2008 Woodie Awards
Riotous affair
Eric Schaffer
Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: News
Post-game celebrations that included fires burning down power lines, broken store windows and attempts to tip over a Shuttle-UM bus just weren't working.
Students knew it, administrators knew it, and as the Board of Regents and University Senate tightened their grip on riot policy, rioters were about to find out how harsh the university could actually be. But after years of brainstorming and student campaign promises by SGA presidential hopefuls, it appears two students have hammered out the first concrete plan for a post-game celebration.
This year, if the Terps defeat UNC at home and beat Duke in Durham, Student Government Association members are arranging a post-game blowout on McKeldin Mall featuring a disc jockey and a sound system.
But most other details of what the celebration will include are sketchy, because one of the proposal's architects, SGA Executive Vice President Kyle Carson, said he wants the event to have room for spontaneity.
"We've planned a little bit, but we don't want it to go too far out there because we don't want people to think it's whack because they think we planned it," Carson said. "We're just trying to come up with something to provide a new tradition at Maryland where we can celebrate victories."
Vice President of Student Affairs Linda Clement, who worked with Carson and SGA Director of Governmental Affairs Andrew Friedson on the proposal, agreed that past events may have failed because they appeared planned by the administration.
"We've tried a lot of things over the years," Clement said."Somehow if they're sponsored by the administration, they're not as spontaneous."
At one such event, administrators tried to throw post-game pizza parties in dorms for celebrating students. But, Clement said, students who preferred rioting "picked up pizza on their way to Route 1."
That led university President Dan Mote to challenge students to come up with their own event, Clement said, but this was the first year a written proposal was submitted.
"They made their proposal, and a group of us sat around and talked about this and we're certainly offering the support they need to initiate this," Clement said.
That support comes in the form of about $1,000 for the speaker system, as well as security for the event. After all, Clement said: "We worry more about [students'] welfare, but we worry about destructive behavior, too. You've got to have adequate security."
SGA President Emma Simson said the event will likely include giving away prizes from the Athletics Department, and expressed hope the event would draw enough attention away from Route 1 to temper rioting.
"People go to Route 1 so that students can hang out with students to celebrate a win," she said. "So this will create a much safer environment to hang out at."
Although arranged post-game celebrations have been a topic for years, this year may have created a sense of urgency among some students in the wake of a tighter riot policy. Clement said administrators have worked throughout the year to warn students about the tighter policy because this year, there isn't much discretion when it comes to disciplining students for rioting.
"Given the consequences here, if you are said to be rioting through one of our judicial systems, then the penalty is expulsion. The policy doesn't give us a choice," she said. "The idea that we're tough about this, I can't deny that. The first time we had a riot, we weren't equipped to respond to the people. ... I think we got more and more serious."
But Simson said the riots have also become an embarrassment, saying the students' reputation was also on the line.
"I think students are sick and tired of having such a damaging image of this university because of these riots and they want it to end," she said. "I've been to events and I tell people I'm a Maryland student and people criticized the school [about the riots]."
Over the years, some people had suggested a post-game celebration that involved organized on-campus bonfires, but Clement said that didn't make this year's proposal. She noted, however, that bonfires weren't out of the question.
Maj. Cathy Atwell said on-campus bonfires actually used to be a part of the tradition, and were sponsored by the university at concerts and homecoming games.
"Then over the years, students stopped participating in these events because they were saying they wanted to hold events that were sponsored by them," Atwell said. She expressed support for the SGA event, saying "having an event on campus will certainly get students away from businesses and keep them from being hit by a car or stepping on broken glass."
Simson added, "We can't solve everything, but as long as we get the students out of a large intersection, we can end the problem."
Reporter Kevin Litten contributed to this report. Contact reporter Eric Schaffer at schafferdbk@gmail.com.
Students knew it, administrators knew it, and as the Board of Regents and University Senate tightened their grip on riot policy, rioters were about to find out how harsh the university could actually be. But after years of brainstorming and student campaign promises by SGA presidential hopefuls, it appears two students have hammered out the first concrete plan for a post-game celebration.
This year, if the Terps defeat UNC at home and beat Duke in Durham, Student Government Association members are arranging a post-game blowout on McKeldin Mall featuring a disc jockey and a sound system.
But most other details of what the celebration will include are sketchy, because one of the proposal's architects, SGA Executive Vice President Kyle Carson, said he wants the event to have room for spontaneity.
"We've planned a little bit, but we don't want it to go too far out there because we don't want people to think it's whack because they think we planned it," Carson said. "We're just trying to come up with something to provide a new tradition at Maryland where we can celebrate victories."
Vice President of Student Affairs Linda Clement, who worked with Carson and SGA Director of Governmental Affairs Andrew Friedson on the proposal, agreed that past events may have failed because they appeared planned by the administration.
"We've tried a lot of things over the years," Clement said."Somehow if they're sponsored by the administration, they're not as spontaneous."
At one such event, administrators tried to throw post-game pizza parties in dorms for celebrating students. But, Clement said, students who preferred rioting "picked up pizza on their way to Route 1."
That led university President Dan Mote to challenge students to come up with their own event, Clement said, but this was the first year a written proposal was submitted.
"They made their proposal, and a group of us sat around and talked about this and we're certainly offering the support they need to initiate this," Clement said.
That support comes in the form of about $1,000 for the speaker system, as well as security for the event. After all, Clement said: "We worry more about [students'] welfare, but we worry about destructive behavior, too. You've got to have adequate security."
SGA President Emma Simson said the event will likely include giving away prizes from the Athletics Department, and expressed hope the event would draw enough attention away from Route 1 to temper rioting.
"People go to Route 1 so that students can hang out with students to celebrate a win," she said. "So this will create a much safer environment to hang out at."
Although arranged post-game celebrations have been a topic for years, this year may have created a sense of urgency among some students in the wake of a tighter riot policy. Clement said administrators have worked throughout the year to warn students about the tighter policy because this year, there isn't much discretion when it comes to disciplining students for rioting.
"Given the consequences here, if you are said to be rioting through one of our judicial systems, then the penalty is expulsion. The policy doesn't give us a choice," she said. "The idea that we're tough about this, I can't deny that. The first time we had a riot, we weren't equipped to respond to the people. ... I think we got more and more serious."
But Simson said the riots have also become an embarrassment, saying the students' reputation was also on the line.
"I think students are sick and tired of having such a damaging image of this university because of these riots and they want it to end," she said. "I've been to events and I tell people I'm a Maryland student and people criticized the school [about the riots]."
Over the years, some people had suggested a post-game celebration that involved organized on-campus bonfires, but Clement said that didn't make this year's proposal. She noted, however, that bonfires weren't out of the question.
Maj. Cathy Atwell said on-campus bonfires actually used to be a part of the tradition, and were sponsored by the university at concerts and homecoming games.
"Then over the years, students stopped participating in these events because they were saying they wanted to hold events that were sponsored by them," Atwell said. She expressed support for the SGA event, saying "having an event on campus will certainly get students away from businesses and keep them from being hit by a car or stepping on broken glass."
Simson added, "We can't solve everything, but as long as we get the students out of a large intersection, we can end the problem."
Reporter Kevin Litten contributed to this report. Contact reporter Eric Schaffer at schafferdbk@gmail.com.
Submit a letter to the editor or post a comment below.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Brad
posted 2/20/07 @ 1:46 PM EST
I think the Mckeldin mall seems too isolated for a victory celebration. Everyone is going to want to celebrate where there is a lot of night life and thats why celebrations have typically occured on rt. (Continued…)
Post a Comment