With Grand Valley State University’s first home football game of the year coming up Thursday, Capt. Brandon DeHaan, assistant director of the GVSU Department of Public Safety, said students can expect increased police presence before, during and after the game.

DeHaan said the university does afford individuals who are of age to consume alcohol in the reserved parking lots – lots C, F and G – but during scheduled tailgating times only.

During football games, DeHaan said a number of officers will be monitoring those lots to make sure individuals are complying with the tailgating policies and guidelines.

A Youth Alcohol Enforcement grant of almost $13,000, awarded by the Office of Highway Safety and Planning, will fund the increase. YAE pays for a dedicated patrol of officers to enforce underage drinking laws, and football games will not be the only time the grant is activated.

“We activate the grant based on events, weather and in our history when we could have an expectation of higher levels of underage drinking,” DeHaan said. “There should be an expectation that during certain sporting events such as football games, that the grant will be activated.”

Tailgating policies and guidelines, which can be found at www.gvsulakers.com, state that tailgating must start no earlier than three hours before the scheduled kick off time and end within an hour of the game’s completion. Public Safety officers will remove tailgaters who do not adhere to the policy, and those tailgaters will have their parking permits revoked, according to the guidelines.

Keeping in line with the university’s policy, DeHaan said the police department is concerned with underage alcohol consumption and will remain vigilant during the game.

Historically, he said, underage drinking has not been much of a problem during sporting events and he does not expect the numbers to increase this year despite the growing student body. He said often, students who are drinking illegally call attention to themselves by engaging in inappropriate behavior.

Should any students enrolled at GVSU who are consuming alcohol underage be approached by an officer, they will be cited for minor in possession (MIP) volitions, referred to the Dean’s office and asked to attend a mandatory ACES meeting for alcohol education.

GVSU officers will work in conjunction with the Ottawa County Sheriff Department to monitor underage drinking both on and off campus, before, during and after the event.

“I think it’s important that our students – specifically the freshmen – know there will be an added police presence at those events and that Grand Valley State has a zero tolerance policy in reference to underage drinking,” DeHaan said.

Parking for the game, which can also be found on the GVSU Lakers website, will have some of the commuter lots closed during the daytime in anticipating of the Thursday night game.

The police department is asking students to be patient with the changes to parking, which will return to normal Friday morning.

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