<p>No way, no-how could this be described as a riot in any sense of the word.</p>
<p>The only damage to route 1 was a single street sign. </p>
<p>I think the people who should look bad aren't the students, but the riot police who escalated the energy of an already dispersing crowd by pepper-spraying and beating students who were guilty of nothing but, perhaps, "rubbernecking". </p>
<p>Sheesh.</p>
<p>Here’s the link to the diamondback article. I’m hoping that this doesn’t become a big thing on campus and overshadow the team going into the tournaments.</p>
<p>[The</a> Diamondback - Police use pepper spray, horses in clash with students on Route 1](<a href=“http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/police-use-pepper-spray-horses-in-clash-with-students-on-route-1-1.1222184]The”>http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/police-use-pepper-spray-horses-in-clash-with-students-on-route-1-1.1222184)</p>
<p>I wasn’t around for the “riots” of old that they talk about re: NCAA final four… There were probably trying to keep things from getting out of hand, but the student responses (of people who were actually there) were that it was not a “riot”. Had they been successful in turning the bus over would it have become one? Hmmm. There was reference to students starting fires, but it seemed more like burning of a couple of Duke t-shirts…we’re not talking about someone torching storefronts. This debate has been ongoing. All it takes is a few people with too much to drink and the “mob mentality” for things to get out of hand.</p>
<p>Hey do me a favor, go onto CC PARENTS CAFE…the OP is flaming UMDCP for the riot. It is a thread stating UMD riot. Of course they attend Clemson, so that might be an issue!</p>
<p>I felt the Diamondback article was very biased and threw around the term “riot” way to liberally in an attempt to try to make it into a bigger story than it was. The “attempt” to tip over the bus was people joking around and never actually intending to do such a thing. If they had actually tipped over the bus of course it would have been different, just as if they had actually thrown anything through windows or actually lit a storefront on fire, it would have been different.</p>
<p>They didn’t, plain and simple.</p>
<p>If any large crowd of people is a “ticking time bomb” then that is the case for any large gathering in a ballroom, stadium, or club. The fact that it was oustside made it less volatile in my opinion. Of course, slightly more illegal, considering the crowds were blocking traffic.</p>
<p>But that is the biggest crime I can accuse anyone of…obstructing traffic.</p>
<p>And, in terms of doing their job to clear the streets and maintain order while doing so, I felt the police failed horribly. You don’t need to beat or pepper spray people to get them to leave the street, in fact, that is just going to cause people to get angry and start a spontaneous protest against police brutality in front of you. And considering some of the actions the police took (throwing a girl face first against the grown who was retreating but returned because she dropped her cell phone), I would argue a spontaneous protest would have been warranted!</p>
<p>Our DS was there coming off the corner where the bookstore is (New Leonardtown dorms) with Rt 1. and said he saw the Riot police load guns with rubber bullets, he immediately turned back.</p>
<p>He also said he saw them using Pepper spray on people. And as he was with his group (dorm mates) turning around the police with their shields on horses were coming towards them. </p>
<p>It does sound like the police went over the line, but I do wonder if due to crime rate in the area that they thought it was better to be safe than sorry.</p>
<p>I mean that was clearly the idea…I don’t think it was just the crime rate, but also the the precedent set in 2002. Now THAT was a riot. Clearly, they didn’t want it to escalate, so they clamped down really hard on something that really couldn’t be classified as destructive. I understand where the police were coming from when it comes to that, but of course whenever someone reads “students arrested and beat by police!” they assume it’s the students who did something wrong. </p>
<p><em>eye rolls</em></p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - UMD “Riot”](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_QGGjLsgm8&feature=player_embedded#]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_QGGjLsgm8&feature=player_embedded#)</p>
<p>DS sent me this link. It shows the street sign coming up. He was at some place across the street (restaurant I cannot remember the name of) when it all happened. He said the game was awesome!</p>
<p>Just texted to say that UMD was on CNN showing a police officer beating a student!!</p>
<p>[WUSA9.com</a> | Washington, DC | Video](<a href=“404 Not Found | wusa9.com”>404 Not Found | wusa9.com)</p>
<p>Fairly accurate video. You can see the one sign :P. </p>
<p>As you can see the news made such a big deal out of the one sign, though, lol. Like they made it out as the “catalyst” for the police moving in…which is not true at all…they were waving it around since the beginning.</p>
<p>When does waving one sign around become a riot, I don’t know, man.</p>
<p>Thanks for those links guys.</p>
<p>Well said…</p>
<p>“When does waving one sign around become a riot, I don’t know, man.”</p>
<p>All it takes is a few knuckleheads to provoke the police to start cracking down.</p>
<p>I did happen to watch a video on CNN and I absolutely believe the police used excessive force against one student in a green striped shirt trying to walk back on to the sidewalk. They hit him VERY had on the back of the head several times.</p>
<p>DS is a longboarder and the other day he was coming down a hill and was almost knocked off the board by a police car, INTENTIONALLY because DS did not stop going however many mph down the hill??? He called for backup, etc… it was unreal and ridiculous. It ended well, but not before he was publicly humiliated for 45 minutes, threatened and called a “moron” about 9 times. DS politely explained his status at the university and that he was anything BUT a moron.</p>
<p>My two cents… they overreacted. Yeah, there was a large crowd, but there were a lot of people who were just trying to get to/from somewhere (restaurants, bars, home, dorms, etc.) who got caught up and grouped together with the group.</p>
<p>The police reaction helped to fuel a lot of the angry reactions… someone on the floor above my was shot in the stomach by the police (rubber bullets) [apparently it hurts a LOT, especially when they happen to hit an area where you were already wounded…], as he was leaving to go back to his dorm from Route 1. </p>
<p>Anyway, crazy business. I’m glad I was safe and sound in my room. :)</p>
<p>Bullet and I also thought about this, students could easily get caught up because if they live in Leonardtown they had no other option, but to cross Rte 1 to get home. Many of them could have been caught in the riot just based on where they live and not trying to be a person who wanted to cause conflict.</p>