Town center 1:20 AM this morning
Last night into early this morning seemed to be the busiest time this Labor Day weekend for Amherst public safety personnel. With all hands on deck APD managed to keep things under control, with no major disruptions -- aka Blarney Blowout -- to report.
133 Fearing Street, Sunday morning
Around 10:00 PM the alcohol related arrests began -- open container, underage drinking (usually in combination) -- in and around the immediate neighboring streets to our UMass flagship: Fearing, Phillips, Alan streets, Nutting and Lincoln Avenues, Hobart Lane, Meadow Street and with assist from UMass Police Department, all along North Pleasant Street.
These early interventions send the message that law and order will be maintained.
Amherst Fire Department, on the other hand, was pushed to the breaking point. Around midnight, just after dispatch issued a call for two off duty personnel to come in for station coverage.
Northampton Fire Department had to respond for a call to a high rise Southwest dorm for a female with a head injury.
At the time all five of our ambulances were tied up -- the majority of them dealing with passed out drunk students. Late Sunday into early Monday morning AFD responded to UMass for a total of 11 emergency medical calls -- seven of them for ETOH students.
Over the course of the evening I passed by the scene of a young person down (usually female) with concerned friends trying to help them up at least a half-dozen times. Particularly concerning because a young woman died last year after falling and hitting her head while staggering down Fearing Street with friends.
The previous night APD and AFD responded to 45 Phillips Street for a young woman passed out in the yard. She was only seventeen.
127 E. Pleasant St. around midnight "First and last party of the semester."
26 comments:
Each class gets worse and worse. Should be a fun year. Can't wait for the rave party at the Mullins center on the 21st. Should be many ODs and maybe a death or more. Thanks Molly.
In Massachusetts, a child must have reached the age of 5 by September 1st in order to enter kindergarten -- it isn't December 31st like when we were kids. Most the other states are more or less like this now.
The days of the 17-year-old college freshman are over -- while this wasn't the *only* reason the "cut-off date" was moved back, it definitely was one of them, as the 17-year-old college students were causing a multitude of problems for the colleges and universities -- everything required parental permission...
So if she isn't a college student, what the h*** was she doing there, and where were her parent(s)?!?!?!?!?
I don't know if APD/AFD is required to do a 51A on her -- I would, she *is* a minor -- and while there is the "lifesaving" exception to parental permission that would cover AFD, I'm thinking that CDH would very quickly run into a need of parental permission to provide care. (Or did the APD take her into custody under whatever MA calls ChINS?)
Larry, I'm more inclined to believe that it is Maria G and not Enku G who should be concerned about this particular young lady's actions -- I really think she is one of your high school students.
And how many more ARHS students were drinking at that (and other) parties?
I was actually 17 my first semester at UMass.
Never ended up passed out on a lawn.
Well, not at age 17 anyway.
Geez Ed, don't get your panties in a bunch. There are many reasons why a 17 yr old can be starting college. There are also many other communities that younger kids come from to party at UMass.
Both I and my daughter were 17 year old freshmen -- no passing out from alcohol.
I just hope and pray that nobody dies from alcohol -- again. How can we get the parents in to help us save their children?
OK, the students drinking and partying is a major issue. The other major issue that is constantly ignored is that AFD has been understaffed and pushed to the limit for YEARS, even when the students aren't keeping them busy. What can the residents of the 5 towns they provide ambulance service to DO to change this? The Amherst select board and town manager are well aware of the situation.
Leisure Services cost taxpayers over $300,000 last year (and the year before).
For, you know, recreation.
Both the Town's police and fire departments are extremely understaffed. It is not, and has never been, a priority of the Town leaders. Things will continue to deteriorate and both will continue to lose good staff to other departments. It has been happening for years and will continue. I believe both departments have given up hope that they will ever be brought up to proper staffing. Like other cities (with the student population it is akin to a city) where this has happened, the staff will give up and begin to settle for mediocrity. If the town doesn't care, why should they attitude.
It's another black mark on this town that refuses to acknowledge the need for a proper police and fire department. Shame on the Select Board of Amherst. They live in a bubble. Ignorance is bliss and sweeping reality under the rug does not make it go away.
Over 60% of this population is college age and the town is NOT served properly by the men and women of the police and fire departments. My hats off to you both. You are doing an amazing job considering the town does little to support you. Classic Amherst. Classic stupidity.
I truly love Amherst. I spend a lot of time in town, I eat there, I go to the cinema, I attend Umass and AC sports religiously, I love the Thursday Arts Walk, I visit EDs grave regularly... and a million other things about it. But how in the world can you live with that? Richard Marsh
Larry, you also didn't go to public kindergarten, either. My point is that the cutoff age was changed so that we shouldn't have 17-year-old freshmen now, be they sober, drunk, or anything else.
My point is that -- more likely than not -- there was some parental negligence involved here.
Larry, there almost certainly was a cigarette vending machine in the dorm you lived in when you were 17 -- and no prohibition against smoking anywhere you desired.. But that doesn't mean that is the case now...
