Yeah, this is the B-I-G party weekend--probably more so than September 9, which culminated in a riot at 121 Meadow Street with rocks and bottles launched at public safety personnel. But maybe the colder, wetter weather will act as a deterrent...maybe.
Either way it's still "all-hands-on-deck" mode for UMass and Amherst police and the Amherst Fire Department. For AFD it's a dual threat, as dumpster fires seem to spontaneously occur late at night like fireworks on the 4th of July, and ETOH (alcohol overdose) students, one or two drinks away from death, litter the landscape.
The AP reported--and our local papers dutifully picked up--the sorry saga of students arrested by the busload at Gillette Stadium while attending the UMass/UNH football game last Saturday, which attracted far fewer fans than the previous New England Patriots game but had far more arrests for alcohol related matters.
Yeah, that's the kind of press UMass needs as they make the big expensive jump to Mid-American Conference next year.
Foxborough Police Chief Edward O'Leary is concerned because UMass has five games scheduled there next year. Lucky thing he's not police chief in Amherst, dealing with this dangerous nonsense most fair weather weekends.
It's time to share what we have with the rest of Massachusetts: drunkenness, violence, and hooliganism. Let's take this show on the road to Foxboro, several times per year.
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