Following recent events at the Grove, the University of Mississippi’s tailgating hotspot, Mississippi State officials say they have no plans to change the enforcement of alcohol laws in the Junction. During both Ole Miss’ “Rumble in the Grove” concert and its football home opener against the University of Missouri, students and alumni expressed shock and disappointment in the handling of alcohol in the Grove.
The situation began at the “Rumble in the Grove” concert on Aug. 25 when many of-age students found their Ids being checked and liquor disposed of upon entering the Grove for the concert.
The situation continued at the Rebels’ first home football game against the Missouri Tigers Sept. 8 when football fans found their coolers emptied and fines levied upon them as they returned to their tailgating areas following the game.
UM alumnus Mark Rodden told The Daily Mississippian that he and his wife were disappointed in the disposal of their alcohol after traveling for more than six hours for the game.
“This is ridiculous,” Rodden told The Daily Mississippian. “Changing the culture should not be violating personal property by going through people’s coolers.”
MSU Police Chief Georgia Lindley said the Junction has essentially the same laws regarding alcohol use as the Grove does because both fall within a county and are subject to county laws.
“Beer and light wine are against county law but alcohol is allowed,” she said.
Lindley said she does not envision a situation in which her staff might search fans’ coolers or dispose of students’ alcohol who are of legal age.
“Behavior dictates how we will take care of alcohol in the Junction,” Lindley said. “If you are behaving well, listening to music and eating and socializing with friends, you will be left alone.”
Dean of students Mike White said disruptive behavior is what the police will be most concerned with.
“If you’re 21 or over and you’re in possession of alcohol, as long as you’re not being disorderly or drunk, you’re not going to be bothered,” White said.
A complaint by many Ole Miss students tailgating in the Grove was that of-age students felt that they were treated differently than alumni regarding their use of alcohol.
Lindley said MSU students will be treated the same as alumni while in the Junction.
“It’s very difficult to tell who is a student and who is an alumnus,” she said. “We have plenty of younger alumni and older students as well. We plan to treat all tailgaters the same on game day.”
Vice president of student affairs Bill Kibler said it comes down to police using their judgment regarding asking for identification.
“Police are very present around and in the area of the Junction,” he said. “They look for and deal with any violation of the law but no one walks around with a label, so the police have to use their own judgment regarding age and whether or not to ask for identification.”
Due to the increased number of tailgaters over the years, Lindley said she has stepped up the number of officers present in the Junction on game day, but problems were minimal during the season opener against LSU.
“We had one fight and one person arrested for public drunkenness. But overall, fans in the Junction were well-behaved,” she said. “Fans want to enjoy themselves but at the same time are respectful of their neighbors.”
Kibler said individual problems with alcohol mostly occur in the Junction, but there is no widespread problem.
“When you look at it as a whole, our problems are relatively minimal and there is good compliance with our fan base,” he said.
Senior elementary education major Amanda Hartley said she thinks the enforcement of alcohol laws in the Junction is handled well and could not see a similar situation happening at MSU that happened at Ole Miss.
“I guess if drinking got out of hand, I could see it,” Hartley said. “I don’t think I could see our police going through people’s coolers and other personal belongings unless they had a reason to.”
Ashley Wedgworth, a 2007 alumnus of MSU, said police are aware of the presence of alcohol but that generally fans manage their alcohol responsibly.
“Police know everyone is drinking, and it’s not going to come as a shock to them,” she said. “Everyone handles their alcohol well though. They want to have fun, but it rarely gets out of hand.”
White said he hopes for MSU students and alumni both to continue to enjoy the Junction on game days while complying with the county alcohol laws.