A group of more than 100 University of Massachusetts students rallied in front of the Student Union Tuesday afternoon in protest of what they see as excessive police force used during the “Blarney Blowout.”
Students speakers, among them Student Government Association President Zac Broughton, outlined several demands of the Amherst Police Department and the University, and passed around a petition before marching to the Whitmore Administration Building to call for a public meeting with Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy and Vice Chancellor John Kennedy.
“All of the videos that I saw showed police shooting into third story windows with rubber bullets, dispersing crowds, tear gassing people in the face, using what seemed like unnecessary force,” said Andrew Clinton, a senior political science and history major protesting at the event.
“I think that police should have focused on deescalating and managing the conflict instead of trying to forcibly disperse the crowds, which only sort of escalated the situation, broke down trust between the students and the police and also created lots of animosity,” Clinton added.
“What was supposed to be a fun event turned into a really dangerous and chaotic situation,” said UMass student Katie Connell, megaphone in hand, to the crowd in front of the Student Union. She added that the administration must rethink how they handle these types of situations, and students should be involved in the decision.
Preston Davis, secretary of diversity for the SGA, said that although he does not condone violence on the part of students, the police action at the event was unwarranted and unnecessary. He said that students were not given enough time to disperse before police began using pepper spray and the event became dangerous.
“Nobody comes out in these situations on top,” he said. “We don’t condone violence on either side.”
Broughton, who also spoke to the crowd, outlined three demands he called “non-negotiable.” These include a formal and direct apology from the APD, an immediate investigation into the actions of its officers and for the town of Amherst to sit down with student leaders to come up with solutions for the future.
“With “Blarney Blowout,” it’s something that happens every year, but it seems like the only thing anyone in the town or Amherst Police is interested in is blaming students and telling UMass students to stay on campus and get away from it all,” Broughton told the Collegian before the rally.
“To handle it different, we need to all sit down and figure out a community-wide solution with everybody, rather than just blaming everybody,” he said, adding, “I think we need to start talking about the story that isn’t being told, that students were treated like animals by police officers and that it’s unacceptable just because they’re students. They’re adults, they’re members of this community – they’re supposed to be protected by those police officers and they were not.”
SGA Senator Charlotte Kelly, who spoke last, said, “Events like this can be prevented … if and when we are involved in the conversation.” She added that the administration should be protecting UMass students in the media, not disgracing them.
Several students walked around the crowd asking for signatures on a petition calling for the University, police and students to work together to create safe and organized spaces for students to celebrate in a peaceful manner.
Following the rally, protesters marched to Whitmore shouting chants such as, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Police brutality’s got to go!” and “We will never be defeated, the students, united.”
Students gathered on the ramp in front of the entrance for 15 minutes before shifting to the door closest to the stairwell leading up to the Chancellor’s office, continuing to chant the entire time.
At approximately 1:11 p.m., Associate Chancellor Susan Pearson and Senior Associate Dean of Students David Vaillancourt came out of the building. Jenna Grady, a leader of the protest, informed the crowd that Subbaswamy and Kennedy were out of town. This announcement was met with boos.
Grady outlined the students’ demands to Pearson and then a delegation of six people, including Grady, met in Pearson’s office to schedule a meeting with the Chancellor.
After 10-15 minutes, Grady returned and announced that the meeting will be either March, 26, 27 or April 1 in a public space. She said that if it does not happen within two weeks of spring break, students are “ready to escalate” with more demonstrations.
Aviva Luttrell can be reached at [email protected]. Katrina Borofski, Catherine Ferris and Stephen Sellner also contributed to this report.
Kevin O'Connor • Mar 12, 2014 at 2:40 pm
I was at the lacrosse game that day and walked around campus before and after the game with friends of mine. Although I did see some students who was overly intoxicated the vast majority of the students were acting fine and within their rights. I couldn’t believe the news coverage I saw which placed all of the blame on the students. That the president of the University Subbaswamy , didn’t check any other sources of information before blasting his own students shows me this man really should rethink what he is doing in life, perhaps there’s another calling pal.
Dr. Ed Cutting • Mar 12, 2014 at 12:59 pm
I wouldn’t bother wait to be made fools of on April 1st, I’d take action now — or more exactly I’d take action next week.
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Go back to your high school guidance counselors and tell them what happened. Tell them about the rest of the UMass “experience” including the long lines, snarling bureaucrats and related hassles. Tell the teachers you particularly liked — tell them you appreciated them as well — and most importantly, tell the kids a few years younger than you what they really will get should they decide to follow you out to UMass.
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UMass spends lots and lots of money trying to convince potential students that it is a place quite different from what it truly is. They claim that the average class has only 18 students in it — tell folks about the 400-500 students in your classes and the TAs who can’t speak English and all the rest.
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Subbaswamy has been quite clear — he SUPPORTS the Amherst Police and not the students. Watch the video of what he said to the Town Meeting last spring if you disagree… And hence, there’s no point in meeting with him, not until you hurt freshmen recruitment enough to get his attention — and then maybe he will listen. Now as to your local state legislator, that’s another story…
Schlomo • Mar 12, 2014 at 10:37 am
Entitled little children broke the law and then cry about being punished for it
dan coughlin • Mar 12, 2014 at 9:10 am
spring break? from all of the video I saw,it was a “drunk fest”.who has the right to throw full cans of beer,snow balls,etc at police who were called for under-age drinking,public drunkenness,and destruction of property?
in all cases,the perps were given the option of dispersal.next year,why don’t they go home to where they live,and hold the event in their town.i am sure their parents,and neighbors would approve ! the student government is condoning this event?
thank you to the law enforcement groups who put their safety in jepordy to ensure the community is free from threats of group violence shown in the many student filmed videos of the event.and,thanks to the members of the military-(same age as the participants) who are putting their lives on the line to protect the rights of the blow-out revelers!
boris • Mar 12, 2014 at 9:06 am
absolute good cause for protest….no need for police in swat gear on a sunny day in brandywine….go umass