For an entire week, officials at Ohio State had urged students to celebrate with class and dignity should the Buckeyes defeat the University of Michigan in the season finale. Instead, OSU students set fire to cars and couches, looted storefronts and overturned vehicles.
The rioting at OSU was not an isolated event Saturday and draws light to an increasingly common scene on college campuses nationwide — unruly student behavior.
OSU officials had been wary about the possibility of riots should the school defeat the Wolverines. As a result, they took the initiative to organize a variety of events and activities to lure students away from the streets.
The university conducted public service announcements, organized free concerts and provided free food to students in an unsuccessful attempt to coerce students from engaging in unruly behavior.
Karen Holbrook, OSU president, issued a statement regarding the riots and delivered a stern warning to those involved in the incident.
“We have 49,000 students at our Columbus campus. The vast majority celebrated responsibly and in moderation,” Holbrook said. “Some even took leadership roles in an attempt to ensure a safe celebration. It is embarrassing that the actions of others, exhibiting the worst behaviors, have blighted what was otherwise an exceptional day.”
Holbrook said the university is thoroughly examining video of the riots to identify as many rioters as possible.
“To this end, we will review the television tape and other photographic evidence of [Saturday] night’s events and identify as many of those as possible who were involved,” Holbrook said. “We also ask that anyone, students or otherwise, who can help identify the participants in criminal and destructive behavior to come forward.”
In finishing her statement, Holbrook drew attention to the growing trend of unruly behavior at college campuses.
At the University of Wisconsin, Halloween revelers looted storefronts, ignited small fires and pushed down street signs during the early morning of Nov. 2. Like the OSU riots, the raucous on State Street was attributed to excessive alcohol consumption.
Weekend rioting was not limited to the OSU campus, however. Four other universities experienced their own rioting Saturday.
After Clemson’s football team defeated South Carolina, fans rushed the field and tore down a goal post. The celebration injured a 67-year-old sheriff’s officer and a female fan when both were trampled by the rush onto the field.
In North Carolina, one fan suffered a broken leg and two others sustained knee injuries when UNC fans tore down the goal posts following their 17-7 victory against nationally ranked Florida State.
On the other side of the country, University of California students overwhelmed security guards, tearing down the goal posts following the Golden Bear’s 30-7 victory over rival Stanford. Many of the UC fans were taken away in handcuffs.
And finally, a triple overtime game between instate rivals Washington and Washington State caused Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges to tell the Associated Press she had “feared for [her] life” after a referee handed down a game deciding call against Washington State.
In an interview with a Cleveland Broadcast station, Dr. Duane Dukes, a sociology professor at John Carroll University, said because students want to be part of the action they are drawn to riot.
“They are simply engaged in a form of expression, which has been legitimized by the crowd around them,” Dukes said. “One person kicks, another person kicks, and before you know, it’s hundreds, thousands of people.”
Dukes added saying riots often spread from the playing field to the streets as a way of “[extending] the game.”
“Something big just happened, [and] they want to be part of it,” Dukes said. “But the game is over. This type of celebratory riot, what they’ve done is try [to] extend the game into the streets, so they can be part of it, too.”
