As a recent alumna coming back to UF to tailgate, I was caught off guard by a new campus rule. While playing beer pong with friends, we were accosted by two members of the University Police Department who said we had to break up the game immediately, wrote down all our names, took our pictures and said if we were caught again they could arrest us for trespassing.
Drinking games are not allowed on campus because they promote rapid consumption of alcohol, the officers said. Even if we were to fill the cups with water or soda to play, beer pong and flip cup would not be permitted. According to the two UPD officers, this rule was put in place last year only to be enforced this year. While browsing the Web after the game, I found out this was passed by the Board of Trustees and added to the Student Conduct Code this past week, not last year as the officers had said.
A handle of liquor can be considered a common-source container, and almost anything can be turned into a rapid-consumption drinking game. I believe we were targeted because of our age. The older folks next to us were drinking heavily while playing cornhole, and they were clearly more intoxicated than us.
When pointed out to the officer, they replied that cornhole is a lawn game and still allowed on campus. Perhaps instead of trying to regulate how tailgaters drink, UPD should be on the lookout for those both old and young who have chosen to imbibe too much.
