This picture is the exact representation of how Umass treats its students. “Yelling at riot police? This will show that fuck! I’ll blast this unarmed college student in the face with my whole can of pepper spray.” Obviously, the kid is a moron for being out there in first place, no one is arguing that, but is this really necessary? Could you imagine if every big school pepper sprayed the fuck out their students for drinking outside? There are big gatherings like this at plenty of large universities (Maryland, Michigan etc). The only difference is Umass has taken the absolute worst stance on these gatherings.
People accuse the students and people in this gathering of being unruly and out of hand, throwing bottles and snowballs at police without warrant. I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say people were throwing shit at the police because the police do shit like this. I’ve been in gatherings of this size at Umass. You know what happens when the police just clear everyone out and don’t use pepper spray? People simply leave. No one throws bottles and nothing escalates. I’m not condoning throwing shit at police. I’m simply saying there is a reason the students do the things they do, and its not simply because we’re uncouth barbarians.
There is a distinct lack of dialogue between the Umass administration and the students. A rift that is forming between the two will continue to grow, unless there is actual communication between both parties. Sending out an email a few days before Blarney Blowout saying, “We, the Umass Administration, do not condone this. Students having fun will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. The police will be out in force. Please stay indoors and keep your faces buried in your textbooks. This is not a drill. Violators will be pepper sprayed on sight” is not beneficial for anyone. No one who reads that email thinks, “Gee. I better stay inside or else the Umass administrators will be mad at me” All that happens is those emails are ignored and life goes on.
We are UMass. The administration isn’t UMass. The police aren’t UMass. We, the students, are UMass. We are treated like second class citizens with no representation among the administration. I don’t remember getting an email about the meeting between Umass officials, Amherst officials and the landlords of Amherst where they discussed how to control OUR partying. Maybe send out an email inviting us to discuss the current situation and what WE THE STUDENTS, could do to better the situation. I don’t remember Umass defending its students when bylaws were passed limiting the number of unrelated people living in a residence to 4 people. Putting an unnecessary financial burden on students, when the school does not have enough on campus housing to accommodate every student as it is.
The Chancellor continues to talk about how we brought shame to our degrees. How we bring shame to our University. HEY BUDDY GUESS WHAT? IT IS OUR UNIVERSITY! There is no degree to soil, without the students. There is no UMASS without the students. Get off your fucking pedestal and address us like the adults and members of this community that we are. We get blasted every year as if somehow there is a small nucleus of shy, timid, non-drinking, all academics-no fun, students who we are ruining it for. They are the MINORITY. You want to go somewhere where its school only, fun never? Fine. That place isn’t UMass. So get out.
The grade of student has continually increased, since I entered as a Freshman in 2009. Average high school GPAs are higher, SAT scores are higher. The level have student has increased dramatically, yet somehow we are still treated like we’re the idiots from the ’70s who gave UMass the “Zoomass” reputation. We are not idiots. We are high caliber students who enjoy fun. We would like a dialogue to be able to voice these well reasoned opinions about the actions OUR school takes against us. Until Umass starts treating us like the people we are and not the second class degenerates they make us out to be, nothing is going to get better.
FUCK ‘EM UP! FUCK ‘EM UP! GO UMASS!
Can’t wait for March Madness!
MeatTalk 
This is crap and we all know it. Unfortunately. I went to UMass experienced all of this first hand. But the police didn’t start pepper spraying. When they went to break up the crowds they were getting pelted, kids were getting pelted with glass bottles and police. They are doing their job and it is a violent situation. UMass students need to get a grip and learn how to party without being so combative, because, even though you’re so defensive, YOU are ruining the reputation that UMass is trying so hard to build. YOU are demeaning all of the hard work academically students work on, because the kids going to job interviews this week are going to have this party reputation looming over their heads. I have people I work for bring up that my school is out of control. Excuse the chancellor for not wanting this reputation. Can you blame him??? He’s trying to help all the students out professionally where it actually matters. What about the kids who didn’t go out to Blarney, and stayed in applying for jobs instead. Those poor kids who wanted nothing to do with this reckless event are involuntarily affiliated. So think about that before you post such ignorance next time.
