IU Police Department shut down three parties late Saturday night because party goers did not follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation to practice social distancing and Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order.
“Parties are not considered an essential activity,” reads a Sunday tweet from the IUPD Twitter account.
IUPD Deputy Chief Shannon Bunger said there were about 20 people at a party on the extension of North Jordan Avenue. The other two parties reportedly occurred near campus and had about 10 to 20 people. Bunger said officers arrived at the parties and explained the importance of staying home and limiting the spread of the coronavirus.
“We understand that everybody is going stir crazy right now,” Bunger said. “But we can't be having parties.”
He said IUPD is not actively enforcing the stay-at-home order and they just told people to go home. However, the department sent three conduct reports to the dean of students, who may take further action against the people who organized each party.
Bunger said he does not think people are intentionally violating the executive order, but they are still stuck in old social habits. He said it's still not OK to be in groups, even if people are outside.
“This is all about educational based information getting out so everybody's aware of what's going on,” Bunger said.
IUPD has been posting on its social media accounts, such as Twitter and Instagram, to remind people to stay home and practice social distancing.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of students at the party on North Jordan Avenue. There were 20, according to IUPD Deputy Chief Shannon Bunger. The IDS regrets this error.
