PART TWO:
Schools including University of Connecticut [UConn], University of Massachusetts Amherst [UMass Amherst] and Pennsylvania State University [Penn State] have all had similar situations to what happened in Keene on Saturday Oct. 18, according to a recent report UMass Amherst released.
These school representatives and reports released by the schools can all offer advice to Keene State College for approaches to dealing with riotous behavior. During UConn’s Spring Weekend in 2010, a student died from injuries sustained in a fight, according to NBC News.
UConn University Spokesperson, Stephanie Reitz, said that since the incident in 2010, more changes have been made surrounding that weekend. Reitz said as a result of this, “UConn decided to shut Spring Weekend down, encouraging students to go home that weekend and monitoring who was on campus helped send message that ‘these days are over’ for the times of it being an out of control drunken event.”
Of the 2010 Spring Weekend Reitz said, “The university as a whole had been warning students that it was a dangerous weekend, but when a student died it became clear that it was everyone’s responsibility to make sure we’re safe and responsible. No one wants to experience that ever again.”
Amy Zupan was a senior at UConn in 2010, the Spring Weekend that resulted in the death of a student. Zupan witnessed a mob mentality, students drinking heavily and cops in riot gear during these weekends. “It was always hectic but never fully out of control,” Zupan said, “but 2010 was different because a lot of people came in from outside UConn, even people that didn’t know anyone at UConn.” Although there was a death, Zupan said that the 2010 Spring Weekend “wasn’t out of control, it was a small incident within a larger event. However, after we heard about the death, the parties died out, people were sad and embarrassed and spent a lot of time blaming outsiders.”
After 2010, UConn changed Spring Weekend forever. Reitz said, “A key for UConn has been having students lead the planning for Spring Weekend from the beginning, becoming involved in planning the events and publicizing throughout the year. We rely on them to have a sense of what their fellow students will want to do or see over that weekend.” She said students work year-round to plan structured events such as service opportunities, sports games, concerts, a talent show, food trucks and other things that will leave less opportunity for students to drink or party. Reitz said there are still parties on spring weekend at off campus apartments, but now they do a lot of outreach with landlords, police and property management companies of buildings “to make sure everyone is on the same page. We don’t want to stop people from having fun but we want to make sure it’s safe and legal.” Although Reitz said Spring Weekend at UConn is now very student-focused and student-involved, some students at UConn don’t agree.
“Spring Weekend is the most over rated event at UConn,” Brian Sullivan, a junior at the university, said. Sullivan continued, “The campus hosts a lot of events but they are fairly lame and don’t appeal to the majority of the student body.”
Although there are different views about Spring Weekend from UConn faculty and students, Reitz said UConn took the necessary measures to make this event is safe.
UMass Amherst also faced bad publicity during last year’s Blarney Blowout. UMass Amherst Executive Director of the Office of News and Media Relations, Edward F. Blaguszewski refused to comment on any advice they can offer to KSC. He said to refer to the recent report, University of Massachusetts and the Town of Amherst A Safer Community Through Partnership, from former Boston Police commissioner Edward F. Davis.
The university hired Davis to review what happened and develop recommendations for the school, the town, their police departments, students, and local business owners, according to the Boston Globe. Blarney Blowout resulted in 55 arrests and police having to use tear gas to disperse crowds that were throwing bottles and outbreaks of fights, according to CBS News. The report said, “There was general agreement among all stakeholders that the 2014 Blarney Blowout was a collective failure by the town, the university and the students.”
The report continued, “They expressed a desire to move forward together with a collective responsibility to provide improved safety and a better quality of life for everyone in Amherst.” According to the Boston Globe, Davis’ findings to prevent or de-escalate future incidents focus on seven key areas: community policing, police planning, police response, high-risk drinking, social media, student and UMass accountability and public perception.
Kumble R. Subbaswamy, chancellor of the UMass Amherst, said in an article on UMass Amherst News, the university will be acting to put recommendations from the report in place. According to the article, these included: guest registration reforms to prevent an influx of visitors into residence halls, stepped-up enforcement of the university’s alcohol policy, hiring neighborhood relations liaisons to work directly with local community members and expanding non-alcoholic options and programs during peak-hours. UMass Associate Director of News and Media Relations, Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, talked of the university’s involvement with the community.
Fitzgibbons said UMass has been working with students to make them more conscious that they are members of the community, as well students. “These things happen around the country in college towns. We’re trying to address the problems and move forward.” Fitzgibbons said, “We are trying to educate students on the consequences that can come from partaking in these events. Many don’t seem to understand the consequences will stay with them.”
Director of Office of Strategic Communications at News and Media Relations of Pennsylvania State University, Lisa M. Powers, also commented on what the university did as a result of riots there.
Powers said there has been a few riots over the years at Penn State, sometimes as a result of celebratory occasions that quickly become unruly.
She said that alcohol is almost always a factor contributing to this behavior. Powers said university police work closely with town police. Powers said, “which helps in these matters having worked side-by-side on a variety of issues prior to any public disturbance.”
Powers said people are charged accordingly through police and through the school.
“Put simply — this could impact the course of their life in an extremely negative manner — all for a few moments of unbridled rowdiness,” Powers said. Powers said in the aftermath of these events school leaders work closely with the town and the university to discuss the issue.
“Our goal was simply to share information so that we might coordinate our response to future problems and discuss possible interventions we could pursue that might minimize further incidents,” Powers said. Powers wrapped up the idea of moving on in the future after a riot by discussing responsibility. “These incidents are fundamentally caused by the people engaged in destructive acts,” Powers said, “Preventing them is, at its core, a matter of personal responsibility.”
Taylor Thomas can be contacted at tthomas@keene-equinox.com
