The usual crowd that gathers in front of Canyon Pizza, 260 E. Beaver Ave., on a weekend night is not likely to describe the town's law enforcement as "State College's finest." The line of hungry and soon-to-be hung-over partygoers often welcomes an officer with comments and sounds fitting of a barnyard.

But while the police officers sift through the mass of sarcastic drunks, four Penn State students, whose jobs are to simply observe and detect criminal activities, go quietly unnoticed. They have no power of arrest or detention, and they only carry a cell phone, a flashlight and a small canister of pepper spray. But the four police interns have assisted in 18 incidents since the initiation of the Highlands Neighborhood Watch Program in January.

Community Relations Officer Tony Lopinsky received 11 resumes from crime, law and justice majors at University Park when the positions were announced. After an extensive background check, which eliminated any candidate with more than two summary offenses, and an interview involving various crime situations, four students were selected.

To protect the interns from harassment, Lopinsky has asked that they only be referred to by their first names.

The interns

"No one ever notices us," said Rich, Highland's officer No. 4, as he and another intern waved to a passing squad car. The officer inside craned his neck and squinted at the two interns before returning the wave.

"Some of the officers know us," he said. But it's the students who are usually oblivious.

"We had a guy drop his pants and urinate on a car right next to us."

Even though it may be a bit frustrating at times, the interns find their anonymity to be a source of humor.

"We've been mistaken for fireman and FBI agents," Rich said. "One guy, who was walking past us, said, 'Hey, you guys match.' " He was referring to the dark green jackets with the nondescript logo each intern must wear while on duty.

"We've already recommended that they add something to the back of the jackets," Rich said.

It's not exactly a plea to be noticed. They would just like to appear official, since they look more like the college students they are than well seasoned police officers.

Rich, despite joking that he could pass for a high school student, has had experience in law enforcement, working security at Belmont Park and Aqueduct in New York, and as an auxiliary on campus. He plans on going into policing at the federal level.

Rich is the talker of the group, as Steph, Highland's officer No. 3, was quick to point out.

"If you spend more than an hour with him, he'll get on your nerves," Steph said jokingly. "You're actually being nice and behaved tonight."

As the only female intern and the youngest of the four as a junior, Steph puts up with her fair share of teasing.

"It was kind of weird at first," she said. "I thought I'd be treated a lot differently, but it's kind of like I'm one of the guys. We get along really well."

Steph is also the only one not planning to go into law enforcement. She is using this internship as experience in police procedure, which she said she hopes to use as a prosecutor some day.

Jay, the tallest of the interns and the one who most fits the appearance of a police officer, wants to start out at the local level and is taking the test to become an officer in the spring.

"I used to work for the campus police," said Jay, Highland's officer No. 1. "I walked around all the time. That's why I wasn't real upset [about the hours] because I was up until 7 a.m. basically doing the same thing."

The interns share most of the same responsibilities, except for Bill, who was chosen by Lopinsky to take photos of any reckless behavior due to alcohol abuse. The photos will be used as research for the Source Investigation Project (SIP), a program designed to help the department investigate underage drinking.

"Even if the photos are of vomit on the street or guys urinating over a railing. It's a lot of nasty stuff, but none of it is being used for prosecution," Lopinsky said.

So far, the drunken crowds have met Bill with mixed reactions.

"We had a guy on St. Patrick's day who was urinating on a wall and said, 'Take another [picture]; I'll put the thumbs up,' " Rich said.

But just the other night, Bill was nearly shoved by an angry drunk and came close to using his pepper spray. And as Jay mentioned, "You never know when people are going to lash out."

That is just one of the many things the interns have learned. But nothing has been more evident than the abuse of alcohol in State College.

"I knew this was a crazy town, but I didn't know to what extent," Bill said. "I think all of the incidents I've been involved with have been alcohol-related."

The job

"It has its moments," Rich said. "There are nights when you will walk around and not see anything."

The interns work Tuesday through Saturday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., covering an area south of Beaver Avenue to Hamilton Avenue and east of University Drive to South Atherton Street. The neighborhood is divided into four routes, which the interns walk in pairs, stopping for only one 20-minute break.

