2005: Saving the Hoedown - 4/28/2005
Saving the Hoedown
By: Matthew M. Burke, Collegian columnist
Posted: 4/28/05
I have been here for four years. It has surprised me that many of my friends have gone to UConn and other nearby schools for their spring weekends. It is pretty sad that most of our students have to go to other schools because they feel that their own cannot provide something as simple as an appropriate release at the end of a long year of classes. It hurts us seniors to go out like this. We pay a lot to be here, and something as simple as a big bash would certainly boost morale and give us something to be proud of. Not to mention it would be fun.
I am almost ashamed that our beloved state school's spring concert cannot compare to other schools' of similar caliber. Academics are unequivocally important, but so is the college experience. This school will have trouble attracting students if they think that candidates do not look at the complete package. I wouldn't recommend UMass to high school seniors now as I did in years past. This all falls on the heels of rumors that the Hoedown has changed it's location this year. The police will almost certainly take issue again.
The Hobart Hoedown was, at one point, a UMass institution. My older friends smiled with utter pride and joy when I first got here and they told me of the Hoedown. That first year I went to the best party of my life. I will be talking about it for the rest of my days - as I now must head into the "real world" - but for people like my little sister, who is a sophomore, that party may never come again.
I wanted to find out a legitimate solution, so I asked several people who have frequented UConn's celebrations. What did they feel made it so successful year in and year out? Why were we having problems at UMass? I am not alone in my views that we must save the Hoedown and stop the exodus of UMass students from going to other colleges to have a good time.
For starters, I had to be educated about UConn's famed celebrations. The first person I asked was two-time visitor Noelle Willecke (senior, Psychology major). Willecke gave me the background of UConn's festivities that were once a footnote to those at UMass.
"There is a huge party in lot X. There are about three or four thousand kids there," she said. "Then there is another huge party in an apartment complex called Celeron." She described a scene far different from the tumultuous UMass experience. "The cops were cool. They'd walk around in their riot gear and pose for photos with students. The kids didn't burn things like they do here, they had respect for the cops."
How could our situation be so sour? I was in disbelief until two seniors that went this year backed up Willecke's claims.
"I went to UConn last Thursday," said Eric Atkinson (Economics major) as Dan Borecki (Accounting and Economics major) agreed. When asked if they went to UConn solely for the reason that UMass was lacking in such festivities, all three were unanimous. "Definitely, I would say this one party I went to at UConn destroyed a good 99 percent of the festivities here at UMass," Atkinson said. "I know a lot of UMass people go," Willecke added.
Atkinson would later divulge he met around 15 people from UMass at Celeron that he didn't know beforehand. "Yeah, I know when I go there that you aren't going to get tear gassed or shot with rubber bullets," Borecki quipped. "The cops even set up a medical tent for emergencies."
The problem we have at UMass is that the cops don't respect us and we don't respect them. They break up parties too early, and we irrationally destroy things. Living in close quarters with families and other disgruntled townspeople doesn't help either. "I think the cops overdo it here," Borecki said. "This town thrives off of the business from the students that go here. We shouldn't be arrested every time we want to have a little fun."
The students, myself included, all reiterated that the police are just as much to blame for the destruction as the students, stating that if they weren't so quick to break things up, tensions would be eased. They also said that the police at UConn made arrests and had everything under control, yet they let the students have their fun.
This needs to happen here. Maybe the SGA or a student delegation could improve this part of students' lives. Meet with the police and Hobart and act as an intermediary. Restore the trust and respect. Give us our institution back. Stop the exodus and once again instill pride in UMass. Maybe they could even call in the UConn Police Department to train ours (or at least teach them how to coexist with us).
If Hobart is not willing to host it, then its site should be moved. "I think what's happened in the past has to be blamed for the current situation," Atkinson said. "I think they should relax and let the students have their fun, but control the situation so that it doesn't become out of hand."
I agree, as do most students. This is one senior's last wish, save the Hoedown for future generations. Don't let this wonderful school go down the tubes. Borecki put it best, "If they move it, I will be there." Most of us will also be there, but until things change, the real spring weekends are being held elsewhere for UMass students and its hurting our university.
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