Springfest returns and local party gets broken up
Springfest was once a beloved tradition set up by Bridgewater State University, which was known as a yearly occurrence with fun events such as Battle of the Bands, that was hosted by the school. The university no longer has any affiliation with the event as of 2016. However, with the exception of two years due to COVID-19, the “tradition” has continued to recur.
Springfest has turned into an event where students walk around campus starting earlier in the day to throw large parties and drink. On April 23 of this year, you could see people starting to walk around at 10 a.m. as a start to this event, decked out in BSU gear with red solo cups in hand.
In the few days prior to this event, BSU’s Office of Student Affairs had sent out an email that reaffirmed the university’s dedication to the safety of their students and provided phone numbers of both Bridgewater State University’s Police Department and the Town of Bridgewater’s Police Department amongst other numbers in regard to safety concern. Whether or not the timing of this email was correlated to Springfest is unknown. However, higher police presence was noted on campus by many students.
As a result of Springfest, there was a 500+ person house party that occurred on Summer Street. This party drew the attention of Bridgewater Town Police who showed up at the home.
“It’s just something we don’t tolerate here,” stated Staff Sergeant George Zanellato in the local news website, boston.com.
The tenants of the home were placed under arrest with charges of keeping a noisy/disorderly house as they have previously been warned regarding certain incidents, and those in attendance left the home.
As Bridgewater resident Linda Reis stated on boston25news.com, “It’s a lot of people everywhere, a lot of noise, and then you can hear them arguing over there after things get escalated, on the roof, which is a danger.”
She did continue to say that prior to the tenants moving in, the area had been quieter.
Despite arrests that have been made and many safety related concerns, many students seemed to consider this day of partying a “success.”
The university is a semi-dry campus, with the only location on campus where alcohol is permitted is the Great Hill Student Apartments in limited quantities.
