Nolan Kmiec

ADV 350: Letter to the Editor

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To the Editor,
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Champaign-Urbana police spend a lot of time raiding bars and giving out drinking tickets. A
recent story on WAND17, a central Illinois TV station reported that on average, 54 tickets are
written each weekend during Friday night and Saturday morning. A majority of these tickets are
given to minors in possession of alcohol. However, this should not be a priority when there are
other crimes on campus that need more attention such as sexual assault.

Students are becoming frustrated as they frequently receive emails regarding crime alerts and do
not see police action being taken. Caroline Everette, an education student a U of I said, Its
shocking to see the amount of police writing tickets at the bars every night. There are more
serious crimes that are happening on campus that deserve police attention, especially late at
night. Although not every crime is alcohol related, many students are taken advantage of when
they are walking home at 2a.m. after having a couple of drinks. Instead of driving around
campus, police cars are parked outside of the bars to catch students who are intoxicated and
underage.

Elyssa Kaufman wrote an article for the Daily Illini discussing the 2014 Annual Security Report.
She included parts of her interview with Skip Frost, deputy chief of the University Police
Department for further insight regarding the report. Frost explained that while underage drinking
has been a problem on campus that police are trying to fix, they have never neglected other
crimes that are committed. When asked about the increase in sexual assault offenses, he said,
The University Police Department takes sexual assault very seriously and follows cases with
vigorous investigation and procession. However, it would have been more beneficial if he
responded with a plan of action to increase student safety.

It is hard for students to enjoy their time at college if they have to worry about their safety at
night. Champaign police should be patrolling Green Street and areas close to the quad on a more
frequent basis and focus less on writing tickets for underage drinking. Changes should be
implemented to increase the safety and comfort of U of I students as soon as possible.

Nolan Kmiec
773 241 4289
nolan.kmiec@gmail.com