With no Springfest, police see a tamer weekend, issue fewer citations

For the second consecutive year, police citations decreased on the Saturday prior to UND's finals week-a day once reserved for the annual Springfest festival. UND's University Police Department wrote out 33 citations Saturday, a decrease from 44 in 2014 and 153 in 2013. Springfest, which largely revolved around alcohol consumption for decades, was cancelled this year after city and UND officials urged its organizers not to apply for the necessary permits. Instead, UND held a variety of sanctioned events meant to entertain students while keeping them sharp for the upcoming week of final exams. The Grand Forks Police Department and University Police both employed extra patrol officers, including city officers focused on having a visible presence in the community. UND Police Chief Eric Plummer policed the streets for the third year in a row. Most people he talked to weren't UND students, he said, adding it's a trend he had seen in past years. "They were coming from Fargo, St. Cloud, East Grand Forks, the Cities, or even out of the region and they were coming in and pretty much trashing our community, going home the next day and leaving UND and Grand Forks residents to clean up the mess," he told the Herald on Wednesday. Only four of the citations this year, 12 percent of the total, were given to UND students, a trend UND Police Sgt. Danny Weigel also said he saw last year. He and Plummer both said their preventative education seems to be working with UND students. "People are coming from other areas, other campuses, and participating in the event and it's something we talk to our students on campus whether they're in a residence hall or the Greek community," Weigel said. "We talk to them and go over their concerns and voice our concerns." Plummer said he was proud of how the UND community handled the event and even though he expected to see more students come out later in the day, there weren't any wandering crowds going from house party to house party. "I just think the city and the community and the university did a very good job of providing alternatives to our community members with things to do that day," Plummer said. "People had a good time, alcohol didn't have to be the focal point to have a good time and I was extremely pleased we were able to have a pre-finals weekend without any issues." Grand Forks police did not respond to attempts to contact them.