In the wee hours of Oct. 21, following the Red Sox-Yankee game, a riot (as defined by Public Safety) erupted in the Letts-Anderson Quad. Fans poured into the common area screaming, cheering and chanting various epithets, including "Yankees suck!"
Public Safety and the Metropolitan Police Department rolled in, some with nightsticks, and a few students threw beer cans at them.
All this paled in comparison to the reactions of students at Big Ten sports schools and in Boston, where a young woman was killed when a police officer shot pepper spray in her eye. The question that now begs to be asked is how could all this have been caused by a simple game? And how can it be prevented or handled better?
Fans passionately support their teams, and this is all well and good as long as passion doesn't turn to violence. The reaction to the Red Sox and Yankees game was absurd at AU, in Boston and across the nation. How can riots and fighting be justified by a ball, mitt and bat?
While avid supporters may disregard such criticism, it's important to remember that no game is worth a human life, or any destruction for that matter.
"It's just a game" no longer calms people when their energy turns to violence. It leads one to wonder what reactions can be expected when the stakes are higher?
In November this year, two teams are going head to head for a lot more then the chance at another pennant. Adamant supporters from both sides have helped to fight for their candidate in hopes of winning the election this fall. But just as with baseball, only one can win, and the other side will not get what it wants.
At a school so politically charged, we expect to see some sort of demonstration from the Democrats or Republicans, but we hope that things remain safe and students (and Public Safety officers) avoid destruction and violence.
Regardless of who wins the election, the world will not end overnight, and students should do their best to take it in stride. You can always become an expatriate. Canada isn't so bad.