I have a job. I work full time. I went to Umass and somehow despite this “tarnished reputation” still work in a Harvard affiliated lab. Given that there were thousands of people taking part in the festivities, a large portion of Umass, if not the majority, enjoys this weekend. I’m not condoning violence or destruction. I’m saying there are two sides to this story. Have you seen other similar events that take place at other schools? Big schools have big parties but there is an understanding between administration and the students, not a zero tolerance policy.
I’ve also experienced crowds like these at other quad parties. No pepper spray was used. No tear gas was used. The cops just cleared everyone out civilly and that was that. You have people at work questioning why the school is out of hand because we send in riot police and invariably have videos like the ones I posted. There is a better solution than a zero tolerance policy and a distinct lack of dialogue. If you try to take partying off the table entirely there’s no room for compromise. I fail to see how these isolated events tarnish my degree. Do they somehow make the information I learned less valuable? Do they invalidate the research I did or the publications I have? No. Yet people continue to harp on this like somehow you can’t party and be academically inclined or a productive member of society.
I completely understand you’re point here. And the cops usually clear out events like this, you’re correct. However at UMass whether it be Hobart Ho’down, whether it be the Osama riots, whether it be Blarney, these kids DON’T BACK DOWN. They party around with this attitude and sense of entitlement that they don’t need to listen to police authority. They resort to combative behavior, they don’t leave, and they get in the cops faces. What else can the cops do. They don’t instantly go in with pepper spray. They show up initially at the party and ask the students to clear out. Once they show up the kids should know to leave. Instead they stay there and start chanting “Fuck the Police,” and throwing things at them. After time and time passes where they don’t move, police need to regain that authority and do something to show that the students need to listen to them. That is their job and these students need to learn to respect authority. Unfortunately there’s no way to break up a violent crowd other than resorting to tear gas. I think the issue here is UMass students need to learn to party responsibly. Yes I understand that events like this happen at many other schools. Unfortunately in Amherst, the UMass community and where students live is highly integrated in the regular Amherst community where there are many families with children and long time residents of Amherst. The cops are protecting the residents of Amherst too and defending them as well because UMass students come in and party like it’s their town and don’t care or respect any of the families that reside here.
No, I’m sure none of your knowledge is discredited, but you’re not in the same position as many of my friends who have job interviews this week, and THIS makes Time magazine. I agree with you that the reason this made such news is because of the police enforcement, but again they’re doing their job and it’s the fault of the students as well. The only solution I see is some sort of balanced compromise between UMass students and the authority. This situation would NOT have escalated as it did without the violent actions of the students, disrespect, and refusal to back down. They are not protesting for rights (by all means I wish these idiots would put half as much effort into fighting for things that actually matter,) but unfortunately they don’t have the right to party like this. At least half of that crowd was underage drinking. The cops have to do their job.
See. I totally agree with you on many, if not all of your points. This is the type of dialogue that is so lacking between administration and the student body. Put a limit on it or something. Say we will clear out everyone at 4pm or sooner if you fail to maintain a civil atmosphere. The no tolerance or talking to the students, breeds a sense of distrust between campus police and the student body. Which invariably leads to the “fuck the police chants.” The fact that we can sit here and discuss this and come to the same conclusion that a compromise is necessary is evidence enough that someone from the administration should be taking the time to have some sort of forum instead of using the inevitable post-party rioting to create even stricter policies. We should feel protected by the police, like they’re there to make sure everyone is safe. Not to pepper spray everyone and make 73 arrests.
Absolutely. I hope someone at the school can present opinions for compromise and this can be discussed because nothing will come of it if there isn’t a discussion.
You’re going to die alone, an old cat woman.
And I’m sure you were one of the kids chucking beers at the cops.
It’s always a shame when crowd control tactics get out of hand. Having said that, it is hard for me to have sympathy for the average Amherst rioter.
The reason why the Chancellor is trying to shed the “party school” atmosphere is because this reputation is beginning to severely damage them. The cost right now for a dorming, in-state 4-year degree at Umass is over $100,000, which is substantially higher than it was 5 years ago. Anyone who is working behind the scenes in the college industry knows that these numbers are going to skyrocket by 2020. Therefore, the schools are desperately trying to find ways to justify their high prices.
Amherst’s strategy is to become the “harvard” of the Massachusetts state school system, so people won’t complain about having to take out a mortgage to go there. They are currently on track to achieving this goal, but right now, the “zoomass” image is overshadowing their academics. The only time they make big news is when there is a riot.
