Two Dartmouth students were hospitalized after they burned themselves on the dying embers of the Homecoming bonfire early Saturday morning. One of the two was transferred from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to a burn unit in Boston for the severity of the burns he sustained, according to College Proctor and director of Safety and Security Harry Kinne.
11 students were arrested during Homecoming weekend this year, down slightly from last year's 12 arrests, according to Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone.
Six or seven students, meanwhile, made Good Samaritan calls, compared to only one last year, according to Kinne.
The student transferred to Boston, an intoxicated freshman male, fell into the remaining coals of the fire and put his hands on the embers in an attempt to get up, Kinne said.
"As I understand, the individual's injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, but because of the severity, he was sent to Boston," Kinne said.
Another student faced burn injuries after accepting a dare from his friends to "walk across the coals," Kinne said.
The student did not suffer severe injuries and has since been treated and released from DHMC.
Neither student was arrested because both incidents occurred after the bonfire had died down and police had left.
As with last year, the majority of the weekend's arrests occurred during the bonfire Friday night, where police took six students into custody.
Students arrested during the bonfire face various charges, including unlawful possession and intoxication, disorderly conduct, and manufacture, sale and possession of false identification.
"One of my officers observed a group of six to eight students yelling and pushing freshmen," Giaccone said. "He saw one of them put someone in a headlock, pulled him aside and found out the student was 19 years old and had been drinking."
In another incident at the bonfire, an upperclassman began pushing a freshman from behind, "almost knocking him to the ground," at which point an officer took him out of the circle and determined that he was drunk and under the age of 21.
No freshmen were arrested during the bonfire for trying to "touch the fire." Last year two attempts led to arrests for disorderly conduct.
Only six students were arrested this year during the bonfire, down from 11 last year.
"Six arrests made at the bonfire is extremely low," Giaccone said. "It was lower than it has been for the last several years."
Apart from the bonfire, there were more instances which required police attention than last year, when only one was reported.
The police are actively investigating an incident in which a freshman girl allegedly discharged pepper spray into the faces of several other female students at the bonfire.
One student had to visit Dick's House after suffering a reaction from the pepper spray, while a few other students had residual effects, according to Kinne.
A fight allegedly broke out between a student and an alumnus early Saturday morning on the sidewalk between Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity and The Tabard co-ed fraternity.
According to the student filing the police report, the individuals engaged in a physical altercation in which the student was knocked to the ground by the alumnus, Giaccone said. He added that the student claimed the alumnus stole money from his wallet while he was on the ground. The police are still investigating this case.
Police responded to a fight at Psi Upsilon fraternity Saturday night, but arrived after those involved had left the area, Giaccone said.
"This involved a group of people who claimed to be '03 alumni, and one became belligerent," he said. "He took a steak off the grill and struck a student in the face with it."
In addition to the reported fights, two pieces of heavy equipment were stolen from Red Rolfe Field, the construction site of a new Dartmouth baseball field, on consecutive nights, according to Kinne.
Both items, a front loader and a dump truck, were found by Safety and Security on the front lawn of Chi Heorot fraternity on Saturday and Sunday morning, respectively. Police are still investigating the incidents.
No arrests were made at Saturday's homecoming football game, although one student chose to "rush the field" apart from the planned field rushing, Kinne said. Six students rushed the field during last year's game, but no arrests have been made for rushing the field since 2006.
All Class of 2012 students were once again invited onto the field during halftime, a tradition which began last year to discourage students from rushing the field illegally.
"It was a very busy weekend," Kinne said, "but probably not an atypical homecoming weekend."
