WVU president calls for change following riots

[Slaton10]

So again the students go a little too far.....and I was thinking...

I know it ended badly down at TAMU with the bonfire...but why not do something like that safe after the game..secure an area where people can burn whatever they want and it can be monitored and contained...could be a good tradition for wins......

 

[Anotherwvufan]

I completely agree. Back in the 1980s these were just called bonfires. For the most part the police just contained the crowds and only intervened when it became dangerous. After the 1982 Oklahoma win a bonfire started in Sunnyside. all was well until the police came with batons to break up the celebration. Drunk students fought back.

No they are using tear gas and Chemical weapons (aren't those illegal) to get the students off the street. Who is surprised that the students fight back. After Penn State in 1984, the police backed off and only put out bonfires that got out of control and then later turned on the fire hydrants to put out the rest. That was a civilized "Riot"

I have not heard of any mass scale destruction or out of control fires. Lets leave the work "Riot" for places like Ferguson and LA and just call this "Excessive Celebration"

An organized controlled couch burning would keep many of these people off the streets of Morgantown.

 

[Mac_Bridger]

Another... They were tearing down lightpoles, street signs and overturning cars... I'm sorry, but the police are not to blame for those actions...

 

[mad2mc]

Never liked the image that couch burning portraits. Back in the day, during the first couch burning, we had the Stadium Loop as a 'contolled site' but today there are buildings going up everywhere. While it isn't all the students, it is enough to give a bad rep to the University. Enjoy the moment without tearing stuff up.

 

[Anotherwvufan]

Another... They were tearing down lightpoles, street signs and overturning cars... I'm sorry, but the police are not to blame for those actions...

Did those happen before or after the pepper spray and CS. I did not hear of any cars overturned last Saturday.

 

[DCWV4life]

The pics of overturned cars were not from WVU, that was from a party gone crazy in N.H. out of the Boston Globe.

 

[Mac_Bridger]

I haven't checked with PD, but I will when I have a chance. I have family in blue in Morgantown. I know for a fact light poles and street signs were torn down. So much for those million dollar blind cross walks... A lot of cars were damaged if not overturned. Dumpsters hurled into the street...

 

[GoldRusher]

It's not going to stop and the powers that be should adapt to the times. We have legalized pot, gambling, gay marriage, prostitution ect.. I think tear gas and batons are a bit excessive for a bonfire. If the students are breaking into businesses and homes and looting ect then absolutly, lay the wood but in my experience that's not the case at all and the reaction by law enforcement ( at the urging of lawmakers, I don't blame cops for doing their jobs) creates an environment of hostility. Time to build a better mousetrap lawmakers, adapt to the times or start a new tradition or...... Gasp, pass new legislation introducing a dry county and NOBODY gets drunk, problem solved. Yea, I'm sure they will take the loss in revenue L.

 

[Anotherwvufan]

I haven't checked with PD, but I will when I have a chance. I have family in blue in Morgantown. I know for a fact light poles and street signs were torn down. So much for those million dollar blind cross walks... A lot of cars were damaged if not overturned. Dumpsters hurled into the street...

Looking through many pics and articles, I saw one stop sign being burned (we need to raise our admission standards) and a light pole taken down. I would be interested to see if there was much more than that. I just hate using the work RIOT which puts in images of store breakings, burning buildings, mayhem...

Police have changed from let the couches burn to prosecute every couch burner to the max. Guess what, they still burn couches. This is not Ferguson, the cops don't need to show everyone who is boss. Find the vandals and prosecute them (just look for them on Twitter feeds). No need to gas a whole crowd to get the bad ones. I have personally witnessed a good fun celebration turn to police in riot gear, batons, and retaliation by the crowd.

 

[WvuDieHard]

I am safe to say that I did not participate in any riots. Having drank 3.5 pints of straight Whiskey between myself and my game mate, my ass was so drunk I don't even remember the 4th qtr. BLACK OUT. Must have carried myself well though--wasn't arrested. The topper to this story was when I got back to the hotel, I bought a round for the bar and asked for a Jeigar Bomb. This idiot brings me a whole fucking glass of Jeigar on ice. Absolutely fucking thumped after that. Who does stupid shit like that? Well, by god she won the battle and put my punk ass to bed. No riots here.

 

[Mac_Bridger]

Agree with you on using the term "RIOT". To me that indicates a far greater level of destruction, such as buildings broken into and looted, etc.

Another, destroying public property is a crime. I'm not quite sure why you want to defend such actions...

 

[Mac_Bridger]

So I got the skinny. No cars were overturned, but many were damaged, including 6 government vehicles. One of which was a MFD fire truck which is now out of service. According to MECCA they had nearly 150 911 calls regarding the "riot". BTW, buildings were damaged, although I don't know the severity. The police came in after fire marshals were assaulted.