The school has a 4-year graduation rate of 52%. This number needs to go up so they can get increased funding from the MA government. The administration is blaming their mediocre graduation rate on the fact that many Amherst students fall behind or drop out because of excessive partying. Not only does this endanger the schools funding, but it also makes the families of students more reluctant of paying for their kid to go there.
I understand that the average GPA and SAT score of incoming freshmen is going up, but none if this matters if they aren’t graduating. Also, the number of students enrolling in the smaller state schools and community colleges are far outpacing Amherst’s growth. While this may not seem like a big deal in the short term, it could mean disaster in the next couple of decades.
The Chancellor is dealing with a lot more problems than just pissing off the student body. I don’t think you realize how troubled the entire college industry is. If the current trends continue, half of America’s colleges will be bankrupt in 20 years. Amherst is not immune to this, and they are especially worried because they have higher operating costs than any other state-funded university in MA.
So please understand that when school officials try to crack down on the rioting and drunk culture of Umass, they aren’t doing it just to ruin your fun. They need to protect and build their fragile image or they will not be able to convince people to enroll when the tuition practically doubles in the future.
My point is they should protect and build their “fragile image” with the students, not in spite of them. To be a Michigan or a Maryland and a D1 BCS Football school you are going to have to effectively manage parties like these and come to some sort of compromise with the students.
There are always a few bad apples in the bunch, but these large gatherings are always depicted as just Umass students attempting to riot and be destructive. Most people in these gatherings are simply hanging out with their friends and drinking. Umass has had dozens of these outdoor gatherings and it only ends up in the media when it is handled poorly.
This wouldn’t and shouldn’t be in the news if the first response to this gathering was to show up in riot gear at 11am and start pepper spraying. The police got put in a bad situation because the Umass administration believes they must exterminate all gatherings like these.
The points you bring up concisely show why there is a growing rift between students and administration at Umass. They pay to go to Umass. They are enrolled currently. They are the reason Umass is what it is currently. Yet the students are treated terribly because Umass is building for their future students?
You need a strong relationship with your student body to grow together. The graduation rate will increase as more competitive students are accepted. To say that the graduation rate is low because of partying is absurd. The graduation rate is low because there are still crap students who are getting into Umass. Maryland’s graduation rate is 63%. Umass is not so far off and if they would build a better relationship with their student body they would see better results than this.
In events like these, no one asks what the administration could have done better to prevent this. How could they have handled it differently so as to avoid this PR disaster? It just gets scapegoated to the students like were some boil that needs to be removed from an otherwise pristine university.
Eliminating partying altogether is neither a viable option nor a smart one. Umass will never be able to compete with Ivy league schools. Our competition is with Michigan and other big state schools who have better academics than us.
I think its most important to have a dialogue between the students and the administration. Currently, there is none and we will continue to see situations like these until there is one.
You make some valid points, but i disagree that the graduation rate has nothing to do with it being a party-school. We all know that a huge chunk of the student body chose Amherst because of it’s crazy reputation. Increasing admission standards is only part of the solution. There are many schools with lower standards that have higher graduation rates.
As long as Umass has this reputation, it’s going to attract kids who are only interested in getting trashed every night and dropping out. They need to shed this image. Many of the other schools you mention are known for MUCH MORE than their partying. Yet for Amherst, the “zoomass” stereotype is one of the first things people will think of. I’m not trying to trash the school – I know that it is academically sound. But the reality of the situation is that in the public eye, academics are taking a back seat.
Also, in the eyes of the university, most of the students are breaking the law during events like Blarney Blowout, so there isnt much room for negotiation. It is difficult to legitimize these types of crowd parties because they all involve public intoxication and underage drinking. I assure you that the administration won’t try as hard to ruin your fun when you’re drinking in your home or at a licensed venue. What they do care about are large, un-sponsored events that are associated with the Umass brand, which disrupt the entire community. As another person stated, people with families live in Amherst, and this type of crap makes the school look really bad.
You are correct in the fact that the university cares more about their institution than the student body. This is an unfortunate truth but it is not unique to Amherst and it will never change. At the end of the day, the current students will leave and the only thing they will be is a statistic about post-graduation employment. Umass will still have to worry about being able to pay for their ridiculous operating costs, convincing students to enroll when tuition has doubled, begging the future governor to give them money, etc.
