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Raucous Amherst party pits students vs. police

by Tom Farmer

Monday, September 23, 2002

A drunken party involving about 1,000 Amherst-area college students turned ugly early yesterday when partygoers met police attempts to disperse the crowd with tossed bottles and thrown punches.

Amherst police said they were sent to the Townehouse Apartments on Meadow Street, about a mile from the University of Massachusetts campus, about 12:15 a.m. for a report that a large party had grown unruly.

Officers reported finding between 700 and 1,000 people in a “quad” area between four buildings.

When police learned of sporadic fights breaking out within the crowd, officers from the evening shift were held over to assist other officers clad in riot gear with dispersing the crowd.

“While clearing the area, officers, as well as those in the crowd, were pelted with bottles and cans,” according to an Amherst Police Department statement.

“Several sliding glass doors to apartment units were shattered by thrown objects. One Amherst Police Department cruiser had its rear window smashed by a thrown beer bottle.”

Police said Stephen M. Gill, 19, of Newton was charged with disorderly conduct.

Two other partygoers were taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital after consuming too much liquor, police said.

Police said they would likely be in contact with area college officials today to discuss the incident.

“Our police department will work with the colleges, but I don’t know what they will do yet,” one Amherst officer said yesterday.

Barbara Pitoniak, a spokeswoman for UMass, said yesterday she was unaware if any UMass students were involved in the disturbance.

Pitoniak said students who live on campus have stricter conduct requirements, but that doesn’t preclude disciplinary action against students who live off campus.

“The code of conduct does apply in some cases to off-campus students,” she said.

“If it is determined there was a problem with some of our students, I’m sure that would be something that our dean of students would address.”

damn and i missed another good party.