Property damage and aggressive behavior set the tone for the World Series victory celebration around the Keene State College campus early Thursday morning, Keene Police Department said.
A female student was injured when she was struck with a rock and another student’s car was flipped as a crowd of students amassed on campus after the Red Sox won game six of the World Series.
Around 1000 students concentrated around the Student Center to celebrate, police estimated. This area was the starting point for the vandalism activities that developed later in the night, according to a press release by KPD.
Police described the students’ behavior as, “riotous and aggressive,” and said this lead to the use of pepper spray.
Brian Cantore/Photo Editor: Police presence on and off campus as crowds fill the area.
Police indicated, “The crowd of students threw many items at police and at each other. Some of the items thrown were rocks, glass bottles and ice.”
A KSC student said, “It was crazy, it was everywhere. People split in groups and they were just throwing things to each other and the cops.”
KSC senior Kristen Shea said she saw a crowd of students, “yelling and throwing signs” as they walked down Winchester Street at around 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday night.
KPD Lt. Steven Stewart said police efforts intended to keep the students inside the campus. “It is just safer to everyone than if they would be running down Main Street.”
Police said the crowd of students attempted to gain access to Main Street. Police used pepper spray to contain them on campus. “The crowd of students became belligerent and destructive, attempting to damage property on the campus,” the press release read.
Shea said she witnessed how KPD blocked the streets around the college. “The cops turned on lights and were telling everyone to get off the street, everyone started sprinting. The police had blocked both ends of Main Street, so people were clustered around the rotary,” Shea said.
Shea said then the vandalism incidents start to unfold. “Davis [Street] and Blake [Street] were blocked, everyone ended up on campus.”
Police said the crowd was held to campus for the rest of the incident.
“That’s when things started happening, the car that was flipped,” Shea said.
A KSC freshman who requested to remain unnamed said a few minutes after the game ended, a group of students tried to flip a Campus Safety van that was parked in the Science Center parking lot. “They couldn’t do it, so they flipped this red suv […] It was around six to eight people. Then this kid came and smashed the windows.”
The flipped car belonged to KSC senior Samuel Murray. Murray’s car was parked in the faculty’s parking lot in front of the Tisdale Apartment on Elliot Street. Police said the vehicle had significant damages.
The anonymous freshman stated that when the car was flipped, no police officers were at the scene. “They got there like a minute later, and everyone just ran away,” he said.
The student said he didn’t expect things to unfold as they did. “People are crazy. I think they tried to have a good reckless time with no consequences, that’s what they did.”
However, Vice President for Student Affairs, Andy Robinson, told The Keene Sentinel there might be consequences. “The college will review video camera footage to try to find the students responsible for flipping over the car, and if they’re identified, he expects they’d be suspended,” the article stated.
Lt. Stewart said around 30 officers were on campus. He stated there was an increased police presence because, “We had seen similar circumstances in 2004 and 2007. We didn’t expect things to go as they did, but we wanted to be prepared for the worst.”
College officials wanted to be prepared as well. On Tuesday, October 29, an e-mail was sent to the KSC community encouraging the students to be safe when celebrating the World Series as well as Halloween. The e-mail alerted students about an increased police presence on campus and stated that, “the KSC Student Code of Conduct can and does apply off-campus. Incidents that occur in-town can be adjudicated through the Conduct Office.”
Brian Cantore/Photo Editor: The car of KSC senior Samuel Murray flipped and vandalized after the riot at KSC, The Equinox confirms.
According to the Keene Sentinel, KSC Vice President for Student Affairs said that aside from a small group, about 50 students or so that were causing the problems, many other students celebrated responsibly.
KSC senior Shea said she didn’t agree with how some KSC students celebrated the victory of the Red Sox. “I am from Boston, I am a huge Red Sox fan and I understand people were overwhelmed and really excited. I don’t get the whole flipping cars and stuff. Some things were just really unnecessary,” Shea said.
Unlike what happened at UNH, where five students were arrested, Stewart said no arrests were made during the incidents at KSC. KPD stated they encourage anyone who has information related to to the damaged vehicle to contact them.