"I've actually lost a lot of weight," Steph said. "I was a little bit sore at first, but now I'm used to it."

The walking isn't really the hard part. The long, late hours have practically robbed the students of a normal college life. Rich is currently taking 21 credits, only six of which are a result of the internship.

"Every night my roommates ask the same question, 'Do you have off tonight?' " Rich said, followed by a sarcastic laugh. "I go home, and they're usually still awake. Sometimes it's funny to be the only sober one when you get home and you catch your roommate passed out in the hallway or on a pile of clothes."

Despite missing out on good times with their friends, the interns have come to realize that slow nights are only as bad as they make them.

"We'll be walking, and it'll be slow, and someone will push the other one into a pile of snow," Rich said. "A little snow battle will ensue, but nothing to the point where anyone gets heated. We all just bust each other's chops."

But between the boredom and restlessness, the interns know they have an important job that can easily sway from monotony to an adrenaline rush in a matter of seconds.

In early February, the interns witnessed a fight in which two men ganged up on another man before leaving the scene.

"I was one of the interns who saw it," Jay said. "That's the craziest thing I've seen. They beat the crap out of that kid."

If not for the interns, however, the suspects might not have been apprehended. Although they are not allowed to intervene, the interns are allowed to follow suspects and use their cell phones to update the police on their location.

"The police now have sober witnesses, and we know what we're looking for, so it's more reliable in court," Steph said.

The power of observation

"The example with Bill the other day, with him getting shoved, that was probably the observation part of just being here every night and picking up on details," Rich said. "When we followed that guy, he wound up climbing up on a roof, and he jumped down in a different shirt, and we still caught him."

The unfortunate aspect of the incident, as Bill pointed out, was that he had no intention of calling the police on the man. He was only taking a picture of him for SIP research.

"He told us that it is illegal to take a picture of a person urinating in public," Bill said. "So I was like, 'Actually, urinating in public is illegal. Just be thankful we didn't call you in.' "

But instead of cutting his losses, the man attempted to shove Bill, who was able to deflect his hands and hold him back with the threat of pepper spray.

"Once he realized we were calling the cops and they were coming this time, he kept running like a maniac," Bill said. "We ran behind him, and I kept my distance, maybe 10 feet behind him, and we just kept following him for four blocks."

The man managed to find his way on top of one of the buildings on Allen Street, at which point the interns lost sight of him. After circling the block, Rich caught sight of the man entering a car stopped at a red light and phoned the police with a description.

"The police finally found the car and brought us around to the site, and we identified him," Bill said. "The funny part about it is the car he jumped in, the guy had no idea who he was. It's just amazing the driver didn't kick him out. It was over nothing."

Seeing people at their lowest of lows, usually because of binge drinking, has given Bill a new perspective on college life. He'll be the first to admit he enjoys having drinks, but there's a line somewhere between fun and excess.

"I know there are a lot of people who are out here drinking three nights of the week," Bill said. "You have to get your priorities straight. Some people are squandering an opportunity that a lot of people don't have."

Another instance of the interns' ability to observe a situation that usually goes unnoticed occurred early Saturday morning, when Bill saw a couple of men attempt to knock over a "No Parking" sign on the corner of Pugh Street and Calder Way.

Within minutes of calling dispatch, police had caught up with one of the men on Calder and asked to speak with him. An altercation ensued, resulting in the man's arrest. He was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and public drunkenness.

Jay and Bill were asked to report to the station to write witness reports and identify the suspect.

"That was a perfect example of why they have us out here," Rich said. "These things tend to escalate."

At the end of the night

The interns are just college students. They may put in more hours than most, and they may be on the "wrong side" of the law when it comes to living the so-called college lifestyle. But their aspirations and their idea of fun is no different than any of the other 40,000 students at Penn State.

"I just laugh [at all the drunk people] because now I know how I look in those situations," Rich said. "It's just made me more self-conscious."

"You see how being drunk can screw up your common sense," Steph added.

The interns said the blatant abuse of alcohol in State College is something they have come to accept. They said they have also managed to maintain an objective image of their peers, despite what the job entails.

"You see how much alcohol influences the area," Rich said. "But you also realize you are seeing the extremes."