2008 Woodie Awards
Mansfield Braces For Spring Weekend
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: News
As Spring Weekend partying hits UConn, the town of Mansfield has braced itself for hordes of students making merry by coordinating their emergency service teams and trying to offer sober alternatives to drinking.
According to Town Manager Matthew Hart, the town's preparation has not changed dramatically in the past few years.
"We're using a similar approach to the last couple of Spring Weekends," he said. "We're working closely with state and university police and the Mansfield Community-Campus partnership, and we're very supportive of the efforts of that group in the respects of programming."
Hart said that the main thing that the Town Council focused on this year was keeping up law enforcement and properly allocating funds to help police, firefights and EMS workers able to do their jobs by setting up special triage centers at Carriage House and allowing for DUI checkpoints.
Another concern of the town was keeping E.O. Smith High School students away from the college parties. In an attempt to draw them away, Mansfield and Hartford Hospital are sponsoring a free festival at the Mansfield Community Center Saturday night. UConn students are encouraged to attend as well, and the event will have free food, water sports, ping pong and Guitar Hero tournaments as well.
Hart said that the town realized that most of the danger created on past Spring Weekends is attributable to people not attending UConn, and he praised what he perceived as an improving attitude towards the parties on the students' behalf.
"I appreciate the fact that the students approach to Spring Weekend seems different from recent years, trying to keep it more of a university event and working more collaboratively with police, fire and EMS personnel," he said. "The students realize that those folks are there to help, not to butt in and cause problems."
Hart also noted how quickly emergency services were able to attend to the fire that broke out at Willington Oaks Wednesday night, but wanted to remind students of its danger.
"I would ask the student body to remember the importance of celebrating in a responsible manner and respecting the larger community," he said.
Contact Christopher Duray at
Christopher.Duray@UConn.edu.
According to Town Manager Matthew Hart, the town's preparation has not changed dramatically in the past few years.
"We're using a similar approach to the last couple of Spring Weekends," he said. "We're working closely with state and university police and the Mansfield Community-Campus partnership, and we're very supportive of the efforts of that group in the respects of programming."
Hart said that the main thing that the Town Council focused on this year was keeping up law enforcement and properly allocating funds to help police, firefights and EMS workers able to do their jobs by setting up special triage centers at Carriage House and allowing for DUI checkpoints.
Another concern of the town was keeping E.O. Smith High School students away from the college parties. In an attempt to draw them away, Mansfield and Hartford Hospital are sponsoring a free festival at the Mansfield Community Center Saturday night. UConn students are encouraged to attend as well, and the event will have free food, water sports, ping pong and Guitar Hero tournaments as well.
Hart said that the town realized that most of the danger created on past Spring Weekends is attributable to people not attending UConn, and he praised what he perceived as an improving attitude towards the parties on the students' behalf.
"I appreciate the fact that the students approach to Spring Weekend seems different from recent years, trying to keep it more of a university event and working more collaboratively with police, fire and EMS personnel," he said. "The students realize that those folks are there to help, not to butt in and cause problems."
Hart also noted how quickly emergency services were able to attend to the fire that broke out at Willington Oaks Wednesday night, but wanted to remind students of its danger.
"I would ask the student body to remember the importance of celebrating in a responsible manner and respecting the larger community," he said.
Contact Christopher Duray at
Christopher.Duray@UConn.edu.
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