The (Almost) Brickyard Flash Dance Party/Rave
On Sunday night around midnight, several thousand NC State students converged on the Brickyard for a Flash dance party/rave which spread via word of mouth and Facebook. It was quickly shut down by Campus Police, citing a lack of permits.
The point at which it changed from rave to mob was when this red truck blasting some tunes attempted to make up for the loss in music. Campus Police were quick to keep people back and escort the truck out of the crowd.
While sound couldn’t be heard via an amplifier and speakers, many in the crowd brought their own beats.
Road cones and barrels made quick targets for those upset that the party wouldn’t go on.
The barrels the sole casualty of this rave turned mob.
By the time the crowd reached the Bell Tower, the RPD had arrived to form a wall in front of the new roundabout to contain the crowd.
Considering how spontaneous the event was and the size of the crowd, both the Campus Police and RPD acted in a professional manner. Most realized that the decision to prohibit the gathering likely wasn’t made by law enforcement personnel.
After gathering, chanting, and dancing for around half an hour or so at the Bell Tower, most of the crowd dispersed. Students have a lot of pent up energy this time of year, and it’s kind of sad they were shut down. Maybe next time the organizer will get a permit–but that may defeat the point of a “rave”, right?
Further Reading:
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05/03/2010
Ahhh, youth. :) Great on the spot reporting John. But what, no vid?
05/03/2010
“the decision to prohibit the gathering likely wasn’t made by law enforcement personnel”
Why do you say that?
05/03/2010
I used “likely” because I don’t know. But, with this thing being so widely known about, I would guess that the decision to prevent this from going forward was made long before police showed up.
05/04/2010
Possible, but crowd control is by police discretion. Since the justification for such laws is public safety it almost always falls to the police to decide whether an assembly is to be broken up or not. When a group files for permits its almost always the law enforcement agency for that area which reviews and makes the decision on it.
05/04/2010
Additionally even if a group files for and receives a permit for such a gathering if the police decide during the event that it has become a threat to public safety they can legally break it up.
05/04/2010
Sounds like somebody was watching a little Pump Up the Volume after finals.