What happened is terrible and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, however..We all know what happens at chickenfest and it isn’t a wholesome kosher family event the police are welcome at. It’s centered around illegal drugs, and lots of them, with a side of excess alcohol. No one is sober and in their right mind and there is no cell phone reception and there is no way for emergency crews or authorities to get in. Why do you think it’s held in secret miles in the woods on unknowing people’s property and moves locations? Because these kids want authorities far away from their homemade drugs. Because many years it gets shut down by the police to keep people safe. Now this year it doesn’t get shut down and again somehow they’re the bad guys. I feel bad for the police, the guys can’t win. If there was police there, many of your peers would’ve been arrested or much worse. And you know what? You guys would be angry with the police still. Every year something terrible happens, and every year chickenfest still happens. Ask anyone on campus. This is the worst thing to happen yet, but hundreds of people who are only by adults by definitions gathering in the woods to get completely high and wasted out of their minds will happen every year and it’ll be called chickenfest.

And being in that environment you take a risk.

The police ARE to blame for whatever happens as a result of this tactic. It looks like their actions inadvertently caused a death, absolutely inexcusable.

Alcohol is legal, parties are legal, and the police should mind their own business when people are getting together peacefully. This was a big mistake by whoever authorized this police state tactic.

Thanks big brother, you just killed an innocent kid who was in his legal right to go where he wanted to go and rink alcohol if he wanted to.

Secondly, I find it difficult to believe that you would prefer that the police had come down the road to the actual party. If they had been forced to do that it would only be to end the event, which probably would have only caused a lot of people to either be arrested, spend the night hiding in the woods without shelter. Neither of those seem as non-invasive as simply not being allowed to use the road to limit traffic in and out.

As to your comment that police force students into bad situations, students are equally responsible for making the decision that being caught by the police for something like underage drinking (a $250 fine) is not so horrible as to risk your life trying to avoid being caught.

They said it themselves, they blocked the road to prevent it from getting any bigger…why not do your job and protect and serve those that are partying instead of delaying the inevitable and given others no option but to walk through 3 miles of woods to be with there friends. This put fear into anyone coming or going and I am happy that no more poor souls are lost in the woods, trying to keep away from the police.

In past years the police have entered the area and kept watch and actually did some serving and protects, taking care of things like fights and belligerent drunks that get way too out of hand. I did not see a single cop walk down into the area of the party, they just stayed at the end of the road and blocked everyone out and in, thus forcing people like Dean to travel through the woods to get to their vehicles.

Moreover they kicked everyone out by 9am while everyone was cleaning and picking up the area. I have been to 4 of these, and every time the place is picked up and left the way it was, because the cops have left and the party was dispersing.

The cops were pompus and instead of doing their job, created a scary situation that would have been rectified with the adults partying feeling safe to walk up the road and back to their cars. Law enforcement needs to get control of themselves and recognize that the real problems are not a few kids underage drinking in the woods, but what happens when these kids get feared into making horrible decisions. 

This problem has plagued this campus and area for a couple years now and we could have prevented many sad instances and even deaths if the cops would realize people are going to drink and get together, and there efforts have only forced people to do it in secret or in small parties all over, initiating drunks to be walking around all over town, some falling and never getting up.

GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT OFFICERS!!!!