First off, as I am sitting here I can't express again how grateful I am to have received the education and experience that I had as a college student. I also want to thank UAlbany again for allowing me to have that experience. As I was catching up with some of my other fellow alum last weekend I had realized that things were not going to be the same after I graduated last December. Meaning that things were certainly not the same from when I first walked through the doors at UA.

At this year's Homecoming game there were many changes that were made as to certain students that seemed to complain about last year. Reason for their complaints? Some were complaining that their cars were being destroyed, others were complaining about the amount of tailgating that was taking place, and the rest just straight out did not want any of those shenanigans to take place on campus. So my question to those that received a somewhat 'safer' tailgate along with the rules, are you happy now? If there is anything that I DID notice it was that some of my fellow alum were confused as to why it didn't have that same crazy fun feeling as it did from the previous years.

That was all based upon the number of rules that entailed. I was confused as to why I as an alum had to pay to tailgate. The man said I had to either have a school ID or buy a ticket from will call. Not only was I annoyed at the fact that I needed to go through all that to tailgate, but it is also the fact that the tailgate had a timeframe. So in order to tailgate, you needed to follow that time frame or UPD will just shut it down. On top of that, the rules also entailed that no music was allowed to play from either cars or speakers. I think I've said enough on that. But don't be alarmed this would not be the first thing. In the past with events such as Fountain Day which used to be a UAlbany tradition many are wondering…WTF happened??

If this can sum it up in a quick manner. It all started with a little incident that most UA current students and alum know. That would be the incident that occurred in March 2011. This was the infamous Kegs&Eggs riot. If you're wondering one of the reasons why UAlbany's reputation being the #1 party school calmed down is all because of the start of this.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with this, I would simply suggest going through some history timelines for this one. Let's just say that St. Patty's Day riot ended up with hundreds of damages involving the governor of NY, UPD, UAlbany, and of course parents. Only a few were arrested but the rest of the students involved were left with a lawsuit and some phased out memories as to what happened that weekend.

This also is the reason as to why Fountain Day was canceled that same semester. So now with those incidents and some background, can you see why some don't want this kind of craziness to happen again? Let's be perfectly real, UAlbany got its 'party school' reputation for a reason. It didn't just come overnight specifically for playing by the rules. It got its reputation because yes we are all there for educational purposes and purposes that we will take away for the rest of our days. However, that doesn't mean that we don't deserve to not have a good time. We deserve to be as much fun as we can possibly be.

Don't get it twisted though, this is not shaming anyone who does not want to party. It's not for everyone, and others are just mainly focused on getting their education. Now does that mean that EVERYONE wants the party to calm down? Of course not. It also doesn't mean that things should not get so out of control that other people deserve to get hurt. That is not what it is about. Just because one group of individuals damaged property doesn't mean that everyone else should be punished.

One bad apple shouldn't spoil the whole bunch. I never thought that I would have to leave a college tailgate with the thoughts of 'it could've been better'. While other colleges get to play by their own rules why can't UA? Why can't it be JUST as fun as other schools? It deserves to be for future students and even alum when they return for events such as Homecoming weekend.

We used to be the #1 party school where the unthinkable would happen. Now students can't seem to do anything without getting ticketed by the police and have city horses stop a day-drink which shouldn't be an issue since they are in backyards. I have to roll my eyes because there are other things that UPD SHOULD be monitoring rather than worrying about students trying to live out their college fun before they graduate.

Hey UPD how about focusing on the creeps that have harassed my friends and I as were walking down the street? How about focusing your energy more on just regular things that police should be focusing on. Also, I see you mouthing off to certain people…is that the example you're trying to set?

My point given is that college is a place where people should be allowed to express themselves and have fun the way that they please. As long as it is not harming other people it should not be an issue. However, the more rules that will come about, is more likely that people will rebel against them to break them. If you don't like to party fine, don't like alcohol, also fine. No one is forcing you to do anything. But at the end of the day, everyone deserves to have fun. No one like's a party pooper.