I partied in Lot D, shamelessly, well after 11 a.m. For those of you who do not know, Lot D was the site of a tragic accident in which an out-of-control Uhaul steamrolled 3 people, one of which died on the scene. The group I was with set up tables, vehicles and a grill three rows behind the incident. My friend and I were meeting up with this group of revelers who had arrived at 8:30 a.m. and saw bodies on the ground, distressed crowd and music continuing to blare while a DJ insisted that someone dance as medics performed CPR on a corpse. The DJ was not aware of what was happening.
In retrospect, I'm feeling a bit guilty about my own part in things. I showed up after emergency vehicles were gone and it was still a huge party scene with hundreds of people drinking, eating and reveling before the game. I didn't even believe the news about the death at first because there was no sign of any cryptic acts or loss of life - the party re-took the space, I guess, so I felt free to eat a delicious bratwurst, drink a beer and enjoy my birthday. I wish I'd decided it was too disturbing to stay and just left. Sorry, Ms. Barry.
One student was quoted in the NY Times as saying “It was surreal trying to engage in the revelry knowing that had happened.” I'm not sure how many people it stopped and it's rare that I say this, but I'm not judging. Normally, judging others would be my olympic sport, but I'm reserving it here and just wishing I'd been better.
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