Caution on campus — no alcohol
Staff removing light posts in bid to prevent repeat of rioting after victories
While Uconn fans pray for a repeat championship, school officials are working to avoid a rerun of the chaos and destruction that overtook the Storrs campus last year when the men’s basketball team took home its fifth national title.
With Final Four appearances by the women’s and men’s basketball teams scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights, Uconn officials said the university is modifying its infrastructure, beefing up security efforts, and tailoring messaging to deter students from partaking in illegal and unsafe activity in on-campus celebrations.
The new measures come a year after the 2023 championship riots, which resulted in more than a dozen hospitalizations, 39 arrests and over $500,000 in damages and repairs when thousands of students descended on the heart of campus to celebrate Uconn’s win against San Diego State.
Uconn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said the university plans to host on-campus watch parties in the coming days. She said all events will be restricted to Uconn students and that alcohol will not be served at Gampel Pavilion during the watch parties as it was last year.
As a preventative measure, Reitz said crews have begun removing light poles outside of Gampel Pavilion and along Fairfield Way. She said the university has installed high-illumination wall pack lights that are fixed onto building exteriors as a temporary replacement for the lamp posts, which will return after the Huskies’ run.
The light poles emerged as a symbol of destruction for the riot. Vandals plunged an uprooted lamp post into the glass vestibule of the Student Union and rammed others into the Information Technologies Engineering Building and
university-owned vehicles. At least one student was knocked unconscious when a falling light pole hit his head as it crashed to the ground.
Anne D’alleva, the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, told members of the University Senate Monday that students can expect an increased police presence on campus and reduced-capacity seating at Gampel Pavilion, according to a report by the Daily Campus.
“It was not an optimal situation on campus last time,” D’alleva said. “It was frightening, people were hurt, people could have been seriously hurt and our students didn’t behave in a way we would expect Uconn students to behave.”
A total of 16 people went to the hospital that night — Meadow Maldonado was one of them.
As the seconds ticked down on Uconn’s championship game, Maldonado and her friends joined the rush of students that stormed the court at Gampel. Packed into the crowd, heat exhaustion and dehydration overcame her. Maldonado passed out and fell to the ground.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone to get hurt,” Maldonado said. “I only had 1% battery left (on my phone), and then with that 1% I told my dad that ‘I’m going to the hospital.’ ”
As Maldonado’s friend, Kay Clark, waited for her in the emergency room, more casualties from the night started to pile in.
“One guy got hit with a light pole, and his head was bleeding,” Clark said. “This other guy, he said when they were walking out, he got ransacked, and his toenails came off on three of his toes … it was so nasty, he couldn’t walk, so they gave him a wheelchair. This other girl, she passed out, too. Someone hit her head with a (road) sign.”
In anticipation of the Final Four, Maldonado said this weekend is “going to be intense.”
“I hope we don’t get destroyed,” Clark said. “I hope the campus doesn’t get destroyed.”
“I don’t fear for my life, I fear for my tuition,” Stassie Charles chimed in.
In a June report to the Connecticut State Auditors of Public Accounts, Uconn recorded more than $83,600 in property damage incurred during the riots on April 3 and April 4, 2023.
The report included damage to windows and doors on university buildings, an air conditioner condenser, lamp posts, street signs, and three university-owned vehicles.
According to Reitz, repairing Uconn’s campus from the riot has cost the university $510,829 in materials and $52,125 in labor. She added some work orders remain open and that the total cost has not been finalized.
While Charles said she knew some people who were held responsible for the participation in destruction, she said it was “annoying and frustrating to see that people can so easily damage the school, but then not be held accountable.”
Uconn Police arrested 14 individuals on campus during the riots, one of whom was arrested twice. Reitz said UCPD made 24 more arrests by warrant after the championship.
UCPD referred 25 students and four alumni to the Uconn Office of Community Standards, according to Reitz.
Reitz said the conduct reviews resulted in six expulsions, five suspensions, 12 orders of probation, two warnings, and four no-trespass orders prohibiting the alumni from visiting campus. At least two of the students expelled were seniors who would have graduated, Reitz said.
In a statement to the Courant, Reitz said it is “important to emphasize that the vast majority of our students celebrated last year’s championship in a responsible, appropriate manner.”
“It’s unfortunate that a small fraction of people in the crowds chose to be disruptive, but their behavior should reflect only on them, not on our full student body or other Husky fans,” Reitz said.
UCPD declined to comment for this article. Reitz said UCPD is not publicly speaking about their safety plans.
“While not disclosing specific strategies that the university is undertaking or plans to implement, the public’s safety and well-being is the priority in each step being discussed,” Reitz said. “The University is also working with our campus partners to share messages with their respective student groups, with the focus on highlighting the best when cheering on our Huskies and representing our University with pride.”
On the Storrs campus, Uconn students said they are hoping for a safe and celebratory environment this weekend.
“I say less destruction, more chaos,” senior Robert Smeriglio said, explaining that he hopes students leave the property damage in the past while bringing just as much energy to the celebrations as they did last year.
Other students said they were skeptical of their classmates’ restraint. They believed many would still try to indulge in destructive activities should the Huskies win.
Students explained that many on campus, unfortunately, see downed light poles and vandalized buildings as a championship tradition. Many expressed an unspoken sense of competition among their peers to live up to the legacy of past celebrations.
“If anything, it might even get worse,” sophomore Alex Reilly said. “People are going in with the expectation of ‘Oh, it was crazy last year, let’s one up it.’ ”
Others said they are hopeful Uconn will be able to control the crowds.
“I can’t imagine the nightmare that it is to plan the safety and the police because it’s just so many people,” senior Katie Cimmino said. “I think it would be crazy, but I do think the school definitely will try to be more prepared.”