CU Police are taking a "zero tolerance" approach to violations of rules on substances banned from football games at the University of Colorado at Boulder this fall, including marshmallows and tortillas, and fans may also be ejected from games for unruly behavior directed toward officials and other fans.
"The zero tolerance policy will apply to any item thrown onto the football field," said Jim Fadenrecht, chief of the CU Police Department.
"We are very concerned about the safety of the players, or anyone on the field, and the safety of our fans," Fadenrecht said. "We want people to be able to watch the game without having to dodge flying objects."
In addition to the ban on alcohol in the stadium, which has been in effect since 1996, marshmallows also will not be allowed in the stadium "because of the pattern in prior years of some people putting batteries, coins and rocks in marshmallows and throwing them onto the field," said Fadenrecht. In some cases, fans have been injured.
Police and security personnel working all home games at Folsom Stadium will check for alcohol and other banned articles at the gates and an amnesty arrangement will allow people to leave those items at the gate before entering the stadium.
"If we identify alcohol or any of these other items inside the stadium later, it will result in an automatic ejection," Fadenrecht said. "If the person is underage, they will be given a summons for minor in possession.
"There is no change in the minor in possession policy and the message is still the same. We won't turn a blind eye on alcohol possession," said Fadenrecht. Arriving fans who are intoxicated will also be denied admission to the game.
CU-Boulder's new two strikes policy "means that there's a lot more at stake for students if they're charged," he said.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Ron Stump describes the two strikes policy as a tougher version of the previous "Three Strike" alcohol policy. "If a student is already on probation and again found to be in simple violation of alcohol laws or policies, he or she will be subject to suspension from the university for at least one full semester," he said.
Â鶹ÒùÔº who violate alcohol laws or policies for the third time during the entire period of their enrollment -- whether they're on probation or not -- can be suspended, according to Stump. The altered policy doesn't limit the university from additional disciplinary actions deemed appropriate for any specific case.
Fans ejected from a game also may be denied access to subsequent games and their tickets may be confiscated, depending on the severity of the infraction. Unruly fans also may be arrested and face criminal prosecution.
To assist with additional work that could result from strict enforcement, more officers will be present at the stadium for the Saturday game, Fadenrecht said. "Four additional officers from CSU will be stationed around the CSU student section and officers will be stationed near the officials on the field, so we will have extra people at Folsom Field," he said.
For home games, CU Police typically supervise about 80 officers working the game plus about 330 private security guards who check packs and survey the crowd during the game. In addition to the extra help from Colorado State University's police department, Boulder city officers and county deputies "will be available to us if we need them post-game or even at the end of the game, if necessary," Fadenrecht said.
Boulder Police have had additional officers working weekends on the Hill, adjacent to campus, since before classes started Aug. 23 and both Boulder and CU police have sponsored "Hill Stops," in which officers have booths on the Hill to talk to young people and students about "safe celebrating" and other topics.