underage drinking and drug use at parties is an open one; they do not presuppose guilt. However, this fact is not enough to erase the culture of fear in some students' minds. It is the responsibility of both students and local police to learn the concerns and boundaries of the other group to create a working relationship. If students are convinced that police are out to get them, this persistence of fear and mistrust will never end.
It is comforting to know that some students realize the police's prerogatives, such as ATO president and junior Elliot Bodian, who explained that TUPD is "not going to go out of their way to shut us down for no reason." This is a good first step in understanding TUPD's motives, but, ultimately, it is just the beginning.
To create a safer and livelier campus social scene, both the TUPD and students should strive for balance. The Daily's reporting shows TUPD has taken the first step in looking for a way to balance safety and having fun. However, TUPD's responsibility to educate the student body of the police's intentions goes beyond a rushed presentation during freshman orientation.
Now, it is the student body's turn. Campus life will most improve if students did not concern themselves with reading TUPD's minds and focused more on understanding why the police act as they do. By understanding that TUPD acts primarily with the desire to ensure student and campus safety - and not with vendettas against the campus social scene - many of the problems with perceptions of police actions simply melt away.
The search for balance has other positive side effects: With an eye to partying responsibly and safely, the potential for accidents and alcohol-induced mistakes will fall, too. Furthermore, knowing responsible limits leaves no room for surprise when the police do feel the need to step in and restore safety. Identifying boundaries and balance solves the problems of mistrust and incorrect assumptions on both sides and ultimately leads to a conclusion that is worth partying about.
