St. Patrick’s Day Festivities At Dayton Didn’t Disappoint Anyone But The School’s President

Socrates Johnson7 years ago

David Letterman once said, “There are four places to be on St. Patrick’s Day: Dublin, New York, Chicago and the University of Dayton.”

Now, I’ve never been to any of these places to celebrate my Irish heritage on March 17, but judging from selective footage from this year’s festivities, Dayton was the place to be last Saturday.

By most accounts, Dayton’s St. Paddy’s Day Festivities didn’t disappoint. Unless you happen to be UD president Eric Spina, who expressed his distaste for the rowdiness in a strongly worded letter to the student body.

From Dayton Daily News:

“Today I am deeply disappointed in the behavior of many of you. I witnessed groups of students assault police officers, shoot fireworks into crowds, and put themselves and their friends in danger,” Spina wrote.

Police responded to the report of a large crowd that had gathered on Lowes Street. Bottles, rocks and firecrackers were reportedly thrown at officers, which forced them to retreat. Additional officers from UD and Dayton police departments were called. By 6:30 p.m., police dressed in riot gear cleared the streets and ordered students to go inside their homes.

“The large gatherings that block streets, the disregard for the safety of others, and the disrespect for the police who were there to keep people safe in no way constitutes community,” Spina’s letter reads. “This police response was appropriate and necessary because this behavior presented significant danger to the safety of students and police.”

You know folks are entirely too lost in the sauce once shit starts getting thrown at police officers. But just take a look at a rundown of the immediate aftermath, and it doesn’t seem like things ended up as badly as they could have.

One person was hurt by a thrown object during the police action on Saturday, according to the university.

Dayton officers dressed in riot gear and holding shields were also struck by thrown objects, but no injuries were reported, according to UD spokeswoman Cilla Shindell.

Shindell said there were a few other minor injuries, “a few misdemeanor arrests and student disciplinary referrals” reported during the day, but full reports were not immediately available.

Some minor damage to university property — lawns and landscaping — was reported and a few private vehicles were reportedly damaged during the day, Shindell said.

“No one has been arrested as yet for activities related to dispersing the crowd,” she said.

Hey, no one likes to see anyone get injured or any property get destroyed, but at least there were no fires or flipped over cars or anything like that. Because when you’ve got a riot squad coming at you like this, shit can go in a variety of directions.
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[via Dayton Daily News]

Image via YouTube Screenshot/Alex Geiger