By Alexander LaCasse, news correspondent
After a weekend featuring over 80 arrests, the college town of Keene, N.H.is trying to move forward and answer how the annual Pumpkin Festival turned into a riot students likened to that in Ferguson, Mo.
“We deplore the actions of those whose only purpose was to cause mayhem,” Keene State College president Anne Huot said in a statement to the AP on Oct. 19, adding that the festivities have been promoted by others “as a destination for destructive and raucous behavior.”
Each year, the Keene Pumpkin Festival’s attendees attempt to set a world record for the most lit jack-o-lanterns. Historically, the weekend of the festival is also a big party weekend at Keene State. In recent years, more and more students not affiliated with the college have flooded the city, with a population just under 24,000, to take part in the partying via invites, according to authorities.
By 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, authorities estimated more than 1,000 people had gathered in two main locations off-campus, Wilcox Terrace and Winchester Court and, in fits of drunken excitement, begun rioting.
Within subsets of these large groups, some began to throw bottles, rocks and other projectiles as riot police moved in to disperse the crowds that became more unruly as the night progressed. Some participants sustained minor or blunt force trauma injuries from thrown items, according to Keene Police Chief Kenneth J. Meola.
“As police attempted to contain the crowd and disperse it, it began to move through the neighborhood and settled onto Butler Court, where the behavior of the crowd continued,” Meola said in a press release on Oct. 20. “All emergency responders were subject to having rocks and bottles thrown at them, but no injuries were sustained.”
According to the Keene Police Department, both local police from surrounding communities and New Hampshire state police were called into Keene on Friday, Oct. 17, and the ensuing Saturday saw 84 arrests in less than 48 hours. A minority of the 84 arrested wereKeene State students.
Keene police could not offer updates on the status of any specific case because many property damage cases were still being investigated, including those responsible for overturning Keene commuter student Tyler Bagdonas’s car. A GoFundMe project has already raised $4,150 toward a new car for him.
“This year’s festival was escalated as compared to years past,” Joe Geis, a junior journalism student at Keene State College, said.
Most Keene students commended the police for use of restraint, but they were also critical of some of the tactics police from outside departments employed.
“They brought in police from surrounding towns in riot gear who don’t know the community and yelled at people and just pointed their weapons at us,” Geis said.
On Sunday, peace was restored as groups of students woke up early to beginthe cleanup process. That day also saw another annual tradition at the tail end of the Pumpkin Fest: the Pumpkin Dump. According to Dean of Students Gail M. Zimmerman, the Pumpkin Dump took on a whole new meaning for the college’s students, who had to face the community after the visiting students had left.
“We had a huge outpouring of students and student organizations who wanted to go beyond our usual clean up,” Zimmerman said. “We will hold all students involved accountable but note all damage was done off campus.”
The following Monday, Geis said nearly 800 combined students and faculty crammed into the 600-person assembly hall on Keene State’s campus to address what transpired the preceding weekend. According to Geis, nearly 40 combined students and faculty spoke to voice their frustrations.
“It was good to see so many students actually upset,” Geis said. “This last week has just been pretty down around here. Students don’t want to be known to the outside world for this.”
Photo courtesy Lori L. Stalteri, Creative Commons
