Police officers involved in disbanding the riot that became of the University of Massachusetts' annual pre-St. Patty's day party have been accused of using excessive force via battery-powered pepper spray, rubber bullets, tear gas, and physical force, as documented in a lengthy article by a Umass student, Olivia Kennis, on hercampus.com.

The letter begins by accusing the police of instigating the riot and asserting that it was they who "betrayed" the student body through excessive force, and not the student body who betrayed the community. Later, she blames the police for the national attention the riot drew -- including images and .GIFs on Barstool Sports and other outlets of students being torpedoed by pepper spray and struck down by officers -- and not the riot itself.

She finishes by castigating the University for attempting to disburse students rather than just waiting them out. The full paragraph:

"Lastly the University-rather than attempting to displace thousands of intoxicated students around the campus-let them all congregate in one area and let the party run its course until people got tired and went home, UMass would not be dealing with the repercussions of national attention regarding the rowdiness of their students. I would imagine that the last thing UMass Amherst wants as a highly regarded university is a bad reputation for unruly students and irresponsible alcohol abuse. As the school's rankings and statistics increase as the years go on, I can't fathom why they'd want prospective students, parents, and families alike to fear enrolling in the University for events such as Blarney Blowout that could have been handled a lot differently."

Probably, the UMass couldn't afford the risk of allowing the party to continue until it fizzled, but the suggestion is at least something to consider.

As a recent college graduate, I can identify with the frustration felt by Kennis and others. Police should understand the type of environment they're entering and the type of person they're encountering in all situations. College parties are some of the only parties where serious criminal behavior can almost immedialty be ruled out, for college students probably wouldn't have gotten into their institutions if they had such backgrounds or were inclines to such behavior.

Thus, even if students aren't exempt from committing major crimes, they are significantly less likely to do so. They've also got more incentive to stay clean than the average citizen, for not only do they have the police to answer to, but their school's administration as well.

Given advanced knowledge of the typical college student, police should have different protocols for disbanding college parties than other types. And, as Kennis notes, the administration might want to meet with them for suggestions if they want to preserve their school's reputation. Rather than crushing students with pepper spray or throwing them to the ground, police should at least contain their violent measures to a last resort.

Complicating the UMass situation was the number of non-college students at the gathering, evidenced by the fact that more than half of those arrested didn't attend the school.

In protest of how police handled the riot, UMass held a lightly attended rally (about 100 people) on Monday, according to Barstool Sports. Students held up signs saying "We don't need violence to get our point across" (in reference to the fact that Boston police does) and "If you don't want us to be Zoomass, don't treat us like animals."