04_USA

http://www.coloradoan.com/news/updates/8312.html

Posted August 21, 2004 4:55 PM.

Police break up early morning riot
Three arrested in melee near CSU

By The Associated Press
The Associated Press

Police said they used tear gas to break up a riot early Saturday morning after several people spilled into the streets near Colorado State University.

The crowd grew to about 1,500 people just after midnight, with people smashing bottles, uprooting signs, rocking cars and setting a small fire in a street one block from the CSU campus, police said.

Tear gas was used around 12:15 a.m., and the crowd dispersed within minutes, police said. No injuries were reported, and property damage was minimal.

Three people were arrested for rioting and obstructing police, and about a dozen noise citations were issued. Police said there might be more arrests and citations.
It wasn’t clear if those arrested or suspected in the melee were students. Police didn’t return a message Saturday.

Classes begin Monday at CSU, where the enrollment is expected to set a record this year. Preliminary estimates indicate the school is on track to surpass last year’s record of 25,042 students.

“Freshman started moving into the dorms Thursday, and there have been a large number of students moving back to town the past couple of days,” said CSU spokesman Brad Bohlander.

Bohlander said he was told about the incident, but said Fort Collins police were handling it.

http://www.coloradoan.com/news/updates/8317.html

Posted August 22, 2004 5:56 PM.

Riots break out for second night
One injured, two arrested

By Coloradoan staff
The Coloradoan

A second riot in as many nights near Colorado State University’s main campus left overturned cars, one person in the hospital and two people in jail early Sunday morning.
Fort Collins police began using tear gas just before 1 a.m. to break up a group of as many as 600 people blocking the intersection of Plum and Bluebell streets, two blocks west of campus. It took 40 officers, including the SWAT team, to quell the disturbance.
“It was predominately college-aged people,” said Rita Davis, spokeswoman for Fort Collins police.
Two people were arrested, and 12 people received noise ordinance violations. Names of those arrested were not immediately available Sunday, Davis said.
The man taken to the hospital had a bottle broken on his head, Davis said. She did not know his name or age.
The first call to police requesting assistance to break up the crowd that was reportedly out of control came in just after midnight.
Witnesses reported two cars, a Honda and a Saturn, had been flipped over, and a small couch was set on fire in the middle of Bluebell Street.
The riot occurred just one day after a riot involving more than 1,500 people in the 600 block of Howes Street.
That riot began when a crowd of college-aged people began throwing rocks and bottles about 12:15 a.m. No injuries were reported, but three people were arrested for rioting and obstructing police, and 12 people were given citations for noise violations.
It took 31 officers to disperse the crowd on Howes Street.

(manque URL)

Second night of riots at CSU

FORT COLLINS - Hundreds of young people rocked the streets of Fort Collins early Sunday in a second night of violence near Colorado State University that led to arrests, minor cuts and injuries and plenty of property damage.

The first incident took place on South Howes Street early Saturday, when 1,500 partygoers spilled onto the street, many throwing rocks and bottles and setting small fires.

Sunday's incident involved about 500 people and appeared more aggressive, said Fort Collins police. Some of the participants wore gas masks, placed a device with 1,000 nails in a bonfire, flipped cars and uprooted trees, said Sgt. Craig Horton.

Two people were arrested Sunday morning. Several people were treated for cuts and injuries on the scene, and one was rushed to the hospital after being assaulted in the frantic crowd, Horton said.

Both evenings, officers and special weapons teams suited up in riot gear and set off canisters with a tear-gas-like substance to dispel the crowds.

These riot-like acts usually occur before school starts or around graduation time, Horton said. Although classes start today, police will keep a heightened watch on area parties, he said.

"I think of CSU students as being a lot better," said Jeff Drum, roused from sleep at 11 p.m. Saturday by cackles from kids perched in a tree in his front yard.

Drum said he called police around that time to notify them of a disturbance. He said he was dismayed that they didn't show up until more than an hour later.

Although Drum was able to chase a few people away, by the time the mess was over, a 10-foot tree was uprooted from his front lawn, and another one sat ragged, its branches torn and snapped.

Smoke lingered in the air about 3 p.m. Sunday, as remnants of chemicals stretched across the road in white streaks. A manhole-sized ring of char covered the center of the road where residents say a 20-foot fire raged the night before.

Down the street, things seemed calm. Fraternity brothers threw footballs, grilled and chatted on the front lawn of their house.

Drum, who has lived in the neighborhood for eight years, said students often have parties throughout the block, but they never get violent.

The disturbance happened after parties several blocks down were getting shut down by police, said several residents.

"Around 11, we noticed a herd of people coming over," said Aaron Reif, who lives in the area.

"We feel like we were ripped off," said Reif, who received a citation for noise. "We weren't noisy. We were trying to keep people off of our yard."

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/08/23/news/regional/8e4c431c9d9fc5cb87256ef9005b1bcc.txt

Casper Star Tribune, 04-08-23

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- Police believe rioters near Colorado State University this weekend may have planned some of the violence before taking to the streets.

Police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of about 1,500 a block from campus early Saturday morning. Three people were arrested and several noise citations were issued.

A crowd of only about 600 to 800 gathered the following night but were much more violent and seemed to have planned some of their actions, said police Sgt. Craig Horton. Rioters, some wearing gas masks, threw rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails and flipped several cars as well as a tree.

There was also a homemade bomb that showered 1,000 nails on the street after being placed in a bonfire, he said.

"It's a learned behavior," Horton said. "I would expect other crowd problems to occur with this class."

