2006: Amherst police ready to handle 'hoedown' - 5/6/2006
Amherst police ready to handle 'hoedown'
Saturday, May 06, 2006
By HOLLY ANGELO
hangelo@repub.com
AMHERST - The annual Hobart Hoedown has been tabled two years in a row, but
local police units are ready in case University of Massachusetts at Amherst
students decide to reintroduce the infamous party event tonight.
"We'll have the entire department working, which is 49 bodies," Amherst Police
Capt. Michael R. Kent said yesterday.
The "hoedown" has traditionally taken place a week or two before graduation on
Hobart Lane, which is off campus, and is known to draw more than 1,000 people to
the cluster of apartment complexes. Three years ago, 32 students were arrested
and were also charged by the university with violations against the code of
student conduct. Last month, Dean of Students JoAnne T. Vanin reminded students
in an e-mail what could happen if partying gets out of hand.
