by Logan Bedell

Rioting at UMass has grown to be a contentious issue in Amherst. It involves students and the administration, but it also affects the larger community. My purpose for writing is not to admonish or advocate this behavior, but rather to acknowledge the escalating antagonism between students and law enforcement.

Police enforcement has bolstered its efforts over the years to prevent and dismantle the riotous traditions of UMass students. During last weekend’s pre-St. Patrick’s Day celebration, “Blarney Blowout,” administration and law enforcement took more preemptive measures than ever before to dilute the event. Roads leading to the townhouses were blocked, bus schedules were altered, and local police were ready in full riot gear. This happened to also be called the “most destructive Blarney Blowout yet,” generating 73 arrests and a handful of injuries. Are we to say that this is all a coincidence?

I am not equipped to issue a legal or even a moral argument; but perhaps a pragmatic one. Students and police now anticipate each other, and each side continues to increase their ammunition. (Students with rocks and beer cans; law enforcement with tear gas.) The core of the event that takes place at the townhouses was dismantled by 9 AM on Saturday. The inevitable clash between party-goers and police officers has become the main focus of this “celebration.”

UMass students need to evaluate the role they play in these parties or riots, and consider the reverberations beyond themselves and beyond St. Patrick’s Day. (Which, by the way, hasn’t even happened yet.) That being said, law enforcement also needs to reevaluate their tactics, and decide what is reasonable, and what is effective. They might even be able to de-escalate violence by stepping off their high horses. (This is in no way related to the metaphor; they have just literally broken up riots on horseback.)

We’re witnessing a college-scale arms race, and it is irrelevant which side you think is the US and which is the USSR. What is relevant is that both sides come to the table and start considering disarmament.

Logan Bedell can be reached via email at [email protected]