The annual Colorado State University fall concert is Friday, and both campus police and a private security company will be on the lookout for underage drinking and marijuana use.
Sgt. Aaron Turner, an officer with the CSU police department, said police are at the event to ensure the safety of the attendees, and will not admit students if they are visibly intoxicated, even if they are of legal drinking age.
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Turner declined to comment on what measures the police are taking to prevent underage drinking at the concert, how many officers will be there and if there will be plain clothes officers at the event.
Student Legal Services attorney Robert Lowrey wrote a list of guidelines students should follow when dealing with police.
According to Lowry, if a student is suspected of underage drinking at the event, they should not agree to a portable breathalyzer test because they are voluntary and do no good unless used to prove no alcohol whatsoever has been consumed.
“If you have had nothing to drink and you are accused of MIP, you should ask for a Portable Breath Test,” Lowrey wrote in an email to the Collegian. “Otherwise, no one else should ever blow into a PBT.”
In the list of guidelines, Lowrey also points out that silence is key.
“People often think they have only two choices: confess or lie,” Lowrey wrote. “You have the right to remain silent. Use it. The powerful protection of our right to remain silent has existed for 200 years, and for good reason.”
According to Lowrey, underage drinking citations are most common after the fall concert each year, but he expects underage and public marijuana consumption tickets will also be common this year.
“Marijuana citations for use and possession on campus seem to have increased since the passage of Amendment 64,” Lowrey wrote. “Part of that may be availability, part visibility, and part of it is the University asserting its position of zero tolerance.”
Natalee Ranvolph, a freshman studying nutrition, said that police monitoring the event is a positive thing.
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“Police should be at the event becuase it’s their job,” Ranvolph said. “The police are there to ensure everyone is safe. Besides, they are really nice.”
Nico and Vinz and Mike Posner are performing at Moby Arena at 8 p.m. on Friday.
Collegian City Beat Reporter Danny Bishop can be reached at news@collegian.com and on Twitter @DannyDBishop
