About 50 UMass Amherst students met with university officials Thursday. The group requested the meeting to voice concerns about police and town response to Blarney Blowout.
Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy and other administrators urged patience as the investigation continues into how the university and town handled the annual party, which this year resulted in many arrests. UMass student Preston Davis says he believes the university needs to be better prepared, especially when large crowds are expected.
“Just so that we don’t get this bad press, we don’t get students who are wrongfully arrested or prosecuted, we don’t get either police officers or students being hurt,” he says.
Subbaswamy agreed, and says that’s why former Boston police commissioner Edward Davis has been hired to review how the campus and town currently handles these events.
“You have not seen the university campus make a statement that we did everything right and we would do exactly the same thing ever again,” Subbaswamy says. “You can never be complacent. You always have to improve, you have to examine what you did, and try to do better.”
The commissioner’s report is expected to take about two months to complete.