Huge Fight at Bates College Leads to 11 Arrests

We've heard all about big parties on or near college campuses going horribly awry. It happened at the University of Maryland and James Madison University this year. Well, add a new one to the list: Bates College in Maine.

Eleven students were arrested and a police officer suffered a broken leg after roughly 250 to 300 people gathered for a Bates College party and ended up fighting with Lewiston, Maine, police late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, the Associated Press reports. Campus security officials asked the partiers, who were outside a dorm participating in a senior tradition, to make way for an ambulance, the report says. When the crowd refused, the police came.

The school is investigating the incident, Inside Higher Ed reports. There have been accusations against the police for using excessive force, and one student was charged with aggravated assault.

A statement by the school said, "This incident is highly unusual for Bates ... As the college's investigation unfolds, we urge all campus constituencies to refrain from making assumptions until all the facts become available."

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