Starting this weekend, UNM will send a new message to tailgaters at Lobo football games: The out-of-control partying stops now.
The University is going to begin enforcing the University's already present tailgating policies more strictly than it has in past seasons, a UNM official said.
That means tailgaters will be prohibited from bringing glass containers or kegs to tailgate parties. It also means security and police will be on the lookout to prevent public drunkenness, underage drinking and trespassing; crimes area residents say plague their community during every home game.
Saturday's game against UNLV will serve as a transitional period meant to notify tailgaters that starting on Nov. 8, rules that were once overlooked or loosely enforced will be implemented more strictly and regularly.
Conrad Colbert, senior associate athletics director, said the shift in enforcement aims to protect the interests of football fans, tailgaters and homeowners from the local neighborhood association.
Colbert said Athletics Director Rudy Davalos told him to meet with association officials and "get the problem worked out."
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On Oct. 22, University officials met with members of the Clayton Heights/Lomas del Cielo Neighborhood Association and agreed to begin enforcing existing tailgating restrictions more strictly, as well as introduce some new techniques meant to prevent most problems.
Isabel Cabrera, president of the neighborhood association, said she tried to meet with the University about tailgating restrictions several times before but had always been denied.
"UNM appears to have several written policies that have not been enforced in the past," Cabrera said.
But this time, Cabrera had a catalyst: A letter written to UNM President Louis Caldera and the help of COSAP.
UNM's Campus Office of Substance Abuse and Prevention decided to help the neighborhood association by lobbying for UNM to enforce its own restrictions and to help reduce at-risk drinking as part of a grant the office received this year.
"The Athletics department seems truly interested in making some changes so we can have a safer, family-friendly atmosphere," said Jill Anne Yeagley, program manager at COSAP.
The Athletics department has also agreed to announce tailgating rules and restrictions via the stadium's public address system, Colbert said.
"This is a trial run for doing this right," Colbert said.
The University also agreed to construct a fence stretching along the eastern edge of South Lot, from Avenida CÇsar ChÖvez to Kathryn Avenue. Athletics officials said the fence will prevent tailgating from spilling over into the local neighborhood.
"We took it on the idea that Clayton Heights is our neighborhood, too," Colbert said.
Another restriction the University will begin enforcing more strictly, Colbert said, is its rule that prohibits tailgating prior to six hours before the game.
Phillip Pinsonneault, a freshman electrical engineering major, said he has been to several tailgating parties with his family.
He said UNM's new enforcement is a good thing, but it would be better if the rules had been upheld in the past.
"If they had these rules before, why all of a sudden are they doing this now?" he said. "It will help some, but it's not going to help everything."
