I used to think that people who were arrested were inherently bad, that police officers were meant to protect the innocent and maintain a society of security and well-being for all its inhabitants. That was until last Saturday, when I witnessed the Gestapo-like raids of Mission Hill by police with one simple objective: arrest anyone underage in possession of alcohol. The party I attended was broken up, my friend was arrested for holding (not drinking) a case of beer, and you’ve probably read about the Mission Hill Six, six Northeastern students arrested for disorderly conduct and drinking. (Inexplicably, despite the students being arrested off campus and by Boston Police, Northeastern will be taking its own disciplinary measures. So, if I were to murder someone in Texas, will the OSCCR administer the lethal injection?) Now theoretically, the police have every right to arrest someone underage consuming alcohol, but aren’t these priorities a little out of whack? In a city where I can be mugged, mauled, and murdered just trying to get to Store 24 for a 6-year-old burrito, shouldn’t BPD be occupying its time elsewhere? Does the idea of a student drinking a beer with his friends really require a task force? College students are going to drink. It’s a law of nature. The BPD could declare a state of prohibition on Boston, and there would be hundreds of students turning into would-be Al Capones. In the glory days of Mission Hill, students could have a few drinks, and stumble a couple of blocks back to their dorm rooms. By taking that away, it forces students elsewhere, further from campus. Places that implement a driving distance. But that’s OK. Drinking and driving have never caused any problems. Just don’t let them drink and walk. For the love of God. For the people who live around Mission Hill and have pled with the BPD to stop the partying, here’s a question: Who moves next to not one, but two colleges and expects an endless bubble of sobriety? As for Northeastern, if a student is caught doing a keg stand in Krentzman Quad, the school has every right to prosecute. But when it happens well off campus, when the students have already been taken care of by the REAL police, maybe Northeastern should focus its time on other things.

-Justin Rebello is a middler journalism major.