2004: Hobart's Temporary Prison - 5/5/2004
Hobart's temporary prison
By: Stephen Bene
Posted: 5/5/04
As a resident of the Hobart apartments I was a first-hand witness of the "preventative measures" taken by the Amherst Police Department on Saturday, May 1. I awoke on that beautiful day to find a sea of Amherst police officers patrolling Hobart Lane. Feeling hungry, I walked down my stairs to get something to eat. Looking out the window of my kitchen, while grabbing a box of cereal, I saw two men walking by in my backyard. The word SECURITY was written in big bold capital yellow letters against their black T-shirts, matching perfectly with their black and yellow hats. That's cute, I thought to myself.
It was the weekend of the infamous "Hobart Hoedown." A great deal was mentioned in regards to how the APD was going to do whatever possible to prevent the same outcome that resulted last year, when riots broke out shortly before midnight during the first Saturday of May, which caused an exclusive amount of damage. Nevertheless, I never would have imagined that APD would have taken this strict of a route.
No one without a permit was allowed to even enter Hobart's parking lot. It was blocked off by the security guards. Later that day one of my friends tried to drop me off and they made me get out of his car and walk to my apartment. They would not allow him to enter the parking lot even to just drop me off. Later that night, as I was coming home, I began to pull into my parking lot when I saw a truck blocking the entrance. Three security guards all came running to my car with flashlights, blinding me, asking me if I had a permit and to show it to them. We could not go across the street to visit our neighbors. It was like we were all criminals and we all of a sudden were subjected to rules and regulations that we never before encountered. For that one day Hobart was on a lockdown and it was absolutely ridiculous.
Residents of the Hobart apartments did not even discuss any plans for the "Hobart Hoedown" this year. This is my first year living in Hobart, however I found out that last year all the students living in Hobart had a meeting one afternoon to implement plans for the "Hobart Hoedown." We never had a meeting this year. We made no plans. Many of the students who lived in Hobart went home for the weekend, because they wanted no part of the Hoedown. Police officers had made it clear that there would be zero tolerance for a Hoedown this year, to all residents, even prior to the actions that they took last Saturday.
I understand that last years "Hobart Hoedown" was absolutely out of control. I agree with the fact that there was no need for any of that to happen, although I would like to point out that the riots broke out after the police broke up the party on Hobart Lane. I also understand that no one wanted a repeat of last years "Hobart Hoedown," and neither did I, although I feel that the APD is going about it the wrong way.
The problem that I have is that last year was not the first disorderly occurrence of the "Hobart Hoedown." It has been going on for the past decade, progressively getting worse each year. Now all of a sudden everyone wants to do something about it. I feel that the APD invaded our privacy on Saturday. The APD should have let us go about our own business. If a party seemed to be forming that gradually was becoming out of control, the APD should have then intervened. Last year the Amherst police officers waited until midnight to break up the party. I am almost positive that the party started getting out of control much earlier than midnight. Why the ADP waited until midnight to break up the party, when there was a higher percentage of drunken college students, is beyond me. They were just adding fuel to the fire, especially by showing up in riot gear and blocking off the street.
I strongly feel that the Amherst Police Department needs to rethink another plan of action for this situation. We, as current residents of Hobart, should not be punished this severe for what has happened with the past residents of Hobart. It is not our fault that the Amherst police have had trouble in the past controlling events such as the "Hobart Hoedown." Word on the streets is that the APD will be doing the same thing that they did last Saturday this upcoming Saturday as well. I truly hope that this is just a rumor and that as a resident of Hobart I hope to enjoy the last weekend before finals as a free man.
Stephen Bene is a UMass student.
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