Even a graduation rate like Maryland’s is too low. Don’t focus on the current status quo because it will all be irrelevant in a decade or two. The other big state schools are going through the same problems as Umass and they’re all going to have to raise graduation rates if they don’t want everyone to start abandoning them for cheaper options. i don’t think you realize just how expensive these schools are going to be. Your current tuition will be considered a bargain.
Believe me, I understand that the current college system is corrupt. And I know that college students want to have fun and exciting experiences. What I’m trying to get across is that very soon, college will not be the place to live out a frat-boy fantasy. That privilege will go to bars, clubs, private homes, and events like Coachella. All the big schools are cracking down and this is going to continue for some time. And then a lot of them will go bankrupt. Your kids probably won’t have a college experience like yours because it simply won’t exist.
P.S. Maryland and Michigan are not Amherst’s worst competition. The real threat is from the smaller, cheaper, state schools like Framingham State, Bridgewater State, etc. These schools have smaller campuses, and the students have more boring lives, but they are CHEAP and growing much faster than the big state schools. Also, their academics are improving just as fast. The big schools are in trouble and many of them will end up bankrupt as funding dries up and less people are willing to pay 100k or 200k for schools that have such high failure rates. I understand that most schools have pathetic graduation rates currently, but this is why many families are forcing their kids to go to a cheaper option. Therefore the brand is going to be one of the most important parts of the college.
I think if they had a stronger relationship with their current students and alumni they would have no trouble trouncing smaller schools. I’d be willing to pay more to send my future child to Umass if I felt the administration cared more about their students. If tuition doubles and the current state of affairs doesn’t change, you’re right Umass will have a hard time attracting students.
As far as the partying reputation goes, I still have to disagree. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that students who are going to college to party and dropout are not stellar students in high school. Its not about a party reputation its just simply raising the standard of student, which is still happening despite Umass’s deplorable treatment of its students.
This was a media debacle that will seriously damage UMass’ recruiting power. What parent wants to send their kid to a school where the police might pepper spray them and beat them up? Plenty of other schools that have similar gatherings and handle them without things getting out of hand.
This situation was a debacle and I think it shows UMass really doesn’t know how to appeal to its student body nor does the administration care. Chastising 5000 students from your pedestal doesn’t do anything. Just shows me that they are out of touch.
If you think Blarney Blowout won’t be even worse next year if they take the same approach, you’re kidding yourself.
When it comes down to it I can agree with some portions of this article. There needs to be more communication between the administration and the students at UMass. The university can’t completely stop partying. This is a large public school and it is college. Kids need a break from studying a classwork at some point. However, there has to be a better way of going about this. I truly believe if communication was increased between students and the administration a solution would have came about where not just students would benefit, but so would the city of Amherst. The liquor license that bar owners possess allow them to serve alcohol at 11am. You can not stop the serving of alcohol in this setting (to people who are of age). But why not take the attention away from off campus housing? Why not keep the busses running and encourage students to come to the downtown area and host a concert in the town commons? Yes, remind students of the law. Yes, increase security in the downtown area for the day. But lets leave the riot squad out of it. Lets not throw glass bottles that can severely hurt someone recklessly through the air and enjoy the day as a community. The university should embrace the “Blarney Blowout” and make it a fun day for the students. We the students, should comply by partying respectfully. It is something that almost seems to simple to not occur.
I 100% agree. It could easily be a selling point on prospective student tours and what not and instead it’s devolved to this.
That’s your take on this? Really? Every student and every parent receives an email from the university before any event/holiday party where students might gather in large groups and operate with group mentality. Expectations and consequences are clearly spelled out. No one should be surprised when it comes to confrontations. What do you want UMass to do? Set standards, remind students about those standards, set out consequences and then do nothing? Too many parents raise their children that way. It’s no wonder they think that rules don’t apply to them.
Right the expectations are: You can’t gather. The consequence: You will be prosecuted. That’s the current mentality and this past weekend was the result. The students have been cut out of the equation in terms of arguing for some form of controlled gathering or party.
The fact that parents receive an email is a joke. The students are adults. The school should be directly talking to students instead of bypassing them and getting their parents to threaten them with grounding if they participate.
When Umass sets a zero-tolerance policy no one listens. Everyone at Umass got that email and even more saw it through social media, yet 5000 kids showed up to Umass outside. So clearly that didn’t work.
