Pig Roast arrests often come from attention-drawing students

Many of the arrests that have been made during Pig Roast have been a direct result of people drawing attention to themselves, said Eric Beatty, University of Richmond Police Lieutenant.

“The biggest thing with Pig Roast is if a student doesn’t draw attention to themselves, they probably won’t be addressed,” Beatty said.

“So as long as a student is not falling down, screaming and yelling, and calling attention to themselves, the chances are they’ll go on and enjoy their day,” he said.

Many of the safety measures used in recent years, including a higher-than-usual URPD presence, security officers preventing people from walking to the University Forest Apartments in the morning, and police officers monitoring students in the dining hall, will continue this year.

One change, however, caused some concern among students.

“A new piece to the event is that RMC will provide security for ID checking and you will need to swipe your Spider Card as you enter the event to track attendance,” Richmond College Dean Joseph Boehman wrote in an email.

Although some people interpreted the email to mean that people visiting who do not have Richmond IDs could not attend, the change is just that RMC will be leading the check-in. The check-in system is not new, said Meg Pevarski, director of Greek life.

“I think we just happened to put it in the email this year,” Pevarski said. “We have always asked students to bring identification.”

People who plan on attending Pig Roast that do not attend Richmond need to show identification to get in, Pevarski said.

Beatty, who said working Pig Roast has become run of the mill because a bunch of officers have done it many times, believes the event has improved in recent years.

“I’ve really seen Pig Roast go in a positive direction over the past three or four years,” Beatty said. “Things just seem to be controlled. I think the students are more respectful of the day and what it is. Everybody goes out and has a good time. There are very few arrests… I think most of the students understand they can go out, they can have a good time, just be respectful of the day and what it is.”