Police will have an increased presence on campus and downtown this weekend for homecoming and Halloween festivities -- including Saturday's game against Purdue, officials said.
"We're not taking this weekend lightly," State College Police Department Sgt. Mark Argiro said. "We'll be out in full force, and other departments will be on call."
Argiro said students will not see the number of officers that lined Beaver Avenue after the Nittany Lions defeated Ohio State, but police departments in Ferguson and Patton townships, as well as the Pennsylvania State Police, will be prepared to assist in any way necessary.
He said officers will definitely bring riot gear, but whether they wear it depends on the fans' activities after the game.
University Police Supervisor Clifford Lutz said university officers would be prepared at all times to respond to any disorderly crowd behavior at Beaver Stadium.
Lutz said that while this game does not have the "hallmarks of the Ohio State game," police will be armed with pepper spray and are prepared to keep students from rushing the field.
"We know that [people] have been killed, paralyzed or trampled, and the primary thing is the safety of the students, players and coaches," he said. "Secondly, you are not privileged to be [on the field], and, with the natural turf, you can't have 10,000 people trampling it into mud."
Other items, such as batons and rubber bullets, are accessible, Lutz said, but typically never needed.
Lutz said that, in addition to homecoming festivities, the Kanye West concert tonight at the Bryce Jordan Center and Halloween celebrations will require almost 50 university police officers to work overtime all weekend.
He said police are not expecting any problems at the concert because West has performed at several collegiate venues since he made some highly publicized political statements, and nothing has occurred.
Extra patrols will canvass campus on Sunday night, Lutz said, because Halloween traditionally brings more alcohol-related incidents.
"Alcohol consumption sometimes makes people feel anonymous in their costumes," he said, "and a lot people suffer effects of hypothermia from drinking, because costumes are not very warm."
He added that motorists need to be aware of increased traffic this weekend.
Police will be closing all parking lots and roads that interfere with the homecoming parade route from about 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. to prepare for the parade, Argiro said.
He said all motorists must remove parked vehicles before 5:30 p.m. or risk being towed.
Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) bus routes will be altered from about 5:20 p.m. until the completion of the parade. The Centre Line, the Blue and White loops, and the Red and Green links will be affected, according to a CATA press release.
However, the biggest concern of homecoming weekend is the increased alcohol consumption by students, alumni and visitors, said Patton Township Police Detective John Conti, who is also the supervisor of the Centre County Alcohol Taskforce.
"Anytime you increase amount of population ... and throw in a celebratory event, you automatically get a rise of alcohol-related incidents," Conti said.
He said "quite a few" police officers from State College, Bellefonte and Patton, Ferguson and Spring townships will be working overtime patrols.
He said the Cops-in-Shops program would be in effect in and around local stores that sell alcohol to discourage underage people from purchasing alcohol or people from furnishing alcohol to minors.
Officers will also be on "roving DUI patrols" to specifically look for impaired drivers, Conti said. Alcohol checkpoints in traffic may also be in effect for motorists, he added, but they are still in the planning stages.
"Our best suggestion is, don't crawl behind the wheel if you are going to have any alcohol[ic] beverages," Conti said. "Get someone that's sober to take you home."
