Greek party ban cuts calls, crimes

Three weekends after a ban on all fraternity and sorority events at Washington State University - whether they involve alcohol or not - Pullman Police say the difference in criminal activity in the College Hill neighborhood "is like night and day."

Since the Greek moratorium was put in place by WSU's Panhellenic and Interfraternity councils in early November, police have responded to 95 calls and crimes in three weekends - 7 p.m. Friday night through Sunday - in the College Hill neighborhood and the residential area to the northeast known as "Apartmentland," which is mostly inhabited by students attending WSU.

The lack of students on campus during Thanksgiving break also influenced that number.

In the three weekends before the ban, police responded to 205 calls and crimes in the same area.

According to the Pullman Police Department's daily activity log, seven of those resulted in arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol, seven involved minors possessing alcohol and three involved minors exhibiting the effects of alcohol.

The three weekends where Greeks had a moratorium put in place resulted in one DUI arrest and two MIPs.

Shane Emerson, Pullman's College Hill beat officer, said the weekends have been some of the slowest he's seen in three years when it comes to criminal activity.

"Talking to my field staff about what they saw, it was like night and day." Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said. "It's a great gesture in leadership, and it had a noticeable effect on campus towards safety. I wholeheartedly approve it. The challenge is going to be changing some of the culture to a more balanced Greek Row. We've got to wait and see."

"It's quiet, and it's like a normal residential neighborhood," Emerson said. "Maybe Colorado Street has a few people walking up and down it; there's not a lot of vehicle traffic - it's quiet."

Emerson said that in particular he's seeing a decrease in the city in alcohol detoxes and reported sexual assaults.

"A lot of the kids come over and get drunk at Greek Row and by the time they get home they are calling the police or an ambulance," he said. "We have had hardly any alcohol detoxes in our jurisdiction or WSU's jurisdiction - any intoxication calls we get are drunk people being knuckleheads, and usually they are of age."

According to the police activity log, there were at least four cases where College Hill residents were transported to the hospital for alcohol detoxes before the moratorium, and there were three during the Greek moratorium, all of which occurred on the day of the Apple Cup.

Emerson said to his knowledge there have been no sexual assaults reported since the moratorium began.

Police responded to three reports of sexual assault during the three weekends before the moratorium, and two reports of women who claimed they were drugged at a fraternity. There were no sexual assaults reported to Pullman Police during the three weekends that have occurred since the moratorium.

It's important to note, comparing the three weekends before the moratorium and the three weekends after isn't necessarily an apples to apples comparison.

Each set of three weekends had one football home game and two away games, but since the moratorium WSU students have had one three-day weekend and an entire week off from school for Thanksgiving. During the three weekends before the moratorium students celebrated Halloween.

"Halloween is the busiest night of the year," Emerson said. "This year it was pretty steady but I don't think it was as bad as other years."

He said given Halloween was on a Monday, students celebrated the weekend before.

Emerson said he doesn't know if the decreased crime trend will continue, but noted, "It's absolutely a safer environment."

"We have to see how things go," he said. "It doesn't have to be a 'party central' campus. There are other Greek communities that don't have parties like this. I'd like to see them ease into next semester."

"I have a lot of faith in these kids," Emerson said. "I enjoy working with the kids up there, and I'm proud of them for doing this."

Josh Babcock can be reached at (208) 883-4630, or by email to jbabcock@dnews.com.