A couple of kegs and a roomful of friends may sound like a fun way to spend a Friday night, but if the police catch a whiff of underage drinking, it gets ugly fast.
ASUO Vice President Ben Buzbee learned this lesson the hard way — firsthand — after a party he hosted at his house on Jan. 18 was broken up by the Eugene Police Department. Buzbee received a $350 citation for furnishing alcohol to minors, and at his arraignment on Jan. 31., Buzbee plead not guilty.
But Buzbee pleaded guilty Wednesday, after his offense had been reduced to a violation. He will now enter into the BUSTED diversionary program run through the University’s Substance Abuse Prevention Program, and go to a 10-hour class on the consequences of underage drinking, as well as pay a $60 court fee and $40 class fee. If Buzbee has no other alcohol-related offenses in the next four months, the violation will not be made part of his permanent record.
Buzbee said he changed his plea to guilty because his offense was reduced from a misdemeanor to a violation after his lawyer filed a motion on Monday to suppress all of the evidence. Buzbee said he was very tempted to keep fighting the charge against him, but he didn’t want a legal hassle hanging over his head as the school year came to a close.
“I was really struggling with whether to fight it or not,” he said.
Besides receiving a citation for furnishing alcohol to minors, Buzbee also landed in hot water when police confiscated three kegs from his house while breaking up the party. He pleaded guilty to false swearing Feb. 27 in a Lane County court and completed a diversion program for that charge.
Buzbee said that he realizes that some people may draw an unfavorable picture of him in light of his violations, but he argues that he hosted a responsible party and took precautions to ensure that events did not get dangerous. According to Buzbee, the party had been over for more than an hour by the time the police arrived, and only about 15 people were still there.
“This was not a party that got busted because it was out of control,” he said.
Buzbee’s legal trouble has been the subject of intense scrutiny because of his leadership position in the ASUO and his affiliation with the fraternity Delta Sigma Phi, especially because the officers who broke up the party said they saw people in togas. However, Buzbee said the party was not a greek function — he simply threw a party with a toga theme.
While he said he realizes it could seem irresponsible to mix a fraternity guy, people wearing togas and beer kegs together, Buzbee said he took precautions to keep people safe. In fact, he said giving the party a toga theme actually safeguards against having uninvited people show up. He also said having kegs was the safest way to have alcohol at the party because they were sealed and couldn’t be tampered with.
Despite all the legal hoopla he’s had to go through, Buzbee said he learned a lot from his experience and hopes that students become more aware of their rights. But in the end, Buzbee said his decision to host the party and give alcohol to minors “was definitely not worth it.”