Ahead of Homecoming and Halloween festivities, town of Elon Police released a statement to the residents of Oak Hill Apartments stating they have been made aware of a planned, large-scale party rumored to take place within the apartment complex Nov. 2.
The memorandum, released Oct. 28, also stated that if such a gathering occurs, those who are responsible may be subject to legal action including criminal charges and fines.
Assistant Elon Police Chief Kedrick King said the decision to release the memorandum was based on previous incidents that have taken place at Oak Hill.
“A year prior to that, we had individuals there.” King said. “There was a fight, of course, alcohol related calls. I think there was individuals selling drugs in the crowd. So we're just trying to make sure that we have all of our things aligned, that we can provide resources and pretty much alleviate any problems that we would have.”
During the 2023-24 school year, Elon University’s security and fire safety report showed an increase in liquor law violations that were referred to for disciplinary action from 192 in 2022 to 293 in 2023.
King also said the decision to create the memorandum was made because residents of Oak Hill did not apply for a special event permit through the town of Elon.
“We need to make sure that we have the ability to get individuals as far as officers, fire, EMS,” King said. “We're going to need to make sure that we can properly protect that community, especially the residents of Oak Hill.”
According to the document, a special event permit must be applied for at least 60 days before the intended event date and that the absence of a permit will be addressed accordingly.
While Oak Hill Apartments are not on Elon University property, Callie Kelly, assistant director of Campus Recreation & Wellness for Substance Use Prevention, said the university will uphold the law within the area.
“Elon is always going to uphold the laws and ordinances,” Kelly said. “State law, federal law, so whatever the law is, the university is going to stand behind that.”
According to King there will be police presence at Oak Hill Apartments that will be prepared for any sort of gathering.
“We will address those issues,” King said. “There's also a fire code standard, as well as officer safety standard, as well as a public safety standard that we have to abide by.”
With Halloween weekend and Homecoming occurring at the same time, Kelly said she thinks that this may lead to an increase in drinking.
“You have alumni that are coming back in and so there is almost like this convergence of these two major celebratory events that are happening at the same time,” Kelly said. “We just know that students know that drinking will tend to increase.”
Despite Oak Hill’s police presence, King said he wants students to be educated and follow the processes laid out by the town.
“It's more about education,” King said. “The educational piece for us was providing the memorandum saying, ‘Hey, we're not telling you can't do this, but you have to do it the right way.’”