For me, respect needs to be earned, if we, as students of UMass, want respect we are going to have to earn it. UMass informed all of us that Blarney was not ok, so the students who choose to attend knew that they were doing something they were not supposed to be doing so they need to accept responsibility for their actions.
Also, we need to recognize that we don’t own the town of Amherst. There are families living on the town of Amherst. Off campus partying also affects the families of Amherst (probably more than it affects the students who don’t attend parties). I’m not saying that people shouldn’t party, but we shouldn’t be so loud when partying that its disruptful to the people living around us. When we go out to parties, we shouldn’t trash other people’s lawns. I was at a party earlier this semester, where two girls broke into a neighbors house. When we complain about the town bylaws, we fail to realize what a big problem our partying creates for the town. These things shouldn’t be happening. In a way, we are being punished for the actions and that kind of sucks, but at the same time, the student body of UMass has kind of proved that we can’t party responsibly. If we want to be treated like adults, we have to act like adults.
As students, who have apparently been vetted by the University seeing as how they were accepted shouldn’t there already be respect? Shouldn’t there be more of a dialogue than riot cops and a harshly worded email? As far as disruption goes, I’m not sure how much day parties like this disrupt people. I lived in Brandywine and could only tell there was a quad party at the townhouses because I could see people heading there not from the noise.
Anecdotal stories, like the girls breaking into a house, are not an accurate representation of the student body at Umass, in my opinion. Also if Umass didn’t want Blarney to happen there should have been more dialogue as I’ve said previously. A sternly worded email is sent out every year. Every year it is ignored. Every year there is a gathering at the townhouses. This year was the only year it was handled poorly.
To deserve respect, you must give respect.
“Sending out an email a few days before Blarney Blowout saying, “We, the Umass Administration, do not condone this. Students having fun will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. The police will be out in force. Please stay indoors and keep your faces buried in your textbooks. This is not a drill. Violators will be pepper sprayed on sight” is not beneficial for anyone. No one who reads that email thinks, “Gee. I better stay inside or else the Umass administrators will be mad at me” All that happens is those emails are ignored and life goes on.”
Okay, and whose fault is it for ignoring an email detailing rules and expectations? You are wrong in thinking that YOU are UMass. You were accepted based on academic performance, not your personality or other life decisions. You don’t choose how they run their school and you can’t just tell them “you’d be nothing without us” and then break the rules they set for you. Stop acting over-privileged. UMass gives its students plenty freedoms and if you can’t follow a simple rule, that is in the interest of students’ safety, then you don’t deserve their respect.
Man, what an entitled little prick you are! You want respect? You think students “earned” respect because they got good grades in high school? Because they scored well on the SAT’s? Because the were the captain of their respective high school team? Guess again, they were accepted because they were deemed to be a good looking statistic on UMASS’s transcript IF they graduate. Students are given the OPPORTUNITY to PAY for the the PRIVILEGE of an education at UMASS. BUT, only if they abide by University rules while doing so. Respect is a two way street dude. I think it is reasonable to have come in expecting it in the classroom, but when a 4000 person party erupts off campus where illegal activity including public intoxication, underage drinking, destruction of property, physical altercations between students (many of which get posted online) what respect do you think you’ll get? Act like animals, and get treated like animals
How about glossing over the fact that it was just this past October after the Red Sox 2013 World Series win UMass students rioted, flipped cars and damaged property and police equipped with riot gear had to be utilized to disperse the crowd? Sounds to me like the UMass Class of 2018 failed its first test of respect of the semester right there! The riot police weren’t dispersed on a hunch all willy-nilly for no reason like you make it sound, UMass is just basing its response on recent past behavior by THE student body! And enough of this crap about the email, the email was a reminder, I’m sure the behavior exhibited over the weekend was already covered in the “shall not do” section of the school’s student handbook and code of conduct.
