Kira Barrett ‘18
Assistant News Editor
A violent riot broke out on the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s campus after the New England Patriots lost to the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl on the night of Feb. 4, 2018.
The riot occurred on the Southwest plaza of UMass campus. According to a Boston Globe article published on Feb. 5, an estimated 2,000 people were involved in the riots, resulting in the injury of 12 people who were quickly rushed to nearby hospitals.
UMass released a statement next day regarding the incident, revealing that the rioters “threw objects and set off smoke bombs and firecrackers,” and that “police issued multiple dispersal orders before using PepperBall to clear the disturbance.”
The statement also addressed the many medical injuries sustained by those involved in the riot, which “included head injuries, lacerations and alcohol intoxication.”
The statement continued to reveal that although the riot began after the Super Bowl ended at 10:17 p.m., UMass Police, with the help of Massachusetts State Police and Amherst Police were able to bring order and disperse the crowd by 11:30 p.m.
This is not the first time riots have broken out on UMass campus in response to Patriots’ loss at the Super Bowl.
Similar events occurred after the Patriots’ losses in the 2008 and 2012 Super Bowls. According to a 2012 article by MassLive, rioters “smashed bottles and set off firecrackers and other fireworks, and a fight broke out in the middle of a large mass of people.”
It seems that these violent reactions from students are not limited to Super Bowl losses, or indeed any losses at all.
When the Red Sox baseball team won the 2013 World Series, violent riots broke out again on the UMass campus in celebration of the team’s long awaited victory.
When the U.S. government successfully assassinated Osama Bin Laden in 2011, students again grew rowdy and rioted in celebration. According to an article published in Boston Magazine on Feb. 5 of this year, an estimated 1,000 people gathered and chanted “USA! USA!” on the UMass campus.
In 2014, the UMass campus was home to yet another outbreak of collective violence when attendees of a St. Patrick’s Day celebration called the “Blarney Blowout” grew riotous and disorderly.
According to an article published by Time Magazine in 2014, police in riot gear threw tear gas into the crowd and nearly 70 people were arrested.
In comparison, the riot earlier this month was rather small, resulting in the arrests of only seven UMass students. The Boston Globe reported that all seven students arrested are pleading not guilty.
These arrests could lead to expulsion “if they are found to have violated the university’s student conduct code,” the Globe reports.
Until the fate of these students is decided, the university is left to handle the aftermath of yet another violent outbreak on its campus, one that has quite possibly changed the course of several students’ lives.
