Jesse Batson

The football game. The parade. The activities. All three of these are heavily promoted each Hobo Day, but one element of the Hobo Day celebration is generally brushed under the rug — alcohol.

Alcohol is a fundamental part of Hobo Day for many students, whether they are 21 or younger. The University Police Department (UPD) knows that.

“We live in a culture where, when you celebrate, that includes alcohol, and just because you’re 20 doesn’t mean that you’re not part of that culture,” Lt. Michael Kilber says.

Many people try to overlook underage drinking, but the UPD has a different approach.

“I go around the two weeks prior to Hobo Days and I’ll do my program … I call it ’13 Ways Not to Get Arrested On Campus,'” Kilber says.

Kilber’s program has been in its current form for five years now. He took over the program after he attened a drug enforcementy agency and took a course called “Train the Trainer.”

The course taught Kilber how to teach other people, including other UPD officers, student officers and students on campus.

His main goal is to teach students how to act respectful when they consume alcohol.

“Hopefully, we’re getting the word out that there is a level of acceptable behavior irregardless if you’ve been drinking or not, and society expects you to stay within those levels. And if you do, you just don’t have problems,” Kilber says.

A by-product of educated alcohol-consuming students is that Kilber can focus on others while on duty, like vandals and sexual predators.

“These are the people I want to be out dealing with, not an 18-year-old who had three or four beers at a house party and is walking back to their hall,” Kilber says.