Goal to help students connect with police in informal settings

KINGSTON, R.I. – September 11, 2015 – The cry of “1 2 3 dodgeball” will ring out in Keaney Gymnasium at the University of Rhode Island when the URI Police Department holds its first-ever dodgeball tournament Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m.

The event is free and open to all URI students. Each six-person team must register at Dodgeball Tournament by Friday, Sept. 11. Only 40 teams will be accepted.

For those students interested in a less physically demanding activity, URI Police will hold its first-ever cornhole (beanbag toss) tournament, Saturday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. in front of Keaney Gym. It will be the perfect way to cap off the Rhody-Harvard football game that starts at 1 p.m. Again, registration is free at Cornhole Tournament. There will be cash prizes and a raffle for an official URI cornhole board.

“Many of us played dodgeball in our neighborhoods or our schoolyards growing up,” said URI Police Maj. Michael Jagoda. “It’s a simple, fast-paced game perfect for a university community. It’s also a great way for us to connect with students. We’ll have some laughs and joke about our blunders on court.”

Jagoda said it’s all part of the department’s community policing initiative.

“If we get to know each other in an informal setting, the relationships between the police and other members of the community will be based on personal interaction, not mistrust and suspicion. The police are as much a part of the campus as Student Affairs and Athletics, and like those departments, we want to be successful, too. The way to do that is by working with and getting to know people in fun ways.”

The corhnole tournament on Sept. 19 will also feature police departments from other communities.

“The cornhole tournament is a low-key alternative to the dodgeball event,” Jagoda said. “But the goals are the same.”

And even if you don’t feel like playing, come cheer on your favorite team or competitor.

“Let’s show some Rhody spirit by getting together for a little friendly competition,” Jagoda said.

Pictured above

READY FOR DODGEBALL: Members of the URI Student Alumni Association and Rhody the Ram prepare for the dodgeball tournament being run by URI Police Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. in Keaney Gymnasium. The students from left are: Anna-Marie Benhke, Erin Regan, Joelle Gratkowski, Steph Otis, Logan Steele and Meaghan Spellman. Representing URI Police from left are Officers Paul Hanrahan and Raul Douglas. URI photo by Shelbey Galliher.