This is Nick McGrath. At least that’s what I am told. No, I don’t know him. But he is (for now) a student at the University of Massachusetts.
I must say; that’s a truly awesome photo. I’m not sure if it’s going to be worth it in the end, but that’s a fabulous Facebook cover photo picture. Well done. For those not in the know — that’s Berkshire. A dinning hall at the UMass campus in Amherst.
So, what was Nick doing up there anyway?
Nicholas L. McGrath, 20, of North Reading was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and inciting a riot. McGrath was discovered on the roof of the Berkshire Dining Commons, where he was waving his arms and attempting to incite the crowd. Officers approached the dining commons where they observed the suspect from below. He was waving and yelling at the crowd in front of him, attempting to incite them, and resulting in crowd members to chant “jump.” After a few minutes McGrath lowered himself to the ground, where he was quickly arrested by plainclothes officers.
You can imagine why this “riot” has been getting play, especially in the Northeast. The media loves young people doing questionable thing. They outright love riots of any kind. And, the majority of the Boston media doesn’t exactly love the University of Massachusetts.
Seeing as they will take any opportunity to rag on its students — RiotGate version x.0 is upon us. Remember; we are talking about 1,500 kids and zero damages. It’s not like they were gathering in support of a child rape enabler. Too soon?
It’s super shitty if a 20-year-old kid gets kicked out of school for an action that didn’t end up hurting anyone. That said, things like this can’t go completely unpunished. There’s no doubt Nicholas should not get away with this. But, hopefully there is a happy medium here.
If not, Nick will have to post that cover photo on Facebook and transfer his primary network to UMass Lowell.
Ew, Lowell.
[H/T Daily Collegian and Flickr]
Editorial disclosure: Half this staff attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Or as some call it “ZooMass.”
