To the delight of students and the town as well, Bloomsburg was blessed with an idyllic sunny day with plenty to do and a surprisingly calm crowd at Fetterman.
For the average Bloomsburg student, it was hard not to follow the hordes of other students and guests alike being drawn the streetwide party that had taken over Fetterman Avenue. Like bees to honey, kids from all over took to the streets for the music, cheering, and binge drinking.
Block Party started early as usual, as from eight in the morning on you could hear the various calls and yelling from students beginning their long journey of an all day party. At the expense of their liver, you could feel the energy in the air as the seemingly yearlong grip winter has had on the campus finally broke and while some students tanned, bright red faces and shoulders showed there was some definite sunburn this year.
While other years saw street wide fights or groups being tear gassed, spring was in the air keeping most of the crowd surprisingly calm. The vibe this year was most certainly positive as the spirit of Bloomsburg’s comradery brought people from all over together for the day of festivities. There was one small “fight” later in the day around six o’clock, when two drunk girls seemed to take center stage as a small blonde got into a verbal altercation with a tall ginger girl. As hair was pulled and fists started to be thrown, the police quickly jumped in and pinned the taller girl to a wall while the blonde triumphantly danced away.
Police presence was definitely stronger this year than in years past as the combination of sobriety checkpoints, drones, patrol cars, and state policemen on horseback did their job at keeping the crowd under control. They were quite strict this year on staying inside the lines, and whether it was to meet a quota or make extra money for Bloomsburg, regardless they handed out citations as if they were candy. They would pick anyone out at random and if you were to have a drink or beer of any kind, you likely got a citation for an open container. While it did seem to frustrate many students, they did do their job and kept everyone safe and there were quite a few drunken students who made friends with horses.
The endurance of the crowd was impressive this year as from noon till around six, you could find yourself a fun place to drink or people watch amongst the debauchery inside Fetterman Avenue. It was quite a sight to behold if you found yourself on a roof or any higher ground and you could behold a sea of heads bouncing up and down to music, throwing footballs, or watching the girls dance on top of a white truck that has to be dented up now.
The aftermath of Block Party was comparable to a war zone. An unbelievable amount of liter covered the entirety of Fetterman, with beer cans, plastic bottles, broken glass, cigarette butts, and other various trash. Clean up fell upon the brave souls of Greek Life, who had to report for clean up duty bright and early Sunday morning at 10:30am.
Overall, it seemed this year’s Block Party was the best in years. While it may not have been the most exciting to watch, it was a day with fantastic weather and a perfect opportunity to enjoy yourself. Spending the day with friends drinking and dancing is what college is all about and the bar for next year’s Block Party has been set even higher!
