Just when the pack of students celebrating the Terrapin men’s basketball team’s shocking upset of the then No. 2-ranked Duke Blue Devils in the middle of Route 1 started to calm down and head home, the riot police showed up. Instead of waiting for the excitement of jumping up and down in the freezing cold to wear off, the more than 150 police officers clad in full body armor and armed with shields and billy clubs decided to give the revelers a reason to stick around.

The line of police officers walking or riding on horseback marched toward the group of students dancing on Route 1 awaiting the inevitable confrontation.

And just like that, what was a peaceful situation started to get violent. Students on the sidewalks were pinned up against storefronts windows trying to get out of the way of mounted police using the weight of their horses or the swift kick of their boots to push back those who were falling over themselves to get out of the way.

In fact, the only damage reported from the celebration occurred when police officers pushed a student into a storefront window. Not one fire was lit until the police lined up. But once an authoritative audience was provided, the necessary cardboard found its way to Route 1 for a miniature blaze.

Now, no one expects the university or the city to turn a blind eye to the possibility of a repeat of the terrible destruction that took place during the university’s previous post-victory celebrations. But how many more of these celebrations is it going to take before officials learn how to quell the group of students who rush out of their dorms or homes and run down to Fraternity Row and then make their way to Route 1?

It does not matter how many “Act Like You Know” campaigns the university funds. Students are going to celebrate after a big win by running toward Fraternity Row. And why not? These celebrations, while partly soaked in beer, are also soaked in school pride.

Not to mention that the university’s policy of expelling those who take part in destroying university and municipal property has gone a long way toward ending the criminal behavior of past riots. Students have gotten the message that burning wires or breaking city windows is not worth a one-way trip to community college.

But at the same time, students shouldn’t have to face down a police horse or the gun of a police officer who becomes a bigger Duke fan every time he has to report to one of these celebrations. I can’t imagine what it looks like to those driving past this standoff between students and police officers.

Once the early morning hours rolled around and students had enough excitement for one night, each and every student I asked agreed if the police avoided a confrontation, the students would have dispersed much earlier.

“If the police would never have mobilized, no one would have stuck around because there would have been nothing to stick around for,” said sophomore Kyle Kralowetz.

Senior Scott Green said much of the same walking away from the line of cops: “It only really gets irrational when the police presence moves in.”

The police need to learn from past mistakes and, rather than immediately move in when students congregate on Fraternity Row and push them onto Route 1, allow the students to let out their excitement on the Row.

What better arena for a safe celebration than a large field surrounded by fraternity houses? I realize this is where the notorious first riots started, but would city and university officials really rather have students dancing on the busiest street in College Park?

No matter what officials try to do, the celebrations will never completely die. But the violence and mayhem of the 2001 riots are gone. Notice how I call what we have now celebrations and what occurred that April a riot. What occurred Wednesday was not a riot. It’s time for the police to stop treating it as such and adapt to such situations.

Michael Hoffman is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at mrhoffman17@yahoo.com.