Well, looks like they weren't kidding. When the University of Massachusetts Deputy Chief of police said, "We have no intention of stopping until we've identified every single rock thrower and every single person who is responsible for the damage," he was serious.
Last Wednesday, 34 more people were charged in connection with the Dec. 15 riot in Southwest. According to the recent press release regarding the various charges, 5 students have been expelled, 28 have been suspended, 22 received deferred suspensions, and 8 have been removed from University housing. The grand total now stands at 57 people charged and there will likely be many more to come.
Every one of those charged students can thank those who put pictures of the riot up on Facebook.com and MySpace.com, and put videos of it on YouTube.com. Did you really think that law enforcement wouldn't have the brains to look on those relatively public Web sites to find evidence they can use? It's mind-boggling to think that students believed no one would think to look on three of the most popular Web sites on the internet besides them.
They aren't stupid. Believe it or not, adults do actually know some things.
My favorite thing that people did was "tag" their friends in the pictures of the riot they put up on Facebook. You are just begging to get in trouble. Now, not only does the UMass Police have your name, they have your face, and with just one look at your Facebook profile, they may even be able to find out what building you live in. Also, what people don't realize was there are cameras all around Southwest. When I first told a neighbor I would be attending UMass, I was told about the Red Sox riots from 2004, which resulted in the addition of cameras around the Southwest area. Those, alone, were probably the result of at least half the arrests made so far.
This further affirms the idiocy of that Dec. 15 night. I guess some people take pride in breaking other people's windows and hurting police officers.
In a comment to one of the riot videos on YouTube.com, one person wrote, "great video editing and song. who are we to squash these students self-expression?" Self expression? That makes everything alright? I thought self-expressionism had to do with writing a poem, painting a picture, or wearing a peace sign around your neck. Calling a riot an acceptable form of self-expression is just stupid. That's like saying I could go up to a random person on the street, kick them in the knee cap, and when they ask, "What did you do that for?" I can respond, "I was just expressing myself," and everything will be fine. It makes absolutely no sense.
It's sad that a lot of this was built off the past reputation of this school. Many will say it was just a lot of drunks acting out of control, and part of that is true. However, there were those who took part in order to brag that they took part in a UMass riot. It is a slap in the face to those who came here to learn and meet new people. I admit it, I watched the preceding football game, and I watched the riot, but I never had the urge to take part in it, especially not after I saw a full jug of water dropped from the 13th floor of John Quincy Adams residence hall and almost kill the Chief of Police.
The best part about this whole occurrence is that people thought they would get away with it. I remember on numerous occasions when friends would come to me in the days after the riot and say, "They took my picture at the riot. They can't expel me, can they?" Yes, actually, they can. All it takes is a few clicks of a mouse and you could find yourself taking classes elsewhere. When you signed up to live in housing, you made yourself liable for anything you do that happens to the residential areas. On Dec. 15, anyone who broke a window breached that contract. The University has every right to punish anyone who took part in the destruction that occurred. Also, when you threw rocks and other objects at police officers, you broke the law.
When you defaced public property, you broke the law. Now you have to go to court and face the punishment for what you did. You can thank everyone who put up a picture on MySpace or Facebook or put a video on YouTube, because UMass police are using their help to give you what you deserve.
Andy Smith can be reached at ajsmith@student.umass.edu.
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