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Too raucous Celebrations turn violent at Iowa St., Wisconsin, Purdue
Posted: Friday March 24, 2000 12:44 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- NCAA tournament victories by Iowa State, Wisconsin and Purdue triggered sometimes violent celebrations early Friday. At Ames, Iowa, thousands of fans poured into the streets of Campustown to celebrate Iowa State's victory over UCLA in the round of 16. One person sustained a minor head injury when he jumped in a lake. At least seven others were arrested. The charges included criminal mischief, public intoxication, theft and failure to disperse, officials said. At West Lafayette, Ind., police fired tear gas into a crowd of students who set fires and damaged cars after Purdue's win over Gonzaga. Four students were arrested during the melee, which culminated with two bonfires set two blocks south of Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium. And in Wisconsin, hundreds of students marched to the Capitol in Madison to celebrate the Badgers' win over LSU. At the Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus, some in the crowd of about 800 hurled bottles at police in riot gear. In Ames, police Captain James Robinson said the crowd began to gather about 11:15 p.m. Thursday, damaging vehicles and tearing down light poles. He said the crowd, which grew to an estimated 3,000, paraded to the home of university president Martin Jischke, then to the football stadium. "They eventually took a section of fencing from the ISU football stadium and took it back to Lake Luverne and deposited it in the lake," Robinson said. "The majority of the group was well-behaved, but there were a few within the group that did cause some damage." Police said a crowd of about 2,500 celebrating students walked across Purdue's campus, causing minor property damage. Students turned over trash cans, damaged cars, pulled down a street sign and blocked traffic. One group entered the football stadium and hung from the goalposts. "We didn't expect this," Purdue vice president of university relations Joseph Bennett said. About midnight, a group of 500-700 students built a bonfire out of limbs torn down from nearby trees, then began adding other objects to the fire, campus police chief Linda Stump said. About 30-40 police officers in riot gear were on hand. When officers decided the crowd was getting out of control, they fired at least five rounds of tear gas and the students dispersed, Stump said. "The crowd was getting unruly," Bennett said. "The police acted with restraint, but went [in] at the right time. What you are looking for is whether the situation is getting worse or better, and in this case, it was getting worse." A second fire was set nearby by a small group of students who dragged a sofa into the street and set it ablaze with tree limbs. The students left before police arrived. Three students were arrested on disorderly conduct or resisting arrest charges, and a fourth for public intoxication. One student sustained minor injuries when he was attacked by a dog, police said. In Oshkosh, police in riot gear kept a crowd of about 400 young people from getting out of hand. Some in the crowd threw bottles at officers who put on gas masks. Tear gas was not used. "The Oshkosh police got a little anxious, but there was a good deal of restraint on all sides and, from what I know, no property was damaged," said Elliot Garb, assistant chancellor for student affairs at Wisconsin-Oshkosh. "We tried to settle them down by forming a human wall, but that just excited them more," said alumni Matt O'Malley, who also serves on the Oshkosh City Council. In Madison, celebrators packed together, "body passing" some people as they made their way several blocks to the Capitol Square. "Everybody packed in close tight together, cheering and doing their chants about beating the next team. It was like a stadium packed together," Sgt. Linda Kosovac said. Celebrators began dispersing by about 1:15 a.m. There were no arrests, police said.
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