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Hoping to improve communication between students and university police, the Student Union and the Department of Public Safety will host an informal reception next Thursday in the Shapiro Campus Center, Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said.

“I thought it would be good to [create] interaction so it wasn’t [this] us-versus-them situation,” Callahan said.

During the event, students will have an opportunity to ask university police questions and learn more about Public Safety. Callahan said that Public Safety is also working to organize a game night in the Usdan Student Center later this semester.

“Getting to know the people that protect us on a personal level is really important,” Student Union President Daniel Acheampong ’11 said.

The event, which will be held at 1:30 p.m., came to fruition after Glickman suggested the idea of an afternoon reception with pizza and soda. Callahan said he thought it would be a helpful way to clear concerns related to events that occurred the night of Pachanga when university police arrested two students for assaulting a police officer, among other charges. Some students questioned the validity of the alleged assaults and nine students were also hospitalized for alcohol poisoning the same night.

Pachanga is a student-organized event, therefore Public Safety cannot cancel it or other similar events planned under different names, despite university students’ tendency to pre-game the events, Callahan said.

“We’re a support division,” Callahan said. “Obviously if the event does happen, we have to support it to the best of [our] capabilities.”

There are several large on-campus dance parties scheduled for the next month. On Saturday evening in Sherman Function Hall, B’Deis Records will host a party called “Snow White.” As of Thursday, nearly 300 people planned to attend, according to a Facebook page.

Last weekend, the Student Union, Student Activities, Student Events and the Office of the President hosted “A Battle of the DJ’s” in Levin Ballroom where university President Fred Lawrence ran the party as master of ceremonies and was joined on stage by his wife, Kathy Lawrence.

One female student showed up intoxicated and needed to be transported to a hospital for treatment after being found inside the restroom in Levin. Three other students were also transported to hospitals for alcohol poisoning last weekend, according to Callahan. Three of the students were first-years—one of them a midyear—and the fourth student was a sophomore.

Callahan said that the number of transports surprised him because it was only the first weekend back, but he added that most transports for intoxication happen with first-years.