During the “Blarney Blowout” weekend at the University of Massachusetts, 20 arrests were made and several were transported to the hospital for alcohol-related issues and injuries.
According to a March 7 press release from the University, the Amherst Police Department was assisted by police from several western Massachusetts towns and the State Police. The arrests were “largely for infractions such as noise complaints, disorderly conduct and alcohol violations.”
The majority of arrests occurred at two undisclosed locations.
Paul Bockelman, the town manager of Amherst, said in the press release it was careful planning which “deterred any major issues.”
Mullins Live!, a concert held at the University on Saturday morning, attracted more than 1,500 students to see rappers Meek Mill and Lil TJay perform. The headline act, Meek Mill, did not appear on stage and was criticized by fans on Twitter for leaving the venue.
Nerissa Jourdan, a sociology freshman who attended the concert, said, “I think it was very rude how he was posting tweets the whole time and didn’t even have the decency to say that he wasn’t coming on social media.”
Jourdan added that she felt it was also the University’s fault as the event was open only to UMass students, who purchased tickets for $10 in advance or $15 the day of. “If they opened up the concert….it would have been so much more packed so [Meek Mill] probably would have stayed.”
Brandi Hephner LaBanc, UMass Amherst vice chancellor for student affairs, said that “Although the concert did not go as planned, students were very cooperative. We are equally disappointed in Meek Mill’s decision not to perform. Refunds will be made available to ticketholders in the near future.”
Six students were treated by UMass Emergency Medical Services at the Mullins Center, according to the press release. Amherst Fire Department reported that two students were transported by ambulance to Cooley Dickinson Hospital. No arrests were made at the concert.
In 2019, two arrests were made during the weekend. The Mullins Live! Concert in 2019 saw over 2,000 attendees.
Kathrine Esten can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @KathrineEsten.
Ed Cutting, Ed.D. • Mar 9, 2020 at 3:08 pm
Some very serious questions need to be asked about Meek Mills, starting with why he is not being sued for breach of contract.
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I’ve seen estimates that there were 1,500 students in the Mullins Center — capacity for a concert is 10,500 — so that’s 14%. of capacity. Or 86% empty seats (reportedly why Meeks refused to play) and someone needs to ask some serious questions of Student Affairs about this.
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WHY did only 1,500 students show up? Either they had a musician that not many students wanted to see, or they did a terrible job at marketing/advertising the event. Or perhaps both — and I have to wonder how many students didn’t attend because they couldn’t take their non-student boyfriends/girlfriends.
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Likewise, as the purpose of this concert is to compete with Barney Blowout — to draw students away from the problematic blowout events (that led to 73 arrests in 2014) then the event has to be marked toward the constituency that UMass doesn’t want going to “Blarney” events, and that’s White Males. Like it or not, if you want to have a large campus event, you need to have an artist with broad-based support amongst all the students.
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And then if the students of color particularly want to see Meek Mills, you host his event in the Curry Hicks Cage (which seats 4,000) and let them bring their boyfriends/girlfriends so that you can fill the auditorium. We don’t all have to like the same type of music, and “diversity” means UMass offers a variety of events so as to meet all tastes.
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But a campus-wide event should not only have 1,500 students showing up — and Student Affairs needs to explain this.
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iAnd why Mills refused to perform — was he being paid a percentage of the tickets sold?
— which is White Males. That’s the group that the university is trying to attract away from “Blowout” events, and hence that’s the group that the event is designed for.
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Now I’m from the generation of Pat Benitar, but I’ve never heard of Meek Mills. How broad a fan base does he have across all demographics at UMass — and if he is widely popular, then why did only 1500 students show up? Either way, Student Affairs screwed up here.