Though the "Blarney Blowout" held near the University of Massachusett's campus every year and again this past Saturday was largely tied to the university, just 25 of the 60 individuals arrested or accused of illegal behavior were students, Mass Live reported. Of those 25, all were from UMass and not from any of the other colleges in the area --- Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith -- as previously suspected.
Whether UMass students are better at avoiding the police than community members or not is difficult to say, but the police reports compiled by Mass Live (the site even provided individual names and their offenses) at least show the riot wasn't completely the work of college students.
Of course, if the former is true and college students are better at evading the police -- which could be the case since they are presumably better versed at the exit strategies of campus parties and have more to lose in terms of police and college penalties -- the arrest reports could also be misleading.
The question of culpability is one faced by many institutions nationwide. College parties that become unruly represent a chance for local attendees not affiliated with the school to act out in the name of the university.
At its peak the riot swelled to about 4,000 people outside of an apartment complex on Saturday morning, according to CBS News. After people began throwing snow balls and beer bottles at police, they were dispersed. A still significant portion, however, moved to a nearby fraternity house. Soon, that gathering began to resemble the earlier one. Police were forced to use pepper spray and other tactics.
"Perhaps one of the worst scenes we have ever had with drunkenness and unruliness," Amherst Police Capt. Jennifer Gundersen told The Republican in Springfield. "It is extremely upsetting. It is very dangerous."