 

[Anotherwvufan]

Agree with you on using the term "RIOT". To me that indicates a far greater level of destruction, such as buildings broken into and looted, etc.

Another, destroying public property is a crime. I'm not quite sure why you want to defend such actions...

I'm not here to defend the guys who burned stopsigns or caused real damage. Just here to make two points. 1. What happened last Saturday was really no different that the "Celebrations" after some of the big wins in the 1980s. 2. When the police overreact, crowds get angry which in turn causes more destruction.

BREAKING: Morgantown police are looking for 8 or 9 students filmed burning a mattress in the streets of Morgantown. Once identified, they will be prosecuted to their fullest and expelled from WVU.

 

[WVUDAD]

I was there as a student in 1984 when we beat PSU and was obviously a terrorist, I was part of the gang that ran onto the field, tore down the north goalpost and carried it to Sunnyside, I lived on top of first street hill, we took our hand me down couch out of our living room, rode it down the hill, and set fire to it at the corner of university and first. The cops were there making sure that people didn't do anything TOO stupid, but we're celebrating the Mountie win right along with us drunken kids. They used to try and weed out the Barney Fifes and little Hitler's from being cops, they now seek them out.

 

[DBAR4WVU]

As Barney would say, "Gotta nip it, nip it in the bud!" That's the only way.

 

[Mac_Bridger]

Wow...

Condoning destruction of property and assaulting public servants...

Wow...

 

[WVUDAD]

Wow...

Condoning destruction of property and assaulting public servants...

Wow...

MAC, I don't think anyone is advocating either of those activities, burning your OWN couch, drinking your OWN beer while the cops stand by watching is a bit different than burning someone else's stuff up. When the kids are being peaceful standing around their burning couch and the cops come in full riot gear shooting rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd, what response do they expect? The cops when I was in school were in POLICE uniforms, NOT some trumped up military garb, and they were treated with respect, AND THEY treated us with respect, not as subjects like they do today.

 

[Mac_Bridger]

An excerpt from Hoppy's editorial earlier this week.

WV MetroNews ? WVU?s postgame celebration goes too far? again

"Morgantown and WVU have been through this before, unfortunately, so we know what will follow. Some will accuse the police of not being fully prepared, and then overreacting to the situation. WVU will promise to take action against those students the university can identify as rioters.

But we have to keep in mind it’s the behavior of the rioters that’s most embarrassing.

Mountaineer fans packed Milan Puskar Stadium Saturday and played a role in the most significant football victory in years. But for some, the unbridled joy that came with the win wasn’t enough. They felt the need—fueled by alcohol–to adopt a mob mentality, destroying property and assaulting authorities.

WVU continually struggles with its image as a party school. I’ve always believed there’s nothing wrong with attending a university where you can get a quality education and have a good time.

However, there’s a difference between a party and a riot. Unfortunately, we were reminded again Saturday night that the behavior of some WVU students too easily descends into the latter."

 

[Mac_Bridger]

MAC, I don't think anyone is advocating either of those activities, burning your OWN couch, drinking your OWN beer while the cops stand by watching is a bit different than burning someone else's stuff up. When the kids are being peaceful standing around their burning couch and the cops come in full riot gear shooting rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd, what response do they expect? The cops when I was in school were in POLICE uniforms, NOT some trumped up military garb, and they were treated with respect, AND THEY treated us with respect, not as subjects like they do today.

They weren't being peaceful

 

[mad2mc]

They weren't being peaceful

You're right Mac. My son told me that the game was insane but it was a bad time to be a Baylor fan because of a lot of drunk assholes running around. He didn't say whether they were students or WVU fans, but assholes nonetheless. At 11:16 PM, he texts me to say that they're are a lot of riots and tear gas downtown and he was heading back to Towers because the police just came out in riot gear. Sounds to me that once stuff escalated, the police had no choice. He saw this from Grant street off of a friend's balcony. While arriving to the PRT station to head back to Evansdale, a kid kicked out a PRT window. He also said you could hear the sirens once he was at the Evansdale campus.

No need for these type of activities. I feel not all were WVU students, but the students need to show some class. I always hated the couch burning tradition and yes, back in the day, the Stadium Loop served as the rallying point for exuberant students. I lived on Stewart Street a couple years but never attended a couch burning event, not even when we finally beat Penn State. This type of bullshit only strengthens the stereotypes that other fans/conferences perceive us. I received so many calls from SEC fans from work who asked me if I burned my couches after the game. I don't like my school having a reputation like that.