A dozen people, including a high number of UMass students, were hospitalized and treated for severe intoxication after becoming ill during an on-campus dance party Saturday night into Sunday morning, according to campus officials.
Meanwhile, an influx of patients – which may have included the 12 intoxicated people treated after the campus party – forced Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton to close its emergency room to incoming patients shortly after midnight, according to staff members.
A nurse supervisor at the hospital confirmed the closure. She did not know the exact number of people who sought treatment Saturday night into Sunday or how many had an alcohol-related illness, but she said the patient total grew to an “excessive amount.” The nursing supervisor said the hospital’s emergency room can typically treat 20 to 25 people simultaneously. A hospital spokesperson could not be reached for comment Sunday.
UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski said the identity of those who became ill during the Mullins Center event was not known. He said he did not know how many were University of Massachusetts students, but he did say it was a ‘large number’ in a follow-up interview Tuesday. He did not know which hospital treated them.
The Mullins Center does not serve alcohol, and the estimated 1,300 attendees were screened for alcohol and other prohibited items prior to entering the “Turn It Up Party,” he said.
Police suspect the 12 who became sick, but are expected to recover, had drank alcohol before entering the event but did not begin to show signs of intoxication until later, said Blaguszewski.
Police reported no arrests or property damage at the event, he added.
The dance party, which was open to any college student who showed student identification, was part of the University’s “Blackout Weekend,” a campus tradition in which UMass students invite students from other colleges for various weekend sporting, food and music events. The name has no connection to the term “blackout,” which some use to describe alcohol-induced amnesia.
UMass Amherst Police and town fire officials who responded with ambulances to aid the 12 intoxicated people were not immediately available to comment on the incident.
Matt Rocheleau can be reached at [email protected].
Kay • Jan 21, 2011 at 11:12 am
I realize this thread is long dead, but I stumbled across it and was appalled that nobody had called out how racist your reaction is. You know how we have a designated Black History Month? Well, that’s because the status quo is to marginalize the histories of people of color. It’s a problematic solution, because it implies that we don’t need to worry about Black history for the rest of the year–and it also reinforces the idea that Black history is separate from other histories and can be easily cordoned off. However, it is the best solution for the moment, until our culture is willing to do some major changing. My point is, THE REST OF THE YEAR IS “WHITEOUT” AT UMASS AMHERST. It’s really not the most diverse place. When you’re the minority (I’m white, but you can tell I’m gay from a mile away so I speak from my own experience), particularly when you’re part of a minority which has been systematically oppressed and violated and silenced for centuries, people don’t always go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, recognized or important. You have no IDEA what it’s like to be around a group of people who are actually CELEBRATING your culture (as nebulous a thing as that is–of course there is no one “Black culture”).
Besides which, an event celebrating Black culture by no means excludes white people. Such a claim is ridiculous. A ‘whiteout’ however, would have totally different connotations. Mainstream cultural celebrations and/or movements for the rights of Black citizens have always been open to whites (do only Black kids learn about Black History Month in school? Didn’t white people march with Martin Luther King?). On the other hand, groups who focus explicitly on their white identity (which is an even MORE nebulous thing–what IS white?) have a reputation for cross-burning, murder, physical assault and at the very least, extremist racist and/or anti-immigrant hate speech. (Just to be clear, I’m talking about explicit “White” identification, not ethnic identities like Irish or Italian–celebrations of which have more in common with the likes of a “Blackout” than they do with the white-hooded types).
Regardless of all this, the UMass student body (and visitors to the school’s events) has an alcohol abuse problem that permeates far beyond racial divisions. Things like this happen at all kinds of events–and even at the event, I guarantee you there were more white kids in that ER. If you want to address where funding goes, that’s an unconnected issue. If you think we need to address how much of the communities’ resources go toward UMass students and whether the college should be bearing that brunt more heavily, then I will be right by your side nodding in agreement. If you are saying that we need to stop funding culture events at which all students and their guests are welcome, than I suspect you will find yourself with few companions. This is NOT a race issue. Don’t make it one. Educate yourself.
*gets off soapbox* Thanks for reading my rant! 🙂
Mike • Apr 29, 2010 at 9:37 am
Next year I demand that a similar Whiteout event happens with money from that cultural enrichment fund
Ed • Apr 28, 2010 at 8:39 pm
There is one other aspect to this: 63% of every washing machine or drier load goes to into a slush fund that paid for this event — the Cultural Enrichment Fund. Oh, it also a good chunk of the Coke and vending machine money also goes there.
So, boys & girls, *WE* paid for the “Black” event, we paid for kids who don’t even attend UMass to get drunk/drugged out of their minds, and we paid for the police & ambulance folks to haul them to the hospital. Even better, events like this ALWAYS have problems like this!
Brad • Apr 27, 2010 at 9:03 pm
So is this the intent of the racially exclusive weekend? Did Blaguszweski concede that the weekend is so name because of race? Will he follow his superiors and resign in protest of jolly Chancellor Holub?
Mike • Apr 27, 2010 at 6:21 pm
really? so can there be a similar Whiteout event?
Ed • Apr 26, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Isn’t this the old “Malcolm X” Weekend, with picnic and such and then the dance that night?
Mike • Apr 26, 2010 at 9:00 pm
If the Blackout name isnt drinking related, then what does it refer to?
Matt Rocheleau • Apr 27, 2010 at 4:06 pm
It was not initially clear what the weekend’s name referred to when we first published this story. However, we looked into this further, and according to UMass spokesman Ed Blaguszewski, the events from Blackout Weekend are planned and organized, in coordination with the Student Affairs office, by African-American student groups, and the term “blackout” refers to the large number of black students involved in the activities.
-Collegian News Staff