The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's SGA President, Tyler Forrest, sent the following statement to the student body regarding Thursday night's "flash rave" and subsequent arrests:
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus turned into a more than usual exciting place Thursday night. The event, know as the “UTC Flash Rave,” and the school spirit shown that occurred at the Lupton Library is to be applauded. Although the exact number of students participating is debatable, I am glad to see such a large number students gather together for a show of spirit. The “flash rave” took an unexpected turn of events later with some students throwing objects at police officers, crowd surfing off the portico area, and trying to force their way into the library. These events, which were potentially dangerous to a large number of students, were responded to appropriately by the UTC and Chattanooga Police Departments. As the UTC Student Body President, I respect the UTC and Chattanooga Police Departments for their initial decision to take control of this situation, which ensured the safety of all students; and I completely stand by the university administration on their support of this decision as well. I equally stand by the students for their interest in hosting a fun event on campus. It is important that we as students celebrate and enjoy our rich heritage at UTC by participating in events such as the one that occurred last night, but it is also important that we remember to respect our great university enough to not behave in an unruly manner. Although this was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved, I believe this creates a wonderful opportunity for the campus community to evaluate the response of authorities so that events can be fun and safe for all attending. Tyler Forrest SGA President
student on April 25, 2009
Wow. What a milktoast response.
really? on April 25, 2009
So you're getting a recommendation to which grad school for this?
facebook-56704861 on April 25, 2009
I don't agree at all.
While the students shouldn't have rushed to the library like that and stuck around the music area like originally plan the situation could of been handled EAISLY with loudspeakers.
Brian on April 25, 2009
Using mace was not a proper response at all. If you watch the videos, you'll see that those people were just there to have fun. Yes, things got a little rowdy, but like the poster above stated, a loudspeaker would have worked just fine.
Kevin on April 25, 2009
only assholes plan to party at a library where people are studying for finals; maybe the cops over-reacted, maybe they didn't, but it's hysterical that these students are so self-absorbed that they are still obsessed with their "flash rave"
they sound like a bunch of middle schoolers getting mad because daddy took their cell phone away
"it's not faaaaiiir"
they could litigate, or they could just STFU
student on April 25, 2009
As I have learned today, it's actually spelled "milquetoast." My bad.
Marty on April 26, 2009
AMEN!!!
George B on April 26, 2009
Tyler - thanks for writing this. The opposing voices wish they could have the guts to make these comments. Instead, they write, "while the students shouldn't have...," "Yes, things got a little rowdy," etc. - those of you blasting the cops are making the opposing point quite well!
The cops acted appropriately to keep things from getting out of control after the worst offending students did not respond to first warnings. Those students who are whining about having their fun stopped should be thanking the police for saving them from someone getting badly injured or killed because of how they were starting to get out of control.
Next time you start to complain about student fees and tuition, think about how much it will cost to replace the damaged windows, broken doors, and ruined landscaping because of your "rave."