TIGER TV ONLINE REPORTER
LSU police department and facility services will be working overtime this weekend because of the combined impact of the Carlotta Street Halloween party and a home football game.
Now that the Northgate Merchants Association and the Carlotta Street area have permission from the city of Baton Rouge to have the party on the street, which is under the permanent jurisdiction of the Baton Rouge police department, all public safety-related departments of Baton Rouge including LSUPD had a meeting about ensuring public safety for the second year in a row. It was decided LSUPD would supplement Baton Rouge’s police force at the party.
“In participation with Baton Rouge police, we will provide some officers to supplement the city’s officers as well as increase patrols in areas of campus that are affected like fraternity circle, the band practice field and Aster Street,” detective sergeant of LSUPD Kevin Scott said.
According to Scott there were an estimated 5,000 people on Carlotta Street at any given time on Halloween night last year. Out of those 5,000 there were more than five but less than 12 arrests, which were all the result of aggressive behavior or affecting the safety of others.
“We’re organized not from a criminal standpoint but from the viewpoint of public safety,” Scott said. “We’re not on a mission to make arrests…police in general just want to maintain order.”
Both police departments have adopted a strategy of deterrent through visibility. With LSUPD serving as a supplement to BRPD a large number of officers in uniform and show of force will deter party-goers from crime, Scott said.
Scott advises Carlotta Street partiers to be mindful of where their vehicles are parked, to bring only minimal, unimportant items, and to consume alcohol wisely.
“Don’t create an opportunity to be victimized,” Scott said. “Be observant, keep your wits about you and don’t become so intoxicated you can’t take care of yourself.”
While LSUPD takes care of the partying itself, Facility Services will clean up afterward. But Halloween cleanup is not as extensive as cleaning up after a home football game.
“We’ll help with party cleanups from fraternities, but the impact of Halloween on campus is not noticed as anything out of the ordinary as compared to a football game,” assistant director of Landscape Services Fred Fellner said.
Most of the mess from the Carlotta street party will be taken care of by the city, but there will be residual litter on Chimes street and the fraternity loop. It will be business as usual for facility services as they clean these areas the Sunday after a game anyways as well as Highland road. It takes 150 people a minimum of eight hours to clean up campus.
“The entire campus from the law center and East Campus drive all the way west to the river is completely littered,” Fellner said. “The concentration gets heavier the closer you get to Tiger Stadium.”
Despite this bleak image of a campus buried in waste, students can help. This past Sunday a group of 100 to 150 students helped sort recycling from the litter of Saturday’s game.
“Most of the refuse is recycle-able but there are just not enough hands,” Fellner said. “It’s all relative to how much help we can get.”
