<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Colorado-Boulder community frustrated after latest riot
Copyright © 2000 Nando Media
Copyright © 2000 Scripps McClatchy Western Service
By ELIZABETH MATTERN, Daily Camera of Boulder, Colo.
BOULDER, Colo. (September 11, 2000 10:18 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - It's a weekend night and there's another party. Crowds arrive. There's alcohol.
As the party spills into the street, revelers become rambunctious, burning furniture and overturning cars.
Then the police show up with tear gas.
Now it's a riot - a word becoming increasingly common in the neighborhood, mainly inhabited by University of Colorado students.
"I don't think you can stop it. It's a force of nature," freshman Peter Bales said. "This is a college town."
Faced with a problem that doesn't appear to be going away, the city, university and police are trying to find ways to address rioting and the alcohol issues that surround the behavior.
Early Friday morning, it happened again. It was the latest in a series of riots near the CU-Boulder campus since 1997 and the second since the school year began. Four CU students were suspended and two were arrested following Friday's incident.
On Aug. 27, three people were arrested following a riot, although none were CU students.
Some University Hill residents say police overreact to incidents in their neighborhood.
"The cops respond too fast and too aggressively," CU senior Kristin Lehman said.
But after two riots in the first two weeks of the academic year, Anthony Goodman of the CU student government said he is "sad" and "disheartened." He's almost speechless about what this means for his campus and other campus communities across the country that are dealing with similar acts of violence.
"At this point, it's almost looked upon as that's what you do. If a party is broken up and you have a lot of people, you have strength in numbers and you got to set a couch on fire and taunt the police," Goodman said. "It's so frustrating and just ridiculous to see that that's part of the atmosphere. We've had six since 1997 and it's kind of like that's what we do now."
The largest riot in recent history was in May 1997, when young people frustrated with the enforcement of drinking laws lashed out at police, sparking three nights of violence at the end of CU's spring semester. More than 30 people were arrested and 60 police officers were injured.
"Students for some reason are feeling they've got to retaliate against the police or ... I'm not sure who they're retaliating against," said Ron Stump, vice chancellor for student affairs at the Boulder campus.
In response, the university is encouraging students to take stock in their community, educating them about alcohol issues, working with merchants on the sale of alcohol, and getting a message across that rioters will be punished for their violent behavior.
A new three-strike policy means CU students convicted of three minor alcohol or drug related incidents, on or off campus, will be kicked out of school for a semester.
Stump said he is bothered on two levels by the recent riots.
"It bothers me that they throw bottles and cans at other human beings with an indifference to who the police are as people," he said. "Second, it seems to me there's a sense of entitlement, that this is part of a fun activity, that for some reason they feel it's OK or right to do this."
With recent moves to keep alcohol off campus, Stump said, young people are heading to the Hill for beer keg parties, and the Boulder community is feeling the effects.
"People are going to houses to have their parties, and the houses cannot control them or even have the space for the numbers who show up," he said. "Now there's a sense that if their party gets broken up, the next stage is to basically sit down and force the police to disperse them."
On Tuesday, several concerned residents of the Hill urged the City Council to take some action to prevent future disturbances and what they perceived as the decline of University Hill as a neighborhood.
The council directed City Manager Ron Secrist to form a task force to look into ways the city might help address the problems. The committee has not yet been formed. By the end of the week, however, the city received several phone calls from residents interested in participating.
Police Chief Mark Beckner said Boulder does not have the financial resources to spend on overtime pay for extra officers on the Hill in anticipation of a riot.
Instead, police will "enhance" their patrols in the area with the existing officers, and they are discussing other tactics for crowd control.
"People keep asking us if we're bracing for another riot. We're not bracing for a riot," Deputy Chief Jim Hughes said.
Elizabeth Mattern writes for the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo.
[/quote]
Overturn my car and I'll introduce you to my friends, "X" & "X". Sounds to me like a few po-po need to bust some rubber caps on a few unruley students..
