Spring Weekend Passes Quietly
Helped by good planning, an increased police presence, well-behaved students, and bad weather, spring weekend 2005 came and went without major incident.
“Thanks to the efforts of a large number of people, including University administrators involved in the pre-planning, UConn and state police, area fire departments, members of the community, and the students themselves, the weekend was relatively well controlled,” said Robert Hudd, UConn police chief and director of public safety. “That said, I remain concerned about the number of non-students that come to campus every year, and the amount of alcohol that is consumed during the weekend.”
Fifty-eight people were taken to area hospitals during the three-day event April 21-23, including 30 with alcohol-related problems. There were no major injuries, Hudd said. Nor were any fires reported.
Police said 84 people were arrested by state and UConn police, only 26 of whom were UConn students.
Police estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 people gathered at the Carriage House Apartments Thursday night, an equal number came to Celeron Square on Friday night, and 10,000 to 12,000 partygoers were in X-Lot Saturday night, significantly fewer than in 2004. Each night, the crowds dispersed calmly about 1 a.m. when police began asking them to leave.
Several students were handed an interim suspension after a hearing at “night court,” a student judiciary hearing set up for the first time this year to resolve promptly any significant student disciplinary issues. The “court” allowed Julie Bell-Elkins, interim dean of students, to conduct a hearing related to an infraction, determine whether a case had merit, and remove students from campus immediately if their crime was egregious and substantiated, rather than waiting until after the weekend.