And look at you, whining that the administration doesn’t do enough to enable the partying lifestyle. You want to have discourse? Join student government and petition for organized parties ahead of time instead of crying about it on your blog after! You see schools that tollerate partying better? Feel free to transfer, I’m sure they’d be happy to take your money too! You went to UMass, an institute of learning, for a college education. Thats what you’re paying for, not a “get out of jail free card” to party and act like an ass whenever, where-ever. If you’re not worried about your school’s reputation then thats exactly what you’ll get, literally what you will be handed when you graduate, a piece of paper that says “You were able to drag your half hungover ass to class enough to achieve the minimum grade required so we could continue accepting your money and not make ourselves look incompetent” Congratulations! – “You want a special experience, got to a Jimmy Buffet concert”
Also don’t play the “well you weren’t there” card. I wasn’t there this weekend, but I was “there”, in Boston, a freshman at Northeastern in 2004, when a kid got killed by a drunk driver during the Hemenway Street riots after the Patriots Super Bowl Victory, and “there”, over by Fenway Park when a girl got killed by a projectile fired by riot police after the Sox won the World Series when again, a drunk and unruly crowd would not disperse. It never changes, these situations always go down the same. Kids get drunk, run around, cause trouble, burn/flip cars, fight, destroy property, on, and on, and on. It’s a public safety hazard plain and simple. The police show up and it ALWAYS starts with the verbal warning to disperse and then what? NOTHING!!! Everyone hangs around because “Why the FUCK should I leave???” It’s a mob mentality and everyone wants to stay to see what happens next. We know the rest, the police use force, kids and parents get their feelings hurt because “Johnny Law was too rough on my little junior!!! He couldn’t have been doing anything that bad!?!?” When in reality they are just doing their freaking job which is to protect public safety! Crimes, sometimes violent, are being witnessed by the officers charged to prevent and stop them and we say they can’t do their job.
Take it like a man (or woman). As an “adult” as you allege that you, and the other students at the blarney blowout are, you are entitle the freedom to make your own choices. Unfortunately part of being an adult means you also get to take, wait for it, RESPONSIBILITY, for the choices you make and sometimes have to face…. CONSEQUENCES…. Hey, they say college is a place of learning right??? Learn to grow up.
I’ve seen and heard of lots of injustice and police infractions on normal weekends at Umass. This, in my opinion, was simply a culmination of a growing mistrust and tension between students and UMass/Amherst police. The police are just itching to arrest students on weekends. Beyond this less, than half of the arrests made were actual Umass students. So perhaps they were actually dispersing if the arrests are any indication.
I think the students of Umass deserve respect because in order to build a good community and school pride you need to have a good relationship with the student body.
Thousands of people go to the Umass homecoming tailgate ever year and every year no riot police are needed. Why? Because there is an amicable understanding between Umass and the attendees.
If Umass continues to treat its students like statistics they will crash and burn in their attempt to better their reputation. This event has already garnered national media attention because it was handled poorly.
Along these lines, the idea that this event somehow tarnishes my degree is absolute nonsense. It doesn’t change all of the work or research I did at Umass. It doesn’t demean the inventors of Geckskin or the countless other research successes Umass has. It doesn’t make me forget what I learned in class. It was an extracurricular event that is in no way a reflection of my ability to be a productive, functioning member of society.
I think the students are scapegoated and no blame falls on the administration. I’m not justifying the illicit actions of my peers. I’m saying the fact that this made national news is a joke and is a clear reflection of the lack of communication and disconnect between administration and students. No media attention and this is a non-issue.
There is protocol. Police don’t just come charging into parties and start spraying people in the face. If some punk idiot wants to try to impress his friends by harassing the police, that’s his own prerogative; But don’t rip on the police for doing their job, and stop trying to act like these a-holes are the victims. The police and school did absolutely nothing wrong. If you want the student population to stop being made to look bad, eliminate this moronic culture that rioting and rebelling against the police is cool.
I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on the issue of respect. How can the student body garner respect when hosting an unauthorized party where there is no policing of underage drinking, open containers, or destruction of property. After being told not to this is blatant disrespect of the administration and the amherst community.
As to why the tailgate works I can only theorized it is because it is a policed and monitored event on school property. If the student body wants this for their blarney blowout they should be the ones to work with the administration and community and not the other way around.
As for the numbers of non students making up the majority of arrests lets not kid ourselves, the kids arrested were mostly visiting students at the school specifically for the party and their poor behavior is a reflection on the student body. That’s how it worked at my school on campus, that’s how it should be viewed here.
As for your own personal academic and professional achievements, I tip my cap to you and am happy to hear that being a umass alumni has not impeded your career. However, it can and probably will affect some grads negatively at some point, as will an arrest record.
Maybe this event in a vacuum doesn’t warrant national attention but UMass had a similar riot/party event this past fall and speaks to the student body’s air of entitlement which is the underlying issue.