Parties at NIU have been under control this year, and may be even less crazy than in previous years.

“Last year [the party scene] was pretty bad and it’s a little bit better this year than usual,” DeKalb Police Lt. Carl Leoni said.

University Police Lt. Matthew Kiederlen also said the party scene on campus hasn’t been any crazier than the normal.

“It’s been a pretty standard pace,” he said.

Increased awareness for NIU students has lessened the number of problems they’ve had, Leoni said.

Officers went out early in the year and distributed information about laws regarding parties in DeKalb.

Leoni said the most problematic area for parties is the northwest side of town, but he does believe the Greek community is putting forth a greater effort to keep things under control.

Fighting sometimes ends up being a problem at parties, but Kiederlen said there haven’t been many fights this year.

Most violent situations police have encountered tend to involve substance abuse, Kiederlen said.

Jennifer Kronberg, a junior physical therapy major, said there seems to be more partying this year.

“Since there’s more people, there’s more drinking going on,” she said.

She did say she thinks the party environment is somewhat controlled, however, and she hasn’t seen much fighting.

“This is one of the safer campuses I’ve been on,” she said.

Freshman undecided major Adrienne Beeman also said there seems to be a lot of partying.

“Wherever you go, you’re sure to find a party somewhere,” Beeman said.

Jason Oppenheimer, a junior accountancy major and Delta Chi fraternity member, disagrees. He thinks the party scene has been less crazy this year.

“I don’t think there are as many people out this year because of the cops,” he said.

Leoni believes that a little effort has made all the difference.

“I think things are better through the concentrated efforts of NIU officials and the DeKalb Police Department,” he said.