LSU plans to crack down on large gatherings on campus before and after football games after an on-campus brawl following the homecoming game against Mississippi State led police to break up a crowd with pepper balls.
“Tailgating is about football. We cherish the seven Saturdays when we gather as a community to celebrate our tailgate traditions before cheering on our Tigers to victory,” LSU President Wade Rousse said in a news release Monday. “While tailgating is embedded within the fabric of our community, we must remember it is a shared privilege that mandates a safe environment focused on one event, the LSU football game.”
Starting Saturday, “promoters/organizers of any unauthorized event can anticipate being shut down immediately if advertising is brought to the university’s attention ahead of game-day,” the release said. That includes any activities that require university approval, “such as publicly promoted events with bands and DJ’s that obstruct pedestrian or emergency access or disrupt university operations.”
The restrictions do not apply to “traditional tailgating,” which includes “food, beverages, tents, grills, televisions and personal or consumer-grade music at a reasonable volume.”
Student tailgates are already required to break down one hour before kickoff. Starting this weekend, authorities will sweep the campus to make sure all events have wrapped up and attendees have either moved to the stadium or gone home.
No additional events will be allowed during or after the game — except for traditional tailgates, where watching the game on TV is allowed.
School officials pledged to beef up on-campus security after a homecoming day fight near the Pentagon and Greek Theater. A brawl involving several women broke out and was encouraged by the growing crowd, said the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. The surrounding crowd blocked officers from intervening, prompting them to use pepper balls to disperse the crowd.
The crowd scattered quickly and officers were able to regain control of the situation and break up the fight, the Sheriff’s Office said. The effects of the pepper balls disappeared quickly because of the open air environment, officials said, and no injuries were reported.
Some students frustrated by changes
Some LSU students voiced disappointment with the changes Monday, saying they felt the new measures would take away from the atmosphere on game day.
“That’s just ruining the tradition,” freshman Courtlyn Charles said. “It’s taking the fun out of football. People come to tailgate. A lot of people can’t afford to go to the game.”
Freshman Na’lyih Smith said she would understand an increased presence of authorities on campus but does not agree with heightened tailgating restrictions.
“It’s starting to get too strict, it really is,” Smith said.
Charles said enforcing the rule for students to pack up an hour before kickoff means tailgating has to start extra early.
“The games are super early now,” Charles said. “When am I going to tailgate, 6 a.m.?”
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