The Good 5 Cent Cigar

Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Alexa King A URI student crowd surfs while waiting outside the South Lobby before the University of Rhode Island basketball game vs. Providence College Tuesday.

Media Credit: Alexa King Hundreds of students outside the South Lobby wait to gain entry to the URI vs. PC game Tuesday night. Some members of the crowd later became unruly, throwing water bottles and rocks.

12/06/07 - Among the revelry of the University of Rhode Island's basketball victory over Providence College Tuesday, students reported a scene of chaos at the Ryan Center's South Lobby, a characterization management denies.

Hundreds of students waited outside for a chance to receive one of 1,500 free tickets, which were to be made available at 5:30 p.m. and were exhausted by 6 p.m.

Students said that the line at the South Pavilion was mostly orderly, but the situation deteriorated quickly when the doors opened. Students scrambled to get into the Ryan Center, putting some in danger of being trampled. Some in the crowd forced open locked Ryan Center doors, breaking hinges and entering the arena without tickets.

In an effort to relieve the pressure, staff allowed an unknown number of students into the building without tickets, which led to numerous students later being ejected for not having them.

"To kind of release the pressure, we did allow people in without tickets," Ryan Center General Manager Terri Butler said.

Large crowds formed outside the Ryan Center because no student tickets were distributed in advance. Students had to arrive in time for the 5:30 p.m. distribution, and were given one free ticket for showing a student ID. They were then required to enter the Ryan Center immediately and there was no re-admittance.

David Ruiz, a URI junior, said he arrived at the South entrance at about 4:40 p.m., 50 minutes before the doors were scheduled to open. He said that several students cut the line and the students behind shouted at them, throwing empty plastic bottles, small rocks and other items. When the doors opened, students in back - some of who had not been waiting in line very long - rushed for the doors. One student had a panic attack and was treated by EMTs, officials said.

"The minute [Ryan Center staff] opened the door, people moved faster," Ruiz said. "You could just feel the entire line behind you push you forward."

Another student, Tom DiMarco, was also caught up in the rush for the door, and at one point felt he could be trampled.

"We were completely being pushed from people behind us and mashed up against people in front of us," he said. "It was so intense. With people pushing I felt like I could have lifted my feet off the ground and still be moved forward."

Ruiz, DiMarco, other students and Cigar reporters at the scene reported no visible security and said no one responded to quell the situation until the doors opened, at which point security staff appeared overwhelmed.

"Their faces were completely shocked," DiMarco said.

Butler acknowledged yesterday some pushing and shoving occurred, but sought to downplay student complaints.

"I disagree with anyone's assertion that there weren't people there to assist," he said.

"On the South side we did have problems," he said. "Some of the students were unruly and opened up the doors so they kind of compromised our setup, and the fact was there was some pushing and shoving."

Butler acknowledged no event staff or security was stationed outside the South Lobby before the game.

"It was a line of people getting ready for a basketball game and we're dealing with adults," Butler said, explaining the decision to keep security in the building. "These are students who know each other. It's not a random crowd."

He speculated that the throwing of bottles might have been from people disposing of trash after waiting in line for upwards of three hours.

University Police were in charge of security for the evening. Contacted yesterday, Maj. Stephen Baker said he was unfamiliar with the situation as he had been out sick. Director of Campus Security Robert Drapeau, Capt. Brian Cummings and Capt. John Carey, head of the center's detail, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Campus police have dealt with situations like this before. In October 1997, thousands of students rushed into Keaney Gym for Midnight Madness, resulting in a dangerous crowd situation similar to what happened Tuesday night. Tickets had not been sold in advance and students formed a line long before the event began, pressing against the only two doors that were to be opened.

Keaney staff let students in early to alleviate the crush but had difficulty opening the doors, which opened outwards into the tightly packed crowd. Students grabbed onto the doors as they opened and Keaney staff said they were afraid that students would have their fingers cut off as the weight of the crowd forced the doors closed multiple times.

Drapeau told the Cigar at the time that more than "a couple of small entrances" should have been opened.

In the 1997 story, then Assistant Vice President for Student Life Thomas Dougan - now vice president for Student Affairs - told the Cigar that he expected more organized events in the future.

"If we had sold tickets for Midnight Madness, fewer people would have arrived all at once and it would have been much easier to control. However, we did not anticipate five or 6,000 showing up because it has never happened before," Dougan had said. He added, "In the future I expect that there will be tickets for these types of events with the addition of turnstiles at the entrances."

Student tickets for the Ryan Center game Tuesday were not sold in advance, but the crowd outside the disorderly South Lobby was much smaller than the crowd in 1997.

Assistant Vice President for Administration Liliana Costa said there were 66 event staff, seven URI police and four EMTs at the Ryan Center on Tuesday. She said police clocked in for the game-day detail at 4:30 p.m., but referred questions as to their operation to Carey.

"I don't know why the police weren't doing something [about the crowd outside,]" she said.

Students described a scene of imminent danger and pictures show security guards standing with hands on their hips and apparently not reacting as hundreds of students swarm through the doors.

DiMarco said he remembered thinking, "If one of us falls, that's it."

Another student, Nichole Bossi, said, "The line ended right when the doors opened. People just ran. It was no longer a line, it was just a mosh pit."

Bossi said she was lifted up by a man in the crowd and used as a human battering ram. She was pressed up against the glass of the Ryan Center doors and saw a fistfight take place nearby.

Later, Bossi was knocked to the ground and saw a female student lying underneath a folding chair. She helped the student to her feet.

"I remember what she looked like and I remember just seeing legs on the ground," she said. Bossi later wrote a letter to Ryan Center management about the incident.

Butler took issue with the description of the scene and alleged lack of response, saying police and staff used a bullhorn to attempt to regain order, though he could not provide a timeline of the response.

"There was a situation. We diffused it," Butler said "We were more than adequate and quick in helping the folks."



Reporters Kyle Thacker and Chris Almonte contributed to this report.

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