The annual pseudo-holiday Unofficial took place on Saturday and led to the usual increase in police calls.  

This year’s Unofficial had a similar number of calls and offenses as recent years.  

EIU Police Department Lieutenant Michael Lusk and Charleston Police Department Detective Kirk Kepley both said that this year’s Unofficial was comparable to last year’s.  

In total, there were 22 offenses in the area where Unofficial occurred.   

The offenses fell into the following categories: eight for public possession of alcohol, six for underage drinking or possession of alcohol, three for obscene conduct, one for aggravated battery to a police officer, one for criminal damage, one for fighting, one for disorderly conduct and one for public intoxication, according to the EIU police department’s crime log and the Charleston police department.  

One of the main reasons for all the charges during the event is because of the influx of people into the community. Due to this, both CPD and UPD increase their personnel for the day from the usual daily amount, according to Lusk and Kepley.  

“We talk with people that are hosting the parties to kind of make sure they’re understanding of the rules and regulations,” Kepley said. “That way, everybody can have a good time, and it goes smoothly.”  

One of the houses that didn’t get to have its party hopes fulfilled was the third house at 1023 Fourth St. or better known as Phi Kappa Theta’s house. This was because of noise complaints from their neighbors right as it started to form, police said.  

“The people that are members of the community that have houses nearby, they’re still allowed to have the right to their peace,” Kepley said. “So, if something was getting out of control and getting loud, it needed to move elsewhere. That’s kind of why we did what we did.”  

Lusk said that there were sporadic complaints of noise and people in the streets throughout the event.  

 According to Kepley, the only big difference from last year was the drop in calls at around 2 a.m. He said last year there were 15 calls and this year there were six.  

Furthermore, Kepley highlighted the positives of the event.  

“It kicks off spring for a lot of the college students,” he said.  

He also mentioned the increase in revenue for businesses in the community, especially ones that sell food and gas.   

“It brings people in, and people are spending money at the gas stations,” Kepley said. “So that part of it’s a positive, and like I said, generally people behave, and people just have a good time.”  

Bryce Parker can be reached at 581-2812 or at baparker2@eiu.edu.