Residents frustrated after apartment complex yard trashed

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - As many as two thousand people trashed part of a North Amherst apartment complex over the weekend, police say.  Six students were arrested , many of them on charges of disorderly conduct, others for assault. 

Amherst Police say they didn't have enough officers to deal with the situation; which happened during one of the biggest St. Patrick's celebrations in Amherst, known as the "Blarney Blowout."

“It's like a pre St. Patrick's day celebration since we're off campus or we are on Spring Break for St. Patrick's Day.  So, it's just when the bars open really early in the morning and people line up at like 11 or 10AM,” said UMass student Mariya Vichattu.

Amherst Police say the celebration got out of control last weekend when close to 2,000 students packed into a quad at the TownHouse Apartment Complex in North Amherst. 

After several reports of fights and excessive drinking, Amherst Police were called to the Meadow Street complex.  Once they arrived, they say they were met with bottles and full cans of beer being thrown at them. Some of those who live here say there were even people partying up on the roof.   

“We went to the Blarney Blowout downtown, stayed there for like I don't know, three hours. [We] came back and there were about 2,000 people on the quad, everything was being destroyed, there were kids on the roof,” said one student who lives at TownHouse.

The UMass student spoke with us on condition of anonymity.  He and his roommate have been trying to clean up the mess.

The student said the leasing office has threatened to fine all of the residents living on the quad; something he doesn't consider fair since he wasn't involved.

Town residents say the University needs to do something about this growing problem.

“The key thing is that the University take responsibility for the students and that they work together with the town to figure out a way to make sure that the costs of potential consequences of gatherings like that are fairly incurred,” said Johanna Neumann of Amherst.  

Amherst Police say this was one of many disturbances reported that day throughout the town.