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Around 1,500 people gathered in the parking lot between Lord and Alumni halls to celebrate the Boston Red Sox’s World Series win against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, Oct. 28 with a bonfire and party, hosted by the Division of Student Affairs.
Those celebrating, including Bananas the Bear, were treated to music and free food that lasted from 12:15 a.m to 1:30 a.m.
“University police were supported by Deputy Sheriffs and State Troopers on standby in the event those resources were needed to respond to a major civil disturbance,” Noel March, Chief of Police for Public Safety, said.
There were two dumpster fires at Knox and Somerset Halls, as well as two fights but no arrests. “Police presence is increased in events like this; that’s part of the plan,” Joe Carr, director of University Relations, said.
All cases are still under investigation, Carr said. According to March, a car was tipped over and destroyed in the Stodder lot. “That’s just mean and absolutely uncalled for,” March said.
Student Affairs has planned five other bonfires in the past, according to March. He said that in 2004, for the Red Sox win, more than 4,000 people showed up. About 12 people were thrown out, many of whom were non-students and there were about four arrests. This year there was some degree of extreme behavior, such as crowd surfing and flashing, but March said it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
“We really think that this university has been, for the past eight years, ahead of the curve,” Carr said. In 1999, when the UMaine hockey team won the national championship, they had problems because students didn’t have an outlet to celebrate.
The evening kicked off with a party in the Memorial Union hosted by Student Affairs, that included watching the game on big screens, with thunder sticks passed out as noisemakers.
When it was clear that the Sox would sweep the Series, students moved to the celebratory bonfire.
When asked how she felt about the win, second-year elementary education student Casey Kenahan said: “In one word: amazing.” She said she has been watching the team since she was a child, and that her plans after the game were to buy the winning T-shirt. She wanted to see one of the players, Jonathan Papelbon, dance.
The evening wrapped up around 1:30 a.m. when the fire was put out, the crowd dispersed in minutes, March said. Property Management began the cleanup, and in the morning no one would have known there had been a fire, he said.
“It went exactly as planned,” Carr said. The groups who planned this event have done this before, so they have an efficient system.
“I thought it went off as planned and I thought it was a great example of cooperation between our partners in Public Safety, Student Affairs and ultimately, students,” March said.
