On August 2, the Princeton Review released various rankings of colleges and universities, and The University of Georgia, Athens, found itself named the number one party school in the nation. Some students cringed and others cheered, while the campus newspaper, Red & Black questioned whether it would mean a crackdown by police.
The fall semester began at UGA two weeks ago and arrests for underage DUI and underage possession of alcohol are indeed up. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, twenty UGA students were arrested in Athens for DUI, underage possession of alcohol, and other alcohol-related charges on the first Thursday night school was back in session.
Red & Black counted 43 total drug-and-alcohol-related arrests made by UGA and Athens-Clarke County police in the week leading up to fall semester and the first semester of school. The campus newspaper reports that arrests had already climbed from previous years, but rose sharply this year. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that UGA and Athens-Clarke County police conducted DUI checkpoints on the first Friday night of the semester, a trend likely to continue.
The campus newspaper interviewed campus police who said that they have not changed their approach to cracking down on underage drinking, nor have they added more officers. But, Red & Black points out that in the two weeks following the ranking, more arrests were made than in the previous year.
Sources:
Arrests of UGA students on partying charges up sharply (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)