Many St. Thomas students are angry about the Zero Adult Providers program because St. Thomas will help fund it and because of the confusion about ZAP rules. Others said they had not heard about ZAP until after a party they attended was zapped, adding that they didn’t know about the penalties. The differences between on-campus and off-campus drinking laws are important in understanding ZAP.

Off-Campus Drinking

Providers of alcohol to minors off campus face fines of up to $3,000 and a gross misdemeanor charge. If the minor drinks, then dies in an accident, the provider is charged with a felony. Minors face fines of $350 to $700 and community service, but all fines depend on the judge’s decision.

Most of the confusion has stemmed from misunderstanding students’ rights when police enter and search houses.

“Police can enter and search a house if there is probable cause, and probable cause depends on the circumstances,” said Michael Jordan, public information officer of the St. Paul Police Department. “If we get a complaint from a neighbor, hear loud noises and see people coming and going with beer or other illegal activities, we can enter a house without a warrant. We can search the house without a warrant if we see people who look underage drinking alcohol, if we see liquor openly displayed and if there are other illegal activities going on.”

The providers of the alcohol are always arrested.

“That’s the point of Zero Adult Providers,” Jordan said.

The officers interpret criminal activity and act on what they deem needs attention. The ZAP officers patrol the western district of St. Paul and do not focus solely on college students, although the primary areas patrolled are residential college neighborhoods, said Sgt. Jim Ramstad of the St. Paul Police Department.

“We have hit several Macalester and technical college groups, one Hamline party, and a couple of high school parties,” he said.

The city of St. Paul got involved because of neighbors to St. Thomas complained about the behavior of students during and after parties.

“Students were torturing neighbors and throwing eggs at their houses,” Ramstad said. “That motivated them to complain to the city.”

Mayor Norm Coleman sent letters to all the colleges in the city asking them to give $3,000 to continue the ZAP program through this year, and most of them declined. “We’ve spent nothing but the department money overtime that pays for it,” Ramstad said.

Minneapolis also has implemented ZAP at the University of Minnesota. The University spent $8,000 to target the top 10 party houses, Ramstad said.

Behavior in the St. Thomas area is much better than it was last year, Ramstad said.

“If it stays quiet, ZAP will be less used,” he said. “It will slow down because it won’t be cost effective to use it.”

Mike Barrett, manager of investigations for St. Thomas Public Safety and Parking Services gave this advice:

“Don’t tip off the neighbors. Don’t be loud and pee in people’s bushes. The neighbors are fed up with the rudeness after parties.”

UST Involvement

St. Thomas has decided to participate in the ZAP program and give the requested $3,000, said Doug Hennes of University Relations.

“The decision was made because we feel we should be engaged in efforts to keep the neighborhood quiet and peaceful,” Hennes said. “Most of the problems we have with students living in rental housing are related to alcohol use, and that is why we have off-duty police officers patrolling. We don’t tolerate alcohol abuse on campus, and we don’t tolerate it off campus. We feel we have a responsibility to the neighborhood to make students behave appropriately.”

Macalester and Hamline declined to give to the program, Hennes said.

Students are not happy about the University’s decision to contribute.

“I think ZAP is making college seem less like college,” senior Laura Bennett said. “The crime doesn’t fit the punishment. People want a fun college experience and are going to drink no matter what. My roommate is underage; am I supposed to tell her not to drink even though she lives there too? ZAP makes me want to go to the U of M where it is actually still fun.”

On-Campus Drinking

Most of the students who live in the freshman and sophomore residence halls are underage. The on-campus penalty for underage possession of alcohol is an $80 fine or community service. If Morrison Hall or Grand Avenue apartment residents of legal drinking age get caught providing to minors, they also are fined $80. More extreme measures can be used if officers believe students aren’t cooperating. The one ZAP bust in the Grand Avenue apartments was begun by Safety and Security, but ended in the hands of a ZAP officer who had accompanied the Safety and Security officers. The officer thought it was necessary to enforce the ZAP policy, Barrett said. An off-duty police officer hired by St. Thomas patrols the campus with Safety and Security on the weekends, in what is known as the “party patrol.”

“If the drinking is on campus and in violation of state, federal and university law, we try to handle it within the university, but it is highly dictated by students and how respectful they are,” Barrett said. “If they’re not, we will bring in the St. Paul police.”

As for entering and searching UST residences, Barrett said, “the university is not trying to run a police state, but any university official can enter a room at any time on campus.”

The biggest differences between on-campus and off-campus drinking laws are the fines and arrests.

“For Morrison and Grand Avenue, we take it on a case-by-case basis for providers,” Barrett said. “There are a lot of factors, but if you are 21 and have underage people drinking, it is not as bad as ZAP. You won’t get arrested or fined as long as you cooperate with us.”

Jim Sachs of the dean of student life office deals with the students who get ticketed on campus and by ZAP.

“I have a love/hate relationship with ZAP because I believe it will educate the students about drinking, but the sanctions are out of proportion with the violation,” Sachs said. “The $80 fine for on-campus students is a nice start. Drinking underage and providing is illegal. If we’re not teaching you, we’re not doing our job.”

The $80 goes to All College Council and the Residence Hall Association. If students can’t pay it they have the option of community service, Sachs said.

“Skating through and doing a bulletin board for punishment is not going to stop you [from drinking],” Sachs said. “If you get caught, I want you to face the consequences and get smart; if you can’t keep it under the radar, you’re going to pay for it.”

St. Thomas has a reputation not only as a party school, but also one whose students party stupid, Sachs said.

“The 18-year-olds go bananas,” Sachs said. “They throw up and urinate in the middle of the hall and throw things through windows. Their behavior ruins it for others.”

If people want to drink, they will, Sachs said, but people need to take responsibility for their actions.

Jana Hollingsworth can be reached at jlhollingswo@stthomas.edu

ZAP Laws

• Police can enter and search a house with probable cause.

• Fines are determined by a judge, but can go as high as $3000 for a provider and $700 for a minor.

• Charges for providing are a gross mis- demeanor, or a felony if a death is involved. Minors face a misdemeanor, which is erased from their records if the defendants commit no violations for a year.