Cornell student drivers should pay close attention to the Cornell University Police Department’s (CUPD) website in the remaining weeks of the semester.
Sometime between now and Slope Day, the department plans to conduct another sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location on campus.
However, when asked to reveal the date of the checkpoint, officials refused to comment.
“Unfortunately, we are still experiencing alcohol-related problems, particularly on weekends and after large sporting events,” Sergeant Charles Howard said.
The Coordinator of Traffic Enforcement Activities for the department, Howard says that the department will post the checkpoint’s date and location a couple of days before it takes place.
“Primarily [the checkpoint] is part of our educational campaign,” he explained.
The department hopes to raise awareness about the dangerous consequences of combining alcohol with driving a vehicle. By keeping the checkpoint’s information confidential, officials are forcing students to regularly check the reports posted on the website.
“I think it’s a good idea that they don’t tell you when [the checkpoint] is because you should always be sober when you’re driving anyway,” Cara Nemchek ’05 said.
Although the number of DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) incidents on campus has remained relatively stable over the past year, police officers want to ensure that these statistics do not rise.
“We are concerned about the fact that last year we made an abnormally high number of arrests,” Howard said. “Over 50 percent of total DWI arrests we made were Cornell students.”
Most Cornellians seem to support the department in its efforts to combat drunk driving.
“I don’t know if keeping the date a secret is going to make a difference in the number of drunk drivers but I think the idea of the checkpoint is good,” Kyra Tichacek ’05 said.
The official CUPD website is http://www.cupolice.cornell.edu.
Archived article by Meghan Barr