I think we need to focus on the actual CRIME going on in this town, not the drinking citations. I don't really consider Charleston safe (I often urge my friends not to live in houses & take the safer, more manageable route of apartment living). In my own apartment complex, on a very quiet & Charleston resident side of town, there were 15+ security cameras installed in our 12 apartment complex. If Charleston is so safe from burglary, theft, & violence, why was the need for these cameras installed? I have talked with our landlord about this and its not just to monitor the people living in the building & the damages that occur; its for safety. I live near the southside of Chicago & I feel safer in my neighborhood than I do in Charleston the last two years.

As for violent or threatening crime in Charleston, a girl was picked up in a van on the corner of 9th street right by Carman hall almost two years ago. These men were not EIU students. The "Change Bandit" of last year was finally caught recently, but until then he was free roaming in and out of homes. Regardless if it was just change, a person was in the house, unwelcome & stealing. This not a drunk EIU student, this was a Charleston High School student. Recently, a man has been breaking and entering into houses where females reside and sitting in their houses, on their beds, etc. while these women are not home. A likely bet would be on a non-EIU student.

Although I do agree that most of the crime is because of alcohol, its also because EIU has stepped up its enforcement of alcohol violations due to funding for doing so, not because drinking has become more prevalent. Hence, the direct coloration to an increase in drinking citations. In fact, in the four years that I have been at EIU, I have seen a huge decrease in house parties and a shift to students traveling to schools where drinking is more prevalent (i.e. SIU-C & U of I).

Lastly, this is a college town & drinking happens. In fact, what would this town be with out its 10+ places where drinking occurs, not to mention the liquor stores? So, the sad reality is that Charleston profits from allowing students (namely, underagers) to drink as well as telling them not to (i.e. drinking citations.)