After the Virginia Tech victory in a football game a couple of nights ago:
An estimated 1,500 people jammed North Main Street in an alcohol-fueled victory party. The crowd flip-flopped between benign “Let’s go Hokies” chants and profanity-laden choruses against Miami for several hours as police quietly allowed the group to celebrate.
As the morning hours passed, the scene took on a Mardis Gras-like atmosphere as the mostly male crowd urged young women perched on shoulders to expose their breasts. More than a few complied, eliciting wild cheers.
But about a half-hour later, a group of partiers took out their enthusiasm on one of the decorative lampposts that line downtown Blacksburg. With the crowd cheering them on, the group rocked the streetlight until its hard plastic post cracked and crashed to the street. The post was then passed around the crowd.
At least two more lightposts would be torn down before the police and several bystanders stepped in to defend the remaining lights. Blacksburg police’s Wilson said officers pulled aside people caught rocking the streetlights but did not make any arrests.
“If we could have found the ones that knocked down the lights, we would have charged them,” Wilson said.About 2:30 a.m., roughly 20 officers with riot shields and batons forced the crowd to disperse. Two or three officers’ shields, including Wilson’s, were struck with glass bottles but there were no injuries. Police in riot gear later dispersed another crowd that had gathered farther south on Main Street. (Roanoke Times)
If, at times, I seem a little less than thrilled with the caliber of my academic compatriots, I trust that it’s understandable.