The influx of warm weather has ushered in the return of a favorite lakefront activity: the late-night walk on the beach. But local police are cracking down on some cabin-fevered students who hit the sand when the sun goes down.

Several Northwestern students have reported premature ends to their tranquil strolls at the hands of flashlight-toting, bullhorn-blaring police officers enforcing the beaches’ operating hours.

Beaches are open only during the day, when lifeguards are on duty. The Lakefill closes to the general public at 10 p.m., but stays open for students with WildCARDs and their guests, said University Police Lt. Rich Stampanato.

Police say closing the beach is a safety issue, but students want the freedom to use the beach unimpeded, whether for romantic trysts or therapeutic saunters.

“(Closing the beaches) is ludicrous,” said Speech junior Stefan Beck, the unsuccessful ASG presidential candidate whose platform called for increased access to campus beaches. “They can’t take away the water.”

Stampanato said keeping the beaches open at night “is just too dangerous” and said there have been several fatalities at the beaches.

Police patrol the beaches regularly to enforce the university policy and trespassers are frequently asked to leave rather than ticketed, he said.

Medill sophomore Justin Winerman said police asked him to leave the beach near the Evanston Lighthouse; he had gone there with another student after a party.

Winerman, who said he was “walking the fine line between sobriety and absurdity,” carried on an extensive conversation with the officer in his attempt to escape the threatened $500 fine.

Winerman said he and the officer hit it off, with the officer telling him about the time he was bitten by a raccoon, and Winerman asking him if he had ever smoked pot.

“(The officer) was a really nice guy,” he said. “It seemed like (asking us to leave) was something he had to do.”

Medill freshman Kirsten Nowik was walking with two friends on South Beach last week discussing what they would do if stopped by police.

“We were talking about how if a cop came up we’d say, ‘Take off your shoes and twirl around with us, we’ll dance around the water and twirl in happiness,'” Nowik said.

Before they could complete their fantasy, however, a spotlight from a police car hit them.

“This is very unfair,” she said. “During finals students like to take walks and try to enjoy being outside.”

When they returned several minutes later to search for a wallet one of them left behind, Nowik said two different police officers insisted on following them with flashlights.

“The lake should be for everybody to enjoy,” she said.