Tailgating might be the most dangerous activity at a Lobo football game.
Students showed up to party before Friday’s football game versus Boise State as early as 4 p.m.
A condensed crowd of students, dressed in red, bobbed up and down to house music at sunset, while paramedics stood by to respond to potential alcohol poisoning or dehydration.
As students played drinking games, drank Bud Light out of foam-covered cans and cheered each other on while downing beer bong funnels, police stood on the sidelines to monitor the activity.
One female student was so intoxicated she appeared to be passing out, while a male tried to convince her to go home with him and, as her friend attempted to convince the overly-intoxicated woman to leave, others notified security.
Buckets and cases of alcohol littered the premises, and just who cleans the area when students are finished partying on the field before the football game starts has not yet been confirmed by the Daily Lobo.
Some might describe it as a wasteland of the college aesthetic, some might call it the way to take the edge off after another week of school, some both. However participants and observers view the scene, it is a typical one — at this point, participants in tailgating culture at large universities like UNM know exactly what to expect.
Michael Haggerty, assistant athletic director of events, said many people who attend student tailgates never make it inside University Stadium to the game.
“Many students just come to party,” he said. “We don’t want that. We need students to support the team.”
UNMPD Lieutenant Tim Stump said, as far as safety is concerned, multiple police jurisdictions work Lobo games, including the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, UNMPD and Rio Rancho police.
Paramedics are on site to respond to overly-intoxicated individuals, he said. Underage students caught drinking are reported to University administration, and are sometimes given a Minor in Possession charge.
Haggerty said undercover officers also attend tailgate parties, and a police force called the Special Investigations Unit issues MIP tickets to underage drinkers.
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The SIU is a law enforcement unit of the Department of Public Safety. SIU officers have statewide jurisdiction for various functions, including underage enforcement operations and undercover operations.
There were six MIP’s issued at last week’s game, Haggerty said.
In past years, a wristband policy has been used, but the policy caused long lines and people simply avoided the security measure by partying at a different lot, he said.
There were also “a couple of fights” at this season’s first game, Haggerty said.
“When you add alcohol to the mix, things can escalate,” he said.
Cian Nudi, a senior psychology and sociology double major, said he went to the party but didn’t go to the game because he doesn’t “have much faith in the Lobos,” who lost 49-21 to Boise State on Friday night.
Nudi walked to the student tailgate before the game with his roommates, as they live close to the stadium and all wanted to avoid drinking and driving.
It was odd being at the party as a senior, he said.
“I felt a little bit like the old guy,” Nudi said. “At this point, I’ve been to too many. They’re fun, but they’re not my thing.”
Nudi said he witnessed a fight break out at the party, and said one man involved was taken into custody after the incident.
“I never see police intervene until after the fight is already over,” he said.
Nudi said he would be embarrassed and worried for his professional future if he were to be caught in a photograph at one of these parties.
“I just think about my future, if I were to be caught in a picture at a stupid, big party where people are drunk all over the place and girls are twerking,” he said. “I’m too old for this.”
Sara MacNeil is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @sara_macneil.
