According to information released by BCPD in its public blotter, there were seven medical transports from the Flynn Recreation Complex on the night of the Plexapalooza concert hosted by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) this past weekend.
Five of the transports occurred within 40 minutes of each other between 10 and 11 p.m.-just after the concert’s headliner, DJ Enferno, took the stage. The final two transports occurred after midnight on Sunday. An additional incident involved a subject being placed in protective custody.
BC Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety John King said that the incidents involved a few individuals that required medical assistance-provided by BCPD in conjunction with Eagle EMS-due to apparent alcohol intoxication. Overall, however, these students represented a small percentage of those in attendance.
“The overwhelming majority of our students represented themselves and Boston College in a manner that makes us all proud to be associated with them,” King said in an email.
Denise Pyfrom, UGBC vice president of programming and A&S ’14, noted that the number of transports from UGBC events has decreased over the last two years, but she recognized that substance use is an ongoing concern, which the organization takes seriously.
“We continually remind students that we do not condone any alcohol or drug use at our events, yet we acknowledge that this continues to be an issue,” Pyfrom said in an email. “We see every event as a learning experience to improve our programming.”
The number of transports from Plexapalooza was an increase from the zero medical transports following September’s Fall Concert featuring O.A.R. Records from other recent concerts indicate that there were three medical incidents-but no hospitalizations-at the 2012 Spring Concert featuring Third Eye Blind and Nelly. This was the first event following the administration’s moratorium on concerts in Conte Forum, instituted after a large number of transports during the Fall and Spring Concerts in the 2010-11 academic year.
The most recent information available regarding transports from a Plexapalooza event was from the concert headlined by Super Mash Bros in October 2011. Ten patients were assessed for apparent intoxication, with six ultimately transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, two sent to the infirmary, and two released to a sober adult after evaluation.
