Most partygoers wouldn’t think to call Department of Public Safety and file a noise complaint for the party they are currently attending. For a group of University students at the 2 Dickinson St. Co-op, however, that was exactly the right idea.
On Dec. 3, students assembled at 2D for a party advertised on Facebook as “¿!¿! PSAFE Surprise !?!?” The game plan, as outlined in a post to this event, was simple: “we will call psafe on ourselves. psafe will arrive. we will surprise psafe with a cake. we will then party.”
Officers arrived shortly after the noise complaint was filed, by their own accounts unaware of the students’ plans. The first two officers on scene were greeted with a cheer of “We love you, PSafe!” that Sergeant Stephen Solovey described as “very overwhelming, in a positive way.” Soon, the first officers to respond had joined the party, calling in additional officers as “backup.”
“We go off of each other’s voices on the radio sometime, and they [the other officers] definitely played into it,” Sergeant Jason Vacirca said.
Executive Director of Public Safety Paul Ominsky addressed the exceptional nature of the event, contextualizing the situation and talking about campus support for Public Safety.
“We do have people praise officers and give us very positive feedback … but this is, I think, the first time we’ve had a very big group praise the officers,” he said, adding “and provide cake.”
When asked about the cake they ate at the event, the officers had only admiration to express.
“Whoever the baker was definitely deserves an award,” Solovey said.
In addition to the food provided, officers also received a card filled with handwritten and grateful remarks, many of which had personal twists.
For example, one student wrote “Thank you for making Princeton a safe home. Also, thank you for not judging me when I locked myself out two days in a row.”
The party was organized primarily by Vidushi Sharma ’17 and Alexandria Herr ’17, both members of 2D and residents at the 2 Dickinson St. property that houses the Co-op.
Sharma and Herr said that they had been planning the party for weeks, ever since Public Safety had responded to an actual noise complaint at 2D very courteously.
“We wanted to have a party where they wouldn’t just have to shut us down, but could actually take part in the party,” Herr said.
Sharma emphasized that they worked hard to keep the idea a secret, maintaining a sense of mystery in the hopes of getting more people to come.
Herr also emphasized the motivation for planning various parties at 2D in the first place, talking about her friends and more general ideas.
“Coming into the year, it was my goal to make 2D more of a social scene for independent students,” Herr said.
Other attendees offered further thoughts in support of the event.
"It was a great time. I'm glad we were able to make these people feel appreciated, especially since this warm sentiment is not exactly what they're probably used to getting from most students," Nabai Habtemariam ’18 said.
The officers in attendance also acknowledged students’ generosity in engaging with them.
“After we talked about everything with the students, they then went a step further and extended the invitation for us to come there anytime to have dinner with them, which is awesome,” Solovey said.
Both the Department of Public Safety and Princeton University Facebook pages published an account of the event.
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