Exercise self control, even at Spring Weekend

Spring Weekend has come and gone leaving 111 arrested and plenty more students in rough shape. The arrests this year were more than double the 51 that occurred last year. On Saturday night alone, 47 arrests were made in and around X Lot, but only six of which were students, according to the UConn police department.

The first two nights of the weekend went fairly smoothly as friends helped each other get home from Carriage and Celeron apartments. But X Lot Saturday brought chaos, fear and danger to students.

According to police, around 15,000 people - many students, but also many non-students - headed to X Lot to drink and spend time with friends. However, many got carried away and the experience ended up being less than pleasurable.

Around 11 p.m., the parking lot was packed and the sea of people could be heard from a good distance away. There was no concert this year to pull some students away from the parking lot, so attendance was up by a lot. Beer bottles could be seen flying through the air from the edge of the parking lot, causing numerous people to make the trek to the medical van to get glass removed from their limbs.

There is no reason that anything like that should ever happen on a weekend that is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. Alcohol impairs people's judgment, but if it is going to allow you to make decisions that are that poor - don't drink. You won't feel great about knowing you hurt someone else in the morning - that is, if you can remember it. Some of those in attendance weren't even college students. Nobody should be subjected to treatment like that.

In addition to that behavior, some of the guys who were in X Lot were unpleasant to be around. Many could be observed groping girls as they walked by and even pursuing them, despite persistent requests to stop. No means no, even on Spring Weekend. It doesn't matter if you attend UConn or not - be respectful. Girls are out to have fun and enjoy themselves, too, and they shouldn't have to endure harassment while they are out. Once again, alcohol is not an excuse.

Another wild moment at Spring Weekend occurred when pepper spray (or a substance a lot like it) was released into the air, causing students to cough and sputter. Major Ronald Blicher of the UConn police department said that he smelled the chemical but was not aware that the police deployed and chemical agent.

"We do carry pepper spray," he said. "But we also took away pepper spray from students. I'm not pointing any fingers."

Whoever released the chemical should not have done so. The crowd was wild, but the spray didn't seem to have been used because the partiers were too rowdy. Rather, the timing seemed random and it simply wasn't appropriate for the situation. There were students in X Lot that were injured, intoxicated and in various states of coherence. Pepper spray could be dangerous and harmful when used in a situation like that.

Students need to learn to control themselves if they want to have a Spring Weekend in the future. It is too much of a liability as it is. Drunken accidents will obviously happen with that many kids in one place. But there should be no tolerance for violence or acting out. The UConn population and their visitors are pushing it already. Frankly, I am surprised, after this weekend's events in X Lot alone, that the administration hasn't yet threatened to do away with the tradition.

The fact that arrests doubled this year and there was a chemical agent released into the air should be enough to convince students from UConn and other schools to behave. Nobody wants to be in an environment like that.

"The [arrest] factor alone should be concerning to the student community," said Blicher."

Before next Spring Weekend, students and visitors need to step back and see what kinds of positions they are putting themselves and their peers in and seriously rethink their behavior.