I've often wondered whether lowering the legal drinking age to 16 or 18 might be a more reasonable solution to the huge difficulties young people encounter when finding themselves in a situation where drinking is not only away from any adult supervision, with no role models beyond those who've "come of age" in a culture of frequent excessive alcohol consumption ....
meanwhile alcohol possession is illegal and not only thus a more tempting phenomenon, but as well, another " gateway" I. illegal substance,
Plus if alcohol were sold on campus, perhaps the "mob" behavior off campus might be lessened while the university might be in a better position to manage their charges.
larry your such a creep. driving around with a camera on, checking out girls. get a life!
Walter,
The Select Board does not appropriate the money for the Police and Fire Departments. Town Meeting does that.
By the way, are you running for Town Meeting next year? Given the depth of your concern, as expressed on this blog, you would be a natural.
No excuses, now.
Anon 8:00PM-
You must be a youngster! And very perceptive.
I remember when you actually COULD bring alcohol on campus, AND stop in at the Blue Wall for a drink or a concert with drinks, AND the legal age was 18.
Guess what, it was pretty quiet off-campus.
UMass's decisions to push alcohol off campus have directly pushed it into our laps.
It's high time they reversed these policies that have been so destructive to our neighborhood peace.
Walk This Way = Epic fail!!
Anon 9:53 - Walter does not even live in Amherst so he cannot run for Town Meeting. He just likes to take pot shots.
You gotta ignore his posts as well as Ed's. They are ALWAYS VERY NEGATIVE as well as full of crap.
Ed, you perpetual bonehead:
There is no standardized date across Massachusetts by which a child must have reached age five in order to enter kindergarten. It is up to each town to set the cutoff date, and many still use December 31.
Even if there were a statewide cutoff date of September 1, to have any impact on today's college-aged kids it would have to have been instituted at least 17 years ago.
Did it ever occur to you that some UMass students come from outside the state? Did it ever occur to you that some kids skip a year of primary or secondary school?
You reconfirm your everlasting boneheadedness pretty much every time you open your fool mouth.
It looks like a drunken Zombie apocalypse! Get your crossbow ready!
It is up to each town to set the cutoff date, and many still use December 31.
Not according to the DESE website -- see http://www.doe.mass.edu/kindergarten/entry.aspx -- and note the disclaimer about "may have changed" as well.
BTW -- I'm not going to bother checking, but I strongly suspect the "age 4" references are for the district's pre-K program.
Even if there were a statewide cutoff date of September 1, to have any impact on today's college-aged kids it would have to have been instituted at least 17 years ago.
So we have 22-year-old freshmen?
(Hint: 5+13=18)
Did it ever occur to you that some UMass students come from outside the state?
Did it ever occur to you that perhaps I look at education on a national level and such?
Did it ever occur to you that some kids skip a year of primary or secondary school?
Other than Florida -- and those kids wind up with a college degree in the process -- I don't know of any state or district that permits this any more.
Now if anyone knows of a district in Massachusetts (or any nearby state) that permits this, I'd love to know.
I remember when you actually COULD bring alcohol on campus, AND stop in at the Blue Wall for a drink or a concert with drinks, AND the legal age was 18.
This is what the Amethyst project was all about -- letting college kids drink responsibly under supervision and not like they do now.
There were too many prohibitionists for it to have a chance and I haven't heard anything about it in a couple years now but the drinking age was raised to 21 to keep the alcohol out of the middle schools (and high schools) -- not colleges. It never was intended to be enforced at 21, only 18.
"Doctor" Ed, I know a 16 year old who just started her senior year here in MA. And a relative who started college at 17 recently. And others who skipped ahead in Amherst. I'm sure others know of many examples too. There are many reasons for it and ways to accomplish it. Please stop posting your assumptions like you know everything, you have been proven wrong way to often to be credible.
Not according to the DESE website -- see http://www.doe.mass.edu/kindergarten/entry.aspx -- and note the disclaimer about "may have changed" as well.
BTW -- I'm not going to bother checking, but I strongly suspect the "age 4" references are for the district's pre-K program.
Unbelievable. You can't even read your own source -- which lists ten districts with dates in December, plus seven more in October. Of course you're "not going to bother checking" on the "age 4" references either. When your bonehead arguments are contradicted by inconvenient facts -- facts you yourself have called to everyone's attention, for some bonehead reason -- you might as well go with your bonehead gut instead, right, Ed?
And others who skipped ahead in Amherst.
Interesting. I will have to share that with someone who will also find it interesting.
Is this a written policy or just administrative decision? If you want to be stupid enough to give me a copy of the policy, or tell me where it is, I'd, umm, love to see it... I'd never umm, well...
Ooohhhh... Ed's impotent "threats" are even scarier when they're clumsily veiled!
Ed was trying to be humorous, you moron.
Hint to the maybe three people who don't know this: Ed is a pipeline to certain organizations and governmental entities and has been for years.
I don't make any secret about it.
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