Seven students at the University of New Hampshire were arrested on Friday after a 90-minute standoff during which a crowd of 600 students pelted police with bottles and cans. It was the second such incident at UNH in just two weeks.
During the first incident, which resulted in one arrest, students also threw bottles and taunted the police.
Both incidents took place outside of the same off-campus apartment complex. Friday's incident took place at around1 a.m. after a party involving hundreds of students got out of hand, according to Durham Police.
In addition to throwing bottles and cans at police, the students banged and rocked a pizza delivery truck as it passed through the intersection where the party took place.
Police called for reinforcements from 15 other departments and the state police, and sectioned off the area of the street until the crowd settled down.
"This was nothing more than a drunken, unruly mob of college kids looking for a place to party," Town Councilor Vi McNeill said in a statement. "These kids are breaking the law, costing thousands of dollars for police protection and possibly endangering lives. No emergency vehicle could have gone through that intersection, even if lives depended on it."
Although no injuries occurred in either incidents, both university and city officials said they worry that more violent incidents could take place and vowed to work together to prevent future outbreaks.
Chancellor William Farrell of the New Hampshire university system said student alcohol abuse has been an issue at UNH for years, but the recent extreme outbreaks are troubling.
Town Manager Larry Shaffer said he will work to have more police foot patrols on campus to help prevent large crowds, and said he will encourage students leader to speak out against such behavior.
Many expressed surprise at the students' behavior in the incident.
"Many of our students are disgusted with this behavior and I am quite dismayed," UNH President Joan Leitzel said. "We are beginning to learn who the troublemakers are, and they will be processed through the university's judicial system."
Bill Reilly, president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at UNH, said he was "dumbfounded" by the students' behavior at the parties.
''We do not tolerate it and this type of behavior is totally unacceptable,'' student body president Tito Jackson said after the weekend disturbance. ''It's affecting us all.''
One student blamed police for the incidents.
"It was fine until the cops got here," UNH sophomore Jess Cox said. "It seemed like the cops attracted people."
Cox also said he saw "one of two" bottle breaking, but "students weren't really doing anything."
