Student Patrol officers

Pictured: U of I Student Patrol officers (Photo: U of I Police Department) 

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - A "party patrol" featuring University of Illinois students is again working to keep COVID-19 under control in the spring 2021 semester. 

When there have been complaints of parties in the Campustown area during the pandemic, U of I Police Chief Alice Cary said Student Patrol officers are sent first in order to reach a solution through peer-to-peer interactions. Officials said Student Patrol is usually enough, but police can get involved in rare situations where a party host refuses to comply with COVID-19 mitigation measures. 

“The vast majority of our students want to do the right thing, but a few maybe need a little nudge in the right direction. That’s what Student Patrol does,” Cary said. “It’s rare, but if someone absolutely refuses to comply voluntarily, that’s when our police officers will arrive to address the situation.”

U of I Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones said in a recent massmail to the campus community that students are expected to only engage in essential activities until Feb. 8. This comes even after Region 6 of Illinois, which includes Champaign County, was moved to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan, which involves less-strict mitigation measures. 

In addition, Champaign and Urbana emergency orders limiting social gatherings to 10 or fewer people, which were issued during the fall semester, are still in place. Party hosts who don't follow guidelines could face fines. 

Students who don't follow COVID-19 related expectations can face university disciplinary action up to and including dismissal, a U of I police press release said. 

The U of I discipline plan follows a partnership between U of I police and the Office for Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR). After a police officer has contact with a student who violates expectations related to COVID-19, the case is referred to OSCR for potential disciplinary action. 

In fall 2020, Student Patrol officers responded to dozens of complaints. Police said a "very small portion" of Campustown area parties in the fall semester were either too large or the hosts refused to meet health code compliance. 

Officers said those hosts were liable for citations for hosting a nuisance party, endangering public health or reckless conduct. In a handful of the more serious cases, hosts received all three citations and were fined in excess of $1,300 per person. 

U of I police issued a total of 30 citations to 18 people for party-related health violations in the fall 2020 semester.Â