As students prepare for the festivities of Green Key weekend, organizations committed to student safety are bracing to handle an influx of visitors on campus. In order to more efficiently respond to any emergencies, Safety and Security and Dick's House plan to increase the size of their staffs and modify their working hours.
Safety and Security will increase its staff from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. over the weekend, adding two patrols to monitor campus on foot, Director of Safety and Security and College Proctor Harry Kinne said. Up to 10 officers will patrol campus during the evening hours, according to Kinne. The campus is divided into sections in order "to hit areas with a lot of people," such as Webster Avenue and the College's residential halls, he said.
Green Key is "more active than just any other spring or winter weekend, but comparable to a typical weekend in the fall," according to Kinne.
Officers will monitor the weekend's major events, like Alpha Delta fraternity's Lawn Party and Phi Delta Alpha fraternity's Block Party, according to Kinne.
Dick's House increases its nursing staff and bed capacity "slightly" for the weekend, Nursing Director Charlene Bradley said. Green Key preparations are similar to those for other major weekends, she said.
Although arrests vary each year, there have been fewer arrests in recent years, Kinne said. Most arrests over Green Key are alcohol-related.
"One of the key reasons for admission [to Dick's House] on this and any weekend is related to alcohol intoxication," Bradley said. "We are very fortunate to have the many safety precautions in place with the intent of assuring the safety of those who choose to drink."
Green Team, a student-run organization that attends social events to identify and assist individuals who may be intoxicated, will send out teams of four to every event they monitor, according to Green Team co-chairs Will Conaway '13 and Alex Martin '13. There is no set number of people who will work for Green Team over the weekend, they said.
The organization has grown since its founding last year and is better prepared for this year's events, according to Conaway and Martin. Positive response from Greek houses and increased student participation have given the organization more flexibility in scheduling, they said.
"Since there tend to be more events on Green Key, we expect to see more requests from houses and events than our usual four per weekend," Martin said.
There will be no major adjustments to Safety and Security's preparations if the weather is unfavorable, Kinne said.
"Hopefully the weather is nice because bad weather does force people inside," Kinne said. Safety and Security is "particularly sensitive" to overcrowding during inclement weather, he said.
Warm weather usually results in more students seeking medical assistance, according to Bradley.
Favorable weather will allow for events to be "more spread out" throughout the day, which lowers the concentration of people at any one event, according to Conaway.
