Students and city officials ponder causes, effects of riot
By David Ryan
Oregon Daily Emerald
Sunday morning on Alder Street
and 16th Avenue, an upturned
“No Bicycles. No Skateboarding”
sign lay on the opposite side of the
street from where it was uprooted
by rioters the night before. Dozens
of muddy footprints nearby were
evidence of the confrontation with
police, ending an hour and a half
later several blocks away.
The cause of the riot is uncer
tain at this point. There was a fire
on 16th Avenue, There was a
crowd watching. There was a par
ty. Minutes later, six rioters pulled
out street signs and threw them
onto the intersection of 17th Av
enue and Alder Street.
What is certain is a spectrum of
opinion on the riot, its causes and
what it now means to the city and
student community.
One person on 17th Avenue,
sophomore Grant Blume, thought
it was fun.
“It’s all about fun,” he said. “We
like (o have a good time. It’s a UO
tradition.”
West University City Council
man Bobby Lee thought the riots
had become a tradition as well.
“Well, it has occurred twice so
far, but in the future we hope this
won’t happen,” he said. "It is bet
ter, than what it was last year. ”
Regardless of its smaller size,
the riot tradition is costing the
larger comm unity.
"It's an expensive tradition,”
Lee said. "This is tax money that
we’re spending to pay for over
time police officers. That could
have been library money or kids’
programs money.”
Last Tuesday, Lee felt the stu
dent community would be pro
tected from the riots by on-cam
pus programs. Lee still believes
the on-campus events attracted
many other would-be rioters.
In the future, Lee said the city
and University need a broader ap
proach to preventing the riots than
the extra police and non-alcoholic
impus activities used this year.
"Some [prevention] strategies
might not have worked, but 1 think
we need additional strategies —
strategies like working with
school boards, because I know a
lot of the rioters were not stu
dents," he said.
Lee said he heard othei ideas,
such as some city officials propos
ing to raise the Minor in Posses
sion fine.
Matt Olson, University student
senate president, said he felt a
sense of community was needed.
“I think that just generally we
need to work toward a community
model," he said. "1 think that peo
ple need to feel more ownership. I
think they should care about what’s
going on in the University, and not
feel that they’re here for a four-year
party.”
Many people who gathered on
Alder Street Friday night felt the
media — particularly the Emerald
— was to blame for paying so
much attention to the possibility
of another riot. Others blamed the
police for being too aggressive.
Senior Anita Pinnell watched
police march on the rioters Satur
day night. She said the extended
riot issue coverage in the Oct. 30
Emerald added more prestige to
last year’s riot.
"They made it the 'Halloween
riot.’” she said.
Olson felt differently, centering
his disgust on the presence of TV
news crews, who waited on street
corners to see if anything woidd
take place.
“It’s almost like they’re staging
the riots in a way,” Olson said.
“They’re just looking for sensa
tional cost-effective news.”
Some people caught in the mid
dle of police conflict with rioters felt
the police were too aggressive. Toni
Sciarboni and Eddie Sanchez ran
down 16th Avenue after Sciarboni
was pepper-sprayed by police.
"They told me to get behind the
line, and they just came and [pep
per-sprayed] me," Sciarboni said.
"I wasn’t here more than 10 or 15
minutes.”
However, Eugene police Capt.
Roy Brown said police actions in
clearing Alder Street were justified
"Well, when you have rocks
and bottles thrown at you. it elicits
a certain reaction.” he said.
Lee said he was concerned
about reports of police overreac
tion. He said he wanted students
to contact him at 343-6799 if they
experienced or witnessed specif
ic incidents of police overreaction.
Olson said individual elements
have to combine to create rioting
chaos.
"We need to really look at the
role that we're all playing,” he said.
"It's not just one person or just one
element that created the riot."
But the student community
shares its blame, not just the riot
ers, Olson said.
"We can’t just be pointing fin
gers,” he said. “We all bear respon
sibility as part of the student com
munity.”
Riot
Continued from Pagel
Officer Steve Williams said.
One rioter, who was later arrest
ed, pulled a street sign from the
ground and walked alone down
Alder Street toward police officers
who were parked at the comer of
16th Avenue and Alder Street.
This display prompted approxi
mately 20 officers clad in riot gear
to advance on the crowd from the
corner of 16th Avenue and Alder
Street toward Alder’s 1700 block.
Officers cleared Alder Street and
made four arrests at approximate
ly midnight, Williams said.
Officers chased crowd members
down alleyways and attempted to
remove all bystanders from the
vicinity, announcing, "Leave this
area, or you’ll be put under arrest.”
Around midnight, the Eugene
Special Weapons And Tactics
team arrived on the scene and
headed down Alder Street toward
18th Avenue. At this time, nine
EPD squad cars, 16 police officers
and approximately 45 onlookers
occupied the corner of 16th Av
enue and Alder Street.
The SWAT team continued to
advance down Alder Street, push
ing the crowd toward 18th Avenue.
The police warned crowd members
they must leave the area because
they were in an unlawful assembly.
“If necessary, we will use gas to
disperse the crowd," an unidenti
fied EPD officer said.
Some members of the crowd did
not comply with the officers and
continued to uproot street signs
and set off fireworks. Around
12:30 a.m., officers deployed tear
gas to clear the crowd at the comer
of 18th Avenue and Alder Street.
“That was crazy. Cops were
throwing tear gas at people,” Lane
Community College student Justin
Armstrong said. "A few people
were pushing a dumpster down
the road and pushed down a metal
trash can. One guy had a ‘Dead
Presidents’ outfit on.”
The riot left the corner of 18th
Avenue and Alder Street littered
with garbage, debris, smashed
pumpkins and broken glass.
These obstacles along with the
overturned dumpster impeded
traffic, leaving Alder Street closed
for at least a half an hour.
After the initial tear gas was de
ployed, EPD officers pursued riot
ers down to the 2000 block of
Alder Street.
Hy about 12:50 a.m., much of
the crowd had dispersed, and the
SWAT team vehicle remained
parked on 19th Avenue, east of
Alder Street. The vehicle and offi
cers on foot spent the next 10 min
utes patrolling northbound on
Alder Street, ordering remaining
crowd members to leave the area.
According to EPD Agent Rob
Olsen, the riot was contained by
1:30 a.m., but he noted that patrol
cars remained in the area until ap
proximately 2:30 a.m.
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