Should we fear a Freeh Report/Arts Fest Riot?

Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 July 2012 12:26 Tuesday, 10 July 2012 12:26

Written by Mark Dent

CBS News of Philly is reporting that the Freeh Report will be released on Thursday. Yahoo's Dan Wetzel is reporting that the Freeh Report is expected to be released before Friday's trustees meeting. If these reports are true, the Freeh Report will be coming out on a special occasion - Arts Fest.

The timing has already brought up a few comments on the Interwebs, mainly that this is really bad timing. State College is relatively empty most of the summer, free of the majority of Penn State students. That statement is true except for later this week, during Arts Fest. So the Freeh Report could be released at the time thousands of students are pouring back into State College, ready to party. So the question arises - should we fear another riot?

As we all remember, students rioted in Beaver Canyon last November after the firing of Joe Paterno. But a little history shows that State College has been home to plenty more riots*, including one during Arts Fest. 

*In October 2008, fans rioted after defeating Ohio State. In 2001, Penn State fans actually rioted over a basketball loss, to Temple in the NCAA Tournament. 

At the 1998 Arts Fest, 1,500 people were reported to have rioted for unknown reasons. The AP reported that it started at 1:30 a.m.: "According to police, about 150 people converged after a Frisbee game and became upset when told to disperse. Someone in the crowd threw a trash can into the street and set it on fire, and within 10 minutes the crowd ballooned to 1,500 people."

So a riot may have started because a Frisbee game was halted? Wow.

But reasons for riots are complex, according to this well-researched 2009 story about riots in The Daily Collegian. A Penn State professor said in the article that people were likely to riot because of the assembling of a large group and alcohol more so than a motive or an event.

Either way, Thursday could bring about a large group and news that could unite that group and presumably lots of alcohol. One major difference, however, is that the students rioted in November after receiving shocking news. We've known about the Freeh Report for a long time, and leaks have illustrated what to expect from it. The news shouldn't be a surprise; it will just enlighten and provide context to what we already know with a few possible developments.

And if it comes out on Thursday, we'll see then if Penn State and State College will react more calmly.