Leslie Schobe and Laura Whittrock, both 18, said they overheard some students planning to riot at a party late Saturday because they were bored.

Two people were arrested in the second riot and police issued 12 noise violations, which carry $1,000 fines.

Jeff Drum, 29, thought to lock all his windows and hide his grill's propane tank during Saturday night's riot after hearing students perched in a tree in his front yard. But early Sunday rioters uprooted a 10-foot tree from his property.

"I think of CSU students of being a lot better," said Drum, who has lived in the neighborhood for eight years.

After moving in Saturday, Matt Friedel had windows broken in his new home and two cars overturned in his yard.

The area has been a frequent scene of clashes between police and partygoers in recent years. Two men were charged with rioting in May after officers broke up a crowd of about 500.

In 1997, disturbances on two successive Friday nights ended with five men facing felony charges. CSU officials disciplined 21 students, six of whom were kicked out of school.

(Manque URL)

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Riots and acts of civil disobedience are not unfamiliar occurrences in Fort Collins. Dating as far back as the late 1800s, old-fashioned showdowns are documented.

Last weekend, city law enforcement members tear-gassed two riots that took place near the CSU campus. Cars were overturned and damaged, one person was taken to the hospital and five arrests have been made so far in the investigation.

CSU expelled six students in 1997 for participating in a riot that occurred on two successive Friday nights. More recently, in May, a disturbance broke out where two men were charged for rioting.

Fort Collins librarian and local historian Rheba Massey said riots, war protests and civil disobedience, in general, does take place in Fort Collins.

"Every year CSU students do something like (civil disobedience), so this is not uncommon," Massey said. "In the 1800s the cowboys and the college kids got into a fight."

Massey said the downtown showdown was much less violent than the outbursts this weekend, and he chuckled at the notion of cowboys with shotguns being demanded to leave town by students armed with notebooks.

CSU was the site of anti-war demonstrations when U.S. forces invaded Cambodia during the week of May 8, 1970, which resulted in the burning of the historic "Old Main" building on campus and minor rioting. Although the burning was determined to be arson, the connection between the protests and the fire are unclear, but city historians say they almost are certainly linked.

Two-thousand people are documented to have marched to City Hall that day in an uproar against war. Supported by CSU faculty at the time, students either boycotted class or discussed war issues in class.

In January 1998, a street riot occurred while people were celebrating the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl victory.

Other demonstrations, such as the Hispanic community marching to the city courthouse in the 1970s, have occurred throughout the city's history.

CSU Police Department Capt. Bob Chaffee said last weekend's riots are similar to others that have happened during his 28-year tenure at CSU. Chaffee said they were "up there at the top of riots" as far as the overall harm they caused.

"People do stupid stuff in the presence of alcohol and in the anonymity of a group," Chaffee said.

Chaffee remembers the disturbances in 1997 and during the 1986 and 1987 school season the most vividly, but he does not like to bring back the memories because they do not accurately represent CSU or the community he has learned to love, Chaffee said.

Some Fort Collins residents disagree that civil unrest happens in Fort Collins, instead believing that Fort Collins is a quiet and conservative town.

Wayne Sundberg, a Fort Collins historian and past affiliate with CSU's history department, believes Fort Collins has had no real outbursts except in the last few years, with the exception of the "Old Main" burning.

"This was a very sleepy agricultural town," Sundberg said. He said college students have recently made occasional disturbances in the community.

"We have had occasional demonstrations in the past, but peacefully protested," Sundberg said.

Sundberg, a Fort Collins resident since 1966, said the outbursts over the past years are due to today's culture and the record-breaking student population.

CSU students returned to class Monday. Early estimates from the university point out that this school season may be the enrollment record, surpassing last year's of 25,042 students.

"I think the kids are away from home and have not been taught proper behavior," said Sundberg, who lives a few blocks away from the second melee Saturday night on Bluebell Street.

Seeing riot activity himself in the 1960s war era, Ernie Chavez, chair of CSU's psychology department, said he is seeing it all over again now.

Chavez said riots are a "contagious process," especially in campus communities where there is perfect recipe for a riot to occur: Large groups of people mixed with large amounts of alcohol is a "formula for a bad situation," he said.

"The more anonymity there is, the higher the probability of something inappropriate happening," Chavez said.

Chaffee's main purpose is to keep the students and staff on campus safe, he said.

"It is the code of the West: We all have to be responsible for what we do. As much as people do not want to hear it, it is the truth," Chaffee said.

The Denver Post

Fort Collins - Seven Colorado State University students were kicked out of school today and 15 others were placed on probation for allegedly participating in riots last month.

The Delta Sigma Phi fraternity was placed on temporary probation by its national headquarters for violating charter rules during a party before one of the riots, CSU spokesman Brad Bohlander said.

The fraternity was accused of violating policies on alcohol and must suspend all activities until the issues are resolved, CSU officials said. The university will follow up with its own judicial process, spokesman Tom Milligan said.

The seven expelled students can reapply for admission in a year but have no guarantee they will be allowed to return, the university said in a press release.

The students on probation must undergo drug and alcohol assessments and attend workshops on civic responsibility, ethics, city ordinances and community expectations.

Fort Collins police arrested six people, five of them students, after crowds threw eggs, rocks and bottles in the early hours of Aug. 21 and 22. Police put the crowds at 1,500 on the first day and 600 on the second.

CSU said administrators and police are still reviewing videotapes of the incidents and other students could face discipline.