2004: Authorities Prepare for Potential Problems - 4/24/2004
Hobart hoedown?
University of Massachusetts and local authorities prepare for potential problems
By: Morris Singer, Collegian Staff
Posted: 4/29/04
Warm weather draws residents out of their homes to the quiet streets and lawns where neighbors relax as others stroll along Hobart Lane. There is a relaxed feel to the air, and the only sounds are of birds in the trees and of University of Massachusetts students lazily passing time in the afternoon sun with light-hearted conversation.
It's a week prior to the annual Hobart Hoedown, the celebration that last year turned ugly, resulting in 45 arrests and severe property damage. Yet, today, the drunken celebration seems distant from the peaceful atmosphere on Hobart Lane.
Despite the Lane's generally placid ambiance, many of those who have heard of the yearly celebration, or have experienced it first-hand, are gritting their teeth in anticipation of what this weekend might bring. Crowds of 2000 people are not uncommon at the Hoedown, public drunkenness is more frequent than respectful sobriety and middle-of-the-street bonfires can become as much a part of the setting as the roads on which they occur.
Some feel that the encroaching end of the semester warrants intense celebration, alcohol consumption and careless fun. Others worry that more violence would only bring a bad reputation to the University and the surrounding community.
UMass students have seen their share of riotous situations over the past year, including last year's Hoedown, several smaller disturbances in the fall and a February celebration of the Patriot's win in the Super Bowl.
The Hoedown, itself, has over a decade of troubled history and police intervention. Many are in agreement that last year's riot on North Pleasant Street, which came in conjunction with the 2003 Hoedown, was the worst violence in years.
Rioters last year threw glass bottles, rocks and lawn chairs at police officers, injuring 15 of them, and causing between $17,000 and $18,000 in damages to two Amherst Police Department cruisers. Information from APD indicated that a college-aged male sustained a stab wound during the evening. One male student was hit in the back of the head with an aluminum baseball bat and was taken away in an ambulance.
At one point, participants in the riot ignited a 40-foot pine tree at the entrance to Puffton Village Drive. They also disassembled a decorative stonewall, which they used as projectiles aimed at police officers. One car was overturned and a bus stop was burnt to the ground.
A number of students at the riot felt the action taken by police was unjustified or was too severe. Many indicated that they felt the police incited the riot. Others said that the police presence made it impossible to leave the scene, despite demands for their dispersal. Officers attempting to quell the riot beat students with clubs, sprayed them in the face with pepper spray, threatened them or cursed at them. One student who spoke to The Collegian said he felt he was arrested unjustly.
The situation took Amherst Police, working in conjunction with the UMass Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police, two hours to bring under control.
Dealing with disturbance
It's memories of this and of other past Hoedown events that worry long-time Hobart Lane resident Marcia Howard. Howard has lived on the street for 22 years, at the top of the small hill, where it is mostly private residents not affiliated with the University.
Howard complained of the parties, saying they cause a blockage in the street, destruction of property and uncomfortable situations for the residents.
"Sometimes it's impossible to get back and forth to my own house," she said. "Kids are drunk and become verbally abusive when you try to get by. There's destruction of property. Lots of kids end up urinating all over the lawn."
The parties are the problem, Howard said. The way in which students have typically chosen to celebrate at this specific event is troubling to her.
"I think that there are lots of ways to have parties and enjoy the spring that aren't violent and destructive and don't violate other people's right to freedom," she said.
Laure Van den Broeck, a resident just below the top of the street, who has been here for five months, said she's heard stories about the annual party and its related disturbances, including stone throwing and rioting.
"I should think that the police should prepare for it," she said.
What the town is doing
When asked about possible action the APD may have taken in preparation for the annual Hoedown event this year, Chief of Police Charles Scherpa calmly asserted no expectation of any problem.
"We expect that we'll give the students the benefit of the doubt that there won't be any rowdiness in town," he said last week. "I expect that there'll be some parties, but I don't expect that there'll be any type of rowdy atmosphere that developed last year."
His comments come at a time when many expect even more intense police action than occurred at the last Hoedown, including more officers and stricter rules.
Scherpa, in a composed and collected manner, denied on Friday the recent speculation, dismissing the items as "rumors" and "contingency plans."
"We have contingency plans if we need to and we don't expect to have to use any of them," he said. "They always involve area police departments, state police and all, but we don't expect to have to utilize any of that this year."
