The Daily Campus

Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Commentary

The partying, debauchery and intoxication that is none other than UConn's Spring Weekend, lived up to the hype in all facets. University-sanctioned events, such as Oozeball, the Spring Concert and a plethora of carnivals brought students together for some safe and sober entertainment (minus Method Man and Redman). Conversely, the unsanctioned events, i.e. Carriage, Celeron, X-Lot and yes, even Willy Oaks, were attended in thousands by a majority of intoxicated students and non-students, yet there were overall less arrests this year than during the 2007 festivities. Combining a certain number of expected arrests, with the staggering police and administrative presence, which included President Hogan, Spring Weekend 2008, should be deemed a success on all counts.

Detractors will always point to the arrests as evidence of Spring Weekend's destructive power yet this should be expected from events that rival that of the great Greek bacchanalians. With a tradition of excessive alcohol consumption, irrational and idiotic behavior should be expected resulting in arrests. However, this year was tamer, with fewer arrests than previous years, due to an extended police presence for which law enforcement should be commended. Overall, there were 51 arrests - with 21 UConn students - compared with 61 last year, 19 of which were UConn students.

More importantly though, the administration, and the university in general, took a more active role in ensuring the safety of their students from outsiders. Making good on his promise to connect with the UConn's student population, President Hogan took to the streets during many of the unsanctioned events. Flanked by two state troopers, Hogan could often be seen taking in the sights and conversing with students, encouraging them to be safe during the course of the festivities.

However, Hogan was not the only university administrator involved with keeping students safe. Dean of Students Lee Williams, along with other employees of the Office of Student Affairs, was asked to dress up and patrol off-campus events. They did not have administrative power to punish students for any incidents they witnessed, but instead we present in a capacity to help students, if necessary, and to keep them safe.

It would be nice if the occasional fight and violent acts became abolished on Spring Weekend. However, Spring Weekend is here to stay even if a minority of people, many of whom are not UConn students, will continue to break the law. Undocumented cases of crimes involving people who did not get caught are standard, but nonetheless, this only constitutes a minority of the thousands of people who converge on UConn for Spring Weekend. It was refreshing to see the university community finally recognize the staying power of this yearly tradition resulting in a collaborative effort between students, the university administration and law enforcement to keep the weekend as safe and fun as possible.

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