------------------
God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
oberkommando sez:
"We lost the first and third and now they are after the Second!(no pun intended)"
Colorado-Boulder community frustrated after latest riot
Copyright © 2000 Nando Media
Copyright © 2000 Scripps McClatchy Western Service
By ELIZABETH MATTERN, Daily Camera of Boulder, Colo.
BOULDER, Colo. (September 11, 2000 10:18 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - It's a weekend night and there's another party. Crowds arrive. There's alcohol.
As the party spills into the street, revelers become rambunctious, burning furniture and overturning cars.
Then the police show up with tear gas.
Now it's a riot - a word becoming increasingly common in the neighborhood, mainly inhabited by University of Colorado students.
"I don't think you can stop it. It's a force of nature," freshman Peter Bales said. "This is a college town."
Faced with a problem that doesn't appear to be going away, the city, university and police are trying to find ways to address rioting and the alcohol issues that surround the behavior.
Early Friday morning, it happened again. It was the latest in a series of riots near the CU-Boulder campus since 1997 and the second since the school year began. Four CU students were suspended and two were arrested following Friday's incident.
On Aug. 27, three people were arrested following a riot, although none were CU students.
Some University Hill residents say police overreact to incidents in their neighborhood.
"The cops respond too fast and too aggressively," CU senior Kristin Lehman said.
But after two riots in the first two weeks of the academic year, Anthony Goodman of the CU student government said he is "sad" and "disheartened." He's almost speechless about what this means for his campus and other campus communities across the country that are dealing with similar acts of violence.
"At this point, it's almost looked upon as that's what you do. If a party is broken up and you have a lot of people, you have strength in numbers and you got to set a couch on fire and taunt the police," Goodman said. "It's so frustrating and just ridiculous to see that that's part of the atmosphere. We've had six since 1997 and it's kind of like that's what we do now."
The largest riot in recent history was in May 1997, when young people frustrated with the enforcement of drinking laws lashed out at police, sparking three nights of violence at the end of CU's spring semester. More than 30 people were arrested and 60 police officers were injured.
"Students for some reason are feeling they've got to retaliate against the police or ... I'm not sure who they're retaliating against," said Ron Stump, vice chancellor for student affairs at the Boulder campus.
In response, the university is encouraging students to take stock in their community, educating them about alcohol issues, working with merchants on the sale of alcohol, and getting a message across that rioters will be punished for their violent behavior.
A new three-strike policy means CU students convicted of three minor alcohol or drug related incidents, on or off campus, will be kicked out of school for a semester.
Stump said he is bothered on two levels by the recent riots.
"It bothers me that they throw bottles and cans at other human beings with an indifference to who the police are as people," he said. "Second, it seems to me there's a sense of entitlement, that this is part of a fun activity, that for some reason they feel it's OK or right to do this."
With recent moves to keep alcohol off campus, Stump said, young people are heading to the Hill for beer keg parties, and the Boulder community is feeling the effects.
"People are going to houses to have their parties, and the houses cannot control them or even have the space for the numbers who show up," he said. "Now there's a sense that if their party gets broken up, the next stage is to basically sit down and force the police to disperse them."
On Tuesday, several concerned residents of the Hill urged the City Council to take some action to prevent future disturbances and what they perceived as the decline of University Hill as a neighborhood.
The council directed City Manager Ron Secrist to form a task force to look into ways the city might help address the problems. The committee has not yet been formed. By the end of the week, however, the city received several phone calls from residents interested in participating.
Police Chief Mark Beckner said Boulder does not have the financial resources to spend on overtime pay for extra officers on the Hill in anticipation of a riot.
Instead, police will "enhance" their patrols in the area with the existing officers, and they are discussing other tactics for crowd control.
"People keep asking us if we're bracing for another riot. We're not bracing for a riot," Deputy Chief Jim Hughes said.
Elizabeth Mattern writes for the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo.
[/quote]
Overturn my car and I'll introduce you to my friends, "X" & "X". Sounds to me like a few po-po need to bust some rubber caps on a few unruley students..
------------------
God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
oberkommando sez:
"We lost the first and third and now they are after the Second!(no pun intended)"
Sorry for going off the deep end and taking up room