The chief backed away from discussing the nature of these plans, but did emphasize that the formulation of such strategy is a normal part of what the police force does on a regular basis.
"We will have our normal responses as always," he said, "and if things are escalated, then we have some other plans that we obviously have to have, regardless of what weekend it is."
"Nothing is different on other weekends," he continued.
However, a press release from the UMass News Office addressing work that area police departments have done specifically in preparation for the Hoedown indicated that APD and UMPD officers have trained jointly in learning how to manage large crowds.
Scherpa did concede that his department has purchased new equipment for use in controlling a riot, but said that the acquisition is an annual routine action the department takes.
"We update [our inventory] every year, depending on the technology and what's available," he said. "Have we bought anything new this year? Yes, we have. Have we added some things that we've had? Yes, we have."
Most students are likely not to participate in a riot, Scherpa said.
"I think [students] are educated enough to control their own emotions and to be able to police themselves," he said.
This represents a change in Scherpa's attitude toward students who participate in the Hoedown.
"Students seem to see this as a right of passage," Scherpa said of the riot, on a broadcast last year by Boston's WCVB-TV Channel 5.
"[The parties] happen every weekend and every evening in the streets of Amherst," he said in a press conference following last year's Hoedown. "Unfortunately we always have to break them up."
Scherpa also indicated in the conference that his department was looking into preventing the situation from becoming riotous in future years. Recently, however, he said that his department has no plans beyond a routine contingency strategy.
Scherpa's expectation that there will be no riot also stands in stark contrast to his opinion at last year's press conference.
"We have a history at Hobart Lane, and we know that if we let it get out of control, that it's disruptive," he said last May.
University police
The UMPD has prepared to deal with potential problems involving the Hoedown. This includes a $20,000 investment in riot-control equipment.
Because the Hoedown is an event that occurs off-campus, UMPD has placed a higher priority on maintaining a presence at University events Saturday, including the annual Spring Funkathon, which is expected to draw a crowd of 1,800 people. Also a priority is Orchard Hill Bowl Weekend, which will include events on both Friday and Saturday.
"If everything is okay on campus, we can and will be deferred to Hobart to protect University [property]," said Barbara O'Connor, Chief of Police at the UMPD, referring to University property located near Hobart Lane.
Disciplinary action
Michael Gargano, the vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life, has worked to prevent problems at the Hoedown by providing solutions through University disciplinary action.
Last year the University dealt with students who participated in the riot with suspensions, prosecution and other disciplinary actions. Students who participated in this and last semesters' disturbances faced immediate expulsion.
Gargano delivered a strong message about the consequences of participating in any way in a riotous situation this spring.
"Students who act out and endanger others ... are going to be dismissed from this University on the spot," he said. "They will find themselves in a real mess."
Gargano said he would consider even such actions as remaining at the scene of a riot, if one develops, as grounds for expulsion.
"Students cannot come back and say, 'I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,'" he said. "They've all had fair warnings."
For those who vandalize or destroy University property, Gargano had a more rigid statement.
"We'll sue everyone who is involved," he said.
According to Gargano, lawsuits will target not only individual students who engage in destructive behavior, but also their families. University students are most likely dependents of their parents, Gargano said, warranting litigation against the families of those involved.
"We're not going to have this kind of behavior - riotous behavior, endangering behavior, disrespectful behavior," he said.
The Code of Student Conduct
Gargano used the Code of Student Conduct as a justification of these policies. University policies, included in the Code, cover students in violation of the law or in violation of the Code, even when such violations occur outside of campus lines.
However, in Chapter IV of the Code, which refers to procedures pursuant to disciplinary actions, there is no mention of the same-day expulsions Gargano spoke of.
CSC Chapter IV, Paragraph B even suggests that students have 48 hours to request a judicial conference related to their charges. A designated University staff member may withdraw the charges during the conference.
According to the Code, the only way the University may act immediately is if the student withdraws from the school after charges are filed.
While the Code does indicate in Chapter VII that the Chancellor or the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs may impose restrictions immediately, including suspension, it refers to such restrictions as "interim."
According to the Code, students will meet with a designated University official prior to the imposition of such interim restrictions whenever reasonably possible, at which time the student will have the chance to tell his version of the facts. The official will then decide whether or not to impose the interim restrictions.
Nowhere in the Code is there any mention of the University's intent to litigate, nor is there mention that any litigation will include the families of those who are found responsible for the violations.
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