DAYGLOW had thousands of Penn State students and visitors flocking to the Bryce Jordan Center for two sold-out parties filled with paint, lasers, smoke, strobe lights and electronic dance music.
Most students who attended the “L!fe in Color” tour enjoyed the paint party and left at the end of the night without issue. But some individuals ended up leaving with a citation.
University Police Assistant Chief Bill Moerschbacher said at least 26 people were cited for public drunkenness or underage drinking during Wednesday night’s paint party.
Twenty people were transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center from the BJC for alcohol-related injuries Wednesday while attending DAYGLOW, according to the University Police and Fire Daily Activity Log.
Police issued 23 citations Wednesday to individuals who drank alcohol under the age of 21, according to the log.
Moerschbacher said more University Police officers were on duty during Wednesday’s and Thursday’s concerts than a typical night.
The number of citations resulting from Thursday’s DAYGLOW concert will not be available until later today, Moerschbacher said.
Bernie Punt, BJC director of sales and marketing, wrote in an email that 99 percent of those who attended the concert acted responsibly, in a non-alcoholic, properly secured and staffed setting.
“If the attention of the University and the media remains fixated towards any negative behavior of our attendees, then … it will have a significant impact on future [electronic dance music] events booked at the Bryce Jordan Center,” Punt wrote in an email.
At the end of each night, many students also surprised to find that they were not allowed to enter CATA buses.
Sherry Snyder, CATA director of operations, said those with paint covering their clothes and shoes were not allowed to board the buses.
Snyder said CATA has a limited maintenance staff that would not be able to clean the buses by the next day, which is why paint-covered individuals were not allowed on the buses.
Preliminary numbers suggest that crime during each night of DAYGLOW was lower than during the Avicii concert on Nov. 17.
Police issued 34 citations at the Avicii concert, 30 of which were issued to people who were underage, according to the log.
Seventeen people at the Avicii show were transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment of alcohol-related illnesses, according to the log.
But crime during DAYGLOW was higher than the “State of Emergency” concert on Feb. 23.
In total, 13 students were issued citations after being observed publicly drunk at the State of Emergency concert, according to the University Police and Fire Daily Activity Log. Out of the 13 people who were issued citations, nine were underage.
