Collegiate Times

The Hokie Bird attempts to flee from Officer Jason Hardyman. The VTPD held the 1st annual VTPD Community Day on the Drillfield on October 21, 2012 and with various showcases of the services provided by the department and activities for kids and students.

This Sunday, the Virginia Tech Police Department held a Community Day on the Drillfield.

The event was free and took place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and was open to the entire Tech community.

Command and squad vehicles, as well as various VTPD booths, were on display around the Drillfield with officers available to talk with attendees about what they do on campus.

Nicole Viers of the Tech Police Department coordinated the event in hopes it would help bridge the gap between the VTPD and the Tech community.

“Most people in the community know that we have a police department, but not everyone necessarily knows all the resources that we have available,” Viers said.

Viers wanted to make resources and information available and allow Hokies to meet their police officers in order to promote positive interactions between the two communities.

Various activities helped accommodate these goals, including the always-popular dunk-a-Cop booth.

People could also drive their cars directly onto the Drillfield to get their car VIN-etched by state police, a process that helps reduce the likelihood of motor vehicle theft.

A DUI simulation course was another popular activity; participants, accompanied by state troopers, wore drunk goggles and drove a vehicle through a cone course in order to simulate driving while intoxicated.

Several demonstrations also occurred during the event, including a helicopter landing on the far end of the Drillfield as well as a K-9 demonstration.

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Evan Wetsel, a freshman human nutrition, foods, and exercise major who attended the event, said the K-9 demonstration was her favorite part of the afternoon.

“I liked them showing the dogs and what they do with them,” Wetsel said.

There was also no shortage of free food at the Community Day. In addition to a doughnut eating contest, free pizza and popcorn were available for everyone to enjoy.

Viers was more than happy to see the free food go.

“We hope to give all the pizza away,” Viers said. “We’re trying to get the word out enough for people to come by and get some information and really just have a good time.”

Jonathan Knight, a senior psychology major who worked at the event with Party Positive, thought the Community Day was a good way to raise awareness about the services offered by VTPD.

“It’s really informational about a lot of the police things going on that people don’t really know about,” Knight said. “It’s a good way to get the community involved in what the police are doing.”

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 23 issue of the Collegiate Times.