2003: The Downward spiral of UMass Fandom - 10/7/2003
The downward spiral of UMass fandom
By: Dan Lamothe, Collegian Columnist
Posted: 10/7/03
It's old hat, guys.
University of Massachusetts students have rioted on occasion for years, but there's always been some seemingly large stirring force driving the mayhem. Be it wrong or right, there's always been some dramatic event to point to as a hypothetical cause for UMass riots, whether it was a Red Sox loss in the 1986 World Series, a New England Patriots win in the 2002 Super Bowl, a blackout in April of 2001, or the horrible clash of student and police egos that was Hobart Hoedown 2003.
No longer.
Saturday night's riot was a riot of a different animal. Sure, all of the usual elements - alcohol, adrenaline, violence and destruction of property - were there. But Saturday's riot signifies a continued change in the mentality of many UMass students. It's sad to say, but rioting has become more hip each time one of these episodes plays out, and it's a matter of time before something drastic enough happens to make the national news.
On Wednesday night, the Red Sox opened their series with the Athletics. The game, a nailbiter that will no doubt end up on a classic sports network sometime soon, was completely frustrating to watch as a Sox fan. Poor decision making, poor baserunning and poor pitching all contributed in the end to a loss, and that in itself was enough to drive a Sox fan crazy.
So did fans reflect on the loss and move on? Sadly, not even then - at 3 a.m. on a school night after only one loss in a series of games to be played. Dozens of people gathered outside the towers in Southwest, with gremlin kids throwing lit objects at Washington Tower.
"We know there are a lot of fans who want the chance to celebrate," UMPD Deputy Chief Patrick Archbald said on Thursday. "We want to give them that chance while not having them damage any property or harm anyone."
But at this point, could that be asking too much? The mentality for many students has evolved to the point where they're looking for an excuse to light things on fire. After Game 1, a few dozen kids did it. Game 2 brought no destructive behavior with it at UMass, perhaps in part because it was a daytime game with fewer drunks around. Game 3 led to two cars being flipped. Where does this end?
Maybe it's because I'm a senior and have one foot out the door already, but I do not understand the sense of entitlement that many students seem to have developed. At some point, the right to celebrate and party recklessly at UMass developed into the right to maim and destroy.
That is troubling at the very least. The overwhelming popularity of riots has led to a sense of one-upmanship, and that's dangerous. First it was setting couches on fire. Then it was using fireworks. Then, last year at Hobart, it became setting trees on fire and burning down a bus stop in Puffton Village. Now it's flipping cars over. Does anyone else see a vicious trend?
Both UMPD and the Amherst Police Department have taken strong criticism in the past for their handling of riotous conditions. Riot gear leads to more riots, the school of thinking that criticizes the police goes.
But if you were faced with dispersing the crowd Saturday night, what would you have done? Going back at the very least to 2001, any type of police presence has been met with flying rocks, bricks and bottles. Is that fair? The owners of the flipped cars most assuredly don't think so, and I'd be willing to bet the student who lost his front teeth Saturday night doesn't either. About the only positive for one of the car owners is that he reportedly got out there after his car was flipped swinging a baseball bat.
According to the Hampshire Gazette, all 56 UMPD police officers were on duty last night to respond to the threat of another riot, including Chief Barbara O'Connor, who has been on leave for weeks. She came back this weekend to deal with the violence. And that's as fine of an example as any as to what riots cost UMass students in the long run.
From the tens of thousands of dollars in damage to dining halls in Southwest to the massive overtime costs for UMass police anticipating a repeat performance Sunday and last night, the money to pay for problems will eventually come from funds that could have been applied to something more positive and useful for students.
As students, we're losing our respect, our funding and our freedom to participate in future celebrations because of complete stupidity right now.
Is that really the best way to gather for our nation's pastime?
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