Almost everyone I know loves wintertime fun. Once the frozen precipitation sticks to the ground, people anticipate making snow angels, turning garbage can lids into makeshift sleds and drawing messages in the snow.
However when my suitemate told me what happened at Grambling State University during a campus-wide snowball fight, my jaw dropped.
Feb. 11 snow accumulations totaled around four inches in much of Louisiana – something particularly rare for southern states. With all the conditions right for classes to be canceled the next day, GSU students figured it was the perfect time to initiate a massive snowball fight. Just a nostalgic way to interact with students and relieve some stress, right?
Not exactly – what started as a night of fun quickly turned awry.
During the snowball fight, several students pulled multiple fire alarms in dormitories, reportedly to get more participation from students. Instead residents were forced to trek outside between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. in frigid temperatures. As a result, fire stations responded to the false fire alarms and arrived on campus in full force.
Despite the firefighters’ arrival, this didn’t slow down any Grambling students from their snowball fight. In fact, some students reportedly threw snowballs at the firefighters.
And then it happened. Grambling firefighters turned fire hoses on the GSU students. The accounts — from both firefighters and students — have differed dramatically since the event. According to Grambling Fire Department Chief David Wells, students threw snowballs and rocks at firefighters, which resulted in one official being rushed to the emergency room and a fire truck being damaged. Wells said that incident is being investigated. However, GSU students have a different perspective about the incident. Grambling student, Morgan Butler, said, “So everyone was throwing snow balls at the firemen and they said, ‘We have something for you all, too. You know we can play back.’ So they went and got up on their fire trucks.”
Meanwhile, the university’s campus police and the Grambling Fire Department have not addressed Louisiana’s KSLA News 12 reports of whether firefighters engaged in the snowball fight.
As I watched Instagram videos from Grambling State students, I was reminded of the archival scenes of Civil Rights marches. Bull Connor ordering Birmingham firefighters to turn the hoses on peaceful marchers. It disturbed me how easily firefighters turned the hoses students with no remorse. After all, it is Black History Month. And adding insult to injury, more hostility seemed to be focused on pulled fire alarms instead of the masses of water forcefully sprayed at students. While it wasn’t the best idea for GSU students to involve Grambling firefighters in their playful banter, it was even more irresponsible and disgraceful for these officials to re-enact a Civil Rights era scene.